LINGUIST List 12.2588

Wed Oct 17 2001

Books: Syntax

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

Directory

1. Jessica Balaschak, Syntax: Givon, 2 volumes

John Benjamins Publishing would like to announce the
publication of the following volumes in the field of Functional Linguistics:

Syntax I. An Introduction.
T. GIV�N (University of Oregon)
United States and Canada: 1 58811 065 6 / USD 90.00 (Hardcover)
1 58811 066 4 / USD 29.95 (Paperback)
Rest of world: 90 272 2577 X / NLG 198.00 (Hardcover)
90 272 2578 8 / NLG 66.00 (Paperback)

Syntax II. An Introduction.
T.GIV�N (University of Oregon)
United States and Canda: 1 58811 067 2 / USD 80.00 (Hardcover)
1 58811 068 0 / USD 26.95 (Paperback)
Rest of world: 90 272 2579 6 / NLG 176.00 (Hardcover)
90 272 2580 X / NLG 60.00 (Paperback)

This new edition of Syntax is at many points radically revised. In the
previous edition (1984) the author deliberately chose to de-emphasize
the more formal aspects of syntactic structure, in favor of a more
comprehensive treatment of the semantic and pragmatic correlates of
syntactic structure. With hindsight the author now finds the
de-emphasis of the formal properties a somewhat regrettable choice,
since it creates the false impression that one could somehow be a
functionalist without being at the same time a structuralist. To
redress the balance, explicit treatment is given to the core formal
properties of syntactic constructions, such as constituency and
hierarchy (phrase structure), grammatical relations and relational
control, clause union, finiteness and governed constructions.


At the same time, the cognitive and communicative underpinning of
grammatical universals are further elucidated and underscored, and the
interplay between grammar, cognition and neurology is outlined. Also
the relevant typological database is expanded, now exploring in
greater precision the bounds of syntactic diversity. Lastly, Syntax
treats synchronic-typological diversity more explicitly as the dynamic
by-product of diachronic development or grammaticalization. In so
doing a parallel is drawn between linguistic diversity and diachrony
on the one hand and biological diversity and evolution on the
other. It is then suggested that -- as in biology -- synchronic
universals of grammar are exercised and instantiated primarily as
constraints on development, and are thus merely the apparent
by-products of universal constraints on grammaticalization.


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Call toll free to order: 1-800-562-5666