Part of speech

Definition and Variation of Parts of Speech - Parts of speech are categories of words with similar grammatical properties and behavior. - Common English parts of speech include noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, interjection, numeral, article, and determiner. - Different languages have variations in the number and types of parts of speech. - Some languages do not distinguish between certain parts of speech, such as adjectives and adverbs. - Analysis of parts of speech must be done for each individual language based on universal criteria. - Word classes are also referred to as lexical classes or lexical categories. - Open classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives) constantly acquire new members, while closed classes (pronouns, conjunctions) acquire new members infrequently. History and Western Tradition of Parts of Speech Classification - Classification of words into lexical categories dates back to the earliest moments in the history of linguistics. - Ancient work on the Tamil language classified words into noun, verb, part of speech modifying verb-noun relationships, and word qualifying a noun or verb. - Greek scholar Plato grouped sentences into combinations of verbs and nouns, and Aristotle added conjunctions to the classification. - Dionysius Thrax expanded the classification into eight categories in the 2nd century BCE. - Latin grammarian Priscian modified the eightfold system, excluding the article and adding the interjection. - Later, adjectives and numerals became separate classes. - In the Western tradition, English grammar generally follows the European pattern of classification. - Participles are considered forms of verbs, and numerals are often classified as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Classification of Parts of Speech in English - Traditional classification includes eight or nine parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, interjection, and determiner. - Some classifications consider articles to be adjectives. - Additional parts of speech include particles and postpositions. - Nouns denote abstract or concrete entities, pronouns replace nouns, adjectives modify nouns or pronouns, verbs denote actions or states of being, adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs, prepositions relate words in a phrase or sentence, conjunctions connect words or clauses, interjections express feelings, and articles mark definiteness or indefiniteness. - English words are not generally marked as belonging to one part of speech or another, unlike many other European languages. Functional Classification - Linguists recognize that the list of word classes is simplified. - Adverbs are a catch-all class that includes words with various functions. - Some argue that the distinction between nouns and verbs is unfounded or not applicable in certain languages. - Modern linguists propose more specific categories and subcategories based on grammatical functions. - Subcategorization identifies subgroups of words within a category based on grammatical properties. Open and Closed Classes - Open classes accept the addition of new words, while closed classes rarely add new items. - Open classes include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and interjections. - Closed classes include prepositions, determiners, conjunctions, and pronouns. - Open classes are lexical categories with greater semantic content, while closed classes are functional categories with grammatical functions. - New words can be added to open classes through compounding, derivation, coining, and borrowing. - Closed classes can also obtain new items, but at a slower pace. - The acceptance of new pronouns in a language is rare, even when there is a need for gender-neutral pronouns.