This book is designed as an introduction to English syntax, in that it offers an overview of the core syntactic phenomena which characterize this language and proposes a principled explanation for them; for example, it deals with the syntactic build-up of phrases and sentences, the various classes of verbs, passive clauses and interrogative clauses. We will adopt the theoretical approach known as Generative Grammar (since Chomsky 1957), which focuses on the human capacity to generate an endless number of phrases and sentences. The basic idea is that a Universal Grammar is innate in our brain, a fact which renders all languages similar despite appearances, as the superficial differences observed can be reduced to a few syntactic properties, called Parameters. Though we will base our discussion on English, this language will often be contrasted with other languages, in order to show how phenomena that look different may be given a common explanation, based on a diverse parametric choice.
Basic English Syntax
Cocchi, Gloria
2019
Abstract
This book is designed as an introduction to English syntax, in that it offers an overview of the core syntactic phenomena which characterize this language and proposes a principled explanation for them; for example, it deals with the syntactic build-up of phrases and sentences, the various classes of verbs, passive clauses and interrogative clauses. We will adopt the theoretical approach known as Generative Grammar (since Chomsky 1957), which focuses on the human capacity to generate an endless number of phrases and sentences. The basic idea is that a Universal Grammar is innate in our brain, a fact which renders all languages similar despite appearances, as the superficial differences observed can be reduced to a few syntactic properties, called Parameters. Though we will base our discussion on English, this language will often be contrasted with other languages, in order to show how phenomena that look different may be given a common explanation, based on a diverse parametric choice.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
