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Universal Grammar and Iconicity

Yafei Li (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

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Hardback

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English
Cambridge University Press
03 February 2022
Within linguistics, the formal and functional approaches each offer insight into what language might be and how it operates, but so far, there have been hardly any systematic attempts to integrate them into a single theory. This book explores the relationship between universal grammar - the theory that we have an innate mechanism for generating sentences - and iconicity - the resemblance between form and meaning in language. It offers a new theory of their interactions, 'UG-iconicity interface' (UG-I), which shows that not only do universal grammar and iconicity coexist, but in fact collaborate in intricate and predictable ways. The theory explains various recalcitrant cross-linguistic facts surrounding the serial verb constructions, coordination, semantically and categorically obscure 'linkers', the multiple grammatical aspects of the external argument, and non-canonical arguments. This groundbreaking work is essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students in linguistics, as well as scholars in psychology and cognitive science.

By:  
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Height: 235mm,  Width: 157mm,  Spine: 20mm
Weight:   600g
ISBN:   9781108840439
ISBN 10:   1108840434
Pages:   280
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
1. An Interface Theory of Universal Grammar and Iconicity; 2. The Serial Verb Constructions; 3. The Connectors; 4. From the External Argument Onward; 5. Meta-Theoretical Reflections.

Yafei Li is Professor of Language Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison and affiliated part-time with Nanjing University, China. Notable publications include X0: A Theory of Morphology-Syntax Interface (2005) and The Syntax of Chinese (co-authored, 2009).

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