Quiegolani Zapotec Syntax: A Principles and Parameters Account

The reader of Quiegolani Zapotec Syntax will find a careful syntactic analysis of this language, presented descriptively and with a theoretical analysis. In the three sections of the book, Cheryl Black provides a coherent, explanatory analysis for many facets of the syntax of this VSO language. Part I describes the morphology and syntax, as well as anaphoric relations. Parts II and III provide a theoretical analysis of the various syntactic constructions, utilizing a Principles and Parameters approach. Part II examines clause structure, including focus and topic constructions, interrogatives, negative constructions, and their interactions. Part III extends the analysis to phrase structures such as verbal and nominal phrases. The final chapter demonstrates that the special quantifier constructions that mark number in the language exhibit the same basic principles and structures as the rest of the grammar, showing that a small number of principles or constraints can determine the full grammar of a language. Quiegolani Zapotec is an Otomanguean language spoken in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. This language family has received relatively little attention by syntacticians, making Dr. Black's work especially valuable. Theoretical linguists, as well as those mainly interested in description and typology, will find it of interest.