The Principle Of Binary Combination For Syntactic Construction

Speech generation is a mental process, and human inner mental process is subtle and complex. The syntactic patterns and linguistic conventions revealed in language use don’t seem to be so consistent. There always seem to be exceptions. For this reason, syntax becomes one of the most elusive branches of study in linguistics. Since Ferdinand de Saussure, various syntactic theories have been developed by linguists interpreting some important aspects of linguistic facts, and Chomsky has intended to reveal the simple universal grammatical frame innate in all human minds. However, it seems hard to interpret all linguistic facts and the truth of parole production of average speakers perfectly and convincingly. Here again, I attempt to reveal a simple speech generation mode from a psychological perspective.Linguists have long observed that a single sentence is composed of two parts in general, termed as subject+predicate, or theme+rheme, or NP+VP. Bloomfield’s IC analysis and the transformational generative grammar have actually further revealed the details in speech production——a continuous and recursive use of binary combination.The simple speech generation mode of binary combination is actually determined by the human cognitive base-the binary operation psychological capacity explicit in mathematic calculations. Binary combination, singularization and our working memory function together in sentence construction.The complex relationships between elements in the world are revealed bit by bit, stated first in a sentence, then a paragraph, then a passage. Each bit of revelation of a binary combination tells a relationship between two elements. A sentence can be as simple as one binary combination, revealing a relation between two elements, and it can become very complex with recursive operations of binary combination, depending on the information the speaker intends to tell in one single sentence.This thesis is organized in four chapters. Chapter1introduces the present achievements in syntactic study and prominent existent syntactic theories. It also introduces my research attempt and methodology, the objectives to be achieved and corresponding practical value. Chapter2focuses on clarifying the source of speech. With a careful study of Wittgenstein’s language philosophy theory about the sense of linguistic symbols and semantic analysis of single word utterances in baby and adult language, the chapter reveals that a single-word speech underlies at least one binary syntactic combination for a clear and definite meaning. The chapter claims that the generation mode of a speech is binary combination and the content source of a speech is human experience-finding corresponding lexes for intended meaning with the linguistic symbols for items in close relationship combined closely together. Thus, unacceptable utterance of random combination of lexes will never occur. Chapter3, the central part of this thesis, reveals our cognitive base and ground for the proposal of the binary combination syntax mode-binary operation explicit in mathematic calculations and language lexicons. After that the chapter conducts binary combination analysis of practical speech generation of different patterns and structures. Finally, it proves the validity of the binary combination hypothesis in speech generation through some established linguistic theories. Chapter4concludes the study and discoveries of the thesis and predicts the possible practical value in language teaching.Though Bloomfield’s IC analysis and Chomsky’s phrasal structure analysis demonstrated in the popular tree diagram syntactic analysis has already revealed a binary combination principle in most speech generation, no linguist has ever noticed and announced this simple and valid syntactic mode of binary combination before. This thesis has proved the speech generation mode of binary combination theoretically through the established syntactic theories:the most traditional Subject+Predicate grammar, Bloomfield’s binary IC analysis, Chomsky’s Sâ†'VP+NP theory, and Halliday’s theme+rheme theory. It also proves this binary combination mode practically through a careful observation of our cognitive mode revealed in mathematic calculation and the lexes of languages, and through analysis of practical speech generation as well. Binary combination analysis holds vast validity in practical speech generation interpretation.The speech generating mode is simple. It is recursive use of the binary combination for a large amount of intended information that has made a sentence complex. This study reveals the reason why a language can be mastered and used proficiently by average people of average IQ, even by small children. Thus, this trial study may cast light on the exploration of more efficient methodology in language teaching.