Structural Grammar and Linguistics Quiz

The concept of grammar, its different meanings, and the importance of teaching grammar.

Grammar is a set of rules that govern the structure of a language.

Yes, grammar as we know it seems to be a unique human capacity.

<p>No, the natural communicative use of grammar in non-human species has never been attested.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Yes, native speakers of a language all have an internalized grammar (their competence), whether they can articulate the rules of the language or not.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Grammar can refer to books that contain descriptions of the structure of a language, the knowledge that a native speaker has of his or her language, a set of rules developed to control certain aspects of the usage of native speakers, and a set of rules typically taught in school about 'appropriate usage' and about writing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>No, much success has not been reported in teaching grammar to non-human species.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Syntax and morphology only.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Rules and principles by which a language works, its system or structure, for the purpose of establishing norms or standards to prescribe the exact rules of the tongue.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Attempts to establish and maintain a standard of correctness in the language, to dictate and forbid certain ways of speaking based on factors external to language, such as social class or level of education.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Concepts and terminology of traditional grammar, based on the linguistic categories found in Latin and Ancient Greek, and often had a diachronic perspective, favoring rules based on earlier forms of the language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Attempts to describe the usage of native speakers, recognizing a wide variety of grammatical forms, assuming that the only authority for what exists in a language is what its native speakers accept and understand as part of their language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>&quot;I ain't doing nothing&quot; produced by the grammar of a native speaker for speakers of several different dialects of English and appropriate in different registers for those dialects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Modern linguistics emphasizes objectivity in describing the language and its word classes, together with a rejection of prescriptivism, while traditional school grammar focuses on prescriptive rules and standards.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Structural Grammar is a linguistic approach that describes language on its own terms, paying attention to how words change in sound and spelling and how they are used in sentences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The systematic description of language in Structural Grammar includes an analysis of the sound system (phonology), then the systematic combination of sounds into meaningful units and words (morphology), and, finally, the systematic combination of words into meaningful phrase structures and sentence patterns (syntax).</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Generative-Transformational grammar is a linguistic theory that aims to describe the internal grammar, our innate, subconscious ability to generate language. The goal is to build a model of our internal rules, a model that would produce all of the grammatical — and no ungrammatical — sentences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Noam Chomsky is the founder of Generative-Transformational grammar.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Universal Grammar is our human language capacity (the Language Acquisition Device (LAD)) and is shared by all human languages, according to Chomsky and his followers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Systemic Functional Grammar is a linguistic theory that attaches great importance to the sociological aspects of language. It views language as a resource for making meanings and hence grammar is a resource for creating meaning by means of wording.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The three strata that make up the linguistic system in Systemic Functional Grammar are meaning (semantics), sound (phonology), and wording or lexicogrammar (syntax, morphology, and lexis).</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Universal Grammar theory is a theory that explains the biological basis to L1 acquisition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Subconscious knowledge, like how to speak or the ability to visually identify discrete objects, is acquired. Classes in the formal grammar of a foreign language often fail to train people to speak those languages because conscious knowledge is learned, while subconscious knowledge is acquired.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The arguments that point to an innate component to language acquisition are diverse and range from the fact that the language capacity is species specific, the ability to acquire language is independent of intelligence, the pattern of acquisition is relatively uniform across different children, different languages, and different cultures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Cognitive scientists make a distinction in how we get conscious and subconscious knowledge. Conscious knowledge is learned. Subconscious knowledge, like how to speak or the ability to visually identify discrete objects, is acquired.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An interlanguage grammar is a linguistic system that falls between L1 and L2 grammar that L2 learners use before they can arrive at a linguistic system that will allow the learner to understand and speak the second language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Universal Grammar theory claims that learning the grammar of a second language is not so much learning completely new structures, rules, etc as discovering how to set the parameters for the new language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The subconscious language faculty is the part of the brain that allows native speakers to produce sentences without consciously thinking about where to put the subject, the verb, etc.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The pattern of acquisition of language is relatively uniform across different children, different languages, and different cultures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Being immersed in an environment where they can subconsciously acquire a language is much more effective than classes in the formal grammar of a foreign language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Normative/prescriptive grammar involves establishing norms and standards for language correctness, while descriptive grammar attempts to describe the actual usage of native speakers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Prescriptive grammar focuses on establishing and maintaining a standard of correctness in language usage, based on external factors such as social class or level of education.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Modern linguistics emphasizes objectivity in describing language and its word classes, rejecting prescriptivism.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Descriptive grammar assumes that the only authority for what exists in a language is what its native speakers accept and understand as part of their language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>In a descriptive view, a sentence is considered grammatical if it is produced by the grammar of a native speaker, regardless of dialect or register. For example, 'I ain't doing nothing' is grammatical in several different English dialects and registers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The main difference between traditional school grammar and modern linguistics is the emphasis on prescriptivism in the former and objectivity in the latter.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The text mentions narrower senses of grammar that encompass only syntax and morphology, as well as normative/prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The critical Structuralism movement in the beginning of the 20th century recognized the importance of describing language on its own terms. Structural Grammar Linguists such as Saussure in Europe and Bloomfield in the United States were key figures in this movement.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The goal of transformational generative grammar is to describe the internal grammar, our innate, subconscious ability to generate language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>According to Chomsky and his followers, Universal Grammar constitutes our human language capacity (the Language Acquisition Device (LAD)) and is shared by all human languages.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Systemic Functional Grammar attaches great importance to the sociological aspects of language, viewing language as a resource for making meanings and hence grammar as a resource for creating meaning by means of wording. It emphasizes the influence of social and cultural context on meaning.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>According to Halliday and his followers, the three strata that make up the linguistic system are meaning (semantics), sound (phonology), and wording or lexicogrammar (syntax, morphology, and lexis).</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Acquisition refers to the subconscious process of picking up a language naturally, while learning involves conscious effort and instruction. Children and adults acquire their first language(s) naturally, while learning additional languages later in life usually requires a combination of acquisition and learning.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Instead of assuming that English words could fit into the traditional eight word groups of Latin, the structuralists examined sentences objectively, paying particular attention to how words change in sound and spelling (their form) and how they are used in sentences (their function)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Grammar</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Non-human species can acquire a well-coded lexicon, but not the natural communicative use of grammar.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Their internalized grammar, whether or not they can articulate the rules of the language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>To refer to books, knowledge of a language, a set of rules developed to control usage, and a set of rules taught in school.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>No, not much success has been reported.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The concept of grammar, its different meanings, and the importance of teaching grammar.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>To teach appropriate usage and writing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Universal Grammar is a theory that suggests that there is a biological basis to first language acquisition. It argues that the ability to acquire language is innate and that children are born with the capacity to learn any language that they are exposed to.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The arguments that support the innate component of language acquisition include the fact that the language capacity is species-specific, the ability to acquire language is independent of intelligence, the pattern of acquisition is relatively uniform across different children, different languages and different cultures, that language is acquired with relative ease and rapidity and without the benefit of instruction and finally that children show creativity which goes beyond the input that they are exposed to.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Conscious knowledge, such as the rules of algebra or syntactic theory, is learned, while subconscious knowledge, like how to speak, is acquired.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Classes in the formal grammar of a foreign language often fail to train people to speak those languages because conscious knowledge, which is what is taught in these classes, is not enough for language acquisition. Subconscious knowledge is required, which can only be acquired through immersion in an environment where the language is spoken.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>L2 learners face the task of arriving at a linguistic system that will allow them to understand and speak the second language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Interlanguage grammars are the grammars that L2 learners use before they arrive at a linguistic system that will allow them to understand and speak the second language. These grammars fall between L1 and L2 grammar.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>UG claims that learning the grammar of a second language is not so much learning completely new structures, rules, etc as discovering how to set the parameters for the new language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Most linguists believe that the linguistic mechanisms available to L1 acquirers are no longer available to L2 learners.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>When a native speaker produces a sentence, they do not consciously think about where to put the subject, the verb, etc., but their subconscious language faculty does that for them.</p> Signup and view all the answers