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English Structures
Ungrammatical
Grammatical but Nonstandard
Grammatical but Nonstandard
(in some regions may be considered ungrammatical)
Grammatical and Standard
Grammatical with Nonstandard Vocabulary
Grammatical and Standard
Ungrammatical
Syntax
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Review and Introduction
We have now looked at three of the six subdivisions of linguistics. Phonetics and phonology both deal with the study of speech sounds but in different ways. Phonetics looks at the speech sounds themselves. Phonology looks at the rules that govern how the sounds combine together. Morphology is the study of how words are formed. Where phonetics and phonology can best be seen as issues of teaching pronunciation in an ESL classroom, morphology is best seen as the issue of teaching vocabulary in an ESL classroom.
This lesson will move on to look at another of the six divisions of linguistics: syntax. Syntax is the study of sentence formation, or the rules for combining words together into phrases, clauses, and sentences.
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Defining Syntax
Syntax is one of the major subdivisions of linguistics:
| Communication |
Linguistic |
Paralinguistic |
Extralinguistic |
Phonetics |
Laughing |
Haptics |
Phonology |
Crying |
Proxemics |
Morphology |
Sighing |
Kinesics |
Syntax |
Pausing |
Facial
Expressions |
Semantics |
Pragmatics |
More specifically, syntax can be defined as the study of sentence formation. It is concerned with the rules by which words of a language are combined together into groups that make sentences.
Try to recall some rules you may have learned from previous writing courses.
Are either of the following rules ones you are familiar with?
- Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.
- Don’t split infinitives
So, have you heard the rule that you shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition? And if so, did you notice the question in bold just before the rule? That question ends with a preposition. If not ending a sentence with a preposition is a rule of English, then why don't native speakers of English generally notice that there is a mistake?
If people who speak the language can't tell if there is a mistake, is there really a mistake?
Perhaps we need a different way of judging whether a sentence is formed properly or not. Linguists have done just exactly that and have identified two different sets of rules that seem to be use, and these two sets then result in two different levels of correctness in language. |
Descriptive v. Prescriptive Rules
- Some rules describe what
native speakers actually do (tell what their language is like)
- Other rules prescribe what all users of the language should do, whether it is what native speakers actually do or not
Linguistics is more concerned with the first issue--describing how native speakers actually use their language--rather than with the second. Formal English classes for native speakers are more concerned with the second--identifying the best forms of sentences to use--than with the first. Teachers of ESL are concerned with both.
The set of rules that simply describe what native speakers do result in grammatical forms of language. That is, if someone follows this set of rules, he/she will sound like a native speaker of the language. The set of rules that prescribe the best forms of the language to use will result in standard forms of the lanaguage. If a speaker follows this set of rules, he/she will sound like a well-educated, highly literate native speaker of the language.
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The image below depicts the relationships between the grammatical and standard levels of language. Definitions of each level are included.
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Definitions:
- Grammatical Language: Language
that may be produced by and accepted as normal by native speakers.
- Ungrammatical Language: Language
that is unlikely to be produced by or accepted as normal by native
speakers.
- Standard Language: Language that
is deemed appropriate to formal, written, public discourse.
- Nonstandard Language: Language that
is used in discourse situations that are informal, spoken, or
limited in scope (family, friends, regional, ethnic group).
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Activity: Identifying Grammatical & Standard Language |
What sort of language is used in the following examples? |
If it's ungrammatical, then it is always nonstandard. If it's grammatical,
then select Standard or Nonstandard. |
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Now compare your answers with the correct ones under the
links below.
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[1] |
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[2] |
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[3] |
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[4] |
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[5] |
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[6] |
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[7] |
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The typical marking used to indicate an ungrammatical statement is to
place an asterisk in front of the sentence, as in this example:
*No go airport tomorrow. |
It is also possible to have a grammatical
sentence that has no meaning--it would be nonsensical--such as:
Big little feet ate these stones during the yard.
This sentence follows the rules for sentence formation--and that is the focus of syntax, after all. Native speakers of English have great fun playing with nonsensical but grammatical language. |
| Here is a well known, grammatical,
but nonsensical work. Jabberwocky |
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| Continue to Part 2 |
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American Sign Language The sign language used by the deaf community in the United States.
Test of English for International Communication. A standardized exam for Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English to conduct business. It is used by some businesses, predominantly in Asia, in hiring.
Test of English as a Foreign Language. A standardized exam from Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English as the language of insruction .It is used as an admissions requirement by most US universities and colleges for international students.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. A term that encompasses both TEFL and TESL. It is the name of the professional organization to which many teachers belong. TESOL the organization has many regional affiliates both in the US and abroad.
Teaching English as Second Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as a tool necessary for some daily task like instruction, shopping, or interpersonal interactions.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as an intellectual, academic pursuit to non-native speakers of English.
Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who acquired English in infancy and young childhood as a first language.
Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a language is that it was encountered in infancy and young childhood as the dominant language of the environment.
Non-Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who didn't acquire English as a first language, but came to it after another language was established.
Non-Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a particular language is that he/she didn't encounter it while initially acquiring language, but came to it after another language was established.
Limited English Proficient. An adjectival phrase used to refer to the same students as ELL refers to. LEP is falling into disuse as it focuses attention on student deficiency rather than on the positive attribute of learning. Is being replaced by ELL.
Second Language. Refers to any language gained subsequent to the first or native language. It is acquired or learned secondarily to the native language. Doesn't refer to the ordinal numbering of languages, only to the relationship of a particular language to a persons native language.
First Language. Refers to the language that an individual encounters as an infant and young child; a persons native language.
English for Specific Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it for highly focused activity, such as for business or for aviation communication.
English as a Second Language Program. refers to a school program that is purposefully structured to provide instruction on the English language to NNSEs. An ESL program does not typically include instruction in any other subjects than English. An ESL program may be a component of a larger ELL program at a school.
English as a Second Language. Refers to the subject matter of the English language and the methodology for teaching the English language to non-native speakers. ESL makes no reference to the subjects other than English, but it is not methodology alone either, it refers to teaching the English language as content area. Typically, ESL refers to the study of English in a country where it is used for at least one daily task, such as instruction, interpersonal relations, or shopping.
English Langauge Learner Program. Refers to a school program that is purposly structured to provide instruction on the English language and instruction in other content areas to English Language Learners.
English Language Learner. Refers to students who are in the process of learning English, whether they are in ESL classes exclusively or a combination of ESL classes and other subject area classes.
English as a Foreign Langauge. Refers to the study of English as an intellectual, academic pursuit, not a a language whose use is necessary or desirable for daily life, although it may be used as a research tool. Typically, EFL is the study of English in a country where English is not a language of instruction or daily interactions, such as in Italy or in Saudi Arabia.
English for Academic Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it as the language of instruction for other subject areas.
Refers to a school program that is purposely structured so that students will use two languages on a daily basis.
Refers to the use of two languages in any capacity on a daily basis. A bilingual person uses two languages on a daily basis--for work and at home, perhaps, or for different subjects at school. Can also refer to the ability to use two languages, even if not used daily.