Syntax I

Catalog description

An introduction to the scientific study of human language syntax. Students collectively construct a formal theory of syntax which models individuals' implicit knowledge of language. Draws on data from a variety of languages, including but not limited to English. Emphasis is on exploring how languages are systematically alike in their syntactic structures, and the ways in which they are systematically different. Students engage in hands-on analysis of natural language data as well as the construction and evaluation of syntactic theories. Prerequisites: none, and no experience with linguistics is assumed. The discussion section is mandatory. Satisfies the WAY-FR requirement and the WIM requirement for Linguistics.