Transformational-Generative Grammar, often simply referred to as

Transformational Grammar, is a theoretical framework in linguistics

developed by Noam Chomsky in the 1950s and 1960s. It is an
extension of the earlier Generative Grammar, and it introduced the
concept of transformational rules to account for the relationships
between different sentence structures.

Here are the key components of Transformational-Generative

Grammar:

1. **Generative Grammar:**

- Like traditional generative grammar, Transformational-Generative

Grammar posits the existence of a universal grammar shared by all
languages. This universal grammar consists of a set of rules that
generate all and only the grammatical sentences of a language.

2. **Deep Structure and Surface Structure:**

- Similar to generative grammar, Transformational-Generative

Grammar makes a distinction between deep structure and surface
structure.

- **Deep structure:** Represents the underlying meaning or

semantic content of a sentence.

- **Surface structure:** Represents the actual arrangement of

words in a sentence.
3. **Transformational Rules:**

- The key innovation in Transformational-Generative Grammar is

the introduction of transformational rules. These rules describe the
relationships between different sentence structures and how one
structure can be transformed into another.

- Transformational rules operate on the deep structure, altering it

to produce different surface structures while preserving the
underlying meaning.

4. **Phrase Structure Rules:**

- Phrase structure rules generate the basic syntactic structure of

sentences. They describe how different constituents (such as nouns,
verbs, and phrases) can be combined to form sentences.

5. **Universal Grammar:**

- Transformational-Generative Grammar assumes that there is a

universal grammar that is innate to humans. This universal grammar
provides the basis for the linguistic competence of speakers,
enabling them to generate and understand an infinite number of
grammatical sentences.

6. **Chomskyan Phases:**

- Transformational-Generative Grammar introduced the concept of

phases, where different aspects of sentence structure are analyzed
in separate components. The model evolved over time, leading to
the development of various versions, including the Extended
Standard Theory and the Revised Extended Standard Theory.

It's important to note that Transformational-Generative Grammar

has undergone modifications and refinements over the years. The
later development of the Minimalist Program represents a further
simplification and abstraction of Chomsky's linguistic theories.
Nonetheless, Transformational-Generative Grammar has had a
significant impact on the study of syntax and the understanding of
how languages are generated and processed.