Understanding syntax by maggie tallerman, 9780415746984, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Review quote tallerman s strongly comparative approach to introducing the basic concepts of syntax has materialised in a understanding syntax tallerman readable and interesting book understanding syntax tallerman a stand alone, i can imagine it being difficult to get a bead on the big picture. Starting with an overview of what syntax is, the book moves on to an explanation of word classes such as noun, verb, adjective and then to a discussion of sentence. Starting with an overview of what syntax is, the book moves on to an. Basic concepts and applications provides a systematic introduction to core topics in syntax, focusing on how the basic concepts apply in the analysis of sentences. This book has been cited by the following publications. Understanding syntax provides a complete introduction to the syntax of human languages. Assuming no background in linguistic analysis, the book gives students a working knowledge of syntactic analysis from. Tallermans prose is clear and understandable and the examples clearly explain the concepts. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read.
Understanding syntax 3rd edition sil international. It means that the study of syntax is to research into the rules and the function about making a phrase, a clause and a sentence with the words order. The author avoids writing a lacklustre, moreofthesame kind of introduction to syntax by bringing aspects. Data from approximately 100 languages appears in the text, with languages representing widely differing geographical areas and distinct language families. This book contains examples from over 100 different languages. Understanding syntax is an appealing book, slim in format and clear in its prose. Written in a lively, accessible style, tallerman uses a great range of examples from across the worlds languages to introduce the most important concepts in the study of grammar in a clear and comprehensive way. Understanding syntax by maggie tallerman and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Bianca colzi rated it did not like it nov 08, the table of contents, for example, contains errors that range from the rather absurd e. The first edition of understanding syntax by maggie tallerman appeared in 1998, and the second edition in 2005, both published by hodder arnold. Cambridge core grammar and syntax english syntax by andrew radford. There are tens of thousands of them, and they are in everyday, constant use. Used books are not guaranteed to contain components andor supplements such as. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics whatever, the book presents all the major terms and concepts essential to the study of sentence structure. Word classes such as noun, verb and preposition are introduced, and the properties of syntactic categories are discussed. On sundays i frequently ride quickly to castleton on my bike a s a v a a a 6 imperative sentences like this dont pas sivize.
Good book for students with little background in linguistics, besides the basic intro to linguistics class, and maybe even without it. Starting with an overview of what syntax is, the book moves on to an explanation of word classes such as noun, verb, adjective and then to a. Edward arnold, 1998 georg marko maggie tallerman s understanding syntax is the second book in edward arnolds recently launched understanding language series. The book is organized well and both indices and contents pages do their jobs well, something ive found rare in many textbooks. Understanding syntax is an essential resource for any student of syntax. Are the all sentences and examples tallerman used appropriate in both spoken language and written.
Very minimal amount of writing and highlighting in book. The book will be essential for courses in crosslinguistic syntax, language typology, and linguistic fieldwork, as well as for basic syntactic description. Words are precious vessels that carry within them meaning sufficiently stalwart to transform lives and alter the course of nations. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, understanding syntax, third edition, explains and illustrates the major terms and concepts essential to the study of sentence structure in the worlds languages. Understanding syntax, second edition by maggie tallerman. Well be looking at examples of sentence structure from many different languages in this book, some related to. Assuming no prior grammatical knowledge, understanding syntax explains and illustrates the major concepts, categories and terminology involved in the study of crosslinguistic syntax. The main part of the workbook covers the basics of english syntax. The tests may or may not be valid and useful when probing the constituent structure of other languages.
Outside of linguistics, syntax is sometimes rather casually associated with rulegoverned vocalizations e. It does have good explanations and the presence of a lot of examples from a wide range of languages, but it lacks an editor to cull the amount of words a lot of superfluous that and the content should be better organised. Very thorny questions arise, and half the fun of syntax is trying to think of a clever analysis that can accommodate all of the facts. Clause structure is explained and illustrated, helping the. Understanding syntax edition 4 by maggie tallerman. In english traditional grammar, a phrasal verb is the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories a verb and a particle, such as an adverb or a preposition to form a single semantic unit on a lexical or syntactic level. Other than that, i thought the chaper what is syntax. Understanding syntax understanding language maggie. Syntax is the arrangement of words into a sentence that make sense in a given language. This is where the book concludes, but your understanding of syntax has just begun. This book is about the property of human language known as syntax. Maggie tallerman, understanding syntax, understanding language series, london.
Competent women and men will get the best jobs the truck hit the car. Understanding syntax 3rd edition by maggie tallerman. Uses examples from a wide variety of languages to broaden the readers syntactic skills includes exercises to consolidate learning new understanding syntax tallerman studies engage the reader with crosslinguistic syntax new further reading sections and references this new edition has been updated and revised to meet the understanding syntax. Maggie tallerman this is an introduction to the main categories, constructions, terminology and problems associated with syntax, providing a basis from which students can proceed to more advanced work. Maggie tallerman understanding syntax 55 the next chapter shows that the grammatical relations between the verb and its arguments are not static and presents the bestknown processes of changing the valency of a. Welsh, like the other celtic languages, is best known amongst linguists for its verbinitial word order and its use of initial consonant mutations. Tallerman s strongly comparative approach to introducing the basic concepts of syntax has materialised in a very readable and interesting book. Gloss is needed sensei ga gakusei ni tegami o kaita japanese the teacher wrote a letter to the student. Taking a theoryneutral and descriptive viewpoint throughout, this book. Understanding syntax tallerman rated it liked it jul 27, well provide a pdf copy for your screen reader.
The next chapter shows that the grammatical relations between the verb and its argu ments are not static and presents the bestknown processes of changing the valency of a verb by promoting objects to become subjects or by demoting subjects to an oblique phrase or even deleting them. The book ends with the intentionally ambiguously titled chapter askingquestions about syntax, which not only outlines the kinds of questions oneneeds to ask in attempting to construct a basic syntactic description of alanguage and gives an illustration of how these questions could be answered byproviding a short case study of welsh, but it. While the shortcomings of the book at times show through rs excellent scholarship and precise analysis, the strengths, which far outnumber the weaknesses, reveal themselves continually as one reads. Understanding syntax by maggie tallerman, hardcover. According to tallerman, syntax means sentence construction. Examples three lines words from the language itself morphemebymorpheme gloss.
Understanding syntax understanding language by tallerman, maggie. My main question that was only briefly addressed in the beginning and the end of the chapter is concerns the difference in spoken language and written language. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Understanding syntax is an absolute pleasure to read, thanks to its casual, downtoearth style.
Syntax therefore is not a strictly literary device, but instead is part of every utterance and written line, and even the. List of tables present tense of french verb parler, to speak. Usually this is the point where people start inventing things like agrop and so forth, based on examples that a simpler theory doesnt seem able to capture. However it has many more characteristics which are of interest to syntacticians. Ling 222 chapter 1 2 syntax how words group together to make phrases and. I had to do understanding syntax tallerman a bit of rereading to grasp some of the topics, but found it very interesting and worth the effort. As the chapters in parts ivand v show, syntax is not the only interesting part of languagebut it is nonetheless central.
Throughout clear examples and well set out tables enable the reader to grasp the complicated issues at stake. And because of the commanding power that is housed within them, i prefer to say one word filled with its meaning than utter a thousand others that i have emptied of their meaning. If youre looking for a good introduction to syntax, this is a wonderful book for that purpose. The syntax of english and in fact of any language is highly complex, and the version. Starting with the basics, it explains why we need to look at languages other than english, and guidance is. Georg marko maggie tallerman, understanding syntax. The study of the syntactic properties of languages word classes. Maggie tallerman provides you with all the tools needed to consciously analyze sentential structure and manipulate principles that underpin the discipline. Syntax also refers to the rules and principles that govern sentence structure in a language, i. These tests are found in textbooks on linguistics and syntax that are written mainly with the syntax of english in mind, and the examples that are discussed are mainly from english. I think the appeal of this book in on its use of several examples from languages around the world, and a downtoearth presentation of the main notions in. The best books of rae rated it liked it dec 01, understanding syntax is an absolute pleasure to read, thanks to its casual, downtoearth style.