Syntax

S Y N T A X

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So what is syntax?

This video about what is SYNTAX.

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                   Syntax is the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses and sentences).

In syntax, we will learn about :

a.    The phrase

A phrase ia a group of words which functions as a unit and with the exception of the verb phrase it self, does not contain a finite verb. A finite verb is one that can take as its subject a pronoun such as ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘he’, ‘she’,’it’, ‘they’.

     There are five commonly occuring types of phrase in English : noun phrases, adjectives phrases, verb phrases, adverb phrases, and preposition phrases.

b.    The clause

The clause is a group of words which contains a finite verb but which cannot occur in isolation, that is, a clause constitutes only part of a sentences.

In complex sentences, we have at least two clauses :

-       A main clause

-       Dependent clause/ subordinate

c.    The sentences

                each sentences is an independent linguistic form, not include by virtue of any grammatical construction in any larger linguistic form.

This video about how to draw  a syntax tree

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Morphology

 MORPHOLOGY

This is a video talk about, what Morphology is.

Morphology  is the study of morphemes, which are the smallest significant units of grammar.

In morphology, there are Free and bound morphemes :

·         Free morphemes is morphemes which can occur freely in their own.

·     Bound morphemes is morphemes which can only occur as affixes. This morphemes are divided into two types : (affixes) those like ‘dis-’ and ‘un-‘ and (prefixes) those like ‘-ly’ and ‘–ness’.

Derivational morphology :

-        Commonly occurring prefixes are ‘be-‘, ‘de-‘, ‘en-‘, ‘ex-‘, ‘hyper-‘, ‘pre-‘, ‘pro-‘, ‘re-‘, ‘sub-‘, ‘super-‘, and ‘trans-‘. Prefixes  alter meaning but do not always changes the function of the word.

-       Commonly occurring suffixes always change the class of the word.

a.    Word ending in the morphemes ‘-acy’, ‘-ation’, ‘-er/-or’, ‘-ess’, ‘-ity’, ‘-ment’, ‘-ness’, and ‘-ship’ tend to be nouns :

Democracy               actor               weakness

b.    Words ending ‘-ise/ize’ tends to be verbs :

epitomise                               hospitalise

c.    Words ending ‘-able’, ‘-ed’, ‘-ful’, ‘-ical’, ‘-ive’, ‘-less’, ‘-like’, ‘-ous’, and ‘-y’ tends to be adjectives :

Enjoyable                              polished                    comical         

Diminutives                          helpless                    industrious

d.    Words which end in ‘-ly’ tend to be adverb :

Quickly                                  securely

Thus, there are words which end in ‘-ly’ that function as adjectives and not as adverbs, such as :

          Lovely                                      friendly

        a lovely girl                             a friendly welcome

video 1

video 2

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Phonology

Phonology

What  is Phonology ?

Phonology  is  the study of the sound systems of language.

Vowels

Vowels are sound where there is an escape of the air-stream  centrally through the mouth. The descriptive parameters of vowel sounds correspond to the  tongue movement in the mouth accompanied by the lip-shaped. The other accompanying variables are :

a.      Duration  of  the vowels :

-        a long vowels is the product of a tensed tongue

-        a short vowels is the product of a lax tongue 

b.     Glottis position (vocal cord vibration)

c.      Velic position : escape of air is only through the mouth

      

      Lip shaped

·        Spread position : when the lips are strech out, as in /i:/ (peel)

·        Rounded position : when the lips are rounded, as in /u:/ (pool)

·        Neutral position : when the lips are netral in shape /a:/ (hard)

English vowels

         There are twelve pure vowel sounds in English (also known as monophthongs), they are :

The English Diphthongs

A diphthongs is a succession of two vowel sounds where the tonge starts in the position of one vowel and then immediately proceeds on the position of the other.

Stress

Stress is a suprasegmental features accompaniying words, phrases or sentences to emphasize or focus the important element(s)  in them.

There are various kinds or levels of stress :

(i)              Word stress

This is used to show defference in meaning between two identical words, but having different morphemic fuctions/qualities.

Example :    in’crease / ‘increase

                   Im’port / ‘import

                   In’sult / ‘insult

(ii)           Sentences stress

This is used to show importance of a specific intended meaning.

-        ‘I didn’t ask you for the book = someone else  did

-        I ‘didn’t ask you for the book = I did not although you say I did so

-        I didn’t ask ‘you for the book = I asked someone else

-        I didn’t ask you ‘for the book = I asked you about the book

-        I didn’t ask you for the ‘book = I asked you for something else

Sources :

A Linguistics Primer for Malaysians. Loga Mahesan Baskaran. University of Malay Press. 2005

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