American Research Journal of English and Literature

The history of modern linguistics has witnessed ongoing row over the relationship between grammaticality meaning, and acceptability. The meaning of an expression remained controversial over the years. It varied from being a function of usage, to a matter of reference. Whereas meaning is the focal point of grammar for some theorists, others are still investigating how sentences are linked together to form meaningful and acceptable discourse. With this uncertainty about how meaningful discourse may be interpreted, this paper aims to identify the most plausible linguistic paradigm on which the interpretation of meaning and the acceptability of a piece of discourse may be established. And while the paper recognizes the role each level of linguistic analysis plays in determining acceptability, it argues for the interdependence of all levels: grammatical, lexical, and semantic. However, while the findings of the present study acknowledge the key role of structure --based on understanding the interrelationship between sentential elements-- and semantics as a key element in determining discourse meaning, other equally important factors need to be explored. The findings lead to the conclusion that acceptability is not the product of purely linguistic factors, but exceeds it to entail key variables of context, situation, purpose, and audience, together with the pragmatics of discourse as to how the speech act relates to the real world.