Get a free mini-course on the power of syntax

Sign up below to receive my 20-minute course on how syntax can dramatically improve your translations.

what is Syntax exactly?

Syntax is too often overlooked in translation training, and contrastive syntax is usually non-existent. So I thought I could fill up that gap a bit by offering this free class and ultimately creating a workshop on contrastive syntax.

Syntax is the scientific study of sentence structure. Syntax dictates the rules for how a language is structured. Words and phrases can’t be placed in any which way if we want to convey meaning. If we break syntactic rules, we can break communication, create ambiguities, introduce errors or write poetry. And if translators don’t know their syntax as well as their grammar, they might as well be translating blindfolded.

Grammar gives you the rules for language use, and syntax gives you the rules for how to structure language.

Now Contrastive Syntax is the study of syntax that compares how two languages order words in different ways, side by side. It is the study of syntax reloaded, especially useful for translators, linguists or language students.