| Linguistics 226: Construction Grammar |
| Fall 2011-2012 |
| Mondays: 3:00--5:30 in Bldg. 460, Room 126. |
| URL: http://lingo.stanford.edu/sag/L226/ |
| Ivan A. Sag | Office: Bldg. 460, Room 103. Tel: +1 650-723-1578 | |
| Office Hours: | by appointment (use email) | |
| Email: | sag at stanford period edu |
An introduction to Sign-based Construction Grammar (SBCG), an alternative to derivational (movement-based) theories of grammar that synthesizes ideas developed in Berkeley Construction Grammar and Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). In addition to introducing the analytic tools of HPSG Theory, the course shows how SBCG can provide a comprehensive and precise account of complex data sets without appeal to the complex structures commonly assumed to be projected from empty elements, and without extravagant assumptions about the biological endowment for language. It will also touch on the relation between grammar design and both language processing and language learning.
We will read (among other things) final versions of some papers from the forthcoming volume on SBCG, edited by Hans Boas and Ivan Sag. The authors include Jóhanna Barðdal, Thórhallur Eythórsson, Charles Fillmore, Paul Kay, Russell Lee-Goldman, Laura Michaelis, Russell Rhodes, Ivan Sag, and Gert Webelhuth.Prerequisites: some background in syntax and semantics and an open mind. For a syllabus and further links relevant to class lecture and discussion, see below.
Requirements: Students are expected to complete the assigned readings before each class. This may be challenging in some weeks. Class lectures will connect with the readings, but not everything in the readings will be covered in class. Students are expected to complete all problem sets and squib assignments in a timely fashion. There is no final paper requirement. Students interested in developing a constructionist analysis of a linguistic problem may register for Directed Research with the instructor in a subsequent quarter.
| Topics |
|---|
| 9/26 Introduction. Language processing and grammar design. What is Construction Grammar? Why do it? Misconceptions about Construction Grammar. |
| 10/3 Sign-Based Construction Grammar: What it is and why. How it got that way. Feature structures. Grammar as descriptions (constraints). Linguistic objects as models. The logical structure of linguistic theory. Signs and their geometry. Listemes. Two kinds of constructions. Listemic Licensing. |
| 10/10 First Squib Due Different conceptions of semantics. Psycholinguistic motivation for underspecification. Underspecifying scope: Minimal Recursion Semantics. Adding semantics to signs and constructions. The importance of context. The Principle of Compositionality. |
| 10/17 `Simpler Syntax'. Combinatoric constructions. Verb classes and their phrasal projections. Valence and Argument Structure. Expletives. Lexical-Class Constructions. Lexical idiosyncrasies. Raising without Movement; Control without empty categories. |
| 10/24 Argument Structure Constructions. Dative and locative alternations. The lexical/constructional controversy. Non-Canonical Arguments and Positions. Resultatives. The way-constructions, caused motion, etc. |
| 10/31 Local and discontinuous dependencies. complex determiners; Selectional and constructional locality. |
| 11/7 Multiword expressions. Different kinds of MWEs. Decompositional idioms and their analysis. |
| 11/14 The English Auxiliary System. |
| 11/21 Thanksgiving Vacation |
| 11/28 Fillers and gaps without movement. `Slashed' categories. The feature GAP. Island constraints. Grammar vs. Processing Explanations. |
| 12/5 Interrogative constructions. Relative clauses. Correlatives. Topicalized clauses. Wrap-up. |
Last updated 18 Oct 2011 by Ivan A. Sag.