Video 2.1. Parts of Speech
Summary
TLDRIn this Syntax video tutorial, Professor Andrew Carney from the University of Arizona explores the intricacies of parts of speech, challenging traditional semantic definitions and emphasizing the importance of syntactic categories in sentence construction. He discusses the limitations of intuitive understanding and highlights the need to consider distributional properties, such as affixes and syntactic positions, to accurately identify parts of speech across languages. The video also touches on the role of function words and their grammatical significance beyond semantic meaning.
Takeaways
- π The video is part of a series of tutorials on syntax, led by Professor Andrew Carney, focusing on parts of speech as the building blocks of sentences.
- 𧩠Parts of speech are crucial for syntacticians because they determine how words combine in sentences, affecting their positions and functions within those sentences.
- π Traditional definitions of parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and adverbs, are based on semantics but often fail to account for exceptions and cross-linguistic differences.
- π₯ The video references 'Schoolhouse Rock' as an example of outdated and incorrect semantic definitions of parts of speech that were popular in the past.
- π« Semantic definitions are problematic because they do not hold up when examining words with identical or closely related meanings that can have multiple parts of speech.
- π Cross-linguistic comparison shows that semantic definitions of parts of speech do not apply universally, as the same word meaning can have different parts of speech in different languages.
- π¬ Syntacticians use distributional definitions for parts of speech, focusing on morphological and syntactic distribution, rather than semantic definitions.
- π Morphological distribution refers to the affixes attached to words, while syntactic distribution refers to the position of words in relation to others in a sentence.
- π‘ The video emphasizes that while the definitions of parts of speech based on distribution may seem circular, they are practically describing the relationship between a word's form and its position in a sentence.
- π The script provides examples of the distributional criteria for different parts of speech in English, such as the use of articles before nouns and the position of adjectives and noun phrases.
- π The video concludes by highlighting the importance of understanding parts of speech not just through their meanings but through their distribution in language to accurately identify them.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video 'Syntax: A Generative Introduction'?
-The video focuses on the concept of parts of speech, which are of interest to syntacticians because they are the building blocks of sentences and determine how words can be combined.
Why are parts of speech important in syntax?
-Parts of speech are important because they allow us to understand which items can appear in which positions within a sentence, and they help in identifying the syntactic categories that syntax manipulates.
What is the issue with the intuitive definitions of parts of speech based on semantics?
-The intuitive definitions based on semantics are problematic because they do not account for edge cases where a word with a certain meaning can function as a different part of speech, and they do not hold true cross-linguistically.
Can you provide an example of a word that defies the semantic definition of parts of speech?
-The word 'assassination' is an example. Semantically, it represents an action, but in the sentence 'The assassination of the president,' it functions as a noun.
What does the video suggest as an alternative method to determine parts of speech?
-The video suggests using distributional definitions, which focus on the affixes attached to the word and the syntactic contexts in which the word appears, rather than the word's meaning.
What is the difference between morphological and syntactic distribution?
-Morphological distribution refers to the affixes on a word, while syntactic distribution refers to the position of the word relative to nearby words in a sentence.
Why is the classic definition of an adverb considered 'terrifying' in the video?
-The classic definition of an adverb is considered 'terrifying' because it is overly complex and includes a long list of qualities that adverbs can express, making it difficult to conceptualize as a natural class.
How does the video address the issue of words with multiple parts of speech?
-The video points out that words with closely related meanings can have multiple parts of speech, such as 'father' being used as a noun, verb, and even an adjective, which challenges the semantic definition of parts of speech.
What is the role of function words in a sentence according to the video?
-Function words do not have a specific meaning or reference; instead, they serve a grammatical purpose, helping to structure the sentence and connect its components.
How does the video explain the ability of native speakers to identify parts of speech in made-up words?
-The video explains that native speakers can identify parts of speech in made-up words by looking at the affixes and syntactic positions of the words, rather than their meanings.
Outlines
π Introduction to Syntax and Parts of Speech
Andrew Carne introduces the concept of parts of speech in linguistics, emphasizing their importance as the building blocks of sentences. He explains that syntacticians study these categories to understand how words combine to form sentences. Carne critiques traditional definitions of parts of speech based on semantics, pointing out that they fail to account for edge cases and do not apply consistently across languages. He mentions the influence of 'Schoolhouse Rock' on common misconceptions and introduces the idea that parts of speech are syntactic categories, manipulated by syntax rather than defined by word meanings.
π Challenges with Semantic Definitions of Parts of Speech
This paragraph delves into the inconsistencies of semantic definitions for parts of speech, using examples such as 'assassination' and 'sincerity' to illustrate how words can belong to different categories based on their use in a sentence, despite their inherent meanings. Carne discusses how words with related meanings can function as different parts of speech in various sentences, challenging the semantic approach to classification. He also highlights the cross-linguistic differences in parts of speech, using examples from Irish, Quamera, and Walbree to show that semantic definitions do not universally apply.
π Beyond Semantics: The Role of Syntax in Parts of Speech
Carne argues that syntax, rather than semantics, is the key to identifying parts of speech. He demonstrates this with a sentence containing made-up words, showing that native English speakers can still categorize these words as adjectives, nouns, verbs, or adverbs based on their affixes and syntactic positions. This indicates that our understanding of parts of speech is rooted in their distribution, both morphologically through affixes and syntactically through their positions in sentences, rather than their meanings.
π Distributional Approach to Defining Parts of Speech
The paragraph explains the distributional approach to defining parts of speech, focusing on morphological and syntactic distribution. Morphological distribution refers to the types of affixes attached to a word, while syntactic distribution pertains to the word's position relative to other words. Carne clarifies that definitions of parts of speech are language-specific and provides examples of how nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are identified in English through their distributional properties.
π Summary of Parts of Speech and Upcoming Discussion
In the concluding paragraph, Carne summarizes the importance of parts of speech as the foundational elements of sentence structure and the limitations of semantic definitions. He stresses the need to consider morphological and syntactic distribution for accurate classification. The paragraph ends with a preview of the next video, which will address functional parts of speech and methods for their identification.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Parts of Speech
π‘Syntax
π‘Semantics
π‘Syntactic Categories
π‘Distributional Definitions
π‘Morphological Distribution
π‘Syntactic Distribution
π‘Function Words
π‘Intuitive Definitions
π‘Edge Cases
π‘Cross-Linguistic
Highlights
Introduction to Syntax: A Generative Introduction, Fourth Edition by Andrew Carney, a linguistics professor at the University of Arizona.
Discussion on parts of speech as the building blocks of sentences, crucial for syntacticians to understand sentence construction.
Parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and adverbs, determine the possible positions of items in a sentence.
The traditional definitions of parts of speech are based on semantics and are often incorrect when scrutinized.
The limitations of semantic definitions are exposed through edge cases where words defy their traditional categories.
The Schoolhouse Rock video 'A Noun is a Person Place or Thing' is criticized for being outdated and incorrect.
Words with identical or closely related meanings can have multiple parts of speech, challenging semantic definitions.
Cross-linguistic comparison shows that semantic definitions of parts of speech do not hold universally.
Examples from Irish, Quamera, and Walbree demonstrate that semantic definitions fail to account for syntactic behavior.
The importance of syntactic position and affixes in determining a word's part of speech, independent of its meaning.
Syntacticians use distributional definitions for parts of speech, focusing on morphological and syntactic contexts.
Morphological distribution refers to the types of affixes attached to words, indicating their part of speech.
Syntactic distribution is about the position of words in relation to others, aiding in part of speech identification.
The circularity in the argumentation of defining parts of speech by their position and using position to identify them.
Examples of distributional criteria for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in English.
The need to understand rather than memorize the criteria for identifying parts of speech.
Upcoming discussion on functional parts of speech and their identification methods in the next video.
Transcripts
[Music]
welcome to syntax a generative
introduction
fourth edition my name is andrew carney
i'm a professor of linguistics at the
university of arizona
i'm the author of your textbook and i'll
be leading you through this series of
video tutorials
in this chapter we're going to discuss
parts of speech
this is of interest to syntacticians
because
we want to know what the items are
that we're going to combine together
into our sentences
so we're going to look at what are
effectively the building
blocks of sentences these are things
like nouns
verbs adjectives prepositions and
adverbs
they're categories that allow us to tell
what items can appear
in which position we care about this
because
we find that some items can appear in
some positions and some items can appear
in others
but they don't always overlap so for
example the sun shines too brightly in
tucson
sun is a noun and it can appear as the
subject of the sentence
whereas a verb like will glow can't
appear in that position
we also call parts of speech syntactic
categories
because they're the categories that
syntax manipulates
now you might think it's strange for us
to cover this topic
because a lot of people have an
intuitive sense of what these parts of
speech are
so for example you may have heard of
such things as a noun as a person place
or thing
it's maybe even been drilled into you in
school
when i was a a kid back in the 70s and
80s
on saturday mornings we used to have
this television show called schoolhouse
rock
and in schoolhouse rock they had great
videos
of with animations and fantastic music
and they taught you important ideas
about grammar government and even
science
but unfortunately when it comes to
grammar they were way off track
they were based on very old ideas
about what parts of speech and other
grammatical categories are
um so for example you can
go online into youtube and and search
for schoolhouse rock
and you'll find a video called a noun is
a person place or thing and it's a
lovely video
but it's just deeply deeply deeply
incorrect uh i can't include it here in
this video because that would be a
violation of
uh copyright but there's a link there on
the screen
that you can use or you can search for
it
now these classic definitions these
intuitive definitions that you may have
learned before
have one thing in in common they are
based
on semantics they're based on the
meanings
of the words so for example a noun is a
person
place or thing so if you look at a word
like
um a doctor doctor is a person
therefore the word doctor is a noun uh
verbs are actions occurrences or states
of being
adjectives are modifiers that express
quality quantity or extent
so all of these are based in the meaning
of the word
that we're trying to define in terms of
part of speech
this next definition is terrifying if
you ever see a definition like this in
linguistics you better
grab your wallet and run adverbs are
modifiers that express
manner quality place time degree
number cause opposition affirmation or
denial
i don't know how you're supposed to
think of that as a natural class
prepositions are modifiers that indicate
location or origin
so as i said before all of these
definitions
are based on the semantics of the word
and for the most part
they correctly capture which part of
speech a word is
but the problem is that once you start
diving into this
with a little more rigor and detail you
discover that the
edge cases show us that semantics is not
really how we're figuring out what a
part of speech of a word is
so um let's take for example the fact
that
in many languages
you find words that meet one definition
but in fact are categories of another
let's take so
for example the word assassination by
any definition the word assassination is
an action
but clearly in the sentence the
assassination of the president
it's a noun similarly sincerity
because it describes equality is an is
suppose
should be an adjective but here in this
sentence sincerity is an important
quality
it's a noun to sort of really stretch
the example
our definition of a preposition
is indicating a location so take tucson
is where new yorkers flee for the winter
clearly tucson here is not a preposition
so uh when we look at these edge cases
we see that the definitions break down a
little bit
we also see this when we look at words
with
either identical or very closely related
meanings
that can have multiple parts of speech
so for example the word father
can be a verb it can be a noun and with
a little bit of a stretch it can even be
an adjective
the meanings are all related to each
other so you would expect that they
would
have the same part of speech if we
define parts of speech using semantics
but in the first sentence father is a
noun
second sentence father is a verb and
then the third one
it's an adjective
this is compounded when you start
comparing languages to each other
so if parts of speech are defined using
semantics
then you would expect that a word that
means the same thing
in two different languages so for
example
the word doctor in english and the word
doctor in irish
refer to doctors right so that's
semantically we know that they refer to
the same thing
you would expect them to always have the
same part of speech
but this clearly isn't true we're going
to look at three examples here one from
irish one from coimera and one from
walbree
that show that the english definitions
don't work cross-linguistically
so take irish here so in irish
verbs have a very specific position
irish is a verb subject object order
language
v-s-o and verbs always appear in a very
specific
privileged position they follow certain
kinds of particles
like negation they precede agreement
morphology
and they precede subjects
so look at that first sentence in a e
is the verb to eat and it follows the
negative
particle knee and it precedes both
the third singular masculine agreement
marker
and the subject john so niehan
now that's where verbs go now if we look
at the sentence in b
this is a bit of a surprise because here
we're finding a noun
in exactly that position so we're
finding
the word doctor between knee and e
it's a different third singular
agreement marker but it is in fact a
third singular agreement marker
so nidakdore that doctor is appearing
before the agreement and the subject
just where verbs do
and it appears after negation just where
verbs do
so doctor here seems to be functioning
like a verb
even though it's semantics tell us it's
a noun
let's look at quamera in quemera
verbs can be marked with certain
prefixes that
indicate the subject so for example
the subject yak is marks the first
singular the first singular means i
so if you want to say i don't like this
dog or i dislike this dog
you put yuck in front of the word for
dislike
now in the b sentence we should be
surprised to see
that the same prefix the one that means
i
is attaching itself to what semantically
is an adjective so the word for small
is uh has the property of expressing a
quality and it's taking this prefix
that only attaches to um to verbs
so that this tells us that
something else is going on here small
which by semantics should be an
adjective
is functioning like a verb the
in the quomaria example small was
functioning like a verb
in wallbury the word for small is
functioning like a noun
so uh in walbree which is a language
spoken in australia
the word for small can take this subject
marker
lu um which uh is always attached to
nouns
always attach the subject noun phrases
and here you'll see
that the the word small is appearing in
this position
the best english translation we can come
up with is something like the small one
but there's no noun uh one
in the wall breed instead what you have
is is you're just taking that subject
marker and sticking it straight on to
the word for small
so here again the semantics breaks down
it still is indicates the the quality of
being small
but it's it's functioning like a noun
if you're not convinced i think this
next um
case will really convince you take this
sentence
filled with made-up words of in uh for
english the incash dripner
into the ninden with epitips now what's
particularly interesting about this
sentence
is i sincerely hope that none of you
know what yinkish means
or drippner or
these are all made-up words so you
cannot know
what the semantics of them are you
cannot know what their reference
is nevertheless every native speaker of
english
will tell you that yankish is an
adjective that dripner is a noun
blorked is a verb questionably is an
adverb and both ninden and pittibs are
nouns
how did we know this if we don't know
what they mean
how do you know what griffner is if you
don't know
what a driftner is how can you tell if
it's a person
or a place or thing
the answer to this is we don't actually
use semantics to figure out parts of
speech
instead what we're looking at and
referring to
are the affixes that means the suffixes
and prefixes
and the syntactic position of the words
that we're looking at
so for example yinkish has on it
this ish suffix that's a typical suffix
for adjectives
driftner ends in er that's a common
suffix on nouns
we also note that dripner follows
yinkish which we've deduced to be an
adjective and the article
the this is a very typical position
for nouns to appear in blorked
is taking the ed suffix which we take to
be
a um a past tense marker and it's
following the subject
again this is a very typical position
for verbs
chrostophically has got that l y suffix
that tells us it's probably an adverb
nindin is immediately appearing after
uh an article that's a typical position
for nouns
pithibs that's true for pittibs too and
pittibs also has
this suffix s which um suggests to us
that whatever epididym is there's more
than one of them
so um we use these suffixes
and we use the syntactic position to
figure out what the part of speech is
even though we don't know what these
words mean so that tells us
that the semantic definitions a noun is
a person place or thing a verb is an
action occurrence or a state of being
those kinds of definitions
are while intuitive are almost certainly
wrong
so there's one more point i want to make
before we talk about
how we actually define parts of speech
which is
that there's a whole set of words which
don't really
have a meaning in the sense that they
don't have a reference
instead they have a function so they
have a grammatical purpose
but they don't actually have uh
something you can point to in the world
or identify in our imaginations
um we only use them to sticks uh the
bits of a sentence together
these are function words so take for
example that
of and for in the sentences on this
slide
you'll see that those underlined words
don't have a classic
meaning instead what they have is a
function
what they do is is uh stick the sentence
together so and i think that jose is in
the kitchen
that is um a complementizer
which functions to stick one clause
inside of another
and of is a preposition that links two
noun phrases together
okay so the what kinds of this
definitions are we actually going to use
to determine what a part of speech is
the definitions that syntacticians use
are distributional what we care about
is what affix is attached to the word
and what syntactic contexts
the word appears in
now it goes without saying because
language is different what affixes they
have
and how their syntaxes are structured
where these parts of speech definitions
are all going to be language
specific so the parts of speech
definitions for irish quemera
and walbury are going to be different
than those for
english okay so
we really have two kinds of distribution
we've looked at i've hinted at this
before
there's morphological distribution which
refers to
what the affixes on the word are and
there's syntactic distribution
which is the position of the word
relative to nearby words
i want to stop here for a second and ask
you to
think critically about one thing that we
have talked about
i started this discussion with the
observation that we
care about parts of speech because they
tell us
where in the sentence particular words
can appear
but now i've just defined parts of
speech
in terms of where the words appear
ask yourselves whether this is a
circular
fact or not have i done some circular
argumentation
by saying we need to know what the part
of speech something is by where it
appears
and then defining the part of speech by
where it appears
logically it's a bit of a circular
argument
but in fact in practicality it's really
just describing two sides
of the same fact that certain words
appear in certain positions
okay now we can list
the distributions for any particular
language
for particular parts of speech so for
example in english
nouns have uh particular morphological
distributions they take
particular kinds of derivational
suffixes these are suffixes
that turn words into nouns so things
like
um ship and ist and ness
and hood those are all suffixes that
indicate that the word we're looking at
is a noun similarly we have inflectional
suffixes like the plural suffix
s you have to be a little careful with
the plural s though
because s and its variants
also show up on verbs but interestingly
when it shows up on verbs it means the
exact opposite it means singular
means third person singular so for
example uh
dogs the the s the z or s that you hear
on dogs
um marks the plural but if i say
um he eats the s there
actually indicates that it's third
person singular
so just be a little careful with that
test we also can look at the syntax
so for example um articles appear before
nouns
adjectives appear before nouns
noun phrases follow prepositions
noun phrases can appear as the subjects
or direct objects of sentences
and if you're going to negate a noun as
opposed to negating a whole sentence you
use no instead of not
now it's possible to do this for um
any part of speech um we can do verbs
adjectives adverbs etc we can do lists
like this
i'll show you them very quickly if
you're actually interested
you could pause the video and look at
what's what's listed on each of the
slides
but you shouldn't try to memorize these
you should just understand
that these are the kinds of criteria
that we can use for determining parts of
speech
so here are some of the criteria we can
use for verbs
i won't go through these in too much
detail
similarly here are some criteria's the
criteria that we can use for adjectives
and here are some criteria that we can
use for adverbs
again don't memorize these don't try and
learn them
but understand how they function and how
they allow us to identify
something as a part of speech when not
relying
upon the meaning of the word
okay to summarize what we've talked
about in this video
is that we care about parts of speech
because they form the building blocks of
sentences
they tell us which words appear in which
positions
the classic definitions of these parts
of speech
while intuitively correct are
highly problematic they don't catch the
edge cases
they don't capture cross-linguistic
cases
and they don't allow us to understand
how we can
actually identify a part of speech
without knowing
the meaning of that sentence
those um classic definitions are all
based
in meaning linguistically instead what
we can do
is look at their distribution both in
terms of their morphological
distribution
and their syntactic distribution in the
next video
we're going to talk about functional
parts of speech and how we might
identify
[Music]
those
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