The Structure of LanguageFinding Patterns in the Noise

Presented by Cliff Jones, M.A., Linguistics

What Exactly Is Linguistics?

Linguistics is the scientific study of the structure of language.

It is still a very young discipline, though grammarians and philologists have studied language for centuries.

Major branches of linguistics include: Psycholinguistics: How is language processed in the brain? Sociolinguistics: How does society affect language use? Language Acquisition: How are languages learned? Historical Linguistics: How do languages change over time? Computational Linguistics: How can computers process

language? Applied Linguistics: How can we use what we have learned?

What Is Grammar?

The field of modern linguistics views grammar in a universal perspective, with all languages using essentially the same system.

Linguistic analysis is split into several domains: Phonology: What sounds are used, and how are they

combined? Morphology: How do roots and affixes combine into words? Syntax: How do words combine into sentences? Discourse: How do sentences combine in speech and

writing? Semantics: How is meaning tied to structure?

“Grammar” technically includes all of this, but its study tends to focus mainly on syntax and morphology.

Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Grammar

In all areas, linguists are interested in describing what speakers actually do, not prescribing rules to be followed.

Nonstandard dialects are actually more interesting to linguists because they more closely reflect our natural linguistic impulses.

According to Derek Bickerton1, creole languages are the best evidence for some sort of universal grammar: Creoles are formed when a generation of children grow up in a

linguistically chaotic environment. In the absence of consistent grammatical patterns, young

children form phrases in the way that makes sense to them. Creoles around the world share remarkably similar grammar. Signed languages also share similar grammar, presumably

because they lack centuries of tradition.

My Master’s Thesis

I noticed a pattern in my two-year-old daughter’s mispronunciation of certain words: pajamas “too-jamas” /tudʒaməz/ again “too-gain” /tugεn/ banana “too-byana” /tubjanə/

I conducted a study at a local preschool in which I recorded children’s pronunciation of words starting with an unstressed syllable.

Based on the results, I posited six phonological elements, which develop in a particular order to produce all the sounds of English.

The final product was titled Developmental Variation in Children's Acquisition of Metrical Structure: How Early Treatment of Stressless Syllables Can Inform Phonological Theory2.

Different Levels of Interpretation

A Very Simple Sentence Tree

Trees Grow More Complex

And Soon Get Pretty Complicated

A Simpler Representation Is Needed

According to William Croft, author of Radical Construction Grammar3, there are really only three universal word types: Nouns: denoting objects, making reference Verbs: denoting actions, forming predicates Adjectives: denoting properties, modifying other elements

Building on Croft’s theory, I’ve whittled English grammar down to four basic types of words and phrases: Nominals: nouns, pronouns, determiners . . . Verbals: verbs, modals, predicates . . . Modifiers: adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions . .

. Sententials: clauses, interjections . . .

A Simple Sentence Reanalyzed

The man bit the dog.

A Simple Sentence Reanalyzed

The man bit the dog.

A Simple Sentence Reanalyzed

The man bit the dog.

A Simple Sentence Reanalyzed

The man bit the dog.

A Simple Sentence Reanalyzed

The man bit the dog.

. . . And Another

The umpires talked to the players.

. . . And Another

The umpires talked to the players.

. . . And Another

The umpires talked to the players.

. . . And Another

The umpires talked to the players.

. . . And Another

The umpires talked to the players.

. . . And Another

The umpires talked to the players.

. . . And a More Complex Sentence

Bob said the monkey smoked

a cigarette yesterday.

. . . And a More Complex Sentence

Bob said the monkey smoked

a cigarette yesterday.

. . . And a More Complex Sentence

Bob said the monkey smoked

a cigarette yesterday.

. . . And a More Complex Sentence

Bob said the monkey smoked

a cigarette yesterday.

. . . And a More Complex Sentence

Bob said the monkey smoked

a cigarette yesterday.

. . . And a More Complex Sentence

Bob said the monkey smoked

a cigarette yesterday.

Parallel Analysis Across Languages

When the bus stopped, I got off.

Cuando el autobús se detuvo, me bajé.

Als der Bus hielt an, stieg ich aus.

Parallel Analysis Across Languages

When the bus stopped, I got off.

Cuando el autobús se detuvo, me bajé.

Als der Bus hielt an, stieg ich aus.

Parallel Analysis Across Languages

When the bus stopped, I got off.

Cuando el autobús se detuvo, me bajé.

Als der Bus hielt an, stieg ich aus.

Parallel Analysis Across Languages

When the bus stopped, I got off.

Cuando el autobús se detuvo, me bajé.

Als der Bus hielt an, stieg ich aus.

Further Reading

1. Bickerton, D. (2008). Bastard tongues: A trailblazing linguist finds clues to our common humanity in the world's lowliest languages. New York: Hill and Wang.

2. Jones, C.S. (2010, January 1). Developmental variation in children's acquisition of metrical structure: How early treatment of stressless syllables can inform phonological theory. ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. Paper AAI1479512.

3. Croft, W. (2001). Radical construction grammar: Syntactic theory in typological perspective. Oxford: Oxford UP.