i don't think i had a satisfactory introduction to syntax. in other words, in an introductory phonology class, you pretty much learn the basics of what you need to know to analyze a language's sound system. basically, this involves finding out what the sounds are, and the constraints and/or rules that govern how these sounds are put together (into syllables, etc.).

syntax, on the other hand, seems so much more complex. let's say that syntax involves finding out what the units that make up a sentence are, and the constraints and/or rules that govern how these units are put together. with phonology, there's, say, a couple dozen vowels and consonants (leaving aside sign language phonology for now); with syntax, you get into words, which fall into word classes like noun and verb and preposition, and then semantic roles like agent and patient, and then case marking like nom and acc and instrumental and ablative and what-have-you. And then what of tense and aspect, and subjects and predicates and objects, and basic word order SVO or SOV, and what about subjects of intransitive verbs, and ergativity? in short, what does one need to know in order to describe the syntax of a language? and, shouldn't the basics of this be taught in an intro to syntax course? and why, in the intro to syntax course that i took, did i not learn these basics? all i got was lots of hpsg propaganda.

oh well. must stop typing. but you syntax folks out there (you[singular] know who you are), what do you think? is syntax really that complex? shouldn't i be able to flip open any intro-to-syntax book, look up "aspect", and find a list of all possible aspects? just like, i should expect to be able to find a list of velar consonants, phonation types, etc. in an intro-to-phonology book.