Meeting time. 12:30-2:00pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, KCB 107.

Professor. Paul Hagstrom, 621 Commonwealth Ave., Room 105. Email: hagstrom@bu.edu (likely to get a quick response). Phone: 617-353-6220 (x3-6220). Office hours: T 2:00-3:30, W 2-3, R 10:30-12.

Prerequisites. CAS LX 250 (or consent of instructor).

Forty words. Introduction to the logical structure and organization of language and to generative grammar. Application of principles of syntactic analysis to students' own and other languages through data-oriented problems from different language types.

Course goals. In this course, we will develop the fundamental concepts of the "Principles & Parameters" approach to syntax. We will be covering concepts from the Minimalist Program for linguistic theory, along with some concepts from Government and Binding, both central to most current work in theoretical syntax. We will make our way pretty much entirely through the course textbook, with some supplementary materials as well (to be be made available as the course progresses).

Course Requirements. Homework. Weekly homework assignments. Midterm exam. In class, Thursday, October 16. Final exam. Currently scheduled for Thursday Dec 18, 9am-11am in the usual room (this is according to the schedule for standard block times; please verify later).

Homework by email. Whenever feasible, homework (or project proposals, or final papers) can be emailed to me at hagstrom@bu.edu. Be aware that if you use special fonts, they will sometimes not come through. PDF and text-only documents are safest, but Microsoft Word, RTF, Postscript, LaTeX files will work. Please don't send a WordPerfect file, I have never managed to find a way to open them properly. Or, you know, just hand in a paper copy. If I can't read the file you send me, it doesn't really count as having been handed in, so if there's a risk of a font problem, try to send it to me early so I can verify that I can read the file

Late assignments. Late assignments will not be accepted without prior arrangement.

Textbook (required). Adger, David (2003). Core syntax: A minimalist approach. Oxford University Press. The BU Bookstore should have copies, although it might be worth checking to see if it is cheaper to get it elsewhere (e.g., Amazon or Oxford). It should be about $35. Note: This is the same textbook as last year, so you might be able to find a used copy.

Readings. Occasionally, supplemental readings may be assigned. These readings will be available in the hallway outside my office suite, in a folder labeled LX522. You may take the readings out for no more than an hour to make a personal photocopy, and then they should be returned to the folder so that others may photocopy them.

CAS Student Academic Conduct Code. As a member of a CAS course, it is essential that you read and adhere to the CAS Student Academic Conduct Code. In particular, several types of plagiarism (any attempt to represent the work of another as your own) are defined by this academic conduct code. A copy is available in CAS 105.