Thesis Paragraph
Lecture Two
The nature of the rules
- the underlying patterns (rules) of language are not obvious
- we have unconscious knowledge of patterns and rules of our own language
If a linguist identifies a sentence as "grammatical" this means that the sentence conforms to the hypothesized rules of the mental grammar
When a linguist uses the word "Grammar" they mean: mental grammar: is in our (individual) heads - shared by speakers if a language, with some variation,= linguistic competence
- a model of this grammar is called descriptive grammar - just describes what people say and don't say
Variation and Grammatically
Ex: He might could go.
Is this grammatical?
If a native speaker would say/understand this sentence then it is considered correct
Dialects
- there is no one single grammar of English
- it is only possible to model a dialect of English
- any dialect/language that anyone speaks natively is relevant for study
- linguistics analysis shows that no dialect is more logical or systematic that another: all dialects have their own patterns
Mental Grammar
Claim: mental grammar contains a system of rules
- system of rules that is stored in the mind of a speakers that generates the words and sentences of that speakers language
Rules vs. memorizing or storing list of possible sentences < (alternative for saying "rules")
- Overall: sentences are generated using rules and are not stored
Productivity: we can produce/understand potentially infinitely long sentences
Ex: a numbskull is not a numeral rule: an x is not a y
----- + rules = words/sentences
Collecting Data (to build a model) - relying on what speakers say = our data
Data for the linguist:
Judgements vs. natural speech
Date = speakers' judgements about grammatical and ungrammatical forms (sentences)
Competence vs. Performance
When might performance not perfectly mirror competence? They aren't always the same because people make mistakes while speaking, like they
The nature of the rules
- the underlying patterns (rules) of language are not obvious
- we have unconscious knowledge of patterns and rules of our own language
If a linguist identifies a sentence as "grammatical" this means that the sentence conforms to the hypothesized rules of the mental grammar
When a linguist uses the word "Grammar" they mean: mental grammar: is in our (individual) heads - shared by speakers if a language, with some variation,= linguistic competence
- a model of this grammar is called descriptive grammar - just describes what people say and don't say
Variation and Grammatically
Ex: He might could go.
Is this grammatical?
If a native speaker would say/understand this sentence then it is considered correct
Dialects
- there is no one single grammar of English
- it is only possible to model a dialect of English
- any dialect/language that anyone speaks natively is relevant for study
- linguistics analysis shows that no dialect is more logical or systematic that another: all dialects have their own patterns
Mental Grammar
Claim: mental grammar contains a system of rules
- system of rules that is stored in the mind of a speakers that generates the words and sentences of that speakers language
Rules vs. memorizing or storing list of possible sentences < (alternative for saying "rules")
- Overall: sentences are generated using rules and are not stored
Productivity: we can produce/understand potentially infinitely long sentences
Ex: a numbskull is not a numeral rule: an x is not a y
----- + rules = words/sentences
Collecting Data (to build a model) - relying on what speakers say = our data
Data for the linguist:
Judgements vs. natural speech
Date = speakers' judgements about grammatical and ungrammatical forms (sentences)
Competence vs. Performance
When might performance not perfectly mirror competence? They aren't always the same because people make mistakes while speaking, like they