Department of Linguistics

Linguistics 222-3

Introduction to Syntax

Course Chair: Dr. Richard C. DeArmond
Office: CC 9204
Phone 291-3545
Fax: 291-5659
E-mail: dearmond@sfu.ca
Language Lab: :AQ 3020, 291-4698
My Home Page: http://www.sfu.ca/~dearmond

Course Outline
Linguistics Home Page
Language Lab Home Page

Language Lab: AQ 3020, 291-4698: hours open: 8:00 am - 6:30 pm M-R, 8:00 - 5:00 pm F.

Note: All students must take the exams at the required and posted times. No exceptions will be considered except for illness and death.

Prerequisites: L220

Contents: Course Description | Texts | Structure of Course | Keywords | Exercises | Model of Grammar | Quizzes | Grading | Computer Programs and Programming Language | On Line | Marks

Course Description:

Linguistics 222 covers introductory syntax:

Week 1

• definitions (222)
• 3 Goals of a Linguistic Theory
• parts of speech

Week 2

• phrase structures
• tests for NP (htm)
• tests for VP, PP, AP
• tests for VP, PP, AP (pdf)
• logical structure of the phrase

Week 3

• basic verb classes
• auxiliary verbs
• theta roles
• complements

Week 4

• auxiliary verbs
• C-command
• adjunction
• conjunction
• projection of X

Week 5

• subjects
• pro-forms
• complementizers
• the three basic structures

Week 6

• modifier vs complement
• determiners
• definiteness and possession

Week 7

• phrasal verbs
• X-bar.theory

Week 8

• irregular verb classes
• the lexicon

Week 9

• ambiguity
• language mistakes
• Legal Syntactic Structure

Week 10

• function
• recursion  
• propositional content

Week 11

• subcategorization
• VP1 - VP2 - VP3 - VP4
• direct object
• oblique object

Texts:

Required Text:

• Transformational Grammar: A First Course, by Andrew Radford, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 521 34750 5

Recommended Reading (in part):

Syntactic Argumentation and the Structure of English, by Scott Soames & David Perlmutter. (1979). Berkeley: University of California Press. Library Catalogue: P 291 P4

• A concise introduction to syntactic theory : the government- binding approach, by Elizabeth A. Cowper. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1992. ISBN= 0226116468. Library Catalogue: P 158.2 C6 1992.
• Bloomsbury Grammar Guide, by Gordon Jarvie. (1993). London: Bloomsbury.
• English Syntax, by Roderick A. Jacobs. (1995). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-434277-8. Library Catalogue: P 291 P4
• Understanding English Grammar: a Linguistic Approach, by Ronald Wardhaugh. (1995). Oxford: Blackwell.
• An Introduction to Configurational Syntax by Richard C. DeArmond. (1998). This manuscript will be made available on the WWW network.

   

  • Click here to read manuscript.

Structure of the Course:

The course is divided into two sections:

• Goals and structure
• Phrase markers and structure

Keywords

Keywords for L222

A Model of Grammar

Model of Grammar.

Exercises:

Source of Exercises

• Exercises will be drawn primarily from the main text plus a few added by the course instructor. It is the student's responsibility to obtain the exercises for each and follow the instructor's guide.

List of Exercises to be Completed

• Click here for list of exercises (S 01).

Cgram, Syntax Structure Testing (programmed       exercises and a grammar.)

• Some exercises may be selected using Cgram, a program being designed for syntax students as an aid to learning syntax which is designed to teach specific modules such as c-command, dominance, sisterhood, and government, and so forth.

Late Exercises

• 50% will be taken for exercises not turned in at the end of class on the day required, and 70% per week will be taken off for exercises late by 24 hours., unless excused by presenting a doctor's note or if there is an extenuating circumstance such as a death in the family. No other excuses will be acceptable. All grade discrepancies must be settled by the end of the last week of classes in the semester.

Stapled Exercises

 

• All homework must be stapled together. 10% will be taken off for unstapled homework

Quizzes

There will be one midterm exam and a final exam. The final exam is cumulative covering all topics covered in class.

Sample Midterm

Sample Final

Mid Term Answers

Course Grading

The assignments will count for a total of 10% of the final grade, the midterm exam 40% of the final grade, and the final exam 50% of the final grade. Grading will be determined on the curve. The following range is a guideline only: 100%-87% = A, 86%-78% = B, 59%-74% = C, 55% -58% = D, 54% - 0% - F.

On Line

All students are expected to know how to access the web. Information about the course is available on the web, and the web is frequently updated. Information about homework and answers to exams will be made available on the web at the appropriate time. Students should read the notes that are to be covered in the next lecture before class.

Note!

The best place to download Netscape and Acrobat Reader is in the Language Lab. It is located in AQ 3020 near the foot of the stairs leading up to the 9th floor where the Dept.. of Linguistics is. I will set up an introductory session on how to use the lab and access Netscape leading you through selected parts of my homepage and the course outline. Times will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Click on the following for a discussion exercise on building a grammar from virtually nothing: building a grammar.1 or click on the following to go directly to the first discussion on building the syntax: building a grammar 5. This section is optional, but linguistics majors and minors should find it interesting and useful.

For an informal evaluation of this WWW site and L222, click on evaluation

Marks 222

Contents: Course Description | Texts | Structure of Course | Keywords | Syllabus | Keywords | Exercises | Model of Grammar | Quizzes | Grading | Computer Programs and Programming Language | On Line | Marks

This page last updated 11 JA 2001