LINGUIST List 13.1605

Wed Jun 5 2002

Books: Syntax, Robert Frank

Editor for this issue: Dina Kapetangianni <dinalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. dgw, Phrase Structure Composition and Syntactic Dependencies by Robert Frank

Title:Phrase Structure Composition and Syntactic Dependencies 
Series Title:Current Studies in Linguistics
			
Publication Year: 2002
			
Publisher: MIT Press 
 http://mitpress.mit.edu/
			 
Author: Robert Frank 
				

Hardback: ISBN: 0262062291, Pages: 340, Price: $40

Abstract:

In Phrase Structure Composition and Syntactic Dependencies, Robert
Frank explores an approach to syntactic theory that weds the Tree
Adjoining Grammar (TAG) formalism with the minimalist framework. The
TAG formalism has been extensively studied both for its mathematical
properties and for its usefulness in computational linguistics
applications. Frank shows that incorporating TAG's formally
restrictive operations for structure building considerably simplifies
the model of grammatical competence, particularly in the components
concerned with syntactic movement and locality. The empirical
advantages of the resulting model, illustrated with extensive case
studies of subject-raising constructions and wh-questions, point
toward a conception of grammar that is sharply limited in its
computational power.

Robert Frank is Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at Johns
Hopkins University

Lingfield(s): Syntax
			 
Written In: English (Language Code: ENG)