A primary goal of contemporary theoretical linguistics is to develop a theory of the correspondence between sound (or gesture) and meaning. This sound-meaning correspondence breaks down completely in the case of ellipsis, and yet various forms of ellipsis are pervasive in natural language: words and phrases which should be in the linguistic signal go missing. How this should be possible is the focus of Jason Merchant's investigation. He focuses on the form of ellipsis known as sluicing, a common feature of interrogative clauses, such as in 'Sally's out hunting - guess what!'; and 'Someone called, but I can't tell you who'. It is the most frequently found cross-linguistic form of ellipsis. Dr Merchant studies the phenomenon across twenty-four languages, and attempts to explain it in linguistic and behavioural terms.
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This work focuses on the form of ellipsis known as sluicing, a feature of interrogative clauses, such as in "Sally's out hunting - guess what!"; and "Someone called, but I can't tell you who". The phenomenon is studied across 24 languages to try to explain it in linguistic and behavioural terms.
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1. Identity in Ellipsis: Focus and Isomorphism ; 2. The Syntax of Sluicing ; 3. Islands and Form-Identity ; 4. Previous Accounts ; 5. Deletio Redux ; Conclusion
This is the most comprehensive study of Sluicing to date, and clears up one of its central mysteries: how do sluices evade standard island effects. Merchant brings together extensive comparative work with a careful examination of the syntax-semantics interface, and unveils a completely new typology of island effects. This brilliant work will be the touchstone for research on ellipsis and islands for years to come.
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`This is the most comprehensive study of Sluicing to date, and clears up one of its central mysteries: how do sluices evade standard island effects. Merchant brings together extensive comparative work with a careful examination of the syntax-semantics interface, and unveils a completely new typology of island effects. This brilliant work will be the touchstone for research on ellipsis and islands for years to come.' Kyle Johnson, University of Massachusetts at Amherst `This book is a clearly written, very interesting exploration of sluicing. The author presents a number of well argued, novel ideas, and sheds new light on our understanding of a phenomenon linguists have been studying for quite a while. The author has done an excellent job in also providing a thorough overview of previous approaches, and in explaining how his analysis builds on and/or diverges from them. This is definitely a very important contribution to the field.' Anne Lobeck, English Department, Western Washington University
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Jason Merchant is Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Chicago, and is the author of many articles on ellipsis and sluicing in particular. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has been a Mellon postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and an NWO postdoctoral fellow at the University of Groningen.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780199243730
Publisert
2001
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Vekt
556 gr
Høyde
242 mm
Bredde
162 mm
Dybde
20 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
280

Forfatter

Om bidragsyterne

Jason Merchant is Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Chicago, and is the author of many articles on ellipsis and sluicing in particular. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has been a Mellon postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and an NWO postdoctoral fellow at the University of Groningen.