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2021/2022

Catalan Syntax

Code: 100696 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2501801 Catalan and Spanish OB 3 1
2501902 English and Catalan OB 3 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Jaume Mateu Fontanals
Email:
Jaume.Mateu@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

Catalan native language needed. It is required for the students to have an excellent oral and written command of the Catalan language and it is also necessary for them to master the associated prescriptive grammar.

It is also very important for the students to be acquainted with the contents of "Catalan language" (1st course).

Objectives and Contextualisation

The subject of Catalan Syntax (code: 100696) consists of the study of the relations between the lexicon and the syntax of Catalan. This course is part of the set of compulsory subjects included in "Catalan language: synchrony and diachrony".
 
MAIN GOALS:
  • to be capable of analyzing basic syntactic structures
  • to be capable of relating the properties of the lexicon with the form of syntactic structures
  • to be capable of distinguishing which aspects of lexical meaning are relevant to grammar and which are not
  • to be capable of analyzing the syntactic and semantic properties of different types of predicates and argument structures
  • to be capable of analyzing the syntactic and semantic properties of idioms and other lexicalized expressions of Catalan
  • to be capable of analyzing the syntactic and semantic properties of word formation (derivation and compounding) of Catalan
  • to be capable of distinguishing, by using a lexical theory, which words are (im)possible

Competences

    Catalan and Spanish
  • Analyse, with the help of the concepts of linguistic theory and contributions of applied linguistics when appropriate, the main properties phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic Catalan language, its evolution throughout history its current structure.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    English and Catalan
  • Analyse, with the help of the concepts of linguistic theory and contributions of applied linguistics when appropriate, the main properties phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic Catalan language, its evolution throughout history its current structure.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply appropriate and thoughtfully prescriptive principles of oral and written standard Catalan.
  2. Properly apply the knowledge gained to data collection and management of documentary sources application to the study of Catalan language and literature.
  3. Understanding the processes of bending, derivation, composition and lexicalization.
  4. Work independently in the synchronic and diachronic study of Catalan language and literature.

Content

 
The curriculum of the combined philological degrees is in the process of being updated, so this subject is taught with alternative teaching with the Lexicon and Grammar subject (code: 105827), from which the Teaching Guide can be consulted on the webpage of the Degree in Catalan Philology: studies of literature and linguistics. 
According to the set of subjects included in "Catalan language: synchrony and diachrony", the contents to be dealt are the following ones:
o Syntax as a projection from the lexicon
o Categorial selection and semantic selection
o Argument structure and types of predicates
o Lexical aspect and grammatical aspect
o Syntactic and semantic properties of derivation and compounding
 

Methodology

There will be a combination of lectures with some exercises, discussion, and analyses of syntactic phenomena.

Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject. In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies..

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures and classroom practice 52 2.08 2, 1, 3, 4
Type: Supervised      
Discussion of bibliography and exercise resolution 19 0.76 2, 1, 3, 4
Type: Autonomous      
Study of class notes and bibliography 40 1.6 2, 1, 3, 4

Assessment

The assessment will be based on the following activities:

(a) Final exam: 50%

(b) Lexicogrammatical analysis exercises: 20%

(c) Essay: 20%

(d) Other complementary activities: 10%

The teacher will inform students about the procedure and dates for reviewing grades. The minimum grade to pass the course is 5.

Re-assessment for this subject will consist of a test, which will stand for 50%. For the student to be able to do this test, the following two conditions are required: (i) having obtained an average overall grade that is equal to or higher than 3.5 and having being assessed wrt 2/3 parts of the subject. The maximum overall grade to be obtained from the re-assessment test is 5.

In the event that the student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant change in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event of several irregularities in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Essay on an article 20% 17 0.68 2, 1, 3, 4
Exercises of lexico-syntactic analysis 20% 17 0.68 2, 1, 3, 4
Final test 50% 1.5 0.06 2, 1, 3, 4
Other activities 10% 3.5 0.14 2

Bibliography

Bosque, Ignacio (1989/20152). Las categorías gramaticales. Madrid: Síntesis.

Bosque, Ignacio (2004). “Sobre la redundancia y las formas de interpretarla”. Paper downloadable at: https://sites.google.com/site/ignaciobosquemunoz/

Bosque, Ignacio & Javier Gutiérrez-Rexach (2009). Fundamentos de sintaxis formal. [chap. 5 “Léxico y sintaxis”, pp. 241-341]. Madrid: Akal.

Cabré, Teresa & Jaume Mateu. (1998). “Estructura gramatical i normativa lingüística: a propòsit dels verbs psicològics en català”. Quaderns. Revista de Traducció 2: 65-81.

De Miguel, Elena (ed.). (2009). Panorama de la lexicología. Barcelona: Ariel Letras.

Demonte, Violeta (2006). “Qué es sintáctico y qué es léxico en la interficie entre sintaxis y léxico-semántica: hipótesis y conjeturas.” Signo y Seña 15: 17-42. Paper downloadable at:

https://palabrasparavioleta.weebly.com/uploads/9/6/4/6/9646574/2006-signo-lexico-sintaxis.pdf

Escandell-Vidal, M.Victoria (2007). Apuntes de Semántica léxica. [chap. 7 “Entre léxico y sintaxis”, pp. 129-148. Cuadernos de la UNED. Madrid.

Espinal, M. Teresa & Jaume Mateu (2005). “La llengua a les frases fetes”. Articles de Didàctica de la Llengua i de la Literatura 36: 20−31.

Fábregas, Antonio (2013). La morfología. El análisis de la palabra compleja. Madrid: Síntesis.

Ginebra, Jordi & Pere Navarro (2015). “Concurrències lèxiques en català i en espanyol: uns quants contrastos.” In À. Martín Escribà et al. (eds.). Actes del Setzè Col·loqui Internacional de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes. Universitat de Salamanca, 1–6 de juliol de 2012, vol. 2, pp. 217−228.  Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat.

Gràcia, Lluïsa (1994). Morfologia lèxica. L’herència de l’estructura argumental. Series: Biblioteca Lingüística Catalana. Universitat de València.

Marantz, Alec (1997). “No Escape from Syntax. Don’t Try Morphological Analysis in the Privacy of Your Own Lexicon”. UPenn Working Papers in Linguistics 4.2: 201-225.

Mateu, Jaume (2002). “Lexicologia II. L’estructura semàntica de les unitats lèxiques”. In M. Teresa Espinal (coord.). Semàntica. Del significat del mot al significat de l’oració, pp. 139-182. Barcelona: Ariel Lingüística.

Mateu, Jaume (2015). “La estructura argumental”. In Ángel J. Gallego (ed.). Perspectivas de sintaxis formal, pp. 111-148. Madrid: Akal.

Mateu, Jaume (2020). “Lexicalized Syntax: Phraseology". In Joan A. Argenter & Jens Lüdtke (eds.). Manual of Catalan Linguistics. Berlin: De Gruyter. 

Morimoto, Yuko (20172). El aspecto léxico: delimitación. Madrid: Arco Libros.

Pustejovsky, James & Olga Batiukova (2019). The Lexicon. Series: Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rosselló, Joana (20082).“El SV: verb i arguments verbals”. In Joan Solà et al. (dir.). Gramàtica del català contemporani. Cap. 13, vol. 2. Barcelona: Empúries.

Software

None.