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304 results in Grammar and Syntax

Page 1 of 16

Uniformitarianism in Language Speciation
  • From Creolistics to Genetic Linguistics
  • Edited by Salikoko S. Mufwene, Enoch O. Aboh
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    November 2025
    Print publication:
    01 October 2026
  • Uniformitarianism is the widely held assumption that, in languages, changes in the past must have been subject to the same constraints as changes in the present. This volume, led by two of the most eminent scholars in language contact, brings together an international team of authors to shed new light on Uniformitarianism in historical linguistics. Applying the Uniformitarian Principle to creole and pidgin languages, as well as other languages, the chapters show that, contrary to the received doctrine, the former group of languages did not emerge in an exceptional way. Covering a typologically and geographically broad range of languages, and focusing on different contact ecologies in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the book also dispels common misconceptions about what Uniformitarianism is. It shows how similar processes in different ecosystems result in different linguistic patterns, which don't require exceptional linguistic explanations in terms of creolization, pidginization, simplification, or incomplete acquisition.

The Cambridge Handbook of the Minimalist Program
  • Edited by Kleanthes K. Grohmann, Evelina Leivada
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    November 2025
    Print publication:
    30 November 2025
  • The Minimalist Program is a long-established branch of Chomsky's Generative approach to linguistics, which, since its first incarnation in the early 1990s, has become one of the most prominent frameworks for syntax. Bringing together a team of world-renowned scholars, this Handbook provides a comprehensive guide to current developments in generative syntactic theory. Split into five thematic parts, the chapters cover the historical context and foundations of the program, overviews of the major areas of research within modern syntactic theory, and a survey of the variety of phenomena dealt with within Minimalism through a focus on concepts, primitives, and operations. It offers in-depth perspectives on the core concepts and operations in the Minimalist Program for readers who are not already familiar with it, as well as a complete overview of the state-of-the-art in the field, making it essential reading for both scholars and students in the field.

The Acquisition of Relativization

Pattern, Construction, System
  • A Unified Approach to Grammar and Lexis
  • Susan Hunston
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    October 2025
    Print publication:
    31 October 2025
  • Construction Grammar and Systemic Functional Grammar take different approaches to the study of lexico-grammar, based on language as a cognitive and as a social phenomenon respectively. This is the first book to bring the two approaches together, using corpus-based Pattern Grammar as an underlying descriptive framework, in order to present a comprehensive and original treatment of verb-based patterns in English. It describes in detail two processes: deriving over 800 verb argument constructions from 50 verb complementation patterns; and using those constructions to populate systemic networks based on 9 semantic fields. The result is an approach to the lexis and grammar of English that unifies disparate theories, finding synergies between them and offering a challenge to each. Pattern Grammar, Construction Grammar and Systemic-Functional Grammar are introduced in an accessible way, making each approach accessible to readers from other backgrounds. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Non-Canonical English Syntax
  • Concepts, Methods, and Approaches
  • Edited by Sven Leuckert, Teresa Pham
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    July 2025
    Print publication:
    31 July 2025
  • The term non-canonical syntax generally refers to deviations from 'typical' word order. These represent a fascinating phenomenon in natural language use. With contributions from a team of renowned scholars, this book presents a range of case-studies on non-canonical syntax across historical, register-based, and non-native varieties of English. Each chapter investigates a different non-canonical construction and assesses to what extent it can be called 'non-canonical' in a theory-based and frequency-based understanding of non-canonical syntax. A range of state-of-the-art methodologies are used, highlighting that an empirical approach to non-canonical syntactic constructions is particularly fruitful. An introduction, a synopsis, a terminological chapter, and three section introductions frame the case studies and present overviews of the theory behind non-canonical syntax and previous work, while also illustrating open questions and opportunities for future research. The volume is essential reading for advanced students of English grammar and researchers working on non-canonical syntax and syntactic variation. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Voice and Argument Structure in Basque
  • Ane Berro, Beatriz Fernández
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    July 2025
    Print publication:
    31 July 2025
  • Basque is a language of central importance to linguists because it is a 'language isolate,' a rare type of language that is typologically 'alone' and cannot be classified as a part of any language family. Language isolates remain somewhat a mystery, and this book aims to provide an important piece of the puzzle, by both exploring the structure of Basque and shedding new light on its unique place within the languages of the world. It meticulously examines various properties of Basque, including the alignment of intransitive verbs, the introduction of dative arguments, the nature of psych predicates, the causative/inchoative alternation, impersonals, and morphological causatives. By doing so, it presents a comprehensive overview of Basque's intricacies within the realm of argument structure alternations and voice. In its final chapter, it provides an introduction to potential formal analyses of the topics discussed, paving the way for future research in the field. This title is part of the Flip it Open programme and may also be available open access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax
  • Edited by Sjef Barbiers, Norbert Corver, Maria Polinsky
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    June 2025
    Print publication:
    30 June 2025
  • Bringing together a globally representative team of scholars, this Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of comparative syntax, the study of universal and variable properties of the structure of building blocks in natural language. Divided into four thematic parts, it covers the various theoretical and methodological approaches to syntactic variation; explores dependency relations and dependency marking; shows how the building blocks of syntax both vary and display universal properties across languages, and explores the interfaces between syntax and other aspects of language structure. It also includes examples from a typologically broad range of languages, as well as data from child language, sign language, language processing, and diachronic syntax, giving a clear picture of the ubiquity of cross-linguistic variation. It serves as a source of inspiration for future research, and forges a deeper understanding of the variant and invariant parts of language, making it essential reading for researchers and students in linguistics.

Continuing Syntax
  • Hierarchy and Locality
  • Ian Roberts
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    May 2025
    Print publication:
    31 May 2025
  • A logical and clear exposition of hierarchy and locality by a leading figure in the field, Continuing Syntax takes students from an introductory level of syntactic theory to an understanding of cutting-edge research in the field. A comprehensive range of topics is covered, including configurationality, head-movement, clause structure, nominal structure, subjacency, barriers and phases, ensuring that students have a thorough understanding of all the main components of contemporary theory. The many example sentences, extensive glossary, end-of-chapter exercises and annotated further reading lists allow readers to embed and extend their knowledge as they progress through the book. A self-contained work ideal for intermediate-level students, this volume also builds on the author's Beginning Syntax, and lays the foundation for a third volume, Comparing Syntax, which introduces formal syntactic typology.

Composite Predicates in English
  • Processes of Specialization
  • Eva Berlage
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    May 2025
    Print publication:
    15 May 2025
  • Composite Predicates (CPs) are of particular interest to linguists in that only some of them are semantically restricted in present-day English, while others are not. This book explores the semantic-syntactic evolution of twenty-four different CPs in English from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries, showing why some specialize over time while others do not. It highlights that the semantic scope and evolution of the morphologically and semantically related simple verb acts as a powerful predictor of whether or not a CP becomes semantically restricted in the course of time. In all those cases where CPs undergo specialization, semantic changes take place earlier than syntactic ones. Finally, large-scale corpus-analyses reveal that the CPs, which, in comparison to their morphologically simple verbs, can be considered analytic constructions, decrease from the nineteenth to twentieth century or show consistently low frequencies. This finding runs counter to the trend of English to become increasingly analytic.

The Parameter in Generative Grammar
  • A History of a Concept
  • Alessandro Riolfi
  • Published online:
    17 April 2025
    Print publication:
    24 April 2025
  • Focusing on the development of Noam Chomsky's linguistic framework, this book is the first full-length, in-depth treatment of the history of the concept of parameter, a central notion of syntactic theory. Spanning 60 years of syntactic theory, it explores all aspects of its development through the different phases of the Chomskyan school, from the 'standard theory' of the mid-1960 to the current Minimalist Program. Emphasis is put on three main topics: the foundational issues in the formulation of the Principles and Parameters model; the original formulation of the “classical” parameters of the Government-Binding Theory of the 1980s (which are then evaluated from the perspective of Chomskyan thought today), and current debates on the nature of parametric variation in light of Generative Grammar's most recent theoretical developments. Through step-by-step, detailed explanations, it provides the reader with a comprehensive account of both parametric theory and the development of Generative Grammar.

New Perspectives on English Word Stress
  • Edited by Eiji Yamada, Anne Przewozny, Jean-Michel Fournier, Nicolas Ballier
  • Published by:
    Edinburgh University Press
    Published online:
    15 March 2025
    Print publication:
    04 July 2023
  • New Perspectives on English Word Stress explores the mechanism of word stress assignment in contemporary English from different methodological and theoretical perspectives. Comprising nine chapters, these approaches include a historical overview of the study of stress; the relationship between historic changes in stress and meaning; the relationship between spelling and stress; syllable weight and stress; the theoretical treatment of exceptions; stress mechanisms in Australian English; and stress in Singapore English. The book presents new data and provides the reader with access to various approaches to English word stress in phonology.

German Syntax
  • A Structure Removal Approach
  • Gereon Müller
  • Published online:
    28 February 2025
    Print publication:
    06 March 2025
  • Exploring the major syntactic phenomena of German, this book provides a state-of-the-art account of German syntax, as well as an outline of the key aspects of Chomsky's Minimalist Program. It is one of the first comprehensive studies of the entire syntactic component of a natural language within the Minimalist Program, covering core issues including clause structure, binding, case, agreement, control, and movement. It introduces a phase-based theory of syntax that establishes Remove, an operation that removes syntactic structure, as a mirror image of Merge, which builds syntactic structure. This unified approach resolves many cases of conflicting structure assignments in syntax, as they occur with passivization, restructuring, long-distance passivization, complex prefields, bridge verbs, applicatives, null objects, pseudo-noun incorporation, nominal concord, and ellipsis. It will pave the way for similar research into other languages and is essential reading for anyone interested in the syntax of German, syntactic theory, or the Minimalist Program.

The Evolution, Acquisition and Development of Syntax
  • Insights from Creole Languages and Beyond
  • Edited by Dany Adone, Astrid Gabel
  • Published online:
    19 February 2025
    Print publication:
    06 February 2025
  • Bringing together an interdisciplinary team of scholars, this book explores three interconnected aspects of syntax - its origins and evolution, its acquisition by children, and its role in languages' ongoing development and change. These three distinct areas were linked through Bickerton's most provocative work 'Language Bioprogram Hypothesis' (LBH). This book highlights the discussions on syntax that have emerged over the years as a result of the LBH model. Each chapter include a discussion of Bickerton's work, and a special focus is placed on Creole languages, which provide unique case studies for the study of the evolution, acquisition and development of languages. The book also discusses the relevance of LBH for other natural languages, including sign languages. Shedding light on the relevance of syntax in language, it is essential reading for researchers and students in a wide range of linguistic disciplines.

The Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar
  • Edited by Mirjam Fried, Kiki Nikiforidou
  • Published online:
    30 January 2025
    Print publication:
    06 February 2025
  • Construction Grammar is one of the fastest-growing branches of functional syntax. Bringing together an international team of scholars, this handbook provides a complete overview of the current issues and applications in this approach. Divided into six thematic parts, it covers the fundamental notions of Construction Grammar, its conceptual origins and the basic ideas that unite its various branches, its solid empirical grounding and affinities with corpus linguistics, and the diverse perspectives in constructional scholarship. It highlights advances in discourse-related topics and applications to various domains, including multimodal communication, language learning and teaching and computational linguistics, and each chapter contains numerous illustrative examples and case studies involving a variety of languages. It also includes in-depth, empirically-grounded analyses of diverse theoretical, methodological, and interdisciplinary issues, alongside step-by-step introductions to the theory, making it essential reading for both researchers and students working in functional and cognitive approaches to linguistic analysis and syntactic theory.

Word Grammar, Cognition and Dependency
  • Edited by Eva Duran Eppler, Nikolas Gisborne, Andrew Rosta
  • Published online:
    19 December 2024
    Print publication:
    02 January 2025
  • Established in the early 1980s, Word Grammar is the first theory of grammar that was cast in the terms of cognitive linguistics. This book surveys the groundbreaking contribution of WG to a number of disciplines both within and outside of linguistics. It illustrates the benefits of thinking beyond traditional phrase-structural notions of syntax, and beyond encapsulated theories of cognition, by exploring how key problems in theoretical linguistics and historical linguistics can be approached from alternative perspectives. It provides examples of how theoretical linguistic notions and constructs of WG can be applied to bilingual language use, as well as a variety of typologically different languages including English, Chinese, German and Swedish. It also explores the relationship between language and social cognition and dependency distance as a universal measure of syntactic complexity. It is essential reading for linguists seeking creative ideas on how to advance explanations of language, language variation and change.

Modern Persian, Elementary Level
  • beh farsi begoo
  • Iago Gocheleishvili
  • Published by:
    Anthem Press
    Published online:
    18 December 2024
    Print publication:
    16 April 2024
  • Modern Persian, Elementary Level is an innovative Persian language textbook. It is intended for university-level learners and features material for two consecutive semesters of elementary Persian. The textbook implements the most recent trends in language instruction including the basic tenets of flipped learning and communicative language teaching methodology with a student-centric approach to language instruction. Strengthened by its contemporary real-world topics; high-frequency structures and vocabulary; thematic presentation of material; a plethora of engaging speaking activities in each chapter; designated listening, reading and writing sections; and integration of cultural material, this textbook is a straightforward and culturally engaging way to acquire functional proficiency in spoken and written Persian. Complete with a companion website with over two hundred audio and video presentations, an answer key, a searchable audio dictionary and a special appendix for instructors that features classroom activity materials for the entire year, this textbook is an innovative and modern language-learning resource. The textbook also comes in an E-book format to make language learning accessible on the go, wherever you are.

Language Change and Linguistic Diversity

The Discourse of History
  • A Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspective
  • Edited by Jing Hao, J. R. Martin
  • Published online:
    16 May 2024
    Print publication:
    23 May 2024
  • Taking a Systemic Functional Linguistic perspective, this book explores how language builds our knowledge about the past and gives value to historical events, thereby shaping contemporary culture. It brings together cutting-edge research from an international team of scholars to provide a detailed study of texts from three different world languages (English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese) – revealing how the discourse of history is constructed in these languages. Each chapter provides examples and step-by-step analyses of how knowledge and value are constructed in history texts, drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics to develop theory and description in relation to text analysis. It also makes connections with disciplinary literacy and history education, showing how linguistic findings can benefit the teaching and learning of historical literacy. Providing theoretical and analytical foundations for studies of the discourse of history, it is essential reading for anyone interested in literacy, discourse analysis, and language description.

The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics
  • A Contemporary Outlook
  • Ryan M. Nefdt
  • Published online:
    25 April 2024
    Print publication:
    02 May 2024
  • What is the remit of theoretical linguistics? How are human languages different from animal calls or artificial languages? What philosophical insights about language can be gleaned from phonology, pragmatics, probabilistic linguistics, and deep learning? This book addresses the current philosophical issues at the heart of theoretical linguistics, which are widely debated not only by linguists, but also philosophers, psychologists, and computer scientists. It delves into hitherto uncharted territory, putting philosophy in direct conversation with phonology, sign language studies, supersemantics, computational linguistics, and language evolution. A range of theoretical positions are covered, from optimality theory and autosegmental phonology to generative syntax, dynamic semantics, and natural language processing with deep learning techniques. By both unwinding the complexities of natural language and delving into the nature of the science that studies it, this book ultimately improves our tools of discovery aimed at one of the most essential features of our humanity, our language.

Salience of Information in Japanese
  • Discourse and the Syntax–Pragmatics Interface
  • Mitsuaki Shimojo
  • Published online:
    28 March 2024
    Print publication:
    04 April 2024
  • 'Salience' is a linguistic phenomenon whereby information that is 'given', or 'new', is distributed and presented within a sentence in particular ways that convey its relevance. Although it has been widely described as the speaker's linguistic choices based on the hearer's perspective, it has received less attention as the speaker's manipulations of the hearer's cognitive states. This timely study redresses that balance by analysing several morphosyntactic phenomena in Japanese, drawing on a wide range of authentic language examples. Taking a functionalist perspective, it brings together studies of grammar and discourse, which are often described separately, and deploys the combined grammar-discourse approach in Role and Reference Grammar, the structural-functionalist theory in which syntax, semantics, and pragmatics are equally central to our understanding of language. It also offers an analysis of second language (L2) learners' Japanese discourse, and demonstrates the relevance of that analysis to issues outside of traditional second language research.

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