Syntactic Analysis: The Basics [Paperback]

Highly readable and eminently practical, Syntactic Analysis: The Basics focuses on bringing students with little background in linguistics up to speed on how modern syntactic analysis works.

• A succinct and practical introduction to understanding sentence structure, ideal for students who need to get up to speed on key concepts in the field
• Introduces readers to the central terms and concepts in syntax
• Offers a hands-on approach to understanding and performing syntactic analysis and introduces students to linguistic argumentation
• Includes numerous problem sets, helpfully graded for difficulty, with model answers provided at critical points
• Prepares readers for more advanced work with syntactic systems and syntactic analyses

Acknowledgments ix

Abbreviations xi

Introductory Notes and References 1

1 Doing Science with Language: Introductory Concepts 5
This chapter introduces hypothesis formation and testing in the realm of human language and discusses the paradox of language acquisition. It offers an initial sketch of the Principles&Parameters approach and the innateness hypothesis.

2 The Structure and Classification of Words 12
Words are analyzed into roots and affixes. A system of generative word formation is introduced involving morphemes and word formation rules. Also discussed are criteria for identifying the lexical class of roots, stems, and words. Finally, a discussion of the “meaning” of particular affixes leads to the conclusion that affixes do not have “simple” meanings, but instead participate with a constellation of other factors to determine meaning, something refel!