Round 10: Tossup 16

Tanya Reinhart coined the name of a key concept in this sub-field in a 1976 thesis on anaphora. This linguistic sub-field is the subject of the “penthouse principle” and Richard Kayne’s theory of its “antisymmetry.” In one framework, a “narrow” form of this sub-field’s namesake subject consists of interfaces of D-structure, S-structure, (15[1])and logical form, and then proceeds via the operations “Merge,” “Move,” (15[1])and “Agree.” The notion of (*) “c-command” is central to many theories in this sub-field, (10[1])in which languages can be classified as “left-branching” or “right branching.” The “autonomy” of this sub-field is often demonstrated by the sentence “colorless green ideas sleep furiously.” For 10 points, name this sub-field which studies grammar and the formation of grammatical sentences. ■END■ (10[1])

ANSWER: syntax [or syntactics; prompt on X-bar Theory, Government and Binding Theory, or the Minimalist Program; prompt on grammar until “grammar” is read by asking “what linguistic sub-field studies grammatical relations?”]
<JG, Social Science> | NAFTA-Packet-10
= Average correct buzzpoint

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