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Tutorial: an introduction to syntax
1Department of Communicative Disorders, San Diego State University, USA. Shapiro@mail.sdsu.edu
Summary
This paper introduces syntactic theory, exploring word categories, sentence structure, and mental lexicon representation using Chomsky's frameworks. It also covers pronoun reference and applications in normal and disordered language.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Introduces syntactic theory based on Chomsky's Government & Binding and Principles & Parameters frameworks.
- Highlights the importance of understanding sentence structure and word representation in the mental lexicon.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an introductory overview of key aspects of syntactic theory.
- To explain how lexical properties influence syntactic structures and how noun phrases receive information.
- To describe the derivation of non-canonical sentences and pronoun reference.
Main Methods:
- Utilizes established theoretical frameworks, specifically Chomsky's Government & Binding and Principles & Parameters.
- Explains concepts through descriptions of lexical, functional, and phrasal categories.
- Discusses the projection of lexical properties and the assignment of structural and semantic information to noun phrases.
Main Results:
- Describes the composition of clauses and sentences from various word categories.
- Explains the representation of words in the mental lexicon and their projection to syntax.
- Details the derivation of non-canonical sentences and the principles governing pronoun reference.
Conclusions:
- Syntactic theory provides a framework for understanding language knowledge.
- The principles of syntactic theory have applications in studying both normal and disordered language.
- Exploitation of syntactic theory aids in the treatment of language disorders.