Syntactic Structures Revisted ― Contemporary Lectures on Classic Transformational Theory

with Marcela Depiante and Arthur Stepanov

Thisbook provides an introduction to some classic ideas and analyses of transformational generativegrammar, viewed both on their own terms and from a more modern, or minimalist perspective. The majorfocus is on the set of analyses treating English verbal morphology. The book shows how the analysesin Chomsky's classic Syntactic Structures actually work, filling in underlyingassumptions and often unstated formal particulars. From there the book moves to successivetheoretical developments and revisions -- both in general and in particular as they pertain toinflectional verbal morphology. After comparing Chomsky's economy-based account with his laterminimalist approach, the book concludes with a hybrid theory of English verbal morphology thatincludes elements of both Syntactic Structures and A Minimalist Programfor Linguistic Theory.

Current Studies in Linguistics No.33

Howard Lasnik is a Professor at the University of Connecticut.