By Jason
November 8,
The Article about the Synchronic and Diachronic structuralist schools:
I think it impossible for a truly synchronic analysis of a language to exsist. Granted, a person can disregard the origin of words or roots of the language, but it doesn't negate it's importance to the way the language functions. Negative connotations that are pinned onto words evolve into socially unacceptable parts of speech (such as queer, or savage).
To properly explain "harsh" or "bad" words, a person would have to explain where the distinction stemmed. Therefore a synchronic analysis would not be able to explain a dirty word. Social structure and norms play such a vital role in the language that removal of the speakers and their history from the language is lingual suicide. This is why I have a hard time believing in the Synchronic system.
The evolution of the language is blatently obvious and very measurable. The study of ancient languages through the present language historical documents would be fascinating. It would be amazing to see a description of the home countryside of an ancient roman citizen next to the same description of an Italian living in Rome two-thousand years later. The differences would be vast, but the content would be similar.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Chapter 3 of Grammar for Grammarians
By Jendayi
For my blog I had to read Chapter 3 of Grammar for Grammarians. This chapter gave lots of insight to representative rules. Specifically rules developed by prescriptive grammarians during the eighteenth century. They express twenty or so grammatical rules in some detail. All of which have syntactic component rather than just dealing with vocabulary. The many rules they discussed in the chapter are listed below.
Don't end a sentence with preposition
Don't split an infinitive
Use shall with first person and use will with second and third
Lie is intransitive and lay is transitive
Use like as a preposition; use as as a conjunction
Use nominative case after the verb be
Don't use ain't
Don't use between you and I
Don't use hopefully to mean 'I Hope'use subjunctive for hypothetical situations
Don't omit the relative pronoun
Don't omit that introducing a noun clause
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents
Either/or and neither/nor take singular verbs
Case following as/than
Subject-verb agreement
Use
For my blog I had to read Chapter 3 of Grammar for Grammarians. This chapter gave lots of insight to representative rules. Specifically rules developed by prescriptive grammarians during the eighteenth century. They express twenty or so grammatical rules in some detail. All of which have syntactic component rather than just dealing with vocabulary. The many rules they discussed in the chapter are listed below.
Don't end a sentence with preposition
Don't split an infinitive
Use shall with first person and use will with second and third
Lie is intransitive and lay is transitive
Use like as a preposition; use as as a conjunction
Use nominative case after the verb be
Don't use ain't
Don't use between you and I
Don't use hopefully to mean 'I Hope'use subjunctive for hypothetical situations
Don't omit the relative pronoun
Don't omit that introducing a noun clause
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents
Either/or and neither/nor take singular verbs
Case following as/than
Subject-verb agreement
Use
First Part of Chapter 4 (pp. 61-70)
By Justin Rook
Descriptive grammar developed in the late 20th century, which concentrates on speech, constituent structure, and descriptions of modern English. In the 19th century a language study developed known as historical-comparative; scholars were on a mission to figure out the chronological development and comparing similar languages throughout the world. European scholars began a descriptive methodology on collecting data; instead of making new rules for grammar.
During this time period the scholars figured out the English had many similarities to other languages. They had classified English as a Germanic based language, and decided to classify Latin and Greek as sister languages, all of these languages evolved from a form of Indo-European, much like Darwinism. The scholars also came to a conclusion that Latin and Sanskrit were dead, and were considered similar.
In 1822 Jacob Grimm designed Grimm’s Law which compares Germanic Languages with other Indo-European languages. By 1900 a theory of structuralism was developed, which states that language can be studied historically and as a science. There was also diachronic linguistics, which compares language at different time periods, and synchronic linguistics studies language as a self contained system. In retrospect Grimm’s Law would be a part of synchronic linguistics, because it is a studying two completely different languages unlike diachronic which only studies one language at different times.
Leonard Bloomfield believed that the brain was unstudiable and Edward Sappir believed that the brain was a key component in the study of language.
Descriptive grammar developed in the late 20th century, which concentrates on speech, constituent structure, and descriptions of modern English. In the 19th century a language study developed known as historical-comparative; scholars were on a mission to figure out the chronological development and comparing similar languages throughout the world. European scholars began a descriptive methodology on collecting data; instead of making new rules for grammar.
During this time period the scholars figured out the English had many similarities to other languages. They had classified English as a Germanic based language, and decided to classify Latin and Greek as sister languages, all of these languages evolved from a form of Indo-European, much like Darwinism. The scholars also came to a conclusion that Latin and Sanskrit were dead, and were considered similar.
In 1822 Jacob Grimm designed Grimm’s Law which compares Germanic Languages with other Indo-European languages. By 1900 a theory of structuralism was developed, which states that language can be studied historically and as a science. There was also diachronic linguistics, which compares language at different time periods, and synchronic linguistics studies language as a self contained system. In retrospect Grimm’s Law would be a part of synchronic linguistics, because it is a studying two completely different languages unlike diachronic which only studies one language at different times.
Leonard Bloomfield believed that the brain was unstudiable and Edward Sappir believed that the brain was a key component in the study of language.
Grammar for Grammarians Chap 3
Latin is an Italic Language, Where English is Germanic. they haven't been intelligible for over 5,000 years. Latin language is synthetic, meaning it has many inflections, when English is analytic with few inflections. Latin is basically a language where the direct object normally precedes the verb, where in English is basically a language where the object normally follows the verb. The language verbs, prevent the structural transfer from one language to another. Different forms imply differnt meanings. Ex: lie/lay shall/will Another assumption if two forms appear synonomous, I must be superior, but this is not tottaly accepted. Ex: Kathy is the girl who cheated on the test. Kathy is the girl that cheated.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Assignment for last class activity
Dear all,
On the last day of class, we want to do some fun activities dealing with grammar. Therefore, your assignment for after Thanksgiving break is to come up with some kind of activity that contains grammatical learning, and still is fun to perform (as a practice for inventing lesson plans for your future students, for those who want to teach....).
You will submit your proposal on November 27th, the first class after Thanksgiving break.
I will select the best ones, and we will do a lottery and pick some to be performed on the last day of class.
If you need material for that, write this in your proposal, too, so I/we can get it in time!
Treat your proposal like a "grant proposal." You will receive an additional email about the required layout, and the subheadings.
You can start researching ideas whenever you want....
On the last day of class, we want to do some fun activities dealing with grammar. Therefore, your assignment for after Thanksgiving break is to come up with some kind of activity that contains grammatical learning, and still is fun to perform (as a practice for inventing lesson plans for your future students, for those who want to teach....).
You will submit your proposal on November 27th, the first class after Thanksgiving break.
I will select the best ones, and we will do a lottery and pick some to be performed on the last day of class.
If you need material for that, write this in your proposal, too, so I/we can get it in time!
Treat your proposal like a "grant proposal." You will receive an additional email about the required layout, and the subheadings.
You can start researching ideas whenever you want....
Responses to historical chapter 2
Prompt for in-claass essay on November 1st:
Select one question from chapter 2 (pp. 21-35), and answer it by clicking on "comment" on this blog entry.
Select one question from chapter 2 (pp. 21-35), and answer it by clicking on "comment" on this blog entry.
Tourette and Grammar Rules
What were the main findings of this article? What are the differences between normal children and children with the de la Tourette syndrome when it comes to creating the past tense forms of regular and irregular verbs? What would this difference in logic imply? What are your personal reactions?
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