Bruce, You've got it right. A generative grammar defines formally the infinite set of sentences that is a language, in the same sense that the formula n=2m-1 defines the infinite set of odd integers. There are a number of important and troublesome assumptions built into the decision to use a generative definition. The first and largest is the notion that a language is a set of sentences, a statement that excludes all behavior and culture from the domain of linguistics. A lot of us would reject this notion for a variety of reasons and to a variety of extents. A second is that the set of sentences is infinite. This assumption is necessarily true from a mathematical perspective, but it imposes the formal possibility of sentences in the set that cannot in fact occur in normal language usage, including some, but not all, center-embedded sentences like "The policeman the boy the dog bit called came. That said, generative grammar has contributed important insights to our knowledge of what language is and how it works. It is, however, a highly formal, rigorous, and abstract side of the study of grammar that shouldn't be inflicted on the innocent and unsuspecting. You have to want to do linguistics that way, and if you do, you'll likely find much in it that is satisfying and rewarding. Herb Stahlke >>> [log in to unmask] 02/23/01 03:21PM >>> What does the 'generative' in the term GT-grammar mean? My understanding is that it is a mathematical term. It's one of two different ways to look at a formal object. A structural way of viewing a circle in geometry is that it is an infinite sided regular polygon. A generative way of looking at the same thing is to say that it is the locus of the points equidistant from a given point. This is one way to generate, or draw the circle. This may be the way it came about, but it doesn't have to be. We can also look at the structural definition and go about drawing (generating) it in the same way. In fact neither mathematical description tells us really how we can draw it. It just seems like the generative definition is somehow closer. Yet looks can be deceiving. Any comment? Bruce Despain Volunteer ESL tudor Salt Lake City, Utah [log in to unmask] To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/