According to linguist Noam Chomsky, the sentences “Lee gave the ball to Lynne” and “Lynne received the ball from Lee,” both have the same:
meaning?
According to Noam Chomsky, the sentences "Lee gave the ball to Lynne" and "Lynne received the ball from Lee" have the same underlying structure. To understand Chomsky's analysis, we need to examine the principles of transformational grammar and his theory of generative syntax.
Transformational grammar is a linguistic framework that aims to discover the underlying structure of sentences and the rules that generate them. Chomsky proposed this framework and developed the theory of generative syntax, which posits that all sentences in a language can be derived from a finite set of rules.
In this case, Chomsky suggests that the two sentences have similar underlying structures, but they are produced through different transformations. The first sentence, "Lee gave the ball to Lynne," can be analyzed as follows:
1. [Lee [gave [the ball] [to Lynne]]]
Here, the verb "gave" takes two arguments - the ball and Lynne. The preposition "to" marks the indirect object Lynne. This structure represents the action of giving the ball to Lynne.
The second sentence, "Lynne received the ball from Lee," can be analyzed as:
2. [Lynne [received [the ball] [from Lee]]]
In this case, the verb "received" also takes two arguments - the ball and Lee. The preposition "from" indicates the source of the action. This structure represents the action of receiving the ball from Lee.
Chomsky argues that transformational rules can convert the underlying structure of one sentence into another. In this case, a possible transformation can convert structure 1 into structure 2:
3. [Lee [gave [the ball] [to Lynne]]]
-> TRANSFORMATION ->
[Lynne [received [the ball] [from Lee]]]
This transformational rule changes the order and introduces a preposition, resulting in the second sentence. Chomsky's analysis suggests that the two sentences have the same underlying structure, even though they are syntactically different.
It is important to note that other linguists may have different analyses and explanations for sentence structures. Chomsky's theories have had a significant impact on the field of linguistics, but they are not the only approach used to understand language.