Introduction to Linguistics 4
The Grammatical System
Prof. Jo Lewkowicz
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Review of week 3
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2.
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6.
7.
Why is it difficult to define what a word is?
What different aspects of a word do you need to get to know to say that you
know a new word?
What are content words and function words? How are they different?
What is a morpheme? How are morphemes categorized?
What are free morphemes? How are they different from bound morphemes?
What are the two types of affixes that appear in English?
Identify the bound morphemes in the following words. Indicate whether they
are derivational or inflectional.
a)
b)
c)
d)
8.
Redistributing
Receive
Deliver
Disengaged
How are the following words pronounced? What pronunciation rule can you
derive from these examples?
- bagged, webbed; wrapped, booked; raided, rated.
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Creation of new words
• Numerous ways in which new words are created including:
– compounding, i.e. putting two existing words together: compact
disk, tree-hugger, songwriter
– affixation, i.e. adding a prefix or suffix to a word: anit-Bush,
SMSing, pro-choice
– conversion, i.e. transforming one part of speech into another: to
out-outing; to green-greening
– clipping , i.e. Using a short form of the word: flu, roo, barbie
– generification, i.e. using the proper name for the product to
refer to it: Biro, Kleenex
– acronomy, i.e. when the acronym becomes the word by which
the thing is known: scuba=self contained underwater breathing
apparatus; radar=radio detection and ranging
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Cataloguing words
• Dictionaries
– 1st English dictionary drawn up by Samuel Johnson working
with a team, took 10 years, completed in 1746 with over
400,000 words plus definitions
– Currently dictionaries drawn up by committees which
determine which words to include and which to leave out
– Even with the technical resources today, no dictionary can
be fully comprehensive
• Corpora
– Computers have allowed us to record data on real
language as it is written or spoken
– Corpora allow us to study not only the word but also the
context in which it appears
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Examples 1 from a written corpus
001.
002.
003.
004.
005.
006.
007.
008.
009.
010.
n their rise to military prominence, Custer was a BELIEVEr in blood and guts warfare. During the Ci
s concerning the nature of religion were, Adams BELIEVEd, some of the major keys to the understa
let the experience shape itself. Midi Garth also BELIEVEs in subjective continuity that begins with
Commons, on February 27, 1945, he had always BELIEVEd to be "just and right", but he did not wa
nic of grief she accepted Jonathan's dictum, and BELIEVEd in her desperation that she had been c
amen, I say to you, he who hears my word, and BELIEVEs him who sent me, has life everlasting, a
Westminster) was an outstanding Handler and BELIEVEd a Junior should have an opportunity to
man as one of mere potentiality or capacity and BELIEVEs that Adam and Eve were created as chi
tic switch i the budget during this recovery and BELIEVEs it "even more unlikely that the Federal
y the last 10 per cent are genuine Christians and BELIEVErs in democracy. But these Western count
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Example 2 from a written corpus
001. 962. At that point the Administration will have little reason to hang ONTO Gen. Swing. The Faget c
ase was the kin
002. ce filled all the seats inside the Wollman enclosure and overflowed ONTO the lawns outside the fe
nce. The barbe
003. enjoined to look before they leap, either on top of someone else or ONTO a pool edge. Our pools
also have wide,
004. a little newt and that he was transplanting a big eye of the big newt ONTO the little newt and a littl
e eye of the litt
005. vaults. On the downstream, or "pavilion", side these vaults give out ONTO terraces twice as wide
as the bridge its
007. to one side. This throwed the animal off balance, and over it'd crash ONTO its head and shoulders.
Though the slightest yank was frequently
008. om. Like ... as if it were built of books". Having opened the windows ONTO the terrace, lit the fire,
translated the motto, Meredith grinned
009. the saddle and had a look inside. "Not there", he said, getting back ONTO his horse. "Maybe he's
at the hotel". They rode to the Rockfork H
010. ps. Got no business over here on a stakeout anyway". They went up ONTO a front porch and into a
small hallway where a dim bulb burned hi
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The grammar system
• Grammar = the specification of how words
are formed and combined to enable the
communication of meaning
• Formation of words = morphology
• Ordering and combination of words = syntax
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The study of grammar
• Dates back to the Greeks & Romans
• Modern or ‘scientific’ study of language is less
100 years old
• Many different theories of language
• Major current approaches are:
– Mentalist approach
– Functionalist appraoch
in conflict with
each other
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Mentalist approach to grammar
•
•
•
•
Grammar is a physiological phenomenon
Transformational-generative grammar
Father of TG is Noam Chomsky
Highly abstract set of rules for generating correct
utterances at the sentence level
• Reject notion that there is a relationship between form
and meaning
• Ability to generate correct sentences is hard-wired in
the human brain
• Utterances can be grammatical but meaningless, e.g.
Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
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Functionalist approach to grammar
•
•
•
•
•
Believe grammar has a social dimension
Systemic functional linguistics
Major proponent is Michael Halliday
Claim cannot separate form and meaning
For functionalists grammar is a resource for
creating meaning – for highlighting what is
important in a sentence/utterance
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Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Grammars
• Many traditional grammars based on traditional
beliefs about how language should be used
• In reality, NSs often break rules
• Computers have allowed scientists to record
actual use
• Modern grammars based on corpora inform
about real language use
• Modern grammars are non-judgemental
• Modern grammars account for differences
between spoken and written forms
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The makeup of a sentence
• Basic building block of sentence is phrase (a
meaningful group of words, below the
sentence that cannot stand alone)
• Simple sentence is made up of S (noun
phrase)+ V (verb phrase)
e.g. Tom died; Tom is dying
• Following the V may be phrases that act as O
(object), C (complement) or A (adverbial)
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Objects, complements & adverbials
• O usually noun phrases that answer the question who or what
e.g. Tom loves Jane; Tom reads novels
I gave my wife some flowers
my wife = indirect object
some flowers = direct object
• C may be subject complements or object complements
– follow the V (usually be)
e.g. Everyone was happy (subject complement)
They made Jack redundant (object complement)
• A provide additional information about how, when where or why
e.g. Everyone was happy at the party
Tom reads novels all the time
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Transitive & intransitive verbs
• When the verb can ‘stand alone’ it is an
intransitive verb; it does not need to be
followed by O, C, or A
e.g. Tom died; I cried
How many other intransitive verbs can you think of?
• All other verbs that must be followed by an O
are transitive
e.g. I bought a book: He gave me the book
Make a list of 8 transitive verbs
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Transitive & intransitive verbs
• Discuss with your partner why the following
sentences are ungrammatical:
– I threw.
– The mother broke.
– The sun rose the morning.
– John fell the stairs.
– The major spoke the speech.
– He sneezed the cold.
– The magician disappeared the rabbit.
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Basic sentence patterns in English
•
•
•
•
•
S+V
S+V+O
S+V+O+O
Provide an example of each type of sentence
Decide whether you can move any of the
elements of the sentence to a new position
• What does moving the elements achieve in
terms of communicative purpose?
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Sentence analysis
• Identify the different phrases in the following
sentences and label them S, V, C, O, A.
–
–
–
–
–
The gentle giant laughed.
I’m tired.
At lunchtime, I should be seeing the dentist.
The teacher should have given me an A.
Three absurdly dressed party goers came waltzing out
of the pub.
– We will come to the party at around 9 o’clock.
– You seem to be a little upset right now.
• (from Nunan, 2007:86)
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Information structure
• English tends to place new / important
information towards the end of a sentence /
clause
• Example: The building burst into flames at 11
a.m. Soon afterwards, the fire brigade arrived.
Now, write two further sentences to continue the story.
• Existential subjects (there or it) help maintain the
distribution of information in certain types of
sentences, e.g.
– There will be a storm later on this evening.
– It always takes you so long to get ready.
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Other ways of giving text cohesion
• Information structure provides text cohesion. Another way of
providing cohesion is by lexical cohesion
• Lexical cohesion occurs when two or more content words in a text
are related
• Two major categories of lexical cohesion are:
– Reiteration: when the same word is repeated
• To avoid exact word repetition employ:
– anaphoric /cataphoric reference as in the following examples:
» My car has been playing up for some time: it needs a service.
» It’s happened: the big day has come!
– lexical synonymy: when an alternative word or phrase is used to refer to the same thing
or person as in:
» My daughter, the apple of my eye, has just passed her exams.
– Collocation
• Words that go together
• Often are register specific e.g. cash poor, cash flow, money market, national
dept
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Differences between speech and
writing
• Speech
– All languages exist in
spoken form
– Acquired
– 40 sounds in English
– ‘Disappears’ if not
recorded
– Less dense
– May appear fragmentary
& ungrammatical
• Writing
– Not all language exist in
written form
– Learned
– 26 letters in English
– Permanent record
– More content to
function words
– More coherent, with
complete sentences
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Similarities between speech & writing
• Both serve the same 3 basic purposes:
– Transactional: public signs in the street, instruction
manuals, labels on food packaging, maps, TV
Programmes, maps, newspapers and magazines, etc.
– Interpersonal: letter, email, postcards, diaries
– Aesthetic: novels, comics, movie/play scripts, poems
• Can view speech and writing lying on a
continuum: writing is not speech written down.
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