Syntactic Theory and English Syntax

FAIN: FB-12220-74

Adrian Akmajian
Arizona Board of Regents (Tucson, AZ 85721-0073)

To study notions of traditional English grammar and reevaluate these notions in terms of current syntactic theory. The study will explore the question of whether the operation of grammatical rules must be sensitive to functional notions such as subject and object, or whether such rules can always be formulated in purely structural, non-functional terms. In so far as the study of the principles of grammar forms part of the study of the human conceptual mechanism, this research is a positive contribution to humanistic knowledge.