HG4041: Theories of Grammar

Instructor: Francis Bond, 2020, 2017, ...

This course covers fundamental concepts in syntactic analysis such as part of speech types, constituent structure, the syntax-semantics interface, and phenomena such as complementation, raising, control, passive and long-distance dependencies. We will emphasize formally precise encoding of linguistic analyses. Through the course, we will progressively build up a consistent grammar for a fragment of English. Problem sets will introduce data and phenomena from other languages. We will start and finish by comparing various approaches to the study of syntax.

Seminars may be shared with the graduate course HG7012 Topics in Theoretical Syntax.

If you enjoyed this, then you may also enjoy Grammar Engineering.

Wed 14:30–18:30; Tutorial Room + 29 - LHS The Hive: LHS-B2-06 ( LHS-TR+29)

Course Outline

Lecture	Date	Topics	Readings	Problems
1	12 Aug	Introduction to HPSG	SWB: Ch 1, 2	1
2	19 Aug	Feature Structures	SWB: Ch 3	1, 3
3	26 Aug	Complex Feature Structures	SWB: Ch 4 Introduction to Overleaf and LaTex HPSG and LaTeX (to get you started)	1, 5, 6
4	02 Sep	Semantics & How the Grammar Works	SWB: Ch 5, 6.1, 6.2 (6.3 only if you feel like it)	5: 1; 6: 1, 3, 4, 5
5	09 Sept	Binding	SWB: Ch 7	6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 7.2
6	16 Sept	The Structure of the Lexicon: (Types; Rules)	SWB: Ch 8	1, 2, 6 (mid-term)
7	23 Sept	Realistic Grammar	SWB: Ch 9	1
		Recess
8	07 Oct	Dummies and Idioms (Passives)	SWB: Ch 11 (Ch 10)	1, 3, 4
9	14 Oct	Raising and Control	SWB: Ch 12	1, 2, 4, 6
10	21 Oct	Long Distance Dependencies	SWB: Ch 14	1, 2, 3 (final)
11	29 Oct (Thu) 14:30-16:30	Syntax in the Minimalist tradition Michael 芳貴 ERLEWINE (mitcho)	https://ntu-sg.zoom.us/j/94046668659	Guest Lecture
12	04 Nov	Sign-based Construction Grammar; Group Presentations	SWB: Ch 16 Introduction to SBCG Ivan A. Sag (2011) Ling 7800-065)
	20 Nov	Research Paper Hard copy due by 17:00 (pdf by email ok)

Textbooks, References and Links

Sag, Wasow and Bender 2003 Syntactic Theory: A Formal Introduction 2nd ed. CSLI (required) ebook

Andrew Carnie 2006. Syntax: A Generative Introduction 2nd ed. Blackwell
Hans C. Boas and Ivan A. Sag (eds) 2012. Sign-Based Construction Grammar CSLI Publications.
Chapter 1: Introducing Sign-Based Construction Grammar (Sag, Boas and Kay)
Chapter 3: An Informal Synopsis (Sag)
Borsley, Robert D. 1999. Syntactic Theory: A Unified Approach. Hodder Arnold.
Bresnan, Joan. 2001. Lexical Functional Syntax. Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell.
Chomsky, Noam. 1965. Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Chomsky, Noam. 1981. Lectures on government and binding/the Pisa lectures. 7th Edn. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Croft, William. 2001. Radical construction grammar: syntactic theory in typological perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Foley, William A. and Robert D. Van Valin Jr. 1984. Functional syntax and universal grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Li, Charles N. (ed.) 1976. Subject and topic. New York: Academic Press.
Pollard, Carl and Ivan Sag 1994 Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar. CSLI Publications
Bybee, Joan. 2010. Language, usage and cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Van Valin, Robert D. 1993. Advances in role and reference grammar. New York and Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Van Valin, Robert D. And Randy J. LaPolla. 1997. Syntax: structure, meaning and function. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

HPSG page at Ohio State
DELPH-IN (DEep Linguistic Processing with HPSG INiative)
HPSG Bibliography

Learning Outcome

By the end of this course students will be able to:

Recognize certain classes of syntactic phenomena
Build analyses of those phenomena in a precise framework
Apply the process of building a formalized analysis to test linguistic hypotheses
Use LaTeX to format linguists papers

Other LaTeX resources

Course Assessment components

Mid-term paper (take home: testing critical concepts) 20%
End-term paper (take home: testing critical concepts) 20%
In-class presentation of a theoretical model 20%
Research Paper 40%

Resources

Guidelines to Submitting Written Work for the Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies: Useful advice on citation, transcription, formatting
My (Computational) Linguistics Style Guide for producing beautiful papers
LaTeX for Linguists for even more
NTU code of academic integrity Proper citation is important: failure to cite is plagiarism — fail subject

Course materials are heavily inspired by Ling 566 Introduction to Syntax for Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington. Thanks to Emily Bender for letting us use them.