3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax OBJECTIVES You will understand: 1. Phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax, the sub-fields of linguistics that focus on the form of linguistic features. 2. How linguists have approached the study of grammar. You will be able to: 1. Apply your general understanding of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and approaches to grammar to your language teaching.

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax We can think of each of the sub-fields of form as building blocks. Phonetics deals exclusively with how to make sounds, and phonology deals with which sounds are considered part of a language/which sounds go together in that language. Morphology takes those sounds and puts them together to create words, and syntax takes the words and puts them together to create sentences. In each of these subfields the focus is on how to make the sounds, words and sentences correctly (form), rather than the meanings themselves.

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax Phonetics is the study of how sound is physically produced and perceived. Phonetics focuses on describing how sounds are made and classifying/grouping the sounds for comparison. Phonetics is mechanical; the focus is on how human beings physically make and receive sound. Phonology is the study of the sounds in a language that distinguish meaning for the speakers of that language – the “sound system”. Where phonetics looks at all possible human sounds, phonology looks not only at the finite set of sounds that are used within a particular language, but also how those sounds can or cannot be put together within words.

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax Morphology is the study of internal structures of words and how they can be changed so that the word can fill different slots or roles within a sentence. Syntax is the study of how words are put together to form grammatically correct sentences. Each language has a set of rules that govern how sentences are constructed, what order the words go in, and what order the words DON’T go in.

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax What is Grammar? Grammar is the system of rules and patterns that result from morphology and syntax acting together—the selection of the appropriate words, put in the appropriate order, to form a correct sentence or question.

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax STRUCTURAL LINGUISTICS VERSUS GENERATIVE LINGUISTICS There are two main schools of thought about how to best analyze and describe the grammar of a language: structural linguistics and generative linguistics.   Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure was influential in developing structural linguistics as a scientific way to study language in the early twentieth century. Structural linguistics can also be called ‘structuralism’, and gathers vast collections of utterances in a language. These “corpuses” are then analyzed so that sentence elements can be classified and the arrangement of sentence constituents can be determined. Structuralism uses various methods to illustrate the arrangement of words in sentences, including slot-filling, diagrams, brackets and labels. One of the limitations of Structuralism results from its reliance on language corpuses; this method does not account for all possible sentences that can be created in a language.

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax Saussure introduced the key terms synchronic and diachronic approach. A synchronic approach studies language at one particular point in time, and would be used, for example, to study word order in modern English. Synchronic linguistics does not consider how language has evolved over time. A diachronic approach, on the other hand, looks at language over a period of time in order to make comparisons, and would be used, for example, to study the development of English pronoun usage. This is a more historical approach to studying language.

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax  The Generative Approach - Surface and Deep Sentence Structure The generative approach to linguistics makes a distinction between deep and surface sentence structure. Surface structure is the visible syntax of a sentence. For instance, the following active and passive sentences have different surface structures: Charlie broke the window. The window was broken by Charlie. Beyond the surface, the basic components of these sentences are actually very similar. The ‘doer’ of the action is Charlie in both sentences. This underlying level is referred to as deep structure. These sentences have different surface structure but the same deep structure.  

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax Can one surface structure have two different deep structures? Consider the following: Annie whacked the man with an umbrella. Who was holding the umbrella? With more than one interpretation, the above sentence is considered ambiguous, (Yule, p. 103).  

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax Other examples: Conan discussed sex with Dr. Ruth. Prostitutes appeal to the Pope. They are cooking apples. Visiting relatives can be a pain.  

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax TREE DIAGRAMS Generative linguistics represents sentence structure and similarities/differences in deep and surface structures through the use of tree diagrams. Syntactic categories are used to label these diagrams. These syntactic categories include: • Sentence (S) • Noun Phrase (NP) • Verb Phrase (VP) • Determiner (Det) • Noun (N) • Verb (V) • Adjective (Adj) • Adverb (Adv) • Prepositional Phrase (PP) These diagrams help to illustrate which syntactical combinations are acceptable and which combinations of items can be used to create utterances.  

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax How can knowledge of the sub-fields of linguistics, (especially syntax and morphology) impact your effectiveness as a language teacher?

3.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax Complete Task Journal question 2 in class. Task Journal question 1 can be submitted via email to paula@llinstitute.com (preferred) or printed and handed in.