At the Syntax-Pragmatics Interface: Verbal Underspecification and Concept Formation in Dynamic Syntax

by Lutz Marten

At the Syntax-Pragmatics Interface explores the interaction of grammar and context in human communication. The author shows how the interpretation of verbs and verb phrases involves the complex interaction of language-specific syntactic knowledge and the general reasoning people need in order to understand and to make themselves understood. He argues that there is no syntactically defined interface level between these two components, but rather that hearers employ structural and pragmatic knowledge in tandem.

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First published October 17, 2002