This paper provides an overview of recent developments in the science of linguistics, and considers their relevance to the teaching of Spanish in Puerto Rico. First, three significant trends are explained and summarized: (1) structuralism, which emphasizes phonetics, pattern, and distribution, and rejects meaning as a tool of analysis; (2)…

Linguistics is the study of human language, and has several major divisions: formal linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and applied linguistics. Formal linguistics is the study of grammar, or the development of theories about how language works and is organized. Within formal linguistics there are three major schools of thought:…

THE DESCRIPTIVE SCIENCE OF LINGUISTICS AND THE SKILL OF WRITTEN COMPOSITION MEET IN THE "SENTENCE," AND THE INFORMATION WHICH LINGUISTICS PROVIDES ON SENTENCE STRUCTURE CAN AID THE TEACHER OF COMPOSITION. ALTHOUGH TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR DOES NOT IMPROVE A STUDENT'S WRITING, CONSTITUENT GRAMMAR AND TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR, BY PRESENTING METHODS OF…

An introduction briefly reviews attitudes that critics have revealed toward the tools which linguistic study has provided for literary analysis. Then two of these linguistic tools--the analysis and description of sound and the awareness of the ways in which meaning is expressed by structure--are discussed and illustrated. "Fringe benefits" of…

This syntactic study of French emphasizes analysis of the theory underlying the actual description of the language and techniques used in the derivation of the theory. The work, containing four major sections, includes: (1) a guide to base components, (2) symbolic notation, (3) grammar, and (4) transformations. Grammatical rules for "syntagmes,"…

The sophistication of research, the acceptance of diversity, and the potential applications of research in the field of linguistics are on the rise. (MSE)

This comparative study of traditional and transformational approaches to the syntax of standard Russian proposes the superiority of analysis in terms of possible and impossible transformations, thereby revealing the existence of a level of linguistic form superior to that of simple morphophonemic description. Five classes of word-combinations of…

This study proposed (1) to verify that students of normal ability could learn structural and transformational grammar concepts presented in the format of linear programing, and (2) to test whether the students would apply the concepts in compositions so that their writing showed progress toward maturity. Participating in the experiment were 207…

The serious student of language, English or foreign, and especially the future language teacher must receive a solid training not only in theoretical but also in applied syntax. Such a course should be offered at the advanced level and deal with the syntax of the language involved in a rigorously systematic way. The search for a systematic, yet…

Seemingly conflicting points of view concerning language instruction which are expressed in various teaching methodologies are reconciled in this paper. Key issues discussed include: (1) the nature of linguistic rules and their relation to the "habits" of language use, (2) the role of grammatical theory in language teaching, (3) the nature of…

This study attempted to discover what difference was made in teaching practice by the introduction of a course in linguistics into the undergraduate English-education curriculum. Questionnaires were sent to 10 students who had graduated from Roosevelt University (Chicago) prior to January, 1966, with no linguistic training and to 14 graduating…

This article reviews the historical development of applied linguistics in foreign language instruction. Five major principles influencing early applied linguistic theory are summarized, emphasizing the oral nature of language. Central to the article are discussions of: (1) prescriptive or normative grammar, (2) transformational grammar, (3)…