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Problems of deep and surface structure, as reflected in a diachronic analysis of the French verbal system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Martin Harris
Martin Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Modern Languages, University of Salford
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Extract

Linguists concerned with the historical evolution of a language have for some time been aware of the implications for their discipline of the distinction between deep and surface structure implicit, of course, in the writings of such Cartesians as Cordemoy and in the Grammaire générale et raisonnée of Port-Royal, but largely ignored by historical linguists until it re-emerged as crucial within the generative-transformational approach to language study. It is now evident that historical linguistics should not be exclusively concerned with surface-structure changes – changes which are particularly clear and well-documented within the field of Romance linguistics – but should also consider what changes, if any, have taken place in the deep structure underlying the surface representation. The present paper will look at various recent analyses of the interrelationship between these two levels and will go on to suggest, largely on the basis of evidence drawn from the evolution of the verb system from Latin to French, that there are in fact at least three valid levels of analysis and that the historical linguist will be primarily concerned with neither the deepest nor the most superficial of these.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , September 1972 , pp. 267 - 281
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1972

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References

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