语法学

Preface

Author's Introduction

SECTION I

Survey

1 What is grammar?

What is grammar for?

Language without grammar

Problems

Solving the problems

2 From simplicity to complexity: word classes and structures

Word classes

Code and message: from words to phrases

Clauses

Subjects and objects

Mood

Analysing phrases and clauses

Clauses inside clauses

The units of language

3 Grammar In the world's languages

Word classes

Structural types

Morphological complexity

Agreement

Meanings

Why is everything so complicated ?

4 Grammar and vocabulary

How different are grammar and vocabulary?

The grammar of words

On the frontier

Language in use: chunking

A continuum

5 Grammar In spoken and written text

Speech and writing

Building phrases, clauses, and utterances

Reference and context

'Given' and 'new': information flow and topic-maintenance

Text structuring

Face

Formal and informal language

Special kinds of text

6 Grammar and language change

1,ooo years of change in English

Mechanisms of change

Analogy

Phonetic erosion

Grammaticalization

Speed of change

How did it all start?

7 Grammar in society: 'correctness' and standardization

Language under attack

What do we mean by 'incorrect'?

Mistakes

Variation

Dialect forms

Alternative usage

Authorities: descriptive and prescriptive rules

Problems with prescriptive rules

Ripples on the ocean

The desire for standardization

The price of standardization

8 Grammar In the head

Investigating language

From outside to inside

Learnability and universal grammar

Problems with the innatist view

Usage-based associative learning

Modularity: grammar in the brain

SECTION 2

Readings

SECTION 3

References

SECTION 4

Glossary

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

《语法学》为“牛津语言学入门丛书”之一，《语法学》向读者介绍了有关语法学的概论，并回答了语法是什么，语法如何与词汇联系在一起，语法是怎么演变的，什么是正确的语法等有趣的问题。

人们在对语言的特定细节进行剖析之前，应该对语言整体有个大致的了解。作为语言学研究方向的学生进行深入研究之前的热身阅读，《牛津语言学入门丛书》的主旨是为人们理解那些学术性强的语言学专著奠定理论基础。因为这套丛书浅显易懂，对那些感兴趣却并非专门从事语言研究的人进一步了解语言也大有裨益。斯沃所著的《语法学》为其中一册。