Theoretical Grammar Definition and Examples

Theoretical Grammar Definition and Examples Theoretical grammar is concerned with language in general rather than with an individual language, as is the study of essential components of any human language.  Transformational grammar  is one variety of theoretical grammar.   According to Antoinette Renouf and Andrew Kehoe: Theoretical grammar or syntax is concerned with making completely explicit the formalisms of grammar, and in providing scientific arguments or explanations in favour of one account of grammar rather than another, in terms of a general theory of human language. (Antoinette Renouf and Andrew Kehoe, The Changing Face of Corpus Linguistics.  Rodopi, 2003) Traditional Grammar vs. Theoretical Grammar What generative linguists mean by grammar should not be confused, in the first instance, with what ordinary persons or nonlinguists might refer to by that term: namely, a traditional or pedagogical grammar such as the kind used to teach language to children in grammar school. A pedagogical grammar typically provides paradigms of regular constructions, lists of prominent exceptions to these constructions (irregular verbs, etc.), and descriptive commentary at various levels of detail and generality about the form and meaning of expressions in a language (Chomsky 1986a: 6). By contrast, a theoretical grammar, in Chomskys framework, is a scientific theory: it seeks to provide a complete theoretical characterization of the speaker-hearers knowledge of her language, where this knowledge is interpreted to refer to a particular set of mental states and structures. The difference between a theoretical grammar and a pedagogical grammar is one important distinction to bear in mind in order to avoid confusion about how the term grammar operates in theoretical linguistics. A second, more fundamental distinction is between a theoretical grammar and a mental grammar. (John Mikhail, Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment.  Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011)​ Descriptive Grammar vs. Theoretical Grammar A descriptive grammar (or reference grammar) catalogues the facts of a language, whereas a theoretical grammar uses some theory about the nature of language to explain why the language contains certain forms and not others. (Paul Baker, Andrew Hardie, and Tony McEnery, A Glossary of Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh Univ. Press, 2006)​ Descriptive and Theoretical Linguistics The purpose of descriptive and theoretical linguistics is to further our understanding of language. This is done through a continual process of testing theoretical assumptions against data, and analyzing data in the light of those assumptions which previous analyses have confirmed to such a degree that they form a more or less integral whole that is accepted as the currently preferred theory. Between them, the mutually dependent fields of descriptive and theoretical linguistics provide accounts and explanations of how things seem to be in language, and a terminology for use in discussions. (O. Classe, Encyclopedia of Literary Translation Into English. Taylor Francis, 2000) It seems that in modern theoretical grammar the differences between morphological and syntactic constructions are beginning to show up, for example in the fact that, in the European languages at least, syntactic constructions tend to be right-branching while morphological constructions tend to be left-branching. (Pieter A. M. Seuren, Western Linguistics: An Historical Introduction. Blackwell, 1998) Also Known As: theoretical linguistics, speculative grammar

The Pros And Cons Of Fitting In Essay Essays

The Pros And Cons Of Fitting In Essay Essays The Pros And Cons Of Fitting In Essay Essay The Pros And Cons Of Fitting In Essay Essay Essay Topic: Pros and Cons In the existent universe today. people from every background have faced the world of societal life and where they believe they would boom the most. Although we think we are ever right in any given state of affairs. it neer truly turns out that manner and brushs with adjustment in and the determinations made to be included in a certain societal group acknowledge the fact that sometimes we are incorrect. A quotation mark by Rick Warren states. â€Å"Those who follow the crowd normally get lost in it. † This remark describes that one time we become a follower. it is hard to alter. and may go trapped in the life of making Acts of the Apostless and workss for the leader who takes all the recognition while we starve merely to maintain in the class of a follower. In both short narratives. â€Å"Greasy Lake† and â€Å"Initiation† . the chief characters are confronted with determinations that makes it really hard for them to draw themselves out of. The two narratives normally portion the same message that adulthood. enticements. and peer-pressure arise all the clip and how we deal with it determines our hereafter. In â€Å"Greasy Lake† . the narrarator faces actions he does that inquiries if the description associated with him is the individual he truly is or if he is merely a regular adolescent who thinks he already grew up and matured. For illustration. the writer in â€Å"Greasy Lake† . describes the chief character as a tough adolescent who takes on the function of an grownup even when he shows immatureness at minutes. â€Å"We were all unsafe characters so. We wore torn-up leather jackets. slouched around with toothpicks in our oral cavities. sniffed gum and quintessence and what person claimed was cocaine† ( T. Coraghessan Boyle ) . The characters in this short narrative do Acts of the Apostless that they will reflect subsequently on in life and recognize that they were merely infantile and highly nescient. Although most of them were 18 or above. and felt like nil could halt them. one adult male stood up to the three male childs and set them to the trial. In add-on. once the state of affairs got out of manus. they fled the scene proving that even the toughest teens have character defects. The fact that they fled like cowards truly questioned their unity and adulthood. but besides made people think if they would make the same even if it made them look like a â€Å"pansy† . Even with their dorsums against the wall they could care less how they looked at the minute because like any other human being safety comes foremost. Furthermore. the storyteller even sees himself as a kid afraid of turning up. but takes on the function of a tough person to suit in when he states. â€Å"Understood. and stumbled back in horror and repugnance. my head yanked in six different waies ( I was nineteen a mere kid. an baby. and here in the infinite of five proceedingss I’d struck down one oily character and blundered into an boggy carcas of a 2nd. ) † ( T. Coraghessan Boyle ) . The storyteller exploits the fact that he was still a kid who neer thought before he acted and in this case could hold cost him his life. He realizes that being a tough person suits other people. but non himself. All in all. the male childs came to the decision that being â€Å"bad† expressions and feels cool but frequently can take to tragic results when they give in to peer-pressure. In â€Å"Initiation† by Sylvia Plath. a inquiry pops up: Are they making these Acts of the Apostless because they want to or because everyone else does it? For illustration. the chief character in Initiation. Millicent. waited for a really long clip to acquire a opportunity to be initiated in a privy sorority. but realizes that the jobs assigned to her makes her inquiry if she truly wants to travel through with the whole induction. â€Å"Millicent looked down the aisle of the crowded aisle and felt all of a sudden rather ill. She thought: How will I of all time do it. traveling up to all those stony-faced people who are gazing in cold blood out of the window†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Sylvia Plath ) . Certain induction darings like this one made Millicent repent desiring to be a portion of the sorority. but she overcame her frights and did all of the assignments asked upon her and it truly showed adulthood. Although Millicent did every job her big-sister asked her to make. she disobeyed the orders on occasion. and hence got punished for sometimes even smiling at a male child. There came a point in which Millicent became fearless of any act requested of her and the responsibilities became a game for her. â€Å"And from that clip on. inductions didn’t bother Millicent at all. She went gaily about Lewiston Square from shop to hive away inquiring for broken crackers and Mangifera indicas. and she merely laughed indoors when people stared and so brightened. replying her brainsick inquiries as if she were rather serious and truly a individual of consequence† ( Sylvia Plath ) . Initially. Millicent was a typical topic of how every miss acts in the procedure of induction. but Millicent came out of her shell. showed no failings. instead adulthood throughout the full procedure. â€Å"Greasy Lake† and â€Å"Initiation† are both narratives that truly stress the importance of adulthood and in state of affairss we need to maintain that adulthood and act like grownups instead than kids. In fact. in â€Å"Greasy Lake† the storyteller attempts a God atrocious act with the aid of his two brothers demoing no attention for others. In â€Å"Initiation† . Millicent completes her long fit end of going a member of the sorority. but alternatively shows adulthood in puting off from the group and feeling that she does non necessitate to be a follower to do friends or acquire noticed. â€Å"It was merely that she had learned there were other ways of acquiring into the great hall. blazing with visible radiations. of people and of life† ( Sylvia Plath ) . This quotation mark defines the exact message that dividing from the flock works out the best because one time that happens people will desire to be around an independent individual. Even wh en the safest function points to a follower. larning to step aside and see the other life of a leader exploits adulthood. Besides. in â€Å"Greasy Lake† . the storyteller shows his manhood. but right when the features of a â€Å"badass† slices. he commits the worst and feelings about him alteration. indicating out the bad features. â€Å"I came at him and brought the tyre Fe down across his ear. The consequence was instantaneous. astonishing. He was a stunt adult male and this was Hollywood. he was a large grimacing toothy balloon and I was a adult male with a consecutive pin. He collapsed. Wet his bloomerss. Went free in his boots† ( T. Coraghessan Boyle ) . The storyteller brought down what seemed to be a overly tough homo who was larger than most and held his ain against the three male childs until he was knocked out by a tyre Fe. The storyteller now felt unstoppable at this minute. and took it out on the man’s married woman who was wholly incapacitated. All together. the storyteller and Millicent made picks that affected their hereafter enormously positively or negatively . Peer-pressure frequently affiliates with bad vibraphones and elements. but how one deals with the state of affairs determines what sort of individual he/she reflects. Therefore. one often gets caught up in all the effects of peer-pressure and when that individual goes away with the act forced upon them. worse state of affairss stand in their manner. In add-on. the universe of peer-pressure quarries on the failings and exposure of people and attracts the incorrect crowd. In order to remain out of peer-pressure. the word â€Å"no† stands the biggest opportunity against the enticements that arise all the clip in people’s teenage old ages and sometimes subsequently on in life. All in all. people do non recognize how strong and affectional peer-pressure becomes. and one time entangled in the midst of it. the chance of avoiding it is highly hard.

How the Death Penalty Effects Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

How the Death Penalty Effects Family - Essay Example It is at this point that family members become devastated, hopeless, and left with the feeling of not being in a position of control to eradicate the sentence. Generally speaking when there is a death involved, the people that stay behind are the ones that suffer and morn. They are the ones that maintain the sense of, if I could have done more and what if? They are the ones that need professional help during the justice process, in this case, during the time of sentencing, and after the criminal’s departure. It is an even more a complex situation when inmates are innocent and placed on death row. In some cases they have been placed on death row and because their lawyers could not find the way to defend them or because of a lack of economy, they were put to death. It is even more detrimental when the family members of the convicted have to turn him/her in, to the authorities and when the family members are misled by the authorities in giving information on how the trial will be handled. This is the case of the Unabomber family members. They were told that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, would be treated from a humanistic point of view since he suffered schizophrenia, a mental illness. It was handled in this way only until his arrest. When he was arrested all officials looking into the case and wanted a person identified of these actions arrested, changed their modus operandi. They were no longer the humanistic types of persons who proceeded with the case. The focus of the Justice Department was refocused, â€Å"†¦on the goal of taking a human life† (Kaczynski, 2007). Ted ´s family questioned the prosecutors ´ in change of continuing the case, given another set of rules. They were overwhelmed about this turn around. Kaczynski (2007) thought of the ramifications of this change of thought from the Prosecutors ´ office and how this would discourage other families in following Ted’s family example