Grammar and its interfaces
SYLLABUS
Teachers: Javier Fernández Sánchez (javier.fernandez.sanchez@uab.cat) and Francesc Torres-Tamarit (francescjosep.torres@uab.cat)
2nd semester, Fridays, 13h-15h
UAB, Filosofa i Lletres, classroom ?
GOALS
This course presents the core grammatcal topics that a theory of language must study at the morphosyntax-phonology interface and the syntax-semantcs interface. It introduces some case studies that are specially relevant in theoretcal linguistcs.
At the end of the course, students should be acquainted with:
- Current theoretcal perspectves on the morphology- and syntax-phonology interface and the syntax-semantcs interface.
- An overview of some hot topics that are currently being investgated in formal approaches to these interfaces.
CONTENTS
BLOCK I: Francesc Torres-Tamarit
1. Phonology and the mapping from lexical phonological structure to surface representaton
2. The morphosyntax-phonology interface: Stratal Optmality Theory
3. Phonologically-conditoned allomorph selecton
BLOCK 2. Javier Fernández Sánchez
4. Ellipsis at the syntax-semantcs interface
5. Introducton to ellipsis, testng for missing structure
6. The licensing of ellipsis
7. Semantc vs syntactc identty and mismatches
8. Island repair vs island evasion
9. Nominal ellipses
EVALUATION
The assessment for this course will be based on two exams, each contributng 30% towards the final grade. The frst exam will evaluate topics covered in teaching blocks 1-3, while the second exam will assess material covered in teaching blocks 4-9. These exams will require students to demonstrate not only a solid understanding of the course material, but also critcal thinking and efectve writng skills. Students will be expected to apply their knowledge to tackle novel empirical and analytcal problems.
Furthermore, an additonal 40% of the fnal grade will be allocated to the completon and presentaton of exercises, which might be complete in the classroom. This component aims to assess students’ ability to use their knowledge and apply it in new discussions, enhancing their overall learning experience.
Re-evaluaton: In the event that a student receives a fnal grade below 5 (within the range of 3 - 4.9), they may opt for a re-evaluaton via a single fnal exam if they intend to pass the course. Successful completon of this exam will result in a fnal grade of 5.
Examinaton-based assessment
Under exceptonal and justfed circumstances a single examinaton (100% of the grade) can be scheduled. Re-evaluaton of this assessment can only be considered for students having failed with grades ranging from 3 to 4.9. The maximum final grade can only be 5.
REFERENCES
Block 1:
Bermúdez-Otero, R. (2018). Stratal phonology. In S.J. Hannahs & A. R. K. Bosch (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Phonological Theory, 100-134. London: Routledge.
Bonet, E. (2023). Phonologically conditoned allomorphy. In P. Ackema, S. Bendjaballah, E. Bonet &
A. Fábregas (eds), The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Morphology, 1736-1760. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Embick, D. (2010). Localism versus Globalism in Morphology and Phonology. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Inkelas, S. 2011. The interacton between phonology and morphology. In J. Goldsmith, J. Riggle & A.
C. L. Yu (eds.), The Handbook of Phonological Theory. 2nd editon, 68-102. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
McCarthy, J. (2007). What is Optmality Theory? Language and Linguistcs Compass 93. Retrieved from htps://scholarworks.umass.edu/linguist_faculty_pubs/93.
McCarthy, J. (2007) Derivatons and levels of representaton. The Cambridge Handbook of
Phonology 33. Retrived from: htps://scholarworks.umass.edu/linguist_faculty_pubs/33.
McCarthy, J. (2008). Doing Optmality Theory: Applying Theory to Data. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Nevins, A. (2011). Phonologically conditoned allomorph selecton. In M. van Oostendorp, C. J.
Ewen, E. Hume, K. Rice (eds), The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Phonology, 2357-2382. Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell.
Torres-Tamarit, F. To appear. Optmality Theory. In Nesi, Hilary, Petar Milin (eds), Internatonal Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistcs. Elsevier.
Trommer, J. (ed.). 2012. The Morphology and Phonology of Exponence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Block 2:
Aelbrecht, Lobke (2010). The syntactc licensing of ellipsis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Baltn, Mark (2012). ‘Deleton Versus Pro-Forms: An Overly Simple Dichotomy?’ Natural Language and Linguistc Theory 30(2). 381–423.
Barros, Mat, Patrick Elliot and Gary Thoms (2014). There is no island repair. Ms., Unpublished.
Brucart, José M., Ángel J. Gallego & Javier Fernández Sánchez (2023). ‘Ellipsis in the Romance
Languages’. The Oxford Research Encyclopedia on Romance Linguistcs. Oxford: OUP.
Fox, Danny, and Howard Lasnik (2003). ‘Successive-cyclic movement and island repair: The
diference between sluicing and VP-ellipsis’. Linguistc Inquiry 34:143–154.
Hankamer, Jorge, and Ivan A. Sag (1976). ‘Deep and surface anaphora’. Linguistc Inquiry 7:391–428
Johnson, Kyle (2001). ‘What VP ellipsis can do, and what it can’t, but not why’. In The handbook of
contemporary syntactc theory, ed. Mark R. Baltn and Chris Collins, 439–479. Blackwell Publishers.
Johnson, Kyle (2009). ‘Gapping is not (VP) ellipsis’. Linguistc Inquiry 40: 289-328.
Merchang, Jason (2001). The syntax of silence: sluicing, islands and the theory of ellipsis. Oxford: OUP.
Ross, John Robert. 1969. ‘Guess who?’ In R. Binnick, A. Davidson, G. Green & J. Morgan (eds.),
Papers from the 5th regional meetng of the Chicago Linguistc Society, 252–286. Chicago Linguistc Society.
Weir, Andrew (2014). Fragments and clausal ellipsis. PhD thesis, University of Massachusets, Amherst.