Transcript Lecture Six

Transformational
And
Generative grammar
II
Transformations
Transformations are done according
to transformational rules.
Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n s c a n n o t c h a n g e
meaning.They can do four things:delete,
copy,add and reorder.
Deletion
“You will be quiet.” is transformed
into “Be quiet!” by deletion
In “Be quiet”, “you” and “will” are
assumed to exist only in deep structures.
You will be quiet!
S
NP
Pron.
You
VP
aux
will
VP
VL
adj
be
quiet
Reordering
Example
Tough Movement rule
Move the infinitive after the “tough”
words to the position immediately before
the subject.
John is easy to please.
John is eager to please.
To please John is easy.
Across:
当 across 作 为 方
向或目标语状语
成为谓体的附加
状语时，在肯定
句 中 ， across 可
以移至句首，如：
We walked across
the field, carrying
heavy equipment.
Across the field,
we walked，
carrying heavy
equipment.
但是在否定句中，
由于这类状语往往
是否定的焦点，所
以在否定句中，
across引导的方向
或目标附加状语通
常都不跳出否定结
构范围之外，如：
They didn’t walk across the field, carrying
heavy equipment.
*Across the field, they didn’t walk,
carrying heavy equipment.
当towards作为方向或
目标语状语成为谓体
的附加状语时，在肯
定句中，towards可以
移至句首，如：
Towards the fort, the
soldiers marched.
但是在否定句中，
由于这类状语往往
是否定的焦点，所
以在否定句中，
towards引导的方向
或目标附加状语通
常都不跳出否定结
构范围之外，如：
The soldiers didn’t march
towards the fort.
*Towards the fort,
the soldiers didn’t march.
Go
在英语中go经常带起
一个方向或目标附加
状语和一个来源附加
状语,如:
He went to America from Japan.
当方向或目标附加状语与来源附加
状语同时出现时,其中的来源附加状
语可以移至句首,如:
From Japan, he
went to America.
但是在方向或目标
附加状语和来源附
加状语同时出现时,
其中的方向或目标
附加状语不可以移
至句首,如:
*To America, he went
from Japan.
Badly常作方式附加状语使用。方式
附加状语通常是信息的中心。如果方
式附加状语是动词的必具性状语，它
就只能处于句末的位置，如：
They treated me very badly.
*They very badly treated me.
但是在被动语态中，badly既可以紧
放在过去分词之前，也可以紧放在
过去分词之后，如：
They were badly treated.
They were treated badly.
在现在完成体和过去完成体中，我们可以在
第一个助动词之后插入一个延续性时间状语，
但是方式状语一般紧跟在live之后，如：
He had for twenty years lived in poverty.
*She had in poverty lived for twenty years.
They live frugally.
*They frugally live.
probably:
通常位于作功能词的助动词和主
要动词之间，或紧位于主要动词
之前,如：
She probably believed his story.
She would probably believe that story.
?They probably can find their way
home.
但是在否定句中,它往往位于被否定的
助动词或情态动词之前，如：
She probably never would have
believed his story.
They probably can’t finish the task in
time.
He probably isn’t a teacher.
*They can’t probably finish the task in
time.
值得注意的是，除be动词外，
probably不能紧跟在主要动词之后
，如：
*She believed probably his story.
He is probably a teacher.
Visiting friends can be tiresome.
S
NP
S’
NP
Pron Vt
VP
VP
aux
VP
NP
VL
Sb. visit friends can be
adj
tiresome
Visiting friends can be tiresome.
S
NP
S’
N
NP
N
VP
VP
Vt
aux
VP
NP
VL
friends friends visit sb
can be
adj
tiresome
Addition
The application of T-there insertion
inserts there into the underlying string
Example
A fish is swimming in the pond.
is a fish swimming in the pond
There is a fish swimming in the pond.
Copying
A c c o r d i n g t o C h o m s k y, t h e
question tag does not exist in the
deep structure. When the T-tag is
applied, the subject of the main
clause as well as the first auxiliary
verb is copied on to the tag.
He is coming.
He is coming, is
he?
He is coming, is not he?
He is coming, isn’t he?
The Phonological component
It is the task of the
phonological component to
convert each surface structure
into a phonetic representation
Semantic component
The task of the semantic component is to
analyse the deep structure of a sentence
into basic semantic features and then to
derive its semantic interpretation from
the deep structure.
C h o m s k y
himself has
always been
fairly vague
about the way
in which the
semantic
component
w o r k s .
1.What are the main concerns of
syntax?
It’s the study of how sentences are
structured. It tries to state what words
can be combined with others to form
sentences and in what order.
2.How do modern linguists differ from
traditional scholars in defining “sentence”?
Traditionaly scholars often depended on the
use of punctuation or a semantic criterion--the expression of a complete thought---to
define a sentence. They look at the sentence
as the result of linking words together.
Modern linguists define a
sentence as an independent
linguistic form not included
by some grammatical marks
in any other linguistic form.
It is a structurally
independent linguistic form.
3.What are the two central ideas of
Bloomfield’s theory of syntax?
1.the notion of form class
2. The notion of constituent structure
见 p. 43
4.Explain and exemplify immediate
constituent analysis
It is the approach to divide the
sentence up into its immediate
constituents by using binary
cuttings until obtaining its ultimate
constituents .
5. Diagram the constituent structure
of each of the following phrases and
sentences and name the different
constituents
A very old brick house down the street
A very old brick house down the street
NP
NP
det
PP
NP
adv
NP
adj
prep
NP
N
NP
det
N
N
a very old brick house down the street
6.Why is a labelled tree diagram
more informative?
A labelled tree diagram can indicate
both the constituent structure and the
form class of each constituent.
7. Is IC analysis an effective way to
deal with discontinuous constituents?
IC analysis is not effective in the
analysis of discontinuous constituents.
P.51
8.What is the nature of a transformationalgenrative grammar? What are its two main
aspects?
Two Aspects of TG Grammar
Generative Aspect
Transformational Aspect
This means that a
grammar must
generate all and
only grammatical
sentences of a
l a n g u a g e
Chomsky proposes the
idea of transformation
which refers to a kind
of process that
transforms one
sentence into another.
9. Define and discuss competence and
performance.
Competence Vs
A set of rules
that have been
internalized in a
person’s mind
performance
Any actual
utterances a
speaker makes in a
particular situation
10. Define and discuss deep and surface structures.
Surface Structure
Sentences or
phrases that are
pronounced or
w r i t t e n
?
?
Deep Structure
The structure that
contains all the units
and relationships
that are necessary
for interpreting the
meaning of the
s e n t e n c e
Deep Structure
The terminal string
that we get after we
apply the PS rules
The boy studied the book.
S
NP
Det
VP
N
Vt
NP
Det
Det
N
Vt Det
N
N
11. What are the major components of
the Standard Theory of 1965?
Components of a TG
A Syntactic Component
A Phonological component
A Semantic Component
12. Explain and exemplify phrase-structure
rules.
PS rules are concerned with the
generation of deep structures.
They contain a set of rules which
set up the basic sentence patterns
of the language. They are also
called rewrite rules.
Phrase Structure Rules
PS rule 1
S--->NP VP
Ps rule 2 VP---> Vt
PS rule 3
NP ---> Det
NP
N
PS rule 4 Det --->the, a ,any,etc
PS rule 5 N --->boy,man,etc.
PS rule 6 V --->hit,sleep, etc.
S
NP
Det
VP
N
V
NP
Det
The
man hit the
N
ball
13. What are selectional restrictions?
What role do they play in
transformational grammar?
Selectional restrictions
These are the restrictions on
the type of noun that can be
selected with each verb.
*The man hit sincerity.
Preventing grammar from
generating nonsense.
14. How many parts do T-rules consist of,
and what is the purpose of each of these?
Each T-rule has two parts: structural
analysis and structural change. The
former states the structure to which the
rule can be applied while the latter refers
to the instructions which will bring about
changes in the structure.
15. What general operations can T-rules
perform? Give examples.
Deletion, copying, adding and reordering