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Syntax- An Introduction

Directions: Answer the following questions in an intermediate pad.

1.Define syntax.

2. Discuss the etymology of the word syntax.

3. Write down the importance of syntax.

4. Give the types of syntax.

5. Identify the main elements of a syntax.

Introduction to Syntax
Is the study of principles and rules for constructing sentences in natural languages. It is also used to refer directly
to the rules and principles that govern the sentences structure of any individual language. Any speaker of any human
language can produce and understand an infinitive number of possible sentences.
Syntax is part of grammar that pertains to a speaker’s knowledge of sentences and their structures. It is the set of
rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a given language, usually including word order.
It also refer to the study of such principles and processes.
Syntax is simplify the rules according to which words are put together to create phrases and sentences.
Etymology
Syntax comes from the ancient Greek word which means coordination, which consists of the words “together”and
“an ordering”.
What Is the Difference Between Grammar and Syntax?
While grammar and syntax are similar, they’re not synonymous. Let’s take a look at how these two commonly mixed-up
terms differ from each other.

 Grammar: a comprehensive set of rules for a language, including how sentences are formed and the standards fo
r correct usage.
 Syntax: the specific arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses to create a well-formed sentence.

Syntax acts as a subset of grammar. In other words, all syntax rules are grammar rules, but not all grammar rules are
syntax rules. If you think of grammar as a big rule book, there would be a chapter in the book dedicated to syntax.

Syntax is important because the order of words and phrases within a sentence can greatly impact its overall meaning. For
example, the sentences below have vastly different meanings just by the unusual word order swapping two words.

 My dog bit my brother.

 My brother bit my dog.

Of course, this is just a simple example of teaching sentence structure, but word order and sentence structure become
increasingly challenging when students begin to encounter compound and complex sentences. By building their
grammatical and syntactic awareness from a young age, you will help your students become more effective
communicators.

What are the Benefits of Building Syntactic Awareness?

a.Syntax skills help us understand how sentence work
the meanings behind word order, structure, and punctuation. By providing support for developing syntax skills, we can hel
p readers understand increasingly complex texts"
b.Clearer Communication Skills
Knowing the rules of grammar and syntax helps increase written and spoken communication skills. The goal of teaching
sentence structure part both for speaking and writing is to ensure that your audience is able to understand what you want
to communicate. By getting comfortable with parts of speech, proper usage, and sentence structures, students learn to
express their thoughts more effectively.

c.Increased Reading Comprehension

Numerous studies have shown a strong correlation between syntactic awareness and reading comprehension. Students
who understand grammar and syntax rules—such as the functions of words in a sentence and the meanings associated
with word order, sentence structure, and punctuation—typically have a greater ability to make sense of what they read.
The more they work with different types of sentences, the better they’ll be able to glean meaning while reading.

3 Ways to Increase Syntactic Awareness

1) Explicitly Teach Grammar and Syntax Rules
While children naturally pick up on grammar and syntax rules through daily communication, you certainly can’t assume
that your students will gain all of the knowledge they need without explicit instruction. Start slowly by teaching students
the function of words.

Parts of speech are the building blocks of sentences. Breaking down sentences into parts of speech and asking students
about the function of various words will help improve both comprehension and writing. Once they have a firm
understanding of parts of speech and sentence combining, you can move on to clauses, sentence structures, and
mechanics.
2) Teach Syntax in Context
Explicit grammar instruction can only go so far without adding context. So, as you go throughout your day, be sure to
seek opportunities to incorporate your grammar studies organically.

For example, pull some tricky sentences out of your read-aloud book, then work together with older students to break
them down. Ask your students how the meaning of the sentence could change if certain words or phrases were moved
around or removed completely. You can also challenge them to rewrite the sentence using a second language or a
different structure without altering the meaning.

3) Try Sentence Diagramming

Diagramming sentences is a great strategy to help students make sense of grammar and syntax rules. A sentence diagram
serves as a visual representation of sentence structure that helps students see how parts of speech interact with each other.

Using a simple subject standardized set of rules and lines, students place words from a given sentence into a diagram
based on how they relate. This visual exercise is especially useful to increase syntactic awareness, particularly when it
comes to complex sentences.

Using exercises like sentence diagramming, our Analytical Grammar program helps students gain an in-depth
understanding of grammar and syntax rules. By teaching grammar and building sentence level and syntactic awareness,
you will help increase your student’s comprehension and composition skills.

In addition, understanding the different types of syntax and how they are used can help us to communicate more
effectively with others. By using the appropriate type of sentence and choosing the right words and phrasing, we can
express our thoughts and ideas clearly and concisely.

WHY IS SYNTAX A SCIENCE?

Syntactic theory is scientific because it is, fundamentally, hypothesis driven research. By looking at one language or
many languages, we come up with a hypothesis about how that language(s) work(s). We then test that hypothesis by
looking at one or more languages. It is absolutely vital that we treat syntax as a scientific discipline. It is tempting to
succumb to the false belief that “I speak a language, therefore I understand how it works.” This is equivalent to saying “I
have a body, so I understand how it works.”

It is likewise critical that we avoid relying on our “impressions” about a language, the prescriptive rules we were taught in
English/Spanish/German/Swahili/Hindi/… about “proper” writing, or our judgements about what is “good” and “bad”
because these things are not scientifically rigorous and they do not reflect language as it is used. We cannot use those
things to make hypotheses because in fact, they do not represent the actual data.

The Scientific method is a process with the help of which scientists try to investigate, verify, or construct an
accurate and reliable version of any natural phenomena. They are done by creating an objective framework for the
purpose of scientific inquiry and analysing the results scientifically to come to a conclusion that either supports or
contradicts the observation made at the beginning.
 The same is true of syntax (and all linguistics). We do not base our theory on our intuitions or our “feelings” or the
rules that others impose. We base them on data. For this reason, much of this course will focus on developing diagnostic
tests that we can use to identify properties of language.

Scientific Method Steps

The aim of all scientific methods is the same, that is, to analyse the observation made at the beginning. Still,
various steps are adopted per the requirement of any given observation. However, there is a generally accepted
sequence of steps in scientific methods.

1. Observation and formulation of a question: This is the first step of a scientific method. To start one, a
n observation has to be made into any observable aspect or phenomena of the universe, and a question n
eeds to be asked about that aspect. For example, you can ask, “Why is the sky black at night? or “Why is
air invisible?”
 1. Data Collection and Hypothesis: The next step involved in the scientific method is to collect all related
data and formulate a hypothesis based on the observation. The hypothesis could be the cause of the phen
omena, its effect, or its relation to any other phenomena.

1. Testing the hypothesis: After the hypothesis is made, it needs to be tested scientifically. Scientists do th
is by conducting experiments. The aim of these experiments is to determine whether the hypothesis agre
es with or contradicts the observations made in the real world. The confidence in the hypothesis increase
s or decreases based on the result of the experiments.

1. Analysis and Conclusion: This step involves the use of proper mathematical and other scientific proced
ures to determine the results of the experiment. Based on the analysis, the future course of action can be
determined. If the data found in the analysis is consistent with the hypothesis, it is accepted. If not, then i
t is rejected or modified and analysed again.
It must be remembered that a hypothesis cannot be proved or disproved by doing one experiment. It needs to be
done repeatedly until there are no discrepancies in the data and the result. When there are no discrepancies and
the hypothesis is proved, it is accepted as a ‘theory’.

The first benefit of learning about syntax is that you will make fewer errors.

If you were a carpenter, you would need to learn, at a minimum, the basic techniques for joining pieces of
wood: drilling, boring, gluing, clamping, etc. As a writer, you build things using words. It therefore makes
good sense to educate yourself not only about the different kinds of words there are, but also about how
they fit together to form proper sentences.

Syntax Defined Syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing sentences in natural languages. In addition
to referring to the discipline, the term syntax is also used to refer directly to the rules and principles that govern the senten
ce structure of any individual language. Any speaker of any human language can produce and understand an infinite numb
er of possible sentences. Thus, we can‘t possibly have a mental dictionary of all the possible sentences. Rather, we have th
e rules for forming sentences stored in our brains. Syntax is the part of grammar that pertains to a speaker‘s knowledge of
sentences and their structures.