Common Sense and Syntax

Abstract

Syntax in foreign language instruction is a neglected area. Most textbooks distribute small portions of syntactic information without continuity throughout the lessons, but in the appendices that usually provide immense summaries of morphology, an overview of syntax is either completely absent or sketchy at best. Students are therefore denied an insight into the function of morphology within syntactic patterns; yet these patterns themselves ultimately supply the indispensible context and natural cohesion of the language. In part, the difficulty to describe syntax in elementary textbooks is due to the overlap of syntactic frames that recur in a variety of constructions. Syntactic analysis is further hampered by the lack of consistent definitions (e.g., what is a clause?) and pedagogically sound terminology (dependent or subordinate clause?). Some traditional concepts, such as normal or regular versus inverted word order are too cumbersome and vague to be of pedagogical value. While syntactic analysis in textbooks has benefitted in many instances from methods and findings of linguistics, several scientifically indispensible distinctions and techniques can be a burden for the beginning learner. One might ask, for example, if concepts such as prefleld, inner field, etc. have indeed increased our students' understanding and use of German sentences.