Language Structures
Systematic principles of language structures
 a few elements combine into speech sounds
/p/, /e/, /n/, /w/, /a/, /t/, /aj/
 speech sounds combine to form syllables
CVC  /pen/
CVCC  /want/ V  /aj/
 syllables combine to form word parts that carry meaning
pen
want
I
 words combine to form phrases
the red pen
want
I
 phrases combine to form sentences
I want the red pen.
Modules of grammar
 grammar consists of four modules
 each of the four modules is concerned with one of these structures
 each module contains
 the inventory of elements
 the rules for combining and organizing the elements
 phonological module
the sound system of the language
 the sounds grammar uses
 how they are pronounced
 the rules for combining sounds to form words
 morphological module
the inventory of words of the language
 their phonemic shapes and the meanings attached to them
 the structure of words – the meaningful constituents of words
 the rules for combining the constituents into words
 syntactic module
1
the form of grammatical phrases and sentences
 the inventory of phrases structures
 the rules for organizing words into phrases
 the rules for organizing phrases into sentences
 semantic module
the semantic relationships that link words into sets
2