Traditional Linguistics
8 classifications/parts of speech
Deals with/emphasizes written English
Is prescriptive (“prescribes”/tells the
correct way of speaking) *clear rules*
● Auxiliaries are classified as verbs
● Determiners are classified as
adjectives
● Interrogatives overlap with pronouns
& adverbs
● Primarily concerned with
morphology (relationship of one part
of a word to another part of a word)
& syntax (relationships among
words; the way words make patterns
to form sentences)
● Traditional functional grammar is
essential to clear writing. The reader
is absent & cannot ask the writer to
clarify the ideas; must be clear to be
understood.
● Doesn’t let you write like you talk.
● Doesn’t let you end a sentence in a
preposition.
● Doesn’t let you start a sentence with
“And.”
● The 8 parts of speech:
○ Nouns
○ Verbs
○ Adjectives
○ Adverbs
○ Pronoun
○ Interjection
○ Preposition
○ Conjunction
Structural (functional) Linguistics
12 morphological classifications
Deals with/emphasizes spoken English
Is descriptive (describes the way people
talk)
● The analysis begins with word forms
& works back toward meaning
● Makes generalizations about English
rather than formulates specific rules
(may view tradition grammar as
having “archaic” rules)
● Emphasis placed on grammatical
meaning rather than semantic
● Define word class according to
syntax (relationships among words;
the way words make patterns to
form sentences) & morphology
(relationship of one part of a word to
another part of a word)
● Also, concerned with the study of
sounds
● Emphasis on phonemes, stress,
pitch, & juncture (pauses)
● Shares same names with Traditional
Linguistics for
○ Nouns
○ Verbs
○ Adjectives
○ Adverbs
● Other 8 are called function words
○ Auxiliares
○ Prepositions
○ Determiners
○ Conjunctions
○ Pronouns
○ Interrogatives
○ Intensives
○ “Empty” words