Fall 2007, English 3318:Studies in English Grammar

Instructor: Dr. Svetlana Nuernberg

Office: 1092-94 S and 451 SOffice Hours: MW 1:00-2:00 PM and by appointmentEmail: nuernbergs@uhd.edu

Course Description and Objectives● This 3-credit course is an intensive survey of the

principles and problems of English Grammar – with emphasis on developing vocabulary and

understanding necessary to identify and explain writing choices and errors

● Upon completion of this course, students should be able: – to articulate the goals of prescriptive and descriptive

grammar perspectives– to know and comfortably use terminology relevant for

discussions of grammar and writing issues

Objectives● Students should:

– be aware of the relationship between structure and meaning

– be able to find, correct and explain the common errors in phrases and sentences

– be able to apply basic language analysis skills to English words and sentences

– be able to generate basic sentence trees using basic principles of phrase structure theories

● This semester will be spent discussing abstract structures to report an infinite number of meanings.

Course Materials● Required

– Analyzing English Grammar. Klammer Th., Schulz M.R., Della Volpe A. 2007. 5th Edition. Boston: Pearson Longman.

● Optional– Understanding English Grammar. Kolln M., Funk R.

7th Edition. Boston: Pearson Education.– Doing Grammar. Morenberg, Max. 2002. 3rd Edition.

New York: Oxford University Press.

Other Topics

● Evaluation● Written Work● Attendance and Lateness● Academic Honesty● Schedule

Introduction

● Grammar vs Other Subjects– you are already experts– you have an innate “language competence”

● Ways to Deal with Knowledge– focal knowledge

● ability to list the steps to be followed in order to produce result (at a conscious level)

– tacit knowledge● information about how to produce a result (at an

unconscious level)

The Purpose of Grammar● A person who learns a language acquires

– a system of rules that relate sound and meaning in a certain specific way

– a certain competence that he puts to use in producing and understanding speech

● The theory of grammar tries to discover– the system of rules that govern human speech– the principles and factors that determine the selection

of the system of the appropriate forms● on the basis of the data available

What Is Grammar?● Several Different Concepts

– A complete linguistic system that exists in the mind of a speaker of a language

● the knowledge when we say that someone“knows” a language– A (written) description of a language

● when we refer to “a grammar of English”– An abstract notion of an ideal set of rules (of correct or

proper grammar)● when we say that someone uses good grammar

– A handbook containing the prescriptive rules● when we say that someone looked it up in his grammar

Representation of Grammar

● A system of content connections of morphemes (as the smallest meaningful units) within speech complexes– The word as a semantic integrity of morphological

units (prefixes, roots, suffixes, infixes, etc.)– The phrase or word-combination as a semantic unity of

words– The sentence as a semantic unity of phrases– The speech complex as a semantic unity of sentences– The textual segment as a semantic aggregate of speech

complexes (supra-synthetic unities)

Grammar Versus Usage● Language is in a constant state of change

– attempts to control the process failed (eg. simplification of spelling; eg. drive thru; call it a nite, etc)

– varieties of English are equivalent to groups of speakers (dialects: social, regional)

– adaptations or creations of groups enter the language and become acceptable – standard

● Fancy the happiness of Pinocchio on finding himself free (1925) vs Imagine Pinocchio's joy when he felt himself free (1983).

● e.g., 'contact' (noun) – the state in which two things touch one another becomes 'contact' (verb) – the state of people being in touch with one another

● e.g., different from vs different than; enormity vs enormousness

Language Changing or Anomalies● Changing of Stress

– to import (verb), import (noun)– to address (verb), address (noun)

● Phonetic Hyper Correction ('r' )– from deer [diər] to [diə]– from idea [aidiə] to [aidiər]

● Word Forms– prototypic, prototypal, prototypical– archetypic, archetypal, archetypical

Spoken and Unspoken Rules● The rules (patterns) that you follow and can explain

– word order● The little old house that stands on the corner of 12th and Vine

belongs to me. ● Stands corner little the on house of and 12th that Vine the

belongs to me.● A hunter killed a bear.● A bear killed a hunter.

– subject verb agreement● He doesn't speak Chinese. ● He don't speak Chinese.

– formation of the past form● He swam across the river.● She jumped up very high.

Spoken and Unspoken Rules● The rules that you follow, but can't explain why

– do not use double negation● He doesn't know anything about it. ● He doesn't know nothing about it.

– do not split the infinitives● I tried to assess the situation quickly. ● I tried to quickly assess the situation.

– do not end the sentence with a preposition● With whom did you go?● Whom did you go with?

● The rules that you follow, but do not know that they exist– f***ing insertion (up down up down intonation pattern)

● California, Nevada, Illinois, Washington, Mississippi

Prescriptive Grammar● A Prescriptive Approach

– borrowed from Latin-centered curriculum– the goal is to control language use or set standards for

language use – the standards are usually expressed in the form of

prescriptive rules - Standard American English● to regulate and enforce a particular usage● to make judgments about language

– the belief in an absolute standard of correctness– language use is either correct or incorrect

● established through understanding and following the norms of correctness by educated people

● registered in authorized reference works – handbooks, dictionaries

–

Examples of Prescriptive Grammar Rules● Do not use unnecessary words

– gives advice about style● Avoid frequent usage of be as a main verb

– warns against overuse of be● You may use “It's me” in speech

– gives permission to use an informal expression

Investigating Language● The stigma attached to ain't has left a void in our

language. You will discover how we filled void when you add appropriate tag questions to the three sentences– The weather is nice today, _________________?– You are my friend, _________________?– I am your friend, _______________________?

● Now turn those tag questions into statement● Pay attention to the third one, does it sound

ungrammatical to you? Would you call ain't ungrammatical?

Descriptive Grammar

● A Descriptive Approach– originated from scholarly tradition (Pedagogical

Grammar – concerned with the need of students and teachers)

– formed from two schools of thought● American Structural Linguistics (1920-1950)● Transformational Generative Grammar (since 1960s)

– the goal is to observe, record, and predict patterns of actual language use

● the rules describe natural language patterns and try to account for those patterns

● the focus is on whether the utterances sound natural to the native speakers

Examples of Descriptive Grammar Rules● Articles (a, an, the) precede nouns

– describes the word order of NP (noun phrases)● In questions, the verb usually begins the sentence

– describes the form of question● Imperative sentences (e.g., “Leave at once”)

usually lack a subject – describes the form of command

Describing How the System Works● Variation in usage among speakers of SAE

● whose version to use as a model?● which style of speech to follow?● at what point does a form become acceptable?● what about borderline cases?

● Example snoring vs boring– snoring professor– boring professor

● are both words participles, derived from verbs snore, bore?– the professor is snoring – snoring professor (modifies the word)– the professor is boring – boring professor (modifies the word)

● are they adjectives?– adjectives can be compared and qualified, participles cannot– very boring professor vs very snoring professor – he is more boring than she is vs she is more snoring than he is

Exercise 1 - Identifying Rules

● Briefly explain whether the following rules are descriptive or prescriptive.– Adverbs such as however can be moved around in

sentences.– Do not use the passive voice without a good reason.– Most verbs form the past tense by adding -d or ed to

the base form.– Use precise adjectives and concrete nouns

Dialects

● Dialect - a variant of language spoken by a group of people sharing the same time (historical period) or space (geographical or social environment)– 20th century vs Shakespeare's days “Thou shouldst not

have been old till thou hadst been wise” (King Lear)– residing in a specific country: trunk (AE), boot (BE)– belonging to specific socioeconomic group: this, those,

these – pronounce with -d rather than -th – depending on their psychological state, speaking to the

same sex, age, interests, religion, or profession

Examples of Dialects● Regional dialects

– Southerners: ● park and pork may sound alike (different sounds for

Northerners)● roasting ear – refer to what American from other regions

call corn-on-the-cob● Social dialects

– lower economic or educational level ● say I seen it instead I saw it

– sex and age difference● sex – men interrupt women more that women interrupt men● age – calling your parents: mommy, daddy vs mom, dad or

mother and father

Regional Dialects● The first English-speaking immigrants brought to the

US in 17th century local British dialects– during 17th-18th centuries the dialects underwent a process of

leveling● dialect differences became less marked (accommodating to other

dialects)● diminished communication with England● developing pronunciation and vocabulary distinct to the New

World● West African slaves influenced the American Language

– spoke a version of English (evolved from the pidgin English used to conduct African trade including slavery)

– combined with English spoken by whites it became Black English Vernacular (BEV) or African-American EV (AAEV)

Regional Dialects● During 19th century regional dialects in AE grew

– eastern border was in closer contact with England than the rest of the country

● adopted some changes that were happening there● r-less pronunciation of coastal New England - (pahk the cab)

– settlement patterns● the national spread westward tended to follow major

geographical boundaries – rivers, mountain – divide chief regional dialects today

● influence of Black English on Southern White English● Today there are three major regional varieties of AE

– the Northern, Midland, the Southern– in the west all three of them blended, but Midland is

dominating

Southern vs Northern DialectsSouthern Speech

watt a color Cotton is wattraid a primary color The American flag is raid, watt and blue

par electric current Turn off the parpoke bacon meat from pig We had poke and eggs for breakfast

Boston Speech (Northern)

Cuber the Caribbean island ruled by Fidel Castrodraw a compartment in a chest for storing clothes; a drawerdrawering a sketch made with a pencil, pen or crayoncod a small, flat piece of stiff paperboard for playing bridge and poker

Social Dialects

● Sociolinguistic stratification (NY, Washington DC, LA, Chicago, Detroit) – their residents are divided along social class lines that can be identified by regular patterns of linguistic variations– social dialect of educated, middle-class professionals –

is considered standard (keep -r in words like guard; say thing and not ting or these not dese)

– social dialects of those without education, wealth, and power – are labeled nonstandard (omit -r in words like horse; use -d instead of th in the words this, those)

Regional Dialect into Social Dialect● Migration of large groups results in a regional

dialect becoming a social dialect– Appalachian English

● people from Appalachian region moved to northern cities in search of jobs

● new dialect patterns were added to urban language environment

● verbs that are considered singular agree with plural subjects: they was, the car is, those people makes, her children has

– Southwest – speakers with Hispanic background● substitute ch for sh – shin and chin are pronounced the same

– Vietnamese speakers● Sam walk to school yesterday instead of Sam walked to

school yesterday

Standard American English● General American Dialect as a Standard American

English– many features of pronunciation, vocabulary, and

grammar are shared by middle-class, urban, educated speakers of the language

● Broadcast Standard English or Network Standard– it is a mixture of widely used pronunciation and

vocabulary with grammar drawn pretty much from the prescriptive handbooks (Northern and Midland)

● Standard written (edited) English– emphasizing the careful revision and corrections that

are usually necessary in formal writing

Standard Written English● Changes more slowly than any spoken dialect

– advantage: resistant to change – remained relatively uniform

– disadvantage: spoken form changes and moves away from written form of English

● Brings access to power through educational and professional advancement

● Has prestigious place among the various American social dialects– style shifting occurs when we are speaking more than

one dialect and for some occasions are shifting our language closer to patterns of standard language

Hyper Correction

● It happens when we are trying to shift our language closer to the patterns of standard English

● It is when speaker goes “one better”– characteristic of second ranking communities

● An example is saying between you and I instead between you and me

● Linguistic insecurity and the desire to be correct leads some speakers to overcorrect

Exercise 2 Hypercorrection● Hypercorrection is the tendency of speakers to

overcorrect their speech in formal situations. Some linguists explain overcorrection by relating it to the speaker's great anxiety about speaking properly, rather than naturally.

● Might it also offer a means of understanding the occurrence of sentences like– Whom did you say is calling?– We will accept whomever applies.

in which who, rather than whom, is correct form?● What explanation for this common “error” would

you propose?

Second Language Acquisition● Interlanguage – exhibits features of both the new

(second, target) language and the native language– developmental errors – represent an apparently universal

stage in the development of English language proficiency

● making the same mistakes as children make acquiring the first language: saying bringed, drived instead of brought, drove

● correcting mistakes later when learning individual exceptions for irregular verbs

– transfer errors● occur only in second language learning, when learners transfer

to the new language a feature from their first language: espeak instead of speak for Spanish speakers

– the combination sp cannot begin a word without a vowel coming first

Styles

● Casual speech characterized by conversation that treats the listener as an insider who shared much knowledge with the speaker– ellipses (parts of sentences can be omitted) is frequent

● Coffee's good. Nice day today. What's up? See ya later!– slang and informal vocabulary is used

● Consultative style – when adults exchange information with superiors or people they do not know– standard English is usually used or shift occurs

Styles

● Formal Style – occurs in speeches for public occasions– planned in advance– eg. One may suppose that vs I think that

● Informal style – everyone's usage of language– a continuum starting from casual speech to formal

speech

Exercise 3 – Analyzing Styles● Although the full range of speech styles can be

observed in college classrooms, the language tends to shift between consultative and formal styles.– Think about the speech style of the instructors in the

classes that you are currently taking.– Consider the degree to which the presentation

approaches the formality of written English and how often students interrupt with contributions and questions.

– How would you place the lectures on the continuum from casual to consultive to formal?

– Do you find that you monitor your own speech more in a formal classroom situation than in a casual one?