{"product_id":"mereological-syntax-david-adger-9780262553278","title":"Mereological Syntax","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn argument for replacing Chomsky's set-theoretic Merge view of syntax with a theory of syntax based on mereological objects.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMereology is the study of parthood--what it means for one thing to be part of another. David Adger argues that a theory of syntax based on mereological objects should replace Chomsky's set-theoretic Merge view of syntax. He shows how this new perspective solves some of the problems that have bedeviled minimalism, while opening a path to a unified approach to islands, one of the central topics in theoretical syntax for the past 50 years. Adger draws on data from across many languages and from experimental work. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAdger focuses on two puzzles--specifically, the so-called Labeling Problem and Copy Problem--that arise from the Merge model of syntax. He adapts ideas from mereology to build a system of phrase structure, using an operation he calls Subjoin, that solves these puzzles. He defines a simple constraint on mereological objects that he calls Angular Locality, which has wide-ranging ramifications for what constitutes a possible structure, derives successive cyclicity as a theorem, and opens a new approach to explaining why certain island phenomena behave as they do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Adger\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262553279\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262553278\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/18\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"David Adger","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48453299667199,"sku":"9780262553278","price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_320533dc-32ee-4e2b-805a-262b56bbdef7.jpg?v=1777299429","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mereological-syntax-david-adger-9780262553278","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}