Responses due Wednesday, Nov. 12, at class time
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In the book-Teaching Grammar in Context by: Constance Weaver
Linguistic Tools for Understanding and Analysis
This chapter focuses on how speakers acquire grammatical competence in their native language. Grammar should “explain the unconscious but functional knowledge of grammar that enables all of us to comprehend and produce language, rather than analyze the language actually produced.”
A Linguist named Noam Chomsky introduced the differences between surface structure and deep structure. Chomsky believed that grammar should account for the native speakers’ intuitive understanding of language structure rather than analyzing the language actually produced. He also thought of deep structure as being grammatical in nature. Chomsky developed these structures because he wanted to account for speakers intuitive knowledge of grammar.
Surface Structure- the linear sequence of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences as they are uttered or written.
Deep Structure- one of more basic structures that underline the structure of actually spoken or written sentences.
Grammar Competence and Its Acquisition
Before children even enter school; they acquire a complicated set of grammatical structures and a complex set of rules for combining elements into such structures. In this chapter, Weaver discusses the 4 different invitations that talk about the rules that we all use unconsciously in our own speaking and writing.
Invitation 1
Proper order of auxiliary (“helper”) verbs that sometimes come before a main verb when the sentence is ‘active’ not ‘passive’.
Example:
Mary is leaving at one today.
Tom will be taking over her job.
Invitation 2
The usage of 'any'(or anyone, anything, etc), 'some' (or someone, something etc.)
Add the appropriate choice to each blank without thinking about it; let your response be natural.
I don't want ____ pie.
I can't imagine ____one doing that.
I'd like_____ ice cream please.
Invitation 3
This invitation is not strictly grammatical, but yet involves an intersection of the sound or phonological, system with the grammatical system. It involves the pronunciation of the regular past tense ending. Think about the sounds we add in making the regular verbs past tense. Say these regular verbs with a past tense and think about what seems to determine which sound or sounds we add.
Stop
Lick
Play
Slam
Wish
Laugh
Invitation 4
Making sentences negative:
- Put no or not at the beginning of the entire sentence.
- Put no or not between the subject and predicate pares of the sentence.
- Add an appropriate present or past tense form of do to carry the negative n’t and put it before the main verb.
- Add the appropriate present or past form of do to carry the negative marker and remove the tense marker associated with the main verb
It is not known how young children acquire such "rules." But what is known is that these rules are not directly taught to children, and that children show evidence of beginning to acquire them by about the age of two or three. Even though children do imitate adult speech in some way, it is clear that imitation, repetition, and habit formation are nowhere near adequate to account for the acquisition of one's native language, including grammatical patterns or rules.
For Discussion: Do you think that these 4 rules are correct? Do you believe that children really acquire these rules unconsciously or are they more from an imitation of adult figures?
