Specifiers: Minimalist Approaches

Adger, David [Editor]

ISBN 10: 0198238134 / ISBN 13: 9780198238133

Published by Oxford University Press, 2000

About this Item

Publisher's dark blue cloth-bound hardback; in nearly new condition; tight and square with bright gilt lettering; complete with original dustjacket; neat and sharp, not showing any tears or chips. Contents fresh and clean; no pen-marks. Not from a library so no such stamps or labels. Tidy book in very presentable condition.

Seller Inventory # 101394

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Specifiers: Minimalist Approaches
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198238134
• ISBN 13: 9780198238133
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Like New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Like New
• Weight: 23 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • Language & Linguistics

About this title

Synopsis

By the late 1980s, Government and Binding Theory - which was central to almost all research in generative grammar - threatened to become as large and as intricate as the language it described. To counter this, Noam Chomsky introduced a minimalist program with the aim of making explanations of language as simple and general as possible. It has since gained widespread (if not quite universal) acceptance, to the extent that the most recent first-year textbook in syntax (Radford, CUP, 1997) is based on it. One of the areas subjected to this minimalist scrutiny has been phrase structure, the fundamental basis of grammar. This book focuses on the most controversial area of phrase structure, the notion of specifiera notion encompassing the traditional categories of subjects, possessors, determiners, auxiliaries, and adjuncts. It examines what place the notion has in the new theory and how the projection of specifiers is to be eliminated or extended. The contributors (prominent American, British, and European scholars) draw on empirical, theoretical research in cross-linguistic phenomena and first and second language acquisition. The substantial introductory chapter provides an up-to-date account of minimalist syntactic theory and a critical evaluation of the notion of specifier within it.

About the Author

David Adger, Department of Language and Linguistic Science, University of York. Susan Pintzuk, Department of Language and Linguistic Science, University of York. Bernadette Plunkett, Department of Language and Linguistic Science, University of York.