LINGUIST List 12.2325

Thu Sep 20 2001

Books: Generative Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Richard John Harvey <richardlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Jessica Balaschak, Genarative Linguistics: Alexandrova, Alexiadou, Featherston

John Benjamins Publishing announces three new titles in Generative Linguistics:


The Minimalist Parameter.
Selected papers from the Open Linguistics Forum, Ottawa, 21-23 March 1997.
Galina M. Alexandrova (University of Ottawa), 
Olga Arnaudova (University of Ottawa) (eds.)
Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 192
United States and Canada: 1 55619 970 8 / USD 87.00 (Hardcover)
Rest of world: 90 272 3699 2 / NLG 190.00 (Hardcover)

In view of its exploratory nature, Chomsky's 'minimalist' model has
undergone multiple changes, triggering in response numerous proposals
that are consistent with the tendencies that it follows or
anticipates, and numerous proposals that offer alternatives to it. A
good illustration of the variety of 'parallel' proposals is provided
in the present volume. The articles derive from papers read at the
Challenges of Minimalism session of the Open Linguistics Forum, held
in Ottawa, in March 1997. This OLF meeting started as a graduate
student initiative, but because of the topic chosen, attracted a wide
and international audience. The twenty contributions are grouped in
five sections: I. Syntactic Structure, Relations, Operations;
II. Syntactic Movement: Cyclicity, Optionality, (Non)overtness;
III.Case, Topic, Focus, Interrogativity; IV. Ellipsis, Reconstruction
and Related Phenomena; V. DPs: Features and Syntactic Relations.

Contributions by: Denis Bouchard; Susan Powers; Hiroyuki Ura; Sharon
Armon-Lotem; John Whitman; Masanori Nakamura; Takashi Toyoshima; Adam
Szczegielniak; Bernadette Plunkett; Artemis Alexiadou & Elena
Anagnostopoulou; Andrew Simpson; Julie Anne Legate & Carolyn
Smallwood; Anik� Csirmaz; Kertin Hoge; Virginia Motapanyane; Nina
Zhang; Satoshi Oku; Juan Romero-Morales & Norberto Moreno-Quib�n; Huba
Bartos; Luis Silva-Villar & Javier Guit�rrez-Rexach.


Functional Structure in Nominals.
Nominalization and ergativity.
Artemis Alexiadou (University of Potsdam)
Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 42
United States and Canada: 1 58811 055 9 / USD 82.00 (Hardcover)
Rest of world: 90 272 2763 2 / NLG 180.00 (Hardcover)

This monograph offers an in depth investigation of nominalization
processes across languages e.g. Greek, Germanic, Romance, Hebrew,
Slavic. Adopting and extending the view that category formation does
not involve any lexical operation (recently put forth within the
framework of Distributed Morphology), it shows how the behavior of
nominals as opposed to that of verbs follows from general processes
operating in specific syntactic structures, and is linked with the
presence or absence of functional layers (T, D, Aspect, v). It further
defines criteria on the basis of which the organization of nominal
functional structure can be determined. Moreover, it demonstrates how
nominals split into several types, across languages and within a
language, depending on the number and the type of functional
projections they include. Furthermore, it substantiates the hypothesis
that aspects of the syntax of DPs of nominative-accusative languages
are strikingly similar to aspects of the syntax of ergative languages
and discusses aspects of the syntax of the perfect. The book targets
researchers in theoretical linguistics, comparative syntax, morphology
and typology. It can also be used as a foundation book on the
morpho-syntax of nominals, argument structure and word formation.


Empty Categories in Sentence Processing.
Sam Featherston (Eberhard-Karls-Universitat Tubingen)
Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 43
United States and Canada: 1 58811 069 9 / USD 86.00 (Hardcover)
Rest of the world: 90 272 2764 0 / NLG 190.00 (Hardcover)

This book reports a research program into one of the most
controversial questions in the syntax - processing interface: The
behavior of the parser at gap positions. While the work done is
largely experimental, the results are analyzed both for their
relevance to sentence processing and for their implications for
competing syntactic frameworks. In particular the differing
predictions of PPT and HPSG for structures with dislocated
constituents are tested for their empirical adequacy. The author
addresses a broad range of questions about gap processing and uses a
broad range of methodologies to cut through the confounds which
prevent previous work providing clear answers. Wh-movement,
scrambling, raising, and equi structures are all addressed, and all
current accounts of the experimental evidence evaluated. The results
move the debate forward significantly, and provide clear confirmation
of some non-trivial claims of generative grammar.


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