Finiteness

Theoretical and Empirical Foundations

Irina Nikolaeva (School of Oriental and African Studies)

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English

Oxford University Press
01 May 2007

Language acquisition; Grammar, syntax

This book explores the nature of finiteness, one of most commonly used notions in descriptive and theoretical linguistics but possibly one of the least understood. Scholars representing a variety of theoretical positions seek to clarify what it is and to establish its usefulness and limitations. In doing so they reveal cross-linguistically valid correlations between subject licensing, subject agreement, tense, syntactic opacity, and independent clausehood; show how these properties are associated with finiteness; and discuss what this means for the content of the category. The issues explored include how different grammatical theories represent finiteness; whether the finite/nonfinite distinction is universal; whether there are degrees of finiteness; whether the syntactic notion of finiteness has a semantic corollary; whether and how finiteness is subject to change; and how finiteness features in language acquisition.

Irina Nikolaeva opens the book by describing the history of finiteness and its place in current thinking and research. She then introduces the chapters of the book, comparing the authors' perspectives and showing what they have in common. The book is then divided into four parts. Part I considers the role finiteness plays in formal syntactic theories and Part II its deployment in functional theories and as the subject of research in typology. Parts III and IV look respectively at the finite/nonfinite opposition in individual languages and at the role finiteness plays in linguistic change and linguistic development. The book is written and structured to appeal to scholars and students of syntax and general linguistics at graduate level and above.

Edited by: Irina Nikolaeva (School of Oriental and African Studies)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 157mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 828g
ISBN: 9780199213740
ISBN 10: 0199213747
Pages: 552
Publication Date: 01 May 2007
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Further / Higher Education , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: Irina Nikolaeva: Introduction Part I Finiteness in Formal Theories 2: David Adger: Three Domains of Finiteness: A Minimalist Perspective 3: Peter Sells: Finiteness in Non-Transformational Syntactic Frameworks Part II Finiteness in Functional Theories and Typology 4: Sonia Cristofaro: Deconstructing Finiteness: Finiteness in a Functional-Typological Perspective 5: Walter Bisang: Categories That Make Finiteness: Discreteness From a Functional Perspective and Some of its Repercussions 6: Irina Nikolaeva: Constructional Economy and Nonfinite Independent Clauses Part III Finiteness in Individual Languages 7: Elena Kalinina and Nina Sumbatova: Clausse Structure and Verbal Forms in Nakh-Daghestanian Languages 8: David M. Perlmutter: In What Ways can Finite and Non-Finite Clauses Differ? Evidence from Russian 9: Jaklin Kornfilt: Verbal and Nominalised Finite Clauses in Turkish Part IV Finiteness in Diachrony and Language Acquisition 10: Adam Ledgeway: Diachrony and Finiteness: Subordination in the Dialects of Southern Italy 11: Nicholas Evans: Insubordination and its uses 12: Petra Gretsch and Clive Perdue: Finiteness in L1 and L2 Acquisition References Subject Index Author Index

Irina Nikolaeva is a Research Associate in Linguistics at the University of Oxford. She has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Leiden. Her interests include syntax, morphology, typology, lexicalist theories of grammar, and the documentation of endangered languages. She has published books on Uralic, Altaic, and Palaeosiberian languages, as well as papers on the syntax-semantics and syntax-information structure interface, phonology, and historical-comparative linguistics.

Reviews for Finiteness: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations

The book's value lies in the fact that it broadens our perspective on finiteness by providing ample discussion of 'exceptional' configurations, such as non-finite forms used in independent clauses or inflected infinitives. * Anne Breitbarch, The Journal of Linguistics *