Syntax/Semantics - PHD

Study of language use, its relationship to language structure and context; topics such as speech acts, presupposition, implication, performatives, conversations. Courses for which students receive the grade of P (Pass) do not satisfy requirements for the M.A. or Ph.D. or minor in philosophy. Graduate-level requirements include a greater number of assignments and a higher level of performance.

This course surveys the major landmark works in syntactic theory and examines the development of the discipline from its earliest forms to recent influential works. The papers chosen will either mark particular turning points in syntactic theorizing, or will be representative of the kind of analysis at a particular stage in the development of Syntactic theory.

Introduction to model-theoretic investigations of natural language interpretation, including coordination, quantification, referential relations, tense, aspect and modality.

Study of word and sentence meaning, relationship between the lexicon and the grammar, idioms, metaphor, etymology, and change of meaning.

A continuation of 503, this class compares alternative non-Chomskyan theoretical approaches to syntactic theory. Including Relational Grammar, Head Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, Categorical Grammar and Lexical Functional Grammar.

A continuation of LING 503, Foundations of Syntactic Theory I, taught within the Minimalist approach to syntactic theory, with a focus on principles of theory construction and empirical issues in binding, control, movement, structure, and the interfaces with semantics and morphology.