Linguistics I 3800-KOG-L1

The course will cover two areas of linguistic inquiry (and two tiers of linguistic representation): morphosyntax and syntax.

The morpho-syntactic system of Polish will be discussed in detail in order to showcase various approaches to the problem of classifying lexemes and word forms. The concepts introduced during the initial part of the course will be called upon during its second portion, which will be dedicated to the various existing approaches to natural language analysis, in particular constituency-based and dependency-based, as well as a hybrid approach in the form of Lexical Functional Grammar.

Students will be introduced to the Chomsky Hierarchy (a method of classifying formal grammars and languages based on theoretical automata). The concepts of agreement, government, as well as syntactic selection restrictions will be discussed in structuralist terms, while selected syntactic phenomena specific to Polish (e.g. raising and control) will be discussed in generative terms.

Classes will be devoted to practical applications of the notions discussed during the lectures in natural language analysis. The subject areas touched upon will include the following.

- The notion of grammar (with particular emphasis placed on syntax and semantics) (1 lecture)
- The inflectional system of Polish (2 lectures)
- Syntax and morphosyntax and the complement and adjunct distinction (2 – 3 lectures)
- The Chomsky Hierarchy (2 – 3 lectures)
- Generative grammar (transformational vs. non-transformational approaches)
- Selected issues in generative grammar: structural case, raising and control.

Workload estimates: 30h (lecture) + 30h (classes) + 90h self-study.