GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS

OUTLINE

1.) Introduction and Overview

2.) Deep and Surface Structures
3.) Universal Grammar
4.) Further Examples
5.) Discussion and Conclusion
Question

What do you think the above diagram

could mean?

Linguists Curiosity
Major Questions

Why does a two year old learn to speak at

an alarming rate while I struggle so hard
to learn a second language?
Are some languages easier to learn than
others?
Why is Shakespeares English so different
from ours?
How did all the different accents and
dialects of English arise?
 Do all languages have something in
common or vary in an infinite number of
ways?
Is it really possible to translate perfectly
from one language to another?
How possible is it to hold a conversation
with a computer?
And, And, And..?
 The attempts to answer the above
questions bring about the different
concepts, topics and theories found
in the Linguistics field today.
GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS

A broad concept in itself

A school of thought within
Linguistics.
Makes use of the Concept of
Generative Grammar`
One great propounder of this
concept is Avram Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky

Born December 7,
1928, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania

In 1945 he began to study

philosophy and linguistics at the
University of Pennsylvania
 His book Syntactic Structures in
1957 brought together his linguistic
ideas
Further information:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_
Chomsky
GENERATIVE GRAMMAR
Chomskys concept of generative
grammar implies a finite set of rules that
can be applied to generate sentences, at
the same time capable of producing
infinite number of strings from the set
rules.
A type of grammar which describes a
language by giving a set of rules that can
be used to produce other possible
sentences in that language.
Deep and Surface Structures
Two Levels of Representation
1. Deep Structure (DS):
represents syntactic relations
(underlying representation)

2. Surface Structure (SS):

derived (surface) representation of
a Deep Structure
o SS can be derived from DS by
transformations like passivization,
forming of questions etc.
Example

I can solve this problem! (DS)

1st Pers. Sing. Ind. Pres. Act.

What does the tree structure look

like?
 Possible surface structure
(derived by topicalisation):

This problem, I can solve!

Possible Problem for Analysis

The categories are not in the correct

positions any more. (e.g. solve
seems to be intransitive here,
though it cannot be)
In SS the categories can appear in
positions other than expected from
the DS of a sentence!
 When transformational rules are
applied to a sentence, not the
structure itself changes, but merely
the form of representation.
In the tree structure the DS is still
shown by the marker of trace.
 Transformational rules map the
Deep Structure onto Surface
Structure representations.
Whats it good for?

Chomsky: a simple system of

phrase structure can provide the
basis from which all sentences can
be derived by simple
transformations (Generative
Grammar = Transformational
Grammar)
Humboldt: Show how language can
make infinite use of finite terms.
From Structures
to Universal Grammar

Chomsky: Deep Structures of

different languages show
considerable similarities.
This indicates properties common
to all languages.
These are concealed by the different
Surface Structures.
3. Universal Grammar
3.1. The General Concept of UG

the system of principles,

conditions, and rules that are
elements or properties of all human
languages, the essence of human
language.
(Chomsky, 1976)
3.1.The General Concept of UG

All human beings share part of their

knowledge of language
Speaker knows a set of
principles that apply to all languages,
parameters that vary within clearly
defined limits from one language to
another
UG is an attempt to integrate
grammar, mind and language
3.2 Aims of Linguistics

Summarized by Chomsky:

1. What constitutes language?

2. How is such knowledge acquired?
3. How is such knowledge put to use?
4. What are the physical mechanisms
that serve as the material basis for
this system of knowledge and for its
use?
3.3 An Example of a Principle

Structure- dependency

A principle common to all languages

Asserts that knowledge of language
relies on the structural relationships
in the sentence rather than on the
sequence of words
3.3 An example of a Principle

Example:

The man who is tall is John.

Is the man who is tall John?
*Is the man who tall is John?
 3.4. Parameters
Languages differ!
One way in which they differ is in terms of the
words they use
Other differences between languages also have
to be acquired
Parameters select among possible variants
Comparable to switches
3.4.Parameters
Example: Word order

Most languages use:

Subject Verb Object (SVO): e.g. English
Subject Object Verb (SOV): e.g. Turkish
Verb Subject Object (VSO): e.g. Irish

A few languages use:

Verb Object Subject (VOS): e.g. Malagasy

No (or almost no languages) use:

Object Subject Verb (OSV)
Object Verb Subject (OVS)
5. General Ideas About Language

Chomsky distinguishes between:

E-language :
aims: to collect samples of data and then
describe their property
Constructs a grammar to describe the
regularities
I- language:
Concerned with what a speaker knows
about language and where this knowledge
comes from
5. General Ideas About Language

language is a system represented

in the mind/brain of a particular
individual
(Chomsky, 1988)

Chomskys first goal- to discover

what constitutes- is an I-language
aim
5. General Ideas about Language

Chomsky distinguishes between:

Competence: speakers/ hearers
knowledge of his language
Performance: actual use of language in
concrete situations

UG is part of the competence of all

language speakers
Syntax is More than Meaning

Well-formed sentence without meaning:

Colorless green ideas sleep
furiously.

Syntax as well as meaning deprived of

inner logic:
Ideas furiously green colorless
sleep.
Syntax is More than Meaning
 Jabberwocky
(by Lewis Carroll, 1872)

Twas brillig, and the slithy

toves
Did gyre and gimble in the
wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my

son!
The jaws that bite, the claws
that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and
shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
Jabberwocky

Revised version not

following English syntax:

Toves slithy the and brillig

twas
wabe the in gimble and
gyre did...
Jabberwocky

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Grammatical words, e.g.: and, the,

Lexical words (with nonsense
stems), e.g.: tove, gyre, gimble,
wabe,
Jabberwocky
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

slithy:
syntactic position for an adjective (Art Adj
N)
morph y, a common marker of a
derivational process deriving adjectives
from nouns (cf. slime: slimy, grime:
grimy, and so on)
Creating a Grammar
5 rules: 9 words:

S NP VP Det: the, four, some

NP Det N N: dogs, cats, slugs
NP N V: understood, ate,
VP V NP approached
VP V

How many sentences?

Conclusion and Discussion

the shift of focus from the dubious

concept of an E-language to the
significant notion of I- language was
a crucial step in early generative
grammar. (Chomsky, 1991)
Chomskys theories like UG aim at
exploring the mind rather than the
environment.
 The generative approach offers a
simple method to analyze and
compare highly comlex structures
and relations of languages.
Language is more than just
(generative) theory
Literature
Carnie, Andrew (2002): Syntax- A Generative
Introduction. Malden, Oxford and Carlton: Blackwell
Publishing.
Chomsky, Noam (1957): Syntactic Structures.
Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Cook, Vivian and Newson, Mark (1996): Chomskys
Universal Grammar An Introduction. Oxford and
Cambridge: Blackwell Publishing.
Gardner, Thomas (1973): Hauptstrmungen der
Modernen Linguistik. Gttingen: Vandenhoek &
Ruprecht.
Ouhalla, Jamal (1999): Introducing Transformational
Grammar. London: Arnold.
 http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_
Chomsky, last visited 07.01.2007,
14.25.