Introduction to Linguistics - Syntax 1

LING 1000 Introduction to Linguistics - Syntax

Week 9 Lecture (November 10, 2025)

Announcements
  • Test Results: Test 1 results are posted. Access is through eClass and Crowdmark.
  • Assignment 2: Will be posted today, due by Wednesday, November 19. Submission through Crowdmark; instructions included with the assignment.
  • Homework 7: Will also be posted today, due next Monday, November 17.
  • Reminders: Check homework answers against answer keys on eClass, and ask questions in tutorials.
  • Tutorial Change: TutO2 relocated to Ross NII9 today only.
Roadmap
  • What is syntax?
  • Syntactic categories and identification methods.
  • Phrase structure.
  • Sentences.
  • Tests for phrase structure.
What is Syntax?
  • Definition: Syntax is the component of grammar that deals with the form of grammatical sentences.
    • A grammatical sentence: judged by native speakers to be a possible sentence in their language.
    • An ungrammatical sentence: judged not to be a possible sentence in their language.
  • Examples:
    1. Ungrammatical: *House painted student a the.
    2. Grammatical: A student painted the house.
  • The study of syntax seeks to explain the rules governing which sentences are grammatical.
  • Key Insight: The study of syntax transcends the linear order of words by examining hierarchical organization.
  • Goals include creating a system of rules that generates grammatical sentences, referred to as generative grammar.
Syntactic Categories
  • Categories of Words: Words are categorized into types, including:
    • Lexical Categories: Nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions.
    • Functional Categories: Structural roles in sentences.
  • Universal Categories: Formal syntax posits that all human languages can categorize words into a small number of universal syntactic categories.
  • Classification Criteria:
    • Type of meaning expressed.
    • Types of affixes attached.
    • Structures in which the words appear.
Lexical Categories
  • Definition: Content words that contribute essential meaning to sentences.
  • Examples of Lexical Categories:
    • Noun (N): Harry, boy, wheat, policy, moisture, bravery.
    • Verb (V): arrive, discuss, melt, hear, remain, dislike.
    • Adjective (A): good, tall, old, intelligent, beautiful, fond.
    • Preposition (P): to, in, on, near, at, by.
    • Adverb (Adv): slowly, quietly, now, always, perhaps.
Non-Lexical or Functional Categories
  • Definition: Words whose meaning is based primarily on function rather than content.
  • Examples of Non-Lexical Categories:
    • Determiner (Det): the, a, this, these, no.
    • Degree word (Deg): too, so, very, more, quite.
    • Auxiliary (Aux): Modal (will, would, can), Non-modal (be, have, do).
    • Conjunction (Conj): and, or, but.
Multiple Category Membership
  • Certain words can belong to more than one category.
  • Examples of a Single Word in Multiple Categories:
    • Comb: Noun in "The woman found a comb."
    • Meaning: An entity.
    • Comb: Verb in "The boy should comb his hair."
    • Meaning: An action.
  • Determining a Word's Category: Based on three criteria:
    1. Meaning
    2. Inflection
    3. Distribution
Meaning
  • Words of the same category typically share meanings:
    • Nouns: Refer to people and things (e.g., citizen, tree).
    • Verbs: Denote actions and states (e.g., depart, teach).
    • Adjectives: Refer to properties (e.g., nice, tall).
    • Prepositions: Indicate spatial relations (e.g., in, near).
    • Adverbs: Describe properties of verbs (e.g., quickly).
  • Caution: Some words defy straightforward categorization:
    • Nouns like difficulty, truth do not always name entities.
  • Examples of Similar Meanings in Different Categories:
    • "Like" (verb) in "Mice like cheese."
    • "Fond" (adjective) in "Mice are fond of cheese."
Inflection
  • Different categories take specific inflectional affixes:
    • Nouns: Plural -s (e.g., books), possessive -s.
    • Verbs: Past tense -ed, third person singular -s.
    • Adjectives: Comparative -er, superlative -est.
  • Irregular Cases:
    • Irregular plurals (teeth, not tooths).
    • Some nouns can't be pluralized (moisture, bravery).
    • Irregular past tense forms (went, not goed).
Distribution
  • The term refers to the types of words with which a particular word can co-occur.
  • This criterion is often the most reliable for identifying a word's category.
  • Distribution Properties:
    • Nouns: Co-occur with determiners (e.g., a car).
    • Verbs: Co-occur with auxiliaries (e.g., has gone).
    • Adjectives: Co-occur with degree words (e.g., very rich).
  • Failure of Non-Constituents: Attempting to combine words of different categories results in ungrammatical phrases (e.g., *will destruction).
Phrase Structure
  • Sentence structure is hierarchical, consisting of groups of words forming phrases.
  • X’ Schema: The basic structure for all phrases shows how words are combined to create grammatical units.
    • X’ Schema Structure: XP ├─ Specifier └─ X’ └─ Complement(s) └─ Head (X)
  • Importance of Heads: Each phrase's core meaning is given by its head which can be a noun, verb, adjective, or preposition.
  • Examples of Head Formation:
    • In compound structures or phrases, only lexical categories serve as heads.
Specifiers
  • Specifiers precede the head in a phrase, contributing information about it.
  • Examples:
    • Noun Phrase (NP): Determiner (e.g., a picture).
    • Verb Phrase (VP): Preverbal adverb (e.g., never quit).
    • Adjective Phrase (AP): Degree word (e.g., very smart).
    • Prepositional Phrase (PP): Indicating placement (e.g., in a box).
  • Specifiers help in forming two-word phrases.
Tree Structures
  • Drawing syntactic tree structures similar to morphology involves:
    1. Identifying the syntactic category of each word.
    2. Words of lexical categories (except adverbs) form phrases where the head is the lexical category.
    3. Specifiers attach to the left in the phrase.
Complements
  • Complements provide additional information about the head and attach to the right in the phrase.
  • Identifying Complements: They are phrases that attach to the head's right, fulfilling specific information needs.
  • Examples: "protect the environment," "in the house."
Drawing Tree Structures with Complements
  • Process for phrases with heads and complements requires systematic structure drawing from right to left based on syntactic role.
  • Examples include:
    • "eat candy": NP (head) + VP (complement).
    • "quite fond of wine": AP (specifier + head + complement).
Larger Phrases and Recursion
  • Phrases merge to form complex sentences, showcasing the recursive property of syntax.
  • Recursion: The ability to produce an infinite variety of grammatical sentences.
  • Examples: Children’s songs building phrases recursively (e.g., detailing objects and actions).
Sentence Structure and Components
  • Sentences comprise merged phrases: typically an NP (subject) and a VP (verb + potential object).
  • Example: "The dogs chased the cats."
  • In syntactic structure, NP and VP are linked by Tense Phrase (TP), which reflects tense data.
  • Tense Representation: Represented as [+Pst] for past or [-Pst] for present or future.
Drawing Tree Structures for Sentences
  • Process involves sketching structures from right to left. E.g., for "The hikers found the shortcut":
    1. Identify NP (subject) and VP (action).
    2. Incorporate tense in TP to form comprehensive structure.
Constituency Tests for Phrase Structure
  • Naming Constituents: Phrases are identified by specific tests.
  • Types of Tests:
    1. Substitution Test: Replacing phrases with pronouns or single words to check grammaticality. E.g., "The children will stop at the corner." --> "They will stop at the corner."
    2. Movement Test: Relocating units to the front for grammatical coherence. E.g., "The children stopped at the corner." --> "At the corner, the children stopped."
    3. Coordination Test: Joining syntactic units with conjunctions to verify consistency. E.g., "The children stopped at the store and looked both ways."
Summary of Key Concepts
  • Syntax remains fundamental to understanding grammatical sentence structure.
  • Words fit into categories influencing their role in phrases and sentences.
  • Recursive properties of phrases enhance language's expressiveness, allowing for complex grammatical sentences through hierarchical structure and rules.