Unit 2.

- Syntax in Linguistics
Preliminary reading and exercises.
There are two types of ambiguity: 1. Lexical Ambiguity (morphology). 2. Structural Ambiguity (syntax). Exercises: 1. In what ways are these expressions ambiguous? (a) An American history teacher. An [American history] teacher A teacher of American history. An [American [history] teacher] A history teacher from America. (b) Flying planes can be dangerous. [Flying planes] can be dangerous (Adj + N) = Planes that are flying are dangerous. [Flying] [planes] can be dangerous (V + Obj) = Throwing planes in the air can be dangerous. (c) The parents of the bride and the groom were waiting. [The parents of the bride] and [the groom] were waiting There were 3 people waiting for the bride (her mother, her father and the groom himself). [The parents] [of (the bride) and (the groom)] were waiting There were 4 people waiting (the parents of the bride and parents of the groom). 2. Can you provide four, superficially distinct sentences which would each have the same underlying structure as one of the following sentences? (a) John was arrested by the police. [John] was arrested by the police John has done something wrong so he was arrested [The police] arrested John The police has arrested John for nothing as he is innocent. (b) She took her coat off. [The coat] was taken off The important thing is that it was a coat, not a jacket. [She] took off her coat Nobody helped her to take her coat off but she did it herself.
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(c) Someone stole my bicycle. [My bicycle] was stolen The important thing is that it was a coat, not a jacket. [Someone] stole my bicycle I am pointing out at the fact that someone did it. (d) I told him to turn down the volume. [I] told him to turn down the volume Emphasis on the subject: it was me who did it. [He] was told to turn the volume down by me He received the order of turning the volume down. [The volume] was turned down by him (because she told him so) What was turned down was the volume here we need to add extra information in order to have the complete meaning as in the target sentence. 3. Discuss the difference between the following (a) and (b) examples. 1. (a) Max [is shaving] Progressive form of the verb: auxiliary be + main V-ing. (b) Max [is] [surprising] Main verb/copulative be + adjective (in attributive position). 2. (a) John [left] [this message] Transitive V leave + Complement/Object this message. (b) John [left] [this morning] Intransitive/Unergative V leave (verb of movement) + Adjunct of time this morning 3. (a) Peter [was] [drunk] [by midnight] Copulative be linking the subject Peter and the adjective drunk (we have here drunk giving us a quality of the subject) + by midnight is an adjunct of time. (b) The wine [was drunk] by midnight V in passive form (auxiliary be + past participle of V drink.

2. Syntax in Linguistics
1. The concept of syntax. 2. Syntax as a subfield of Linguistics. 3. Approaches to syntax. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. The concept of syntax. Syntax = coming from Greek. Literal meaning = setting altogether, arrangement. What is syntax? - In general, the study of the principles and rules for constructing sentences in natural languages. - The syntax of a language: body of rules followed by the speakers of a language when they combine words into sentences. Research in syntax tries to describe languages in terms of such rules. - When we investigate English syntax, we try to determine the rules that dictate how English speakers combine words to make sentences. The rules of syntax. - At first glance, speakers of a language are not consciously aware of the existence of such rules in their native tongue. NOUN + VERB + ADJECTIVE - Ie, when uttering a sentence like Martha lives in the house that John sold to her. A native English speaker would typically have the impression that s/he is not following any rules. The native speaker feels that s/he is merely letting the thought to be expressed and dictates the choice of words and their arrangement in a sentence.

Evidence for rules of syntax. - Knowing the words of a language is not enough to produce meaningful sentences. Imagine a person whose only knowledge about English consists on some information about English words and their meanings obtained from a Japanese to English dictionary. If we ask this person to express the thought behind Martha lives in the house that John sold to her, s/he would probably say something like: *Martha John her to sold house in lives. Sentence that corresponds word by word to the sentence that would convey the same thought in Japanese: - Some sentences dont have any meaning. - Some sentences sound odd for no native speakers.
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o This person has a coherent thought to express + knows the necessary English words. o BUT the English sentence s/he creates is meaningless. o This speaker does not have the means to construct a successful English sentence. There are meaningful sentences that are perceived as odd or not normal by native speakers (native speakers detect there is something wrong or doesnt sound natural to them). Ex. I go often to the cinema / I often go to the cinema [Adverbs of frequency are placed in front of the main verb] - From the point of view of semantics, it communicates the same idea but, from a syntactic point of view, it sounds odd. Ex. You speak very well English / You speak English very well [Direct object before adjuncts]

How we discover syntactic rules: - For a speaker with no formal training in syntax, Rules are unconscious and invisible. What s/he can do, is to observe the effects of rules (s/he knows there is something odd in the sentence but wouldnt be able to explain what and why) . - These observations can be taken as a hints or clues concerning the nature of the invisible rules: detective work (little by little, we will be able to reconstruct the syntactic rules). Example of detective work: discovering rules from a speaker with no formal training in syntax. Dialogue between a graduate student from France, Pierre, and his American friend, David. Goal: to discover what rule of English grammar is broken in the sentence: * The mayor gave John some good advices. [HANDOUT PIERRE
AND

DAVID]

Pierre has realised he needs a set of rules in order to create sentences with full meaning.

2. Syntax as a subfield of Linguistics. Linguistics = the science of language. Aim: the study of language. Structures of particular languages to identify universal elements. [Performance-Lenguaje] [Competence-Lengua] Focus of Linguistics: spoken language (vs. Philology: written texts). Linguistics (Grammar) exists since the classical period, although the beginnings of modern linguistics should be located in the 19th and early 20th. Origins Plato (4 c BC) Socratic dialogue devoted to linguistic issues: Cratylus. Origins of language and the concept of the name-giver.
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The Nineteenth Century Heyday/Golden age of Historical Linguistics. Special interest in concrete, empirical linguistic data. Importance of comparative Linguistics.

The Twentieth Century Ferdinand de Saussure Swiss Linguist (1857-1913). The greatest European Structuralist. Structuralism = main approach to Linguistics in the 20th century. It focused on the investigation of concrete linguistic data synchronically. Course in General Linguistics (1916). Main thesis: Languages are the instruments that enable human beings to achieve rational comprehension of the world in which we live.
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 Our understanding of reality depends essentially on the verbal signs of our language. Words are central to human life. Human existence is a linguistically articulated existence. Language is the object of the study in Linguistics. Linguistics = Branch of Semiology: general science of signs (later on, Bloomfield will refer to as Semiotics). 19th C Comparative Linguistics Diachronic Linguistics 20th C Saussure Synchronic Perspective

Noam Chomsky American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist and political activist (b. 1928). More than 100 extensive publications: honorary degree from universities around the world (London, Bologna, Toronto...). Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Generative-Transformational Grammar Generative: focus of the theory = generation of sentences. Transformational: methodology = transformational rules (T-rules). Generative Grammar It emphasises the creativity of human language: humans are able to interpret and produce an infinitive number of sentences that they have not heard or uttered before. Language = key to understand the human mind or brain. For Chomsky, linguistics = branch of Cognitive Psychology. Linguistics nowadays: Pragmatics in Applied Lingusitics Pragmatics: Main linguistic paradigm since the 1980s. It deals with the uses of language to communicate meaning in context. Context Content Users

 Emphasis on the importance of context. When the context changes, what is communicated changes as well. Focus: context-bound relation between what is said and what is communicated. Applied Linguistics: The concept appeared in the 1950s in Britain and the USA (Anglo-American creation). Origins linked with the teaching and learning of English. Purpose: to solve real-world, language-based problems. Based on Linguistics + other disciplines (anthropology, sociology, psychology...) Subfields of Linguistics (Levels of Linguistic analysis) Phonetics and phonology. Morphology Grammar Syntax Semantics

Morphology (categories) / Syntax (function). They are independent. Phonology: Phonological rules Phonology: abstract idea that we have of sounds. Deep structure, Competence. - Rules that determine the different patterns of speech sounds in a language. - Based on a theory of what every speaker of a language unconsciously knows about the sound patterns of that language. - Abstract or mental aspect of the sounds of a language. Phonetics: Phonetic rules Phonetics: the sounds themselves. Practical pronunciation of language. Surface structure. Performance. - Rules that determine the actual pronunciation of words and sentences in a language. - Actual physical articulation of speech sounds. Morphology: Morphological rules - Rules that govern the formation of words. - Basic unit: morpheme (minimal unit of meaning or grammatical function). Syntax: Syntactic rules - Rules followed by the speakers of a language when they combine words into sentences.
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Unconsciously.

Semantics: Meaning of words, phrases and sentences Studying the denotative (objective) meaning and the connotative (subjective) meaning of the words. - Conventional meaning conveyed by the use of words, phrases and sentences of a language. - Lexical relations (semantic fields, collocation, synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy...). Synonymy: [forms with closely related meanings] Hurt and damage (same semantic field). Cab and taxi (the same meaning in different contexts). Antonymy: [opposite meanings] Before and after More and less Hyponymy: [teh meaning of a word is included in the meaning of another] Animal > dog > poodle. Plant > flower > tulip. Symbols used in syntactic description S: sentence. NP: noun phrase. N: noun. VP: verb phrase. V: verb. PP: prepositional phrase. Prep: preposition. [arrow] = consists of. Eg. in the sea, PP prep NP A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition [ in] and a noun phrase [the sea]. () [parentheses or round brackets] = optional constituent. We can describe a set of objects as: Books NP N The books NP Art N The red books NP Art Adj N The 3 examples of NPs but the only obligatory constituent on the NP is the N itself (head). The article and the adjective are optional. NP (Art) (Adj) N

A noun phrase consists obligatorily of a noun and optionally of an article and/or an adjective. {} [braces or curly brackets] = one and only one if these constituents must be selected. These symbols are used when there is a choice from two or more constituents. Some of the possible constituents of an NP can be an expression like the woman (Art N), she (pronoun) or Cathy (proper noun). NP {(Art) N, pronoun, proper noun} Graphic descriptions of sentences structure Linear description: representation of the linear sequence of constituents. Labelled and bracketed sentences NP NP Predicate Art

[ [ [The] [dog] ] [ [followed] [ [the] [boy] ] ] ]

Art NP NP Subject V VP

Hierarchical description: representation of the levels of syntactic organisation tree diagrams Practice:

[ NP [N Possession] ] NP N
1. DP D D NP N N Possession 2. NP N N Possession

[ NP [N Pride] and [N Prejudice] ] NP N Conj N

1. NP N N Pride ConjP Conj Conj and NP N N Prejudice 2. N N Pride NP & & and N N Prejudice

[NP [ADJ Great] [N Expectations] ] NP (Adj) N

1. DP D D NP N AP A A Great N N Expectations AP A A Great 2. NP N N N Expectations

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The red kitchen 1. [DP The [NP [ADJ red] [N Kitchen] ] ] DP DP NP DP (Art) (Adj) N DP D D The NP N AP A A red N N Kitchen

2. [ [D The] [ADJ red] [N Kitchen] ] NP NP Spec AP NP Spec/DP D D The AP A A red N N N Kitchen

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[NP [N Death] [PP [PREP Of] [NP [D A] [N Salesman] ] ] ] NP NP (N) PP (Prep Det
N) 1. DP D D NP N N Death PP P P Of DP D D A NP N N Salesman 2. NP N N Death PP P P Of DP D D A NP N N Salesman

3. Approaches to syntax. Main approaches in traditional grammar: - The prescriptive approach. - The descriptive approach. The prescriptive approach Grammar = set of rules for the proper use of a language. The rules tell you how you must speak. Language is not something creative but an act of applying the rules give to us. In the English context, this approach was characteristic of 18 th c. grammarians, although it can still be found nowadays (in some schools, this didactic method is used in order to teach children ESL).

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Prescriptive grammarians set out rules for the correct or proper use of language. Apart from that, prescriptive grammarians suppose we have knowledge of the metalanguage used in order to explain the rules. Example of prescriptive rules: - You must use I for the nominative case. Example: *Mary runs faster than me This is more usual in the use of practical language. Mary runs faster than I According to prescriptive grammarians, this is the correct sentence. - When asking about a [+human] object, you must use whom and not who. Example: *Who did you see? This is the more usual in the use of practical language. Whom did you see? According to prescriptive grammarians, this is the correct sentence. Method for language teaching based on the prescriptive approach: Traditional or Grammar-Translation method. Based on the study of classical languages (Latin and Greek). It is not suitable for living languages as we need the introduction of some aspects on listening and speaking. Fashionable in the 17th-19th c. However, presence of traces even nowadays. Focus on the study of the written language, and on the knowledge of grammar (prescriptive grammar). Main type of exercise: translation.

Principle of this kind of approach Written language is considered superior to the spoken side. Reading and writing are the main skills. The basic unit of teaching is the sentence. Medium of instruction: students L1. Students must learn grammatical rules, and apply them in exercises. Students have to know conjugations and other grammatical paradigms. Successful learners are those who translate each language into the other, although they cannot communicate orally.

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Sample Lesson
Jelous shildrren Hoy vamo a ver El ver-tu-bi Ai am Llur ar Ji is

Adverbios de frecuencia Frequency adverbs

Uso We often went camping when we were children (Cuando ramos nios a menudo bamos a acampar) I will always love you (Siempre te amar) Posicin en la oracin Pedro sometimes visits us on Sundays (Pedro a veces nos visita los domingos) She is often ill in winter (Ella generalmente est enferma en invierno)

The descriptive approach Basic of most modern attempts to characterise the structure of different languages. Origins: end of the 19th c., when linguists who wanted to study the structure of North American Indian languages discovered that the prescriptive rules of Latin grammar didnt fit to analyse those languages. As they could not apply the rules of Latin, they decided to describe those languages That led to the beginning of the descriptive approach to the study of a language. Descriptive grammarians/analysts: They collect samples of the languages they are interested in. The attempt to describe the regular structures of the languages. What is important is the language spoken by real people and how language actually is, not what language should be like (what we have seen in the prescriptive method).
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o As it is used. o Not according to some views of how it should be used. Language Acquisition Device (LAD) According to Chomsky, LAD is an aspect of Universal Grammar, that is, something shared by all human beings (independently of the language). It is the subconscious and genetically given (innate) component of the human mind that enables the acquisition of first language (L1). Other theories by Chomsky - In the 1980s, Noam Chomsky developed the theory of Government and Binding. - In the 1990s and 2000s, Chomsky developed the Minimalist Programme/Program.

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