OJD07 Theory of syntax

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2008
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Mojmír Dočekal, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. RNDr. Tomáš Hoskovec, CSc.
Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jaroslava Vybíralová
Prerequisites
Passive knowledge of English.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
We will reflect modern syntactic theories. The basic problem of these theories is the competition between syntax and semantics. Modern syntactic theories (minimalist program, principles and parameters) describe almost any natural langauage, but they have become more abstract, and syntactic derivations become ever more complex. Good question: is it possible to avoid these complexities, but retain the empirical coverage of generative grammar?
Syllabus
  • Topics: phrase structure, theta roles, case assignment, anaphors, transformations, empty categories, minimalist program, syntax-semantics interface, optimality theory, constructional grammar.
Literature
  • Sportiche, Koopman & Stabler (2003). An introduction to syntactic analysis and theory. http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/stabler/isat.pdf.
  • Haegeman, Liliane (1997): The New Comparative Syntax. London: Longman.
  • Culicover, Peter W. - Jackendoff, R. Simpler syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-927108-9.
  • Johnson, Kyle. Introduction to Transformational Grammar. Lecture notes. Ms. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
  • HAEGEMAN, Liliane M. V. and Jacqueline GUÉRON. English grammar :a generative perspective. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999, xiii, 672. ISBN 0-631-18839-8. info
  • FROMKIN, Victoria and Robert RODMAN. An introduction to language [Fromkin, 1998]. 6th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998, xvii, 566. ISBN 0-03-018682-X. info
  • CHOMSKY, Noam. The minimalist program. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995, 420 s. ISBN 0-262-53128-3. info
  • SGALL, Petr. Úvod do syntaxe a sémantiky : některé nové směry v teoretické lingvistice. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1986, 197 s. URL info
Assessment methods
Lectures, class discussion. The course is completed by successful writing of a test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
General note: Seminář pokračuje v dalším semestru - Syntaktická dílna (nástroje syntaxe) II (CJBB32).
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: přednášky + kontaktní hodiny.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2002, Spring 2003, Autumn 2003, Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Autumn 2005, Spring 2006, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2008/OJD07