英語專業(yè)語言學(xué)課件unit-4

Chapter4Syntax

Syn+tax:wordscombinationColorlessgreenideassleepfuriously.Whatissyntax?----abranchoflinguisticsthatstudieshowwordsarecombinedtoformsentencesandtherulesthatgoverntheformationofsentences.TransformationalGenerativeGrammar(TG)

Norm.Chomsky,themostinfluentiallinguistin20thcentury,someimportantworks:(1957)SyntacticStructure;(1965)AspectsoftheTheoryofSyntax;(1981)LecturesonGovernmentandBinding;(1986)Barriers(1993)AMinimalistProgramforLinguisticTheory;(1995)TheMinimalistProgram;

(1998)TheMinimalistInquiry……

Criteriaongoodgrammar

ObservationaladequacyDescriptiveadequacyExplanatoryadequacyTheultimategoalforanytheoryistoexplain.TGdiffersfromtraditionalgrammarinthatitnotonlyaimsatlanguagedescription,butalsoitsexplanation.Chomskyismuchmoreinterestedinthesimilarities(languageuniversals)betweenlanguagesratherthantheirdifferences.Linguistsshouldattempttofindagrammaticalframeworkwhichwillbesuitableforalllanguages;Linguistsshouldconcentrateontheelementsandconstructionsthatareavailabletoalllanguagesratherthanonelementsthatactuallyoccurinalllanguages.TherearelikelytobeuniversalconstraintsonthewayslinguisticelementsarecombinedChomskyproposedthatthegrammarsofallhumanlanguagesshareacommonframework(UniversalGrammar).CategoriesCategoryreferstoagroupoflinguisticitemswhichfulfillthesameorsimilarfunctionsinaparticularlanguagesuchasasentence,anounphraseoraverb.Themostcentralcategoriestothesyntacticstudyaretheword-levelcategories(traditionally,partsofspeech/wordclass.)Word-levelcategories

Traditionalandnon-traditionalclassificationMajorlexicalcategories:N,V,Adj,Prep.(servingasheads:NP,VP,AP,PP.)MinorLexicalcategories:Det,Deg,Qual,Aux,Conj.(modifyingmajorcategories.)Thecriteriaonwhichcategoriesaredetermined

Meaning(n.:entity,V.:action,A.:property/attribute.)Inflection(-s,-ed,-ing,-er,-est,)Problems:noconcreteentity,actionasnoun,samemeaningbutdifferentcategoriesDistribution(sentencestructure:love,fog,moisture.)Note:Themostreliablecriterionofdeterminingaword’scategoryisitsdistribution.PhrasecategoriesandtheirstructuresPhrasecategories----thesyntacticunitsthatarebuiltaroundacertainwordcategoryarecalledphrasecategories,suchasNP(N),VP(V),AP(A),PP(P).Twolevels:wordlevel&phraselevel.Thestructure:specifier+head+complementHead----thewordaroundwhichaphraseisformedSpecifier----thewordsontheleftsideoftheheadsComplement----thewordsontherightsideoftheheadsPhrasestructurerules

Thegrammaticalmechanismthatregulatesthearrangementofelementsthatmakeupaphraseiscalledaphrasestructurerule(rewritingrule),suchas:NP(Det)+N+(PP)……e.g.thosepeople,thefishontheplate,prettygirls.VP(Qual)+V+(NP)……e.g.alwaysplaygames,finishassignments.AP(Deg)+A+(PP)……veryhandsome,verypessimistic,familiarwith,veryclosetoPP(Deg)+P+(NP)……ontheshelf,intheboat,quitenearthestation.():optional;……:otheroptionsSpecifierXComplementHeadXPTheXPruleNote:abstractionofallphrases:ThephrasestructurerulescanbesummedupasXPruleshowninthediagram,inwhichX,asavariable,standsforN,V,AorP.CoordinationruleCoordinationstructures-----thestructuresthatareformedbyjoiningtwoormoreelementsofthesametypewiththehelpofaconjunctionsuchasand,or,etc.XX*conX----Coordinationhasfourimportantproperties:nolimitonthenumberofcoordinatedcategoriesbeforetheconjunction;acategoryatanylevelcanbecoordinated;thecategoriesmustbeofthesametype;thecategorytypeofthecoordinatephraseisidenticaltothecategorytypeoftheelementsbeingconjoined.PhraseelementsSpecifierHeadComplementSpecifiers----Semantically,specifiersmakemoreprecisethemeaningofthehead;syntactically,theytypicallymarkaphraseboundary.SpecifierscanbedeterminersasinNP,qulifiersasinVPanddegreewordsasinAP.Examples:P.47Complements----Complementsthemselvescanbeaphrase,theyprovideinformationabutentitiesandlocationswhoseexistenceisimpliedbythemeaningofthehead,e.g.astoryaboutasentimentalgirl;

Therecanbenocomplement,onecomplement,ormorethanonecomplementinaphrase,e.g.appear,break,put…;asentence-likeconstructionmayalsofunctionasacomplementsuchasin“Ibelievedthatshewasinnocent.

Idoubtifshewillcome.Theyarekeenforyoutoshowup.”That/if/forarecomplementizers,theclausesintroducedbycomplementizersarecomplementclause.(CP)Subcategorization:Thefeaturesofacertainword’scomplementareincludedinthehead.Phrasestructurerules+subcategorizationinformation=appropriatestructure.E.g.appear,cut,put.TheXPRule(revised)XP(specifier)X(complement*)Modifiers----Modifiersspecifyoptionallyexpressiblepropertiesofheads.Alllexicalcategoriescanhavemodifiers.(e.g.P49)TheExpandedXPrule:XP(Spec)(Mod)X(Complement*)ModSentences(theSrule)

SNPVPSNPVPNPDetNVDetNAboyfoundtheevidence

SNPinflVPManylinguistsbelievethatsentences,likeotherphrases,alsohavetheirownheads.Inflisanabstractcategoryinflection(dubbed‘Infl’)astheirheads,whichindicatesthesentence’stenseandagreement.InflP(=S)NPVPInflSentences(theSrule)InflrealizedbyatenselabelInflP（=S）NPVPNPDetNInflVDetNAboyPstfoundtheevidenceInflrealizedbyanauxiliaryInflP（=S）VPNPNPDetNInflVDetNAboywillfindtheevidenceTransformations

SyntacticProcess=Generation+TransformationAuxiliarymovement(inversion)DoinsertionDeepstructure&surfacestructureWh-movementMoveαandconstraintsontransformationsAuxiliarymovement(inversion)InversionMoveInfltotheleftofthesubjectNP.Inversion(revised)MoveInfltoC.CCPSDetNInflVthetrainwillarriveNPAuxiliarymovement(inversion)CPSCNPInfl

DetNInflVWillthetrainearriveMatrixClauseVS.EmbeddedClauseOvertCpmplementizers:that,whetherCpmplementizersandauxiliariesaremutuallyexclusive.(example:P.53)HeadMovement:movementfromoneheadpositiontoanother.DoinsertionDoinsertion----InsertinterrogativedointoanemptyInflposition.CPCSNPInflVPBirdsflyCPCPCCSSInflNPInflVPNPInflVPBirdsdoflyDobirdseflyFigure-1Figure-2Figure-3Deepstructure&surfacestructureConsiderthefollowingpairofsentences:

Johniseasytoplease.Johniseagertoplease.Structurallysimilarsentencesmightbeverydifferentintheirmeanings,fortheyhavequitedifferentdeepstructures.Deepstructure&surfacestructureConsideronemoresentence:

Flyingplanescanbedangerous.ItcanmeaneitherthatifyouflyplanesyouareengagedinadangerousactivityorPlanesthatareflyingaredangerous.Deepstructure----formedbytheXPruleinaccordancewiththehead’ssub-categorizationproperties;itcontainsalltheunitsandrelationshipsthatarenecessaryforinterpretingthemeaningofthesentence.Surfacestructure----correspondingtothefinalsyntacticformofthesentencewhichresultsfromappropriatetransformations;itisthatofthesentenceasitispronouncedorwritten.Deepstructure&surfacestructureTheorganizationofthesyntacticcomponentTheXPruleDeepstructuretransformationsSurfacestructureSubcategorizationrestrictschoiceofcomplementsWh-movementConsiderthederivationofthefollowingsentences:Whatlanguagescanyouspeak?Whatcanyoutalkabout?Thesesentencesmayoriginateas:Youcanspeakwhatlanguages.