DOCUMENT RESUME 'F'D 034 977 24 AL 002 227 AUTHOR Politzer, Robert L.; Bartley, Diana F. TITLE Standard English and Nonstandard Dialects: Elements of Syntax. INSTITUTION Stanford Univ., Calif. Stanford Center for Research and Development in Teaching. SPONS AGENCY Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Bureau of Research. REPORT NO RDM-54 BUREAU NO BR-5-0252 PUB DATE Oct 69 CONTR ACT ORC-6-10-078 NOTE 50p. EDRS PRICE EDPS Price MF-$0.25 HC-$2.60 DESCRIPTORS Adjectives, Adverbs, *Contrastive Linguistics, *Form Classes (Languages), Interference (Language Learning), Mexican Americans, Negro Dialects, Nominals, *Nonstandard Dialects, Pronouns, Sentence Structure, Spanish Speaking, Standard Spoken Usage, *Syntax,. Teacher Education, Teacher Improvement, *Tenl, Transformations (Language), Verbs ABSTRACT This memorandum is the third ina series of "publications which will ultimately combine to form the basis ofa "Syllabus for the Training of Teachers of Standard Englishas a Second Dialect." Most of the culturally and economically disadvantaged are not native speakers of standard English, but speakers of a nonstandard dialect. The syllabus is intended for those who teach children from Negro and Spanish (Mexican) subcultures. This memorandum is a systematic listing and description of the salient features of English syntax along with parallels in nonstandard speech. The information concerning Negro speech is basedon the literature cited in this memorandum. The description of interference with a Spanish substratum is primarily inferred froma comparison of English with Spanish structure. Teachers whoare already teaching standard English as a second dialectas well as those who wish to learn how to do so will find the memorandum useful.See related document ED 030 869.(Authors/DO) a 0 L Research and Development Memorandum No. 54 STANDARD ENGLISH AND NONSTANDARD DIALECTS: ELEMENTS OF SYNTAX Robert L. Politzer and Diana E. Bartley 0 0 0 0// o C.,%8 `)..!--\ SIMV_Fd CW4gir laD§OlrehH MYke4)i_ Pfl K".01(111.:1 .. ©11,10 Di-, @i CW.J@NfrO@VY. cSrif7ARtiFOU-',[5) L) 0 O 14-Ay STANFORD CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 06/44 IN TEACHING Research and Development MemorandumNo. 54 STANDARD ENGLISH AND NONSTANDARD DIALECTS: ELEMENTS OF SYNTAX Robert L. Politzer and Diana E. Bartley U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLYAS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIALOFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. School of Education Stanford University Stanford, California October 1969 two C4 O Published by the Stanford Center for Research and Development in Teaching, supported in part as a research and development center by funds from the United States Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. met The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the position, policy, or endorsement of the Office of Education. (Contract No. 0E-6-10-078, Project No. 5 -0252- 0402.) Abstract This memorandum is the third in a series of publications which will ultimately combine to form the basis of a Syllabus for the .Training of Teachers of Standard English as a Second Dialect. Most of the culturally and economically disadvantaged are not native speakers of standard English, but speakers of a nonstandard dialect. The syllabus is intended for those who teach children from Negro and Spanish (Mexican) subcultures. This memorandum is a systematic listing and description of the salient features of English syntax along with parallels in nonstandard speech. The information concerning Negro speech is based on the literature cited in the memorandum. The description of interference with a Spanish substratum is primarily inferred from a comparison of English with Spanish structure. Teachers who are already teaching standard English as a second dialect as well as those who wish to learn how to do so will find the memorandum useful. t iii Table of Contents Page, Introduction 1 1. The Word Classesof English 5 1.1 LexicalWords 6 1.11 Nouns 6 1.12Verbs 6 1.13Adjectives 6 1.14Adverbs 6 1.15Pronouns 7 1.16Assignment to word classes 8 1.2 Function Words 11 1.21Determiners 11 1.22Auxiliaries 12 1.23 Intensifiers 13 1.24Approximaters 13 1.25 Coordinators 13 1.26 Prepositions 14 1.27 Question words 15 1.28 Subordinators 15 1.29 Other function words 16 v/v Table of Contents (Continued) Page 2. BasicPatterns 16 2.1Noun-Verb-Adjective 16 2.11 Type one 17 2.12 Type two 17 2.2 Noun-Verb-Adverb 17 2.21 Optional adverb 18 2.22Adverb not optional 18 2.3 Noun-Verb-Noun 18 2.31 N-V-N with be 18 2.32 First-second no= identity 19 2.33 Recipient of action 19 2.4 Noun-Verb-Noun-Noun 19 2.41 Equation 19 2.42 "Effect" relationship . .... 19 2.43Direct object 20 2.5 Noun-Verb-Noun-Prep-Noun 20 2.51 Converts to N-V-N-N 20 2 1 2.52Does not convert to N-V-N-N 21 3. NounPhrase 21 3.1Determiners 21 3.11Predeterminers 21 3.12Prearticles 22 vi Table of Contents (Continued) Page 3.13 Categories of determiners 22 3.131 Two articles, other words 22 4 3.132Demonstratives 22 3.133 Possessives 22 3.14 Postdeterminers 22 3.15 Use of the definite article 22 3.151 Reference to mentioned noun 22 3.152Additional modification of noun 22 3.153Reference to unmentioned noun 23 3.16 Use of the zero article 23 3.17Use of the indefinite article 23 3.2 Count and Mass Nouns 23 3.3 Adjectival Modification 24 3.4Modification by Prepositional Phrases 24 3.5 Nominalization 25 4. Verb Phrase 25 4.1Past Modification 25 4.2 Modal Modification 26 4.21 Future 27 4.22 Conditional 28 4.23Defective modals 28 4.3 Progressive Tense 29 vii 4 1 Table of Contents (Continued) Page 4.4Adverbial Modifiers 30 4.41Preverbial modifiers 30 4.42Position of adverbs 31 4.43Adverbs of manner 31 4.44 Sentence adverbials 31 4.5 Two-Part Verbs 32 Transformations 33 5.1There--Transformation 33 5.2Negative Transformation 34 5.21 Application of negative transformation 35 5.3 Question Transformation 36 5.31 Question word in sentence 36 5.4 Passive Transformation 36 5.5 Emphasis Transformation 37 6. Verb + Verb Construction 38 6.1 It Is Construction 38 6.2 Verb + Verb with Same Subject 39 6.3 Verb + Verb with Different Subjects 40 7. Subordinate Clauses 41 7.1Noun Clauses 41 7.2Adjectival Clauses 42 7.3 Adverbial (Relative) Clauses 43 7.31 Use of tenses in adverbial clauses 44 viii STANDARD ENGLISH AND NONSTANDARD DIALECTS: ELEMENTS OF SYNTAX 1 Robert L. Politzerand Diana E. Bartley2 The present research memorandumis the third in a series of short publications dealing with the teachingof standard English to speakers of nonstandard dialects. It will be combined with R&D MemorandumNo. 46 on phonology and morphology to form the Applied LinguisticsSection of the Syllabus for the Trainin: of Teachersof Standard Englishas a Second Dialect. The syllabus will be addressedto linguists, trainers of teachers, and teachers of English concernedwith the language training of the disadvantaged. In choosing a linguistic framework for thepresentation of standard and nonstandard English syntax, the authorshad to consider the divergent backgrounds and varying levels of linguisticknowledge among their readers. In a sense, the approach to syntax taken inthis memorandum represents a compromise. Even though the traditional grammarian's approach is probably quite comprehensibleto a very large public, it was not appropriate because the authors felt that if itwere used in teacher training it might in turn be used in teaching the pupil. The categories of traditional English grammar--questioned bysome linguists on principle for any level of instruction or teaching situation--seemparticularly inappropriate in teaching pupils whoare not used to dealing with the abstract concepts on which traditionalgrammar is based. A more formal- istic approach based on concrete examples and their analysisappears to 1 Professor of Education and Romance Linguistics, School of Education, Stanford University, and Research and Development Associate, Stanford Center for Research and Development in Teaching. 2 Formerly Research Assistant, Stanford Center for Research and Develop- ment in Teaching; now Instructor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and Associate Director, Department of Language Laboratories, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. tII -2- be called for. It is for this reason that the presentation of syntactical problems undertaken in this memorandum is based primarily on a formal pattern approach.At the same time, however, the authors wish to make it clear that this presentation does not aim to give a complete, or even a nearly complete, outline of English syntax; nor does it purport to follow any particular school of linguistics. It is, as stated above, only a framework within which some of the outstanding syntactical differences between standard and nonstandard English are presented. The memorandum follows this general procedure: In each section standard English is first described; then, typical nonstandardphenomena are mentioned whenever pertinent information wasavailable. The descrip- tions of nonstandard syntactical features appear under theheadings D1 and D2. D is used for nonstandard dialectical features notassociated 1 with a known linguistic substratum, i.e., the speech ofthe black community. D2 is used for phenomena associated withinterference coming from Spanish and Spanish dialects. As in the preceding memorandum on phonology andmorphology, the authors again found that there is a particular dearth ofmaterials deal- ing with the actual English speech of Mexican-Americans orPuerto Most of the materials listed under D are thus derived from a Ricans. 2 consideration of possible interference comingdirectly from Spanish. Some of the phenomena described under D2 andthe general hypothesis of varying degrees of interference fromSpanish existing in Mexican-American English were confirmed by the authors duringseveral visits to elementary schools, and high school and adult educationclasses :La San Jose, California.