Introduction to Linguistics
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
CYRIL POTTER
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
ASSOCIATE DEGREE
IN EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
Introduction to Linguistics
Table of Contents
Page
Course Overview ……………………………............................
Module 1: Introduction to Linguistics..........................
 What is Linguistics?..................................................
Module 2: Phonetics and Phonology..............................
 Unit 1: An Introduction to Phonetics.......................
 Unit 2: Phonological Analyses..................................
Module 3: Morphology.................................




Unit 1: An overview of morphology............................
Unit 2: Types of Bound and Free morphemes...........
Unit 3: Word formation processes..............................
Unit 4: Morphs and allomorphs..................................
Module 4: Syntax....................................................




Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of syntax. ................
Unit 2: Syntax and phrase structure rules.................
Unit 3: Some rules of generative grammar.................
Unit 4: Syntax and types of sentences........................
Module 5: Semantics and Pragmatics................................




Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning...................
Unit 2: Semantics and multiple word meaning...........
Unit 3: Pragmatics and context....................................
Unit 4: Pragmatics and speech act theory...................
Introduction to Linguistics
Module 6: Language and Society.....................................
 Unit 1: Social Variation in Language......................
 Unit 2: Language in Use...........................................
Module 7: Language Acquisition.......................................
 Unit 1: Nature or Nurture? ........................................
 Unit 2: Second Language Acquisition.........................
Module 8: Language and Cognition...................................




Unit 1: An overview of theories of cognition.................
Unit 2: Vygotsky and Social Constructivism................
Unit 3: The Brain and Language..................................
Unit 4: Acquired and developmental language disorders
Module 9: Creole Languages
o Unit 1: Overview of Creole Languages
o Unit 1: Language in Guyana
Module 10: Linguistic Human Rights..................................
 Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors............
 Solutions to Combat Linguistic Discrimination.............
Introduction to Linguistics
GUYANA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
CYRIL POTTER COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION
COURSE OUTLINE
NAME OF COURSE: Introduction to Linguistics
Number of Credits: 3
COURSE OVERVIEW
Introduction:
The name of this course is Introduction to Linguistics. It is a threecredit course which is intended for teachers who operate in Early
Childhood, Primary and Secondary levels. You will study the course on
your own but a course tutor will help you to clarify any areas of
difficulty which you may experience as you go through the course.
When you attend the face-to-face tutorials, you should seek
clarifications from the tutorial tutor. Your option tutor will also
provide additional support with respect to applying the different
methods / strategies / approaches to your particular option area.
The course will help you to become a more effective teacher if you
apply what you learn to your classroom. It provides information on
how to approach teaching. It also offers suggestions on planning and
implementing lessons.
Introduction to Linguistics
Course Description:
The course is written for students studying at a distance. Hence it is
presented in a manner for you to work independently. However, if
someone lives close by it would be useful to work in pairs or in small
groups if that can be arranged. The entire course is divided into ten
modules. The modules comprise 1 to 4 units. There are 27 units in all.
Module1 deals with Introduction to Linguistics; Module 2 discusses
Phonetics & Phonology. Module 3 focuses on Morphology. Module 4
deals with Syntax. Module 5 focuses on Semantics and Pragmatics.
Module 6 is concerned with Language & Society. Module 7 deals with
Language Acquisition while Module 8 discusses Language and
Cognition. Module 9 discusses Creole Languages, and Module 10, the
final module, deals with Linguistic Human Rights.
Rationale:
This course recognizes that linguistics offers concepts, methods of
description, analysis and factual data about language resulting from
nearly four decades of systematic inquiry, and that these could provide
useful knowledge for the teacher who could apply some of this
knowledge to the teaching of Language arts. It recognizes too that
linguistically sound principles can be expected to produce satisfactory
results only when they are used by teachers who are linguistically
knowledgeable.
This course therefore, seeks to provide teachers with the opportunity to
deepen their understanding of the work of linguistics, to examine some
linguistic findings, and to determine the relevance of these findings to
the teaching of language arts. It is hoped that this course would also
Introduction to Linguistics
provide a base for teachers who would later extend or expand their
knowledge in this area.
It is essential for every language teacher to become equipped with
linguistically informed teaching strategies. However, it is not only
enough to be equipped with teaching strategies, but to understand the
intricate and dynamic nature of language especially related to our
Guyanese linguistic context. Being linguistically equipped and
enlightened, therefore, translates into the benefit for all involved in
the language teaching and learning processes.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Be knowledgeable about linguistic principles

Examine findings of linguistic research

Discuss relevance of linguistic principles to language teaching

Develop programmes and methods for effective use of linguistic
principles

Develop a deeper awareness and understanding of language.
Time Required:
You will need at least 45 hours to go through all the units in the nine
modules of this course.
Special notes/tips to tutors and students:

Some of the terms which are used in the modules of this course
may not be familiar to you. A dictionary will help to clarify those
terms.
Introduction to Linguistics


Additional study materials have been provided in a separate
booklet for you.
Tutors and students may decide the order in which the modules
could be studied. Whatever you decide, ensure that Module 1 is
studied before the others.
Introduction to Linguistics
COURSE CONTENT
WEEK 1- Module 1: Introduction to Linguistics
 What is Linguistics?

WEEK 2: Module 2 - Phonetics and Phonology


Unit 1: An Introduction to Phonetics
Unit 2: Phonological Analyses
WEEKS 3 & 4: Module 3–Morphology




Unit 1: An overview of morphology
Unit 2: Types of Bound and Free morphemes
Unit 3: Word formation processes
Unit 4: Morphs and allomorphs
WEEKS 5 & 6: Module 4 - Syntax




Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of syntax
Unit 2: Syntax and phrase structure rules
Unit 3: Some rules of generative grammar
Unit 4: Syntax and types of sentences
WEEK 7 &8: Module 5- Semantics and Pragmatics




Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning
Unit 2: Semantics and multiple word meaning
Unit 3: Pragmatics and context
Unit 4: Pragmatics and speech act theory
WEEK 9: Module 6 -Language and Society
 Unit 1: Social Variation in Language
 Unit 2: Language in Use
Introduction to Linguistics
WEEK10: Module 7 –Language Acquisition
 Unit 1: Nature or Nurture?
 Unit 2:Second Language Acquisition
WEEKS 11 & 12: Module 8–Language and Cognition




Unit 1: An overview of theories of cognition
Unit 2: Vygotsky and Social Constructivism
Unit 3: The Brain and Language
Unit 4: Acquired and developmental language disorders
WEEKS 13: Module 9–Creole Languages


Unit 1: Overview of Creole Languages
Unit 2: Language in Guyana
WEEK 14: Module 10 - Linguistic Human Rights
 Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors
 Solutions to Combat Linguistic Discrimination
WEEK 15: Revision


Summary of each unit
Review activities and sample exam questions
FINAL EXAMINATION
Introduction to Linguistics
Suggested Readings:
Bergmann, Anouschka, Kathleen Currie Hall and Sharon M. Ross, eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann, 2004.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An Introduction
to Language. Boston: Thonson Wadsworth, 2007.
Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York: Pearson
Education Ltd., 1992.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus: Charles E.
Merrill Pub. Co., 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Radford, Andrew, et al. Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Introduction to Linguistics
Assessment:
The course will be assessed based on course work and on an end of
semester examination. The course grade will be determined through
three pieces of course work including at least one in-class test. The
course work will value 50% of the final mark. The examination will
last for two hours and will value 50% of the final grade. Students will
be required to answer three questions.
In order to pass the course, a student must score a minimum of 55% in
both examination and the course work. If a student scores less than
55% in either the examination or the course work, that student is
considered a referred student and must repeat either the examination
or the course work (whichever is relevant). If the student fails the resit, then that student is considered as having failed the course and
must therefore repeat the entire course.
Using Citations:
In college you will be required to write papers after conducting
research on various topics. However, while you are free to quote and
describe these source materials (original texts, literary criticisms, etc.)
in your paper, you must give credit to the author of these materials
when you use their words or ideas in your paper. This involves using
citations throughout your paper and including a Bibliography or Works
Cited page with your drafts. In the English major, the citation style
most often used is MLA. MLA style involves using parenthetical
citations. The purpose of documentation is to give due credit to the
sources from which you have drawn ideas, phrasing, quotations, or
information, and to allow others to follow-up the sources you have used
Introduction to Linguistics
for your work, in order to corroborate and learn from your work as fully
as possible. You need to provide information that is sufficiently clear
and complete for others to identify the specific sources you have made
use of. The documentation style developed by the Modern Language
Association of America (MLA style) offers one conventional system for
doing this; in published works, you will also see various other systems
in use (such as that of the Chicago Manual of Style or that of the
American Psychological Association [APA Style]).
Example of MLA style of using citations:
The following examples illustrate the most common type of in-text
citation using MLA format.
It is most common to identify the author in a signal phrase. When you
include the author’s name in the sentence introducing the source, add
only the specific page on which the material appeared, in parentheses
following the information. Example 1:
Carol Clark explains the basic necessities for the creation of a page on
the World Wide Web (77).
Do not include the word “page” or the abbreviation “p” before the
number. The parenthetical reference comes before the period.
Example 2:
When you do not include the author’s name in your text, add it in
parentheses along with the source page number. Do not punctuate
between the author’s name and the page number(s). For example:
Provided one has certain “basic ingredients,” the Web offers potential
worldwide publication (Clark 77).
Every in-text citation used will direct the reader to a works cited list
which appears at the end of your paper. Example:
Introduction to Linguistics
According to Freeman & Freeman, “Linguistics has provided much
insight into the teaching of reading” (47).
Works Cited
Clark, Carol. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York, 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics, Grammar.
Heinemann, 2004.
Your documentation efforts will only be as good as your
bibliographic note-keeping while you are researching a paper.
Whenever you undertake research for a project, you should record the
bibliographic information for each source that you have consulted, as
well as page references for each quotation, idea, or bit of information
you draw from that source. You will need this information, both for intext citations and for the Works Cited list for your paper. If you fail to
record this information initially, it can often be difficult to retrieve the
necessary information later on.
Students should at all times demonstrate academic integrity and avoid
plagiarism by giving credit to others when their work or ideas is used.
You avoid plagiarism by not falsely claiming someone else’s work or
ideas as your own. Material taken from other sources must be
appropriately documented.
Using APA style of citations
Many academic journals use the American Psychological Association
(APA) style. This style is also suggested by many lecturers perhaps
because it is more ‘international.’
provide exposure to the APA style.
The following guidelines would
Introduction to Linguistics
In APA style, whenever you quote, paraphrase or summarize material
in your text, give both the author’s last name and the date of the
source.
Exotoxins make some bacteria dangerous to humans (Simon, 1945).
For direct quotations, provide specific page numbers. Page references
in the APA system are always preceded, in text or in the reference list
by the abbreviation p. or pp. to designate single or multiple pages.
Supply author’s names, publication dates, and page numbers (when
listed) in parentheses following the cited material. Do not repeat any of
these elements if you identify them in the text preceding the
parenthetical citation.
For example:
According to Thomas (1974), “Some bacteria are only harmful to us if
they make exotoxins” (P. 76).
Each in-text citation refers readers to the alphabetical list of
“References” at your paper’s end, listing full publication information
about each source.
Use this link to find more information on using APA format of citation.
http://www.smarthinking.com/static/Document_Library/docs/writeman
/3_15_02.cfm
Introduction to Linguistics
MODULE 1: Introduction to Linguistics
(1hr)
Overview:
This module presents a general introduction to this course and an
overview of what Linguistics is and its value to the teacher. For the
next several weeks you will embark on an area of study that will open
up a wide range of insights into language. Some of the concepts will
not be entirely new to you because you interact with language issues
every day. Nevertheless, this course will provide opportunities to apply
another perspective - a perspective that includes linguistic analyses.
The course will become technical at certain points, but this should not
deter you from engaging in exploring interesting tenets of language. In
the end, you will become a better teacher because of the content
covered in this course and begin to see language through a linguistic
eye.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Understand the nature of language
-
Define Linguistics
-
Understand the importance of studying Linguistics to their
teaching profession
Introduction to Linguistics
Module orientation:
This module has one unit with three sections:

An overview of language

What is linguistics?

The value of linguistics to the teacher
Introduction: An Overview of Language (20 minutes)
“To understand humanity, one must understand the nature of language
that makes us human.”
(Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams 2007)
Before any discussion can begin about Linguistics, you should be able
to have a working definition of “language” since language is the
primary field in which linguistic work is conducted. What is language?
Different persons have different answers to this question. Some believe
that animals possess language. Some talk about computer language.
Others see arts such as painting and dance to be forms of language.
Yet others believe that language is only spoken or written by human
beings.
These questions invariably help to point to a definition of
language. Research in communication among animals, such as prairie
dogs,
chimpanzees
and
dolphins,
point
out
some
interesting
capabilities that these animals have in solving problems, and in
communicating through the use of symbols. For the linguist, however,
language is essentially a human ability. And there are very good
reasons why they believe so.
Introduction to Linguistics
Human language is non-instinctive and involuntary, meaning that
humans can choose if, when, where and how to use language. Human
language is also creative, meaning that we can expand and change it
all the time, and we can say the same thing indifferent ways. The
creative nature of language also includes the fact that every time we
use language, we are not speaking or writing in memorized chunks,
but we are creating the sentences and message afresh in our brains.
Because of language, we have the ability of displacement – that is,
human beings can remember the past and plan for the future. We can
dream and we can lie. Language is also open-ended and variable,
meaning that it is continually changing, and also that it varies from
person to person, community to community and place to place, and
time to time – there is no one fixed language at any point in time. But
language is not random. It is structured and rule-governed, and it is
also systemic, meaning that it is made up of a number of systems, such
as the lexical system and the grammatical system among others which
will be explored later.
Animals possess the ability to communicate, but their systems of
communication do not allow them to do all these things. Animals only
respond to stimuli. Painting, dance, music and the other arts, fashion,
etc. are not language but are ways of communicating ideas and
feelings.
The aforementioned discussion indicates that construction of a
definition of language has to include several elements. Language is a
very rich and complex phenomenon. We can conclude that language is
a structured system that is limited to humans who use it to
communicate with each other.
Introduction to Linguistics
Language is spoken, written, and signed (as in the case of American
Sign Language - ASL). All (human) languages contain discrete items
(sounds and gestures/signs) that are combined to form meanings.
Language contains universal elements (like nouns, verbs, etc.) that are
found in all languages. Speech is the primary vehicle of language
because we acquire it naturally, and long before we learn how to write.
In fact, many persons do quite well without being able to write, and
they can conduct their lives through speech alone.
Language is naturally acquired by all humans - even by those who are
born mute.
Introduction to Linguistics
What is Linguistics? (20 minutes)
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It is a science and not
considered as an Arts subject primarily because it involves scientific
exploration and methodologies. This means that linguists work by
examining data and actual use of language, they construct and test
hypotheses about aspects of language, they investigate the actuality of
language
in
its
many
forms
and
usages,
and
they
employ
methodologies and procedures of analysing data. While Linguists start
out with ideas about language and its use, they seek to test their ideas
against real data, and to find evidence to support or disconfirm their
ideas. They try to understand the reasons why languages have their
particular character, why there are variations in a language, why
language is used in particular ways in particular societies, and so on.
For the linguist, there is no “good” or “bad” language. These are social
judgments, and are rooted in social prejudice. The linguist considers all
languages to be equally good means of communicating what members
of particular societies wish to communicate.
In this regard there is an important point to make about linguists.
Linguistics, as it is presented in this course, is largely descriptive in
nature and not prescriptive. In other words, the role of a linguist is
different from the prescriptive role of a language teacher whose role is
to enable students to use a certain language correctly. Linguists do not
necessarily know large amounts of languages and are not required to
be fluent in several languages (such persons are really polyglots, not
linguists). They are versed in linguistic analyses involving the
linguistic principles which are present in all languages. Linguists try
to understand the rules by which a particular language or any
language at all, works.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Since language is part of everything that humans do, it is not
surprising that Linguistics has several sub-fields. These sub-fields are
branches of Linguistics and can be categorized as follows: Structural
Linguistics examines the components of a language (sounds, sentences,
word-formation, and meanings); Psycho-linguistics is the study of how
the mind creates language; Sociolinguistics involves studying
how
society (and social factors) influences language; Applied Linguistics is
the application of Linguistics to practical fields such as languageteaching, translation, speech therapy, speech-language pathology, and
forensic linguistics; and Anthropological Linguistics explores how
culture and language integrate. This course will incorporate a little bit
of each sub-field.
The value of linguistics to the teacher (15 minutes)
Perhaps the most important value of Linguistics to the teacher is that
it increases his or her awareness about language. Language is central
to all things that humans do, but we pay little attention to it. Linguists
make us aware of the richness of language and its importance in
human life.
Linguistics has many benefits to a teacher, especially a language
teacher. However, all teachers will appreciate a different insight into
language use, especially as it relates to their students’ use of language
in the classroom. As mentioned earlier, Linguistics is the scientific
study of language and thus the contents of this course are designed in
such a way to enable holistic interaction with introductory linguistic
concepts including language acquisition, social factors influencing
language, sound distribution and word-structure, language and the
cognition, and language rights.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
A teacher trained in Linguistics is more acutely aware of rules
influencing his/her students’ language use. Such a teacher is better
able to understand the underlying rules that shape a language’s
grammar. For example, the most common way of marking English
past-tense is to add an “-ed” to the verb. However, you will realise that
“-ed” has three different sounds: [d] in “called” and “played”, [t] in
“cooked” and “talked”, and [ɪd] “hunted” and “created”. There are
linguistic rules governing the different pronunciations of the pasttense marker “-ed” as you will discover and learn more about in the
Phonetics and Phonology modules.
Knowledge of second-language learning theories, will help a teacher to
understand the processes of language acquisition (of especially
students
in
nursery,
primary
and
early
secondary
levels).
Sociolinguistic theories will enlighten him/her about and the reasons
for
language
variation,
especially
in Guyana’s
multi-linguistic
environment.
Importantly, the study of Linguistics will impact on a teacher’s
philosophy of education and teaching in a positive way that places
more value on the students’ language needs.
For example, in
Language-Arts subjects, the method of Communicative Language
Teaching (CLT) is used, and such a model is linguistically influenced.
A grammar teacher has a prescriptive approach since s/he aims to
enable students to use a language correctly. On the other hand, a
Linguist has a largely descriptive approach since s/he is more
interested in the rules and reasons. A linguistically trained teacher is
more conscious of the variations in his/her students’ written and
spoken language. This understanding aids tremendously in respecting
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
the language rights of each student, while at the same time helping
them to use language more proficiently.
In the case of the English-speaking Caribbean and Guyana, a
linguistically trained teacher is more cognizant of the reasons for
English mistakes, and realizes that those mistakes may very well be
correct forms in a Creole language and not mistakes. S/he also
understands the benefit of learning English in Guyana as a second
language both on the coastal region and in the interior regions. Such a
teacher is more acutely aware of the linguistic differences that are
present around him/her in the community and country at large; and
those differences should be used to embolden a sense of national
identity rather than a tool of embarrassment. Teachers, therefore, can
and should help students to be more aware of their linguistic
environment and the value of their own language.
You can use such knowledge to become a linguist, and expand on your
interests in the field by pursuing a degree in Linguistics at a
university here in Guyana and/or abroad. Essentially, studying
linguistics will enable you to become a better teacher because you will
be able to value students’ language and understand the underlying
linguistic processes that are involved.
Summary (5 minutes)
Language is the structured system of communication that is limited to
humans. It is a social construct that has spoken, written, and signed
structure along with meaning. Linguistics is the scientific study of
those structures present in language. There are several branches of
Linguistics. Teachers will benefit from the study of Linguistics because
it will aid them in understanding the underlying rules that govern how
their students use language in the classroom and community. Teachers
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
will and should understand and respect the linguistic differences that
are present among their students.
Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An Introduction
to Language. Boston: Thonson Wadsworth, 2007.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E.
Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A Primer
with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights, Massachusetts:
Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Module 2: Phonetics and Phonology (4hrs)
Overview:
This module presents an introduction to phonetics and phonology in
language as far as it is relevant to Guyana. It is not meant to be
exhaustive, and should be seen as introductory discussions into the
subject. Spoken languages consist of sounds, and each sound has its
individual properties. Understanding how speech sounds are produced
is very important to teachers, since they are the ones who are actively
involved in the classroom especially in the formative years of their
students’ language learning experiences. Understanding the processes
and rules that govern the distribution of sounds is also necessary. Such
an understanding can equip teachers to employ more linguistic
pedagogical strategies in order to make their students more competent
in language use. While the latter part of this module may become very
technical (as is the case with this branch of Linguistics), the goal is for
teachers to employ such knowledge of not only surface rules of
language but the underlying processes that govern speech to their
teaching methods.
Module Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
-
Distinguish between phonetics and phonology
-
Understand the mechanics of speech production
-
Transcribe words and sentences
-
Understand how phonological processes/rules are applied
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Module orientation:
This module has two units:
Unit 1: An Introduction to Phonetics
Unit 2: Phonological Analysis
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete
each one of them as they would help you to remember the information
which you have learned.
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to
check them only after you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will need about 2 hours to complete this module including the
activities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 1: Phonetics- An introduction (1 hr)
Introduction
Have you ever considered that we acquire and learn spoken language
before we learn to write it? Every spoken language is composed of
consonants, vowels, tones, stress, and rhythms. Phonetics is the
study that is concerned with the production and description of speech
sounds. Even in sign languages, some theorists claim that there are
“signed sounds” because of the variation in expressionsi. There
essentially three branches of phonetics: auditory phonetics, the study
of the perception of speech sounds; acoustic phonetics, the study of the
physical properties of speech sounds; and articulatory phonetics, the
study of how sounds are produced. For this module, and especially this
section, we will focus on articulatory phonetics. You will also need to be
au fait with terminology used in phonetics.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
1. Understand the difference between phonetics and phonology;
2. Learn about the International Phonetic Alphabet
3. Become familiar with phonetic terminology
4. Transcribe words using the IPA.
Phonetics and the IPA
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Consider the words “cat” and “cymbal”. Both begin with the letter “c”
but it makes the sound /k/ in (“kat”) and /s/ in (“symbal”). There are
also variations of vowel sounds with some being “long” and “short”
sounds as in tomato: “tomahto”, “tomayto”, or even “tomahtee. These
examples clearly prove that the English alphabet does not capture the
actual sounds we make when we speak. There is therefore need for a
system to allow us to record the actual sounds of a language. Such a
system would be a phonetic system, which has a number of symbols
each representing a particular sound and only that sound.
Linguists have devised such a system that represents every speech
sound regardless of the language. Such a system is called the
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and is something that you
may have encountered before. You may recall seeing symbols like
/dɪktʃənɛri/ next to words in some dictionaries. The IPA makes use of
symbols of the English alphabet, and other unique symbols.
Every language has a store of sounds – the sounds that are significant
in that language (of course, we can make all kinds of sounds with our
mouths, but only some of these are used as language).This store
contains the ideal sounds that are used in the language, and the
speakers of the language have these sounds “in their heads” so to
speak.
These ideal sounds that the speakers know are called phonemes, and
we represent them in slashes / /. On the other hand, the sounds we
actually articulate are called phones and these are shown in square
brackets, [ ].We also know how to combine these sounds and utter
them as actual words and sentences. To understand this difference
between phoneme and phone, consider someone who is “tied tongue”.
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Introduction to Linguistics
Although that person’s pronunciation is different from normal, he or
she knows the ideal sounds they intend to make. You might not realise
it, but even among normal persons, there is variation of pronunciation.
You do not pronounce “k” or “m” or “e” or any other sound of the
language exactly the same way every time.
Phonemes are minimal units of sound, and every word we articulate is
made up of these segments of sounds. For example, the word “cats” is
made up of four phonemes; “food” is made up of three phonemes, since
the two “o” letters are articulated as one sound, one phoneme.
As we
can see from the last example, phonemes are not the same as “letters”
of the alphabet. They are the sounds that we make in speech.
Phonetic symbols for English (IPA) (15 minutes)
Below you will find IPA symbols and sample words that are examples
of the sounds of English used in Guyana. In your reading of Linguistics
text books, you will find that the sounds differ in different dialects of
English. For example, words in Standard American English are
pronounced differently than the way they would be pronounced in
Guyana. The IPA is comprised of consonants and vowels.
Consonants
/p/
please, appeal
/b/
beat, bubble
/t/
tap, brittle, stink
/d/
dive, mud
/k/
kite, critical, critique, coughs
/g/
give, finger
/f/
toffee, fish
/v/
very, convoy, of
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/θ/
bath, teeth, three
/ð/
the, this, teethe
/s/
symbol, race
/z/
dogs, zero, Xerox, reside
/ʃ /
fish, racial, petition
/ʒ/
casual, division
/dʒ/
judge, Jerry, plunge
/tʃ /
chicken, puncture
/m/
mango, sample, dumb
/n/
resign, never
/ŋ/
mango, finger, young, ankle
/h/
house, hiccup
/l/
lost, world
/r/
cart, warrior
/w/
wow, twist
/j/
yesterday, young
/ʔ/
uh-oh
Vowels
Vowels are divided in two sections: monopthongs, which are said to
be simple vowels; and diphthongs, which are said to be complex
vowels. Diphthongs are considered to be one sound even though it is
represented by two symbols.
i. Monopthongs
/e/
ape, rate, bait
/i/
eat, people, donkey
/ ɪ/
tip, business, injustice
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/ӕ/
trap
//
lot
/ɜ/
egg, pest, them
/o/
over, throat, scope
/u/
moot, truth, through
/ʊ/
book, would, put
/ɔ/
umbrella, pot, wrong
/ʌ/
potato
/ə/
Asia, error
ii. Diphthongs
/ai/
right, isolate, try
/ɔɪ/
boil, toy, rejoice
/ɔu/
cow, now
/eɪ/
face
/ǝʊ/
goat
/ɪǝ/
near
/ʊǝ/
cure
We use these symbols to transcribe speech. For example, “cheese”
would be transcribed this way: [tʃiz], “bread” would be [brɛd], “tea” would be
[ti] and butter would be [bʌtə].
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Phonemes and Allophones (5 minutes)
We said above that the phonemes of a language are ideal sounds. In
actuality when we speak, we use these sounds in combination with
other sounds, and we move very quickly from one phoneme to another.
For instance, in saying “car” we do not say one phoneme at a time - [ka-r] - but we say all the phonemes as one flowing sound [kar]. When
this happens, the articulation of one sound sometimes affects or
influences the articulation of another sound, causing a variation from
the ideal sound. Another way in which allophones may be seen is
because of variations in pronunciation. A good example is the way
Guyanese say words that contain “th’ sounds. Instead of “think” we say
“tink”. But we all know that for Guyanese, these two words are exactly
the same – there is no difference in meaning between them. A
Guyanese can choose to articulate the “th’ sounds or not. Therefore, the
variation between “th” and “t” is only a phonological variation, and we
say that “th” and “t” are allophones.
Suprasegmentals (5 minutes)
In addition to symbols given above, speech has other features that “ride on
top” of vowels and consonants. These are called suprasegmentals (or
prosodic features) and include stress, tone, and length. For example, “father”
may have two meanings in Guyana depending on how it is pronounced. The
word, “father”, can either refer to a male parent; or a priest- the “faather”. A
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stress on the vowel [a] indicates the change in meaning. To represent stress,
the symbol used is [ ‘ ] and would be written over the [а́].
Diacritics, which the IPA also uses, can be added to the existing phone to
indicate a slight change in that sound.
Some diacritics used are:
a. [:] which indicates length. Example, the vowel [a] in “yard” can be
lengthened to “yaard”. Phonetically, we would transcribe that as [ja:rd].
b. [~] indicates nasalisation, or when air flows through the nose to pronounce
the word. For example, if a vowel becomes nasalized we write it as
[õ].Hold your nose and say “move”. You will notice that air is supposed to
travel through the nasal passage to pronounce [o]. Nasalisation will be
discussed later in more details in the unit on Phonology.
c. [ʰ] indicates aspiration, or a puff of air, that is inserted along with other
phonemes. If you put your hand in front of your mouth, you will feel a
puff of air when you begin to say the word “test”. We can transcribe that
as [tʰɛst].Another example is when some persons aspirate the word “egg”
which would be transcribed as [ʰɛg].
Phonetic Transcription (15 minutes)
A linguist from any part of the world would be able to read and pronounce
words transcribed in any language because the IPA allows the sounds of the
language to be captured. Phonetic transcription is therefore a system of
writing that represents each segment of sounds in words with one symbol at
a time depending on how it is articulated by a speaker. Phonemic
transcription is the representation of the ideal or standard sound. In this
section, you will be required to transcribe words and sentences.
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Introduction to Linguistics
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Phonemically transcribe the words listed below. Remember to
enclose your transcription in slashes- / /. The first one is done for you.
1. “useful” - [jusfəl]
2. “UG”
3. “teacher”
4. “judge”
5. “Corentyne has a thriving fishing industry.”
6. “Linguistics is an exciting subject.”
Now try the reverse.
Activity 2: (5 minutes)
Give the English sentence for the phonetic transcription below.[gaijanə
Iz ʃɛdʒjuld tʊ hav il
ɛktʃɔnz ðIs jer and pipəl ar bigInIŋ tʊ wɔndər wɔt It wIl bi
laik kɔnsɪdərɪŋ ðI tɛnʃən ðat nɔrmʌli ɔkrz]
Feedback
You would notice that you had to forget the English orthography and
concentrate on the phonemes of the words. It would be good to have a
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dictionary that has IPA symbols next to the words. You can try to
phonetically transcribe the words too. Pronounce the words below and listen
to your pronunciation; or ask someone to say the words and transcribe what
you hear. A phonetic transcription would have to be done using square
brackets [ ].
Activity 1
2. /jugi/
3. /titʃər/ or /titʃə/
4. /dʒʌdʒ/
5. /kʌrɛnti:n haz a θraivɪŋ fɪʃɪŋ ɪndɔstʃri/
6. /lɪŋgwɪstɪks ɪz an ɛksaitɪŋ sɔbdʒɜkt/
Activity 2
“Guyana is scheduled to have elections this year and people are beginning to
wonder what it would be like considering the tension that normally occurs.”
Summary (5 minutes)
Phonetics is the study of sounds - the qualities of sound and how sounds are
produced. Phonology is the study of sounds in use. Phonetics and Phonology
make use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which contains
symbols for consonants, vowels, and suprasegmentals to represent individual
sounds of speech since traditional orthography does not capture sounds
entirely. Phonetic transcription is used to record how sounds are articulated.
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Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An Introduction
to Language. Boston: Thonson Wadsworth, 2007.
Jenkins, Jennifer. The Phonology of English as an International
Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Knight, Rachael-Ann. Phonetics. A Coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2012.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham
heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 2: Phonological Analysis (1 hr)
Introduction
Speech could be regarded as a physical manifestation of sound. Of
course, apart from uttering physical sounds, there is much more going
on “behind the scenes” every time we speak: our minds and brain are
thinking and planning what to say and how to say it, our nerves are
controlling our lips and tongue and lungs, and so. In this module,
however, we will focus on speech as sound, and we will discuss the
other elements in other modules. As sound, speech offers a number of
interesting and important areas for us to consider.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
1. Understand the physical properties of speech sounds
2. Understand and identify changes that happen to sounds in the
stream of speech
3. Conduct phonological analysis
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
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Cyril Potter College of Education
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Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
In this section, we look at the physical properties of speech sounds. We will
restrict our investigation to the sounds of English and Guyanese Creole,
although the sounds of all human languages possess similar qualities.
Human Vocal Apparatus (5 minutes)
The diagram (source: clas.mq.edu.au) below shows the areas of the
human body that are involved in the production of speech sounds:
The diagram shows the areas of our body – primarily the mouth,
nostrils and throat – which are involved in the physical production of
speech. We use different parts our vocal apparatus in different ways to
produce the sounds of speech. In doing this, each sound is produced by
a particular set of movements, made in particular ways, and at
particular places in our vocal tract.
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Distinctive Features
We can make use of these particularities of sound production to
identify each sound that we make as part of our language. These
particularities are called distinctive features, and they occur in all
languages. In fact, a survey of distinctive features across all languages
will show a relatively small set of such features. Some languages, of
course, will produce sounds in somewhat different ways and in some
different places in the vocal tract than other languages. Speakers of
Arabic, for example, make sounds at the very back of the mouth, which
speakers English do not. Speakers of Spanish have an ordinary /r/
phoneme and a rolled /r/ phoneme.
For the consonant phonemes, the distinctive features that we use in
phonology may be grouped into three kinds: (1) those that result from
where in the vocal tract the phoneme is made: (2) those that result
from how the phoneme is produced and (3) those that indicate whether
the phoneme is produced with vibration of the vocal chords or not.
A similar system is used to describe the distinctive features of vowels.
We will look first at the consonant phonemes.
Distinctive Features of Consonants (10 minutes)
Place of Articulation
The first kind of distinctive features are called place of articulation
features. Each phoneme is articulated at a particular point in our
articulatory tract. The table below shows these areas of articulation:
Explanation
Area of Articulation
1.
and Phonemes
Bilabial
by the joining of the two lips
2.
/p, b, m, w/
Inter-dental
with tip of tongue between the teeth
3.
/θ, ð/
Labio-dental
with the top teeth on the bottom lip
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5.
/f, v/
Alveolar
/t, d, s, z, n/
Alveo-palatal
6.
/ ʃ, ʒ, dʒ, tʃ/
Palatal
7.
/l, r, j/
Velar
4.
8.
/k, g, ŋ/
Glottal
/ h, ?/
with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge
with tongue between the alveolar and palatal
areas
with the tip of the tongue on the hard palate
with back of tongue at the velum
at the glottis
Manner of Articulation Distinctive Features
These refer to the ways in which the sounds are produced. We use our lips,
tongue and other parts of our speech apparatus to shape the stream of air
from our lungs. We do this shaping of the air in different ways, and these we
classify as the manner of articulation features. These are shown in the table
below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Manner of
Articulation
and Phonemes
Plosives or Stops
/p, b, t, d, k, g,? /
Explanation
stopping the stream of air then releasing it
Nasals
/m, n, ŋ/
Lateral
/l/
Fricatives
/f, v, h, s, z, θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ/
Affricates
/dʒ, tʃ/
directing the air through the nose
Glides
/w, j/
Retroflex
/r/
starting the articulation at one point then
smoothly ending it at another point
with the tongue curled backwards
directing the air along the sides of the tongue
releasing the air in a hissing manner
a combination of Stop and Fricative articulation
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Voicing
Voicing refers to whether the vocal chords are vibrated or not during
the production of a phoneme. Phonemes that are produced with such
vibration are called voiced phonemes while those that are not are called
voiceless phonemes.
The following consonant phonemes are voiced: /b, d, g, m, n, ŋ, ð, ʒ, v, w,
r, j, l, z, dʒ/
The other consonants are voiceless.
Distinctive Features of Vowels (10 minutes)
The distinctive features for vowels are described in terms of (1) place of
articulation, (2) manner of articulation and (3) shape of lips.
All the vowels are voiced.
Place of articulation
Vowels are described as high, mid or low, and front, central or back
depending on where in the oral cavity they are produced. This is shown in the
chart below.
Manner of Articulation
Vowels are described as either tense or lax. Tense vowels are those which are
produced with some effort and energy. Lax vowels have the opposite qualities
– they are produced with less effort and energy.
Shape of Lips
The rounding or spreading of the lips is another distinctive feature in the
identification of different vowel phonemes. These different shapes of the lips
are clearly seen when vowels are uttered (check them for yourself in a
mirror!).
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Front
High
Mid
Low
Centre
Back
(spread)
(round)
(tense)
/i/
/u/
(lax)
/ɪ/
/ʊ/
(tense)
/e/
/ʌ /
/o/
(lax)
/ɛ/
/ə/
/ɔ/
(tense)
(lax)
/a/
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are classified as rising or falling. Using the /ai/ as an example,
you can see that it begins with a low vowel but ends with a high vowel. It is
therefore a rising diphthong. Classify the others:
/ia/
_____________________________
/ɔɪ/
_____________________________
/ɔu/
_____________________________
Using these features, we can accurately describe phonemes, for instance:
a voiced bilabial stop: /b/
a voiceless inter-dental fricative: / θ/
a velar nasal: /ŋ/
a high, tense front vowel:
/i/
a mid, back, lax vowel: /ɔ/
a falling diphthong: /ia/
Using these distinctive features, we can describe phonemes, we can compare
them and we can contrast them. For example, we can recognize that some
phonemes are generally the same, but they differ only on one feature. For
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example, /p/ and /b/ are both bilabial stops, but one is voiced and the other is
voiceless. This kind of insight helps us when we do phonological analysis.
Phonological Processes (10 minutes)
The distinctive features give us an ideal description of each phoneme.
However, as we saw in the previous unit, when we speak, we do so in strings
of connected phonemes, and we move from phoneme to phoneme very quickly.
In this process, changes can happen to phonemes or to parts of words.
We call these changes phonological processes, and they are of different
kinds: the distinctive features of one phoneme may influence or affect those of
another phoneme; some phonemes may be dropped; phonemes may be added;
the features of some phonemes may change, parts of words may be omitted
and so on. Here is a list of some common phonological processes:
1.
Conditioning – this happens when the features of one phoneme influence another.
The two phonemes therefore become more similar to one another.
e.g. In English, we write “incomplete” /ɪnkɔmplit/ but we pronounce it
[ɪŋkɔmplit] - the alveolar nasal /n/ changes to a velar nasal [ŋ]. This happens
because of the influence of the sound /k/ which follows it. If you check the
distinctive features, you will see that /k/ is a velar sound. Thus, in saying the
word, your mouth prepares to make the /k/ sound while it is making the nasal
sound – it is easier to make two sounds of the same kind instead of making an
alveolar sound then a velar sound.
2. Degemination –
when two similar sounds are made in succession, they
may be fused into one sound, or one of them might be dropped.
e.g. Many persons blend the /n/ and the /m/ into one sound in the word
“environment” so it is articulated as “enviroment”
3. Palatalisation the addition of a /j/ sound between two phonemes
e.g. in Guyanese Creole, many persons say “gyarden” instead of
“garden”.
4. Syncope/Ellipsis- omission of part of a word.
e.g.
many persons say “compulsry” instead of “compulsory”
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5. Prothesis - addition of a sound or syllable at the beginning of a word.
e.g. some Guyanese say “hevry” instead of “every” -they add an
/h/ sound to the beginning of words that begin with some vowels.
This kind of prosthesis is called Aspiration.
6. Apocope- the loss of sound(s) from the end of a word
e.g., in Guyanese Creole, we usually say “roun” rather than “round”
7. Raising - the change in point of articulation of vowels from a low point to
a higher one
e.g. Guyanese “trimble” from English “tremble”
8. Metathesis the transposition of sounds in a word
e.g.
GCE “aks” from English ‘ask”
Phonological Analysis (15 minutes)
We conduct phonological analysis in order to identify the sounds of a
language, to help persons who have difficulties in articulating sounds, to help
students to understand the differences between words that are similar, to
understand how the phonology of a language works, and for many other
reasons.
Basically, phonological analysis is a comparative and contrastive process, but
it is informed by the principles of phonetics and phonology. Here is an
example:
Question:
Examine the examples below of the prefix (underlined) meaning “not”. Does
this mean that English has five different ways of indicating “not”?
(a) immature,
impossible
(b) inaccurate,
indecent
(c) irresponsible,
irreplaceable
(d) incomplete
ingratitude
(e) illegal
illogical
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Analysis:
To answer this question, you need to first examine the affixes. They all begin with
the same phoneme /ɪ/. The next phoneme, a consonant, however, varies. We now
examine the distinctive features of these consonants. We notice that:
-
the first consonant is /m/ and this is a bilabial nasal
-
the second consonant is /n/ and this is a alveolar nasal
-
the third consonant is /r/ and this is a retroflex
-
the fourth consonant in actually /ŋ/ (even though it is spelled “n”) and it is
a velar nasal
-
the final consonant is /l/ a liquid sound.
We now examine the environments (i.e., the phonemes before it and the
phonemes after it) in which each of the different forms of the prefix occurs. We
try to see whether there is a similarity between the distinctive features of the
consonants in the prefix and the consonants in their environment.
When we do this, we see that:
-
im occurs with words that begin with /m/ and /p/ and these are bilabial
sounds
-
in occurs with words that begin with /a/ and /d/. /a/ is a vowel and /d/ is
an alveolar sound
-
ir and il occur with words that begin with the same consonants as in the
prefixes
-
iŋ occurs with words that begin with /k/ (‘c’ is pronounced /k/) and/g/.
These are velar sounds.
What we notice is that when there is a correspondence between the
consonant in the prefix and the first consonant in the word. For example,
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-
The prefix im goes with words that begin with bilabial
phonemes
-
The prefix in goes with vowels and alveolar phonemes
-
The prefix ir and il go with words that begin with similar
consonants
-
The prefix iŋ goes with words that begin with velar phonemes.
Answer:
English does not have five different prefixes to indicate “not”. It has
one prefix which varies phonologically depending on the nature of the
environment to which it is attached. The prefix is phonologically
conditioned to match the first consonant in the word to which it is
attached.
Activity 2 (5 minutes)
This time we will look at a foreign language. The principles of analysis
remain the same, even though the phonemes may be different.
Understanding of distinctive features and careful comparison and
contrasting of the data will always help you when doing phonological
analysis.
Question: Are [s] and [ʃ] allophones or separate phonemes in Korean?
Korean
[ʃi]
poem
[miso]
smile
[ʃilsu] mistake
[kasəl]
hypothesis
[oʃip] fifty
[sal]
flesh
Analysis: We again compare the environments in which the two
sounds occur, and the distinctive features of the phonemes involved.
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[ʃ] is a alveo-palatal fricative
[s] is an alveolar fricative
If you look at the diagram of the vocal tract, you will see that [s]
is articulated closer to the front of the mouth while [ʃ] is
articulated a little further back in the mouth.
We notice that vowels always follow these two phonemes, but
interestingly,
-
[ʃ] always occurs before [i]
[s] never occurs before [i]
Clearly, [s] and [ʃ] occur in different environments. Also, we note that
[s] and [ʃ] are two similar sounds. Add to this the fact that [s] never
occurs before [i], which suggests that [s] and [ʃ] are really one sound
that is changed whenever [i] follows it.
Conclusion: [s] and [ʃ] are allophones of the same phoneme. When [i]
comes after [s], the speakers have to raise their tongue some more to
make the high front vowel. This causes [s] to be articulated as [ʃ].
Suggested further activity:
1. Collect words which show phonological processes. NOTE: Some
words may show more than one process.
-
write the words in English
transcribe the standard form of the word, then the form of
the word as it is pronounced. Use the IPA alphabet to do
both of these
identify the process/processes.
Summary (5 minutes)
Phonetics and Phonology deal with the sounds of speech and what
happens when these sounds combine to make units. The phoneme is
the basic unit of Phonetics and Phonology and there are also
phonological processes that arise in the stream of speech. We can use
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the tools and principles of phonetics and phonology to analyse the
speech sounds of any language.
Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An Introduction
to Language. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.
Jenkins, Jennifer. The Phonology of English as an International
Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Knight, Rachael-Ann. Phonetics. A Coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2012.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham
Heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
MODULE 3: Morphology (4 hrs)
Overview:
This module presents an introduction to morphology in language as far
as it is relevant to the content of this course. It is not meant to be a
rigorous discussion of all aspects of morphology. Morphology – or the
study of patterns in the formation of words – is very important in the
study of language. The goal of morphological analysis is to determine
the rules that speakers actually follow for forming words in a
particular language. This knowledge enhances many areas of speech
and writing inclusive of word selection, spelling and sentence
formation.
Module Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
-
Define morphology
-
Distinguish between bound and free morphemes
-
Distinguish between lexical and functional morphemes
-
Distinguish between inflectional and derivational morphemes
-
Understand how affixes function in words
-
Understand morphs and allomorphs
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Module orientation:
This module has four units:
Unit 1: An overview of morphology
Unit 2: Bound and free morphemes
Unit 3: Word Formation process
Unit 4: Morphs and Allomorphs
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete
each one of them as they would help you to remember the information
which you have learned.
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to
check them only after you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will need about 4 hours to complete this module including the
activities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 1: An Overview of Morphology (1 hr)
Introduction:
This unit will help you to understand how words are formed. It will
help you to discern differences in the formation and meaning of words,
and to take words apart and put them together. English word forms
must consist of one element, but may have other elements or affixes.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Define morphology
-
Define morpheme
-
Identify bound morphemes
-
Identify free morphemes
-
Identify affixes (prefixes and suffixes)
-
Define simple, complex and compound words
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
Words are the basic building blocks of the messages we communicate
to one another through spoken or written language. But when we
think some more about what exactly is a word, we realise that words
are not always simple units. For example, we all will agree that hard
and drives are words. But, what about hard drive? Is this one word or
two words? Does it mean “a drive that is hard”? I think you will agree
that the two words in hard drive function as one unit of meaning, and
also that this meaning is different from the individual meanings of the
two words by themselves. Think about other examples such as
workman, Office of the President, motel, and mother-in-law.
On the other hand, consider words such as books, walked, talking and
disappear. Again, you recognize these as simple words, but that there
is something more. We now have some units (s, ed, ing and dis) which
are smaller than words. Yet, these small units do signal meaning
(plurality, past tense, opposite and continuity) when we add them to
words.
All of these examples should make you think some more about the
concept of “word”. We see, therefore, that a “word” can be a single
independent unit such as book, hard, appear, and drive. Or, it can be a
combination of words, e.g., hard drive. Or, it can be a word and units
(e.g. dis, ed, ese) that are smaller than words, e.g., Guyana + ese
(Guyanese). Further, we can create combinations such as hard drives
(hard + drive + s).
In some cases, these combinations create words that had never existed
before (e.g., hard drive). In other cases, the combinations are necessary
for grammatical purposes (e.g., adding s to indicate plurality or ed to
indicate past tense).
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Introduction to Linguistics
Overview of Morphology (5 minutes)
All of these units that can stand by themselves as words, or can be
combined to create words, or can be added to words for grammatical
purposes are called morphemes.
A morpheme is defined as “a minimal unit of meaning or grammatical
function which is used in a language.” This means that if we take
away any part of the morpheme, the entire meaning will be lost.
Therefore, mother-in-law may be made of three words, but it is one
morpheme. Similarly, the smaller units such as s, ed and ing which we
use to indicate plurality, tense and other grammatical functions, also
cannot be reduced.
The study of morphemes, and how they are used to form new words or
indicate grammar, is called morphology.
Morphology is a sub-discipline of linguistics that studies word
structure. The term morphology literally means “the study of forms.” It
was originally used in biology, but since the middle of the 19th century,
has also been used to describe that type of investigation which
analyses all those basic ‘elements” in a word.
Morphemes can vary in size: neither the number of syllables nor the
length of a word can indicate what a morpheme is and what isn’t. For
example, Albatross is a long word but it is a single morpheme – it
cannot be reduced without losing its meaning. Similarly, -y (as in
dreamy) is also a single morpheme.
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Introduction to Linguistics
(Mini-lecturette) (5 minutes)
The importance of Morphology
Morphology or the study of patterns in the formation of words has a
great deal of value. Morphology helps students to understand how
words are formed, and subsequently how they may be used in
sentences. Morphology is important to speech and fluency. The
definability of linguistic units (word parts) and how they take part in
sentence structure allows a speaker to manipulate the units.
Morphology enhances many areas of speech and writing inclusive of
word selection, spelling and sentence formation. Making smart word
choices, spelling words correctly, and forming sentences properly each
contribute to an overall mastery of language.
Identifying Morphemes (5minutes)
Morphemes are identified by their shape or form, pattern of
distribution, and meaning.
Shape or form refers to how the morpheme is written or spoken. For
example, ed is the shape or form of the past tense morpheme in
English, while s is the shape or form of the plural morpheme. These
shapes or forms may vary – for example, sometimes the plural
morpheme in English is pronounced “s” as in “cats”, sometimes it is
pronounced “z” as in “cars” and sometimes it is pronounced “iz” as in
“buses”. Sometimes, there is no discernible shape at all, as is the case
with the plural of “sheep”. We will discuss this further in Unit 4.
The pattern of distribution refers to how a morpheme is used. You
already know that ed is used in a specific manner – it is added to
verbs, not nouns, and it is added to the ends of verbs. This, then, is the
pattern of distribution of the past tense morpheme in English. If a sis
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Introduction to Linguistics
added to the end of a noun such as book, you know it indicates
plurality; ing added to verbs such as read to indicate continuity; and ed
added to verbs such as talk indicates past tense.
This raises another important point about morphemes. Sometimes,
different morphemes may have the same shape or form. For example, if
we add s to the end of a noun, it indicates plurality. If we add s to the
end of a verb, what happens? In this pattern of distribution, s now
indicates third person singular. If we attach it after an apostrophe at
the end of a proper noun, it indicates possession (e.g. Balram’s). These,
therefore, are three different morphemes, even though they all have the
same shape or form.
Morphemes are used systematically. For example, you know that you
cannot combine the small units (e.g., ed and ing) to make a new word,
but you can combine whole words to create new words - for example,
we have combined hard and drive to create the new word hard drive.
Finally, since morphemes are meaningful units, they are identified by
their meaning function. For example, the s at the end of the word
books indicates plurality and is therefore a morpheme. On the other
hand, the s at the end of the word Charles is not a morpheme because
it does not indicate plurality (Charles is not the plural of Charl!). Also,
the er at the end of teacher indicates someone who teaches, but the er
at the end of danger does not indicate something that “danges”!
Word Construction and Analysis (10)
The morphemes we have been discussing can be put into two groups:
bound morphemes and free morphemes. Free morphemes are those
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which can stand by themselves (e.g. book, walk, talk), while bound
morphemes are those such as s, ing, and ed that cannot stand alone.
Words in English are made up of free and bound morphemes. Using
this information, we can now approach words and meaning in a more
systematic manner. Many of the words we use are morphologically
complex –they are composed of more than one morpheme. In our
analysis, we look for the constituent which may be considered as the
basic one, the core of the form, with the others treated as being added
on.
Example 1:
The word ‘reopened’ consists of three morphemes. We
recognize the basic, core constituent “open” and other constituents “re”
(meaning ‘again’), and another minimal unit “ed” which indicates a
grammatical function (past tense).
The basic or core morpheme is referred to as the stem, root, or base,
while the add-ons are affixes. Affixes that precede the stem are of
course prefixes, while those that follow the stem are suffixes.
When doing morphological analysis, we use braces or curly brackets { }
to indicate morphemes. Square brackets [ ] indicate a semantic
characterization. Italics indicate a lexical item. We will therefore
rewrite our word analysis this way:
Example 2: The word ‘tourists’ contains three morphemes: a stem and
two affixes, both of which are suffixes. The stem is {tour} [a journey
through a place or country], and the suffixes are {ist}, [‘person who
does something’], and {s} [which serves the grammatical function of
indicating plurality].
Words may be morphologically simple, compound, or complex. Words
with just one free morpheme, for example, ‘tree’ are simple words.
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Introduction to Linguistics
Words that consist of two or more free morphemes for example, ‘teacup’
are compound words. Words with a free morpheme and one or more
bound morpheme, like ‘trees’ are complex words.
Simple word
Compound word
Complex word
One free morpheme
Two free morphemes
One free morpheme and
Example: {tree}
Example: Blackboard
{black}+ {board}
one or more bound
morphemes
Example: {re} {arrange}
{d}
Prefixes and suffixes are almost always bound morphemes.
Example
Prefix
Stem (free)
(bound)
undressed
{un}
Suffix
Suffix
(bound)
(bound)
{dress}
{ed}
carelessness
{care}
{less}
teacher
{teach}
{er}
{ness}
Base, stem and root
In order to make the segmentation of words into smaller parts a little
clearer, we differentiate between the base, the stem and the root of a
word in morphological terms. BASE = an element (free or bound, root
morpheme or complex word) to which additional morphemes are
added. Also called a STEM, a base can consist of a single root
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Introduction to Linguistics
morpheme, as with ‘kind’ in the word ‘kindness’. But a base can also
itself contain more than one morpheme. For example, we can use the
word 'kindness' as a base to form the word 'kindnesses'; to make
'kindnesses', we add the plural morpheme, spelled '-es' in this case, to
the base 'kindness'.
ROOT = a (usually free) morpheme around which words can be built
up through the addition of affixes. The root usually has a more-specific
meaning than the affixes that attach to it. For example, the root 'kind'
can have affixes added to it to form 'kindly', 'kindness', 'kinder',
'kindest'. The root is the item you have left when you strip all other
morphemes off of a complex word. In the word dehumanizing, for
example, if you strip off all the affixes -- -ing, -ize, and de-, human is
what you have left. It cannot be divided further into meaningful parts.
It is the root of the word.
But what about the stems, are they always free?
There are a number of English words in which the element which
seems to be the stem, is not, in fact a free morpheme. In words like
receive, reduce, repeat, we can recognize the bound morpheme re, but
the elements –ceive, -duce, and –peat, are clearly not free morphemes.
Forms like, -ceive, -duce, and –peat are bound stems.
Forms like “dress,” “care,” and “teach” are free stems.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Reflect on bound and free morphemes before you complete the
following exercise.
1. State the number of morphemes in the following words: Actors,
strongest, precede, cupboard, anthill, dogs, and house.
2. State whether each of the above words is simple, compound, or
complex.
3. List the “bound” morphemes to be found in the following words:
misleads, previewer, fearlessly, precede, disentangled.
Feedback to Activity 1 (5 minutes)
Actor has two morphemes ‘act-or.’ It is a complex word.
Strongest has two morphemes ‘strong-est.’ It is a complex word.
Precede has two morphemes ‘pre –cede.’ It is a complex word.
Cupboard has two morphemes. It is a compound word.
Anthill has two morphemes. It is a compound word.
The word “Dogs” has two morphemes. It is a complex word.
House has one morpheme. It is a simple word.
In ‘misleads’ the bound morphemes are ‘mis, s’
In previewer the bound morphemes are ‘pre, er’
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Introduction to Linguistics
In fearlessly the bound morphemes are less, ly.’
In precede, the bound morpheme is ‘pre.’
In disentangled the bound morphemes are ‘dis’ and ‘d.’
The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Imagine that as a classroom teacher, you have to teach word parts to
your students. What are some ways you could do this? Write at least
three ideas or ways you could use your knowledge of word parts in the
classroom.
Feedback mini-lecturette (5 minutes)
There are many ways a teacher could utilize to teach word-parts. (1)
The teacher can make games to help students identify word parts, and
become familiar with the form and spelling of words. For example, in a
word like ‘dehumanizing, the teacher can strip all the affixes (de-, -ing,
-ize) and place the root ‘human’ and affixes on word cards. The teacher
shuffles the words and the student finds the correct word cards and
spells the words. (2) Students should use a dictionary to ensure they
know word meanings, then they could use words in sentences. (3)
Students can also make the word card game competitive to see which
group wins. Students can also use the root of the words to form new
words.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Summary (2 minutes)
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit or part of a word.
Identifying these units and how they are combined is called
Morphology. Words are made up of free and bound morphemes.
Linguists analyse words by their structure. Some words have one free
morpheme. Complex words combine free and bound morphemes while
compound words consist of two or more free morphemes. Students can
be taught to use their knowledge of word parts to see how prefixes,
stems and suffixes go together to form words.
Suggested References
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham
heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 2: Types of bound and free
Morphemes (1hr.)
Introduction:
This unit will sensitize students about types of bound and free
morphemes and how they are used in language. This knowledge will
enhance many areas of both teachers and their students’ speech and
writing inclusive of word selection, spelling and sentence formation.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to define and
identify:
-
Lexical morphemes
Functional morphemes
Derivational morphemes
Derivational inflectional morphemes
Function of morphemes in sentences
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Start of the lesson (3 minutes)
In the previous unit you were introduced to morphemes.
A morpheme can be defined as a minimal unit having more or less
constant meaning and more of less constant shape or form. (‘More or
less’ because... see below.)
For example, linguists say that the word buyers is made up of three
morphemes {buy}+{er}+{s}. The evidence for this is that each can occur
in other combinations of morphemes without changing its meaning. We
can find {buy} in buying, buys, and {er} in seller, fisher, as well as
buyer. And {s} can be found in boys, girls, and dogs. The more
combinations a morpheme is found in, the more productive it is said to
be.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
As we have seen, there are two types of morphemes: ‘bound’ and ‘free.’
1. Categories of Free Morphemes
Free morphemes are divided into two categories: lexical and functional.
Free morphemes
lexical
functional
1. Lexical morphemes are words that have meaning by themselves.
This category is made up of ordinary nouns, adjectives, and verbs
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which we think of as the words which carry the ‘content.’ Examples
are boy, man, house, sad, long, yellow and break. We can add new
lexical morphemes to the language rather easily, so they are treated
as an open class of words. Below are some examples of lexical
morphemes.
Some Examples of Lexical Morphemes in English
Bases
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
dog
Have
silly
Very
chart
Touch
hot
Too
word
Be
strong
Now
child
Stay
new
Again
student
Go
quick
Then
Functional morphemes are the other group of free morphemes. They
consist of the functional words in the language - conjunctions,
prepositions, articles and pronouns. For example: and, near, above, in,
the, but, on, that, etc. Functional morphemes consist largely of
functional words in the language such as conjunctions, prepositions,
articles, and pronouns. Some examples are: and, but, when, because,
on, above, in, the, that, it.
Because we almost never add new functional morphemes to the
language, they are described as a “closed” class of words.
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2. Categories of Bound Morphemes
Bound morphemes are the prefixes and suffixes - those morphemes
which cannot stand by themselves, e.g. {re-}, {anti-}, {dis-}, {-er}, {-ed}.
Bound morphemes also fall into two groups: derivational and
inflectional:
Bound Morphemes
derivational
inflectional
Derivational bound morphemes are used as prefixes and suffixes to
create new words. Some of them are:
Prefixes
Suffixes
anti
Ness
Con
Ion
Di
Ity
Pro
Or
Ex
ize,
Re
Al
Un
Ic
Ous
pre
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dis
We add these to free lexical morphemes, as in anti-government, rearrange, stupidity, actor.
Inflectional bound morphemes are used when we need to indicate
grammatical contrasts, for example, the difference between past and
present tense, between singular and plural, and so on.
Types of Morphology (10 minutes)
Bound morphemes and free morphemes are used in two different
morphological processes: derivational morphology and inflectional
morphology.
1. Derivational Morphology
Derivational morphology is the process by which we derive or create
new words in a language. This can be done in three ways:
-
combining free morphemes
-
adding bound morphemes to free morphemes
-
adding both free and bound morphemes
There are many examples of derivation using free morphemes: seawall,
backdam, hard drive, gateway and many more.
A list of derivation by bound morphemes will include foolish, badly,
untie, re-examine and many more.
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We can even combine bound and free morphemes: driver, canecutter,
multimillionaire.
The new words we derive in these ways sometimes belong to grammatical
categories that are different from those of the stem. For example, hard is
an adjective and drive is a verb, but the new word hard drive is a noun. The
addition of the derivational morpheme -ness changes the adjective good
to the noun goodness. The noun -care can become the adjective careful
or careless through the derivational morphemes -full or -less.
2. Inflectional Morphology
The second morphological process is called inflection. Inflections are
word endings which reflect grammatical contrasts. Inflectional
morphology studies the way in which words vary (or inflect) in order to
express grammatical contrasts in sentences, such as singular/plural or
past/present tense. In English the inflectional morphemes are a very
limited group of suffixes that can be easily remembered.
Below are examples of some inflectional morphemes:
Morpheme
Inflection
-s
Plural morpheme (dogs)
-s
Third person singular (I
live, he lives)
-ed
Past (lived)
-ing
Progressive (living)
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-er
Comparative (taller)
Superlative (tallest)
-est
Possessive (Adrian’s
-‘s, -s’
The Jones’
For practice, let us take the word disappearances and analyse its
bound morphemes
Root word: appear
Bound morpheme
Type
Function
-dis
derivational
Change meaning not
-ance
derivational
Change verb to noun
-s
inflectional
Change singular noun to
plural
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Reflect on lexical and functional morphemes, then complete the
following exercises.
A. What are the functional morphemes in the following sentence?
The old man sat on a chair and told them tales of long ago.
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Introduction to Linguistics
B. What are the inflectional morphemes in the following phrases:
a. The singer’s songs
b. It’s raining
c. The newest style
d. The cow jumped over the moon
C. Examine the lexical morphemes in the following list and say
what part of speech each one is.
Lexical
Part of speech
Morpheme
Dog
Touch
Strong
Very
Chart
Have
Again
D. Just for fun, take the following long word and analyze its
bound morphemes:
antidisestablishmentarianism
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Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Remember that functional morphemes are conjunctions, prepositions,
articles, pronouns.
Activity A:
The functional morphemes are underlined.
The old man sat on chair and told them tales of long ago.
Activity B:
a. –‘s, -s
b. -ing
c. –est
d. -ed
Activity C:
Lexical
Part of speech
morpheme
Dog
Noun
Touch
Verb
Strong
Adjective
Very
Adverb
Chart
Noun
Have
Verb
Again
Adverb
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Activity D:
Root word: establish
Bound morpheme
Type
Function
anti-
derivational
Change meaning against
dis-
derivational
Change meaning not
-ment
derivational
Change to noun (thing)
arian
derivational
Change to noun (possession)
-ism
derivational
Change to noun (philosophy)
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Write a paragraph or two to answer the following questions:
What is derivational morphology?
Why is it important?
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Derivational morphology changes the meaning of words by applying
derivations. A derivation is the combination of a word stem with a
morpheme, which forms a new word, which is often of a different class.
For example, develop becomes development, developmental or
redevelop.
The suffix -ation converts the verb nationalize, into the derived noun
nationalization. The suffix -ize converts the noun plural, into the verb
pluralize.
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Nominalization is a common kind of derivation in English, and it
involves forming new nouns from verbs or adjectives, by adding
suffixes to them, for example:
Suffix Verb/adjective Derived noun
-ness happy (A)
happiness
-ee
employee
employ (V)
Derivational morphology can be quite complicated, as the classes of
words that an affix apply to are not always clear cut; for example, the
suffix -ee cannot be added to all verbs, i.e. to add it to run (V) gives
runee, which is clearly not an English word.
They are important because they produce new words or change the
function of a word. The morphological process of derivational affixes is
one of the richest sources of new words.
Summary (5 minutes)
Lexical morphemes are words that have meanings by themselves.
Some examples are, boy, food and door. Functional morphemes consist
of the function words in the language –conjunctions, prepositions,
articles and pronouns.
Bound
morphemes
come
in
two
varieties,
derivational
and
inflectional, the core difference between the two beings that the
addition of derivational morphemes creates new words while the
addition of inflectional words merely changes word form.
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Inflections are grammatical morphemes. They consist of word endings,
like suffixes, but unlike suffixes, inflections express only grammatical
functions. Derivational morphemes create new words in the language
and are often used to make words of a different grammatical category.
Many new words are formed by adding derivational affixes to roots.
These word formation rules follow regular patterns.
Suggested References
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 3: Word formation processes (1 hr.)
Introduction:
The vocabulary of a language is in constant flux. Words enter and
leave our language all the time. Vocabularies are also varied
depending on where you live. People from other places where English
is spoken speak other varieties of English. The British use the word
boot to describe the storage compartment of a car and they queue up at
the store’s cash register.
On the other hand, people in the United
States put their bags in the trunk of the car and stand in line at the
store’s cash register. Even within a country vocabulary differs.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Understand word formation processes
 Derivation
 Linguistic borrowing
 Compounding
 Clipping and blending
 Reduplication
What is needed?
-
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
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How are words extended?
Derivation:
One process which we discussed in detail in the previous lesson is
derivation, the adding of bound or free morphemes to root words to
extend the meaning of an existing word. For example, from the root
compute comes derived forms such as computer, computerize, noncomputerized, and so on.
However, there are other forms of derivation. Sometimes a word began
life as a noun and was affixed to make it an adjective. For other words,
the base form was the verb, and endings were added later to make
adjectives, adverbs and nouns. For instance, the word snack was first
used as a noun, then later, the same word began to be used as a verb
as well. The inflectional morpheme –ing is now commonly added to the
verb snack to form the present progressive tense, snacking.
Further, it is also possible for words to change their class without any
affixation. Many words in English belong to more than one lexical
category. For instance, the word ride can be either a verb or a noun.
This process which is called lexical category conversion is a
derivational process whereby an item changes its word class without
the addition of an affix.
There is also the process of conversion which involves the original
word being used in a new way. Especially popular at the moment is the
conversion of nouns to verbs as in to diary and to rubbish. Most
unusual forms of conversion are from categories of word not usually
subject to alteration: this book is a must; a has been, the workmen
downed tools.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Word Formation Rules
One of the richest sources of new words is the morphological process of
derivational affixes.
Earlier on we explained that goodness is derived by adding ‘ness’ to the
adjective good. This is an example of a general pattern. When the
suffix –er is added to a verb a new noun is created. English has many
of these -er words: preacher, baker, and singer to name just three.
Yet another example of a very productive word formation rule is that
the suffix -ly can be added to adjectives to form adverbs. Thus, English
has words like quickly, slowly and laboriously. The –ly suffix can be
added to many different adjectives.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Besides derivation, there are several methods by which words are
entered into a language. We will be discussing some of them in this
lecture.
Linguistic borrowing
English owes the wealth of its vocabulary to borrowings from other
languages. Throughout the history of English new words have been
incorporated into the language through borrowing (from languages as
varied as Latin, Greek, Scandinavian, Arabic, and many others) as
well as through the application of morphological and derivational rules
to existing words and morphemes. Words currently entering the
language are called neologisms (from "neo" new and "log" word).
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Compounding
Another very productive process by which words are added to language
is compounding, the process of merging two pre-existing words into a
new concept. Examples of noun compounds are toothache, earthquake,
bloodstain, and housewife. Examples of verb/object compounds are
haircut and handshake. Examples of verb/adverbial compounds are
sleepwalking and air-borne.
As technology advances many new compounds are added. For example,
many new computer words like download, upload, and hard drive as
well as other words like home-schooling and drive thru have been
added to English.
Clipping and blending
A very productive word formation process in English is clipping in
which you simply cut off part of a word: laboratory – lab, dormitory –
dorm, and influenza – flu. Sometimes new words are formed by more
than one process. The words sitcom involves clipping the phrase
situation comedy and them blending sit and com into one word. The
same goes for simulcast (simultaneous broadcast), blog (web log), and
two of the most well-known examples: motel (motor hotel) and brunch
(breakfast and lunch).
Coinage
Sometimes when we create new inventions, discover new things or
come up with new concepts, we create totally new words for them. This
process is called coinage (these words may be called neologisms as
well). Some examples are the words gizmo, nerd and quark (a
subatomic particle) are all fairly recent inventions. No one person has
contributed to the English language as many words as Shakespeare.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
There are more than 1,000 of his creations in current use including:
buzzer, cater, dawn, frugal, hint, hurry, hobnob, obscene, torture and
zany.
Reduplication
Another process of word creation is reduplication in which all or part of
a word is repeated. English has a number of rhyming reduplications
such as hanky panky, helter skelter, super-duper. But in Guyanese,
reduplication is used more effectively to create new meanings. For
example, the word for “one” (waan) is reduplicated into waan waan
and this creates a new meaning: “a few”. Play is reduplicated to create
play play, which means “to pretend”. People also create whole new
words such as bling bling by using reduplication.
Morphological misanalysis
One prolific and interesting process by which we get new vocabulary is
called morphological misanalysis. In this process, there has been some
play in dividing up a word into the root and the bound morphemes in a
way that is not traditionally done. One of the best known of these is
chocoholic, the word for a person addicted to chocolate. Consider the
original word from which this word was derived: alcoholic. The root
word (free morpheme) is alcoholic, which is attached to a bound
morpheme –ic (meaning one who does this a lot). If we put the same
logic process to work on chocolate, the addicted person should be called
a “chocolatic.”
For some reason this possible word does not sound as good as
chocoholic. For many years the word chocoholic stood alone, but in the
last decade, the –aholic bound morpheme has really taken off. We now
hear: drugaholic, shopaholic and workaholic among others.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Although about 60 percent of the words in an English dictionary have
Latin or Greek roots, many words in a text are function words or simple
content words. Take a passage of one hundred consecutive words.
Working in pairs, closely examine each word by placing it on a chart
similar to the one that follows. If a word is repeated, list it each time it
appears. An example of each type of word is shown in the sample chart to
help you get started.
Nouns
Simple
Complex
boy
Boys
D
I
Compound
Function
I
toothbrush
the
through
Verbs
go
prioritize
D
Adjectives
green
unsatisfactory
D
Adverbs
fast
Slowly
D
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Analyze your results by answering the following questions:
What percentage of the words are function words?
What percentage are simple words?
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
What percentage are complex words with inflectional suffixes?
What percentage are complex words with derivational suffixes?
What percent are compound words?
Discuss your findings in groups.
What percent of words in running text have meanings that can be
determined by structural analysis? That is how many of these
words are compound words or complex words with derivational
affixes?
According to the available word counts made on different parts of
speech, we find that derived words numerically constitute the largest
class of words in the existing word-stock. Derived nouns comprise
approximately 67% of the total number, adjectives about 86% whereas
compound nouns make about 15% and adjectives about 4%. Root words
come to about 18% in a noun that is a trifle more than the number of
compound words; adjectives root words which come to approximately
12% numerically constitute the largest class of words
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Match the expressions on the left with the correct morphological description
on the right.
_______
(a) wifely, wifehood,
wifeless
1. compound noun
_______
(b) take a wife
2. root morpheme plus derivational
prefix
_______
(c) his wife
3. phrase consisting of adjective plus
noun
_______
(d) tall wife
4. root morpheme plus inflectional suffix
_______
(e) housewife
5. root morpheme plus derivational
suffix
_______
(f) wives
6. grammatical morpheme followed by
lexical morpheme
_______
(g) ex-wife
7. idiom
_______
(a) lives
1. compound noun
_______
(b) a life
2. root morpheme plus derivational
prefix
_______
(c) long life
3. phrase consisting of adjective plus
noun
_______
(d) lifeguard, lifetime,
lifeblood
4. root morpheme plus inflectional suffix
_______
(e) for the life of me
5. root morpheme plus derivational
II.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
suffix
_______
(f) relive
6. grammatical morpheme followed by
lexical morpheme
_______
(g) lifelike, lifeless
7. idiom
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Expressions Morphological
Descriptions
A
5
B
7
C
6
D
3
E
1
F
6
G
2
A
4
B
6
C
3
D
1
E
7
F
2
G
5
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Summary (5 minutes)
There are several word formation processes which ensure that the
English language continues to grow and expand. Foremost of these is
derivation. Derivation is the adding of bound or free morphemes to
root words to extend the meaning of an existing word. Furthermore,
many words belong to more than one lexical category. For instance, the
word ride, can be either a verb or a noun. Derivational word formation
rules are also used to make new words.
Linguistic borrowings account for a huge percentage of English words.
English has borrowed words throughout its history. Compounding is a
popular method whereby pre-existing words are merged. Clipping in
which part of a word is cut off is a very American method of forming a
new word.
Coinage is a word formation method which corresponds to the times.
Shakespeare utilized this method during his era, and in this computer
age many coined words ‘gizmo’ and ‘nerd’ have entered the vocabulary.
Reduplication focused on intensification of the word usage. Finally,
new
words
also
enter
the
vocabulary
through
morphological
misdiagnosis.
Suggested References
Allsopp, J. and J. R. Rickford, eds. Language, Culture, and Caribbean
Identity. Kingston: Canoe Press, 2012.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language. Cambridge
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
University Press. NY. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 4: Morphs and Allomorphs (1 hr.)
Introduction:
Many morphemes in English have more than one form or shape. These
variants are called allomorphs (just as we had variations of
phonemes or allophones earlier). One reason why there is variation is
because of phonology – the way sounds are pronounced. But there are
other reasons why the same morpheme may be expressed in different
ways. This lesson will give you a better understanding of irregular
morphemes.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Define morphs
Define allomorphs
Distinguish irregular plural morphemes
Distinguish correct pronunciation of –ed ending
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
What is the difference between morphemes, morphs, and
allomorphs?
How is the plural morpheme created? Is there one way of creating a
plural form? When you look at certain inflectional endings that occur
in English, you’ll notice that they are often but not always predictable.
Here are a few examples for the plural morpheme.
Singular morpheme
One car
One rose
one mouse
One ox
One sheep
Stadium
Plural morpheme
Two cars
Two roses
Two mice
Two oxen
Two sheep
Stadia
A vowel change instead of a suffix marks the plural in mice and men.
In oxen the suffix we encounter is rather exotic (meaning this word is
virtually the only one that takes the -en ending). In the second-to-last
example there is no visible plural marking at all. And in the final
example, the plural word has a different shape.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Morphemes and their allomorphs
Is every morpheme pronounced the same in all contexts? If it were,
most phonology texts could be considerably shorter than they are! In
fact, many morphemes have two or more different pronunciations,
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Introduction to Linguistics
called allomorphs, the choice between them being determined by the
context.
Morphology and phonetics
No linguistic system exists in a vacuum even though sometimes we
teach them as if they were. An example of how different language
systems affect each other can be seen when we look at how some
morphemes are specifically crafted because of sound characteristics of
the free morpheme. There may be several spelling forms or several
pronunciations that mean the same thing but fit a particular
pronunciation pattern.
If one compares cats, dogs and horses with cat, dog and horse
respectively, the obvious answer is: ‘by adding -s’. But English spelling
is notoriously unreliable as a guide to pronunciation. In fact, this -s
suffix has three allomorphs: [s] (as in cats or lamps), [z] (as in dogs or
days), and [Iz] or [əz] (as in horses or judges). Is it, then, that everyone
learning English, whether natively or as a second language, must
learn individually for each noun which of the three allomorphs is used
in its plural form? That would seem extremely laborious.
In fact, it is easy to show that the three allomorphs are distributed in
an entirely regular fashion, based on the sound immediately preceding
the suffix. When the preceding sound is a sibilant (the kind of ‘hissing’
or ‘hushing’ sound heard at the end of horse, rose, bush, church and
judge), the [Iz] allomorph occurs. When the preceding sound is
voiceless, i.e., produced with no vibration of the vocal folds in the
larynx (as in cat, rock, cup or cliff), the [s] allomorph occurs, otherwise
(i.e. after a vowel or a voiced consonant, as in dog or day), the [z]
allomorph occurs.
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Introduction to Linguistics
Another interesting example is the past tense morpheme. Although it
has one spelling, -ed, it is actually pronounced in three slightly
different ways.
(1) Final –ed is pronounced [t] after final voiceless sounds in the
free morpheme. In other words, if the last sound in the root word
is voiceless, then voiceless [t] is added. For example, the word
drip ends in [p] which is voiceless. So the [ed] past tense ending
for dripped is pronounced [t]. Other examples are ‘pushed’ and
‘looked.’
(2) The final –ed is pronounced [d] after final voiced sounds in the
free morpheme. For example, the word sob ends in [b] which is
voiced, so the [ed] past tense ending for sobbed is pronounced [d]
since it is voiced. Other examples are ‘believed’ and ‘judged.’
(3) Some root words end in [t] or [d]. For example: wet, and add. It
is hard to repeat the same consonant twice in succession, so we
don’t simply add a [t] or [d] as with the other two patterns. We
pronounce the vowel as well: added, wetted [id].
In effect, without realising it, we pay attention to these phonological
characteristics of the noun when deciding which allomorph to use –
though ‘decide’ is hardly the right word here, because our ‘decision’ is
quite unconscious.
But what about words like oxen, sheep and stadia? The plural forms of
these words are determined not by phonology but by their history. In
the case of oxen, the en ending was originally a part of the word, but is
now only retained to mark the plural form. Sheep is an example of a
word that lost its historical marking for plurality. As a West Germanic
3
Introduction to Linguistics
word – skaepa - its original marking for the plural was by the addition
of a vowel. This type of plural marking was dropped from English, and
sheep remains without a plural form. Stadia on the other hand is a
latinate word (it comes from Latin), and ia is the latinate plural form.
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Examine the past tense forms below. How would linguists write
the past tense morpheme based on the differences in
pronunciation?
Walked
talked
Watched
roamed
Rolled
Clothed
defended
loaded
Spotted
believed
wetted
Booted
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Review the lecture given above:
i.
ii.
iii.
Final –ed is pronounced [t] after final voiceless sounds in the
free morpheme.
Final –ed is pronounced [d] after final voiced sounds in the
free morpheme.
Final –ed is pronounced [id] if root word ends in [t] or [d].
4
Introduction to Linguistics
Walked
[t]
Talked [t]
Watched [t]
Roamed [d]
Rolled
[d]
Clothed [d]
Defended [id]
Loaded [id]
Spotted [id]
Believed [d[
Wetted [id]
Booted [id]
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Discuss your understanding or define morphs, allomorphs, and allomorphs of
the plural morpheme.
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Define morphs = a concrete part of a word that cannot be divided into
smaller parts
Define allomorphs
One way to treat differences in inflectional morphemes is by proposing
variation in morphological realization rules. The form ‘cat’ is a single
morph realizing a lexical morpheme. The form ‘cats’ consist of two
morphs, realizing a lexical morpheme and an inflectional morpheme
5
Introduction to Linguistics
(‘plural’). Just as linguists recognize ‘allomorphs’ of a particular
phoneme, in the same way they recognize allomorphs or variants of a
particular morpheme.
Define allomorphs of the plural morpheme
Allomorphs are different realizations of the same morpheme, e.g. -s, en and nothing for the plural morpheme in dogs, oxen, and fish_
When linguists talk about the allomorphs of the plural morpheme,
they are referring to variants of the same functional element which do
not impact meaning in any way. A plural is still a plural, whether
encoded by -s or something else.
To describe the above differences linguists, produce structures like ‘cat’
plus plural, ‘sheep’ plus ‘plural,’ and ‘man’ plus ‘plural.’ It has been
suggested that one allomorph of ‘plural’ is a zero-morph, and the plural
form of sheep is actually ‘sheep + zero.’
Summary (5 minutes)
When you examine some inflectional endings, you’d realize that the
plural morpheme has several irregularities. The fact is that plural
number in English can be marked with several different inflectional
suffixes by vowel change or by no change at all.
Regular English nouns form their plural by adding [s] to the singular
form. However, there are irregular plurals like child – children, foot –
feet, hypothesis – hypotheses, goose – geese. There are some morphs
which have the same singular and plural form, deer – deer, sheep –
sheep. Linguists call the irregular forms allomorphs of the morpheme
plural.
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Introduction to Linguistics
An interesting example of an allomorph is the past tense –ed which
has one spelling but three different pronunciations.
Suggested References
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
7
Introduction to Linguistics
MODULE 4: Syntax (4 hrs)
Overview:
This module presents an introduction to syntax in language as far as it
is relevant to the content of this course. It is not meant to be a rigorous
discussion of all aspects of syntax. What I am describing is a simple
orthodox view of the grammar of language. Some more complex models
are discussed by linguists but these are beyond the scope of this
description. This section is included for those readers who would like a
brief overview without having to refer separately to linguistics
textbook. Those who would like to read more about the various
linguistic theories on syntax should refer to the bibliography for
references to linguistics books and to sites on the web covering
linguistics and syntax. We are concerned here primarily with the
syntax of the structure of sentences.
Module Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
-
Define syntax using examples from English sentences
-
Distinguish between deep and surface structure
-
Understand generative grammar
-
Use transformational rules
-
Understand recursion
-
Generate tree diagrams
-
Use syntax in the classroom to improve grammar
8
Introduction to Linguistics
Module Orientation:
This module has four units.
Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of syntax
Unit 2: Syntax and Phrase Structure rules
Unit 3: Syntax and types of sentences
Unit 4: Some Rules of generative grammar
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete
each one of them as they would help you to remember the information
which you have learned.
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to
check them only after you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will probably need about 4 hours to complete this module
including the activities.
9
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of Syntax (1 hr.)
Introduction:
In this unit you will learn about grammar as the study of syntactic
structures. Like all languages, English has rules which govern how
words are used to form sentences. These rules inform how syntax
functions in language.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Define syntax
-
Understand how syntax functions in language
-
Identify aspects of English syntax
-
Define generative grammar
-
Distinguish between deep and surface structure
What is needed?
- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens
10
Introduction to Linguistics
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
Examine the following sentence constructions. Can you find anything
that is not right about them?
-
Home, have to go, I.
-
Develop teachers’ creative lessons linguistics.
-
Will the car be here at 3 o’clock / it’s raining/.
The above combinations of units, however, could not be called
sentences since sentences in English follow a certain word order. You
will have no difficulty is accepting the following as acceptable
sentences in English:
1. I have to go home.
2. Linguistics teachers develop creative lessons.
3. Will the car be here at three o’clock? It’s raining.
What is syntax? (5 minutes)
The study of the structure of a sentence and its ordering elements is
what syntax is all about. It is a branch of linguistics that is concerned
with the study of the rules of a language that dictate how the various
parts of a sentence go together. While morphology looks at how the
smallest meaningful units (morphemes), are formed into complete
words, syntax looks at how those words are formed into complete
sentences.
The word ‘syntax’ comes from syntaxis, the Greek word which means
‘together’ or ‘arrangement.’ Most syntactic studies have focused on
sentence structure for this is where the most important grammatical
11
Introduction to Linguistics
relationships are expressed.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
The Role of Syntax in Language
It is obvious that most often, we speak in groups of words rather than
single words. But these sequences are not just made up of one word
following another. There are certain relationships between and among
the words, forming sub-structures in the sentence. Just as the sentence
as a whole has structure, so too the individual sub-units also have
their internal structure. The sub-structures in turn play certain roles
in building up the complete meaning of the sentence.
Further, depending on the role that they play in the sentence, it may
be possible to switch some of these structures around, or omit them, or
substitute other units for them, thereby changing the appearance of
the sentence while preserving the meaning. Syntax is the study that
allows us to understand the elements and structures of sentences, and
their roles and relationships.
Approaches to Syntax (10 minutes)
We can take two major approaches to the study of syntax: the
structural approach, or the generative approach.
The structural approach considers the sentence to be a structure which
is made up of constituents such as noun phrases, verb phrases,
adjectival phrases and so on. An advantage of this approach is that it
gives us a good understanding of the structure of sentences and their
sub-units. This kind of information is useful to a teacher.
12
Introduction to Linguistics
The generative approach to syntax was introduced by linguist Noam
Chomsky as part of his theory of how humans acquire and use
language. Chomsky’s quest was to write a universal grammar that
would be applicable to all human language. He was not only interested
in the surface form of language, but on the rules that made such
surface
forms
possible
without
producing
any
ungrammatical
sentences. For example, he was interested in how different surface
structures might have the same deeper meaning – e.g., a fire destroyed
the hotel is the same as the hotel was destroyed by a fire. He also
noticed that some sentences were structurally ambiguous, containing a
surface structure and but different deep structures, as in the case of
old men and women which could mean (1) both old men and old
women, or (2) women and old men. Both of these examples reveal the
operations of these rules below the surface of the sentence. We will
discuss generative grammar some more in Unit 4.
This approach considers the sentence to be generated by each speaker
using a small set of rules that are part of the speaker’s inherent
language ability. One advantage of this approach is that it explains
how all speakers can produce an indeterminately large number of
sentences, many of which they had never heard before. A finite number
of rules facilitate an infinite number of sentences that can be
simultaneously understood by both the speaker and the listener. In
order for this to work with any degree of success, the rules have to be
precise and have to be consistently adhered to. These rules cover such
things as: the way words are constructed; the way the endings of words
are changed according to context (inflection); the classification of words
into parts of speech and the way parts of speech are connected
together.
13
Introduction to Linguistics
Summary (5 minutes)
Syntax is concerned with the study of the structure of a sentence and
its ordering elements.
Further, it is concerned with the rules of a
language that dictate how the parts of a sentence go together.
The contemporary theory of syntax is an attempt to describe the rules
that govern the order of words at the deep structure level and also to
account for how deep-structure syntax is changed to create different
surface-structure sentences.
Suggested References
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
14
Introduction to Linguistics
UNIT 2: Syntax and Phrase Structure Rules (1hr)
Introduction
Syntax and tree diagrams may seem to belong to different worlds
altogether. However, syntax tree diagrams can help you understand
the grammatical structure of a sentence and the rules of grammar in a
better way.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Understand the grammatical hierarchy
Understand phrase structure rules
Diagram phrases
Diagram a simple sentence
Use syntax in teaching of English
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
15
English Syntax
Module 7
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
The Grammatical hierarchy
Words, phrases, clauses and sentences constitute what is called the
grammatical hierarchy. Sentences are at the top of the hierarchy. One
of the first things to do in analysing a sentence is to look for groupings
within it – sets of words that hang together,
Example: Annette couldn’t open the window.
The above sentence may be divided as follows: Annette / couldn’t open/
the window.
Units such as ‘Annette’, ‘couldn’t open’ and ‘the window’ are called
phrases. The first of these could be called a noun phrase because it
contains a noun, ‘Annette’. The second is a verb phrase, because the
central word (or head) is a verb, ‘open.’ The third would also be called a
noun phrase, because its head is a noun, ‘windows.’
Other types of phrases also exist – adjective phrases, for example such
as ‘very nice,’ and prepositional phrases such as, ‘in the house.’
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Phrase structure rules
The types of phrases we saw in the example above may be summarized
in Phrase-structure rules. Such rules are used to describe the
possible structures and constituents of the different kinds of phrases in
a given language. Phrase structure rules are commonly used in
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Module 7
transformational grammar. A grammar which uses phrase structure
rules is called a phrase structure grammar.
The table below shows the different phrasal categories which include
the noun phrase, verb phrase, adjective phrase and prepositional
phrase; and the corresponding lexical categories which include noun,
verb, adjective, adverb, and other parts of speech. Note that each PS
rule consists of two basic parts. The material to the left of the arrow
specifies the phrasal category being described. The material to the
right of the arrow describes the items that comprise the phrasal
category. Parentheses, as shown around (Det) in the Noun Phrase rule,
indicate an optional item; if the item appears, it must appear in that
position. Braces, as shown in the verb Phrase rule, indicate that
exactly one of the items in the braces must appear in that position.
Examples of Phrase Structure: (PS) rules in English.
Sentence
S
NP – VP
A sentence consists of a noun phrase
followed by a verb phrase.
Noun Phrase
NP
(Det) – (AP)-N-(PP)
A noun phrase must contain a noun.
The noun may be preceded by a
determiner, an adjective phrase, or
both, and it may be followed by a
prepositional phrase
Verb Phrase
VP
V-({NP/AP})-(PP)
A verb phrase must contain a verb. The
verb may be followed by a noun phrase,
an adjective phrase, or neither. The
verb phrase may end in a prepositional
phrase, but need not.
Adjective Phrase
AP
(I)-Adj
An adjective phrase must contain an
adjective.
The
adjective
may
be
preceded by an intensifier (e.g., very).
Prepositional
PP
Prep-NP
Phrase
A prepositional phrase consists of a
preposition followed by a noun phrase.
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Thus, for example, the Verb Phrase rule allows a VP to expand in one
of the following ways.
V
The battery died.
V-NP
Chris hit the ball
V-NP-PP
He drove the car into a tree.
V-PP
They are in the kitchen.
V-AP
The teacher is angry.
V-AP-PP
My boss was very happy with her
decision.
These relatively simple rules make it possible to generate, or describe,
an extremely large number of English sentences.
Sentence represented by tree diagram
The Phrase Structure rules show the types of possible sentences that
may be generated in a language. Tree Diagrams show the
hierarchical relationships between the components of actual sentences
in a graphical way. For example:
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.
Where:
Subject = “the boy” (article + noun)
Verb = “kicked”
Object = “the ball” (article + noun)
The above structure is the basic syntactic structure for a sentence in
the English language. As more complex sentences are considered, it is
easy, by this method, to see how these different structures relate to
each other, by further breaking down the branches of the structure.
The syntax of the language contains the rules which govern the
structure of phrases and how these can be joined together. The
structures and associated rules vary from one language to another.
Parsing diagrams are capable of representing not just one particular
language’s grammar but are capable of representing any kind of
grammar. For instance, they can be used to represent the rules of
invented languages such as computer programming languages.
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English Syntax
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We will continue the diagramming of sentences in another unit.
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Below are some English phrases. For each one, identify the type of
phrase it is (S, NP, VP, AP, PP) and determine whether it (and any
phrases it contains) can be generated by the PS rules just
presented.
a. ice floats b. the red car c. John d. in a bad mood. e. in a very bad
mood f. gave a party for Mary g. was a fool. h. was extremely silly
i. ran j. Those people hit that man on the head k. ran with difficulty
l. an extremely quickly
If not, what element in the phrase is not described by the rules?
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
.
a. Ice floats
S
b. The red car
NP, containing a DET (the) and AP
(red car) (not in the rules)
c. John
NP
d. In a bad mood
PP
e. In a very bad mood
PP
f.
VP
V-NP
VP
V-NP
Gave a party for Mary
g. Was a fool
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h. Was extremely silly
VP
i.
VP
Ran
V-AP
j.
Those people hit that man on S -NP – VP – NP – PP
the head
k. Ran with difficulty
VP
V-PP
l.
Ran extremely quickly
VP
V-AdvP (not in the rules)
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Diagram the following sentence:
The boy with red shorts kicked the ball.
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
In an earlier example we examined the sentence, ‘The boy kicked the
ball.’ The sentence contained the following parts.
S (sentence) = NP + VP
NP (subject) = the boy (art + noun)
VP (object) = kicked the ball (verb +NP)
NP+ article (the) + noun (ball)
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We have now expanded the sentence ‘The boy kicked the ball’ by
embedding a phrase within the basic structure. In the sentence:
"The boy with red shorts kicked the ball."
"with red shorts" is a prepositional phrase that further describes “the
boy”.
This can be represented, within the basic sentence structure, as
follows:
.
Here we can see how the Prepositional Phrase (PP) “with red shorts” is
embedded within the subject Noun Phrase (NP) so that the subject is
subdivided into a Noun Phrase and Prepositional Phrase (PP). The
Prepositional Phrase itself contains a further Noun Phrase. The
parsing diagram clearly shows the hierarchical relationship between
the sentence and its components.
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Summary (5 minutes)
Syntax tree diagrams are used to talk about the construction of
sentences in a language. Syntax tree diagrams make use of phrase
structure rules. Phrase structure rules attempt to specify how the
phrases in a sentence are structured. A sentence consists of a noun
phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP). The claim is that every sentence
in English at a deep structure level follows this pattern.
Syntactic structures can further be described by defining each type of
phrase. A noun phrase can be expanded into a determiner - sometimes
called an article - and a noun. Linguists try to state rules that govern
language processes as clearly as possible so that they can be tested
against new sentences. The goal is to develop a small set of rules that
accounts for all the possible sentences in a language.
Syntax tree diagrams have at least two roles. One is that, they show
sentences can be broken down to illustrate their structure, but what is
more it shows a general manner of creating sentences. This has led to
the idea that with syntax, tree diagrams a number of sentences can be
created providing similar structures are used. The phrase structures so
created and formulated are used to construct unlimited sentences.
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Suggested References
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
English Syntax
Module 7
UNIT 3: Syntax and types of sentences (1hr)
Introduction
Linguists have expressed the differences between the simple, the
compound and the complex sentence through tree diagrams. This
visual representation using tree diagrams can have added appeal to
students who have different learning styles.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Diagram simple sentences
Diagram compound sentences
Diagram complex sentences
Understand tree diagrams
Use tree diagrams to teach sentences
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
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Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
The simple sentence
In a previous unit we discussed the conception of the sentence as a
hierarchy of levels.
Words, phrases, clauses and the sentence
constitute the grammatical hierarchy. A simple sentence has one finite
verb. It also has one clause - one subject and one predicate.
For example:
The boy kicked the ball.
Phrase structure rules can be used to describe the above simple
sentence.
The S (sentence) is made up of a NP (noun phrase) and a VP (verb
phrase.).
This can be graphically represented as follows:
Sentence
Noun Phrase
Verb Phrase
(Subject)
(Predicate)
The boy
kicked the ball
The noun phrase can further be divided into the article plus the noun.
Some linguists use the term determiner and article interchangeably.
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The verb phrase can be divided into the verb and a noun phrase; the
noun phrase can them be dived into the article and the noun (object).
For example:
.
The above structure is the basic syntactic structure for a sentence in
the English language. As more complex sentences are considered, it is
easy, by this method, to see how these different structures relate to
each other, by further breaking down the branches of the structure
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
The syntax of compound sentences
The hierarchy of the simple sentence discussed above can be made
larger by linking several units of the same type to form a compound
sentence. A compound sentence consists of two or more simple
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sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction. The three most
common coordinating conjunctions in English are ‘and’, ‘or,’ ‘but.’
Examples:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
I came home and I turned on the TV.
The TV was on but I turned it off.
Turn the TV off or lower the volume.
I came home and turned on the TV but I later decided to read
a book.
A compound sentence can be represented in a tree diagram in which
the two simple sentences are at the same level with the conjunction
between them as shown in Figure 2.
S
S
Conj
I came home
and
S
I turned on the TV
Figure 2 – Diagram of compound sentence
The conjunction connects the simple sentences but is not a part of
either one. In this model the simple sentences are represented by a
triangle. Linguists do this when they do not need to show complete
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detail to make a point. This convention is followed in discussing
compound and complex sentences.
The Syntax of Complex Sentences
Complex sentences consist of a noun clause and one or more
subordinate clauses. The main clause may also be referred to as an
independent clause because it can stand alone as a complete sentence.
The subordinate clause may be referred to as a dependent clause
because it depends on an independent clause. Dependent clauses begin
with a subordinate conjunction. Unlike coordinate conjunctions,
subordinate conjunctions form part of the clause they attach to.
Example:
Students draw tree diagrams when they represent syntactic structures.
The clause with when is the subordinate or dependent clause. It
represents a less important idea than the idea in the main clause.
When suggests a relationship of time. As people speak or write they
signal the important ideas by placing them in main clauses. Using a
different conjunction, one could show a different relationship.
For example:
If would show a condition.
e.g., Students represent syntactic structures if they draw tree
diagrams.
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S
NP
Aux
VP
O
N
V
NP
S
Conj
Students draw tree diagrams when they represent syntactic structures
Figure 3 - Adverb clause diagram
Dependent clauses can function in a sentence in the same way that an
adverb, an adjective, or a noun functions. The clause is then
represented in a tree diagram in the same position as the
corresponding adverb, adjective or noun. Adverb clauses tell when,
where, why, how, or under what conditions. They answer the same
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questions that adverbs do. The conjunctions that begin adverb clauses
are words like after or because. Adverb clauses can appear at the
beginning or end of a sentence. The zero under AUX shows that it is
not a feature of this sentence however we could have included an AUX
like do in this sentence. Adverb clauses like adverbs are placed in the
VP.
Adjective clauses, on the other hand function as part of a noun phrase.
Subordinate adjective clauses begin with one of the relative pronouns,
who, which, or that (and perhaps whom / whose).
The following sentence contains an adjective clause.
Students who draw tree diagrams syntactic structures.
The sentence is diagrammed below.
S
NP
N
AUX
S
Students who draw tree diagrams
0
VP
represent syntactic structures.
Figure 4 - Adjective clause diagram
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Noun clauses often start with words like what, whatever, and that. In
these sentences the subject or object is a whole noun clause rather
than a noun phrase. Vicky bought linguistics textbook.
S
NP
N
Vicky
AUX
0
bought
VP
V
S
whatever appealed to her.
Figure 5 – Noun clause diagram
Other sentence Structures
The basic sentence pattern in English is subject + predicate, whether the sentence
is compound or complex.
Apart from this basic structure of subject + predicate, sentences may be
constructed in other ways. These sentences are still correct and grammatical,
but they present the information in different ways. Here are some of them:
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a. Passive sentences – in these sentences, the subject usually
comes at the end of the sentence rather than at the
beginning, and the verb takes on a special construction.
e.g.: i. The assignment was submitted by the student.
This sentence would normally be written as:
The student submitted the assignment.
This is called the active form of the sentence. Other examples
of passive sentences are:
ii. The assignment will be marked by the lecturer.
iii. The bandits were arrested by the police.
iv. Rice is grown in Berbice.
In passive sentences, the speaker focuses on the thing that
was done rather than on the subject who did it.
Notice that the subject comes at the end of the sentence and
that the word by comes before it. But notice too that the
subject can also be omitted as in example (iv).
Notice the difference in the form of the verb in the passive
sentences. Before the verb there is an auxiliary (be, is, are,
was, were) and the verb takes the participle form (marked,
arrested, grown).
b. Fronting – Sometimes we can move a part of the sentence to
the front, so as to focus it. For example:
i. Home he went (compare to: He went home)
ii. In the street was a huge crowd (compare to: A huge
crowd was in the street)
c. Clefting – Here again, a part of the sentence is focused at
the front. This kind of sentence usually starts with “it is” or
“it was” followed by a noun phrase or a prepositional phrase.
For example:
i. It is the high tide that we are afraid of.
ii. It was in 2005 that the great flood happened.
iii. It is Linguistics which we are studying.
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The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Combine the following simple sentences into as many ways as possible. You
may form simple, compound, or complex sentences.
The linguist sits. She sits in a chair. The chair is red. The chair is
comfortable. The linguist is happy.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
The following are possible sentence combinations:
The linguist sits in a red, comfortable chair, and she is happy.
{Compound)
The happy linguist sits in a red, comfortable chair. (Simple)
Because the linguist sits in a red, comfortable chair, she is happy.
(Complex – adverb clause)
The linguist who is happy, sits in a red comfortable chair. (Complex –
adjective clause)
I know that the linguist who is happy sits in a red comfortable chair.
(noun clause)
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Discussion:
Beginning writers often string together their ideas with and. They
represent their ideas as being equally important. As writers develop,
they learn to subordinate one idea to another. They structure their
sentences to show that some ideas are subordinate to or dependent on
other ideas. Instead of using a series of simple sentences or stringing
together several ideas by and they start writing compound and
complex sentences.
Sentence combining calls on the writer to
experiment with different methods of putting words together. Because
there are several ways to build sentences, the writer’s goal is not to
find
the
one
“correct”
combination
but
to
consider
different
arrangements before deciding which one is the most effective. The
writer’s goal is to eliminate short choppy sentences and write longer
more effective sentences.
However, combining is not necessarily to
produce longer sentences but rather to develop more effective
sentences and to help the writer become a more versatile writer.
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
What are syntax tree diagrams?
How can they be used to teach grammar?
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Syntax tree diagrams are very much similar to family tree diagrams,
the difference being that these are used to talk about the construction
of a language rather than a family.
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A syntax tree diagram has to accomplish a very important task. It
usually encodes two types of relations between the various nodes.
There are precedence and dominance.
The rules of syntax can be
easily understood by assigning by assigning an individual tree diagram
to each rule.
Thus, a sentence can be proved to be grammatically
appropriate with the help of structural description.
Teachers can use syntax tree diagrams to help students understand
the different types of sentence structure.
The diagram depicts the
structure of sentences and the functions of phrases within the
sentence. Diagrams also depict the different levels of sentence
structure. The NP and the VP are at the top level.
Students can diagram sentences into NP and VP and the other
functions. Like graphic organizers they are useful because they help
show relationships. Students can separate the phrases into their parts.
Students who write fragments for sentences can also use diagramming
to help them realize where their sentence construction breaks down.
Diagrams can help students to understand the structure of sentences
and phrases.
Summary (5 minutes)
Tree diagrams are a distinct type of graphic representation used to
depict linguistic structures. Borrowing from the concept of a family
tree, a tree diagram consists of a root and several branching nodes and
branches. They depict a hierarchical relationship and inner structures
and nodes represent grammatical categories, for example, S, NP, VP,
Cyril Potter College of Education
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and the branches represent the relationship of domination. S
immediately dominates NP and VP and all other nodes in the tree.
The hierarchy of the simple sentence can be made larger by linking
several units of the same type to form a compound sentence.
A
compound sentence can be represented in a tree diagram with simple
sentences of the same level and a coordinating conjunction between
them.
In a complex sentence the independent clause can stand alone as a
complete sentence. Dependent clauses can function in a sentence in the
same way that an adverb, an adjective or a noun functions.
Students can be taught to recognize coordination and subordination in
sentences by using tree diagrams.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
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Suggested References
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
UNIT 4: Some rules of generative grammar
(1hr)
Introduction:
In contrast to the structural approach to syntax, linguists sought to
find a way to describe how the innate human linguistic ability works in
producing language. As we saw in the section on language acquisition,
human beings do not learn a multitude of sentences. Instead, we
acquire the rules of the grammar of our language and use these to
produce a multitude of sentences. Chomsky and other innateness
theorists posit a generative grammar in order to describe this
productive human ability.
Generative grammar attempts to describe the rules that operate at two
levels: the deep structure where the rules of syntax are generated and
processed, and the surface structure, where the final sentence appears.
Some rules of this grammar are recursion and transformational
properties.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Understand rules of recursion
Understand rules of transformation
Use diagrams to express recursion
Use diagrams to express transformation
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What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Transformational Rules (15 minutes)
In keeping with the idea that we generate a multitude of different but
correct sentences by using a small set of Phrase Structure rules is the
accompanying idea that we also know a set of transformational rules.
These rules help us to transform a sentence into another pattern
without changing the meaning of the sentence. Let us look at some of
these rules and how they help us to create different sentence
structures
(1) Recursive rules allow us to repeat items in a self-similar way.
Chomsky theorizes that unlimited extension of a language such as
English is possible using the recursive device of embedding
phrases within sentences. According to Chomsky, “the rules of
grammar will need the crucial property of recursion that is, the
capacity to be applied more than once in generating a structure”
(Chomsky 1959).
Did you play the following game as a child? Even if you did not,
what does the pattern seem to indicate?
1. This is the house that Jack built.
2. This is the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
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3. This is the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
4. This is the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
And so it goes on. Some examples of recursion in sentences are:
(1)
John arrived. John and Mary arrived, John, Bill and Mary
arrived.
(2)
John worked. John worked and sang. John worked, sang
and ate.
(3)
Recursive modifiers (adjectives): bad car bad red car big bad
red car big bad rusty old red car
NOTE: Some items cannot be recursive: Articles are not
recursive: the book *the book. Conjunctions not recursive: John
and Mary *John and or if Mary
There is in principle no end to the recursion which would yield
ever – longer versions of this sentence, and the grammar must
provide for this fact.
(2) Movement rules allow us to move parts of the sentence
around. For example, adverbs will always come at the end of
sentences if we follow the rules for the first sentence given
below.
(a) George helped Mary yesterday.
But how would we get the following sentence?
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(b) Yesterday, George helped Mary.
We can think of yesterday as having been moved to the
beginning of the sentence in (b).
Transformational rules are used to take a ‘branch’ of the tree
away from one part of the tree diagram and attach it to a
different part.
Below is an example of a movement transformation.
S
S
NP
VP
V
NP
Adv
Adv
George helped Mary Yesterday
NP
VP
N
V
N
Yesterday George helped Mary
(3) Deletion rules allow us to delete parts of sentences which are
unnecessary or redundant or understood. However, such
deletions must be done under strict conditions. For example, if
we join the two sentences
a. John studied hard
b. John became a doctor
We get:
c. John studied hard and John became a doctor.
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It is easy to see that if the subject of the first verb in the
sentence (studied) is the same as the subject of the second verb
(became) in the same sentence, we can safely delete the second
subject so that we get
d. John studied hard and became a doctor.
(4) Substitution rules - clearly, we could also substitute a
relevant pronoun for the second John in the sentence above, so
that instead of saying John studied hard and John became a
doctor, we could say
e. John studied hard and he became a doctor
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Ponder on this sentence: Mike said Sue thought Vicky
helped Mary. Can you design a tree diagram to depict the
above sentence?
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
In recursion we need for example to have sentences included within
other sentences. We know that Vicky helped Mary is a sentence. We
also know that Sue thought Vicky helped Mary. And being tediously
recursive, we know that Mike said Sue thought Vicky helped Mary.
In order to capture these sentences in a tree diagram, we need to
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add V
{said, thought} and PN
Module 7
{Cathy, John} to our lexical rules.
We also need to add a crucial recursive rule that says:
VP ------VS. With these minor additions we can now represent the
structure of the above sentence.
S
NP
VP
V
S
NP
N
VP
V
S
NP
N
V
VP
NP
Mike said Sue thought Vicky helped Mary.
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The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
The position of a word in a sentence can change the meaning of the
sentence. ‘Only’ is a modifier (it could be classified as a quantifier) and
its position determines which word it modifies. Moving ‘only’ changes
the meaning of the sentence. Consider the sentences below and discuss
their differences in meaning. Do some sentences mean the same thing?
Only he said that he loved linguistics.
He only said that he loved linguistics.
He said only that he loved linguistics.
He said that only he loved linguistics.
He said that he only loved linguistics.
He said that he loved only linguistics.
He said that he loved linguistics only.
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Only he said that he loved linguistics.
The others did not. If they loved linguistics,
they did not voice that opinion.
He only said that he loved linguistics.
Maybe he loved other things but he did not say.
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He said only that he loved linguistics.
This has the same sense as the one immediately
above.
He said that only he loved linguistics.
He seems to be aware that the others did not
like linguistics.
He said that he only loved linguistics.
This seems to have the same sense as the one
immediately above.
He said that he loved only linguistics.
He did not like anything else but linguistics.
He said that he loved linguistics only.
This seems to have the same seems as the one
immediately above.
Teach students that word order can signal emphasis and meaning.
Summary (5 minutes)
Recursion, deletion, substitution and movement rules are some of the
ways to characterize what human beings do when they produce
sentences. Using these rules –which happen without our conscious
thought – we produce not only an unlimited number, but also a variety
of sentences and express thoughts and ideas in many different ways.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Suggested References
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English Syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
MODULE 5: SEMANTICS / PRAGMATICS
(4 hrs)
Overview:
This module presents an introduction to semantics and pragmatics in
language as far as it is relevant to the content of this course. It is not
meant to be a rigorous discussion of all aspects of semantics and
pragmatics. Semantics is the study of linguistic meaning or the
meaning of words, phrases and sentences. Pragmatics on the other
hand is the study of intended or invisible speaker meaning. Unlike
pragmatics, semantics is part of grammar proper, the study of the
internal structure of language.
Module Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. Understand differences between semantics and pragmatics
2. Utilize semantic feature analysis
3. Differentiate between linguistic sense and reference
4 Determine linguistic meaning based on context.
5. Determine sense relationships (multiple meanings) between lexemes
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Module orientation:
This module has four units:
Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning
Unit 2: Semantics and multiple word meaning
Unit 3: Pragmatics and context
Unit 4: Pragmatics and speech act theory
Time Requirement:
You will need about 4 hours to complete this module including the
activities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning (1 hr.)
Introduction:
This unit will help you to define semantics as linguistic meaning, to
use semantic feature analysis to characterize the sense of words and to
recognize limitations of lexical decomposition.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
1. Define semantics as linguistic meaning
2. Define lexical decomposition.
3. Use semantic feature analysis.
4. Identify limitations of semantic feature analysis.
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
Examine the following sentences and try to decide what is odd about
them. Write a sentence or two to explain why the meaning in the
sentences is odd.
1. The hamburger ate the man.
2. My cat studied linguistics.
3. A table was listening to some music.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
The Meanings of Meaning
In an important early book on the subject - C. K. Ogden & I. A.
Richards, The Meaning of Meaning (1923) - sixteen different meanings
of the words mean/meaning were distinguished. Below are some of
them:
John means to write – intends
A green light means go – indicates
Health means everything – has importance
His look was full of meaning – special import
What is the meaning of life – point, purpose?
What does ‘capitalist’ mean to you – convey
What does ‘cornea’ mean – refer to in the world
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
It is the last kind of use that comes closest to the focus of linguistic
semantics. This is the study of the way in which words and sentences
convey meaning in the everyday situations of speech and writing.
What is semantics?
Because semantics is the most poorly understood component of
grammar it can be one of the most difficult areas of linguistics to study.
Although many theories have been developed to explain the domain of
semantics much of what follows is tentative and subject to debate.
Contributions to semantics have come essentially from two sources –
linguistics and philosophy. Linguistics has contributed primarily to the
core meaning or sense of individual words, while philosophers have
contributed to the study of the meaning of sentences.
One method
linguists have used to characterize the sense of individual words is
called lexical decomposition.
This method represents the sense of a word in terms of the semantic
features that comprise it.
Semantic Features
Linguists study lexical meanings in several ways. One such way is by
analyzing lexemes into a series of semantic features or components. A
semantic approach can help us to account for the oddness we
experience when we read English sentences such as the following:
The hamburger ate the man.
My cat studied linguistics.
A table was listening to some music.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
The sentences are not odd because of their syntactic structure because
we have well-structured sentences. For example:
Noun Phrase -subject
Verb
Noun Phrase -object
The hamburger
Ate
The man
The sentences are odd because of their conceptual meaning. The kinds
of nouns which can be subjects of the verb “ate” must denote entities
which are capable of eating. That is, we are able to use words to make
meaningful statements because those words possess certain semantic
features which we can match up with the semantic features of other
words in the sentence. For example, the noun man contains the
semantics of being able to eat, and the noun hamburger contains the
semantics of being able to be eaten. These semantic properties allow us
to arrange these words into a sentence that is meaningful.
We can create a system of relationships using a small set of such
semantic components of words. In this system, we can indicate by the
use of + or – (plus or minus) signs whether a word has a particular
semantic property or not. We call this componential analysis, and the +
or – contrasts are usually presented in a matrix. We can use such
semantic feature analysis to characterize words e.g. man, woman, boy,
and girl. The sense of each of these words can be partly characterized
by specifying a value (+ or -) for the features (adult) and (male) as
follows:
Adult
Man
Woman
boy
Girl
+
+
-
-
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Male
+
-
+
Module 7
-
It is easy to characterize the sense of additional words by adding
features. For example: we can account for part of the meanings of
stallion, mare, colt and filly simply by adding the feature human as
follows:
Man
Woman
boy
girl
stallion
Mare
colt
Filly
Adult
+
+
+
-
+
+
-
-
Male
+
-
+-
-
+
-
+
-
human
+
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
This method of analysis does have limitations. Concrete nouns seem to
lend themselves to lexical decomposition more readily than do other
parts of speech. For example, what features can be used to characterize
the sense of “carefully” not to mention “the”, “of” and “however.”
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Using the features, individual, teams, indoors, outdoors, board
game, card game ,and kids game, categorize the sense of the
following games: football, baseball, marbles, hide & seek, video
games, hop scotch, golf, checkers, scrabble by specifying a + or value.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)
GAMES
FEATURES
Baseball
+
+
Marbles
+
+
Hide& Seek
+
+
Video Games
+
+
Hop Scotch
+
+
+
Golf
+
+
+
Checkers
+
Scrabble
+
+
Kids games
+
Card games
+
Board Games
Outdoors
Indoors
Teams
Individual
Football
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Semantic feature analysis can be used to help students discriminate
details among concepts. This strategy works well with specialized
vocabulary as well as general vocabulary in several subject areas, for
example: science, math, literature, social studies.
1. The teacher should select a category or topic for semantic
feature analysis.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
2. Provide students with key vocabulary words and important
features related to the topic.
3. Vocabulary words should be listed down the left hand column
and the features of the topic across the top row of the chart.
4. Have students place a ‘+’ sign in the matrix when a vocabulary
word aligns with a particular feature of the topic. If the word
does not align, a student may put a ‘_’ in the grid. If students are
unsure, they may leave it blank.
The teacher should then engage students in discussion and students
can defend their choices.
The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Think of the word ‘chair’ and try to define it for someone who had never
seen a chair. You may use ‘sense’ and ‘reference.’ Sense may refer to a
dictionary definition while reference denotes things of the same kind or
other types of chairs.
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Contribution from philosophers:
While linguists have contributed to the core meaning or sense of
individual words, philosophers on the other hand have contributed to
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
the study of the meaning of sentences. However, rather than trying to
characterize the core meaning or sense of sentences directly which we
have just seen is difficult; they have approached the semantics of
sentences from other directions. One such direction is the study of
reference.
Word Meaning:
Sense versus reference
How do we define all the concepts of a language so that each word can
be completely understood without ambiguity? In modern linguistics,
meaning is studied by making detailed analyses of the way words and
sentences are used in specific contexts.
The primary focus is on the way people relate words to each other
within the framework of their ‘sense’, rather than their ‘reference’. The
dictionary definition of a word is its sense. The sense of a word may be
described using words, but this could lead to vague definitions.
It would seem to be simple to circumvent the problem of definitions by
saying that words refer to items in the real world and using those
items as referents.
However, reference presents a number of problems. First, a referent in
the real world may exist; however, the referent is distinct for almost
every individual. For example, the sense of the dictionary definition of
the word mother is quite clear. However, my referent for mother is
quite distinct from yours because every mother embodies a different
set of qualities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
For other concepts, there are other problems, as in the case of function
words. There is no real-world physical referent for prepositions (on,
over), articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions (and, but). These must be
defined via sense.
Moreover, cultural and geographic factors may play a part in
determining the sense of a word. For example, countries differ in what
is their conception or sense of a river.
We could use both sense and reference to describe the word chair. Let
us imagine someone who had encountered the word “chair’ did not
know what it meant. One procedure would be to explain its reference.
We could take a person to a chair and point to it. But how would this
help someone to identify other chairs? A better procedure would be to
explain the sense of the word using a rough definition such as “a seat
with four legs and a back.” The definition could then be sharpened as
related to words we have met (example, armchair, stool).
In addition, abstract concepts like happiness or freedom, pose another
problem for definition. The sense of abstract words like these can be
quite open to interpretation and there is no real-world referent. For
some happiness is a based on being part of a loving family that is safe
and well provided for.
For others happiness is rooted in material
possessions or power. We however, have a general understanding of
meaning and understand that any utterance is open to some variation
depending on the person speaking.
Summary (5 minutes)
Linguistic semantics is the study of the way in which words and
sentences convey meaning in everyday situations of speech and
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
writing. The field of linguistics has contributed to the core meaning or
sense of individual words by analyzing lexemes into a series of
semantic features, or semantic feature analysis. Semantic features can
be used to characterize the sense of words. Further, concrete nouns
seem to lend themselves to lexical decomposition more readily than do
other parts of speech.
In modern linguistics meaning is also derived from the sense and
reference of words. Reference refers to the object while sense refers to
the dictionary definition of the word. Since there is no physical
reference for prepositions, articles, conjunctions and abstract concepts,
these must be defined by sense. Problems arise when dictionary
definitions do not account for individual conceptualizations as in the
case of ‘mother’ or ‘river.’
Suggested References
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English Syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E.
Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
UNIT 2: Semantics and Multiple Word Meaning (1hr)
Introduction:
This unit will help you to understand some aspects of linguistic sense.
There are several sense properties and relations that any descriptively
adequate theory of semantics should account for. Some of these will be
described in this unit.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
Identify some sense properties of a theory of semantics.
-
Synonymy
-
Hyponymy
-
Prototypes
-
Antonyms
-
Homophony
-
Polysemy
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
The study of sense (meaning) can be divided into two areas, speaker
sense and linguistic sense. That is, words may have meanings that one
could find listed in a dictionary, but different speakers may use these
words with different intentions. Speaker sense is the speaker’s
intention in producing some linguistic expression. For example, if
someone says, “Here comes Bharrat Jagdeo,” sarcastically, in reference
to Mike who is approaching, then the speaker sense might be that
Mike likes to act as though he is the president and ‘lord’ it over others.
Because speaker sense has to do with non-literal meaning and because
it varies according to speaker and context, it comes under Pragmatics
and not semantics.
Linguistic sense on the other hand is the meaning of a linguistic
expression as part of a language. Here comes Bharrat Jagdeo would
refer to the public figure and not someone who is “lording” it over
others.
In the lecture below we will consider some other aspects of linguistic
sense.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes
Linguistic Sense
Linguistic sense is the meaning of a linguistic expression as part of a
language. There are several sense properties and relations that any
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
descriptively adequate theory of semantics should account for. Some of
these are described below.
Synonymy:
Two words are synonymous if they have the same sense, that is, if they
have the same values for all their semantic features. For example, the
pairs conceal and hide, stubborn and obstinate, and big and large seem
to be synonymous in English.
However, there are no absolute synonyms in any language – that is
words that mean exactly the same thing in all contexts. For example,
even though big and large are near synonyms, the phrases my big
sister and my large sister certainly do not have the same meaning.
Likewise, synonyms do not capture differences in connotations or the
associations that speakers have with a word. For example, a sanitation
worker and a garbage collector are similar but one has a positive
connotation and the other a negative.
Hyponymy
When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another,
the relationship is described as hyponymy.
Some typical example
pairs are hibiscus – flower, dog – animal, carrot – vegetable, oak – tree.
The concept of ‘inclusion’ involved here is the idea that if any object is
a hibiscus, then it is necessarily a flower, so the meaning of flower is
‘included’ in the meaning of hibiscus, Or, a hibiscus is a hyponym of
flower.
When we consider hyponymous relations, we are essentially looking at
the meaning of words in some type of hierarchical relationship. You
could, in fact, represent the relationship between a set of words such as
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
animal, camoudie, carrot, cockroach, creature, hibiscus, flower, horse,
insect, living things, greenheart, plant, snake, tree and vegetable as a
hierarchical diagram in the following way:
living things
creature
animal
horse
plant
insect
vegetable
flower
tree
snake
camoudie cockroach
carrot hibiscus greenheart
Prototypes
A prototype is the best example of its kind, something that best
embodies the definition of the concept. For example, although there are
different birds - kiskadee, dove, duck, parrot etc. - for many Guyanese,
the best prototype of the word “bird” is the kiskadee.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Given the category furniture we can quickly recognize chair as an
exemplar rather than bench or stool.
Given clothing as the prototype, people quickly recognize shirts quicker
than shoes, and given vegetable, people accept carrot before potato or
tomato. It is obvious that there is some general pattern to the
categorization process involved in prototypes and that it determines
our interpretation However, this is one area where individual
experience results in variation in interpretation, as when people
disagree about whether tomato is a fruit or a vegetable.
Antonyms
Two words are antonyms if their meanings differ only in the value of a
single semantic feature. The following pairs are antonyms: dead and
alive, hot and cold. The meanings of the members of each pair are
presumably identical except for opposite values of some semantic
features. The meaning of dead and alive are identical except that dead
is marked [- living] and alive is marked [+ living].
Antonyms fall into at least three groups:
Binary antonyms: are pairs that exhaust all linguistic possibilities along some dimension.
Dead and alive are examples of binary antonyms. Everything that can
be dead or alive is either dead or alive; there is no middle ground. All
people for example are either dead or alive.
Gradable antonyms:
are pairs that describe opposite ends of a continuous dimension. Hot
and cold are examples of gradable antonyms. Not everything that can
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
be hot or cold is in fact either hot or cold. A liquid for example may be
neither hot nor cold; it can be warm or cool.
Converse antonyms:
These are pairs that describe the relationship between two items from
opposite perspectives. Above and below are examples of converse
antonyms. If a picture for example is above a sofa, then the sofa is
below the picture.
Binary
Dead
Gradable
Hot
alive
.....................
warm
Converse
cold
cool
X
Above
X
Y
Below
Y
Figure 1: Illustration of binary, gradable and converse antonyms
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Classify the following antonyms as binary (B), gradable (G), or
converse C): wide/narrow, smoking/non-smoking, near/far,
defeat/lose to, innocent/guilty, wife/husband, in front of/ behind,
true/false, open/closed, debtor/creditor, deciduous/evergreen,
teacher/student, cheap/expensive, man/woman.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Classify the following antonyms as binary (B), gradable (G), or converse (C).
A
Wide/narrow
B
G
C
B
Smoking/non-smoking
B
G
C
C
Near/far
B
G
C
D
Defeat/lose to
B
G
C
E
Innocent/guilty
B
G
C
F
Wife/husband
B
G
C
G
In front of/behind
B
G
C
H
True/false
B
G
C
I
Open/closed
B
G
C
J
Debtor/creditor
B
G
C
K
Deciduous/evergreen
B
G
C
L
Teacher/student
B
G
C
M
Cheap/expensive
B
G
C
N
Man/woman
B
G
C
In groups, students are encouraged to discuss their answers.
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
What do you know about homonyms? Write at least one paragraph
describing what you know about homonyms.
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Homophony, homonymy, and polysemy:
There are three other, less well-known terms which are often used to
describe relationships among words in a language. The first of these is
homophony or homonyms. When two or more different (written) forms
have the same pronunciation, they are described as homophones. Some
examples are bare-bear, meat-meet, flour-flower, pail-pale, sew-so.
The term homonymy is used when one form (written and spoken) has
two or more unrelated meanings. Examples of homonyms are the pairs
bank (of a river) bank (financial institution), bat (flying creature) bat
(used in sports) race (contest of speed) race (ethnic group). The
temptation is to think that the two types of bank must be related in
meaning. They are not. Homonyms are words which have quite
separate meanings, but which have accidentally come to have exactly
the same form.
Polysemy, is defined as one form (written or spoken) having multiple
meanings which are all related by extension. Examples are the word
head, which is used to refer to the object on top of your body, or on top
of a company, or the word run (persons do, water does, colours do).
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
The distinction between homonymy and polysemy is not always clear.
However, one indication of the distinction can be found in the typical
dictionary entry for words. If a word has multiple meanings (polysemy)
then there will be a single entry, with a numbered list of the different
meanings of the word. If two words are treated as homonyms, they will
typically have two separate entries. You could check in your dictionary
and probably find that the different meanings of words like head, run,
face and foot are treated as examples of homonymy.
Of course, one form can be distinguished via homonymy, then shown to
have various uses via polysemy. The words date (oblong, fleshy fruit)
and date (point in time) is homonyms. But the ‘point in time’ kind of
date is polysemous in terms of a particular day and month (on a letter),
an arranged meeting time (an appointment), a social meeting (with
someone of the opposite sex) and even a person (that someone of the
opposite sex). The question How about a date? could have many
interpretations.
Metonymy
The relatedness of meaning found in polysemy is essentially based on
similarity. The head of a company is similar to the head of a person on
top of (and controlling) the body. There is another type of relationship
between words, based simply on a close connection in everyday
experience. That close relationship can be based on a containercontents relation (bottle –coke; can-juice), a whole – part relation (car –
wheels; house-roof) or a representative – symbol relationship (king –
crown) these are examples of metonymy. In he drank the whole bottle;
we know that he drank the liquid and not the bottle itself.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Lexical Ambiguity
Humans extract meaning from conversations, television, books and
more everyday of their lives quite successfully. This is no small feat
however. There is so much we must understand to comprehend the
meaning of an utterance. Besides being able to deal with the fact that
meaning changes as conventions changes and time passes, native
speakers are able to deal with the fact that almost every word has
multiple meanings, and depending on context, a word may be
ambiguous. A word is lexically ambiguous if it has more than one
sense.
Because this type of ambiguity rests on the meaning of one word, it is
called lexical ambiguity. Since thousands of words in English have
more than one meaning, we are constantly selecting among possible
meanings.
As native speakers we use context to figure out the correct meaning of
ambiguous words. If a friend is out of money and declares she is going
to the bank, we do not misunderstand and think she is going to the
bank of a river.
However, there are some instances in which the ambiguity may not be
eliminated solely by context. Consider the sentence She cannot bear
children. Does this mean that she physically cannot have children, or,
that she intensely dislikes them?
Ambiguity may also depend on how the morphemes in a word are
divided. In the sentence This door is unlockable is the negative
morpheme un- modifying lockable (as in not able to be locked) or is the
suffix –able modifying unlock (meaning that is able to be unlocked?)
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
Structural Ambiguity
Another type of ambiguity may be at the sentence level, and is called
structural ambiguity.
Example: Motorists must stop for pedestrians on the zebra crossing
The way in which this sentence is constructed leads to at least two
interpretations (1) that motorists must stop on the zebra crossing when
they see pedestrians or (2) motorists must stop and wait when they see
pedestrians walking on the zebra crossing.
Example: I hate boring people.
How is this sentence ambiguous?
Structural and lexical ambiguities are often sources of humour in
newspaper headlines which, because they appear out of context, can
easily be misinterpreted.
Summary (5 minutes)
Linguistic sense is the meaning of a linguistic expression as part of a
language. Some aspects of linguistic sense are synonymy, hyponymy,
prototypes, antonyms, homophony and polysemy. A theory of
semantics should account for synonymy or two words having the same
values for all their semantic features. Hyponymy relations involve
looking at meaning of words in some type of hierarchical relationship.
On the other hand, when the meaning of one form is included in the
meaning of another, the relationship is described as hyponymy. A
prototype means a resemblance to the nearest example. Antonyms
differ only in the value of a single semantic feature. Homonymy is used
when one form has two or more unrelated meanings, while polysemy
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
has to do with multiple word meaning. Native speakers are able to deal
with the fact that almost every word has multiple meanings, and
depending on context, a word may be ambiguous. A word is lexically
ambiguous if it has more than one sense.
Suggested References
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics
Module 7
UNIT 3: Pragmatics and Context (1 hr)
Introduction:
This unit will help you to realize the differences between pragmatic
and semantic meaning. It will also highlight the importance of context
to understanding pragmatic meaning.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Identify differences between semantic and pragmatic meaning
-
Identify types of contexts
-
Recognize deictic expressions
-
Recognize the importance of the following in making meaning

Reference

Inference

Anaphora

presupposition
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
Reflect on the following scenarios:
1) Imagine that you are walking by a store and you see a sign
which says “Baby Sale.” What do you think?
You do not for a minute think that the store is selling babies but rather
that it is advertising the sale of clothes for babies.
2) Let us examine the sentence, ‘I forgot the book.’ Imagine that
you are saying it to a teacher. Then, imagine that you are saying
it to a friend. Finally, imagine you are yelling it in the car as
your parent is driving you to school.
In each of these scenarios the underlying meaning of the utterance is
exactly the same, but each time, the utterance is performing a very
different function.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Pragmatic meaning versus semantic meaning
Pragmatics is the study of intended speaker meaning whereas
semantics as we discussed earlier has to do with the meaning of words.
In many ways pragmatics is the study of “invisible” meaning or how we
recognize what is meant even when it isn’t actually said. In order to
understand the speaker (or writer) we must be able to depend on a lot
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Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
of shared assumptions and expectations. The above examples
emphasize the influence of context.
We could say Pragmatics is the study of the conditions of human
language uses as these are determined by the context of society.
Let us consider another example:
‘The boy is sick.’
Semantics would be concerned with the fact that the sentence is
correct grammatically and whether or not the meaning is true.
Pragmatics, on the other hand would emphasize the context. For
instance, if a mother uses this example when she is invited to go
shopping, it may imply that she cannot go out. This is what we call
“pragmatic meaning”. Therefore, it can be said that sentences once
they are put in context can have new meaning. Semantics relates
linguistic forms to the objects of the world represented by them,
however, it does not deal with the reasons why speakers use such
forms in a particular context, a task done by pragmatics.
Context Coding
In relation to pragmatics, it is important to distinguish two kinds of
context: linguistic and situational.
Linguistic context consists of the linguistic material which precedes
and follows a statement. The linguistic context is also known as the cotext. The context of a word is the set of other words used in the same
phrase or sentence. This surrounding context has a strong effect on
what we think the word means. How do we know which meaning is
intended in a particular sentence?
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Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
We usually do so based on the basis of linguistic context. If the word
bank’ is ‘used in a sentence together with words like ‘steep’ or
‘overgrown’ we have no problem deciding which type of bank is meant.
However, if we hear someone say, she has to get the bank to cash a
check, we know from linguistic context which type of ‘bank’ is intended.
The situational context contains the information about the
immediate physical material surrounding the situation. We know what
words mean through what can best be described as situational or
physical context. If you see the word ‘bank’ on the wall of a building in
a city, the ‘physical’ location will influence your interpretation.
Therefore, our understanding of much of what we read and hear is tied
to the context in which we encounter linguistic expressions.
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Read the following sentence.
You’ll have to bring that back tomorrow because they aren’t here now.
Or, I’m busy now so you can’t do that here. Come back tomorrow.
Write a paragraph which tells about the importance of knowing the
physical context to make meaning from the above sentences.
.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
Deixis:
There are some words in the language that cannot be interpreted at all
unless the physical context, especially the physical context of the
speaker, is known. These are words like here, there, this, that, now,
then, yesterday, as well as most pronouns. Some sentences of English
are virtually impossible to understand if we don’t know who is
speaking, about whom, where and when. For example: You’ll have to
bring that back tomorrow, because they aren’t here now.
Out of context, this sentence is extremely vague. It contains a large
number of expressions (you, that, tomorrow, they, here, now) which
depend for their interpretation on the immediate physical context in
which they were uttered. Such expressions are very obvious examples
of bits of language which can only be understood in terms of speaker’s
intended meaning. These are technically known as deictic expressions
from the Greek word deixis (pronounced “day-ick-sis”) which means
pointing with language.
An expression used to point to a person is an example of person deixis.
Words used to point to a location are examples of place deixis. Those
used to point to a time are examples of time deixis.
Person deixis
Place deixis
I, me, you, him,
Since these point to a person, they
them
are called person deixis
Here, there, yonder
Since these point to a location, they
are examples of place deixis
Time deixis
Now, then, tonight,
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Since these point to time, they are
Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
yesterday, last week
examples of time deixis
People can actually use deixis to have some fun. The shop owner who
puts up a sign that reads Free Ice-cream Tomorrow (to get you to
return to his shop) can always claim that you are one day too early for
the free treat.
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
What is one obvious presupposition (or assumption) of the speaker who says:
1. We regret buying that car.
2. Why did you arrive late?
3. Your brother is waiting outside for you.
4. Okay, Mr. Smith, how fast were you going when you ran the red light?
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Reference
In discussing deixis, we assumed that the use of words to refer to
people and things was a simple matter. However, words themselves
don’t refer to anything. People refer. Reference is defined as an act by
which a speaker uses language to enable a listener to identify
something.
For example: If you are studying linguistics, you might ask someone,
Can I look at your Chomsky? You might get the response, Sure it’s on
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Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
the shelf over there. In inference, we use the names associated with
things to refer to people and the names of people. In the above
example, the speaker used the name of the author ‘Chomsky’ to refer to
Chomsky’s textbook.
Inference
An inference is any additional information used by the listener to
connect what was said with what must be meant. In the above
example, the listener had to infer that the name of the writer of a book
could be can be used to identify a book by that author.
Anaphora
The term anaphora (which comes from a Greek root meaning ‘to carry
back’) is used to describe situations in which there is repeated
reference to the same thing in a text. Sentence (2) below contains three
instances of anaphora.
(1) John noticed that a window had been left open.
(2) He walked over to the window and closed it firmly.
He, the window, and it mentioned in (2) refer back to the previous
mentions of John and a window in (1). In general, anaphora, like those
in sentence (2), refer back to previously mentioned entities. However,
anaphora can also occur with temporal or spatial reference. Temporal
expressions, such as then, the next day, or the week before, often refer
back to previously established times and spatial expressions, such as
there, often refer back to previously mentioned locations. Thus,
anaphora is an important linguistic device for establishing the
coherence of an extended piece of discourse.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
Presupposition
When a speaker uses referring expressions like this, he is working with
an assumption that the hearer knows which referent is intended.
Speakers continually design their linguistic messages on the basis of
assumptions
about
what
their
hearers
already
know.
These
assumptions may be mistaken of course, but they underlie most of
what we say in the everyday use of language. What a speaker assumes
is true or is known by the hearer can be described as a presupposition.
If someone tells you, your brother is waiting outside for you, there is an
obvious presupposition that you have a brother.
If you are asked, why did you arrive late? There is a presupposition
that you did arrive late.
Questions like these with built in presuppositions, are very useful
devices for interrogators or trial lawyers. If the defendant is asked by
the prosecutor Okay, Mr. Smith, how fast were you going when you ran
the red light, there is a presupposition that Mr. Smith did, in fact, run
the red light. If he simply answers the How fast part of the question,
by giving a speed, he is behaving as if the presupposition is correct.
Summary (5 minutes)
Pragmatics is the study of intended or ‘invisible’ speaker meaning or
how we recognize what is meant even when it isn’t actually said.
Context is very important to understanding pragmatic meaning as
different from semantic meaning which is concerned with the meaning
of the words. The linguistic context refers to the set of words or
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Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
phrases used with the specific expression. This surrounding context
has a strong influence on meaning. The situational or physical context
can also influence meaning.
Deixis which means pointing with language refers to the importance of
the physical context in determining meaning. There are person, place
and time deixis. Meaning is also made through reference, inference,
anaphora and presupposition.
Suggested References
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Semantics / Pragmatics Module 8
Unit 4: Pragmatics and Speech Act Theory
(1 hr)
Introduction:
This unit will help you to understand how speech acts function in
language and differentiate different types of speech acts. In addition,
you will be exposed to how speech acts can be used in both a literal and
a non-literal way.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Define speech acts
-
Recognize some types of speech acts
-
Differentiate between direct and indirect speech acts
-
Understand politeness
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
We use language all the time to make something happen. We ask someone to
pass the salt. We ask for a glass of water. We call a taxi. These are all “speech
acts”.
The following examples are some ways in which we use language.
Speech act
Form
Function
Did you eat the food?
Interrogative
Question
Eat the food (please).
Imperative
Command (request)
You ate the food.
Declarative
Statement
In the previous unit, we have been considering some ways in which we interpret
the meanings of sentences in terms of what the speaker of those sentences
conveys. What we have not yet explored is the fact that we also know how
speakers intend us to ‘take’ (or interpret the function of) what they say. We can
usually recognize the type of “act’ performed by a speaker in uttering a
sentence.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
What are speech acts?
The use of the term speech act covers actions such as ‘requesting,’
‘commanding,’ ‘questioning’ and ‘informing.’ Some people can do extraordinary
things with words, like baptizing a baby, declaring war, or sentencing a convict.
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Linguists call these things speech acts and developed a theory called speech act
theory to explain how they work. Speech act theory is the most important
established part of pragmatics.
One of the most common speech acts is a representation. These statements
simply supply information that can be evaluated as true or false.
Examples of representation speech acts
Guyana has ten
This is a statement
It supplies a fact
This is a statement
It supplies a piece of
administrative regions
I am tired.
information
The car is red
This is a statement.
This is a description of
some physical thing or
condition
There are thousands of possible speech acts and several attempts have been
made to clarify them into a small number of types. One approach sets up six
basic types.
Type
Description
Examples
Representative
The speaker is committed,
Affirm, believe, conclude, deny,
in varying degrees to the
report
truth of a proposition
Directives
The speaker tries to get the
Asking, begging, challenging,
hearer to do something
commanding, insisting,
requesting
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Commissives
The speaker is committed in
Guaranteeing, pledging,
varying degrees to a certain
promising, swearing, vowing
course of action
Expressives
The speaker expresses an
Thanking, congratulating,
attitude or feeling
apologising, dis/agreeing,
insisting, welcoming,
commiserating, swearing,
Declarations
The speaker alters the
resigning, baptizing, firing,
external status or condition of
declaring war, christening,
an object or situation solely by
marrying
making the utterance which
brings about a new external
situation
Interrogatives
The speaker tries to get
Questioning
information that he does not
know or is pretending he does
not know
We make commissives in which the speaker has committed in some way to the
truth of the statement made or has committed to some action in the future.
For example: I assure you that Tom has left.
I know that the reports have been submitted.
These go beyond the simple fact or statement of the representative. The speaker
wants you to believe something beyond the simple fact of the statement.
Commissives include promises.
“I promise to pay your university fee.”
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Even if I don’t intend to keep it, I have still made a promise.
Promises in some contexts may be viewed as declarations.
For example, they have weight inside the courtroom.
Interrogatives are speech acts we use to get information that we do not know
(or are pretending we do not know).
For example: One student may ask another, Is the teacher fair?
Through expressives speakers thank, congratulate, apologise, agree, or
disagree, insult, commiserate, swear, express regret or say something else.
Congratulations on your promotion!
Another speech act, the directive, is unusual in that the act of saying
something officially brings about a new state of affairs. The conditions which
existed before the words were uttered would no longer be viable.
You’re fired!
I resign as president.
With this ring I thee wed.
I confer upon you a Master’s degree in education.
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Direct and Indirect speech acts
When a form such as Did he . . . ? Are they . . . ? or Can you . . . ? is used to ask
a question, it is described as a direct speech act. For example, when a speaker
doesn’t know something and asks the hearer to provide the information, he or
she will typically produce a direct speech act of the following type: Can you ride
a bicycle?
Now compare the above utterance with Can you pass the salt? In this second
example, you would not understand the utterance as a question about your
ability to do something. You would treat it as a request and perform the action
requested. Yet this request has been presented in the syntactic form usually
associated with a question.
Such an example is described as an indirect speech act.
The following utterance has the form normally associated with a statement: You
left the door open. If you say this sentence to someone who has just come into
your house (and it is raining outside) you would probably be understood to have
made not a statement, but a request. You are requesting, indirectly, that the
person close the door.
Used in this way it is another example of an indirect speech act.
Perhaps the crucial distinction in the use of these two types of speech acts is
based on the fact that indirect commands or requests are simply considered
more gently or more polite in our society than direct commands. Exactly why
they are considered more polite is based on some complex social assumptions.
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The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Examine the following speech acts. Try to divide them into direct and
indirect speech acts.
You’re in the way. Could you sit down? Move! Eat the food! Please get
out of the way. You’re fired! Did you eat your food? Can you pass the
salt? Lend me your notes from Friday. Could you lend me your notes
from Friday? I could sure use the notes from Friday.
.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Direct
Indirect
Move!
You’re in the way.
Eat the food!
Could you sit down?
You’re fired!
Please get out of the way.
Did you eat the food?
Can you pass the salt?
Lend me your notes from Friday
Could you lend me your notes from
Friday?
I could sure use the notes from
Friday.
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Sometimes we use speech acts in a non-literal way to accomplish our goals. For
instance, if I am having dinner at your house, and I am cold because the
window is open, I could use a direct speech act. I could use a question like, May
I close the window? This question is used to make a request. However, much of
our communication is not so direct. Sometimes we use a speech act to
accomplish an act for which it was not intended.
There are other ways I can get the host to warm up the cold room by closing the
window. I could make a representative statement.
“It is cold in here.” This is a simple statement of fact or opinion. However, the
host is unlikely to interpret this as simply information. It is clearly a request to
have the window closed. I could also make an assertion, “I think I am getting a
cold,” to achieve the same result.
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Think of the word ‘politeness.’ List three situations in which you have
been ‘polite’ to someone. Write three sentences or phrases you might
have used to show politeness.
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Linguistic Politeness
There are several ways to think of politeness. These might involve ideas like
tactful, modest and being nice to other people. In the study of linguistic
politeness, the most relevant concept is ‘face.’ Your ‘face’, in pragmatics is your
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public self-image. This is the emotional and social stance of self that every
person has and expects everyone else to recognize.
Politeness is showing awareness of another person’s face.
If you say something that represents a threat to another person’s self-image,
that is called a face-threatening act.
For example, if you use a direct speech act to order someone to do something
(Give me that paper!), you are acting as if you have more social power than the
other person. If you do not actually have that social power then you are
performing a face-threatening act.
An indirect speech act in the form of a question (Could you pass me that paper,
please?) removes the assumption of social power. This makes your request less
threatening to the other person’s sense of self. Whenever you say something
that lessens the possible threat to another’s face, it is a face-saving act.
You have both a negative face and a positive face. Your negative face is the need
to be independent and to have freedom from imposition. Your positive face is
your need to be connected, to belong, to be a member of the group. Thus, a facesaving act that emphasizes a person’s negative face will show concern about
imposition. (I’m sorry to bother you . . .; I know you’re busy, but . . .) A facesaving act that emphasizes a person’s positive face will show solidarity and
draw attention to a common goal (Let’s do this together . . .; you and I have the
same problem so . . .).
Cultural differences in politeness
What counts as polite behaviour can differ substantially from one culture to the
next. If you have grown up in a culture that has directness as a valued way of
showing solidarity, and you use direct speech acts (Pour me some coffee) to
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people whose culture is more oriented to indirectness and avoiding direct
imposition, then you will be considered impolite.
Summary (5 minutes)
We use language all the time to make something happen. Speech act covers
such actions as requesting, commanding, questioning and informing. Speech act
theory is the most established part of pragmatics.
There are thousands of possible speech acts and several attempts have been
made to classify them into a small number of types. One approach identifies six
types: representatives, directives, commissives, expressive, declarations and
interrogatives.
When a speaker doesn’t know something and asks the hearer to provide the
information, he or she will typically produce a direct speech act.
Sometimes we use a speech act to accomplish an act for which it was not
intended. This type is called an indirect speech act.
In the study of linguistic politeness, the most relevant concept is ‘face.’ Your
face in pragmatics is your public self-image. Politeness is showing awareness of
another person’s face. Acting as if you have more power than another when you
don’t is a face threatening act. When you say something that lessens the threat
to another’s face, it is called a face-saving act.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Suggested References
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 6: LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY (2hrs)
Overview
A good place to begin understanding the complex and variable nature of
language is to consider how language functions in society. As a human ability,
language is part and parcel of all the things that we do: the different kinds of
interactions we have with different kinds of people, the different roles we play
at different times of our lives - or even during the same day!
There is therefore a complex interrelationship between language and society.
Understanding this as a teacher is very important, since you would understand
not only that your students come from different backgrounds and therefore will
use language in different ways, but that they sometimes present themselves as
“different” people depending on the “role” that they see themselves playing at
one particular time or another. Also, your job as a teacher is not to prescribe the
rules of language, but to help your students to negotiate among the different
expectations of language use in a society, including formal and informal usages.
What is the relationship between language and society? Language is essentially
a social construction. Without society, language would not exist; and some even
argue that without language, society would not be as developed as it is. The
study of the inter-relationships between social variables and language variables
is called Sociolinguistics, which is a branch of Linguistics that merges
language studies with Sociology.
In this module, we will first begin by looking at how social variables interact
with language. Second, we will look at various aspects of language in use in
society.
Module Objectives
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At the end of the unit, you will be able to:
 Identify the parameters that make language a social phenomenon.
 Understand the various ways in which language is used in society.
Module orientation:
This module has two units:
Unit 1: Social Variation in Language
Unit 2: Language in Use
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete each one
of them as they would help you to remember the information which you have
learned.
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The answers
for these units have been included but you are advised to check them only after
you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will need about 3 hours to complete this module including the activities.
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Unit 1: Social Variation in Language (1 hr)
Introduction
Language and Society is considered under the sub-field of Linguistics called
Sociolinguistics. It includes various aspects related to the intertwining of social
variables and language. In this lesson, we will begin to examine some of the social
variables that interact with language, especially spoken language.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
 Identify the social variables responsible for social variation of language.

Apply their knowledge of social variables to their understanding of Guyana’s
language situation.
 Evaluate how social variables influence language
What is needed
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Social Variables
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Linguists agree that there is an interrelationship between language and the
social variables of age, gender, social class, ethnicity, education, and
geographic location. Since the 1970’s, the famous linguist William Labov set
out to investigate how social variables influence speech, and he has produced
many interesting studies to prove the correlation between the two.
The language variations influenced by the five variables are called “social
dialects” and those influenced by the last variable are called “geographical” or
“regional” dialects.
Let us consider the first variable, Age.
Age
Language is dynamic, which means that it is in a constant flux of change.
Because of this “evolution”, every generation develops new words and phrases.
You will have noticed that there are differences between your language use and
that of those around you who belong to a different generation (either older or
younger). There are unique differences in several areas including phonology,
slang, and morphology. For example, which word do you use: “veranda” or
“patio”; “icebox” or “cooler”? The older generation will tend to use the former
words (veranda and icebox).
In many communities across Guyana, older persons will tend to use with more
frequency words and expressions from languages other than English. On the
coastal areas, words and expressions from Indic and African languages are
more often used by older persons, while in the hinterland area, the same
happens with the indigenous languages; For example, a child living in the
Corentyne may hear his/her grandmother call him/her “dular”. A younger
person might refer to that same child and say “you’re spoiled”, which means
that the child is accustomed to being pampered by relatives to the extent that
s/he expects all demands and requests to be met.
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It is generally agreed that younger people tend to use more slang and words
that are current in popular media. For example, young people make much use
of slang in their conversations to refer to their friends, classmates, activities,
and also to refer to social trends, practices and relationships, among many other
things.
Gender
A second social variable is gender. Linguists note that there are differences
between male and female speech patterns. This may be a natural phenomenon,
or it may be because of social conditioning – for example, society may condition
men to be more aggressive, and this might be reflected in their speech. Also,
particular forms of language use may help men to identify with other men and
women to identify with other women- males may use more colloquial forms of
language while women use more formal language.
An interesting case is that of persons of different sexual orientation.
Sociologists tell us that a male can change his speech patterns (i.e., his
vocabulary, pitch, etc) to become be a social female, and vice versa. This
confirms the idea that society makes a distinction that certain usages of
language are “female” and others “male”.
Education
One’s education, most times, inadvertently shapes one’s language. Someone
who has tertiary education is more likely to speak in a more formal manner
than someone who has only attended primary school. Many times persons wish
to let their language serve as an indicator of their educational attainment, but
this is not always the case. Education is also closely linked to occupation.
Social Class
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Social class influences variation in language. It must be noted that,
linguistically, there is nothing inherently superior about one language over
another. However, it is the social concept that places a bias on some forms of
language causing one to be seen as superior to the other. Historically, the upper
class stratum of a society uses language to maintain and reinforce the social
distinction between them and others. On the other hand, the poorer classes may
have less access to education and so speak a distinct variation of the language.
In this process, certain features of language become stigmatized while others
are seen as prestigious. For example, a feature such as the dropping of /h/ from
words such as “head” and “hand” might be seen as a marker of lower class (as it
is seen to a considerable extent in Guyana). On the other hand, features such
as the articulation of word endings – “walking” rather than “walkin”, “sound”
rather than “soun”, and the rounding of vowels – saying “boll” rather than “ball”
- might be seen as markers of high status. Persons who want to identify
themselves as upper class (or appearing intelligent) may change their ways of
speaking to include these prestige features.
Speaking a certain way usually is a mark of belonging to a certain social class.
Additionally, in some cases the more Standard English one speaks seemingly
places one in an upper social class bracket. Rounding words more also is an
indicator, not only of educational attainment, but social class. Conversely,
speaking in what some people term “brawling” or “raw” way is seen as the lower
class (and uneducated) way of speaking.
Ethnicity
Perhaps one of the most defining characteristics of social variation is ethnicity.
Ethnicity influences our speech. In Guyana, a lot of names for food and kitchen
utensils have been retained throughout the years because of a unique cultural
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heritage - one that is characterised by ethnic peculiarities. For example, in
Indo-Guyanese dominated communities one might say tawa while in an AfroGuyanese community one might hear roti pan. In Indigenous communities, it is
usual to hear about tuma pot instead of pepper pot.
Geographic Location
Even though some persons may not refer to geography as a ‘social’ variable, it is
very important to recognise the influence of one’s geographic location on
language varieties. Because of historical factors, movements of people, contact
with other people, isolation from other groups and many other factors, the
language of people in one geographic location may show certain differences from
those of another location even though they all generally speak the same
language.
This is most obvious trans-nationally: there is language variation among people
of different countries who speak trans-national languages such as English,
French, and Spanish etc. For example, did you know that English has
international dialects? There is American English, British English, Australian
English, Caribbean English, and the list can go on. Differences between British
and American English include spelling such as:
US: equaled, color, theater
UK: equalled, colour, theatre
There are also differences in
vocabulary:
US
UK
Truck
Lorry
Sidewalk
Pavement
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French fries
Chips
Hood
Bonnet
And differences in
pronunciation:
Schedule:
US: “schedule” [ʃɛdjul]
UK: “schedule” [skɛdjul]
Issue:
US: “ishyu” [Iʃju]
UK: “issyu” [Isju]
Secondly, even in the same country, there are regional differences in language.
In the first instance, one can categorise rural and urban differences. Since
urban areas are usually better-developed and are centres of education,
business, government, and so on, urban dwellers tend to speak differently from
rural people.
Because of Guyana’s history and settlement of peoples, it is possible to see other
types of geographical variations in language. The people in the hinterland who
spoke indigenous languages and who were taught English by missionaries
tended to show a better level of English than many coast landers. Of course,
they also have their different indigenous languages. People in the border areas
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of Lethem and the Corentyne also show the influence of Portuguese and Dutch
respectively in their language.
The Tutor introduces activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
1. Make a list of all the words and phrases that sound strange that
your grandparents or older persons in your community use.
Compare that list to one that you use.
2. Make a list of all the slang that you may have heard your
students use but are unfamiliar to you. Ask them to supply the
meanings, and where they possibly got the word/expressions
from.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
You would have realized that there are distinct differences between your
vocabulary and that of your parents and grandparents.
The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
1. Complete the list below by adding the matching ethnicity.
Item
Bajii
foo-foo
Rooti
rooti pan
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Ethnicity
Tawah
Farine
Puhar
2. Give the British version of the American English words below.
US
Liter
Center
Travelled
Plow
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UK
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Item
Ethnicity
Bajii
Indo-Guyanese
foo-foo
Afro-Guyanese
Rooti
Indo-Guyanese
rooti pan
Afro-Guyanese
Tawah
Indo-Guyanese
Farine
Indigenous Guyanese
Puhar
Indo-Guyanese
2. Give the British version of the American English words below:
US
UK
liter
Litre
center
centre
traveled
travelled
plow
plough
Summary (5 minutes)
Language is influenced by several social variables such as: age, gender, education,
social class, ethnicity, and geographic location.
Age features are indicative of the
differences between young and older people. Gender differences are expressed in the
language of males and females. There are clear indications that class determines
speech. Ethnicity offers variations of language use in Guyana, especially in vocabulary
differences. Names for food and kitchen utensils offer an interesting example of ethnic
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influences on language. Geographic location is also a very influential variable on
language differences across countries and within a country.
Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds. Language Files
(10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2007.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1995.
Crystal, David. Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2006.
Devonish, Hubert. Language & Liberation: Creole Language Politics in the Caribbean.
Kingston: Arawak Publications, 2007.
Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York: Pearson
Education Ltd., 2008
Romaine, Suzanne. Language in Society. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.,
2000
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use (1hr)
Introduction
“Language in use” refers to all the social dimensions that are involved in the
use of language. In this section, we will be examining several concepts in the
discussion on language in society. Several aspects of language use that will be
looked at, though not exhaustively, are: social dialect, notions of prestige,
jargon, register, slang, language and sexism, language and the internet, code
switching, and diglossia.
Because society is in a constant flux of change, language will also be subject to
change. When we use language, there are “unwritten rules of engagement” that
guide the way we speak and write to others. It is important to understand the
facets of the social side of language use.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
1. Understand several key concepts in sociolinguistics
2. Differentiate among those concepts.
3. Apply knowledge gained to an understanding of language use in their own
sub-cultures.
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Aspects of Language in Use
Dialect
The term “dialect” refers to systematic variations within a language.
When such variations are reflected in all the different systems –
grammar, vocabulary, meaning, etc - of the language used by a defined
group of speakers or in a defined geographical area, then we say that
the language has a dialect. As we learnt in the previous chapter, there
are many factors that tend to produce variation in a language.
All languages are made up of dialects. There is no language which is
completely uniform everywhere it is spoken. In fact, Standard English,
which many persons in Guyana consider to be a very powerful
language, is itself a dialect of English. Standard English really means
a particular way of speaking English, a particular set of pronunciation,
grammar, semantic and vocabulary rules. It has particular areas of use
as outlined by Janet Holmes Janet Holmes in her book, An
Introduction to Sociolinguistics “It is the variety used for national news
broadcasts and in print, and it is the variety generally taught in
English-speaking schools”. (1992:144). Another social dialect of English
is Received Pronunciation (RP). It was the accent of the “best educated
and most prestigious members of English society” (143). RP is also
sometimes called the “Queen’s English”.
There are generally three types of dialects: regional or geographical,
and social dialects, which we have discussed above, and temporal
dialects.
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Temporal dialects are variations of a language over time. For
example, we can see consistent changes in the history of English, so we
can subdivide it into Old, Middle and Modern English. Each of these
would then be an example of a temporal dialect of English. We can
even subdivide these further, as in when we talk about 19 th Century
English, for example.
Social Dialects
Of all the social dialects, those that are determined by social class (i.e.
upper, middle, lower class) are the most influential in society. Such a
social dialect entails a unique accent, use of vocabulary, and style. For
example, in Guyana an upper class social dialect may include persons
rounding their vowels more than other persons in society would do. If
this is the case, then rounding is seen as a feature of a social dialect.
Members of a society recognize these features of social dialects, and
therefore, many persons may adopt some of these features in order to
present themselves in a certain way. Also, most of us make judgments
about people because of the way they speak. This kind of social dialect
is therefore a powerful social tool.
One of the earliest studies on social dialects was carried out by pioneer
Sociolinguist, William Labov, in New York department (or general)
stores. Labov basically asked each store attendant to tell him where he
could find a particular item while recording their responses. Based on
the social ranking of the store, Labov found that there was a
corresponding
social
dialect.
In
the
higher-social-class
stores,
attendants dropped /r/ from their word because this was considered
upper class. On the other hand, the attendants at lower-class stores
dropped /g/ at the endings of “-ing” words; this was considered to be a
mark of the uneducated and lower social class.
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Notions of prestige
Prestige in language is a socially-determined phenomenon. Such
prestige is predominantly influenced by social class, as we noted
before. When we talk about the prestige value of language, we are
referring to the positive (or negative) values placed on forms of
language within a group. The group may be as large as a country,
region or even the whole world, or it may be much smaller. Such
prestige can either be used to signal educational attainment, social
class ranking, and give a sense of belonging. Generally, linguists agree
that there is overt prestige and covert prestige. Overt Prestige
refers to the public positive value placed on a language, or dialect of
that language. For example, SE has overt prestige because there is
widespread regard for this language. Most people in society place
positive value on SE and give it prominence in many situations. Covert
Prestige, on the other hand, refers to hidden positive value that is
attached to the language variety of a sub-group. For example, the
language of Rastafarians, which Velma Pollard refers to as dread talk
may not have public prestige and the wider society may frown upon
this variety of language. However, within the sub-culture of
Rastafarianism, there is a lot of positive prestige associated with the
language. The word “covert” essentially means hidden, so dread talk
has hidden or overt prestige. Another example of covert prestige is the
language of teenagers. The vocabulary, sentence structure, slang, and
accents of teenagers may be frowned upon by wider society; but to the
teenage speakers, speaking this way has positive value and is a mark
of their belonging and identity with the sub-group.
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Jargon, Register, Slang
The term “Jargon” refers to special terminologies that are limited to
one’s
profession.
Dentists
will
talk
among
themselves
about
“periodontal disease” and “halitosis”. Linguists will talk about
fricatives and affricates. Sometimes, professionals can use jargon to
exclude others from their discussion. Periodontal disease is also called
gum disease, and halitosis commonly called bad breath. On the other
hand, jargon allows professionals to communicate more efficiently. For
example, instead of a carpenter saying to another “bring a piece of
wood” he may say “bring the 2 by 4” and this communicates a exactly
what he wants. For linguists, the terms “jargon”, “social dialect”,
“regional dialect” and so on, communicate precise ideas, whereas the
layman will only see these generally as “variations of language”.
Register refers to the style of the language used in a special context.
Register can include jargon and other vocabulary used in a certain
context. For example, there can be legal register or religious register.
In a Christian church, one might hear a pastor talk about “salvation”
or being “born again” and “repentance”; but these words, and the
concepts they outline, may be strange to a non-Christian. In the legal
setting such as in court, a certain tone of voice is used along with legal
jargon – all of which comprise legal register. Register also refers to the
levels of formality. It is usually appropriate to use a formal register, for
example, to speak to a member of the Diplomatic Corps.
Slang demonstrates creativity of humans to use language to suit their
purposes. Slang is sometimes considered as “colourful language”
(Language Files 10th Edition 2007:408). It is usually the colloquial or
informal variety of language. Slang, interestingly, is usually shortlived and may last for months or years. As discussed in the previous
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unit, slang is a feature that differentiates age groups: mainly old and
young. Additionally, a lot of slang is taken from popular music or
movies. You might recall having said something in front of your
parents or grandparents and they were clueless as to what you said, or
you may have heard younger persons use slang that you were not
familiar with. For example, someone might say “I was bumping my
gum all afternoon with my friend” to mean that they were chatting
with their friends. You may have heard a bus conductor tell the driver
to “bun it down”. This expression is a slang which means stop the bus
(usually to let off or pick up a passenger). In many parts of Guyana,
some ladies will use the slang “red flag flying” to talking about their
menstrual cycle. Slang may also be seen as having covert prestige
because it ensures an in-group identity. Gang members, for example,
can show their solidarity with each other when they use slang. Talking
about a “straps” to refer to a knife or gun; or a “kilo” to refer to drugs
(especially cocaine) are examples of slang. Because slang is short-lived,
in years to come, those words can be replaced with others.
Language and Sexism
The rise of feminist philosophy in the nineteenth century helped to
redefine how we use language as it relates to gender.
Feminists
essentially argue that a language can embody stereotypes against
women; and that language has been socially engineered in such a way
that it favours male ideals. Suzanne Romaine in her chapter
“Language and Gender” (2000: 101-134) outlines several ways that
sexism has dominated language use. She purposefully labels a section
“A Misguided attempt to change herstory” to enforce the idea that
language, English in this case, is male-centered and needs to be reworded and reworked.
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Because of the need to be more sensitive to the case presented by
feminists and be respectful of general women’s rights, there is a need
to revise several male-centered words and expressions.
More
specifically, language has been involved in constant change towards
more gender-neutral words and expressions. For instance, several
years ago we used to talk about an air-host and air-hostess, but now it
is correct to say flight attendant. The game of cricket, which is
traditionally a male dominated sport, has seen the rise in the amount
of women now playing the sport. Because of this, several “malecentered terms” have to be modified to be more gender neutral. Instead
of saying batsman, one should say batter.
More importantly, being linguistically gender sensitive is not only
limited to using gender-neutral words but includes showing respect for
women through the use of language in the whole. In some circles, the
slang that some men use to refer to sexual encounters with women is
considered to be sexist. Some writers have called this the “violent side
of sex”, because men use words such as “beat”, “mash”, “slaughter”,
“dig out” and “clip” to talk about their sexual experience or
“domination” over women. We can then conclude that, generally,
sexism in language reflects bias against women.
Language and the Internet
Undoubtedly, the internet has and is still contributing to the change in
written and spoken language. David Crystal, who is one of the
foremost linguists today in the world, refers to “internet language” as
netspeak (2006:19). Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
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YouTube, and hi5 all are avenues where netspeak is used. There are
several distinct features of netspeak that are worth considering.
First, there are unique words (or lexical items) that make up netspeak.
The advent of the internet and constantly changing technology mean
that language has to accommodate the words and expressions used to
represent the new ideas. A few years ago, no one would have heard
about blogging or tweeting. New words are also formed by combining
existing words, blending, or shortening/clipping (this is discussed in
the Morphology module). For example, a blog is a blend of a weblog. A
blog is like a digital version of a journal or diary where writers share
their thoughts on the internet or World Wide Web. All those who have
accounts with Twitter, which is the social media site that allows people
to keep track of the activities of others, are called tweeps. The word
tweeps is a blend of twitter peeps (or twitter people). Pics is a shortened
version of pictures; vids, for videos; cam for camera, and the list can go
on. Posting in netspeak does not refer to posting a mail using the
postal service, but rather it refers to putting content (pics, vids, or text)
on a blog or social media site account.
Second, there is no standard spelling system. If one mises the corect
spelin of a wrd while typn he/she does nt hv 2 wrry becoz ppl will
understnd neways. Did you have trouble reading that sentence? Note
that the even though the words had some letters missing you were still
able “fill in the blanks”. It is important to note, though, that there are
still formal and informal registers that are used in internet
communication (and a lot depends on who is the audience/or receiver of
the correspondence). Most people use a formal register when sending
an e-mail. For instant-messaging (IM services include Yahoo!
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Messenger, Windows Live, oovoo, Skype, and ICQ) and writing on
social media sites, most people use an informal register that is made
up of abbreviations and non-standard spelling. Such abbreviations
seem to now become words in themselves. When someone says lol after
your comment they mean “Laugh out loud”; idk means “I don’t know”;
btw, “by the way”; and brb, “be right back”. These are some of the most
common ones.
Third, punctuation marks are used to represent an emotion and are
called emoticons (emotion + icons). When persons use a colon, a
hyphen, and a forward bracket as in :-) they mean to portray a smile
(or smiley face). Tilt your head to the left and look at it again- the colon
represents the eyes, the hyphen the nose and the bracket the lips.
Some people may omit the hyphen and just write :) instead.
The
bracket turned the other way around as in :-( conveys sadness. There is
a website devoted to listing all of the current items comprising
netspeak. You can visit www.netlingo.com and learn more about the
hundreds of netspeak terms and emoticons.
Many persons tend to mix netspeak with English (or Guyanese) in
their communication on the internet resulting in written codeswitching. Some teachers may complain that their students’ writing
has been corrupted by the influence of the internet. Interestingly,
however, some of the spoken features can become part of speech. For
example, if some responds “IDK” [ai-d-ke] when you ask them a
question, they are simply responding “I don’t know”. Part of the
solution to the “problem” is to look at the switching from a linguistic
perspective. Linguistically, there is nothing wrong with code switching:
it is only natural that humans switch between and among codes. This
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Introduction to Linguistics
phenomenon of netspeak should be seen as another form of code
switching.
Code Switching
We usually switch between varieties of language depending on the
topic and situation that we find ourselves in. In Guyana, we switch,
most times, between different varieties of Guyanese (popularly called
Creolese) and also between Creolese and English.
Code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two
varieties of language or two languages in one speech act. You may
have done this yourself many times as a teacher when you want to
explain a concept to your students. For example, using a Guyanese
(Creolese) example not only grabs the students’ attention and make
them laugh, but it makes them understand the concept better because
they can relate it to their experience. Many teachers will code-switch
between English and Wapishana in Central Rupununi, or English and
Macushi in North Rupununi. These are examples of code-switching
between two languages. Code-switching among three languages is
normal in the Central Rupununi region because persons code-switch in
English, Wapishana, and Portuguese - sometimes all in one sentence.
Written code-switching is another aspect of language that looks at
switching between two or more languages or varieties of language. A
lot of times we see written code-switching in correspondence between
friends via email and letters when one may switch between an
informal and formal variety of English. Another case is the switch
between Standard English and netspeak. You may see a sentence
which reads, “Hi John. hru? How’s your family? Btw, pls tell them I
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Introduction to Linguistics
said hi”. This is a switch between English and netspeak. (Hi John, how
are you? How’s your family. By the way, please tell them I said hi).
Diglossia
Diglossia refers to unwritten rules which govern usage (and non-usage)
of certain varieties of a language in a speech community. Socially, as
discussed before, some varieties of language are given more prestige
than others. In a diglossic situation, the prestigious variety is given
the label ‘High Variety’ or H-variety, while the non-prestigious
languages are given the label ‘Low Variety’ or L-variety. Additionally, a
diglossic situation can entail two languages instead of two varieties (or
dialects) of one language. It is important to remember that in diglossic
situations there are rules of usage dictating where the H and L
varieties must be used. Non-compliance of these rules often results in
the speaker being frowned upon. How do we know to speak the formal
or H-variety in class to our tutors? Why do we address politicians and
members of the government or the judiciary in a formal way? Why do
we speak to the market vendor in a different variety? For example in
the classroom situation, rules of diglossia would maintain that the
level of language required for the class is the H-variety. The H-variety
on the coastal region of Guyana is English, and in most hinterland
communities it is the same. As said before, the H and L varieties can
refer to two dialects of the same language. In the case of Guyanese (or
Creolese), the urban variety of Guyanese tends to be the H-variety,
while the rural variety is the L-variety.
It is important to remember that Diglossia entails unwritten rules that
dictate which language varieties should be used in specific contexts.
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Introduction to Linguistics
The assigning of prestige to certain languages or dialect is nonlinguistic and is done based on social concepts of class and prestige.
Linguistically speaking, there is no superior language.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Language-in-use Activities
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Social and Regional Dialects
1. Is Standard English a regional or social dialect? Explain your answer.
2. Do you know of anyone who speaks with a social accent or dialect?
What phonological or lexical features can you notice?
Code switching
Prepare a five-minute speech addressed to members of your community
using both the formal and informal varieties of English; or English and
Guyanese; or English and your indigenous language. Take note of the
sections that require you to code-switch, and ask yourself: “Why do I need
to code-switch at this point?”
Sexism
Make a list of all the words that you know are paired to indicate
masculine and feminine, and give the gender-neutral equivalent. For
example: a. Air-host (masculine) b. Air-hostess (feminine) c. flight
attendant (gender neutral).
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Introduction to Linguistics
Feedback to activity 1
1. Standard English (SE) is both a regional and social dialect. It is
regional because there are different Englishes in the world: Standard
American English, Standard British English, Standard Australian
English, etc. It is a social dialect because people of the upper classes, or
those with higher educational attainment use SE as language of
belonging.
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
1. Make a list of all the slang that you know for sex, prostitutes, and a
bad behaved child.
2. Make a list of all the jargon that you use in your profession, and give
the version that the average person can understand.
3. What are the differences among register, slang, and jargon?
Summary
A social dialect is socially influenced and is an indicator of prestige and
belonging. Notions of prestige refer to overt prestige which has a public
prestige value; and covert prestige which has a private (in-group) prestige
value. Jargon is specialised terminology that is associated with specific
professions and can be used to exclude other members outside of the
profession. Slang is said to be informal and is an in-group mode of
communication.
Register can be classified as formal and informal, and
includes the use of jargon and slang. Gender issues over the past two
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Introduction to Linguistics
centuries have given rise to language becoming more gender sensitive.
Sexism is generally directed to women. Language is influenced by the
internet and is evolving into a different mode of communication in the areas
of spelling and word formation. When we switch between an informal or
formal variety of language or two or three languages, we are involved in code
switching.
Diglossia is the term used to talk about unwritten rules governing the High
and Low varieties of language. The H and L varieties can refer to dialects of
one language, or two separate languages.
Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Crystal, David. Language and
University Press, 2006.
the
Internet.
Cambridge:
Cambridge
Devonish, Hubert. Language & Liberation: Creole Language Politics in the
Caribbean. Kingston: Arawak Publications, 2007.
Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York: Pearson
Education Ltd., 2008
Romaine, Suzanne. Language in Society. New York: Oxford University
Press Inc., 2000
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
MODULE 7: Language Acquisition (2 hrs)
Overview:
Language acquisition is usually studied as first-language (L1)
acquisition, and second-language (L2) acquisition. In the discussion in
this module about language acquisition, several key concepts will be
touched upon. This module will only seek to provide a general
understanding of concepts that are sometimes complex to understand
in the study of Psycholinguistics. You are free to pursue further indepth research on the areas that may interest you.
Module Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
-
Understand the two main theories of language acquisition.
-
Evaluate whether humans learn language or are born with it.
-
Identify the stages of language acquisition.
-
Understand what aphasia is.
-
Evaluate the role of a child’s second language in the education
process.
-
Understand the different second language teaching strategies
that can be employed in the classroom.
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Introduction to Linguistics
Module orientation:
This module has two units:
Unit 1: Nature or Nurture?
Unit 2: Second Language Acquisition
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete
each one of them as they would help you to remember the information
which you have learned.
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to
check them only after you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will need about 2 hours to complete this module including the
activities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 1: Nature or Nurture? (1hr)
Introduction
How do humans acquire language? Were we born with the ability to
acquire language, or were we born blank-slate? Does our environment
influence our language? These are questions that are central to the
discussion about language acquisition. The human brain is structured
in such a way that it allows for linguistic development, and there are
several stages of language acquisition.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Understand what is meant by nature theory
-
Understand what is mean by nurture theory
-
Differentiate between nature and nurture theories
-
Identify the stages of language acquisition
-
Understand, in basic terms, what is aphasia
What is needed?
1. Paper
2. Pens and pencil
3. English dictionary
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
Nature or Nurture
One of the most interesting things about human life is the ability of
language. Steven Pinker (2007) notes:
Language is so tightly woven into human experience that it is
scarcely possible to imagine life without it. Chances are that if
you find two or more people together anywhere on earth, they
will soon be exchanging words. When there is no one to talk
with, people talk to themselves, to their dogs, even to their
plants.
Language acquisition is a perplexing phenomenon, and its study is a
relatively new field in Guyana when compared to other more
“structural” approaches to language. Experts also usually disagree
with some of the sometimes unexplained phenomena of language
acquisition. In his book, The Language Instinct, Pinker (2007) sees
language as something inherent and instinctual in humanity when he
says:
It's far easier for a child to acquire language as an infant and
toddler than it will be for the same child to learn, say, French in a
college classroom 18 years later. Many linguists now say that a
newborn's brain is already programmed to learn language, and in
fact that when a baby is born, he or she already instinctively knows
a lot about language. This means that it's as natural for a human
being to talk as it is for a bird to sing or for a spider to spin a web.
In this sense, language may be like walking: The ability to walk is
genetic, and children develop the ability to walk whether or not
anybody tries to teach them to do so. In the same way, children
develop the ability to talk whether or not anybody tries to teach
them. For this reason, many linguists believe that language ability
is genetic.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
We know that we are genetically prepared for language. Our biology our genes, nerves, shape of mouth, lips, etc., and the design of the
human brain - facilitates language. We will discuss this some more in
Module 8
For this reason, a four-year-old who has never gone to school as yet
will already possess a complex grammar. Broca’s area and Wernicke’s
area are the regions in the brain, on the left hemisphere, that control
language and language acquisition. Broca’s area is concerned with the
output of language while Wernicke’s area controls the input. In other
words, Broca’s area deals with language production while Wernicke’s
area deals with the processing of the language we hear (or see).
The language side of the brain: Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s area
But where does language itself come from? Are we born “blank state”
and learn language from the people around us as some theorists opine?
Or were we born with the ability to acquire language? These two
general views are at the heart of discussions on language acquisition,
and they called respectively, nurture and nature theories. The
nature theory states that the ability to acquire language is innate;
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
while the nurture theory outlines that a child learns language through
exposure to the community.
Nurture theory is essentially based on the behaviourist theory of
imitation and reinforcement as an explanation of how children learn
language from their surroundings. Behaviourism as promoted by B.F.
Skinner (1955) is based on a system of reward and punishment. This
theory gives a great role to the environment in language learning. It
suggests that children imitate what they hear and reproduce it to
create their own linguistic repertoire. Children may be rewarded for
using the desirable variety language, and this is called positive
reinforcement. When a parent frowns upon a child for use of a
particular word, the frown serves as negative reinforcement. In the
case of Guyana, for example, the use of Creole may be frowned upon
and a child hears “don’t say it like that, say it like this”. The theory of
the influence of the environment, however, has some loop-holes. Two of
these are: How does one account for mistakes that the child makes if
s/he never heard them from his/her surroundings? If a child learns via
the environment, or through imitation, how does one explain a child
saying “I eated the food” or “I holded the cup” if s/he never heard those
ungrammatical constructions from the environment? Secondly, if a
child learnt language from his or her environment, we can reasonably
expect that different children of the same age and in the same
language will show different stages of language learning.
Linguists have concluded that a child does not learn language through
imitation or from the environment. Rather, they believe that children
acquire language through an innate mechanism that each human is
born with. As in the case of the incorrect past-tense endings above, the
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
child is displaying grammatical knowledge of forming past-tenses.
However, there are exceptions to the rule so the child either cognises
these exceptions or is corrected by persons in his/her environment.
This is a case of linguistic input from the linguistic environment.
Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams (2007) succinctly sum this up by
relating:
It is obvious that children do not learn a language simply by
memorising the sentences of the language and storing them in some
giant mental dictionary. The list of words is finite, but no dictionary
can hold all the sentences of a language, which are infinite in
number. Rather children acquire a system of rules that enables them
to construct and understand sentences, most of which they have
never produced or heard before. Children, like adults, are creative in
their use of language. (p., 314)
Nature theorist Noam Chomsky proposed that each child is born with
an
innate
grammar
of
linguistic
features.
This
innateness
hypothesis proposes that each individual is born with a Language
Acquisition Device (LAD). The LAD is like a blueprint or template for
language that exists in each new-born, and as the child grows s/he
receives the input of vocabulary and grammar conventions from the
environment. Chomsky posits that the LAD is universal (i.e., it exists
in all languages). Moreover, he suggests that there is a Universal
Grammar which supports the LAD. The notion of Universal Grammar
basically outlines the reasons why children of different linguistic
systems (Spanish, English, or Chinese) all seem to develop language at
the same time and in the same stages and sequences: their grasp of the
grammar of the language is identical and universal.
In this theory, language is acquired, not learned, and it unfolds in
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
developmental stages, rather than being dependent on environmental
input. Interestingly, a mute child who is exposed to Sign Language at
an early age will also develop his/her language at the same stage as
the others recently mentioned.
Chomsky used grammar or syntax to explain his theory. When a child
begins to speak, it seems that s/he has already has innate
understanding of grammar. For example, when a child makes mistakes
such as “sheeps” and “eated”, s/he is simply using the general English
structure of marking plurality (adding an -s) and past tense (adding ed). The child is in the process of adjusting his/her mental grammar to
the acceptable norm. Children, therefore, extract the linguistic rules
from their environment.
Secondly, the very initial language “baby talk” that a baby hears from
its parents, siblings and others in its formative years is said to have
structure that is decipherable by the baby. Linguists categorise this
baby talk as “motherese”, “fatherese”, and “otherese”. This is a speech
pattern which is unlike the way in which persons will normally speak.
As simple as it may seem, baby talk is very complex – it sounds
different, many words are left out, it contains many made-up words,
and many other differences from normal speech. Yet, the child is able
to use this information to help him or her produce normal sentences in
a very short space of time. This shows that a child already possesses
the capacity for complex language processing.
Therefore, conclusively, we can say that children do not simply learn
language from their environment (nurture). Humans are born with
the innate “instinct” to acquire language and are already programmed
with mental grammars. On the other hand, children do need the input
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
from the environment to trigger the process of acquisition, and to help
shape the language that they will eventually acquire. This input helps
the child to complete their grammars with vocabulary and rules of
usage.
Stages of Language Acquisition
There are linguistic stages of language acquisition which we can see
evidence of as the child develops. These are:
Theorists and researchers such as Roger Brown, Piaget and others
have posited that children acquire certain aspects of language at
different levels of their development. In other words, cognitive
development is linked to language acquisition. An outline of the
linguistic stages of language acquisition is found below:
1. Pre-speech. Infants recognise speech even before they use it;
they recognise the phonological differences. Speech around them
has been proven to stimulate more electrical activity in the left
side of the brain. With motherese, fatherese, and otherese
around them, infants sense the differences. For example,
motherese is said to have a lot more intonations and questions
than fatherese.
2. Babbling stage -while babbling may not seem to be important,
this is an important stage in the child’s development of
language. In this stage, the child begins to articulate sounds and
syllables and experiment with the use of their vocal apparatus.
It is at this stage, about 5 - 7mths, one will hear infant say
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
“baba” or “mama”. However, this not necessarily means that this
is the child’s first word or that s/he understands the meaning of
the “word”. What it may mean though is that he infant has
started to combine syllables such as “ba”, “ma” or “da”.
Repeating the syllables makes it sound like words are uttered.
In some cases, “mama” is sometimes stopped being used until a
later stage.
3. One word (or holophrastic) stage- at about one-year of age,
children begin to produce single words. These words refer to things
around the child and shows that the child can attach words to the
real world. This stage involves the use of content words such as
nouns (names and things), but not functional words such as verbs
and articles. This stage is aided by persons who often help the
infant to name things in his/her surroundings. However, the child
may not see the world in the same way as older people do – for
example, he or she may call a horse a dog. What is also important is
that these single words represent sentences, not just words in
isolation.
4. Telegraphic stage. At this stage the child, at 18mths to 2 yrs,
usually being combining words such as two-word sentences. At this
stage children already have the correct word order and rules for
agreement. For example, “want tea” or “me toy” are two-word
sentences that confirm Chomsky’s concept of a mental grammar. One
would not, or hardly, hear “toy me” or “tea want” because the child’s
mental grammar shapes the structure of the sentence to have the verb
before the object in “want tea” and the possessive determiner “me”
before the noun “toy”.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
5. Adult equivalent speech. At this stage, a child has grasped the
rules of language equivalent to the adult. At the age of 5 or 6, a child is
said to already have an adult’s grammar. It is also much easier for a
child to learn a second language than it is for an adult.
A Note on Aphasia
Aphasia is the loss of language, and can be caused by a stroke or
trauma to the head which result in a lesion in the brain. Generally,
there are two types of aphasia. There is Broca’s Aphasia which is the
inability to respond using coherent sentences. Persons with Broca’s
Aphasia tend to use short sentences which omit articles, but
understand the speech of others. For example, “ride bicycle” may mean
“Allow him to ride that bicycle”. Conversely, persons with Wernicke’s
Aphasia may use long sentences but have no idea of the meaning of
those sentences, and usually have problems understanding other
persons’ speech. Should cases like these arise, such persons will have
to undergo speech therapy.
You will learn more about this in the Unit 4 of Module 8.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
The Tutor introduces activity
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Consider the constructions below uttered by a three-year-old, and
determine which ones are grammatical. Give reasons for your answer.
1. me tea want
2. want me tea
3. me want tea
4. want tea
Feedback to Activity (10 minutes)
Numbers 2, 3, and 4 are grammatical constructions that can be
possible uttered by a three-year-old.
2. want me tea - Even though the subject is missing, the
construction is very grammatical. The verb “want” precedes the
object pronoun “me” and object “tea”.
3. me want tea - This construction resembles a more adult sentence
and is reflective of the SVO (subject-verb-object) order of English.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
4. want tea - This can be seen as a derivation of number 3 above
with only the subject missing.
1. me tea want - Is not likely to be uttered. If the constructions
above are examined, one will notice that the verb precedes the
object. In this example, the verb appears at the end which is
highly unlikely considering that the child has started to adapt
his/her mental grammar to the linguistic system in the
environment, which is a subject-verb-object (SVO) system.
Summary (5 minutes)
There are two general theories of language acquisition: nature and
nurture. The nature theory posits that humans have an innate ability
for language. Its main theorist, Noam Chomsky, argues that each
human is born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which is like
a blueprint for language and shapes mental grammars. The nurture
theory, influenced by Behaviourist theorist B.F. Skinner, makes the
claim that children learn language from their environment through a
system of reinforcement (i.e., rewards and punishments). However,
each theory cannot stand in isolation as it requires both nature and
nurture to aid in the acquisition of language.
Further, a child acquires language according to his/her cognitive
development. There are, therefore, various stages of language
acquisition ranging from pre-speech to adult equivalent speech.
Conversely, problems that may arise in the acquisition of language are
termed aphasia and be treated, to an extent, by speech therapy.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.
Birner, Betty. ed. “Language Acquisition”. Linguistic Society of
America. [Undated Pamphlet].
“Broca’s Area, Wernicke’s Area, and Other Language-Processing Areas
in the Brain”. McGill University.
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_10/d_10_cr/d_10_cr_lan/d_10
_cr_lan.html. Accessed on: November 28, 2011
Fromkin, R., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. An Introduction to Language.
Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.
Pinker, Steven. The Language Instinct. New York: Harper Perennial Modern
Classics, 2007.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
Unit 2: Second Language Acquisition and
Teaching (1hr)
Introduction
In the previous unit, you learnt about the acquisition of a first
language. In this unit, we will be discussing the acquisition of a second
language. However, more importantly, the focus will be on secondlanguage teaching methods. Decades of research show that students’
first language (L1), also called the mother tongue, has significant
influence on their second language (L2) or target language (TL). The
research also shows that a second language is also acquired and not
merely learnt – that is, persons go through some of the same kinds of
internal processes in learning a second language as children do in
acquiring a first language.
It is easier for a child to learn a new language than it is for an adult,
which suggests that the formative years are conducive to language
learning. Further, a child may learn up to 3 or 4 languages at one time.
However, it is not advisable to teach a child all those languages at the
same time.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
1. Recognise the importance of children’s first language
while learning a second language.
2. Identify the legal instruments that encourage the use of
L1 when teaching a L2
3. Evaluate the use the L2 teaching strategies that are
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition
relevant to Guyana’s linguistic setting.
4. Apply the L2 teaching strategies to analysing student
writing samples.
What is needed?
1. Pens
2. Paper
3. An English dictionary
4. An English grammar handbook.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
Guyana is a multi-lingual country, and many students will find
themselves in scenarios where there are at least two languages. On the
coast, most children find themselves in bilingual environments with
English and Guyanese Creole. A similar bilingual situation obtains in
interior Indigenous communities with an Indigenous language and
English. However, those communities that are closer to the
Venezuelan or Brazilian borders have a third language: either Spanish
(closer to Venezuela) or Portuguese (closer to Brazil). Many times
children in those communities will code-switch between (or among) the
different languages.
In Guyana’s education system, Standard British English is the official
language of instruction, and it is one of the main subjects taught.
However, it is sometimes reported, at least on the coast, those students
often times struggle to get excellent English grades. Conversely,
Indigenous students who are schooled in interior communities are
often said to possess better English-language skills compared to a
student living on the coast. This can be attributed to the fact that the
linguistic systems of English and Indigenous languages are seen as
separate entities. In other words, the lines of difference are clearly
drawn and students easily recognise those differences. However, on the
coast, the lines of differences are often times blurred because Guyanese
Creole is sometimes confused with a bad attempt at speaking English
and is not seen as a separate language. As discussed in the unit on
Creole languages, the vocabulary of Guyanese Creole contains many
words that come from English, but in many case, these words have
different meanings and usages from English. This can be the cause of
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
confusion. All these scenarios have implications for language teaching.
A UNESCO resolution on language policy, passed in 1953, declared
that a child learns better in his/her native language (UNESCO 1953).
This resolution has significant meaning for language education in
Guyana since it implies that Guyanese Creole and Indigenous
languages should be recognized as languages in their own right. They
are therefore worthy to be employed in methods of instruction in the
classroom. A successful case of this is seen in the Hope Valley
Experimental School in Jamaica where the language of instruction is
Jamaican (or Patois). The teachers report that students grasp more
knowledge and are able to actively apply it to their evaluation of the
learning material before them. The use of the Creole in such
classrooms enable the students to experience a “sense of belonging”
while boosting their “self-confidence” (Jamaica Gleaner, 2008). This is
supported by the recently compiled Charter on Language Policy and
Language Rights in the Creole-Speaking Caribbean which states in
Section III (a):
Initial instruction in one’s first language is crucial as it
enhances conceptual development, language acquisition and
development, learning in general, and education of the child.
Second-Language Teaching Strategies (10 minutes)
Based on the aforementioned statements on the value of the L1 in the
teaching of a L2, there are several strategies that are used to teach
English as a second language (ESL). Linguistic knowledge, therefore,
is an integral tool in the Teaching English to Students of Other
Languages (TESOL). There are basically two methods: the synthetic
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
approach and the analytic approach. The synthetic approach utilizes
the teaching of grammar (or rules of the language) of the L2. Students
are given exercises that focus on those areas and reading exercises that
reinforce the rules. Some of the strategies of this approach include:

Contrastive Analysis

Performance Analysis

Error Analysis
Contrastive Analysis (CA)
This strategy employs the use of the L1 to teach the target or L2 by
means of comparison and contrast. For example, a teacher can prepare
a lesson on English past-tense by including references to the L1 pasttense structure (Guyanese Creole or an Indigenous language). In the
case of Guyanese, bin is the past-tense marker versus the several past
tense conjugations in English.
Peter Roberts (1983) outlines examples of how contrastive analysis can
work to encourage linguistic production and creativity. Roberts (Ibid:
243) states that:
The difference between the Creole [or Indigenous language]
and Standard English […] can be presented to the learner in
such a way that it immediately stimulates interest, heightens
appreciation of the structural devices of the Creole [or
Indigenous language] and makes the shift from the one to the
other (in this respects) a positive bilingual exercise. These
exercises would have to be contrastive in nature, that is, the
learner would be introduced to a device in the Creole [or
Indigenous language], he sees what it means, and then he is
shown the English device for the same meaning or the reverse
procedure or a modification of either one
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Contrastive analysis (Lado 1957) has been proposed to be the best
method to use to teach English to students in a Creole environment,
and it is definitely needed in Guyana’s case where differences between
SE and Guyanese often become blurred in speakers’ minds. However,
James (1998) argues that CA is outmoded and suggests some
alternatives: Error Analysis (EA), Transfer Analysis (TA), and
Performance Analysis (PA) - all of which form part of larger L2
teaching methods.
Performance Analysis (PA)
Corder (1972) describes PA as the “the study of the whole performance
data from individual learners” (in James, 1998). This “performance
data” is the language output - spoken and written. Analyzing the
entire performance data of the student provides the opportunity to
determine the extent of code mixing and occurrence of errors. Asking
the student to write an essay on a selected topic is an ideal activity
that will yield performance data. However, PA is said to be the main
source of data for error analysis (EA) that educators can use to
diagnose a student’s language proficiency.
Error Analysis (EA)
Error Analysis uses “error elicitation” methods to gather errors that
students make. Error elicitation can be done using a student essay or
translation exercises where the teacher makes note of the errors.
However, instead of just listing or comparing errors of two languages
like is with CA, the teacher will engage in describing and analyzing
the errors in consultation with the student.
Noteworthy in this discussion is the concept of “mistakes”. A student
may leave off the past tense or past participle morpheme {ed} endings
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
when writing an English essay. Such omissions may be seen as
mistakes, but what they prove is that the student is still using
strategies from his/her L1. In other words, Guyanese Creole does not
require “-ed” endings at end of words in sentences such as, “I was
impressed by his speech” which can be translated as “ai dih riili
impres how ii taak” (I did really impress how he talk). Notice the
past-tense marker “did”, and no “-ed” ending on “impress”. Students’
use of their Creole language when speaking or writing English should
not be considered as grammatical mistakes in English, but as evidence
that the students is still depending on his or her first language.
Appropriate teaching strategies, such as using contrastive analysis to
highlight the differences between the two languages, should be applied
instead.
Essentially what this proves is that is it necessary for the L1 of
student to be employed in the teaching of a L2. Translation activities,
such as translating proverbs from the L1 into the L2, have been shown
to validate the L1 and offer opportunities for teachers to identify
difficulties in the student’s acquisition of English.
The analytic approach is not aimed at explicitly teaching grammar,
but is more focused on the communicative needs of the L2 learner.
Classes are structured around the students’ needs and interests. This
is also called communicative language teaching (CLT) where grammar
can be learnt covertly and in context. This approach assumes that the
same conditions that occur in learning a first or native language can
apply; i.e., the speaker will extract the rules of the language based on
the input received. In Guyana’s case, the teacher can ask students to
role-play a communicative event (or speech event) such as a buyer and
seller conversation in the market; or one person asking another for
directions to find a house in a village. The event must take place in the
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
L2, whether it is Guyanese Creole or an Indigenous language.
Difficulties will inevitably surface since the students will be in the
middle-ground sometimes between their L1 and the L2 (the target
language). It therefore means that a linguistically trained teacher will
be at an advantage in the language teaching process.
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
What kinds of errors are found in the sentences below? Use the errors
as a launching point to compare Creole to English.
1. I been to Georgetown last week.
2. We see them man yesterday.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
1. Error: “been” (= perfect tense in English, as in I have been) but
using it as the past tense marker in Creole instead of the simple
past-tense “went”.
Guyanese Creole signals past-tense via the past-tense marker
“bin”or “did”. These are added to the main verb which retains its
present tense form. However, in the English there are several ways
to signal past-tense:

Adding -ed to regular verbs like “jump” = “jumped”
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use

Irregular verbs like “eat” = “ate”; “be” = “was/were”; “see” =
“saw”.
2. Error: “see”; “them man”.
“see” = “saw”. The same explanation given above should be used
when correcting “see” to “saw”.
In Guyanese, the Creole strategy for marking plurality is to use
“dem” as in “dem daag” (dem dog). The plural marker, dem, is
added to the singular form of the noun. However, there are several
ways to signal plurality in English:

The commonest way is to add an -s to regular nouns as in
“cats”

Some nouns remain the same as their singular form. In this
case, linguistically, plurality is said to be in the form of a
null-morpheme as in “sheep” and “furniture”.

Some nouns change internally as in “man”= “men”, “foot” =
“feet”, and “mouse” = mice”.
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
For your future lessons, you can ask students to write essays and use
the process of error elicitation to ascertain their grasp of the L2. For
subjects that do not have language-teaching as their foci, subjectteachers can still ensure that their students use the L2 correctly by
drawing a comparison to their students’ L1.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Summary (5 minutes)
One cannot exclude the use of the L1 when teaching a L2. Research
has proven that including the Guyanese Creole – the L1 of much of
Guyanese people - will aid in the successful teaching of English as a
L2. There are several ESL strategies, but three that can be used in
Guyana are: Contrastive Analysis, Performance Analysis, and Error
Analysis. Each is intertwined with the other and places value on
importance of the L1.
Suggested References
Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the CreoleSpeaking
Caribbean.
Jamaica:
International
Centre
for
Caribbean Language Research (ICCLR), 2011
Craig, Dennis. Teaching language and literacy: Policies and
procedures for vernacular situations. Georgetown, Guyana:
Education and Development Services, 1999.
Craig, Dennis. “Education and Creole English in West Indian” (371379) in Hymes, Dell, ed. Pidginisation and Creolisation of
Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.
Craig, Dennis. “The Use of the vernacular in West Indian Education”
(99-117) in Simmons-McDonald, Hazel and Ian Robertson.
Exploring the Boundaries of Caribbean Creole Languages.
Kingston: University of the West Indies Press, 2006.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Fromkin, R., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. An Introduction to Language.
Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.
James, Carl. Errors in Language Learning and Use: Exploring Error
Analysis. London: Longman, 1998.
UNESCO. “The Use of the Vernacular in Education”. Monograph.
Vienna, 1953
UNESCO. “Mother Tongue Matters: Local Language as a Key to
Effective Learning.” Paris, 2003
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
MODULE 8: Language and Cognition
(4hrs)
Overview:
This module presents an introduction to Language and Cognition.
Genetic epistemology and information processing theories will be
discussed, in addition to social constructivism. Since the brain is the
centre of thinking, the parts of the brain responsible for language and
thinking will be explored. Specifically, Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas
will be discussed. People suffer from specific types of brain disorders
like aphasia; therefore, Broca’s, Wernicke’s, and conduction aphasia
will be discussed. Difficulties which language users experience in
getting the brain and speech production to work will also be explored.
Module Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to understand:
-
Some theories of cognition
-
Stages of cognitive development
-
Parts of the brain involved in language
-
Tongue tips and slips
-
Aphasia and other brain disorders
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Module Orientation:
This module has four units.
Unit 1: An overview of theories of cognition
Unit 2: Vygotsky and Social constructivism
Unit 3: The brain and language
Unit 4: Acquired and developmental language disorders
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete
each one of them as they would help you to remember the information
which you have learned.
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to
check them only after you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will probably need about 4 hours to complete this module
including the activities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Unit 1: Some of theories of cognition (I hr.)
Introduction
This unit introduces some important theories of language and
cognition.
Genetic epistemology theory, information processing and
social constructivism theories will be discussed. Students will be able
to assess the relevance of these theories to education.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
1. Understand some theories of cognition
-
Genetic epistemology theory
-
Information processing theory
-
Social constructivism
2. Discuss their relevance in education
What is needed?
- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
At the start of this unit, we ask you to ponder on the following
questions.
What is the role of language in cognition? How is thought related to
language?
Are
cognitive
skills
and
thinking
skills
primarily
determined by innate factors, or are they the result of social and
cultural interaction? Does a child think before he acquires language?
Do we think with words, or do we use words to communicate made-up
decisions which we have previously thought of?
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Cognitive Theories and Language
The phenomenon of language has intrigued a great number of scholars.
The abstract relation between cognition and language has further
caused controversy and confusion. Opinion is sharply divided between
those who believe that a certain degree of cognition always exists
before human beings are exposed to language, and those who believe
that language influences and determines the development of cognition.
Linguists, developmental psychologists, psycholinguists, and educators
have all attempted to decipher the mysterious connection between
cognition and language. We will be discussing a few of these theories.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Genetic epistemology theory
The renowned French psychologist, Piaget, (1896-1980) believed that
both cognitive and language development take place because of genetic
epistemology. He suggested that there is something in the nature of
infants that leads to the development of cognition and language.
Development is distinct levels of intelligence, and it occurs through the
operation of assimilation, accommodation and equilibration.
Process of Cognitive Development
As a biologist, Piaget was interested in how an organism adapts to its
environment which Piaget described as intelligence. Behaviour
(adaptation to the environment) is controlled through mental
organizations called schemes that the individual uses to represent the
world and designate action. This adaptation is driven by a biological
drive to obtain balance between schemes and the environment
(equilibration).
Piaget hypothesized that infants are born with schemes operating at
birth that he called "reflexes." In other animals, these reflexes control
behaviour throughout life. However, in human beings as the infant
uses these reflexes to adapt to the environment, these reflexes are
quickly replaced with constructed schemes.
Piaget described two processes used by the individual in its attempt to
adapt: assimilation and accommodation. Both of these processes are
used throughout life as the person increasingly adapts to the
environment in a more complex manner. An individual uses his
schemes (schemata, schema) in this process of assimilation and
accommodation.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Assimilation is the process of using or transforming the environment
so that it can be placed in pre-existing cognitive structures.
Accommodation is the process of changing cognitive structures in
order to accept something from the environment. Both processes are
used simultaneously and alternately throughout life. An example of
assimilation would be when an infant uses a sucking schema that was
developed by sucking on a small bottle when attempting to suck on a
larger bottle. An example of accommodation would be when the child
needs to modify a sucking schema developed by sucking on a pacifier to
one that would be successful for sucking on a bottle.
As schemes become increasingly more complex (i.e., responsible for
more complex behaviours) they are termed structures. As one's
structures become more complex, they are organized in a hierarchical
manner (i.e., from general to specific).
Stages of Cognitive Development. Piaget identified four stages in
cognitive development.
1. Sensorimotor stage (Infancy). In this period (which has 6
stages), intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity
without the use of symbols. Knowledge of the world is limited
(but developing) because it is based on physical interactions /
experiences. Children acquire object permanence at about 7
months of age (memory). Physical development (mobility) allows
the child to begin developing new intellectual abilities. Some
symbolic (language) abilities are developed at the end of this
stage.
2. Pre-operational stage (Toddler and Early Childhood). In this
period (which has two substages), intelligence is demonstrated
through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
and imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a
nonlogical,
non-reversible
manner.
Egocentric
thinking
predominates.
3. Concrete
operational
stage
(Elementary
and
early
adolescence). In this stage (characterized by 7 types of
conservation: number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area,
volume), intelligence is demonstrated through logical and
systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects.
Operational
thinking
develops
(mental
actions
that
are
reversible). Egocentric thought diminishes.
4. Formal operational stage (Adolescence and adulthood). In
this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use
of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there
is a return to egocentric thought. Only 35% of high school
graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal operations;
many people do not think formally during adulthood.
Many pre-school and primary programs are modelled on Piaget's
theory, which
provides part of the foundation for constructivist
learning, which will be discussed later. (Piaget readings from Wood,
1988).
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
What are some educational implications of Piaget’s theory?
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Educational Implications
An important implication of Piaget's theory is adaptation of instruction
to the learner's developmental level. The content of instruction needs
to be consistent with the developmental level of the learner.
The teacher's role is to facilitate learning by providing a variety of
experiences.
Discovery learning and supporting the developing
interests of the child are two primary instructional techniques.
It is recommended that parents and teachers challenge the child's
abilities, but NOT present material or information that is too far
beyond the child's cognitive level of development.
It is also
recommended that teachers use a wide variety of concrete experiences
to help the child learn (e.g., use of manipulatives, working in groups to
get experience seeing from another's perspective, field trips, etc).
"Discovery learning" provides opportunities for learners to explore and
experiment, thereby encouraging new understandings. Opportunities
that allow students of differing cognitive levels to work together often
encourage less mature students to advance to a more mature
understanding. One further implication for instruction is the use of
concrete "hands on" experiences to help children learn. Additional
suggestions include:
Providing concrete props and visual aids, such as models.
Using familiar examples to facilitate learning more complex ideas,
such as story problems in math.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Allowing opportunities to classify and group information with
increasing complexity; using outlines and hierarchies to facilitate
assimilating new information with previous knowledge.
Present problems that require logical analytic thinking; the use of
tools such as "brain teasers" is encouraged.
The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
What are the different types of memory, and how is information stored
in memory? Why is memory important to education?
Feedback Activity 2:
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Information Processing Theory
The proponents of the information processing theory postulate that
there is a constant interaction between the inside and the outside that
plays an important role in both cognitive and linguistic development.
The theory is primarily concerned with what develops and how
development occurs. The information-processing theory focuses on
children's representation of information, the processes they use to
transform the information and the memory constraints on the
processing and representation. In contrast to Piaget's theory,
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
information-processing postulates that children's thinking changes
continuously as a result of ongoing cognitive activity.
Information-processing emphasizes processing limitations, strategies
to overcome those limitations, and knowledge about specific contents.
In other words, the whole approach to cognitive and linguistic
development is that of problem solving. The information-processing
scientists call it "task analyses." The representation and processing of
information is contingent upon the nature of the task. It is, therefore,
advisable that we understand the task environment in order to
understand people's actions.
It
is
important
to
discuss
three
very
important
structural
characteristics of information-processing: sensory memory, shortterm or working memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory is the capacity for retaining large amounts of
information. On the other hand, short-term memory is like a
computer's central processing unit. People are aware of the contents of
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
short-term memory. However, it is limited in the sense that it only
includes a limited amount of information. The longer the piece of
information is kept active in the short-term memory, the longer it will
be transferred to long-term memory. The information stored in shortterm memory can be retrieved rapidly. Children's ability to retrieve
short-term memory helps them see related and varied events. Unlike
sensory and short-term memory, there is no limit on the storage and
retention of long-term memory. People store information in separable
units and retrieve it as and when they need it.
Long-term memory processes
There are three main activities related to long term memory: storage,
deletion and retrieval.
Information from short-term memory is stored in long-term memory
by rehearsal. The repeated exposure to a stimulus or the rehearsal of a
piece of information transfers it into long-term memory. Experiments
also suggest that learning time is most effective if it is distributed over
time. Deletion is mainly caused by decay and interference. Emotional
factors also affect long-term memory. However, it is debatable whether
we actually ever forget anything or whether it becomes increasingly
difficult to access certain items from memory. Having forgotten
something may just be caused by not being able to retrieve it.
Information may not be recalled sometimes but may be recognized, or
may be recalled only with prompting. This leads us to the third process
of memory: information retrieval.
There are two types of information retrieval: recall and recognition. In
recall, the information is reproduced from memory. In recognition the
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
presentation of the information provides the knowledge that the
information has been seen before. Recognition is of lesser complexity,
as the information is provided as a cue. However, the recall can be
assisted by the provision of retrieval cues which enable the subject to
quickly access the information in memory.
A major goal of education is to help learners store information in longterm memory and to use that information on later occasions in order to
effectively solve problems.
Summary (5 minutes)
Piaget believed that both language and cognitive development take
place because of genetic epistemology. Piaget described two processes
used by an individual in its attempt to adapt to the environment:
assimilation and accommodation. Piaget also identified four stages of
cognitive
development:
sensorimotor,
preoperational,
concrete
operational and formal operational stage.
On the other hand, information processing theory focuses on how we
take in information in memory, how we process it and how we retrieve
it. To a great extent this depends on our analysis of the task. In
sensory memory much information is taken in but is not attended to.
On the other hand, we are aware of the information in short term
memory but short-term memory is limited. Information kept alive in
short term memory can be transferred to long term memory for
storage, deletion or retrieval. A major goal of education is to help
learners store information in long term memory and to use it to solve
problems.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Suggested Readings:
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Piaget. J. The Language and Thought of the Child. New York:
Meridian. 1955
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Wood. D. How children Think and Learn. (2nd edition) Oxford;
Blackwell Publishing, 1988.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Unit 1: Vygotsky and Social Constructivism
(1hr.)
Introduction
This unit introduces some differences between thought and speech and
concept formation. Students explore Vygotsky’s social constructivism view of
cognition and how Vygotsky’s view differs from Piaget’s.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
1. Discuss origins of thought and language
2. Discuss word meaning and concept formation
3. Discuss Vygotsky’s social constructivism
4. Identify differences between Vygotsky and Piaget
5. Apply social constructivism to the classroom
What is needed?
- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
What is the origin of thought and language? Does a child think
before he acquires language?
According to Vygotsky (1896-1937), thought and speech have different
roots in humans, thought being non-verbal and language being nonintellectual in an early stage. However, their development lines are not
parallel – they cross again and again. Around the age of two, the
curves of development of thought and speech until then separate meet
and join to initiate a new form of behaviour. That is when thought
becomes verbal and speech becomes rational.
What is the origin of concept formation?
According to Vygotsky (1962) once a child realizes that everything has
a name, each new object presents the child with a problem situation
and he solves the problem by naming the object.
“A problem must arise that cannot be solved otherwise than through
the formation of new concepts (Vygotsky, 1962:55).
When he lacks the word for the new object, he demands it from adults.
The early word-meanings thus acquired will be the embryos of concept
formation.
Vygotsky also discussed the importance of private speech. In his theory
of cognition Vygotsky found private speech, or essentially talking to
oneself to be important because it aided children in thinking through
an issue and coming to a solution or conclusion. Private speech
eventually is internalized, but it never completely goes away.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Socio-cultural view of cognition
Are cognitive skills and thinking skills primarily determined by innate
factors, or are they the result of social and cultural interaction?
Vygotsky’s socio-cultural view of cognition differs from Piaget’s
developmental view. Vygotsky placed emphasis on culture as the
important factor in cognition.
The Social Cognition Learning Model
The social cognition learning model asserts that culture is the prime
determinant of individual development. Humans are the only species
to have created culture, and every human child develops in the context
of a culture. Therefore, a child’s learning development is affected in
ways large and small by the culture–including the culture of family
environment–in which he or she is enmeshed.
Discussion
1. Culture makes two sorts of contributions to a child’s intellectual
development. First, through culture children acquire much of
the content of their thinking, that is, their knowledge. Second,
the surrounding culture provides a child with the processes or
means of their thinking, what Vygotskians call the tools of
intellectual adaptation. In short, according to the social
cognition learning model, culture teaches children both what to
think and how to think.
2. Cognitive development results from a dialectical process
whereby a child learns through problem-solving experiences
shared with someone else, usually a parent or teacher but
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
sometimes a sibling or peer. Vygotsky determined that the
cognitive development of children and adolescents is enhanced
when they work in their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).
3. Initially, the person interacting with child assumes most of the
responsibility for guiding the problem solving, but gradually this
responsibility transfers to the child.
4. Language is a primary form of interaction through which adults
transmit to the child the rich body of knowledge that exists in
the culture.
5. As learning progresses, the child’s own language comes to serve
as her primary tool of intellectual adaptation. Eventually,
children can use internal language to direct their own behavior.
6. Internalization refers to the process of learning–and thereby
internalizing–a rich body of knowledge and tools of thought that
first exist outside the child. This happens primarily through
language.
7. A difference exists between what the child can do on her own
and what the child can do with help. Vygotskians call this
difference the zone of proximal development.
8. Since much of what a child learns comes from the culture
around her and much of the child’s problem solving is mediated
through an adult’s help, it is wrong to focus on a child in
isolation. Such focus does not reveal the processes by which
children acquire new skills.
9. Interactions with surrounding culture and social agents, such as
parents and more competent peers, contribute significantly to a
child’s intellectual development.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Reflect on how Lev Vygotsky cognitive view. Give some broad areas for
application to curriculum, to instruction and/or to assessment.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Vygotsky’s theory does not mean that anything can be taught to any
child. Only instruction and activities that fall within the zone promote
development. For example, if a child cannot identify the sounds in a
word even after many prompts, the child may not benefit immediately
from instruction in this skill. Practice of previously known skills and
introduction of concepts that are too difficult and complex have little
positive impact. Teachers can use information about both levels of
Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development in organizing classroom
activities in the following ways:
 Instruction can be planned to provide practice in the zone of
proximal development for individual children or for groups of
children. For example, hints and prompts that helped children
during the assessment could form the basis of instructional
activities.
 Cooperative learning activities can be planned with groups of
children at different levels who can help each other learn.
 Scaffolding is a tactic for helping the child in his or her zone of
proximal development. Scaffolding involves encouragement
and assistance in the form of advice and suggestions to aid a
child in mastering a new concept. Scaffolding is the final piece
of Vygotsky’s cognitive development theory. By using hints and
pointers from teachers, parents, and peers, who have already
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
grasped the desired concept, children are able to form their
own path toward a solution and by doing this eventually to selfregulate, or think and solve problems without the help of
others.
The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Reflect on Piaget’s view of cognition. Reflect on Vygotsky’s view of
cognition. In a paragraph or two compare and contrast the differences
in how they view cognition. Give one application to the classroom.
Feedback Activity 2:
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Piaget and Vygotsky were both enormously significant contributors to
the cognitive development component of psychology. Both Piaget and
Vygotsky were regarded as constructivists. Constructivism is an
approach to learning and teaching based on the premise that cognition
is the result of “mental construction.” In other words, students learn by
fitting new information together with what they already know. One
other similarity between Piaget and Vygotsky is that they both believe
that the boundaries of cognitive growth were established by societal
influences.
The main ideas of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theory differ. Piaget
believed that intelligence came from action. He held that children
learn through interacting with their surroundings and that learning
takes place after development. On the other hand, Vygotsky felt that
learning happens before development can occur and that children learn
because of history and symbolism. Vygotsky also believed that children
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
value input from their surroundings and from others. Piaget did not
place importance on the input of others.
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories on cognitive development also have
differing opinions. While Piaget’s theory has four clear stages,
Vygotsky alleged that there are no set stages at all. Vygotsky referred
to private speech and the ZPD.
Teachers and school systems have been applying the cognitive
development theories of Piaget and Vygotsky for some time. A good
example of Piagetian learning could be set in a preschool classroom.
During the preschool years Piaget views children as egocentric.
Therefore, it would be logical to talk about things with preschool age
children from their own viewpoints as they feel their experiences are
the only experiences. During show and tell one child might say the ball
that another child brought to class to share is for rolling while the
child who brought the ball might feel the ball is better suited to
throwing. Neither child is wrong in this instance, since the ball can be
used for both purposes. However they may think that because they
each respectively like to roll or throw the ball.
A possible classroom application of Vygotsky’s cognitive theory could
take place in a first-grade classroom. First grade students are often on
varying levels of knowledge. Some children may already know to read
while others are still trying to master this concept. A good way to help
the children who are not reading as well as the others may be to give
these children help sounding out a word when they get stuck while
reading a story.
In conclusion, cognitive development plays a key role in learning and
thinking methods of children. Piaget and Vygotsky offer some
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
incredible insight into the possible ways children learn and by using
these theories it is possible to create a more conducive learning
environment for each child.
Summary
(5 minutes)
Psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed that children learn through
interactions with their surrounding culture. This theory, known as the,
social-cultural view, states that the cognitive development of children
and adolescents is enhanced when they work in their Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD).
To reach the ZPD, children need the help of adults or more competent
individuals to support or scaffold them as they are learning things.
The ZPD is the range of tasks that one cannot yet perform
independently, but can accomplish with the help of a more competent
individual.
As time goes by, the adult will continually adjust the amount of
support they give to the child’s level of performance.
Piaget and Vygotsky are both regarded as constructivists. They both
believe that students learn by fitting new information together with
what they already know. They both believe that the boundaries of
cognitive growth were established by societal influences.
However, they differ in that Piaget believed that intelligence came
from
action.
surroundings
Children
and
learn
learning
through
takes
interacting
place
after
with
their
development.
Alternatively, Vygotsky felt that learning happens before development
can occur and that children learn because of history and symbolism.
Vygotsky also believed that children value input from their
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
surroundings and from others. Piaget did not place importance on the
input of others.
While Piaget’s theory has four clear stages, Vygotsky’s alleged that
there are no set stages at all.
Both theorists offer incredible insight into the possible ways children
learn and both have made invaluable contribution to learning and
education.
Suggested Readings
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 200
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Unit 3: The Brain and Language (1hr.)
Introduction:
The unit will introduce you to the neurology of language or neurolinguistics
which is the study of how the brain processes language. Broca’s area and
Wernicke’s area, and their relevance to language processing will be discussed.
Students are also introduced to right brain and left brain functions and their
importance in education and learning.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
-
Discuss importance of Broca’s area
-
Discuss importance of Wernicke’s area
-
Identify right brain strengths in students
-
Identify left brain strengths in students
What is needed?
-A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Where is the ability to use language located?
The obvious answer is ‘in the brain.’ In order to provide a more specific
answer
we
have
to
turn
to
work
done
in
neurolinguistics.
Neurolinguistics is the study of how the brain processes language. But
first let us look at the case of Phineas Gage.
In September of 1848, in Vermont, a construction foreman named,
Phineas Gage was blasting away rocks to lay a new railway line. As
Phineas pushed an iron tamping rod into the blasting hole in a rock,
some gunpowder accidentally exploded and sent the three- and-a –half
foot long tamping pole up through Phineas upper left cheek and out
from the top of his forehead. The rod landed about fifty yards away.
Phineas suffered the type of injury from which it was assumed, no one
could recover. However, a month later, Phineas was up and about, with
no apparent damage to his senses or his speech.
The point of this amazing story is that, if language ability is located in
the brain, it clearly is not situated right at the front.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Parts of the brain
Since Phineas’ time, a number of discoveries have been made about the
specific areas in the brain which are related to language functions.
If we take a head, remove hair, scalp, skull, disconnect the brain stem and
cut the corpus callosum (which connects the two hemispheres) we will
basically be left with two parts, the left hemisphere and the right
hemisphere.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Functions of the brain are shared by these two hemispheres – this is
called lateralization. However, functions are not totally lateralized, so
if damage happens to one hemisphere of the brain, some of the
functions of that hemisphere can be carried on by the other
hemisphere. Language is mainly located in the left hemisphere. We
have come to know that these areas exist largely through the
examination in autopsies of the brains of people who, in life were
known to have specific language disabilities. That is, we have
determined where language abilities for normal users must be, because
people who had language disabilities also had damage to those specific
areas of the brain.
The left brain is the dominant language hemisphere for approximately
95% and 90% of right-handed men and women, respectively. The right
side of the brain houses the language areas for the other 5% and 10%,
respectively. For left-handed people, roughly 70% have their language
areas in the left side of the brain, while the other 30% have it on the
right.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
The dominant language hemisphere is the side of a person’s brain
where the machinery for language (i.e., areas of Broca and Wernicke)
is located. Apart from these areas, some functions associated with
language processing are also located in adjacent areas of the brain.
Broca’s Area
Broca's area is the area of the brain responsible for speech production,
language processing, and language comprehension, as well as
controlling facial neurons. First discovered in 1861, Broca's area was
named after Pierre Paul Broca, a French surgeon. Broca discovered the
area after studying the brain of a patient with speech impairment after
his death. It was noted that damage to the corresponding area on the
right hemisphere had no such effect. This finding was first used to
argue that language ability must be located in the left hemisphere and
since then has been taken as more specifically illustrating that Broca’s
area is crucially involved in the production of speech.
Brain: Broca's area
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Wernicke’s area
The posterior speech cortex is known as Wernicke’s area. Carl
Wernicke was a German doctor who in the 1870’s reported that
damage to this part of the brain was found among patients who had
speech comprehension difficulties. This finding confirmed the lefthemisphere location of language ability and led to the view that
Wernicke’s area is part of the brain crucially involved in the
understanding of speech.
Broca's area is connected to the Wernick’s area of the brain by the
arcuate fasciculus, which is a pathway made of neurons. It is found in
the frontal of the cortex, within the inferior frontal 0. It is comprised of
two primary parts: the Pars triangularis and the Pars opercularis.
The Pars triangularis is located in the anterior portion of Broca's area.
Researchers believe that this area of the brain is responsible for
helping the human brain interpret different stimulus modes. It is also
where verbal conducts are programmed in the brain.
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Based on the above information, what observations can you make
about language and the brain?
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Let us consider the following observations we can make about
language and the brain.
1. Damage to the brain can affect a person’s ability to process
language; damage to the heart, lungs, or kidneys (short of killing
the person) does not.
2. Damage to the left side of the brain is more likely to cause
language processing difficulties (being able to hear speech but
unable to comprehend it) than is damage to the right side of the
brain.
3. Damage to the front part of the brain is more likely to affect the
production of language through speaking and writing. Damage
to the rear part of the brain is more likely to affect the
comprehension of language through listening and reading.
4. In about 98 percent of right-handers, the left hemisphere
accomplishes most language processing functions. In non-right
handers (which include left-handed and ambidextrous people),
language functions are far more likely to involve the right
hemisphere. There is some evidence that lateralization differs in
males and females.
The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Think of some students in your classroom or some students you know
quite well. Make a list of some of their strengths or skills and some of
their weaknesses. Write a paragraph answering the following question:
Why do students display different strengths?
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Feedback Activity 2:
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Right Brain/Left Brain Functions
Every perceptive teacher sees a diversity of strengths and weaknesses
in each of her students: There is the child who loves math but has
trouble playing well with classmates. There is the one who makes
friends easily but struggles to stay focused on written tasks, and
another who creates beautiful paintings but can't seem to retain much
of what she's read.
Recent brain research shows that the complex abilities apparent in
individual kids are reflected on the inside, as well as the outside. Parts
of the brain involved in reading, math, music, and personal
relationships are different -- larger or smaller, more or less active -- in
every child. These circuits are independent, so even if a child struggles
in one domain, like reading, he may have a neurological advantage in
others. And perhaps most surprising, scientists have established that
learning and practicing certain skills can cause the corresponding
brain areas to morph and grow. In other words, by helping a child hone
her abilities, you can actually change her brain.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
The following diagram shows how your brain is organized.
How the Brain Works
Left Brain Functions2
Right Brain Functions
Uses logic
Uses feeling
Detail oriented
“Big pictures” oriented
Facts rule
Imaginations rules
Words and language
Symbols and images
Present and past
Present and future
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Math and science
Philosophy and religion
Order/pattern perception
Spatial perception
Knows object name
Knows object function
Reality based
Fantasy based
Forms strategies
Presents possibilities
Practical
Impetuous
Safe
Risk taking
Most scientists and researchers seem to agree that there are definite
differences in the way each hemisphere of the brain works. Essentially,
the right brain is holistic, convergent, and able to ascertain the big
picture. The right brain deals with emotions, feelings, creativity, and
intuition. The left brain is linear, divergent and focuses on one thing at
a time. The left brain deals with more logical subject areas, such as
mathematics and speech. Much of this knowledge was derived from
research by scientists which resulted in a proliferation of books,
articles, web sites, etc., presenting the differences between dominantly
right-brained and dominantly left-brained individuals and how those
differences affect our learning and our personalities. This research also
led to the formation of many theories concerning how our brain came
to develop in this manner, with the right and left brains apparently
controlling such different aspects of our very being.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Summary (5 minutes)
Neurolinguistics
has
provided
some
answers
about
language
processing and the brain. The brain is composed of the left hemisphere
and the right hemisphere. The left temporal lobe is thought to be
critical for language comprehension and production. Wernicke’s area is
the name of the specific region of the temporal lobe that is associated
with speech comprehension whereas Broca’s area is the region of the
temporal lobe associated with speech production.
Recent brain research shows that specific parts of the brain involved
in reading, math, music and personal relationships are different,
larger or smaller and more or less active in every child. The right brain
is holistic and able to see the big picture. The right brain deals with
emotions, feelings, creativity. The left brain is linear and deals with
more logical subjects such as mathematics and speech. Much research
has been done on the brain and how right-brain dominated and leftbrain dominated individual differences affect our learning and
personalities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Suggested References
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Unit 4: Acquired and developmental language
disorders (1hr.)
Introduction:
The unit will help you to understand some types of language disorders
from which people suffer. Some of these are less severe and may be
described as tongue tips and slips. Others are more severe and are due
to brain damage generally described as aphasia.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to understand
and discuss:
-
Tongue Tips and slips
- Tip-of-the- tongue phenomenon
- Malapropisms
- Slip of the tongue
-
Types of aphasia
- Broca’s
- Wernicke’s
- Conduction
What is needed?
- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
Start of the lesson (5 minutes)
Aphasia
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is an acquired disorder of language due to cortical damage. It
is important to note that aphasia is acquired; that is, only a person
who has already developed a linguistic system can be stricken with
aphasia. For example, a person with brain damage present at birth (or
sustained immediately afterward) which prevents the acquisition of
language would not properly be said to have aphasia. Moreover
aphasia is specifically a language disorder.
It is due to cortical
damage, or to damage to the white fibre tracts immediately underlying
language centres in the cortex.
Here we will be looking at the three most common types of aphasia:
Broca’s, Wernicke’s, and conduction.
(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)
Aphasia is defined as an impairment of language function due to
localized cerebral (brain) damage which leads to difficulty in
understanding or producing linguistic forms. The most common form of
aphasia is a stroke, though traumatic head injuries can have similar
effects.
Broca’s Aphasia
This disorder is also known as motor or expressive aphasia, because it
affects linguistic output rather than comprehension, and it typically
involves a lesion in the third frontal convolution of the dominant
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
hemisphere. This lesion is close to the motor cortex controlling the
speech muscles.
Symptoms usually include the following. First, motor function is
normal; that is the tongue and lips are fully functioning. However,
there is typically some paralysis on the side opposite the dominant
hemisphere. Second, the patient’s speech output is hesitant, halting,
laboured, and lacks normal intonation. For this reason, Broca’s
aphasia is classified as non-fluent aphasia. Third, the output is
“telegraphic” in that it usually lacks grammatical morphemes, such as
articles, prepositions, plural and possessive markers, tense markers on
verbs and so on. Fourth, reading and writing usually exhibit the same
deficiencies as speech.
Below are some examples of speech produced by patients with Broca’s
aphasia. In the following examples patients are trying to describe a
picture of a girl giving flowers to her teacher. Below is a sample of
responses.
1. Girl is handing flowers to teacher (Note the sporadic omission of
grammatical morphemes.
2. The young . . . the girl . . . the little girl is . . . the flower. Note the
hesitant style. At each pause the patient seems to be giving up
and starting over.
3. The girl is . . . is roses. The girl is rosing. The woman and the
little girl was rosed. Note here the use of rose as a verb.
Wernicke’s Aphasia
This type of language disorder typically involves a lesion in the first
temporal convolution of the dominant hemisphere. The patient’s
language consists of 30 – 80 percent neologistic jargon. This term
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
neologistic refers to ‘new words’ utterances that confirm to the
phonological structure of the patient’s language but are meaningless.
Consequently, Wernicke’s aphasia is sometimes referred to as
neologistic jargon aphasia. It results in difficulties in auditory
comprehension.
Someone suffering from this disorder can actually
produce very fluent speech which is however, often difficult to make
sense of. Very good terms are used, even in response to specific
requests for information, as in the following example:
I can’t talk of all of the things I do, and part of the part I can go
alright, but I can’t tell from the other people,
It is characterized by difficulty in finding the correct words and
circumlocution may be used as in the following answer to the question:
‘What is ink for? ‘To do with a pen.
Conduction aphasia
This type is identified with damage to the arcuate fasciculus and is
much less common. Patients are fluent but may have disrupted
rhythm because of pauses and hesitations. Comprehension of spoken
words is normally good. however, the task of repeating a word or
phrase (spoken by someone else) will create major difficulty with forms
such as vaysse and fosh being reported as attempted repetitions for
the words ‘base’ and ‘wash.’ What is heard and understood cannot be
transferred to the speech production area. However, many of the
symptoms (e, g. word finding difficulty) can occur in all types of
aphasia.
Language disorders of the type we have described are almost always
the result of injury to the left hemisphere.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
In a table, summarize the major symptoms of Broca’s, Wernicke’s
and conduction aphasia.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
The major symptoms of Broca’s, Wernicke’s and conduction aphasia
are summarized in the following table.
Broca’s
Lesion Site
Language
Third
Wernicke’s
frontal First
Conduction
temporal Arcuate
convolution
convolution
fasciculus
Nonfluent
Fluent
Fluent
Unimpaired
Severely
Unimpaired
Output
Comprehension
impaired
Self-monitoring
Yes
No
Yes
Paralysis
Yes
No
Contralateral
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
(contralateral)
Weakness
Main
Laboured
Neologistic
Severely
Characteristic
“telegraphic”
jargon
impaired
output
repetition
The Tutor introduces activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Think of some tip-of-the-tongue situations which you might have
experienced. For example,” in conversation you try to retrieve
someone’s name or a word from memory but fail to do so.
Feedback Activity 2:
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
Tongue Tips and Slips
Some researchers have noted that as language users we all experience
occasional difficulty in getting the brain and speech production to work
together
smoothly.
Minor
production
difficulties
have
been
investigated as possible clues to the way our linguistic knowledge may
be organized within the brain. In this section we will discuss tip-of-thetongue phenomenon, malapropisms and slip –of - the –tongue.
The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is one in which you feel that some
word is just eluding you, that you know the word, but that it just
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
wouldn’t come to the surface. Studies of this phenomenon have shown
that speakers generally have an accurate phonological outline of the
word, can get the initial sound correct and mostly know the number of
syllables in the word. When we make mistakes in this retrieval process
there are often strong phonological similarities between the target
word and the mistake.
Malapropisms
Malapropisms arise when someone confuses words which sound
similar but are different in meaning. For example, someone might say
“the writer of the story is unanimous” rather than the writer of the
story is anonymous”.
Slip-of-the-tongue
A lamb of leg and
A ten-pound dog
of bag food.
Slip-of-the-tongue errors occur in tangled expressions such s “long
shory stort” (for make a long story short). It also occurs in word
reversals as in “use the door to open the key” and “a fifty pound dog of
bag food.” This type of slip is also known as spoonerism.
Most
everyday ‘typs of the slung’ however are not so entertaining. They are
often simply the result of a sound being carried over from one word to
the next as in ‘black blaxes’ (for black boxes). Although the slips are
mostly treated as errors of articulation, it has been suggested that they
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
may result from ‘slips of the brain’ as it tries to organize linguistic
messages.
Summary (5 minutes)
Aphasia is an impairment of language which occurs when someone
suffers injury to the language areas of the brain. Aphasia can affect
language in many ways including its production (ability to speak), and
its comprehension (ability to understand others when they speak), as
well as other related abilities such as reading and writing.
In Broca's aphasia, the production of language is impaired, (such as
speaking) while other aspects of language are mostly preserved.
Broca's aphasia prevents a person from forming her own intelligible
words or sentences, but leaves her with an ability to understand others
when they speak. Often, people with Broca's aphasia are frustrated
because they can't transform their thoughts into words.
People with Wernicke’s aphasia can’t understand others, or even
themselves,
when
they
speak.
Their
speech,
however,
is
incomprehensible, as they create sentences whose words are arranged
in an apparently random and often amusing fashion.
Conduction
aphasia
is
characterized
by
intact
auditory
comprehension, fluent speech production, but poor speech repetition.
Patients will display frequent errors during spontaneous speech,
substituting or transposing sounds.
Tongue-tips-and-slips occur quite often in regular speech. As
language users we all experience occasional difficulty in getting the
brain and speech production to work together smoothly. In the tip-ofthe-tongue phenomenon you feel that some word is eluding you but it
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
just won’t come to the surface.
In malapropism there are strong
phonological similarities between the target word and the mistake. On
the other hand, the slip-of-the-tongue is a mistake in speaking, usually
trivial, but sometimes amusing.
Suggested References
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-58.
1959.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.
Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.
Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.
Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
MODULE 9: Creole Languages (2 hrs)
Overview:
This module presents an introduction to Pidgin and Creole languages
and also to Guyanese Creole as far as it is relevant to the content of
this course. It is not meant to be a rigorous discussion of all aspects of
Creole languages nor a comprehensive introduction to Guyanese
Creole.
Module Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. Understand what Pidgin and Creole languages are.
2. Gain an appreciation of Guyanese Creole.
3. Understand features of Guyanese Creole.
4. Gain an understanding of the Guyanese language situation.
Module orientation:
This module has two units:
Unit 1: Overview of Creole languages
Unit 2: Language in Guyana
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete
each one of them as they would help you to remember the information
which you have learned.
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to
check them only after you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will need about 2 hours to complete this module including the
activities.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 1: Overview of Creole Languages
(1hr.)
Introduction:
This unit will help you to understand how Creole languages are
formed. It will help you to understand that these languages are not
“corrupt” or “broken” versions of European languages, but are the
results of human linguistic creativity.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
-
Understand what Pidgin and Creole languages are
-
Understand how Pidgin and Creole languages come into being
-
What is needed?
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Cyril Potter College of Education
Introduction to Linguistics
Pidgin and Creole Languages (10 minutes)
Many persons usually, because of an ignorance of the history of Creole
languages, are under a misconception that Creole languages are bad
attempts to speak a Standard European language (English in
Guyana’s case).
The fact is that Creole languages are the products of multi-lingual
situations that arise when persons need to communicate but do not
have a common language by which to do so.
This could happen in two ways. In situations of brief contact, such as
in trading situations, the persons could create a temporary, on-the-spot
language to facilitate immediate business needs. The language that is
created would be very basic in nature, and is called a Pidgin. Pidgins
have few words, and a simplified grammar. They use much gestures
and body language and are restricted in usage. Much of their
vocabulary is made up of coined words, and metaphorical usages of
words. When the persons part company and go their separate ways,
the Pidgin ceases to be functional.
It is important to note that a Pidgin is not just a mixing of two or more
languages. Elements of the languages in contact are of course included
in the Pidgin, but this is done through complex linguistic processing by
the speakers, using their innate linguistic ability (which we will
discuss more, later).
If the contact continues, the use of the Pidgin will expand. The children
who are born speaking the Pidgin as their first language will expand
the vocabulary, grammar, semantics and usage of the Pidgin and when
this happens, the Pidgin will become a Creole language. However, a
Introduction to Linguistics
Pidgin could also continue to develop in its own way and remain a
Pidgin, as in the famous case of Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea.
A creole may also develop from the inception in situations where there
is longer contact between the groups.
Many persons associate Pidgin and Creole languages with slavery,
colonialism and European expansion, and so have negative attitude
towards these languages. But people have been creating Pidgins and
creoles for a long time, much longer than the slavery and the slave
trade. It is true that many pidgins and creole languages – especially in
the Caribbean and in the Pacific area – were created during the period
of slavery. These pidgins and Creoles are called Plantation Pidgins and
Creoles because they are associated with the plantation system.
However, Pidgin and Creoles have been created in many different
parts of the world, by many different peoples, and at many different
times in history. Many of these people have never been part of slavery
and the slave trade or had never worked on plantations. These people
include North American Indians, people within African countries, and
even Europeans.
The Caribbean is famous for its many creole languages such as
Sranan, Papiamento, Guyanese, and Haitain Creole. Some other creole
languages worldwide are: Tok Pisin, Bislama (Pacific), Nubi Creole
Arabic, Swahili (Africa), Chinook Jargon, Louisiana Creole (North
America).
Introduction to Linguistics
Theories of Creolisation (10 minutes)
The Plantation Pidgins and Creoles are the most well-known pidgin
and creole languages. While we know that they originated during
slavery, the slave trade and European expansion, exactly how they
originated is the topic of much debate. Many different theories have
been proposed to account for how creole languages are formed. These
theories can be divided into different categories: superstrate theories,
substrate theories and universalist theories.
The term “superstrate languages” refers to the dominant languages in
language contact situations, such as the European languages during
slavery and colonialism.
The superstrate theorists such as Robert
Chaudenson claim that Creole languages are that creoles are the
result of imperfect learning of the superstrate languages. As one group
tries to speak the language of the dominant group, they will make
mistakes. Also, they might not have full acquaintance and access and
opportunities to hear, learn and use the language of the dominant
group, and this therefore limits their ability to speak the language
perfectly.
“Substrate languages” refers to the languages of the other group in the
contact situation. The substrate theorists such as Hall and Taylor give
more credit to the non-European languages. These linguists show that
in the case of the Caribbean creoles, there is a substantial African
influence. When the slaves were brought from interior villages to the
West Coast of Africa to await shipment to the New World, they were
kept in holding pens for several weeks. One must also remember that
there would have been several languages spoken in the holding pens
because the Africans belong to different tribes with each tribe speaking
its own language (or dialect of another language). To add to this
Introduction to Linguistics
linguistic melting pot, the slaves spent approximately three months in
confinement in ships sailing across the Atlantic Ocean - a journey
referred to as the Middle Passage.
It is interesting to note that many history books present a somewhat
silent picture of the Middle Passage when there had to be a lot of
vocalisations among the slaves. During the three-month journey, the
conditions were conducive for the evolution of a Creole language - a
system of communication among persons of various linguistic systems.
When the slaves were brought to the New World to work on
plantations, the plantation owners deliberately separated slaves
belonging to the same tribes for fear that a revolt may be easily
planned. This strategy again proved to be conducive for a further
development of a Creole language since slaves of different languages
had to find a way to communicate. Further, interaction (though
minimal
in
some
cases)
with
the
Plantocracy
provided
the
opportunities for English words to enter the vocabulary of the slaves.
Derek Bickerton’s Language Bioprogram Hypothesis (1981) is one of
the most famous of the universalist theories. These theories propose
that creolisation demonstrates the human capacity to create and use
language. According to Bickerton, children in a situation where a
pidgin is spoken do not have the same kind of models to develop their
language that other children in normal language situations have.
These children therefore have to use their innate language ability –
their language bioprogram – to help them to make use of the input
from the pidgin and form it into a language that they can use.
Some theories are monogenetic, meaning that they attribute the
origins of creoles to a single source language.
Other theories are
Introduction to Linguistics
polygenetic, since they propose that many different languages
contributed to the origins of pidgins and creoles.
One famous monogenetic theory proposes a Portuguese Pidgin as the
basis for Caribbean and Pacific creoles. For example, several Creole
languages which have been part of colonisation, from as far as Papua
New Guinea to right here in the Caribbean, refer to small children as
“pikni”, “pikini” or “pikinini”. They all use variations of this word.
Interestingly,
the
Portuguese
word
for
small
is
“pequeño”.
Interestingly also, "dosay" which is the Berbice/Corentyne word for
"pancake" (known as "chota" or "sweet roti" in Demerara and
Essequibo) seems to be patterned after "doce" - the Portuguese word
for "sweet”. If one considers that the Portuguese were among the
earliest European explorers and traders, then the theory of monogenesis can be used to explain this phenomenon among the world’s
Creole languages. However, a major flaw with monogenesis in that a
one-word example is insufficient evidence to explain Creole origin.
Are Creoles Languages Versions of Other Languages? (10
minutes)
Another common misconception is that Creole languages are versions
or varieties of another dominant language. In the case of the
Caribbean Creoles, many persons think that our languages are
versions of European languages such as English, French, Dutch, and
Spanish.
Creole languages take a large part of their vocabulary from European
languages, but two things must be noted. The first is that the
grammars of the creole languages are different from those of the
Introduction to Linguistics
European languages. In fact, the grammars of creole languages are
more similar to each other than to their supposed European versions.
Also, creole languages use the vocabulary of European languages in
ways that are different from the European languages.
Let us take the sentence, mi does wuk backdam. This sentence uses
the English object pronoun me as a subject pronoun; it uses does as a
marker of habitual activity; it has a different pronunciation of the word
work, and it uses two words from English to create a new word
backdam which is not understood by native speakers of English.
Some other examples:
hot (adjective) is used as a verb as in hot de tea;
disgusting (revolting) means bothersome;
instead of making noise, Guyanese keep noise;
and stupidity becomes stupidness
Creole Continuum (10 minutes)
In some countries where a Creole language is spoken but there is also
another language which is the official language, a number of levels or
varieties might arise. Some of these levels are recognizable as the most
original forms of the creole, while other levels seem to be closer to the
official language. This is the case in Guyana and Jamaica, where most
persons speak a Creole language but also hear, speak, read, and write
English, which is the official language. These variations of the creole
may be arranged in a scale from the most creole varieties (called the
basilect) to those that are most similar to the official language (the
Introduction to Linguistics
acrolect). Levels between these two are called the mesolect. This scale
is called the Creole Continuum A simplified diagram of the creole
continuum is given below:
Creole Continuum
Acrolect
Mesolect
Urban
I was goin
Basilect
Rural
ah de goin
me de goin
me bin a go
Linguists have two different views on this situation developed. Some
linguists – e.g. David De Camp - see this as a further stage in the
history of development of creole languages. These linguists say that
the varieties developed after the Creole was formed in situations where
the speakers of the Creole are also exposed to a powerful standard
language. In our case, English is the language that is a dominant
standard in the world we live. The standard language (English in our
case) exerts an influence on the speakers of the Creole. That is, they
see it as a social dialect which allows them to gain prestige. This
causes them to change their creole as they attempt more and more to
speak the standard language.
David De Camp (1971) called this scale of basilect - mesolect - acrolect
the Post Creole Continuum, and he theorized that it results from a
Introduction to Linguistics
process of decreolisation. Decreolisation is the reverse of creolisation –
it is the undoing of creole features, resulting in a continuum of
varieties. One theoretical implication of decreolisation is that the
creole would gradually change and become more and more like the
standard language, resulting in the eventual disappearance of the
creole.
Others linguists such as Rickford take a more historical view of the
origins of the continuum, and argue that the variations that we call the
acrolect, mesolect and basilect were present from the inception of the
creole. They claim that the continuum is a natural result of how creoles
are formed. In such situations they point out, there will always be
some differentials in language creation: different persons would learn
and develop language at different rates; they would have different
amounts of contact with the superstrate language, and different
opportunities to use it, and so on. In other words, we do not all acquire
or develop language at a uniform rate, and this would be reflected in
any society’s language.
Yet other linguists such as Mufwene believe that in the early days of
the plantations when there were fewer labourers and closer contact
between Europeans and non-Europeans, the conditions were more
favourable for the development of varieties which resembled the
European languages. However, as the plantation system expanded and
occupied thousands of labourers, there was less contact between
Europeans and others. Each successive wave of new labourers learnt
the language from those before them, and so the language began to
show many different levels.
Introduction to Linguistics
ACTIVITY 1
You are asked, as a teacher and as someone who has studied
Linguistics, to respond to the notions that Creole languages are not
proper languages, that they are corrupt and do not have any grammar.
Write a response to this.
FEEDBACK 1
There are many prejudicial notions about creole languages and you as
a teacher and as person who has studied Linguistics should be able to
dispel them.
Creole does not have grammar – all languages have to have grammar,
otherwise, anybody could say what they wanted how they wanted, and
this would lead to confusion. Grammar simply means the system, order
and rules of a language. For example, Spanish puts quality adjectives
after nouns (casa blanca), while English places them before nouns
(white house). Yet, no one accuses Spanish of not having grammar!
English is the proper language – English is just one of the many
languages in the world. There is no single “proper” language. Each
language is proper for the situations, culture, occasions and usages in
its native country, and by its native speakers. English also has its
spheres of proper usage.
English is a pure language while Creole languages are corrupt– All
languages borrow from other languages and moreover, make use of
these borrowings in their own ways. In fact, English has borrowed and
continues to borrow from many other languages to the extent that
almost 2/3 of its vocabulary is from other languages.
Introduction to Linguistics
Suggested References
Allsopp, J. and J. R. Rickford, eds. Language, Culture, and Caribbean
Identity. Kingston: Canoe Press, 2012.
Bickerton, Derek. “The Nature of the Creole Continuum”. Article. Jstor.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/412355
Bickerton, Derek. Bastard Tongues. New York: Hill and Wang, 2008
DeCamp, David. "The study of pidgin and creole languages." In Del
Hymes, ed. Pidginization and Creolization of Languages.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971. 13-43.
Rickford, John. Dimensions of a Creole continuum: history, texts &
linguistic analysis of Guyanese Creole. Palo Alto: Stanford
University Press, 1987
Robertson, Ian, and H. Simmons-McDonald, eds. Exploring the Boundaries of
Caribbean Creole Languages. University of the West Indies Press,
2006.
Introduction to Linguistics
Unit 2: Language in Guyana (1hr)
Introduction
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about our language.
Some Guyanese claim that we speak English, while others say
our language is a variety of English. Yet others believe that we
speak bad or broken English, and so on. Our linguistic situation
is indeed interesting poses a number of problems for teachers.
Officially, our language is listed as English. In real everyday
use, however, we speak a Creole language. Our language seems
to resemble English in some features, but in reality, it is
different from English in pronunciation, meaning, grammar and
vocabulary. This unit will help you to understand the creole
language that we speak in Guyana, and to understand that it
possesses its own grammar and other linguistic features.
Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:
- Understand the nature of the language situation in Guyana
- Identify varieties of language usage in Guyana
- Understand that Guyanese Creole is a language with its own
grammar
- Dispel prejudicial notions about Creole languages
What is needed?
Introduction to Linguistics
-
A dictionary
Writing paper
Pens
Variation in Guyanese Creole (10 minutes)
One of the realities of the language situation in Guyana is that there
are different ways in which the same idea or message could be said.
For example, we can say Me nah know or Me en know or Ah en know or
Ah doan know or I don’t know.
Each of these variations has its accepted level of use within the
Guyanese society and all are therefore acceptable in linguistics. As a
teacher, you would want your students to be able to speak and write
the versions that are closer to English whenever this is appropriate.
On the other hand, you would also want them not to lose the other
variations since these are important for them to function in the
Guyanese society.
As we discussed in the previous section, linguists have shown that
these variations can be arranged into a scale ranging from those which
are close to English to those which are quite different and other
variations fall somewhere in between these extremes. Richard Allsopp
was one of the first to notice this in the 1950’s, but David De Camp in
1971 was the first to introduce the notion of a creole continuum to
describe this scale of varieties.
It must be noted that the creole continuum is a theoretical framework
used to depict the language situation. Nevertheless, there are certain
linguistic features which can be recognized in the three broad areas of
Guyanese on the creole continuum: the basilect, the mesolect, and the
acrolect.
The basilect, on one extreme, is considered as the purest form of the
creole language. An example of a basilectal construction is:
Introduction to Linguistics
mii bin a go maakit wen mii faal dong.
The mesolect is the mid-way mark between the two extremes.
Examples of a mesolect construction are:
mii di goin maakit wen mii faal dong.
And a sentence in between the mesolect and acrolect can be:
ah di goin to di maakit wen ah fall dong.
The acrolect is the variety closest to, but not entirely, Standard
English. An example of an acrolectal construction is:
ah was goin to de market when ah fall dong.
The varieties of Guyanese are not as simple as they might appear on a
chart: there are several other intermediate varieties between the
labels.
Linguists such as John Rickford and Derek Bickerton have questioned
the original concept of the creole continuum, pointing out that it is
“uni-dimensional” meaning that it treats the language as having only a
single level of usage and does not reflect the fact that each section can
contain many levels of variation.
Bickerton (1973) introduced the idea of a Bi-Dimensional Creole
Continuum, and other linguists have proposed a “multi-dimensional”
continuum. These models simply state that varieties should not limited
to particular labels or lects, but should be seen as varieties that exist
within those communities themselves. For example, there can be an
“acrolectal” variety within a mesolectal community; or according to
Bickerton, there is “Sweet Talk” and “Broad Talk” of one variety.
For example, a speaker at the basilect level is not limited to one way of
speaking. Among his friends, he may say “Fe wha mek mih ga fa guh?”
Introduction to Linguistics
To his wife, he may say “Wha mek mih ga a guh?” To a visitor, he may
say “Wha mek mih mus guh?”
Bi-dimensional Creole Continuum
Acrolectal English/
Guyanese Standard
English
High/”Sweet Talk”
Acrolect
Basilect
Mesolect
Urban
I was goin
Rural
Low/”Broad Talk”
ah de goin
me de goin
me bin a go
Guyanese English (5 minutes)
The concept of Guyanese English is also important in this discussion.
This is a part of the acrolect which is close to English but is
characterized by particularly Guyanese usages of syntax, phonology,
morphology, semantics or lexicon. For example, someone may utter a
sentence such as Maria is a very disgusting girl. She only keeps noise
all the time with the proper rounding of the vowels, articulation of
word endings and correct grammar. Yet, this person may be
misunderstood, or not understood at all, by a native speaker of English
Introduction to Linguistics
because the sentence contains some particularly Guyanese usages of
words. Disgusting means “bothersome” in Guyana but “revolting” in
English, and in English, someone makes noise, not keeps noise. Many
persons including politicians, teachers, doctors, and lawyers use this
variety.
There are many other particularities of our language – names of
places, fruits, animals, activities, things; pronunciations of words;
particular phrases such as make story, find out story, go up the road,
fine change; particular semantics such as “corner” meaning the side of
the road and so on that make our language unique despite its surface
resemblance to English.
An intriguing question is whether Guyanese English reflects the
Guyanese Creole becoming more like English, or whether it shows that
English in Guyana becoming more creole.
Some Creole features of Guyanese (10 minutes).
Past Tense–verbs are used without a past tense marker, or bin is the
past tense marker in Guyanese. When sentences are closer to the
acrolect, bin is dropped and di is used.
Future tense – guh is used both basilect and mesolect
The continuous marker in Guyanese is a, so when someone says me
bin a waak, s/he is saying in English “I was walking”.
The completive marker is don as in: Ah don eat (“I have eaten”).
Sometimes, don may be omitted: Me eat (“I have eaten”).
Introduction to Linguistics
Pronouns – In the basilect, there is no differentiation for subject and
object pronouns. For example, compare the underlined pronouns in:
dem seh we fool dem(“they said that we fooled them”) and, he seh we
fool he(“he said that we fooled him”). In the mesolect, pronouns that
more closely resemble English pronouns are used, such as Ah (I), dey
(they), and we also see different subject and object pronouns being
used: dey seh we fool dem.
Plurality – In the basilect, nouns are not marked to show plurality.
The word dem is used instead, as in de book dem (“the books). Even
plural nouns may be marked this way, as in: De chirren dem(the
children).
Phonological differences:There are too many such differences to deal
with here. Some of them are:
There is no “r” in “maakit”, “faam”, “shut” (market, farm shirt) and many
other words;
Words like “down” [doʊn] and “town” [toʊn] are pronounced as “dong” [dɔŋ]
and [tɔŋ]
In many case, ends of words are not articulated: call me becomes [ka: mi];
start back becomes [star bak]; ing words lose the [g] phoneme; and so on.
The mid back vowel [ɔ] is articulated as [a] so that [pɔt] becomes [pat].
Syntactic differences: In the basilect, some questions begin with question
words: Wha mek de baby a cry? Other types of questions look like statements:
You name Terry?
We can also bring verbs to the front of the sentence as in Is run he run mek
he fall down.
Introduction to Linguistics
These examples show just a glimpse of the richness of Guyanese Creole
and also its difference from English.
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Write a response to the following question:

“g”is deleted at the end of “goin”; “down” [doʊn] is pronounced
as “dong” [dɔŋ]; “the” [ðɪ] is pronounced as “de” [dɪ]
Do you think these are cases of Decreolisation or Creolisation?
Explain.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
Judging from the Acrolectal features above, one may conclude that our
Creole is becoming decreolised and those features are there because
the language is on its way to becoming more English. Conversely, one
may also conclude that since the Acrolectal varieties are closer to
Standard English, it is the Standard that has been Creolised, i.e.,
resembles Creole features.
Introduction to Linguistics
The Tutor introduces Activity 2
Activity 2: (10 minutes)
Translate the following Creole proverbs into English, and answer the
questions that follow.
o wan wan dotii bil dam (wan wan dutty buil dam)
o tiif fram tiif mek Gaad laf (thief from thief mek God laugh)
 How many Standard English words are contained in each of the
proverbs?
 How many Creole words are contained in each of the proverbs?
 Is the grammar English or Creole?
Feedback to Activity 2 (10 minutes)
There are two things that you can do with the sentences: a literal
word-for-word translation; or make it grammatically correct. You can
also interpret what the proverb means. You can do that on your own
and discuss it with friends and family.
o
wan wan dotii bil dam
o One-one dutty build dam.
o Pieces of mud can build a road.
Introduction to Linguistics
o tiif from tiif mek Gaad laff
o Thief from thief make God laugh.
o A thief who steals from another thief makes God laugh.
wan wan dotii bil dam
 There are four English words: “one” (wan); “dirty” (dotii); “build”
(bil); and “dam” (dam).
tiif fram tiif mek Gaad laf
 There are four English words: “thief” (tiif); “from” (fram); “make”
(mek); and “God” (Gaad).
Is the grammar English or Creole?
Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)
The proverbs offer useful insight into the grammar of our Creole
language. (a) The process of reduplication is present in wan-wan or
one-one. This is a Creole feature that is said to have come from Africa;
(b) “thief” is both the noun and verb; (c) “mek” (make) is not conjugated
because Creole languages usually use the simplest form of the verb
which is not conjugated (or has any verb inflections).
Summary (5 minutes)
Creole languages are fully functional languages. They develop out of
human linguistic creativity and are not corrupted forms of European
languages. These languages have their own systems of grammar,
lexicon, phonology and semantics and they should not be compared
with European languages. Some Creole languages, like Guyanese
Introduction to Linguistics
Creole, have developed internal varieties. Guyanese Creole shows
systematic differences in grammar, phonology, semantics and lexicon,
from English.
Suggested References
Bickerton, Derek. “The Nature of the Creole Continuum”. Article. Jstor.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/412355
Bickerton, Derek. Bastard Tongues. New York: Hill and Wang, 2008
DeCamp, David. "The study of pidgin and creole languages." In Del
Hymes, ed. Pidginization and Creolization of Languages.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971. 13-43.
Rickford, John. Dimensions of a Creole continuum: history, texts &
linguistic analysis of Guyanese Creole. Palo Alto: Stanford
University Press, 1987
Robertson, Ian, and H. Simmons-McDonald, eds. Exploring the Boundaries of
Caribbean Creole Languages.University of the West Indies Press,
2006.
Introduction to Linguistics
Module 10: Linguistic Human Rights (1 hrs)
Overview
This module presents information on an aspect that has long affected
Guyana and the wider world but has recently become an area of study
in the Caribbean. This area of study, Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs),
is usually met with a lot debate and controversy. As you go through
this module, try to approach the concepts with an objective mind.
Module Orientation:
This module has one unit, but is divided up into three sections:
-
What is Linguistic Human Rights?
-
Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors
-
Solutions to Combat Linguistic Discrimination
It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete
each one of them as they would help you to remember the information
which you have learned.
Introduction to Linguistics
Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to
check them only after you have completed the activities.
Time Requirement:
You will need about 1 hour to complete this module including the activities.
Linguistic Human Rights and
Linguistic Discrimination (1hr)
Introduction
Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, and Rannut (1995) observe that many
times in the study of multiculturalism, the fact of the plurality of
multilingualism is forgotten. Linguistic discrimination can be found
mostly in societies where there are several languages and cultures
coexisting, and where one or more languages may be perceived as
being more superior to the other language(s). This was discussed in the
Language and Society module under Diglossia.
In Guyana’s context a question to ask is: Why is the rural dialect of
Guyanese called “raw Creolese” but the Standard English called
“proper English”? Why are labels not used in a reversed way to say,
“raw English” and “proper Creolese”? This simple labelling of the
languages is an example of a bias that exists in the population towards
Introduction to Linguistics
the two main languages. Linguistically speaking, there is nothing
inherently inferior or superior about a language. Socially, the notions
of “subordinate”, “broken”, “inferior”, and “bastardised” tend to get
attached to languages. Unfortunately, this has caused stereotypes to
be formed of the speakers of those languages. When a person is
disrespected and disenfranchised because of his/her language, s/he is a
victim of linguistic discrimination.
Specific Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Understand the basic tenets of linguistic human rights
2.
Familiarise
themselves
with
the
international
legal
instruments of linguistic human rights.
3. Identify the areas where linguistic discrimination may occur.
4. Determine what the best solutions are to curb linguistic
discrimination.
5. Understand the need for language planning in the education
sector.
What is needed?
1. Pen
2. Paper
Introduction to Linguistics
Introduction - What is Linguistic Human Rights?
Linguistic Human Rights, as a concept, is the merger of general
human rights and language rights. Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs),
however, focus on language rights of various people groups, especially
minority and disadvantaged groups. Since 1948, many countries have
become signatory partners to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UN, 1948). This means that governing bodies in those
countries are expected to fulfil the conditions spelt out in the
Declaration since every human being is guaranteed basic human.
Some of these rights include: the right to freedom of religion, the right
food and shelter, and the right to use the home language (or their L1).
Every free society functions effectively because of the respect for those
rights. Article 2 of the Declaration states:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in
this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Further, Article 2.1 of another United Nations declaration -Declaration
on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and
Linguistic Minorities (UN, 1992) - states:
Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic
minorities (hereinafter referred to as persons belonging to
minorities) have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess
and practise their own religion, and to use their own
language, in private and in public, freely and without
interference or any form of discrimination.
Introduction to Linguistics
In 1996, a more specific document outlining the need for recognition
and respect for language rights came in the shape of the Universal
Declaration of Linguistic Rights (UNESCO, 1996). In the Declaration,
a pertinent clause states:
Considering
that
invasion,
colonization,
occupation
and
other
instances of political, economic or social subordination often involve
the direct imposition of a foreign language or, at the very least, distort
perceptions of the value of languages and give rise to hierarchical
linguistic attitudes which undermine the language loyalty of speakers;
and considering that the languages of some peoples which have
attained sovereignty are immersed in a process of language
substitution as a result of a policy which favours the language of a
former colonial or imperial power;
And in Article 3.2:
This Declaration considers that the collective rights of language groups
may include the following, in addition to the rights attributed to the
members of language groups in the foregoing paragraph, and in
accordance with the conditions laid down in article 2.2:

the right for their own language and culture to be taught;

the right of access to cultural services;

the right to an equitable presence of their language and culture
in the communications media;

the right to receive attention in their own language from
government bodies and in socioeconomic relations.
In January 2011, the Charter on Language Policy and Language
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Rights in the Creole-Speaking Caribbean was crafted to outline policies
governing the treatment and recognition of languages in the
Caribbean. Languages such as Creole languages, Indigenous languages
and immigrant, and minority, languages are given full representation
in the Charter. In Guyana’s case, according to the Charter, the term
“territorial languages” would refer to Guyanese Creole.
Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors
Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, Rannut (1995) state that “depriving
individuals
or
groups
of
linguistic
human
rights
reflects
a
contemporary form of racism, namely linguicism”. Whether you agree
with the extremity of this observation or not, you will recognise that
indeed persons of minority languages are often times denied equal
access to services.
However, the opposite seems to apply in Guyana. Guyanese, Guyana’s
heart language (or mother tongue), is a majority language in Guyana
yet speakers of the mesolect and basilectal varieties are often times
discriminated against when they are denied access to services. In one
instance, English has more social prestige than Guyanese. In another
instance, the acrolectal (or urban) variety has more prestige than the
basilectal and mesolectal (or rural) varieties of Guyanese. Other cases
of discrimination in Guyana may also occur when speakers of the
several Indigenous languages interact in dominant English or
Acrolectal contexts and are denied access to services or treated
differently because of their language.
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Article 9.2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
This Declaration considers discrimination against
language communities to be inadmissible, whether it
be based on their degree of political sovereignty, their
situation defined in social, economic or other terms,
the extent to which their languages have been
codified, updated or modernized, or on any other
criterion.
Linguistic discrimination occurs in several sectors in a country. Three
important ones are: commerce, education, and the judiciary. Types of
discrimination can include (but are not limited to): exclusion,
disrespect, lack of recognition, and denial of justice.
We
will
briefly
explore
these
three
areas
where
linguistic
discrimination occurs with specific reference to Guyana.
Commerce
Examine the following scenario. A university educated young lady and
her mother went to a store to enquire out about prices of a certain
item. While the daughter was browsing through other items elsewhere
in the store, her mother approached the customer-service counter to
ask about an item she wished to purchase. However, the mother’s
language was rural Guyanese. The sales representative was not that
friendly and offered short responses and seemed either hesitant or
disgusted to give information. Upon seeing her mother’s frustration,
the daughter intervened and asked about the price of the item in
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English. The sales representative became friendlier and offered
information freely. This is a simple case of one person being
discriminated against because of her language.
Another example is of a Linguistics student who, as an experiment,
used a telephone to call an organization using different accents
requesting information. He placed a call to the organisation and spoke
using an urban dialect of Guyanese and got a friendly response and
quick assistance from the person on the other end of the phone. After
allowing thirty-minutes to elapse, he called back the same organisation
but spoke using a rural Guyanese dialect (accent and syntax) but was
met by curt, hesitant and at times annoyed responses. In the end, he
received little assistance because of speaking in/ rural Guyanese. This
is a clear case of discrimination based on one’s language, and we can
clearly see that there is a bias against the rural dialect of Guyanese (or
“raw Creolese”).ii
As an experiment, you and a friend/family member can try to simulate
the examples above. Choose two stores (where you are not well known):
one that is considered high class (or expensive), and one that is lower
class (or cheap). Go to either the high-end of low-end store and ask for
an item using the L-Variety of the language of your community or
region and make note of the responses you receive. Your friend/family
member should then go to the same store at a different time of the day
or week and ask for the same item using the H-Variety. Do the same
for the other store. You and your friend/family member should compare
the variety of responses you receive.
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Judiciary
The language of the Law is in English and is wrought in legal
terminology which makes it, at most times, difficult for the average
person to understand.
There is a very famous incident reported in legal circles of a defendant
who was on trial for the murder of his wife based on the evidence of a
written admission of guilt. It is reported that the defendant said of his
wife:
a mii gii am claat, a mii mek am, a mii kil am
However, when written, the true essence of what the defendant said
was lost. His defence lawyer upon cross examination of the evidence,
offered that the defendant did not admit guilt but rather said (or
asked):
a mii gii am claat, a mii mek am, a mii kil am?
In other words, the defendant made a plea for his innocence by asking:
If I bought clothes for her and made her who she was, why would I
want to kill her?
Because Guyanese is also a tonal language (i.e., intonation has
meaning), the defendant’s statement was misinterpreted and could
have worked to his detriment in an English-only judicial system. The
absence of a Creole-competent defence lawyer in the case above would
have seen the defendant being convicted for a crime he did not commit
based largely on a supposed “admission” of guilt. There is another case
reported in the 1970s of a man who was fined for theft because he
“admitted” to it (Devonish 1997). The judge asked him if he stole the
item in question, and he replied that he “does thief” which resulted in
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the fine. However, the defendant did not admit to stealing the item in
question, but admitted to normally stealing. The habitual marker in
Guyanese is “does”, which indicates his habitual stealing. The
defendant was convicted for his admission of habitual stealing, but not
for theft of the item which landed him in court in the first place.
Take the case of an elderly Amerindian couple who was brought before
the courts on the charge of illegal possession of firearm. The man was
seen walking in the community with a rifle and was apprehended by
police officers. When placed before the courts, the judge asked him if he
understood the implications of the charge and he replied that “mii een
ahnastaan” (me ain’t understand). His reply signaled that, first, he did
not understand the language of the law; and, second, he did not
understand the grave implications that his lack of knowledge would
lead to. He was subsequently jailed while his wife was placed on
$10,000 bail. Luckily, a sympathetic lawyer intervened and was able at
a later date to secure his release.
The language of the courts, many times, is expressed in legal jargon
that excludes the Creole or Indigenous speaker. Article 14 of the
Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the CreoleSpeaking Caribbean states that:
All language communities using the territorial languages
have the right for laws and other legal and administrative
provisions which concern them, to be published in their
languages and/or made available in any other medium that
would be accessible to them. If a written standard does not
exist, such laws or legal provisions must be made available
in audio format.
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Even when Guyanese lawyers and magistrates are involved in a case,
there is a need for translators. The Caribbean Charter suggests that
translators should be provided free of cost by the state to persons who
speak Creole, Indigenous, and immigrant languages. In present day
court rooms, the presiding magistrate/judge and lawyer become the
default translators with no guarantee that the defendants are being
adequately represented linguistically. A sentence may be passed down
in English, and the persons on the receiving end may have no clue as
to what is transpiring before them.
Education
Language teaching and the use of language in the classroom are the
areas that usually at the forefront of linguistic discrimination
discussions. Many persons are of the opinion that English is a superior
language to other languages that co-exist with it in Guyana. Because
of this notion, there is a tendency to treat other languages (Guyanese
and Indigenous, and immigrant languages) as inferior languages.
Interestingly to date, there is no holistic policy in the recent Ministry
of Education’s (MOE) Strategic Plan (2008-2013) concerning the role of
language and language teaching. In fact, the only mention of the role of
language relates to English being a second language for Indigenous
students.
Under Section 3.10 (“Developing an Inclusive Education System”), the
following is found:
UNICEF in a listing of the “Characteristics of a Rights-Based and
Child-Friendly School” supports the provision of an education
opportunity that “meets differing circumstances and needs of
children (e.g. as determined by gender, culture, social class, ability
level)”. In Guyana, efforts have been made [...] to respond to the
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needs of the indigenous communities where English may not be the
first language and where cultural norms may be somewhat different
from other communities. In addition, it has sought to meet Special
Education Needs. [...] There have been limited attempts to respond to
the language issue with the Ministry supporting the use of the
children’s mother tongue, where possible, in the early years of school
and giving support to projects such as the Macushi Language project.
These are very preliminary efforts and more needs to be done at the
teacher training level to respond to the needs of different genders or
groups.
The admission that more needs to be done in bilingual Indigenous
communities is good news for linguists, and teachers with linguistic
training. However, the glaring omission of Guyanese Creole signals
that the MOE does not recognise Guyanese as a language (at least as
yet). The lack of any language policy leaves educators to formulate
their own operational procedures resulting in unwritten language
policies or rules based on assumptions and stereotypes.
The Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the CreoleSpeaking Caribbean specifically sets aside a section to deal with
language rights in the education sector. Section III (a) focuses on
“Education in Schools” and part (b) “Education out of Schools” as seen
in Articles 24.5 and 26:
Within the context of the foregoing principles, everyone has the
following rights:
- to at least initial instruction and literacy in their first language;
- to learn the territorial languages of the territory in which he/she
resides;
- to learn any other language.
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(Article 24.5)
All language communities are entitled to an education which will
enable their members to acquire a full command of their own
language, as well as the most extensive possible command of any
other language they may wish to know.
(Article 26)
The Unit on Second Language Teaching in the Language Acquisition
module outlined strategies of language teaching that include the use of
the territorial language. Information was also given that pertains to
the value of its inclusion in the education process. By deliberately (and
sometimes unconsciously) excluding the students’ L1, teachers can
contribute to denying their students’ linguistic rights as outlined
above.
In some Indigenous communities in Guyana, the parents of the
children protested against the use of the community’s L1 in their
children’s education process. They cited reasons such as: “our language
will confuse the children when they learn in English”; “we already
speak our language at home so there is no reason to learn it again or
use it in school”; “our children will need to know English to advance in
society, not our language”. Unfortunately, they were not aware of all of
the linguistic research that showed the importance of the use of the L1
in such bilingual cases. A bilingual education cannot neglect the
students’ L1 since it is that same L1 that serves as a reference point
for the students. You will recall that often times when a concept is
introduced in English and you or your students did not understand it;
the solution was to express and explain it as a concept in your L1.
Introduction to Linguistics
Some Solutions to Combat Linguistic Discrimination
One of the first and most important steps to combat linguistic
discrimination is to build linguistic awareness. This has to happen at
the grass-roots level, and should begin at home then at school.
Children should be taught to value their L1 as a heart language.
Worth should be assigned to the heart language not as a “vernacular”,
“bastard” or “inferior” language, but as a language itself: a language
that is fully functional and capable of expressing the thoughts of the
people who use it. Linguistically proving that the L1 is integral to the
learning process is vital to convincing the non-linguistic person.
Appealing to the person’s sense of community belonging and
nationhood is also useful since it is language that shapes our identity
and identifies us as Guyanese people.
Second, language planning is a vital part of a country’s development.
Certain parts of the education sector need to be revamped so that
Creole and Indigenous languages are integrated into the curricula.
This will ensure that “educational linguistic discrimination” is curbed
by consciously acknowledging the important role of the L1 in the
education process.
A note on Language Planning
Language planning generally refers to conscious and systematic
decision-making
undertaken
by
organisations
and
government
agencies to select which language(s) will be used as the official
language of the country for education, commerce, etc.
An official language is different from a national language. Guyana’s
official language is English, and its national language is Guyanese (or
Introduction to Linguistics
Creolese as it is popularly known). An official language is used as the
language of currency, for example, in the judicial system, education
system, and banks. The national language is not widely written as the
official language, but is widely used nationally as the country’s first
language in informal scenarios, conversations, when code-switching,
etc. An official language, therefore, is a standardised language. A
standardised language has a standard system of spelling and
pronunciation.
The country’s law-makers can decide to make the national language an
official language, but only after certain conditions are fulfilled. For
Guyanese to become an official language, it will need to be written
down; and for it to be written, it’s orthographical (spelling) system will
need to be formalised. In Jamaica, for example, persons at the
Jamaican Language Unit are constantly in the process of creating
reading materials to be used in schools. They have adopted the Cassidy
Phonetic Writing System, which was developed by Frederick Cassidy
as a special orthographical system to be used for writing Jamaican
Creole English (or Jamaican). Bible translation projects have also
made use of the Cassidy system, and have served to formalise and
standardize Jamaican.
The same conscious decisions can be made in Guyana concerning our
Creole language and the several Indigenous languages.
Third, political activism is needed to include the language-rights legal
instruments in a country’s constitution. This will ensure that linguistic
human rights of the population are safeguarded. The Charter on
Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-Speaking
Caribbean is the most recent language rights Charter and will now
need to be assented to by the Caribbean countries’ legal organs.
Introduction to Linguistics
Educational, and other, organizations can still sign and adopt the
provisions listed in the Charter ahead of it being adopted by the
country’s parliament.
Introduction to Linguistics
The Tutor introduces Activity 1
Activity 1: (10 minutes)
Examine the following scenario, and make notes on whether linguistic
discrimination is present or not.
A boy from a rural village attends one of the top secondary schools in
Georgetown and is in Form 2 (Grade 8). In one of his English classes, he replies
to a question asked by his teacher in his L1 - a mesolectal (rural) variety of
Guyanese - which earns him a rebuke. His teacher says to him: “Boy, what is
wrong with you? You cannot speak like that because you are now attending a
prestigious school.” For the rest of the class, he remains withdrawn and does not
utter another word.
Do you agree with the teacher’s position? Is the student discriminated against?
Supply reasons for your answer.
Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)
From a linguist’s position, the teacher’s response is clearly a violation
of the student’s linguistic human right to use his L1. The Charters on
general human rights and linguistic human rights provide support for
the claim of his rights being violated.
Some persons may argue that the student should have used English
because he was in an English class and speaking to the English
teacher. Here is where linguists and grammar teachers depart. A
Introduction to Linguistics
linguist’s work is mainly descriptive while a grammar teacher’s task is
mainly prescriptive. Nevertheless, the teacher should have recognised
the student’s linguistic difference, and not use his wonderful Guyanese
language as ammunition to openly embarrass him in the presence of
his peers. Perhaps the student was not clearly au fait with the
unwritten rules of language-use in a Georgetown classroom (i.e., that
the H-variety should be used when addressing teachers, and the Lvariety only for interaction with peers when the teachers are not
around). The action of the teacher led to the exclusion of the student in
the learning process that was done entirely in English.
What the teacher could have done was use the student’s L1 as a point
of
comparison
with
English.
Using
second-language
teaching
strategies, the teacher could have begun the process that would have
seen that student become an excellent English student while still
valuing his L1 and remaining fluent in it.
Summary (5 minutes)
The merger of human rights and language rights is called Linguistic
Human Rights (LHRs). When a person is discriminated against
because of his/her language, this is called linguistic discrimination or
linguicism. There are several international legal instruments that
outline the conditions that should be met to avoid linguistic
discrimination. Each instrument is based on general human rights.
The most recent one is the Charter on Language Policy and Language
Rights in the Creole-Speaking Caribbean. There are several areas that
are avenues of linguistic discrimination. These include: commerce,
education, and the judiciary. The three main solutions that are
necessary to curb linguistic discrimination are: linguistic awareness,
language planning, and political activism.
Introduction to Linguistics
Suggested References
Banwarie, K. and Wilkinson, C. “The Charter on Language Policy and
Language Rights in the Creole Speaking Caribbean:
Implications for Language Education in Guyana”. History
This Week, Stabroek News, November 3, 2011, p., 17.
Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-Speaking
Caribbean. Jamaica: ICCLR, 2011
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religious and Linguistic Minorities. United Nations, 1992.
Devonish, Hubert. Language and Liberation: Creole Language Politics in the
Caribbean. Expanded version. Kingston: Arawak Publications,
2007
Fromkin, R., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. An Introduction to Language.
Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.
Ministry of Education. Education Strategic Plan 2008-2013. Georgetown,
Guyana.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. and Phillipson, R. (eds.). Linguistic Human Rights:
Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
& Co., 1995.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UNESCO Barcelona, 1996.
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Linguistic Discrimination experiment/mini-research carried out by University of Guyana students in ‘ENG 117:
Introduction to Language’ (November, 2010).
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