{"product_id":"the-syntax-construction-kit-9781729647363","title":"The Syntax Construction Kit","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Mark Rosenfelder\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Linguistics - Syntax\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn accessible but incisive introduction to modern syntax and generative grammar, for conlangers and anyone interested in languages or linguistics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSyntax can be frustrating, because there are multiple schools that seem to fight over inessential things. I hope I can show you that this is normal for a new field, and that it actually makes syntax \u003cb\u003efun\u003c\/b\u003e. New discoveries are being made, and you can participate- something that's a lot harder to do in, say, quantum mechanics. The emphasis here is on \u003cb\u003edoing syntax\u003c\/b\u003e-- learning how to make and how to evaluate syntactic arguments.What's in it?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn introduction to the Chomsky Hierarchy, a classification of grammars that's used both in linguistics and computer science, as well as a comparison to other generative techniques, such as Markov text generators.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA tour of Chomsky's methods- production rules and transformations- with overnight stays in the \u003ci\u003eSyntactic Structures\u003c\/i\u003e, X-bar, and Minimalist stages in his thought.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA leisurely stroll through interesting bits of syntax: the English verbal complex, pronouns and other anaphors, relative clauses, quantifiers and more. The emphasis is on \u003cb\u003edoing syntax\u003c\/b\u003e- not just learning rules and drawing trees, but learning how syntactic arguments are made.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn overview of \u003cb\u003ealternatives\u003c\/b\u003e to Chomsky's approach: generative syntax, cognitive linguistics, relational grammars, word grammar, construction grammar, Jackendoff's Simpler Syntax, and Comrie's universals.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA chapter on \u003cb\u003eproduction\u003c\/b\u003e which asks, how real are these grammars? Do we really have syntactic categories and transformations in the brain, or in the genome?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA chapter on how you can apply all this to your conlangs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Syntactic Bestiary- an annotated list of transformations and constraints, which you can think about for conlanging, or use to evaluate syntactic theories.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003ePlus, unlike most syntax textbooks, this one comes with a set of \u003cb\u003eweb toys\u003c\/b\u003e so you can see the rules in action and write your own. It makes the ideas come alive much more than mere diagrams can.","brand":"Createspace Independent Publishing Platform","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45547511054487,"sku":"9781729647363","price":1426.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9781729647363.webp?v=1767127722","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-syntax-construction-kit-9781729647363","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}