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Description
Module Content and Indicative Topics
This module explores how human language, and in particular its syntax, is organized, using current European languages to highlight what aspects are shared across all languages and which vary from language to language. In particular, we will examine the internal structure of simple clauses and some of main factors determining their different renditions across several European languages.
The module will cover the following topics:
路 General principles shaping the syntactic structure of simple sentences across human languages.
路 How and why languages differ in the position of subjects (e.g. Irish, Spanish, English).
路 How and why languages differ in the position of verbs and auxiliaries relative to subjects, objects, adverbs, negation, and quantifiers (e.g. Italian, English, German).
路 How and why languages differ in the way they construct questions (e.g. Italian, English, Czech, Bulgarian).
Teaching Delivery
This module normally consists of 10 two-hour face-to-face lectures. The lectures usually also include some practice opportunities where you are asked to analyse specific sentences using the conceptual tools you have learned. You will also be assigned weekly readings and practice exercises. Model answers for the latter will be supplied on Moodle.
By the end of the module, you should be able to:
1. Provide the syntactic representation of simple sentences for several European languages.
2. Understand how minimal differences in syntactic structure determine major differences in the word order of simple sentences across different languages.
3. Determine the fundamental properties and grammar of a new language by checking specific properties in its sentences.
4. Reason rigorously about how specific properties combine into a grammar.
5. Have a clear notion of what 鈥榞rammar鈥� is.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 8th April 2024.
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