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Bibliographic Details

Title

How to Set Parameters: Arguments from Language Change

Publisher

Mit Pr

Publication Date

1991

Language

English

ISBN 10

0262121530

ISBN 13

9780262121538

Binding

hardcover

Condition

Good

Seller catalogs

Language Study

About this title

Synopsis

Over the past decade generative grammarians have viewed language acquisition as a process of fixing option points or parameters defined in Universal Grammar. Here David Lightfoot addresses the crucial question of what it takes to set a parameter, of what kind of experience is needed to trigger the emergence of a natural kind of grammar.Lightfoot asserts that parameter setting is not sensitive to embedded material, that it is triggered only by robust elements that are structurally simple. He observes that morphological properties play a significant role in setting parameters which. have widespread syntactic effects. Using evidence from data on diachronic changes and from current work in syntactic theory, Lightfoot makes precise claims about the triggering experience that can explain a number of historical puzzles. He argues that the changes could have taken place in the way they did only if language acquisition proceeds on the basis of simple, unembedded experiences.Along the way Lightfoot examines consequences of the loss of the rich Old English case system and of the breakdown of the verb classes and takes up particularly illuminating cases of obsolescent structures.David Lightfoot is Professor and Chairman of the Linguistics Department at the University of Maryland.

About the Author

David Lightfoot is Professor and Chairman of the Linguistics Department at the University of Maryland.

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We are Orphans Treasure Box Books, a 501(c)3 non-profit book store that turns donated books into resources for orphans and vulnerable kids. We support adoption assistance for older and special needs kids. We support orphanages and orphan initiatives around the world, as well as vulnerable children in the Central Illinois area. We also set aside jobs in our business for homeless single parents.

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Orphans Treasure Box
826 Pioneer St, Champaign, IL, 61820, U.S.A.

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