- •Theoretical grammar as a subject, its aim. Language as a functional system. Language and speech.
- •Types of meaning. Language levels and linguistic units.
- •The difference between system and structure.
- •Systematic relations in a language. Paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations.
- •Structural types of languages. English as an analytical language.
- •Morphology and syntax as two parts of linguistic description.
- •Grammatical meaning: explicit/implicit, general/dependent.
- •Types of morphemes.
- •Grammatical category as unity of meaning. The notion of opposition.
- •Analytical and synthetic formations.
- •The problems of definition and classification of parts of speech.
- •Grammatical homonymy.
- •Functional and notional parts of speech. Functional parts of speech. Preposition
- •Conjunctions
- •Particles
- •Interjection
- •General characteristics of the noun. Types of nouns.
- •Grammatical categories of nouns.
- •General characteristics of the adjective. Structural types of adjectives. The category of degrees of comparison.
- •The stative; its syntactical functions. The stative
- •Syntactic function
- •Substantivization (substantivation) of adjectives and adjectivization of nouns.
- •General characteristics of the adverb. Semantic types of adverbs. The category of degrees of comparison.
- •General characteristics of the pronoun. Types of pronouns. Grammatical categories of pronouns.
- •The numeral: meaning, form and function.
- •The verb, its meaning, form and function. Finite and non-finite verbs.
- •Structural types and morphological classes of verbs.
- •Modal verbs.
- •The categories of tense, aspect and phase (time-correlation).
- •The preposition, its types.
- •The conjunction, its types.
- •The particle and the interjection as parts of speech.
- •Subject of syntax.
- •Types of syntactic connection.
- •Word combinations, their types.
- •The notion of predication. Predication and modality
- •The sentence, its structure.
- •Main parts of sentence and their types.
- •Secondary parts of sentence and their types.
- •Prepositional and non-prepositional objects
- •The Apposition, Direct Address, Parentheses, and Insertions. Loose Parts.
- •Loose parts of sentence
- •Communicative types of sentences.
- •Structural types of sentences.
- •I‘m happy.
- •I‘m happy, but my kids are always complaining.
- •I’m happy, even though I don’t make much money.
- •I’m happy, even though I don’t make much money, but my kids are always complaining since we can’t afford to buy the newest toys.
- •Ellyptical sentences and one-member sentences.
- •Verbless two-member sentences and idiomatic sentences.
- •The composite sentence. Compound sentences.
- •The complex sentence, its structure and type of connection between clauses.
- •Types of clauses.
- •Independent clauses
- •Dependent clauses
- •Main or Independent Clause
- •Subordinate or dependent Clause
- •Noun Clause
- •Adjective Clause
- •Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses
- •Adverb Clause
- •Types of adverbial clauses.
- •Word order and inversion.
- •Interrogative Sentences
- •Imperative Sentences
Types of meaning. Language levels and linguistic units.
General characteristics of linguistic units. The main structural levels. Language is regarded as a system of elements (or: signs, units) such as sounds, words, etc. These elements have no value without each other, they depend on each other, they exist only in a system, and they are nothing without a system. System implies the characterization of a complex object as made up of separate parts (e.g. the system of sounds). Language is a structural system. Structure means hierarchical layering of parts in `constituting the whole. In the structure of language there are four main structural levels: phonological, morphological, syntactical and supersyntatical. The levels are represented by the corresponding level units: The phonological level is the lowest level. The phonological level unit is the`phoneme. It is a distinctive unit (bag – back).The morphological level has two level units: the `morpheme – the lowest meaningful unit (teach – teacher); the word - the main naming (`nominative) unit of language. The syntactical level has two level units as well: the word-group – the dependent syntactic unit; the sentence – the main communicative unit. The supersyntactical level has the text as its level unit. level has its own system. The level units are built up in the same way and that is why the units of a lower level serve the building material for the units of a higher level. This similarity and likeness of organization of linguistic units is called isomorphism. This is how language works – a small number of elements at one level can enter into thousands of different combinations to form units at the other level. Any linguistic unit is a double entity. It unites a concept and a sound image. The two elements are intimately united and each recalls the other. Accordingly, we distinguish the content side and the expression side. The forms of linguistic units bear no natural resemblance to their meaning. The link between them is a matter of convention, and conventions differ radically across languages.
The difference between system and structure.
Notions of ‘system’ and ‘structure’. General characteristics of linguistic units.
Language is regarded as a system of elements (or: signs, units) such as sounds, words, etc. These elements have no value without each other, they depend on each other, they exist only in a system, and they are nothing without a system. System implies the characterization of a complex object as made up of separate parts (e.g. the system of sounds). Language is a structural system. Structuremeans hierarchical layering of parts in `constituting the whole. In the structure of language there are four main structural levels: phonological, morphological, syntactical and supersyntatical. The levels are represented by the corresponding level units:
The phonological level is the lowest level. The phonological level unit is the`phoneme. It is a distinctive unit (bag – back).
The morphological level has two level units:
the `morpheme – the lowest meaningful unit (teach – teacher);
the word - the main naming (`nominative) unit of language.
The syntactical level has two level units as well:
the word-group – the dependent syntactic unit;
the sentence – the main communicative unit.
The supersyntactical level has the text as its level unit.
All structural levels are subject matters of different levels of linguistic analysis. At different levels of analysis we focus attention on different features of language. Generally speaking, the larger the units we deal with, the closer we get to the actuality of people’s experience of language.
To sum it up, each level has its own system. Therefore, language is regarded as a system of systems. The level units are built up in the same way and that is why the units of a lower level serve the building material for the units of a higher level. This similarity and likeness of organization of linguistic units is called isomorphism. This is how language works – a small number of elements at one level can enter into thousands of different combinations to form units at the other level.
We have arrived at the conclusion that the notions of system and structure are not synonyms – any system has its own structure (compare: the system of Ukrainian education vs. the structure of Ukrainian education; army organization).
Any linguistic unit is a double entity. It unites a concept and a sound image. The two elements are intimately united and each recalls the other. Accordingly, we distinguish the content side and the expression side. The forms of linguistic units bear no natural resemblance to their meaning. The link between them is a matter of convention, and conventions differ radically across languages. Thus, the English word ‘dog’ happens to denote a particular four-footed domesticated creature, the same creature that is denoted in Ukrainian by the completely different form. Neither form looks like a dog, or sounds like one.