Morphosyntax: Problems and Perspectives

Course goals

Successful participants:
- have command of the basic theoretical concepts of syntax and morphology;
- can apply these concepts in the analysis of data sets from natural languages (with a focus on English);
- can identify the theoretical and methodological issues involved in linguistic research and
- are able to report on these in appropriate academic English.

Content

Why can speakers of English say ‘she does not worry’ but not ‘she worries not’, whereas the latter word order is fine in related languages? People can immediately tell you that the former is right and the latter is wrong, but they can’t tell you why. In order to answer questions like these, this course introduces students to the scientific study of morphosyntax: the structures and word forms that make up phrases and sentences. It provides an introduction to core concepts in the areas of syntax and morphology, aiming at a sophisticated understanding of native speakers' unconscious knowledge of the structure of English phrases and sentences, and the role of morphology in this. The course focuses specifically on exploring the types of theoretical issues that morphosyntacticians are interested in, highlighting different approaches to and perspectives on research. Problems include such issues as variation in word order within and between languages, the scope and limits of variation in human morphosyntax, and how morphosyntax is learnable.

Students are familiarised with linguistic methods of data analysis, including the analysis of corpus data, and acquire research writing skills. Students learn to write a research plan (250-300 words) and a methodology section (500 words) on the basis of a practical research project. After completion of this project, students give a presentation in which they reflect on their research and propose a fictional future research project. This is a level 2 course because the research component builds up to writing a complete research paper in the following linguistics course.

Additional information

Please note: the time slot shown here is not yet final and may still be modified until the 3rd Wednesday in September. 

This course has priority rules and a waiting list. Your enrolment is guaranteed if you are: 

• a student in the BA English Language and Culture.
• a student TCS enrolled in the hoofdrichting Moderne Talen: Engels..  
• an exchange student and meet the course’s entry requirements.

In all other situations, you will be placed on a waiting list if you enrol in this course. For any remaining slots in the course, lots are drawn among the students on the waiting list.   

This course is equivalent to the following course:
Theoretical Foundations (EN2V13002)
Foundations in English Linguistics (EN2V17002)

If you have already completed this courses, you may not take Morphosyntax: Problems-Perspectives due to too much overlap in content.