Outlines of Agreement Syntax

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the demonstration of how phenomena in linguistics - particularly, in syntax - can be interpreted in terms of a generalized notion of 'agreement'. The computational basis for our present work is included in the findings reported by Drienkó (2004). In the agreement approach context the linguist's task is to determine relevant features of linguistic elements, the agreement of which features ensures grammaticality. Although Drienkó (2004) provides some solutions for 'problematic' cases, it is also desirable to show the compatibility of the model with more standard issues. After a brief outlining of the agreement approach in the first section, the second part of this paper examines, in the light of agreement properties, such issues as conjugation, inflection, subcategorisation, anaphora, control, raising, and unbounded dependencies.