Radical Construction Grammar: Syntactic Theory in Typological Perspective by Wil

Description: Radical Construction Grammar by William Croft An important and original work by one the worlds leading linguistic theorists. Radical Construction Grammar presents a profound critique of syntactic theory, offers a new approach to syntax, and uncovers the real universals of grammar. It will particularly interest those concerned with theories of grammar and language typology, and with mind/language relations. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Radical Construction Grammar presents a profound critique of syntactic theory and argumentation, and offers a genuinely new approach to syntax based on the fact of grammatical diversity. Recent syntactic theories are essentially formal models for the representation of grammatical knowledge and posit complex syntactic structures in the analysis of sentences. The result has been a endless cycle of new and revised theories of syntactic representation.Radical Construction Grammar argues that this approach to syntax is incompatible with the grammatical variation found within and across languages. This book defends three fundamental theses: (i)constructions are the primitive units of syntactic representation, and grammatical categories are defined by constructions, not the other way around; (ii) the only syntactic structures are the part-whole relations between a construction and the syntactic elements that make it up; (iii) not only are grammatical categories construction-specific, but constructions are language-specific. In other words, syntactic structure is almost entirely language-specific; attempts to find a universal formalmodel are doomed to failure. Radical Construction Grammar integrates concepts from typological theory and construction grammar to uncover the genuine universals of grammar. Constructions arerepresented as complex symbolic units pairing form and meaning. The semantic map model of typological theory is used to map category distributions on a largely universal conceptual space. Universals of grammar are found in the mapping of meaning onto form. Systematic patterns of grammatical variation provide evidence for the topography of conceptual space, which in turn reflects the geography of the human mind. Author Biography William Croft received his Ph.D. in linguistics at Stanford University in 1986. His publications includeTypology and Universals (1990), Syntactic Categories and Grammatical Relations (1991), Studies in Typology and Diachrony (coedited with Keith Denning and Suzanne Kemmer, 1990), Explaining Language Change: An Evolutionary Approach (2000), and a large number of scholarly articles. His current research areas include syntax,semantics, typology, and historical linguistics. Forthcoming books include Cognitive Linguistics (with D. Alan Cruse) and Verbs: Aspect and Argument Structure. Table of Contents Part I: Against Syntactic Categories as Theoretical Primitives1: Syntactic Argumentation and Radical Construction Grammar2: Parts of Speech3: Syntactic Categories and Semantic Relativity4: Grammatical Relations/Syntactic RolesPart II: Against Syntactic Relations5: Dependency, Constituency, and Linear Order6: A Radical Approach to Syntactic Relations7: Heads, Complements, and AdjunctsPart III: Against Universal Syntactic Constructions8: The Voice Continuum9: The Coordination-Subordination Continuum10: Syntactic Theory and the Theory of Language Review `Review from previous edition There is no doubt that this book is a landmark in linguistic theory. It is an outstanding work by a brilliant intellect in which Croft demonstrates the depth of his linguistic knowledge and above all vision. It will constitute a source of inspiration for much future linguistic theorizing.Anna Siewierska, Professor of Linguistics, University of Lancaster`Radical Construction Grammar is an important work that is bound to elicit strong reactions, for it questions basic tenets of linguistic research. Croft argues persuasively that much research on universals suffers from methodological flaws: there are language universals, but linguists have been trying to characterize them at the wrong level of description . . . Because the arguments are presented in great detail and illustrated with fascinating examples,the books controversial claims cannot be dismissed lightly. I look forward to the discussion it will provoke.Tom Wasow, Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy, Stanford University`Crofts Radical Construction Grammar is a welcome contribution bearing on an issue of basic importance to linguistic theory: the nature and status of grammatical categories. His innovative examination of this question from a functionalist and typological perspective refocuses the debate in a fundamental way. It deserves to be seriously considered by all linguists regardless of their theoretical orientation.Ronald W. Langacker, University of California, San Diego Long Description Radical Construction Grammar presents a profound critique of syntactic theory and argumentation, and offers a genuinely new approach to syntax based on the fact of grammatical diversity. Recent syntactic theories are essentially formal models for the representation of grammatical knowledge and posit complex syntactic structures in the analysis of sentences. The result has been a endless cycle of new and revised theories of syntactic representation.Radical Construction Grammar argues that this approach to syntax is incompatible with the grammatical variation found within and across languages. This book defends three fundamental theses: (i) constructions are the primitive units of syntactic representation, and grammatical categories are defined byconstructions, not the other way around; (ii) the only syntactic structures are the part-whole relations between a construction and the syntactic elements that make it up; (iii) not only are grammatical categories construction-specific, but constructions are language-specific. In other words, syntactic structure is almost entirely language-specific; attempts to find a universal formal model are doomed to failure. Radical Construction Grammar integrates concepts fromtypological theory and construction grammar to uncover the genuine universals of grammar. Constructions are represented as complex symbolic units pairing form and meaning. The semantic map model of typological theory is used to map category distributions on a largely universal conceptual space. Universals of grammarare found in the mapping of meaning onto form. Systematic patterns of grammatical variation provide evidence for the topography of conceptual space, which in turn reflects the geography of the human mind. Review Text `Review from previous edition There is no doubt that this book is a landmark in linguistic theory. It is an outstanding work by a brilliant intellect in which Croft demonstrates the depth of his linguistic knowledge and above all vision. It will constitute a source of inspiration for much future linguistic theorizing.Anna Siewierska, Professor of Linguistics, University of Lancaster`Radical Construction Grammar is an important work that is bound to elicit strong reactions, for it questions basic tenets of linguistic research. Croft argues persuasively that much research on universals suffers from methodological flaws: there are language universals, but linguists have been trying to characterize them at the wrong level of description . . . Because the arguments are presented in great detail and illustrated with fascinating examples,the books controversial claims cannot be dismissed lightly. I look forward to the discussion it will provoke.Tom Wasow, Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy, Stanford University`Crofts Radical Construction Grammar is a welcome contribution bearing on an issue of basic importance to linguistic theory: the nature and status of grammatical categories. His innovative examination of this question from a functionalist and typological perspective refocuses the debate in a fundamental way. It deserves to be seriously considered by all linguists regardless of their theoretical orientation.Ronald W. Langacker, University of California, San Diego Review Quote Review from previous edition There is no doubt that this book is a landmark in linguistic theory. It is an outstanding work by a brilliant intellect in which Croft demonstrates the depth of his linguistic knowledge and above all vision. It will constitute a source of inspiration for muchfuture linguistic theorizing.Anna Siewierska, Professor of Linguistics, University of Lancaster Promotional "Headline" Part I: Against Syntactic Categories as Theoretical Primitives 1. Syntactic Argumentation and Radical Construction Grammar 2. Parts of Speech 3. Syntactic Categories and Semantic Relativity 4. Grammatical Relations/Syntactic Roles Part II: Against Syntactic Relations 5. Dependency, Constituency, and Linear Order 6. A Radical Approach to Syntactic Relations 7. Heads, Complements, and Adjuncts Part III: Against Universal Syntactic Constructions 8. The Voice Continuum 9. The Coordination-Subordination Continuum 10. Syntactic Theory and the Theory of Language Feature Radical new approach to traditional questions of syntaxMajor attention focused on methods of argumentationBroad (cross-linguistic) coverage of empirical dataCovers all the major syntactic structures of languages Details ISBN0198299540 Author William Croft Short Title RADICAL CONSTRUCTION GRAMMAR Language English ISBN-10 0198299540 ISBN-13 9780198299547 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY 415 Year 2001 Series Oxford linguistics Imprint Oxford University Press Subtitle Syntactic Theory in Typological Perspective Place of Publication Oxford Country of Publication United Kingdom Residence MI, US Birth 1678 Death 1727 Pages 448 Affiliation Professor of Psychology, Stanford University DOI 10.1604/9780198299547 UK Release Date 2001-10-25 AU Release Date 2001-10-25 NZ Release Date 2001-10-25 Edited by Philip G. Zimbardo Position Professor of Psychology Qualifications QC Publisher Oxford University Press Publication Date 2001-10-25 Alternative 9780198299554 Illustrations numerous figures and tables Audience Professional & Vocational We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:53299663;

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