The Merge Hypothesis
A Theory of Aspects of Syntax

Outlines a theory which centers a principle that requires all grammatical dependencies to be Merge mediated.

Norbert Hornstein (Author)

9781009415743, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 February 2024

256 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.51 kg

'With its lively style, and total command of the history and current state of the theory, this book is sure to generate productive discussion among practitioners of Minimalism, while also serving as an excellent advanced introduction to leading ideas in the field. The book reviews and presents important new arguments for the idea that Merge is the central operation of the syntax, and, with clarity and insight, advances novel ideas about its form and function. An impressive work.' T. Daniel Seely, Program in Linguistics, Eastern Michigan University

The Merge Hypothesis is the central empirical theoretical contribution of the Minimalist Program (MP) to syntactic theory. This book offers an accessible overview of the MP, debunking common sixty years of Generative research, culminating in GB theory. He introduces The Fundamental Principle of Grammar, which advocates including labels as part of the Merge Operation and centring the notion of the constituent as the key domain of syntactic commerce. The early chapters identify the goals of the MP, how they arose from earlier descriptive and explanatory successes of the mentalist tradition within Generative Grammar, and how to develop them in future work to expand its descriptive and explanatory range. It is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary syntactic theory.

Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
1. A Whig history of generative grammar
2. Tools and particulars
3. Adding labels
4. Construal and the extended merge hypothesis (1): A-chain dependencies
5. Construal and the extended merge hypothesis (2): A-chain dependencies
6. A partial wrap up and segue
7. Labels
8. Odds and ends
9. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Grammar, syntax & morphology [CFK]