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Description:
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Andrew Radford's latest textbook, Minimalist Syntax, provides a concise,
clear, and accessible introduction to current work in syntactic theory,
drawing on the key concepts of Chomsky's Minimalist Program. Assuming
little or no prior knowledge of syntactic theory, Radford takes students
through a diverse range of topics in English syntax - such as categories
and features, merger, null constituents, movement, case, and split
projections - and shows how the 'computational component' works within the
minimalist framework. Beginning at an elementary level, the book introduces
grammatical concepts and sets out the theoretical foundations of Principles
and Parameters and Universal Grammar, before progressing in stages towards
more complex phenomena. Each chapter contains a workbook section, in which
students are encouraged to make their own analyses of English phrases and
sentences through exercises, model answers, and 'helpful hints'. There is
also an extensive glossary of terms.
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