LET’S INITIATE!

Activity 1. Let us try to check your understanding of the topics. Write your answers to the space provided
below every after the questions.
1. What is phonetics?
- Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans make and perceive sounds, or in the
case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Phoneticians—linguists who specialize
in phonetics—study the physical properties of speech.
2. What is the focus of applied linguistics?
- “The focus of applied linguistics is on trying to resolve language-based problems that people encounter in
the real world, whether they be learners, teachers, supervisors, academics, lawyers, service providers,
those who need social services, test takers, policy developers, dictionary makers, translators, or a whole
range of business clients.” (Grabe, 2002, p. 9).
3. What is the focus of morphology?
- Morphology is the study of words and their parts. Morphemes, like prefixes, suffixes and base words, are
defined as the smallest meaningful units of meaning. Morphemes are important for phonics in both reading
and spelling, as well as in vocabulary and comprehension.
LET’S INQUIRE!
Activity 1. Answer these statements briefly but concisely. Write your answers to the space provided below
every after the questions.
1. Compare and contrast phonetics and phonology.
- Phonetics and Phonology are two terms that have to be understood with an understanding of the
difference between them. It is important to know that phonetics deals with the study of the production
of sounds. On the other hand, phonology deals with the study of the characteristics of sounds and their
changes. Phonetics deals with the organs of sound production. The organs of sound production are
mouth, tongue, throat, nose, lips and the palate. From these organs or parts in the mouth various
sounds are produced. These sounds are called as gutturals, palatals, cerebra’s, dentals, and
labials. While on the other hand, Phonology, on the other hand, deals with the sounds and their
changes due to various factors such as climatic change, race, influence of other languages and the
like. There are various sound changes such as diphthongization, palatalization, metathesis, anaptyxis,
apocope, syncope, vowel breaking, haplology, assimilation, dissimilation, and the like. It is interesting
to note that phonology plays a vital role in the study of languages or linguistics. This is due to the fact
that phonology paves the way or lays the foundation for morphology or word building.
2. Describe the difference between comparative linguistics and historical linguistics.

- Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch

of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness.
Field of Study. Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics, which studies the changes in
languages over time and works to reconstruct earlier stages of languages. While historical linguistics,
historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time,
historical linguistics. n. (used with a sing. verb) The study of linguistic change over time in language or in a
particular language or language family, sometimes including the reconstruction of unattested forms of
earlier stages of a language. Also called philology.

LET’S INFER!
Activity 1. Write a one-page reaction paper on “is human language a human invention or cries of nature”.
Cite sources in your discussion. (Encoded)
 Reaction Paper
“Is human language a human invention or cries of nature?” In talking about the roots of human
language, we first have to make clear what the issue is. This is the concern is not how the languages evolved
steadily Today, in time, in the languages of the earth. Rather, it's how the human race has evolved. Period such
that we—and not our nearest friends, Chimpanzees and bonobos—become worthy of Using the language.
Based on David, T., Goouch, K., Powell, S. and Abbott, L. (2003) Theories about Language Development the
article that I’d read, I was thinking that human language is a human invention according to their research, the
earliest theory about language development assumed that children acquire language through imitation. While
research has shown that children who imitate the actions of those around them during their first year of life are
generally those who also learn to talk more quickly, there is also evidence that imitation alone cannot explain
how children become talkers. For example, in the English language, young children will say ‘We goed to the
shops’ – they are very cleverly inventing the past tense of ‘go’ based on the rules they have absorbed.
I was also intrigued by Glen Taylor (2008) statement and how it related to the human language, he said
this is the number one innovation of humanity for a very good reason: it is in many ways the definition of
humanity. Our ability to communicate, whether via voice or writing. All animals communicate somehow, and
some are quite sophisticated, but humanity is the king of communication. No one knows how old true language
is, but it is old enough that our brains have developed around it and become specialized in its use. No other
technology would be able to develop reliably without language. Although the origin of language is hotly debated,
many scholars believe the first spoken language appeared in sub-Saharan Africa at about the same time
modern humans emerged. From there, humans and their language spread out into Mesopotamia, where
agriculture was the main way of life (Warrenfells, 2016). Ever hear Stephen Hawking? Hawking used a
number of gadgets to give lectures and communicate with people, since he no longer had the ability to speak as
most people do. You have almost certainly seen him in photographs and footage sitting in a wheelchair with a
few different machines attached to it. I mentioned Hawking here in order to us to deeply consider that human
language is a human invention, Hawking gives all his very vie and best in order to him to speak up,
communicate and to educate his students. And what an amazing development this was! No other natural
communication system is like human language. Human language can express thoughts on an unlimited number
of topics (the weather, the war, the past, the future, mathematics, gossip, fairy tales, how to fix the sink...). It can
be used not just to convey information, but to solicit information (questions) and to give orders. Unlike any other
animal communication system, it contains an expression for negation — what is not the case.
Following on from Vygotsky’s social learning tradition, Bruner (1983) stressed the importance of
opportunities for babies and children to interact with, and observe interactions between, others. As we explained
above, this idea is supported by research showing that mothers who behave as if their babies and young
children understand language right from the start, make eye contact with them and engage in dialogue,
responding to their babies’ reactions (kicking, waving arms, smiling, etc) are laying the foundations of
conversation. Karmiloff and Karmiloff-Smith (2001) argue that none of these theories about language is, on its
own, adequate in explaining language development and learning in the first three years of life, and that we need
to take account of each of them for their ability to explain part of the story. Nevertheless, if we are ever going to
learn more about how the human language ability evolved, the most promising evidence will probably come
from the human genome, which preserves so much of our species' history. The challenge for the future will be to
decode it.