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Deep Structure and Surface Structure

Deep structure and surface structure are key concepts in transformational generative grammar, introduced by Noam Chomsky. Deep structure represents the underlying meaning of a sentence, while surface structure refers to its actual form. Although once considered central to understanding language, many linguists now recognize that meaning can be derived through various means beyond deep structure alone.

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865 views1 page

Deep Structure and Surface Structure

Deep structure and surface structure are key concepts in transformational generative grammar, introduced by Noam Chomsky. Deep structure represents the underlying meaning of a sentence, while surface structure refers to its actual form. Although once considered central to understanding language, many linguists now recognize that meaning can be derived through various means beyond deep structure alone.

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Shanto Sri
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Deep structure and surface structure (also D-structure and S-structure although those abbreviated

forms are sometimes used with distinct meanings) are concepts used in linguistics, specifically in
the study of syntax in the Chomskyan tradition of transformational generative grammar.

In the theory of transformational grammar, sentences have two ways they can be
represented: deep and surface structure. Deep structure refers to the underlying
meaning of a sentence as it is represented and comprehended in the brain. It serves
as a counterpoint to surface structure, which is the actual written or spoken form of
the sentence. This concept was created by Noam Chomsky in his 1957 book,
Syntactic Structures, which formulated the theory of transformational grammar.
According to this theory, humans use transformations, a type of cognitive process, to
map structural relationships between sentence referents understood in the
linguistic regions of the brain and the actual content of a sentence that is seen or
heard.
The concept of deep structure contends that information related to each component
of a sentence, such as its subjects and predicates, is codified into abstract pieces
inside of the brain. Sentences that are different in terms of their surface structure,
such as "The boy kicked the ball," and "The ball was kicked by the boy," can have the
same deep structure. The reason for this is because the component pieces for each
sentence are related in the same way in the brain, so that humans can understand
the sentences as semantically equivalent, even though they are syntactically
different. With ambiguous sentences, such as "I have seen driving man," with only
one surface structure, multiple structural interpretations can be created by
rearranging the component pieces, such as "I have seen a man driving," or "I have
seen a man who normally drives."
Deep structure, as described by Chomsky, was subject to certain rules that are innate
in the human brain. These include transformational rules for deriving the meaning
of the surface structure of a sentence, such as adding an implied object to a sentence:
the command "Just drive!" becomes an instruction for "Drive the car," through the
rule of addition, for example. Through other transformations, the deep structure of a
thought is converted into grammatically correct sentences that can be understood
by the listener or reader. These rules, as well as the ability to maintain abstract ideas
in the brain, are innate, according to the theory, so people do not have to be taught to
encode language in terms of deep structure; it is a process that occurs automatically.
Although the concept of structures remains important in linguistics, most linguists
no longer believe that deep structure is the only way that humans derive meaning
from language.

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