Chapter 8 句法生成Generative Syntax.doc

Chapter 8 Generative Syntax Syntax: the study of how sentences are formed out of words of a language. PhonologyGrammar (the overall description of human language) Syntax Semantics 8.1 TG Grammar vs. Traditional Grammar: A Comparison(1) Epistemological bases (认识论基础) (1) Traditional Grammar: based on Behaviorism/Structuralism: A childs brain was born with a blank board, lacking in any genetic information about language. He acquires language through “stimuli-responses” in after-birth experience.(2) TG Grammar:50s -60s American cognitive and linguistic circles witnessed a “Chomskyan Revolution”.l Psychological and philosophical basis: Chomskys Mentalism (心智主义)/Nativism (自然主义): Psychological and philosophical concept developed by Chomsky (1965) and modeled after Descartess and von Humboldts rationalism. Mentalism attempts to describe the internal (innate) language mechanism that provides the basis for the creative aspect of language development and use. In this aspect, Chomsky turns against the empirical approach of American structuralism (Bloomfield) and, especially against Skinners behaviorism, since both positions accept only immediately observable linguistic data as their object of investigation (observational adequacy of E-languageXu). Chomsky supports his mentalist concept in two ways: (1) by assuming a grammar with an underlying deep structure; (2) with regard to language acquisition and the development of linguistic competence, by presupposing an inborn (universal) mechanism (Language Acquisition DeviceLAD) that provides a basis for language development (Cartesian linguistics).l Philosophical basis: Rationalism (唯理论): 17th century branch of philosophy based on the philosophies of R. Descartes & G. W. Leibniz, which admits reason as the sole source of human knowledge. N. Chomsky sees so-called “Cartesian linguistics” as continuing the tradition of rationalism, especially in reference to (a) the concept of “innate ideas”, (b) the idea of language as a specially human activity, (c) the emphasis on the creative aspect of language use, and (4) the distinction between outer and inner forms of language (i.e. between surface structure and deep structure) (2) Research subjects/goals Traditional grammar: interested in language itself and devoted to the description of language facts. TG Grammar: directed at the cognitive explanation for the nature of human linguistic system /the explanation of mechanism of human brain through language study / at the biological /cognitive basis of linguistic knowledge and competence / at the biological properties of human language/ at establishing a model of the grammatical competence of the fluent native speaker of the language the competence of the native speakers intuition (直觉) about grammaticality and interpretation of their language. (3) Characteristics of the theories TG Grammar: explanatory theory explaining why human can learn to speak while dogs cannot in the same language environment/ providing a cognitive explanation for the nature of human linguistic system. Traditional grammar: descriptive theory, describing the 2nd language.(4)Theoretical approaches TG Grammar: it adopts an approach used for natural science axiomatic deduction (公理式推导 / 无须证明的演绎推理) / Galileo Approach. 8.2 Chomskys Ideas about Language and Philosophy (Refer to Smith, N, 2001)8.2.1 Generative grammar: some basic assumptions(1) Language is a human-specific biological property what distinguishes humans from animals. (2) Language is a mirror of the mind it is the best evidence for the nature of human mind. Cognition of language is fundamental problem in the cognition of human mind, which involves investigating a range of human abilities and their interrelations as well as the contrast between knowledge of language and the use of that knowledge (competence vs. performance)(3) Linguistics should be part of the natural science. So Generative Grammar studies language with the methodology of the hard science, in combination with the philosophical insight of the Cartesian (法国哲学家笛卡儿) tradition.8.2.2 Linguistics as an explanatory and empirical scienceKockett (representative of American structuralism): “linguistics is a classificatory science” (分类科学), adopting a descriptive approach to linguistics.Chomsky: linguistics is an explanatory and empirical science in the sense that:(1) Linguistics can provide not only explicit descriptions but also explanations for why languages are the way they are: each language is a particular example of a universal faculty of mind, whose basic properties are innate;(2) Linguistics is an empirical science seeking testable explanations: like physicians (rather than logicians or literary critics), a linguist makes innumerable hypotheses to be tested by evidence experimentally from language users: a persons judgment about the grammaticality of a sentence can be tested by others experiment of using language By contrast, a logician (who claims that “nothing is both an X and a non-X”) or literary critic (who claims that “a song is a form of linguistic disobedience”) doesnt formulate hypotheses to be checked or tested by further evidence8.2.3 E-language vs. I-languageA distinction made by Chomsky in 1980s.E-language (Externalized language 外化语言): external, observed language specified in extension (外延), conceived as a system of (speech) events or utterances or other units external to/ externalized by the individual speaker. E-language research collects and analyses actual language samples and constructs grammars which describe the general structures and patterns which emerge.I-language (Internalized/Individual/Intensional language (内化/个人/内涵语言): the knowledge of language internalized by individual speakers. It is the Generative approach to language which sees language as an internal property of the human mind (a mental phenomenon) and not as something external. Generative linguists who subscribe to this approach attempt to construct grammar (Universal Grammar) reflecting the way the human mind structures language and which universal principles are involved. They believe other approaches to language deal with E-language. According to the I-language linguists (Generative linguists), the E-language approach is part of the American structuralism tradition. They claim it also includes a large section of sociolinguistic and discourse analysis research as this deals with social and not with mental phenomena. Chomskys interpretation of I-language concept: “The concept of language is internal, in that it deals with an inner state of a native speakers mind/brain, independent of other elements in the world. It is individual in that it deals with a native speaker and with language communities only derivatively, as groups of people with similar I-language. It is intensional (内涵的) in the technical sense that the I-language is a function specified in intension, not extension ” (Hu: 149)Hence,The ultimate goal of generative grammar: to characterize the nature of the internalized linguistic system. The data for generative linguistics: not the observed language (E-language), but intuitions about language (I-language);The goal of generative linguistics: not description of languages, but explanation of language. 8.2.4 Three levels of adequacyobservational, descriptive and explanatory adequaciesThe criteria developed by Chomsky in 1960s for evaluating grammatical descriptions of natural languages.Chomsky, N. Current Issues in Linguistic Theory. The Hague. 1964. Levels of adequacy: Different levels of success that a grammatical description of a language or a general theory of language can achieve. There are three distinct levels of adequacy: observational adequacy, descriptive adequacy & explanatory adequacy (lowhigh level). In Chomskys account in the 1960s, a theory of grammar is observationally adequate if it explains the primary / raw / immediate observable linguistic data (surface language phenomena) correctly and completely; descriptively adequate (abstract rules)if, in addition, it describes their structure correctly /if further accounts for the native speakers inner knowledge about the grammar of the language / his intuitions and competence regarding the regularity and rules of his language.For example, English speakers intuitively know the rule underlying the stresses for the words telegraph vs. telegraphic, telescope vs. telescopic. An observationally adequate grammar will list make a distinction between these stresses, but a descriptively adequate grammar will further disclose the internalized pattern of the stresses. explanatorily adequate if it explains how speakers can arrive at a descriptively adequate knowledge of their language /if the grammatical description is handled in accord with a theory of universal grammar.An explanatorily adequate grammar should meet the condition of universality.Explanatorily adequate linguistic theory should go beyond the specification of a particular language (Ssstate attained) and provide an account for the initial state (S0) of the language faculty Universal Grammar. Initial State (of the mind /in L1 acquisition) S0: the initial state of language faculty represented in a fixed system of universal principles, which is genetically determined and common to all human languages. Universal Grammar (UG): It contains a set of (universal and invariable) principles of S0 and (variable) parameters of grammar which, according to Chomsky, is inherited genetically by all human beings. In Chomskys account, UG is represented as an idealized initial stage in language acquisition, at which a child is conceived as having no knowledge of a particular language. Such knowledge is then conceived as developing from UG, by the setting of parameters and by the addition of specific rules, individual features of the lexicon, and so on. Principle-Parameter Model: PG = UG (UG Universal Grammar; PG Particular Grammar; parameters)A child was born with universal grammar, which, interacted with after-birth experience (parameter-setting), later develops into particular grammar, as a realization of language competence.8.3 Features of Generative Grammar Mentalism (心智主义) psychological and philosophical basis Rationalism (唯理论)philosophical basis Innateness (天生论) Deductive methodology (演绎法) Testable hypothesis Explanatory rather than descriptive Formalism Focus on linguistic competence / Focus on I-language (native speakers intuition about language) With strong generative powers Emphasis on linguistic universals (UG)8.4 The Development of Generative Grammar: Theoretical ModelsThe development of the Transformational Generative Grammar is marked by several models:8.4.1 SS Model Syntactic Structures Model (句法结构模式) Introduced in Chomsky, N. Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton. 1957.Phrase Structure deep Transformational surface Morpho-phonemic Component structure Component structure ComponentInterpretation: (i) Phrase structure component contains phrase structure rules: S NP + VP VP V + NP NP Det + N Det the, a, etc. N man, ball, etc. V hit, took, etc.(ii) Transformational component contains transformational rules (e.g. The passive transformational rule/ The dative transformational rule), which transforms the deep structure into surface structure.(iii) Morpho-phonemic component contains morpho-phonemic rules, which modify /correct the spelling (morphological change) and pronunciation (phonemic change) of the words in the surface structure. 8.4.2 ST Model The Standard Theory Model (标准理论模式)Introduced in Chomsky, N. Aspects of The Theory of Syntax (句法理论的若干问题). Cambridge: CUP. 1965.Base Component Deep Transformational surfaceCategories Lexicon Structure Component structure Semantic PhonologicalComponent Component Interpretation:(i) SS Model was modified by adding a Semantic component and replacing Base component for Phrase structure component(ii) This model treats a language as consisting of three major parts: Categories / Category componentSyntax Base component Lexicon Transformational componentSemantics Semantic Component Phonology Phonological Component. (iii) Category component Phrase structure component(with rewriting rules) (with phrase structure rules) S NP + VP Shared rule representations VP V + NP NP Det + NDifferent rule representations:Indicating the features of words: Indicating the right words:e.g.N+N, + Common, -Count, + Abstract Det the, a, etc. (e.g. sincerity) N man, ball, etc.V +V, +NP, +that S V hit, took, etc. (e.g. believe) Problem existing in ST Model: the principle that transformations do not change meaning.But actually, transformations may change meanings.e.g. I have been taught by Einstein. (Possible) * Einstein has taught me. (Which indicates that he is still alive)8.4.3 EST Model Extended Standard Theory Model (扩充式标准理论模式)Base Component Deep Transformational surfaceCategories Lexicon Structure Component structure Semantic Phonological Component ComponentIn EST Model, the surface structure was also related to semantic interpretation.8.4.4 TT Model Trace Theory Model (语迹论模式) A grammar now has two systems：a rule system and a principle system. Base ComponentCategories Lexicon deep structureTransformationalComponent surface structure Semantic Phonological Component ComponentInterpretation:In Trace Theory Model, the surface structure is the sole structure responsible for semantic interpretation. After the movement of an element, there will be a trace left in the original position, which is represented by t in the tree diagram. And the deep structure information concerning the underlying syntactic relations between words, such as the subject in the passive is the logical object, can also be captured by the trace in the surface structure. That is to say, the semantic component could rely entirely on the output of surface structure. Example: Interrogative TransformationHe1 said Mary2 kissed John3 (deep structure) Who3 did he1 say Mary2 kissed? Adding a trace to thesurface structure who3 s he1 said Mary2 kissed t38.4.5 GB Model Government and Binding Theory Model (管约论模式)Introduced in Chomsky, N. Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrecht: Foris. 1981.Chomsky, N. Some Concepts and Consequences of the Theory of Government and Binding. Linguistic Inquiry monograph 6. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1982.(A) A grammar now has two systems: a rule system & a principle system. Lexicon Categorial component /Rules System Syntax Transformational component /Rulemove of Rules Phonetic form component Logical form componentTwo systemsof a grammar Bounding theory (界限论) Government theory (管辖论) System of -theory (论元理论) Principles Binding theory (约束论) (Conditions for Case theory (格理论) movement) Control theory (控制论)(B) Rule System Model indicating the interrelationship between the components inside the rule system: Base ComponentCategorial LexiconComponentD- StructureTransformational Component S- Structure Logical Form Phonological Form Component Component LF-Structure PF-StructureInterpretation:(i) Lexicon is independent of syntax.(ii) Syntax Categorial component Transformational component(iii) Deep structure D-Structure (only one of the different levels of deep structure) Surface structure S-Structure (only one of the different levels of surface structure)(iv) The transformational component has only one rule move .Any element may be moved to another place / more generally changed in some way, as long as the relevant conditions (principles) are satisfied.These specific conditions are principles specified in the principle system.(C) Principle System Bounding theory (界限论) Government theory (管辖论) System of -theory (论元理论) Principles Binding theory (约束论) (Conditions for Case theory (格理论) movement) Control theory (控制论)8.4.6 MP Model Minimalist Program Model (简约论模式)Introduced in: Chomsky, N. A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory. In K. Hale & J. Keyser (eds.). The View from Building 20. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1993.Chomsky, N. The Mimimalist Program. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1995.MP aims at maximizing the explanatory power of grammar by minimizing the theoretic apparatus.(1) Changes to the system of principles: (i) Mo