LINGUIST List 20.768
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Mon Mar 09 2009
Books: Morphology/Socioling/Syntax: Givón - Syntax/Morphology: Siddiqi
Editor for this issue: Fatemeh Abdollahi
<fatemeh linguistlist.org>
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Links to the websites of all LINGUIST's supporting publishers are available at the end of this issue.
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Directory
1. Paul
Peranteau,
The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity: Givón
2. Paul
Peranteau,
Syntax within the Word: Siddiqi
Message 1: The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity: Givón
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Date: 05-Mar-2009
From: Paul Peranteau <paulbenjamins.com>
Subject: The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity: Givón
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Title: The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity
Subtitle: Diachrony, ontogeny, neuro-cognition, evolution
Published: 2009
Publisher: John Benjamins
http://www.benjamins.com/
Book URL: http://www.benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_bookview.cgi?bookid=Z%20146
Author: T. Givón
Electronic: ISBN: 9789027290052 Pages: Price: U.S. $ 165.00
Electronic: ISBN: 9789027290052 Pages: Price: Europe EURO 110.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027232533 Pages: Price: Europe EURO 110.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027232533 Pages: Price: U.S. $ 165.00
Paperback: ISBN: 9789027232540 Pages: Price: Europe EURO 36.00
Paperback: ISBN: 9789027232540 Pages: Price: U.S. $ 54.00
Abstract:
Complex hierarchic syntax is a hallmark of human language. The highest
level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled
out by some for a special status as the evolutionary apex of the uniquely -
human language faculty - evolutionary yet mysteriously immune to Darwinian
adaptive selection. Prof. Givón's book treats syntactic complexity as an
integral part of the evolutionary rise of human communication. The book
first describes grammar as an adaptive instrument of communication,
assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic object-
and-event cognition and mental representation. It then surveys the two
grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the
communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic
morpho-syntax and cross-language diversity; and ontogeny, the
individual endeavor directly responsible for acquiring the competent use of
grammar. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental
trends is compared with second language acquisition, pre-grammatical pidgin
and pre-human communication. The evolutionary relevance of language
diachrony, language ontogeny and pidginization is argued for on general
bio-evolutionary grounds: It is the organism's adaptive on-line
behavior- invention, learning and skill acquisition - that is the
common thread running through all three developmental trends. The
neuro-cognitive circuits that underlie language, and their evolutionary
underpinnings, are described and assessed. Recursive embedding turns out to
be not an adaptive target on its own, but the by-product of two distinct
adaptive moves: (i) the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators
on, or referential specifiers of, other clauses; and (ii) the subsequent
condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.
Linguistic Field(s):
Morphology
Sociolinguistics
Syntax
Cross-Cultural Communication
Language Acquisition
Written In: English (eng )
See this book announcement on our website:
http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=39974
Message 2: Syntax within the Word: Siddiqi
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Date: 05-Mar-2009
From: Paul Peranteau <paulbenjamins.com>
Subject: Syntax within the Word: Siddiqi
E-mail this message to a friend
Title: Syntax within the Word
Subtitle: Economy, allomorphy, and argument selection in Distributed Morphology
Series Title: Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 138
Published: 2009
Publisher: John Benjamins
http://www.benjamins.com/
Book URL: http://www.benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_bookview.cgi?bookid=LA%20138
Author: Daniel Siddiqi
Electronic: ISBN: 9789027290014 Pages: Price: Europe EURO 105.00
Electronic: ISBN: 9789027290014 Pages: Price: U.S. $ 158.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027255211 Pages: Price: Europe EURO 105.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9789027255211 Pages: Price: U.S. $ 158.00
Abstract:
Syntax within the Word provides a multifaceted look into the
syntactic framework of Distributed Morphology (DM) within the Minimalist
program. For those unfamiliar with the theory, this monograph provides an
overview of DM and argues its strengths. For those more familiar with DM,
this monograph provides analyses of familiar data much of which has not
been treated within the framework: argument selection, stem allomorphy and
suppletion, nominal compounds in English (feet-first vs.
*heads-first), and the structure of the verb phrase. This monograph
also proposes a future for the theory in the form of revisions to DM
including: the elimination of readjustment rules, a new economy constraint
(Minimize Exponence) that triggers fusion of functional heads, and a
feature blocking system.
Linguistic Field(s):
Morphology
Syntax
Written In: English (eng )
See this book announcement on our website:
http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=39971
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