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Abstractness and Generative Syntax

Published/Copyright: March 20, 2015
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Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics
From the journal Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics Volume 2 Issue 1

Abstract

In the field of generative syntax, abstractness has a crucial role in how the field is defined and in how it is practiced. This article discusses four ways in which abstractness is essential to progress in the field. First, abstractness is crucial to the formulation of grammars of individual languages. Second, abstractness is intrinsic to one of the goals of the theory, to provide a general theory of language in addition to particular grammars. Third, abstractness plays a role in observations about language, and is therefore an essential part of the empirical validation of the theory. Finally, the paradigm of generative grammar, with its interest in accounting for the linguistic capacity of humans, has increasingly shaped the questions that are investigated and the types of solutions that are considered.

Published Online: 2015-3-20
Published in Print: 2009-3-1

© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Front Matter
  2. Contents
  3. Research Articles
  4. Sibilant Voicing in Ecuadorian Spanish
  5. Deaccenting in Spontaneous Speech in Barcelona Spanish
  6. Nuclear Pitch Accents in Majorcan Catalan Declaratives: Phonology, Phonetics, Diachrony
  7. Book Reviews
  8. Romance Linguistics 2006: Selected Papers from the 36th Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages (LSRL)
  9. Guide to the Phonetic Symbols of Spanish
  10. El español a través de la lingüística: Preguntas y respuestas
  11. State of the Discipline. Topic: Linguistic and Speech Technology
  12. Las tecnologías del habla en las lenguas románicas ibéricas
  13. Viewpoints. Topic: The Role of the Abstract in Linguistic
  14. Abstractness and Motivation in Phonological Theory
  15. Abstraction in Adult SLA
  16. The Role of Abstraction in Spanish Phonology: A Laboratory Perspective
  17. The Role of Abstraction in Syntax: From a Functionalist Perspective
  18. Abstractness and Generative Syntax
  19. Dissertation Notices
  20. A Usage-Based Account of Syllable- and Word-Final /s/ Reduction in Four Dialects of Spanish
  21. Performing Bilingualism: An Ethnographic Analysis of Discourse Practices at a Day Labor Center in the Southwest
https://doi.org/10.1515/shll-2009-1045

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Front Matter
  2. Contents
  3. Research Articles
  4. Sibilant Voicing in Ecuadorian Spanish
  5. Deaccenting in Spontaneous Speech in Barcelona Spanish
  6. Nuclear Pitch Accents in Majorcan Catalan Declaratives: Phonology, Phonetics, Diachrony
  7. Book Reviews
  8. Romance Linguistics 2006: Selected Papers from the 36th Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages (LSRL)
  9. Guide to the Phonetic Symbols of Spanish
  10. El español a través de la lingüística: Preguntas y respuestas
  11. State of the Discipline. Topic: Linguistic and Speech Technology
  12. Las tecnologías del habla en las lenguas románicas ibéricas
  13. Viewpoints. Topic: The Role of the Abstract in Linguistic
  14. Abstractness and Motivation in Phonological Theory
  15. Abstraction in Adult SLA
  16. The Role of Abstraction in Spanish Phonology: A Laboratory Perspective
  17. The Role of Abstraction in Syntax: From a Functionalist Perspective
  18. Abstractness and Generative Syntax
  19. Dissertation Notices
  20. A Usage-Based Account of Syllable- and Word-Final /s/ Reduction in Four Dialects of Spanish
  21. Performing Bilingualism: An Ethnographic Analysis of Discourse Practices at a Day Labor Center in the Southwest
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