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Lecturer(s)
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Bennett Ľudmila, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Bidaud Samuel Henri, doc. PhD.
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Faltýnek Dan, doc. Mgr. Ph.D.
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Benešová Martina, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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(1) Deductive and inductive approach to constructing a grammar, autonomy of a linguistic theory; unique and independent methodology as a cornerstone of institutional linguistics;transcendental approaches to language description; phonetics vs phonology; communication process and language system, text as the initial source material; description requirements - non-self-contradictory, complete and unique (2) Commutation test; can commutation test describe more kinds of semiosis than human communication only? (3) Purport/umwelt and how it is structured; the expression - meaning set of a sign system; form - substance and the description of a sign function; system of figures, system of signs; expression set structure, meaning set structure (4) Invariants, variants and varieties in the language system and in the text; sum and syncretism, from quantities to grammatical categories; catalysis and text-extrapolation finding procedure; language and non-language, how to tell one from another, semiotics of communication and semiotics of denotation (5) Using the Prolegomena concept to construct a grammar; statistical point of view, explanation, mathematical-linguistical model in place of a grammar textbook (6) Semantic basis definition, semantic formula, semantics-based grammars; the base-meaning - identification and description; pragmatic component of the sign relation - definition and the way it is manifested in the language system structure and in the text; expression component of the sign relation, complex expression level of a grammatical category description; base semantic relations, models of semantic structure of an utterance (7) Interpretation-prone nature of Konstrukce gramatiky ze sémantické báze, methods to criticize grammatical descriptions and translated texts; starting from the meaning means that the form/expression of a grammatical category is 100% covered (8) Generative grammars - syntax and semantics; criticism of probability models of language, finite state and infinite state grammars and recursion; phrase structure language description, derivation (9) Transformation and how it manifests in language; transformation foundations of Mluvnice češtiny, syntactic and semantic criteria of grammar description of Czech; valence theory, semantic structure of a sentence and GG mechanisms of language description (10) Explanation a grammar description; explanation in minimalist theory, universal grammar (11) Explanation in cognitive linguistics; explanatory power of a theory, external (extra- lingual) factors in grammatical description - a starting point of cognitive linguistic concepts (12) Theory of grammaticalization; definition of the approach, examples of a grammaticalization process and of a grammatical category establishment; relations of grammaticalization processes and the information structure of the language system (distribution of speech sounds, word-formation types)
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
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Learning outcomes
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Students will be reading seminal works on major linguistic theories, which include works representing particular linguistic schools as well as works that exemplify methods proposed by them. Parallel to these, students will be exposed to texts that counterpoint methodologically sound works with their incomplete thesis formulation, flawed explanation or invalid arguments. The core texts will be discussed and this will serve as a springboard for articulating the way some of the main linguistic concepts are handled by each of them, explicitly or otherwise. The main focus will, of course, be inspecting how they go about constructing grammar, i.e. the procedure for finding the best grammatical description. Students will be studying the texts on their own; however, the instructor will assist them with highlighting points where the argumentation is similar to that of other works. There will be a one work that will be re-discussed throughout the course: Prolegomena to a Theory of Language by L. Hjelmslev (Hjelmslev, L.: O základech teorie jazyka. Praha: Academia, 1972). Hjelmslev's book is a sort of hyperbole of the way the structural theory constructs grammar, a method purest and most correct of them all. With Hjelmslev's method of language description being as abstract and safe as it is, the book serves a guidebook for constructing grammar based on dividing the text and putting the resulting units through a commutation test; the outcome is a set of sign/figural quantities, including, statistically speaking, their variants. Sum, syncretism, and catalysis are the side-concepts that make the division and commutation-based finding procedure practically feasible. Moreover, Hjelmslev's Prolegomena also presents a concise semiotic theory; students will be encouraged to consult it whenever they encounter a sign-related problem, either during the course or outside of it, especially when taking other grammar-based courses. Another of the core texts that will be lectured and discussed is Konstrukce gramatiky ze sémantické báze (Constructing a grammar based semantics). Like Hjelmslev's Prolegomena, Kořenský's book will first be introduced and discussed with respect to grammatical description and then tested on sample material (model of the Czech case system, the Czech conjugation model etc.) Also discussed will be Kořenský's semiotic theory of text. Unlike Hjelmslev's theory or the theory found in some traditional grammars, Kořenský's approach is to reconstruct semantic, pragmatic and formal relations; he does so in very general terms, focusing primarily on grammatical categories. The practical part of the course will centre around two grammar construction concepts: one based on form, the other based on meaning. Considering both real data and textbook examples, merits and flaws of either approach will be discussed. The concepts contained in Kořenský's book will be plotted against concepts of Mluvnice češtiny 2 (Czech grammar vol. 2). Later on in the course, Mluvnice češtiny 2 will be be proved to have been built upon generative grammar (shown on Noam Chomsky's Syntactic structures as a cornerstone of GG); placing Konstrukce gramatiky ze sémantické báze, Mluvnice češtiny 2 and Syntactic structures next to one another, we will see that the GG theory was absorbed by works of J. Kořenský, M. Komárek, F. Daneš, P. Sgall and other scholars and later incorporated into what became known as Academical grammar (i.e. Mluvnice češtiny 1, 2, 3 and 4). Students will be exposed to the historical development of generative grammar with the emphasis on the minimalist theory. The topics covered by GG will further our discussion of grammar construction approaches that build on the meaning and those that start from the form and deepen our understanding of Kořenský's concept of semantic-based grammar. Later, the class will encourage students to explore the concept of explanatory capability of a grammar and find out why a linguistic theory must attempt to provide an e
Understand the main points of the theory of grammar Be able to effectively compare grammar traditions and schools, especially with regard to sample data Formulate problem areas concerning the theory of grammar and present some of the accepted solutions Have a knowledge of the basic body of grammar theory literature and topics discussed in scholarly journals Have a solid understanding of seminal grammar theory works and concepts covered in the course Understand the historical development of grammatical description
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Prerequisites
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Reading English
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Student performance, Dialog, Systematic Observation of Student, Analyssis of the Student's Portfolio, Seminar Work
(1) active in-class participation (incl. home assignments - reading of one of the recommended texts (or part of it), discussion) (2) exam
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Recommended literature
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DANEŠ, F. - KOMÁREK, M. (1975). Teoretické základy synchronní mluvnice spisovné češtiny. Slovo a lovesnost 36, 18-46..
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de Saussure, F. (1996). Kurs obecné lingvistiky. Praha.
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Komárek, M. (2006). Příspěvky k české morfologii. V Olomouci: Periplum.
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KOMÁREK, Miroslav - KOŘENSKÝ, Jan et a. (1986). Mluvnice češtiny 2. Praha.
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Lamb, S. (1966). Outline of Stratificational Grammar. Washington.
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Taylor, J. R. (2002). Cognitive Grammar. New York.
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Vachek, J. (1970). U základů pražské lingvistické školy. Praha: Academia.
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