Grammatical Level Defined

A grammatical level is described as relative postion in spsce where space is the

grammatical hierarchy within which constructions may occur. Just as physical
celestial objects cannot be in space are in any absolute way but only in
reference to each other, so levels are reions altive positions in grammatical
space defined in reference to each other. The concept of constructural levels,
arranged in explicit systemic hierarchy, is the third fundamental insight of
tagmemics ( Longacre, 1965: 72 )
Hicrarchical Level. According to Pike, language may be described in terms of a
triple hierarchy of phonology , lexicon, and grammar. Within grammatical
hierarchy, constructions are arranged at a series of well defined levels. The
development of the concept of within grammar is attributed to longarce, who
feelt that there should be a close analogy with phonology where a single
phoneme may be a syllable. Similiarly, in grammatial phrase and a clause, as in
the english command Go ! The most common levels in use are the sentences,
clause, phrase and word levels.
By grouping constructions at a series of a natural levels, language stucture is
representated as an orderly mapping of lower level into higher level structures.
Morphemes are mapped into words, words into phrases, phrases into clauses,
and clauses sentences, in an orderly manner. This regular mapping of smaller
units , by using levels, clearly distinguished from nesting and alyering tendencies
within the same atypical mapping of structures, for level skipping, and for back
looping.
Tagmemic versus IC Levels. In tagmemeic analysis, the analyst works with a
series of levels within the grammatical hierarchy, normally the sentence, clause,
phrase, word, and morpheme levels. Constructions are arranged in grammar a
one of the four constructions levels. In IC analysis , the only level reprecented are
included the terms under the terms immediate constituents. The immediate
constituents are the results of the first cut, the ultimate constituents are
morpheme and mediate condtituents are the results of any intervenir binary cut.
In tagmemics this is a sentences level construction: in IC the sentences base
and its intonation are the immediate constituents, the morpheme. The clause,
phrase, and word level construction of tagmemics correspond roughly to the
mediate cuts of the IC grammar, except that the tagmemic levels are well
defined where as the mediate constitutens of IC grammar are ad hoc
constituents changing with each sentences analyszed.
IC analysis , according to longacre, fails to reveal construction types of
maximum relevance and comparability ( 1964:16), and fields ti distinguish
mapping of construcrions from lower into higer level, from layering on the same
levels of analysis ( 1965: 72). Tagmemics, on the other hand, places
constructions within the grammar at well defined levels, arranging the levels
from higer to lower within the grammar.
Signifance of Levels. The concept of levels places the string or sxntagmemes of
the grammar in an ordered set of rules. Just as the idea of string allowed multiple
branching in the grammar , so the idea of levels orders the rules from higer to
lower in some way defined way. Within a level ,however considerable variety of

construction is found ,and ordering within the level is not so regetly defined as to
exlude different orderings with diferrent sets of data
The purpose of is the set up a hyperclass of contraction which are similiar in
some spesified way. Once we have defined these contrasive characteristics, we
may speak of sentences level, clause level, phrase level, and word level
constructions. Constituent tagmemes , which are than recognized as sentences,
level, clause level, phrase level, and word level tagmemes respctively.
Consequently, the concept of level not only place the constructions in
hierarchical order, it allows for a more positive identification of the tagmemic
unit . the tagmeme is fixed at a definite level, or depth, in the grammar, and at
the same times has a position in the linear construction string.
Kinds Of Levels in Grammar
Grammatical levels form a telescopic system in which the construction at lower
levels are tpicially mapped into construction at higer levels in the grammar. In
tagmemes , level above the sentences are or concidereable importance,
sentences occur in larger contexts. In this intrroductions, however we concidere
only the sentence level and levels below the sentences
Typical Levels of grammar. The ve typical levels of grammmar are the sentence,
clause, phrase, word and moprphem and levels. These levles of M.A.K hallidays
scale and catergory grammar. The first four levels are levels at which
construction aoccur. The final, or morpheme level, is not a level of construction
but an ultimate point of reference.
1. The sentence levels is that levels of the grammar at which t major and
minor sentences of language are broken down into dependent and
independent clauses, toghther with their intonation patterns.
2. The clause level is thaht level of the grammar at whch the clause are
broken down into their subjects, predicates,objects and various clause
adjuncts such as time, placem manner and circumstance
3. The phrase level is thaht level of grammar at which structured word
groups which are not clauses are broken down into works
4. The word level is thaht level of the grammar at which the words of the
language are broken down into their consttituent moprhems, including the
analysis the processes of inflection, derivation, and compunding.
5. The morphem level is that level of the grammar at which the morphems
are seeen as the ultimate meaningful constituents of which the utterances
of a language are composed. Each morphem is listed in a lexion
acconpanying the grammar, with its form, classand gloss.
A typical mapping. Although the normal processses of grammar call for a
mapping of lower level constraction into higher levels, there are cases of atypical
mapping including levels skips, layering and loopbacks in the grammatical
structure:
1. Levels skips are omissions of a level in proceedingfrom higher to lower,
when a level is skipped , a filler from a lower level construction is used in a
higher level construction . Ther use of phrase clitic, a bound form to fill a
phrase level slot, is a typical exampleof skipping.
2. Layering is the inclusion of a construction whitin an other construction at
the same level (elson abd pickett, 1962:59)

3. Loopvacks ate inclusions of higher level construction. A relative clause

filling the identifier slot in phrase t=structure is a typical example os a
loopback.

Field strucuture of hierarchy, longacre has picture the typical and atypical
mapping of structures in a filed as the fourth is adapted from longaecres chart in
languacre. At clause level, for example the chart may be read as follows:
1. If tagmemic fillers at clause level are words (W), this is levels-skipping: the
phrase level has been sipped and the clause slot is filled by a lower
levelform, the word.
2. If tagmemic fillers at clause level are phrases (p) this is normal mapping
clauses are normally filled by phrase in proper hierarchical structuring.
3. If tagmemic fillers at clause level are clauses (c) this is layering at a level a
clause is embedded whitin another clause. This layering need not be
recursive.
4. If tagmemic layering fillers at clause level are sentence(s)this is backlooping a higher level constructuion the sentence fills a slot in a lower
level construction the clause.