160208 VO Comparative Grammar Theorie (2009W)

Syntax is the mental faculty by which we understand and produce novel sentences, including novel complex words they may be composed of. These (novel) syntactic structures are not permanently stored in our minds. The storage of morphemes that are used in Syntax is the Lexicon. Therefore lexical items, especially those of high grammatical specificity, must have some kind of uniform syntactic format, easily learned in language acquisition (as they differ so much across languages and yet present little difficulty to the learner). When a sentence is produced or understood, the lexical items are put together by accessing this syntactic format. By studying syntactic structures, we can start to understand the format of lexical entries, and by increased knowledge of the structure of lexical entries, we better understand syntactic structure.
The dependence of recent transformational and generative models on the lexicon is almost total. In fact, syntacticians now typically assume that
(i) all syntactic structures project directly from lexical items, and
(ii) particular grammars reduce to nothing more than the lexical store of functional category items in a language.
Claims (i) and (ii) sound contentful - until one realizes that most syntacticians operate with no restrictive theory about the possible form of lexical items, particularly for functional categories (the closed classes of items of highest grammatical specificity). Nor is there even any agreement about mechanisms for the more widely studied open class lexicon. Most analysts seem satisfied with vague, common sense specifications of "possible lexical entries." But the fact is, under assumptions (i) and (ii), transformational grammar can scientifically model natural language only if by developing a truly formal model of its syntactic lexicon items. Topics to be covered, with each topic covering 2 to 3 weeks of lectures.

Topic 1: Is Morphology a separate component?
The concept "bound morpheme" and its role in word formation
Semantic and morphological distinctions between morphology and compounding
False candidates for specifically morphological principles and categories
Definition of Distributed Morphology

Topic 2: Lexical structure of bound morphemes and compounding
Compounds and word stress in English. Syntactically defined stress domains
Stress in complex morphological formations; "Level Morphology"
Formally specifying the form of vocabulary items
Morphological "boundaries": canceling category bracketing in PF

Topic 3: Inflectional Merger as PF Merge of bound morphemes
Merger as (late) Merge in domains internal to phases
A general treatment of Inflection: number agreement, adjectival comparison, etc.
Lexical form as a predictor of late Merge and fusion: "Alternative Realization" (AR)
Lexically representing both "upward" and "Downward" AR': Applicative constructions across languages and affix movement in English

Topic 4: Late Merge of free morphemes through Generalized AR
Extending AR to free morphemes: pronouns, articles, auxiliaries, complementizers
Further examples of lexical representations of closed class items
Comparisons with properties of Head Movement

Topic 5: Using lexical properties to model processing convergent numerations
A model for perception; the hearer's handicap as a motive for language design
The addressing role of the "first feature"; French vs. English finite verb constructions
Use of unique open class phonological addresses; the "cohort theory" of lexical look-up
Attempting a production model, using unique syntactic addresses for closed class items

Topic 6: Streamlining notational conventions in Syntacticon entries
Brace and parentheses notation and possible complexity in lexical items
The revealing example of the French clitic system
A speculation on limiting lexical specifications (one feature per spelling)