Customer Reviews

Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach (Core Linguistics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We used this book as a text for a 400 level undergraduate advanced syntax course this summer (2004). Part of the purpose of the course was to evaluate the suitability of this book as a text (and minimalism as content material) for linguistics majors taking a 200 level syntax class in the future.

The book is highly technical, as is any serious linguistics text. According to the description, it is designed for readers with no linguistics background, but we were unable to imagine it being used as a text for any class beneath the level of ours. It probably would be more appropriate for use in a graduate seminar. There is no way it could be used for freshman with no linguistics background, and at the 300 level, English majors would be hung out to dry.

Issues? Lots of them made the book's arguments and logic hard to grasp. You're following with difficulty, reading and rereading as a concept is developed, and suddenly you realize one of the definitions you were given at the beginning has been completely changed, with no indication or explanation.

The book was full of obscure examples, which raised more questions than it answered at times, because common examples don't fit in the paradigm.

Examples of tree structure were very limited, showing only fragments of trees, which made the exercises at the end of the chapter extraordinarily difficult and time-consuming.

The last chapter seemed to be written as an afterthought. I think if the author had reread his examples, he would have seen that the verbs he had used as examples in his comparison were in no way functionally equivalent, although he seemed to be under the impression they were.

Proofreading would have been helpful, as there were lots of typos, some of which changed the meaning of the text or examples.

Some of us ended up wondering the extent to which the problems were with the book, and the extent to which they were with minimalism itself.

We used this book in my final year undergrad class and I loved it. It's true that there are some annoying typos, but actually fewer than I found in other similar books, like Carnie's. What I really liked was the methodical, step by step, explanations, and far from being terribley (sic) written, I thought the writing was clear and easy to follow (although the subject matter was, it''s true, really hard). I think that this isn't an introductory text, so the blurb on the back which says it is isn't right, but as an introduction to the Minimalist theory, at advanced undergrad level or higher, it's very good.

The other reviewer is absolutely right--this text is NOT an entry-level text, even though it claims to be. I have an M.A. in linguistics and am currently working on a Ph.D., and I have some background in syntax, and I find this text quite difficult to follow. Some examples Adger lists as ungrammatical are grammatical, and vice versa. Adger seems to sometimes make claims without adequate explanation to the reader (e.g., he lists Adjective as [+Verb, -Noun]), which is disturbing because this is supposedly an introductory text. If you want an introduction to Minimalism, don't look here. If you're already a specialist in the field, this may be a good addition to you're collection (but you should be the judge of that--check it out from the library first).

David Adger's book, "Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach" is currently being used for a class on generative syntax that I'm taking. I have mixed feelings about it. From a student's perspective, it's extremely dense because Adger takes so much time motivating the system he's proposing throughout the book. It's almost like a syntactic novel in that sense. Each chapter can't really stand alone because it's slowly building on itself and each chapter motivates something that comes along in the following chapter.

However, all of this motivation, while helping to create one logical system, can be a bit awkward or ponderous. It's as if the justifications are so obscure or "illogical" (Thanks Mr. Spock), that, at times, Adger is forcing his system a bit.

Not having a background with the earlier incarnations of generative syntax (government & binding, principles & parameters, etc), I can't really comment on how Adger is redefining the processes that were taking place in those systems. But I can say that, given the system that Adger is proposing, his book does a nice job of including plenty of details to clarify (even if the clarifications are a bit obscure) his purpose.

Adger is very clear in his explanations, and he does a good job making difficult subject matter understandable. There are some typos, but that doesn't stop me from giving the book five stars.

The book is written within the most recent minimalist framework, which is based on "Derivation by Phase" (Chomsky 2001). Upper intermediate undergraduate students on Linguistics or graduate students will find out the book an excellent and updated guide to understand what's going on on Syntax. However, I don't think that this book is easy for students who don't have any background in generative Syntax. Core Syntax: A Minimalist Approach (Core Linguistics)

I am a freshman in MA program now. Having studied this Core Syntax for almost a semester, I get confued with some of the ideas in the book, especially when going through those obscure examples and explanations. People who have few or who don't have background in Linguistics will definately get confused with minimalist program or even Syntax if using this book. Maybe this resulted form the author's skipping too much.
Maybe the author wants to make his argument clear, using step-by-step assumption to give evidence. But in fact,most of us suffer more reading it in this way.
I think there are still lots improvements to be made in this book...

I am now a M.A. student of linguistics.
This is the textbook we've used before and I think it is not
a good idea to try to comprehend Minimalism well with this
one. A lot of details are missing and simply explained in
a few words. Exercises in each chapter are also not clearly
written. If you try to learn Minimalism well, JUST find some
one better else.

This book is definitely not for students with no linguistics background. The contents are not only difficult to understand but also are written without any organization. To be honest, the more you read, the more confused you are.
I am also a MA student of linguistics and i found this book extremely recondite and full of tons of typos. Anyway, whoever has no background in syntax and is about to start with the latest minimalist program, this book is abosulately a BIG NO-NO!