A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES IN ENGLISH AND URDU: INSIGHTS THROUGH X-BAR THEORY AND THE THETA CRITERION

Abstract

The paper aims to investigate the relationship between argument structure and syntactic realization in Urdu and English, especially the impact of the Theta Criterion on the availability and semantics of arguments. The present research work is mainly concerned with the structural patterns of English and Urdu with special reference to the dissimilarities and similarities between the two languages. The paper considers several syntactic features, such as the position of the words and phrases within the sentence. As a comparative linguistic study, the research aims at comparing the syntactic patterns of the two languages in demarcating how the syntactic structures of the two languages work to build sentences and how the structures of the two languages are related. The paper also considers the analysis of the generative grammar and its principles, especially the Theta Criterion, to define the connection between syntactic roles and sentence construction in both languages. The investigation of VPs, NPs and other functional categories in the English and Urdu demonstrates that there are some major typological variations, for example the SOV order in Urdu in contrast to the SVO order in English. The results help to expand the knowledge of syntactic variation and provide the basis for further research in the sphere of comparative syntax, which is essential for typologically different languages.

Keywords: Argument Structure, Syntactic Realization, Comparative Linguistics, Generative Grammar, Syntactic Variation