English Linguistics

Chapter Six Syntax

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Syntax

Syntax is the study of how words are combined with others to form sentences and in what

order.

Syntactic relations

Basic patterns of word combinations

Immediate constituent analysis

Deep and surface structures

Syntactic rules

A sketch of the minimalist approach to syntax

1. Syntactic relationsPositional relation and relation of

substitutability

1.1 Positional relation:

1.2 Relation of substitutability

Sequential arrangement of words or word order in a language.

The dog bites the man.

He (Tom, Mary) cries (shouts, smiles).

The man bites the dog.

Canis mordet hominem.

Canis hominem mordet.

Hominem mordet canis.

Mordet canis hominem.

2. Basic patterns of word combinations

The subject-predicate pattern: The relationship between the subject and the predicate.

These American students are working in the lab.

The verb-object pattern: The relationship between the action of the verb and the object to the verb.

To write a research paper.

Linguists use different function labels to describe subjects and objects to suit different needs :

(1) The key opened the door.

Agent Theme Beneficiary Goal

Instrument

Experiencer

(2) The dog died .Theme

Instrument Theme

(3) David sent the parcel to the aged relative .

Agent Theme Goal

Three kinds of subjects :

grammatical, logical and psychological.

A grammatical subject: A noun which can establish correspondence with the verb and which can be checked by a tag-question test.

John likes linguistics the most, (doesn’t he?) A logical subject:

The doer of the agent or action involved.

The dog was kicked by the boy.

A psychological subject: The subject matter that the speaker has in starting his remark.

Red is the east.

3. Immediate constituent analysis

Immediate constituent (IC) analysis:

Describing a sentence up into its immediate constituents by using binary cuttings until obtaining its ultimateconstituents .

A top-down approach

S

NPVP

S

VP

NP V

the linguistics class

take

NP

Linda

V

suggestedJane

IC analysis can helpto account for ambiguity of certain constructions.

Visiting aunts can be boring.S

NP VP

NP S

Aunts who visit can be boring

(1)

S

VP

Someone to visit aunts can be boring

S’

NP VP

(2)

IC analysis’ difficulty: ambiguous sentences

(a) The shooting of the hunters was terrible.

(b) Flying planes can be dangerous.

(c) Time flies.

(d) John loves Richard more than Martha.

(e) The police were ordered to stop drinking about midnight.

4. Deep and surface structures

Every sentence has two levels of structure. One ,which is obvious on the surface , is called surface structure, and the other, which contains all the units and relationships that are necessary for interpreting the meaning of thesentence, is called deep structure. Chomsky

The love of God

God loves someone Someone loves God

5. Syntactic rules

Transformational-generative (TG) grammar provides a model for the description of such syntactic rules.

The rules which determine what morphemes and words are combined into larger grammatical units and how they are put together in a sentence are the syntactic rules of the language.

5.1 X-bar theory

5.1.1 X-bar theory and lexical categories

XP

Spec X’’

X’ Adjunct

XComp

VP

Adv

both

V’’

V’

VPP

NP

sign their names in the office

discussion

NP

Det

the

N’’

N’

N PP

pp

at the meetingof the event

5.1.2 X-bar theory and non-lexical categories

5.1.2.1 Nonlexical category—TP

Spec

Mary

T’

T VP

TP

NP

has

V

eaten the honey

5.1.2.2 Nonlexical category— CP

Spec

I

I

T’

T

VP

TP

CP

will

will

V

say

ask

John will leave

Peter will sing tonight.

C’

TP

Spec

C

that if

5.2 Transformational rules

Common types of transformations :

deletion

substitution

movement

insertion

5.2.1 Deletion

A: Where have you been?B: To the park. (Deep structure: I have been to the park.)

5.2.2 Substitution

Jane hurt herself. (Deep structure: Jane hurt

Jane.)

5.2.3 Movements

5.2.3.1 Inversion

TP

NP

Spec

The

N’

N

guest

T’

will

T VP

V

V’

arrive

TP

NP

Spec

the

N’N

guest

T’

t

T VP

VV’’

arrive

CP

C’’

C

Will

(1) (2)

5.2.3.2 Wh-movement

TP

Spec

youweyou

T’

canshouldare

T VP

V’’

V

speaktake going

NP

what languageswhich roadwhere

CP

Spec

What languagesWhich roadWhere

C’

can should are

CTP

VP

T’

youwe you

ttt

SpecT

V NP

speaktake going

ttt

5.2.4 Insertion: do-support

Insert do into an empty T position.

CP

Spec

Where

C’

do

CTP

AdjunctT’’

they t

SpecT’

VP

have tlunch

TV N

5.3 Constraints on movement

Compare (1) and (2)

(a)* How do you wonder whether Peter solved the problem?

(b)*[CP How do[TP you wonder[CP whether[TP Peter solved the problem

t]]]]

(a) How do you think (that) Peter solved the problem?

(b) [CP How do [TP you think [CP that [TP Peter solved the problem

t]]]]

(1)

(2)

(a)他最喜欢 [ 张三写 ] 的书。

(b)* 张三 i 他最喜欢 [ti 写 ] 的书。

Similar island constraints in Chinese :

(a)他喜欢 [ 妈妈烧 ] 的菜。

(b)* 他喜欢 [ 妈妈为什么烧 ] 的菜。

(1)

(2)

5.4 Parametric variation

5.4.1 Head-complement order

(a) Head-first

Head parameter:

bought the ball

V’

VP

V NP

den ball kaufte

V’

VP

NP V

(b) Head-last

(English) (German)

5.4.2 The Wh-movement parameter

What did you buy? [CP What did [TP you buy t]]

Kimi-wa nani-o kaimasita ka?

You-TOP what-ACC bought Q

“What did you buy?”

你买了什么？“What did you buy?”

6. A sketch of the minimalist approach to syntax

6.1 I-language

A speaker’s I-language is his or her tacit knowledge of their native language.

6.2 A minimalist theory of I-language

LF

PF

Lexicon

6.3 Features and Full Interpretation

6.3.1 Types of features:

Interpretable and uninterpretable features

6.3.2 Full Interpretation :

The structure to which the semantic interface rules apply contains no uninterpretable features.

6.4 Checking and derivation

6.4.1 Checking

Checking under sisterhood: An uninterpretable c-selectional feature F on a syntactic object Y is checked when Y is sister to another syntactic object Zwhich bears a matching feature F.

pandas [N]kiss[V,uN]

VP

(1)

(2) Checking under Agree: An uninterpretable feature F on a syntactic object Y is checked when Y is in a c-command relation with another syntactic object Z which bears a matching feature F.

(a) Jane misses David.(b) Jane missed David.

(c ） T[present]…V+v [upresent]

（ d) T[past]…V+v [upast]

6.4.2 Derivation

Numeration ｛ see, v, T, Peter, David ｝

Peter saw David.

Derivation

Step 1

see [V,uN]

VP

David[N]

Step 2 v’[uN]

v VP

see v[uV*, upast] <see> David[N]

Step 3

vP

Peter[N, nom] v’[uN]

see

Vv

v[uV*,upast] <see> David[N]

Step 4

Step 5

T’

T[past, uN*, nom] vP

see

v’[uN]Peter[N,nom]

v[uV*,upast] <see>

David[N]

V v

T’[uN*]

T[past, nom] vP

see

v’Peter[N,nom]

v[uV*,upast]<see>

David[N]

V v

Step 6

TP

T[past, nom]

T’[uN*]

see

V

Peter[N,nom]

v[uV*,upast] <see>

David[N]

v’[uN]

v

vP

<Peter>

Thank you