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I could ofDate: 2015-10-07; view: 640. If I would of, But I shouldn't, So I douldn't (O. Nash)
Is the ability to tell possible and impossible phenomena in the language part of linguistic competence? What is linguistic competence?
5. Read the definition of Grammar and say how you understand it. Work out your own definition of Grammar as part of language. "The grammatical system is the whole set of regularities determining the combination of naming means in the formation of utterances as the embodiment of thinking process" [2, 6].
6. Complete the following phrases: a) The aim of theoretical description of Grammar is … b) The aim of practical description of Grammar is … Compare what you have created with the following: "…the aim of theoretical Grammar of a language is to present a theoretical description of its grammatical system, i.e. to scientifically analyse and define its grammatical categories and study the mechanisms of grammatical formation of utterances out of words in the process of speech making" [2, 7].
7. Practical grammars are often "prescriptive" and their authors are very categoric saying that this or that phenomenon is "inadmissible" in English. Can you give any examples of "breaking the rules"? Express your opinion: what allows the user of the language to break the rules?
8. Comment on the following: "…the true grammatical rules or regularities cannot be separated from the expression of meanings; …the rules of grammar … must be worded functionally" [2, 8].
9. What do we call the linguistic phenomenon when two or more units of the plane of content correspond to one unit of the plane of expression? Give examples.
10. What do we call the linguistic phenomenon when two or more units of the plane of expression correspond to one unit of the plane of content? Give examples.
11. Comment on the following: "There is no other way for a scholar to get at language than through its manifestation in speech" [11, 6 – 7].
12. Express your opinion on the following statements: a) only some languages have grammars; b) some languages have grammars that are radically simpler or more "primitive" than those of other languages; c) people must be taught the grammatical rules of their language; d) grammatical rules are supposed to be logical; e) grammars deteriorate with the passage of time; f) grammars differ from each other in unpredictable ways.
13. Read the extract from the book "Contemporary Linguistic Analysis" by W. O'Grady and M. Dobrovolsky on Grammar and linguistic competence (text 2) and compare your point of view on the above mentioned fallacies with that expressed by the modern linguists.
14. Give examples that illustrate paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations of words.
15. Why are the definitions of morphology and syntax given by traditional grammar relevant?
Cf. Morphology is traditionally defined as that part of grammar which studies morphemes and morphological structure of words. Syntax is that branch of grammar which studies the syntactic functions of words and the syntactic structure of word combinations and sentences.
16. Read the following and develop the idea: say what objects of study each branch of grammar mentioned bellow has: "…According to a modern view, the relation between morphology and syntax is not so simple as had been generally assumed. In this view, we ought to distinguish between two angles of research: (2) The elements dealt with; from this point we divide grammatical investigation into two fields: morphology and syntax. (3) The way these elements are studied; from this viewpoint we distinguish between paradigmatic and syntagmatic study. Thus we get four divisions: 1 a paradigmatic morphology 1 b syntagmatic morphology 2 a paradigmatic syntax 2 b syntagmatic syntax [11, 14].
17. Read the suggested extracts on levels of language (texts 3,4). Present the distribution of lingual elements among the levels graphically. The first one is done for you.
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