Continuing Syntax: Hierarchy and Locality

by Ian Roberts

Overview

A logical and clear exposition of hierarchy and locality by a leading figure in the field, Continuing Syntax takes students from an introductory level of syntactic theory to an understanding of cutting-edge research in the field. A comprehensive range of topics is covered, including configurationality, head-movement, clause structure, nominal structure, subjacency, barriers and phases, ensuring that students have a thorough understanding of all the main components of contemporary theory. The many example sentences, extensive glossary, end-of-chapter exercises and annotated further reading lists allow readers to embed and extend their knowledge as they progress through the book. A self-contained work ideal for intermediate-level students, this volume also builds on the author's Beginning Syntax, and lays the foundation for a third volume, Comparing Syntax, which introduces formal syntactic typology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009291705
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/30/2025
Series:	Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	48 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ian Roberts is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cambridge and the Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori, Pavia. In 2007 he became an Ordinary Fellow of the British Academy, and between 2019 and 2022 was the Chair of the Linguistics and Philology Section of the British Academy. He has published eight monographs and three textbooks, and has edited several collections of articles.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Goals and basic assumptions; 2. Hierarchy I: phrase structure and grammatical functions; 3. Hierarchy II: c-command, head-movement and locality; 4. Hierarchy & categories I: refining the structure of the clause and the VP; 5. Hierarchy & categories II: the structure of nominals; 6. Case and the nature of infinitives; 7. Features, case and agreement; 8. Hierarchy and linear order; 9. The origins of hierarchy: bare phrase structure; 10. Wh-movement: unbounded dependencies, islands, subjacency and barriers; 11. Covert movement, copy theory and reconstruction; 12. Phases and phase impenetrability; 13. Types of locality: phases and relativised minimality; 14. The syntax of silence I: ellipsis; 15. The syntax of silence II: empty pronouns; 16. Wrapping up: parameters, features and futures.