Syntactic Relations: A Critical Survey

by P. H. Matthews

• ISBN13: 9780521845762
• ISBN10: 0521845769
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-01-29
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Accounts of syntax are usually based on two assumptions: firstly, that a sentence comprises a hierarchy of phrases, forming a 'tree' structure; and secondly, that phrases have 'heads', on which subordinate units depend. These fundamental assumptions are questioned in this critical new survey, which argues that neither concept is important as is claimed, and that syntactic relations are in fact far more varied. Drawing on data from English as well as other major European languages, it summarizes earlier accounts of syntactic structure and looks at the different ways in which specific constructions have been described - the subject of much disagreement between linguists. It explores the problems faced by particular analyses, and raises the question of whether syntax should be simpler than it is. Suitable for non-specialists and complete with a clear and useful glossary, Syntactic Relations will become an essential and thought-provoking read for students and researchers in linguistic theory.

Author Biography

P. H. Matthews is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and Fellow of St John's College, University of Cambridge

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Relations	p. 1
Where shall we start?	p. 9
What beginners are told	p. 11
The doctrine of phrases	p. 11
What is a head?	p. 23
Heads and dependents	p. 27
Dominance	p. 27
Where arguments are complementary	p. 30
Markers	p. 35
'Complementisers'	p. 39
Prepositions	p. 49
Verb phrases	p. 55
Must phrases have heads?	p. 61
'Determiners'	p. 61
Determiners and pronouns	p. 69
Where does this lead us?	p. 75
'Universals'	p. 78
What is universal?	p. 81
Asymmetries	p. 90
Types of construction	p. 90
One head or two?	p. 95
Types of dominance	p. 100
Subjects	p. 104
Constituents	p. 110
Phrase structure	p. 110
Phrase structure and dependency	p. 112
How far is there equivalence?	p. 115
Layering in noun phrases	p. 119
Why should constituency be thought fundamental?	p. 126
Structures and categories	p. 133
'Movement'	p. 137
Must constructions reduce to tree structures?	p. 143
How reduction is achieved	p. 143
Compositionality	p. 149
Group-verbs	p. 156
Complex predications	p. 159
'Small clauses'	p. 163
Coordination	p. 169
Simplicity	p. 178
Should syntax not be simpler?	p. 178
'Theories'	p. 181
Glossary	p. 186
References	p. 199
Index	p. 205
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.