Handout 1
We are going to be looking at the English language, its history, and its structure from its origins as a Germanic dialect, until presentday American English. But were also going to be looking at the social, the literary, and the cultural contexts of English. We'll be examining its prehistory in the world of Indo-European.
Before we begin, we need to get a good sense of what English is.
What does the word English mean? Does it simply refer to the language of the nation or a people? Or is it a touchstone, for history of culture and the experience for our environment? We
Will begin with things that may not immediately seem to us As things that are English.
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum
si þin nama gehalgod to becume þin rice gewurþe þin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele soþlice
Morphemes are what make up words. Often, morphemes are thought of as words but that is not always true. Some single morphemes are words while other words have two or more morphemes within them. Morphemes are also thought of as syllables but this is incorrect. Many words have two or more

syllables but only one morpheme. Banana , apple, papaya, and nanny are just a few examples. On the other hand, many words have two morphemes and only one syllable; examples include cats, runs, and barked.
Definitions

 morpheme : a combination of sounds that have a meaning. A morpheme does not necessarily have to be a word. Example : the word cats has two morphemes. Cat is a morpheme, and s is a morpheme. Every morpheme is either a base or an affix. An affix can be either a prefix or a suffix. Cat is the base morpheme, and s is a suffix. affix : a morpheme that comes at the beginning (prefix) or the ending
(suffix) of a base morpheme. Note : An affix usually is a morpheme that cannot stand alone. Examples : -ful , -ly , -it y, -nes s. A few exceptions are able , like , and less .
 base : a morpheme that gives a word its meaning. The base morpheme

 cat gives the word cats its meaning: a particular type of animal. prefix : an affix that comes before a base morpheme. The in in the word inspect is a prefix. suffix : an affix that comes after a base morpheme. The s in cats is a

 suffix. free morpheme : a morpheme that can stand alone as a word without another morpheme. It does not need anything attached to it to make a word. Cat is a free morpheme. bound morpheme : a sound or a combination of sounds that cannot stand alone as a word. The s in cats is a bound morpheme, and it does not have any meaning without the free morpheme cat .
 inflectional morpheme : this morpheme can only be a suffix. The s in cats is an inflectional morpheme. An inflectional morpheme creates a change in the function of the word. Example : the d in invited indicates past tense. English has only seven inflectional morphemes: s (plural) and -s (possessive) are noun inflections; -s ( 3rd-person singular), -ed ( past tense), -en (past participle), and -ing ( present participle) are verb inflections; -er (comparative) and -est
(superlative) are adjective and adverb inflections.
 derivational morpheme : this type of morpheme changes the meaning of the word or the part of speech or both. Derivational morphemes often create new words. Example : the prefix and derivational morpheme un added to invited changes the meaning of the word.

 allomorphs : different phonetic forms or variations of a morpheme.
Example : The final morphemes in the following words are pronounced differently, but they all indicate plurality: dogs, cats, and horses.
 homonyms : morphemes that are spelled the same but have different meanings.
Examples : bear (an animal) and bear (to carry), plain (simple) and plain ( a level area of land).
 homophones : morphemes that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. Examples : bear , bare ; plain , plane ; cite , sight , site .

The following tables and tip are adopted from Grammar and Composition by
Mary Beth Bauer, et al.
Prefix ad- circum- com- de- dis- ex- in- in- inter- mis- post- re- sub- trans- un-
Meaning to, toward around, about with, together away from, off away, apart from, out not in, into between wrong after back, again beneath, under across not

Suffix
-able (-ible)
-ance (-ence)
-ate
-ful
-ity
-less
-ly
-ment
-ness
-tion (-ion, -sion)
Meaning capable of being the act of making or applying full of the state of being without in a certain way the result of being the state of being the act of or the state of being
Tip
Suffixes can also be used to tell the part of speech of a word. The following examples show the parts of speech indicated by the suffixes in the chart.
Nouns: -ance, -ful, -ity, -ment, -ness, -tion
Verb: -ate
Adjectives: -able, -ful, -less, -ly
Adverb: -ly

Identify and label the parts of the following words as: bound or free, derivational or inflectional, and base or affix. Indicate the number of morphemes in each word.
1. dogs
2. replay
3. carrot
4. inescapable
5. television
6. tenacity
7. captivate
8. unlikely
Optional Class Assignment
Identify at least 10 sets of homophones and give the different meanings.
Example : board (a flat piece of wood) and bored (uninterested, weary). words dogs replay base affix dog -s play recarrot carrot inescapable cap in-,es-,-able television vis tele-,-ion tenacity tenac -ity captivate cap -tiv,-ate unlikely likely uninflectional derivational bound
+
+
-s re-
+
+
+
+
+ tele-,vis,-ion tenac,-ity cap,-tiv,-ate unfree morphemes dog 2 play 2 carrot 1 in-,es-,cap -able 4
3
2
3 likely 2
Definition
A phoneme is the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language.
Discussion
Phonologists have differing views of the phoneme. Following are the two

major views considered here:


In the American structuralist tradition, a phoneme is defined according to its allophones and environments . ( see Below *)
In the generative tradition, a phoneme is defined as a set of distinctive features.
Comparison
Here is a chart that compares phones and phonemes:
A phone is …
One of many possible sounds in the languages of the world.
The smallest identifiable unit found in a stream of speech.
Pronounced in a defined way.
Represented between brackets by convention.
A phoneme is …
A contrastive unit in the sound system of a particular language.
A minimal unit that serves to distinguish between meanings of words.
Pronounced in one or more ways, depending on the number of allophones.
Represented between slashes by convention.
Example: [b], [j], [o] Example: /b/, /j/, /o/
Examples (English): Minimal pair
Here are examples of the phonemes /r/ and /l/ occurring in a

 rip lip minimal pair :
The phones [r] and [l] contrast in identical environments and are considered to be separate phonemes. The phonemes /r/ and /l/ serve to distinguish the word rip from the word lip.
Examples (English): Distinctive features
Here are examples of the English phonemes /p/ and /i/ specified as sets of distinctive features:
/p/ /i/
-syllabic +consonantal -sonorant +anterior -coronal -voice -continuant nasal+syllabic -consonantal +sonorant +high -low -back -round +ATR -nasal

ALLOPHONE*
Definition
An allophone is a phonetic variant of a phoneme in a particular language.
Examples (English)


[p] and [pH] are allophones of the phoneme /p/.
[t] and [tH] are allophones of the phoneme /t/.
Examples (Spanish)


[b] and [B] are allophones of the phoneme /b/.
[d] and [D] are allophones of the phoneme /d/.
In linguistics , syntax (from Ancient Greek συν- syn, “together”, and τάξις táxis ,
“arrangement”) is the study of the rules that govern the structure of sentences, and which determine their relative grammaticality. The term syntax can also be used to refer to these rules themselves, as in “the syntax of a language”. Modern research in syntax attempts to describe languages in terms of such rules, and, for many practitioners, to find general rules that apply to all languages. Since the field of syntax attempts to explain grammaticality judgments, and not provide them, it is unconcerned with linguistic prescription .
Semantics ( Greek sēmantikos , giving signs, significant, symptomatic, from sēma (σῆμα), sign ) refers to aspects of meaning , as expressed in language or other systems of signs .

Semantics contrasts with syntax , which is the study of the structure of sign systems
(focusing on the form, not meaning).
Semanticists generally recognize two sorts of meaning that an expression (such as the sentence, "John ate a bagel") may have: (1) the relation that the expression, broken down into its constituent parts (signs), has to things and situations in the real world as well as possible worlds, and (2) the relation the signs have to other signs, such as the sorts of mental signs that are conceived of as concepts .
A word can be divided into syllables. Each syllable is a sound that can be said without interruption and are usually a vowel which can have consonants before and/or after it.
Syllable Example
Elevate has three syllables; el-ev-ate
Linguists define code-switching as an alternation between two or more languages within a single conversation between people who have one or more language in common.
What this means for most of us is that we participate in, and practice a type of verbal syntactic shape-shifting, frequently changing terms of speech and expression to accommodate the fluctuating needs of discourse within different social and cultural interactions. Often an unconscious act, code-switching is used for many purposes, including protection, identification, recognition, approval, and control.
The term: diaspora (in Ancient Greek , " a scattering or sowing of seeds ") is used
(without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population who are forced or induced to leave their traditional homelands , the dispersal of such people, and the ensuing developments in their culture.
Diaspora studies is an academic field established in the late twentieth century to study dispersed ethnic populations, which are often termed diaspora peoples . The usage of the

term diaspora carries the connotation of forced resettlement, due to expulsion, slavery, racism , or war, especially nationalist conflict.
A linguistic variety specific to a section of society (slang).
To make new hybrids -- combinations of English with other languages
Spanglish is an example.
An official language is one that is enforced by a government agency or law. This is different from a national language. A national language is not enforced by the law , but is one in which the nation predominantly speaks. United States does not have an official language, but it's national language is English. However, Canada does have an official language. It actually has two official languages. One is French and the other is English.
In Québec, any type of official language interaction, i.e. , courts, utilities, business, etc..
Almost illegally be conducted in French. In other parts of Canada, all must legally be conducted in English.
Official languages are created so that other languages cannot "poison" the target language. When new words enter the target language, a word is created in that language for the incoming word.
In France, English has no official status there. The former international roller French is in decline. There is a serious "cultural contamination" of French. Therefore , the French
Academy has made French , the official language of France , and does not allow any new borrowed words. New words musty created.
Standard English --, the refer to as SAE ( standard American English) or SBE ( standard
British English). This is the English is that we normally think one we refer to speakers

who are educated and speak with out accents. Sometimes we think of this as perfect
English. However, there are a number of standard Englishes is spoken in the Englishspeaking countries worldwide.
One example- India. In India , English is not meant to communicate with other native
English-speaking countries. It is meant only to communicate with other native speaking
Indians who speak English.
A Pidgin is commonly thought of as a contact variety that develops between people who do not share a common language. Your book states that pigeons, at first, may be quite rudimentary, but that may develop as lingua francas, and eventually become the mother tongue of a group of speakers, in which case they are usually referred to as Creoles.
A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups who do not share a common language, in situations such as trade .
Pidgins are not the native language of any speech community, but are instead learned as second languages
.
Pidgins usually have low prestige with respect to other languages.
Not all simplified or "broken" forms of language are pidgins. Pidgins have their own norms of usage which must be learned to speak the pidgin well.
Pidgin Development
The creation of a pidgin usually requires:


Prolonged, regular contact between the different language communities
 A need to communicate between them
An absence of (or absence of widespread proficiency in) a widespread, accessible interlanguage
Also, Keith Whinnom (in Hymes 1971) suggests that pidgins need three languages to form, with one (the superstrate) being clearly dominant over the others.
It is often posited that pidgins become creole languages when a generation whose parents speak pidgin to each other teach it to their children as their first language. Creoles can then replace the existing mix of languages to become the native language of a community
(such as Krio in Sierra Leone and Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea ). However, not all pidgins become creole languages; a pidgin may die out before this phase would occur.

Nominative = Subject
Accusative = Direct Object
Genitive = Possessive
Dative = Indirect Object