tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Aug 14 19:42:02 1995
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Re: }} {-wI'} on sentences
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: Re: }} {-wI'} on sentences
- Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 19:42:02 -0400
ghunchu'wI'vo':
>Given that this "ACTOR transformation" business seems rather
>specialized and it describes something that the much broader
>"attributive noun" explanation already carries quite nicely, I
>wonder what use it really serves.
"Attributive noun" is a descriptive term, with general application. It's
like saying something is a "transitive verb", it has meaning pretty much
regardless of the theory of grammar you are interested in (although many
theories will have something to say about how exactly it gets interpreted).
"ACTOR transformation", on the other hand, is one of a collection of
"transformations", which together make up an approach to (the study of)
grammar, known as Transformational Grammar. TG was the popular name of the
theory of linguistics started by Noam Chomsky, after his 1967 book "The
Syntactic Structure of English." The theory went through many changes
through the years, itself undergoing a transformation of sorts around 1980,
when Chomsky published "Lectures on Government and Binding", which shifted
(once-and-for-all) the focus of the study from transformations to the study
of more general principles of language.
The meat of it is, the "ACTOR Transformation" has a place only when taken
within the context of TG, the study of which is not very common anymore (not
in the US, anyway). "Attribute noun" has a general meaning which is readily
available, irrespective of the theory of grammar you do (or don't) subscribe
to.
--Holtej