yun-pi yuan1 syntax i.definition of syntaxdefinition of syntax ii.types of grammartypes of grammar...
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Yun-Pi Yuan 1
Syntax
I. Definition of SyntaxII. Types of GrammarIII. Hierarchical Structure
A. Tree diagramB. Phrase structure rulesC. RecursivenessD. Deep/surface structure
IV. Universal GrammarA. PrinciplesB. Parameters
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Definition of Syntax (1) “syntaxis” (Greek) = “arrangement” The rules of sentence formation; the study of
the structure of sentences. Language Structure
Phonology Grammar Semantics
morphology syntax
(the specific sense; more traditional)
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Definition of Syntax (2)
Popularized by Chomsky (the general sense)
Grammar
Phonology (Morphology) Syntax Semantics
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II. Types of Grammar
A. Mental Grammar: Internal linguistic knowledge
B. Developmental Grammar: a learner’s grammar
C. Prescriptive Grammar: a set of prescribed rules which tells people how to speak/write
D. Descriptive Grammar: how people do speak in actual utterances.
E. Pedagogical Grammar: teaching grammar widely used in schools
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A. Mental Grammar: Internal linguistic knowledge
Grammar
Phonology (Morphology) Syntax Semantics
Linguistic knowledge in the mind Here, we’ll just consider grammatical knowledge as structural knowledge; but NOTE you also must know how to USE the structural knowledge.
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Grammar
mental grammar ling. etiquette the nature of lang.(psycholing. view) (socioling. view) (ling. view in general)
Internal ling. knowledge social attitudes a description of the grammar
(what goes on in lang. and values (study and analysis of the
user’s mind; sub- (proper or best structures found in a lang.)
conscious, not result structures to be
of any teaching) used in a lang.)
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B. Developmental Grammar: a learner’s grammar
The mental grammar in the developmental stage Type of lang. produced by learners who are in
the process of learning a language. In the language use of a L1 or L2 learner; which
is the result of a normal pattern of development, and is common among language learners.
e.g. “comed,” “goed,” “breaked”
Because of overgeneralizations; a natural or developmental stage in lang. learning.
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C. Prescriptive Grammar: a set of prescribed rules which tells people how to speak/writeA set of “rules” about how you SHOULD
speak or write; gives judgments on which structures are CORRECT and which are INCORRECT
Their influence lives on in the handbook of usage widely found today.
e.g. double negative(=affirmative), *ain’t
*it’s me, ending sentences with preposition (*Who are you talking to?)
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D. Descriptive Grammar: how people do speak in actual utterances
Linguistic description of the structures of a language as they are observed to be used, with no evaluation (non-judgmental) of social correctness.
Collins Cobuild dictionary example—huge corpus analyzed and described
e.g. Either of the dictionaries are/is good.(but should be “is” according to prescriptive view)e.g. Neither of the books were/was a good buy.
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E. Pedagogical Grammar: teaching grammars widely used in schools
A “teaching grammar”—designed for developing NS students’ awareness of their mother tongue, or for teaching a language as a foreign language.
Often a combination of descriptive & prescriptive grammars; more contemporary pedagogical grammars moving away from prescriptive.
e.g. M. Swam. Practical English Usage or a textbook ; a grammar book.
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III. Hierarchical Structure (1)A. Concepts of hierarchy
e.g.1: John is easy to please
John is eager to please
Q: Do the two sentences have the same sentence structure (the same syntax)?
Paraphrase:
It’s easy for somebody to please John.
John is eager to please somebody.
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III. Hierarchical Structure (2)
Analogy:
A. “university” school board, principle, vice presidents, dean of academic affairs, dean of student affairs, dean of general affairs, dean of research and development, dean of each college, dept. chairs….
B. “country” president, vice- president, legistrative yuan ( 立法院 ), executive yuan ( 行政院 ), control yuan ( 監察院 ), judicial yuan ( 司法院 ).
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University
School board
President, Vice presidents
教務長 學務長 總務長 研發長
外語 理工 文 法 民生 醫 管理 藝 社科 院長 院長 院長 院長 院長 院長 院長 院長 院長
: : : : : : : : :
系主任 系主任 系主任 系主任 系主任 系主任 系主任 系主任 系主任
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country
president vice- president
legistrative yuan executive yuan control yuan judicial yuan
( 立法院 ) ( 行政院 ) ( 監察院 ) ( 司法院 )
: : : :
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Hierarchy
Hilary couldn’t open the windows. VP NP
sentence phrases words morphemes
Constituent: part that makes up something; a linguistic unit which is part of a larger construction.
e.g. Can you identify the construction and constituents in the sentence, “the boy jumped”?
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III. Hierarchical Structure (3)
Modal of syntactic investigation: Five-rank hierarchy (Crystal 95)
Sentences Sentencesare analyzed into are used to build
Clauses Clauses are analyzed into are used to build
Phrases Phrasesare analyzed into are used to build
Words Wordsare analyzed into are used to build
Morphemes Morphemes
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Upward Expansion
Phrases e.g. cars the cars the big cars all
the big cars all the big cars in the garage (premodification) (head) (postmodification)
Upward expansion:Tom couldn’t find his notes, and Davie couldn’t find his textbook, and (repeat the structure) . . . but he still lectured for three hours.
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Hierarchy
Another way to look at “hierarchies”: construction and constituents
The young must respect the old people.
(A) the young (B) must respect the old people
(C) the (D) young (E) must respect (F) the old people
(G) must (H) respect (I) the (J) old
people
(K) old (L) people
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Clauses
Clause Types: S+V (The dog + is running) S+V+O (The dog + bites + him) S+V+C (The car + is + ready) S+V+A (The picture + lays +on the ground) S+V+O+O (I + give + him + a pen) S+V+O+C (He + calls + John a fool) S+V+O+A (Mary + saw + John +yesterday) Note: subject (S), verb (V), complement (C), object (O), adverbial (A).
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Formats of the HierarchyTree Diagrams: different levels in analysisPhrase Structure (in tree diagrams)Recursiveness (Recursion)Deep and Surface StructureTransformational Generative Grammar: e.g.1. Imperative Transformation e.g.2. Reflexive Transformation andImperative Transformation e.g.3. Passive Transformation e.g.4. Particle Movement
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1.Tree Diagrams (1)“The girl chased the dog.” (Crystal 96)
The girl chased the doga. Identify the 2 major constituents (The girl + chased
the dog)b. Divide the next-biggest constituent into 2: chased
+ the dogc. Continue dividing constituents into 2 units until we
can go no further. e.g. the + girl, the + dog, chase + -ed
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1.Tree Diagrams (2)
Tree Diagrams: Different levels in analysis
The tree diagram format may be viewed as:
a. A static representation of the structure of the sentence at the bottom of the diagram.
b. A dynamic format, representing a way of “generating” a very large number of sentences with similar structures (by the use of phrase structure rules).
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Phrase Structure Rules
Phrase structure rules (Nash 75-77): present the information of the tree diagram in an alternative format
S NP + VP
VP V + (NP) + (PP) + (ADV)
(ART) + (ADJ)* N
NP PRO
PP P + NP Note: see Yule 105 for symbols and abbreviation definition.
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3. Recursiveness (Recursion)
Recursive rule: VP VS (Yule 107)
e.g.: John said [ Cathy thought (Mary helped George)].
Another e.g. of recursiveness
The Rose in My Garden
This is the rose in my garden.
This is the bee that sleeps on the rose in my garden.
These are the holly hocks high above ground, that give shade to the bee that sleeps on the rose in my garden.
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4. Deep and Surface Structure
Deep and surface structure: “the form of a sentence we produce and understand is very often not the same as the basic form which shows its meaning” (Nash 79)
A. Deep Structure: the abstract, underlying level, but basic form of the sentence
B. Surface Structure: the superficial, syntactic form that we produce in reality
e.g. old men and womene.g. Annie whacked a man with an umbrella. (Yule 103)
same surface structure form, two underlying interpretations (deep structures)
Other examples: 1. Look! 2. *Help herself. 3. The runner broke the world
record.
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Transformational-generative grammarTransformations: processes that change the deep
structure into surface structure.Generative: using phrase structure rules, se can
produce (generate) infinite sentences. Surface Structure:
S
NP VP
V NP
eat ART N
the chou tofu
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Surface structure: Help yourself!Deep Structure:
S S
NP VP reflexive NP VP
pro V NP transformation pro V NPpro (reflexive
pro)
you help you you help yourself
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SNP VP imperative
Pro V NP transformation
(reflexive pro) Help yourself
You help yourself
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Transformation: important criteria
A. Some transformations are required; some are optional.
B. Transformation is in a certain order.
e.g. “Help yourself!”
reflexive transformation is required.
imperative transformation is optional.
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Passive transformation
NP1 V NP2 and changes it into
NP2 BE V-EN BY NP1
e.g. The runner broke the world record.
The world record was broken by the runner.
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Transformational Process
In this process: won’t change the relationship
and the meaning of the sentence
1. Combination e.g.: You have You’ve
2. Substitution e.g.: You Yourself
3. Deletion e.g.: You X
4. Movement e.g.: Put…on Put on…
5. Addition e.g.: relative clause
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Important Contribution of TGG
Not everything we know about a sentence is revealed in the actual form we produce—the surface structure. We must look for deeper structural information.
The deep—surface structure idea=a very important contribution.
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Relative clause (1)
S
NP VP
NA S V NP (+N) NP VP confused ART N
(+definite) N V NPx (-human) (+N) gave N the students
lecture (-common) (+N)
Nash (+definite)
(-human)
lecture
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Relative clause (2)
1st TRNAS: relative clause transformation
S
NP VP
NP S+ART N1 NP N NP VP
(+DEF) lecture(+ART) lecture
(-Human) (+N) (+DEF) (+N) NV
(+DEF) (-Human) (+DEF)
(-Human) (+WH) (-Human) Nash gave
(+PRO) (+WH)
(+PRO)
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Problems of TGG
1. Theory is unwieldy. (too cumbersome, too clumsy—too many transformations)
2. Not universal (It’s language specific, not conform to all languages).
3. Psychological unreal (Semantics should be applied first, then comes the syntax)
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Ambiguity
Children are nice to understand. 1. It’s nice for someone to understand children. 2. It’s nice for children to understand something. S-structure: Children are nice [ Ø to understand Ø ]
D-structure: Children are nice [ Ø to understand Ø ]
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D-Structure and S-Structure Definition:
D-structure—in which the basic order of phrases is represented.
S-structure—in which the actual linear order of phrases is observed; deep structure positions of phrases are represented by empty categories.
What will Frances drink [Ø] ?
Drano, he drank [Ø] !
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D-structureS
SNP VP
N V NP N
he drankDrano
S-structureS
NPi SNP VP
N N VNP
Drano he drank tiT=trace “an inaudible copy of the
moved NP is left in the D-structure position of the moved phrase”
i=identical index
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D-structure
S
S
NP I VP
N V VP
NFrances will drink what
S-structureS
NPj S
Willi S
N
NP IVP
V NP
What Frances ti drink tj
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Language Ambiguity
1. Sentence Ambiguity:
e.g.: Visiting relatives can be a nuisance.
2. Word Ambiguity:
e.g.: The man put his straw on the floor.
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IV. Universal Grammar
Definition: “a set of limits” on the form of mental grammar.
Two kinds of limits:1. Principles: invariable principles which dictate
the form that grammar can take.
2. Parameters: strictly defined possibilities of variation across languages.
(There is limited number in choices)
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Principles (1)
An example of “principles”: SubjacencyA. “No constituent can be moved over more than one bounding category.”
B. “A set of universal constraints on movement”
C. It can move only from a layer that is subordinate and adjacent.
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Principles (2)
Bounding category:
S (sentence) and NP (noun phrase) in English
e.g.1: What did Sue destroy? (a correct sentence?)S Ø
What [did Sue destroy t] ?
e.g. 2: What did Sue destroy a book about? (correct?) S NP Ø
What [did Sue destroy (a book about t)] ?
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Principles (3)
S
[(That all of us but you were upset) is obvious.]S
[(That all of us were upset) but you is obvious.]S S
*[(That all of us were upset) is obvious] but you.
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Principles (4)
S S
[(John saw a horse) that kicked a box.]S S
*[(What did John see a horse) that kicked Ø]?
S
[What did John see a horse kick Ø?]
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Parameters (1)
Definition: Any of the established limits within which
something must operate. [dictionary definition]
Strictly defined possibilities of variation across languages.
A range of possibilities and languages choose within that range: every language must set its parameters.
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Parameters (2)An example:Pro-drop (an overt pronominal subject is
dropped/optional): subjectless sentencesEnglish: I am going to the cinema.
*Am going to the cinema. Spanish: “Yo voy al cine.”
“voy al cine.”Italian: Io vado al cinema. (I go to the movies.)
Vado al cinema. Spanish + Italian= pro-drop languages.
(but English is not)
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Parameters (3)More Spanish examples:
A. Salieron a las ocho. *“Left at eight.” (They left at eight.)B. LloviÓ mucho ayer.
*“Rained a lot yesterday.” (It rained a lot yesterday.)
Free subject-verb inversion:Han llegado mis estudiantes.
*“Have arrived my students.” (My students have arrived.)
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Conclusion
UG: the ling. System involved rules too abstract and complex to be learned without the aid of innate knowledge about the nature of the system . . . The child is equipped with a set of blueprints that define and limit what a human language can be like.
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The child is assumed to be biologically equipped with knowledge of universal grammar—the basics of lang. structure. The child has blueprints for all the possible types of lang. in her head. In the course of lang. development she settles on the particular grammar of the lang. surrounding her.