Review:
1. Introduction to 'Understanding Syntax'
Pages Covered: 1 - 27
This organized breakdown covers the important points discussed in the reviewed portion of 'Understanding Syntax,' providing a structured overview of the book's contents and highlights.
Focus: Syntax exploration across languages
Synopsis:
The book delves into language structure, defining syntax beyond sentence building and covering grammatical principles such as sound systems, contextual adaptations, and so on. It broadens awareness without presuming prior knowledge and includes a useful glossary.
2. Language Acquisition and Grammatical Norms
Emphasis:
Native speaker's innate understanding of grammar
Highlight:
Challenges societal judgments on language forms and explores language universality.
3. Technical Exploration of Language Structure
Focus:
Comparative analysis of sentence structures
Examples:
English and Indonesian sentences, showcasing rearrangements without altering meaning.
Emphasis:
Historical changes in English grammar, modern syntactic modifications, and the examination of linguistic examples from various backgrounds.
4. Active and Passive Constructions
Explanation:
Comparison between active and passive constructions in sentences.
Analysis:
Emphasis on the agent in active constructions vs. the recipient in passive constructions.
Grammatical Aspects:
Details on the structure of passive constructions and their variations across languages.
5. In-depth Linguistic Concepts and Exercises
Coverage:
Detailed exploration of linguistic phenomena
Languages Examined:
English, Japanese, and many other languages
Focus:
Readers will benefit from nuanced sentence structure, subject-object relationships, and practical activities.
6. Overall Synopsis and Recommendation
Synopsis:
Comprehensive study of syntax and its role in shaping language
Audience:
Suitable for linguists, language enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the mechanics of language.
Resourceful Aspects:
Extensive glossary, references, and indices for comprehensive understanding.
7. Final Thoughts on 'Understanding Syntax'
Summary:
Detailed examination of syntax, a resource for linguists, language enthusiasts, and those fascinated by language mechanics.
Key Attributes:
Explores language universality, psychological factors, grammaticality judgments, and linguistic structures.
Tallerman's 'Understanding Syntax' takes the reader on an illuminating trip through the complex world of language structure. This book digs into the essence of syntax, revealing the intricacies of how words interweave to form the fabric of sentences and phrases in different languages.
Tallerman broadens the scope of'syntax' to include more than just sentence building by analyzing grammar's encompassing principles, which include sound systems, word forms, contextual adaptations, and more. Syntax becomes a doorway into understanding language organization, embracing word classification, sentence order, structure, and a variety of linguistic formations, not just in English but in other languages as well.
Tallerman introduces a plethora of grammatical phrases throughout the work, gradually establishing a full comprehension without assuming prior knowledge, with the goal of equipping readers with fundamental syntactic principles and vocabulary. The book deftly illustrates complex topics, returning to and reinforcing them throughout the chapters, concluding in a useful glossary for rapid reference.
Tallerman distinguishes this work from descriptive grammar by highlighting its emphasis on language organizing principles rather than recording specific linguistic idiosyncrasies. The author rejects prescriptive grammar, which prescribes language usage, and claims that native speakers understand the grammar of their language without formal training.
Tallerman contends that linguistic abilities are innate by refuting misunderstandings about language learning, comparing grammar acquisition to the natural course of learning to walk. The book questions cultural perceptions of language forms, emphasizing the logical consistency of non-standard languages and challenging conventional claims of grammatical accuracy.
Furthermore, it investigates the universal characteristics of language, revealing shared structures and principles among various languages. Tallerman's research suggests an innate language faculty, a unique human attribute essential to language acquisition, as seen by the similarities found in languages all over the world.
In essence, 'Understanding Syntax' is a thought-provoking journey that transcends the confines of specific languages, inviting readers into the enthralling world of syntax, offering insights into the innate human language faculty, and unraveling the universality that underpins the global complexity of languages.
A technical investigation of language structure based on the examination of diverse sentences and their syntactic patterns in various languages from all over the world from Japan to Canada.
5th Edition
Understanding Syntax By Maggie Tallerman Copyright 2020: Link
