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Lecturer(s)
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Čakányová Michaela, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Veselovská Ludmila, prof. PhDr. Ph.D.
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Emonds Joseph Embley, prof. Ph.D., M.A.
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Course content
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In this advanced MA course of English Syntax students will acquire the skills and knowledge related to certain more specific, alternative analyses, and also individual research topics in the field. The working language in the seminar is English. The focus is first on revision of the BA topics: parts of speech, sentence functions, sentence patterns and complex sentence analysis. Then the attention goes to new topics: means of language economy (condensation, nominalisation), information structure and the ways of its modification in Czech and in English. A detailed analysis concerns the following topics: (i) semiclause structures (infinitive), (ii) nominalization (derived nominals, gerunds and participles), (iii) Information structure: the theories of sentence dynamism, the word-order and the concept of functional sentence perspective. The general functional/structuralist framework will allow the students to explain the properties of English structures and contrast them with Czech - referring to more general principles of grammar.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture, Work with Text (with Book, Textbook), Demonstration
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Learning outcomes
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The MA course in English grammar, Syntax II, aims at deepening theoretical and practical findings of English syntax, projected into the English-Czech interface. The main attention is paid to the role of word order, processes of language economy in sentence complexing, i.e. sentence condensers (infinitives, gerunds and participles), their form, function and distribution within the sentence complex; means of nominalisation, and ellipsis. The global aim is to increase students' sensitivity to various complexities and irregularities in the structure of the English sentence complex, and to strengthen their ability to apply theoretical findings to authentic language data. For those interested in the study og English grammar and linguistic we strongly recommend parallell attending of one of the courses POME (Points in Modern English Syntax, taught by prof. Emonds or dr. Parrott)
Students are expected to deepen and improve their knowledge of the structure of sentence patterns in English, about the types and configurations of dependent clauses, about the processes of language economy and their impact on the final form of sentence complexes. The comparison with Czech is hoped to increase students' competence in identifying similarities and differences in typologically remote languages also in the field of parts of speech and word categories..
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Prerequisites
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The language of instruction is English and prior knowledge of syntax covered by the BA studies is a prerequisite.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Oral exam, Written exam
The course SNT2 is one of the possible choices for the exam LIA1 and LIA2. ================================================ LIA1/2 (Linguistic Analysis 1-2) exam : on-line written TEST assigned and submitted in the Moodle mode - written at the faculty (i.e. you have to come to school to sit for it). The test has 14 open questions in the test. The topics are covered in the monograph Veselovská (2019) Form and Functions in English Grammar. (UP Press), but the students are expected to use also some individual materials (English grammar manuals). (1) Language Typology (Chapter 5), (2) Binding Theory (Chapter 10), (3) Taxonomy of Verbs (Chapter 16), (4) Negation in English (Chapter 24) (5) Infinitives (Chapters 27/28), (6) -ing forms and Nominalization (Chapter 29) (7) Information structure (Chapter30-31). ================================================ If you choose SYNTAX as a topic for your state exam, you will get a question containg (A) text analysis, and (B) some of the following topics. The topics are covered in the monograph Veselovská (2019) Form and Functions in English Grammar. (UP Press) but the students are expected to use also some individual materials (English grammar manuals). 1. Language system: classification of languege units, Language typology, Language acquisition. (Chapters 1, 5) 2. Parts of speech: criteria to establish the parts of speech, Nouns (NPs) and modifiers (APs): their functions and semantic and morphosyntactitc characteristics. (Chapter 6) 3. Taxonomy of Verbs: semantic and morphosyntactic characteristics of V and VP. Taxonomy based on subcategorization and N.I.C.E characteristics, (analytic predicate). (Chapters 14-16) 4. Sentence members: semantic and morphosyntactic characteristics of subjects, V-complements/adjuncts (Chapters 19-22). 5. Negation: kinds of Negation, the scope of Neg (Neg transfer), partially Neg adverbs (Chapter 24). 6. Sentence structures: taxonomy of the simple clauses based on pragmatic functions and their formal realization(s). Wh-movement. (Chapters 25-26) 7. Infinitives (taxonomy, examples) - (Chapters 27-28) 8. Ing-forms (Verbs, Adjectives, Nominalizations, Gerunds, Participles), (Chapter 29) 9. Sentence Dynamism (FSP, markedness, English structures reflecting the information structure) - (Chapters 30-31)
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Recommended literature
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Firbas, Jan. (1992). Functional Sentence Perspective in Written and Spoken Communication. . Cambridge University Press.
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Greenberg, J.H. (1961). Some Universals of Grammar with Particular Reference to the Order of Meaningfull Elements . The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
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Hawkins, J. (1990). A Parsing Theory of Word Order Universals.. MIT Mass., USA.
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Huddleston, Rodney and Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2005). A Students Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge.
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Huddleston, Rodney and Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.. Cambridge.
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Mathesius,V. (1988). Obsahový rozbor současné angličtiny. Academia Praha.
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Vallduví, E. (1993). Information packaging: A survey.. University of Edinburg.
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Veselovská, Ludmila. (2017). English Syntax (2). Olomouc.
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Veselovská, Ludmila. (2019). Form and Functions in English Grammar. Olomouc, UP Press.
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