Overview

This course offers a view of human language as a rule-governed system. It will show how language is learned and how the human mind stores the structure of language. This course will introduce components of linguistics theory in a generative framework. Some broad topics that will be covered in this course include Introduction to language and linguistics as a scientific domain of systematic investigation into language at the levels of sounds, words, and sentences. Nature of learning language from generative perspective; Biological Foundation of Language; Generative Foundation of Language Acquisition; Language Acquisition Device; Universal Grammar; Structure of Language around Sounds, Words, and Sentences; Constraints on Word Formation; Introduction to phonotactic constraints on word formation; Order of Words in Sentence (Subject-Object-Verb); X-bar Theory (Specifiers vs. Complements, Arguments vs. Adjuncts); Theta-Theory; Theta Role Assignment; Case theory (Abstract, Inherent, and Morphological Case, Exceptional Case Marking, Nominative-Accusative vs. Ergative-Absolutive patterns); Raising Movement (A-Movement); Movement in Passives; A-bar-Movement (Wh- Movement, Constraints on A-bar Movements; Binding Theory (Conditions A, B, and C, Role of Structural Relationships such as C-command, Locality, Binding Domains); Constraints on Movement

Syllabus

Mod-01 Lec-01 Introduction of the Course.
Mod-01 Lec-02 What is linguistics? What is Language?.
Mod-01 Lec-03 Language and Arbitrariness, Language and Dialect.
Mod-01 Lec-04 E vs I Language, Language as a rule governed system.
Mod-01 Lec-05 Language Faculty, Language in Human Mind.
Mod-01 Lec-06 How do we learn language?.
Mod-01 Lec-07 Language Acquisition.
Mod-01 Lec-08 Innateness: Some Essential Concepts.
Mod-01 Lec-09 Structure of Language at the Level of Sounds.
Mod-01 Lec-10 Sounds (Vocal Apparatus).
Mod-01 Lec-11 Places and Manners of Articulation.
Mod-01 Lec-12 Word Formation/Phonotactic Rules.
Mod-01 Lec-13 Rules of Word Formation (Singular-Plural).
Mod-01 Lec-14 Sentence: An Introduction.
Mod-01 Lec-15 Making of a Sentence (Components).
Mod-01 Lec-16 Grammaticality and Acceptability.
Mod-01 Lec-17 Subject and Verb in a Sentence.
Mod-01 Lec-18 Sentence: Objects and Verbs.
Mod-01 Lec-19 Phrase Structure.
Mod-01 Lec-20 X-Bar Theory.
Mod-01 Lec-21 Specifier and Complement.
Mod-01 Lec-22 Complements and Adjuncts.
Mod-01 Lec-23 VP Components.
Mod-01 Lec-24 Categorial Selections, Selectional Restrictions on verbs.
Mod-01 Lec-25 Thematic Relations.
Mod-01 Lec-26 Case.
Mod-01 Lec-27 Morphological and Abstract Case.
Mod-01 Lec-28 Structural Case.
Mod-01 Lec-29 Exceptional Case Marking.
Mod-01 Lec-30 Movement.
Mod-01 Lec-31 Motivations for Movement.
Mod-01 Lec-32 Questions and Movement.
Mod-01 Lec-32B Guest Lecture: Generative Grammar by Professor B. N. Patnaik.
Mod-01 Lec-33 Passives and NP Movement.
Mod-01 Lec-34 NP Movement and Raising.
Mod-01 Lec-35 Binding Theory and NP Interpretations.
Mod-01 Lec-36 Principles of Binding Theory.
Mod-01 Lec-37 Constraints on Movements.
Mod-01 Lec-38 Structure of Language and Negation.
Mod-01 Lec-39 Negation and Negative Polarity Items.
Mod-01 Lec-40 Structure, Language, Cognition and Pragmatics.