It is in reference to out-of situation uses of language that normal syntax can be defined: normal syntax is that which is attested in such uses, i.e. when communication is achieved by purely linguistic means. This should , of course, not be construed as excluding from normal syntax such elements as 'I tell you': it is clear that 'I tell you', as a syntactic pattern, is identical with 'they tell them', which may contain no reference to situation; in other words, 'I tell you' is normal syntax, in spite of the fact that this segments contains references to situation, since it conforms to patterns attested for segments that do not contain such references.
- Martinet (1962), a pag.60