Generative Grammar: Definition and Examples
In linguistics, generative grammar is grammar (the set of language rules) that
indicates the structure and interpretation of sentences that native speakers of
a language accept as belonging to their language.
Adopting the term generative from mathematics, linguist Noam
Chomsky introduced the concept of generative grammar in the 1950s. This theory
is also known as transformational grammar, a term still used today.
Generative Grammar
• Generative grammar is a theory of grammar, first developed by Noam Chomsky
in the 1950s, that is based on the idea that all humans have an innate language
capacity.
• Linguists who study generative grammar are not interested in prescriptive
rules; rather, they are interested in uncovering the foundational principals that
guide all language production.
• Generative grammar accepts as a basic premise that native speakers of a
language will find certain sentences grammatical or ungrammatical and that
these judgments give insight into the rules governing the use of that language.
Definition of Generative Grammar
Grammar refers to the set of rules that structure a language, including syntax
(the arrangement of words to form phrases and sentences) and morphology (the
study of words and how they are formed). Generative grammar is a theory of
grammar that holds that human language is shaped by a set of basic principles
that are part of the human brain (and even present in the brains of small
children). This "universal grammar," according to linguists like Chomsky, comes
from our innate language faculty.
In Linguistics for Non-Linguists: A Primer With Exercises, Frank Parker and
Kathryn Riley argue that generative grammar is a kind of unconscious knowledge
that allows a person, no matter what language they speak, to form "correct"
sentences. They continue:
"Simply put, a generative grammar is a theory of competence: a model of the
psychological system of unconscious knowledge that underlies a speaker's ability
to produce and interpret utterances in a language ... A good way of trying to
understand [Noam] Chomsky's point is to think of a generative grammar as
essentially a definition of competence: a set of criteria that linguistic structures
must meet to be judged acceptable," (Parker and Riley 2009).
Generative Vs. Prescriptive Grammar
Generative grammar is distinct from other grammars such as prescriptive
grammar, which attempts to establish standardized language rules that deem
certain usages "right" or "wrong," and descriptive grammar, which attempts to
describe language as it is actually used (including the study
of pidgins and dialects). Instead, generative grammar attempts to get at
something deeper—the foundational principles that make language possible
across all of humanity.
For example, a prescriptive grammarian may study how parts of speech are
ordered in English sentences, with the goal of laying out rules (nouns precede
verbs in simple sentences, for example). A linguist studying generative grammar,
however, is more likely to be interested in issues such as how nouns are
distinguished from verbs across multiple languages.
Principles of Generative Grammar
The main principle of generative grammar is that all humans are born with an
innate capacity for language and that this capacity shapes the rules for what is
considered "correct" grammar in a language. The idea of an innate language
capacity—or a "universal grammar"—is not accepted by all linguists. Some
believe, to the contrary, that all languages are learned and, therefore, based on
certain constraints.
Proponents of the universal grammar argument believe that children, when they
are very young, are not exposed to enough linguistic information to learn the
rules of grammar. That children do in fact learn the rules of grammar is proof,
according to some linguists, that there is an innate language capacity that allows
them to overcome the "poverty of the stimulus."
Examples of Generative Grammar
As generative grammar is a "theory of competence," one way to test its validity is
with what is called a grammaticality judgment task. This involves presenting a
native speaker with a series of sentences and having them decide whether the
sentences are grammatical (acceptable) or ungrammatical (unacceptable). For
example:
The man is happy.
Happy man is the.
A native speaker would judge the first sentence to be acceptable and the second
to be unacceptable. From this, we can make certain assumptions about the rules
governing how parts of speech should be ordered in English sentences. For
instance, a "to be" verb linking a noun and an adjective must follow the noun and
precede the adjective.
