syntax
English meaning: Syntax
English Definition
(English)Syntax (Greek: syntassein = to arrange together) describes the rules for constructing grammatical sentences. English is an SVO language (Subject-Verb-Object); Japanese is SOV; Arabic is often VSO. Noam Chomsky's Universal Grammar theory proposed that all human languages share a deep syntactic structure, suggesting syntax is partly innate. Programming languages also have syntax — their rules for structuring valid code.
English Definition
The set of rules governing how words combine into phrases and sentences in a language — word order, sentence structure, and grammatical relations. Syntax is one of the core components of linguistic structure alongside phonology, morphology, and semantics.
Example
“The difference between 'The dog bit the man' and 'The man bit the dog' illustrates how English syntax — word order — determines meaning, not just the words used.”
In English: “English syntax demonstrates that word order determines meaning — the same words rearranged create a completely different sentence.”
Synonyms
- grammar
- sentence structure
- linguistic structure
Antonyms / Opposites
- semantics
- pragmatics
Literary Heritage
“You taught me language, and my profit on't is I know how to curse.”
“You taught me language, and my profit on't is I know how to curse.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B