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Transformational generative grammar is a linguistic theory that explains how the constructions and elements of a language are generated and understood. The main referents of this type of grammar are the American linguists Zellig Harris and Noam Chomsky.
Origin of generative grammar and transformational grammar
Transformational grammar is a type of generative grammar, which arose during the 20th century, from the research of the American linguist Zellig Harris (1909-1992). In fact, Harris was the one who formulated the first version of the theory of transformational grammar, by differentiating between nuclear and non-nuclear sentences.
Generative grammar, as its name implies, is the study of the origin, nature, and use of language knowledge. Its object of study focuses on determining how the language acquisition process occurs and how the elements that make it up are combined. Likewise, it provides the rules or principles that allow to correctly predict the combinations of the elements of the sentences in a certain language.
Generative grammar is a cognitive science, the study of which focuses on the cognitive aspects of language formation and learning. That is, the way in which the mind creates and processes the syntax of language. In addition, it is a specialized science that focuses specifically on the study of syntactic elements. It even highlights the innate ability of the human being to learn and process language.
Although generative grammar includes different investigations by various linguists, the most influential contributions were those of the American linguist Noam Chomsky (1928-). Chomsky resumed and perfected Harris’s study of language syntax and developed new theoretical models, which he described in his book Syntactic Structures , in 1957. From then on, transformational grammar arose. These models make it possible to predict, mathematically, the creation of grammatical and non-grammatical sentences of a language.
Subsequently, Chomsky continued to expand his work and refine syntactic models. Currently, the set of all Noam Chomsky’s theories is called a “transformational grammar”, mainly since the publication of his Standard Theory of him in 1965 and, later, of the Extended Standard Theory , where he incorporated other theoretical concepts. It is also common to refer to generative grammar as transformational grammar.
The transformational generative grammar
The emergence of transformational grammar meant a break in the linguistic tradition of the first half of the 20th century, since it dealt with formulating basic rules that explain how the speaker generates and understands grammatical sentences.
Until then, linguistics was based mainly on structuralism, a linguistic movement that had arisen from the research of the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. Structuralism focused on the morphology and phonology of the language, while transformational grammar focused on the syntax of the language.
According to the Royal Spanish Academy, transformational grammar can be defined as “the grammar that describes the cognitive system that allows speakers to produce and interpret the constructions that can be formed in their language.”
In this way, transformational grammar establishes a system of rules, with mathematical precision, that seeks to understand the human capacity to generate language; this is done through the study of the syntactic components of the language. The name “transformational” is due to the transformation processes that occur between syntactic structures.
Transformational grammar also suggests that while the brain’s capacity is limited, humans can create an infinite number of sentences and phrases.
Chomsky’s standard theory
Transformational grammar gained great importance in the field of modern linguistics from the publications of Noam Chomsky. His work was not only a great influence on other linguists, but also gave rise to other contributions by Chomsky himself.
The standard theory was the first model of generative grammar proposed by Chomsky and became the first theoretical framework for transformational grammar. It was published in 1965 in his work From him Aspects of the theory of syntax . This model suggests the existence of a surface structure and a deep structure, composed in turn by a base subcomponent and a transformational one. The model also includes three other components: syntactic, semantic, and phonological.
Within the deep structure, syntactic and semantic components come into play, sentences are generated, and semantic processing occurs. Within the superficial structure, the syntactic and phonological components act and the possible transformations of the elements that make up the sentence are carried out.
This theory was restated, with some modifications, in the early 1970s, in the Extended Standard Theory and a few years later in the Revised Extended Standard Theory , both by Chomsky.
Key concepts of Chomsky’s standard theory
According to Chomsky, language is an infinite set of sentences that are built using different elements. This demonstrates the generative nature of grammar, since, based on certain rules and components, it generates all the sentences of the language.
In the standard theory, Chomsky holds that grammar functions at two levels: deep structure and surface structure. Therefore, every sentence will be built taking into account this double structure. Likewise, between both structures transformation processes occur.
deep structure
The deep structure is related to the innate ability of the individual. From this structure arises the surface structure.
surface structure
The surface structure is associated with acting. In turn, performance is the result of the speaker’s linguistic faculty to generate language.
grammatical components
The grammatical components of the language are three:
- The syntactic component: it is the generator of the structures and the element of greater hierarchy. Both the semantic and phonological components have the same hierarchy. The syntactic component is composed of the following subcomponents:
- Base: it is a set of rules that allow generating deep structures.
- The categorical component: they are the rules that define the relationships between the different elements of one or more sentences.
- The lexicon: is the vocabulary of a certain language that the individual possesses.
- Transformations: are rules that convert deep structures into surface structures.
- Base: it is a set of rules that allow generating deep structures.
- The semantic component: they are the principles that allow interpreting the meaning of a sentence. It occurs in the deep structure.
- The phonological component: assigns a phonetic value to the surface structure.
Other transformational grammar theories
Throughout his career, Chomsky developed other theories that revised, expanded, and in some cases eliminated some of the concepts proposed in his standard theory . Some of them are: the extended standard theory, the theory of principles and parameters, the theory of governance and binding, and the minimalist program, among others.
extended standard theory
Since its formulation, Chomsky’s standard theory has been widely accepted by linguists. In fact, it became the foundation of modern linguistics.
However, it also received some criticism, mainly regarding the transformations. Some specialists pointed out that a transformation could also undergo a change in meaning. This would indicate, in turn, that the semantic component would interpret the superficial structure, instead of the deep one.
Theory of principles and parameters
In 1979, Chomsky proposed a new approach, which he called the principle-parameter approach, and described in various lectures. This new perspective focuses on some concepts of universal grammar, that is, the common grammar for all languages.
This work highlights the innate quality of the grammatical principles on which languages are based. Also, in the establishment of certain mental parameters that give rise to the differences between the different languages in the world.
Linkage and steer theory
Chomsky put forward this theory in 1981, in his book Lectures on Governance and Linkage . There he presented a model where the function of syntax is characterized by relating a person’s lexicon with his systems of thought and action, and includes some subtheories such as case, rule, linkage and control.
The theory of ruling and binding offers a precise and exhaustive explanation of the formation of sentences.
minimalist program
This theory is a revision that Chomsky carried out in 1995 on the theory of steering and linkage, as well as his previous theories. It is considered as the current approach of transformational grammar.
It is characterized by maintaining Chomsky’s initial idea, according to which the most important components of language are innate. Likewise, he suggests that the underlying language processing system is perfect and contains only the minimum necessary for the individual. This system is made up of at least three components: a knowledge system, also called a computational system, which includes the lexicon and syntax; the articulatory-perceptual system, which allows the statement to be issued; and the conceptual-intentional system, which interprets the instructions to achieve a logical and semantic composition.
The relationship between the computational system and the performance systems is produced through the phonetic form, which interacts with the articulatory-perceptual system, and the logical form, which are the instructions that interact with the conceptual-intentional system.
This model eliminates the levels of deep structure and surface structure, which were present in previous models and other previous theories, such as direction and the Theory of X, among others.
Bibliography
- Chomsky, N. Syntactic Structures . (1974). Spain. XXI Century of Spain Publishers.
- RAE. Dictionary of the Spanish language . Available at: https://www.rae.es/
- Santana Lario, J. The Theory of Principles and Parameters. Towards a «Degenerative» Grammar? Spain. Available at: http://www.ugr.es/~jsantana/publicaciones/degenerativa.htm
