Foreign Languages Teacher Training Faculty

Theory and Practice of Intercultural Communication

Department

Lecture 1
The Scientific Study of Human Language.
The Theory of Grammar

M.A., lecturer Pentina Yevgeniya Olegovna

1. “Language is a systematic phenomenon”- explain why. Identify roots, bases and stems of the following
nouns.
Read, reader, readable; Garden, gardener, gardening; Friend, friendship, friendly
Represent the relationship between morphemes, allomorphs and morphs using a diagram. Provide examples
and explanation.

2.Some morphemes are difficult to analyze. Distinguish the problems, explain them and give some examples.
Use resources which may help FL learners to better understand morphological analysis.

3.Dwell on this point: “Morphology is important for students to develop reading and spelling skills. We use
morphemes to convey meaning when we talk and write. We also encounter them when we read. In order for
students to make sense of what they are reading, spelling, or writing, they need to understand the structure of
words.”
Express your own opinion, give examples and prove the importance of morphological exercises.

4. Search the Internet resources about Chomsky’s and Halliday’s views of grammar. Summarize the
information from the chosen resources and give examples proving the theories.

5.Describe Otto Jespersen’s, Noam Chomsky’s and J. Bloomfield’s approaches to the morphemic structure of
English words and their CONs and PROs.
Language as a semiotic system: its functions, elements and structure.
Language is a multifaceted, complex phenomenon which can be studied and described from various points
of view:
as a social
as a psychological or phenomenon from the point of view
cognitive phenomenon of its historic changes
But first and foremost language is treated as a semiotic system (system of signs)

A system is a structured set of elements united by a common

function. Language is a system of specific interconnected and
interdependent lingual signs united by their common function of
forming, storing and exchanging ideas in the process of human
communication.
As a system, language is subdivided into three basic subsystems,
each of which is a system in its own turn. They are the
phonological, lexical and grammatical systems. The
phonological system includes: sounds, phonemes, different
intonation models, and accent models.
The lexical system includes all the nominative (naming) means
of language – words and stable word-combinations. The lexical
system is studied by lexicology. The grammatical system
includes the rules and regularities of using lingual units in the
construction of utterances in the process of human
communication. The grammatical system is described by
grammar as a branch of linguistics.
The foundations of systemic language description were formulated at the
turn of the 20th century in the works of many linguists, among them the
Russian linguists I. A. Baudoin de Courtenay, A. A. Potebnya and others.
The originator of the systemic approach in linguistics is considered to be a
Swiss scholar Ferdinand de Saussure. He was the first to divide the
phenomenon of language in general into two sides: the system of special
lingual units and the use of these units.

In other words, language in the narrow sense of the term is a system of

means of expression, while speech is the manifestation of the system of
language in the process of intercourse.
speech includes the act of
the system of language comprises
producing utterances and the
the body of lingual units and the
result of it (the utterances
rules of their use
themselves, or the text)
 Language and Speech
The system of language, includes, on the one hand, the
body of material units – sounds, morphemes, words,
word-groups; on the other hand, the regularities of rules
of the use of these units.

Speech comprises both the act of producing utterances,

and the utterances themselves, i.e. the text.

Language and speech are inseparable, they form together

an organic unity.
The main distinctions of language and speech are:

1.language is abstract while speech is concrete;

2.language is common, general for all the bearers
while speech is individual;
3.language is stable, less changeable while speech
tends to changes;
4.language is a closed system, its units are limited
while speech tends to be open and endless.
Grammar as a linguistic discipline may be practical (descriptive,
normative) or theoretical. Practical grammar describes the grammatical
system of a given language. Theoretical grammar gives a scientific
explanation of the nature and peculiarities of the grammatical system of
the language.
Interrelation of theoretical grammar to
practical one is also undisputable, but their
purposes are different:
the purpose of practical the main purpose of theoretical grammar is to
grammar is to prescribe the give a scientific description and analysis of
rules how to correct build the structure of Modern English and its
grammatical categories along with the
sentences, or the Past
purpose of giving students a deeper insight
Indefinite forms, or the plural into the mechanism, processes and tendencies
number forms, etc., in the grammatical structure of English.
 Main units of grammar are a word and a sentence
A word may be divided into morphemes, a sentence may be divided into
phrases (word- groups). A morpheme, a word, a phrase and a sentence are
units of different levels of language structure. A unit of a higher level
consists of one or more units of a lower level.
Grammatical units enter into two types of relations: in the language
system (paradigmatic relations) and in speech (syntagmatic relations).
In the language system each unit is included into a set of connections
based on different properties. For example, word forms child, children,
child’s, children’s have the same lexical meaning and have different
grammatical meanings. They constitute a lexeme.
Word-forms children, boys, men, books have the same grammatical
meaning and have different lexical meanings. They constitute a
grammeme (a categorical form, a form class).
Grammar is the language system that allows words to change their form, their order in
a sentence, and combine with other words in novel ways. This applies to both written
and spoken language.

Introduction to the Theory of Grammar makes available

to teachers and students of syntax a comprehensive
critical review of the main results of present day
grammatical theory and shows how they were achieved.

Who makes the rules of English grammar?

If we think for a moment about the origins of the English language, we can see that it has
been influenced by many other languages, including French, Latin and Greek.
However, English is classed as a Germanic language, as it was heavily influenced by Anglo-
Saxon settlers in Britain around the 5th century. This is why the syntax and grammar of
English are similar to German.
English grammar is the set of structural rules of the
English language. This includes the structure of
words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and whole texts.
The following "word classes" or "parts of speech" are
commonly distinguished in English: nouns, determiners,
pronouns,verbs, adjectives, adverbs,prepositions,and
conjunctions.Nouns form the largest word class, and
verbs the second-largest. Unlike nouns in many other
Indo-European languages, English nouns do not
have grammatical gender.
Most words belong to more than one-word class. For
example, run can serve as either a verb or a noun (these are
regarded as two different lexemes). Lexemes may be inflected
to express different grammatical categories. The
lexeme run has the forms runs, ran, runny, runner,
and running.

Words in one class can sometimes be derived from those in

another. This has the potential to give rise to new words. The
noun aerobics has recently given rise to the
adjective aerobicized.
 Traditional Grammar vs. Theoretical Grammar

traditional or theoretical grammar, in Chomsky's

pedagogical grammar is used to framework, is a scientific theory: it
teach language to children in seeks to provide a complete
'grammar school.' A pedagogical theoretical characterization of the
grammar typically provides speaker-hearer's knowledge of her
paradigms of regular constructions, language, where this knowledge is
lists of prominent exceptions to interpreted to refer to a particular
these constructions (irregular verbs, set of mental states and structures
etc.), and descriptive commentary
at various levels of detail and
generality about the form and
meaning of expressions in a
language (Chomsky)
Chomsky's Universal Grammar theory suggests
that all humans are born with an innate capacity
for language acquisition. This capacity is made
possible by the knowledge of these innate
grammatical structures and rules
For Halliday, grammar is described as systems
not as rules, on the basis that every grammatical
structure involves a choice from a describable
set of options. Language is thus a meaning
potential.

Noam Chomsky’s theory of universal grammar says that we’re all born with an innate
understanding of the way language works.

In Chomskyan tradition, grammar of a language is an account of the grammatical

competence (rather than performance) of the native speakers of that language. Grammatical
competence is defined as the native speakers’ tacit knowledge of the grammar of their
language (Chomsky, 1965). Native speakers’ grammatical competence is determined by
eliciting their intuitions about grammaticality of sentences generated in their own language
(known as grammaticality judgments) and about the interpretation of sentences (e.g.
realizing ambiguous or paraphrase forms, etc.)
Systemic Functional Grammar or Linguistics, first introduced by Michael Halliday (1985),
refers to a new approach to the study of grammar that is radically different from the
traditional view in which language is a set of rules for specifying grammatical structures. In
this view, language is a resource for making meanings and hence grammar is a resource for
creating meaning by means of wording. Halliday & Matthiessen (1999) clarify their position
as follows: