Words and Structures

What kinds of words can exist in natural languages? How are sentences constructed? What is the relationship between a word and the sentence in which it appears? How do language learners figure all this out? Presenting over a decade of original research, Words and Structure collects four influential papers that address the theory of words, the structure of sentences, and the relationship between the two. Jane Grimshaw sheds new light on the fundamental questions of the nature of word meanings, sentence structure, and language acquisition. Those interested in the puzzles of language learning, but dissatisfied with current theories and models will find this an indispensable volume on the subject.

Jane Grimshaw is a professor of linguistics and a researcher at the Center for Cognitive Science at Rutgers University.

Acknowledgements
1 Extended Projection
- 1.1 Introduction
- 1.2 Extended Projection
- 1.3 Possible Head Complement Relations
- 1.4 Projection and Locality
- 1.5 Functional Heads and Universal Grammar
- 1.6 Selection and Projection
- 1.7 Conclusion
- Appendix: Extended Projection - an Annotated Bibliography
2 Semantic Structure and Semantic Content in Lexical Representation
- 2.1 The Lingusitic Life of Semantic Structure
- 2.2 Other Views
- 2.3 Extensions and Implecations
3 Form, Function and the Language Acquisition Device
- 3.1 The Autonomy of Syntax and the Acquisition of Contextual Restrictions
- 3.2 Form and Function
- 3.3 Syntactic Rules
- 3.4 Syntactic Categories
- 3.5 Empirical Conequences of the Structure of LAD
- 3.6 Consequences for the Course of Acquisition
- 3.7 Consequences for Language
4 Datives, Feet and Lexicons
- 4.1 The Semantic Properties of the Alternation
- 4.2 The Prosodic Properties of the Verbs
- 4.3 English Speakers as Lexical Bilinguals
- 4.4 Learning and Linguistic Representation
References
Index

3/1/2005

ISBN (Paperback): 1575864223 (9781575864228)
ISBN (Cloth): 1575864215 (9781575864211)

Words and Structure

Contents