Last update: December 16, 2004 [post-course]

ERGÄNZUNGSSEMINAR SPRACHWISSENSCHAFT:

ENGLISH SYNTAX BEYOND THE SURFACE

Englisches Seminar , Universität zu Köln

Summer Semester 2003: Thursdays, 14.00-16.00 – Room 87

Kleanthes Grohmann – kleanthes AT punksinscience.org
Office: Room 104 – Hours: Thursdays, 16.00-18.00
www.punksinscience.org/kleanthes – Tel.: x2821

Welcome to the course website for the Ergänzungsseminar Sprachwissenschaft: English Syntax beyond the Surface. Here you'll find the course description, which you can also view or download as a PDF-file, and updates. I might make additional readings available online or post class notes and summaries. Feel free to bookmark these pages: http:/www.punksinscience.org/kleanthes/courses/UK03S/ESBTS.

LATEST NEWS: I WILL MAKE MORE READINGS AND INFO AVAILABLE SOON -- I HOPE!

• class on July 3 has to be cancelled (June 4)
• today I put a reference sheet for the tree-font Arboreal in the Handapparat (May 8)
• remember to read up on (at least) c-command, government, argument structure

You can draw all trees by hand! If you want to draw your tress as neatly as I do, however, you should purchase Arboreal for Windows (ArborWin) or Arboreal for Macintosh from Cascadilla Press. ArborWin and Arboreal work just like any other font. So buy the font from Cascadilla Press and install it in your Fonts folder ("Schriftarten"): Einstellungen --> Systemsteuerung --> Schriftarten. In MS Word, if you go to "Insert Symbol" ("Einf?gen" --> "Symbol/Sonderzeichen") you see all our favourite tree-parts. Play with it, I can give you more directions when you ask me.

Downloads:

DESCRIPTION

In this class we will look beyond the surfacey syntax of English (Radford 1997) and pay particular attention to the architecture of the grammar: the connection between the syntactic computation, Spell Out, and the interface components PF and LF. We will discuss material from Adger (2003), chapters from a textbook I? currently writing in collaboration, and other articles which will be made available in the Handapparat; you don? need to buy any textbook.

Readings:
Adger, David. 2003. Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hornstein, Norbert, Jairo Nunes & Kleanthes K. Grohmann. 2003. Understanding Minimalism. An Introduction to Minimalist Syntax.
[This is a textbook in progress, to appear with Cambridge University Press; I will put selected chapters in Handapparat.]
Radford, A. 1997. Syntax: A Minimalist Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

REQUIREMENTS

Prerequisite for this seminar is a fair knowledge of generative syntax, preferably in Government and Binding Theory (GB) and/or the Minimalist Program (MP). There will be no assignments except reading. Preparing each class with the suggested reading will ensure straightforward lecturing. Lecturing is what I intend to do, but I really hope for active participation.

Students may obtain a Schein for this class for a short paper. I will suggest some possible topics shortly.

GRADING

If you take this seminar for credit, you may go for a Schein, which will be given on the basis of a short paper. This should be around 6-8 pages or ca. 3,000 words. You are free to choose your topic, but it should relate to the course material. Please arrange it with me in due time, and feel free to come by and discuss your progress with me. The paper is due the day before last class.