The dominant theory of syntax is due to Noam Chomsky and his colleagues, starting in the mid 1950s and continuing to this day. is often given the blanket name Generative Grammar
MODELS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR
This theory, which has had many different names through its development
the Tree Model:
Generative Transformational Grammar
is the most important one for the students to know the rules how they produce sentences grammatically.
S - is a sentence,
D - is a determiner,
N a noun,
V a verb,
NP a noun phrase,
VP a verb phrase,
Adj adjective.
1. Standard Theory (1957-1965)
2. Extended Standard Theory (1965-1973)
3. Revised Extended Standard Theory (1973-1976)
4. Relational Grammar (1975-1990)
5. Government and Binding/Principles and Parameters Theory (1981-1990)
6. Minimalist Program (1990-Present)
(Transformational Grammar (TG),
Transformational Generative Grammar,
Standard Theory,
Extended Standard Theory,
Government and Binding Theory (GB),
Principles and Parameters approach (P&P),
Minimalism (MP).
Although we use it every day, and although we all have strong opinions about its proper form and appropriate use, we rarely stop to think about the wonder of language.
Generative grammar
claims to be a theory of cognitive psychology, so it’s reasonable to ask whether formal rules really exist in the brain/minds of speakers. Obviously, the rules don’t exist in our brains, but they do model of the external behavior of the mind.
The Main question of generative grammar is:
“ how sentences are structured? “
Chomsky was born on December 7, 1928, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
His undergraduate and graduate years were spent at the University of Pennsylvania
He is 86 years old
Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy.
his father was from Ukraine
Naom Chomsky
What is
generative grammar ?
So it’s the study of syntax
A linguist and mathematician
Syntax: The level of linguistic organization that mediates between sounds and meaning, where words are organized into phrases and sentences
"father of modern linguistics"
in 1957, American Noam Chomsky's
"Syntactic Structures" appeared and presented the concept of a 'transformational generative grammar.‘
- a type of grammar based on a set of rules that can be used to produce all the sentences possible in a language
- a linguistic theory that attempts to describe a native
speaker's tacitgrammatical knowledge by a system of rules that specify all of the well-formed or grammatical, sentences of a language while excluding all ungrammatical, or impossible, sentences.
- an attempt at providing a fully explicit and mechanical statement of the rules governing the construction of English sentences
- refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax
The term was originally used in relation to the theories of grammar developed by Noam Chomsky, beginning in the late 1950s.
Linguists who follow the generative approach originated by Chomsky have been called generativists.
A generative grammar
is essentially one that 'projects' one or more given sets of sentences that make up the language one is describing, a process characterizing human language's creativity.
-The generative school has focused on the study of syntax, but has also addressed other aspects of a language's structure, including morphology and phonology
A transformational generative
grammar attempts to describe a native speaker's linguistic competence by framing linguistic descriptions as rules for 'generating' an infinite number of grammatical sentences.
A signature feature of generative
grammar is the view that humans have an innate "language faculty" and that the universal principles of human language reflect intrinsic properties of this language faculty. In learning their native languages, children acquire specific rules that determine the sound and meaning of utterances in the language. These rules interact with each other in complex ways, and the entire system is learned in a relatively short time and with little or no apparent conscious effort.
A generative grammar is a theory of competence:
a model of the psychological system of unconscious knowledge that underlies a speaker's ability to produce and interpret utterances in a language.
The ultimate goal is not merely to understand
these details, but to use them as a bridge to understanding the human language faculty in general.