المحاضرة#14

Lesson #14
Rule V: Passivisation
Passivisation Rule
NP1 – Aux. – V – NP2 Pass. NP2 – Aux. – en – V – by – NP1
Examples
1. Surface structure: She was seen by him.
Kernel: He saw her.
Analysis: he – past – see – her.
Pass.: she – past – be – en – see – by him.
Affix: she – be – past – see – en – by him.
(was) (seen)
2. Orders have been obeyed.
Kernel: (They) have obeyed the orders.
Analysis: they – pres. – have – en – obey – the orders.
Pass.: the ordered - pres. – have – en – be-en – obey – by them.
Affix: the orders – have – pres. – be – en – obey – en.
(have) (seen) (obeyed)
3. The match will be won by us.
Kernel: We will win the match.
Analysis: we – pres. – will - win – the match.
Pass.: the match – pres. – will – be – en – win – by us
Affix: the match – will – press – be – win - en – by us
(will) (won)
Tree diagram
S
the girl will play - - - - >
S
Question the girl will play
S
will the girl play
Transformational rules, as have been seen, help us to understand the operations that go on in the mind of the child as he frames complicated language structures in his mind. TG rules are generative in the sense that with the help of TG rules one can produce any number of possible sentences in the language.
It may, however, be pointed out that the TG grammar has its own limitations. Research in the field of grammar is a continuing process. Many new theories, the Montatiue Grammar, Fillmore’s Case Grammar, Scale and Category Grammar or Systemic Grammar based on the Firthian School have come up. Maybe, in the years to come, we may have better theories of grammar that provide more insight into the learning and teaching of language.
What is Transformational Grammar (TG)?
The shortcoming and inadequacies of the phrase-structure grammar, particularly its inability to account for transformational relationships led Chomsky to devise a grammatical system that would ‘cover the entire language directly … by repeated application of a rather simple set of translations to the strings given by phrase structure grammar’. Transformation is an act of transforming one sentence into another, from
deep structure into surface structure. Chomsky’s theory claims that sentences have a surface structure and a deep structure.
If we take a sentence like ‘I met her’ which is an active sentence we can transform it into ‘she was met by me’ by rules of passivisation which can be shown as below:
NP1 + V + NP2 (Active)
NP2 + IS + Ven + by +NP1 (Passive)
The two sentences are not considered different, the second one only a transformation of the first.
In the same way Has she seen me? Is only a transform of she has seen me obtained through a process of ‘permutation’.
Broadly, there are three basic components of transformational model.
(a) The Phrase-structure component which consists of a sequence of rules, or the
form X -- > Y. ‘it begins with the initial symbol sentence (S) and constructs derivation through the application of the rules of F’.
Noam Chomsky formalized this system of analysis and also pointed out its basic limitations. He formalized it by means of a system of generative rules which explicity assign the correct constituent structure to sentences. Such systems are called simple phrase-structure grammars. Consider the following system of rules which will generate and characterize the sentence.
Example : The girl will write a letter.
1. S -- > NP + VP
2. VP -- > Verb + NP
3. NP -- > Det + N
4. Verb -- > Aux. + main verb
5. Det. -- > a…
6. N -- > girl, letter …
7. Aux. -- > will …
8. Main verb -- > write
Each of these rules is in the form X – Y, where X is a single element and Y is a string. (‘String’ is a technical term and means a sequence of elements or symbols). The arrow is to be interpreted as an instruction to replace the element that occurs to its right (rewrite ‘X’ and ‘Y’)
In the present case it is exemplified by the + girl + will + write + a + letter. The labeled bracketing, associated with a terminal string generated by a phrase structure, is called a phrase maker.
(b) The transformational component introduces changes in the morphemes of the
terminal strings produced by the P.S. component. Transformations are either obligatory or optional (such as passivisation of an active sentence). A basic distinction between Kernel sentences and transforms is made here. There are, in brief, core sentences, the most primary having the S - - >NP + VP structure. All other structures, having a relative or subordinate clause, interrogative, passives, etc. are said to be derived forms or transformations of kernel sentences.
For examples.
1. She saw a dog
Its various derivations would be
2. She did not see a dog
3. Did she see a dog?
4. Didn’t she see a dog?
5. A dog was seen by her
6. A dog was not seen by her
7. Was a dog seen by her?
8. Wasn’t a dog seen by her
The different forms that we see from (2 – 8) are the derivations of the basic
kernel sentence (1) : they have been obtained or generated by applying the optional transformation rules.
The notion of the Kernel sentence was abandoned by Chomsky later on (1965 – Aspects of the Theory of Syntax). But, this motion still remains a very convenient step to understanding the essential transformational process. Chomsky later on added a
semantic component too, to understand and explain the role of meaning. He also changed the PS component and renamed it as base