Descriptive Syntax

syntax: how words are arranged in a sentence
- all languages use arrangement to signal meaning
- there are strict, language-specific rules of arrangement
grammaticality: native speakers have an innate ability to see if a sentence is grammatical
- humans have both a Lexicon and a Grammar in their mental cognition
- universal grammar, Noam Chomsky
- Language Acquisition Device - all infants are hardwired for learning a language
- Acquisition device is hardwired with Universal Grammar
- Universal Grammar includes the parameters for all possible languages
Syntax and Semantics
- Noam Chomsky said syntax (word arrangement) is distinct from semantics (word meaning)
- rules of grammaticality can still make a sentence nonsensical
- meanings are held constant even when languages have different syntax
Word Order: natural and permissible order of core elements in a sentence (subject, object, verb)
- variations - usual order is always flexible to a certain extent
- non-canonical orders signal special emphasis or topicalization
- languages can have more than one major word order
- languages also have ‘local’ word ordering rules
- ex: prepositions come before the noun in English
Co-occurrence: when a word requires another word to occur in a sentence to complete the syntactic structure
- the elements that are required to co-occur are called arguments, or syntactic slots
- X devours Y.
- X persuades Y to Z.
- when arguments don’t appear, the sentence becomes ungrammatical
- there are syntactically obligatory elements and syntactically non-obligatory elements
- usually, subjects are obligatory
- non-obligatory elements can often be omitted syntactically
  - X eats.
  - X eats Y.
  - Adjuncts: modifying elements that add nuance but are never required for the syntax
  - time, place, manner
  - adjectives, relative clauses
- Agreement is a type of co-occurrence
- subject verb agreement
- object verb agreement
- grammatical gender