大学英美文学知识整理.ppt

Lecture 5 Syntax Definition nIts a kind of micro linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences. (Transformational syntax to be introduced in the book.) Word-level categories nCategory refers to a group of linguistic items which fulfill the same or similar functions in a particular language. Traditionally, category is termed as “parts of speech”. nMajor lexical categories and minor lexical categories Examples of some lexical categories Major lexical categoriesExamples Noun (N) Verb (V) Adjective (A) Preposition (P) book, boy, love, sheep run, read, play happy, tall, clear about, over, on Minor lexical categories Examples Determiner (Det) Degree word (Deg) Qualifier (Qual) Auxiliary (Aux) Conjunction (Con) the, a, this, those quite, very, more, so often, always, seldom, almost must, should, can, might and, but, or nA words distributional facts together with information about its meaning and inflectional capability help identify its syntactic category. Meaning: John, pen, book, pretty lady, left quietly Inflection: plural affixes, tenses, degrees Distribution: the girl, a card, should stay, will help Phrase categories Definition: Categories which are built around a certain word category. Types: Noun phrase (NP): the pretty girl Verb phrase (VP): often dream Adjective phrase (AP): very pessimistic Prepositional phrase (PP): in the house Adverbial phrase (ADVP): very quickly (Wen, p. 118) Head, specifier and complement Phrase structure rule Introduction: NP(Det) N (PP) VP(Qual) V (NP) AP(Deg) A (PP) PP(Deg) P (NP) (Note: “ ” means “consist of”; ( ) means “can be omitted”; “” means other complement options are available) Phrase structure rules The grammatical mechanism that regulates the arrangement of elements that make up a phrase is called a phrase structure rule, such as: NP (Det) + N +(PP)e.g. those people, the fish on the plate, pretty girls. VP (Qual) + V + (NP)e.g. always play games, finish assignments. AP (Deg) + A + (PP)very handsome, very pessimistic, familiar with, very close to PP (Deg) + P + (NP)on the shelf, in the boat, quite near the station. XP rule The XP rule: XP (specifier) X (complement) X Theory a. XP (specifier) X b. X X (complement) Coordination rule X X * Con X Specifier X Complement Head XP The XP rule Note: The phrase structure rules can be summed up as XP rule shown in the diagram, in which X stands for N, V, A or P. X Theory XP (Specifier)X X X(complement) X(head) complement specifier XP(Phrase level) X Phrase elements Specifier: specify the meaning of head, top level of phrase structures, syntactic category may be different Complements: provide information about entities and locations, a words complement is included in the head, e.g. a story about a sentimental girl ( phrase + subcategorization) Revised XP rule: XP (specifier) X (complement *) Verbs like appear, cut, put Examples of some As, Ns, and Ps permitting CP complements ItemsHeads Examples Adjectives afraid, certain, aware I was afraid that nobody would believe me. Nouns fact, claim, belief She cant believe the fact that she would fail in the exam. Prepositions over, about They argued over whether she had come to class. (Note: complementizier that, whether, if; CP complement phrase) Modifiers Modifier position in English Modifier Position Example AP precedes the head A very careful girl PP follows the head open with care AdvP precedes or follows the head read carefully; carefully read The expanded XP rule: XP (Spec) (Mod) X (Complement *) (Mod) (Note: difference between complement and modifier) Sentences (The S rule) The S rule S NP VP InflP (=S) (following the XP rule, with an internal structure) Sentences (the S rule) S NP VP S NP VP NP Det N V Det N A boy found the book lMany linguists believe that sentences, like other phrases, also have their own heads. Infl is an abstract category inflection (dubbed Infl) as their heads, which indicates the sentences tense and agreement. lS NP infl VP InflP(=S) NPVP Infl Sentences (the S rule)Sentences (the S rule) Infl realized by a tense label InflP（=S ） NP VP NP Det N Infl V Det N A boy Pst found the book Infl realized by an auxiliary InflP（=S ）VP NP NP Det N Infl V Det N A boy will find the book Transformations Auxiliary movement Inversion (revised): Move Infl to C Auxiliary movement (inversion) Inversion Move Infl to the left of the subject NP. Inversion (revised) Move Infl to C. C CP S Det N Infl V the train will arrive NP Auxiliary movement (inversion) CP S C NP Infl Det N Infl V Will the train e arrive? One application * The teacher wonders CP if should his student _ stay. (Note: complementizers and auxiliaries are mutually exclusive) Auxiliary unchanged, trace and head movement Do insertion Deep structure and surface structure Deep structure-formed by the XP rule in accordance with the heads sub-categorization properties; it contains all the units and relationships that are necessary for interpreting the meaning of the sentence. Deep structure: XP rule which determines the internal structure of the phrasal categories. Surface structure-corresponding to the final syntactic form of the sentence which results from appropriate transformations; it is that of the sentence as it is pronounced or written. Deep structure & surface structure Do insertion Do insertion- Insert interrogative do into an empty Infl position. CP C S NP Infl VP Birds fly CP CP CC SS Infl NP Infl VPNP Infl VP Birds do fly Do birds e fly Figure-1 Figure-2 Figure-3 Deep structure & surface structure Consider the following sentence: Flying planes can be dangerous. It can mean either that if you fly planes you are engaged in a dangerous activity or Planes that are flying are dangerous. Deep structure & surface structure Consider more sentences: John is easy to please. John is eager to please. Structurally similar sentences might be very different in their meanings, for they have quite different deep structures. Further illustration The XP rule DEEP STRUCTURE Transformations (Subcategorization restricts choice of complements) SURFACE STRUCTURE (Note: When transformations are not necessary, the representations of these two levels are the same) Wh Movement An example in which wh occupies the subject position Example sentences with a wh-word What languages can you speak? What can you talk about? D-structure You can speak what language. You can talk about what. S-structure What languages can you speak? What can you talk about? Wh-movement Wh-movement- Move a wh phrase to the beginning of the sentence. What language can you speak ? What can you talk about ? Wh-movement Wh-movement- Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP. (Revised) CP VP V NP won the game S NP Infl e Pst NP C Who Move and constrains on transformations References Dai, W. D & He, Z. X. (2002). A new concise course on linguistics for students of English. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Task Do the following as required in groups of four or five: The following sentences all contain embedded clauses that function as complements of a verb, an adjective, a preposition or a noun. Draw a tree structure for each sentence. You know that I hate war. He said that Tom asked whether the class was over. Gerry cant believ