ENG 5740/LIN 5300: Syntax
Fall 2010
Course # 12864/12863; Section 001
Time & Place: Tuesday 6:00-9:00p.m., 237 State Hall
Instructor: Professor Ljiljana Progovac, Ph.D.
Office Hours: Tuesday/Wednesday 3:30-5:30
Office: 5057 Woodward, Room 10303.2
Phone: 577-7553
E-mail (best way to reach me): progovac@wayne.edu
Course Content
The course examines the structure of phrases and sentences in English and
other languages, using the framework of one of the most recent theories of
syntax, the Minimalist Program. The goal is not only to discover various
subconscious principles and rules that make up grammars of all human
languages (Universal Grammar), but also to express these rules in the most
economical/minimalist terms possible.
Prerequisites
Lin/Eng 5700
Required Texts (available at Marwil's bookstore)
Adger, D. 2003. Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach. Oxford University
Press.
Moro, A. 2008. The Boundaries of Babel. MIT Press.
Course Requirements and Grading Policy
Course grades will be determined on the basis of two midterm exams (30% of
course grade: 12% + 18%), an in-class final exam (30%), and homework
assignments, surprise quizzes, and class participation (40%). Late homework
will not be accepted. The exams are cumulative. In order to pass the class, the
students must take all the exams. Make-up exams will only be administered in
case of clear emergencies, with verification in writing. Please let me know in
advance if you cannot take an exam as scheduled. Class lectures will
sometimes add to/deviate from the text. Regular attendance, as well as work on
each assignment, is essential for passing this class.
Group Work vs. Plagiarism
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You are encouraged to form study groups with other students in the class.
Students who have done so in the past have done better on the whole than those
who have not. You can work together in order to understand the readings and
exercises better. However, your homework assignments, quizzes and exams
must represent original work done by you alone. Plagiarism is defined as “the
act of using and passing off as one’s own the ideas or writings of another.” An
act of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course and/or report to the
Dean, the Department Chair, and the University Judicial Officer. University
policy concerning plagiarism can be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin,
including the clause: "Academic work submitted by a student for credit is
assumed to be of his/her own creation, and if found not to be, will constitute
cause for the student's dismissal."
Attendance Policy:
Students must attend one of the first two class sessions; otherwise, they may be
required to drop the class.
Disability Clause:
If you have a documented disability that requires accommodations, you will
need to register with Student Disability Services for coordination of your
academic accommodations. The Student Disability Services (SDS) office is
located at 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library in the Student
Academic Success Services department. SDS telephone number is 313-5771851 or 313-577-3365 (TDD only). Once you have your accommodations in
place, I will be glad to meet with you privately during my office hours to
discuss your special needs. Student Disability Services’ mission is to assist the
university in creating an accessible community where students with disabilities
have an equal opportunity to fully participate in their educational experience at
Wayne State University.
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Tentative Syllabus
(Any changes to the syllabus, including homework assignments, will be
announced in class. The assigned chapters must be read, and the homework
must be completed, before each class.)
September
Week 1:
9/7: Syntax and the Human Species, Moro, pp. 1-61
Week 2:
9/14: The Essence of Syntax, Moro, pp. 61-120
Week 3:
9/21: Adger, Chapter 2: Morphosyntactic Features
Adger, Chapter 3: Constituency and Theta Roles
Week 4:
9/28: Adger, Chapter 4: Phrase Structure; Homework 1 due
October
Week 5:
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8:
10/5: Brief Overview
Midterm 1
10/12: Adger, Chapter 5: Functional Categories: TP
10/19: Adger, Chapter 6: Subjects and Objects; Homework 2 due
(see also Koopman and Sportiche 1991)
10/26: Adger, Chapter 7: Functional Categories: DP
(see also Longobardi and Abney)
November
Week 9:
Week 10:
Week 11:
Week 12:
Week 13:
11/2: Overview and Exercises, Homework 3 due
11/9: Midterm 2
11/16: Adger, Chapter 8: Functional Categories: CP
11/23: Adger, Chapter 9: Wh-Movement; Homework 4 due
11/30: Adger, Chapter 10: Locality
December
Week 14:
12/7: Overview and exercises; Course evaluations
Final Exam: Tuesday, December 21, regular class place/time
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Some Suggested Readings
Abney, Steven. 1987. The English Noun Phrase in its Sentential Aspect. MIT
Ph.D. Dissertation (available online on his U-M homepage,
http://www.vinartus.net/spa/87a.pdf)
Baker, M. 1988. Incorporation. University of Chicago Press.
Belletti, A. (ed.). 2004. Structures and Beyond. Oxford.
Boeckx, Cedric. 2008. Bare Syntax. Oxford.
Carnie, Andrew. 2007. Syntax. Oxford.
Chomsky, Noam. 1995. Minimalist Program. MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. 2005. Three factors in language design. Linguistic Inquiry 36.
Deutscher, G. 2005. The Unfolding of Language. Owl books.
Jackendoff, R. 2002. Foundations of Language: Brain, Meaning, Grammar,
Evolution. Oxford University Press.
Johannessen, J. B. 1999. Coordination. Oxford University Press.
Kayne, Richard. 1994. The Antisymmetry of Syntax. MIT Press.
Koopman, H. and D. Sportiche. 1991. The position of subjects. Lingua 85.
Larson, R. 1988. On the double object constructions. Linguistic Inquiry 19.
Longobardi, G. 1994. Reference and Proper Names, Linguistic Inquiry 25.
Merchant, J. 2001. The Syntax of Silence. Oxford.
Moro, A. 2008. The Boundaries of Babel. MIT Press.
Pinker, S. 1994. The Language Instinct. London: Penguin.
Progovac, Paesani, Casielles & Barton, eds., 2006. The Syntax of
Nonsententials… Benjamins.
Radford, A. 1990. Syntactic Theory and the Acquisition of English
Syntax. Blackwell.
Radford, A. 2004. Minimalist Syntax: Exploring the Structure of English,
Cambridge University Press.
Uriagereka, J. 1998. Rhyme and Reason. MIT Press.