英语语言学讲义Chapter4 Syntax

Chapter 4 SyntaxTeaching aims1. Overview of syntax as a system of rules that govern the formation of grammatical sentences.2. Overview the four phrases of syntactic study in the history3. Examine the composition of sentences in terms of category and structure4. Discuss grammatical relations between each noun phrase and the verb in a sentence.5. Introduce IC analysis and five phrases of generative approach.4.1 Introduction to syntaxSyntax consists of a set of abstract rules that allow words to be combined with other words to form grammatical sentences.Grammatical sentences & Syntactic rule1) Sentences are structured according to a particular arrangement of words. Well-arranged sentences are considered grammatical sentences.2) Grammatical sentences are formed following a set of syntactic rulesIntroduction to syntaxAccording to traditional approach grammar is divided into two parts: morphology and syntax.As a major component of grammar,Syntax is a subfield of linguistics that studies the sentence structure of language.Grammatical & ungrammatical sentencesA sentence is considered grammatical when it conforms to the grammatical knowledge in the mind of native speakers.On the other hand, a sentence violates a rule according to which words are organized, then native speakers will judge it to be an impossible sentence of their language.Syntax consists of a set of abstract rules that allow words to be combined with other words to form grammatical sentences.Grammatical sentences & Syntactic rule1) Sentences are structured according to a particular arrangement of words. Well-arranged sentences are considered grammatical sentences.2) Grammatical sentences are formed following a set of syntactic rules4.2 Syntax as s system of rulesDiscussion:Can we make a dictionary of sentences? Why or why not?Universally found in the grammars of all human languages, syntactic rules comprise the system of internalized linguistic knowledge of a language speaker known as linguistic competence.A theory of grammar must provide a complete characterization of linguistic utterances that speakers implicitly consider well-formed, or grammatical, sequences. .Universally found in the grammars of all human languages, syntactic rules comprise the system of internalized linguistic knowledge of a language speaker known as linguistic competence.A theory of grammar must provide a complete characterization of linguistic utterances that speakers implicitly consider well-formed, or grammatical, sequences. .The major goal of linguistics is, then, to show with a consistent and explicit grammatical theory how syntactic rules account for this grammatical knowledgeThe infinite numbers of sentences & Syntactic rule1) For any natural language, a set of syntactic rules are capable of yielding an endless number of sentences in that language.2) That is, the syntactic rules of any language are finite in number, and yet there is no limit to the number of sentences native speakers of that language are able to produce and comprehend.4.3.1 Lexical categories --- Word ClassA language has major and minor lexical categories of a finite set.1) Major lexical categories are open categories in the sense that new words are constantly added.2) Minor lexical categories are closed categories because the number of the lexical items in these categories is fixed and no new members are allowed for.English has four major lexical categories and six minor lexical categories, given below with examples:English Four Major Lexical Categories•Noun (N): student, linguistics, lecture, John•Verb (V): like, read, go•Adjective (Adj): tall, lovely, red•Adverb (Adv): loudly, constantly, hardEnglish has four major lexical categories and six minor lexical categories, given below with examples:•English Six Minor Lexical Categories•Determiner (Det): the, a, this, his•Auxiliary (Aux): can, will, do, be, have•Preposition (Prep): in, at, to, on•Pronoun (Pron): he, she, us, mine•Conjunction (Conj): and, or, but, while•Interjection (Int): oh, ah, eh4.3.2 Phrasal categories --- Phrasal ClassExcept for a very few number, lexical items have certain combinational properties that allow them to combine with words of different categories to form phrases.In English syntactic analysis, four phrasal categories are commonly recognized and discussed, namely, noun phrase (NP), verb phrase (VP) , prepositional phrase (PP), and adjective phrase (AP)The characteristics of phrasal categories1.NP and VP are essential components of a sentence, comprising the two major syntacticcategories, that is, the subject and the predicate of a sentence.2.Notice also that VP in a sentence may contain just a verb, with an optional noun phraseand/or a prepositional phrase;3.NP may contain just a noun, and AP just an adjective.4.NP: a tall man, the student5.VP: hit the student, walk with a stick6.PP: with a stick, in the park7.AP: quite rudeWords and phrases are organized according to the syntactic categories they belong to.•Apart from sentences (S) and clauses (C), a syntactic category usually refers to a word (called a lexical category) or a phrase (called a phrasal category) that performs a particular grammatical function, such as the subject in a sentence.•Constituents that can be substituted for one another without loss of grammaticality belong to the same syntactic category.For example:Which sentences are grammatical sentences?(1) a. The student liked the linguistics lecture.••b. The linguistics lecture liked the student.••c. *Liked the student the linguistics lecture.(2) a. John hit upon an idea.• b. An idea hit upon John.• c. *An hit John upon idea.4.4 Sentence structure (Traditional approach))Discussion:Since syntax deals with the sentence structure of language, we will then ask, among other things, such questions as what constitutes a sentence and what major types of sentences are contained in a language ?The basic components of a sentence1) A sentence is a structurally independent unit that usually comprises a number of words to form a complete statement, question or command.2) Normally a sentence consists of at least a subject and its predicate which contains a finite verb or a verb phrase.This referring expression is grammatically called subject.A subject may be a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence that usually precedes the predicate.The part of a sentence which comprises a finite verb or a verb phrase and which says something about the subject is grammatically called predicate.A finite verb, informally called the main verb of a sentence, expresses existence, action or occurrence which is limited by person, number, tense and mood.e.g. John likes linguistics.•In the above example, "John" is the subject, and "likes linguistics" is the predicate, which is a verb phrase consisting of a finite verb "likes" and its object "linguistics."•Here reference is made to John and something is said about, or predicated of, John.•That is, someone is referred to as "John," and this John "likes linguistics.•Traditionally, three major types of sentences are distinguished, namely, simple sentence, coordinate, or and complex sentence.A. The simple sentenceA simple sentence consists of a single clause which contains a subject and a predicate and stands alone as its own sentence.B. The coordinate sentenceA coordinate sentence contains two clauses joined by a linking word called coordinating conjunction, such as "and," "but," "or."•Traditionally, three major types of sentences are distinguished, namely, simple sentence, coordinate, or and complex sentence.• C. The complex sentenceA complex sentence contains two, or more, clauses, one of which is incorporated into the other. That is, the two clauses in a complex sentence hold unequal status, one subordinating the other.• A. Simple sentencese.g. John reads extensively.Mary decided to take a linguistics class the next semester• B. Coordinate sentencese.g. John is reading a linguistics book, and Mary is preparing for her history exam.John likes linguistics, but Mary is interested in history.• C. The complex sentencee.g. Mary told Jane [that John liked linguistics].Mary asked [John to buy her a linguistics book] .[ That John likes linguistics] puzzles everyone.B. Coordinate sentencese.g. John is reading a linguistics book, and Mary is preparing for her history exam.4.5 The linear and hierarchical structuresof sentenceLanguage is a highly structured system of communication. Sentences are not formed by randomly combining lexical items, but by following a set of syntactic rules that arrange linguistic elements in a particular order to make a string of words not only meaningful but also linearly and hierarchically-structured.(1) The linear word order of a sentenceWhen a sentence is uttered or written down, the words of the sentence are produced one after another in a sequence.•This sequential order of words in a sentence suggests that the structure of a sentence is linear as in the following examplese.g. (1) The student likes the new linguistics professor.(2) John, Mary and Susan went to the linguistics lecture.(2)The hierarchical structure of a sentence•The superficial arrangement of words in a linear sequence does not, however, entail that sentences are simply linearly-structured.•Intuitively, English speakers divide these sentences in the way that obviously follows aparticular hierarchical order, as is shown in (1-2) with different segmentation: •(1) The student // likes / the new linguistics professor.•(2) John, Mary and Susan // went to / the linguistics lecture.This type' of segmentation truthfully reveals the hierarchical nature of sentence structure: sentences are organized with words of the same syntactic category, such as, noun phrase (NP) or verb phrase (VP), grouped together.4.5 Tree diagrams of sentence structureIn a tree diagram, S is the root of the tree, occupying the topmost position, from where it branches into phrasal categories. E.g. NP, VP.In addition to revealing a linear order, a constituent structure tree has a hierarchical structure that groups words into structural constituents and shows the syntactic category of each structural constituent, and consequently is believed to most truthfully illustrate the constituent relationship among linguistic elements.4.5 Concord and government--- Grammatical relation (FY)Concord: It is known as agreement. It can be defined as the requirement that the forms of two or more words in a syntactic relationship should agree with each other in terms of some categories.e.g. this man, these menIn English there are several requirements for “number”, “gender”, and “tense”.Government: It is another type of control over the form of some words by other words in certain syntactic construction. It refers to the relationship in which a word of a certain class determines the form of others in terms of certain category.e.g. She give him a book.The former is governorShe give a book to him.The latter is the governed4.6 The Structural approach--- Proposed by Saussure and American structuralismIn the 20th century, some linguists collect samples of the language they are interested in and attempt to describe the regular structures of the language as it is used, not according to some view of how it should be used.•Structural analysis•Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations•Immediate constituent analysis•Endocentric and exocentric constructionStructural analysis•Native speakers produce and comprehend sentences according to their internalizedknowledge of the rules, according to which words and phrases are organized.•S --->NP VP•We read the arrow as "consists of," or " is rewritten as," the sentence can be rewritten as, a noun phrase and a verb phrase. "NP structure : NP–(Det) (Adj) N (PP) (S)VP structure : VP–V+ NP+ PP+ (S)Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationsIn Saussure’s view, language is a system of signs, which consists of two parts: Signified (concept) and Signifier (sound image).•In order to find value of the sign, Saussure identified two types of relations:1) Syntagmatic relation (组合关系) : It is a relation between one item and others in a sequence, or between elements which are all present.2）Paradigmatic relation (聚合关系)/ associative relationIt is a relation holding between elements replaceable with each other at a particular place in a structure, or between one element present and the others absent.Denotation and SenseWords also derive their value from their positions within the language system. The semantic links between elements within the vocabulary system is an aspect of their sense. The relationship between reference and sense is illustrated by Saussure.Each oval is a word, which has its own capacity for reference, but each is also linked to other words in the same language like a cell in a network.Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationse.g.小王打碎了杯子小猫撞翻了花盆中国人民打败了日本帝国主义和聚合关系是互相有内在联系的两条规则。