Full Description
This book argues convincingly against the widespread opinion that very few syntactic studies were carried out before the 1950s. Relying on the detailed analysis of a large amount of original sources, it shows that syntactic matters were in fact carefully investigated throughout both the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century. Moreover, it illustrates how the enormous development of syntactic research in the last fifty years has already condemned even several recent ideas and analyses to oblivion, and deeply influenced current research programs. The wealth of research undertaken over the last two centuries is presented here in a systematic way, taking as its starting point the relationship of syntax with psychology throughout this period. The critical ideas expressed in the text are based on a detailed illustration of the different syntactic models and analyses rather than on the polemics between the different schools.
Contents
1. Preface; 2. 1. Introduction; 3. Part I: The age of psychologism in linguistics; 4. 2. The rise and fall of 'psychologistic' syntax; 5. 3. "What is syntax?"; 6. 4. The analyses of the sentence and of the word groups; 7. Part II: The age of structural linguistics; 8. 5. The role of syntax in the structuralist systems; 9. 6. Structuralist approaches to sentence analysis; 10. 7. The techniques of syntactic description; 11. Part III: The age of syntactic theories; 12. 8. The shaping of syntactic theories; 13. 9. Different views of syntax; 14. 10. The 'Chomskian program'; 15. References; 16. Index of names; 17. Index of subjects
