Syntax

In linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek συν- syn-, “together”, and τάξις táxis, “arrangement”) is the study of the rules that govern the structure of sentences, and which determine their relative grammaticality. The term syntax can also be used to refer to these rules themselves, as in “the syntax of a language” (e.g. "the syntax of French" or "the syntax of Gaelic"). Modern research in syntax attempts to describe languages in terms of such rules, and, for many practitioners, to find general rules that apply to all languages. Since the field of syntax attempts to explain grammaticality judgments, and not provide them, it is unconcerned with linguistic prescription.

Though all theories of syntax use humans as their object of study, there are some significant differences in outlook. Many linguists (e.g. Noam Chomsky) see syntax as a branch of biology, since they conceive syntax as the study of linguistic knowledge as embodied in the human mind/brain. Others (e.g. Gerald Gazdar) take a more Platonistic view, regarding syntax as the study of an abstract formal system.