In the Beginning was Information

their formation. The set of possible sentences of a language isdefined by means of a formalised or formalisable assemblage ofrules. This comprises the morphology, phonetics, and vocabularyof the language.The following questions are relevant:a) Concerning the sender:– Which of the possible combinations of symbols are actualdefined words of the language (lexicon and notation)?– How should the words be arranged (construction of the sentences,word placement, and stylistics), linked with oneanother, and be inflected to form a sentence (grammar)?– What language should be used for this information?– Which special modes of expression are used (stylistics, aesthetics,precision of expression, and formalisms)?– Are the sentences syntactically correct?b) concerning the recipient:– Does the recipient understand the language? (Understandingthe contents is not yet relevant.)The following two sample sentences illustrate the syntax levelonce again:A: The bird singed the song.B: The green freedom prosecuted the cerebrating house.Sentence B is perfectly correct syntactically, but it is semanticallymeaningless. In contrast, the semantics of sentence A is acceptable,but its syntax is erroneous.By the syntax of a language is meant all the rules which describehow individual language elements could and should be combined.The syntax of natural languages is much more complex (seeAppendix A2) than that of formal artificial languages. The syntacticrules of an artificial language must be complete and unambiguous,because for example, a compiler program which translateswritten programs into computer code cannot call the programmerto clarify semantic issues.68