Radical Construction Grammar
Syntactic Theory in Typological Perspective

This book is based on the results of research in language typology, and motivated by the need for a theory to explain them. The essence of the approach is (a) that almost all aspects of grammatical structure are language specific, and (b) that language universals are to be found in conceptual structure and in the mapping of conceptual structure on to linguistic form. It proposes intimate links between syntactic and semantic structures, and argues that the basic elements of any language are not syntactic but syntactic-semantic 'Gestalts'. Professor Croft puts forward a new approach to syntactic representation and a new model of how language and languages work. He covers a wide range of syntactic phenomena, illustrating these with examples that show the varied grammatical structures of the world's languages. The book will be accessible all linguists at graduate level and beyond.

Part. Part 1: Against Syntactic Categories as Theoretical Primitives.: Syntactic Argumentation and Radical Construction Grammar, 2.: Parts of Speech, 3.: Syntactic Categories and Semantic Relativity, 4.: Grammatical Relations/Syntactic Roles, Part. Part 2: Against Syntactic Relations.: Dependency, Constituency, and Linear Order, 6.: A Radical Approach to Syntactic Relations, 7.: Heads, Complements, and Adjuncts, Part. Part 3: Against Universal Syntactic Constructions.: The Voice Continuum, 9.: The Coordination-Subordination Continuum, 10.: Syntactic Theory and the Theory of Language

William Croft received his Ph.D. in linguistics at Stanford University in 1986. His publications includeTypology and Universals (1990), Syntactic Categories and Grammatical Relations (1991), Studies in Typology and Diachrony (coedited with Keith Denning and Suzanne Kemmer, 1990), Explaining Language Change: An Evolutionary Approach (2000), and a large number of scholarly articles. His current research areas include syntax, semantics, typology, and historical linguistics. Forthcoming books include Cognitive Linguistics (with D. Alan Cruse) and Verbs: Aspect and Argument Structure.