The students will be able to know: Morphology & Syntax Learning Objectives: The students will be able to know: Transformations.

Transformational Grammar (transformational generative) grammar TG Chomsky declares that language can be explained as a system of rules, based on mathamatical principle, which can generate an infinite number of sentences within a language.

How TG works TG focuses on describing the production of a well-formed sentences, matching the inborn native speakers’ competence. To do this TG separates syntax from semantics.

According to Chomsky the grammar of language works independently from any consideration of meaning. For example: Colorless green ideas sleep furiously

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously : For example Colorless green ideas sleep furiously

In TG ,the term grammar refers to how the structure of language operates. Linguistic use the term ungrammatical to indicate that a particular element is not well-formed.

Grammatical utterances conform to the system of rules which generate well-formed structures in a language.

Languages seem to behave in patterns Languages seem to behave in patterns. If we know of structures and the rules of combing these structures, we can create new structures, in other words new phrases or sentences.

For example, all the English sentences can be represented as the symbol S. Each S consists of a noun phrase(NP)and a verb phrase(VP).This can be formalized as a rule: S → NP VP

These are called phrase structure rules or rewrite rules, represent the basic or underlying structures of the phrases in English. Based on the NP phrase structure rule we could create noun phrases such as John She

The dog(Det+N) The dog in my neighborhood(Det +N+ PP) With these simple structures we can generate infinite number of noun phrases. The same true of

Verb phrase. Examples -sleeps(V ) -eats an apple(V+NP) -eats an apple slowly (V+ NP+ Adv p) .Although phrase structure rules help us understand the basic or underlying structure of the language

To conclude, Chomsky argues that knowing the structure of the language means that a speaker of a language knows three levels of structures: -

the basic or underlying structure, called the deep structure the basic or underlying structure, called the deep structure. -the sentences appear in actual speech, called surface structure. - and the rules which connect the surface structure to its deep structure.

For example: The surface structure of the simple declarative sentence such as, The plane is leaving. The deep structure is: S NP VP

Other deep structures do not to seem follow the SVO ,these are: Passive voice Yes-no question WH question Nominalizationnominalization or nominalisation is the use of a verb, an adjective, or an adverb as a noun, or as the head of a noun phrase, with or without morphological transformation. The term can also refer specifically to the process of producing a noun from another part of speech via the addition of derivational affixes (e.g., legalize versus legalization).[1] Embedding

Ellipsis Gapping[edit] Gapping occurs in coordinate structures. Redundant material that is present in the immediately preceding clause can be "gapped". This gapped material usually contains a finite verb. Canonical cases have a true "gap" insofar as a remnant appears to the left and to the right of the elided material. John can play the guitar, and Mary can play the violin. - GappingFred took a picture of you, and Susan took a picture of me. - Gapping

Transformations The surface structures and the deep structures were connected by a set of rules called transformations. Speakers recognize the sentence structure from ordering the information contained in the sentence in order of importance.

Examples of transformations The passive voice Steve Young throws the ball to Jerry Rice. Six steps into this transformation 1.Move the (the direct )object to the subject position.

2. Move the subject to the object of a prepositional phrase beginning with the word by. 3.Insert the preposition by. 4.Insert the auxiliary verb to be before the main verb.

5.Add the tense of the auxiliary . 6.Change the main verb to its past participle form. The ball is thrown to Jerry Rice by Steve Young.

The End Best Wishes Any inquiries, questions email: f. zein @sau. edu The End Best Wishes Any inquiries, questions email: f.zein @sau.edu.sa web site:faculty.sau.edu.sa/f.zein all lectures in my website