SOUTH EASTERN KENYA UNIVERSITY

CLE 301: SYNTAX

REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Explain the fundamental principles of Universal Grammar as proposed by Noam Chomsky. How
does the concept of principles and parameters contribute to the understanding of language
variation across different languages? Provide examples to support your explanation.

2. Explain the concept of parameters within Universal Grammar. How do parameters contribute to
the diversity of languages? Provide examples of parameters that vary between different
languages.

3. Explain the distinction between language competence and language performance. How does
linguistic competence represent a speaker's knowledge of a language, and in what ways can
performance deviate from competence? Provide examples to illustrate your explanation.
4. Explain the significance of Ferdinand de Saussure's distinction between langue and parole in the
study of linguistics. How does this differentiation contribute to a deeper understanding of
language as a system?
5. Describe the practical applications of Saussure's concepts of syntagmatic and paradigmatic
relationships in linguistic analysis. Provide examples to illustrate how these relationships are
utilized in analyzing language structures.

6. Explain how linguistic tests, such as questions and pronoun substitution, are used to identify
constituents in a sentence. Provide examples to support your explanation.

7. Discuss the concept of syntactic categories and their role in understanding sentence structure.
How do syntactic categories contribute to linguistic analysis, and why are they essential for
language processing?

8. Construct a sentence and create a constituent structure tree for it. Label the constituents with
their appropriate syntactic categories. Explain how this tree demonstrates both linear order and
hierarchical structure within the sentence.

9. Explain how ICA can help in analyzing ambiguous sentences. Provide an example of an
ambiguous sentence and create two distinct tree diagrams illustrating the different
interpretations.

10. Explain the concept of Phrase Structure Grammar (PSG) and how it generates sentence
structures. Provide an example of a PSG rule and illustrate how it generates a phrase structure
tree.

11. Explain how PSG rules accommodate embedded sentences. Provide an example sentence with an
embedded structure and create a phrase structure tree based on PSG rules.
12. Explain the concept of transformational rules in syntax. Provide an example of a
transformational rule and demonstrate how it alters the base structure of a sentence. What is
the significance of transformational rules in understanding sentence structures?

13. Describe the relationship between deep structure and surface structure in transformational
grammar. How are these structures related, and what role do transformational rules play in this
relationship? Provide an illustrative example.

14. Create an interrogative sentence using the transformational rule "Move Aux" for the base
sentence "The cat is sleeping." Explain the step-by-step transformation process and provide the
resulting surface structure.

15. Explain the concept of selectional restrictions in lexical insertion rules within transformational
grammar. Provide an example of a verb with selectional restrictions and demonstrate how it
affects the construction of grammatically correct sentences.

16. Apply the concept of Universal Grammar to explain how a child learns to speak their native
language. Provide examples from your own observations or experiences if applicable.

17. Imagine you are teaching a class of English as a second language (ESL) learners. How would your
understanding of Universal Grammar influence your teaching methods and strategies? Provide
specific examples.

18. Analyze a sentence that is considered ungrammatical in English and identify the specific
grammatical rule or rules that it violates. Explain why it is considered ungrammatical and suggest
a corrected version.

19. Consider two languages with different word order patterns, such as English (SVO) and Japanese
(SOV). How might Universal Grammar principles account for the differences in word order
between these languages? Provide examples.

20. Imagine you are a linguistic researcher investigating a previously undocumented language. How
would your knowledge of Universal Grammar assist you in analyzing the grammar and structure
of this new language? What aspects of the language's grammar would you be particularly
interested in studying?

21. Discuss the challenges and limitations associated with studying language performance to make
inferences about linguistic competence. How can researchers address these challenges in their
linguistic analyses?
22. How can linguistic competence be assessed or studied, given that it is not directly observable?
Discuss methods that researchers use to investigate linguistic competence.

23. Explain the concept of "generative grammar" as proposed by Noam Chomsky. How does it relate
to linguistic competence, and what role does it play in the study of language?
24. Discuss the concept of "immediate constituent structure grammar" in linguistic analysis. How
does it help linguists understand the hierarchical structure of sentences?
25. Explain the relationships involved in immediate constituent analysis, such as parenthood,
daughterhood, sisterhood, dominance relations, precedence, and C-command. Provide
examples to clarify these relationships.

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