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Responding to the increasing interest in comparative syntax, the goal of the Cambridge Syntax Guides is to make available to all linguists major findings, both descriptive and theoretical, which have emerged from the study of particular languages. The series is not committed to work in any particular framework, but rather seeks to make language-specific research available to theoreticians and practitioners of all persuasions. Written by leading figures in the field, these guides will each include an overview of the grammatical structures of the language concerned. For the descriptivist, the books will provide an accessible introduction to the methods and results of the theoretical literature; for the theoretician, they will show how constructions that have achieved theoretical notoriety fit into the structure of the language as a whole; for everyone, they will promote cross-theoretical and cross-linguistic comparison with respect to a well-defined body of data.

  • General Editors: P. Austin, B. Comrie, J. Bresnan, D. Lightfoot, I. Roberts, N. V. Smith

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13 results in Cambridge Syntax Guides

The Syntax of Portuguese
  • Mary A. Kato, Ana Maria Martins, Jairo Nunes
  • Published online:
    30 March 2023
    Print publication:
    06 April 2023
  • Portuguese is the second most spoken Romance language in the world, and due to recent interest in comparative syntax, the literature on its syntax has increased exponentially, resulting in exciting discoveries of a range of aspects that have hitherto been overlooked. This book provides a theoretically grounded overview of the major syntactic properties of Portuguese, focusing on the differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese. It shows from a theoretical point of view how different syntactic properties are interconnected by comparing and contrasting the variances between pronominal and agreement systems, null subjects, null complements, and word order. It also highlights how small differences in the specification of syntactic properties may yield quite different dialects. It introduces key theoretical points without technical jargon, making the content accessible to specialist and non-specialists alike. It is essential reading for both academic researchers and students of Portuguese language, comparative syntax, Romance linguistics, and theoretical syntax.

The Syntax of Spanish
  • Karen Zagona
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    24 December 2001
  • Clear and well-organised, this textbook is an introduction to Spanish syntax, which assumes no prior knowledge of current theory. Beginning with a descriptive overview of the major characteristics of the grammar, it goes on to describe facts about Spanish, such as its word order, notions of 'subject', 'direct object', 'auxiliary verb' and so on. The book combines traditional grammatical description with perspectives gained from recent research in the Principles and Parameters framework. It also presents useful theoretical notions such as semantic roles, Case, and Predication. Accessibly written, the book gives just enough background so as to allow the reader to understand the lines of investigation that have been pursued in accounting for such issues as clause structure and constituent order. It will be of use to students who are interested in grammar, Spanish, or in some of the basic results of modern, formal linguistic theory.

The Syntax of Chinese
  • C.-T. James Huang, Y.-H. Audrey Li, Yafei Li
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    19 March 2009
  • The past quarter of a century has seen a surge in Chinese syntactic research that has produced a sizeable literature on the analysis of almost every construction in Mandarin Chinese. This guide to Chinese syntax analyses the majority of constructions in Chinese that have featured in theoretical linguistics in the past 25 years, using the authors' own analyses as well as existing or potential alternative treatments. A broad variety of topics are covered, including categories, argument structure, passives and anaphora. The discussion of each topic sums up the key research results and provides new points of departure for further research. This book will be invaluable both to students wanting to know more about the grammar of Chinese, and graduate students and theoretical linguists interested in the universal principles that underlie human languages.

The Syntax of German
  • Hubert Haider
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    07 January 2010
  • What do you know, if you know that a language has 'Object Verb' structure rather than 'Verb Object'? Answering this question and many others, this book provides an essential guide to the syntactic structure of German. It examines the systematic differences between German and English, which follow from this basic difference in sentence structure, and presents the main results of syntactic research on German. Topics covered include the strict word order in VO vs word order variation in OV, verb clustering, clause union effects, obligatory functional subject position, and subject-object asymmetries for extractions. Through this, a cross-model and cross-linguistic comparison evolves, highlighting the immediate implications for non-Germanic OV languages, and creating a detailed and comprehensive description of the syntactic differences that immediately follow from an OV type in contrast with a VO type like English. It will be of interest to all those interested in syntax and Germanic languages.

The Syntax of Russian
  • John Frederick Bailyn
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    27 October 2011
  • The study of Russian is of great importance to syntactic theory, due in particular to its unusual case system and its complex word order patterns. This book provides an essential guide to Russian syntax and examines the major syntactic structures of the language. It begins with an overview of verbal and nominal constituents, followed by major clause types, including null-copular and impersonal sentences, WH-questions and their distribution, and relative and subordinate clauses. The syntax behind the rich Russian morphological case system is then described in detail, with focus on both the fairly standard instances of Nominative, Accusative and Dative case as well as the important language-specific uses of the Genitive and Instrumental cases. The book goes on to analyze the syntax of 'free' word order for which Russian is famous. It will be of interest to researchers and students of syntactic theory, of Slavic linguistics and of language typology.

The Syntax of Dutch
  • Jan-Wouter Zwart
  • Published online:
    07 September 2011
    Print publication:
    15 September 2011
  • Dutch is a West-Germanic language closely related to English and German, but its special properties have long aroused interest and debate among students of syntax. This is an informative guide to the syntax of Dutch, offering an extensive survey of both the phenomena of Dutch syntax and their theoretical analyses over the years. In particular the book discusses those aspects of Dutch syntax that have played an important role in the development of syntactic theory in recent decades. Presupposing only a basic knowledge of syntax and complete with an extensive bibliography, this survey will be an important tool for students and linguists of all theoretical persuasions, and for anyone working in Germanic linguistics, linguistic typology and linguistic theory.

The Syntax of Hungarian
  • Katalin É. Kiss
  • Published online:
    06 July 2010
    Print publication:
    13 June 2002
  • Clearly written and comprehensive in scope, this is an essential guide to syntax in the Hungarian language. It describes the key grammatical features of the language, focusing on the phenomena that have proved to be theoretically the most relevant and have attracted the most attention. The analysis of Hungarian in the generative framework since the late Seventies has helped to bring phenomena which are non-overt in the English language into the focus of syntactic research. As Kiss shows, its results have been built into the hypotheses that make up universal grammar. The textbook explores issues at the centre of theoretical debates including the syntax and semantics of focus, the analysis of quantifier scope, and negative concord. This useful guide will be welcomed by students and researchers working on syntax and those interested in Finno-Ugric languages.

The Syntax of Arabic
  • Joseph E. Aoun, Elabbas Benmamoun, Lina Choueiri
  • Published online:
    30 March 2010
    Print publication:
    03 December 2009
  • Recent research on the syntax of Arabic has produced valuable literature on the major syntactic phenomena found in the language. This guide to Arabic syntax provides an overview of the major syntactic constructions in Arabic that have featured in recent linguistic debates, and discusses the analyses provided for them in the literature. A broad variety of topics are covered, including argument structure, negation, tense, agreement phenomena, and resumption. The discussion of each topic sums up the key research results and provides new points of departure for further research. The book also contrasts Standard Arabic with other Arabic varieties spoken in the Arab world. An engaging guide to Arabic syntax, this book will be invaluable to graduate students interested in Arabic grammar, as well as syntactic theorists and typologists.

The Syntax of Icelandic
  • Höskuldur Thráinsson
  • Published online:
    28 January 2010
    Print publication:
    18 October 2007
  • Icelandic is a syntactically interesting language, with aspects of its word order, clause structure, agreement patterns and case system arousing much theoretical interest and debate in recent years. This is an informative and accessible guide to the structure of Icelandic, focusing in particular on those characteristics that have contributed greatly to syntactic research. Each chapter is divided into two main sections - providing both a descriptive overview and a discussion of the theoretical and comparative issues involved - and a wide range of topics are covered, including case, agreement, grammatical relations, thematic roles, word order, clause structure, fronting, extraposition, complement, adjuncts, pronouns, and inflection. Also explored in detail are the similarities and differences between Icelandic and other related languages. Presupposing only a basic knowledge of syntax and complete with an extensive bibliography, this comprehensive survey will be an important tool for all those working on the structure of Scandinavian and Germanic languages.

The Syntax of Early English
  • Olga Fischer, Ans van Kemenade, Willem Koopman, Wim van der Wurff
  • Published online:
    23 December 2009
    Print publication:
    04 January 2001
  • This book is a guide to the development of English syntax between the Old and Modern periods. Beginning with an overview of the main features of early English syntax, it gives a unified account of the grammatical changes occurring in the language during this period. Written by four leading experts in English historical syntax, the book demonstrates the ways in which syntactic change takes place and how these changes can be explained in terms of grammatical theory and language acquisition. The authors draw upon a wealth of empirical data and through a series of well-selected case studies they cover a wide range of topics including changes in word order, infinitival constructions and grammaticalization processes. This invaluable introduction to the significant changes in early English syntax will appeal to students and researchers in historical linguistics, theoretical linguistics and the history of English.

The Syntax of French
  • Paul Rowlett
  • Published online:
    18 December 2009
    Print publication:
    08 March 2007
  • French is a syntactically interesting language, with aspects of its word order and clause structure triggering a variety of important developments in syntactic theory. This is a concise and accessible guide to the syntax of Modern French, providing a clear overview of those aspects of the language that are of particular interest to linguists. A broad variety of topics are covered, including the development and spread of French; the evolution of its syntax; syntactic variation; lexical categories; noun, verb and adjective phrases; clause structure; movement; and agreement. Drawing on the work of a wide range of scholars, it highlights the important role of French in the development of syntactic theory and shows how French challenges some fundamental assumptions about syntactic structure. An engaging and in-depth guide to all that is interesting about French, The Syntax of French will be invaluable to students and scholars of syntactic theory and comparative linguistics.

The Syntax of Chichewa
  • Sam Mchombo
  • Published online:
    08 October 2009
    Print publication:
    14 October 2004
  • This comprehensive book provides a detailed description of the major syntactic structures of Chichewa. Assuming no prior knowledge of current theory, it covers topics such as relative clause and question formation, interactions between tone and syntactic structure, aspects of clause structure such as complementation, and phonetics and phonology. It also provides a detailed account of argument structure, in which the role of verbal suffixation is examined. Sam Mchombo's description is supplemented by observations about how the study of African languages, specifically Bantu languages, has contributed to progress in grammatical theory, including the debates that have raged within linguistic theory about the relationship between syntax and the lexicon, and the contributions of African linguistic structure to the evaluation of competing grammatical theories. Clearly organised and accessible, The Syntax of Chichewa will be an invaluable resource for students interested in linguistic theory and how it can be applied to a specific language.

The Syntax of Welsh
  • Robert D. Borsley, Maggie Tallerman, David Willis
  • Published online:
    01 October 2009
    Print publication:
    18 October 2007
  • Welsh, like the other Celtic languages, is best known amongst linguists for its verb-initial word order and its use of initial consonant mutations. However it has many more characteristics which are of interest to syntacticians. This book, first published in 2007, provides a concise and accessible overview of the major syntactic phenomena of Welsh. A broad variety of topics are covered, including finite and infinitival clauses, noun phrases, agreement and tense, word order, clause structure, dialect variation, and the language's historical Celtic background. Drawing on work carried out in both Principles and Parameters theory and Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar, it takes contemporary colloquial Welsh as its starting point and draws contrasts with a range of literary and dialectal forms of the language, as well as earlier forms (Middle Welsh) were appropriate. An engaging guide to all that is interesting about Welsh syntax, this book will be welcomed by syntactic theorists, typologists, historical linguists and Celticists alike.