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Contrastive
Linguistics
Lesson 5
Instructor: Le Nguyen Nhu Anh

CHAPTER 5
GRAMMATICAL
CONTRASTIVE
ANALYSIS
(Part 1)
The CA of Inflectional Morphology

English and Vietnamese Contrastive Linguistics

Contents

• The concept of Grammar

• The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology
• Grammatical Categories
• A Contrastive Study of the Chinese and English Case
Systems

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5.1 The Concept of Grammar

A description of the
Structure of morphological structure of a
language language and the way in
which linguistic units such as
Phonology Grammar Semantics words and phrases are
combined to produce
sentences in the language.
Morphology Syntax
Grammar
Inflectional
Morphology
Phonology Syntax Semantics
Derivational
“Grammar” in the framework of
Morphology
transformational grammar (TG)

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

Formal contrasts of
Hockett (1954) Models for morphological variations
grammatical may be carried out by
analysis employing any appropriate
one of these three models

Item-and- Word-and-
Item-and-Process
arrangement paradigm
(IP)
(IA) (WP)

Word-forms
Analysis of
analyzed into
Process of variation inflectional
groups of
languages
morphemes

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

• Item-and-process (IP):
/tʊk/ = /teɪk/ + (/eɪ/ -> /ʊ/)

=> “/tʊk/consists of the present tense form /teɪk/with the

medial diphthong /eɪ/replaced by the vowel /ʊ/.”

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

• Item-and-arrangement (IA):
/tʊk/ = /t-k/ + /-ʊ-/,

=> “/tʊk/consists of the discontinuous root /t-k/with /ʊ/inserted

to mark past tense.”

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

• Word-and-paradigm (WP):
sed cave canem (Latin) = But look out for the dog

=> “The particle Sed, the singular Active of the Mode I Imperative
of CAVEO and the Accusative singular of CANIS”

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

CA of inflectional morphology = contrasting the grammatical categories
(morphological and lexical devices) different languages employ to
transmit grammatical meanings

Example:
English: 8 inflectional morphemes
- To nouns: plural number, possessive case
- To verbs: 3rd person singular, past tense, present participle, past
participle
- To adjectives: comparative, superlative

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

5.2.1 Grammatical Categories: classes or groups of items which fulfill the
same or similar grammatical functions in a particular language.

Aspect

Voice Case

Grammatical
Tense Gender
Categories

Person Mood

Number

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Aspect Indicates how the event described by a verb is viewed

Action happens once or repeatedly, completed or still

continuing

Example:
She sang. [action happening once]
She sings [action happening repeatedly (e.g. as a job)]
She has sung. [action completed]
She’s singing. [action continuing]

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Aspect in English and Chinese

English Chinese
Distinguish between perfective & progressive aspect: Present Perfective, Past
Perfective, Future Perfective, Present Progressive, Past Progressive Aspect
Experiencing aspect: auxiliary
“过” to the verb, indicates that the
event or change used to occur,
without regard for its outcome
Trial aspect: reduplicate the verb or
add auxiliary – 看
One-time aspect: duplicate verb to
show briefness or short duration

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Aspect in English and Chinese

• Experiencing aspect:
你做过什么工作? Nǐ zuòguò shèn me gōngzuò?
What jobs have you done?
• Trial aspect:
这事我们研究研究。Zhè shì wǒmen yánjiū yánjiū.
We’ll give it our consideration.
这鞋你穿穿看。Zhè xié nǐ chuān chuān kàn.
You may try this shoe on.
• “One-time” aspect:
你查一查词典。Nǐ chá yī chá cídiǎn.
Look it up in a dictionary.
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Grammatical functions of a noun/noun phrase in a sentence

Case
Agency, possession, naming, location, motion towards/from
Nominativ
e

Ablative Accusative

Case
Vocative Dative

Genitive

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Gender words (nouns, articles, adjectives, pronouns)

marked to distinguish between masculine,
feminine, neuter

Example:
Je suis arrivée => Speaker is a woman
Je suis arrivé => Speaker is a man

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Mood Writer’s attitude to what is said or written

Indicative, subjunctive, imperative

Example:
The birds are singing. (indicative)
If I were you, I would take the gift. (subjunctive)
Do the exercises! (Imperative)

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Number
distinguishes nouns, verbs,
adjectives, etc. according to
whether they are singular or
plural, and countable or
uncountable.

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Person marks pronouns and, in most

languages, corresponding verb
forms, according to first person,
second person, third person

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Tense the relationship between the form of a verb and the time of the
action or state it describes.

Present, past, future

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the relationship between a verb and the noun phrase(s) which are
Voice associated with it.

Active, passive, middle (reflexive), causative

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

5.2.2 A Contrastive Study of the Chinese and English Case Systems

Definition

• A grammatical category that shows the

grammatical function of a noun or noun
phrase in a sentence.
• Grammatical functions: agency, possession,
naming, location, motion towards or from,
etc.

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

5.2.2 A Contrastive Study of the Chinese and English Case Systems

Chinese

• Case-marking inflections: distinguish

subjective, objective, possessive
cases
• Example: He/him/his

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5.2 The Contrastive Analysis of Inflectional Morphology

5.2.2 A Contrastive Study of the Chinese and English Case Systems

English

• Case-marking inflections:
distinguish subjective, objective,
possessive cases
• Example: He/him/his

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CHAPTER 5
GRAMMATICAL
CONTRASTIVE
ANALYSIS
(Part 2)
Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

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Contents

• Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

• The Structural Approach (Surface-Structure Contrasts)
• The Weaknesses of the Structural Approach
• The Generative Approaches

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Syntaxis Syntax
• [Greek] • The way in which words
• “arrangement” are arranged to show
relationships of meaning
within a sentence.

CLASSICAL EUROPEAN LANGUAGES MODERN LANGUAGES

Complicated changes in word forms Word order, function words
=> Inflectional morphology => Syntax

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Transformational
Grammarian (TG)
approach
GENERATIVE
(deep structure-
oriented)
Approaches to Case Grammarian
CA approach
STRUCTURAL
(surface structure-
oriented)

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.1 The Structural Approach (Surface-Structure Contrasts):
Immediate Constituent (IC) analysis: any grammatical construction which
is not “simple” can be reduced to pairs of constituents

Construction

IC
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.1 The Structural Approach (Surface-Structure Contrasts):
No reference is made to the meaning of a construction or the ICs
Depends on distribution (what naturally “goes with” what)

Analysis made based on the basis of omissibility: the property of being

omissible without impairing the syntactic acceptability of a sentence or
clause.
Example:

 
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.1 The Structural Approach (Surface-Structure Contrasts):
Two-dimensional analysis: language is structured on two axes

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.1 The Structural Approach (Surface-Structure Contrasts):
Fries (1952), grammar defined as “the devices of form and arrangement”
Formal devices
Morphological markers
• Prefixes, suffixes
Function words
• Articles, conjunctions, prepositions
Word order
Suprasegmentals
• Stress
• Intonation
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.1 The Structural Approach (Surface-Structure Contrasts):

CA

How the two Same meaning

languages employ conveyed by
the 4 devices different devices
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.1 The Structural Approach (Surface-Structure Contrasts):
English Russian
A woman came out of the house из дома вышла Женщина
The woman came out of the house Женщина вышла из дома

Function words Word order

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.2 The Weaknesses of the Structural Approach:

1) She is a beautiful dancer.

2) The clever boy missed the prize.

3) John is easy to please.

4) John is eager to please.

Distribution (identity of position) is no guarantee of identity of function

=> Cannot resolve ambiguity => Weakness of the Structural Approach
Relative position of linguistic items => Surface structure
Functional relations between constituents => Deep structure
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
Generative grammars attempt to define and describe by a set of rules all
the grammatical sentences of a language and no ungrammatical ones.
=> Generate (produce) grammatical sentences
Transformational Grammar (TG)
Syntax-based
Transformational-Generative
Grammar (TGG)
GENERATIVE
(deep structure-
oriented) Generative Semantics

Semantics-
Case Grammar
based

Relational Grammar

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.1 The Transformational Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)
Grammar: a mechanism that generates all and only grammatical
sentences of a language.
Mechanism: a set of rules Grammar
Generate: specify the
grammaticality of an unlimited
number of sentences of a Phonology Syntax Semantics
language and describe accurately
the internal structure of these “Grammar” in the framework of
sentences transformational grammar (TG)
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.1 The Transformational Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)

Phrase Structure
Rules (Rewrite Rules) Deep
Base Component
Structure
Lexicon
Syntax
Transformational
Transformations
Surface
Component Structure

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.1 The Transformational Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)

Phrase Structure Rules

S -> NP + AUX + VP
=> a sentence (S) can be analyzed into or rewritten as consisting
of a noun phrase (NP), some auxiliary verbs or auxiliaries, and a
verb phrase (VP).
VP -> V (+ NP)
=> a verb phrase can be further rewritten as simply a verb or as a
verb and a noun phrase.
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.1 The Transformational Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)

Lexicon
Parts of speech
N = Nouns, V = Verbs, DET = determiner
Grammatical collocation
=> what grammatical constructions in which the word may be
used.

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.1 The Transformational Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)

SS: The dog slept

Phrase Structure Rules Lexicon
1. S -> NP + AUX + VP N -> dog
2. NP -> DET + N V -> sleep (-object)
3. AUX -> T DET -> the
4. T -> PAST
5. VP -> V
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.1 The Transformational Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)

SS: The dog slept

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.1 The Transformational
Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)

Syntactic Part => Generative

Semantic Part => Interpretative

The Standard/Aspect model of

transformational grammar
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Reasons for TG in syntactic contrastive analysis

1. Explicitness of its methodology

For each step in deriving surface structures from the deep
structures, an explicit rule must be formulated.

DS: I have an apple. + The apple is red -> RELATIVIZATION (a) ->
I have an apple which is red -> WHIZ-DELETION (b) ->
I have an apple red -> ADJECTIVE SHIFTING (c) ->
SS: I have a red apple

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Reasons for TG in syntactic contrastive analysis

2. Universality of its basic theoretical constructs

a) Deep structures are universal: common point of departure for CA
b) The transformations applied to deep structures are taken from a
universal stock
DS: Ich habe einen Apfel. + Der Apfel ist rot -> RELATIVIZATION (a) ->
Ich habe einen Apfel, der rot ist -> DIST-DELETION (b) ->
Ich habe einen Apfel rot -> ADJECTIVE SHIFTING, MASCULINE
ACCUSATIVE CASE (c) ->
SS: Ich habe einen roten Apfel
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Reasons for TG in syntactic contrastive analysis

3. Providing identical means for resolving syntactic ambiguities in

different languages

English German
She is a beautiful dancer. Sie ist eine wunderschöne
Tänzerin.
She is a dancer, who dances Sie ist eine Tänzerin, die
beautifully. wunderschön tanzt.
She is a dancer, who is Sie ist eine Tänzerin, die schön
beautiful. ist.
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Reasons for TG in syntactic contrastive analysis

4. Providing a measure of the degree of difference between L1 and L2

constructions
The degrees to which they differ is determined by where, in their
derivational histories, the compared constructions begin to diverge.

Structural approach to CA => surface-structural correspondence

TG approach to CA => correspondence between transformational rules

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.2 The Case Grammarian Approach (for Deep-
Structure Contrasts)
TG => more transformational rules => more complicated
grammar

“Deep structure” was believed to be not deep enough

Semantics-based models for grammatical analysis

developed (1960s)
CASE Grammar: focus on the semantic roles of the
elements of a sentence.
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.2 The Case Grammarian Approach (for Deep-Structure
Contrasts) Underlie the surface
structure
(Birnbaum, 1970) Infrastructure
Deep Language-specific
structure
Profound
Universal
structure

Universal Base Hypothesis (Peter and Ritchie, 1969, p. 150)

There is a version of the theory of Transformational Grammar in
which there is a fixed base grammar B which will serve as the base
component of a grammar of any natural language.
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Language Universals (Chomsky, 1965)

1. Formal universals: Rules that the grammars of all language must have.
Example: All languages have devices for converting verbals or
sentences into adjectives (cf. singing kettle, kettle that sings).
2. Substantive universals: actual elements and constructions in
languages
Example: Linguistic categories such as Noun, Verb, Noun Phrase,
Subject, etc.

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

Language Universals (added by James, 1985)

3. Semantic universals: the relationships between action and agent,
between action and recipient, between action and result, etc., are
universal in all human languages.
=> Each language will contain terms that designate persons or lexical
items referring to certain specific kinds of objects, feelings, behavior,
and so on.
Fillmore (1968): Case Grammar focuses on describing the ubiquitous
semantic relationships in languages

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.2 The Case Grammarian Approach (for Deep-Structure
Contrasts) S=sentence
M=modality (aspect, mood, negation,
tense, speaker/writer’s
attitude, etc.)
P=proposition (“content of the
sentence”)
V=verb
N=noun(s) differentiated according to
case (Agentive, Objective,
Instrumental, Dative, Locative,
Factitive [causative])
The case grammarian model of syntactic structure
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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.2 The Case Grammarian Approach (for Deep-Structure
Contrasts)

John painted the old kitchen chair red.

=> Objective
John painted a controversial portrait of President Joe Biden
=> Factitive

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.2 The Case Grammarian Approach (for Deep-Structure
Contrasts)
Case Grammar is a theory of syntax and semantics in which nouns in
deep structures are said to be related to verbs in cases such as
agent, object, dative, instrumental, and so on. (Wardhugh, 1997)

- Nouns are case-specified (differentiated according to their functions

(cases) in the sentence.
- Verbs are classified according to which case-frames [combinations of
case-specified nouns] they can occur with

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.2 The Case Grammarian Approach (for Deep-Structure
Contrasts)

1) The door opened. [O]

2) John opened the door. [O + A]
3) The wind opened the door. [O + I]
4) John opened the door with a chisel. [O + I + A]

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5.3 Syntactic Contrastive Analysis

5.3.3 The Generative Approaches:
5.3.3.2 The Case Grammarian Approach (for Deep-Structure Contrasts)
Pros Cons
TC = case-structure identity (1) How many cases is it necessary to
postulate?
Theory developed => More cases added
=> detracts from original appeal
Surface structures derived from deep (2) How can the cases be defined?
case configurations by transformations Inventory of case categories sufficient
for languages under contrast => no
general applicability
Simple machinery of deep case
configurations

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The End
That’s all for today.

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