LINGUIST List 12.2001

Thu Aug 9 2001

Books: Syntax

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Kimberly Kahn, Syntax: Subject Inversion in Romance & the Theory of Universal Grammar
2. Kimberly Kahn, Syntax: Diachronic Syntax by Pintzuk, Tsoulas, & Warner (eds.)

SUBJECT INVERSION IN ROMANCE AND THE THEORY OF UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR
Edited by Aafke C. J. Hulk, University of Amsterdam, and 
Jean-Yves Pollock, Universite de Picardie � Amiens, France

The Romance Languages document remarkable variations in subject word
order in different constructions, and have various restrictions in
their occurrence. No consensus has emerged on what the paramaters are
for such variations. This volume does not attempt to create a
consensus, but tries to represent and bring into dialogue the
different sides of the debate.

August 2001 224 pp.
0-19-514269-1 cloth $65.00
0-19-514270-5 paper $35.00
Oxford University Press
 
For more information about Linguistics titles from Oxford:
Visit the Oxford University Press USA web site at http://www.oup-usa.org 

DIACHRONIC SYNTAX: Models and Mechanisms
Edited by Susan Pintzuk, George Tsoulas, and Anthony Warner, 
all at the University of York

Linguistic theory has undergone deep changes since the early 1990's,
given the widespread impact of Chomsky's Minimalist Programme, Kayne's
Antisymmetry Theory, and Kayne's Theory of Overt Movement. This work
has brought into sharper focus questions concerning the architecture
of linguistic theory that have a direct impact on our understanding of
the process of change. Here, Pintzuk, Tsoulas, and Warner have
brought together chapters which demonstrate the pivotal position of
historical syntax within the larger domain of research into the
nature, use, and acquisition of language. They show how current work
in historical syntax is responsive to theoretical advances in
linguistic theory, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and
theories of language use, as well as to less adjacent fields such as
statistical techniques and evolutionary biology.

Contents: Chapter 1: Syntactic Change: Theory and Method, Susan
Pintzuk, George Tsoulas, and Anthony Warner Part I: Frameworks for the
Understanding of Change Chapter 2: Competition and Correspondence in
Syntactic Change: Null Arguments in Latin and Romance, Nigel Vincent
Chapter 3: Jespersen's Cycle Revisited: Formal Properties of
Grammaticalization, Ans van Kemenade Chapter 4: Evolutionary
Perspectives on Diachronic Syntax, Ted Briscoe Part II: The
Comparative Basis of Diachronic Syntax Chapter 5: Adjuncts and the
Syntax of Subjects in Old and Middle English, Eric Haeberli Chapter 6:
Verb-Object Order in Early Middle English, Anthony Kroch and Ann
Taylor Chapter 7: Null Subjects in Middle English Existentials,
Alexander Williams Part III: Mechanisms of Syntactic Change:
1. Features and Categories Chapter 8: Polarity Items in Romance:
Underspecification and Lexical Change, Ana Maria Martins 2. Movement
Chapter 10: The Value of Definite Determiners from Old Spanish to
Modern Spanish, Montse Batllori and Francesc Roca Chapter 11: From OV
to VO in Swedish, Lars-Olof Delsing Chapter 12: The Evolution of
Do-support in English Imperatives, Chung-hye Han Chapter 13:
Interacting Movements in the History of Icelandic, Thorbj�rg
Hr�arsd�ttir Chapter 14: Verb Movement in Slavonic Conditionals, David
Willis


April 2001 392 pp.; 6 line illus
0-19-825027-4 paper $39.95
0-19-825026-6 cloth $90.00
Oxford University Press

For more information about Linguistics titles from Oxford:
Visit the Oxford University Press USA web site at http://www.oup-usa.org