1、 TG grammarBackground about TG grammar In the late 1950s, Noam Chomsky founded a new theory in America and gave violent impact on the structuralist descriptive linguistics. He tried to open up a route when he found that the classification of structural elements of language according to distribution

2、and substitution had its limitations. From this practice Chomsky gradually established the well-known TG grammar.Noam Chomsky： He is an American linguist. Sometimes described as the father of modern linguistics.Chomskys contribution: Innateness Hypothesis,Universal Grammar and Particular Grammar,Com

3、petence and Performence, Deep structure and Surface structureWhat is TG Grammar? TG grammar, first put forward by American linguist Noam Chomsky in the 1950s, is a reaction to traditional and structuralist linguistics. Different from the structuralism based on behaviorism in psychology, Chomsky argu

4、es for a mentalist approach to study language. In his school, the word grammar is given a special significance. Grammar, in Chomskyan sense, refers to ones innate competence of language. The main focus then was to account for the creativity of human language. One of his famous tenets is human beings

5、 have the ability to create and understand an infinite number of sentences with a finite set of rules. The new theory seemed to work well in explaining some of the sentences such as embedded structures, active v. passive structures etc.Main features of TG grammar: 1.Rationalism 2.Innateness 3.Deduct

6、ive methodology 4.Emphasis on interpretation 5.Formalization 6.Emphasis on linguistic competence 7.Strong generative powers 8.Emphasis on linguistic universalsTwo Aspects of TG Grammar Surface Structure: The structure of sentence as it is actually produced or understood, the syntactic structure of s

7、entence which a person speaks, hears, reads or writes. Deep Structure: The deep structure is much more abstract and is considered to be in the speakers, hearers, writers or readers mind.Competence and performance Competence - the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language. Performance - the

8、actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.Five Stages of TG Grammar 1The classical theory (1955-1965)：aims to make linguistics a science. 2The stand

9、ard theory (1965-1970)：deals with how semantics should be studied in a linguistic theory. 3 The extended standard theory (1970-1980)：focuses discussion on language universals and universal grammar. 4The revised extended standard theory (GB) (1980-1992)：focuses discussion on government and binding. 5

10、The minimalist program theory(1992-)：a further revision of the previous theory.Language acquisition device This is a key concept in innatist views of language learning which postulate that all people are born with some knowledge of language. LAD, or called as UG subsequently, is an inborn capacity f

11、or any kind of language. However, this should not be taken as that we are born with knowledge of the particular rules of our own language, but rather LAD/UG consists of general or universal principles of all languages. This innate knowledge allows us to select a particular language based on a few in

12、stances of input and produce very complex output that we he have never encountered before. Chomskys innateness hypothesis is based on his observations that some important facts can never be otherwise explained adequately. 1. Chomsky noticed that children learn their native language very fast and wit

13、h little effort. Considering the fact that the small children are not yet intellectually mature in any other fields, this is surprisingly fast. The first language acquisition invariably takes place without formal, explicit instruction: the input is degenerate data, but the output is a perfect langua

14、ge system. 2. Children in the world learn their mother tongue in very different environments, however, they follow more or less the same stages in their linguistic development: babbling stage, nonsense word stage, holophrastic stage, two-word stage, developing grammar, near-adult grammar and full co

15、mpetence. 3. During the limited period of time, from limited exposure to speech, the child learns the total grammar of the language. He can not only produce and understand not only sentences he has heard but also the sentences he has never heard before. What he learns seems to be a set of rules rath

16、er than individual sentences.Differences between structual grammar and TG grammar. First, Bloomfield defines language as a set of utterances and a set of “l(fā)exical and grammatical habits” Chomsky defines the language as a set of rules or principles. Secondly, the two grammars have different aims in l

17、inguistics. For Structural Grammar the aim of linguistics is to describe one or set of languages, such description is often evaluated in terms of the use to which it is going to be put. For Chomsky, the aim of linguistics is to produce generative grammar which captures the tacit knowledge of the nat

18、ive speaker of his language. Thirdly, the two grammars make use of different type of data in their analysis. The structralists only make use of naturally occurring utterances, observed and observable. They are not allowed to consult the informant whether a sentence is grammatical or not. In contrast

19、, Chomsky and his followers are interested in any data that can reveal the native speakers tacit knowledge. They seldom use what native speakers actually say; they rely on their own intuition. Fourthly, the two grammarians employ different methods. The structuralists methodology is essentially inductive. Bloomfield said, “the only useful generaliz