Overview

Grammar and Our Knowledge 1. Syntax

2. Morphology
of Language 3
3. Phonetics and Phonology
4. Semantics
5. Ambiguity
6. Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules of
Grammar

Overview Overview

1. Syntax 2. Morphology
– Constituents – Affixation
– Movement – Inflection and derivation
– Word formation processes

3 4

Overview Overview

3. Phonetics and Phonology 4. Semantics

– Articulatory phonetics – Anomaly
– Acoustic pphonetics – Contradiction
– Auditory phonetics – Presupposition
– Metaphor

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1
Overview Overview

5. Ambiguity 6. Descriptive and prescriptive rules of

– Lexical and syntactic ambiguity grammar

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What is Syntax? What is Syntax?

•The study of the way in •The presidential candidate

which sentences are thought that the expensive
constructed from smaller dinners given in Lee’s honor
units called constituents; were surprisingly boring.
how sentences are related
to each other.
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Constituents Constituents

•The presidential candidate •The presidential candidate

thought that the expensive thought that the expensive
dinners given in Lee’s honor dinners given in Lee’s honor
were surprisingly boring. were surprisingly boring.

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2
Constituents
•The presidential candidate
thought that the expensive
dinners given in Lee’s honor
were surprisingly boring.
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Constituents
•The presidential candidate
thought that the expensive
dinners given in Lee’s honor
were surprisingly boring
boring..
15
Movement
•The expensive dinners given
in Lee’s honor were
surprisingly boring.
17
Constituents
•The presidential candidate
thought that the expensive
dinners given in Lee’s honor
boring..
were surprisingly boring
14
Constituents
• Geraldine thought that the
gifts given by Scott were
wonderful..
wonderful
• The presidential candidate
thought that the expensive
dinners given in Lee’s honor
were surprisingly boring
boring..
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Movement
•Surprisingly the expensive
dinners given in Lee’s honor
were boring.
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3
Movement Movement

•Were the expensive dinners •Honor the expensive dinners

given in Lee’s honor given in Lee’s were
surprisingly boring? surprisingly boring?

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Overview What is Morphology?

1. Syntax • The study of the construction of words out

2. Morphology of morphemes.
3
3. Phonetics and Phonology – A morpheme
p is the smallest linguistic
g unit that
can have meaning or grammatical function.
4. Semantics
5. Ambiguity
6. Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules of
Grammar

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What is Morphology? Affixation - suffixes

• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious • Supercalifragilisticexpialido
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
cious
• Atro
Atrocious
cious
• Preten
Pretentious
tious
• Deli
Delicious
cious
• Sala
Salacious
cious

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4
Affixation - prefixes Inflection and derivation

• Super
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
califragilisticexpialidocious • Eat, eats, eating, ate
• Sleep, sleeps, sleeping, slept
• Super
Super--size
• Round,
Round rounder,
rounder roundest
• Super
Superlative
lative • Eat, edible, inedible
• Super
Supercede
cede • Sleep, asleep, sleepy
• Super
Superficial
ficial • Round, around, roundabout

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Word--formation processes
Word Overview

• Blending: brunch, smog, flubber 1. Syntax

• Clipping: phone, exam, dis 2. Morphology
• Compounding: basketball
basketball, blacklist 3
3. Phonetics and Phonology
• Coining: Kodak, Pepsi, Yoda 4. Semantics
• Forming acronyms: radar, scuba, AIDS, 5. Ambiguity
NASA 6. Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules of
• Semantic shift: hot, like, kosher Grammar

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What is Phonetics? What is Phonology?

• Phonetics is the study of speech sounds;
how they are produced in the vocal tract
(articulatory phonetics), their physical
properties (acoustic phonetics), and how
they are perceived (auditory phonetics).
• Phonology is the study of the sound
system of a language; how the particular
sounds contrast in each language to form
an integrated system for encoding
information and how such systems differ
from one language to another.

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5
Phonetics Phonology

• What sounds have you heard in other • How does the pronunciation of s differ in
languages that are not in English? “he talk
talkss” and “she snores
snores”?
• Exactly how do you move your articulators • What English sounds never occur at the
to pronounce the tt in butter?
butter? beginning
b i i off words?
d ?
• How can you say That looks interesting as
• What two English sounds are often
– A statement?
confused when they are heard on the
– A question?
telephone? – Ironically?

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Overview What is Semantics?

1. Syntax • The study of meaning in language

2. Morphology
3
3. Phonetics and Phonology
4. Semantics
5. Ambiguity
6. Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules of
Grammar

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Semantics Overview
• Anomalous sentences 1. Syntax
– Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. 2. Morphology
• Contradictions 3
3. Phonetics and Phonology
– The fertilizer killed the plant but it didn’t die.
• Presuppositions 4. Semantics
– Would you like another sandwich? 5. Ambiguity
• Metaphor 6. Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules of
– That class was a long haul. Grammar

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6
What is Ambiguity? Lexical Ambiguity
• The property of words or sentences of having • The crane fell over.
more than one meaning.
• That’s a good pitch.
• Words with more than one meaning are said to
b lexically
be l i ll ambiguous
bi (
(e.g., bank
b k or crane).
crane).
) • Doctor Testifies In Horse Suit
Phrases with more than one meaning because of
the structure of the phrase are said to be
syntactically ambiguous (e.g., Flying planes can
be dangerous).
dangerous).

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Syntactic Ambiguity Overview

• Susan wrote a book on a famous antique 1. Syntax

desk. 2. Morphology
– Susan wrote [[a
a book on a famous antique
q 3
3. Phonetics and Phonology
desk].
desk ].
– On a famous antique desk Susan wrote a
4. Semantics
book. 5. Ambiguity
6. Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules of
Grammar

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What is the Difference between

Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules
of Grammar?
• Descriptive grammar is the objective
description of a speaker’s knowledge of a
language (competence) based on their use
of the language (performance).
• Prescriptive grammar is a set of rules
designed to give instructions regarding the
“correct” or “proper” way to speak or
write.
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Descriptive or prescriptive?
• Never end a sentence with a preposition.
• In casual styles of speaking, people
frequently end sentences with
prepositions, but this is generally avoided
in formal styles.
• Between you and me is correct;
between you and I is ungrammatical.
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7
Summary

1. Syntax
2. Morphology
3
3. Phonetics and Phonology
4. Semantics
5. Ambiguity
6. Descriptive and Prescriptive Rules of
Grammar

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