Extrait textuel du cours :Leonie Mailleux ROGE LENG1228 Introduction to English linguistics: syntax and stylistics 2025-2026 Leonie Mailleux ROGE General Introduction Based on the Cambridge Grammar of English, written by Carter and McCarthy + focus on two fields: 1) syntax (grammar) 2) Stylistic (differences between types of English) What is syntax ? Syntax = the study of the structures of sentences, the rules governing the arrangement of entities . In English the SVO rule prevails (Subject + verb + object). In English, the smallest entity in syntax is the word . Words are classified in wordclasses/part of speech (pronoun, verbs, nouns, …). Words in the same classes share characteristics like inflections or if they can be modified or not. < 1 Phrases = grammatical units made of a word or a group of words. They can be described in terms of nature (Noun Phrase, Prepositional Phrase, …) and they each have individual syntactic functions in the sentence (subject, direct object, …). < Clauses = separate units containing their own verbs . Two clauses can coexist in a sentence, they can for example be coordinated. < Sentences = largest independent units of grammar . They are composed of at least one main clause and a full stop . Other possibilities are [main clause1] + [main clause 2] or even [main clause [subclause(1, 2, …)]] ⇒ This hierarchy also defines the order in tree diagrams. What is stylistics ? Stylistic = multiple definitions due to different uses of ‘style’. In terms of linguistic = the study of language variation and variation in different contexts , such as speech VS written english, or formal VS informal. Syntax and stylistics are combined usually because syntax varies depending on the text type and the context . ⇒ example of newspaper vs face-to-face conversation newspaper: - complete sentences with long and complex structures - rehearsed - identification of referent because no shared context - almost no personal pronouns face-to-face: - short sentences, blurred end, often incomplete - spontaneous - interactions (imperative, questions, shared context and supposed presence of an addressee) - contracted forms 1 hièrarchie Sentences> (one-or-more) Clause> (one-or-more) Phrase> (one-or-more) Word Leonie Mailleux ROGE The Cambridge Grammar of English English is not one standardized language, there are a variety of dialects with different standards and nuances, depending on the country, the region, the social class, etc. This class follows Standard British English. The grammar studied also recognizes the existence of nuances between written norms and spoken norms 2 , as well as formal and informal usage. Grammar rules deterministic = rules that always apply (grammar as structure ) probabilistic = most likely/least likely rules to apply in particular circumstances (grammar as choice ) Descriptive vs prescriptive Descriptive approach = based on observation of usage. How language is used. Prescriptive approach = based on idea that some forms are “good usage”. How language “should be”. (association with social rules) → those rules often come from latin → In CGE, mostly descriptive but highlit of less socially accepted structures Examples of prescriptive rules: not to split infinitives; not to end a sentence with a preposition Grammar and lexis Grammar = rules governing how words are structured to create meaning Lexis = vocabulary of a language, word families, idioms, semantic relationships From two distincts layers of linguistic to closely linked terms. Grammatical choices entail particular choices of vocabulary . ⇒ the passive [ be + PP]; [ by -phrase]; [special order of constituents]: some verbs are usually used in the passive (surprise, please) vs rarely used in the passive . Grammar and semantics/style Demonstration of link between grammar and semantic: auxiliary be/get...
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