Thematic Structure in Syntax (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs) (Volume 23)

This important monograph summarizes, rethinks, and extends a decade of the author's work on therole assignments - the ways in which the roles implied by verbs of a given type play out in terms of position and other syntactic functions. The study of theta roles and the locality of theta-role assignment leads into many interesting areas of linguistic theory, such as scope, the ECP, X-bar theory, binding theory, and the weak crossover condition; Williams's reconstruction thus offers a systematic integration of a remarkably wide range of syntactic phenomena.  Williams starts by outlining a theory of the clause,specifically, of the distribution of Nominative Case and Tense. He then develops a formalism for the notion of"external argument" that is used throughout the rest of the book. Subsequent chapters review the issues surrounding the syntactic expression of the subject-predicate relationship, extend the notion of external argument to include NP movement, and reanalyze the verb movement constructions as deriving from the calculus of theta roles rather than movement.  The last chapter distinguishes referential dependence and coreference, showing that a general Leftness condition governs the former, while the binding theory restated in terms of theta relations governs the latter.  Edwin Williams is Professor of Linguistics at Princeton University.

Thematic Structure in Syntax (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs)

Reference

Williams, Edwin

Words, Language & Grammar

The MIT Press

Representation Theory (Current Studies in Linguistics)

In this theoretical monograph, Edwin Williams demonstrates that when syntax is economical, it economizes on shape distortion rather than on distance. According to Williams, this new notion of economy calls for a new architecture for the grammatical system--in fact, for a new notion of derivation. The new architecture offers a style of clausal embedding--the Level Embedding Scheme--that predictively ties together the locality, reconstructive behavior, and "target" type of any syntactic process in a way that is unique to the model. Williams calls his theory "Representation Theory" to put the notion of economy at the forefront. Syntax, in this theory, is a series of representations of one sublanguage in another.

Foreign Language Study & Reference

On the definition of word (Linguistic inquiry monographs)

On The Definition of Word develops a consistent and coherent approach to central questions about morphology and its relation to syntax. In sorting out the various senses in which the word word is used, it asserts that three concepts which have often been identified with each other are in fact distinct and not coextensive: listemes (linguistic objects permanently stored by the speaker); morphological objects (objects whose shape can be characterized in morphological terms of affixation and compounding); and syntactic atoms (objects that are unanalyzable units with respect to syntax).  The first chapter defends the idea that listemes are distinct from the other two notions, and that all one can and should say about them is that they exist. A theory of morphological objects is developed in chapter two. Chapter three defends the claim that the morphological objects are a proper subset of the syntactic atoms, presenting the authors' reconstruction of the important and much-debated Lexical Integrity Hypothesis. A final chapter shows that there are syntactic atoms which are not morphological objects.  Anne Marie Di Sciullo is in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Quebec. Edwin Williams is in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts. On The Definition of Word is Linguistic Inquiry Monograph 14.

On the Definition of Word (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs)

Di Sciullo, Anna Maria

Mit Pr

In the last 30 years, linguists have built a considerable and highly sophisticated body of work on generative grammar. Today the field is more active than ever before. Introduction to the Theory of Grammar makes available to teachers and students of syntax a comprehensive critical review of the main results of present day grammatical theory and shows how they were achieved. It presents the central questions, shows how and why they were asked, what the answers were, and how these have led to new questions. Part I discusses the way in which the overly rich, descriptive rule systems of the fifties and sixties have gradually been replaced by simpler, more constrained rule systems. Much of the work originally done by stipulations in the rules themselves has been taken over by general, universal principles which govern the form and functioning of these rules and the properties of their inputs and outputs. The establishment of such a theory of principles is the main topic of Part II. Part III addresses the problem of how semantics fits into grammar and elaborates a conception of how the syntactic properties of logical representations can be integrated into the overall theory of grammar. The rules and principles of grammar developed in these parts account for grammatical phenomena in an essentially modular way, and this system of modules, which constitutes the study of grammar today, is established in Part IV. An Epilogue describes such current developments as generalized binding, phrase structure, small clauses, tree geometry and NP-structure. Henk van Riemsdijk is full professor in the Department of Language and Literature, Tilburg University, Holland. Edwin Williams is professor of linguistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Introduction to the Theory of Grammar is twelfth in the series Current Studies in Linguistics.

Introduction to the Theory of Grammar (Current Studies in Linguistics Series)

Van Riemsdik, Henk

This important monograph summarizes, rethinks, and extends a decade of the author's work on therole assignments -- the ways in which the roles implied by verbs of a given type play out in terms of position and other syntactic functions. The study of theta roles and the locality of theta-role assignment leads into many interesting areas of linguistic theory, such as scope, the ECP, X-bar theory, binding theory, and the weak crossover condition; Williams's reconstruction thus offers a systematic integration of a remarkably wide range of syntactic phenomena.
Williams starts by outlining a theory of the clause, specifically, of the distribution of Nominative Case and Tense. He then develops a formalism for the notion of"external argument" that is used throughout the rest of the book. Subsequent chapters review the issues surrounding the syntactic expression of the subject-predicate relationship, extend the notion of external argument to include NP movement, and reanalyze the verb movement constructions as deriving from the calculus of theta roles rather than movement.
The last chapter distinguishes referential dependence and coreference, showing that a general Leftness condition governs the former, while the binding theory restated in terms of theta relations governs the latter.

In this theoretical monograph, Edwin Williams demonstrates that when syntax is economical, it economizes on shape distortion rather than on distance. According to Williams, this new notion of economy calls for a new architecture for the grammatical system--in fact, for a new notion of derivation. The new architecture offers a style of clausal embedding--the Level Embedding Scheme--that predictively ties together the locality, reconstructive behavior, and "target" type of any syntactic process in a way that is unique to the model. Williams calls his theory "Representation Theory" to put the notion of economy at the forefront. Syntax, in this theory, is a series of representations of one sublanguage in another.

MIT Press]

The Napoleon Dynasty: Or, The History Of The Bonaparte Family. An Entirely New Work

History

Lester, Charles Edwards

Europe

Legare Street Press

The Treasury of Knowledge and Library of Reference: A Million of Facts [The Book of Facts, by Samuel L. Knapp, William C. Redfield, and Others

This compendium of useful information is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to expand their knowledge. Comprising over a million facts and figures on topics ranging from history and science to literature and the arts, this volume is a must-have reference for students, researchers, and anyone seeking to broaden their horizons. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Rupp, I D

Biographies & Memoirs

The Sacred Books of the old Testament

World

BiblioLife

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