Grammar in the Systemic. Lecture 1

1.

Lecture 1.
Grammar in the Systemic
Conception of Language
1. Grammar and its objects of studying
2. Language and speech. Units of grammatical
description
3. Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations
4. Types of grammatical description. Trends in
Grammar
5. Methods of grammatical analysis
Краснопёрова Ю.В.
К.ф.н., доцент кафедры первого ин.яз. и
переводоведения

2.

Lecture 1.
Literature
Grammar in the Systemic
Conception of Language
1. Blokh M.Y. A course in Theoretical English
Grammar (1994)
2. Ilyish B.A. The structure of modern English (1971)
3. Иванова М.П., Бурлакова В.В., Поченцов Г.Г.
Теоретическая грамматика современного
английского языка (1981)
4. Иофик Л.А., Чахоян Л.П., Хрестоматия по
теоретической грамматике английского
языка (1981)
5. Современный английский язык (Иркутск, 2000)
Краснопёрова Ю.В.
К.ф.н., доцент кафедры первого ин.яз. и
переводоведения

3.

Lecture 1.
Grammar in the Systemic
Conception of Language
Language
is a means of forming and storing ideas as reflections
of reality and exchanging them in the process of
human intercourse.
Language incorporates 3 constituent parts
The phonological system
The lexical system
The grammatical system
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

4.

Lecture 1.
Grammar in the Systemic
Conception of Language
Pie, little, blue, mud, make, eye, girl, was
It’s disconnected speech: each
word has its own
phonological representation.
The little pie with mud eyes was making a blue girl.
It’s right from grammatical point
of view but has no sense.
The little girl with blue eyes was making a mud pie.
The sentence is grammatically
correct and it has sense
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

5.

The aim of Grammar
to analyze and define the grammatical
categories of the language and study the
mechanisms of grammatical formation of
utterances out of words in the process of
speech-making
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

6.

Theoretical Grammar
Syntax
Morphology
(from Greek “morphe” –
form, “logos” –
learning) treats the
forms of the words
called parts of speech,
the problem of their
classification, studies
grammatical
morphemes and their
meanings
(from Greek “syn” – with, “tasso”
– to arrange)
deals with phrases and
sentences. It examines the
way in which words may be
combined with other words,
the types of syntagmatic
relationship between words.
Syntax studies the types of a
simple sentence and its parts
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

7.

Grammatical category
The Main Notions of
Grammar
Grammatical meaning
Grammatical form
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

8.

The Main Notions of Grammar
Grammatical meaning
an abstract content of the word, which is
understood through its form.
Grammatical meaning is regularly found in
identical forms of different words.
Grammatical meaning is inseparable from
the grammatical form, thus form the unity of
content and expression.
E.g.: boys, books, streets – the grammatical
meaning of plurality
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

9.

The Main Notions of Grammar
Grammatical form
material existence of the grammatical
meaning.
In morphology it’s a morpheme, in syntax
it’s the particular order of words
combinations.
E.g.: the grammatical meaning of the
possessive case is formally expressed by
apostrophe “s”.
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

10.

The Main Notions of Grammar
Asymmetrical
form
meaning
Grammatical meaning
The 3-d person singular in
Present Simple
Grammatical form
Grammatical meaning
“-s”
The plural of nouns
Grammatical meaning
The possessive case of nouns
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

11.

The Main Notions of Grammar
Grammatical category
the unity of grammatical meaning and
grammatical form. It’s a class of
grammatical meanings, which unites
different grammatical forms of the system
of oppositions.
E.g.: cat – cats
the grammatical category of number
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

12.

Theory of Oppositions
first worked out by Trubetskoy
in the phonological system,
further it was applied for the
units of the other two systems.
According to the number of members:
Oppositions
binary
1. Grammar and its objects of studying
tertiary

13.

Theory of Oppositions
Types of Opposition:
NOTE: All types of
opposition in Grammar
can be reduced to the
privative type
1. Privative opposition
E.g.: boy – boys
2. Equipotent opposition
E.g.: was-were
3. Gradual opposition
E.g.: hot – hotter
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

14.

Theory of Oppositions
BOYS : BOY
+ A : +- A
The grammatical category of number is expressed
by the opposition of the plural to the singular:
“boys” is a strong member, it has a formal mark (s), its meaning is narrow and concrete;
“boy” is not marked, it has a wider meaning
1. Grammar and its objects of studying

15.

Language and Speech
LANGUAGE
a means of communication
(Ferdinand de Saussure)
“language proper”
(langue)
is understood in its
narrower sense, as a
system of linguistic
signs or units.
This system is
manifested in our
speech.
2. Language and speech.
Units of grammatical description.
“speech proper”
(parole)
is the manifestation
of linguistic units

16.

Theory of Oppositions
Language and speech are inseparable.
Grammar connects them, because it
categorically determines the lingual
process of utterance production.
Thus, a sign in the system of language has
only a potential meaning. In speech this
potential meaning is actualized, i.e. made,
situationally significant as a part of the
grammatically organized text.
2. Language and speech.
Units of grammatical description.

17.

Language Levels
1. Phonemic level
the lowest level, it is formed by
phonemes, which have no meaning,
their function is purely differential
2. Morphological level
is formed by morphemes, which are
elemental meaningful parts of
words. Morphemes can be: lexical
(world-building) and grammatical
(word-changing)
2. Language and speech.
Units of grammatical description.

18.

Language Levels
3. Lexemic level
The function of words is to name
things and their relations, i.e.
nomination. It can be illustrated by
the so-called “semantic triangle”
by Ogden Richards
Concept
Word
2. Language and speech.
Units of grammatical description.
Referent

19.

Language Levels
4. Phrasemic level
the level of phrases and word–groups.
A phrase is a combination of 2 or more
notional words or notional and auxiliary
words.
It has a nominative function, but the referent
is a complicated phenomenon.
Phrases may be of two types: 1. Free
(generated
in
speech).
2.
Stable
(phraseological units exist in language)
2. Language and speech.
Units of grammatical description.

20.

Language Levels
5. Proposemic level
the level of sentences.
The peculiar character of a sentence
consists in the fact that naming a
situation it also expresses predication, i.e.
shows the relation of the event to the
reality (whether it’s real or unreal,
necessary or desirable).
The sentence is produced in the process of
speech as an utterance
2. Language and speech.
Units of grammatical description.

21.

Language Levels
6. Suprasentential level
Its units are formed by sentence groups,
each distinguished by its microtopic as a
part of a continual text.
7. Textual level
2. Language and speech.
Units of grammatical description.

22.

Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic
Relations
Lingual signs stand to one another in
2 fundamental types of relation:
Syntagmatic
relations
immediate linear
relations
between units
in a
segmental
sentence
3. Syntagmatic and paradigmatic
relations.
Paradigmatic
relations
exist between elements of
the system. Each lingual
unit is included into a
series of connections
based on different formal
and functional properties

23.

Syntagmatic Relations
The combination of two words or word-groups, one of which
is modified by the other forms a unit called syntagma.
There are 4 types:
1. Predicative (S-P)
2. Objective (V-O)
3. Attributive (Atr – N)
4. Adverbial (a notional word – its modifier).
Syntagmatic relations are actually observed in utterances
(speech).
Words within the sentence and morphemes within the words are
connected syntagmatically.
E.g.: The(1) fire(2) was(3) put(4) out(5) without(6) the(7) help(8) of(9) the(10)
fire(11)–brigade. 1-2; 3-5; 1-5; 3-8; 7-11; 10-11.
E.g.: Spaceship
Syntagmatic relations are actually observed in utterances (speech).
3. Syntagmatic and paradigmatic
relations.

24.

Paradigmatic Relations
Each lingual unit is included into a series of connections based
on different formal and functional properties.
In the sphere of vocabulary these series are founded on the
correlations of synonymy and antonymy.
In the sphere of phonology such series are based on voicedness
and devoicedness, length.
In the sphere of grammar such series are realized in grammatical
number and cases, persons, tenses, gradations of modality.
The minimal paradigm consists of two stages.
E.g.: boy – boys
Paradigmatic relations are actually observed in language system.
3. Syntagmatic and paradigmatic
relations.

25.

Grammar
Types of Grammatical
Description
Practical Grammar
Theoretical Grammar
Descriptive Grammar
Formal (structural) grammars
describes the grammatical
system of the language.
(описательная).
Prescriptive Grammar
states strict rules of
grammatical usage,
setting up a certain
standard of correctness.
(предписывающая,
нормативная).
4. Types of grammatical description.
Trends in Grammar.
explain the linguistic phenomena by
virtue of their internal relations.
Transformational (generative)
grammar,
which is based on paradigmatic
relations (трансформационная,
порождающая).
Semantic grammars
explain linguistic phenomena by
their relations to the
extralinguistic phenomena.

26.

Trends in Theoretical Grammar
1. The Classical Scientific Theory (Traditional (Linear) Grammar)
The founder is considered to be Henry Sweet, book “New English
Grammar: logical and historical”, 1892.
In their studies and analysis of different grammatical phenomena they
rely on “meaning” and disregard “form”. They created the universal
model of the sentence: S + P + O.
Other representatives are Otto Jesperson, Curm, Krussinga.
2. The American Structural (Descriptive) Linguistics.
They paid special attention to the “structure” and
disregarded “meaning”. They offered IC analysis
(Immediate Constituency).
The founders are L. Bloomfield, Ch. Fries, Z.Harris, R.
Roberts.
4. Types of grammatical description.
Trends in Grammar.

27.

Trends in Theoretical Grammar
3. Transformational (Generative) Grammar
The founder is N. Chomsky.
They worked out the theory of kernel or basic sentences and
their transforms. They say that in the system of language there
exist only some simple sentences and the rest are made out of
them.
4. Contemporary scholars
provide a new insight into the study of English
grammar. They take into consideration meaning,
form and function. The representatives are R.Chafe,
Givon, Thomson, Smirnitskij, Vorontsova, Ilyish,
Barkhudarov, Blokh, Pocheptsov, Burlakova.
4. Types of grammatical description.
Trends in Grammar.

28.

Methods of Grammatical Analysis
Different methods of grammatical analysis have as their basic
paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations of lingual units.
The main methods are:
Distributive
analysis
Method of substitution Model of Immediate Constituents
Syntactic modeling
Transformational approach
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.
The structural tree
A model in the terms of parts
of a sentence

29.

Distributive Analysis
helps to single out language units, identify and classify
them.
By means of D.A. we can divide the units of upper level
into the units of lower levels and group these units
into classes.
Every element in a word or utterance is
characterized by a certain environment. These
environments taken together are the
distribution of the element.
E.g.: Distribution of a noun, for example, includes an
adjective, an article, a verb, possessive pronouns.
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.

30.

Method of Substitution
presupposes the substitution of one element by another
one in the distributional environment of the first
element.
With the help of this method it’s possible to
establish the substitutional paradigm of the
sentence units.
E.g.: The position of a subject is filled by elements belonging to
different morphological classes: a noun, a pronoun, an Infinitive,
a Gerund, an adjective, a numeral.
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.

31.

Syntactic Modeling
is used to describe the structure of a sentence, in order
to better understand the relations between different
parts of the sentence. A model is not just a set of
elements, but a system of elements, related to each
other in a certain way.
There are 3 types of models
Model of Immediate
Constituents
The structural tree
A model in the terms of parts of a
sentence
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.

32.

Model of Immediate Constituents
based on the binary division. The sentence is divided until we get
the ultimate continuance corresponding to separate words.
E.g.: The(1) girl(2) in(3) the(4) car(5)
handkerchief(8) to(9) her(10) eyes(11).
put(6)
her(7)
S
Noun Group
1-5
3-5
1-2
the
girl
Verb Group
6-11
in
7-8
4-5
put
her
the
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.
9-11
6-8
car
handker
chief
10-11
to
her
eyes

33.

The Structural Tree
is built in the terms of classes of words or parts of speech.
At first we find out what part of speech a certain word is, then we
ascribe a name of this class to it.
E.g.: I had bought a ticket to Milan.
The symbolic linier model is: Prn Vaux Ved D N F N.
The tree has a top, which is a verb. Other elements are its
branches. They are connected by arrows
Ved
Vaux
D
N
Prn
F
N
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.

34.

A Model in the Terms of Parts of
a Sentence
E.g.: I had bought a ticket at Milan.
For the word “I” we can find a
number of qualities:
• On the first place in the
sentence
• Before the finite form of the
verb
• It is structurally obligatory
• It is the doer of the action
This set of qualities makes a
part of a sentence which is
called a Subject (S).
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.
Model: S=P-O1-A.M.
For “Had bought”:
• It names the action done
by “I”.
• It shows what is said
about the S.
• It stands after the S.
• It’s in predicative relation
to the S.
• It can’t be placed
elsewhere.
This set of qualities is
characteristic of a
Predicate (P).

35.

Transformational Analysis
is used to find the equivalent structures and define the
similarity of their syntactic characteristics.
The most widely used are the following transformations:
1. Transformation of nominalization
It converts a sentence or a clause into a noun-phrase.
E.g.: She saw that his lips were quivering. – She saw his lips quivering.
2. Transformation of omission
E.g.: I had bought a ticket (at Milan).
3. Transformation of permutation
E.g.: Jane sent me a letter. – Jane sent a letter to me.
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.

36.

Transformational Analysis
4. Transformation of negation
E.g.: I like beans. I don’t like beans.
5. Transformation of general question
6. Transformation of special question
7. Paraphrasing is also a kind of transformation, which is a
compressing of a sentence, extension or substitution of the
elements.
E.g.: He moved astonishingly fast.
He moved with astonishing speed
His movements were astonishingly fast.
He astonished us by his fast movements.
4. Methods of Grammatical
Analysis.