Cornips Leonie, Corrigan Karen P. (Eds.). Syntax and Variation: Reconciling the Biological and the Social

John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2005. — 319 p. — (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 265).The papers in this collection share a common interest in the empirical, theoretical and meta-theoretical aspects of the ‘internal-external’ (‘formal-functional’) debate in linguistic theory. The primary aim of this volume is to initiate cooperation between internationally renowned generative and variationist linguists with a view to developing an innovative and more cohesive approach to syntactic variation. The present volume contains treatments incorporating the analysis of external factors into accounts focusing on the internal linguistic conditioning of syntactic variation and change cross-linguistically. As such, it offers novel approaches to three key areas of current linguistic debate, viz. (1) Methodological practices, (2) Theoretical applications and (3) Modularity. The volume is, therefore, an important achievement for the progress of linguistic theory more generally and it is an even more crucial milestone in the coming-of-age of ‘Socio-Syntax’ as a discipline in its own right.Toward an integrated approach to syntactic variation: A retrospective and prospective synopsis
Leonie Cornips and Karen P. CorriganAspects of Modularity
A modular approach to sociolinguistic variation in syntax: The gerund in Ecuadorian Spanish - Pieter Muysken
Selective optionality in language development - Antonella Sorace
Syntactic variation and spoken language - Jenny CheshireIndividual Speaker Variability and Methodological Innovation
Idiolectal variation and syntactic theory - Alison Henry
Focus raising: A paradigmatic example of the treatment of syntactic variation - Judit Gervain and Gábor ZemplénSyntactic Variability, Social Stratification and Real/Apparent Time
Variation and the minimalist program - David Adger and Jennifer Smith
Principles and parameters in change - Elly van Gelderen
Morphosyntactic variation and theory: Subject-verb agreement in Acadian French - Ruth KingSyntactic Variability Across Geographical Space
Word order variation in three-verb clusters and the division of labour between generative linguistics and sociolinguistics - Sjef Barbiers
The third dimension of person features - Paola Benincà and Cecilia Poletto