ÁNGEL MARTÍNEZ HIGÓN
UNIT 1. THE COMPONENTS OF GRAMMAR
1.- The components of grammar
1.1.- A brief introduction
1.1.1- What is grammar?
Grammar (from the Ancient Greek γραμματική – “art of letters”) can be defined in many
ways. According to The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language: “a grammar of a language
describes the principles or rules governing the form and meanings of words, phrases, clauses,
and sentences”. Furthermore, it can be defined as the intricate network of knowledge that
underlies our ability to use language. There are many definitions, but all of them have two things
in common:
• Grammar is tacit: you can’t figure out how it works just by thinking about it. Speakers of a
language know what sounds right and what doesn’t sound right, but they are not sure how
they know it.
• All languages have a grammar.
1.1.2.- Components of linguistic.
Linguistics is the study of how language works (how it is used, how it is acquired, how
it changes over time, how it is represented in the brain, and so on). It is the mental grammar
present in speakers’ minds.
Linguistic studies language as a system, which has several levels and components
interrelated:
Definition Unit of
analysis
Lexicon All the words a speaker knows. Knowing a word means to know Word
its phonology, morphology, meaning and syntax. e.g., Heart
Phonology The study of speech sounds of a particular language. Phoneme
e.g., /bɜːd/
Morphology The study of structure of words in a particular language. Morpheme
e.g., Heart1
Syntax The study of order and arrangement of words into larger units. Sentence
word < phrase (syntagma) < clause ( subordinates) < sentence e.g., 2
Semantics The study of meanings in a language. Word
e.g., Heart3
Pragmatics The study of how language is affected by the situation in which Utterance
it is used. e.g., 4
1
Heart: free (open-class word) and lexical (content word) morpheme.
2
The red heart / *The heart red.
3
Heart: the organ in your chest that sends the blood around your body.
4
I heart you: to "heart" someone has come to mean that you love someone.
1
UNIT 1. THE COMPONENTS OF GRAMMAR
1.- The components of grammar
1.1.- A brief introduction
1.1.1- What is grammar?
Grammar (from the Ancient Greek γραμματική – “art of letters”) can be defined in many
ways. According to The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language: “a grammar of a language
describes the principles or rules governing the form and meanings of words, phrases, clauses,
and sentences”. Furthermore, it can be defined as the intricate network of knowledge that
underlies our ability to use language. There are many definitions, but all of them have two things
in common:
• Grammar is tacit: you can’t figure out how it works just by thinking about it. Speakers of a
language know what sounds right and what doesn’t sound right, but they are not sure how
they know it.
• All languages have a grammar.
1.1.2.- Components of linguistic.
Linguistics is the study of how language works (how it is used, how it is acquired, how
it changes over time, how it is represented in the brain, and so on). It is the mental grammar
present in speakers’ minds.
Linguistic studies language as a system, which has several levels and components
interrelated:
Definition Unit of
analysis
Lexicon All the words a speaker knows. Knowing a word means to know Word
its phonology, morphology, meaning and syntax. e.g., Heart
Phonology The study of speech sounds of a particular language. Phoneme
e.g., /bɜːd/
Morphology The study of structure of words in a particular language. Morpheme
e.g., Heart1
Syntax The study of order and arrangement of words into larger units. Sentence
word < phrase (syntagma) < clause ( subordinates) < sentence e.g., 2
Semantics The study of meanings in a language. Word
e.g., Heart3
Pragmatics The study of how language is affected by the situation in which Utterance
it is used. e.g., 4
1
Heart: free (open-class word) and lexical (content word) morpheme.
2
The red heart / *The heart red.
3
Heart: the organ in your chest that sends the blood around your body.
4
I heart you: to "heart" someone has come to mean that you love someone.
1
