Teaching
Explaining syntactic universals
A three-week course to be taught at the LSA Linguistic Institute 2005 (MIT) , July 17-August 5
LSA.206
Tuesday/Thursday 2:55-4:35
Stata 32-123
List of topics
July 19
Explanation in functional linguistics and in generative linguistics ( Handout )
(readings: Haspelmath 2004a, Newmeyer 2005, Kiparsky 2004)
July 21
Universals of differential case marking ( Handout )
(readings: Aissen 2003, Kiparsky 2004:§3)
July 26
Universals of ditransitive constructions ( Handout )
(readings: Haspelmath 2004b, Haspelmath 2005a)
July 28
Universals of reflexive marking ( Handout )
(readings: Comrie 1999, Kiparsky 2004:§2, Haspelmath 2005b)
August 2
Universals of causative verb formation ( Handout )
(readings: Haspelmath 1993, Hale 2000)
August 4
Universals of word order ( Handout )
(readings: Hawkins 2004, Newmeyer 2005:§4)
Requirements
If you are taking this class for credit, you'll have to write a short (3-5 pages) paper discussing an issue of your choice that arises in connection with the material covered in the course. This could concentrate on methodology, it could discuss some grammatical data and their interpretation, or it could contribute some statistical usage data (frequency counts) that either confirm or challenge the claims made in the course.
The paper is due on 5 August 2005, 6 pm.
References
(the papers in boldface are included in the reader for the course)
Aissen, Judith. 2003. "Differential object marking: Iconicity vs. economy." Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 21.3: 435-83. (Available from the author's home page.)
Comrie, Bernard. 1999. "Reference-tracking: description and explanation." Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung (STUF) 51: 335–346.
Hale, Ken. 2000. "A Uto-Aztecan ('O'odham) reflection of a general limit on predicate argument structure." In: Casad, Eugene H. & Willett, Thomas L. (eds.) Uto-Aztecan: Structural, temporal and geographic perspectives: Papers in Memory of Wick R. Miller by the friends of Uto-Aztecan. Hermosillo, Sonora: Universidad de Sonora, 155-169.
Haspelmath, Martin. 1993. "More on the typology of inchoative/causative verb alternations." In: Comrie, Bernard & Polinsky, Maria (eds.) Causatives and transitivity. (Studies in Language Companion Series, 23.) Amsterdam: Benjamins, 87-120.
Haspelmath, Martin. 2004a. "Does linguistic explanation presuppose linguistic description?" Studies in Language 28.3: 554-579.
Haspelmath, Martin. 2004b. "Explaining the Ditransitive Person-Role Constraint: a usage-based account." Constructions 2/2004, 49 pp. (free online journal, University of Düsseldorf)
Haspelmath, Martin. 2005a. "Argument marking in ditransitive alignment types."
Haspelmath, Martin. 2005b. "A frequentist explanation of some universals of reflexive marking."
Hawkins, John A. 2004. "Adjacency effects within phrases." Ch. 5 of Hawkins, John A. 2004. Efficiency and complexity in grammars. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 103-146.
Kiparsky, Paul. 2004. "Universals constrain change, change results in typological generalizations." Ms., Stanford University. (Available from the author's home page.)
Newmeyer, Frederick J. 2005. "Parameters, performance and the explanation of typological generalizations." Ch. 3 of forthcoming book: Possible and probable languages: a generative perspective on linguistic typology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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