This course is part of the Degree in Philology and is taught in the second semester of the 4th year as an optional subject. The only requirement for taking this course is that the students have passed the subject English Language II. However, it is strongly recommended that the students who want to take this course also take "Grammar of the Second Language I: English Language" in the first semester, since it is a continuation of that course where basic topics and concepts are

explained.

Its main goal is to analyze grammatical phenomena of English within the theoretical approach of Generative Grammar. We will explore the nature of explanation claimed by the theory and the nature of syntactic argumentation. Whenever possible our discussion will be informed by data from a variety of languages, although our main focus will be English. Links will also be established with first (L1), second (L2) and third (L3) language acquisition data. Our goals will be to attain a firm grasp of the most important principles of Government and Binding (GB) theory and construct syntactic analyses within its framework.

COMPETENCES:



This course belongs to the module M16 Second Language: English. Specifically, it contributes to the achievement of module competence M16CM03:



M16CM03 To know and be able to use the grammatical structure of the English language, in order to understand the contrastive characteristics of the language studied.



Final achievement of the module competences above entails the fulfilment of the degree competences G005/G009/G010:

G005 To be able to learn and permanently update one’s knowledge as well as solving problems autonomously and in groups in order to carry out one’s academic and professional project from a perspective of diversity and multiculturalism.

G009 To be able to analyze, synthesize and explain the grammar, use and history of varieties of the language in light of theoretical and methodological linguistic perspectives.

G010 To become familiar with the applications of philology in the edition and correction of texts, translations, terminology, neology and linguistic planning.



LEARNING OUTCOMES:



In this course students can:



(i) Identify the different Universal Grammar modules and recognize their interconnection.

(ii) Explain different set of data with theory-appropriate terminology.

(iii) Use tree-structure representations of phrases and sentences on the basis of the framework adopted in class.

(iv) Use and enhance their linguistic argumentation skills on the basis of empirical data.

(v) (Hopefully) enjoy working with morphosyntax.

1. The scientific study of language

1.1 What are we studying?

1.2 The Scientific Method

1.3 The competence/performance distinction

1.4 Some simple approaches to grammaticality judgments

1.5 Language acquisition and Universal Grammar

1.6 Description and explanation: the case of structure-dependent rules



2. Phrase structure

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Phrase structure trees and phrase structure rules

2.3 Constituency

2.4 The elements of a phrase structure tree and their relations (dominance, c-command)

2.5 Are two levels enough? The structure of NPs & VPs. Specifiers, complements & adjuncts.

2.6 X’-theory: A review



3. Functional categories

3.1 Introduction

3.2 From Aux to S to IP: tense and agreement

3.3 Complementizers and CPs: complementizers and feature assignment

3.4 Getting into DET: The DP Hypothesis

3.5 Evidence for Determiner Phrases (DPs)

3.6 Functional categories and morphosyntactic features in English



4. The lexicon and sentence structure

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Predicates and arguments. Thematic structure and Theta Theory

4.3 The Projection Principle

4.4 The assignment of thematic roles

4.5 The Extended Projection Principle

4.6 The impact of Theta-theory on the syntax of infinitival constructions

4.7 Theta-theory and syntactic functions



5. Case Theory

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Where do lexical NPs occur?

5.3 Morphological case and abstract Case

5.4 Structural Case: Nominative and accusative

5.5 The Case Filter

5.6 Adjectives and nouns

5.7 Adjacency and Case assignment

5.8 Passivization and Case Theory



6. Binding Theory

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Anaphors and Principle A

6.3 Pronouns and Principle B

6.4 R-expressions and Principle C



7. Movement and Chains

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Transformations: An introduction

7.3 Wh-movement: Subjacency and successive cyclicity

7.4 More evidence for successive cyclicity

7.5 More transformations: Passive and raising

7.6 Levels of application of principles

7.7 Chains

7.8 Summary

Class development:



Classes are aimed to be interactive. Students will be provided with detailed Power Point presentations for each of the units covered in class. This material will be presented in the different class sessions. The teacher explains the material, which is designed in such a way that students may participate at different times in the development of the class (classroom exercises have been included in specific sections of the Power Point presentations).



Practice sessions will be devoted to provide more exercises, correct homework, and develop group work by means of collaborative and cooperative tasks. Students are expected to apply the Scientific Method, which is explained in the first unit. Thus, they will be analyzing language data, constructing explicit hypotheses and their successive modification on the basis of new data, evaluating hypotheses on the grounds of their consistency with the theory, and on general grounds of simplicity. Students will also link both theory and data so as to construct relevant counterexamples. We will also use newspaper articles that tackle issues relevant to each of the units or other pieces of information considered interesting (Note: if the articles are written in Spanish they will be commented on in English).



Students are encouraged to keep in mind that our class is an environment in which displays of incomprehension do not reveal their weaknesses but rather reveal their strength as workers completing a task in which they play a pivotal role.



A series of Cyclic Tests will be done in class, in order to evaluate students’ knowledge on the contents covered in class; these Cyclic Tests will be done as the course progresses and will be returned with the corresponding mark and comments by the teacher. Moreover, after each unit, a Kahoot Quiz will be done in class, with the aim of consolidating and reviewing concepts, as well as providing detailed feedback; these Kahoot Quizzes will be done individually and in groups (IKDi3 23-09 project: “Kahoot! en la Educación Superior. Efectividad y Percepciones”).



The material for the course will be available on eGela and in the Photocopy Centre as the course progresses. It is the students’ responsibility to collect this material. Students are expected to go to the eGela platform (https://egela.ehu.eus/) to download relevant class material (Power Point presentations, complementary readings, practice worksheets, etc.) and to read news about the course. You are all encouraged to come to office hours to ask questions and check on your progress.

• Sistema de Evaluación Continua
• Sistema de Evaluación Final
• Herramientas y porcentajes de calificación:
  • Prueba escrita a desarrollar (%): 50
  • Prueba tipo test (%): 40
  • Kahoot Quizzes (%): 10

ASSESSMENT:



The type of assessment implemented in this subject is known as continuous assessment, as it combines continuous evaluation (Cyclic Tests and Kahoot Quizzes) and an end-of-course exam. Students will be assessed according to their performance in the following tasks: Cyclic Tests (40%), Kahoot Quizzes (10%) and an end-of-course exam (50%).



CONDITIONS:



1. In order for students to obtain a passing mark for the whole course, they must get a passing mark (50%) in the end-of- course exam. Partial marks (Cyclic Tests and Kahoot Quizzes) will be added to the mark obtained in the exam, if and only if the end-of-course exam is passed.



2. Information on the use of resources and materials for the assessment tasks/exam:



Exam: The use of mobile or electronic devices, notes, books is not allowed.

Cyclic Tests: the work submitted by the students must be their own work and must have been written completely by themselves. The students must identify and include the source of all facts, ideas, opinions and viewpoints of others through in-text referencing and the relevant sources should all be included in the list of references at the end of their work. Direct quotations from books, journal articles, internet sources or any other source must be acknowledged and the sources cited must be identified in the list of references. References and in-text citations will follow the APA 7th

edition format.



3. Withdrawal from Continuous Assessment: All students have the right to be evaluated according to the final evaluation procedure independently of whether or not they have participated in the continuous assessment module. In order to withdraw from the continuous assessment, they must write the instructor responsible for the course expressing their desire to do so. For quadmestral courses students can do so within the first 9 weeks of the course, according to the academic calendar of their centre. Students who withdraw from continuous assessment will take a final examination that counts 100% of the final mark. The form that has to be filled in is available at the website of the Faculty of Arts: https://www.ehu.eus/documents/1690128/3694125/RenunciaEvaluacionContinua_20170911.pdf.



4. Withdrawal from an exam call: Withdrawal from a call will be assessed as "no grade reported" [no presentado/a].

4.1. In the case of continuous assessment, as the final exam is worth more than 40%: not sitting the exam on the official date of the exam qualifies as an automatic withdrawal from the corresponding call.

4.2. In the case of final assessment, not sitting the exam on the official date of the exam qualifies as an automatic withdrawal from the corresponding call.



The new regulation about assessment can be found at the following link: http://www.ehu.eus/es/web/estudiosdegrado-gradukoikasketak/ebaluaziorako-arautegia



5. The percentage corresponding to Cyclic Tests and Kahoot Quizzes will be considered if and only if the end-of-course exam has been passed. In other words, only if you obtain a passing grade (50%) in the end-of-course exam will the other grades be considered.



6. Class attendance and participation are expected and highly recommended, as it is crucial to become familiar with linguistic argumentation and analysis.



7. ONLINE ASSESSMENT

In the case of online assessment, both continuous and final evaluation students will have to carry out the aforementioned testing tasks (Cyclic Tests, Kahoot Quizzes and an end-of-course exam) by means of online platforms such as eGela and/or Google Forms. The weight (%) of each testing task will be the same as in face-to-face assessment.

1. The mark will be based on an exam (100%).



2. Partial marks (Cyclic Tests and Kahoot Quizzes) may be kept for the 2nd call provided the student has completed the aforementioned assignments and obtained a pass in them. In addition, these marks will be added to the mark obtained in the 2nd call exam, if and only if the student gets a pass (50%) in this exam.



3. Information on the use of resources and materials:



Exam: The use of mobile or electronic devices, notes, books is not allowed.

Cyclic Tests: the work submitted by the students must be their own work and must have been written completely by themselves. The students must identify and include the source of all facts, ideas, opinions and viewpoints of others through in-text referencing and the relevant sources should all be included in the list of references at the end of their work. Direct quotations from books, journal articles, internet sources or any other source must be acknowledged and the sources cited must be identified in the list of references. References and in-text citations will follow the APA 7th edition format.



4. Withdrawal from an exam call: Withdrawal from a call will be assessed as "no grade reported" [no presentado/a, ez aurkeztua]. Not sitting the exam on the official date of the exam qualifies as an automatic withdrawal from the corresponding call.



The new regulation about assessment can be found at the following link: http://www.ehu.eus/es/web/estudiosdegrado-gradukoikasketak/ebaluaziorako-arautegia



5. ONLINE ASSESSMENT

In the case of online assessment, both continuous and final evaluation students will have to carry out the aforementioned testing tasks (Cyclic Tests, Kahoot Quizzes and an end-of-course exam) by means of online platforms such as eGela and/or Google Forms. The weight (%) of each testing task will be the same as in face-to-face assessment.

The material for the course will be available on eGela (https://egela.ehu.eus/) and in the Photocopy Centre as the course progresses.

Bibliografía básica

Carnie, A. (2006 [2002]). Syntax: A Generative Introduction. Blackwell.

Cook, V., & Newson, M. (2007) [1996]. Chomsky's Universal Grammar: An Introduction. Oxford/Blackwell.

Cowper, E. A. (1992). A Concise Introduction to Syntactic Theory: The Government-Binding Approach. The University of Chicago Press.

Culicover, P. W. (1997). Principles and Parameters. An Introduction to Syntactic Theory. OUP.

Haegeman, L. (1994 [1991]). Introduction to Government and Binding Theory. Oxford/Blackwell.

Haegeman, L. (2006). Thinking Syntactically. A Guide to Argumentation and Analysis. Blackwell.

Lorenzo, G., & Longa, V. (1996). Introducción a la Sintaxis Generativa. Madrid: Alianza. Tallerman, M. (2011). Understanding Syntax. Hodder Education.

Radford, A. (1988). Transformational Grammar: A First Course (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics). Cambridge University Press.

Roberts, I. (2023). Beginning Syntax: An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics). Cambridge University Press.

Rutherford, W. (1998). A Workbook in the Structure of English. Linguistic Principles and Language Acquisition. Blackwell Publishers.

Bibliografía de profundización

Adger, D. (2003). Core Syntax. A Minimalist Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Anderson, S. R., & Lightfoot, D. W. (2002). The Language Organ. Linguistics as Cognitive Psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Chomsky, N. (1986). Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin and Use. Praeger.
Dubinsky, S., & Holcomb, C. (2011). Understanding Language through Humor. Cambridge University Press.
Haegeman, L., & Guéron, J. (1999). English Syntax. A Generative Approach. Blackwell.
Radford, A. (2004). Minimalist Syntax. Exploring the Structure of English. Cambridge University Press.
Radford, A. (2009). Analysing English Sentences. A Minimalist Approach. Cambridge University Press.
Smith, N. (1999). Chomsky: Ideas and Ideals. Cambridge University Press.
Yang, C. (2006). The Infinite Gift. How Children Learn and Unlearn the Languages of the World. Scribner.

Revistas

Language Acquisition: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hlac20/current
Lingua: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/lingua/
Natural Language and Linguistic Theory: http://link.springer.com/journal/11049
Syntax: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14679612

Direcciones web

Generative Linguistics in the Old World (GLOW): https://glowlinguistics.org/
The Linguist List: http://www.linguistlist.org
The Linguistic Association of Great Britain: http://www.lagb.org.uk
The Linguistic Society of America: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/
General information and linguistic materials: http://www.sil.org/linguistics/topical.html
FAQs on the scientific study of human language: http://www.zompist.com/langfaq.html
The domains of linguistics: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/domain-linguistics
The Linguistics fun page: http://www.ojohaven.com/fun/
The Ling Space: http://www.thelingspace.com/