Abstrak
Andrew Radford?s latest textbook, Minimalist syntax : exploring the structure of English, provides a clear and accessible introduction to current work in syntactic theory, drawing on the key concepts of Chomsky?s Minimalist Program. Assuming little or no prior knowledge of syntactic theory, Radford takes students through a diverse range of topics in English syntax, such as categories and features, merger, null constituents, movement, case, split projections and phases, and shows how the ?computational component? works within the minimalist framework. Beginning at an elementary level, the book introduces grammatical concepts and sets out the theoretical foundations of Principles and Parameters and Universal Grammar, before progressing in stages towards more
complex phenomena. Each chapter contains a workbook section, in which students are encouraged to make their own analyses of English phrases and sentences through exercises, model answers and ?helpful hints?. There is also an extensive glossary of terms. Although designed primarily for courses on syntactic theory or English syntax, this book also provides an up-to-date, clear and straightforward introduction to the field.
