Syntax
Syntax is the study of linguistic organization at levels larger than the word. It encompasses the development of arguments for the existence and structure of larger units of organization (phrases, clauses and sentences), the identification and categorization of the constituents out of which those larger units are built, the discovery of universal and language-specific principles governing their construction, including principles which determine the linear and hierarchical ordering of their constituent elements, and the establishment of the range and limits of variation in syntactic structure across languages. The study of syntax is crucially linked with other areas of study within theoretical linguistics. At the interface between syntax and morphology, the study of word structure, lie such questions as how and to what extent the properties of syntactic structures are determined by the words and inflectional affixes which are used in them. At the intersection between syntax and semantics, the study of meaning, lies the question of how syntactic structures are assigned meaning. Syntax interacts with phonology, the study of the sound patterns of languages, with respect to questions like how syntactic structure affects pronunciation (prosody). Syntax also plays a central role in research done in the
Computational Linguistics Lab, which focuses on practical laboratory work and on computational implementations and formalisms which make contact with linguistic theory, such as formalisms and parsers for symbolic and statistical syntax. Cornell’s Linguistics Department has very rich resources for the pursuit of advanced studies in syntax in its various aspects. The faculty members for whom syntax is a research area of significant concern include
John Bowers,
Molly Diesing,
Wayne Harbert,
Carol Rosen,
Michael Wagner, and
John Whitman. Many of these scholars link their work in syntax to related areas of linguistics. Professor Diesing has a special interest in the syntax/semantics interface, while Professor Wagner specializes in the syntax/phonology interface. Professor Harbert works on the syntax of historical Germanic languages and selected Celtic languages. Professor Rosen specializes in the history and syntax of Romance languages—particularly, Italian. Professor Whitman works on the history and the syntactic structure of Japanese and Korean.
The core syntax curriculum consists of an undergraduate Introduction to Syntax (Ling 3303) and a two-course graduate sequence Syntax I and Syntax II (Ling 4403-4404), (also open to advanced undergraduates). Ling 6616 (Topics in Syntactic Theory), addressing current issues in theoretical syntax, rounds out the standing offerings in this area. At a still more advanced level, syntax seminar seminars are offered most semesters. Recent seminar topics have included case marking and the syntax of focus. Specialized courses on syntax include Historical Syntax (Ling 6606) and a range of courses on the syntax of specific languages and language families.
Among the recent PhD’s granted by the Field of Linguistics for work in the area of syntax are
Aggrey Wasike, Ph.D. 2007 "The Left Periphery, Wh-In-Situ and A-Bar Movement in Lubukusu and Other Bantu Languages"
Diego De Acosta, PhD. 2006 "Have + Perfect Participle in Romance and English: Synchrony and Diachrony"
Sang Doh Park, Ph.D. 2005 "Parameters of Passive Constructions in English and Korean"
Edith Aldridge, Ph.D. 2004 "Ergativity and Word Order in Austranesian Languages"
Arthur Bell. PhD. 2004. “Bipartite Negation and the Fine Structure of the Negative Phrase.”
Rachel Hastings, Ph.D. 2004 "The Syntax and Semantics of Relativization and Quantification: The Case of Quechua"
Changguk Yim, Ph. D. 2004 "The EPP and Nominal/Predicational PP's in English and Korean"
Josep Alba-Salas, Ph.D. 2002 "Light Verb Constructions in Romance: A Syntactic Analysis"
