Слайд 1
THE POSITION
OF GRAMMAR
IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE LANGUAGE
Слайд 2
1. The position and the role of grammar in the
structure of language.
2. The subject and scope of theoretical grammar.
3.
General characteristics of the grammatical structure of language.
4. Morphology and syntax as two parts of linguistic description.
5. General characteristics of the grammatical structure of the English language.
Слайд 3
1. The Position and the Role of Grammar in
the Structure of Language
The language is a structured
system which consists of subsystems, or levels.
Слайд 4
What language levels
are known to you?
Слайд 5
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
phonemic;
lexical;
grammatical;
communicative (modus).
Слайд 6
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
The phonemic level
The central unit
is … .
The function of the unit is … .
Слайд 7
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
The phonemic level
The central unit
is the phoneme, the smallest unit of language with the function of meaning differentiation.
Слайд 8
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
The phonemic level is
the lowest;
closed (comprises a limited set of phonemes);
relatively stable (1) no sounds are borrowed from other languages and 2) phonetic changes, even if they do occur, develop very slowly and embrace long periods of time).
Слайд 9
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
The lexical level
The main units
are … and … .
Their function is … .
Слайд 10
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
The lexical level
The main units
are the word and the expression, representing 1) objects (material and abstract) and 2) their characteristics (actions, qualities).
Слайд 11
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
The lexical level is
the most
open;
“densely populated”;
the most changeable domain of any language.
Слайд 12
Give examples
of the words that form the basic
level of the language
Слайд 13
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Conclusion
lexical means represent the ontology
of the world;
with their help we can name objects but can’t communicate.
Слайд 15
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
The grammatical level
- provides a
person with patterns and schemes of using words to express thoughts, render ideas.
Слайд 16
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
NB
If words reflect similar things of
the world, grammar patterns and schemes represent concepts peculiar to a certain nation and its language. It’s the people of one nation or ethnical group who chose the main things they consider to be the most important.
Слайд 17
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
"The more we know about the
grammar of our language, the more we know about ourselves"
[Martha Kolin 1982,
preface to "Understanding English Grammar"]
Слайд 18
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
It can be rephrased:
"The more
we know about the grammar of another language, the more we know about a nation that speaks this language".
Слайд 19
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Grammar patterns and schemes are
not many;
stable for quite a period of the language development.
Слайд 20
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Conclusion 1
Grammar presents a bridge by
which words enter the sphere of speech and participate in communication.
Слайд 21
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Examples of the role of grammar:
A
thank-you-letter of a Japanese professor to his American colleague who gave him a jar of honey as a gift to take back home: "Thank you for the honey. It is eating my whole family".
Слайд 22
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Conclusion 2
grammar categories represent the
ontology of language;
Слайд 23
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Conclusion 3
grammar categories reflect universal
categories (category of number, time, duration, etc.);
Слайд 24
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Conclusion 4
grammar is closest to
thought;
Слайд 25
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Conclusion 5
the grammar of any
language reflects the mentality of a nation that speaks this language.
Слайд 26
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Communicative categories (categories of modus)
help people to explain and interpret things;
- base upon other concepts and categories (NB: lexical and grammar categories reveal independent categories).
Слайд 27
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Negation
There is no negation in
reality.
It helps:
to base upon the concepts a person knows (It’s not a bird);
to mention facts a person would like to avoid (It’s not bad).
Слайд 28
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Approximation
It helps to render the
idea of some quality or quantity which are not exact (almost 50 years, quite interesting, sort of humiliation).
Слайд 29
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Conclusion
Each level of language is indispensable
and each fulfils its own specific function in the language system:
Слайд 30
What can you say
about phonemes?
Слайд 31
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Phonemes present the material part of
language thus providing the conditions for uttering words.
Слайд 33
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Words give names to various phenomena
of the world outside and within us and thus constitute the object of our thought.
Слайд 34
What can you say
about grammar?
Слайд 35
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Grammar fulfils an organizing function: it
arranges our thought according to the rules of the language.
Слайд 36
What can you say about communicative categories?
Слайд 37
The Position and the Role of Grammar in the
Structure of Language
Communicative categories provide the language means
for the world interpretation.
Слайд 38 2. The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
What does
Theoretical Grammar study?
Слайд 39 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
homo sapiens (man
of wisdom)
BUT…
Слайд 40 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
BUT:
those who have
pets can easily prove the contrary.
Слайд 41 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
2. man the
toolmaker
BUT…
Слайд 42 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
BUT:
apes can also
make primitive tools.
Слайд 43
What sets a man apart from the rest of
the animal world?
Слайд 44 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
His / Her
ability to speak.
↓↓
3. homo loquens (man the speaking animal)
BUT…
Слайд 46 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Animals can also
speak, naturally, in their own way.
Examples:
many birds sing
partly to establish a territory;
honey bees tell others in their hive where sources of food are located;
the calls of least some primates are in part learned and not wholly “instinctive”.
Слайд 47 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
However ,
their sounds
are meaningless in the sense there is no link between
sound and meaning (or if there is it is a very primitive kind).
Слайд 48 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
NB
the link for
man is … grammar. Only with the help of grammar
we can combine words to form sentences and texts.
Слайд 49 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
4. homo grammaticus
The
reason: grammar in the widest sense is what makes us
human.
Слайд 50 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
The term “grammar”
goes back to a Greek word “art of writing”.
↓
Later
this word acquired a much wider sense: “the whole study of language”.
↓
Now it is often used as the synonym of Linguistics.
Слайд 52 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
The nature of
grammar is better understood through the difference between language as
a semiotic system and other semiotic systems.
Слайд 53 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Language is
universal,
natural;
used by all members of society.
Слайд 54 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Any other sign
systems are
artificial,
depend on the sphere of usage.
Слайд 55 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
The main difference
is the enormous complexity of language.
↓
This complexity is closely
connected with grammar.
Слайд 56 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Examples:
a gibbon
call has merely a meaning such as "danger" or "food";
the traffic lights can only signal "stop" and "go".
Слайд 57 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
BUT
the possible
sentences of English with all the possible meanings are infinite
in number;
we do not learn the meaning of each of all these countless sentences separately.
Слайд 58 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Meanings of others
semiotic signs are finite and definite.
All the possible meanings
of language signs are infinite in number and become definite only in the sentence. Each time we produce new sentences, yet we understand their meanings.
Слайд 59 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
NB
There is a
highly complex system in the construction of the sentences.
↓
This
complex system differs from language to language — that is why languages are different.
↓
Слайд 60 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Within this system
there is a complex set of relations that link the
symbols of the language with the "meanings", the message they have to convey. It is grammar, or grammatical system.
Слайд 61 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
In the widest
sense grammar is a complex set of relations, the whole
set of grammatical categories and regularities that determine the combination of naming means (nominative units) into utterances as the embodiment of thinking process.
Слайд 62 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
There are three
characteristics of language that are important for the understanding of
the nature of grammar.
It is
complex,
productive,
arbitrary (uncontrolled and used without considering our wishes).
Слайд 63 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Language is highly
complex:
Up to now it has not proved possible to
translate mechanically from one language to another with really satisfactory results.
Слайд 64 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
“out of sight,
out of mind” --- “invisible idiot”
↓
The fault lies not in
the computer but in the failure to provide it with sufficiently accurate instructions, because we are still unable to handle this complex system.
Слайд 65 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Language is productive:
We can produce myriads of sentences that we have never
heard or uttered before.
Слайд 66 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
E.g.:Norry noms
↓
smth
/ smb has nomed,
to be nommed, etc.
↓↓
Слайд 67 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
It is clear
that we have some kind of sentence producing mechanism.
One
task of grammatical theory is to explain this remarkable fact.
Слайд 68 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Language is arbitrary:
There is no one-to-one relation between sound and meaning.
The forms of linguistic units bear no natural resemblance to their meaning.
The link between them is a matter of convention, and conventions differ radically across languages.
Слайд 69 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
When we discuss
grammar, however, we do assume that many characteristics of the
language are shared.
For this reason we talk of the most abstract categories:
"nouns",
"verbs",
"gender“, etc.
Слайд 70 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
As a special
science about grammatical system grammar may be:
practical,
theoretical.
It
depends upon the purpose of a linguistic description.
Слайд 71
What is the aim
of practical grammar?
Слайд 72 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
The aim
of practical grammar is the description of grammar rules that
are necessary to understand and formulate sentences.
Слайд 73
What is the aim
of theoretical grammar?
Слайд 74 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
The aim of
theoretical grammar is to offer explanation for these rules.
Слайд 75 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Generally speaking, theoretical
grammar deals with the language as a complex functional system.
It:
- presents language units in relative isolation,
- explains their inner structure and the intrinsic mechanisms of their functioning.
Слайд 76 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
In other words,
theoretical grammar of a language presents a theoretical description of
its grammatical system, i.e. scientifically analyses and defines its grammatical categories and studies the mechanisms of grammatical formation of utterances out of words in the process of speech making (speech production).
Слайд 77 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
The mission of
practical grammar is to say what grammatical form must be
used, how the sentence is built.
Theoretical grammar is entitled to explain why the language system works this or that way.
Слайд 78 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
You know that
:
language and speech are inseparable;
we distinguish them only
for scientific purposes.
But nobody objects that:
- these two parts of the organic unity are quite different.
Слайд 80 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
It is grammar
that ensures the stability of the organic unity that comprises
language and speech.
↓
So, it dynamically connects language with speech by categorially determining the process of utterance production.
Слайд 81 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
A lingual sign
in the system of language has only a potential meaning.
In speech the potential meaning of the lingual sign is "actualized", in other words, it is made situationally significant as part of the grammatically organized text.
Слайд 82 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Example:
- s for plural
Many students;
To the snows of Africa;
Silks and people have gone out of style, etc.
Слайд 83 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
NB
the true grammatical
categories, their forms, as well as the rules or regularities
are meaningful. They have their own meaning.
Слайд 84 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
Example: inverted word
order
Слайд 85
Is it grammatically
correct or incorrect?
Слайд 87 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
1. It helps
to emphasize some characteristics of a situation:
??? (Then, one
autumn, the local journal printed the announcement)
??? (From the darkness came whispering voices)
??? (And nervously, tentatively, he offered himself for a part)
Слайд 88 The Subject and Scope
of Theoretical Grammar
2. It switches
un-emotive mode of speech into an emotive one.
One thing
and one thing only could she do for him (R. Kipling).
Слайд 893. General Characteristics
of the Grammatical Structure of Language
The grammatical
structure of language is a system of means used to
turn linguistic units into communicative ones, in other words — the units of language into the units of speech.
Слайд 913. General Characteristics
of the Grammatical Structure of Language
-
inflexions,
- affixation,
- word order,
- function words,
-
phonological means.
Слайд 92General Characteristics
of the Grammatical Structure of Language
Indo-European languages are
classified into two structural types:
- synthetic,
- analytic.
Слайд 93General Characteristics
of the Grammatical Structure of Language
Synthetic languages are
the
languages of "internal" grammar of the word (most of grammatical
meanings and grammatical relations of words are expressed with the help of inflexions)
Examples: Ukrainian, Russian, Latin, etc.
Слайд 94General Characteristics
of the Grammatical Structure of Language
Analytical languages are
The languages of "external" grammar (most grammatical meanings and grammatical
forms are expressed with the help of words: will do, have been doing, etc.
Слайд 95General Characteristics
of the Grammatical Structure of Language
However,
we cannot
speak of languages as purely synthetic or analytic.
↓
Modern English
possesses analytical forms as prevailing,
in the Russian language synthetic devices are dominant.
Слайд 96General Characteristics
of the Grammatical Structure of Language
NB
In the process
of time English has become more analytical as compared to
Old English.
Analytical changes in Modern English (especially American) are still under way.
Слайд 974. Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
The
main unit of traditional grammatical theory is the word.
It
serves the basis of the distinction that is frequently drawn between morphology and syntax.
Слайд 98Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
Morphology
(the
grammatical teaching of the word)
deals with the notion of the
word.
Слайд 99Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
The scope
of morphology includes:
morphemes,
the internal structure of
words,
peculiarities of their grammatical categories and their semantics.
Слайд 100Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
Syntax
(the
grammatical teaching of the sentence)
deals with the notion of the
sentence.
Слайд 101Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
Traditional syntax
deals with the rules governing combination of words in sentences
(and texts in modern linguistics).
Слайд 102Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
In highly
inflectional languages (Russian) the syntactic role of the word in
the sentence is manifested primarily by the grammatical form of the word.
↓
Morphology plays a very important role in the expression of grammatical meanings of words and their role in the sentence, therefore the word order is comparatively free.
Слайд 103Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
In isolating
languages (Chinese) the syntactic role of a word is manifested
not by its grammatical form, but by its position in the sentence and therefore the word order is fixed.
Слайд 104Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
English has
the features of both inflectional and isolating languages:
- words
do have grammatical markers of their syntactic role in the sentence (e.g. I saw him),
- but these markers are very few and in most cases the syntactic role of a word in the sentence is manifested by its position rather than by its grammatical form (e.g. A hunter caught a bear). →
Слайд 105Morphology and Syntax as Two Parts of Linguistic Description
Therefore,
the word
order in the English sentence is fixed.
Слайд 1065. General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
Each language
has a special cut, or design.
(Edward Sapir,
the eminent
American scholar)
↓
This special cut finds its manifestation on all levels of the language, but primarily on its grammatical structure.
Слайд 107General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
Two main reasons
why we need to know about the peculiarities of the
grammatical structure of English?
1. to understand the reasons for the speaker's choice of a grammatical form
(e.g. Let me have a say)
2. for a foreign language acquisition.
Слайд 108General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
The peculiarities of
the grammatical structure of English:
Due to the morphological simplicity of
many words they are easily converted from one part of speech into another.
↓
Слайд 109General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
Examples:
Let's round the
conversation.
They had another round of talks yesterday.
Her face
was round and cheerful.
He suddenly turned round.
They live just round the corner.
Слайд 110General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
-"Darling", he began.
"Don't darling me, Producer" (I: Shaw);
-Teachers talk teacher talk.
Слайд 111General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
English is a
fixed word-order language, and more specifically, it is a Subject-Verb-Object
language (the grammatical meaning of a word in English often manifests itself through its syntactic position in the sentence)
John loves Diana.
Diana loves John.
Слайд 112General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
3. The ability
of the preposition to be placed at the end of
a sentence which is directly related to the fixed word-order (since the first word in the sentence is usually the subject)
He was taken a good care of.
Слайд 113General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
4. It is
a subject-prominent language (all sentence must have a subject)
It's never
too late to learn;
There is no getting away from it.
Слайд 114General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
5. English has
a predominantly analytical character and a limited number of inflections.
Most of the tense-aspect forms of the English verb are analytical formations.
Слайд 115General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
6. English appears
to have a marked tendency towards nominalization. (Germans point out
that the English have a 'noun disease‘).
Compare:
Make a guess! - Угадай!
She gave him a surreptitious look - Она взглянула на него украдкой;
You should do some more reading – Вам следует еще почитать.
Слайд 116General Characteristics of the Grammatical Structure of English
7. English has
a more abundant use of the non-finite forms of the
verb (→ sentences in English are often characterized by a greater degree of compression).
Compare:
I've never seen him smile like this – Я никогда не видел, чтобы он так улыбался;
A lot depends on your being diplomatic enough – Многое зависит от того, будете ли вы достаточно дипломатичны.
