SYNTAX READING GROUP (preliminary homepage): [UPDATED: FEBRUARY 15, 2006]

The Syntax Reading Group is a circle for students and linguists here in Cyprus to get together regularly and discuss interesting issues in current syntactic theory. If/When I find the time, I will post a proper manifesto and updae this page a little. For now, some basic info.

We're meeting every other Wednesday at 5.30pm in the conference room of the University of Cyprus Department of English Studies during the semester period until April 2006 to read and discuss in detail Noam Chomsky's The Minimalist Program (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995).

The book is now back in the library and can be borrowed. The same goes for an ideal companion, the textbook by Norbert Hornstein, Jairo Nunes, and Kleanthes K. Grohmann, Understanding Minimalism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), referred to as HNG below.

Our (regularly updated) schedule looks as follows:

NOV 7 (M)

"Lexicon"
- sect. 1.1-1.2 (pp. 1-33)

  • c(ategorial)- vs s(emantic)-selection
    - Michalis: Grimshaw (1979)
    - Marina: Pesetsky (1982)
NOV 16 "Properties of C(HL) "
- sect. 1.3.1 (pp. 33-50)
  • [ no assigned readings ]
NOV 30 "D-Structure"
- sect. 1.3.2 (pp. 50-64)
  • X-bar structure
    - Kleanthes: Muysken (1982) a.o.
  • doubly filled Comp filter
    - Michalis: various readings
  • predication / EPP
    Marina: e.g. Williams (1980)
  • psych-verb
    Marina: Belletti & Rizzi (1988)
DEC 14 "S-Structure and Government"
- sect. 1.3.3-1.4.1 (pp. 64-92)
  • [ no assigned readings ]
JAN 25 "Modules"
- sect. 1.4.2-1.5 (pp. 92-127)
  • [ no assigned readings ]
FEB 8 "Economy of Derivation"
- sect. 2.1-2.4 (pp. 129-146)
  • [ no assigned readings ]
FEB 15 "Economy of Representation"
- sect. 2.5-2.7 (pp. 146-162)
  • [ no assigned readings ]
MAR 15 "X-bar Theory & D-Structure"
- sect. 3.1-3.3 (pp. 167-191)
  • phrase structure
    - Michalis: HNG (chap. 6)
  • D-structure
    - Marina: HNG (sect. 2.3.2)
MAR 29 "S-Structure and Extensions"
- sect. 3.4-3.5 (pp. 191-212)
  • S-structure
    - Marina: HNG (sect. 2.3.2)
  • D-structure (recap)
    - Michalis: HNG (sect. 2.3.2)
APR 12 "Computation, Lexicon, Structure "
- sect. 4.1-4.3 (pp. 219-249)
  • [ readings ]
MAY 3 "Move and Interpretability"
- sect. 4.4-4.5 (pp. 249-312)
  • [ readings ]
MAY 10 "Properties of the Computation"
- sect. 4.6-4.9 (pp. 312-348)
  • [ readings ]
MAY 24 "Features, Features, Features"
- sect. 4.10-4.11 (pp. 348-379)
  • [ readings ]