8. Theoretical Grammar in the Systemic Conception of Language

Any language is regarded as a system of elements that have no value without each other, depend on each other and exist only in a system. Language includes 3 constituent parts:

1. Phonetics

2. Lexicology

3. Grammar

Grammar in it’s turn is divided into morphology and syntax.

Morphology studied the internal structure of the word, parts of speech and their grammatical categories. Syntax deals with the rules that govern combination of words in sentences and texts.

The interpretation is based on 3 notions:

1. Their different between language and speech

2. Their notion language levels and language units

3. Linguistic relations

The different (discrimination) of language and speech was made by Ferdinand de Saussure.

Language is a collective body of knowledge, a set of basic elements. It includes phonemes, morphemes, words, word groups and a set of rules how to use them.

Speech is the use of the language in the process of communication.

Language	Speech
Social (used by society)	Individual (have peculiarities, belong to one’s)
Systemic (Hierarchical)	Linear (one by one)
Potential (a lot of opportunities)	Actual (real, one opportunity)
Static	Dynamic (change, develop)

Problem 1. Language levels and units

Level	Unit	Function
Phonological	Phoneme	Building (a+n=an) Distinctive (back-bag)
Morphological	Morpheme	Meaningful
Lexemic	Lexeme Word form	Nominative (name objects and phenomena)
Phraseomic	Word group	Characterization of a complex phenomenon
Proposemic level of sentence	Sentence	Communicative Predicative Predication is a combination of a subject and a predicate. The predicate expresses tense and mood. They connect what it is with what is said (the sentence with the objective reality)
Topicalization	Utterance Text	Topicalization Stylization (can make the analyze)

Problem 2. Linguistic relation

There exist 2 fundamental typed of linguistic relation: paradigmatic (PR - как существует) and syntagmatic (как ведет себя в речи).

1. PR

A linguistic unit enters into PR with all the units that can occur in the same environment. These are the units that replace each other. There are 3 types of PR:

1. Semantic PR are based on similarity of meaning (he went/used to go/would go to school as a child)

2. Formal PR are based on similarity of forms. A paradigm is a set of all the forms of one and the same word that exist in the language (infinitive – 6 forms, adverb – 3 forms) A dog – dogs

The dog – the dogs

A dog’s (leg) – dogs’ (legs)

The dog’s – the dogs’

3. Functional PR are based on similarity of function (a/the/my/this/one/smbd’s dog)

2. SR

A linguistic unit enters into SR with other units of the same level it occurs with (The teacher is going a lecture).

There are 3 types of SR:

1. Coordinate SR are R of independent. The units are equal (pen and pencil, big and nice, the lecture was over and we went home)

2. Subordinate SR are R of independence. One unit is principal and the other is dependent (beautiful girl).

3. Predicate SR are R of interdependence. Predicative SR can be primary and secondary.

Primary R exist between the subject and the predicate on the sentence level – the lesson is over.

Secondary R exist between a nominal element and a verbal on the phrase level – I want the lecture to be over.