Parameter Hierarchies and Universal Grammar

In this book, Ian Roberts argues that the essential insight of the principles-and-parameters approach to variation can be maintained - albeit in a somewhat different guise - in the context of the minimalist programme. The book represents a significant new contribution to the formal study of cross-linguistic morphosyntactic variation.

List of contents

• Introduction


• 1: Parameters


• 2: Word order and the Final-Over-Final Condition


• 3: Null subjects


• 4: Incorporation


• 5: Verb movement


• 6: Case and alignment


• 7: Wh-movement and negation


• 8: Conclusion: Towards a minimalist theory of syntactic variation

About the author

Ian Roberts is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cambridge, having previously held positions in Geneva, Bangor, and Stuttgart. He has worked extensively on the comparative and historical syntax within the framework of Universal Grammar, with a particular focus on the Germanic, Romance, and Celtic languages. His many books include Diachronic Syntax (OUP, 2007), Agreement and Head Movement (MIT Press, 2010), and The Wonders of Language, or How to Make Noises and Influence People (CUP, 2017). He is the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Universal Grammar (OUP, 2016; paperback 2018).

Summary

In this book, Ian Roberts argues that the essential insight of the principles-and-parameters approach to variation can be maintained - albeit in a somewhat different guise - in the context of the minimalist programme. The book represents a significant new contribution to the formal study of cross-linguistic morphosyntactic variation.

Product details

• Authors: Ian Roberts, Ian (Professor of Linguistics Roberts, Roberts Ian
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.02.2021
• EAN: 9780198871163
• ISBN: 978-0-19-887116-3
• No. of pages: 736
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative linguistics; LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Grammar & Punctuation, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Syntax, Historical & comparative linguistics, Grammar, syntax and morphology, Historical and comparative linguistics, Grammar, syntax