Symmetry in Syntax: Merge, Move and Labels (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics)
Cambridge University Press, 4/28/2011
EAN 9781107005556, ISBN10: 1107005558
Hardcover, 290 pages, 23 x 15.4 x 2.2 cm
Language: English
While much has been written on asymmetric aspects of sentence structure, symmetric aspects have been largely ignored, or claimed to be non-existent. Does symmetry in syntax exist, and if it does, how do we account for it? In this book, Barbara Citko sets out to tackle these questions and offers a unified approach to a number of phenomena that have so far been studied only in isolation. Focusing on three core minimalist mechanisms: merge, move and labeling, she advances a new theory of these mechanisms, by showing that under certain well-defined circumstances merge can create symmetric structures, move can target either of two potentially moveable objects, and labels can be constructed symmetrically from the features of two objects. This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students interested in minimalist syntax, the structure of questions, relative clauses, coordination, double object constructions and copular sentences.
1. Rationale
2. Asymmetry in syntax
3. Symmetry in merge
4. Symmetry in move
5. Symmetric labels
6. Conclusion.
'... highly original and illuminating.' Henk van Riemsdijk, Tilburg University