Edinburgh Studies in Theoretical Linguistics EUP: Lexical Structures by Heinz Giegerich download DOC, MOBI, EPUB
9780748624614 0748624619 An original study of both structural entities originating in the lexicon, and the structural characteristics of the lexicon as a module of formal grammar, this book makes two contributions to our understanding of the formal grammar of English. Firstly, it presents a coherent theory of 'compounding' in English. There is a long-standing but unresolved dispute in the literature as to whether certain constructions (e.g. LONDON ROAD, DENTAL TREATMENT) are compound words or syntactic phrases. The question is important because in other cases the distinction is clear-cut (RING ROAD, FREE TREATMENT respectively), and because it impinges on central assumptions regarding the organisation of the grammar. Secondly, the book suggests an alternative to the commonly assumed sharp division of the grammar into the 'lexicon' and the 'syntax'. The lexicon-syntax distinction facilitates important new insights in the nature of compounding in English. However, Heinz Giegerich argues that the Lexicalist assumption of a sharp divide between the modules cannot be upheld: the two modules overlap, such that there are constructions in English that are simultaneously compound and phrase. He suggests an alternative, tripartite, structure comprising three successive, and significantly overlapping, modules: the lexicon proper, the morphology and the syntax. The book illustrates a grammar that is rather different from that envisaged in Lexicalism (while still retaining that theory's basic insights) and provides a better understanding of some of the most recalcitrant problems in English word formation., Bringing together the subjects of English compounding and Chomsky's theory of Lexicalism, Heinz Giegerich demonstrates in this new study the impossibility of drawing a line between compounds and phrases, and therefore between the lexicon and the syntax, the two grammatical modules of Lexicalism. Proposing a new model of grammatical modularity, where the lexicon and the syntax overlap 'like slates on a roof', Giegerich examines long-standing and unresolved questions about the difference between English compounds and phrases. With its detailed study of compound words in English and its comprehensive analysis of Lexicalism's theoretical framework, Lexical Structures: Compounding and the Modules of Grammar will be of profound interest for all researchers and students with an interest in English linguistics, and in morphological, syntactic or phonological theory., This book makes two major contributions to our understanding of the formal grammar of English. Firstly, it presents a coherent theory of 'compounding' in English. There is a long-standing but unresolved dispute in the literature as to whether certain constructions (e.g. LONDON ROAD, DENTAL TREATMENT) are compound words or syntactic phrases. The question is important because in other cases the distinction is clear-cut (RING ROAD, FREE TREATMENT respectively), and because it impinges on central assumptions regarding the organisation of the grammar. Secondly, the book suggests an alternative to the commonly assumed sharp division of the grammar into the 'lexicon' and the 'syntax'. Heinz Giegerich argues that the Lexicalist assumption of a sharp divide between the modules cannot be upheld and that the two modules overlap so that there are constructions in English that are simultaneously compound and phrase. He suggests an alternative, tripartite, structure comprising three successive, and significantly
9780748624614 0748624619 An original study of both structural entities originating in the lexicon, and the structural characteristics of the lexicon as a module of formal grammar, this book makes two contributions to our understanding of the formal grammar of English. Firstly, it presents a coherent theory of 'compounding' in English. There is a long-standing but unresolved dispute in the literature as to whether certain constructions (e.g. LONDON ROAD, DENTAL TREATMENT) are compound words or syntactic phrases. The question is important because in other cases the distinction is clear-cut (RING ROAD, FREE TREATMENT respectively), and because it impinges on central assumptions regarding the organisation of the grammar. Secondly, the book suggests an alternative to the commonly assumed sharp division of the grammar into the 'lexicon' and the 'syntax'. The lexicon-syntax distinction facilitates important new insights in the nature of compounding in English. However, Heinz Giegerich argues that the Lexicalist assumption of a sharp divide between the modules cannot be upheld: the two modules overlap, such that there are constructions in English that are simultaneously compound and phrase. He suggests an alternative, tripartite, structure comprising three successive, and significantly overlapping, modules: the lexicon proper, the morphology and the syntax. The book illustrates a grammar that is rather different from that envisaged in Lexicalism (while still retaining that theory's basic insights) and provides a better understanding of some of the most recalcitrant problems in English word formation., Bringing together the subjects of English compounding and Chomsky's theory of Lexicalism, Heinz Giegerich demonstrates in this new study the impossibility of drawing a line between compounds and phrases, and therefore between the lexicon and the syntax, the two grammatical modules of Lexicalism. Proposing a new model of grammatical modularity, where the lexicon and the syntax overlap 'like slates on a roof', Giegerich examines long-standing and unresolved questions about the difference between English compounds and phrases. With its detailed study of compound words in English and its comprehensive analysis of Lexicalism's theoretical framework, Lexical Structures: Compounding and the Modules of Grammar will be of profound interest for all researchers and students with an interest in English linguistics, and in morphological, syntactic or phonological theory., This book makes two major contributions to our understanding of the formal grammar of English. Firstly, it presents a coherent theory of 'compounding' in English. There is a long-standing but unresolved dispute in the literature as to whether certain constructions (e.g. LONDON ROAD, DENTAL TREATMENT) are compound words or syntactic phrases. The question is important because in other cases the distinction is clear-cut (RING ROAD, FREE TREATMENT respectively), and because it impinges on central assumptions regarding the organisation of the grammar. Secondly, the book suggests an alternative to the commonly assumed sharp division of the grammar into the 'lexicon' and the 'syntax'. Heinz Giegerich argues that the Lexicalist assumption of a sharp divide between the modules cannot be upheld and that the two modules overlap so that there are constructions in English that are simultaneously compound and phrase. He suggests an alternative, tripartite, structure comprising three successive, and significantly