Syntax

How are sentences constructed and why are they formed in a particular way? These are central questions within Syntax. The course has a general approach and focuses on aspects that are found in all languages. Morphology (how words are constructed) will also be taught.

LING1111 teaches theories which apply to all the languages that are found in the world, and that are also applicable in a computational setting. The course includes Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) and Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), and in connection with these theories an overview of language typology is also given (how languages differ from each other). An introduction will also be given to how computers may be used to document syntactic and morphological data.

The content and focus can vary somewhat according to the composition of the class.

After having taken this topic, the students should

• Understand the most important concepts in structural and functional analysis within morphology and syntax

• Have practical skill in morpho-syntactic analysis

• Have an overview of the most important frameworks in morphology and syntax

Lectures and group instructions. More on assessment: Obligatory exercises have to be approved before the student may take the written exam. The size of the exercises must be between 2-4 A4-pages each, with the use of standard Linguistic formats. In special cases, upon student petition to the Department, a take-home exam may be allowed.