Notes for Transformational Generative Grammar

Key Concepts in Chomsky's Syntax Theory

1. Deep Structure:
o This is an abstract, mental representation of a sentence that captures its core
meaning.
o It’s not something we directly see or hear, but it represents how the mind
organizes thoughts before they are turned into spoken or written language.
o Think of it as the "blueprint" of a sentence in your mind.
2. Surface Structure:
o This is the actual spoken or written form of a sentence.
o It’s what we hear when someone talks or what we read on a page.

The Process of Transformation

 Transformational Rules: These are rules that convert the deep structure into a surface
structure. They can change the order of words, add or remove elements, and adjust the
sentence to fit the grammatical rules of the language.

Example to Illustrate the Concept

Let’s use a simple sentence to illustrate these concepts:

 Deep Structure: "John sees Mary."

o This represents the basic idea or meaning that John is seeing Mary.

To transform this deep structure into various surface structures, we apply transformational rules:

 Surface Structure 1: "John sees Mary."

o This is the straightforward sentence form.
 Surface Structure 2: "Does John see Mary?"
o By applying a rule to form a question, the deep structure is transformed into an
interrogative surface structure.
 Surface Structure 3: "Mary is seen by John."
o By applying a rule to form a passive sentence, the deep structure is transformed
into a passive voice surface structure.

Why This Matters

 Economy of Learning: If every possible surface structure had to be learned individually,

it would be incredibly inefficient. There would be thousands of variations that a person
would need to memorize.
  Efficiency: By having a few deep structures and a set of transformational rules, the brain
can generate an infinite number of sentences efficiently. This means that rather than
learning every sentence variation, we learn a few basic structures and rules for
transforming them.

Summarizing the Rationale

1. Redundancy: Listing every possible surface structure would result in a massive,

redundant lexicon in our minds.
2. Simplicity and Economy: By storing sentences as deep structures, we only need a few
core ideas and some transformational rules. This makes learning and processing language
much more efficient.
3. Flexibility: This system allows for the generation of a wide variety of sentences from a
limited set of underlying structures, facilitating creativity and flexibility in language use.

In Conclusion

Chomsky's theory suggests that our minds use deep structures as a base, transforming them into
the sentences we speak and hear using transformational rules. This approach simplifies language
learning and usage, allowing us to understand and produce a vast array of sentences efficiently.
Rationale Behind Deep and Surface Structures

1. Avoiding Redundancy in Learning:

o Problem: If every possible sentence variation (surface structure) had to be stored
in the mind, it would lead to a highly inefficient and overwhelming learning
process. Each different sentence form would need to be learned individually,
resulting in an enormous, redundant mental lexicon.
o Solution: By having a few underlying deep structures, the brain only needs to
learn basic sentence structures and a set of transformational rules to generate
different surface forms. This approach drastically reduces redundancy.
2. Cognitive Efficiency:
o Problem: The brain has limited cognitive resources. Storing and accessing a
massive number of individual sentences would be highly inefficient and slow
down language processing.
o Solution: Deep structures represent the core meaning of sentences in a simple,
abstract form. Transformational rules then convert these deep structures into
various surface structures. This method allows for efficient storage and quick
retrieval of linguistic information, making language processing faster and more
flexible.
3. Generativity of Language:
o Problem: Language is highly creative and generative. People constantly produce
and understand new sentences they have never heard before. A system that relies
on memorizing all possible sentences would fail to account for this generative
aspect.
o Solution: With a finite set of deep structures and transformational rules, an
infinite number of sentences can be generated. This generativity reflects the
natural creativity of human language, allowing for the formation of new sentences
and expressions on the fly.
4. Universal Grammar:
o Problem: Languages vary widely across cultures and regions, yet children
everywhere seem to learn their native language quickly and effortlessly.
Explaining this universal ability is challenging if each language's complex surface
structures had to be learned individually.
o Solution: Chomsky's idea of a Universal Grammar suggests that deep structures
are based on common principles shared by all languages. These universal
principles make language learning more intuitive and consistent, supporting the
idea that humans have an innate ability to acquire language.
5. Transformational Rules:
o Problem: Surface structures alone cannot account for the variety and complexity
of sentence forms, such as questions, negations, and passive constructions.
o Solution: Transformational rules bridge the gap between deep structures and their
surface representations. These rules systematically convert deep structures into
various sentence forms, accounting for the complexity and variability observed in
language use.
Illustrative Example

Let's consider a sentence in different forms:

1. Deep Structure: Represents the core meaning, e.g., "John loves Mary."
2. Surface Structure Variations:
o Declarative: "John loves Mary."
o Interrogative: "Does John love Mary?"
o Negative: "John does not love Mary."
o Passive: "Mary is loved by John."

Each surface structure is generated from the same deep structure using transformational rules.
This approach:

 Simplifies the learning process.

 Utilizes cognitive resources efficiently.
 Supports the generative nature of language.
 Reflects universal principles underlying all languages.
 Accounts for the complexity and variety in sentence forms.

Conclusion

Chomsky's proposal of deep and surface structures, with transformational rules converting one
into the other, provides a powerful framework for understanding the efficiency, flexibility, and
generativity of human language. This rationale addresses the challenges of redundancy, cognitive
efficiency, and language acquisition, offering a coherent explanation for the complex nature of
linguistic competence and performance.

Theoretical Approach to Transformational Generative Grammar (TGG)

Understanding Transformational Generative Grammar (TGG) involves examining its key

components and how they interact to produce meaningful sentences. Here’s a breakdown of each
component and its role:

1. Base Component (Deep Structure)

 Definition: The Base Component represents the deep structure of linguistic competence.
It is universal and embodies the mental representation of syntactic structures.
 Function: It generates basic syntactic structures that express the rule-governed, spatio-
temporal interrelations of the environment in the mind of a native speaker.
 Example: This deep structure consists of basic elements like noun phrases (NP) and verb
phrases (VP) organized in a way that reflects the fundamental meaning of a sentence.

2. Semantic Component
  Definition: Closely linked to the Deep Structure, the Semantic Component is the part of
syntax that deals with meaning.
 Function: It expresses the linguistic environment of the learner in terms of lexical items
and their paradigmatic relationships. It categorizes actions and states into:
o Existence: Using the verb ‘to be’ (e.g., is, am, are, was, were).
o Possession: Using the verb ‘to have’ (e.g., has, have, had).
o Action: Using the verb ‘to do’ to denote mental or physical actions.
 Thematic Roles: At this level, the roles such as subject, experiencer, theme, agent, and
source are defined based on the verb and the context of the utterance.
 Example: "The cat (agent) is on the mat (location)." Here, 'is' indicates existence.

3. Grammatical Function

 Definition: This component determines the syntactic roles of elements within an

utterance.
 Function: It assigns syntactic functions (subject, object, etc.) to nominal or pronominal
elements in relation to the finite verb and its mood.
 Example: "John (subject) kicked (verb) the ball (object)." The grammatical function
assigns 'John' as the subject and 'the ball' as the object.

4. Transformational Component

 Definition: The Transformational Component transforms deep structures into surface

structures, which are the actual sentences we use.
 Function: This component applies language-specific rules to convert universal deep
structures into specific surface structures. It handles various syntactic processes like
negation, interrogation, substitution, passivization, narration, and inversion.
 Example Processes:
o Negation: "John is happy." → "John is not happy."
o Interrogation: "John is happy." → "Is John happy?"
o Passivization: "John kicked the ball." → "The ball was kicked by John."
 Conceptualization: It concretizes abstract mental representations into specific language
forms.

5. Phonological Component

 Definition: This component deals with the phonemic representation of sentences.

 Function: It ensures sentences are pronounced correctly and transmitted between
speakers and listeners. It is the output of the Base, Semantic, and Transformational
Components.
 Example: The surface structure "Is John happy?" is converted into a phonemic form that
can be spoken and heard.

Example to Illustrate the Process

Let’s consider a sentence and see how it passes through each component:
 1. Deep Structure (Base Component):
o Representation: [NP John] [VP kicked [NP the ball]]
o This structure captures the fundamental meaning: John is performing the action of
kicking the ball.
2. Semantic Component:
o Roles: John (agent), ball (theme)
o Categorization: Action (kick) with the verb 'to do'.
3. Grammatical Function:
o Syntactic roles: Subject (John), Verb (kicked), Object (the ball)
o Structure: Subject-Verb-Object (SVO)
4. Transformational Component:
o Apply transformations to generate various surface forms.
o Negation: "John did not kick the ball."
o Interrogation: "Did John kick the ball?"
o Passivization: "The ball was kicked by John."
5. Phonological Component:
o Convert the surface structure "Did John kick the ball?" into a phonemic form that
can be spoken and heard.

Conclusion

Chomsky’s Transformational Generative Grammar provides a framework for understanding how

sentences are generated from abstract mental representations (deep structures) and transformed
into the specific forms we use in everyday communication (surface structures). By breaking
down the process into base, semantic, grammatical, transformational, and phonological
components, TGG explains the complexity and efficiency of human language.
The Theoretical Approach to Transformational Grammar (TG) involves several components that
work together to explain how sentences are constructed and understood. Here is a detailed
explanation of each component mentioned in the text:

1. Base Component (Deep Structure):

o The Base Component refers to the Deep Structure of linguistic competence, which
is universal and innate to all humans.
o It exhibits syntagmatic relationships among elements in the mind of a native
speaker. These are the linear sequences of words that form the basic syntactic
structures.
o This component generates fundamental syntactic structures that express the rule-
governed spatial and temporal interrelationships in the environment of the speaker
or listener.
2. Semantic Component:
o The Semantic Component is closely related to the Deep Structure and represents
the lexical part of syntax, dealing with meanings.
o It expresses the linguistic environment of the learner in paradigmatic
relationships, which are sets of elements that can substitute for each other in a
given context (e.g., synonyms).
o In a speech community, this component allows for the expression of existence,
possession, and action through specific verbs (e.g., "to be," "to have," and "to
do").
o It helps determine the thematic roles of entities (like subject, agent, or theme) in
various spatio-temporal contexts.
3. Grammatical Function:
o This component shows the roles that elements of the Semantic Component play in
a sentence (e.g., subject, experiencer, theme, agent, source, complement).
o It helps establish the syntactic functionality of nominal or pronominal objects
with the help of finite verbs, verb moods, and cases.
o At this level, universal spatio-temporal relations are given syntactic structure
within sentences.
4. Transformational Component:
o The Transformational Component converts basic syntactic structures (Deep
Structures) into specific sentences (Surface Structures) that we actually speak and
write.
o This component is language-specific and applies various transformations (e.g.,
negation, interrogation, substitution, passivization, narration, inversion) to the
universal Deep Structure.
o It transforms abstract concepts into specific language expressions, making the
universal idea of "langage" (language as a general human faculty) into "langue" (a
specific language like English or French).
o This involves converting mental representations into concrete language-specific
grammatical categories and contextual morphemes.
5. Phonological Component:
 o The Phonological Component deals with the phonemic representation of
sentences, ensuring they can be pronounced and understood in communication.
o It is the final output of the combined work of the Base, Semantic,
Transformational, and Grammatical Function components.
o This component takes the structured and transformed sentences and prepares them
for actual spoken or heard communication.

In summary, Transformational Grammar describes how humans generate and understand

sentences by starting from universal mental structures (Deep Structures), adding semantic
meanings, assigning grammatical functions, applying language-specific transformations, and
finally producing pronounceable phonemic representations.