- Department: Language and Linguistic Science
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
- See module specification for other years: 2023-24
This module introduces you to the study of the structure of words and sentences. You will learn how to analyse structure using syntactic tests and how to represent structure by drawing labelled trees. You will also engage with the core areas of research in syntax and be able to formulate broad research questions in each area.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
This module introduces you to the study of the syntactic subcomponent of the language faculty. Specifically, you will study the general principles underlying word and sentence structure. You will work towards learning a theory of grammar, which represents the knowledge that native speakers have about the structure of their language. You will learn how to analyse structure through the use of syntactic tests and diagnostics and how to represent structure by drawing labelled trees. You will develop core analytical skills in solving linguistic problems and learn to communicate your solutions effectively and succinctly.
Select and apply appropriate syntactic diagnostics to a wide range of novel constructions
Identify core areas of syntactic research and be able to articulate broad research questions for each area
Synthesise different aspects of your knowledge about structural properties to propose basic analyses for syntactic constructions
Identify key patterns in data sets and express their distribution in terms of key syntactic concepts
Formulate and explicitly state theoretical generalisations about syntactic phenomena
Identify the lexical category of English words
Apply syntactic tests for constituency
Identify clause boundaries in complex sentences
Identify different types of verbal category
Identify grammatical functions, such as subjects and objects
Draw trees and labelled brackets for basic English sentences
Identify major clause types: passive, relatives, interrogatives etc.
We aim to cover the following topics in this module:
The scientific study of linguistic structure
Hierarchical structure
Constituency tests
Heads and phrases
Lexical vs functional categories
Functional categories within TP, VP, DP
Syntactic movement
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
None
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Every week, you will do exercises and receive in-class oral feedback
For submitted assessments, you will receive individual written feedback within 25 working days of your submission.
TBA