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Understanding Syntax: The Linguist's Perspective on Grammar

Explore the linguist's viewpoint on grammar, including written vs spoken language, formal vs informal language, and the concept of grammaticality. Learn about transitive and intransitive verbs, constituent analysis, and phrase structure.

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Understanding Syntax: The Linguist's Perspective on Grammar

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  1. Syntax LI 2013 Nathalie F. Martin

  2. Grammatical vs Ungrammatical

  3. The Linguist’s Point of View on Grammar • Review: • Explain the linguist’s point of view on grammar? • Written versus spoken • Formal versus informal (or even slang) • Right or wrong?

  4. Grammatical or Ungrammatical? 1. The boy found the ball 2. The boy found quickly 3. The boy found in the house 4. The boy found the ball in the house 5. Disa slept the baby 6. Disa slept soundly Find: Transitive verb (with object) Sleep: Intransitive verb (no object)

  5. Syntax Definition Constituents (of a sentence) Constituency tests

  6. Definition: Syntax • A child’s definition  • “All the money collected at church from sinners” (Taken from Laughing Matters, by Phil Callaway) • Syntax: The analysis of _______ _______

  7. devaporize vaporize de- vapor -ize Sentence Structure • Recall from morphology that words are not simply strings of morphemes. They have a hierarchical structure that we can represent with trees.

  8. Sentence Structure • Similarly, sentences do not only consist of a _____ _______. They also have an internal _______ _______. • The structural elements of sentences are called syntactic ___________. • Def: The parts into which a sentence can be ____________. • A word or a group of words that functions as a _____ _____. • _______ _______ of sentence structure. http://webdeptos.uma.es/filifa/personal/amoreno/teaching/ling/syntax.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituent_(linguistics)

  9. Constituents • The following sentence is not just a string of eleven words:Bill and John ate all the cookies yesterday at the park. • It is made up of four basic constituents:Bill and Johnate all the cookiesyesterdayat the park.

  10. Constituency tests • I can demonstrate that these are constituents by ___________ and ____________ tests. • Only constituents can be moved to another part of the sentence; only constituents can be substituted for in a sentence.

  11. Test 1: Movement Bill and Johnate all the cookiesyesterdayat the park. • We can move at the park: Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkyesterday. • We can’t move at the: *Bill and Johnate all the cookiesat the yesterdaypark. What are the other possible sentences?

  12. Test 2: Substitution (1) • Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkyesterday. • Substitute theyfor Bill and John: • Theyate all the cookies at the parkyesterday.

  13. Substitution (2) • Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkyesterday. • Substitute did sofor ate all the cookies: • Bill and Johndid soat the parkyesterday.

  14. Substitution (3) • Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkyesterday. • Substitute therefor at the park: • Bill and Johnate all the cookies thereyesterday.

  15. Substitution (4) • Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkyesterday. • Substitute thenfor yesterday: • Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkthen.

  16. Substitution (5) • Can’t substitute across _____________ : • Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkyesterday. • Substitute did sofor ate all the: • *Bill and Johndid so cookies at the parkyesterday.

  17. Substitution (6) • Can’t substitute across ___________ : • Bill and Johnate all the cookies at the parkyesterday. • Substitute themfor cookies at: • *Bill and Johnate all the themthe parkyesterday.

  18. Constituents are Phrases • all the cookies is a _______ _______. We can substitute any noun phrase for it: • Theyatecookiesyesterday. • Theyatesome cookiesyesterday. • Theyatethe cookies left over from dinner last weekyesterday. • Theyatethe cookies that their mother told them several times not to eatyesterday.

  19. Phrase Structure Phrase Types Phrase Structure

  20. Let’sTryit Out How would you divide this sentence? • The children put the brand new toys in the box. • Definition of “phrases”: • ___________ linguistic objects with their own ___________ and _______ _______

  21. From Phrase Structure to Sentence Structure • We form sentences by combining words into phrasal constituents, phrases into larger constituents, and these constituents into sentences.

  22. Phrase types • Noun Phrase (NP): Functions like a _______ • Ex. • Verb Phrase (VP): Functions like a _______ • Ex: • Adjective Phrase (AP): Functions like an _______ • Ex: • Prepositional Phrase (PP): Starts with _______ [in, on, with, etc.] • Ex:

  23. Phrase Structure Rules • NP  (Det) N (PP) • PP  P NP The bus in the yard NP The bus (NP) Det N Det N PP The bus P NP Det N The bus in the yard

  24. Phrase Structure Rules • VP  V (NP) (PP) • S  NP (Aux) VP took the money from the bank VP took the money (VP) V NP V NP PP Det N Det N P NP took the money Det N took the money from the bank

  25. Head Types • In Noun Phrase (NP): • Functions like a noun, head is _______ (N) • Ex. The car, a clever student • In Verb Phrase (VP): • Functions like a verb, head is _______(V) • Ex: study hard, play the guitar • In Adjective Phrase (AP): • Functions like an adjective, head is _______(Adj) • Ex: very tall, quite certain • In Prepositional Phrase (PP): • Head is ____________ (Prep) [in, on, with, etc.] • Ex:in the class, above the earth

  26. Phrase Structure Phrase (XP) {Specifier}Head (X){Complement(s)} • The specifier_______ _______ of the head. The complements_______ _______ about the head. • All phrases have the same basic structure:

  27. Specifier types • In NPs, specifiers are _______ like a, the, this, that, these, those. • In VPs, specifiers are _______ like always, never, seldom, often. • In APs, specifiers are _________ like very, quite, too, so. • In PPs, specifiers are _______ like almost, nearly.

  28. Complement types • In NPs, complements can be ____: cabin by the lake, book on the table. • In VPs, complements can be ____ or ____ : ate the cookies, ate at the park. • In APs, complements can be ____ : happy about the new job. • In PPs, complements are ____ : at the park.

  29. Sentence structure • The basic English sentence structure is: S NP (____ ____) VP (____ ____) • For this course, we will use either IP (for “inflection”) found in your textbook or S (for sentence)

  30. Simple Sentence • The NP and VP might only contain ____ ____(no specifiers or complements): S NPVP NV Billswam

  31. More complex sentence 1 S NPVP Det N V The boyswam

  32. More complex sentence 2 S NPVP Det NV PP Prep NP Det N The boyswam in the stream

  33. More complex sentence 3 S NPVP Det N PPVPP PrepNPPrepNP NDetN The boy fromOhioswaminthe stream

  34. Tree Diagrams

  35. Examplewithbrackets How would you devide this sentence into phrases? • The children put the toys in the box

  36. The Main Phrase Structure Rules 1. S  NP VP 2. NP  (Det) (AP) N (PP) 3. VP  (Aux) V (NP) 4. PP  (Deg) P (NP)

  37. Up Side Down Trees

  38. Example (1) The children put the toy in the box S NP VP Det N V NP PP Det N P NP Det N The children put the toy in the box

  39. O’Grady, p. 181 • How to build trees structures:

  40. Draw the structure trees for the following sentences Draw the tree structure of the following sentences: • Those guests should leave. • Maria never ate a brownie. • That shelf will fall. • The glass broke. • The student lost the debate. • The manager may offer a raise. Question # 5 (a–f) p. 187 (O’Grady)

  41. « Inflection » The tense of the sentence

  42. « Inflection » • Abstract category dubbed « I » or « Infl » for ________ that indicates the ______ of the sentence. • Links together the NP and the VP • « I » is considered the ________ ________ with the VP as it’s ________ and the NP (subject) as it’s ________ .

  43. Example (1) The old tree will sway in the wind S Aux NP VP Det Adj N V PP P NP Det N Past (- Pst) The old tree sway will in the wind

  44. Example (2) The old tree swayed in the wind S Aux NP VP Det Adj N V PP P NP Det N Past (+ Pst) The old tree swayed in the wind

  45. Structural Ambiguity Structural Ambiguity

  46. Ambiguity: a word, phrase or sentence with multiple meanings Synthetic buffalo hides (NP) Synthetic buffalo hides (NP) Synthetic buffalo hides Synthetic buffalo hides Buffalo hides that are synthetic. Hides of synthetic buffalo.

  47. Ambiguities often lead to humorous results • For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers.  what does “thick legs and large drawers” refer to? The desk or the lady?

  48. Structural Ambiguity (1)The boy saw the man with the telescope S NP Aux VP Det N V NP PP Det N P NP Det N Past (-Pst) The boy saw the man with the telescope

  49. Structural Ambiguity (2)The boy saw the man with the telescope S NP Aux VP Det NP N V Det N PP P NP Det N Past (-Pst) The boy saw the man with the telescope

  50. Deep Stucture and Surface Structure

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