The E-Exam Module for course 3301-L1SW, Syntax


This is a one-semester lecture for first-year students at the English Institute with a cumulative end-of-term exam. The students are introduced to the basic syntactic categories (word-level and phrase level categories), constituency tests and major processes, which characterize modern English use. Aspects of formal syntax are also addressed within the generative paradigm. These include first language acquisition, Universal Grammar, parametrization and transformational processes (passivization and raising as instances of move-alpha, wh-movement). Whenever appropriate, references to the competing cognitive account will also be made. Major linguistic dichotomies are discussed and their consequences explored (prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar, performance vs. competence, I-language vs. E-language, grammaticality vs. acceptability, rule-based creativity vs. formulaic patterned speech, acquisition vs. learning). The composition of the mental lexicon is discussed, with arguments for and against the strong lexicalist position.