Control in Generative Grammar: A Research Companion

The subject of nonfinite clauses is often missing, and yet is understood to refer to some linguistic or contextual referent (e.g. 'Bill preferred __ to remain silent' is understood as 'Bill preferred that he himself would remain silent'). This dependency is the subject matter of control theory. Extensive linguistic research into control constructions over the past five decades has unearthed a wealth of empirical findings in dozens of languages. Their proper classification and analysis, however, have been a matter of continuing debate within and across different theoretical schools. This comprehensive book pulls together, for the first time, all the important advances on the topic. Among the issues discussed are: the distinction between raising and control, obligatory and nonobligatory control, syntactic interactions with case, finiteness and nominalization, lexical determination of the controller, and phenomena like partial and implicit control. The critical discussions in this work will stimulate students and scholars to further explorations in this fascinating field.

Table of Contents:
1. Background; 2. Control theories: a typology; 3. Empirical arguments for PRO; 4. Predicting the distribution of PRO; 5. The phenomenology of OC; 6. Adjunct control; 7. Non-obligatory control; 8. Conclusion.

About the Author :
Idan Landau is an Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Review :
'Professor Landau, already a leading contributor to the theoretical literature on control, provides here an incisive, accessible, balanced guide to what is known and what needs to be known: essential reading for anyone interested in this central area of inquiry.' Ken Safir, Distinguished Professor of Linguistics, Rutgers University 'Landau has written authoritatively on the issue of control, showing that deep semantic factors such as partial control have a syntactic origin. He is one of the pre-eminent experts on this issue, and I have no doubt that those who read this work, regardless of theoretical perspective, will profit from his wide-ranging knowledge of and insight into this topic.' Mark Baltin, New York University '[This] book is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in control. It is what one would call a 'critical survey'. It offers a complete coverage of the contexts where control is attested … [and] provides a wealth of references … The presentation is clear, detailed … [and] meticulous … Landau is an expert on the topic; his own work has helped researchers view control from a new angle, and this is evident in the book. … a useful companion for students but also for researchers. It is also relevant to anyone interested in the structure of grammar in general …' Anna Roussou, Journal of Linguistics 'A dense, technical and thoroughly argued book, CiGG [Control in Generative Grammar] will be highly useful to researchers and advanced graduate students that need to get up to speed on the details of control; whatever their specific objectives, they can be certain to find what they are looking for … Given that the phenomenon of control is inextricably linked to a host of equally prominent phenomena, CiGG should thus appeal to a wide range of researchers in formal syntax and semantics. If Landau's exceptional achievement inspires future research companions of comparable depth on other topics aiming to tread in its footsteps, as I expect it to do, its service to the field will be even greater.' Dennis Ott, LINGUIST List