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Syntax: Difference between revisions
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'''Syntax''' is the linguistic study of how words combine to form sentences. (To linguists, "syntax" is a subset of "grammar", and grammar also includes things like the study of valid word forms.) | '''Syntax''' is the linguistic study of how words combine to form sentences. (To linguists, "syntax" is a subset of "grammar", and grammar also includes things like the study of valid word forms.) | ||
== Generative grammar and loglangs == | |||
There are many broad theories of how syntax arises, rooted in philosophical questions. Why are humans so good at language? How do humans acquire language so quickly, and why do they make some kinds of mistakes but not others? | There are many broad theories of how syntax arises, rooted in philosophical questions. Why are humans so good at language? How do humans acquire language so quickly, and why do they make some kinds of mistakes but not others? | ||
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(TODO: touch on criticisms of PEG/camxes) | (TODO: touch on criticisms of PEG/camxes) | ||
== Movement == | |||
Generativist syntacticians say that sentences have a "deep structure" that adheres to universal grammar, but various language-specific constraints transform this into the "surface structure" when the sentence gets actually realized. The most important such transformation is '''syntactic movement'''. | Generativist syntacticians say that sentences have a "deep structure" that adheres to universal grammar, but various language-specific constraints transform this into the "surface structure" when the sentence gets actually realized. The most important such transformation is '''syntactic movement'''. | ||