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Syntax (2013-31376-T1)
Estudi: Màster en
Curs: 2013-2014
Trimestre: 1r
Nombre de crèdits ECTS:
Hores de dedicació de l'estudiant:
Tipus d'assignatura:
Professor/s: Josep M. Fontana
Llengua de docència: Anglès
1. Presentació de l'assignatura
This course explores the basic principles of the syntax of natural languages. Through the examination of some syntactic structures and phenomena of English and other languages of the world we will gradually build some of the essential components of a theoretical model that attempts to describe the kind of knowledge native speakers of a language have about the properties and behavior of such structures.
A vital component of this course is the assigned readings and weekly exercises. Periodically students will work individually or in groups to analyze different types of data in order to become acquainted with a variety of syntactic phenomena and familiarize themselves with some of the formalisms and analytical techniques used in contemporary syntactic theories to describe the structural properties of sentences. Active participation in the resolution of the problems presented by the assignments as well as in the subsequent class discussions is essential to developing argumentation and analytical skills tested on the exam.
2. Competències que s'han d'assolir
- Critical and analytical thinking skills
- Analysis of syntactic data
- Argumentation skills
3. Continguts
1. Philosophical underpinnings of contemporary syntactic theories: what do syntacticians study and why do they study it in the way they do?
2. Models and theories in science. Models and theories of syntactic knowledge.
3. Constituents and phrase structure rules.
4. X-bar Theory
5. Thematic roles and argument structure.
6. Syntax and semantic interpretation: obtaining meaning from structure.
7. Alternative approaches to the study of syntactic phenomena.
4. Avaluació i recuperació
Homework assignments: 50%
Final exam: 50%
5. Metodologia: activitats formatives
Homework assignments. In class discussions and practical exercises.
6. Bibliografia bàsica de l'assignatura
Kim, Jong-Bok and Sells, Peter (2008) English syntax: an introduction. Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes. CSLI Publications.
Van Valin, Robert D. (2001). An introduction to syntax. Cambridge University Press.
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