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Syntax of Mother Tongue

The document discusses syntax and mother tongue, and compares traditional grammar to transformational generative grammar. Transformational generative grammar uses transformations to relate deep and surface sentence structures, and generates sentences using recursive rules.

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onaagonoy
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502 views

Syntax of Mother Tongue

The document discusses syntax and mother tongue, and compares traditional grammar to transformational generative grammar. Transformational generative grammar uses transformations to relate deep and surface sentence structures, and generates sentences using recursive rules.

Uploaded by

onaagonoy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Syntax of mother tongue

Mother tongue- refers to the person’s native language – that is, a language learned from birth. This
is also called first language, dominant language, home language and native language (although these
terms are not necessarily synonyms).

Syntax- in a broader perspective of linguistics, is the study of how words or ordered in human
language; what rules are necessary to describe a particular language; and how can these rules differ
across languages.

Syntax is concerned with the set of rules and principles in a language, which relate to how words and
phrases are arranged to create well-formed sentences (OED, 2015).

Transformational Generative Grammar Model

Traditional Grammar (TG) Transformational Generative Grammar


 Traditional grammar is based is a set of  Based on the definitions, could be actually
grammar, rules that are used when basic understand, it looks like TG focuses on
clauses are combined to form more building language from small parts
complex sentences. (subject, verb, etc.) while TGG focuses on
 (Prescriptive) it prescribes how people “linguistic transformations and phrase
‘should’ produce language. structures.”
 (Descriptive) it describes the ‘ORDER’ in
which to put words and phrases.
Prescribes how people ‘should’ produce
language.
In linguistics, Transformational Generative Grammar (TGG) is the part of the theory of
generative grammar, especially of natural native languages. The TGG is also known as Transformational
Grammar, which is a system or language analysis. It shows the relationship among the various elements
of a sentence and among the possible sentences and the process of rules which are transformations of
sentences to express semantics with the help of surface structures and deep structure.

Transformational Grammar – is a set of rules that indicates the structure and interpretation of sentences
which native speakers of a language accept as belonging to the language. It involves the use of defined
operations called transformations to produce new sentences from existing ones.

Differences between TG and TGG

Two aspects of grammar

1. Transformational – it is called transformational since a sentence can be transformed into


number of sentences with either the same meaning or with different meaning.
Examples:
“I read the book”
“The book is read by me.”
“Do I read the book?”
“I do not read the book.”
2. Generative – it can also create an infinite number of sentences. It means we can produce as
many sentences as possible of the language following the rules of the grammar. Hence with
infinite number of rules, the infinite set of sentences can be generated and this infinity is known
as “recursion”.

Surface and Deep Structures

Deep structure

 is a basic, or a kernel sentence. It is simple, assertive, declarative and active in form.


 Example: Ali reads a novel.
It is the abstract structure that allows the native speaker to know what the sentence means.
Hence, it expresses the semantic content of the sentence.

Surface structure – is a transformed form of deep structure which shows how the speaker actually uses
it in communication. It expresses the phonetic content of the sentence.

 Examples:
1. Ali reads a novel.
2. Does Ali reds a novel?
3. Ali does not read a novel.
4. A novel was read by Ali.

Sentence 1 is a kernel sentence and shows deep structure while 2, 3 & 4 are examples of surface
structures.

Transformation

sentence

deep structure

transformations

surface structure

another sentence

Transformational rules
1. Insertion transformation
Examples:
He knew she was there.
He knew that she was there.
2. Deletion transformation
a. Imperative
You come here.
Come here.
b. Verb-phrase;
If he says he will study for the test, he will study for the test.
If he says he will study for the test, he will.
3. Movement transformation
I took off my shoes.
I took my shoes off.
4. Substitution transformation
Ali thought that Ali is the best.
Ali thought that he is the best.

Some more Transformation rules

1. Interrogative rules
He will go. → Will he go?
2. Negation rule
He goes. → He does not go.
3. Do-support rule
He goes. → Does he go? He does not go.
4. Passivasion rule
George like Juli. →Juli is liked by George.
5. Prescriptive or normative rule (based on traditional grammar. It is I instead of me.)
He came after me. → He came after I did.
6. Descriptive rule
*Plural nouns are always followed by plural forms of verb.
The boys are sitting in the class.
7. Phrase structure rules: (discussed by Farryl’s group)

Type of transformation

1. Subject-verb inversion
To get a job in willingham would Best of all would be to get a job
be best of all. on Willingham.
A row of van Goghs hung on On long wall hung a row of
long wall. van Goghs.
The dog is here. There is the dog.
The rain came down. Down came the rain.
Your sister's there. There's your sister.

2. Subject-operator inversion

I never though of Never again did I think of


disobedience.
disobedience again.
He must restrain on no account.
On no account must he
He was affected by the virus
strain.
badly. So badly was he affected by
He did not say a word. the virus.
I have never seen it. Not a word did he say.
Never have I seen it.

Ways of analyzing the transformation

1. Syntactic -it follows a Subject-Verb-Object word order.


Example. The boy kicked the ball. (This is the standard syntactic pattern, including the minimum
requirements of just a subject and verb. The subject always comes first).
2. Semantic –is the study of meaning in language.
Example: I am hungry. (Semantically means that feeling when someone does not eat for a
certain period of time.

Result of TGG

 Paraphrase – when several surface structures relate to one deep structure.


- John bought the book from Mary.
- Mary sold the book to John.
- The book was sold to Mary.
 Ambiguity – One surface structure relates to several deep structures.
- Flying planes can be dangerous.
- Planes which are flying.

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