- Title Pages
- The Ernst Strüngmann Forum
- List of Contributors
- Preface
-
1 Syntax for Non-syntacticians A Brief Primer -
2 The Biological Background of Syntax Evolution -
3 Functional Neuroimaging and the Logic of Brain Operations -
4 Some Elements of Syntactic Computations -
5 The Adaptive Approach to Grammar -
6 Fundamental Syntactic Phenomena and Their Putative Relation to the Brain -
7 What Kinds of Syntactic Phenomena Must Biologists, Neurobiologists, and Computer Scientists Try to Explain and Replicate? -
8 Possible Precursors of Syntactic Components in Other Species -
9 What Can Developmental Language Impairment Tell Us about the Genetic Bases of Syntax? -
10 What Are the Possible Biological and Genetic Foundations for Syntactic Phenomena? -
11 Brain Circuits of Syntax -
12 Neural Organization for Syntactic Processing as Determined by Effects of Lesions -
13 Reflections on the Neurobiology of Syntax -
14 What Are the Brain Mechanisms Underlying Syntactic Operations? -
15 Syntax as an Adaptation to the Learner -
16 Cognition and Social Dynamics Play a Major Role in the Formation of Grammar -
17 What Can Formal or Computational Models Tell Us about How (Much) Language Shaped the Brain? -
18 What Can Mathematical, Computational, and Robotic Models Tell Us about the Origins of Syntax? - Glossary
- Bibliography
- Subject Index
Syntax for Non-syntacticians A Brief Primer
Syntax for Non-syntacticians A Brief Primer
- Chapter:
- (p.2) (p.3) 1 Syntax for Non-syntacticians A Brief Primer
- Source:
- Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax
- Author(s):
Bickerton Derek
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
This chapter describes and illustrates some of the most basic concepts and processes in syntax such as Merge, binding, control, movement, and empty categories. It first considers the hierarchical structure of syntax and how syntactic trees reflect the way sentences must be constructed. It then discusses Noam Chomsky’s Minimalist Program, the relationship between anaphors and their antecedents, and the movement of constituents of sentences. Finally, the chapter offers some suggestions regarding possible avenues of approach to understand better how syntax is instantiated in the human mind/brain.
Keywords: syntax, Merge, binding, control, movement, empty categories, hierarchical structure, anaphors, Noam Chomsky, Minimalist Program
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- Title Pages
- The Ernst Strüngmann Forum
- List of Contributors
- Preface
-
1 Syntax for Non-syntacticians A Brief Primer -
2 The Biological Background of Syntax Evolution -
3 Functional Neuroimaging and the Logic of Brain Operations -
4 Some Elements of Syntactic Computations -
5 The Adaptive Approach to Grammar -
6 Fundamental Syntactic Phenomena and Their Putative Relation to the Brain -
7 What Kinds of Syntactic Phenomena Must Biologists, Neurobiologists, and Computer Scientists Try to Explain and Replicate? -
8 Possible Precursors of Syntactic Components in Other Species -
9 What Can Developmental Language Impairment Tell Us about the Genetic Bases of Syntax? -
10 What Are the Possible Biological and Genetic Foundations for Syntactic Phenomena? -
11 Brain Circuits of Syntax -
12 Neural Organization for Syntactic Processing as Determined by Effects of Lesions -
13 Reflections on the Neurobiology of Syntax -
14 What Are the Brain Mechanisms Underlying Syntactic Operations? -
15 Syntax as an Adaptation to the Learner -
16 Cognition and Social Dynamics Play a Major Role in the Formation of Grammar -
17 What Can Formal or Computational Models Tell Us about How (Much) Language Shaped the Brain? -
18 What Can Mathematical, Computational, and Robotic Models Tell Us about the Origins of Syntax? - Glossary
- Bibliography
- Subject Index
