comprehending :: making & repairing meaning :: sentence-level :: grammar ::

syntax

"[M]ultiple meanings can be created by structural ambiguities within syntax. A sentence such as "The child talked about the problem with the teacher" is structurally ambiguous because it is equally possible that the child talked with the teacher or that the child has a problem with the teacher." (Zipke, M., 2004, p. 129) 

Working Definition

Syntax regards the rules that govern the structure with which words combine in language. It is especially concerned with the ways and order in which words combine to make phrases and sentences. An example of syntax (word order) that varies greatly from what we are accustom to is how Yoda from Star Wars speaks. Meaning his words still make, but standard the order of his words is not.

Prompts

• Choose a sentence from your reading. Use the exact same words the author did but put the words in a different order to say the same thing as the author's original sentence. Record the original sentence, the page it was on, and your new sentence.
• Choose a sentence from your reading. Use the exact same words the author did but put the words in a different order to say something different from the author's original sentence. Record the original sentence, the page it was on, and your new sentence.
• record a sentence from your reading that could have two different meanings depending on how you read it. What are those meanings?

© 2014, Robert Pottle