Syntax

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

3 contact hours/week, 5.5 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.

Some prior study in Linguistics & Applied Linguistics is desirable, e.g. a first year LING subject.

Formerly available as 175-211, 175-311, 175-015 and 672-396 Syntax. Students who have completed these subjects are not eligible to enrol in this subject

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject is an introduction to basic concepts and methods of syntactic analysis and description. Emphasis is on practical analysis and description of a wide range of phenomena from a variety of languages. Students should become familiar with topics such as constituent structure, syntactic categories, grammatical functions (interface with morphology), thematic relations (interface with semantics), word order, multi-clausal constructions, including complement clauses, relative clauses and clause linking, and unbounded dependencies.

• be familiar with the main types of syntactic structures found among the languages of the world.
• have a basic understanding of core syntactic theory
• develop skills in critical thinking and analysis through describing and analysing syntactic data from a wide range of languages.

Practical assignment problems totalling 2000 words 50% (due throughout the semester) and a take-home examination of 2000 words 50% (due at the end of semester).

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

• Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
• All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day and in-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

A package of readings prepared by the Department.

'Analyzing grammar: an introduction'. Paul Kroeger. 2005. Cambridge University Press.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• have acquired skills in critical thinking and analysis.
• have acquired skill in thinking in theoretical terms.
• have developed skills in thinking creatively in evaluating and formulating analyses.
• have developed skills in observation and attention to detail.
• have developed skills in communicating knowledge intelligibly and economically.