The Syntax of Argument Structure: 120 (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, Series Number 120)

Babby, Leonard H. Leonard H. Babby,

ISBN 10: 052141797X / ISBN 13: 9780521417976

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2009

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Bibliographic Details

Title: The Syntax of Argument Structure: 120 (...

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Publication Date: 2009

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis:

Each verb in natural language is associated with a set of arguments, which are not systematically predictable from the verb's meaning and are realized syntactically as the projected sentence's subject, direct object, etc. Babby puts forward the theory that this set of arguments (the verb's 'argument structure') has a universal hierarchical composition which directly determines the sentence's case and grammatical relations. The structure is uniform across language families and types, and this theory is supported by the fact that the core grammatical relations within simple sentences of all human languages are essentially identical. Babby determines and empirically justifies the rigid hierarchical organization of argument structure on which this theory rests. The book uses examples taken primarily from Russian, a language whose complex inflectional system, free word order, and lack of obligatory determiners make it the typological polar opposite of English.

Review:

'Babby's book is well argued, clearly written, and amply illustrated with data. It will certainly play a central role in the further development of generative theory.' Slavic Review