Syntax

The rules that control how words combine to compose phrases, clauses, and sentences are referred to as “syntax” in linguistics. The word “syntax” derives from the Greek word “syntax,” which means “to arrange together.” The term can also refer to the study of a language’s syntactic features. The word relates to the right arranging of symbols and codes in computer environments so that the computer can understand what the instructions are directing it to do.

•  Right sequence of words in a phrase or sentence is known as syntax

• Syntax is a tool that helps you write correct grammatical statements

• Native speakers of a language unconsciously learn good syntax

• The formal or informal degree of diction exhibited to an audience is determined by the intricacy of a writer’s or speaker’s phrases

Theories of Syntax

The discipline of syntax has a variety of theoretical perspectives. One school of thinking, based on Derek Bickerton’s works,  considers syntax to be a branch of biology, because it considers syntax to be the study of linguistic information as it is embedded in the human mind. Other linguists, such as Gerald Gazdar, take a more Platonistic approach, seeing syntax as the study of a formal system that is abstract.  Others, such as Joseph Greenberg, see syntax as a taxonomic tool for making broad generalizations across languages.

Syntacticians have attempted to explain the reasons for word-order variance both within and across languages. Much of this research has been done in the context of generative grammar, which claims that syntax is determined by a genetic endowment shared by all humans. Linguistic typology and universals have been important explicatanda in this and other frameworks.

In language processing, other explanations, such as those offered by functional linguists, have been attempted. The brain is said to have an easier time parsing syntactic patterns that are either right or left branching, but not mixed. The performance–grammar correspondence hypothesis, proposed by John A. Hawkins, claims that language is a non-innate adaptation to innate cognitive functions. Cross-linguistic tendencies are thought to be based on language users’ preference for well-organized grammars and their avoidance of word orderings that are difficult to absorb. However, several languages use inefficient patterning on a regular basis. There are a few other radically unique languages, such as Chinese, which contains an adpositional phrase before the verb, and Finnish, which features postpositions. More recently, it has been proposed that the left versus right branching patterns are only cross-linguistically related to the location of role-marking connectives (apposition’s and subordinators), thus tying the phenomenon to sentence semantic mapping.

Morpheme:

The smallest meaningful constituent of a word is referred to as a morpheme. A morpheme can’t be broken down any further. Chair, dog, bird, table, and computer, for example, are all morphemes. As you can see, they have a straight meaning, but they can’t be broken down any further. A morpheme, on the other hand, is not the same as a syllable because it has meaning. For example, the word giraffe is made up of several syllables but just one morpheme. This isn’t always the case, though. Sometimes a single word can carry a number of morphemes. Let us try to understand this through an example. If we take the word ‘regained’, this word consists of 3 morphemes. They are, ‘re’ , ‘gain’ and ‘ed’.

Different types of morphemes are discussed in linguistics. There are two types of morphemes: free morphemes and bound morphemes. Free morphemes are ones that can be used to form a single word. Nouns and adjectives are examples of free morphemes (brush, chalk, pen, act, find). Bound morphemes can’t stand on their own. Usually, they are connected to other forms. Bound morphemes include prefixes and suffixes (re, ly, ness, pre, un, dis).

Word:

A word can be described as a linguistic piece that has meaning. It can always stand alone, unlike a morpheme. A single morpheme or a group of morphemes can make up a word. For example, ’reconstruct’ is a single word, although it is made up of two morphemes (‘re’ and ‘construct’). We employ a variety of words to construct phrases and sentences. When we say, “Didn’t you hear, he’s been relocated to the head office,” for example, we’re using a combination of words to convey meaning to the reader. However, if we take just one word from the sentence,’reassigned,’ it conveys the entire idea. Even though this is a single word, it is made up of several morphemes. They are,’re,’ ‘assign,’ and ‘ed.’ The basic distinction between a morpheme and a word is this. 

Difference between Word and Morpheme:

• A morpheme is the smallest portion of a word that has meaning.

• A word is a linguistic unit that can be used to construct sentences.

• The primary distinction is that, although a word can stand on its own, a morpheme may or may not be able to do so.

Phrase:

A phrase is a collection of words that do not express an entire notion. Phrases cannot stand alone since they do not express a whole notion. They can only be used in conjunction with other words in sentences. It is missing a subject, a verb, or both in some circumstances. As a result, it is unable to create a predicate. There are five types of phrases in the English language.

Sentence:

A sentence is a collection of words that expresses a whole notion. A subject and a verb must always be present in a sentence. Sentences can be divided into four categories.

Difference between Phrase and Sentence:

Phrases and sentences are made up of a combination of words and are frequent structures in any language. A phrase is a combination of words, either short or long, that does not express a complete notion. A sentence is a collection of words that expresses a full notion. The major distinction between phrase and sentence is this.

Conclusion

Syntax is the study of how words are organised into phrases and phrases into sentences. In bigger units of construction and their elements, patterns and regularities can be observed. While syntax analyses language from a structural standpoint with little regard for meaning, semantics places a strong emphasis on meaning. “Language without meaning is pointless,” says Roman Jakobson. Semantics is an element of linguistics because meaning is an aspect of language.