Emergent grammar
Encyclopedia
Emergent grammar is an approach to the study of syntax
, originally proposed by Paul Hopper
, which postulates that rules for grammar and syntactic structure emerge as language is used. It is distinguished from what Hopper calls the A Priori Grammar Postulate, which posits that grammar is a set of rules existing in the mind before anything else, and is exemplified by the school of generative grammar
and the concept of Universal Grammar
. Whereas Universal Grammar claims that features of grammar are innate, emergent grammar claims that the human language faculty has no innate grammar and that features of grammar are learned through experience; the term "emergent" in this context is synonymous with "non-innate."
Emergent grammar was formally proposed in 1987. Since then, it has been an approach common in linguistic discourse analysis
and conversation analysis
and has been used to investigate the relationship between grammatical structure and real-time interaction and language use.
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
, originally proposed by Paul Hopper
Paul Hopper
Paul J. Hopper is an American linguist of British birth. In 1973, he proposed the glottalic theory regarding the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European consonant inventory, in parallel with the Georgian linguist Tamaz Gamkrelidze and the Russian linguist Vyacheslav V. Ivanov...
, which postulates that rules for grammar and syntactic structure emerge as language is used. It is distinguished from what Hopper calls the A Priori Grammar Postulate, which posits that grammar is a set of rules existing in the mind before anything else, and is exemplified by the school of generative grammar
Generative grammar
In theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax. A generative grammar of a language attempts to give a set of rules that will correctly predict which combinations of words will form grammatical sentences...
and the concept of Universal Grammar
Universal grammar
Universal grammar is a theory in linguistics that suggests that there are properties that all possible natural human languages have.Usually credited to Noam Chomsky, the theory suggests that some rules of grammar are hard-wired into the brain, and manifest themselves without being taught...
. Whereas Universal Grammar claims that features of grammar are innate, emergent grammar claims that the human language faculty has no innate grammar and that features of grammar are learned through experience; the term "emergent" in this context is synonymous with "non-innate."
Emergent grammar was formally proposed in 1987. Since then, it has been an approach common in linguistic discourse analysis
Discourse analysis
Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken, signed language use or any significant semiotic event....
and conversation analysis
Conversation analysis
Conversation analysis is the study of talk in interaction . CA generally attempts to describe the orderliness, structure and sequential patterns of interaction, whether institutional or in casual conversation.Inspired by ethnomethodology Conversation analysis (commonly abbreviated as CA) is the...
and has been used to investigate the relationship between grammatical structure and real-time interaction and language use.