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    What Is Basic Linguistic Theory

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    ÆónLunik
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    What Is Basic Linguistic Theory

    Uploaded by

    ÆónLunik
    209 views2 pages
    yeah

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    What is Basic Linguistic Theory

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    209 views2 pages

    What Is Basic Linguistic Theory

    Uploaded by

    ÆónLunik
    yeah

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    22/8/2016

    Whatisbasiclinguistictheory?

    What is basic linguistic theory?

    Theexpression"basiclinguistictheory"(followingR.M.W.Dixon)referstothetheoretical
    frameworkthatismostwidelyemployedinlanguagedescription,particularlygrammatical
    descriptionsofentirelanguages.Itisalsotheframeworkassumedbymostworkinlinguistic
    typology.Thestatusofbasiclinguistictheoryasatheoreticalframeworkisnotoftenrecognized.
    Peopleusingbasiclinguistictheoryoftencharacterizetheirworkasatheoreticalortheoryneutral
    ortheoreticallyeclectic.However,thereisreallynosuchthingasatheoreticalortheoryneutral
    description,sinceonecannotdescribeanythingwithoutmakingsometheoreticalassumptions.
    Theextenttowhichmostdescriptiveworksharesthesametheoreticalassumptionsisactually
    ratherstriking,especiallywhenoneconsidershowmuchsuchworkhasincommoninits
    assumptionscomparedtoothertheoreticalframeworks.Itisprobablythemostwidelyusedand
    bestknowntheoreticalframeworkinthefield,especiallyoutsidetheUnitedStates.Itis
    particularlypopularamonglinguistswhoaremoreinterestedinlanguagesthaninlanguage.
    Manylinguistswhoareadherentsofothertheoreticalframeworksassumeitasapointof
    departure,asaframeworktheywishtoimproveon.
    Unlikemanytheoreticalframeworksinlinguistics,whichareoftenephemeralandpassquickly
    intoobsolescence,basiclinguistictheoryisacumulativeframeworkthathasslowlydeveloped
    overthepastcenturyaslinguistshavelearnedhowtodescribelanguagesbetter.Itisgroundedin
    traditionalgrammarandcanbeseenashavingevolvedoutoftraditionalgrammar.Ithasalso
    beenheavilyinfluencedbypregenerativestructuralisttraditions,particularlyinemphasizingthe
    needtodescribeeachlanguageinitsownterms,ratherthanimposingonindividuallanguages
    conceptswhoseprimarymotivationcomesfromotherlanguages,incontrasttotraditional
    grammarandmanyrecenttheoreticalframeworks.Ithastakenanalytictechniquesfrom
    structuralisttraditions,particularlyintheareasofphonologyandmorphology.Butitalso
    contrastswithworkthatismorepurelystructuralistinattemptingtodescribelanguagesina
    moreuserfriendlyfashion,inincludingsemanticconsiderationsinitsanalyses,andin
    employingterminologythathasbeenusedforsimilarphenomenainotherlanguages.
    Basiclinguistictheoryhasalsobeeninfluencedtoacertainextentbygenerativegrammar,
    thoughtheinfluencehasprimarilybeenfromearlygenerativegrammar(before1970)andis
    oftenindirect.Theinfluencelargelyreflectsthefactthatearlygenerativegrammarexamined
    manyaspectsofthesyntaxofEnglishingreatdetail,andtheinsightsofthatresearchhave
    influencedhowbasiclinguistictheorylooksatthesyntaxofotherlanguages,especiallyinterms
    ofhowonecanargueforparticularanalyses.Theinfluenceofgenerativegrammarcanbeseenin
    thewaythatcertainconstructionsinotherlanguagesareidentifiedandcharacterizedinways
    reminiscentofconstructionsinEnglish,fromcleftconstructionsto"topicalizations"toreflexive
    constructions.Morerecentworkingenerativegrammar,especiallyGovernmentBindingTheory,
    hashadessentiallynoimpactonbasiclinguistictheory.
    Inthepast30years,theprimaryinfluenceonbasiclinguistictheoryhascomefromworkin
    linguistictypology.Thisinfluencehascomeprimarilyfromtherecognitionofrecurrentsortsof
    phenomenacrosslinguisticallyandbasiclinguistictheoryhasincorporatedmanysubstantive
    conceptsdiscussedinthetypologicalliterature.Thisincludessuchnotionsassplitintransitivity,
    antipassiveconstructions,internallyheadedrelativeclauses,switchreference,andheadmarking.
    Workintypologyhasalsoinfluencedthewaylinguistsdescribinglanguagesthinkaboutsuch
    thingsasergativityandrelativeclauses.
    http://linguistics.buffalo.edu/people/faculty/dryer/dryer/blt

    1/2

    22/8/2016

    Whatisbasiclinguistictheory?

    Basiclinguistictheorydiffersfrommanyothertheoreticalframeworksinthatitisnotaformal
    theorybutanINformaltheory.Thatis,manygrammaticalphenomenacangenerallybe
    characterizedwithsufficientprecisioninEnglish(orsomeothernaturallanguage),withoutthe
    useofformalism.
    Theabovediscussionfocusesonthemorphosyntacticsideofbasiclinguistictheory(orwhatone
    mightcall"basicsyntactictheory"),butonecanalsotracethehistoricalinfluencesonphonology
    inbasiclinguistictheory.Theconceptofthephonemeisprobablythemostcentralphonological
    conceptinbasiclinguistictheory:identifyingthephonemesinalanguageremainsthemost
    fundamentaltaskindescribingthephonologyofalanguage.Butgenerativephonologyhasalso
    influencedbasiclinguistictheory:languagedescriptionsoftenfindthegenerativenotionof
    phonologicalruleuseful,andthedescriptivetoolsofmorerecentphonologicaltheories,
    especiallyautosegmentalphonology,haveprovenusefulfordescriptivelinguists.
    Matthew Dryer's Homepage
    Copyright 2001. Department of Linguistics, University at Buffalo. All rights reserved.

    http://linguistics.buffalo.edu/people/faculty/dryer/dryer/blt

    2/2

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