abbreviation(s): GB Theory / Minimalism

definition: Minimalism is the latest development of Transformational Generative Grammar, which was initiated by Chomsky in the 1950s, and further developed into the Principles and Parameters (or Government and Binding) Theory of Syntax in the 1980s. The fundamental idea of Transformational Generative Syntax is that a sentence is produced from an abstract structural representation, which is sequentially altered by structure-dependent derivations, following universal principles and language-specific parameter settings. The Minimalist Program maintains that derivations and representations be minimal, according to principles of economy.

related project(s):

• Universal Grammar in Prolog
• Syntax Companion The Syntax Companion (Syncom)

related organisation(s):

• Institut für Linguistik
• Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft (SfS)
• Center for Language Studies (CLS)
• Department of Linguistics and Philosophy (MIT)
• Innovationskolleg "Formal Models of Cognitive Complexity"
• Department of Cognitive Science
• Department of Linguistics
• Centre for General Linguistics, Typology and Universals Research (ZAS)
• University of Maryland - College Park
• University of Massachusetts

related person(s):

• Henk van Riemsdijk
• Juan Uriagereka
• Gisbert Fanselow
• Edward Stabler
• Howard Lasnik
• Hubert Haider
• Sten Vikner
• Noam Chomsky
• David Pesetsky

relevant source(s):

• Minimalism issues homepage (courses , papers)
• MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science , X-Bar Theory
• MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, Generative Grammar
• MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science , Binding
• MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science , Minimalism

related publication(s):

Apsects of the Theory of Syntax.
Chomsky, Noam.
MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1965.

Lectures on Government and Binding.
Chomsky, Noam.
Foris Publications. Dordrecht. 1981.

The Minimalist Program.
Chomsky, Noam.
The MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1995.

Syntax: An International Handbook of Contemporary Research.
The theory of principles and parameters.
Chomsky, Noam and Lasnik, Howard.
J. Jacobs and A. von Stechow and W. Sternefeld and T. Vennemann. Berlin. Walter de Gruyter. 1. 1993. 506-569.

The Antisymmetry of Syntax.
Kayne, Richard.
The MIT Press. 1994.

A Course in GB Syntax: Lectures on Binding and Empty Categories.
Lasnik, Harald and Uriagereka, Juan.
MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1988.

Introduction to Government and Binding Theory.
Liliane Haegeman.
Blackwell Publishers. 1994.

Minimal Ideas. Syntactic Studies in the Minimalist Framework.
Samuel David Epstein and Thrainsson Hoskuldur.
John Benjamins. 1996.

Step by Step. Essays on Minimalist Syntax in Honor of Howard Lasnik.
Roger Martin and David Michaels and Juan Uriagereka. MIT Press. 2000.

Rhyme and Reason. An Introduction to Minimalist Syntax.
Juan Uriagereka.
MIT Press. 1998.

A Course in Minimalist Syntax.
Howard Lasnik and Juan Uriagereka.
Blackwell Publishers. forthcoming.