How to Set Parameters Arguments from Language Change
| Author/creator | Lightfoot, David Author |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication Info | Cambridge : MIT Press |
| Description | 225 p. ill 09.000 x 06.000 in. |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost |
| Subjects |
| Series | Bradford Bks. |
| Summary | Annotation Over the past decade, generative grammarians have viewed language acquisition as a process of fixing option points or parameters defined in Universal Grammar. Here David Lightfoot addresses the crucial question of what it takes to set a parameter—of what kind of experience is needed to trigger the emergence of a natural kind of grammar.<br /><br />Lightfoot asserts that parameter setting is not sensitive to embedded material, and that it is triggered only by robust elements that are structurally simple. He observes that morphological properties play a significant role in setting parameters which have widespread syntactic effects. Using evidence from data on diachronic changes and from current work in syntactic theory, Lightfoot makes precise claims about the triggering experience that can explain a number of historical puzzles. He argues that the changes could have taken place in the way they did only if language acquisition proceeds on the basis of simple, unembedded experiences.<br /><br />Along the way Lightfoot examines consequences of the loss of the rich Old English case system and of the breakdown of the verb classes and takes up particularly illuminating cases of obsolescent structures. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| ISBN | 9780262620901 |
| ISBN | 0262620901 (Trade Paper) Out of Stock Indefinitely |
| Standard identifier# | 9780262620901 |
| Stock number | 00015994 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |