INTRODUCING TRANSFORMATIONAL GENERATIVE GRAMMARAPPLICATION 1

Dr. Sridevi SriniwassTD 10, 2ND FLOOR NEW BLOCK, FBL. sridevi@um.edu.my, 7967 3193SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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Linguistics is usually defined as the discipline which concerns itself with the study of language, although what language is taken to be may differ from one school to another. In the Generative tradition, language is understood to refer to the knowledge that native speakers have which, together with other faculties of the mind enables them to communicate, express their thoughts and perform various other functions. Generative linguists try to characterise the knowledge that native speakers have of their language. SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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Which of the sentences below are meaningful sentences?The the likes boy girl.The boy likes the girl.The girl likes the boy.The girl is liked by the boy.Boy girl likes the the(1) and (5) do not make meaningful sentences.(2), (3) and (4) make meaningful sentences.(3) has the opposite meaning of (2)(4) has a meaning similar to (2)

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Consider the following two sentences:The girl asked the boy to leave.The girl asked the boy to be allowed to leave.

The boy is too stubborn to talk to the girl.The boy is too stubborn to talk to.

The boy: Do you want some coffee?The girl: Coffee keeps me awake.The ability to infer the right message from the answer depends on knowledge of contextual information. SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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Need to make a distinction between: Knowledge of the English languageAbility to use this knowledge properly in different situations.

Not the skill of manipulating language but knowing the language.The kind of knowledge that is common to all normal speakers of English irrespective of their other abilities and skills. SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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Constituents & Hierarchies2.ABCDESRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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3a. This boy can solve the problem.DetNAuxVDetNThisboycansolvetheproblem.SSRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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4. This boy can solve the problem.DetNAuxVDetNThisboycansolvetheproblem.S?SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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5. This boy can solve the problem.DetNAuxVDetNThisboycansolvetheproblem.S?SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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11. This boy can solve the problem.DetNAuxVDetNThisboycansolvetheproblem.SVPSRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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13. This boy can solve the problem.DetNAuxVDetNThisboycansolvetheproblem.SNPVPSRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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15. This boy can solve the problem.DetNAuxVDetNThisboycansolvetheproblem.SVPNP2NP1SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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Categories of the same class tend to cluster together in the form of larger constituents. Empirical basis for the conclusion that the and problem form a single constituent, three criteria fulfilled: Proform, Co-ordination and Displacement.The verb alone forms an autonomous constituent of VP.

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The hierarchical relations between categories are expressed in terms of the relation of dominance.A category is said to immediately dominate its immediate constituents.Thus S immediately dominates NP1, Aux and VP.VP immediately dominates V and NP2.NP immediately dominates Det and N.S dominates V and NP2 though not directly. This is called mere dominance.Note the difference with immediate dominance.

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A category is said to immediately dominate its constituents and merely dominate the constituents of its constituents. The notion constituent of a constituent is crucial in determining dominance relations.Because V and NP2 are not constituents of NP1, the latter does not dominate them.

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(15) is called a TREE DIAGRAM.Immediate constituents of a category are DAUGHTERS of that category.For example, Det and N are DAUGHTERS of NP. V and NP2 are DAUGHTERS of VP.Obviously, if Det and N are DAUGHTERS of NP, then NP is their MOTHER. If V and NP2 are DAUGHTERS of VP, then VP is their MOTHER. Also if Det and N are daughters of the same MOTHER, then Det and N are SISTERS.

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ReferenceOuhalla, Jamal. (1999). Introducing Transformational Grammar: from Principles and Parameters to Minimalism. Arnold: London. SRIDEVI SRINIWASS

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