Preface

Summary

This book has two distinct but related goals: broad description and selected theoretical depth. On the one hand, it provides a concise, empirical overview of the syntax of Modern French for the benefit of linguists unfamiliar with the language. While it doesn't rely on readers having any particular theoretical background, it does assume familiarity with traditional grammatical terminology.

On the other hand, it offers in-depth discussion of selected syntactic features of the language which are of particular interest, from either a theoretical or a cross-linguistic perspective. This is of relevance to syntacticians generally, irrespective of their degree of familiarity with, or specific interest in, French: my intention is to show how aspects of French syntax are relevant to syntacticians, whatever their theoretical or language-specific interests. Thus, unlike other English-language books on French syntax, or French linguistics generally, this book isn't specifically aimed at students or researchers with a particular focus on French. If anything, it aspires to take (the syntax of) French beyond its traditional constituency, showing a wider audience how it relates to their concerns.

For the benefit of readers in need of ‘raw’ data, the discussion is based on an uncontroversial empirical presentation of the facts relating to the syntax of French. For the benefit of theoreticians, the discussion goes on to show how the analytical tools of contemporary syntax have been able to shed light on those facts. Bearing in mind the interests of readers with comparative interests, I concentrate on syntactic aspects of French of cross-linguistic interest. Without making claims of comprehensiveness (this would be unreasonable given length constraints), the book thus has both breadth and depth.