ELT111

DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Mabini Street, Tagum City

Davao del Norte
Telefax: (084)655-9591 Local 116
UNIVERSITY OF MINDANAO
Tagum College
Department of Teacher Education

BSED Program
Physically Distanced but Academically Engaged
Self-Instructional Manual (SIM) for Self-Directed Learning

(SDL)
Course/Subject: ELT 111 - Introduction to Linguistics
Name of Teacher: LADY LOU C. PIDO, MALT
THIS SIM/SDL MANUAL IS A DRAFT VERSION ONLY; NOT FOR

REPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE OF ITS INTENDED
USE. THIS IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE STUDENTS
WHO ARE OFFICIALLY ENROLLED IN THE COURSE/SUBJECT.
EXPECT REVISIONS OF THE MANUAL.
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Course Outline: ELT 111 (Introduction to Linguistics)
Course Coordinator: LADY LOU C. PIDO, MALT

Email: pidoladylou@gmail.com
Student Consultation: By appointment
Mobile: 0907-3737962
Phone: (084) 216-1538
Effectivity Date: August 2020
Mode of Delivery: Online Blended Delivery
Time Frame: 54 Hours
Student Workload: Expected Self-Directed Learning
Requisites: None
Credit: 3
Attendance Requirements: A minimum of 95% attendance is required atall
scheduled Virtual or face to face sessions.
Course OutlinePolicy
Areas of Concern Details

Contact and Non-contact This 3-unit course self-instructional manual is designed for
Hours blended learning mode of instructional delivery with
scheduled face to face or virtual sessions. The expected
number of hours will be 54, including the face to face or
virtual meetings. A Learning Management System (LMS),
Quipper, will be used to facilitate your learning. Other
sessions may also be conducted through online
communication channels such as Facebook, Messenger,
WhatsApp, Viber, E-mail, Line, Zoom, Skype, or any other
similar applications. You may also contact the course
coordinator through a mobile number or telephone.
Assessment Task Submission of assessment tasks shall be on the 3 rd, 5th,
Submission 7th,and 9th week of the term. The assessment paper shall be
attached with a cover page indicating the title of the
assessment task (if the task is a performance), the name of
the course coordinator, date of submission, and the name of
the student. The document should be e-mailed to the course
coordinator. It is also expected that you already paid your
tuition and other fees before the submission of the
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assessment task.
If the assessment task is done in real-time through the

features in the Learning Management System, the schedule
shall be arranged ahead of time by the course coordinator.
Turnitin submission To ensure honesty and authenticity, all assessment tasks are
(if necessary) required to be submitted through Turnitin with a maximum
similarity index of 30% allowed. This means that if your paper
goes beyond 30%, the students will either opt to redo her/his
paper or explain in writing addressed to the course
coordinator the reasons for the similarity. Also, if the
document has reached a more than 30% similarity index, the
student may be called for disciplinary action following the
University’s OPM on Intellectual and Academic Honesty.
Please note that academic dishonesty such as cheating and

commissioning other students or people to complete the task
for you have severe punishments (reprimand, warning,
expulsion).
Penalties for Late The score for an assessment item submitted after the
Assignments / Assessments designated time on the due date, without an approved
extension of time, will be reduced by 5% of the possible
maximum score for that assessment item for each day that
the assessment item is late.
However, if the late submission of the assessment paper has

a valid reason, a letter of explanation should be submitted
and approved by the course coordinator. If necessary, you
will also be required to present/attach pieces of evidence.
Return of Assignments / Assessment tasks will be returned to you within two (2)
Assessments weeks after the submission. This will be returned through e-
mail or via the Quipper.
For group assessment tasks, the course coordinator will

require some or few of the students for online or virtual
sessions to ask clarificatory questions to validate the
originality of the assessment task submitted and to ensure
that all the group members are involved.
Assignment Resubmission You should request in writing addressed to the course
coordinator your intention to resubmit an assessment task.
The resubmission is premised on the student’s failure to
comply with the similarity index and other reasonable
grounds such as academic literacy three (3) standards or
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other reasonable circumstances, e.g., illness, accident

financial constraints.
Re-marking of Assessment You should request in writing addressed to the course
Papers and Appeal coordinator your intention to appeal or contest the score
given to an assessment task. The letter should explicitly
explain the reasons/points to contest the grade. The course
coordinator shall communicate with you on the approval and
disapproval of the request.
If disapproved by the course coordinator, you can elevate

your case to the program head or the dean with the original
letter of request. The final decision will come from the dean of
the college.
Grading System Your grades will be based on the following:
Submission of the final grades shall follow the usual
University system and procedures.
Assignment 5%
Oral Recitation 10%
Quiz 10%
Research 15%
Prelim Assessment 15%
Midterm Assessment 15%
Final Assessment 30%
Preferred Referencing Style Use the general practice of the APA 6th Edition.
Student Communication You are required to have an e-mail account, which is a
requirement to access the LMS portal. Then, the course
coordinator shall enroll the students to have access to the
materials and resources of the course.
You may call or send SMS to your course coordinator

through his/her phone number. Online communication
channels, such as those stated above, may be used.
You can also meet the course coordinator in person through

the scheduled face to face sessions to raise your issues and
concerns.
Contact Details of the Dean Dr. Gina Fe G. Israel
Dean of College
E-mail: deansofficetagum@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 0915 832 5092 / 0909 994 2314
Marck Lester L. Navales, CPA, MBA

Assistant Dean
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E-mail: navalesmarck@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 0975 0517 851
Contact Details of the Russel J. Aporbo, MEAL
Program Head Email: aporbo.russel@gmail.com
Phone: 09507726196
Students with Special Needs Students with special needs shall communicate with the
course coordinator about the nature of his or her special
needs. Depending on the nature of the need, the course
coordinator with the approval of the program head may
provide alternative assessment tasks or extension of the
deadline for submission of assessment tasks. However, the
alternative assessment tasks should still be in the service of
achieving the desired course learning outcomes.
Library Contact Details Clarissa R. Donayre, MSLS
E-mail: lictagum@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 0927 395 1639
Well-being Welfare Support Rochen D. Yntig, RGC
Help Desk Contact Details GSTC Head
E-mail: chenny.yntig@gmail.com
Phone: 0932 771 7219
Mersun Faith A. Delco, RPm

Psychometrician
E-mail: mersunfaithdelco@gmail.com
Phone: 0927 608 6037
Alfred Joshua M. Navarro

Facilitator
E-mail: is40fotb@gmail.com
Phone: 0977 341 6064
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Course Information – see/download course syllabus in the Quipper
CC’s Voice: Hello students! Welcome to this course ELT 111- Introduction to Linguistics.
Every Based student majoring in English in the new curriculum shall undergo this subject for it
is one of the fundamentals that you need to master. Hopefully, after this you would have a
thorough overview of linguistics.
CO: The course provides an overview of Linguistics as a discipline, its development,

levels of structure and its significance to English language teaching.
Let us begin!
Big Picture A
Week 1-3: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are expected to:
a. Demonstrate extensive understanding on the Nature of Human Language.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Demonstrate extensive understanding on

the Nature of Human Language
Metalanguage
Please proceed immediately to the “Essential Knowledge” part since the first lesson is
also definition of essential terms.
Essential Knowledge
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To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the first three (3)
weeks of the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledgethat will
be laid down in the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
to these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other
resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.cometc.
Nature of Human Language
The Definition of Language

Language is foremost a means of communication, and communication almost always
takes place within some sort of social context.
 Effective communication requires an understanding and recognition of the connections
between a language and the people who use it.
 Language is integrally intertwined with our notions of who we are on both the personal
and the broader, societal levels. When we use language, we communicate our
individual thoughts, as well as the cultural beliefs and practices of the communities of
which we are a part: our families, social groups, and other associations.
 Language and identity Each community, just like each individual, has its own language
that expresses the ideas, values, and attitudes of its members. A particular group
Language and identity 3 © in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85257-9 - American
English: History, Structure, and Usage Julie S. Amberg and Deborah J. Vause Excerpt
More information of language users who share the use of a specific language adapted
to fit their needs is called a language community. Your language communities may be
created by your interests, say a sports team or a school club you belong to, by your age
group, by your gender, and so on.
Language as System
When language is viewed as a system, we see it in terms of its component parts
and how these interact. The three basic components are substance, form and meaning.
Substance refers to the sounds the language uses (phonic substance), for example, its
vowels and consonants, and the symbols used in writing (graphic substance). Next, we
have three basic types of form: grammar, lexis and phonology. In the case of grammar,
English forms include past-tense endings, modal verbs and prepositions, along with
rules for putting these together (syntax). The lexical forms consist of words, which follow
rules for vowel and consonant combinations, how they combine with other words in
collocations, fixed expressions, etc. and how they interact with the grammar.
Phonology gives us the forms for pronunciation, stress (the syllable with most
intensity) and intonation (e.g. whether the voice rises or falls). The third component,
meaning, refers to what the combinations of form and substance signify (the semantics).
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In English, the form was speaking signifies past time, green and blue signify
particular colors and rising intonation often signifies a question. If we reverse this
perspective, meaning is what we intend to say, form is how we assemble the message
using appropriate words, grammar and sounds (or written symbols), and substance is
what we actually say or write.
When language is viewed as a system, we see it in terms of its component parts
and how these interact. The three basic components are substance, form and meaning.
Substance refers to the sounds the language uses (phonic substance), for example, its
vowels and consonants, and the symbols used in writing (graphic substance). Next,
we have three basic types of form: grammar, lexis and phonology. In the case of
grammar, English forms include past-tense endings, modal verbs and prepositions,
along with rules for putting these together (syntax). The lexical forms consist of words,
which follow rules for vowel and consonant combinations, how they combine with other
words in collocations, fixed expressions, etc. and how they interact with the grammar.
Phonology gives us the forms for pronunciation, stress (the syllable with most intensity)
and intonation (e.g. whether the voice rises or falls). The third component, meaning,
refers to what the combinations of form and substance signify (the semantics). In
English, the form was speaking signifies past time, green and blue signify particular
colours and rising intonation often signifies a question. If we reverse this perspective,
meaning is what we intend to say, form is how we assemble the message using
appropriate words, grammar and sounds (or written symbols), and substance is what
we actually say or write.
We find information on the system in reference grammars (for English, this
includes reference grammars such as Biber et al. 1999; Carter and McCarthy 2006),
in dictionaries (e.g. 3 Macmillan 2002; Hornby 2010), which usually give information
on pronunciation. Works describing English intonation tend to be more specialised (e.g.
Cruttenden 1997; Tench 2015).
VulfPlotkin 2006https://www.bookpump.com/bwp/pdf-b/1129939b.pdf
Language as Convention
WHAT ARE CONVENTIONS?
In a language, there is a typical pattern of behavior (it can be called language
convention since ‘language’ in a broader sense includes gestures). A convention may
be roughly defined as a rule of behavior, or an expected way of doing things. All
societies have important conventions, or rules, with respect to both behavior and
speech. Some rules of behavior, for example, include ways of greeting other people,
respecting seniors, treating children, showing attitudes towards teachers, etc. Speech is
also ruled out, for example, in terms of choices of language functions, diction, etc.
Concretely speaking, if you happen to pass a
house where Fijian people are eating, they will probably call out: “Mai kana! (Come and
eat.) You can comfortably reply: “VinakaAusa kana oti! (It’s all right thinks—I
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have eaten) Then, you just keep walking. Such an invitation is a kind of greeting. It is a
social convention—a very pleasant one. Although people normally refuse the invitation,
they are also welcome to accept it. It is quite different in English where people
commonly greet others with “How are you?” Although this might appear to be an inquiry
after your health, the convention is that you simply say something like “Fine, thanks.” —
even if you are feeling terrible. You do not give a detailed health report—unless,
perhaps, the person asking the question is a doctor.
Language as Speech
Speech and Spoken Language

Speech is the verbal means of communicating. Speech consists of sounds
(phonemes) specific to each language. There are components of speech which
enhance the meaning of messages. Speech involves: Articulation: the production of
sounds for communication • When your child begins developing speech skills, he will
make reflexive sounds, such as crying or cooing. Babies begin to babble for their own
enjoyment and later to gain a listeners’ attention. With experience in listening children
start to use vowels, consonants, jargon and combinations of sounds that seem like
words and sentences. Eventually speech sounds become words as a child develops
spoken language. Voice: the skills of breath control, voice quality, pitch, and intensity •
Speaking long strings of words using one sustained breath requires breath control for a
natural sounding voice. Other aspects such as pitch (high vs. low tones), voice quality
(hoarseness, straining, nasality), and intensity (soft or loud) contribute to clear speech.
Fluency: the flow, or ease, of one’s speech • Speaking smoothly requires experience
using varied sounds. When his skill and confidence grow, a child’s speech becomes
more fluent. Listen to your child’s speech. Make a detailed list of: • Vowels, consonants
and their combinations your child is using • Your concerns about your child’s voice tone,
quality, intensity or fluency • Questions you have for the audiologist, teacher, speech
therapist or LSLS/AVT* Language is a socially shared system for representing thoughts
and ideas. The terms receptive and expressive language refer to what your child
understands and says. Every language is unique, complex, and has specific
components. The rules for producing and understanding sentences in specific spoken
languages are learned early from extensive listening experience. The components of
spoken language include: Form: connecting and sequencing symbols or sounds • Order
and combination of words to form sentences (syntax) » Using complete sentences with
children allows them to hear the structures and word order used in language. “Let’s put
your red sock on this foot now” provides more language model than simply saying
“socks.” Page 2 of 2 Speech and Spoken Language © 2012 JOHN TRACY CLINIC 806
W. Adams Blvd
• Los Angeles, CA, USA 90007 www.jtc.org • (213) 748-5481 • Organization of the
smaller units of words (morphology) »
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Teaching your child different ways to use words helps build vocabulary. Words
can be changed by adding morphemes (the smallest unit of meaning): happy can
become happier, happiest, or unhappy.
• Sounds and sound patterns (phonology) » Combining sounds to form words adds to
your child’s listening; /d/, /o/ and /g/ = dog. Children will babble at the beginning stages
of language development, then imitate what they hear and later put different sounds
together so “puh” becomes “puppy”.
Content: the meaning of what is said

• Meaning of words and word combinations (semantics) » Creating situations for the use
of meaningful language helps develop a child’s receptive and expressive vocabulary.
Children will first use words from their routines: “shoes”, “kitty” and “mommy” and later
talk about what might happen if the lion gets loose from the zoo. Language develops
from the concrete to the abstract as a child’s cognitive development proceeds.
Use: the ability to apply language appropriately to a variety of situations
• Social aspects of language that vary depending on the context (pragmatics) »

Conveying words in a certain manner can be more meaningful than the actual terms
used. Through body language, facial expression, and even humor a child can show he
recognizes situational changes. A child might smile saying “please come inside our
house” to a visitor and simply say “go in” to a sibling.
Source:https://www.jtc.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/11/Speech_and_Spoken_Language2013w
eb.pdf
Language as Human
What is human language, when did it evolve and why should we care?
By: Mark Pagel (2017)
Source:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318666852_QA_What_is_human_language_when_d
id_it_evolve_and_why_should_we_care
Human language is unique among all forms of animal communication. It is

unlikely that any other species, including our close genetic cousins the Neanderthals,
ever had language, and so-called sign ‘language’ in Great Apes is nothing like human
language. Language evolution shares many features with biological evolution, and this
has made it useful for tracing recent human history and for studying how culture evolves
among groups of people with related
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languages. A case can be made that language has played a more important role in our
species’ recent (circa last 200,000 years) evolution than have our genes (Pagel, 2017).
Theories of the Origin of Language

What is human language, when did it evolve and why should we care?
Source: https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-017-0405-3
What is special about human language?

Human language is distinct from all other known animal forms of communication in
being compositional. Human language allows speakers to express thoughts in sentences
comprising subjects, verbs and objects—such as ‘I kicked the ball’—and recognizing past,
present and future tenses. Compositionality gives human language an endless capacity for
generating new sentences as speakers combine and recombine sets of words into their
subject, verb and object roles. For instance, with just 25 different words for each role, it is
already possible to generate over 15,000 distinct sentences. Human language is
also referential, meaning speakers use it to exchange specific information with each other
about people or objects and their locations or actions.
What is animal ‘language’ like?

Animal ‘language’ is nothing like human language. Among primates, vervet monkeys
(Chlorocebuspygerythrus) produce three distinct alarm calls in response to the presence of
snakes, leopards and eagles. A number of parrot species can mimic human sounds, and some
Great Apes have been taught to make sign language gestures with their hands. Some dolphin
species seem to have a variety of repetitive sound motifs (clicks) associated with hunting or
social grouping. These forms of animal communication are symbolic in the sense of using a
sound to stand in for an object or action, but there is no evidence for compositionality, or that
they are truly generative and creative forms of communication in which speakers and listeners
exchange information [2].
Instead non-human animal communication is principally limited to repetitive instrumental acts
directed towards a specific end, lacking any formal grammatical structure, and often
explainable in terms of hard-wired evolved behaviors or simple associative learning [ 2]. Most
ape sign language, for example, is concerned with requests for food. The trained chimpanzee
NimChimpsky’s longest recorded ‘utterance’, when translated from sign language, was ‘give
orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you’ Alarm calls such
as observed in the vervet monkeys often evolve by kin-selection to protect one’s relatives, or
even selfishly to distract predators away from the caller. Hunting and social group
communications can be explained as learned coordinating signals without ‘speakers’ knowing
why they are acting as they are.
When did human language evolve?
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No one knows for sure when language evolved, but fossil and genetic data suggest that
humanity can probably trace its ancestry back to populations of anatomically
modern Homo sapiens (people who would have looked like you and me) who lived around
150,000 to 200,000 years ago in eastern or perhaps southern Africa. Because all human
groups have language, language itself, or at least the capacity for it, is probably at least
150,000 to 200,000 years old. This conclusion is backed up by evidence of abstract and
symbolic behavior in these early modern humans, taking the form of engravings on red-ochre.
The archaeological record reveals that about 40,000 years ago there was a flowering of
art and other cultural artefacts at modern human sites, leading some archaeologists to suggest
that a late genetic change in our lineage gave rise to language at this later time. But this
evidence derives mainly from European sites and so struggles to explain how the newly
evolved language capacity found its way into the rest of humanity who had dispersed from
Africa to other parts of the globe by around 70,000 years ago.
Could language be older than our species?

Ancient DNA reveals us to be over 99% identical in the sequences of our protein coding genes
to our sister species the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis). The Neanderthals had large
brains and were able to inhabit much of Eurasia from around 350,000 years ago. If the
Neanderthals had language, that would place its origin at least as far back as the time of our
common ancestor with them, currently thought to be around 550,000 to 750,000 years ago.
However, even as recently as 40,000 years ago in Europe, the Neanderthals show
almost no evidence of the symbolic thinking—no art or sculpture for example—that we often
associate with language, and little evidence of the cultural attainments of Homo sapiens of the
same era. By 40,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had plentiful art, musical instruments and
specialized tools such as sewing needles. Neanderthals probably didn’t even have sewn
clothing, instead they would have merely draped themselves with skins. And, despite evidence
that around 1–5% of the human genome might be derived from human–Neanderthal meetings
the Neanderthals went extinct as a species while we flourished.
Can genetic evidence help to decide when language evolved?

Yes. Modern humans and Neanderthals share a derived version of a transcription factor
gene known as FOXP2 that differs from the chimpanzee version by two amino acid
replacements. FOXP2 influences the fine-motor control of facial muscles required for the
production of speech. Indeed, inserting this derived form into mice causes them to squeak
differently. However, in spite of having identical primary sequences to Neanderthals, modern
humans have acquired changes to the regulation of their FOXP2 genes that seem likely to
cause their FOXP2 to be expressed differently to that of the Neanderthals and these
expression differences are pronounced in brain neurons. Combining these genetic hints with
the differences in symbolic and cultural behavior that are evident from the fossil record
suggests language arose in our lineage sometime after our split from our common ancestor
with Neanderthals, and probably by no later than 150,000 to 200,000 years ago.
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Was there a single origin of language?

This question has parallels in biological evolution. Did life evolve once or many times?
The presence of the same RNA and DNA in all organisms and homologies in the machinery of
DNA transcription and translation suggest that at least all current life on
Earth has a common origin. It is possible that life evolved more than once but all descendants
of these other origins went extinct and left no fossil or other traces.
With language the inference is harder to make because features such as vocabulary
and grammar change too rapidly to be able to link all of the world’s languages to a common
original mother tongue. On the other hand, all human languages rely on combining sounds or
‘phones’ to make words, many of those sounds are common across languages, different
languages seem to structure the world semantically in similar ways, all human languages
recognize the past, present and future and all human languages structure words into
sentences. All humans are also capable of learning and speaking each other’s languages
(some phones are unique to some language families—such as the famous ‘click’ sound of
some San languages of Southern Africa—but these are probably within the capability of all
human speakers if they are exposed to learning that sound at the right time of life).
These considerations suggest that the anatomical, neurological and physiological
underpinnings of language are shared among all of humanity. If the capacity for language did
evolve more than once, all traces of it seem to have been lost. This conclusion is buttressed by
the FOXP2 evidence (all humans share the same derived gene) and by the fact that genetic
data point to all modern humans descending from a common ancestor
Franz Joseph Gall- the person who proposed the theory of localization which believes
that different human cognitive abilities and behaviors are localized in specific parts of
the brain?
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
The belief that the structure of a language influences how its speakers perceive the
world around them.
Critical Period Hypothesis

The critical period hypothesis states that the first few years of life is the crucial time in
which an individual can acquire a first language if presented with adequate stimuli. ...
The discussion of language critical period suffers from the lack of a commonly
accepted definition of language.
Linguistic Universals
It is referred to as a statement/term that is true for all natural languages.Example for this
is the 11 color names: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, brown, purple, pink,
orange, and gray.
Noam Chomsky- viewed language development as innate to humans, supported
generative grammar, and proposed the naturalist approach?
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Innate Language Ability

Innate Ability for Language Acquisition
By: Graham Williamson (2014)
Source:
https://www.sltinfo.com/innate-ability-for-language-acquisition/#:~:text=Chomsky%20referred
%20to%20the%20child's,and%20to%20manipulate%20these%20structures
Innatist view
The theory which asserts that human beings are genetically pre-programmed to learn
language has been popularized most effectively by the American linguist Noam Chomsky. The
assertion is argued on several counts. We will discuss four of these.
The structure of human speech organs

Humans are most often compared with apes and, in fact, our vocal apparatus is
extraordinarily similar to that found in all mammals. The uniqueness of the human vocal
apparatus, however, has more to do with the location of the organs and, especially, the larynx.
In humans the larynx is located lower down in the neck. The consequence of this is that it
increases the area available for us to modify sounds.
The ability to produce certain sounds is unique to humans. For example, only humans
can produce the consonant sounds ‘k’ as in kite and ‘g’ as in gun, and the vowel sounds ‘o’ as
in hot, ‘ee’ as in beet, and ‘oo’ as in boo. Moreover, apes do not have the necessary fine
control over the diaphragm and other muscles involved in breathing which allow humans to
voluntarily use air from the lungs for speech.
With respect to vocal tract anatomy, Tecumseh Fitch (2009) has video X-rayed several
mammals as they are vocalizing and notes that the mammalian vocal tract is, in fact, extremely
flexible. The anatomy dynamically rearranges itself while the animal is vocalizing, with the
larynx being moved downwards. Fitch, therefore, claims that if it were just down to anatomy, all
mammals would have the ability to talk:“…the constraint that’s keeping a chimpanzee from
speaking or indeed keeping a dog from speaking is not the peripheral vocal anatomy. Because
any of these animals that we’ve looked at are able to lower the larynx and reconfigure the
peripheral vocal tract into a human-like configuration, basically anytime they vocalize…So, it
must be in the brain, by a process of elimination.”
So, to communicate orally we need both an appropriate vocal apparatus and a brain
capable of processing large amounts of symbolic information. In humans we can identify a
language center in both hemispheres of the brain, within what is known as the
planumtemporale. In 94% of people the part of the brain known as Wernicke’s area (see
Anatomy of the Brain), situated within the planumtemporale, is larger in the left hemisphere
than in the right. For these people, the left hemisphere is the dominant side for language.
In addition to this language processing part of the brain we also know that humans are
adept at processing auditory signals. At about one month of age a human infant is capable of
distinguishing between certain speech sounds, such as ‘p’ as in the word pin and ‘b’ as in the
word bin, and ‘t’ as in the word tin and ‘d’ as in the word din. In addition, at just six months of
age the infant is capable of detecting sounds as quiet as 1 decibel
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(dB) (for comparison, a whisper is around 10 dB). This suggests that humans’ auditory
perception is genetically pre-programmed and indicates an innate preparedness to learn
language.
Until recently it was thought that no language center was located in the brains of the
great apes. However, in 1998 a research team led by Patrick Gannon made measurements of
the size of the planumtemporale in 18 chimpanzee brains. Their findings showed that in 17 out
of the 18 chimp brains the area was larger in the left hemisphere than in the right, i.e. 94% –
just as in humans. This finding is, obviously, not conclusive but it does suggest the possibility
that humans and chimps may share a common neurological substrate for language.
The speed of acquisition of language

Innatists argue that the staggering rate at which children acquire language skills can only
be explained if one supposes that children are genetically pre-programmed to learn language.
They claim that the child does not come to the language learning task with a blank mind but
has an innate disposition to learn language.
This claim is put into perspective when we note that the average five-year-old has an
expressive vocabulary of around 2000 words and that by the age of seven years this will have
doubled. In addition, the size of the comprehension vocabulary (i.e. the words understood by
the child but not necessarily used expressively) will be much higher than this. Further, a five-
year-old will understand most grammatical structures and express their self clearly in most
situations, using so-called wh-questions such as how, when and why. Their speech will be
intelligible to familiar and unfamiliar listeners, as they will use all but the most difficult speech
sounds. Moreover, the child will be able to use language for a variety of reasons: to express
feelings, to make requests, to disagree, and so on. This is a remarkable feat to which chimps
can never aspire.
Language is unique to humans

Whilst the human compulsion to communicate is realized by their use of language, some have
challenged the claim that language can only be used by humans.
Attempts have been made to teach language skills to a variety of animals but the most
success has been achieved through working with chimpanzees. The two most famous chimps
are Washoe and Sarah who began their training in the 1960s. Now, because chimpanzees do
not have the requisite vocal apparatus to be able to speak, Washoe was taught a version of
American Sign Language and Sarah was taught to manipulate plastic tokens on a magnetic
board.
Whilst the two apes were able to learn some aspects of language, the process was
extremely slow and laborious and Washoe had a vocabulary of only 85 signs and 294 two-sign
combinations after about five years training. It is quite an understatement to say that this does
not compare favorably with the extensive language development achieved by the average five-
year-old human. However, both Washoe and Sarah did demonstrate some key properties of
language:
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 A remarkable development occurred when Washoe adopted an infant chimp named

Loulis. No sign language was used by humans in Loulis’ presence for five
 years and yet Loulis was able to learn over 50 signs through her association with
Washoe. This demonstrates the property of cultural transmission, i.e. the chimps
continued to use sign language and pass this on to other chimps without any input from
humans.
 Sarah was presented with the construction ‘Brown (is the) color of chocolate’ when
there was no chocolate in sight. Later, she was shown several colored objects and
presented with the phrase, ‘Take brown’ and she successfully selected a brown object.
Sarah was, therefore, able to use language to think of something that was not
immediately present and to apply that learning at a later time. This is an example of the
key language property known as displacement.
Several other apes have been taught language skills and various claims that they have been
able to demonstrate other key properties of language have been made.
Linguistic universals
Innatists noted that whilst different languages (e.g. English, Welsh, Chinese) have
different rules or grammars, they also have many things in common. These language
similarities are known as linguistic universals. There are many cited examples of linguistic
universals but we will illustrate them here with just one example – the use of negatives.
It is claimed that children follow a remarkably similar pattern when developing the use of so-
called negation. Typically developing children appear to follow a predetermined pattern of
language learning. For example, at around 18 months of age children learning English form
utterances made up of two-word combinations such as the following.
daddy gone
Sarah play
doggy bark
At first, when they attempt to make the utterances negative, children simply put no or not in
front of the two-word combination:
no daddy gone
not Sarah play
no doggy bark
At a later stage the child appears to realize that the negative should be contained within the
utterance and the no or not is then inserted between the words:
daddy no gone
Sarah not play
doggy no bark
Eventually the adult form is used:
daddy didn’t go
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Sarah isn’t playing
the doggy is not barking
The important point to note here is that, with the obvious exception of the final adult
forms, the child could not possibly have been imitating adult utterances. This is because
the child’s utterances do not represent grammatical English constructions. In sum, adults do
not talk like this! This is often referred to as the poverty of stimulus argument, i.e. such-and-
such a grammatical feature must be universal because it would be impossible for children to
learn it on the basis of the evidence they are provided with.
Linguistic universals, then, are seen as generalizations abstracted from some universal
grammar that is shared by all languages, and which is thought to be innate to humans. A
linguistic universal is, therefore, a statement that is true for all natural languages.
However, the claim that such absolute universals exist is controversial. It appears that
absolute universals, i.e. statements that are unequivocally true for all natural languages (e.g.
all spoken languages possess consonants and vowels; all natural languages use pronouns; all
spoken language have at least three vowels) are actually quite rare. Typically, for the majority
of so-called linguistic universals, counter-examples that refute the claim can be found. It
seems, therefore, that most so-called linguistic universals are actually tendencies, i.e. they are
statements about linguistic features that may not hold true for all languages but the features
are, nonetheless, too widespread to be the result of chance.
Language acquisition device (LAD)

Chomsky referred to the child’s innate general language learning ability as the Language
Acquisition Device (LAD). He claims that children have a blueprint in the brain that allows them
to recognize the structure-dependence of language and to manipulate these structures.
Consider the following utterance.
Graham kissed Margaret

The units of this utterance can be manipulated to produce the following:
Margaret was kissed by Graham
When we consider these two utterances it is apparent that they both have the same
essential meaning. However, their form, or structure, is different. We would say, therefore, that
they both have the same deep structure but that they have a different surface structure. The
original utterance Graham kissed Margaret could be further manipulated to form the following
utterances:
Who Graham kissed was Margaret

The person kissed by Graham was Margaret
It was Margaret who Graham kissed
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Again, we must conclude that each of these utterances has the same essential
meaning, or deep structure (i.e. Graham kissed Margaret), but that their surface structures are
quite different. Now consider the following utterance.
the chicken was ready to eat
What is the deep structure of this utterance? This is much harder to determine because the
utterance is ambiguous. The possible deep structures may be represented diagrammatically
as follows.
the chicken was ready for the chicken to eat

the chicken was ready for someone to eat the chicken
On the basis of the utterance alone, we are uncertain as to whether or not the chicken is
ready to eat for itself or if the chicken is ready to be eaten by someone else. In this instance,
therefore, we see that two different deep structures give rise to just the one surface structure.
Now consider the following utterances.
the chicken was anxious to eat

the chicken was delicious to eat
The syntax of these two utterances is alike. Structurally, therefore, they are akin and
they are again said to have a similar surface structure. However, their meanings are quite
different. In the case of the first utterance it is the chicken that is doing the eating. In the
second utterance it is the chicken that is being eaten! Consequently, whilst these two
utterances demonstrate a similar, but not exactly the same, surface structure they have
different deep structures.
Chomsky argued that children ‘know’ about deep structures and that they are able to
apply rules that allow them to manipulate these structures, giving rise to a variety of surface
structures. He calls these grammatical rules transformations.
Chomsky’s ideas are persuasive and his theories have gained ground over the years. In
sum, his proposals seem to imply that if a child has a properly functioning LAD then language
will develop, regardless of the kinds of language experience the child is exposed to, as long as
they are raised in an otherwise nurturing environment. Alternatively, if the LAD is damaged in
some way it would seem that no amount of environmental support or teaching would make a
difference.
However, two main criticisms may be made:

1. The innatist view tends to focus on the internal, mental structures and thinking
processes of the child. It is unlikely, therefore, that what research evidence we might be
able to gather would enable us to fully understand exactly what is going on inside a
child’s mind. Researchers have, however, developed techniques for making informed
inferences from what they observe.
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2. The role of other people in assisting the child to learn language tends to be overlooked.
As noted adult speech is fraught with hesitations, repetitions, slips of the tongue, and so
on, and it therefore provides an imperfect model. However, research has shown that
adults do in fact make considerable modifications to their speech when talking to
children. These modifications are designed to assist the
child with language learning and this type of modified talk is known as child-directed
speech.
The Meaning of Linguistics

Linguistics is the study of language - how it is put together and how it functions.
Various building blocks of different types and sizes are combined to make up a
language. Sounds are brought together and sometimes when this happens, they
change their form and do interesting things. Words are arranged in a certain order, and
sometimes the beginnings and endings of the words are changed to adjust the
meaning. Then the meaning itself can be affected by the arrangement of words and by
the knowledge of the speaker about what the hearer will understand. Linguistics is the
study of all of this. There are various branches of linguistics which are given their own
name, some of which are described below. Linguists are people who study linguistics.
Source: https://www.sil.org/linguistics/what-linguistics
Prescriptive Vs. Descriptive Grammar
Prescriptive Grammar
A prescriptive grammar is a set of rules about language based on how people think
language should be used. In a prescriptive grammar there is right and wrong
language.
"There has always been a tension between the descriptive and prescriptive functions of
grammar. Currently, descriptive grammar is dominant among theorists, but prescriptive
grammar is taught in the schools and exercises a range of social effects."
(Ann Bodine, "Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar." The Feminist Critique of
Language, ed. D. Cameron. Routledge, 1998)
"Prescriptive grammarians are judgmental and attempt to change linguistic behavior

of a particular sort and in a particular direction. Linguists--or mental grammarians, on
the other hand, seek to explain the knowledge of language that guides people's
everyday use of language regardless of their schooling."
(Maya Honda and Wayne O'Neil, Thinking Linguistically. Blackwell, 2008)
The Difference Between Descriptive Grammar and Prescriptive Grammar:
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"The difference between descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar is comparable to the

difference between constitutive rules, which determine how something works (such as the
rules for the game of chess), and regulatory rules, which control behavior (such as the rules of
etiquette). If the former are violated, the thing cannot work, but if the latter are violated, the
thing works, but crudely, awkwardly, or rudely."
(Laurel J. Brinton and Donna Brinton, The Linguistic Structure of Modern English. John
Benjamins, 2010)
Prescriptive grammar describes when people focus on talking about how a

language should or ought to be used. One way to remember this association is to think
of going to a doctor’s office. When a doctor gives you a prescription for medication, it
often includes directions about how you should take your medication as well as what
you should not do when taking your medication. In a similar way, a prescriptive
grammar tells you how you should speak, and what type of language to avoid. This is
commonly found in English classes as well as other language classes, where the aim is
to teach people how to use language in a very particular (typically described as ‘proper’
or ‘correct’) way.
Descriptive grammar, on the other hand, focuses on describing the language as

it is used, not saying how it should be used. For example, think about a prescriptive rule
like Don’t split infinitives. A descriptive grammarian would see a sentence like “To boldly
go where no man has gone before” and would try to describe how the mental grammar
can cause that ordering of words, rather than saying that the surface form is faulty due
to prescriptive rules (which would require the sentence “To go boldly where no man has
gone before”). Linguistics takes this approach to language.
A key contrast is to be found between these two approaches. A descriptive
grammarian would say that a sentence is “grammatical” if a native speaker of the
language would produce that sentence in speaking. The descriptive grammarian would
then try to describe how that sentence is produced through theorizing about the mental
processes that lead up to the surface form. A prescriptive grammarian, on the other
hand, would say that something is grammatical only if the surface form conforms to a
set of rules that the grammarian believes should be followed in order for a certain
grammar style is achieved. (Note
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that I have tried to emphasize that the descriptive grammarian hears a form and tries to
describe the mental processes underneath the produced (spoken) form, while a
prescriptive grammarian does not hypothesize about the mental grammar at all, but is
merely concerned with ‘editing’ the surface form.)
Again, Linguistics aims to provide a descriptive grammar of language. In this course, we
will use data based on surface forms (i.e. ‘spoken’ or ‘produced’ data) and will try to
describe how these surface forms occur through processes in the mental grammar.
Source:
http://amyrey.web.unc.edu/classes/ling-101-online/tutorials/understanding-prescriptive-
vs-descriptive-grammar/
Mental Grammar
The system that all speakers of a language have in their minds, which allows them to
understand each other. The mental grammar of every language includes phonetics,
phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
Learn the Definition of Mental Grammar and How it Works

By: Richard Nordquist (2020)
Source:
https://www.thoughtco.com/mental-grammar-term-1691380#:~:text=Mental%20grammar
%20is%20the%20generative,competence%20grammar%20and%20linguistic
%20competence.
Mental grammar is the generative grammar stored in the brain that allows a speaker to

produce language that other speakers can understand. It is also known as competence
grammar and linguistic competence. It contrasts with linguistic performance, which is the
correctness of actual language use according to a language's prescribed rules.
The concept of mental grammar was popularized by American linguist Noam Chomsky in
his groundbreaking work "Syntactic Structures" (1957). Philippe Binder and Kenny Smith noted
in "The Language Phenomenon" how important Chomsky's work was: "This focus
on grammar as a mental entity allowed enormous progress to be made in characterizing the
structure of languages." Related to this work is Universal Grammar or the predisposition for the
brain to learn the complexities of grammar from an early age, without being implicitly taught all
the rules. The study of how the brain actually does this is called neurolinguistics.
"One way to clarify mental or competence grammar is to ask a friend a question about a
sentence," Pamela J. Sharpe writes in "Barron's How to Prepare for the TOEFL IBT." "Your
friend probably won't know why it's correct, but that friend will know if it's correct.
So one of the features of mental or competence grammar is this incredible sense of

correctness and the ability to hear something that 'sounds odd' in a language."
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Universal Grammar
Universal Grammar (UG)

By: Richard Nordquist (2020)
Source:
https://www.thoughtco.com/mental-grammar-term-1691380#:~:text=Mental%20grammar
%20is%20the%20generative,competence%20grammar%20and%20linguistic
%20competence.
Universal grammar is the theoretical or hypothetical system of categories, operations,
and principles shared by all human languages and considered to be innate. Since the 1980s,
the term has often been capitalized. The term is also known as Universal Grammar Theory.
Linguist Noam Chomsky explained, "'[U]niversal grammar' is taken to be the set of
properties, conditions, or whatever that constitute the 'initial state' of the language learner,
hence the basis on which knowledge of a language develops." ("Rules and Representations."
Columbia University Press, 1980)
The concept is connected to the ability of children to be able to learn their native
language. "Generative grammarians believe that the human species evolved a
genetically universal grammar common to all peoples and that the variability in modern
languages is basically on the surface only," wrote Michael Tomasello. ("Constructing a
Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition." Harvard University Press, 2003)
And Stephen Pinker elaborates thusly:
"In cracking the code of language...children's minds must be constrained to pick out just
the right kinds of generalizations from the speech around them....It is this line of reasoning that
led Noam Chomsky to propose that language acquisition in children is the key to
understanding the nature of language, and that children must be equipped with an
innate Universal Grammar: a set of plans for the grammatical machinery that powers all human
languages. This idea sounds more controversial than it is (or at least more controversial than it
should be) because the logic of induction mandates that children make some assumptions
about how language works in order for them to succeed at learning a language at all. The only
real controversy is what these assumptions consist of: a blueprint for a specific kind of rule
system, a set of abstract principles, or a mechanism for finding simple patterns (which might
also be used in learning things other than language)." ("The Stuff of Thought." Viking, 2007)
"Universal grammar is not to be confused with universal language," noted Elena Lombardi, "or
with the deep structure of language, or even with grammar itself" ("The Syntax of Desire,"
2007). As Chomsky has observed, "[U]niversal grammar is not a grammar, but rather a theory
of grammars, a kind of metatheory or schematism for grammar" ("Language and
Responsibility," 1979).
History and Background
The concept of a universal grammar (UG) has been traced to the observation of Roger
Bacon, a 13th-century Franciscan friar, and philosopher, that all languages are
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built upon a common grammar. The expression was popularized in the 1950s and 1960s by
Chomsky and other linguists.
Components that are considered to be universal include the notion that words can be
classified into different groups, such as being nouns or verbs and that sentences follow a
particular structure. Sentence structures may be different between languages, but each
language has some kind of framework so that speakers can understand each other vs.
speaking gibberish. Grammar rules, borrowed words, or idioms of a particular language by
definition are not universal grammar.
Challenges and Criticisms
Of course, any theory in an academic setting will have challenges, comments, and criticisms
by others in the field; such as it is with peer review and the academic world, where people
build on the body of knowledge through writing academic papers and publishing their opinions.
Swarthmore College linguist K. David Harrison noted in The Economist, "I and many fellow
linguists would estimate that we only have a detailed scientific description of something like
10% to 15% of the world's languages, and for 85% we have no real documentation at all. Thus
it seems premature to begin constructing grand theories of universal grammar. If we want to
understand universals, we must first know the particulars." ("Seven Questions for K. David
Harrison." Nov. 23, 2010)
And Jeff Mielke finds some aspects of universal grammar theory to be illogical:
"[T]he phonetic motivation for Universal Grammar is extremely weak. Perhaps the most
compelling case that can be made is that phonetics, like semantics, is part of the grammar and
that there is an implicit assumption that if the syntax is rooted in Universal Grammar, the rest
should be too. Most of the evidence for UG is not related to phonology, and phonology has
more of a guilt-by-association status with respect to innateness." ("The Emergence of
Distinctive Features." Oxford University Press, 2008). Iain McGilchrist disagrees with Pinkner
and took the side of children learning a language just through imitation, which is a behaviorist
approach, as opposed to the Chomsky theory of the poverty of the stimulus:
"[I]t is uncontroversial that the existence of a universal grammar such as Chomsky
conceived it is highly debatable. It remains remarkably speculative 50 years after he posited it
and is disputed by many important names in the field of linguistics. And some of the facts are
hard to square with it. Languages across the world, it turns out, use a very wide variety
of syntax to structure sentences. But more importantly, the theory of universal grammar is not
convincingly compatible with the process revealed by developmental psychology, whereby
children actually acquire language in the real world. Children certainly evince a remarkable
ability to grasp spontaneously the conceptual and psycholinguistic shapes of speech, but they
do so in a far more holistic, than analytic, way. They are astonishingly good imitators—note,
not copying machines, but imitators." ("The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and
the Making of the Western World." Yale University Press, 2009)
Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you further
understand the lesson:
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 Read the PDF for the full definition of What is Language found at
https://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/52579/excerpt/9780521852579_excerpt.pdf
 Watch a video clip on What is Language? at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohHv3ogTUs0 and another video clip at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0EbgZhBc4
 Watch a video clip about What is Language?। Definition and characteristics of
language। Characteristics of Language found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SU7XcD9TIGY
 Watch a video clip about Definition of Language । Language & meaning by different
linguist : explanation of language found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=cWHnAEIjOB0
 Watch a video clip on Structuralism: Language as a System at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUYrAvsX9Tc
 Watch a video clip about Human language and Animal Communication Systems at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onp5caCVV6w
 Watch a video clip on Language System and Meaning of Words at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSpXHxBK2ac
 Watch a video clip about Introduction to Language & Linguistics at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjZqYaD5HWY
 Read the PDF of the article entitled About Convention and Grammar by Michael
Glanzberg of Northwestern University
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0369/f5be10de9b2e08747359a7d60ffb1380a3db.pdf
 Watch a video clip on Language Conventions Overview by Kate Robinson at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3RXBzPxnDY
 Watch a video clip about Speech Vs. Language: What’s the difference?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuRFnXaB8fI
 Read the PDF of the article entitled What are Speech, Language and Literacy?
Sharynne McLeod and Jane
McCormackhttp://lib.oup.com.au/he/samples/mcleod_isll_sample.pdf
 Read the PDF of the article entitled Speech and Language Processing An Introduction
to Natural Language Processing, Computational Linguistics, and Speech Recognition
Third Edition draft Daniel Jurafsky Stanford University James H. Martin University of
Colorado at Boulder https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/slp3/ed3book.pdf
 Read the article entitled Speech, language and communication found at
https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/media/13565/
managers_pack_final_final_8th_may.pdf
 Read the article entitled Definition and Features of Language found at

http://courses.aiu.edu/BASIC%20PROCESSES%20OF%20THOUGHT/Sec%202/SEC
%202%20BASIC.pdf
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 Watch a video clip about Mental Grammar at

https://essentialsoflinguistics.pressbooks.com/chapter/1-3-mental-grammar/
 Download the powerpoint slide entitled Mental Grammar by Rona Andres found at
https://www.slideshare.net/ronaandres39/mental-grammar-15533125
Let’s Check
Direction: Read each item comprehensively and choose the letter of the best answer.
1. What distinguishes the human brain from all the animals’ nervous system?
A. movement C. sensation
B. language D. learning
2. It is considered as the universal property of human language that allows a person to make
many utterances with corresponding meanings from one single utterance.
A. creativity C. conventionality
B .arbitrariness D. locality
3. Which of the following properties of language does the illustration below show?
English: house :: Filipino: bahay :: Spanish: casa
A. creativity C. conventionality
B .arbitrariness D. locality
4. Language is an organization and a process of human communication which consists of

structured arrangement of strings or sounds that are put together to form a code. This
definition pertains to:
A. Language as a SystemC.Language as Speech
B. Language as Convention D. Language as Human
5. When we process information and respond through words, either written or spoken, this
refer to language’s function as:
A. a System C. a Speech
B. a Convention D. a Human
6. When we process information and respond through words, either written or spoken, this
definition pertains to language’s function as:
A. Language as a SystemC. Language as Speech
B. Language as Convention D. Language as Human
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7. It is concerned not only with describing the knowledge that an adult speaker has of his or
her language, but also with explaining how that knowledge is acquired.
A. Grammar Development C. Universal Grammar
B. Language Theory D. Linguistic Theory
8. Dana teaches her parrot, Polly, the names of fruits and important verbs. However, Polly is
unable to make the names plural nor does it know how to change the verbs into different
tenses. What property of language is the parrot unable perform?
A. arbitrariness C. discreteness
B. creativity D. conventionality
9. Which of the following is the best example of the innate nature of human language?
A. Babbling C. Cry
B. Movement D. Blinking
10. The belief that the structure of a language influences how its speakers perceive the world
around them is referred to as:
A. Critical Period Hypothesis
B. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
C. linguistic determinism
D. language instinct
11. Which of the following theories support the situation of Genie who was able to learn a large
vocabulary as well as abstract and concrete terms but was unable to fully develop her
grammatical skills due to being reared in an environment of extreme social isolation within her
birth to middle childhood.
A. Critical Period Hypothesis
B. Sapir-WhorfHypothesis
C. linguistic determinism
D. language instinct
12. It is referred to as a statement/term that is true for all natural languages.Example for this is
the 11 color names: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, and
gray.
A. Vocabulary Development C. Universal Grammar
B. Linguistic UniversalsD.Distinctiveness
13. Who among the following viewed language development as innate to humans, supported
generative grammar, and proposed the naturalist approach?
A. B. F. Skinner C. Noam Chomsky
B. Ferdinand de Saussure D. George Orwell
14. The belief that the structure of a language influences how its speakers perceive the world
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around them is referred to as:

A. Critical Period Hypothesis C. linguistic determinism
B. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis D. language instinct
15. It is referred to as a statement/term that is true for all natural languages.Example

for this is the 11 color names: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, brown, purple,
pink, orange, and gray.
A. Vocabulary Development C. Universal Grammar
B. Linguistic Universals D.Distinctiveness
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Getting acquainted with the essential terms in the study of Human Language
is not enough, what also matters is you should also be able to explain its inter-
relationships. Now, I will require you to explain thoroughly your answers.
1. Differentiate the difference of Universal Grammar, Prescriptive Grammar, Descriptive

Grammar and Mental Grammar.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. Which among the theories of the origin of language do you agree or attest the most?
Why?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. Explain briefly the nature of human language.
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a. Language as System
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
b. Language as Speech
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
c. Language as Human
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
d. Language as Convention
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
In a Nutshell
Activity 1. The study of human language is indeed a pre-requisite to

linguistics.
Based from the definition of the most essential terms in the study of human
language, pleasefeelfreetowriteyourargumentsorlessonslearnedbelow. I have
indicated some of the arguments of lessonslearned.
1. Language is innate and arbitrary.

2. Language is conventional and creative.
Your Turn
3.
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4.
5.
Q&A List
Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keyword Index
Innatist view
Franz Joseph Gall
Big Picture B
a. Demonstrate deep knowledge and comprehension on the topic Grammatical Aspect
of Language, Specifically the following core areas; Morphology: The Words of
Language.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Demonstrate deep knowledge and comprehension on

the topic Grammatical Aspect of Language, Specifically the following core areas;
Morphology: The Words of Language. 29
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Metalanguage
Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the 4 th to 5th weeks of
the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledgethat will be laid
down in the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to
these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other
 Morphology
What is Morphology?
Source:https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/branches-of-linguistics/morphology/
what-is-morphology/
Morphology – the internal structure of words
Morphology is the study of the internal structure of words and forms a core part of linguistic
study today.
 The term morphology is Greek and is a makeup of morph- meaning ‘shape, form’, and -
ology which means ‘the study of something’.
 Morphology as a sub-discipline of linguistics was named for the first time in 1859 by the
German linguist August Schleicher who used the term for the study of the form of words.
What is a word?
Smallest independent units of language
Independent:
1. do not depend on other words.
2. can be separated from other units
3. can change position.[2]
Example:
The man looked at the horses.
 s is the plural marker, dependent on the noun horse to receive meaning
 Horses is a word: can occur in other positions or stand on its own
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EG:
The horses looked at the man.
– What is the man looking at? – Horses.
Words are thus both independent since they can be separated from other words and move
around in sentences, and the smallest units of language since they are the only units of
language for which this is possible.
Morphemes – the building blocks of morphology
Words have internal structure: built of even smaller pieces.
1. SIMPLE WORDS: Don’t have internal structure (only consist of one morpheme) eg work,
build, run. They can’t be split into smaller parts which carry meaning or function.
2. COMPLEX WORDS: Have internal structure (consist of two or more morphemes) eg
worker: affix -er added to the root work to form a noun.
Morphemes are the smallest meaning-bearing units of language.
FREE VS BOUND MORPHEMES

Free morpheme: a simple word, consisting of one morpheme eg house, work, high, chair,
wrap. They are words in themselves.
Bound morpheme: morphemes that must be attached to another morpheme to receive
meaning.
EG: UNKINDNESS
 UN- and -NESS are the bound morphemes, requiring the root KIND to form the word.
These are also called affixes as they are attached to the stem. There are two types as outlined
below:
1. Prefix (front of the base)= Un-
2. Suffix (end of the base)= -ness
Drawing Morphology Trees
Below is a step-by-step guide to drawing a morphology tree:
Morphology trees show the internal structure of a word.
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 Lexical & Grammatical Morphemes

Source: http://www.mathcs.duq.edu/~packer/Courses/Psy598/Ling-Morphology.pdf
Words that have meaning by themselves—boy, food, door—are called lexical
morphemes. Those words that function to specify the relationship between one lexical
morpheme and another—words like at, in, on, -ed, -s—are called grammatical morphemes.
Lexical morphemes are those that having meaning by themselves (more accurately,
they have sense). Grammatical morphemes specify a relationship between other morphemes.
But the distinction is not all that well defined. Nouns, verbs, adjectives ({boy}, {buy}, {big}) are
typical lexical morphemes. Prepositions, articles, conjunctions ({of}, {the}, {but}) are
grammatical morphemes
Free and Bound Morphemes

 Inflectional and Derivational Morphemes
 Inflectional Affixes
 It is also called Bound morphemes.
 It never change the grammatical category of the stem which they are attached.
 The change in the form of a word to mark such distinctions as tense, person, number,
gender, mood, voice and case.
 Involves an obligatory grammatical specification characteristic of a word class
Word Class Inflectional Categories Affix Used to Express
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Category
NOUNS Number /-s/
Ex. Book-Books
Possessive /’s/ , /’/
Ex. The cat’s tail
Charles’ pen
VERBS 3rd Person Singular /-s/
Present Ex. It rains
Past Tense /-ed/
Ex. Paint-Painted
Perfect Aspect /-ed/
Ex. Has Painted (past
participle)
Progressive Aspect /-ing/
Ex. Fall-Falling (present
participle)
ADJECTIVES Comparative /-er/
Ex. Tall-Taller
Superlative /-est/
Ex. Tall-Tallest
Inflectional and Derivational Morphemes

We can make a further distinction within the set of morphemes that are both bound and
grammatical. Bound grammatical morphemes (those that don’t have a sense by themselves
and, additionally, always occur in combinations) are commonly known as affixes. They can be
further divided into inflectional affixes and derivational affixes. Here is some of the evidence for
the distinction between inflectional and derivational affixes (the book has more):
Inflectional Affixes Derivational Affixes

All are suffixes May be either suffixes or prefixes
Have a wide range of application. May have a wide or narrow range
E.g. most English nouns can be
made plural, with {PLU}
All native to English (since Old Many were adopted from Latin,
English was spoken around 500- Greek, or other languages.
1000 AD) (Though others, especially the
suffixes, are native, including {ful},
{like}, {ly}, and {AG})
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Inflectional Affixes
English has only eight inflectional affixes:
{PLU} = plural Noun -s boys

{POSS} = possessive Noun -’s boy’s
{COMP} = comparative Adj -er older
{SUP} = superlative Adj -est oldest
{PRES} = present Verb -s walks
{PAST} past Verb -ed walked
{PAST PART} = past participle Verb -en driven
{PRES PART} = present participle Verb -ing driving
Notice that, as noted above, even irregular forms can be represented

morphologically using these morphemes. E.g. the irregular plural sheep is
written as {sheep} + {PLU}, even though the typically form of {PLU} is not used
here.
Similarly, better = {good} + {COMP}; drove = {drive} + {PAST}.
Derivational Affixes
There are an indefinite number of derivational morphemes.
For example, the following are some derivational suffixes:
{ize} attaches to a noun and turns it into a verb: rubberize

{ize} also attaches to an adjective and turns it into a verb: normalize
{ful} attaches to a noun and turns it into an adjective: playful, helpful

{ly} attaches to an adjective and turns it into an adverb: grandly, proudly
A different {ly} attaches to a noun and changes it into an adjective: manly,
friendly
English also has derivational prefixes, such as:
{un}, {dis}, {a}, {anti}, all of which indicate some kind of negation: unhappy,
dislike,atypical, anti-aircraft.
Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you further understand
the lesson:
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 Download the powerpoint presentation of Marvin Nacionales(2014) about

Introduction to Morphology at https://www.slideshare.net/marvzypher/introduction-
to-morphology?qid=f4caa5dd-48e0-4362-b686-
189aa081a08a&v=&b=&from_search=10
 Watch a video clip entitled An Introduction to Morphology
onhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syjbhT45J14
 Watch a video clip entitled What is morphology? at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqAtAqGqU28
 Watch a video clip entitled Lexical Morphemes and Functional ( Grammatical)
Morphemes found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73RCNZYqDpU
Let’s Check
Activities 1-2
Source:
https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/lwm/teaching/dld2_2017_18/Zeh_Morphological-Awareness.pdf
Activity1.NowthatyouknowthemostessentialtermsinthestudyofMorphology: The Words of

Language, let us try to check your understanding.
Directions: Identify the root of these words.

1. Nosey
2. Hopeless
3. Sleeping
4. Carefully
5. Breakable
6. Tossed
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7. Troubling
8. Dogs
9. Judgmental
10. Enjoyment
Activity 2: Fix the Prefixes and Suffixes

Directions: Fix the broken root word by matching it with the correct prefix or suffix.
ROOT Suffix/preffix
1. Care -ment
2. Base -ish
3. Break -y
4. Blue -ed
5. Quick -ion
6. Mood -ful
7. Tempt -ing
8. Transit -ly
9. Hope -able
10. Cry -less
Let’s Analyze
Activities 1-2
Source:
https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/lwm/teaching/dld2_2017_18/Zeh_Morphological-
Awareness.pdf
Activity 1: Word Sort

Directions: Examine and sort the listed words based on their morphemes. Then, predict the
meaning of the morpheme based on your current knowledge and the patterns you observe.
judgment, disagree, colorful, argument, distrust, eventful, apartment,

discomfort, fearful, hateful, disadvantage, wonderful, resentment, discontent,
statement
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E.g.:
Discontent
Discomfort
Dis= meaning not
Discontent= not content
Discomfort= not comfortable
1.judgment
2. disagree
3. colorful
4. argument
5.distrust
6.eventful
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7.apartment
8.discomfort
9.fearful
10.hateful
11.disadvantage
12.wonderful
13.resentment
14.discontent
15.statement
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Activity 2: Big Word Breakdown

Directions: For each word, identify the root word and any prefixes or suffixes. Write down the
meaning of each of these parts, and then use this to infer a definition of the whole word.
Example: subsequently
a. Prefix: sub- = under
b. Root: sequent = following in a sequence
c. Suffix: -ly = characterized by; act in that way
d. Possible meaning: acting in a way that follows “under” something else in a
sequence
e. Student friendly definition: something that occurs subsequently to something else
occurs later than or after it in time.
1. Unfashionable
a. Prefix: ________________ = ________________
b. Root: ________________ = ________________
c. Suffix:________________= ________________
d. Possible meaning: ________________
e. Sentence:________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Reignited
a. Prefix: ________________ = ________________
b. Root: ________________ = ________________
c. Suffix:________________ = ________________
e. Sentence:________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. Declassify
a. Prefix: ________________ = ________________
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b. Root: ________________ = ________________

c. Suffix:________________ = ________________
e. Sentence:________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. Disapproval
a. Prefix: ________________ = ________________
b. Root: ________________ = ________________
c. Suffix:________________ = ________________
e. Sentence:________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. foreshadowing
a. Prefix: ________________ = ________________
b. Root: ________________ = ________________
c. Suffix:________________ = ________________
e. Sentence:________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
In a Nutshell
Activity 1. The study of Morphology: The Words of Language is indeed

important to learning more about how the words in the language are formed and
derive their meaning. Based from the definition of the most essential terms in the
study of morphology and the learning
exercisesthatyouhavedone,pleasefeelfreetowriteyourargumentsorlessonslearnedb
elow. I have indicated my arguments or lessonslearned.
1. Morphology is evolving in the 21st century.

2. Morphology allows creativity in language.
Your Turn
3.
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4.
5.
Q&A List
Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Keyword Index
Morphology
Complex word
Big Picture C
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a. Have a deep knowledge and understanding on the Grammatical Aspect of Language,

Specifically the following core areas; Syntax: The Sentence Patterns of Language
and Semantics: The Meaning of Language and Pragmatics.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Have a deep knowledge and understanding on the
Grammatical Aspect of Language, Specifically the following core areas; Syntax:
The Sentence Patterns of Language and Semantics: The Meaning of Language and
Pragmatics.
Metalanguage
Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the 6 th and 7th weeks of the
course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledgethat will be laid down in
the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to these
resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other resources
that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.cometc.
 Syntax
o the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence
o the rules that state how, and in which order, words and symbols must be used in
a particular computer language:
Syntax Definition
Syntax is a set of rules in a language. It dictates how words from different parts of
speech are put together in order to convey a complete thought.
Syntax and Diction

Syntax and diction are closely related. Diction refers to the choice of words in a particular
situation, while syntax determines how the chosen words are used to form
a sentence. More often than not, adopting a complex diction means a complex syntactic
structure of sentences, and vice versa. In combination, syntax and diction help writers
develop tone, mood, and atmosphere in a text, along with evoking readers’ interest.
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Examples of Syntax in Literature

Syntax in Poetry
The general word order of an English sentence is Subject+Verb+Object. In poetry, however,
the word order may be shifted to achieve certain artistic effects, such as producing rhythm or
melody in the lines, achieving emphasis, and heightening connection between two words. The
unique syntax used in poetry makes it different from prose. Let us consider the following
examples of syntax:
Example #1: Beyond Decoration (By P. J. Kavanagh)

In casual conversations, we can simply say, “I cannot go out” to convey our inability to go out.
P. J. Kavanagh’s poem Beyond Decoration does not rely on merely stating a prosaic “I cannot
go out.” Rather, he shifts the syntax and says “Go out I cannot,” which lays a much stronger
emphasis on the inability to go out conveyed by the word “cannot.”
Example #2: Lycidas (By John Milton)

Similarly, John Milton shifts words in his poems frequently. Let us analyze lines from his
poem Lycidas:
“Thee, Shepherd, thee the woods and desert caves,
With wild thyme and the gadding vine o’ergrown,
And all their echoes mourn”
The modified word order in the above lines is Object+Subject+SubjectComplement+Verb.
Syntax in Prose
Syntax affects the nature of a prose text as well. It enhances its meanings, and contributes
toward its tone. Quickness, decisiveness, and speed are added to a text by using short
phrases, clauses, and sentences. Whereas, in a text where the subject matter is serious,
requiring contemplation, long, convoluted sentences are used to slow down the pace of a
prose text. The two syntax examples below show a distinct use of syntax:
Example #3: The Joy Luck Club (By Amy Tan)

“That night I sat on Tyan-yu’s bed and waited for him to touch me. But he didn’t. I was
relieved.”
Here, Amy Tan uses short sentences to communicate in a powerful and concise manner.
Example #4: A Farewell to Arms (By Ernest Hemingway)

“They left me alone and I lay in bed and read the papers awhile, the news from the front, and
the list of dead officers with their decorations and then reached down and brought up the bottle
of Cinzano and held it straight up on my stomach, the cool glass against my stomach, and took
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little drinks making rings on my stomach from holding the bottle there between drinks, and
watched it get dark outside over the roofs of the town.”
Ernest Hemingway uses long and complex structures to emphasize the laziness of
his character.
Syntax in Shakespeare
Writing all of his plays and sonnets in iambic pentameter, Shakespeare habitually reversed the
general order of English sentences by placing verbs at the ends of the sentences.
Example #5: Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)

“What light from yonder window breaks?”
Instead of using the common expression, “What light breaks from yonder window,”
Shakespeare emphasized his meaning by using different syntax.
Example #6: Richard III (By William Shakespeare)

In Richard III, Shakespeare deliberately reverses the word order of a sentence, turning a
common description: “And all the clouds that lowered upon our house buried in the deep
bosom of the ocean,” into:
“And all the clouds that lower’d upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”
Function of Syntax
To convey meaning is one of the main functions of syntax. In literature, writers utilize syntax
and diction to achieve certain artistic effects, like mood, and tone. Like diction, syntax aims to
affect the readers as well as express the writer’s attitude.
Syntax
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/syntax-grammar-1692182
 Syntax is the proper order of words in a phrase or sentence.
 Syntax is a tool used in writing proper grammatical sentences.
 Native speakers of a language learn correct syntax without realizing it.
 The complexity of a writer's or speaker's sentences creates a formal or informal level of
diction that is presented to its audience.
Hearing and Speaking Syntax

Syntax is one of the major components of grammar. It's the concept that enables people
to know how to start a question with a question word ("What is that?"), or that adjectives
generally come before the nouns they describe ("green chair"), subjects often come before
verbs in non-question sentences ("She jogged"), prepositional phrases start with prepositions
("to the store"), helping verbs come before main verbs ("can go" or "will do"), and so on.
For native speakers, using correct syntax is something that comes naturally, as word
order is learned as soon as an infant starts absorbing the language. Native speakers can tell
something isn't said quite right because it "sounds weird," even if they can't detail the exact
grammar rule that makes something sound "off" to the ear.
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"It is syntax that gives the words the power to relate to each other in a sequence...to carry
meaning—of whatever kind—as well as glow individually in just the right place"
(Burgess 1968)
Syntactic Rules
English parts of speech often follow ordering patterns in sentences and clauses, such as
compound sentences are joined by conjunctions (and, but, or) or that multiple adjectives
modifying the same noun follow a particular order according to their class (such as number-
size-color, as in "six small green chairs"). The rules of how to order words help the language
parts make sense.
Sentences often start with a subject, followed by a predicate (or just a verb in the
simplest sentences) and contain an object or a complement (or both), which shows, for
example, what's being acted upon. Take the sentence "Beth slowly ran the race in wild,
multicolored flip-flops." The sentence follows a subject-verb-object pattern ("Beth ran the
race"). Adverbs and adjectives take their places in front of what they're modifying ("slowly ran";
"wild, multicolored flip-flops"). The object ("the race") follows the verb "ran", and the
prepositional phrase ("in wild, multicolored flip-flops") starts with the preposition "in".
Syntax vs. Diction and Formal vs. Informal
Diction refers to the style of writing or speaking that someone uses, brought about by
their choice of words, whereas syntax is the order in which they're arranged in the spoken or
written sentence. Something written using a very high level of diction, like a paper published in
an academic journal or a lecture given in a college classroom, is written very formally.
Speaking to friends or texting are informal, meaning they have a low level of diction.
"It is essential to understand that the differences exist not because spoken language is a
degradation of written language but because any written language, whether English or
Chinese, results from centuries of development and elaboration by a small number of
users."Jim Miller
(Miller, 2008)
Formal written works or presentations would likely also have more complex sentences or
industry-specific jargon. They are directed to a more narrow audience than something meant
to be read or heard by the general public, where the audience members' backgrounds will be
more diverse.
Precision in word choice is less exacting in informal contexts than formal ones, and
grammar rules are more flexible in spoken language than in formal written language.
Understandable English syntax is more flexible than most.
"...the odd thing about English is that no matter how much you screw sequences
word up, you understood, still, like Yoda, will be. Other languages don't work that way.
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French? Dieu! Misplace a single le or la and an idea vaporizes into a sonic puff. English is

flexible: you can jam it into a Cuisinart for an hour, remove it, and meaning will still
emerge.”(Copeland, 2009)
Types of Sentence Structures

Types of sentences and their syntax modes include simple sentences, compound sentences,
complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. Compound sentences are two simple
sentences joined by a conjunction. Complex sentences have dependent clauses, and
compound-complex sentences have both types included.
 Simple sentence: Subject-verb structure ("The girl ran.")
 Compound sentence: Subject-verb-object-conjunction-subject-verb structure ("The girl
ran the marathon, and her cousin did, too.")
 Complex sentence: Dependent clause-subject-verb-object structure ("Although they

were tired after the marathon, the cousins decided to go to a celebration at the park.")
 Compound-complex sentence: Four clauses, dependent and independent structures
("Although they weren't fond of crowds, this was different, they decided, because of the
common goal that had brought everyone together.")
Definitions and Examples of Basic Sentence Elements

Source: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/sentencestructure
Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink,

regular font = prepositional phrase
Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It

contains a subject and a verb and is a complete idea.
o I like spaghetti.
o He reads many books.
Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be attached to an
independent clause to become complete. This is also known as a subordinate clause.
o Although I like spaghetti,…
o Because he reads many books,…
Subject: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that does an action. Determine the subject
in a sentence by asking the question “Who or what?”
o I like spaghetti.
Verb: Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or concept does. Determine the verb in
a sentence by asking the question “What was the action or what happened?”
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o I like spaghetti
o The movie is good. (The be verb is also sometimes referred to as a copula or a linking
verb. It links the subject, in this case "the movie," to the complement or the predicate of
the sentence, in this case, "good.")
Object: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that receives the action. Determine the
object in a sentence by asking the question “The subject did what?” or “To whom?/For whom?”
o I like spaghetti.
Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that begins with a preposition (i.e., in, at for, behind, until,
after, of, during) and modifies a word in the sentence. A prepositional phrase answers one of
many questions. Here are a few examples: “Where? When? In what way?”
o I like spaghetti for dinner.
o He reads many books in the library.
English Sentence Structure

The following statements are true about sentences in English:
 A new sentence begins with a capital letter.
o He obtained his degree.
 A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point).
 A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.
o Smith he obtained his degree.
 A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.
 A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.
o He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).
 A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an
independent clause.
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may also have an object and
modifiers. However, it contains only one independent clause.
Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink, regular
font =prepositional phrase
Here are a few examples:
 She wrote.
 She completed her literature review.
 He organized his sources by theme.
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 They studied APA rules for many hours.
Compound Sentences
A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses. These two independent
clauses can be combined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon.
Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or semicolon = pink, regular font;
coordinating conjunction = green, underlined
 She completed her literature review, and she created her reference list.
 He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.
 They studied APA rules for many hours, but they realized there was still much to
learn.
Using some compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.
Complex Sentences
A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and at least one dependent
clause. Dependent clauses can refer to the subject (who, which) the sequence/time (since,
while), or the causal elements (because, if) of the independent clause.
If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this clause. If, on the
other hand, the sentence begins with an independent clause, there is not a comma separating
the two clauses.
Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma = pink, regular font; dependent clause
= blue, italics
 Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to work on her
methods section.
o Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.
 Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to follow.
o Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.
 They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.
o Note that there is no comma in this sentence because it begins with an
independent clause.
 Using some complex sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.
Compound-Complex Sentences
Sentence types can also be combined. A compound-complex sentence contains at least two
independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or semicolon = pink, regular font;
coordinating conjunction = green, underlined; dependent clause = blue, italics
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 She completed her literature review, but she still needs to work on her methods
section even though she finished her methods course last semester.
 Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them
chronologically, and he carefully followed the MEAL plan for organization.
 With pizza and soda at hand, they studied APA rules for many hours, and they
decided that writing in APA made sense because it was clear, concise, and
objective.
 Using some complex-compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.
 Pay close attention to comma usage in complex-compound sentences so that the
reader is easily able to follow the intended meaning.
Syntax Variations and Distinctions

Syntax has changed some over the development of English through the centuries. "The
proverb Whoever loved that loved not at first sight? indicates that English negatives could once
be placed after main verbs" (Aitchison, 2001). And not all people speak English in exactly the
same way. Social dialects learned by people with common backgrounds—such as a social
class, profession, age group, or ethnic group—also may influence the speakers' syntax. Think
of the differences between teenagers' slang and more fluid word order and grammar vs.
research scientists' technical vocabulary and manner of speaking to each other. Social dialects
are also called "social varieties."
Beyond Syntax
Following proper syntax doesn't guarantee that a sentence will have meaning, though. Linguist
Noam Chomsky created the sentence "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," which is
syntactically and grammatically correct because it has the words in the correct order and verbs
that agree with subjects, but it's still nonsense. With it, Chomsky showed that rules governing
syntax are distinct from meanings that words convey.
The distinction between grammar and syntax has been somewhat disrupted by recent
research in lexicogrammar, which takes the words into account in grammar rules: For
example, some verbs (transitive ones, that perform an action on something) always take direct
objects.
1 A transitive (action) verb example:

 "She removed the index card from the old recipe box."
The verb is "removed" and the object is "index card." Another example includes a transitive
phrasal verb:
 "Please look over my report before I turn it in."
"Look over" is the phrasal verb and "report" is the direct object. To be a complete thought, you
need to include what's being looked over. Thus, it has to have a direct object.
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH

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Source:
http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/grammar/parts_of_speech.html#:~:text=There
%20are%20eight%20parts%20of,as%20grammatically%20within%20the%20sentence.
There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective,
adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. The part of speech indicates how the word
functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can
function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding
parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the
dictionary.
1.NOUN
 A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
man... Butte College... house... happiness
A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with an article
(the, a, an), but not always. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do
not. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. Nouns show possession by
adding 's. Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be
a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly
disappeared. Oh my!
See the TIP Sheet on "Nouns" for further information.
2. PRONOUN
 A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
She... we... they... it
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific
noun, which is called its antecedent. In the sentence above, the antecedent for the
pronoun she is the girl. Pronouns are further defined by type: personal pronouns refer to
specific persons or things; possessive pronouns indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns are
used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate
clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.
disappeared. Oh my!
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3. VERB
 A verb expresses action or being.
jump... is... write... become
The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb and sometimes one or
more helping verbs. ("She can sing." Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb
must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take
different forms to express tense.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she
quickly disappeared. Oh my!
4. ADJECTIVE
 An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
pretty... old... blue... smart
An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the
question of which one, what kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as
adjectives.)
disappeared. Oh my!
5. ADVERB
 An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
gently... extremely... carefully... well
An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It
usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what
degree. Adverbs often end in -ly.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher,
and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
6. PREPOSITION
 A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying
another word in the sentence.
by... with.... about... until
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(by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow)
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another
word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional
phrase. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as an adverb. The
following list includes the most common prepositions:
disappeared. Oh my!
7. CONJUNCTION
 A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.
and... but... or... while... because
A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the
elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but,
or, nor, for, so, yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because,
although, while, since, etc. There are other types of conjunctions as well.
disappeared. Oh my
8. INTERJECTION
 An interjection is a word used to express emotion.
Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by an exclamation point.
disappeared. Oh my!
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Verbals
Verbals
Source: https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/verbals.htm
A verbal is a verb form that does not function as a verb. Verbals function as nouns, adjectives,
or adverbs. There are three types of verbals:
 Participles (past participles and present participles).
 Gerunds
 Infinitives
Verbals (Participles)
A participle is a verb form that functions as an adjective.
There are two types of participles: the present participle (ending "ing") and the past
participle (usually ending "-ed,"" -d,"" -t,"" -en," or "-n").
Here are some participles being used as adjectives:

The Verb The Present Participle The Past Participle
To bake the baking bread the baked bread
To print the printing document the printed document
To lower the lowering prices the lowered prices

Here are some real-life examples:
 A stirring dwarf we do allowance give before a sleeping giant. (Playwright William
Shakespeare)
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(Two present participles)

 Food is an important part of a balanced diet. (Author Fran Lebowitz)
(A past participle)
Often, a participle will head up a participle phrase that functions as an adjective. In the
examples below, all participles are in bold and the participle phrases are shaded.
 Drooling saliva over the day's mail, the barking boxer quickly singled out the parcel
from the bills and junk mail.
(This example has two present participles. The first heads up a participle phrase that
describes "the barking boxer." The second modifies "boxer" in the normal way.)
 Baked in the oven for over six hours, the roast looked ruined.
(This example has two past participles. The first heads up a participle phrase that
describes "the roast." The second describes the roast as a subject complement.)
Verbals (Gerunds)
Even though gerunds look like present participles (i.e., they also end "-ing"), a gerund is a
noun, not an adjective. Here are some examples of gerunds (shaded):
 You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you
stop laughing. (Comedian Michael Pritchard)
 Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has
thought. (Biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi)
 I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting. (Author Mark Twain)
A gerund will often appear in a gerund phrase. A gerund phrase consists of a gerund,
its object, and all modifiers. For example (gerunds in bold with the gerund phrases shaded):
 Singing the words out loud helped him with his stammer.
 I started by photographing birds in my garden.
Verbals (Infinitives)
An infinitive is a verb form (often preceded by "to," e.g., "to dance," "to sing") that can function
as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. For example:
An infinitive as a noun:
 To win was everything.
(The infinitive is the subject of "was.")
Compare it to this:
 Winning was everything.
(This proves that the infinitive "to win" is being used a noun.)
An infinitive as an adjective:
 It is an appropriate saving to propose.
(The infinitive modifies "saving." This means it is functioning as an adjective.)
Compare it to this:
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 It is an appropriate saving that he proposed.

(The clause "that he proposed" is an adjective clause. This proves that the infinitive "to
propose" is being used an adjective.)
An infinitive as an adverb:
 The man paid to watch.
(The infinitive modifies the verb "paid." This means it is functioning as an adverb.)
Compare it to this:
 The man paid so he could watch.
(The clause "so he could watch" is an adverbial clause. This proves that the infinitive
"to watch" is being used an adverb.)
An infinitive will often appear in a infinitive phrase. An infinitive phrase consists of the
infinitive and any objects and modifiers. For example (infinitives in bold with the infinitive
phrases shaded):
 She needed to find a lot of money quickly.
(The infinitive phrase is being used as a noun.)
 I showed her the best way to make a Yorkshire pudding.
(The infinitive phrase is being used as an adjective.)
 He set the camera to film whatever was eating his chickens.
(The infinitive phrase is being used as an adverb.)
More about Verbals

We said at the start that verbals don't function as verbs. This is not strictly true because
participles are used to form verb tenses. More specifically, present participles are used to form
the progressive (or continuous) tenses, and past participles are used to form the perfect (or
completed) tenses. However, participles cannot function as verbs by themselves. They require
the help of the finite verbs "to be" or "to have." For example: #
 He is eating his dinner.
(The present participle "eating" is part of the verb phrase "is eating." The verb phrase is
functioning as a verb, but the verbal (i.e., "eating") cannot do this alone. It needs the
help of "is" (i.e., the verb "to be"). This is an example of the present progressive tense.)
 He has eaten his dinner.
(The past participle "eaten" is part of the verb phrase "has eaten." The verb phrase is
functioning as a verb, but the verbal (i.e., "eaten") cannot do this alone. It needs the
help of "has" (i.e., the verb "to have"). This is an example of the present perfect tense.)
Why Should I Care about Verbals?

Native English speakers can use verbals without hitting any snags. Nevertheless, here are
three good reasons to give verbals a little more thought.
(Reason 1) Participle phrases let you say two things efficiently.
Participle phrases are useful for saying two or more things about the subject, not only
efficiently but also in a way that adds that variety to your sentence structures. In these
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examples, the participle phrases are shaded, and the participles are in bold.
 Always willing to entertain others' ideas, Simon has a proven ability to build trust
through regular and honest communication.
 Showing utmost diligence in everything she does, Jill is adept managing
disagreements.
This sentence structure (i.e., with a fronted participle phrase) is particularly useful when writing
personal appraisals.
(Reason 2) Gerunds can reduce your word count and improve reading flow.
Sentences with lots of nouns (i.e., normal nouns, not gerunds) need to include
the prepositions (e.g., "of," "with") and the articles ("a," "an," "the") required to make those
nouns work. As a result, such sentences usually sound jolty and are unnecessarily long. For
example (normal nouns in bold):
 The development of the U-bend assisted with the removal of smells.
(This 11-word sentence has way too many nouns, prepositions, and articles. It's long
and stuffy, and it doesn't flow naturally.)
As a rule, a well-placed verb is the best way to fix a jolty, noun-filled sentence, but gerunds
(being a bit verb-like themselves) are also good for reducing your word count and creating
better-flowing sentences. For example (gerunds highlighted):
 Developing the U-bend assisted with removing smells.

(This 7-word version features two gerunds. It flows far better than the 11-word version
above.)
Overusing nouns is common in business writing because staff members believe that noun
chains make their writing sound more corporate.
(Reason 3) An infinitive can usually replace "in order to."

To reduce your word count, you can often replace "in order to" with "to" without any loss of
meaning.
 Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work. (Actress Bette Davis)
(Here, the infinitive "to improve" has replaced "in order to improve," saving two words.)
Be careful when replacing "in order to" with just "to." Using "in order to" makes it clear that the
text that follows is the reason for performing the action. Also, sometimes, using the full "in
order to" is useful for removing ambiguity. So, remove "in order" to save two words, but then
check your sentence still reads okay.
Key Points
 Using a participle phrase upfront lets you cram more information into your sentence.
 Replacing a normal noun with a gerund can help with creating a shorter, better-flowing
sentence.
 If "in order to" adds no clarity and you're not looking for emphasis on the reason, delete
"in order."
Verbals
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1. Gerunds
A verbal is a word formed from a verb but functioning as a different part of speech.
A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that functions as a noun.
Like an ordinary single-word noun, a gerund may be used as a
SUBJECT

DIRECT OBJECT

RETAINED OBJECT
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SUBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT

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OBJECT OF PREPOSITION

APPOSITIVE

DELAYED APPOSITIVE
In the example below, the gerund phrase renames the subject, this.
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NOTE: Do not confuse gerunds with verbs (predicates) in the progressive tense.
GERUND

PREDICATE VERB
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Even though is cooking and was scratching end in -ing, they are not gerunds because
they are used as predicate verbs, not as nouns.

2. Participles
A participle is a verbal that functions as an adjective.
Two kinds of participles:

A. Present participles, always ending in -ing, are created from the form of a verb used with
the verb to be ( am, is, are, was, were, been) as an auxiliary verb (progressive tense).
Removing the auxiliary verb and using the -ing form of the main verb as an adjective produces
a present participle.

B. Past participles, usually ending in -ed or -en, are created from the form of a verb used
with the verb to be as an auxiliary verb (passive voice).
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Removing the auxiliary verb and using the -en form of the main verb as an adjective
produces a past participle.
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Past participles may also be part of a participial phrase.
Participles and participial phrases should be placed near the nouns they modify. They may
either precede or follow a noun.

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For punctuation rules used with participles and participial phrases, follow this link.

3. Infinitives
An infinitive is a verbal formed by placing to in front of the simple present form of a verb.
Examples:
to swim to think to read to be to cut to turn
Infinitives may function as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns.

A. Adjectival infinitives
Just like a single-word adjective, an infinitive used as an adjective always describes a noun.
An adjectival infinitive always follows the noun it describes.
EXAMPLE

Like gerunds and participles, infinitives may incorporate other words as part of their phrase.
EXAMPLE

B. Adverbial infinitives
Just like a single-word adverb, an infinitive used as an adverb always describes a verb.
An adverbial infinitive usually occurs at the beginning or at the end of a sentence and does not
need to be near the verb it describes.
EXAMPLE: Adverbial infinitive at sentence beginning
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EXAMPLE: Adverbial infinitive at sentence end

HINT: You can always identify an adverbial infinitive by inserting the test words in order in
front of
infinitive. If the words in order make sense, the infinitive is adverbial.
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PUNCTUATION NOTE:
1. Use a comma after the adverbial infinitive when it starts a sentence.
2. Do not separate the adverbial infinitive from the rest of the sentence if the infinitive ends
the sentence.
C. Nominal infinitives

Like a single-word noun, a nominal infinitive may function as a
SUBJECT

DIRECT OBJECT

RETAINED OBJECT
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SUBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT

APPOSITIVE

DELAYED APPOSITIVE

 Semantics
What does semantics study?
Source: https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/branches-of-linguistics/
semantics/what-does-semantics-study/
Semantics is the study of meaning, but what do we mean by ‘meaning’?
Meaning has been given different definitions in the past.
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Meaning = Connotation?
Is meaning simply the set of associations that a word evokes, is the meaning of a word defined
by the images that its users connect to it?
So ‘winter’ might mean ‘snow’, ‘sledging’ and ‘mulled wine’. But what about someone living in
the amazon? Their ‘winter’ is still wet and hot, so its original meaning is lost. Because the
associations of a word don’t always apply, it was decided that this couldn’t be the whole story.
Meaning = Denotation?
It has also been suggested that the meaning of a word is simply the entity in the World which
that word refers to. This makes perfect sense for proper nouns like ‘New York’ and ‘the Eiffel
Tower’, but there are lots of words like ‘sing’ and ‘altruism’ that don’t have a solid thing in the
world that they are connected to. So meaning cannot be entirely denotation either.
Meaning = Extension and Intension

So meaning, in Semantics, is defined as being Extension: The thing in the world that the
word/phrase refers to, plus Intension: The concepts/mental images that the word/phrase
evokes.[3]
Semantics is interested in:

How meaning works in language:
The study of semantics looks at how meaning works in language, and because of this it often
uses native speaker intuitions about the meaning of words and phrases to base research on.
We all understand semantics already on a subconscious level, it’s how we understand each
other when we speak.
How the way in which words are put together creates meaning:
One of the things that Semantics looks at, and is based on, is how the meaning of speech
is not just derived from the meanings of the individual words all put together, as you can see
from the example below.
The Principle of Compositionality says that the meaning of speech is the sum of the meanings
of the individual words plus the way in which they are arranged into a structure.
The relationships between words:

Semantics also looks at the ways in which the meanings of words can be related to each other.
Here are a few of the ways in which words can be semantically related:
 Synonymy – Words are synonymous/ synonyms when they can be used to mean the same
thing (at least in some contexts – words are rarely fully identical in all contexts). Begin and
start, Big and large, Youth and adolescent.
 Antonymy Words are antonyms of one another when they have opposite meanings (again,
at least in some contexts). Big and small,
Come and go, Up and down.
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 Polysemy – A word is polysemous when it has two or more related meanings. In this case
the word takes one form but can be used to mean two different things. In the case of
polysemy, these two meanings must be related in some way, and not be two completely
unrelated meanings of the word. Bright (shining) and bright (intelligent). Mouse (animal) and
mouse (computer hardware).
 Homophony – Homophony is similar to polysemy in that it refers to a single form of word
with two meanings, however a word is a homophone when the two meanings are entirely
unrelated. Bat (flying mammal) and bat (sports equipment). Pen (writing instrument) and
pen (small cage).
The relationships between sentences:

Sentences can also be semantically related to one-another in a few different ways.
 Paraphrase – Paraphrases have the same truth conditions; if one is true, the other must
also be true. ‘The boys like the girls’ and ‘the girls are liked by the boys’, ‘John gave the
book to Chris’ and ‘John gave Chris the book’.
 Mutual entailment – Each sentence must be true for the other to be true. ‘John is married to
Rachel’ and ‘Rachel is John’s wife’,
‘Chris is a man’ and ‘Chris is human’.
 Asymmetrical entailment – Only one of the sentences must be true for the other to be true,
but that sentence may be true without the other sentence necessarily having to be true.
‘Rachel is John’s wife’ entails ‘John is married’ (but John is married does not entail Rachel
being his wife), ‘Rachel has two brothers’ entails ‘Rachel is not an only child’ (but Rachel not
being an only child does not entail Rachel having two brothers).
 Contradiction – Sentences contradict each other when one sentence is true and the other
cannot be true. ‘Rachel is an only child’ and ‘Rachel’s brother is called Phil’, ‘Alex is alive’
and ‘Alex died last week’.
Ambiguity:
One of the aspects of how meaning works in language is ambiguity. A sentence is ambiguous
when it has two or more possible meanings, but how does ambiguity arise in language? A
sentence can be ambiguous for either of the following reasons:
Lexical Ambiguity: A sentence is lexically ambiguous when it can have two or more possible
meanings due to polysemous (words that have two or more related meanings) or
homophonous (a single word which has two or more different meanings) words.
Example of lexically ambiguous sentence: Prostitutes appeal to the Pope. This sentence is
ambiguous because the word ‘appeal’ is polysemous and can mean ‘ask for help’ or ‘are
attractive to’.
Structural Ambiguity: A sentence is structurally ambiguous if it can have two or more

possible meanings due to the words it contains being able to be combined in different ways
which create different meanings.
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Example of structurally ambiguous sentence: Enraged cow injures farmer with axe. In this
sentence the ambiguity arises from the fact that the ‘with axe’ can either refer to the farmer, or
to the act of injuring being carried out (by the cow) ‘with axe’.
Semantics in the field of Linguistics

Semantics looks at these relationships in language and looks at how these meanings are
created, which is an important part of understanding how language works as a whole.
Understanding how meaning occurs in language can inform other sub-disciplines, such as
Language Acquisition, to help us to understand how speakers acquire a sense of meaning,
and Sociolinguistics, as the achievement of meaning in language is important in language in a
social situation.
Semantics is also informed by other sub-disciplines of linguistics, such as Morphology, as
understanding the words themselves is integral to the study of their meaning, and Syntax,
which researchers in semantics use extensively to reveal how meaning is created in language,
as how language is structured is central to meaning.
The Function of Lexemes: Lexeme (words) Definition, Etymology and Examples

By Richard Nordquist (July 03, 2019)
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/lexeme-words-term-1691225
In linguistics, a lexeme is the fundamental unit of the lexicon (or word stock) of a language.

Also known as a lexical unit, lexical item, or lexical word. In corpus linguistics, lexemes are
commonly referred to as lemmas.
A lexeme is often--but not always--an individual word (a simple lexeme or dictionary word, as

it's sometimes called). A single dictionary word (for example, talk) may have a number
of inflectional forms or grammatical variants (in this example, talks, talked, talking).
A multiword (or composite) lexeme is a lexeme made up of more than one orthographic word,

such as a phrasal verb (e.g., speak up; pull through), an open compound (fire engine; couch
potato), or an idiom (throw in the towel; give up the ghost).
The way in which a lexeme can be used in a sentence is determined by its word
class or grammatical category.
Etymology
From the Greek, "word, speech"
Examples and Observations
 "A lexeme is a unit of lexical meaning, which exists regardless of
any inflectional endings it may have or the number of words it may contain.
Thus, fibrillate, rain cats and dogs, and come in are all lexemes, as are elephant, jog,
cholesterol, happiness, put up with, face the music, and hundreds of thousands of other
meaningful items in English. The headwords in a dictionary are all lexemes."
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(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed.

Cambridge University Press, 2003)
Specifications of Lexemes
"[A] lexeme is a linguistic item defined by the following specifications, which make up what is
called the lexical entry for this item:
 its sound form and its spelling (for languages with a written standard);
 the grammatical category of the lexeme (noun, intransitive verb, adjective, etc.);
 its inherent grammatical properties (for some languages, e.g. gender);
 the set of grammatical forms it may take, in particular, irregular forms;
 its lexical meaning.
 "These specifications apply to both simple and composite lexemes."
(Sebastian Löbner, Understanding Semantics. Routledge, 2013)
The Meanings of Lexemes

"Definitions are an attempt to characterize the 'meaning' or sense of a lexeme and to
distinguish the meaning of the lexeme concerned from the meanings of other lexemes in the
same semantic field, for example, the 'elephant' from other large mammals. There is a sense
in which a definition characterizes the 'potential' meaning of a lexeme; the meaning only
becomes precise as it is actualized in a context. Since the division of the meaning of a lexeme
into senses is based on the variation of meaning perceived in different contexts, a tension
exists in lexicography between the recognition of separate senses and the potentiality of
meaning found in definitions. This may well account in large part for the
divergence between similar-sized dictionaries in the number of senses recorded and in
consequent differences of definition."
(Howard Jackson and Etienne ZéAmvela, Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An Introduction to
Modern English Lexicology, 2nd ed. Continuum, 2005)
Invariable and Variable Lexemes

"In many cases, it makes no difference whether we take a syntactic or a lexical perspective.
Lexemes such as the and and are invariable, i.e., there is only one word corresponding to
each. Also invariable are lexemes like efficiently: although more efficiently is in some respects
like harder, it is not a single word, but a sequence of two, and hence efficiently and more
efficiently are not forms of a single lexeme. Variable lexemes, by contrast, are those which
have two or more forms. Where we need to make clear that we are considering an item as a
lexeme, not a word, we will represent it in bold italics. Hard, for example, represents the
lexeme which has hard and harder--and also hardest--as its forms. Similarly are and is, along
with be, been, being, etc., are forms of the lexeme be. . . . A variable lexeme is thus a word-
sized lexical item considered in abstraction from grammatical properties that vary depending
on the syntactic construction in which it appears."
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(Rodney Huddleston and GeoffroyPullum, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.

Cambridge University Press, 2002)
Context and Semantic Range

Source: https://academic.logos.com/the-meaning-of-words-part-2-context-and-semantic-
range/
The Meaning of Words, Part 2: Context and Semantic Range

March 31, 2017 by paulhimes
This is the second of a two-part series on words and their meanings. 1 Part 1 discussed the
difference between “words” and “concepts.” In Part 2 we will examine the interaction of
“context” (the words surrounding a particular word) with “semantic range” (the complete gamut
of how a word is being used by the speakers of a particular language at a particular point in
time).
Introduction
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I
chose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make
words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be
master—that’s all.”
“Context is king” runs the common mantra in biblical studies, and to a certain degree this
is true. Yet the “king” cannot rule without some sort of legitimization from the people, and that’s
where “semantic range” comes in. If “context is king,” then “semantic range is parliament,” for
semantic range represents the will of the people.
In other words, language is a social construct.
Consequently, without denying the existence of idiolect, anybody who wishes to
communicate must make sure that how they use a word has at least some overlap with how
their dialogue partner uses it.
Individual Lexicons
I will illustrate this with two examples from the adventures of a former missionary to
Japan (one quite talented in language!) who is very dear to me (and granted permission for
these stories to be posted).
In the first example, this missionary was preaching on Jesus’ statement “I am the Light of
the world.” To illustrate, he spoke of spelunking during his college days, noting how dark it was
in a cave without a light, how easy it was to get lost in a cave (even when he and his friends
had a map), etc.
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Confused expressions greeted him, for rather than using the word hora-ana (“cave”), he
accidentally used the word ana-guma (“badger), thus regaling a dazed audience with tales of
how, in his college days, he would get lost exploring the insides of a badger, despite having a
map of the insides of the badger, etc. Obviously context was not enough to prevent
miscommunication.
In the second example, the missionary had both context and etymology on his side, but
to no avail. Attempting one day to witness to a lady, who had a young boy with her, the
missionary endeavored to make friends with the young boy, who was clearly scared of the
foreigner. Gesturing at the young boy, the missionary attempted to say, “He seems not to like
me” by combining the word for “dislike” (ya) with the adjective for “seems to be” (ra-shii).
Unfortunately, when combined in such a manner vocally, the resulting word was radically
different and did not possess “seems to dislike” as part of its semantic range. What the
missionary said to the horrified lady was, “He seems to be morally repugnant.” The lady
stalked away in shock, much to the missionary’s confusion.
What of Context?
In other words, context is not enough to facilitate clear communication, if in fact a word is
not being used in accordance with how others use it. The assertion that “Context is King,” then,
is in and of itself insufficient. As E. D. Hirsch states,
It is sometimes said that ‘meaning is determined by context,’ but this is a very loose way of
speaking. It is true that the surrounding text or the situation in which a problematical word
sequence is found tends to narrow the meaning probabilities for that particular word sequence;
otherwise, interpretation would be hopeless. And it is a measure of stylistic excellence in an
author that he should have managed to formulate a decisive context for any particular word
sequence within his text. But this is certainly not to say that context determines verbal
meaning. At best a context determines the guess of an interpreter (though his construction of
the context may be wrong, and his guess correspondingly so). To speak of context as a
determinant is to confuse an exigency of interpretation with an author’s determining acts. An
author’s verbal meaning is limited by linguistic possibilities but is determined by his actualizing
and specifying some of those possibilities.
From a slightly different perspective, NT scholar Daniel Wallace aptly states, “Often
linguists say that the word being examined should have the meaning of ‘X’ with ‘X’ being only
what one can determine from the context. But this is an unreasonable demand on any word.
If every word in a given utterance had the meaning ‘X’ then we simply could not figure out what
any utterance ever meant.”7
When we examine a sentence, then, each word is not a blank slate, “x,” to be filled with
whatever context demands of it. Rather, each word has, at that moment of time, a number of
concepts that it can point to based on how people are, at that moment, using the word.
Furthermore, the concepts the word reflects, as well as the very form of the word, may change
over time. This is why etymology should not be relied on except in rare circumstances.
Consequently, communication can only occur when substantial overlap exists between
how one person uses a word and how another person uses a word. Context will delineate
which of the possible meanings is the correct one. 8 Yet if neither of them are drawing from the
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possible meanings of the semantic range reflected in that language (or at least that particular
dialect), miscommunication occurs.

Enter Semantic Range
Consider the following sentence: “Little Jimmy has been getting quite good at the violin. Do
you want to come see him play in tomorrow night’s performance?” Now, the average speaker
of English will be fully aware that “play” has multiple meanings, but can there be any doubt
what the word means in this context? The word “violin” and the expression “tomorrow night’s
performance” both make it clear that Little Jimmy is not throwing a football or sitting down to a
friendly game of monopoly.
Yet, on the other hand, what would happen if in the above sentence the speaker replaced the
word “play” with “belch”? The listener would most likely be confused and ask for clarification (or
flee away in horror), simply because the word “belch” is not a word associated with the
structured performance of musical instruments (at least not in the kind of concerts I’m familiar
with!). We cannot force the word “belch” to mean what people usually mean by “play.” Despite
what Humpty Dumpty claimed, it is the masses, not the individual, that determines the
meanings of words.
In other words, when we have conversations with other people, we usually try to use words in
such a way that they will understand. Exceptions do exist, especially in poetry, and since
words do change meaning it is clear that somebody, somewhere, had to try something new;
language is not static. For a fascinating discussion of this very point, see Peter J. Leithart’s
book, Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture.
Nonetheless, radical semantic change is slow and not easily detectable within small
periods of time—we usually do not wake up one morning to realize that “professor” has
suddenly become slang for “communist infiltrator.”
Bible Study and Semantic Range

So how does this practically affect our study of words in the Bible? First of all, serious study
should not overly rely on lexicons at the expense of the literature of Koine Greek. As John A. L.
Lee has convincingly demonstrated, too often lexicons do not conduct original research but
merely repackage the work of those that have gone before. 10 Obviously lexicons are helpful
tools; my point is that they are not infallible.
Secondly, in order to understand a word’s semantic range, its use in Koine should be
examined in the following order: 1. the NT itself; 2. the Septuagint; 3. Josephus; 4. other 1st
century writers such as Philo, Plutarch, and the various papyri (if you have access to how a
word is used in the papyri, this should trump Plutarch and other “fancier” writers since the
papyri represents how the common man and woman of the day spoke and wrote).
After the NT, the LXX and Josephus take priority simply because they represent Jewish
authors writing in Greek about biblical matters, and thus can be expected to possess
significant parallels with the NT authors. Furthermore, as far as the LXX goes, we have to
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assume that the apostles had thoroughly immersed themselves in both its message and
terminology.
Consequently, when the Apostle Paul speaks of Jesus as our ἱλαστήριον (Rom 3:25), one
should naturally expect that he wished to invoke images of the actual physical Mercy Seat in
the OT tabernacle, which is almost exclusively how the word is used in the LXX (cf. also Heb
9:5).
Semantic Range and Context

Yet although one should look at semantic range in addition to context in order to
determine meaning, ironically one cannot understand the semantic range of a particular word
in the Bible without looking at its use in various other contexts. Yet when looking at a particular
context, the reader should already know the semantic ranges of most of the words in order to
understand the meaning of a particular word.
Occasionally, a sentence will be too difficult to puzzle through precisely because the
reader does not know the semantic ranges of words or the significance of specific syntactical
constructions. Consequently, when learning both written and vocal languages, one must
always work from the simpler to the more complex, gaining insight as one continues to
immerse oneself in the language.
This can be illustrated with a “tourist” analogy. At the most primitive level of
communication, a completely lost foreigner looking for the train station in Tokyo would
probably not (contrary to popular perception) resort to raising his voice, but rather to gestures
imitating a train (“charades”).
Having established, through the use of gestures, that “train” is denshain Japanese, he
can now make educated guesses as to the words surrounding densha in a sentence,
especially those words that occur frequently in simple contexts. Some of his guesses will
be wrong, but his guesses will improve the more he is immersed in the language. As his
understanding of the meaning of both words and sentences improves, so will his ability to
make educated guesses regarding the meaning of new words within different contexts.
Furthermore, his guesses will be more likely to be correct in simpler sentences than in
complex sentences. After all, the English word “car” would be more easily understandable to a
non-native speaker in the sentence “The car was in an accident” (accompanied by gestures)
than “Tony Stewart short-shifted his car while expertly slipstreaming past the lead.” 12 So, when
examining how a word is used in a particular biblical text, how a word is used elsewhere in
simpler and non-controversial texts is better evidence than how a word is used in complex and
murkier texts.
Thus the more comprehensive one’s grasp of the language (i.e., semantic ranges and
syntactical constructions), the more likely somebody can determine from a specific context the
meaning of a particular word. Both a knowledge of context and semantic range are necessary;
once again, if “context is king,” then “semantic range is parliament.”
Goodbye Etymology?
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Since we are relying on semantic range and context to determine meaning, very rarely
do we have to worry about etymology, the history of a word. Etymology simply does not factor
into the way society normally uses language. For example, as a baby develops and learns the
meanings of words, he or she does not do so based on an inherent knowledge of the history of
a word, but rather based on how people in the same room are using the word!
To be sure, a baby experiences trial and error: “da-da” may alternately refer to a toy
truck, an older sister, or even the family dog before the baby “gets it right.” At no point in the
development of a child, however, does he or she stop and think, “I will use this word based on
how the word was morphologically constructed 500 years ago.” Generally speaking, neither do
adults.
Having said that, etymology can be helpful in two cases. First, “The etymology of a word
may help to determine its meaning, but only if it can be demonstrated that the speaker was
aware of that etymology.” Secondly, for extremely rare words or words such as θεόπνευστος
which appears nowhere else in Greek literature prior to the 2 Timothy, etymology may be our
only clue as to its meaning.
Compound Word Fallacy

Notwithstanding rare examples such as θεόπνευστος, a corollary to the etymological
fallacy is the idea that a compound word automatically has the same semantic range as the
combination of the meanings of the two words it derived from. Granted, obviously there will be
a connection. Yet with compound words, the whole is not equal to the sum of its parts.
In other words, προστρέχω, for example, should not be understood as: “=[semantic
range of πρός] + [semantic range of τρέχω],” as if the compound word
would automatically have the meaning of “running in accordance with something” instead of
“running up to someone or something.”As Turner and Cotterell state, “We should not, however,
be beguiled . . . into thinking that compound lexemes always are, or even usually, bear a
meaning that is little more than a summation of the separate
meanings of the elements of which the word is composed.” Compound words must be studied
in their own right, not on the basis of their morphology.
Summary
In summary:
1. Words and concepts are different, and their relationship will change over time
2. A single word can point to different concepts at different times (rarely at the same time)
3. Multiple words can point to the same concept (which means you need to study more
than one word to understand a concept)
4. Both a knowledge of semantic range (how a word is used elsewhere) and context are
key to determining meaning
5. Etymology can be helpful but should only be used as a last resort in determining
meaning.
One final point for the linguistically-inclined (or any “gluttons for punishment”). Language is
fluid, and as we pointed out earlier, there are some brave souls who will use words in ways
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they haven’t been used before. In other words, as Relevance Theory points out regarding the
interrelation between words and concepts, these relationships may be somewhat modified on
the fly to create what Robyn Carston calls an “ad hoc concept.”20
So anybody can, in theory, utilize words to create a new concept for the listener or hearer (by
“new” I mean “one which the reader had not thought of before”). Carston gives the example of
somebody who uses the expression “Ken’s a (real) bachelor,” which would not point to the
normal meaning of “bachelor” as simply an unmarried man, but rather to a different concept,
that of a particular lifestyle.
Furthermore, an author may use a word in an unfamiliar way and then use multiple
words to explain what he or she means, or even introduce a totally new concept to somebody
with multiple words, and then associate that concept with a specific word or phrase (e.g., Paul
Bloom gives us the excellent example of teaching somebody who is not a hockey fan the
meaning of “hat trick”).
No doubt this happens in the NT, but it is not the word itself which introduces a radically new
concept, but the explanation surrounding the word. This, then, brings us back full circle to
Barr’s point: theology is generally performed at the sentence level, not the word level.
 Collocation & Idiom

Source:https://semantic-introduction.weebly.com/collocations-fixed-expressions-and-
idioms.html
COLLOCATIONS
What is a collocation?
A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound
"right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other
combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong". Look at these examples:
Natural English...Unnatural English...the fast train

fast foodthe quick train
quick fooda quick shower
a quick meala fast shower
a fast mealWhy learn collocations?
Your language will be more natural and more easily understood.

You will have alternative and richer ways of expressing yourself.
It is easier for our brains to remember and use language in chunks or blocks rather than as
single words.
How to learn collocations

Be aware of collocations, and try to recognize them when you see or hear them.
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Treat collocations as single blocks of language. Think of them as individual blocks or chunks,
and learn strongly support, not strongly + support.
When you learn a new word, write down other words that collocate with it (remember
rightly,remember distinctly, remember vaguely, remember vividly).
Read as much as possible. Reading is an excellent way to learn vocabulary and
collocations in context and naturally.
Revise what you learn regularly. Practise using new collocations in context as soon as
possible after learning them.
Learn collocations in groups that work for you. You could learn them by topic (time,
number, weather, money, family) or by a particular word (take action, take a chance, take an
exam).
You can find information on collocations in any good learner's dictionary. And you can
also find specialized dictionaries of collocations.
Types of Collocation
There are several different types of collocation made from combinations of verb, noun,
adjective etc. Some of the most common types are:
Adverb + Adjective: completely satisfied (NOT downright satisfied)
Adjective + Noun: excruciating pain (NOT excruciating joy)
Noun + Noun: a surge of anger (NOT a rush of anger)
Noun + Verb: lions roar (NOT lions shout)
Verb + Noun: commit suicide (NOT undertake suicide)
Verb + Expression With Preposition: burst into tears (NOT blow up in tears)
Verb + Adverb: wave frantically (NOT wave feverishly)
FIXED EXPRESSIONS
To children, non-native English speakers, and anyone who confronts a fixed expression
for the first time, they can be baffling. A fixed expression is a little like a secret code that allows
access to a club that not everyone can enter. It’s a phrase that has a very specific meaning
that can’t be expressed any other way and also can’t be deduced just by considering the sum
of its parts. Some fixed expressions, like “ready, aim, fire” are
used so often that the opportunity to turn them into a joke creates another fixed expression.
Others, such as “before you know it” or “to tell you the truth” have been around for so long that
they function almost as a single word.
Unlike idioms, fixed expressions typically offer neither folk wisdom nor an image. “Two
heads are better than one” creates a bizarre, yet effective, visual idea of one body that
operates with two heads, while the idiom’s meaning is that two people working on a problem
have a better chance of solving it than just a single thinker. Fixed expressions are more often a
collection of words with individual meaning that really have nothing to do with one another.
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“All of a sudden” is a perfect example. “All” means a totality, a location or moment in

time in which everything is included. “Of a” is really just a grammatical phrase with no internal
meaning of its own. “Sudden” refers to something completely unexpected; it is only the final
word in this expression that contributes meaning to the fixed expression, which is simply
another way of saying “suddenly.”
For example:
To be in no mood for jokes. To not be so important.
To top it all off.
Just so you know.
Therefore, for that reason.
For the first time.
On the other hand
Just in case.
Of course.
Apparently.
At least.
IDIOMS
An idiom is a phrase where the words together have a meaning that is different from the
dictionary definitions of the individual words, which can make idioms hard for ESL students
and learners to understand. Here, we provide a dictionary of 3,782 English idiomatic
expressions with definitions.
For example:
Fight like Kilkenny cats
Jump off the page
Like collecting frogs in a bucket
Leading edge
when the pigs fly!
Not for nothing
Bleed dry
Let the dust settle

Take root
It takes all kinds to make a world
Bring home
Brush with death
Idioms versus Collocations: The Difference?
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Idioms versus Collocations: The Difference?

PaulinusPandiangan (May 30, 2013)
Source:https://paulinuspandiangan.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/idioms-versus-collocations-the-
difference/
What are idioms, basically?
An expression like turn up (meaning ‘arrive’), break even (meaning ‘make neither a
profit nor a loss’) or a can of worms (meaning ‘a complicated problem’) can be difficult to
understand, because its meaning is different from the meanings of the separate words in the
expression. (If you know break and even, this does not help you at all to understand break
even). Expressions like these are called ‘idioms‘. Idioms are usually special to one language
and cannot be translated word for word (though related languages may share some idioms).
We can talk about a burning desire or a blazing row, but we don’t say a blazing desire
or a burning row. Somebody can be a heavy smoker or a devoted friend, but not a devoted
smoker or a heavy friend. Expressions like these are also idiomatic, in a sense. They are easy
to understand, but not so easy for a learner to produce correctly. One can think of many
adjectives that might be used with smoker to say that somebody smokes a lot – for example
big, strong, hard, fierce, mad, devoted. It just happens that English speakers have chosen to
use heavy, and one has to know this in order to express the idea correctly. (A learner who
uses the wrong words for an idea like this may be understood, but he or she will not sound
natural.) These conventional combinations are called ‘collocations‘, and all languages have
large numbers of them. More examples:
a crashing bore (BUT NOT a crashing nuisance)

a golden opportunity (BUT NOT a golden chance)
change one’s mind (BUT NOT change one’s thoughts)
Thanks a lot. (BUT NOT Thank you a lot.)
slightly annoyed (BUT NOT slightly interesting)
The expressions that are used in typical everyday situations are often idiomatic in the
same sense. With the help of a dictionary and a grammar, one could invent various possible
ways of expressing a particular idea, but generally there are only one or two
ways that happen to be used by English speakers, and one has to know what they are in order
to speak or write naturally. Some examples:
Could you check the oil?
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(More natural than Could you inspect the oil? or Could you see how much oil there is in the
engine?)
Is it a direct flight or do I have to change?
(More natural than Does the plane go straight there or do I have to get another one?)
Sorry I kept you waiting. (More natural than Sorry I made you wait.)
Could I reserve a table for three for eight o’clock? (More natural than Could you keep me a
table for three persons for eight o’clock?)
 Homonymy & Polysemy
Lexical ambiguity: Polysemy and homonymy

Source: http://www.ello.uos.de/field.php/Semantics/Semanticspolysemyandhomonymy
In contrast to the notion of sense relations, polysemy and homonymy refer to similarities
rather than differences between meanings. A word is polysemous when it has more than one
meaning (e.g. plain). Words that have the same written or spoken form but different meanings
are called homonyms (e.g. bank). Homophones have the same pronunciation but different
meanings (e.g. plain - plane), whereas words that are spelled the same but have different
meanings are referred to as homographs (e.g. dove). Very often, the distinction between
polysemy and homonymy cannot be drawn precisely. A criterion for distinguishing polysemous
and homonymic expressions is a historical or conceptual relationship between the words:
Words that have the same historical origin or are related conceptually are said to be
polysemous.
POLYSEMY AND HOMONYMY

Source: https://semantic-introduction.weebly.com/polysemy-and-homonymy.html
Polysemy
Polysemy is the existence of several meanings for a single word or phrase. The word polysemy
comes from the Greek words πολυ-, poly-, “many” and σήμα,sêma, “sign”. In other words it is
the capacity for a word, phrase, or sign to have multiple meanings i.e., a large semantic field.
Polysemy is a pivotal concept within the humanities, such as media studies and linguistics.
A word like walk is polysemous:

I went walking this morning
We went for a walk last Sunday
Do you walk the dog every day?
I live near Meadow Walk Drive
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The wardrobe is too heavy to lift; we’ll have to walk it into the bedroom (move a large object by
rocking).
She walks the tower (to haunt a place as a ghost).
The workers threatened to walk (to go on strike).
Walk with God! (to live your life in a particular way)
Homonymy
The word homonym comes from the Greek ὁμώνυμος (homonumos), meaning “having the same
name”, which is the conjunction of ὁμός (homos), meaning “common” and ὄνομα (onoma)
meaning “name”. In other words, homonymy refers to two or more distinct concepts sharing
the “same name”.
Examples include the following nouns, verbs and adjectives:
Fleet: all the ships of a nation’s navy, e.g., The Greek fleet disappeared behind the huge
mountains.
Fleet: a number of road vehicles, boats, or aircraft owned, working, or managed as a unit, usually
by a commercial enterprise e.g., The new company has a large fleet of service vehicles.
Plane, e.g., I like to travel by airplane.
Plain, pronounced the same but spelt differently, means clearly visible, e.g., The wallet was in
plain view.
Sow, the verb, means to plant seeds, e.g., He sowed the seeds of revolution.
Sow, the noun, refers to an adult female pig, e.g., Have you fed the sow?
Bank, the noun, means a business offering financial services, e. g., He went to the bank to
deposit some money.
Bank, the noun, refers to the steep side of a river, stream, lake, or canal, e.g., We climbed the
river bank safely.
Bank, the noun, also refers row of similar things, e.g., There was a bankof switches on the wall.
 Pragmatics
Source: https://ielanguages.com/pragmatics.html
 Pragmatics is the study of how context affects meaning, such as how sentences are
interpreted in certain situations (or the interpretation of linguistic meaning in context).
Linguistic context is discourse that precedes a sentence to be
interpreted and situational context is knowledge about the world. In the following
sentences, the kids have eaten already and surprisingly, they are hungry, the linguistic
context helps to interpret the second sentence depending on what the first sentence
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says. The situational context helps to interpret the second sentence because it is
common knowledge that humans are not usually hungry after eating.
 Maxims of Conversation
Grice's maxims for conversation are conventions of speech such as the maxim of
quantity that states a speaker should be as informative as is required and neither
more nor less. The maxim of relevance essentially states a speaker should stay on the
topic, and the maxim of manner states the speaker should be brief and orderly, and
avoid ambiguity. The fourth maxim, the maxim of quality, states that a speaker should
not lie or make any unsupported claims.
 Performative Sentences
In these types of sentences, the speaker is the subject who, by uttering the sentence,
is accomplishing some additional action, such as daring, resigning, or nominating.
These sentences are all affirmative, declarative and in the present tense. An informal
test to see whether a sentence is performative or not is to insert the words I hereby
before the verb. I hereby challenge you to a match or I hereby fine you $500 are both
performative, but I hereby know that girl is not. Other performative verbs are bet,
promise, pronounce, bequeath, swear, testify, and dismiss.
 Presuppositions
These are implicit assumptions required to make a sentence meaningful. Sentences
that contain presuppositions are not allowed in court because accepting the validity of
the statement mean accepting the presuppositions as well. Have you stopped stealing
cars? is not admissible in court because no matter how the defendant answers, the
presupposition that he steals cars already will be acknowledged. Have you stopped
smoking? implies that you smoke already,and Would you like another piece? implies
that you've already had one piece.
 Deixis
Deixis is reference to a person, object, or event which relies on the situational context.
First and second person pronouns such as my, mine, you, your, yours, we, ours and
us are always deictic because their reference is entirely dependent on context.
Demonstrative articles like this, that, these and those and expressions of time and
place are always deictic as well. In order to understand what specific times or places
such expressions refer to, we also need to know when or where the utterance was
said. If someone says "I'm over here!" you would need to know who "I" referred to, as
well as where "here" is. Deixis marks one of the boundaries of semantics and
pragmatics.
Pragmatics Gives Context to Language

By: Richard Nordquist (August 11, 2019)
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Updated
Pragmatics is a branch of linguistics concerned with the use of language in social contexts and

the ways people produce and comprehend meanings through language. The
term pragmatics was coined in the 1930s by psychologist and philosopher Charles Morris.
Pragmatics was developed as a subfield of linguistics in the 1970s.
Background
Pragmatics has its roots in philosophy, sociology, and anthropology. Morris drew on his
background when he laid out his theory of pragmatics in his book "Signs, Language and
Behavior," explaining that the linguistic term "deals with the origins, uses, and effects of signs
within the total behavior of the interpreters of signs." In terms of pragmatics, signs refers not to
physical signs but to the subtle movements, gestures, tone of voice, and body language that
often accompany speech.
Sociology—the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society—
and anthropology played large roles in the development of pragmatics. Morris based his theory
on his earlier work editing the writings and lectures of George Herbert Mead, an American
philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist, in the book "Mind, Self, and Society: From the
Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist," writes John Shook in Pragmatism Cybrary, an online
pragmatism encyclopedia. Mead, whose work also drew heavily on anthropology—the study of
human societies and cultures and their development—explained how communication involves
much more than just the words people use: It involves the all-important social signs people
make when they communicate.
Pragmatics vs. Semantics

Morris explained that pragmatics is different from semantics, which concerns the relations
between signs and the objects they signify. Semantics refers to the specific meaning of
language; pragmatics involves all the social cues that accompany language.
Pragmatics focuses not on what people say but how they say it and how others interpret
their utterances in social contexts, says Geoffrey Finch in "Linguistic Terms and Concepts."
Utterances are literally the units of sound you make when you talk, but the signs that
accompany those utterances give the sounds their true meaning.
Pragmatics in Action
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) gives two examples of how
pragmatics influences language and its interpretation. In the first, ASHA notes:
"You invited your friend over for dinner. Your child sees your friend reach for some cookies and
says, 'Better not take those, or you'll get even bigger.' You can't believe your child could be so
rude."
In a literal sense, the daughter is simply saying that eating cookies can make you gain
weight. But due to the social context, the mother interprets that sentence to mean that her
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daughter is calling her friend fat. The first sentence in this explanation refers to the semantics
—the literal meaning of the sentence. The second and third refer to the pragmatics, the actual
meaning of the words as interpreted by a listener based on social context.
In another example, ASHA notes:

"You talk with a neighbor about his new car. He has trouble staying on topic and starts
talking about his favorite TV show. He doesn't look at you when you talk and doesn't laugh at
your jokes. He keeps talking, even when you look at your watch and say, 'Wow. It's getting
late.' You finally leave, thinking about how hard it is to talk with him."
In this scenario, the speaker is just talking about a new car and his favorite TV show.
But the listener interprets the signs the speaker is using—not looking at the listener and not
laughing at his jokes—as the speaker being unaware of the listener's views (let alone his
presence) and monopolizing his time. You've likely been in this kind of situation before, where
the speaker is talking about perfectly reasonable, simple subjects but is unaware of your
presence and your need to escape. While the speaker sees the talk as a simple sharing of
information (the semantics), you see it as a rude monopolization of your time (the pragmatics).
Pragmatics has proved helpful in working with children with autism. Beverly Vicker, a
speech and language pathologist writing on the Autism Support Network website, notes that
many children with autism find it difficult to pick up on what she and other autism theorists
describe as "social pragmatics," which refers to:
"...the ability to effectively use and adjust communication messages for a variety of
purposes with an array of communication partners within diverse circumstances."
When educators, speech pathologists, and other interventionists teach these explicit
communication skills, or social pragmatics, to children with autism spectrum disorder, the
results are often profound and can have a big impact in improving their conversational
interaction skills.
Importance of Pragmatics
Pragmatics is the "meaning minus semantics," says Frank Brisard in his essay
"Introduction: Meaning and Use in Grammar," published in "Grammar, Meaning and
Pragmatics." Semantics, as noted, refers to the literal meaning of a spoken utterance.
Grammar, Brisard says, involves the rules defining how the language is put together.
Pragmatics takes context into account to complement the contributions that semantics and
grammar make to meaning, he says.
David Lodge, writing in the Paradise News, says that pragmatics gives humans "a fuller,
deeper, and generally more reasonable account of human language behavior." Without
pragmatics, there is often no understanding of what language actually means, or what a
person truly means when she is speaking. The context—the social signs, body language, and
tone of voice (the pragmatics)—is what makes utterances clear or unclear to the speaker and
her listeners.
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Implicature (Conversational maxims)

Source: https://people.ucsc.edu/~abrsvn/implicature_basics_9up.pdf
Conversational Implicatures
LX 502 - Semantics I
Oct 2, 2008
1. Introduction
With entailments and presuppositions under our belts, I turn briefly to one other kind of
inference called aconversational implicature (or simply an implicature). This inference is also
an implicational relation but it isdistinct from entailments and presuppositions and important
in our understanding of meaning.
Conversational implicatures are pragmatic inferences: unlike entailments and
presuppositions, theyare not tied to the particular words and phrases in an utterance but
arise instead from contextual factors andthe understanding that conventions are observed in
conversation. The theory of conversational implicatures isattributed to Paul Herbert Grice,
who observed that in conversations what is meant often goes beyond what issaid and that
this additional meaning is inferred and predictable. As an illustration of what Grice was
talkingabout, consider the sentence in (1).
(1) John ate some of the cookies

The sentence in (1) expresses the proposition that John ate a portion of the cookies and
is true just incase it corresponds to the outside world. Intuitively, all of the cookies still
constitutes a portion of the cookies.So the sentence in (1) is true even if in the outside world
John ate all of the cookies. However, somethinginteresting happens when this sentence is
uttered in a conversation like (2).(2) A: “John ate some of the cookies”B: “I figured he would.
How many are left?”It is clear from (2) that A conveys the literal meaning of the sentence in (1),
i.e., its semantic content.It is equally clear that A implies—or at least B infers—the proposition
expressed by (3).(3) John didn’t eat all of the cookies
You might suspect that what the word some really means is something like a portion but not
all, sothat the sentence in (1) literally means that John ate a portion but not all of the cookies
and (1) entails (3). Letme show you that this is not the case by comparing the sentences in (4).
(4) a. John ate some of the cookies;# in fact, he ate none of the cookiesb. John ate some of
the cookies;in fact, he ate all of the cookiesIn (4a), I cannot follow the sentence John ate some
of the cookies with the sentence in fact, he atenone of the cookies because the second
sentence contradicts the first sentence. In other words, there is no wayin which the world could
correspond to both sentences simultaneously. However, no such contradiction arises2in (4b)
and the two sentences are mutually consistent. This proves that (1) does not entail (3). If it did,
therewould be a contradiction. That leaves us with an intriguing puzzle. The meaning of (3) is
not part of the literalmeaning of (1) and yet it is implicated by the utterance of (1). It is a
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systematic inference by the addressee,one the speaker does not try to discourage and
therefore must intend. We note this inference using the symbol+>, illustrated in (5).
(5) John ate some of the cookies+> John didn’t eat all of the cookies
This inference obtains through a special reasoning process, one that relies on our
understanding of theconventions of communicative exchanges—or conversations. Let’s
assume the speaker and addressee are insome sense cooperating in this exchange to make
it smoother and beneficial to both. The speaker utters thesentence in (5) and in so doing
conveys its literal meaning. The speaker (in the spirit of cooperation) is beingas informative
as he can in the exchange and the addressee (assuming he is being cooperative) believes
this.The addressee reasons that if the speaker had known John ate all the cookies, he would
have said so. Since thespeaker did not say so, then he must know otherwise. In other words,
the speaker must know that John didn’teat all of the cookies. So the addressee infers—from
what the speaker said, from what the speaker didn’t say,and from the way in which
cooperative exchanges take place—that John didn’t eat all of the cookies.
2. Grice’s Theory of Conversational Implicatures

Grice proposed that participants in a communicative exchange are guided by a principle
that determines theway in which language is used with maximum efficiency and effect to
achieve rational communication. Hecalled it the Cooperative Principle, defined in (6).
(6) The Co-operative Principle

Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it
occurs, by theaccepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.
This cooperative principle is an umbrella term for nine components that guide how we
communicate.
These nine components are grouped together into four categories, called the Maxims of
Conversation: themaxim of quality (truthfulness), the maxim of quantity (informativeness), the
maxim of relation (relevance),and the maxim of manner (perspicuity).
(7) The Maxims of Quality

i. Do not say what you believe to be false
ii. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence
(8) The Maxims of Quantity
i. Make you contribution as informative as is required (for the current purposes of the exchange)
ii. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required
(9) The Maxims of Relation

Be relevant
(10) The Maxims of Manner
i. Avoid obscurity of expression
ii. Avoid ambiguity
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iii. Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity)

iv. Be orderly
Following the cooperative principle and its maxims ensures that in an exchange, the right
amount ofinformation is provided and that the exchange is conducted in a truthful, relevant,
perspicuous fashion. Thetheory is abbreviated in (11).
(11) Grice’s Theory of Conversational Implicatures (abridged)

i. The Cooperative Principle
ii. The Maxims of Conversation
Quality Try to make your contribution one that is trueQuantity Make your contribution as
informative and no more so than is required.
Relation Be relevant
Manner Be perspicuous
In a conversation, the speaker may do one of four things with regards to the cooperative
principle andthe maxims. These are listed in (12).
(12) i. The speaker may observe the maxims—this is the default assumption.
ii. The speaker may opt out of a maxim by using a phrase that eliminates or mitigates the effectof
the maxims and signals this to the addressee—this phrase is called a hedge.
iii. The speaker may flout a maxim, to the full knowledge of the addressee
iv. The speaker may violate a maxim, e.g., lie.
If the speaker chooses to do the last, (12iv), he is ignoring the cooperative principle
without givingthe addressee a cue that he is doing so. We will ignore this altogether as it is
impossible to predict anythingfrom it and so no systematic analysis can result from
it. The remaining three are of interest, especially (12i).In particular, Grice’s theory relies on a
fundamental assumption in (13).
(13) Fundamental Assumption

It is assumed that at some level, the speaker is always observing the cooperative
principle, even if thisis not evident from what is literally said, i.e., what is literally said does not
coincide with the maxims.
Observing the maxims at a non-literal level triggers a standard conversational
implicature, sometimescalled a conversational implicature.
This just means that if the addressee assumes the speaker is following the maxims, but
that this is notevident at a literal level, then the addressee infers additional meaning (in the
form of an implicature) to makeup the difference. In other words, what is literally said + the
implicature together satisfy the maxims.
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3. Examples of Standard Implicatures

Before continuing, here are some examples of conversational implicatures. I’ll start with
the implicature thatare arise because of the maxim of quality.
(14) Quality Implicatures

a. John has two PhD’s
+> I believe John has two PhD’s, and have adequate evidence that he has.
b. Does your farm contain 400 acres?

+> I don’t know that your farm does contain 400 acres, and I want to know if it does
In (14), what is literally said does not contain a statement of belief in the proposition or a
statement ofevidence backing it up. So at a literal level, the speaker does not seem to be
observing the maxim of quality.
However, the addressee assumes the speaker is at a deeper level. This assumption
triggers the implicature,which is a statement of belief/evidence.Quantity implicatures are
perhaps the most systematic of the lot. They typically arise because a lessinformative word
or phrase is used when a more informative one could have been used, but wasn’t. (This
wasthe case in (1), when the speaker utters some instead of all.)
(15) Quantity Implicatures

a. Nigel has fourteen children
+> Nigel has no more than fourteen children
b. The flag is white
+>The flag is only white
c. A: How did Harry fare in court today?
B: Oh, he got a fine
+> He got no more than a fineIn (15), by using the less informative word or phrase, the speaker
does not seem to be observing themaxim of quantity in what he has said. But the addressee
still assumes that the maxims are being observed.Therefore, the addressee infers that the
speaker knows the sentence containing the more informative word isfalse. So in (15a), the
addressee infers that the speaker knows that Nigel does not have 15 children, Nigel doesnot
have 16 children, etc. otherwise the speaker would have said so. All these negative
statements takentogether amount to Nigel has no more than 14 children. In (15b), the
addressee infers that the speaker knowsthat the flag is not blue, the flag is not red, the flag is
not pink, etc., otherwise he would have said so. Again,taken together this amounts to the flag
is only white. In (15c), the addressee infers that the speaker knows thatHarry did not get jail
time, Harry did not get the death sentence, Harry did not get prosecuted, etc., otherwise 5the
speaker would have said so. Taken together, these statement amount to Harry got no more
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than a fine. Asyou can see, the reason is the same for all of these. Once the implicature and
what is said are taken together,they satisfy the maxim of quantity.
The maxim of relation is perhaps the hardest maxim to single out because it figures into
almost everyutterance. Relevance is often assumed and left unspoken.
(16) Relation Implicatures

a. Pass the salt
+> Pass the salt now
b. A: Can you tell me the time?
B: Well, the milkman has come
+>The time now is after the time the milkman arrived

In (16a), the utterance is in the imperative so it has no contrast between present and past tense.
Thespeaker has made a request but has not signaled when he wishes the salt. On a literal
level, the speaker is notobserving the maxim of relation but the addressee assumes that on a
deeper level he is. The addressee infersthat the request is relates to the here and now. The
implicature is therefore pass the salt now. In (16b), A asksthe time. B’s reply is not literally
relevant to the question. A assumes be is cooperating and being relevant. Ainfers that B is
relating the time at which the milkman came to the current time. The implicature is thus
thatthe time now is after the time the milkman arrived. [Please don’t assume this is the only
implicature—there isnothing to prevent one utterance from resulting in several implicatures.]
Lastly, manner implicatures have to do with the form of the utterance. The maxim of
manner requiresthat an utterance be perspicuous. When the speaker does not observe this
maxim, his utterance is obscure orambiguous or disorderly and this is intended to convey an
implicit meaning.
(17) Manner Implicatures

A: How do I get into you apartment?
B: Walk up to the front door, turn the door handle clockwise as far as it will go, and then pull
gentlytowards you.
+> Pay particular attention and care to each step of the instructions I’ve given youIn (17), A asks
a question and B’s literal reply is complicated. At the literal level, B does not appearto be
observing the maxim of manner—a simple reply lie open the front door would have sufficed.
But Aassumes that B is being cooperative and following the maxim of manner. B could have
just said open the frontdoor but he didn’t, so the added detail must be necessary. In other
words, B was being as perspicuous as hecould be. And so A infers that B’s elaborate details
are somehow important.
Here’s a more complicated example.

(18) a. A: Where’s Bill?
X: He’s at Sue house.
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b. A: Where’s Bill?
Y: There’s a yellow VW outside Sue’s house
+> Bill might be at Sue’s house
In (18a), A asks a question and X fully answers A’s question. End of story. In (18b), A asks
the samequestion but Y’s reply is not literally relevant to the question. Nevertheless, A
assumes Y is cooperating andobserving the maxim of relation. So, A infers that Y’s answer is
relevant to Bill’s whereabouts, the location ofthe yellow VW (outside Sue’s house) is related
Bill’s location. Second, A assumes Y is observing the maximof quality. So, A infers that Y
does not believe or have enough evidence to state that Bill is outside of Sue’shouse. Finally,
A assumes that Y is observing the maxim of quantity. Since Y used the less informative
phrasea yellow VW rather than the more
informative phrase Bill’s yellow VW, A infers that Y does not know that theVW is Bill’s. Taken
together, the implicature is that Y thinks Bill might be at Sue’s house.
The following is a general outline for working out conversational implicatures. This is different
from what Ipresented in class. It is more streamlined and should be easier to work with.
(19) Mechanics of Implicatures

i. The speaker has said that p
ii. If by saying p, the speaker does not appear to be observing the maxims, literally, the
addresseenevertheless assumes the speaker is observing the maxims
iii. For S to say that p and be indeed observing the maxims, S must think q
iv. S has done nothing to stop the addressee from inferring that q
v. Therefore S intends the addressee to infer that q, and so in saying that p has implicated q.
4. Hedges and Flouting (Supplemental)
There is a way for the speaker to tactfully opt out of a maxim using a special word orphrase
called a hedge.These hedges are used to signal the addressee not to read anything into the
speaker’s disregard of one of themaxims. Using a hedge, the speaker effectively says he is
not implicating q.
(20) Hedge — a phrase that eliminates or at least mitigates one of the maxims.
a. Quantity As far as I know; I’m not sure if this is true, but…; I may be wrong, but… .
b. Quality As you probably already know; I can’t say any more; I probably don’t need to say
this, but… .
c. Relation Oh, by the way; I’m not sure if this is relevant, but...; I don’t want to change the
subject, but… .
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d. Manner: I’m not sure if this is clear, but…; I don’t know if this makes sense, but…; This maybe
a bit tedious, but….
There is another way in which the speaker can signal to the addressee that he is going
to ignore a maxim. It iscalled a flout and it too carries a conversational implicature,
sometimes called a conversational implicatureF.Flouting a maxim is typically done by uttering
something absurdly false, wholly uninformative, completelyirrelevant, or abstruse so that the
addressee understands the speaker is implying something entirely different.
This is how metaphors get resolved.
(21) Flouting
A speaker who makes it clear that they are not following the conversational maxims is
said to beflouting the maxims and this too gives rise to an implicature. That is, the addressee
understands thespeaker flouted the maxims for a reason and infers further meaning from this
breach of convention.
Here are some examples.
(22) Flouting Quality
a. A: What if the USSR blockades the Gulf and all the oil?
B: Oh come now, Britain rules the seas! [sarcasm]
+> There is nothing Britain can do about it
b. A: Tehran’s in Turkey, isn’t it, teacher?
B: And London’s in Armenia, I suppose
+> Tehran is not in Turkey
(23) Flouting Quantity

a. War is War
+> Terrible things happen in war. That’s it’s nature and there’s no use lamenting that tragedy.
b. Either John will come or he won’t
+> I don’t care whether or not John comes
(24) Flouting Relation
a. A: (Letter of Recommendation) What qualities does John have for this position?
B: John has nice handwriting.
+> John is not qualified for the job
b. A: Susan can be such a cow sometimes!
B: Lovely weather, isn’t it?
+> B finds A’s comment inappropriate (for some reason or other)
(25) Flouting Manner
a. The Corner of John’s lips turned slightly upwards
+> John did not exactly smile
b. Miss Singer produced a series of sounds corresponding closely to an aria from Rigoletto
+> Miss singer did not perform well.
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 Speech Acts
Speech Acts and Conversation

Language Use: Functional Approaches to Syntax
Source:
https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/edling/handouts/speechacts/spchax2.html
Handout for EDUC 537
Educational Linguistics
H. Schiffman, Instructor
1. Language in Use
Having described various kinds of syntactic structures and what they mean we see that
people often don't seem to say what they mean. They use languages differently from its
apparent meaning; it has functions are different from the apparent structure.
Example: Could I get you to open that window?
How'd you like to hand me that wrench?
Would it be too much trouble for me to ask you to hand me that wrench?
I know this is an imposition, but could you possiblly open the window?
instead of
Open the window, Hand me the wrench, etc.
2. Sentence Structure and the Function of utterances

We are `used to' having questions being used to ask for information, declarative
sentences to state something, and imperative sentences to give orders. But the
following may also occur:
1. [Form: request:] Can I ask you to please refrain from smoking?
[Function: command:} (= Please stop smoking!)
2. [Form: Statement:] We ask that you extinguish your cigarettes at this time, and
bring your tray tables and seatbacks to an upright position.
[Function: command:] (= Stop smoking and sit up straight!)
3. [Form: question] Well, would you listen to that!
[Function: exclamation] (= That's really something to listen to.)
3. Speech Acts
Speech acts are verbal actions that accomplish something: we greet, insult,
compliment, plead, flirt, supply information, and get work done.
o Types of Speech Acts
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 Representatives: assertions, statements, claims, hypotheses,

descriptions, suggestions.
 Comissives: promises, oaths, pledges, threats, vows.
 Directives: commands, requests, challenges, invitations, orders,
summons, entreaties, dares.
 Declarations: blessings, firings, baptisms, arrests, marrying, juridial
speech acts such as sentencings, declaring a mistrial, declaring s.o.out of
order, etc.
 Expressives: Speech acts that make assessments of psychological states
or attitudes: greetings, apologies, congratulations, condolences,
thanksgivings...
 Verdictives: rankings, assessments, appraising, condoning (combinations
such as representational declarations: You're out!)
Locutions and Illocutions

 Locutions: the utterance act. Sentences have a grammatical structure and
a literal linguistic meaning; the bald, literal force of the act: what did the
person say? (Not, what did the person mean?)
 Illocution: the speaker's intention of what is to be accomplished by the
speech act.
Compare: How'd you like to hand me that wrench? (locution: a question) has
the illocutionary force of a command:
namely: Hand me the wrench!
Can I get you to open the window? has a structure (locutionary force) and a
linguistic meaning (`will I be able to be successful in getting your cooperation in
opening the window?') but its illocutionary force is different: it has the force of
a polite imperative : Please open the window!
Every sentence has both a locutionary force and an illocutionary force.
o Distinguishing among speech acts

How do we know what the force of a speech act is? By the context or
the setting and by using their judgement and background knowledge of the
language and the culture. If the Queen of Hearts (in Alice in Wonderland ) says
`Off with their Heads!' it has a different force than if someone else says it in
another setting.
o Appropriateness conditions and Successful Declarations

There are conventions that tell us that a particular locution probably has a
particular force. People don't use language inappropriately, or they get into
trouble, or the act may be interpreted as invalid.
 utterance must be conventionally associated with the speech act: The
preacher or officiating judge says:
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I now pronounce you husband and wife

instead of
Heybobareebob, you is hitched!
 Context must be conventionally recognized
The above declaration must be in a setting that is appropriate, like in a
church or place of religious worship, etc. with people gathered for that
purpose, perhaps even dressed for the part. Weddings (e.g.) don't happen
spontaneously during, e.g., a baptism or a bar mitzvah.
 Speaker must be sincere:
Person pronouncing the words must believe what s/he is saying
 Involved parties intend to create a marriage bond; the essential condition
 Successful Promises: (commissive): must be recognized as a promise,
must be sincere, essential; speaker must state the intention of helping.
Preparatory condition: speaker and hearer are sane and responsible,
speakers wishes to help, hearer wishes to be helped, etc. (Speaker
cannot have fingers crossed behind her back...)
The Cooperative Principle
there is unspoken agreement that people will cooperate in communicating with each
other, and speakers rely on this agreement.
Grice: Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it
occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are
engaged.
o Maxim of Quantity
Give as much information as is necessary, but not more. (Don't overdo it.)
 [Mary:] Hi, John, how are ya?
 [John:] Oh, not so good, Mary. I just had a tooth out, then last week I had
an epidural injection in my spine, followed by restorative surgery on my
little toe; you should have seen it, it was horrible, and you wouldn't believe
what the surgeon charged, I just got the bill! Our health care system
is outrageous, and the traffic on the way to work today! Unbelievable! (etc.
etc. etc.)
o Maxim of Relevance
Be relevant; don't overload the conversation with superfluous or irrelevant
material (as in the previous exchange). This requires speakers to organize their
utterances so that they are relevant to the ongoing context: Be relevant at the
time of the utterance.
o Maxim of Manner
Be orderly and clear; avoid ambiguity and obscurity.
o Maxim of Quality
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Be truthful and provide evidence for statements:

 [A:] Looks like it might rain!
 [B:] Oh, yes, it's going to be ten inches of rain, followed by snow, at least
20 inches, then hail; then a plague of locusts, and the sun will shine from
midnight until 2 a.m. Then there will be silence in heaven for about a half
an hour, and when the seventh seal is opened...
 [A:] Where do you get your information?

Violations of the Cooperative Principles
o Indirect Speech Acts and shared knowledge.
 A: Did Pamela pay you back the money?
 B: Is the Pope catholic?
 A: She's honest as the day is long!
Politeness conventions
o Positive Politeness
Making utterances that are conventionally polite, flattering, being very
cooperative, etc.
o Negative Politeness
Avoiding saying things that are inappropriate, avoiding excessive intrusion,
interruption, or inquisitiveness; using appropriate body language; avoiding
particular gazes. No words are used, but politeness is maintained.
 [A:] I'm a vegetarian, and I don't believe in killing any animals for any
purpose!
 (B looks at her feet to see if she's wearing shoes made of leather.)
Speech Events
There are various kinds of events at which speech typically takes place: political rally,
debate, classroom lecture, religious service (sermon, prayer, welcoming, singing);
government hearing; courtroom trial; all involve particular kinds of speech events that
are appropriate to that setting. Could also be informal: telephone conversation,
purchasing a ticket, a newspaper, ordering a meal.
The Organization of Conversation

There is a covert structure of conversations, involving a number of different elements.
Conversations are a series of speech acts: greetings, inquiries, congratulations,
comments, invitations, requests, accusations... Mixing them up or failing to observe
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them makes for uncooperative speech acts, confusion, other problems. Violates the
maxim of cooperation
o Turn taking and pausing
People usually don't all talk at once; they signal that they are done by using
certain phrases, e.g. ya know? Or somethin'; I dunno; isn't it? Whatever...
etc.
o Adjacency Pairs Typically, certain kinds of turns have specific follow-ups: a
question is typically followed by an answer; a invitation by an acceptance or an
explanation of why it can't be accepted; an assessment is followed by agreement
or disagreement; an apology is followed by acknowledgement of the apology.
A: Sorry about last night!

1.
B: No problem; we were all pretty tired.
2.
but not:
3. B: *Where'd you get those shoes?
o Opening Sequences People ordinarily begin in conventional ways: greetings,
general questions or comments about the weather, sports, etc.
o Closing Sequences People conventionally prepare to end a conversations by

summing up, using other locutions (Okay, all right then; well, that's about it; so
umh; fine, then; ) followed by several repetitions of farewells: okay, goodbye
then; okay bye; nice talkin' to you; see ya soon; thanks for calling/dropping by;
good to see you! take care! alright(y).
o Conversational RoutinesOpenings and closings are more conventionalized

than are other parts of the conversation, but there may be some other
conventional things:
o Repairs When people don't say what they intended to, or need to edit a previous
statement, or misspeak themselves, or say something backwards, they then
need to fix the utterance, i.e. they make repairs
o Politeness: an organizational force in conversation The overriding force in

conversations is politeness which means that there are conventionalized ways
of doing all of the speech that we recognize as appropriate and polite; this differs
from culture to culture and subculture to subculture. It may involve various kinds
of illocutionary acts, titles and address forms, special honorific suffixes, the
passive voice, circumlocutions, or any other kinds of locutions.
9. Cross-Cultural Communication
Politeness and all of the other speech act formulae vary from culture to culture; what is
polite in one may be considered brusque or rude, or on the other hand too evasive, too
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formal, too obsequious in another. In American telephone conversations, people

immediately begin to chat and visit. In French telephone conversations, people first
apologize:
o J'espereque je vous derange pas?
o I hope I'm not disturbing you?
In Indonesian, the passive voice is more polite and deferential; the active voice is
grammatical, but sounds brusque and blunt, and not as deferential as the passive:
o (Sign in a furniture store, on a chair:) jangandiduduki! ( Not to be sat upon )
instead ofjjanganduduk di sini ( Do not sit here! )
The second form is grammatical, but not considered as polite, or sufficiently deferential.
Kent Bach, RoutledgeEncyclopedia of Philosophy entry

SPEECH ACTS
Source: http://userwww.sfsu.edu/kbach/spchacts.html
Making a statement may be the paradigmatic use of language, but there are all sorts of
other things we can do with words. We can make requests, ask questions, give orders, make
promises, give thanks, offer apologies, and so on. Moreover, almost any speech act is really
the performance of several acts at once, distinguished by different aspects of the speaker's
intention: there is the act of saying something, what one does in saying it, such as requesting
or promising, and how one is trying to affect one's audience.
The theory of speech acts is partly taxonomic and partly explanatory. It must systematically
classify types of speech acts and the ways in which they can succeed or fail. It must reckon
with the fact that the relationship between the words being used and the force of their
utterance is often oblique. For example, the sentence 'This is a pig sty' might be used
nonliterally to state that a certain room is messy and filthy and, further, to demand indirectly
that it be straightened out and cleaned up. Even when this sentence is used literally and
directly, say to describe a certain area of a barnyard, the content of its utterance is not fully
determined by its linguistic meaning--in particular, the meaning of the word 'this' does not
determine which area is being referred to. A major task for the
theory of speech acts is to account for how speakers can succeed in what they do despite the
various ways in which linguistic meaning underdetermines use.
In general, speech acts are acts of communication. To communicate is to express a certain
attitude, and the type of speech act being performed corresponds to the type of attitude being
expressed. For example, a statement expresses a belief, a request expresses a desire, and an
apology expresses a regret. As an act of communication, a speech act succeeds if the
audience identifies, in accordance with the speaker's intention, the attitude being expressed.
Some speech acts, however, are not primarily acts of communication and have the
function not of communicating but of affecting institutional states of affairs. They can do so in
either of two ways. Some officially judge something to be the case, and others actually make
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something the case. Those of the first kind include judges' rulings, referees' calls and
assessors' appraisals, and the latter include included sentencing, bequeathing and appointing.
Acts of both kinds can be performed only in certain ways under certain circumstances by those
in certain institutional or social positions.
1. Levels of speech acts

How language represents the world has long been, and still is, a major concern of
philosophers of language. Many thinkers, such as Leibniz, Frege, Russell, the early
Wittgenstein, and Carnap (q.v.), have thought that understanding the structure of language
could illuminate the nature of reality. However noble their concerns, such philosophers have
implicitly assumed, as J. L. Austin complains at the beginning of How to Do Things with Words,
that 'the business of a [sentence] can only be to "describe" some state of affairs, or to "state
some fact", which it must do either truly or falsely'. Austin reminds us that we perform all sorts
of 'speech acts' besides making statements, and that there are other ways for them to go
wrong or be 'infelicitous' besides not being true. The
later Wittgenstein also came to think of language not primarily as a system of representation
but as a vehicle for all sorts of social activity. 'Don't ask for the meaning', he admonished, 'ask
for the use'. But it was Austin who presented the first systematic account of the use of
language. And whereas Wittgenstein could be charged with having conflating meaning and
use, Austin was careful to separate the two. He distinguished the meaning (and reference) of
the words used from the speech acts performed by the speaker using them.
Austin's attention was first attracted to what he called 'explicit performative utterances',
in which one uses sentences like 'I nominate ...', 'You're fired', 'The meeting is adjourned', and
'You are hereby sentenced ...' to perform acts of the very sort named by the verb, such as
nominating, firing, adjourning, or sentencing (see PERFORMATIVES). Austin held that
performatives are neither true nor false, unlike what he called 'constatives'. However, he came
to realize that constatives work just like performatives. Just as a suggestion or an apology can
be made by uttering 'I suggest ...' or 'I apologize ...', so an assertion or a prediction can be
made by uttering 'I assert ...' or 'I predict ...'. Accordingly, the distinction between constative
and performative utterances is, in Austin's general theory of speech acts, superseded by that
between saying something and what one does in saying it. This broader distinction applies to
both
statements and other sorts of speech acts, and takes into account the fact that one does not
have to say 'I suggest ...' to make a suggestion, 'I apologize ...' to make an apology, or 'I
assert' to make an assertion.
The theory of speech acts aims to do justice to the fact that even though words
(phrases, sentences) encode information, people do more things with words than convey
information, and that when people do convey information, they often convey more than their
words encode. Although the focus of speech act theory has been on utterances, especially
those made in conversational and other face-to-face situations, the phrase 'speech act' should
be taken as a generic term for any sort of language use, oral or otherwise. Speech acts,
whatever the medium of their performance, fall under the broad category of intentional action,
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with which they share certain general features (see ACTION). An especially pertinent feature is
that when one acts intentionally, generally one has a set of nested intentions. For instance,
having arrived home without one's keys, one might push a button with the intention not just of
pushing the button but of ringing a bell, arousing one's spouse and, ultimately, getting into
one's house. The single bodily movement involved in pushing the button comprises a
multiplicity of actions, each corresponding to a different one of the nested intentions. Similarly,
speech acts are not just acts of producing certain sounds.
Austin identifies three distinct levels of action beyond the act of utterance itself. He
distinguishes the act of saying something, what one does in saying it, and what one
does by saying it, and dubs these the 'locutionary', the 'illocutionary' and the 'perlocutionary'
act, respectively. Suppose, for example, that a bartender utters the words, 'The bar will be
closed in five minutes,' reported by means of direct quotation. He is thereby performing the
locutionary act of saying that the bar (i.e., the one he is tending) will be closed in five minutes
(from the time of utterance), and what is said is reported by indirect quotation (notice that what
the bartender is saying, the content of his locutionary
act, is not fully determined by the words he is using, for they do not specify the bar in question
or the time of the utterance). In saying this, the bartender is performing the illocutionary act of
informing the patrons of the bar's imminent closing and perhaps also the act of urging them to
order a last drink. Whereas the upshot of these illocutionary acts is understanding on the part
of the audience, perlocutionary acts are performed with the intention of producing a further
effect. The bartender intends to be performing the perlocutionary acts of causing the patrons to
believe that the bar is about to close and of getting them to want and to order one last drink.
He is performing all these speech acts, at all three levels, just by uttering certain words.
There seems to be a straightforward relationship in this example between the words
uttered ('The bar will be closed in five minutes'), what is thereby said, and the act of informing
the patrons that the bar will close in five minutes. Less direct is the connection between the
utterance and the act of urging the patrons to order one last drink. Clearly there is no linguistic
connection here, for the words make no mention of drinks or of ordering. This indirect
connection is inferential. The patrons must infer that the bartender intends to be urging them to
leave and, indeed, it seems that the reason his utterance counts as an act of that sort is that
he is speaking with this intention. There is a similarly indirect connection when an utterance of
'It's getting cold in here' is made not merely as a statement about the temperature but as a
request to close the window or as a proposal
to go some place warmer. Whether it is intended (and is taken) as a request or as a proposal

depends on contextual information that the speaker relies on the audience to rely on. This is
true even when the connection between word and deed is more direct than in the above
example, for the form of the sentence uttered may fail to determine just which sort of
illocutionary act is being performed. Consider, by analogy, the fact that in shaking hands we
can, depending on the circumstances, do any one of several different things: introduce
ourselves, greet each other, seal a deal, or bid farewell. Similarly, a given sentence can be
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used in a variety of ways, so that, for example, 'I will call a lawyer' could be used as a
prediction, a promise, or a warning. How one intends it determines the sort of act it is.
2. Communicative and conventional speech acts

The examples considered thus far suggest that performing a speech act, in particular an
illocutionary act, is a matter of having a certain communicative intention in uttering certain
words. Such an act succeeds, the intention with which it is performed is fulfilled, if the audience
recognizes that intention. This is not by magic, of course. One must choose one's words in
such a way that their utterance makes one's intention recognizable under the circumstances.
However, as illustrated above, the utterance need not encode one's intention. So, in general,
understanding an utterance is not merely a matter of decoding it.
A specifically communicative intention is a reflexive intention, of the sort characterized
by H. P. Grice (see COMMUNICATION/INTENTION). This is an intention part of whose
content is that it be recognized, indeed be recognized partly on the basis that this is intended.
Accordingly, it is an intention whose fulfillment consists in its recognition. This feature
distinguishes acts of communication from most sorts of acts, whose success does not depend
on anyone's recognizing the intention with which they are performed. One cannot succeed in
running a marathon just by virtue of someone's recognizing one's intention to do so, but one
can succeed in stating something, requesting something, etc., by virtue of one's addressee
recognizing that one is stating it, requesting it, etc. This is success at the illocutionary level. It
is a further matter, a condition on the success of perlocutionary act, whether the addressee
believes what one states or does what one requests.
Now Austin did not take into account the central role of speakers' intentions and
hearers' inferences. He supposed that the successful performance of an illocutionary act is a
matter of convention, not intention. Indeed, he held that the use of a sentence with a certain
illocutionary force is conventional in the peculiar sense that this force can be 'made explicit by
the performative formula'. P. F. Strawson argues that in making this claim Austin was overly
impressed by the special case of utterances that affect institutional states of affairs, and should
have not taken them as a model of illocutionary acts in general. Austin was especially struck
by the character of explicit performative utterances, in which one uses a verb that names the
very type of act one is performing. For them he developed an account of what it takes for such
acts to be performed successfully and felicitously, classifying the various things that can go
wrong as 'flaws', 'hitches', and other sorts of 'infelicities'. It is only in certain conventionally
designated circumstances and by
people in certain positions that certain utterances can have the force they do. For example,
only in certain circumstances does a jury foreman's pronouncement of 'Guilty' or 'Not guilty'
count as a verdict, a legislator's 'Aye' or 'Nay' as a vote, and a baseball umpire's cry of 'Y'er
out' as calling a runner out. In these cases it is only by conforming to a convention that an
utterance of a certain form counts as the performance of an act of a certain sort. However, as
Strawson argues, most illocutionary acts succeed not by conformity to convention but by
recognition of intention. They are not conventional except in the irrelevant sense that the words
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and sentences being used have their linguistic meanings by virtue of convention (see
CONVENTIONALITY OF LANGUAGE).
Strawson's argument raises a serious problem for theories inspired by Austin's view.
Consider, for example, the theory advanced by John Searle, who proposes to explain
illocutionary forces by means of 'constitutive rules' (conventions) for using 'force-indicating'
devices, such as performative verbs and sentential moods. The problem is that the same sorts
of illocutionary acts that can be performed by means of such devices can be performed without
them. For example, one does not have to use a performative, as in 'I demand that you be
quiet', or the imperative mood, as in 'Be quiet!', to demand someone to be quiet. Clearly a
theory that relies on rules for using such devices is not equipped to explain the illocutionary
forces of utterances lacking such devices. No such difficulty arises for a theory according to
which most illocutionary acts are performed not with an intention to conform to a convention
but with a communicative intention.
3. Types of speech acts

Pretheoretically, we think of an act of communication, linguistic or otherwise, as an act
of expressing oneself. This rather vague idea can be made more precise if we get more
specific about what is being expressed. Take the case of an apology. If you utter, '[I'm] sorry I
didn't call back' and intend this as an apology, you are expressing regret for something, in this
case for not returning a phone call. An apology just is the act of (verbally) expressing regret
for, and thereby acknowledging, something one did that might have harmed or at least
bothered the hearer. An apology is communicative because it is intended to be taken as
expressing a certain attitude, in this case regret. It succeeds as such if it is so taken. In
general, an act of communication succeeds if it is taken as intended. That is, it must be
understood or, in Austin's words, 'produce uptake'. With an apology, this a matter of the
addressee recognizing the speaker's intention to be expressing regret for some deed or
omission. Using a special device such as the performative 'I apologize' may of course facilitate
understanding (understanding is correlative with communicating), but in general this is
unnecessary. Communicative success is achieved if the speaker chooses his words in such a
way that the hearer will, under the circumstances of utterance, recognize his communicative
intention. So, for example, if you spill some beer on someone and say 'Oops' in the right way,
your utterance will be taken as an apology for what you did.
In saying something one generally intends more than just to communicate--getting
oneself understood is intended to produce some effect on the listener. However, our speech
act vocabulary can obscure this fact. When one apologizes, for example, one may intend not
merely to express regret but also to seek forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is,
strictly speaking, distinct from apologizing, even though one utterance is the performance of an
act of both types. As an apology, the utterance succeeds if it is taken as expressing regret for
the deed in question; as an act of seeking forgiveness, it succeeds if forgiveness is thereby
obtained. Speech acts, being perlocutionary as well as illocutionary, generally have some
ulterior purpose, but they are distinguished primarily by their illocutionary type, such as
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asserting, requesting, promising and apologizing, which in turn are distinguished by the type of
attitude expressed. The perlocutionary act is a matter of trying to get the hearer to form some
correlative attitude and in some cases to act in a certain way. For example, a statement
expresses a belief and normally has the further purpose of getting the addressee form the
same belief. A request expresses a desire for the addressee to do a certain thing and normally
aims for the addressee to intend to and, indeed, actually do that thing. A promise expresses
the speaker's firm intention to do something, together with the belief that by his utterance he is
obligated to do it, and normally aims further for the addressee to expect, and to feel entitled to
expect, the speaker to do it.
Statements, requests, promises and apologies are examples of the four major
categories of communicative illocutionary
acts: constatives, directives, commissives and acknowledgments. This is the nomenclature
used by Kent Bach and Michael Harnish, who develop a detailed taxonomy in which each type
of illocutionary act is individuated by the type of attitude expressed (in some cases there are
constraints on the content as well). There is no generally accepted terminology here, and Bach
and Harnish borrow the terms 'constative' and 'commissive' from Austin and 'directive' from
Searle. They adopt the term 'acknowledgment', over Austin's 'behabitive' and Searle's
'expressive', for apologies, greetings, congratulations etc., which express an attitude regarding
the hearer that is occasioned by some event
that is thereby being acknowledged, often in satisfaction of a social expectation. Here are
assorted examples of each type:
Constatives: affirming, alleging, announcing, answering, attributing, claiming, classifying,
concurring, confirming, conjecturing, denying, disagreeing, disclosing, disputing, identifying,
informing, insisting, predicting, ranking, reporting, stating, stipulating
Directives: advising, admonishing, asking, begging, dismissing, excusing, forbidding,
instructing, ordering, permitting, requesting, requiring, suggesting, urging, warning
Commissives: agreeing, guaranteeing, inviting, offering, promising, swearing, volunteering
Acknowledgments: apologizing, condoling, congratulating, greeting, thanking, accepting

(acknowledging an acknowledgment)
Bach and Harnish spell out the correlation between type of illocutionary act and type of
expressed attitude. In many cases, such as answering, disputing, excusing and agreeing, as
well as all types of acknowledgment, the act and the attitude it expresses presuppose a
specific conversational or other social circumstance.
For types of acts that are distinguished by the type of attitude expressed, there is no
need to invoke the notion of convention to explain how it can succeed. The act can succeed if
the hearer recognizes the attitude being expressed, such as a belief in the
case of a statement and a desire in the case of a request. Any further effect it has on the
hearer, such as being believed or being complied with, or just being taken as sincere, is not
essential to its being a statement or a request. Thus an utterance can succeed as an act of
communication even if the speaker does not possess the attitude he is expressing:
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communication is one thing, sincerity another. Communicating is as it were just putting an

attitude on the table; sincerity is actually possessing the attitude one is expressing.
Correlatively, the hearer can understand the utterance without regarding it as sincere, e.g.,
take it as an apology, as expressing regret for something, without believing that the speaker
regrets having done the deed in question. Getting one's audience to believe that one actually
possesses the attitude one is expressing is not an illocutionary but a perlocutionary act.
4. Direct, indirect and nonliteral speech acts

As Austin observed, the content of a locutionary act (what is said) is not always
determined by what is meant by the sentence being uttered. Ambiguous words or phrases
need to be disambiguated (see AMBIGUITY) and the references of indexical and other
context-sensitive expressions need to be fixed in order for what is said to be determined fully
(see DEMONSTRATIVES AND INDEXICALS). Moreover, what is said does not determine the
illocutionary act(s) being performed. We can perform a speech act (1) directly or indirectly, by
way of performing another speech act, (2) literally or nonliterally, depending on how we are
using our words, and (3) explicitly or inexplicitly, depending on whether we fully spell out what
we mean.
These three contrasts are distinct and should not be confused. The first two concern the
relation between the utterance and the speech act(s) thereby performed. In
indirection a single utterance is the performance of one illocutionary act by way of performing
another. For example, we can make a request or give permission by way of making a
statement, say by uttering 'I am getting thirsty' or 'It doesn't matter to me', and we can make a
statement or give an order by way of asking a question, such as 'Will the sun rise tomorrow?'
or 'Can you clean up your room?' When an illocutionary act is performed indirectly, it is
performed by way of performing some other one directly. In the case of nonliteral utterances,
we do not mean what our words mean but something else instead. With nonliterality the
illocutionary act we are performing is not the one that would be predicted just from the
meanings of the words being used, as with likely utterances of 'My mind got derailed' or 'You
can stick that in your ear'. Occasionally utterances are both nonliteral and indirect. For
example, one might utter 'I love the sound of your voice' to tell someone nonliterally (ironically)
that she can't stand the sound of his voice and thereby indirectly to ask him to stop singing.
Nonliterality and indirection are the two main ways in which the semantic content of a
sentence can fail to determine the full force and content of the illocutionary act being
performed in using the sentence. They rely on the same sorts of processes that Grice
discovered in connection with what he called 'conversational implicature' (see IMPLICATURE),
which, as is clear from Grice's examples, is nothing more than the special case of nonliteral or
indirect constatives made with the use of indicative sentences. A few of Grice's examples
illustrate nonliterality, e.g., 'He was a little
intoxicated', used to explain why a man smashed some furniture, but most of them are indirect
statements, e.g., 'There is a garage around the corner' used to tell someone where to get
petrol, and 'Mr. X's command of English is excellent, and his attendance has been regular',
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giving the high points in a letter of recommendation. These are all examples in which what is
meant is not determined by what is said. However, Grice overlooks a different kind of case,
marked by contrast (3) listed above.
There are many sentences whose standard uses are not strictly determined by their
meanings but are not implicatures or figurative uses either. For example, if one's spouse says
'I will be home later'. she is likely to mean that she will be home later that night, not merely
some time in the future. In such cases what one means is an expansion of what one says, in
that adding more words ('tonight', in the example) would have made what was meant fully
explicit. In other cases, such as 'Jack is ready' and 'Jill is late', the sentence does not express
a complete proposition. There must be something which Jack is being claimed to be ready for
and something which Jill is being claimed to be late to. In these cases what one means is
a completion of what one says. In both sorts of case, no particular word or phrase is being
used nonliterally and there is no indirection. They both exemplify what may be called
'impliciture', since part of what is meant is communicated not explicitly but implicitly, by way of
expansion or completion.
5. Philosophical importance of speech act theory

The theory of speech acts has applications to philosophy in general, but these can only
be illustrated here. In ethics, for example, it has been supposed that sentences containing
words like 'good' and 'right' are used not to describe but to commend, hence that such
sentences are not used to make statements and that questions of value and morals are not
matters of fact. This line of argument is fallacious. Sentences used for ethical evaluation, such
as 'Loyalty is good' and 'Abortion is wrong,' are no different in form from other indicative
sentences. Whatever the status of their contents, they are standardly used to make
statements. This leaves open the possibility that there is something fundamentally problematic
about their contents. Perhaps such statements are factually defective and, despite syntactic
appearances, are neither true nor false. However, this is a metaphysical issue about the status
of the properties to which ethical predicates purport to refer. It is not the business of the
philosophy of language to determine whether or not there are such properties as goodness or
rightness and whether or not the goodness of loyalty and the rightness of abortion are matters
of fact. The above argument is but one illustration of what Searle calls the 'speech act fallacy'.
He also identifies examples of the 'assertion fallacy', whereby conditions of making an
assertion are confused with what is asserted. For example, one might fallaciously argue, on
the grounds that because one would not assert that one believes something if one was
prepared to assert that one knows it, that knowing does not entail believing. Grice identifies the
same fallacy in a parallel argument, according to which seeming to have a certain feature
entails not actually having that feature (see ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY).
For philosophy of language in particular, the theory of speech acts underscores the
importance of the distinction between language use and linguistic meaning (see
PRAGMATICS and SEMANTICS). This distinction sharpens the formulation of questions about
the nature of linguistic knowledge (see LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE), by separating questions
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about capacities exercised in linguistic interaction from those specific to knowledge of

language itself. A parallel distinction, between speaker reference and linguistic reference (see
REFERENCE), provokes the question of to what extent linguistic expressions refer
independently of speakers' use of them to refer. It is common, for example, for philosophers to
describe expressions like 'the car', 'Robert Jones' and 'they' as having different references in
different contexts, but it is arguable that this is merely a misleading way of saying that
speakers use such expressions to refer to different things in different contexts.
 Politeness Theory
Source:https://www.universalclass.com/articles/business/communication-studies/politeness-
theory.htm
Politeness assumes that we all have face, and we all have face wants and needs.
Further, there are different types of face threatened in various face-threatening acts, and
sometimes the face threats are to the hearer, while other times they are to the speaker.
Sociological variables come into play when considering a face-threatening act, which these
researchers call weight.
The weight of a face-threatening act is determined by considering the combination of
three variables: power, distance, and rank. Power refers to the perceived power dynamic
between speaker and hearer. As a speaker, is the targeted hearer a superior, subordinate, or
at about your same social level? Distance refers to the amount of social
distance between speaker and hearer. As a speaker, is the targeted hearer a close friend or a
distant colleague? Rank refers to the cultural ranking of the subject -- the degree of sensitivity
of the topic within a particular culture. For example, a woman's age and weight are two very
sensitive topics within U.S. culture, as is a person's income, while some other cultures don't
consider these sensitive topics, but rather matters of fact to be simply shared.
Politeness theory posits that choices in employing a particular politeness strategy
depend upon the social circumstances in which the speech act occurs. That is, to whom are
you speaking, what is your social relationship with that person, and what is the topic?
Politeness theory relies, in part, on the idea that there are different kinds of face:
positive face and negative face. Positive face reflects an individual's need for his or her
wishes and desires to be appreciated in a social context. This is the maintenance of a positive
and consistent self-image. Negative face reflects an individual's need for freedom of action,
freedom from imposition, and the right to make one's own decisions. Together, these types of
face respect the face needs covered previously, which include an individual's face needs for
autonomy and competence. This theory relies on the assumption that most speech acts
inherently threaten either the speaker or the hearer's face, and that politeness is therefore a
necessary component of unoffensive, i.e. non-face threatening, communication and involves
the redressing of positive and negative face.
Drawing from these assumptions, researchers have identified three main strategies for
performing speech acts: positive politeness, negative politeness, and off-record politeness.
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In positive politeness, the speaker's goal is to address the positive face needs of the hearer,
thus enhancing the hearer's positive face. This is also known as positive face redress. Positive
politeness strategies highlight friendliness and camaraderie between the speaker and hearer;
the speaker's wants are in some way similar to the hearer's wants. There are many ways to
accomplish this familiarity and claim common ground. First, the speaker can notice and attend
to the hearer's wants, interests, needs, or goods. Second, the speaker can exaggerate his/her
interest, approval or sympathy with the hearer. Third, the speaker can demonstrate an
intensified interest to the hearer. The speaker can also use in-group markers, which
demonstrate that both the speaker and hearer belong to the same social group, such as a
work culture or religious affiliation. These can include forms of address, use of in-group
language or dialect, use of jargon or slang, and linguistic contractions. An example might be,
"Dude, you know…" or, "Brother, I'd like to discuss with you…" The speaker can also seek
agreement with the hearer by choosing safe topics and using repetition. On the flip side of that,
the speaker can also seek to avoid disagreement with the hearer by employing a token
agreement, a pseudo-agreement, a white lie, or hedging an opinion. Further, the speaker can
presuppose knowledge of the hearer's wants and attitudes, presuppose the hearer's values
are the same as the speaker's values, presuppose familiarity in the speaker-hearer
relationship, and presuppose the hearer's knowledge on the topic. Another strategy to invoke
familiarity between speaker and hearer is to use humor/joking. In addition to claiming common
ground, the speaker can use some tools to convey that the speaker and hearer are
cooperators. These include asserting or presupposing the speaker's knowledge of, and
concern for, the hearer's wants, offering or promising, being optimistic,
including both speaker and hearer in a target activity, giving or asking for reasons, and
assuming or asserting reciprocity. Finally, in an effort to establish positive politeness, the
speaker can seek to fulfill the hearer's wants in some way. This can be induced through gift-
giving, though these gifts can be material objects, as well as sympathy, understanding, or
cooperation.
Examples of positive politeness include compliments, and might also include
statements such as, "I really like the way you've done this," or, "It took me forever to figure this
out, but what I eventually came to was…" or,"You know it's always important to me to do the
best job I can, and I know the same is true for you. That's why I think we should pay attention
to this piece a little," or, "I really like the way you approach this here. I think this other part
might be a little stronger with a similar approach." In many of these cases, the speaker is
bringing their own perspectives into the equation within his or her suggestions to the hearer; in
this way, the speaker is emphasizing similarity and familiarity with the hearer and the content
under discussion.
Where positive politeness enhances the hearer's positive and consistent self-image
through recognizing the hearer's need for his or her wishes and desires to be appreciated
socially, negative politeness addresses the hearer's need for freedom of action and freedom
from imposition in making his or her own decisions. This is also known as negative face
redress. The first approach to negative politeness is to be direct by being conventionally
indirect. A second approach is to not assume or presume. These
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strategies include questions and hedges. (A hedge is a "softening" of a statement by

employing less-than-certain phrasing such as perhaps, might, can, or could.) Third, negative
politeness can be employed by not coercing the hearer. This can be accomplished by being
pessimistic ("I'm sure you won't want to do this…"), minimizing the imposition ("It's a small
thing I need…"), or giving deference ("you know much more about this than I do…"). The
speaker can also communicate his/her desire to not impinge on the hearer. This can be
accomplished through apologizing strategies that include admitting the impingement ("I know
this is a big deal…"), indicating reluctance ("I hate to ask this…"), giving overwhelming reasons
for having to ask, or begging forgiveness. Further efforts to not impinge on the hearer include
impersonalizing the speaker and hearer. This strategies include using passive and
circumstantial voices ("It's generally done this way…"), replacing "I" and "you" with indefinites
("people tend to…"), pluralizing "I" and "you" ("We don't always know what we're up
against…"), and avoiding use of "I" and "you" all together. Therefore, negative politeness
comments might include, "some people might approach the situation in this way," or "I think I
might do it differently, but of course whatever you think is best," or "I don't know a lot about this
but it seems that this approach might be reasonable and the situation" or "I know you know a
lot more about this than I do, but it seems to me…" In these examples, the speaker is
recognizing and addressing the hearer's right to make his or her own decisions freely, thus
attending to the hearer's negative face needs.
Off-record politeness is a politeness strategy that relies upon implication. This strategy
is very indirect, and involves the breaking of conversational norms to imply a particular
recommended course of action. Here, the speaker is relying upon the hearer's ability to
decipher and interpret the speaker's intended meaning, although it is indirectly suggested. Off-
record politeness is accomplished in a couple of ways with several strategies for each. First,
the speaker can invite conversational implicatures. Strategies here are to give hints, give clues
of association, presuppose, understate, overstate, use tautologies, use contradictions, be
ironic, use metaphors, and use rhetorical questions. Secondly, the speaker can be intentionally
vague or ambiguous, also over-generalizing, displacing the hearer, and being incomplete by
using ellipsis. Examples might include the following exchanges:
A) "What do you think about these pants?"
B) "I think you have a lot a very nice clothes in your closet, especially pants."
A) "Do you think we should leave at 7 or 7:30?"
B) "I think your sister is a stickler for punctuality."
A) "I think I'd like to watch the football game."
B) "Yes, a little violent aggression is a good way to spend a Monday night."
In each of these scenarios, speaker B is offering a suggestion to speaker A. Speaker
B's intended meaning may or may not be clear to you as you read through this, but hopefully,
given the context and their relationship, speaker A will understand the implications offered by
speaker B. The risk in off-record politeness, of course, is that the implications are so vague
they are not understood as intended. Such is the nature of off-record politeness.
The ideas presented in this article reflect those put forth by Brown and Levinson in their
attention-grabbing work of the 1970s and 1980s, which served as the source for a
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great deal of additional research. As is often the case with new research in an area, some
researchers have criticized Brown and Levinson's theory for various reasons. Some say it is
overly pessimistic, in that it reduces all interactions to potential face threats and requires
constant monitoring of these potential face threats, which could easily rob social interactions of
all elements of pleasure. Others say it is individualistic, presenting the speaker as a rational
agent, unconstrained by social considerations. Perhaps one of the greatest shortcomings to
Brown and Levinson's work has been identified as the essential decision-tree, which speakers
have to work through to locate the utterance appropriate to the particular situation in which
s/he finds her/himself. This method also excludes the possibility of invoking two or more
strategies at the same time. The theory put forth by Brown and Levinson, and the subject of
this article, is the most foundational work in politeness, and therefore garners its section. It is
not the only view of politeness available in the research literature, however.
Much research has been conducted on this topic, perhaps especially in the wake of
Brown and Levinson's Politeness Theory. Though we all feel we have a sense for what
politeness is, it's very difficult to pin it down when someone asks you to define it. One thing that
researchers agree upon is that politeness is something that is learned or acquired. We are not
born into it, but rather socialized into it. Further, because we are socialized into it, it naturally
follows that different cultures have different ideas of what it is, and how it should be
appropriately employed.
Defining Politeness
Some research counters Brown and Levinson's politeness theory by arguing that rather
than dealing with politeness, per se, Brown and Levinson actually address the mitigation of
face-threatening acts. That is, they don't talk about how to be polite, but rather how to not
threaten someone's face. Whether or not this is the same thing is a matter of some debate.
Some research suggests that polite behavior goes beyond politic behavior, which is
defined as "that behavior, linguistic and nonlinguistic, which the participants construct as being
appropriate to the ongoing social interaction." This is behavior that is generally perceived to be
appropriate, given the social constraints of a particular situation. Saying, "Yes, please," to the
waitress when she offers you more coffee is an example of politic behavior – it doesn't stand
out as being particularly polite or impolite, but rather merely socially appropriate. Polite
behavior, then, is behavior beyond what is perceived as appropriate to the ongoing social
interaction. Politeness goes beyond what is expected. To further our example from above,
replying to the waitress's inquiry of whether we'd like more coffee, we might respond with, "Oh
yes, please! Coffee would be wonderful. That's very kind of you." In this sense, then, polite
behavior goes above and beyond what is merely called for.
Several researchers offer varying definitions and sub-classifications of politeness.
Research from 1990 posits four main approaches to viewing politeness: as a "social norm," as
a component of "conversational maxim" (rules guiding conversations), as "face-saving" (Brown
and Levinson's Politeness Theory fits here and as "conversational-contract."
Other researchers argue that politeness is strategic conflict-avoidance, as well as a
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means of social indexing. That politeness should be understood as strategic conflict-avoidance

is exemplified in the perception that "the basic social role of politeness is its ability to function
as a way of controlling potential aggression between interactional parties," or within the
perception of politeness as connected with smooth communication, or with avoiding disruption
and maintaining the social equilibrium and friendly relations. Its involvement in social indexing
is exemplified in the idea that politeness is socially appropriate behavior, and what is deemed
socially appropriate rests on the social position of the speaker in relation to the hearer.
Politeness versus Indirectness

The idea that politeness is essentially indirectness has captured the attention of several
scholars conceptualizing and examining politeness. Some argue that indirectness does not
necessarily imply politeness, as results from a study indicate that individuals don't always
evaluate the most indirect approaches as the most polite. In this research, politeness is
defined as a balance between two needs: the need for pragmatic clarity and the need to avoid
coerciveness. Respondents considered that a certain adherence to the pragmatic clarity of a
message is an essential component of politeness – that is, the practicing of social conventions
yielding clarity in the message. However, too much pragmatic clarity, or too much
coerciveness decreases politeness, rendering direct messages perceived as impolite, because
they indicate a lack of concern with face.
Further, non-conventional indirect strategies (hints) can be perceived as impolite in their

lack of concern for pragmatic clarity – their vagueness and ambiguity tends to reduce their
perception of politeness.
Impoliteness Defined
One way to consider what politeness is is to consider what it is not. This is an age-old
method of defining something, put forth in the time of Socrates, who argued that a thing is both
the thing itself and its opposite, since without its opposite, there is no thing to begin with. For
example, there is no good without bad, first, since subjective assessments occur along a scale,
and that something classified as bad helps then to define something classified as good.
Second, if there were no bad there would be no good since there would be nothing to assess if
everything always occurred at the same level of quality and at place along that scale. Thus, as
the argument goes, both a thing and its opposite are intrinsic to that thing.
Applying this concept to our current topic, politeness, one way to classify and understand
what politeness is is to offset it against what we know it is not. Thus, opposites of politeness
can be impoliteness, rudeness, discourtesy, vulgarity, or crudeness. In considering our
understandings of these terms, we can gain a better grasp for politeness.
A small amount of research has focused on impoliteness, which is defined as "behavior
that is face-aggravating in a particular context." Some contend that impoliteness is rooted in
the hearer's understanding of the speaker's intentions, and upon the sensitivity of the context.
That impoliteness is intertwined with power proves a provocative discussion.

Researchers assert that there is, and can be, no interaction absent power, and that
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impoliteness is an exercise of power, as it tends to have (or perhaps always has) some effect
on how one addresses others; it influences and alters the future action-environment of those
with whom the speaker interacts. Impoliteness and power are inextricable because a speaker
whose face is damaged by an utterance suddenly finds his or her response options sharply
restricted. Additionally, those in positions of power have been found to exercise impoliteness
more often than those in positions of relative low power.
Distinctions between "impoliteness" and "rudeness" are under debate by scholars, with
disagreement whether or not they constitute the same ideas. Some argue that their evaluation
as appropriate or not lies in the perspective of the one on the receiving end of the
communication behavior. "Over-politeness", however, is classified among impoliteness and
rudeness as generally negative and marked as inappropriate behavior. Behavior that is
appropriate is generally unnoticed, rendering inappropriate behavior more likely noticeable or
"marked".
"Over-politeness" exceeds the boundary between what is appropriate and what is
inappropriate, rendering it less than polite, and is often considered downright rude. It is worth
noting that this evaluation lies in the perception of the hearer. Over-politeness can fall into
several categories. First, rather than impoliteness, over-politeness can be simply failed
politeness attempts. However, over-politeness can certainly be used intentionally and/or
perceived to be intentionally used to create a negative effect. Sarcasm fits into this category,
which can also be considered "mock-politeness."
Politeness and Culture

Several researchers have pointed out that face concerns are culturally specific. Some
work considers face as relational and interactional, rather than an individual, phenomenon.
This means that the social self, or face, is achieved in relationships with others via interaction.
Positive and negative face are re-conceptualized in terms of the contradictory tensions
between connection with and separation from others.
Some research argues that Brown and Levinson's model doesn't adequately account for
people of all nations and cultures, and that the dynamics of face in cultures such as China and
Japan call for an alternative, more flexible framework. Here, researchers identify two
competing forces shaping our interactional behaviors: ideal social identity and ideal individual
autonomy. Face in China is highly complex, and relies on a persistent, mutually shared
orientation toward constructing an ideal social identity.
Politeness and Swearing

When communicating politeness in conversations is there room for profanity? In other
words, is swearing always impolite? Let us examine this question for a moment. The main
purpose of swearing is to express emotions, primarily anger and frustration. Swear words are
great ways to express these emotions as their primary meanings are connotative, rather than
denotative. The emotional impact of swearing depends on a hearer's experience with a culture
and its linguistic standards and practices. Research finds that the appropriateness of swearing
as considered by hearers is evaluated by
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several criteria. First, whether swearing is appropriate depends highly upon the context in
which it's used. Second, the speaker-listener relationship plays a major role in deeming
swearing appropriate or not. Third, the social-physical context needs consideration (e.g. Are
you in church? On a Navy ship?), and finally, the particular swear word used will render
different effects on audience members. Offensiveness of swearing is perceived to depend
upon characteristics of the one using swear words, as well. For native speakers, the gender of
the speaker helps classify the appropriateness of swearing, while for non-native speakers, the
level of English experience can be an evaluative factor. In sum, this study demonstrates that
the appropriateness of swearing depends upon several factors, including characteristics of
speaker, hearer, and context, and that these factors require time to fully understand.
In closing, the field of politeness research holds a few twists and turns, as most research
areas do. Researchers disagree on definitions and applications of politeness and impoliteness.
Nevertheless, we all know, as a practical matter, that politeness matters -- however we would
like to define it. In a conversation about communicating with diplomacy and tact, a little digging
into the theoretical ideas behind politeness can illuminate some of the complexity surrounding
politeness classifications and usages. Perhaps it can be overly simplified as a matter of
speaker, hearer, and context, all of which come into play in determining the appropriateness of
a verbal or nonverbal communication behavior. We know that indirectness can be perceived as
more polite than directness, and in this vein, perhaps asking questions, rather than making
declarative statements, can mitigate a FTA. However, if this section reviewing politeness
research demonstrates anything, it is that no one answer applies in all situations.
Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you further understand
the lesson:
 Read the article about Sentence Structure at
https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/sentence-structure.html
 Watch the video clip about Sentence Structure found at
https://www.espressoenglish.net/english-sentence-structure-4-types-of-english-
sentences/
 Watch the video clip about Verbals: Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles
athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c2b-zhk1DQ
 Watch a video clip on Introduction to Semantics athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=I3t2VPcHwCw
 Learn more about semantics by watching the video clip about What is Semantics?
athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlRNrSajB-0
 Watch a video clip on What Is Semantics? - Definition & Examples at
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-semantics-definition-examples-quiz.html
 Read an article about Overcoming Lexical Issues in Translation: Role of Lexemes &
Function Words at https://www.ulatus.com/translation-blog/the-role-of-the-lexeme-and-
function-word-in-textual-translation/
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 Watch a video clip about Words: Meaning and Semantic Range at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WG4CDtNnK8
 Read the complete article about Context and Semantic Range at
https://academic.logos.com/the-meaning-of-words-part-2-context-and-semantic-range/
 Download and read the powerpoint presentation about Collocations, Idioms and Phrasal
verbs at https://www.slideshare.net/piersjohnmidwinter/collocations-idioms-and-phrasal-
verbs?qid=ca3d5fde-d861-4fdd-ad66-50045377c1ec&v=&b=&from_search=2
 Watch a video clip about Collocations, Idioms, And Phrasal Verbs With Set at
https://www.espressoenglish.net/collocations-idioms-and-phrasal-verbs-with-set/
Read the pdf Entitled Homonymy and Polysemy
athttps://wwwusers.york.ac.uk/~ez506/downloads/L140%20Handout%20-
%20homonyms.pdf
 Watch the video clip entitled Sense Relations (Homonymy vs Polysemy) found at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x83Kc9APtvI
 Download at read the powerpoint presentation about Homonym & polysemy
athttps://www.slideshare.net/ekahrdiyanti/homonym-polysemy
 Watch the video clip entitled What is Pragmatics? Athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rVP-TWE-Ikg
 Watch the video clip entitled [Introduction to Linguistics] Grice's Maxims, Implicature,
Presupposition at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGJGIWqnSFY
 Watch the video clip entitled Pragmatics and Gricean Maxims
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzxyjFHh-y8
 Watch the video clip entitled Implicature at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUs8GAi_cIw
 Read the pdf article about Conversational Implicatures: The Basics found at
https://people.ucsc.edu/~abrsvn/implicature_basics_9up.pdf
 Watch the video clip entitled Speech Acts - An Overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs6O77SkIOo
 Watch the video clip entitled Classification of Speech Acts [Definition and Examples]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2PJoe9Umxc
 Watch the video clips entitled Politeness Theory found
athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc9t48GI0JA and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF7EmGkfwms
Let’s Check
Activity1.NowthatyouknowthemostessentialtermsinthestudyofSyntax, Pragmatics and

Semantics, answer the following items. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
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SYNTAX
Source: Quizziz.com
1. Syntax is the study of_______________.

a) Word formation
b) How language is used to communicate within its situational context
c) Linguistic meaning
d) Phrases, clauses, and sentences
2. Which of the following does not fall in the category of “determiner”?

a) This
b) Their
c) Those
d) Tall
3. NP + VP = ?
a) Clause or sentence
b) PP
c) NPV
d) (D) (AP) N
4. Open class or content words are defined as

a) the words that convey conceptual meaning
b) words that are open to interpretation
c) words that cannot be added to a language
d) words that do not carry conceptual meaning
5. What is NOT an example of a content word?

a) a noun
b) a pronoun
c) a verb
d) an adverb
6. What is a the most important word or a head in the NP?

a) preposition
b) verb
c) novel word
d) noun
7. It contain a single subject and verb.

a) simple
b) compound
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c) complex
d) compound-complex
8. It contains an independent clause and two or more dependent clauses.

a) compound
b) complex
c) simple
d) compound-complex
9. Itcontains three or more clauses, at least two or more depended clauses.

a) simple
b) compound
c) complex
d) compound-complex
10. Itrefers to elements of a sentence expressed in similar form, often a list.

a) parallel
b) periodic
c) repetitive
d) rhetorical
11. Repeating words or phrases to enhance rhythm or create emphasis refers to:
a) periodic
b) parallel
c) repetitive
d) rhetorical
12. It is a question that draws attention to an idea.

a) periodic
b) balanced
c) parallel
d) rhetorical
13. It states something

a) Declarative
b) Imperative
c) Exclamatory
d) Interrogative
14. It expresses strong emotion

a) Declarative
b) Imperative
c) Exclamatory
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d) Interrogative
15. It asks a question

a) Declarative
b) Imperative
c) Exclamatory
d) Interrogative
16. Abracadabra!! Is an example of what kind of sentence?

a) Declarative
b) Exclamatory
c) Imperative
d) Interrogative
17. What movies are showing this weekend?

a) Declarative
b) Exclamatory
c) Imperative
d) Interrogative
18. A sentence that gives a demand.

a) imperative
b) declarative
c) interrogative
d) exclamatory
19. What is Pragmatics?

a) the study of ways people use language in actual conversations
b) what preceded a particular utterance in a discourse
c) gives info about the situation in which it is uttered
d) info about the relationships between the people who are speaking and what their roles
are
20. What is Utterance?

a) what preceded a particular utterance in a discourse
b) it is an event, something that happens
d) info about the relationships between the people who are speaking and what their roles
are
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21. What is linguistic context?

a) it is an event, something that happens
b) the study of ways people use language in actual conversations
c) info about the relationships between the people who are speaking and what their roles
are
d) what preceded a particular utterance in a discourse
22. What is situational context?

a) info about the relationships between the people who are speaking and what their roles
are
b) a maxim when he says something that in its most literal meaning appears to violate a
maxim
d) perform act by using language
23. What is social context?

a) basic assumption underlying conversation is the understanding that what one say is
intended to contribute conversational partners
b) info about the relationships between the people who are speaking and what their roles
are
d) what preceded a particular utterance in a discourse
24. What is Maxims?

a) perform act by using language
b) denote purely linguistic actions
c) they perform their functions in a direct and literal manner
d) principle guiding the conversational interactions of both speakers and hearers
25. What is speech acts?

a) principle guiding the conversational interactions of both speakers and hearers
b) denote purely linguistic actions
c) perform act by using language
d) probably the opposite of direct speech acts
26.Semantics is...
a) the study of word formation.
b) the study of the sound system of language.
c) the study of meaning of words, phrases, and sentences.
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27. "If Jasmine cannot go to the morning appointment, she will go to the afternoon one. (one =
appointment)." This is an example of what type of linguistic reference?
a) Anaphora
b) Coreference
c) Deixis
28.The study of reference can be divided into which two areas..

a) prototype
b) speaker reference
c) linguistic reference
d) coreference
29. Lexical ambiguity refers to...

a) words that have the same meaning.
b) a word that contains the meaning of a more general words.
c) a word that has more than one meaning.
d) words that have different meanings.
30.Select the two words that would be an example of "gradable antonyms".

answer choices
a) hungry
b) borrower
c) lender
d) full
Activity2: Multiple Choice

Directions:NowthatyouknowthemostessentialtermsinthestudyofSyntax, Pragmatics and
1. Bruce has a very advanced sense of what is socially appropriate. He always knows
what to say in every social context. He has which kind of linguistic competence?
a. Phonemic
b. Semantic
c. Syntactic
d. Pragmatic
2. Bruce's grammar is quite poor. He lacks which kind of competence?

a. Phonemic
b. Semantic
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c. Syntactic
d. Pragmatic
3. According to CMM theory, what is a life-script?
a. the situation in which an interaction takes place
b. the relationship between communicators
c. the way the communicators see themselves
d. the cultural patterns that communicators follow
4. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis:
a. Language has very little effect on the way we perceive the world.
b. Middle-class speakers see the world more accurately than lower-class speakers.
c. We think through language.
d. Language allows us to lie to one another.
5. Speaking with names is
a. an indirect way of offering comfort
b. a polite way of speaking in which people use formal terms (like "Sir") to address one
another
c. an impolite way of speaking in which people are on a first-name basis with everyone,
including those above them in status
d. a way people threaten one another by calling each other insulting names
6. Critical theorists believe:
a. The best way to discipline children is to criticize their behavior immediately and often.
b. Language is power; whoever controls language controls thought and action.
c. English is one of the most difficult languages to learn.
d. People who do not speak "proper" English will not be able to succeed in today's
society.
7. Which of the following does NOT use sexist language?
a. Although she is a girl, she is very brave.
b. A gorgeous, fashion-conscious blond, she can nevertheless do a man's job.
c. His brother works as a male nurse.
d. None, all are considered to be sexist.
8. Which of the following occur(s) normally in conversational closings?

a. Partners let each other know when or if they will see each other again.
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b. Partners indicate supportiveness.

c. Partners summarize main topics.
d. All of the above.
9. When individual experience, rather than conventional agreement, creates meaning, we
are referring to
a. denotative meaning
b. connotative meaning
c. phatic communication
d. self-reflexive communication
10. Which of the following are best expressed digitally (rather than analogically)?
a. logical words like and or or
b. abstract concepts
c. self-reflexive comments
d. all of the above
Activity3: Multiple Choice

Directions:NowthatyouknowthemostessentialtermsinthestudyofSyntax, Pragmatics and
1. what a speaker (or writer) assumes is true or known by a listener (or reader)
a.presupposition
b. spatial deixis
c. supposition
d. Pragmatics
2.the performance of an utterance and its meaning
a. positive face
b. perlocutionary act
c. locutionary act
d. illocutionary act
3.The study of "invisible meaning"
What is meant even when it isn't actually said or written
Based on shared assumptions and expectations
Think about how it makes the speaker/listener feel...
a. context
b. face
c. words
d. contextual
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4.your public self-image; the emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and expects
everyone else to recognize
a. face
b. words
c. context
d. reference
5.the need to be connected, to belong, to be a member of the group
a. positive face
b. inference
c. negative face
d. politeness
6.subsequent reference to an already introduced entity; "referring back" (-->Paul's on the
phone. I don't wanna talk to -->him.)
a. face
b. words
c. anaphora
d. cataphora
7.A speech act requires what 4 things?
a. linguistic context (co-text)
b. physical/situational context
1) locution/proposition (idea)
2) illocution (communicative intent)
3) perlocution (communicative intent)
4) essential elements (words and non-verbal commands)
c. literal; unconventional
8. uses typical syntactic form; when an interrogative structure is used with the function of a
question (Can you ride a bicycle?)
a. face-saving act
b. speech act
c. indirect speech act
d. direct speech act
9. used to point to things (it, this, these) and people (him, them, those idiots) (-->We built --
>this city on rock and roll.)
a. spatialdeixis
b. Pragmatics
c. temporaldeixis
d. personaldeixis
10. Children with disordered language may interpret ALL speech acts.
a. Always True
b. Sometimes True
c. Always False
d. Sometimes False
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11. ___ is an important aspect of language for both children and adults. It involves both
verbal & non-verbal communication.
a. face
b. politeness
c. reference
d. Pragmatics
12. go, come, back, forth are examples of:
a. antecedent
b. invisible meaning
c. physical context
d. indicate movement
13. Our interpretation of the "meaning" of the sign is not based solely on the ___, but on
what we think the writer intended to communicate.
a. anaphora
b. words
c. face
d. context
14. used to point to a time (now, then, last year) (Turn around...every -->now and -->then I
get a little bit lonely...)
a. temporaldeixis
b. personaldeixis
c. spatialdeixis
d. Pragmatics
15. used to point to what we are talking/writing about; too vague (She brought it yesterday,
but it can't come tomorrow.)
a. deictic expressions (deixis)
b. direct speech act
c. deictic expressions
d. invisible meaning
16. the words that pronouns refer back to; first mention (-->Allie likes -->her -->coach. --
>She has learned a lot from -->her.)
a. antecedent
b. context
c. reference
d. speech act
17. uses atypical syntactic form; using a structure associated with the function of a request
("You left the door open." used to tell someone to close the door)
a. indicate movement
b. speech act
c. direct speech act
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d. indirect speech act
18. Semantics: ___ meaning

Pragmatics: ___ meaning
a. presupposition
b. literal; unconventional
c. linguistic; context
d. physical; context
19. Some questions/statements can have more than one ___. (When did you stop
smoking? -->that you used to smoke and that you quit smoking)
a. presupposition
b. context
c. supposition
d. speech act
20. Words don't refer to anything.
a. supposition
b. temporaldeixis
c. true (People do.)
d. presupposition
21. showing awareness and consideration of another person's face
a. context
b. reference
c. words
d. politeness
22. When there is something more to or something different from the literal meaning that is
conveyed, we explain those situations using ___.
a. politeness
b. reference
c. pragmatics
d. face
23. Rules of conversation determine...
a. 1) locution/proposition (idea)
2) illocution (communicative intent)
3) perlocution (communicative intent)
4) essential elements (words and non-verbal commands)
b. 1) who talks and when they talk (turn taking)

2) who sets the topic of the talk
3) who may change the topic and when it may be changed
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4) what kind of language is used in the talk (formal, informal, polite)

5) how much information to give
6) give relevant information
7) give truthful information
c. syntax; semantics; pragmatics

d. distant from the speaker
24. the set of other words used in the same phrase or sentence (bank with steep or over-
grown)
a. locutionary act
b. physical context
c. linguistic context
d. linguistic context (co-text)
25. the location "out there" where we encounter words and phrases (the word "BANK" on a
wall of a building is understood as a financial institution)
a. personaldeixis
b. linguistic context
c. context
d. physical context
26. the need to be independent and free from imposition
a. face
b. reference
c. positive face
d. negative face
27. the effect on the listener; persuading, convincing, inspiring, scaring; can be intended or
not
a. perlocutionary act
b. illocutionary act
c. face-saving act
d. locutionary act
28. additional information used by the listener to create a connection between what is said
and what must be meant (She's wearing Calvin Klein.); necessary for recognizing what the
speaker means
a. antecedent
b. reference
c. inference
d. face
29. reverses the antecedent-anaphora relationship by beginning with a pronoun, then later
revealing more specific information (-->It suddenly appeared. -->An enormous grizzly bear.)
a. anaphora
b. contextual
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c. context
d. cataphora
30. Understanding the meaning of certain words requires ___ information (think pronouns).
a. politeness
b. context
c. contextual
d. anaphora
31. if you say something that represents a threat to another person's self-image (Give me
that paper!)
a. face-saving act
b. face-threatening act
d. locutionary act
32. ___ have to be interpreted according to what the speaker has in mind.
a. spatialdeixis
c. deictic expressions (deixis)
d. Deictic expressions
33.whenever you say something that lessens the possible threat to another person's face
a. locutionary act
b. face-threatening act
c. use language
d. face-saving act
34. an act by which a speaker (or writer) uses language to enable a listener (or reader) to
identify something; can use proper nouns (Chomsky), other nouns in phrases (a writer), or
pronouns (he, she, it); also used to refer to things we're not sure what to call
a. antecedent
b. face
c. reference
d. inference
35. baby and toddler sale, heated attendant parking
a. invisible meaning
b. indicate movement
c. positive face
d. inference
36. that, there, then are examples of
a. negative face
c. close to the speaker
d. distant from the speaker
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37. the pragmatic "illocutionary force" of the utterance; socially acceptable; most important
a. illocutionary act
c. locutionary act
d. perlocutionary act
38. used to point to people, places, and times (me, you; here, there; now, then)
a. temporaldeixis
b. personaldeixis
c. deictic expressions
d. deictic expressions (deixis)
39. In children with disordered language, there can be ___ problems (fails to understand/get
along with other kids) and ___ problems (fails to follow teacher directions, fails to interpret text
appropriately).
a. positive face
b. social; academic
c. speech act
d. spatialdeixis
40. the study of what speakers mean, or "speaker meaning" (intended meaning, social
language)
a. face
b. politeness
c. pragmatics
d. reference
41. actions such as "requesting," "commanding," "questioning," or "informing"; the action
performed by a speaker with an utterance (I'll be there at 6:00 performs the act of "promising")
a. inference
c. speech act
d. antecedent
42. this, here, now
a. positive face
b. distant from the speaker
d. close to the speaker
43. ___: how we put words together
___ : word meanings
___ : speaker meaning
I. syntax
II.semantics
III. pragmatics
a. I, II, III
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b. II, III, I
c.III, II, I
d. All of the above
44. co-text; the set of other words used in the same phrase or sentence; using context clues
a. linguistic context
b. physical context
c. context
d. linguistic context (co-text)
45. physical location influences our interpretation (time and place)

a. linguistic context
b. perlocutionary act
c. physical context
d. physical/situational context
46. used to point to a location (here, there, near) (-->Here I go again on my own.)
a. personaldeixis
b. spatialdeixis
c. politeness
d. temporaldeixis
47. It's not only important that children/adults learn to articulate sounds and develop a
language system, but we have to learn how to ___ in a variety of social settings.
a. positive face
b. contextual
c. use language
d. speech act
48. What does conversational implicature mean?
a. study of language
b. process in which the speaker implies and a listener infers
c. vague or unclear meaning
d. being ambiguous
e. confusing your listener
49. What word means vague or unclear
a. ambiguous
b. linguistics
c. pragmatics
d. ambivalent
e. amphibious
50. Which of the following needs context?
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a. Morphology
b. Pragmatics
c. Semantics
d. Syntax
Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Getting acquainted with the essential terms in the study of Syntax, Pragmatics and
Semantics is not enough, what also matters is you should also be able to explain its inter-
relationships. Now, I will require you to explain thoroughly your answers. After every item,
explain your answers.
1. After I finished practicing piano, I'll help you make fudge.

a) simple
b) compound
c) complex
d) compound-complex
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. Meghan couldn't wake up this morning.

a) simple
b) compound
c) complex
d) compound-complex
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. When she was six, her family moved to Italy.

a) simple
b) compound
c) complex
d) compound-complex
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
4. Father put the baby to bed at seven o'clock, but she didn't fall asleep for a long time.
a) simple
b) compound
c) complex
d) compound-complex
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
5. I'm going to the store to get some cheese after I clean my house; my house is a dismal
mess.
sentence fragment
a) simple
b) run-on
c) compound
d) compound-complex
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
6. When we go on vacation, my family enjoys spending time at the beach, and we always have
fun.
a) simple
b) compound
c) complex
d) compound-complex
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

7. Which sentence illustrates a proper application of English syntax rules?
a) Tom and Sue both has a cat named Cookie.
b) We prepare and deliver workshops and training students.
c) Sarah and I write and release materials to various media.
d) Toast have I for breakfast every morning Monday.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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8. Which of the following sentences is an example of a grammatically correct simple sentence?

a) Tim is driving, and Ana is drinking coffee.
b) Bought a beautiful house in a small town near Colorado Springs.
c) Anthony, Jose, Jerry, and Lily saw the new Avengers movie last Sunday.
d) My wife and I got a new car but she didn't like it.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
9. Which of the following sentences is a compound sentence?

a) Jose liked Tina's new book very much.
b) He had to do his homework, so he couldn't go to her party.
c) My daughter and I watched and laughed.
d) Even though he apologized, I couldn't forget what he did.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
10. Chip was still deflated that he’d allowed himself to get duped, but he put his arm around
me as we started walking back to the truck.
a) compound sentence
b) complex sentence
c) compound-complex sentence
d) run-on
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Activity 2. True or False

Directions: Analyze each given statement whether it is correct or wrong.Write TRUE if
the statement is correct, and FALSE if it is wrong. Now, I will require you to explain
thoroughly your answers. After every item, explain your answers.
1. Word meaning stay the same through the years.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. The relation between a linguistic expression and its expresser is a part of semantics.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. Semantics deal with the denotative and connotative meaning of words.
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
4. Meaning differs from one culture to another.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
5. Setting or context does not affect the meaning of an utterance.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Activity 3.Identification
Directions:Underlinewhat is asked in the following quotes:
1. Select the verbal

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception. (Groucho Marx)
2. Select the verbal

Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing. (Robert Benchley)
3. Select the gerund:

Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings. (Ed Gardner)
4. Select the infinitive:

Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end? (Tom Stoppard)

I don't want to jump through hoops for people. (Nikki Sixx)
6. Select the verbal in this quote:

Last week, I went to Philadelphia, but it was closed. (W C Fields)

I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific. (Jane Wagner)
8. Select the first verbal in this quote:

The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets. (Rockefeller)

No great art has ever been made without the artist having known danger. (Rainer Maria Rilke)
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Whatever team I go to, I'll be excited to go. (Jared Goff)

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. (Fran Lebowitz)
12. Select the second verbal in this quote:

Be sure to take the lens cap off before photographing. (Elliott Erwitt)

To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone. (Reba
McEntire)
14. Select the first past participle in this quote:

Why are our days numbered and not, say, lettered? (Woody Allen)
15Select the second infinitive:

It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)
Activity 4. Classification
Source: https://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~pxc/nlp/InteractiveNLP/NLP_syn1.html
N V A P DET PRN AUX

noun verb adjective preposition determiner pronoun auxiliary
1. Direction: Classify each word in the following sentences according to the categories given above.
Some people like cats

Europeans peopled America
Careful owners wash their cars
Down fills the best duvets
She might drive down my street
The man with a wooden leg ate my
hamburger
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No-one saw her

You should put paint on the sound wood
I heard a wooden sound
The bell sounds for tea
2. Identify all the NPs, PPs and VPs in the following sentences.
Allow a single noun or pronoun to consititute a noun phrase.
NP
(Some people) (like cats )
Europeans (peopled America )
(Careful owners) (wash (their cars) )
Down (fills (the best duvets) )
She (might drive (down (my street) ) )
(The man (with (a wooden leg) ) ) (ate (my hamburger) )
No-one (saw her )
You (should put paint (on the sound wood) )
I (heard (a wooden sound) )
(The bell) (sounds (for tea) )
Let’s Apply
Directions: Parse the following sentences using the space provided below
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Example:
1. Charles reads well.
2.The horse runs swiftly.
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3. Great men are greatly admired.
4. John knows where to catch the largest fish.
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5.We had nearly reached our destination when the sun set.
In a Nutshell
Activity 1. The study of Syntax, Pragmatics and Semanticsis very important for an individual to
appreciate and value his or her culture and its background.
Based from the definition of the most essential terms in the study of Syntax,
Pragmatics and Semanticsand the learning
1. Semantics, Syntax and Pragmatics are interrelated branched of Linguistics.

2. In order to understand better about these fundamentals of linguistics, one
must understand or have a background of a specific language before he/she
learns its word meanings, structure and contextual implicatures.
Your Turn
3.
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4.
5.
Big Picture D
a. Demonstrate deep understanding on Grammatical Aspect of Language, Specifically the
following core areas; Phonetics: The Sounds of Language, Phonology: The Sound
Patterns of Language and Pragmatics.
Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Demonstrate deep understanding on Grammatical

Aspect of Language, Specifically the following core areas; Phonetics: The Sounds
of Language, Phonology: The Sound Patterns of Language and Pragmatics.
Metalanguage
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Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the 8 th and 9th weeks
of the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledgethat will be laid
down in the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to
these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other
 Phonetics
What is Phonetics?
LINGUISTICS TOPICS

There are three types of the study of the sounds of language. Acoustic Phonetics is the
study of the physical properties of sounds. Auditory Phonetics is the study of the way
listeners perceive sounds. Articulatory Phonetics is the study of how the vocal tracts
produce the sounds. This article will only describe articulatory phonetics.
The orthography (spelling) of words in misleading, especially in English. One sound can be

represented by several different combinations of letters. For example, all of the following
words contain the same vowel sound: he, believe, Lee, Caesar, key, amoeba, loudly,
machine, people, and sea. The following poem illustrates this fact of English humorously
(note the pronunciation of the bold words):
I take it you already know of tough and bough and cough and dough?

Some may stumble, but not you, on hiccough, thorough, slough, and through?
So now you are ready, perhaps, to learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word, that looks like beard, but sounds like bird.
And dead, it's said like bed, not bead; for goodness' sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat. (They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.)
A moth is not a moth in mother, nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there, nor dear and fear, for bear and pear.
And then there's dose and rose and lose - just look them up - and goose and choose
And cork and work and card and ward and font and front and word and sword
And do and go, then thwart and cart, come, come! I've hardly made a start.
A dreadful language? Why man alive! I've learned to talk it when I was five.
And yet to write it, the more I tried, I hadn't learned it at fifty-five.
- Author Unknown
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Phonetic Alphabet for English Pronunciation
p pill d dill h heal ʌ but
b bill n neal l leaf aj light
m mill s seal r reef ɔj boy
f feel z zeal j you ɪ bit
v veal tʃ chill w witch ɛ bet
The θ thigh dʒ Jill i beet ʊ foot
ð thy ʍ which e bait ɔ awe
ʃ shill k kill u boot a bar
ʒ azure g gill o boat ə sofa
t till ŋ ring æ bat aw cow

discrepancy between spelling and sounds led to the formation of the International
Phonetics Alphabet (IPA.) The symbols used in this alphabetcan be used to represent all
sounds of all human languages. The following is the American English Phonetic alphabet.
You might want to memorize all of these symbols, as most foreign language dictionaries use
the IPA.
Some speakers of English pronounce the words which and witch differently, but if you
pronounce both words identically, just use w for both words. The sounds /ʌ/ and /ə/ are
pronounced the same, but the former is used in stressed syllables, while the latter is used in
unstressed syllables. This list does not even begin to include all of the phonetic symbols
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though. One other symbol is the glottal stop, ʔ which is somewhat rare in English. Some
linguists in the United States traditionally use different symbols than the IPA symbols. These
are listed below.
U.S. IPA
š ʃ
ž ʒ
č tʃ
ǰ dʒ
U ʊ
The production of any speech sound involves the movement of air. Air is pushed
through the lungs, larynx (vocal folds) and vocal tract (the oral and nasal cavities.) Sounds
produced by using air from the lungs are called pulmonic sounds. If the air is pushed out, it
is called egressive. If the air is sucked in, it is called ingressive. Sounds produced by
ingressive airstreams are ejectives, implosives, and clicks. These sounds are common
among African and Native American languages. The majority of languages in the world use
pulmonic egressive airstream mechanisms, and I will present only these types of sounds in
this lesson.
Consonants
Consonants are produced as air from the lungs is pushed through the glottis (the
opening between the vocal cords) and out the mouth. They are classified according to
voicing, aspiration, nasal/oral sounds, places of articulation and manners of
articulation. Voicing is whether the vocal folds vibrate or not. The sound /s/ is called
voiceless because there is no vibration, and the sound /z/ is called voiced
because the vocal folds do vibrate (you can feel on your neck if there is vibration.) Only
three sounds in English have aspiration, the sounds /b/, /p/ and /t/. An extra puff of air is
pushed out when these sounds begin a word or stressed syllable. Hold a piece of paper
close to your mouth when saying the words pin and spin. You should notice extra air when
you say pin. Aspiration is indicated in writing with a superscript h, as in /pʰ/. Nasal sounds
are produced when the velum (the soft palate located in the back of the roof of the mouth) is
lowered and air is passed through the nose and mouth. Oral sounds are produced when the
velum is raised and air passes only through the mouth.
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Places of Articulation
Bilabial: lips together
Labiodental: lower lip against front teeth
Interdental: tongue between teeth
Alveolar: tongue near alveolar ridge on roof of mouth (in between teeth
and hard palate)
Postalveolar: tongue towards soft palate
Palatal: tongue on hard palate
Velar: tongue near velum
Glottal: space between vocal folds
The following sound is not found in the English language, although it is common in
languages such as French and Arabic:
Uvular: raise back of tongue to uvula (the appendage hanging down from the velum)
Manners of Articulation
Stop: obstruct airstream completely
Fricative: partial obstruction with friction
Affricate: stop airstream, then release
Approximants: partial obstruction, no friction, similar to vowels
You should practice saying the sounds of the English alphabet to see if you can identify the
places of articulation in the mouth. The sounds are described by voicing, place, and then
manner of articulation, so the sound /j/ would be called a voiced palatal glide and the
sound /s/ would be called a voiceless alveolar fricative.
Bilab Labiode Interde Alveo Postalve Pala Vel Glot

ial ntal ntal lar olar tal ar tal
Stop / p t k
Plosive b d g
Nasal m n ŋ
(stop)
Fricative f θ s ʃ h
v ð z ʒ
Affricate tʃ
dʒ
Approxi ʍ ɹ j ʍ
mant w w
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Lateral l
Approxi
mant
For rows that have two consonants, the top consonant is voiceless and the bottom consonant
is voiced. Nasal stops are all voiced, as are liquids. The sound /j/ is also voiced. If sounds
are in two places on the chart, that means they can be pronounced either way.
Vowels
Vowels are produced by a continuous airstream and all are voiced (at least in English -
Japanese does have voiceless vowels, however). They are classified according to height of
the tongue, part of tongue involved, and position of the lips. The tongue can be high, mid, or
low; and the part of the tongue used can be front, central or back. Only four vowels are
produced with rounded lips and only four vowels are considered tense instead of lax. The
sound /a/ would be written as a low back lax unrounded vowel. Many languages also have
vowels called diphthongs, a sequence of two sounds, vowel + glide. Examples in English
include oy in boy and ow in cow. In addition, vowels can be nasalized when they occur
before nasal consonants. A diacritic mark [~] is placed over the vowel to show this. The
vowel sounds in bee and bean are considered different because the sound in bean is
nasalized.
Part of Tongue
Front Central Back
Tongue High / Close i u

Height ɪ ʊ
Close-Mid e ə o
Open-Mid ɛ ʌ ɔ
Low / Open æ a
The bold vowels are tense, and the italic vowels are rounded. English also includes the
diphthongs: [aj] as in bite, [aw] as in cow, and [oj] as in boy. These diphthongs can also be
transcribed as [aɪ], [aʊ], and [ɔɪ].
For a full IPA chart with integrated sound, please visit this International Phonetic Alphabet
site. If you're looking for a way to type IPA symbols online, please visit ipa.typeit.org
Major Classes of Sounds (Distinctive Features)

All of the classes of sounds described above can be put into more general classes that
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include the patterning of sounds in the world's languages. Continuant sounds indicate a

continuous airflow, while non-continuant sounds indicate total obstruction of the
airstream. Obstruent sounds do not allow air to escape through the nose,
while sonorant sounds have a relatively free airflow through the mouth or nose. The
following table summarizes this information:
Obstruent Sonorant
Continuant fricatives liquids, glides, vowels
Non-Continuant oral stops, affricates nasal stops
Major Class Features

[+ Consonantal] consonants
[- Consonantal] vowels
[+Sonorant] nasals, liquids, glides, vowels
[- Sonorant] stops, fricatives, affricates (obstruents)
[+ Approximant] glides [j, w]
[- Approximant] everything else
Voice Features
[+ Voice] voiced
[- Voice] voiceless
[+ Spread Glottis] aspirated [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ]
[- Spread Glottis] unaspirated
[+ Constricted Glottis] ejectives, implosives
[- Constricted Glottis] everything else
Manner Features
[+ Continuant] fricatives [f, v, s, z, š, ž, θ, ð]
[- Continuant] stops [p, b, t, d, k, g, ʔ]
[+ Nasal] nasal consonants [m, n, ŋ]
[- Nasal] all oral consonants
[+ Lateral] [l]
[- Lateral] [r]
[+ Delayed Release] affricates [č, ǰ]
[- Delayed Release] stops [p, b, t, d, k, g, ʔ]
[+ Strident] “noisy” fricatives [f, v, s, z, š, ž]
[- Strident] [?, ð, h]
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Place Features
[Labial] involves lips [f, v, p, b, w]
[Coronal] alveolar ridge to palate [θ, ð, s, z, t, d, š, ž, n, r, l]
[+ Anterior] interdentals and true alveolars
[- Anterior] retroflex and palatals [š, ž, č, ǰ, j]
[Dorsal] from velum back [k, g, ŋ]
[Glottal] in larynx [h, ʔ]
Vowels
Height [± high] [± low]
Backness [± back]
Lip Rounding [± round]
Tenseness [± tense]
“SPEECH ORGANS”
Source: http://www.sfu.ca/~mcrobbie/Ling130/Lecture3%20.pdf
Speech organs (or vocal organs): those parts of the body used in speech
production.
The primary function of the vocal organs is biological.
We do not have unique speech organs (organs developed for speech
only) not found in other mammals.
SPEECH ORGANS:
1. LUNGS
2. TRACHEA (= windpipe)
3. LARYNX (containing the vocal folds)
NOTE:
VOCAL CORDS or VOCAL FOLDS Ø
more commonly used term
4. SUPRAGLOTTAL ORGANS (those above the larynx)
*******
VOCAL TRACT: The air passages above the larynx.
ORAL CAVITY or ORAL TRACT
(Latin os/oralis ‘mouth’)
NASAL CAVITY or NASAL TRACT
(Latin nasus ‘nose’)
2
1. LUNGS
The source of energy for speech production is the steady stream of air that
comes from the lungs as we exhale.
The thorax (= chest) is bounded by the vertebrae in the back and the sternum
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(= breast bone) in the front. Completing the cylinder are 12 sets of ribs.
The lungs consist of alveoli (= air sacks). The act of breathing air in and out is
controlled by various muscles of the rib cage, and by muscles of the abdomen and
the diaphragm. Ø
The muscular band that separates the chest from the abdomen; it plays a role in
respiration and therefore in speech. During speech it is relaxed.
2. TRACHEA (Greek trachea ‘neck’)

a tube consisting of cartilages
it leads from the larynx, splits into two bronchi that connect to
the lungs.
3. LARYNX (Greek larynx ‘upper part of the windpipe’) Ø

“voice box”
It is a structure of cartilages and muscles situated atop the trachea.
There is a protuberance at the front (= Adam’s apple)
The functions of the larynx are:
a. BIOLOGICAL: protecting the lungs by preventing food particles
and fluids from entering the trachea.
b. LINGUISTIC: involved in the production of several types of
sound effects (e.g. voicing, pitch, whisper etc.).
The larynx contains the VOCAL FOLDS. Ø
two horizontal bands of ligament and muscle
They vibrate during the articulation of vowels and of many consonants.
The space between the vocal folds is called the GLOTTIS.
Articulation of the vocal folds: GLOTTAL articulation e.g., glottal stops [÷]
3
HYOID BONE: it sits at the back of the base of the tongue and at the top of the
larynx. It brings about a muscular interaction between the tongue and the larynx.
The larynx is made up of five cartilages:
i. EPIGLOTTIS
ii. THYROID CARTILAGE
iii. CRICOID CARTILAGE
iv.
ARYTENOID CARTILAGES
v.
STUDY THE HANDOUT!
4. SUPRAGLOTTAL ORGANS (those above the larynx)
a. Articulators in the oral cavity:
i. UPPER ARTICULATORS: upper lip, upper teeth, upper
surface of the mouth and the pharyngeal wall
ii. LOWER ARTICULATORS: lower lip, lower teeth, tongue
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b. PHARYNX
Speech Organs and How They Produced Sounds

Source: https://www.kompasiana.com/aisyahamalia2751/5d92c406097f36715a721252/
speech-organs-and-how-they-produced-sounds?page=all
Articulators can be divided into two types : passive articulators and active articulators. Passive
articulators are organs that do not move during sound articulation such as the upper lip, upper
teeth and alveolum. The active artiulators moves into the passive articulators to produce
sounds. Main artiulators are tongue, uvula and lower jaw (lower teeth and lower lip).
The following are the organs of speech and how they produce sounds.
Lips
They serve for creating different sounds mainly the labial, bilabial and labio dental. Bilabials
are produced trough upper and lower lip such as /p/,/b/,/m/ and /w/. Labio dental sounds are
produced through the upper teeth and lower lip such as /f/ and /v/.
Teeth
They are responsible for creating sounds mainly the labio dental and lingua dental. Lingua
dental sounds are produced by placing tongue tip between upper and lower lip such as //
and //.
Tongue
Usually, it is divided into different parts : tip, blade, front, back and root. Tongue plays
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important part in production of almost every speech sounds.
Alveolar Ridge
Alveolar sounds are produced through the front part of the tongue placed on alveolar ridge.
Sounds made with tongue touching alveolar ridge such as /t/,/z/,/l/,/d/ and /n/. For the sound
/s/, air from the lungs passes continously through the mouth, but the tongue is raised
sufficiently close to the alveolar ridge.
Hard Palate
Like the alveolar ridge, the tongue touches and taps the palate when articulating speech such
as /j/.
Velum
The production of velar sounds is done by placing the back of the tongue against the velum
such as /k/,/g/ and //.
Uvula
The uvula is used to make guttural sounds. It helps to make nasal consonants by stopping air
from moving through the nose.
Glottis
As the vocal folds vibrate, the resulting vibration produces as buzzing quality to the speech.
Sound production involving only the glottis is called glottal.
Voiced consonants include /v/,/z/,//,//,/b/,/d/,/g/ and /w/.
Voiceless consonants include /f/,/s/,//,//,//,/p/,/t/,/k/, and /h/.
Transcription
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Source: https://omniglot.com/writing/ipa.htm
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The IPA was first published in 1888 by the Association PhonétiqueInternationale

(International Phonetic Association), a group of French language teachers founded by Paul
Passy. The aim of the organization was to devise a system for transcribing the sounds of
speech which was independent of any particular language and applicable to all languages.
A phonetic script for English created in 1847 by Isaac Pitman and Henry Ellis was used as a
model for the IPA.
Uses
 The IPA is used in dictionaries to indicate the pronunciation of words.
 The IPA has often been used as a basis for creating new writing systems for previously
unwritten languages.
 The IPA is used in some foreign language text books and phrase books to transcribe the
sounds of languages which are written with non-latin alphabets. It is also used by non-
native speakers of English when learning to speak English.
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one on the right represents a voiced consonant, while the
one on the left is unvoiced. Shaded areas denote articulations judged to be impossible.
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• Vowel
English Short Vowels in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)

https://www.speechactive.com/english-vowels-ipa-international-phonetic-alphabet/
What you need to know about .

– a short English vowel is noticeably shorter than a long vowel
– an English short vowel is made with only one mouth position
– one mouth position is represented by one IPA symbol (every sound /mouth position has a
different IPA symbol)
– the weak vowel schwa is the most common vowel in English.
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What Are the English Short Vowels in the IPA? There are 7 IPA symbols for English short
vowels. The IPA for English short vowels are: /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ʊ/ , /ɒ/, /ə/
English Vowel IPA Examples – Short Single Vowels
Vowel Phonetic Symbol & IPA Examples in Words
/ɪ/ – fit /fiːt/, pick /piːk/, difficult /ˈdɪ.fɪ.kəlt/
/e/ – pet /pet/, sent /sent/, attention /əˈten.ʃən/
/æ/ – pat /pæt/, flat /flæt/, family /ˈfæ.mə.li/
/ʌ/ – cut /kʌt/ jump /dʒʌmp/, cover /ˈkʌ.vər/
/ʊ/ – put /pʊt/, book /bʊk/, cushion /ˈkʊ.ʃən/
/ɒ/ – pot /pɒt/, dog /dɒg/, hospital /ˈhɒs.pɪ.təl/
/ə/ – about /əˈbaʊt/, system /ˈsɪs.təm/, complete /kəmˈpliːt/.
English Long Vowels in the IPA
What you need to know.

– English long vowels have two dots like this – /:/ after the vowel symbol. If it has /:/ after it, you
know it’s a long vowel!
– English long vowels are noticeably longer than short vowels.
– distinguishing between short and long vowels is very important in English because they
mean different words. eg ship and sheep, sh*t and sheet, wick and week and so on.
– an English long vowel is only one symbol in the IPA because it is one mouth position.
KEY POINT: When you are looking at the vowels in the IPA to help you with your
pronunciation, if you see the two dots /:/ you need to check you are making a long vowel, not a
short vowel or a double vowel.
English Vowel IPA Examples – Long Single Vowels

/i:/ week /wi:k/, feet /fi:t/, media /ˈmiː.di.jə/
/ɑ:/ hard /ha:/, park /pa:k/, article /ɑː.tɪ.kəl/
/ɔ:/ fork /fɔ:k/, walk /wɔ:k/, August /ɔːˈɡʌst/
/ɜ:/ heard /hɜ:d/, word /wɜ:d/, surface /ˈsɜː.fɪs/
/u:/ boot /bu:t/, group /gru:p/, beautiful /ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl/
What are English Long Vowels in the IPA? There are 5 IPA symbols for English long vowels.
The IPA for English long vowels are: /i:/, /ɑ:/, /ɔ:/, /ɜ:/, /u:/.
More Examples of Long English Vowels in the IPA
Use the boxes below to revise and practise each of the long English vowels phonetics.
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See the phonetic symbol for each vowel sound at the top of each box, see IPA vowel
examples of it in 4 common English words, click to hear it pronounced and record your own
pronunciation.
ACHTUNG!
As you listen to the IPA examples and practise out loud, pay careful attention to the length of
each vowel.
Many non-native speakers of English make many of these vowels too short!
Before you start with the activities below say the words below out loud and pay attention to the
length of the vowel.
Here are some examples of long vowels in contrast with a shorter version, which actually
means another word!
Notice that the long vowels all have the two dots /:/. All of these short vowels and long vowels
are SINGLE vowels – they only have one IPA vowel symbol. This means they only have one
mouth position.
Short Vowel vs Long Vowel
hit /hɪt/ – heat /hiːt/
pick /pɪk/ – peak /piːk/
lick /lɪk/ – leak /liːck/
duck /dʌk/ – dark /da:k
stuff /stʌf/ – staff /sta:f/
Make sure you are clearly making a short vowel and a long vowel – these two words should
sound different. If they are sounding the same, do some more practise with the IPA Short
Vowel Examples and the IPA Long Vowel Examples until you can more easily hear and make
the right vowel length.
English Diphthong or Double Vowels in the IPA

What you need to know.
– English diphthong vowels have two IPA symbols because they are made up of two mouth
position.
– in other words, diphthong vowels are two short vowels joined together, they are also called
double vowels.
– many non-native speakers make some English diphthong vowels as single vowels
English Vowel IPA Examples – Diphthong (double) Vowels
/eɪ/ place /pleɪs/, late /leɪt/, dangerous /ˈdeɪn.dʒə.rəs/
/oʊ/ home /hoʊm/, phone /foʊn/, global /ˈɡloʊ.bəl/
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/aʊ/ mouse /maʊs/, brown /braʊn/, accountant /əˈkaʊn.t̬ ənt/

/ɪə/ clear /klɪə/, fear /fɪə/, career /kəˈrɪə/
/eə/ care /keə/, wear /weə/, declare /dɪˈkleə/
/ɔɪ/ boy /bɔɪ/, toy /tɔɪ/, enjoyable /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ.jə.bəl/
/aɪ/ find /faɪnd/, bite /baɪt/, tiger /ˈtaɪ.ɡə/
/ʊə/ tour /tʊə/, pure /pʊə/, mature /məˈtʃʊə/
What are English Diphthong Vowels in the IPA? There are 8 IPA symbols for English
Diphthong vowels. The IPA for English Diphthong vowels are: /eɪ/, /oʊ/, /aʊ/, /ɪə/, /eə/, /ɔɪ/, /aɪ/,
/ʊə/.
More English Vowels IPA Examples – Diphthong Vowels
Use the boxes below to revise and practise each of the English vowels phonetics for double
vowels in English.
See the phonetic symbol for each vowel sound at the top of each box, see IPA vowel
examples of it in 4 common English words, click to hear it pronounced and record your own
pronunciation.
ACHTUNG!
As you listen to the IPA examples, listen carefully to hear the two vowel sounds in each.
Can you hear the two vowels?
Many people make a single vowel, instead of a double vowel. This happens because the
English double vowel doesn’t exist in their first language.
This makes many of their words unclear. For example, when they say ‘coat’ it sounds more like
‘cot’, when they say ‘note’ it sounds more like ‘not’, when they say ‘won’t’ it sounds more like
‘want’ – Video on pronouncing ‘won’t’ vs ‘want’.
As you go through, feel the two positions in each double vowel.
• Consonants
English Consonant Sounds IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)

https://www.speechactive.com/english-consonants-ipa-international-phonetic-alphabet/
What are the English Consonant Sound IPA symbols (International Phonetic
Alphabet)? English has 24 consonant sounds. Some consonants have voice from the
voicebox and some don’t. These consonants are voiced and voiceless pairs /p/ /b/, /t/
/d/, /k/ /g/, /f/ /v/, /s/ /z/, /θ/ /ð/, /ʃ/ /ʒ/, /ʈʃ/ /dʒ/. These consonants are voiced /h/, /w/, /n/,
/m/, /r/, /j/, /ŋ/, /l/.
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Why is the IPA so helpful for English pronunciation? The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
is a very helpful tool for learners of English because English is not a phonetic language. The
spelling of an English word doesn’t tell us how to pronounce it. In English, several different
letter combinations can be used to spell the same sound and there are silent letters. The IPA
tells us exactly the correct sounds and word stress for pronouncing English words.

RECORD & PRACTICE English Consonant Sounds Examples
VOICED & UNVOICED CONSONANT SOUNDS
Let’s talk about voicing. Voiced and unvoiced pairs.
The first 8 boxes below show the consonant sounds IPA symbols for voiced and unvoiced
consonant pairs.
English consonants can be unvoiced and voiced.
An unvoiced consonant means that there is is no vibration or voice coming from the voicebox
when the sound is pronounced. Examples of unvoiced consonant sounds are /s/, /p/ and /t/.
A voiced consonant means that there is voice or vibration coming from the voicebox when the
sound is pronounced. Examples of voiced consonant sounds are /v/, /b/ and /g/.
A consonant pair is when the mouth position required to make two sounds is the same, but
one sound in unvoiced and one sound is voiced.
We have put the voiced and unvoiced pairs in the box together. Remember that the mouth
position for the pair is exactly the same, the only difference is that one is voiced and one isn’t.
For example, the mouth position required to make the sounds /p/ and /b/ is exactly the
same, /p/ has no voice and /b/ is voiced.
/f/ and /v/ require exactly the same mouth position, /f/ is unvoiced and /v/ is voiced.
Refresh your consonant sounds ipa symbols now with the tools below.
TOP TIPS FOR REVISING CONSONANT SOUNDS IPA SYMBOLS WITH EXAMPLES
Don’t worry too much about voicing. It is not really very important for how clear your English is
to listeners.
You need to focus on your mouth position. Are you pronouncing each consonant clearly?
Pay careful attention to consonant sounds at the ends of words. Consonant sounds at the
ends of words are very important for speaking clearly in English.
For example, when pronouncing /k/ in the word ‘back’, make sure you can clearly hear the /k/
sound at the end. It is strong or stressed but it does need t be there.
Consonant Sounds – Voiced Consonants

The consonant sounds IPA symbols below are all voiced but do not have a voiced pair.
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The consonant IPA symbols /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/ are all called nasal sounds, because when we
make them the air passes through our nose, not out of the mouth. As you go through these
sounds, check your /m/ and /n/ at the ends of words.
More IPA Consonant Sounds With Examples

Here are some more examples of consonants sounds in the IPA with full IPA transcription for
words with each consonant sound.
See the full IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols for each consonant sound here:

/p/ pet /pet/ paper /ˈpeɪ.pə/ top /tɒp/
/b/ bet /bet/ trouble /ˈtrʌ.bəl/ rub /rʌb/
/t/ Tim /tɪm/ better /ˈbe.tə/ hot /hɒt/
/d/ dim /dɪm/ order /ˈɔː.də/ bad /bæd/
/k/ came /keɪm/ talking /ˈtɔː.kɪŋ/ back /bæk/
/g/ game /geɪm/ bigger /ˈbɪ.gə/ bag /bæg/
/f/ fine /faɪn/ offer /ˈɒf.ə/ off /ɒf/
/v/ vine /vaɪn/ saving /ˈseɪ.vɪŋ/ of /ɒv/
/s/ seal /si:l/ missing /ˈmɪ.sɪŋ/ face /feɪs/
/z/ zeal /zi:l/ crazy /ˈkreɪ.zi/ phase /feɪz/
/ʃ/ show /ʃoʊ/ pushing /ˈpʊ.ʃɪŋ/ rush /rʌʃ/
/ʒ/ measure /ˈme.ʒə/ vision /ˈvɪ.ʒən/ asia /ˈeɪ.ʒə/
/ʧ/ choke /ʧoʊk/ watching /wɒ.tʃɪŋ/ catch /kætʃ/
/ʤ/ joke /ʤoʊk/ damage /ˈdæ.mɪdʒ/ large /lɑːdʒ/
/θ/ thin /θɪn/ method /ˈme.θəd/ both /boʊθ/
/ð / then /ðen/ other /ˈʌ.ðə/ with /wɪð/
/l/ love /lʌv/ follow /ˈfɒː.loʊ/ well /wel/
/m/ mail /meɪl/ humour /ˈhjuː.mə/ some /sʌm/
/n/ nail /neɪl/ funny /ˈfʌ.ni/ fine /faɪn/
/ŋ/ sing /sɪŋ/ singer /ˈsɪ.ŋə/
/h/ heal /hi:l/ perhaps /pəˈhæps/
/r/ real /ri:l/ correct /kəˈrekt/
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/j/ you /ju:/ beyond /biˈjɒnd/

/w/ we /wi/ showing /ˈʃoʊ.wɪŋ/
 Phonology
Phonology
https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/branches-of-linguistics/phonology/
What is Phonology?
Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages. Put
more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical organization of speech sounds in
languages; how speech sounds are organized in the mind and used to convey meaning. In this
section of the website, we will describe the most common phonological processes and
introduce the concepts of underlying representations for sounds versus what is actually
produced, the surface form.
Phonology can be related to many linguistic disciplines, including psycholinguistics, cognitive
science, sociolinguistics and language acquisition. Principles of phonology can also be applied
to treatments of speech pathologies and innovations in technology. In terms of speech
recognition, systems can be designed to translate spoken data into text. In this way, computers
process the language like our brains do. The same processes that occur in the mind of a
human when producing and receiving language occur in machines. One example of machines
decoding language is the popular intelligence system, Siri.
Phonology vs. Phonetics – the key differences

Phonology is concerned with the abstract, whereas phonetics is concerned with the physical
properties of sounds. In phonetics we can see infinite realizations, for example every time you
say a ‘p’ it will slightly different than the other times you’ve said it. However, in phonology all
productions are the same sound within the language’s phoneme inventory, therefore even
though every ‘p’ is produced slightly different every time, the actual sound is the same. This
highlights a key difference between phonetic and phonology as even though no two ‘p’s are
the same, they represent the same sound in the language.
Phonology vs phonetics from inglesdocencia
(Phonology vs phonetics from inglesdocencia)
Also refer to the Phonetics page to get a better idea of the differences and similarities between
these two related areas of linguistics.
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Phonemes V. Allophones
Phonemes are the meaningfully different sound units in a language (the smallest units of
sound). For example, ‘pat’ and ‘bat’ differ in their first phoneme: the “p” and “b”. Vowels are
also phonemes, so “pat” and “pet” differ by a phoneme, too (But phonemes don’t always match
up with spelling!). When two words differ by a single phoneme they are known as a minimal
pair.
Allophones are different ways to pronounce a phoneme based on its environment in a word.
For example, the two allophones of /l/ in “little” are actually produced slightly differently, and
the second one sounds slightly deeper. These different “l”s always occur in different
environments in words, which is known as “complementary distribution”.

Phonology looks at many different things…
 Why do related forms differ? Sane—Sanity. Electric—Electricity/ Atom—Atomic

 Phonology finds the systematic ways in which the forms differ and explains them
 What is stored in the mind?

 Phonology studies abstract mental entities, such as structures and processes. This
contrasts with phonetics, which deals with the actual production and acoustics of the
sounds of language.
 What sounds go together?

 Looks at what sounds/sound combinations are accepted and why.
 How are sounds organized into syllables?
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 With the use of phonological trees syllables are broken up more easily. Syllables are
made up of a rhyme and an onset (any consonants before the rhyme). The rhyme made
up of a nucleus (the vowel sound(s) in the syllable, the key component of all syllables)
and a coda (any consonants following the nucleus).
 What are the differences between languages?

For example, different languages can used different phonemes, or different syllable

structures (what sounds can go together to make sequences or words) and phonology
identifies these differences.
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Source: https://ielanguages.com/phonology.html
What is Phonology?
LINGUISTICS TOPICS

Whereas phonetics is the study of sounds and is concerned with the production, audition and
perception of of speech sounds (called phones), phonology describes the way sounds
function within a given language and operates at the level of sound systems and abstract
sound units. Knowing the sounds of a language is only a small part of phonology. This
importance is shown by the fact that you can change one word into another by simply
changing one sound. Consider the differences between the words time and dime. The words
are identical except for the first sound. [t] and [d] can therefore distinguish words, and are
called contrasting sounds. They are distinctive sounds in English, and all distinctive sounds
are classified as phonemes.
Minimal Pairs
Minimal pairs are words with different meanings that have the same sounds except for one.
These contrasting sounds can either be consonants or vowels. The words pin and bin are
minimal pairs because they are exactly the same except for the first sound. The words read
and rude are also exactly the same except for the vowel sound. The examples from above,
time and dime, are also minimal pairs. In effect, words with one contrastive sound are
minimal pairs. Another feature of minimal pairs is overlapping distribution. Sounds that occur
in phonetic environments that are identical are said to be in overlapping distribution. The
sounds of [ɪn] from pin and bin are in overlapping distribution because they occur in both
words. The same is true for three and through. The sounds of [θr] is in overlapping
distribution because they occur in both words as well.
Free Variation
Some words in English are pronounced differently by different speakers. This is most
noticeable among American English speakers and British English speakers, as well as
dialectal differences. This is evidenced in the ways neither, for example, can be pronounced.
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American English pronunciation tends to be [niðər], while British English pronunciation is

[najðər].
Phones and Allophones
Phonemes are not physical sounds. They are abstract mental representations of the
phonological units of a language. Phones are considered to be any single speech sound of
which phonemes are made. Phonemes are a family of phones regarded as a single sound
and represented by the same symbol. The different phones that are the realization of a
phoneme are called allophones of that phoneme. The use of allophones is not random, but
rule-governed. No one is taught these rules as they are learned subconsciously when the
native language is acquired. To distinguish between a phoneme and its allophones, I will use
slashes // to enclose phonemes and brackets [] to enclose allophones or phones. For
example, [i] and [ĩ] are allophones of the phoneme /i/; [ɪ] and [ɪ ]̃ are allophones of the
phoneme /ɪ/.
Complementary Distribution
If two sounds are allophones of the same phoneme, they are said to be in complementary
distribution. These sounds cannot occur in minimal pairs and they cannot change the
meaning of otherwise identical words. If you interchange the sounds, you will only change
the pronunciation of the words, not the meaning. Native speakers of the language regard the
two allophones as variations of the same sound. To hear this, start to say the word cool (your
lips should be pursed in anticipation of /u/ sound), but then say kill instead (with your lips still
pursed.) Your pronunciation of kill should sound strange because cool and kill are
pronounced with different allophones of the phoneme /k/.
Nasalized vowels are allophones of the same phoneme in English. Take, for example, the
sounds in bad and ban. The phoneme is /æ/, however the allophones are [æ] and [æ̃ ]. Yet in
French, nasalized vowels are not allophones of the same phonemes. They are separate
phonemes. The words beau [bo] and bon [bõ] are not in complementary distribution because
they are minimal pairs and have contrasting sounds. Changing the sounds changes the
meaning of the words. This is just one example of differences between languages.
Phonological Rules
Assimilation: sounds become more like neighboring sounds, allowing for ease of articulation
or pronunciation; such as vowels are nasalized before nasal consonants
- Harmony: non-adjacent vowels become more similar by sharing a feature or set of features
(common in Finnish)
- Gemination: sound becomes identical to an adjacent sound
- Regressive Assimilation: sound on left is the target, and sound on right is the trigger
Dissimilation: sounds become less like neighboring sounds; these rules are quite rare, but
one example in English is [fɪfθ] becoming [fɪft] (/f/ and /θ/ are both fricatives, but /t/ is a stop)
Epenthesis: insertion of a sound, e.g. Latin "homre" became Spanish "hombre"
- Prothesis: insertion of vowel sound at beginning of word
- Anaptyxis: vowel sound with predictable quality is inserted word-internally
- Paragoge: insertion of vowel sound at end of word
- Excrescence: consonant sound inserted between other consonants (also called stop-
intrusion)
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Deletion: deletion of a sound; e.g. French word-final consonants are deleted when the next
word begins with a consonant (but are retained when the following word begins with a vowel)
- Aphaeresis: vowel sound deleted at beginning of word
- Syncope: vowel sound is deleted word-internally
- Apocope: vowel sound deleted at end of word
Metathesis: reordering of phonemes; in some dialects of English, the word asked is
pronounced [æks]; children's speech shows many cases of metathesis such as aminal for
animal
Lenition: consonant changes to a weaker manner of articulation; voiced stop becomes a
fricative, fricative becomes a glide, etc.
Palatalization: sound becomes palatal when adjacent to a front vowel Compensatory
Lengthening: sound becomes long as a result of sound loss, e.g. Latin "octo" became Italian
"otto"
Assimilation in English
An interesting observation of assimilation rules is evidenced in the formation of plurals and
the past tense in English. When pluralizing nouns, the last letter is pronounced as either [s],
[z], or [əz]. When forming past tenses of verbs, the -ed ending is pronounced as either [t], [d],
[əd]. If you were to sort words into three columns, you would be able to tell why certain words
are followed by certain sounds:
Plural nouns
/s/ /z/ /əz/
cats dads churches
tips bibs kisses
laughs dogs judges
Past Tense
/t/ /d/ /əd/
kissed loved patted
washed jogged waded
coughed teased seeded

Hopefully, you can determine which consonants produce which sounds. In the nouns, /s/ is
added after voiceless consonants, and /z/ is added after voiced consonants. /əz/ is added
after sibilants. For the verbs, /t/ is added after voiceless consonants, and /d/ is added after
voiced consonants. /əd/ is added after alveolar stops. The great thing about this is that no
one ever taught you this in school. But thanks to linguistics, you now know why there are
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different sounds (because of assimiliation rules, the consonants become more like their
neighboring consonants.)
Writing Rules
A general phonological rule is A → B / D __ E (said: A becomes B when it occurs between D
and E) Other symbols in rule writing include: C = any obstruent, V = any vowel, Ø = nothing,
# = word boundary, ( ) = optional, and { } = either/or. A deletion rule is A → Ø / E __ (A is
deleted when it occurs after E) and an insertion rule is Ø → A / E __ (A is inserted when it
occurs after E).
Alpha notation is used to collapse similar assimilation rules into one. C → [Α voice] / __ [Α
voice] (An obstruent becomes voiced when it occurs before a voiced obstruent AND an
obstruent becomes voiceless when it occurs before a voiceless obstruent.) Similarly, it can
be used for dissimilation rules too. C → [-Α voice] / __ [Α voice] (An obstruent becomes
voiced when it occurs before a voiceless obstruent AND an obstruent becomes voiceless
when it occurs before a voiced obstruent.) Gemination rules are written as C1C2 → C2C2
(for example, pd → dd)
Syllable Structure
There are three peaks to a syllable: nucleus (vowel), onset (consonant before nucleus) and
coda (consonant after nucleus.) The onset and coda are both optional, meaning that a
syllable could contain a vowel and nothing else. The nucleus is required in every syllable by
definition. The order of the peaks is always onset - nucleus - coda. All languages permit open
syllables (Consonant + Vowel), but not all languages allow closed syllables (Consonant +
Vowel + Consonant). Languages that only allow open syllables are called CV languages. In
addition to not allowing codas, some CV languages also have constraints on the number of
consonants allowed in the onset.
The sonority profile dictates that sonority must rise to the nucleus and fall to the coda in
every language. The sonority scale (from most to least sonorous) is vowels - glides - liquids -
nasals - obstruents. Sonority must rise in the onset, but the sounds cannot be adjacent to or
share a place of articulation (except [s] in English) nor can there be more than two
consonants in the onset. This explains why English allows some consonant combinations,
but not others. For example, price [prajs] is a well-formed syllable and word because the
sonority rises in the onset (p, an obstruent, is less sonorous than r, a liquid); however, rpice
[rpajs] is not a syllable in English because the sonority does not rise in the onset.
The Maximality Condition states that onsets are as large as possible up to the well-
formedness rules of a language. Onsets are always preferred over codas when syllabifying
words. There are also constraints that state the maximum number of consonants between
two vowels is four; onsets and codas have two consonants maximally; and onsets and codas
can be bigger only at the edges of words.
 The Phoneme
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-a-phoneme
What is a phoneme?
The smallest unit of sound is called a phoneme and your child will be taught about these as
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part of their phonics learning journey. We explain how the teacher will explain phonemes and
how you can help your child when they are starting to put sounds together at home.
Login or Register to add to your saved resources
What is a phoneme?
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. This chart shows all the phonemes used when
speaking English.
Phoneme learning in Reception and KS1

Children will be taught the individual sounds of each letter of the alphabet in Reception. They
will then start to put these sounds together, to make short words, such as: cat, nap, pin, tap,
etc. This is called blending sounds.
They will learn that each of these words have three distinct sounds (phonemes). For example,
cat has the three sounds: /c/ /a/ and /t/.
In phonics we learn to read the "pure sound" of a phoneme, rather than letter names. For
example, the sound /s/ is pronounced 'ssssss' and not 'suh' or 'es'. Learning to read pure
sounds makes it much easier for children to blend sounds together as they progress with their
reading.
They will also move onto words containing consonant clusters (two consonants placed
together) such as trap (tr is a consonant cluster) or bump (mp is a consonant cluster). Both of
these words each contain four phonemes as although consonant clusters involve letters being
'clustered' together, you can still hear the two separate sounds.
They will then start to learn that a word could have a sound in it that is made up of two letters,
for example:
boat
is made up of three phonemes: /b/ at the start, /oa/ in the middle and /t/ at the end.
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The middle sound /oa/ is made up of two letters, so this is called a digraph. A digraph is a
phoneme (single sound) that is made up of two letters. The digraph above, /oa/, is a vowel
digraph, because it is made up of two vowels.
A digraph could be made up of consonants, for example:
chip
The /ch/ in chip is a consonant digraph, where the two letters make up one single phoneme.
A single sound can also be made up of three letters, and this is called a trigraph. For
example:
light
The /igh/ in this word is one sound that is made up of three letters, so this is a trigraph.
Practical phonemes practice

Children will often be asked to split words up into sounds (they may not need to use the
word phoneme). For example, if they can't read the following word:
train
they may be asked to sound it out, possibly underlining the sounds /t/ /r/ /ai/ /n/ so they are
made aware of how to split a word up to be able to say the sounds out loud.
They may also be given word cards or interlinking cubes that have individual phonemes
on them and then be asked to make them into words.
For example: they may be given the following cards:
f r b
n t s
ai oo ea
With these cards they can make a variety of words, such as fair, brain, rain, train, stain, boot,
foot, root, soot, fear, bear, tear. Children gradually learn that letters and pairs or groups of
letters (graphemes) do not always make the same sound. For example: 'ea' makes one sound
in 'fear' and another 'bear'.
Phoneme
Source: https://literarydevices.net/phoneme/
Definition of Phoneme
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word that makes a difference in its pronunciation,
as well as its meaning, from another word. For instance, the /s/ in ‘soar’ distinguishes it from /r/
in ‘roar’, as it becomes different from ‘soar’ in pronunciation as well as meaning.
There are a total of 44 phonemes in the English language, which include consonants, short
vowels, long vowels, diphthongs, and triphthongs. Phonemes have distinct functions in the
English language, such as the /b/, /t/, and /d/ consonant sounds that are missing in some
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languages. The written representation of a sound is placed in slashes, as in this example

where /b/ is placed in slashes on both sides.
Examples of Phoneme in Literature
Example #1: To Kill a Mockingbird (by Harper Lee)
“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it
healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom
self-conscious about his injury. His left arm was somewhat shorter than his right; when
he stood or walked, the back of his hand was at right angles to his body, his thumb parallel to
his thigh. He couldn’t have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt.”
A few of the letters in this passage have been underlined for understanding. The first three
underlined examples of phonemes are the sounds /wh/ /th/ and /j/ respectively.
Example #2: 1984 (by George Orwell)
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin
nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass
doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust
from entering along with him.”
The underlined letters are sounds of /i/ /b/ /d/ /s/ /ie/ /w/ /s/ and /v/ respectively. However, two
phonemes have used aspirated diphthong sounds /th/ in “Smith” and /th/ in “though.”
Example #3: Great Expectations (by Charles Dickens)
“All this time, I was getting on towards the river; but however fast I went, I couldn’t warm my
feet, to which the damp cold seemed riveted, as the iron was riveted to the leg of the man I
was running to meet. I knew my way to the Battery, pretty straight, for I had been down there
on a Sunday with Joe, and Joe, sitting on an old gun, had told me that when I was ‘prentice to
him, regularly bound, we would have such Larks there!”
In this example, different phonemes are highlighted as /g/ i/ /b/ /w/ /m/ /ie/ /d/ /s/ /f/ /h/ /j/ and /l/.
Example #4: Ode to Nightingale (by John Keats)
“My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
‘Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,—
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.”
In this stanza, Keats has used mostly diphthongs, including sounds like /ow/ /ou/ /ia/ /oo/
and /sh/. All of them are giving distinct sounds of their respective phonemes.
Example #5: TygerTyger (by Charles Dickens)
“TygerTyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
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This example also has used short vowels, long vowels, consonants and diphthongs. The first
word contains six phonemes or sounds as /b/ /u/ /r/ /n/ /i/ /n/ /g/. The last word “fearful”
contains six sounds /f/ /ea/ /r/ /f/ /u/ and /l/, where the second sound is a diphthong.
Function of Phoneme
Phonemes carry distinct sounds that differentiate one word from another. Counting them could
be challenging, for sounds are made of different ways and variations. Through phonemes,
readers learn pronouncing words correctly and comprehending their meanings. Phonemes are
an integral part of reading and listening, specifically in poetry, where they are very important to
understand, meter which is solely based on stress patters and phonemes. That is the reason
that poets stress upon each phoneme to understand poetry, for it is a sure way to understand
a word by pronouncing it loudly.
Suprasegmental Features
Suprasegmental Definition and Examples

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/suprasegmental-speech-1692008
By Richard Nordquist (June 12, 2020)
In speech, suprasegmental refers to a phonological property of more than one

sound segment. Also called nonsegmental, the term suprasegmental, which was coined by
American structuralists in the 1940s, is used to refer to functions that are
"over" vowels and consonants.
Suprasegmental information applies to several different linguistic phenomena (including pitch,
duration, and loudness). Suprasegmentals are often regarded as the "musical" aspects of
speech.
How We Use Suprasegmentals
"The effect of suprasegmentals is easy to illustrate. In talking to a cat, a dog or a baby,
you may adopt a particular set of suprasegmentals. Often, when doing this, people adopt a
different voice quality, with high pitch register, and protrude their lips and adopt a tongue
posture where the tongue body is high and front in the mouth, making the speech sound
'softer.'"
"Suprasegmentals are important for marking all kinds of meanings, in particular
speakers' attitudes or stances to what they are saying (or the person they are saying it to), and
in marking out how one utterance relates to another (e.g. a continuation or a disjunction). Both
the forms and functions of suprasegmentals are less tangible than those of consonants and
vowels, and they often do not form discrete categories."
(Richard Ogden, An Introduction to English Phonetics. Edinburgh University Press, 2009)
Common Suprasegmental Features
"Vowels and consonants are considered as small segments of the speech, which together form
a syllable and make the utterance. Specific features that are superimposed on the utterance of
the speech are known as supra-segmental features.
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Common supra-segmental features are the stress, tone, and duration in the syllable or
word for a continuous speech sequence. Sometimes even harmony and nasalization are also
included under this category. Supra-segmental or prosodic features are often used in the
context of speech to make it more meaningful and effective. Without supra-segmental features
superimposed on the segmental features, a continuous speech can also convey meaning but
often loses the effectiveness of the message being conveyed."
(ManishaKulshreshtha at al., "Speaker Profiling." Forensic Speaker Recognition: Law
Enforcement and Counter-Terrorism, ed. by Amy Neustein and Hemant A. Patil. Springer,
2012)
Varieties of Suprasegmentals
"A very obvious suprasegmental is intonation since an intonation pattern by definition
extends over a whole utterance or a sizable piece of an utterance. ... Less obvious is stress,
but not only is stress a property of a whole syllable but the stress level of a syllable can only be
determined by comparing it with neighboring syllables which have greater or lesser degrees of
stress."
"The American structuralists also treated juncture phenomena as suprasegmental.
Differences in juncture are the reason that night rate does not sound like nitrate, or why
choose like white shoes, and why the consonants in the middle of pen-knife and lamp-post are
the way they are. Since these items contain essentially the same sequences of segments, the
junctural differences have to be described in terms of different juncture placement within
sequences of segments."
"In most of these cases, the phonetic realization of the suprasegmental actually extends
over more than one segment, but the key point is that, in all of them, the description of the
suprasegmental must involve reference to more than one segment."
(R.L. Trask, Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts, 2nd ed., edited by Peter Stockwell.
Routledge, 2007)
Suprasegmental Information
"Suprasegmental information is signaled in speech with variations in duration, pitch, and
amplitude (loudness). Information like this helps the hearer segment the signal into words, and
can even affect lexical searches directly."
"In English, lexical stress serves to distinguish words from each other...for example,
compare trusty and trustee. Not surprisingly, English speakers are attentive to stress patterns
during lexical access."
"Suprasegmental information can be used to identify the location of word boundaries
also. In languages like English or Dutch, monosyllabic words are durationally very different
than polysyllabic words. For example, the [hæm] in ham has longer duration than it does
in hamster. An investigation by Salverda, Dahan, and McQueen (2003) demonstrates that this
durational information is actively used by the hearer."
(Eva M. Fernández and Helen Smith Cairns, Fundamentals of Psycholinguistics. Wiley-
Blackwell, 2011)
Suprasegmental and Prosodic
"Although the terms 'suprasegmental' and 'prosodic' to a large extent coincide in their scope
and reference, it is nevertheless sometimes useful, and desirable, to distinguish them. To
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begin with, a simple dichotomy 'segmental' vs. 'suprasegmental' does not do justice to the
richness of phonological structure 'above' the segment;...this structure is complex, involving a
variety of different dimensions, and prosodic features cannot simply be seen as features which
are superimposed on segments. More importantly, a distinction can be made between
'suprasegmental' as a mode of description on the one hand and 'prosodic' as a kind of feature
on the other. In other words, we may use the term 'suprasegmental' to refer to a particular
formalization in which a phonological feature can be analyzed in this way, whether it is
prosodic or not."
"The term 'prosodic,' on the other hand, can be applied to certain features of utterances
regardless of how they are formalized; prosodic features can, in principle, be analyzed
segmentally as well as suprasegmentally. To give a more concrete example, in some
theoretical frameworks features such as nasality or voice may be treated suprasegmentally, as
having extended beyond the limits of a single segment. In the usage adopted here, however,
such features are not prosodic, even though they may be amenable to suprasegmental
analysis."
Suprasegmental Features of Stress and Intonation in English

Source: https://linguisticsstudyguide.com/suprasegmental-features-of-stress-and-intonation-in-
english/
September 27, 2019
You can think of vowels and consonants as segments. These segments make up syllables. On
top of syllables, there are features called suprasegmental segmental features. The online
Merriam-Webster dictionary states that supra is a prefix from Latin meaning “above, beyond, or
earlier.” That means we can remember that suprasegmental features are features that are on
top of smaller segments such as syllables.
Suprasegmental features in English include the following:
 loudness
 pitch
 length
Suprasegmental features must also be analyzed in relation to other parts of an utterance.
Loudness
Loudness can also be referred to as intensity. It is measured in decibels (dB). There are a few
ways to stress part of an utterance, one of which is making the segment that you want to
stress louder.
There are some words in English that change their meaning by which syllable is stressed.
Look at this word and say it out loud: contest.
Did you put the stress on the first syllable or the second? In a sentence like “He won the
contest,” the stress is placed on the first syllable. In a sentence such as “Don’t contest the
results,” the stress is placed on the second syllable.
Notice I’m using the word stress here. You could stress a syllable by another suprasegmental
feature such as pitch, but it is often done by loudness.
You can even try saying this sentence:
“Don’t contest the results of the contest!”
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Also, note that I said that suprasegmental features need to be analyzed while considering
other parts of the utterance. You can scream or whisper the word contest and will be able to
tell if it is referring to a noun or verb by each syllable’s loudness compared to the other.
Pitch
Pitch is another suprasegmental feature that can change the meaning of an utterance. When
talking about acoustics or talking about an actual sound wave, the term frequency is used to
refer to pitch. It is measured in hertz (Hz).
Let’s take a sentence like the following: “That is his sister.”
If we say this sentence without changing pitch throughout the sentence, the sentence will
remain a declarative sentence; however, if we produce the word sister with a rising tone we
can make the sentence an interrogative sentence as in “That’s his sister?”
We can also change the meaning of the sentence by speaking the word that with a falling tone
as in “That is his sister.” This may occur in an instance where someone is looking around a
room asking “Is that his sister,” over and over again. Finally, someone comes up and says
“No, that is his sister.”
Instead of producing that with a falling tone, you could just say that louder. In reality, you may
do both at the same time.
Length
Length’s physical measurement is called duration and is measured in seconds or milliseconds.
There are three types of length alterations.
Vowel length
In some languages, vowel length can change depending on what syllable the vowel is in. You
may see the same vowel written as [oː] for long and [o] as short for the same vowel. In English,
however, it’s a little bit different as vowel length and vowel quality change to change the
meaning of words such as the vowel in bet [ɛ] and the vowel in beet [i].
Syllable length
Syllable length is another suprasegmental feature. If someone says “That’s his girlfriend,”
someone could respond with “right” as a confirmation. However, the same person could also
reply with “riiiiiight,” to show doubt as in “yeah right!”
Utterance length
The speed at which you are speaking can also affect meaning. You may slow down certain
parts of an utterance to add emphasis, for example.
Phonetics
Source: http://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/branches-of-linguistics/
phonetics/
[weɫkəmtuː fənetɪks]

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on the production and classification of the
world’s speech sounds. The production of speech looks at the interaction of different vocal
organs, for example the lips, tongue and teeth, to produce particular sounds. By classification
of speech, we focus on the sorting of speech sounds into
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categories which can be seen in what is called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The
IPA is a framework that uses a single symbol to describe each distinct sound in the language
and can be found in dictionaries and in textbooks worldwide. For example, the noun ‘fish’ has
four letters, but the IPA presents this as three sounds: f i ʃ, where ‘ʃ’ stands for the ‘sh’ sound.
Phonetics as an interdisciplinary science has many applications. This includes its use in
forensic investigations when trying to work out whose voice is behind a recording. Another use
is its role in language teaching and learning, either when learning a first language or when
trying to learn a foreign language. This section of the website will look at some of the branches
of phonetics as well as the transcription of speech and some history behind phonetics.
Phonetics Vs. Phonology – the key differences

Phonetics looks at the physical production of sounds, focusing on which vocal organs are
interacting with each other and how close these vocal organs are in relation to one another.
Phonetics also looks at the concept of voicing, occurring at the pair of muscles found in your
voice box, also known as the Adam’s apple. If the vocal folds are vibrating, this creates voicing
and any sound made in this way are called voiced sounds, for example “z”. If the vocal folds
are not vibrating, this does not lead to voicing and creates a voiceless sound e.g. “s”. You can
observe this yourself by placing two fingers upon your voice box and saying “z” and
“s” repeatedly. You should feel vibrations against your finger when saying “z” but no vibrations
when saying “s”.
Phonology however is associated more with the abstract properties of sounds, as it is about
how these categories are stored in the mind. Phonetics also describes certain properties as
being gradient such as voicing where we can compare the length of voicing between two
sounds. For example in French, [b] is voiced for longer than English [b]. In Phonology,
these segments are simply defined categorically as being voiced or voiceless, regardless of
these subtle differences.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you further understand the
lesson:
 Watch a video clip entitled Introduction to Phonetics at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mahmMmnSx4
 Watch a video clip entitled Interactive Phonetic chart for English Pronunciation at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HeujZ45OZE
 Learn Phonetics - International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzsQkjX4fD8
 Download and read the pdf entitled Phonetics: The Sounds of Language at
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/adam/files/phonetics.ppt.pdf
 Watch a video clip entitled The International Phonetic Alphabet found at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTzkT3j9pHI
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 Watch a video clip entitled Vowel Sounds at https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=72M770xTvaU
 Watch a video clip entitled Single consonant Sounds at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4yrIuCE6UM
 Watch a video clip entitled Phonology: Definition, Rules & Examples found at
https://study.com/academy/lesson/phonology-definition-rules-examples.html
 Download and read the pdf entitled Phonology: The Sound Patterns of Language
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/adam/files/phonology.ppt.pdf
 Watch a video clip entitled What is a phoneme? at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dwFvD5Cv9n8
 Watch a video clip entitled Phonemes found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=wBuA589kfMg
Let’s Check
Activity1.NowthatyouknowthemostessentialtermsinthestudyofPhonetics and Phonology, let us

try to check your understanding of these terms. Encircle the letter of your answer.
Sources: https://reviewgamezone.com/mc/candidate/test/?test_id=20445&title=Grammar
%20Phonology
https://wps.pearsoned.ca/ca_ph_bonv_cultural_1/91/23310/5967508.cw/content/
index.html
1. The study of articulation and production of human speech sounds is known as

a) phonology.
b) phonetics.
c) phonemics.
d) phrenology.
2. _________ is the analysis of the use of sounds to differentiate the meanings of words.
a) Phrenology
b) Phonemics
c) Phonology
d) Phonetics
3. A minimal unit of sound that differentiates meaning in a particular language is a
a) phoneme.
b) morpheme.
c) vowel.
d) Syllable.
4. The study of human speech sounds in a language that form systematized patterns is
called...
a) Phonetics
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b) Phonology
c) Phonetics And Phonology
d) Articulators
5. Choose the best description for the first sound in the American pronunciation of the
word 'teeth.'
a) Alveolar
b) Velar
c) Labiodental
d) Alveolarpalatal
6. Choose the correct transcription for 'grab'
a) /'græb/
b) /'graed/
c) /'græd/
7. Choose the correct transcription for 'pluck'

a) /'plack/
b) /'plæck/
c) /'plʌk/
8. Choose the correct transcription for 'stream'
a) /'strim/
b) /'strɪm/
c) /'striːm/
9. choose the correct transcription for 'went'
a) /'went/
b) /'wənt/
c) /'wɜːnt/
10. Choose the correct transcription for'mood'
a) /'mud/
b) /'mʊd/
c) /'muːd/
Source:https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5b04decb5d2d1f001dc9d13c/phonetics-and-
phonology-practice
Activity 2. Multiple Choice

Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. Which of these terms refer to the study of speech process?

a) Phonology
b) Phonetic substances
c) Phonetics
d) Semantics
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2. Which of these is not a type of phonetics?

a) Articulatory
b) Personal
c) Acoustic
d) Auditory
3. Articulatory phonetics is the study of physical properties of speech sounds.

a) True
b) False
4. Which of these terms refer to the study of hearing and perception of speech sounds?
a) Articulatory phonetics
b) Acoustic phonetics
c) Auditory phonetics
d) Laboratory phonetics
5. Laboratory phonetics is a branch which uses instruments to study sounds.

a) True
b) False
6. What is the term used for ingressive air-sounds produced?

a) Claps
b) Snap
c) Clicks
d) Beats
7. Which of these refer to the sound features of a language?

a) Morphemics
b) Phonetic substances
c) Phonetics
d) Syntax
8. What does the phonetic symbol d represent?

a) Voiced bilabial plosive
b) Voiceless palatal plosive
c) Voiced alveolor plosive
d) Voiced dental fricative
9. What is the full form of IPA?

a) Indian Phonetic Alphabet
b) International Phonetic Alphabet
c) International Phonetic Agreement
d) Indian Phonetic Agreement
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10. What does the sign / / represent?

a) Phonetic transcription
b) Centralization
c) Voiced bilabial nasal
d) Rising- falling pitch
Source: https://www.sanfoundry.com/professional-communication-questions-answers-
types-phonetics/
Activity 2. Multiple Choice

Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. The Number of monophthong in English sound's is

A. 8
B. 24
C. 12
D. 46
2. The Number of diphtongs in English Sound is
A. 12
B. 8
C. 44
D. 20
3. Which total number of sounds in English language is
A. 12
B.8
C. 20
D. 44
4. Which one of the following is not an organ of speech?
A. leg
B. Tongue
C. Vocal chord
D. Lips
5. Total Number of consonant sound in English is
A. 12
B. 8
C. 20
D. 24
6. We need an air stream mechanism for the
A. Production of Speech
B. Digestion process
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C. Blood circulation process

D. Dexidation Process
7. What is essential to acquire a good pronunciation in English language?
A. a lot of conscious efforts
B. a lot of systematic efforts
C. a lot of regular practice
D. All the above
8. Our respiratory system consists of
A. Lungs
B. Air Pipe
C. Nostrils
D. All the above
9. The hard convex surface just Behind the upper front teeth is called
A. soft palate
B. teeth ridge
C. hard palate
D. tongue
10.Diphthong is a
A. Pure vowel sound
B. Pure consonant sound
C. Vowel glides or mixed vowel sounds
D. none of the above
11. The letters a,e,i,o,u in English alphabet are called
A. Clusters
B. Consonants
C. Vowels
D. Words
12. The Latter of English alphabet other than vowels care called
A. Word
B. vowels
C. clusters
D. consonants
13. When one sound is given by two consonants, it is called
A. vowel sound
B. consonant sound
C. single sound
D. consonant cluster
14. whichfo the following has /: i / sound
A. Car
B. seat
C. fit
D. books
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15. which of the following has /e:/sound

A. but
B. arm
C. about
D. aunt
16. The example of consonant cluster is
A. sea
b. guard
C. guilty
D. play
17. The following does not belong to the basic components of speech
A. stress
B. rhythm
C. poem
D. intonation
18. The word "Doctor" has
A. Two syllables with stress on one
B. two syllables with stress on both
C. two syllables with stress on first
D. two syllables with stress on second
19. "The degree of force with which sound or syllable of a word is uttered" is called
A. intonation
B. stress
C. Rhythm
D. Pause
20. "The Change of pitch of voice " is called
A. stress
B. Rhythm
C. Pause
D. Intonation
21. The rise and fall of pitch in voice is called
A. Fluency
B. Pause
C. Intonation
D. Stress
22. "The smallest unit of words" is called
A. Phoneme
B. Allophone
C. Juncture
D. Morpheme
23. "The study of articulation, transmission and reception of speech sound ," is called
A. Linguistics
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B. Morphology
C. Phonetics
D. syntax
24. Defective pronunciation in india prevails as
A. There is dearth of books on phonetics
B. No firm rules for pronunciation
C. Both A and B
D. None of the above
25. "Phonetics" is a part of language study.It is

A. Study of system of sound of language
B. Study of words
C. study of articulation, transmission and reception of speech sounds
D. None of the above
26. The teacher does not tell or interpret whether the answer is correct or not in the
A. Testing activity
B. Teaching activity
C. Language game activity
D. Demonstration activity
27. Flow correct pause stress and intonation is only possible through ther practice of
A. Comprehension
B. Oral Expression
C. Reading
D. Writing
28. English can be learnt only by the
A. Practice of applied grammar
B. Practice of speaking
C. study of grammar
D. study of functional grammar
29. The advantage of Rhymes in the
A. it removes shyness
B.It encourages students to recite together
C.it Makes the teaching joyful
D.All the above
30. According to phonetic method, the unit of a word is
A. Sentence
B. Word
C. Sound
D. Letter
Source: http://mcqbindia.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_21.html
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Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Getting acquainted with the essential terms in the study of Phonology and
Phoneticsis not enough, what also matters is you should also be able to explain its inter-
relationships. Now, I will require you to explain thoroughly your answers.
1. How does the organs of articulations affect the enunciation of words?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. How can speech therapy help those with speech disorders?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. Explain the interrelationship of phonology and phonemics

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Let’s Apply
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Activity 1. Tongue Twister

Direction: Read and record the following tongue twisters with proper enunciations. Send
your recording to the email of your instructor.
1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
2. Betty Botter bought some butter

But she said the butter’s bitter
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter
But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter
3. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood
As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
4. Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she
sits she shines.
5. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy,
was he?
In a Nutshell
Activity 1. The study of Theatrical, Cinematic and Curatorship Arts is indeed essential for
every individual to value since they are the emerging arts in our century.
Based from the definition of the most essential terms in the study of Theatrical,
Cinematic and Curatorship Arts and the learning
1. Phonology is the branch of linguistics that deals with systems of sounds

(including or excluding phonetics), within a language or between different
languages.
2. Phonemics is the study of phonemes or distinct units of sound in a language.
Your Turn
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3.
4.
5.
Question & Answer (Q&A)
You are free to list down all the emerging questions or issues in the provided spaces
below. These questions or concerns may also be raised in the LMS or other modes. You may
answer these questions on your own after clarification. The Q&A portion helps in the review of
concepts and essential knowledge.
Questions Answers
1.
2.
3.
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4.
5.
Course Schedule
This section calendars all the activities and exercises, including readings and lectures,
as well as time for making assignments and doing other requirements, in a programmed
schedule by days and weeks, to help the students in SDL pacing, regardless of mode of
delivery (OBD or DED). Note: reading assignments can be calendared for 3 days or for a week
with performance tasks (essay or reflection paper).
(Start of Classes: August 17, 2020)
Activity Date Where to submit

Big Picture A: Let’s Check Activities August 22, 2020 CC’s email
Big Picture A: Let’s Analyze August 28, 2020 CC’s email
Activities
Big Picture A: In a Nutshell Activities September 2, 2020 LMS
First Exam
Big Picture B: Let’s Check Activities Sept. 12, 2020 CC’s email
Big Picture B: Let’s Analyze Sept. 15, 2020 CC’s email
Activities
Big Picture B: In a Nutshell Activities Sept. 17, 2020 LMS
Second Exam
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Big Picture C: Let’s Check Activities Sept. 26, 2020 CC’s email
Big Picture C: Let’s Analyze Sept. 30, 2020 CC’s email
Activities
Big Picture C: In a Nutshell Activities October 1, 2020 LMS
Third Exam
Big Picture C: Let’s Check Activities October 10, 2020 CC’s email
Big Picture C: Let’s Analyze October 13, 2020 CC’s email
Activities
Big Picture C: In a nutshell Activities October 14, 2020 LMS
Final Exam
Please note that this schedule may change from time to time. It is advisable that you always
keep in contact with your teacher for updates and always check your LMS or Group
Chatrooms.
Online Code of Conduct
 All teachers/Course Coordinators and students are expected to abide by an honor code of
conduct, and thus everyone and all are exhorted to exercise self-management and self-
regulation.
 Faculty members are guided by utmost professional conduct as learning facilitators in
holding DED conduct. Any breach and violation shall be dealt with properly under existing
guidelines, specifically on social media conduct (OPM 21.15) and personnel discipline
(OPM 21.11).
 All students are likewise guided by professional conduct as learners in attending DED
courses. Any breach and violation shall be dealt with properly under existing guidelines,
specifically in Section 7 (Student Discipline) in the Student Handbook.
 Professional conduct refers to the embodiment and exercise of the University’s Core
Values, specifically in the adherence to intellectual honesty and integrity; academic
excellence by giving due diligence in virtual class participation in all lectures and activities,
as well as fidelity in doing and submitting performance tasks and assignments; personal
discipline in complying with all deadlines; and observance of data privacy.
 Plagiarism is a serious intellectual crime and shall be dealt with accordingly. The University
shall institute monitoring mechanisms online to detect and penalize plagiarism.
 All borrowed materials uploaded by the teachers/Course Coordinators shall be properly
acknowledged and cited; the teachers/Course Coordinators shall be professionally and
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personally responsible for all the materials uploaded in the online classes or published in
SIM/SDL manuals.
 Teachers/Course Coordinators shall devote time to handle DED courses and shall honestly
exercise due assessment of student performance.
 Teachers/Course Coordinators shall never engage in quarrels with students online. While
contentions intellectual discussions are allowed, the teachers/Course Coordinators shall
take the higher ground in facilitating and moderating these discussions. Foul, lewd, vulgar
and discriminatory languages are absolutely prohibited.
 Students shall independently and honestly take examinations and do assignments, unless
collaboration is clearly required or permitted. Students shall not resort to dishonesty to
improve the result of their assessments (e.g. examinations, assignments).
 Students shall not allow anyone else to access their personal LMS account. Students shall
not post or share their answers, assignment or examinations to others to further academic
fraudulence online.
 By handling DED courses, teachers/Course Coordinators agree and abide by all the
provisions of the Online Code of Conduct, as well as all the requirements and protocols in
handling online courses.
 By enrolling in DED courses, students agree and abide by all the provisions of the Online
Code of Conduct, as well as all the requirements and protocols in handling online courses.
Monitoring of OBD and DED
 The Deans, Asst. Deans, Discipline Chairs and Program Heads shall be responsible in
monitoring the conduct of their respective DED classes through the LMS. The LMS
monitoring protocols shall be followed, i.e. monitoring of the conduct of Teacher Activities
(Views and Posts) with generated utilization graphs and data. Individual faculty PDF
utilization reports shall be generated and consolidated by program and by department.
 The Academic Affairs and Academic Planning & Services shall monitor the conduct of LMS
sessions. The Academic Vice Presidents and the Deans shall collaborate to conduct virtual
CETA by randomly joining LMS classes to check and review online the status and
interaction of the faculty and the students.
 For DED, the Deans and Program Heads shall come up with monitoring instruments, taking
into consideration how the programs go about the conduct of DED classes. Consolidated
reports shall be submitted to Academic Affairs for endorsement to the Chief Operating
Officer.
Course prepared by:
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LADY LOU C. PIDO, MALT

Course Facilitator/Faculty
Course reviewed by:
RUSSEL J. APORBO, MEAL

BSED Program Head
Approved by:
GINA FE G. ISRAEL, EdD

Dean of College
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DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Mabini Street, Tagum City

Department of Teacher Education

Physically Distanced but Academically Engaged

Self-Instructional Manual (SIM) for Self-Directed Learning

Course/Subject: ELT 111 - Introduction to Linguistics

Name of Teacher: LADY LOU C. PIDO, MALT

THIS SIM/SDL MANUAL IS A DRAFT VERSION ONLY; NOT FOR

Course Outline: ELT 111 (Introduction to Linguistics)

Course Coordinator: LADY LOU C. PIDO, MALT

Areas of Concern Details

If the assessment task is done in real-time through the

Please note that academic dishonesty such as cheating and

However, if the late submission of the assessment paper has

For group assessment tasks, the course coordinator will

other reasonable circumstances, e.g., illness, accident

If disapproved by the course coordinator, you can elevate

You may call or send SMS to your course coordinator

You can also meet the course coordinator in person through

Marck Lester L. Navales, CPA, MBA

Mersun Faith A. Delco, RPm

Alfred Joshua M. Navarro

Course Information – see/download course syllabus in the Quipper

CO: The course provides an overview of Linguistics as a discipline, its development,

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Demonstrate extensive understanding on

Nature of Human Language

The Definition of Language

Speech and Spoken Language

Content: the meaning of what is said

• Social aspects of language that vary depending on the context (pragmatics) »

Human language is unique among all forms of animal communication. It is

Theories of the Origin of Language

What is special about human language?

What is animal ‘language’ like?

When did human language evolve?

Could language be older than our species?

Can genetic evidence help to decide when language evolved?

Was there a single origin of language?

Critical Period Hypothesis

Innate Language Ability

The structure of human speech organs

The speed of acquisition of language

Language is unique to humans

 A remarkable development occurred when Washoe adopted an infant chimp named

Language acquisition device (LAD)

Graham kissed Margaret

Who Graham kissed was Margaret

the chicken was ready to eat

the chicken was ready for the chicken to eat

the chicken was anxious to eat

However, two main criticisms may be made:

The Meaning of Linguistics

Prescriptive Vs. Descriptive Grammar

"Prescriptive grammarians are judgmental and attempt to change linguistic behavior

The Difference Between Descriptive Grammar and Prescriptive Grammar:

"The difference between descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar is comparable to the

Prescriptive grammar describes when people focus on talking about how a

Descriptive grammar, on the other hand, focuses on describing the language as

Learn the Definition of Mental Grammar and How it Works

b. Root: =