Overview

In this theoretical monograph, Edwin Williams demonstrates that when syntax is economical, it economizes on shape-distortion rather than on distance. According to Williams, this new notion of economy calls for a new architecture for the grammatical system -in fact, for a new notion of derivation. The new architecture offers a style of clausal embedding - the Level Embedding Scheme -that predictively ties together the locality, reconstructive behaviour, and ""target"" type of any syntactic process in a way that is unique to the model. Williams calls his theory ""Representation Theory"" to put the notion of economy at the forefront. Syntax, in this theory, is a series of representations of one sublanguage in another.

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Minimalism has inspired many different attempts at making precise in what sense the architecture of grammar is 'economical.' Williams's theory that grammar is constituted by a restricted number of levels of representation linked by shape-preserving mappings constitutes an original and unorthodox blend of linguistic theorizing. It is a controversial idea that yields strikingly insightful analyses, tied together into a cogent and engaging argument. --Gennaro Chierchia, Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy

Author Information

Edwin Williams is Professor of Linguistics at Princeton University.

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