Syntax Analysis 1
Running Head: THE STUDY OF SYNTAX ANALYSIS IN NATURAL SPEECH
A Person’s Natural Speech and the Study of Syntax Analysis
Mackenzie Kemp
Salt Lake Community College
Introduction to Linguistics/Study of Language
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Abstract
This study is to determine and describe whether if a person’s natural speech has any
similarities by using syntax analysis and tree structure. The purpose is also to create a rule of a
natural speech utterance using syntax analysis. The study design was a Qualitative based off the
study of recorded speech. The purpose of this study is to create a rule in Syntax Analysis.
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A Person’s Natural Speech and the Study of Syntax Analysis
Introduction
In the study of language there is natural speech, also called natural language. It is when in
any given language is orally spoken in a non deliberate form. It can be in a spoke, written or
signed form. Natural speech is typically used for communication.
Syntax analysis means when you break down component parts of speech or functions and
analyze the relationship between each part. You can describe a word, or phrase, but stating its
parts of speech and or syntactical relationship.
Literature Review
It is stated in the textbook Contemporary Linguistic an Introduction: “In a language like
English not much can be said with a single word. If language is to express complex thoughts and
ideas, it has to have a way to combine words into sentences. In this chapter, we will consider
how this is done, focusing on the component of the grammar that linguists call syntax.”
(O’Grady, 2010) This is a basic description that O’Grady gives of what syntax is.
Question(s)
The question was asked: The hypothesis of this research study was that, there will be a
syntactic similarity after the five utterances from the participant recording will be analyzed.
The hypothesis of this study is that there will be a syntactic similarity in the five
utterances from the participants recording of natural speech.
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Methods
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to examine and study the syntax analysis of a recording of an
individual talking with natural speech. The research was done to determine a rule of syntax based
off of the individual’s natural speech. The specific study was based off a recording done between
friends. The recording was a of the individuals natural speech and of topics that were randomly
talked about by the participant.
Participant(s)
The participant included in the study was a randomly selected friend of the researcher and
agreed to the recording and knew that it was a investigational research. The participant was
recorded and produced an audio of twenty-five minutes and fifty-three seconds of free speech.
The participant was unaware of the analysis that was going to be performed.
The participant is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, also known as the Southwest part of
the United States. The participant grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and has pretty much lived in
the same region for the entirety of the participant’s life. The participant age at the time of the
recording was twenty-seven.
Data Analysis/Methodology
Introduction
The analysis of this study was done with syntax analysis. The data analysis was done by
analyzing and dissecting five different utterances from the recording. The five utterances were
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transformed into tree structures. After transforming the five utterances into tree structures, one of
the five utterances was chosen to create a rule using syntax analysis.
Results
The utterance chosen was; “He has a heart problem.” A tree structure was created for this
utterance. It was determined that this particular phrase is considered a noun phrase. Although this
particular utterance is a noun phrase it is determined in this study that, there is no syntactic
similarities between the five utterances. All five utterances have different and unique structures.
Limitations
Limitations found in this research study are that the recording done was done
could still be considered unnatural. In this case, having the recording be unnatural is that it would
no longer be considered free speech. This is a limitation to the research, due to that the
participant was not speaking at a natural speech and was still nervous or speaking unnatural due
to the recording being there.
Implications
The implications will be taken forward professionally and personally. The studies that
were hypothesized and the results were that your hypothesis of a person’s language, whether it
natural or not can still be persuaded and false. The future interactions, especially in the research
and analysis of language, will be that you should always have an open mind. This could affect a
person’s professional life by making assumptions about languages, even their own, that are false
or untrue.
Conclusion
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This study gave the conclusion that in speech there can be syntax similarities between
structure trees but in the case of this study, none were found. The utterances in the recording
were determined to be part of the proper English language but there were still no similarities in
the grammar. It was found in this study that the hypothesis was proven wrong, in that there were
no similarities in the tree structures of the utterances from the recordings.
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References
O’Grady, William, & Archibald, John & Aronoff, Mark & Rees-Miller, Janie (Eds.).
(20120). Contemporary Linguistics an Introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.