Linguistics & Semantics

Lesson 4: Syntax

Generative Grammar (Transformational Generative Grammar)

A generative grammar is defined as one that is fully explicit, in the sense that it consists of a set of rules by which it is possible to decide whether any given sentence is grammatical or not. A sentence is seen not as a string of words but rather a ''tree'' with subordinate and superordinate branches connected at nodes. ‘The cat killed the bird’, in which S is a sentence ‘the cat killed the bird’, D is a [[determiner] the], N a [[noun] cat], V a [[verb]killed], NP a [[noun phrase] the cat] and VP a [[verb phrase] killed the bird (NP: D+N)] See the file called ‘the tree in Syntax’. Noam Chomsky, the American linguist, published in 1957 'Syntactic Structures' which was a statement of transformational generative grammar (TG).

Transformational generative Grammarians’ aim consists in creating an explicit model of what an ideal speaker of the language intuitively knows. This model assigns a structure to all the sentences of the language concerned. Chomsky makes a clear distinction between ‘competence or knowledge of language’ and ‘performance or the actual use of language in concrete situations’.

The ‘TG model’ also attempts to devise hypothesis on competence by idealising performance, that is to say, by removing performance accidents such as repetition, lack of attention, false starts etc. There is a big difference between Structuralism and TG as the former deals above all with text and language that has actually occurred while the latter doesn’t use the text because it is more interesting in what the text produces.

The main features of a TG model are four.

A) It must capable of generating an infinite set of sentences by operating a finite set of rules on a finite set of items Examples: ‘S→ NP+ VP (this sentence can be rewritten as a noun phrase+ verb phrase) ‘the cat killed the bird’; NP→ (det)+ N (noun phrase can be rewritten as (determiner)+ noun (the) cat); VP→ V+ NP (verb phrase can be rewritten as verb +noun ‘killed the bird’). Following this model we can produce hundreds of sentences: ‘Women love/hate /animals; Men love/hate animals; Some men love/hate animals; Women love/hate some animals; Five men love/hate animals: Here we have three nouns [men women animals], two verbs[ love and hate], two determiners [some and five]. For this reason there is a possibility to build many sentences.

B) A TG model must be explicit and self-sufficient because it tries to describe the ideal speaker-hearer’s linguistic knowledge and intuition.

C) This model must have three components: ‘a phonological component’, ‘a syntactic component’ and ‘ a semantic component’.

D) It must be able to assign a structure to all sentences accepted by a native speaker and rejected all the sentences which wouldn’t be accepted by a native speaker.

In this file you will find some schemes concerning 'Syntax and Transformational Generative Grammar': http://www.ling.udel.edu/idsardi/101/not...

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