The Syntax Construction Kit

by Mark Rosenfelder

An accessible but incisive introduction to modern syntax and generative grammar, for conlangers and anyone interested in languages or linguistics. Syntax can be frustrating, because there are multiple schools that seem to fight over inessential things. I hope I can show you that this is normal for a new field, and that it actually makes syntax fun. New discoveries are being made, and you can participate— something that’s a lot harder to do in, say, quantum mechanics. The emphasis here is on doing syntax-- learning how to make and how to evaluate syntactic arguments. What’s in it? An introduction to the Chomsky Hierarchy, a classification of grammars that’s used both in linguistics and computer science, as well as a comparison to other generative techniques, such as Markov text generators. A tour of Chomsky’s methods— production rules and transformations— with overnight stays in the Syntactic Structures, X-bar, and Minimalist stages in his thought. A leisurely stroll through interesting bits of the English verbal complex, pronouns and other anaphors, relative clauses, quantifiers and more. The emphasis is on doing syntax— not just learning rules and drawing trees, but learning how syntactic arguments are made. An overview of alternatives to Chomsky's generative syntax, cognitive linguistics, relational grammars, word grammar, construction grammar, Jackendoff's Simpler Syntax, and Comrie's universals. A chapter on production which asks, how real are these grammars? Do we really have syntactic categories and transformations in the brain, or in the genome? A chapter on how you can apply all this to your conlangs. The Syntactic Bestiary— an annotated list of transformations and constraints, which you can think about for conlanging, or use to evaluate syntactic theories. Plus, unlike most syntax textbooks, this one comes with a set of web toys so you can see the rules in action and write your own. It makes the ideas come alive much more than mere diagrams can.

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics, Language, Writing

345 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 9, 2018

Reviews

[Helena Handbasket · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much appreciated resource for both con-langing and helping understand how languages developed.

[James Colton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was not as practical for conlangers as the others (Language Construction Kit, Advanced Language Construction, Conlanger’s Lexipedia), because it is about attempts to describe English syntax rather than how to invent a syntax of your own. That’s not to say the book is useless for conlangers; there is one chapter dedicated to conlang application, and reading about all the different ways of analyzing syntax resulted in a mental shift that helped me get over a roadblock in my own project.

[Teagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Rosenfelder of Zompist Bboard fame has been a staple of the conlanging community for as long as this reader can remember and likely well before. And for good reason.
This book is not a light read. (When is linguistics a light read?) But if you are an aspiring conlanger looking to add depth to your languages, or someone with an interest in linguistics wanting to dip your toe into syntax, it's written in a very conversational style with good explanations of each topic.

[Elijah Funk · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first dive into syntactic theories. Noam Chomsky is met with many other views explained clearly. I appreciate the examples and glosses from non-English languages

[Minerva Ning · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best syntax book for engineering folks I have ever met (It even has every toolkit deployed online) + fluent NC revisited + really teaches you how to make a Conlang 'natural'

[Jeffrey Henning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been meaning to read this for three years. This is a fun read for anyone interested in linguistics or making their own constructed language (conlanging). It also has great example sentences! It immediately inspired me to make the grammar of my current project more complex, while helping me better understand aspects of how other languages work.