The Syntax of Portuguese

Description

Portuguese is the second most spoken Romance language in the world, and due to recent interest in comparative syntax, the literature on its syntax has increased exponentially, resulting in exciting discoveries of a range of aspects that have hitherto been overlooked. This book provides a theoretically grounded overview of the major syntactic properties of Portuguese, focusing on the differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese. It shows from a theoretical point of view how different syntactic properties are interconnected by comparing and contrasting the variances between pronominal and agreement systems, null subjects, null complements, and word order. It also highlights how small differences in the specification of syntactic properties may yield quite different dialects. It introduces key theoretical points without technical jargon, making the content accessible to specialist and non-specialists alike. It is essential reading for both academic researchers and students of Portuguese language, comparative syntax, Romance linguistics, and theoretical syntax.

Mary A. Kato is Professor at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Recent publications include The Morphosyntax of Portuguese and Spanish in Latin America (co-edited with Ordonez, 2016), and Portugues Brasileiro: Uma Segunda Viagem Diacronica (co-edited with Galves and Roberts, 2019). Ana Maria Martins is Professor at the University of Lisbon. Recent publications include Word Order Change (co-edited with Cardoso, 2018) and Manual de Linguistica Portuguesa (co-edited with Carillho, 2016). Jairo Nunes is Professor at the Universidade de Sao Paulo. Recent publications include Minimalist Essays on Brazilian Portuguese Syntax (editor, 2009), and Control as Movement (with Boeckx and Hornstein, 2010).