Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Aims
This book has two main aims, corresponding to the two conjuncts in its title. This first is to provide an introduction to recent work in syntactic theory (more particularly to how the computational component operates within the model of Universal Grammar assumed in recent work within the framework of Chomsky's Minimalist Program). The second is to provide a description of a range of phenomena in English syntax, making use of key minimalist concepts and assumptions as far as possible – while avoiding excessive technical complexity. This new book can be seen as a successor to (or updated version of) my (1997b) book Syntax: A Minimalist Introduction. There is quite a lot of duplication of material between the earlier book and this one (particularly in the first few chapters), though the present book also contains substantial new material (e.g. on agreement, case, split projections and phases), and the analysis of many phenomena presented in this book differs from that in its predecessor (with agreement being presented in terms of a feature-matching rather than a feature-checking framework, for example).
Key features
The book is intended to be suitable both for people with only minimal grammatical knowledge, and for people who have already done quite a bit of syntax but want to know something (more) about Minimalism. It is not historicist or comparative in orientation, and hence does not presuppose knowledge of earlier or alternative models of grammar. It is written in an approachable style, avoiding unnecessary complexity.
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- Information
- English SyntaxAn Introduction, pp. ix - xiiPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004