Learn Syntactic Theory: A Self-Study Curriculum
Learn syntax, the study of sentence structure, from scratch.
Are languages fundamentally similar or different? This question lies at the foundation of some of the biggest controversies in the field of linguistics. In this module, you'll be exposed to some attempts to answer this question. Along the way, you'll be exposed to the big-picture questions of how linguists see language and what the field hopes to accomplish. Since linguists love arguing with each other, this is a very useful topic to examine to get at the big divisions and controversies in the field.
I have placed this module at the beginning of the syntax curriculum so that you will be able to understand the foundational assumptions of the kind of syntax you'll be studying,1 as well as some of the reasons why alternative frameworks exist.
The first three chapters of The Atoms of Language (Baker 2001: 1–84).
The self-study curriculum I have created teaches syntax within a generative framework. Some people also refer to this framework as "Chomskyan", because it originates in the work of Noam Chomsky. Linguists who work within the framework, however, tend to prefer the term "generative". ↩
An exhaustive guide to the typology of reduplication in linguistics, with lots of examples.
What kind of language did the people of Hochelaga and Stadacona speak?
Learn how to distinguish between the two most important roles in a sentence.
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