Linguistics 514 –Elly van Gelderen
Spring 2017 – TTh 10:30-11:45 am, LL 316
E-mail: and home page: http://www.public.asu.edu/~gelderen/elly.htm
Office Hours: T 1-4pm; Th 9:25-10:25 am; and by appointment/e-mail.
Required Text:
Syntax, online textbook, by Elly van Gelderen: http://www.public.asu.edu/~gelderen/SyntaxBook.pdf.
Objectives:
The main objective of this course is to come to understand the nature of syntactic structures. For instance, what are the elements which constitute a sentence and what variation is possible in a sentence. We will discuss issues such as categories and features, phrase structure, reflexives and pronouns, wh-questions, Tense, Mood, Aspect, and Topic/Focus.
A second objective is to introduce Chomsky's (1995) Minimalist Program. Recently, a biolinguistic approach has been reemphasized (Chomsky 2005; 2007) and we will not only discuss what syntax (features, Phrase structure, c-command) is but why it may be that way (demands of other systems). Within Minimalism, cartographic approaches are useful and we will examine the CP-layer, the TP-layer, and the VP-layer. We will try to understand the relationship between universal and language specific principles
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this class, (a) students will know how to provide a structural analysis of a sentence in English and in other well-glossed languages (using CP, TP, vP, DP etc), (b) students will be able to argue why such an analysis is correct, and (c) students will understand the theoretical foundations of generative syntax.
Organization
The classes will be a mixture of lectures, discussions, and syntactic exercises. There is an optional time period for tree drawing (T before class in LL 173N).
Evaluation:
3 Homework Assignments @ 30 points each: 90 points
2 In-class exams @ 30 points each 60
Final paper/project: 50______
200 points
Students are responsible for the material covered in the book, assigned articles and, the class lectures. Electronic assignments/papers cannot be accepted. Points will be converted into a Grade as follows: 200 - 196: A+, 195 - 187: A, 186 - 180: A-, 179 - 175: B+, 174 - 167: B, 166 - 160: B-, 159 - 155: C+, 154 - 140: C, 139 - 120: D, 119 - 0: E. Students are encouraged to discuss homework assignments with each other, but answers should be their own.
The final paper/project should be 10 pages. It should be written in accordance with some Style Sheet. An outline of the paper (of about 2 paragraphs) must be handed in week 8 (even though this must not be thought of as `written in stone'). Paper topics will be provided but the student is free to pick a topic of her/his own choice. Writing one paper for two classes must be discussed with the instructor/s. You are encouraged to hand in a draft before the due date.
Class conduct:
Students are expected to be respectful of each other and that means, for instance, paying attention to what is happening in the class at all times. If you need to have your phone on for anything special, please let Elly know that. Otherwise, please refrain from texting or checking your e-mail/facebook because it detracts. Students are also expected to “act with honesty and integrity, and [they] must respect the rights of others in carrying out all academic assignments” (https://provost.asu.edu/files/AcademicIntegrityPolicyPDF.pdf).
Disability Accommodations:
Qualified students with disabilities who require disability accommodations in this class are encouraged to make their requests to Elly at the beginning of the semester either during office hours or by appointment. Disability information is confidential. Establishing Eligibility for Disability Accommodations: Students who feel they will need disability accommodations in this class but have not registered with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) should contact DRC immediately. That office is located on the first floor of the Matthews Center Building. DRC staff can also be reached at: 480-965-1234 (V), 480-965-9000 (TTY). For additional information, visit: www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/ed/drc. Their hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Tentative Schedule
Week 1 (10-12 January): Review of LIN 510; warming up trees. Chapter 1
Week 2 (17-19 January): Chapter 2.
Week 3 (24-26 January): Chapters 2 and 3; HW 1 due (26 Jan)
Week 4 (31 Jan-2 Feb): Chapter 3
Week 5 (7-9 February): Chapter 4
Week 6 (14-16 February): Chapter 4 and 5; HW 2 due (16 Feb)
Week 7 (21-23 February): Review so far; EXAM 1 (23 Feb)
Week 8 (28 Feb-2 March): Chapter 5; no class on March 2
Week 9: Break from 5-12 March
Week 10 (14-16 March): Chapters 5 and 6
Week 11 (21-23 March): Chapter 6, HW 3 (23 Mar)
Week 12 (28-30 March): Chapters 8-9
Week 13 (4-6 April): Review; EXAM 2 (6 April)
Week 14 (11-13 April): Conclusion, Papers/projects due (13 April)
Week3 15 and 16 (18, 20, 25 and 27 April): Syntax Symposium
Some URLS that may be helpful
Corpora
- http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/lookup.html (BNC);
- http://www.ucl.ac.uk/english-usage/ice/avail.htm (ICE)
- http://childes.psy.cmu.edu (Childes)
- http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/micase (MICASE)
- http://pioneer.chula.ac.th/~awirote/ling/corpuslst.htm (other languages)
videos
- http://elearning.emich.edu/media/Producer/LING/SeelyEpstein.html (video on biolinguistics)
- http://blip.tv/file/471951 (Chomsky 2007)
- http://blip.tv/file/509192 (Jackendoff 2007)
Book series; theses; papers
- http://ling.auf.net/lingBuzz
- http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/dm/theses
Glosses and typological URLs
- http://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/glossing-rules.php (morpheme-by-morpheme glosses)
- www.sil.org/ethnologue: has data on 6703 languages (paper version is good too: 16th ed.)
- http://www.linguistic-typology.org/: the homepage of the Association for Linguistic Typology
- on endangered languages: www.mpi.nl/LAN
- And on tense and aspect at: www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~binnick/TENSE