While language finds expression in culture, and is commonly associated with it, language is a biological property of the human species, not a cultural one. It is found in all humans, regardless of their culture, and all language systems are equally complex. We will look at syntax, the abstract properties of human language structure, and learn how to formalize the rules that govern it. As we will see, only a handful of syntactic principles are needed to generate an infinite number of possible sentences from a finite set of words available in a language. Topics covered will include the major concepts used to analyze linguistic phenomena in the generative tradition, such as phrase structure, movement, binding, and logical form.
This course is offered by the Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, the home of linguistic and communications research at Utrecht University.
This course is part of the preparations for entrance into the RMA Linguistics at Utrecht University.
Housing through Utrecht Summer School
Discount of €50 if combined with at least one more Linguistics course whose title includes mention of UiL OTS and for which the full amount is paid.
A motivation letter is required from non-EU residents. You can send it via email to email@example.com.
Piet van Tuijl T: +31 (0)30 253 6060 E: firstname.lastname@example.org