Linguistics 522

Introduction to Syntax

Course Description

Goals	The primary goal of the course is to acquaint students with the basic goals and methodlogy of syntactic theory, in the process giving them an introduction to one very influential approach.
Practice	The course will use the textbook Syntax: A Generative Introduction, by Andrew Carnie, available in the campus bookstore. There will be exercises for most of the chapters covered. Please be sure to get the Third Edition. The course begins with an introduction to constituents and trees, introduces some structural concepts such as dominance and C-Command, and then develops some applications such as the Binding Theory, and some theoretical hypotheses, such as X-Bar Theory. The meat of the course is then a treatment of movement of various kinds, including head movement and NP movement. A virtue of the text is that examples and exercises from numerous languages are used, affording the student the opprotunity to evaluate some of the claims made about the universality of the theory.
Pre-requisites	Linguistics 101 or equivalent.
Grading	Grading will be based on exercises and take-home midterms and finals. Midterm 30% Final 30% Exercises: 30% Class participation: 10% Many homeworks are graded loosely, especially at the beginning of the course, since they are regarded as learning experiences. However, the one aspect that homeworks will not be graded loosely on is examples. When you are asked to produce an example of a phenomenon you must create a sentence or word or phrase (whatever is asked for) that meets the requirements. When you make an assertion about a linguistic fact, you must produce an example to illustrate it. When you make an assertion about a linguistic constraint you must give an example. If you make a positive assertion about the language, you must give an example of the kind of form you claim occurs. The English progressive is formed using the verb "to be" combined with an "-ing" form of the verb. John was running to the store. Also (and very important), if you make a negative claim, you must give a plausible example of the kind of form you claim does NOT occur. HAVE constraint: The helping verb "have" never occurs in the progressive (although the main verb "have" sometimes does) Example of the HAVE constraint and a case of the main verb "have" in the progressive. (i) * John was having run to the store. (ii) John was having beef stroganoff for dinner. Non-occurring forms should be marked with a "*". Plausible means that except for the part of the sentence that is relevant to your claim, the sentence should be completely correct. This requirement will be discussed in detail in class.
Late Assignments	The general structure of the course is not well-suited to late assignments. Assignment solutions will be discussed in detail on the day they are turned in, and thus students who turn assignments in late will be at an advantage. However, to allow for some flexibility, late assignments will receive partial credit. Here is the lateness policy: Up to one week late: 50% credit for assignment More than one week late: not accepted
Group Work	Group work is encouraged on the assignments. The midterm and final should be completed without any help. To be clear on this, collaboration or group work on the midterms and finals will be considered cheating. When turning in collaborative assignments, your collaborators should be identified on your paper. One option to explore with respect to group work: You may wish to change groups in mid-semester. This is a good idea. I encourage existing groups to admit new members. Moving around will help you get to know more people and you will probably learn more. On the other hand, if you find a group that is a good fit, there is no requirement that you leave it.
Attendance	Attendance is not a formal part of your grade. However, be aware that participation is, so do the math. Also, hints on how to solve problems on the assignments, the midterms, and the final are handed out liberally in class. These hints will not be posted on the web page. Since the problems can be challenging and the hints can be of great help, problems stemming from non-attendance can cascade.
Office Hours	Tu 12:00-2:00 Th 10:00-12:00

Weekly Syllabus

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Mailing address:
Department of Linguistics and Oriental Languages
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-7727
Telephone: (619) 594-0252
Office location: EBA 321