GRAMMAR
GENERATIVE
Tenets of Generative Grammar
In particular, what distinguishes the work in generative grammar is the goal of systematically describing languages
Grammars should be fully explicit
Linguistic analyses should be maximally general
Grammars should characterize competence,
not performance
The theory of grammar should make
universal claims
Grammars should be descriptive, not prescriptive:
Grammars should be psychologically relevant
this proposition is generally accepted by modern linguists.
Although it is not unique to generative grammarians.
Competence, according to Chomsky, refers to the knowledge that the native speaker has of his language, the system of rules, his ability to produce and understand. On the other hand, performance is the study of the system of rules.
Traditional grammars presuppose some knowledge of the language under description and tend to focus on aspects of the language that are variable or have changed.
Generative grammarians take this as evidence of the superiority of the second grammar. as illustrated in (3). asterisks are used to mark unacceptable strings.
The focus on developing a general theory of grammar - "universal grammar” (UG), as Chomsky called it, is the most distinctive feature of the generative tradition. Although other linguistic traditions imply extensive cross-linguistic comparisons resulting in important hypotheses Some examples of linguistics universals in the generative style.
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Common Formal Elements
Since Chomsky’s seminar work in the 1950s, many different theories of grammar have been articulated that fit the general characterization in the preceding
sections.
Transformational grammar
Other enhancements to CFG
Context-free grammar
Definition:
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Chomsky’s implies a finite set of rules that can be applied to generate sentences, at the same time capable of producing infinite number of strings from the set rules.
A type of grammar which describes a language by giving a set of rules that can be used to produce other possible sentences in that language.