Description: 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.
Brief description: Ian Roberts is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cambridge and the Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori, Pavia. In 2007 he became an Ordinary Fellow of the British Academy, and between 2019 and 2022 was the Chair of the Linguistics and Philology Section of the British Academy. He has published eight monographs and three textbooks, and has edited several collections of articles.
Review Quotes: 'In this elegantly written book, Ian Roberts shows students how universal hierarchical syntactic structure can be motivated and explores how the properties of that structure constrain the ways that syntactic relations work. With clarity, originality and precision, the book takes students to an advanced understanding of contemporary Minimalist syntax.' David Adger, Queen Mary University of London