Grammar and Sequencing in Language
Robert J. Scholes · Psychology Press eBooks · 2019
Morpheme structure rules describe the constraints on the sequences of phonemic segments allowed by specific language. What is at issue is the relationship of the posited sequencing component to the grammar of a language in a psycholinguistic model of sentence production and comprehension. Certain elements, such as verb auxiliaries, are introduced by the phrase structure component of a grammar as unitary elements whose constituents must be subsequently adjusted by transformational rules. The hesitancy would appear to indicate, however, a temporary block on the verb rather than a re-structuring of the normal verb-object sequencing for English. One might even speculate that the ability to deal with linguistic elements in terms of arrangements and syntactic function, without being very concerned with their semantic interpretations, is a characteristic of structural as well as generative transformational linguistics. An informative historical note on sequencing and syntax is provided in Edward Sapir’s Language, 1921.