In linguistics, syntax refers to the rules that
govern the ways in which words combine
to form phrases, clauses,
and sentences.
It's the concept that enables people to know things like adjectives generally
come before the nouns they describe (green chair), how to start a question
with a question word (What is that?), that subjects often come before verbs in
non-question sentences (She jogged.), prepositional phrases start with
prepositions (to the store), helping verbs come before main verbs (can go, will
do), and so on.
Key
Takeaways: Syntax
- Syntax
is the proper order of words in a phrase or sentence.
- Syntax
is a tool used in writing proper grammatical sentences.
- Native
speakers of a language learn correct syntax without realizing it.
- The
complexity of a writer's or speaker's sentences creates a formal or
informal level of diction that is presented to its audience.
For
native speakers, using correct syntax is something that comes naturally, as
word order is learned as soon as an infant starts absorbing the language.
Native speakers can tell something isn't said quite right because it
"sounds weird," even if they can't detail the exact grammar rule
that makes something sound "off" to the ear.
"It is syntax that gives
the words the power to relate to each other in a sequence...to carry meaning—of
whatever kind—as well as glow individually in just the right place," wrote
Anthony Burgess in "Enderby Outside" (1968).
The
term syntax comes from the Greek, meaning "arrange
together." The term is also used to mean the study of the syntactic
properties of a language. Syntax is one of the major components of grammar.
In
computer contexts, the term refers to the proper ordering of symbols and codes
so that the computer can understand what instructions are telling it to do.
Syntactic Rules
English
parts of speech often follow ordering patterns in sentences and clauses, such
as compound sentences are joined by conjunctions (and, but, or) or that
multiple adjectives modifying the same noun follow a particular order according
to their class (such as number-size-color, as in six small green chairs).
Sentences
often start with a subject, followed by a predicate (or just a verb in the
simplest sentences) and contain an object or a complement (or both),
which shows, for example, what's being acted upon. Take the sentence "Beth
slowly ran the race in wild, multicolored flip-flops." The sentence
follows a subject-verb-object pattern (Beth ran the race). Adverbs and
adjectives take their places in front of what they're modifying (slowly ran;
wild, multicolored flip-flops). The object (the race) follows the verb, and the
prepositional phrase (in wild, multicolored flip-flops) starts with a
preposition (in).
The
rules of how to order words help the language parts make sense.
Syntax vs. Diction and Formal vs.
Informal
Diction refers
to the style of writing or speaking that someone uses, brought about by their
choice of words, whereas syntax is the order in which they're arranged in that
spoken or written sentence. If something is written using a very high level of
diction, it's written very formally, for example, a paper published in an
academic journal or a lecture given in a college classroom. Speaking to friends
and texting have a low, or informal, level of diction.
Jim Miller emphasized, "It is
essential to understand that the differences exist not because spoken language
is a degradation of written language but because any written language, whether
English or Chinese, results from centuries of development and elaboration by a
small number of users." ("An Introduction to English Syntax."
Edinburgh University Press, 2002)
Formal
written works or presentations would likely also have more complex sentences
and industry-specific jargon, as they are directed to a more narrow
audience than something meant to be read or heard by the general public, where
the audience members' backgrounds will be more diverse.
Precision
in word choice is less exacting in informal contexts
than formal ones, and grammar rules are more flexible in spoken
language than in formal written language. Understandable English syntax is more
flexible than most.
"[T]he odd thing about English is
that no matter how much you screw sequences word up, you understood, still,
like Yoda, will be," Douglas Coupland wrote in "Generation A."
"Other languages don't work that way. French? Dieu! Misplace a single le or la and an idea
vaporizes into a sonic puff. English is flexible: you can jam it into a
Cuisinart for an hour, remove it, and meaning will still emerge.” (Random House
Canada, 2009)
Types of Syntax (Sentence Structures)
Types
of sentences and their syntax modes include simple sentences, compound
sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. Compound
sentences are two simple sentences joined by a conjunction. Complex sentences
have dependent clauses, and compound-complex sentences have both types
included.
- Simple sentence: The girl ran.
Structure: Subject-verb.
- Compound sentence: The girl ran the
marathon, and her cousin did, too. Structure:
Subject-verb-object-conjunction-subject-verb.
- Complex sentence: Although they were
tired after the marathon, the cousins decided to go to a celebration at
the park. Structure: Dependent clause-subject-verb-object.
- Compound-complex sentence:
Although they weren't fond of crowds, this was different, they decided,
because of the common goal that had brought everyone together. Structure:
Four clauses, dependent and independent.
Syntax Variations and Distinctions
Syntax
has changed some over the development of English through the centuries,
noted author Jean Atichison. "The proverb Whoever
loved that loved not at first sight? indicates that English
negatives could once be placed after main verbs." ("Language Change:
Progress or Decay?" 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2001)
And
not all people speak English in exactly the same way. Social
dialects learned by people with common backgrounds—such as a
social class, profession, age group, or ethnic group—also may influence the
speakers' syntax. Think of the differences between teenagers' slang and more
fluid word order and grammar vs. research scientists' technical vocabulary and
manner of speaking to each other. Social dialects are also called social varieties.
Beyond Syntax
Following
proper syntax doesn't guarantee that a sentence will have meaning, though.
Linguist Noam Chomsky created the sentence "Colorless green ideas sleep
furiously," which is syntactically and grammatically correct because it
has the words in the correct order and verbs that agree with subjects, but it's
still nonsense. With it, Chomsky showed that rules governing syntax are
distinct from meanings that words convey.
The distinction
between grammar and syntax has been somewhat disrupted by recent research
in lexicogrammar,
which takes the words into account in grammar rules: For example, some
verbs (transitive ones, that perform an action on something) alwaystake direct objects. A transitive (action) verb
example:
- She
removed the index card from the old recipe box.
The
verb is removed and the object is index card.
Another
example, including a transitive phrasal verb:
- Please
look over my report before I turn it in.
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