Modern Syntactic Theories 3301-JF2611

The present course is intended for those students who have taken an interest in formal linguistics and wish to expand their knowledge. The prospective participant will gain insight into the formal grammars currently used in natural language parsing, such as Government and Binging, the Minimalist Program, Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, and Lexical Functional Grammar. Not only are these formal grammars the theoretical foundation of contemporary linguistics, but they also serve as a reference point in the field of Natural Language Processing.

Particular emphasis will be given to illustrate the similarities and differences between the individual formal grammars in order to highlight their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, the relationship between descriptive adequacy and typology will be shown. Thereby, the course participant will become aware of how and when to apply the theories discussed. This kind of insight will be particularly helpful to those students who wish to pursue a career in linguistics or who are considering writing a thesis on syntactic issues.

The main objective of the course, however, is to make the participants aware of the fact, based on a revision of selected theoretical concepts, that in order to study the abstract system of symbol manipulation that is natural language, one must rely on some kind of formal operationalization of the observed linguistic phenomena through rules or constraints, which is to say the there is no such thing as “atheoretical linguistics.” In this sense, language cannot be investigated without formal grammar, just like the universe cannot be studied without mathematics (a formal grammar in itself).

The course is comprised of three essential components: surveys and presentations of particular syntactic theories, in-class discussion, and the analysis of specific syntactic issues on actual language data.

Type of course

elective courses

Mode

Blended learning

Prerequisites (description)

The course assumes that the prospective participant will be knowledgeable in the basics of theoretical/formal linguistics. For this reason (while not strictly a requirement) prior participation in an entry level course in theoretical/formal linguistics is advisable. Recommended courses include Syntax 101, Phonetics 101, Phonology 101, and Linguistics 101. All participants ARE EXPECTED to have access to a personal computer and an internet connection in order to use the course's FTP server to download study materials, as well as to solve online quizzes and submit homework assignments.

Course coordinators

Marcin Opacki

Learning outcomes

K_U01 - the student is able to apply the methodology of formal syntax in order to analyze natural language sentences;
K_U01 - the student is able to operationalize the phenomena analyzed, propose a null and alternate hypothesis, and test both hypotheses using the rigor of the Scientific Method;
K_U04 - the student is capable of producing an accurate description of a particular natural language phenomenon using the formal grammar theories that they have come to know;
K_U09 - the student is capable of assessing the viability of specific formal grammars in the analysis of specific natural language phenomena;
K_U10 - the student is capable of choosing a formal grammar which best suits the nature of the phenomenon analyzed;
K_W08 - the student acquires advanced knowledge about contemporary linguistics; in particular, the student differentiates between various formal theories of language description withing the realm of syntax and is aware of their advantages and limitations;
K_W09 - the student gains increased insight into research design in rule-based and constraint-based formal syntax;
K_W20 - the student is aware of, and adheres to, the highest ethical standards in science, values integrity above self-interest, and aspires to academic excellence for the betterment of their own self and society at large;
K_U01 - the student is proficient in advanced, specialist linguistic terminology in English; this level of proficiency is expected to be no less than at C1-level. as defined by the CEFR, with the student making an active effort to attain full proficiency (C2 level) whenever possible.

Assessment criteria

The final grade is based on a weighed moving average of credit points awarded for in-class group and individual work, homework assignments, a final test, and an optional term paper on a subject that has been approved by the teacher.

Practical placement

None.

Bibliography

The teacher will make relevant handouts available online.
However, students are encouraged to peruse the source material for said handouts (see: list below).

Asudeh, A., Toivonen, I. (2009). Lexical-Functional Grammar. Berand Heine and Heiko Narrog, (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bresnan, J, (2001). Lexical-Functional Syntax. Blackwell.
Carnie, A. (2002). Syntax. A generative introduction. Malden: Blackwell Publishers.
Chomsky, N. & Schützenberger, M.P. (1963). The algebraic theory of context free languages. in Braffort, P., Hirschberg, D. Computer Programming and Formal Languages. Amsterdam: North Holland. pp. 118–161.
Chomsky, Noam (1956). "Three models for the description of language" (PDF). IRE Transactions on Information Theory (2): 113–124.
Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic Structures. The Hague/Paris: Mouton.
Chomsky, N. (1959). On certain formal properties of grammars. Information and Control 2 (2): 137–167. doi:10.1016/S0019-9958(59)90362-6.
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. (1981). Lectures on Government and Binding. Mouton de Gruyter.
Chomsky, N. (1986). Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin and Use. New York: Praeger.
Chomsky, N. (1995). The Minimalist Program. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Gazdar, G.; Klein, E.H.; Pullum, G.K.; Sag, I. (1985). Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar. Oxford: Blackwell, and Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Falk, Y.N. (2001). Lexical-Functional Grammar: An Introduction to Parallel Constraint-Based Syntax. CSLI.
Müller, Stefan (2016). Grammatical theory: From transformational grammar to constraint-based approaches. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 490–491.
Pollard, C.; Sag, I. (1987). Information-based syntax and semantics. Volume 1. Fundamentals. CLSI Lecture Notes 13.
Pollard, C.; Sag, I. (1994). Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar. Chicago University Press and CSLI Publications, Chicago, IL.
Pollard, C. (1996). The nature of constraint-based grammar. Paper delivered at the Pacific Asia Conference on Languagein formation, and Computation, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, December 20, 1996. Available from: ftp://julius.ling.ohio-state.edu/pub/pollard/anthology/paclic.txt.
Przepiórkowski, A.; Kupść, A. (2006). HPSG for Slavists . Glossos vol. 8
Radford, A. (1988). Transformational syntax. A first course. (Cambridge textbooks in linguistics.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Radford, A. (1990). Syntactic theory and the acquisition of English syntax: The nature of early child grammars of English. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Radford, A. (1996). Towards a structure-building model of acquisition. in Clahsen (ed.), pp. 43–89.
Radford, A. (2000). Children in search of perfection: Towards a minimalist model of acquisition. Essex Research Reports in Linguistics, 34, 57–74.
Sag, I.; Wasow, T.; Bender, E.M. (2003). Syntactic Theory: A Formal Introduction. CSLI Publications, Stanford, CA.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3301-JF2611 in USOSweb