Synthese Linguistique anglaise PDF

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BAC2 INTER-TRAD 2015-2016

INTRODUCTION TOPIC OF THE COURSE: Introduction to English linguistics and its grammar on different levels (focus on NP and VP); theoretical-descriptive:  Main terminological apparatus and grammatical system of the NP  determination, categorization, modification, instantiation.  Main terminological apparatus and grammatical system of the VP  Transitivity/valency, tense, aspect, modality, voice.

MATERIAL FOR THE COURSE:  

course notes (available online via eCampus this week); PowerPoint in class (available via eCampus after class; http://www.ecampus.ulg.ac.be/).

INFORMATION ABOUT THE COURSE:  

 

Two hours per week in the first semester. Written exam in January: recognize and discuss concrete instances of the categories studied in class, such as postdeterminer, classifier adjectives, indefinite perfect, in excerpts of real English. A sample exam will be made available via eCampus. Contact: [email protected] - office 6/17 - office hours: Tuesday14.00 - 15.30 o‘clock (from 29 September onwards) !!! By appointment !!!

INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS: He says the same bloody stupid thing every time!  Adjectives? Can you switch the order of same and bloody? Do they do the same thing? How do they modify thing? Can you say very same/bloody/stupid? Can you say “The thing is same/bloody/stupid”? What about bloody in “After he killed her, he tried to wash his bloody hands and get rid of his bloodstained shirt”? What is the difference between:  She works hard to pay off her debts.  She has to work hard to pay off her debts.  She must have worked hard to pay off her debts. Information presented is based on the study of authentic real examples (i.e. corpus-based) from a large database, e.g. extraction from Wordbanks Online corpus on bunch of + noun.

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BAC2 INTER-TRAD 2015-2016 The methodology is corpus-based or usage-based, descriptive, discourse perspective, functional: Grammar can be considered a system of choices available to the language user as he/she communicates a particular message. Depending on the specific context (i.e. situation, register, genre, region) speakers may make different choices, e.g. express quantity by means of many/much or loads of, or refer to a future event by means of a semi-modal ( I am going to work late), a present tense ( I am working late), or a future modal (I will work late). We will focus on primary functional distinctions such as classifier vs. qualitative adjectives, deontic versus epistemic modality, and internal versus external negation. Information on frequency, register/genre (conversation, fiction, news, academic prose), dialects, standard/vernacular forms, information structure, speakers' attitudes etc. of constructions. Attention to language variation/ambiguities/change, the functions of language and a probabilistic approach to grammar Lexico-grammatical approach: interaction lexis and grammar (knowledge of word= knowledge of patterns it occurs in)  utterly miserable/ruthless: frequent co-occurrence of words (i.e. collocation)  think/say/know + that-clause vs. want/like/seem + to-clause (i.e. colligation)

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BAC2 INTER-TRAD 2015-2016

CHAPTER I - THE GRAMMATICAL RANK SCALE 1.0. INTRODUCTION - BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE CONTENTS OF THE ENTIRE COURSE: . Grammatical units come in different shapes and sizes: how to identify them in order to then study their internal structure and their usage? What is an adjective or a noun? Which kinds are there?  Grammatical units are meaningful elements with a particular formal outlook, which can combine in (larger) structural patterns (cf. Chinese box arrangement). We will refer to this as the rank scale. The units (morpheme, word, phrase, clause, and sentence) form a system of choices available to a language user and dependent on the context of a particular speech event

1.1. THE MAIN ENVIRONMENTS FOR GRAMMATICAL PATTERNING: . Sentence: If I wash up all this stuff somebody else can dry it. Clauses: If I wash up all this stuff | somebody else can dry it. Phrases:

SYNTAX

If |I |wash up |all this stuff |somebody else |can dry |it. Words: If |I |wash| up |all |this |stuff |somebody| else |can |dry |it. Morphemes (smallest grammatically significant unit):

MORPHOLOGY If |I |wash |up |all |this |stuff |some|body| else |can |dry |it.  Main focus will be on the grammar of the phrase and clause. 1.1.1. MORPHEMES: Morphemes are the smallest grammatically significant units (e.g. /s/ meaning plural - /less/ meaning without). They can display in different shapes called allomorphs, depending on the environment within the word (e.g. /iz/ - /s/ - /z/). They can be classified in several dimensions:  Bound (one that must appear with another morpheme, e.g. -s in cats) or potentially free (one that may constitute a word by itself, e.g. cat).  Can be divided into roots/stems and affixes. 3 major positional classes: prefix (e.g. -re, -de), infix (e.g. abso-bloomin’-lutely) and suffix (e.g. -ing, -ed). - Inflexion: add of an affix witout creating a new word (and without change of the grammatical category), e.g. cat, cats. - Derivation: add of an affix to create a new word (often with change of the grammatical category), e.g. love, lovely, loveliness. 1.1.2. THE WORD

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BAC2 INTER-TRAD 2015-2016 Words are the smallest independent units of grammar. /!\ compound nous like town hall are grammatically considered as ONE word (because inseparable *a town dark hall). There are 9 word classes: noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, article, interjection. The classification of words is on the basis of substitutability (He came before tea vs. He came after tea > prepositions). Word classes can be open (one that commonly accepts the addition of new words = nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, e.g. Internet, website, URL,… ) or closed (one to which new items are very rarely added = pronouns, determiners, auxiliaries, prepositions, conjunctions, e.g. I, you, he/she/it,…). 1.1.3. THE PHRASE Phrases are combinations of words (at least one) displaying specific structural relations. 5 types: 1. Noun phrase: the head is a noun or a pronoun, e.g. A (premodifier) pack (head) of cards (postmodifier). 2. Verb phrase: the head is a finite (= conjugated) verb, e.g. Does (head) that machine work? 3. Adjectival phrase: the head is an adjective, e.g. very (premodifier) wise (head). 4. Adverbial phrase: the head is an adverb, e.g. more (modifier) easily (head). 5. Prepositional phrase: the head is a preposition, e.g. in front of (head) the house. 1.1.4 THE CLAUSE Clauses are the units of grammatical structures which has a verb as its conceptual head. They are finite (with a conjugated verb) or non-finite (no conjugated word). They can be classified on: 1. Transitivity: intransitive (S + V), copular (S + V + C to the S), monotransitive (S + V + Direct Object), ditransitive (S + V + Indirect Object + DO) and complextransitive (S + V + DO + C to the O). 2. Speech function: declarative, interrogative (?), imperative, exclamative (!). 1.1.5. THE SENTENCE They can be simple (one clause) or complex (more than one clause). The clauses are linked in:  Co-ordination: linking of clauses of equal status, both elements can exist on their own, e.g. John came in and Fred waited outside.  Subordination: linking of clauses of unequal status, both element cannot exist on their own (one is dominant and the other is dependent) e.g. I wouldn’t know you again if we did meet. The dependent clause can be non-finite.

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CHAPTER II - THE NOUN PHRASE 2.0. INTRODUCTION: . 2.0.1. THE PHRASE: The phrase is a combination of words - sometimes only one word - displaying specific structural + semantic relations (typically head-modifier relation), e.g. a nice day; very large. Profile of the phrase is dependent on the word class of the head: noun, adjective, verb, prepositional, adverb phrases. Phrases differ in terms of internal structure and function in larger grammatical units: different functions in a clause for noun phrases (diligent students; the exam) and verb phrases (will pass) for instance in [Diligent students] [will pass] [the exam] subject verb direct object 2.0.2. IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: LEXICAL (OPEN) VS. FUNCTION (CLOSED) WORD CLASSES

Lexical/content words:

Function words

 Have a lexical meaning (carry information about a state of affairs): train, sad, to skateboard, strangely.  Subdivided into word classes: nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives and adverbs.  Are typically the head of phrases (determine the profile of a phrase).  Open word classes: new members of these classes may emerge (e.g. new lexical verbs such as to text, to phish; new nouns such as Belieber, divorcee/gossipee; new adjectives such as smallish, broadish, i.e. neologisms via lexicalization)

 Have a more abstract grammatical meaning or auxiliary function: from, will, the, she.  Subdivided into word classes: preposition, auxiliary verbs, determiners, pronouns.  Typically closed class (or at least less open): smaller and rather fixed paradigms (but new quantifiers such as heaps/bunch/loads of through grammaticalization, or conversion of original verb regarding into preposition function).

2.0.3. TEST FOR PHRASAL STATUS The group of words act as a unit. • criterion of 'substitutability in identical structural slots' (paradigmatic): [The members of that family] [prefer] [another table] [they] [want] [that] • Movability criterion (syntagmatic): a phrase moves as a whole, e.g. [Another table] is preferred by [the members of that family] 2.0.4. DIFFERENT ASPECTS TO DESCRIBE TYPES OF PHRASES:  Formal outlook: internal structure  Syntactic role: their function in clauses  Semantics: how does the group of words elaborate/modify the meaning of the head word?

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BAC2 INTER-TRAD 2015-2016 The noun phrase refers to ‘things’ in a broad sense; concrete or abstract (e.g. your bike vs. your arrogance), singular or plural (e.g. that dress vs. those dresses), animate or inanimate (e.g. your sister vs. that door), countable or not (e.g. a pen vs. whiskey). In contrast, verb phrases do not designate ‘things’ but ‘processes’ (activities and situations: He’s eavesdropping; the cat sneezes) In terms of how this reference is achieved, a broad distinction can be made between the head of the noun phrase, which indicates a general type of thing (CATEGORIZING function), and the rest of the noun phrase, in which the general type of thing is narrowed down to the instance talked about (INSTANTIATION of the general type): [a very ugly] [sweater] This general divide is reflected in the word order of the noun phrase: the noun phrase reflects from right to left a move from ‘categorization’ (i.e head + classifying adj./noun) to ‘instantiation’ (i.e. other modifiers and determiners) (i.e. from type to instance): He spent three years of his life in that horrible, run-down, claustrophobic flat. For a tasty low-fat, low-calorie meal try some of the chicken varieties. In the typical case, categorization and instantiation are expressed by different words. We will study the structure of the noun phrase (NP) in terms of different ‘ structural slots’, i.e. positions which may be filled by a given form to fulfill a given function. The maximal NP structure can be illustrated by the following example: On Easter Sunday, we were offered almost double the usual five stale oatmeal biscuits we normally get from Auntie Flo. These are potentialities of the structure; in average NPs only some of the structural slots will be filled. INSTANTIATION CATEGORIZATION

We will discuss them from right to left. NOTE: Slots 2 and 3 are adjectival slots (slot 2 can also be instantiated by a noun) and slot 5 can to some extent be considered adjectival as well (in addition, adjectival realization of head noun slot). Some distinctions to keep in mind with regard to adj.:  Classifying versus qualitative (versus postdeterminers).  Attributive versus predicative use of adjectives.  Special kinds of adjectives: invective adjectives; framing adjectives; emphasizing/intensifying adjectives; adjectives in postnominal position.  Order of various adj. and multiple realization of qualitative slot. Some slots can be realized more than once, recursively (qualitative adjectives, e.g. I am looking for a decent, inexpensive, tailored suit) whereas some are typically realized once (numeratives, determiners, e.g. That girl is a real pain in the neck). In addition, some are optional whereas others are obligatory.

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2.1. HEAD NOUN: . The head of an noun phrase can be either a common name, a proper name or a pronoun. 2.1.1. PROPER NOUN VS. COMMON NOUN (SEMANTIC DISTINCTION)

Proper nouns

Common nouns

Designate a unique ‘individual/instance’ (person, place, brand, organization, time, etc.) and are a self-sufficient means of identification and hence normally do not need a determiner, e.g. *The Mary has just entered. (but: the Himalayas) But to indicate intimacy or distance a determiner can be added: I’ve told our Jethro to keep away from her. Who is this Anne Roberts then? They also typically do not have a plural form (but: the Himalayas), but may have modifiers, e.g. Ah, good old Rod Stewart or The White House. NO lexical meaning (the kind normally given in a dictionary), e.g. we don’t call a person John because of his Johnness or Johnhood. BUT have a grammatical meaning as they refer to specific individuals.

E.g. television, designates a type, rather than a unique individual. (Here lies the origin of the term 'common noun': it designates what a class of entities has in common; it circumscribes a category). By adding a determiner, reference is to an instance of the type, e.g. an old television. Common nouns can be further subcategorized into:  count vs. uncount (grammatical property)  concrete vs. abstract (semantic property)  Special nouns NOTE: nouns may have both count and uncount uses and abstract as well as concrete ones, e.g. She is a beauty vs. the concept of beauty

Proper names can sometimes be used as common nouns - two productive common nouns uses of proper nouns: 1. Proper noun designates a type such as ‘person with name X’ or ‘person with characteristics of X’. Examples: Which Dave do you mean? I know many Daves: there’s Dave from work, my cousin Dave, etc. She’s going to be the next Lindsay Lohan. Another kid star turned alcoholic and drug addict. Note that, for instance, Lindsay Lohan here no longer refers to the individual but to a class, viz. ‘girls with the characteristics of LL'. 2. Person's proper name designates something created by that person. Example: His parents have a Vermeer in their living room. I‘ve just finished reading a Margaret Atwood. Again, Vermeer, for instance, no longer refers to the individual Vermeer, but designates a category of ‘paintings painted by Vermeer’. /!\ These common noun uses of proper names are different from the following premodified uses: Why was our Kate left to die in that heroin squat? True Blood’s Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are a couple in real life. That Les Claypool is one difficult musician to interview Page | 7 LINGUISTIQUE ANGLAISE

BAC2 INTER-TRAD 2015-2016

2.1.2. COUNT VS. UNCOUNT NOUNS (GRAMMATICAL DISTINCTION)

Count nouns

Uncount nouns

They have a singular/plural contrast, they need a determiner in the singular, they can be modified by numbers and, with plural count noun subjects, the finite verb is in the plural (note: animal/plant names: deer, willow).  Singular count nouns indicate a discrete entity that has internal heterogeneity, a book.  Plural count nouns indicate a mass that is replicate, i.e. consists of several discrete entities, e.g. 5 books. Language-specific. Note: names of animals, birds, plants, etc. can be used in the singular form with a plural meaning when the type is designated rather than specific instances, e.g. They hunted gazelle.

They have no plural form, they do not take the indefinite article but may take a definite determiner, they cannot be modified by numbers, and, if they are the subject of the clause, the finite verb is always in the singular. They refer:  To substances (‘mass nouns’ like water, sand, butter, milk, money) internally homogeneous mass.  To qualities and abstractions (‘abstract nouns’ like love, patience, kindness)  More rarely to concrete referents that are not substances: furniture, luggage, traffic. They can be quantified or 'countized':  By quantifiers: some whiskey; a bit of cake. Note: uncount nouns with much, less, little, some, more but not with many, several, few, one, a(n). Compare, in this regard, much wine to many wine glasses.  By expressions of measure/quantity: a piece of evidence fifty head of cattle a loaf of bread; a stroke of luck Note 1: There is a class of nouns which end in –s and refer to subjects of study and activities, to games and diseases: Acoustics, politics, physics, economics, statistics; gymnastics, draughts, darts; rickets, measles, obstetrics .  When they refer to the field of study, they are uncount, e.g. Acoustics is the study of sound (singular verb concord).  But when they refer to a specific instance they are count plural nouns, e.g. The acoustics in the AB are considered to be very good (plural concord). Note 2: One and the same noun may sometimes function as an uncount noun, and in other contexts as a count noun. In particular, mass nouns (which designate a general type of substance) can be used as count nouns when they designate distinct subkinds or instances of those substances: Will you have cheese? vs This shop sells very nice cheeses. The U.S. produces a lot of steel. vs Nitrogen is used to make certain steels. He likes beer. vs Belgium is renowned for its many excellent beers. It appeared to be the result of blind conviction. vs He acted in accordance with his convictions. 2.1.3. SPECIAL KINDS OF NOUNS: 1. Singular nouns are always or typically used in the singular; they behave like the singular form of a count noun (thought of as singular): The pope will be visiting Poland soon (unique entity). The moon was out (unique entity). I need to have a chat with you (activity). 2. Plural nouns are the opposite: Page | 8 LINGUISTIQUE ANGLAISE

BAC2 INTER-TRAD 2015-2016 Appearances may be deceiving. I love the city and its surroundings. Subtypes are pair nouns: jeans, shorts; binoculars, pliers,… A pair of new jeans. 3. Collective/group nouns as a special kind of count nouns:  Refer to groups of people, animals or things, e.g. This government has not been in power long. // The family is the cornerstone of society. // All the family were there.  Have singular and plural forms and can take determiners.  /!\ Verb concord: plural (focus on individuals in the group) or singular (focus on unity of the group) (plural // British). Bacteria, data, media: plural nouns, but now often considered as collectives with variable verb concord. // Barracks, headquarters: sg./pl. verb does not change meaning. 2.1.4. CONCRETE VS. ABSTRACT NOUNS (SEMANTIC DISTINCTION)  Semantic distinction.  Cross-cuts the uncount/count distinction: • Concrete countable nouns typically point to physical, tangible objects, persons, places (e.g. a book, a girl, a village). • Concrete uncountable nouns typically refer to substances, materials, liquids, gases (e.g. iron, water, air) (but furniture and traffic!). • Abstract countable: a Master (two Masters). • Abstract uncountable: patience, intelligence.  Nouns can have both concrete and abstract uses: • This thing is way too small to stick between your toes (i.e. object) • I still have to arrange a lot of things before I leave (i.e. issues) 2.1.5. OTHER ELEMENTS AS HEAD OF A NP 1. Adjectiv...