Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Deep Structure, grammar, Noam Chomsky, Surface Structure, traces, writing
Noam Chomsky, linguist/activist, began the discussion and adventure that is transformational grammar, and according to a 1992 tabulation of sources from the previous 12 years in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index, he’s also the eighth most quoted thinker ever–alive or dead! So with that information in mind, he’s got some good ideas, methinks! I digress…
Chomsky’s transformational grammar had two main components: Surface Structure (SS) & Deep Structure (DS). SS simply pertains to the sum of the variables as you see it, e.g. as in the title of this post: “They are everywhere.” At the DS, there is trace after the word They; and They is the target of the introduction. All this to say, They Traces are everywhere.
Okay, so where’s the application of this newfound knowledge? Well, I ran into an example the other day, commenting on a poem that a friend wrote. One of the lines read, “But I have not asked to be forgiven.” I reread the line a few times, and then realized the progressive tense seemed to work against what he wished to convey. The progressive tense he used implied a desire for future action because of the trace as follows, “But I have not [trace] asked to be forgiven.” This trace could suggest, “But I have not [yet] to be forgiven.” I suggested that he use Do or Will instead, since these disregard room for the other action(s).
There are numerous discussions on this subject that you can explore further; especially the longtime debate of the implications and affects of Deep Structure. Yet, I hope this serves as an introduction onto a new avenue to explore within your own writing.
2 Comments so far
Leave a comment
PINKO! PINKO!
Comment by Kris March 10, 2009 @ 6:08 amAnd Steve-O was his name-O!
Comment by finalrevision March 10, 2009 @ 6:42 am