Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd
Upload
63 views

Efinition and Examples of Syntax: (Burgess 1968)

Syntax refers to the rules governing the order of words in a sentence. It determines things like subjects preceding verbs and adjectives preceding nouns. Native speakers intuitively understand syntax, though may not be able to explicitly state rules. Syntax gives words the power to relate and carry meaning. There are different types of sentences defined by their syntax, such as simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. While syntax helps determine meaning, it does not guarantee understanding as shown by syntactically valid but nonsensical sentences.

Uploaded by

Teresa Pajarón Lacave
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
63 views

Efinition and Examples of Syntax: (Burgess 1968)

Syntax refers to the rules governing the order of words in a sentence. It determines things like subjects preceding verbs and adjectives preceding nouns. Native speakers intuitively understand syntax, though may not be able to explicitly state rules. Syntax gives words the power to relate and carry meaning. There are different types of sentences defined by their syntax, such as simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. While syntax helps determine meaning, it does not guarantee understanding as shown by syntactically valid but nonsensical sentences.

Uploaded by

Teresa Pajarón Lacave
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Definition and Examples of Syntax

Syntax is one of the major components of grammar. It's the concept that enables people
to know how to start a question with a question word ("What is that?"), or that
adjectives generally come before the nouns they describe ("green chair"), subjects often
come before verbs in non-question sentences ("She jogged"), prepositional phrases
start with prepositions ("to the store"), helping verbs come before main verbs ("can go"
or "will do"), and so on.

For native speakers, using correct syntax is something that comes naturally, as word
order is learned as soon as an infant starts absorbing the language. Native speakers can
tell something isn't said quite right because it "sounds weird," even if they can't detail
the exact grammar rule that makes something sound "off" to the ear. 

"It is syntax that gives the words the power to relate to each other in a sequence...to
carry meaning—of whatever kind—as well as glow individually in just the right place"
(Burgess 1968)

Syntactic Rules 

English parts of speech often follow ordering patterns in sentences and clauses, such as
compound sentences are joined by conjunctions (and, but, or) or that multiple
adjectives modifying the same noun follow a particular order according to their class
(such as number-size-color, as in "six small green chairs"). The rules of how to order
words help the language parts make sense.

Sentences often start with a subject, followed by a predicate (or just a verb in the
simplest sentences) and contain an object or a complement (or both), which shows, for
example, what's being acted upon. Take the sentence "Beth slowly ran the race in wild,
multicolored flip-flops." The sentence follows a subject-verb-object pattern ("Beth ran
the race"). Adverbs and adjectives take their places in front of what they're modifying
("slowly ran"; "wild, multicolored flip-flops"). The object ("the race") follows the verb
"ran", and the prepositional phrase ("in wild, multicolored flip-flops") starts with the
preposition "in".

Syntax vs. Diction and Formal vs. Informal 

Diction refers to the style of writing or speaking that someone uses, brought about by
their choice of words, whereas syntax is the order in which they're arranged in the
spoken or written sentence. Something written using a very high level of diction, like a
paper published in an academic journal or a lecture given in a college classroom, is
written very formally. Speaking to friends or texting are informal, meaning they have a
low level of diction.

"It is essential to understand that the differences exist not because spoken language is a
degradation of written language but because any written language, whether English or
Chinese, results from centuries of development and elaboration by a small number of
users."Jim Miller
(Miller, 2008)

Formal written works or presentations would likely also have more complex sentences
or industry-specific jargon. They are directed to a more narrow audience than
something meant to be read or heard by the general public, where the audience
members' backgrounds will be more diverse.

Precision in word choice is less exacting in informal contexts than formal ones, and


grammar rules are more flexible in spoken language than in formal written language.
Understandable English syntax is more flexible than most. 

"...the odd thing about English is that no matter how much you screw sequences word
up, you understood, still, like Yoda, will be. Other languages don't work that way.
French? Dieu! Misplace a single le or la and an idea vaporizes into a sonic puff. English
is flexible: you can jam it into a Cuisinart for an hour, remove it, and meaning will still
emerge.”
(Copeland, 2009)

Types of Sentence Structures

Types of sentences and their syntax modes include simple sentences, compound
sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. Compound
sentences are two simple sentences joined by a conjunction. Complex sentences have
dependent clauses, and compound-complex sentences have both types included.

 Simple sentence: Subject-verb structure ("The girl ran.")


 Compound sentence: Subject-verb-object-conjunction-subject-verb
structure ("The girl ran the marathon, and her cousin did, too.")
 Complex sentence: Dependent clause-subject-verb-object structure
("Although they were tired after the marathon, the cousins decided to go to a
celebration at the park.")
 Compound-complex sentence: Four clauses, dependent and independent
structures ("Although they weren't fond of crowds, this was different, they
decided, because of the common goal that had brought everyone together.")

Syntax Variations and Distinctions

Syntax has changed some over the development of English through the centuries. "The
proverb Whoever loved that loved not at first sight? indicates that English negatives
could once be placed after main verbs" (Aitchison, 2001). And not all people speak
English in exactly the same way. Social dialects learned by people with common
backgrounds—such as a social class, profession, age group, or ethnic group—also may
influence the speakers' syntax. Think of the differences between teenagers' slang and
more fluid word order and grammar vs. research scientists' technical vocabulary and
manner of speaking to each other. Social dialects are also called "social varieties." 

Beyond Syntax

Following proper syntax doesn't guarantee that a sentence will have meaning, though.
Linguist Noam Chomsky created the sentence "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously,"
which is syntactically and grammatically correct because it has the words in the correct
order and verbs that agree with subjects, but it's still nonsense. With it, Chomsky
showed that rules governing syntax are distinct from meanings that words convey.

The distinction between grammar and syntax has been somewhat disrupted by recent
research in lexicogrammar, which takes the words into account in grammar rules: For
example, some verbs (transitive ones, that perform an action on
something) always take direct objects.1 A transitive (action) verb example:
 "She removed the index card from the old recipe box."

The verb is "removed" and the object is "index card." Another example includes a
transitive phrasal verb:

 "Please look over my report before I turn it in."

"Look over" is the phrasal verb and "report" is the direct object. To be a complete
thought, you need to include what's being looked over. Thus, it has to have a direct
object.

Additional References

 Aitchison, Jean. Language Change: Progress or Decay? Cambridge University,


2001.
 Burgess, Alan. Enderby Outside. Heinemann, 1968.
 Chomsky, Noam. The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory. University of
Chicago, 1985.
 Copeland, Douglas. Generation A: A Novel. Scribner, 2009.
 Miller, Jim. An Introduction to English Syntax. Edinburgh University, 2008.

You might also like