Chapter Ⅳ Syntax

戴炜栋主编《新编简明英语语言学教程》

(张Andy整理编辑)

4.1 Definition：Syntax is a branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences.

Brief introduction to four major approaches to syntax, with emphasis on TG grammar required.

4.2 Category

4.2.1 Definition: a group of linguistic items which fulfill the same or similar functions in a particular language, such as a sentence, a noun phrase and a verb

cf. categories of number, gender, case, tense, aspect, voice, mood and person  

4.2.2 Lexical category

Table 4 Lexical categories and their identification

4.2.3 Phrasal category

Ø        Definition of phrases: syntactic units built around a certain word category

Ø        Phrase elements:

a (det as S) story (N as H) about a sentimental (A as M) girl (PP as C)

·Head: the word that determines the syntactic function of the whole phrase

·Specifier: the leftmost word to the head, like Det, Deg and Qual

·Complement: an element selected (subcategorized) by the head. E.g.,

  Read the book, gave it to me, put it on the shelf, seems quite difficult.

He believes that she will win, under the table

Subcategory: A subdivision with common differentiating characteristics within a larger category

Subcategorization is the process that further classifies a syntactic category into its subsets.

·Modifier: an optional constituent, neither a specifier nor a complement

Ø        Phrase category (head category): [NP the girl], [VP often dream], [AP very good], [PP mainly about]

4.3 Phrase structure rule

4.3.1 Definition: rules that regulates the arrangement of phrase elements, e.g.

     NP → (Det) N (PP)… the course about linguistics

     VP → (Qual) V (NP)… always has lunch late

AP → (Deg) A (PP)… very familiar with music

PP → (Deg) P (NP)… quite beyond my ability

The first NP rule states that an NP can consist of an optional determiner, an N head and one or more optional PP complements.

4.3.2 XP rule (a general PS rule)

By summarizing the above four specific rules, we can formulate a single general PS rule as below:

XP → (specifier) X (complement)

4.3.3 Revised XP rule

A certain lexical item requires a certain type of complement. Some heads in English such as put can take more than one complement. Therefore,

XP → (specifier) X (complement^＊)

4.3.4 Expanded XP rule

To make modifiers fit into phrase structure, we can expand the original rule into the following:

XP → (specifier) (modifier) X (complement^＊) (modifier)

4.3.5 XˉTheory (pronounced as X bar theory)

Since there may be structures (composed of H and C) between the word level and phrase level, the XP rule is necessarily replaced by the several phase structure rules below:

1. XP → (specifier) Xˉ(complement)

2. Xˉ→ Xˉ(complement)

… …

   n. Xˉ→ X (complement)

Consider new PS rules for the NPs:

NP

Det                Nˉ

The

          Nˉ               PP

AP              Nˉ   with the red cover

big          N         PP

book

                   of poems

4.3.6 The S rule: S → NP VP

S

NP                VP

Det        N       V        NP

          A         boy     found

                                   Det       N

                                   the       ball

NOTE: The S rule can be accommodated into the XP rule if we, as many linguists now believe, take inflection (dubbed Infl) as the head (indicating tense and agreement), NP (the subject) as the specifier and VP (the predicate) the complement. Then the S structure can be depicted as below.

Infl P (=S)

NP       Infl      VP

4.3.7 Coordination rule

Ø        Coordinate structure: a phrase structure formed by joining two or more elements of the same type with the help of conjunction such as and or or.

Ø        Coordination properties:

·no limit on the number of coordinated elements

·categories at any level permissible

·phrase category identical to element category

Ø        Coordinate rule: X → X^＊ Con X

X = a category at any level, either X or XP

＊= one or more categories allowed to the left of the Con (conjunction)

4.3.8 CP rule (under investigation)—one subordination rule

Ø        CP Subordination: a sentence-like construction functions as a complement

Matrix clause: He believes that she will win (complement phrase CP)

Complementizer — that,  Complement clause: she will win

Ø        CP rule:  

CP = C (Complementizer) InflP (S)

InflP (S) = NP Infl VP（= V CP）

                  CP

C                S (InflP)

         NP       Infl     VP

         He       Pst                    

                 V        CP

              believes

                         C         S

                       that       

                                   NP      Infl     VP

                          she      will    win

4.4 Transformation

4.4.1 Deep structure and surface structure

Phrase structure component

Morphophonemic component

Transformational component

                      deep                       surface

                      structure                    structure

Figure 8 Syntactic Structures 1957

Ø        Deep structure may be defined as abstract representation of the syntactic properties of a construction, while surface structure is the final stage in the syntactic derivation of a construction.

Ø        The phrase structure component has phrase structure rules as follows

S    NP+VP, VP    V+NP, NP    Det+N, etc.

Ø        The transformational component has transformational rules to change the deep structures generated by the phrase structure component into surface structure.

Ø        The morpho-phonemic component is responsible for the correct spelling and pronunciation of the word in the surface structure.

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参考《简明英语语言学教程》修订版

4.4.2 Movement

Will the train arrive? What do you do?

4.4.3 Deletion

    You will be quite. John must be helped by someone.

4.4.4 Copying

He is coming, isn’t he?

4.4.5 Addition

You have read the story, have not you? There is a fish swimming in the pond.

4.4.6 Reordering (cf. movement)

On Sundays he goes home. The man put his hat on.

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4.4.2 Formation of yes-no questions

Ø        Auxiliary verb insertion (Infl form covert)

Insert a corresponding auxiliary verb into an empty Infl position

Ø        Aux (head) movement

Move Infl (Aux or head) to C

① CP                          ② CP

C                S             C                S

         NP       Infl     VP            NP      Infl     VP

              Birds      do      fly    Do      Birds      e      fly

4.4.3 Formation of Wh questions

Ø        Wh movement: move the Wh phrase to the beginning of the sentence.

Ø        Revised: Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP.

What languages can you    e    speak   e   ?

                      H movement

                  Wh movement

4.4.4 Move α and transformational constraints

Ø        Move α (a general movement rule)

α is a cover term for any element that can be moved from one place to another

Ø        Transformational constraints

·Move the Infl to the nearest, not a more distant, C position

·No element may be removed from a coordinate structure

4.5 Other three major approaches

4.3.1 Traditional approach

Ø        Basic idea: A sentence is seen as a sequence of words.

Ø        Parts of speech: n. a. v. adv. Prep. Pron. Art. Interj.

Ø        Syntactic function: subject, predicate, predicator, object, complement, modifier (attributive, adverbial)

Ø        Categories of word classes: number, gender, case, tense, aspect, voice, mood

4.3.2 Structural approach

Ø        Basic idea: Linguistic units are interrelated with each other in a structure (or system), not as isolated bits.

Ø        IC Analysis: the analysis of a sentence in terms of it ICs-word groups, which are in turn analyzed into the immediate constituents of their own and the process goes on until the ultimate constituents are reached.

4.3.3 Functional approach

Ø          Basic idea: A sentence may be analyzed from the functional side.

Ø          Theme (starting point) and rheme (core)

·Theme refers to “that which is known or at least obvious in the given situation and from which the speaker proceeds”.

·Rheme refers to “what the speaker states about, or in regard to, the starting point of the utterance”.

Ø        Three general functions of language proposed by Halliday:

  ·ideational: to express the real world and inner world

  ·interpersonal: to establish and maintain social relations

  ·textual: to enable the speaker or writer to construct “texts”

Questions for discussion:

1.      Which of the four approaches is the best in your view?

2.      How have the four approaches influenced our English teaching and learning?

(The end of Chapter Ⅳ)