n nCumr 0 . T R F M Y ED 023 082 AL 001 527 By -Algeo, John Stratifscational Grammar. Pub Date Mar 68 Note -4p. Journal Co -South Atlantic Bulletin; v33 n2 Mar 1968 EDRS Price MF -S025 HC -S030 Descriptors -*Descriptive Linguistics, Grammar, Linguistic Theory, *Models, Morphology(Languages), Phonology, Semantics. *Structural Analysis, *Structural Linguistics , Syntax Identifiers -*Stratifications, Grammar According to the author, most grammarians have been writingstratificational grammars without knowing it because theyhave dealt with units that are related to one another, but not simply as awhole to its parts, or as a class to itsmembers. The question, then, is not whether a grammar isstratified but whether itisexplicitly stratified. This paper discusses the model o f language that isbeing developed by Sydney Lamb and H. A. Gleason, Jr. It is explicitly stratified and recognizes sixstrata (hypersememic, sememic, lexemic, morphemic, phonemic, andhypophonemic) grouped into three malor structural components of two strata each:semology, grammar, and phonology respectively. Collectively, the strata are a system orcode for relating communicative content at the "top" to vocal expressionat the bottom." Each stratum consists of an inventory of its characteristic units or"ernes," and a Set of tactic rules that specify how the emes combine with one another on that stratum.Finally, strata are connected to oneanother by realization rules, which describe howthe emes of one stratum arelinked to those of another. Any text, for example a sentence, exists on all the strata simultaneously. On each stratum the textwill be a structure of ernes ordered by the appropriate tactic rules, but on each stratum itwill differ in structure. In effect, the strata furnish alternate ways o f looking at textsof a language.(DO) U.S. MAITRE Of RAM DAUM a WWI= OfFICE Of EDUCATION !THISDOCUMENT HAS KEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY ASRECEIVED FROM THE PERSON 01 ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS ! - 410 STAIELILIOT NECESSAMLY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICEOf EDUCATION... i ...... 1 SouthI POSITIONOR Atlantic POUCY. Bulletin Vol. XXXIII, No. 2 SOUTH ATLANTIC MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION March, 1968 Stratificational Grammar Henry Adams seems to have beentheories because we have reachedas consisting of a limited number of at least partly right when, in Thefinal linguistic truth. We can lookstrata or, to speak unmetaphorically, Education of Henry Adams, he post-forward to the law of acceleration'ssubsystems. The stratlficational view ulated a law of acceleration in hu-continuing to operate in languagethus contrasts with a grammar that man life whereby scientific knowl-study for some time to come. tries to account for the whole of a edge increases in complexity at an However, talk about accelerationlanguage as a single system, with a ever increasing rate. At least recentand progress is misleading. It soundssingle basic unit combined into com- events in American linguistics lendtoo uniform, too well-directed, andplex structures. For example, an support to the idea of such a lawmuch too harmonious. In fact, aunstratified grammar might describe ofacceleration. N e w linguisticbetter metaphor for the presentmorphemes as composed directly of theory has been following new lin-state of linguistic theory would bephonemes. A stratified description guistic theory with dizzy speed. that of a battle. Bloomfieldian andinstead recognizes two different sub- However, our recent progress inTragerian Structuralism, whichsystems, each with its own char- linguistics differs from Adams' lawseemed firmlyensconced intheacteristic unit, morpheme and pho- of acceleration in one respect. Infortress of orthodoxy a scant tenneme. Morphemes are not composed 1905 Henry Adams thought thatyears ago, have been besieged byof phonemes, but are indirectly con- knowledge was increasing so rapidlythe armies of Transformationalisra.nected to them through a relation- that sometime between the 1930'sTagmemic chaplains have set upship that can be called realization. and the 1950's it would reach atheir tents in the exotic bush. ThereThe connection can be by way of zenith from which it would be pos-are rumors of an invasion by Fir-either allomorphs or morphopho- sible to predict the past and futurethian foreigners. Dashing across thenemes. course of human life as accuratelyempty plains from a distant Danish Althoughsome Bloomfieldians as a mathematician could plot thehorizon comes a new band, the troop(including Bloomfield himself) have path of a comet. Now there areof Stratificationalism. We need someat some times spoken as though they those who believe that the peri-modern Prudentius to describe thisheld an unstratified view, in fact no helion of linguistic knowledge wasGlossomachia. natural language can be described reached in 1933 or in 1957, thus In this paper I propose to discusswithin such a limited framework. verifying Adams' prediction, butstratificational theory, one of theConsequently in pactice linguistics linguistic theorists as a whole havenewer entries in the lists, in a gen-have used some variety of stratified gone on grinding out one neweral way, there being in fact hardlydescription, although often an in- theory after another as though inany other way in which it can beexplicit one. So it turns out that general linguistics as in Generaldiscussed at present. These remarksmost grammars are at least partly Electric, progress were our mostmight therefore be fittingly calledoratleastinformallystratified. important product. the prolegomena to a paper on stra-Their authors are thus in the posi- 711 fact, change in linguistic theorytificational theory. The theory itselftion of Moliere's bourgeois gentil- is 114 rapid that nowadays you haveis far from fully developed and therehomme, who discovered to his de- to specify not only whose theoryis as yet no extensive grammar oflight that he had been speaking you are talking about, but whatany language written in stratifica-prose all his life without knowing year's model you have in mind.tional terms. Nevertheless, Jamesit. Most grammarians have been Choinsky's Syntactic Structures ofSledd's trenchant observation thatwritingstratificationalgrammars 1957 is already being referred to asstratificationalgrammar "atthewithout knowing it because they "classical transformational theory,"moment is like posteritya gleamhave dealt with two or more kinds thus placing it in the same categoryin its father's eye" is something ofof units that are related to one an- as Oedipus Rex and the Phidianan exaggeration. Recent meetings ofother, but not simply as a whole to Jove. Acceleration could hardly bethe Linguistic Society have includedits parts, or as a class to its mem- greater. Moreover there are signspapers applying stratificational the-bers. The question, then,is not that Chomsky's 1985 Aspects of theory to various problems, and therewhether a grammar is stratified but Theory of Syntax may soon beis a small, but growing literaturewhether itis explicitly stratified. MI thought of as what the disc-jockeyson the subject. Althousi: still in aIf the stratification is explicit, the CO call a "Golden Oldie," because ex-formative stage, stratlficational the-following questions become rele- (=I tensive design changes are beingory has some interesting promises,vant: How many strata does the grammar recognize? What is the reNproposed in the theory. Apparentlyand if it lives up to those promises, we must get used to trading in ourit will be worth our attention. I willinternal structure of each stratum? CN.1 pammar along with our car eachreturn to the promises shortly; firstHow are the strata related to one year for a newer modeL But thoseI would like to consider what theanother? CI who regret the Detroit syndrome intheory PI ard I will begin by dis- The foregoing questions lead us C.1 grammar can at least take comforttinguisE I three senses in whichto the second sense in which the Us/in the thought that it keeps thethe term stratificational may beterm stratificational grammar may linguistic economy moving. In shortused. be used: namely, to designate a there seems to be no immediate In the most general sense, stratifi-model of language that is being de- Page Two SOUTH ATLANTIC BULLETIN March. 1968 and H. A. Gleason, Jr. It is an ex-chinashop,refer)whose internal South Atlantic Iulkin plicitlystratifiedgrammarthatstructure does not involve syntactic Tag SOUTH ATLANTIC SULLITIN,recognizes six strata grouped intorelations. established under the editorship of Sturgis E. Leavitt in 1935, is thethree major structural components The Lambian morpheme and pho- officialpublicationof the Southof two strata each: neme are units of the same size as Atlantic Modern Language Associa- Linguistic Strata the familiar neo-Bloomfleldian unib, tion. It is published at Chapel Hill, semology: but they differ from their familiar N. C.. in January, March, May and November and is circulated to all hypersememic namesakesinsignificantways. members of the Association. sememic Lamb's morpheme is approximately grammar: the equivalent of what has tradi- EDITOR lexemic tionally been called a morphemically Mum M. DUMP, University of morphemic conditioned allomorph such as wife North Carolina. phonology: and the wive- of wives or the noun ASSOCIATE EDITORS phonemic plural -s and the -en of oxen. Lamb's EDWARD W. BUTTON, University hypophonemic phoneme shares some of the char- of Tennessee. Collectively, the strata are a systemacteristics of the conventional mor- FRANCIS C. Ilsus, University ofor code for