In linguistics, and especially the study of syntax, the deep structure of a linguistic expression is a theoretical construct that seeks to unify several related structures. For example, the sentences "Pat loves Chris" and "Chris is loved by Pat" mean roughly the same thing and use similar words. Some linguists, in particular Noam Chomsky, have tried to account for this similarity by positing that these two sentences are distinct surface forms that derive from a common deep structure.^[1] Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. ... For other uses, see Syntax (disambiguation). ... Avram Noam Chomsky (Hebrew :אברם נועם חומסקי Yiddish: אברם נועם כאמסקי) , Ph. ...

The concept of deep structure plays an important role in transformational grammar. In early transformational syntax, deep structures are derivation trees of a context free language. These trees are then transformed by a sequence of tree rewriting operations ("transformations") into surface structures. The terminal yield of a surface structure tree, the surface form, is then predicted to be a grammatical sentence of the language being studied. The role and significance of deep structure changed a great deal as Chomsky developed his theories, and since the mid 1990s deep structure no longer features at all (see Transformational grammar). Transformational grammar is a broad term describing grammars (almost exclusively those of natural languages) which have been developed in a Chomskian tradition. ... In linguistics and computer science, a context-free grammar (CFG) is a formal grammar in which every production rule is of the form V → w where V is a non-terminal symbol and w is a string consisting of terminals and/or non-terminals. ... In linguistics and syntax, surface structure refers to the representation derived from deep structure of a linguistic expression by transformational rules. ... In formal language theory, the terminal yield (or fringe) of a tree is the sequence of leaves encountered in an ordered walk of the tree. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Transformational grammar is a broad term describing grammars (almost exclusively those of natural languages) which have been developed in a Chomskian tradition. ...

It is tempting to regard deep structures as representing meanings and surface structures as representing sentences expressing those meanings, but this is not the concept of deep structure favoured by Chomsky. Rather, a sentence more closely corresponds to a deep structure paired with the surface structure derived from it, with an additional phonetic form obtained from processing of the surface structure. It has been variously suggested that the interpretation of a sentence is determined by its deep structure alone, by a combination of its deep and surface structures, or by some other level of representation altogether (logical form), as argued in 1977 by Chomsky's student Robert May. Chomsky may have tentatively entertained the first of these ideas in the early 1960s, but quickly moved away from it to the second, and finally the third. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the generative semantics movement put up a vigorous defence of the first option, sparking an acrimonious debate.^[2] In linguistics and syntax, surface structure refers to the representation derived from deep structure of a linguistic expression by transformational rules. ... In the field of linguistics, specifically in syntax, phonetic form (abbreviated PF), refers to a certain level of mental representation of a linguistic expression, derived from surface structure, and sister to logical form. ... Logical Form Tree In the field of linguistics, specifically in syntax, logical form (abbreviated LF), refers to a certain level of mental representation of a linguistic expression, derived from surface structure. ... Generative semantics is (or perhaps was) a research program within linguistics. ...

The "surface" appeal of the deep structure concept soon led people from unrelated fields (architecture, music, politics, and even ritual studies) to use the term to express various concepts in their own work. In common usage, the term is often used as a synonym for universal grammar — the constraints which Chomsky claims govern the overall forms of linguistic expression available to the human species. This is probably due to the importance of deep structure in Chomsky's earlier work on universal grammar, though his concept of universal grammar is logically independent of any particular theoretical construct, including deep structure. Universal grammar is a theory of linguistics postulating principles of grammar shared by all languages, thought to be innate to humans. ...

References

1. ^ In the first formulations of transformational grammar, active and passive pairs had identical deep structures. As the theory developed, it became necessary to mark whether a sentence was active or passive in the deep structure itself, with the result that active/passive pairs had almost-but-not-quite identical deep structures.
2. ^ Harris, Randy Allen. (1995). The linguistics wars. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509834-X.

• Noam Chomsky (1957). Syntactic Structures. Mouton.
• Noam Chomsky (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press.
• Noam Chomsky (1981). Lectures on Government and Binding. Mouton.
• Noam Chomsky (1986). Barriers. Linguistic Inquiry Monographs. MIT Press.
• C. S. Lee (1985) has described musical meter in terms of deep structure (Middleton 1990, p. 211). See also chord progression#Rewrite rules.