Chomsky Transformational-Generative Linguistics and Halliday Systemic Functional Linguistics Essay

Prior to unfold the compassion, personally, I am continuing to appreciate that generative and systemic functional grammars persist as â€Å"non-overlapping magisteria.† Since they are not dichotomous or contrary, it should be accepted that it’s helpful to simply define one in terms of what the other is not, if we want to safely conclude one is advantageous than the other, there must be a criteria or purpose relating to it. Nevertheless, the primary function of language is communication, if for this purpose, we must doubt that which theory is more applicable when users actually produce or understand language. It is widely believed that, in the kind of society we live in, context is an important element we have to take into consideration in language study for the moment we understand the human language. And thus we admit that systemic functional grammar is more developed from TG grammar and has more advantages in terms of helping us use language, understand meanings and analyze discourses. In my observation, there are at least six differences between systemic functional grammar and TG grammar as follows. 1. TG grammar is the linguistic version that has been mostly influenced by and developed upon language form, whereas systemic functional grammar is the study of language through meaning, i.e. its function. Chomsky insisted that linguistics should go beyond merely describing syntactic structures, and aim to explain why language is structured in the way it is – which includes explaining why other kinds of structures are not found. TG grammar solves the long unsolved question of traditional grammar: the transformation process from active tense sentence to passive one. He thought that syntax is the center of linguistic study which consists of surface structure and deep structure. Chomsky also put forward two important concepts: competence and performance in his Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. The former refers to a language user’s underlying knowledge about the systems of rules, and the latter the actual use of language in concrete situations. For TG grammar, linguist’s task is primarily to describe competence because performance is impossible without competence. But, to Halliday, it’s more significant to describe actual sentences with many functions not the idealized deep structure. He was concerned with the function of the sentence, what the writer’s purpose is in writing the sentence – in other words, with the meaning. Language serves three major functions as the metafunction: the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual functions. However, any full analysis of the sentence will inevitably need to take account of both the meaning and the form. To summarize, Chomsky characterized form independently of meaning and function, while Halliday had good reasons to believe that meaning and function can help shape form. Both these approaches in linguistics have their advantages and disadvantages and they can interact with each other complementarily. In fact, both of them represent the two directions of linguistic studies at present: the vertical study of language in relation to thought and logic and the horizontal study of language with the social cultural framework. With both of them combined, we will have a full and complete view of language. 2. TG grammar is an abstract set of generalized rules, while systemic functional grammar concentrates on context-dependent usage. In the second half of the last century, there built up an immensely influential view of what the study of language should involve that insists that there is only one proper place to start – from a view of language as an abstract set of generalized rules detached from any particular context of use. This view, as we know today, is the TG grammar. TG grammars merely study the sentences that obey the rules of grammar. The meaning of sentence is manifested by its deep structure and the form of sentence by its surface structure. TG studies the relationship between the deep structure and the surface structure, the generation of grammatically correct sentences and transformational rules. Halliday held a different opinion that he suggested the primary function of language is communicating meanings in particular contexts. Linguists should study the language actually in use, not in imaginary so-called language ideal structure. Moreover, language in use includes both the spoken language and written language; both the regular rules of grammar and the irregular rules that can be understood and accepted. He considered language is a social semiotic which consists of field, tenor and mode. Language as social semiotic must be studied in social context. Functionalists choose meaning as objective of linguistic studies, which is closely linked to the world, so they focus on the relation between language and the world, thought and culture. 3, TG grammar takes linguistics towards biology, while systemic functional grammar takes it towards sociology. Simply to illustrate this point of view, TG grammar believes that language is innate: SF grammar believes that it is learned. TG grammar believes that all human beings possess a grammatical program hardwired into the brain: SF grammar does not – he believes that grammar mirrors function is mastered through experience. TG grammar believes in ‘Universal Grammar’: SF grammar does not. TG grammar believes that language exists separately from experience: SF grammar believes that language only develops through experience of other people and the world around us. TG grammar is biology oriented: SF grammar is towards sociology. More specifically, TG grammar believes that we are born with the required mental capacities. Thus a rigorously formal approach to the description of language leads us towards neurology and genetics. According to Chomsky, language is the preliminary state of language faculty existing in human mind and brain and a mental organ. It is a natural and innate object just like human heart or lung. Structuralists think children learn language through â€Å"stimulus and response†. Different from Chomsky’s views about the nature of language, Halliday considered language should be taken sociology and must be studied in social context. The systemic functional linguistics is a study of relevant features in the culture and society that form the context in which language is used, and which are at the same time constructed by the way in which language is used. To sum up, both approaches, through form and meaning, ask essentially the same question about language: how can we explain why language has the main features that it does. But, whereas the form-based approach finds the answer in the way our brains are structured, the meaning-based approach finds it in the way our social context is structured. Fourthly, TG grammar is a kind of transformational generative grammar, while systemic functional grammar is based on a kind of reflexivity – â€Å"construe†. By a generative grammar, Chomsky simply means â€Å"a system of rules that in some explicit and well-defined way assigns structural descriptions to sentences†. He believed that â€Å"every speaker of a language has mastered and internalized a generative grammar that expresses his knowledge of his language.† â€Å"Thus a generative grammar attempts to specify what the speaker actually knows, not what he may report about his knowledge†. Chomsky inclined that it is necessary to work out a grammar that, with a finite set of rules, can generate all the grammatical sentences in a language without generating a single non-grammatical sentence. One important implication of the functional view of language is that context and language are interdependent. On one hand, language could be seen as dependent on context, for example, when the speaker is in an informal context, he is likely to use informal language. On the other hand, the use of informal language also contributes to creating the informal context. We use the term ‘construe’ to talk about this kind of reflexivity. Halliday paid more attention on the wordings than meanings for the reason that it is wordings that we can use to express the meanings. Fifthly, in systemic functional grammar, there is a special term ‘choice’, while TG grammar has no choice because it is viewed as a set of rules detached from language use. From the point of view of systemic functional grammar, if we want to examine what a piece of language is intended to (i.e. its function), we cannot avoid thinking in terms of choice. Systemic functional grammar sets out to investigate what the range of relevant choices are, both in the kinds of meanings and in the kinds of wordings; and to match these two sets of choices. The language choice system provides a number of choices of wording and structure. The object of language choice is regarded as grammatical rules in functional linguistics. While studying the choices that are applied to meaning or function, Halliday established the systemic functional grammar, consisting of the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual functions. The last but not the least, TG grammar sets out to study language completely isolated from language use, focusing on propositional meaning, while systemic functional grammar applies to language use, emphasizing functional meaning. TG grammar is almost exclusively interested in what we can call ‘propositional meaning’, that is, the ‘content’ of the sentence. If two sentences have exactly the propositional content and have no difference in surface form, they can be regarded as the same. Chomsky made a decision to study language isolated from the context so that the aim is to discover the rules which govern how constituents can be put together to form grammatically correct sentences, and to arrange these rules in a general way; therefore each sentence is analyzed in complete isolation, both from other sentences and from the situation in which it might be used. To summarize, transformational-generative linguistics and systemic functional linguistics are two influential but quite contrasting approaches to linguistic study and reflect the two trends in linguistics development, providing an innovative value and important significance. TG grammar belongs to formalism which considers language and languages independently of other activities of communication, while systemic functional grammar inherits from functionalism which emphasizes that language are manifested in complex human activities closely linked with social interaction. They both play an important role in language teaching and learning.

The Professor And The Madman

The Professor and the Madman, written by Simon Winchester, is a biography about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Winchester, who is an author, journalist, broadcaster and foreign correspondent, has written for many magazines and newspapers distributed worldwide. In an interview between Winchester and a host of C-SPAN, Winchester was asked where the idea for the book came, he replies Well, it came to me in a rather bizarre way. I was reading a book on lexicography in the bath one morning, as one does, I suppose, just before breakfast, and it was a book–a wonderful book called â€Å"Chasing The Sun† by a man called Jonathan Green. And it had a reference–it said, `Readers will be familiar with the extraordinary story of Dr. W. C. Minor, an American lunatic murderer, who was a prodigiously energetic contributor to the OED. ’ And I remember sitting up in the bath, Archimedeslike, dripping and saying, `Well, I know nothing about this. ’ Winchesters main foundation for this book is to clarify the tale of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary The formation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857 and took seventy years to finish. Tens of thousands of individuals organized the expansive language into 414,825 exact definitions. The story begins with the grisly murder of George Merrett, by William Chester Minor the former U. S. Army officer and qualified surgeon. On February 17th of 1872 in the early morning William Minor had been sleeping, when he awoke to some noises of someone in his flat. He sat up and saw someone standing at the foot of his bed. He proceeded to chase the individual into the street, and shot at the person as they attempted to flee. He ended up shooting the first person that came into view apparently, and this person was George Merrett. Merrett had never met W. C Minor and had been heading home after a long day at work. W. C Minor was arrested. While in prison, he appeared to act exceptionally strange. One of the guards told the jury that Minor accused him of paying people to enter his room and molest him while he slept. This evidence clearly showed that W. C Minor was insane and was sent to the Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Broadmoore. The judge stated that he would remain there until her Majestys Pleasure be known. Professor James Murray, an extraordinarily educated former schoolmaster and bank clerk, sent out an announcement about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, asking for literary contributions. From his cell in Broadmoore, Minor came across this announcement and began contributing examples from his massive collection of new and scarce antique books. Minor had an enormous collection of books in his cell, which were not available to Murray and the staff, where the dictionary was being created. Thousand of neat and well-written quotes and examples came from Minor over several years to Oxford. Murray was only fifty miles away from where Minor was living, and had no idea that Minor was committed to an asylum. On several occasions Minor had been asked to visit Murray In Oxford, where they could meet and discuss the dictionary. Minor declined all invitations, without an explanation, and only an apology. After being rebuffed several times, Murray offered to visit Minor and Minor accepted the offer. Upon arrival Murray discovered that Minor was not a doctor of the asylum as he had assumed, but a resident. Murray was shocked, but that didnt dissuade him from visiting Minor. Although Minor constantly complained about people molesting him while he slept, people breaking into his room at night, and his personal possessions being vandalized Murray ignored the strange comments and went on with his visits. Minors stepbrother began writing appeals to the court, asking that his brother be allowed to transfer to a hospital in the United States. James Murray, who spent more than 40 years editing the dictionary, and up until 1910 wrote and visited Minor regularly, until Minor was released and allowed to go back to the U. S. On July 16th 1915 Murray died, surrounded by friends and relatives. In November 1915 Minor wrote to Lady Murray, offering all his books to the Scriptorium. On Friday March 26th 1920 Minor died from a cold that developed into bronchopneumonia. The English Oxford Dictionary took eight more years to be completed. On New Years Eve of 1927 its completion was announced. The Professor and the madman is a wonderfully written biography. Before each chapter was a word that defined the whole chapter. Most of the book was in chronological order, except for the parts where the author backtracked in order to elaborate. The postscript and authors note gave a bit of insight on where he got his idea to write the book, and some of his resources. Unlike The Bluest Eye written by Toni Morrison, the diction was easy to follow, and storyline was far from depressing. Winchester was very straightforward, and turned a little known tale into a well-written and very compelling book. I had my doubts about this particular book. I got this book, when the report was first assigned. I attempted to read, but found the first chapter dreadfully boring, and returned the book to the bookstore. I forgot about the report until I was reminded a week ago. I went to go and find a different book, but had no luck, so I bought the book again. I am glad that I did end up with this book. I enjoyed The Professor and the Madman immensely. I have no recollection of ever hearing about the authors of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Describe the changes that have occurred in the last generation with Essay

Describe the changes that have occurred in the last generation with regard to personal and family finances - Essay Example Other legislations that have contributed to changes in the management of personal and family finances include the legislations governing health care. Such legislations as the Obama care Act required Americans to access effective insurance policies to help improve accessibility to quality health care. As such, individuals and families in the country had to restructure their spending in order to factor in health care services. Such legislations help improve the quality of lifestyle in the country. Financial security is a major priority to most American families in the current century. As such, most Americans continue to devise appropriate ways of achieving this. Despite such ambitions, the cost of living is rising partly because of the new legislations and the changing lifestyles in the society. Health care, childcare and need for a home and payment of college fees coupled with the desire to retire to a safe and financial secure old age continue to mount pressure of American families, especially those in the middle class. The rising number of financial needs while the sources of income remain limited is a fundamental concern that validates the changes in the management of both personal and family finances (Warren and Warren 65). The increasing demand for money at a time that earnings remain limited is a basic factor that influenced change in the management of finances in families. Most Americans are thinking of the most appropriate ways of investing their money in order to secure their stability. Instead of limiting spending and working hard, Americans are currently looking for ways of working smart with both their finances and the opportunities they meet. While school remains fundamental, numerous successful individuals in the modern society have a history accentuated with dropping out of school a feature that portrays that Americans are looking for opportunities. Insurance services offer a reliable plan to some of the most

Nanking massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nanking massacre - Essay Example by historians to be one of the most shocking, ghastly, and revolting massacres perpetrated by Japanese soldiers in the course of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Even though Japan had been gnawing away at Northeastern China for years, beginning with the culmination of the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century and centered primarily in Manchuria, the second war between Japan and China, also called the War of Japanese Resistance, is widely known to have begun after the 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident. This event resulted in the eruption of total war between Japan and China. In China, Japan, the United States and the rest of the world, possibly no wartime barbarism committed by the Japanese against the Chinese people is more known far and wide than the Rape of Nanking. Nevertheless, whatever the importance of sheer recognition of the name, the memorial and history of the Nanjing massacre are deeply complicated. The significance and implication of the Nanking massacre have constantly evolved over time. Furthermore, the line dividing illegal violent acts against civilians and war crimes against combatant was unclear. Still, since 1937, scholars in the U.S., Japan, and China have struggled with the Nanking massacre, and, in every nation, over time, new interpretations are introduced. Not totally unforeseen, the known significance and implications of the Nanjing massacre have evolved according to the changing domestic and global political context of the period. The Pacific War and the Sino-Japanese War, from 1937 to 1945, influenced the memory and history of Nanking across the globe. The cold war, the Chinese civil war, and Japan’s downfall, from 1945 to 1971, brought about continuous modifications of the interpretation of the Nanjing massacre in China, Japan, and the U.S. From 1971 to 1989, the Japanese and American acknowledgment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Vietnam War, and the debate over Japan’s history textbooks brought about additional

Domestic and Foreign Intelligence Services Research Paper

Domestic and Foreign Intelligence Services - Research Paper Example The domestic intelligence agency in United Kingdom is known as Security Service and commonly referred as MI-5.  (Ehrman, 2009). The role and responsibilities of MI-5 include response to security threats such as terrorism, counterintelligence, weapons of mass destruction and organized crimes within the confines of the United Kingdom territory (Vitkauskas, 1999). It is the agency that is charged with the protection and safeguarding of British economic interests and parliamentary democracy in the United Kingdom.   As a domestic intelligence agency, MI-5 is responsible for the protection of public utilities such as air, gas rail and key industries such as defense contactors, civil nuclear power, oil and other crucial industries in United Kingdom (Posner, 2005).   MI-5 boasts of a long term and established tradition of executing domestic intelligence operations in United Kingdom and the wider scope of responsibilities that have included electronic surveillance, recruitment and infil tration of terrorist groups (Burch, 2007). In relation to information sharing, MI-5 is the central domestic intelligence agency in United Kingdom that is charged with the collection and analysis of information and further relay them to United Kingdoms Joint Intelligence committee. The role Joint Intelligence Committee is to prioritize intelligence information from MI-5 and regularly update and provide intelligence assessments to ministers and other senior officials (Ehrman, 2009).  ... Comprehensive comparison and analysis of intelligence services mandates, functions and operations is thus hampered by the restriction that exist on information access and even though the internet and other sources of data from scholars can be exploited, they are often classified (Burch, 2007; O’connell, 2004). Current prospect suggest that comparison of intelligence services can be done in a transparent environment, it should be acknowledged that it is the secrecy that enable intelligent services to operate. Domestic and foreign intelligence services between countries can be compared based on various benchmarks and parameters. Example of benchmarks or frameworks that intelligence services might be compared include national security context, national security structure, organizational size and budget, organizational cohesion, management and oversight and information collection emphasis. In addition, intelligence service comparison can also be based on the analytic emphasis of t he respective agencies, intelligence-decision making relationships, operational emphasis, cooperation of intelligence agencies with other diplomatic and security organization and policies, practices and procedures for counter-intelligence (O’connell, 2004). Domestic Intelligence Both domestic intelligence services of United States and United Kingdom have common jurisdiction in relation to national security. The main function of the intelligence services include the provision of unique, special and secretive information that can aid and support security of both nations. In United States, domestic security intelligence is collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a law enforcement agency that also acts as a subordinate to

Oliver Stone films representing the war Research Paper

Oliver Stone films representing the war - Research Paper Example 1. JFK: This film portrays the events leading to the unfortunate assassination of President Kennedy. It is assumed that this film is based on two books from other authors exploring the same issue. But while the books attracted acclaim, Stone’s JFK instantly got slathered with harsh criticism. Furious historians and critics argued that Stone’s carefree attitude with important historical facts contributed to creation of a highly twisted picture. However, the way JFK later gained confidence and amassed many Academy nominations raises embarrassing questions about the angry criticism published in American newspapers upon the movie’s release. The way Jim Garrison in JFK investigates the assassination from a completely different perspective implying an infamous scheme within the government responsible for Kennedy’s death actually ended up interesting people far more than any book ever did written on the same subject. In fact, the magnitude of excitement felt by people who read books is dwarfed by the magnitude of thrilling suspense experienced by people who viewed the movie, in reference to how the picture reveals different ways by which powerful people use authority to manipulate events (Rendall). The fact that movies can speak louder than words is made emphatic by the way historical events are intelligently portrayed in JFK.

Value of philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Value of philosophy - Essay Example According to this author, a true philosophical contemplation finds its meaning in the enlargement of not self in everything in the universe. The mind Russell believes that although philosophy does not enhance our physical wellbeing, it has a major role in human kind of enriching our mental lives mainly through the mind, which determines the way we relate with the immediate environment. However, the enrichment that Russell refers to does not provide all the answers to all the philosophical questions but instead offers a variety of suggestions on how to tackle these problems (Bertrand Pg 26). Russell insists that the mind that views philosophy as a conformation of freedom and impartiality will always strive to protect and preserve these values. This kind of mind will view its purpose and desires as path of the whole. This kind of mind in reference is a free mind that fights for justice and freedom hence the analogy and linkage of many philosophers with histories of freedom fighting and involvement in fighting for human rights. Russell believes that the enlargement of human mind enlarges objects and human mind that is responsible for freedom and liberation. According to Russell, philosophy gives a wider range of suggestions on how to deal with feelings of uncertainty and fear. For example, through philosophy it is easy to make unfamiliar things to look familiar (Bertrand Pg 27). According to Russell, unless we enlarge our mind to include other perspectives of the outer world, we remain like garrison in a blue guard fortress with no freedom. Such life has no peace and is involved with constant strives between desires and powerlessness of will. Philosophic contemplation does not divide the universe into sections but instead join it into one single camp. Russell insists that we must continue to seek brain enlargement by operating on the desires of our mind (Bertrand Pg 27). However, we cannot find this enlargement if we take the mind as it is but must make our minds open and free from alien impossibilities. Self-assertion is an example of philosophic speculation and this hinders mind enlargement. Russell also argues about the separation of the study of human mind from the field of philosophy. He disagrees with those scientists who have included the study of human mind as psychology. However, he still maintains that philosophy is still embedded in sciences and more so in the study of human mind. Although human mind plays a greater role in defining philosophy, religion is important in conceptualizing the meaning of philosophy. Russell questions the value of good and evil in the planet and wonders if good and evil is only important to humans or to the whole universe. Philosophy is therefore very valuable and whoever lives a life without a tincture of philosophy undergoes duress and a life of imprisonment. Such individuals are also affected by prejudices of common sense. Such people views the world as a definite, finite, obvious, common and with no reason unfamiliar. The view of philosophy has many wrong conceptions therefore philosophy strives to search for knowledge. The knowledge sought gives the unity of system and body. This knowledge is helpful in examining the grounds of convictions, prejudices, and beliefs. According to Russell, the quest for philosophical knowledge continues to face many challenges due to broken units and sciences that have derived their sense