Syntax

#SYNTAX

Syntax concerns the possible arrangements of words in a language. The basic unit is the sentencewhich minimally consists of a main clause (containing at least a subject and verb).
Linguists distinguish between deep structure — the level on which the unambiguous semantic
structure of a sentence is represented — and surface structure — the actual form of a sentence.
Sentence structure is normally displayed by means of a tree diagram (the so-called ‘phrase
structure’) and by a system of re-write rules one can move from an initial unit (the entire
sentence) to the individual elements (a so-called ‘terminal string’).
The term generation is used in linguistics to describe exhaustively the structure of sentences.
Whether it also refers to the manner in which speakers actually produce sentences, from the
moment of conceiving an idea to saying a sentence, has not been finally clarified yet.�

A transformation is a change in form between the deep and the surface surface and maintains the
relatedness of semantically similar sentences such as active and passive ones.
Generative grammar can be divided into three main periods. An early one dating from Chomsky
(1957), a central one which was initiated by Chomsky (1965) and a more recent one which
reached its maturity in the 1980’s with the development of the government and binding model.
Universal grammar represents an attempt to specify what structural elements are present in alllanguages, i.e. what is the common core, and to derive means for describing these adequately.
Language would appear to be organised modularly. Thus syntax is basically independent ofphonology for instance, though there is an interface between these two levels of language.The purpose of analysing the internal structure of sentences is
1) to reveal the hierarchy in the ordering of elements
2) to explain how surface ambiguities come about
3) to demonstrate the relatedness of certain sentences