Linguist Forum

Specializations => Morphosyntax => Topic started by: Jase on March 16, 2014, 11:53:20 AM

Title: Tree Terminology
Post by: Jase on March 16, 2014, 11:53:20 AM

I have just finished reading and trying to process the information in chapter 4 of Carnie's Syntax. I can understand precedence, domination and c-command. No problem. To what extent is the terminology in this chapter that important, though? As in exhaustive domination and symmetric c-command, etc.?

Thanks.

Title: Re: Tree Terminology
Post by: Daniel on March 16, 2014, 12:58:08 PM

If you understand c-command you'll be fine to move on to the next chapters. Beyond that I'm not sure what you mean by "important".

Title: Re: Tree Terminology
Post by: Jase on March 16, 2014, 06:29:09 PM

Quote from: djr33 on March 16, 2014, 12:58:08 PM

If you understand c-command you'll be fine to move on to the next chapters. Beyond that I'm not sure what you mean by "important".

Normally with such textbooks, you need to move on and not get stuck in the minutiae. I just want to know that I'm grasping enough to move on to X-bar Theory and get more into the meet of the textbook. I don't want to get weighted down by each and every term in the chapter, since there are a lot.

In the meantime, I've read through and understood the chapter on binding as it applies to anaphors and pronouns, and I am now starting in on the chapter about X-bar Theory (with excitement). It is very interesting that X-bar is binary only, and from what I've seen so far I'm intrigued by how much more descriptive it is (in contrast to the flat looking trees that I've been working on).

Thanks for the feedback.

Jase