The Blackwell Companion to Syntax, Literatura amerykańska
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Praise for
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
, Volumes I–V
“When I first started studying linguistics in 1960 it was possible for an assiduous
student to read almost everything in the field. The success of the discipline has
meant that those happy days are, happily, gone forever. Syntax is now so big that
no one can read even a fraction of what is on offer. There have been two unfor-
tunate results: first, today’s syntacticians keep rediscovering old facts, often rein-
venting eccentric wheels; second, they keep complaining that other linguists
ignore their work. The usual excuses are that the material we ought to have
referred to is distributed, seemingly at random, among hundreds of books and
articles; life is finite; institutional pressures are unrelenting; and it is hard enough
keeping up with work done in one’s own framework on one’s own area of
special interest, without trying to see what rival theorists in adjacent areas might
have had to say on the matter at hand, however relevant in the long term their
contribution might be.
provides a
comprehensive overview of the progress and achievements made in syntax over
the last 35 years. A galaxy of international stars under the leadership of two dis-
tinguished linguists, Martin Everaert and Henk van Riemsdijk, has constructed
an unparalleled and monumental survey of empirical facts and theoretical insights
covering the entire field. Whether you are interested in parasitic gaps, Icelandic
logophors, or quantifier scope ambiguity, you will find here the essential back-
ground to your own contribution. This is a major achievement and the Companion
will rapidly become essential reading for all serious linguists.”
Such excuses will no longer do.
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
Neil Smith
, University College London
“
, unique in character and designed with great
skill and care, is sure to be a rich source of high-quality information on critically
important topics, and an invaluable research tool for the study of language.”
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
Noam Chomsky
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“For any serious researcher interested in theoretical linguistics, this incredible
companion will remain an important and extremely useful source of reference for
years to come.”
Yukio Otsu
, Keio University, Tokyo
“The flow of linguistic theory is shaped by the empirical puzzles of the rocks and
the banks of the river bed. Any particular rock will have different effects at
different points in the river. This Companion assembles the empirical puzzles
and that is an enormously valuable service: it enables readers to understand why
particular puzzles were of interest at particular stages in the development of
theory and it assembles the puzzles into a compendium, in the belief that puzzles
need solutions at every point in the development of theory, even if the shape of
the solutions changes significantly at different stages of theoretical development.
ii
The compendium of puzzles will be a great resource for young investigators,
joining the river at some point and wanting to know what was upstream as they
find their way downstream.”
David Lightfoot
, Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences,
National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA
“Looking for a topic to work on? Grab
and read
some articles there. Or you may try to think of a topic not covered (if that is
possible). Either way, this five-volume set should be within your reach if you
want to be an active researcher.”
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
Akira Watanabe
, University of Tokyo
“In a rapidly moving field, it is essential to have an accessible repository of the
empirical generalizations that fueled the theoretical debates. These generaliza-
tions have not only a historical value. It is often the case that the latest theoretical
constructs tend to focus on the most recent empirical issues being discussed and
ignore the previous ones. In this respect, this book provides a constant reminder
of what needs to be incorporated in the current debate. It can be considered the
empirical memory of the field.”
Joseph Aoun
, University of Southern California
“
will be an indispensable source for theoretical,
descriptive, and applied linguists alike. Much of the syntactic knowledge accu-
mulated since the
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
is not easily accessible and some of it may even be in
the world of oblivion for many linguists. Younger scholars may have difficulties
to understand some of the work done in a by now obsolete theoretical frame-
work. Others may want to have easy access to the analytic knowledge of earlier
work in their daily research activities. Since the knowledge presented in the
Companion
Aspects
is largely independent of the various stages of syntactic theorizing,
it can profitably be used by researchers working on syntactic problems whatever
their theoretical background may be. The contributions of the present encyclopedia
have been written by top scholars in the field covering practically all important
issues addressed in syntax during the last forty years or so. It will certainly serve
as an essential research tool for a great number of linguists for many years to
come.”
Ferenc Kiefer
, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
“
is a very important accomplishment. Everaert
and Van Riemsdijk have brought together a large group of internationally
reputed researchers, each of whom analyzes a particular empirical domain that
has played a central role in the development of syntactic theory. It is a valuable
reference and pedagogical tool. I have no doubt that this work will benefit not
only undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics but anyone inter-
ested in syntax and in the remarkable intellectual history of the field.”
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
M. Carme Picallo
, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
iii
“This is the most impressive collective endeavor in the field of syntax ever
attempted. It summarizes the (basic) descriptive results obtained for a great many
syntactic phenomena in the last fifty years of research in generative grammar. It
is an indispensable work of reference for students and researchers alike.”
Guglielmo Cinque
, University of Venice
“Since the beginnings of generative grammar, our knowledge of the syntactic
aspects of the human language faculty has increased exponentially, with every
investigation giving rise to ever deeper investigations and to cross-linguistic
research. Every time I write a paper, prepare my lectures, or advise students on
their research, I am confronted with the problem of accessing a vast body of
syntactic knowledge. With 77 case studies written by leading syntacticians,
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
is certain to help address this fundamental
problem.”
Christopher Collins
, Cornell University and New York University
“The past 30 years have seen an explosion in the breadth and depth of linguistic
research, as focused theoretical perspective has sharpened empirical investiga-
tions. The Companion is a time capsule for the results of empirically significant
projects, ensuring that the results of the past are not lost in the future. Any scholar
who opens the volumes will find there a wealth of wide-ranging, scholarly, and
theoretically informed discussion of just about every syntactic phenomenon
currently known to the field – from double nominatives to topicalization; from
the spray/load alternation to SOV languages. The insightful and rich chapters
come from some of the extraordinary researchers of the time period. If the next
generation of scholars does not utilize this marvelous resource, it will not be the
fault of the editors and authors, and they can be sure that current researchers will
profit immediately from this outstanding project.”
Jane Grimshaw
, Rutgers University
The Blackwell Companion to Syntax
Volume I
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]