The Method of Deep and Surface Structures - раздел Философия, Lecture 1 The Subject Matter of Grammar This Method Is Primarily Associated With The Name Of N. Chomsky. It Is Based ...
This method is primarily associated with the name of N. Chomsky. It is based on the notions of deep and surface structures. A surface structure is observable, while a deep structure is unobservable. It is a purely logical structure, underlying a surface structure. Deep structures are revealed transformationally. These are simple, subject- and- predicate structures, roughly comparable with kernels. Underlying surface structures, they convey semantic relations which are deeply hidden.
The sphere of the application of the method is as large as that of the transformational method. One surface structure can be analyzed in terms of several deep structures to reveal explicit and implicit predicative lines. (The invisible Got has created the visible world => The God is invisible. The world is visible. The God created the world).
With the help of it we can analyze 1. Identical structures, feeling their semantic differences (John is eager to please => John pleases somebody; John is easy to please => Somebody pleases John); 2. the nature of the double predicate (The moon rose red =>The moon rises. The moon is red. In the second transform the formerly implicit predicate red is made explicit; 3. the nature of the predicate of double orientation ( He is said to come => They say. He comes. We see that the two parts of this predicate refer to different subjects, one of which being beyond the borders of the sentence under analysis); 4. semantic and syntactic syncretism (It is dark and raining => It is dark. It is raining . The former is is an explicit link- verb and the latter is is an implicit auxiliary, forming a continuous form); 5. the mechanism of ambiguity (Flying planes can be dangerous =>A plane flies. It is dangerous. I fly a plane. It is dangerous; The king’s portrait => The king has a portrait of somebody, The king has a portrait of himself, The King draws a portrait of somebody, Somebody draws a portrait of the king, etc.).
The Functional Sentence Perspective Method (FSP)
The syntactic structure of a sentence is in part determined by the communicative function of its constituents, that is the FSP. The FSP method studies an objective distribution of information among the elements of the sentence, the actual division of a sentence (актуальное членение предложения) into the theme and the rheme. The Greek terms “the theme” and “the rheme”, which replaced the earlier terms “the logical subject” and “the logical predicate”, allow scholars to avoid wrong associations. The FSP method also describes the interrelations between the grammatical structure of a sentence and its functional organization, its communicative dynamism. This method also distinguishes the system of means to thematize and rhematize sentence elements and varieties of word order.
The first element of a sentence, which is usually the subject, carries thematic, i.e. known, familiar information, the final elements (predicates, objects, adverbial modifiers, carry rhematic, i.e. new or important information. In other words, the thematic elements tend to the beginning of the sentence, while the rhematic elements strive to the end.
We distinguish several communicative varieties of word order: 1. thematic wordorder, which can be rendered by the model theme – transition – rheme (John has written a letter, where John is the theme and a letter is the rheme); 2. rhematic non-emotive word order , rendered by the model rheme – transition - theme (A woman entered the room). The indefinite article is a signal of new information); 3. rhematic emotive word order, also rendered by the model rheme –transition – theme (Strange his wife was to him). Normally the predicate and predicatives do not precede the subject, but if they do, they become rhematic.
We can rhematize the subject 1. by putting it in the final position by inversion (Followed a complete silence.);2. by turning an active construction into a passive one ( A letter was written by John); 3. by ttransforming a simple sentence into a complex one with a complement clause( It’s John who has written a letter).
Все темы данного раздела:
The Evolution of English Grammars
In the development of English grammars there have been several grammars: prescientific normative (from the XVI-th century till the beginning of the XX - th century) gra
The Asymmetry of a Linguistic Sign
Under it we understand the absence of one-to-one relationship between meaning and form. One form can express several meanings, one meaning can be expressed by several forms. This asymmetry of the r
Transformational and Transformational Generative Grammar
There are two periods in the development of transformational grammar: Transformational Grammar and Transformational Generative Grammar.
Transformational grammar (Zelic Harris
Semantic Syntax
Semantic Syntax is represented by the names of Charles McCawley, W. Chafe, Russian linguists O.I.Moskalskaya and V.V.Bogdanov.
Semantic syntax describes sentences in terms of propositions,
The Oppositional Method
The oppositional method was developed by N.Trubetskoy to investigate phonology. Comparing vowels and consonants in Russian and English, we see that they are contrasted to each other as to th
The Distributional method
Distributional method describes environments of linguistic units ( morphemes, words, phrases), representing them symbolically: N – noun, A– adjective, T – article,V – verb, D – adverb.
Dis
The Transformational Method
This method is based on the notions of a kernel , which is the simplest elementary subject-predicate structure with explicit grammatical relations, transformation which is a process o
The Componential Method
It a logico-linguistic method of decomposing the semantic content of a word or a grammatical form into the smallest units of sense (semantic components, semantic markers, semes, or SCs).
A
The Contextual Method
This method is associated with the names of professors V.V. Vinogradov, I.V. Arnold, I.R. Galperin, N. Amosova, N.A. Shekhtman, M. Halliday.
A context is an immediate environment of a ling
The Morphological Structure of ME
To understand what the morphological structure of a language is we are to know what a morphological type is. It is a set of prevalent features characterizing a group of languages. At present lingui
The Classifications of Morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful ultimate unit which can’t be further analyzed into immediate constituents. Morphologically words are monomorphic and polymorphic (table; un ] [gent ]
Paradigmatics and Syntagmatics
The domain of morphology is the paradigmatics of a word. Morphology studies the forms of words and their paradigms. A paradigm is a set of forms of a word (a boy-boys-a boy’s-boys’).T
Classifications of Parts of Speech.
Scholars believe that it is impossible to describe a language without describing word classes. As language is a structure, words are to be structurally organised. For centuries the writers of gramm
Notionals and Functionals
Both traditionalists and descriptivists divide parts of speech into notionals (major , autosemantic words, variables, semantically full words) and functionals (synsemantic words, invariables, seman
Heterogeneity
Parts of speech in traditional interpretation are heterogeneous. Nouns can be distinguished into those with a developed paradigm (the plural, the genitive case, articles, any function in a s
The Category of Gender.
In Slavic languages it is a full-fledged category which finds its expression in the inflexioned feminine, masculine and neuter. Inflexions are supported by sound interchange (старик:: старуха).In G
The Category of Number
The category of number is represented by the opposition of the singular and the plural (table:: tables). Paradigmatically the singular expresses oneness, the plural expresses more-than-onene
Debated Problems within the Category of Case
To the debated problems within the category of case there refer 1. the existence of this category in English ( Otto Jespersen ridiculed the very idea of case in English as a morphological category,
Debated Problems
1. Debated is the status of the article in the morphological system of ME. Some scholars treat it as a separate word, a separate part of speech {a pronoun (indefinite , demonstrative) or a p
The Functions of Articles in a Sentence
Articles are peculiar, semantically, syntactically and communicatively. The indefinite article, as a rule, expresses a classifying generalization (An elephant is a big animal). The de
The General Properties of a Verb
Verbs express events, processes, states, actions, activities, performances and achievements. It is an open class of words. Any word can be verbalized. Morphologically, syntactically and semanticall
Classifications of Tenses
There exist classifications embracing a rich variety of tenses. Temporal relations are considered by some scholars to be more complex than merely the present, the past and the future. Otto Jesperse
The Future Tense
As a colourless, neutral synthetic future which is to be found in Russian and French it is non-existent in English. O. Jespersen, Palmer, L. Barkhudarov hold that shall
The Present Tense
As to its syntagmatic semantics, the Present is the richest tense form. Its paradigmatic meaning is that of immediate present coinciding with the moment of speech. It’s syntagmatic meanings are:
The Category of Aspect
Under aspect scholars understand a mode (a phase) of an action, that is, continuity, progressiveness, completion, resultativity, instantaneousness, etc.).
The following problems are open t
The Category of Voice
The definition of voice depends upon interpretations of this category, If voice is understood as a logical category it denotes ways of expressing relations between a verb and its subject and object
The Subjunctive Mood
It is the most confusing mood. In Old English there was a fully inflective Subjunctive comparable with Latin or German. It denoted problematic, hypothetical and purely imaginary actions.
I
Points of Similarities with the Finites
1. The verbals express the idea of action( to write, writing, written, writing: There are a lot of things to marvel at but, first, a lot of questions to ask. A man to see
Points of Differences with the Finites
1. The verbals cannot refer actions to the present, past, or future. They show precedence, simultaneity, or successiveness of some actions as regards those expressed by the finites {I am surpris
Types of Syntax
There are several varieties of syntax , several syntactic theories in modern linguistics. Traditionalsentential syntax, the primary concern of which is a sentence and its grammatical organiz
Devices of Connecting Words in a Phrase
Main grammatical devices of connecting words within a phrase are agreement, government, adjoinment (примыкание), incorporation, enclosure (включение).
Agreement consists in c
Debated Problems within the Theory of the Phrase
There are several debated problems within the theory of the phrase. Most essential are the predicative character of the phrase, the problem of criteria of classifying phrases, the number of element
THE THEORY OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE
Sentential syntax is to be understood as a language component of our internal grammar, which allows us to generate, process and recognize grammatically correct sentences out of a li
The Definition of a Sentence
We are to distinguish among sentences, clauses and utterances. A sentence is a grammatical unit of written language. An utterance is a speech act, a pragmatic unit. A clause is a constituent of a s
Syntactic Modelling of the Sentence
Without comprehending what a basic model is we cannot understand the computer-like ability of our brain which can create sentences that have never been heard before and process sentences that we re
Semantic Modelling of the Sentence
Semantic modelling is associated with generative semantics and semantic syntax. Here the content side of a sentence is modelled and described in elementary senses. The basic notion is that of a sem
The Notion of a Syntactic Paradigm
A syntactic paradigm is a set of syntactic structures, one of which is a kernel, it is invariable, and others are variables received by various transformational procedures, this process being calle
Structural Classification of Simple Sentences
There are several classifications of a simple sentence: structural, communicative, semantic, pragmatic, etc. Scholars distinguish the following communicative types of sentences: declarative,
Syntactic Ties
There exist several syntactic ties within a sentence. The primary predicative tie makes a sentence as it realizes itself in the changes of the verb for person, number, tense, voice, mood, as
Within a simple sentence we distinguish primary and secondary (independent/ dependent) elements, the structural nucleus and its adjuncts.
We have seen that there exist several syntactic ties within a sentence. Very peculiar is the secondary predicative tie. It is implicit, formally unexpressed. It is concealed in infinitival,
Syntactic Processes
By introducing various dependent elements into the subject-predicate skeleton of a sentence we can derive expanded structures. The ways of introduction of these dependent elements are called syn
The Principal Parts of a Simple Sentence
The principal parts of a simple sentence are the subject and the predicate. They are indispensable.
The subject denotes something that is spoken about. It is subdivided into
An Object
An object is a secondary part which depends upon the predicate. It is verb -oriented. Logical relations between a predicate- verb and its object are various. An object is indispensable (obli
Debated Problems within a Simple Sentence
1. Debated is the status of a simple sentence with expansion. 1.1. Expanded are the simple sentences with homogeneous parts. Any member of the sentence can be homogeneous (The beauty of the l
A COMPOSITE SENTENCE
There are dichotomic and trichotomic classifications of sentences. In a dichotomic classification we see a simple ( one –axis) sentence and a composite sentence.
The trich
A Compound Sentence
Problems within a compound sentence are:
1. general notion of coordination and types of coordination;
2. the semantic volume of the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, for
The Status of the Subordinate Clause.
The most accepted view is that a sub-clause is an explicitly predicative structure with a subject and a predicate. Many scholars hold that a clause needn’t have explicit predication (H. Poutsma, G.
Classifications of Subordinate Clauses.
Sub-clauses are classified on two principles: functional and categorial. As to the functional principle, they are classed on the analogy with the parts of the simple sentence. They ar
Types of Subordinate Clauses.
Subject clauses occupy the position of the subject. They are to be found either in the initial or in the final position (What is thine is mine. What happened after that
Connections between the Principal and the Subordinate Clause.
Sub-clauses can be optional or indispensable for the structural and semantic integrity of the complex sentence. So, the sub-clause can be connected with the principal clause indispensably or option
Neutralization between Subordination and Coordination.
The borderline between the compound and the complex sentence is very vague and the difference between them can be neutralized. It occurs when a sub-clause comes to be very loose, losing its grammat
Communicative Dynamism within a Composite Sentence( Compound and Complex) and a Supra-phrasal Unit.
In a compound sentence both parts are communicatively equal if they are connected by copulative and adversative coordination. If they are connected by causative and consecutive coordination, the se
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