The Syntax of French

by Paul Rowlett

Overview

French is a syntactically interesting language, with aspects of its word order and clause structure triggering a variety of important developments in syntactic theory. This is a concise and accessible guide to the syntax of Modern French, providing a clear overview of those aspects of the language that are of particular interest to linguists. A broad variety of topics are covered, including the development and spread of French; the evolution of its syntax; syntactic variation; lexical categories; noun, verb and adjective phrases; clause structure; movement; and agreement. Drawing on the work of a wide range of scholars, it highlights the important role of French in the development of syntactic theory and shows how French challenges some fundamental assumptions about syntactic structure. An engaging and in-depth guide to all that is interesting about French, The Syntax of French will be invaluable to students and scholars of syntactic theory and comparative linguistics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521542999
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/08/2007
Series:	Cambridge Syntax Guides
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Paul Rowlett is Head of the School of Languages at Salford University, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Lexical categories; 3. The extended noun phrase: DP*; 4. The extended verb phrase: IP*; 5. The left clause periphery.

Editorial Reviews

'… a concise and well-written introduction to French syntax which does not require any prior knowledge of French.' www.roterdorn.de

'… thoroughly researched, well argued, and extremely interesting. … [an] outstanding contribution to the Cambridge Syntax Guides series.' The French Review

From the Publisher