Understanding Minimalism

by Norbert Hornstein, Jairo Nunes, Kleanthes K. Grohmann

Overview

Understanding Minimalism, first published in 2005, is an introduction to the Minimalist Program - the model of syntactic theory within generative linguistics. Accessibly written, it presents the basic principles and techniques of the minimalist program, looking firstly at analyses within Government and Binding Theory (the Minimalist Program's predecessor), and gradually introducing minimalist alternatives. Minimalist models of grammar are presented in a step-by-step fashion, and the ways in which they contrast with GB analyses are clearly explained. Spanning a decade of minimalist thinking, this textbook will enable students to develop a feel for the sorts of questions and problems that minimalism invites, and to master the techniques of minimalist analysis. Over 100 exercises are provided, encouraging them to put these skills into practice. Understanding Minimalism will be an invaluable text for intermediate and advanced students of syntactic theory, and will set a solid foundation for further study and research within Chomsky's minimalist framework.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781139931083
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/15/2005
Series:	Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	22 MB
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About the Author

Norbert Hornstein is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Maryland.
Jairo Nuñes is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
Kleanthes Grohmann is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cyprus.

Table of Contents

1. The minimalist project; 2. Some architectural issues in a minimalist setting; 3. Theta domains; 4. Case domains; 5. Movement and minimality effects; 6. Phrase structure; 7. Linearization; 8. Binding theory; 9. Feature interpretability and feature checking; 10. Derivational economy.