Syntax and Variation

Syntax and Variation

Author: Leonie Elise Alexandra Cornips

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9789027247797

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As such, it offers novel approaches to three key areas of current linguistic debate, viz. (1) Methodological practices, (2) Theoretical applications and (3) Modularity."--BOOK JACKET.


Microparametric Syntax and Dialect Variation

Microparametric Syntax and Dialect Variation

Author: James R. Black

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1996-11-07

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 9027276226

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Richard Kayne’s introduction to this volume stresses that comparative work on the syntax of very closely related languages and dialects is a research tool promising to provide both a broad understanding of parameters at their finest-grained and an approach to the question of the minimal units of syntactic variation. The 11 articles in this collection demonstrate the use of this tool in analyzing microparametric variation, principally with reference to Chomsky’s Minimalist program, in a variety of languages. Topics include se/si constructions, hypothetical infinitives and adverbial quantifiers in French and other Romance languages; that-trace variation, Scandinavian possessive constructions, reflexives and subject-verb agreement in Icelandic & Faroese, and verb clusters in continental West Germanic dialects; anaphoric agreement in Labrador Inuttut; negative particle questions in Chinese; imperative inversion in Belfast English; and the second person singular interrogative in the traditional vernacular of Bolton.


Syntax and Variation

Syntax and Variation

Author: Leonie M.E.A. Cornips

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2005-06-22

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9027294380

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The papers in this collection share a common interest in the empirical, theoretical and meta-theoretical aspects of the ‘internal-external’ (‘formal-functional’) debate in linguistic theory. The primary aim of this volume is to initiate cooperation between internationally renowned generative and variationist linguists with a view to developing an innovative and more cohesive approach to syntactic variation. The present volume contains treatments incorporating the analysis of external factors into accounts focusing on the internal linguistic conditioning of syntactic variation and change cross-linguistically. As such, it offers novel approaches to three key areas of current linguistic debate, viz. (1) Methodological practices, (2) Theoretical applications and (3) Modularity. The volume is, therefore, an important achievement for the progress of linguistic theory more generally and it is an even more crucial milestone in the coming-of-age of ‘Socio-Syntax’ as a discipline in its own right.


Syntactic Variation and Genre

Syntactic Variation and Genre

Author: Heidrun Dorgeloh

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 3110226472

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Review text: "Without a doubt, the volume in its entirety is inspiring. ... The articles are all written in an accessible style, so that the publication is suitable not only for experts, but also for students of linguistics. It is recommendable to all who want to broaden their horizons and embark on linguistic studies at the borders of traditional sub-disciplines."Sixta Quassdorf in: Linguist List 22.3028.


Syntactic Geolectal Variation

Syntactic Geolectal Variation

Author: Alba Cerrudo

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2021-11-15

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 9027259879

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This volume brings together studies that combine both traditional and contemporary tools in the study of syntactic geolectal variation, with a special focus on a subset of Iberian varieties. There is an increasing body of research on syntactic micro-variation, but the interaction between dialectology (which makes use of atlases, corpora, databases, questionnaires, interviews, etc.) and formal syntactic studies has traditionally been weak (or even nonexistent), which is precisely the gap the contributions in this book aim at filling in. From a broader perspective, this collection is meant as a contribution to the subfield of linguistic variation and to the more general field of Romance linguistics, with special interest in Spanish and in other Iberian languages. The volume is meant for both researchers and students interested in linguistic variation or dialectology and, specifically, in syntactic variation in Iberian languages.


Language Change and Variation

Language Change and Variation

Author: Ralph W. Fasold

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1989-01-01

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 9027286078

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The study of language variation in social context continues to hold the attention of a large number of linguists. This research is promoted by the annual colloquia on New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English' (NWAVE). This volume is a selection of revised papers from the NWAVE XI, held at Georgetown University. It deals with a number of items, some of which have often been discussed, others that have been less emphasized. The first group of articles in the volume center on a frequent theme: speech communities as the essential setting for understanding variation in language. Earlier work in linguistic variation dealt for the most part with phonological variation and change. Syntactic and morphological change and variation in syntax are also discussed. A selection on the role of variation in understanding first language acquisition comprises three papers. Articles in the last section of the volume concern theoretical controversy and methodological advances.


The Limits of Syntactic Variation

The Limits of Syntactic Variation

Author: Theresa Biberauer

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 536

ISBN-13: 9027255156

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Against the background of the past half century s typological and generative work on comparative syntax, this volume brings together 16 papers considering what we have learned and may still be able to learn about the nature and extent of syntactic variation. More specifically, it offers a multi-perspective critique of the Principles and Parameters approach to syntactic variation, evaluating the merits and shortcomings of the pre-Minimalist phase of this enterprise and considering and illustrating the possibilities opened up by recent empirical and theoretical advances. Contributions focus on four central topics: firstly, the question of the locus of variation, whether the attested variation may plausibly be understood in parametric terms and, if so, what form such parameters might take; secondly, the fate of one of the most prominent early parameters, the Null Subject Parameter; thirdly, the matter of parametric clusters more generally; and finally, acquisition issues.


Language Structure, Variation and Change

Language Structure, Variation and Change

Author: Ian E. Mackenzie

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-03-09

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 3030105679

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This book offers an original account of the dynamics of syntactic change and the evolving structure of Old Spanish that combines rigorous manuscript-based investigation, quantitative analysis and a syntactic approach grounded in Minimalist thinking. Its analysis of both successful and failed changes demonstrates the degree of unpredictability caused by the interaction of competing factors and will shed fresh light on the assumed unidirectionality of linguistic change. Importantly, it reveals that Old Spanish and modern Spanish are more similar to one another than is usually supposed and demonstrates that many of the differences between the two varieties are quantitative rather than qualitative. This theoretically sophisticated examination of historical corpora will provide an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Old and modern Spanish, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and syntax.


Explanations in Sociosyntactic Variation

Explanations in Sociosyntactic Variation

Author: Tanya Karoli Christensen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-01-20

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1108492843

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New perspectives on how and why syntax varies between and within speakers, focusing on explaining theoretical backgrounds and methods.


Third Factors in Language Variation and Change

Third Factors in Language Variation and Change

Author: Elly Van Gelderen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-12-16

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1108924468

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In this pioneering study, a world-renowned generative syntactician explores the impact of phenomena known as 'third factors' on syntactic change. Generative syntax has in recent times incorporated third factors – factors not specific to the language faculty – into its framework, including minimal search, labelling, determinacy and economy. Van Gelderen's study applies these principles to language change, arguing that change is a cyclical process, and that third factor principles must combine with linguistic information to fully account for the cyclical development of 'optimal' language structures. Third Factor Principles also account for language variation around that-trace phenomena, CP-deletion, and the presence of expletives and Verb-second. By linking insights from recent theoretical advances in generative syntax to phenomena from language variation and change, this book provides a unique perspective, making it essential reading for academic researchers and students in syntactic theory and historical linguistics.