Description: This is the first book-length study of Welsh syntax in English using minimalist theory. The central empirical issue addressed is an analysis of word order and clause structure in Welsh, within the context of the Principles and Parameters theory and Welsh as a VSO language. Roberts's central question: Which values of which parameters of Universal Grammar determine VSO order? To answer it, he makes use of parameters whose values are rooted in considerations of typology and language acquisition. Along the way, he shows that Chomsky's recent conception of the Extended Projection Principle is highly relevant, although it requires a slightly more abstract formulation.
Roberts's careful use of parameters, his unique cross-linguistic coverage between Welsh and Romance languages, and his reformulation of the Extended Projection Principle make this book of interest to linguists concerned with generative theory and comparative syntax.Review Quotes: "A significant body of research on the motivations for and mechanisms of word order variation (e.g., case, the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) etc.) have dominated recent work in minimalist principles and parameters syntax. Roberts' book provides a very important addition to this canon of work, bringing in new evidence from a relatively understudied language. ... In addition to this important technical and theoretical contribution, Roberts' book fills a gap in the literature on the syntax of the Celtic languages. ...this is work of importance not only to Celticists and VSO-ologists, but also to any syntactician seriously considering the nature and variation in word order derivation and constituent licensing."--Linguist List