Courses on Gabi Danon

Noun Phrases (37-493)

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 16:28:20 +0300

Course description

This seminar surveys the major questions in the study of noun phrase structure over the last few decades, with a focus on the following topics: The internal structure of the noun phrase; functional categories and their roles; Universal principles and cross-linguistic variation in the syntax of the noun phrase; Complex noun phrases, especially genitive constructions; Grammatical features in the noun phrase (person, number, gender, definiteness etc); The syntactic role and grammatical properties of quantifiers, numerals and semi-lexical nominal heads; The syntax of pronouns and names. Lessons involve presentation of linguistic phenomena from a variety of languages; reading selected articles; critical discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of various analyses proposed in the literature, and online assignments and forum discussion of their significance and possible analyses.

This seminar was taught during the academic year 2020-21 as a fully online (asynchronous) course.

Quantitative Research in Syntax (37-892)

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 16:28:01 +0300

Course description

This seminar deals with work in theoretical syntax which is based not only on the methodology of using informal grammaticality judgments but also on quantitative research methods, and in particular experimental syntax and corpus studies. Through discussions of specific studies we also deal with deeper theoretical questions regarding the nature of abstract syntactic representations and the extent to which different syntactic models are suitable representations of the full range of observed facts.

This seminar was taught during the academic year 2021-22 as a hybrid (half synchronous, half asynchronous) course.

Advanced Syntax (37-587)

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 16:43:40 +0300

Course description

BA-level elective which is a continuation of 287. This course introduces more advanced topics that form the foundations of modern syntactic theory: functional projections and recent versions of X-bar theory, clause structure and the syntactic representation of argument structure, movement operations and cross-linguistic variations in word order, case, agreement, and binding. Abstract notions such as empty categories (PRO, trace) and non-overt structural representations are developed, with the goal of arriving at a systematic theory of syntax that can not only describe the language but also explain why it has the observed properties.

Syntax (37-287)

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 16:43:35 +0300

Course description

This course is an introduction to the generative approach to analyzing sentence structure. Elements of syntactic analysis are introduced: constituents and tree diagrams, arguments and modifiers, thematic roles and the theta criterion, movement and abstract syntactic representations. This course provides the tools for understanding the source of phenomena such as structural ambiguities and the formation of interrogative sentences.

More information and course materials will be available throught the course website on Moodle.

Features in Syntax (37-872)

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Course description

Grammatical features, such as number, gender, person and tense, play a central role in all contemporary approaches to syntax. This seminar focuses on some of the central issues related to features in syntactic theory, such as: analyzing agreement and its relation to other components of the grammar; feature geometries and asymmetries in feature values; the role of morphosyntactic features at the syntax-semantics interface; and alternative views of the notion ‘feature’ itself and the kinds of feature values allowed by the grammar of human languages.

This seminar will be taught during the academic year 2022-23 as a hybrid (half synchronous, half asynchronous) course.

Prerequisite: 37-287 or (for MA/PhD students) 37-987. This course is open to students at all levels (BA, MA and PhD).

More information and course materials will be available throught the course website on Moodle.