Theories of language
Is a combination of sounds (Phonic)
Els 102
Origin of Language
Latin word “Lingua” implies tongue
French terms “Langage” and “Parole”
Edward Sapir - Language is primarily human
Language is documentary and non-instinctive
1. Bow-wow theory - imitating natural sounds
2. Pooh-pooh theory - emission of painful
feelings
3. Ding Dong theory - harmonization of sound.
Favored by Plato and Pythagoras
4. Yo-he-ho theory - evolved from grunts and
groans evoked by physical labor.
Lesson 1: Overview of Language
Definitions of Language
 Is a system of communication. Use spoken
or written words
What makes a language a language?
Characteristics like
 Semantics
 Arbitrariness
 Productivity
 Duality
 Cultural transmission
Components of language
1. Morphology - Study of smallest meaningful
units in speech and writing
A. Morpheme (way words are formed) -Smallest
unit of meaning
2. Phonology (basic sounds) - Relationship
between letters and sounds.
B. Phoneme- Smallest unit of sound
3. Syntax (grammar) - Set of rules
4. Semantics - The way language conveys
meaning
5. Pragmatic (appropriate word choice) - Study
of relationship between signs and context in text
Definitions of Language
1. Encyclopedia Britannica (Vol.13)- system of
conventional spoken and written symbols
2. Sapir (1921) -purely human and non-
instinctive
3. Noam Chomsky (1957) - set (finite or infinite)
of sentences
4. David Crystal (1989) - human vocal noise
5. R.H Robins (1990) - human communication
by means of a system
6. Aristotle (384-332) AD - speech that humans
product for exchanging their experience
7. Saussure (1916) - arbitray system signs
Nature of Language
Nature Vs Function
Nature - (Oxford) basic or inherent features of
something
Language Characteristics
1.
2. Words have meaning (Symbolic)
3. Follows a grammatical structure (Systematic)
4. Is a medium of communication
5. Can grow, die and be extinct
6. Shows arbitrariness (Language diverseness)
7. Non - instinctive ( Ding - Dong theory)
8. Primarily human ( Human Language)
Functions of Language
Michael Halliday -Children begin to acquire
language and communication skills before they
can speak.
Learning How to Mean (1975) - 7 Functions of
Language
1. Instrumental Function- needs
2. Regulatory Function - Control and command
3. Interactive Function - deliver thoughts
4. Personal Function - express identity
5. Heuristic Function - discovery
6. Representational Function - request info
7. Imaginative Function - stories
Lesson 2 : Language and Human Vocal
Tract
Human Vocal Tract
 Tube that connects the throat and head
 Sound travel through cavity called the
vocal tract to end up as speech’
 Air is pushed up from the lungs,
movements within the vocal tract create
unique sound
Nasal Cavity - uppermost section of vocal tract
Oral Cavity (Mouth) - the tongue, teeth, and lips
Pharynx - upper throat
Larynx - voice box
Vocal cords - vocals folds.
Language and the Human Vocal Tract
 Humans have learned to module their voice
 Phonetics is the study of speech sounds
 Vocal tract is a physical system
 We make consonants by squeezing the
vocal tube in the back, middle, or the front
Language and the Human Brain
Brian Lateralization - localized more specifically
in one hemisphere of the brain
Motor theory of Lateralization - left hemisphere
controls fine movements, such as those required
to produce speech
Two Regions that are Critical for Language
Broca’s Area - Paul Broca. Left hemisphere.
Speech production and articulation
Wernicke’s Area - Carl Wernicke. Critical
language area in the posterior superior temporal
lobe
Language Development - process children
acquire the ability to process speech
Stages of Language Development
1. Cry stage - first to introduce CPH
2. Cooing stage Eric Lenneberg (1967)
3. Babbling stage - studied CPH in his book “Biological
4. Single - word stage foundations of Language”
5. Multi - word stage Noam Chomsky
- children are born with and inherited ability to
Two Main Areas of Language learn any human language
Receptive language - comprehend language  1960’s Chomsky launched his idea that
Expressive language -express wants and needs humans have innate language capacity
Language Development: Infancy to Adolescent  Eric LEnneberg accepted Chomsky’s claim
0-6 months  Lennebergs reasoning based on
 Understanding lateralization
 Talking (early sounds and noises) Evidence for the Critical Period
 Vocal Play 1. Feral Children
6-12 months  Genie Wiley (April 1957)
 Recognize certain phrases  Struggle to obtain full language if not
 Babbling back exposed during critical period
 First word 2. Children with Down Syndrome
12-18 months  Learn slower
 Understand simple instructions  If delayed to puberty, never acquire full
 Say 20 single words language
 Gestures 3. Learning a second language
18-24 months  Cant have fluency of a native speaker if not
 Understand 200 to 500 words learned during critical period
 Use 50 to 70 single words Effects of CPH on Different Areas
 Gestures Phology
2-3 years old  Narrow period for acquisition (0-5)
 Understand longer instructions  Audial input
 Understand who, what and where Syntax and Grammar
 Use up to 400 words  Acquire in a specific period (0-12)
3-4 years old Semantics
 Use color, number, time, and people name  Not much affected in critical age
 Start to be able to answer “why” questions Genetic Basis of Language Development
4-5 years old Genetic - study of genes and heredity
 Know 1500 to 2500 words GEN - beginning
 Take turns in much longer conversations Geneticists - people who study genes
 Use of preposition Language and genetics
5-7 years old  Humans have a unique natural ability to
 Have good speech and language skills develop highly complex linguistic systems
 Talk constantly Language processing
 Read write and spell  Human genome does not create language
7-11 years old  Direct organization of the human brain
 Major leep in reading comprehension Genetic Language - collection or rules and
 Long and complex sentences regularities of genetic information
 Understand comparative words Genetic Relationship (linguistics)
11-17 years old How learning to talk is in the genes
 Use longer sentences. 7-12 words or more  Genetic factors contribute to the
 Begins understanding ambiguity and development of language during infancy
sarcasm Jean William Fritz Piaget
 Understand metaphors and similes  Swiss psychologist
 Use more subtle humor  Work on child development
 Idioms and slang  Theory of cognitive development

Lesson 3 : Critical Period Hypothesis 4 stage of Cognitive Development and Theory
1. Sensorimotor Stage
What is CPH?  Children learn about environment
 Critical period for language development 2. Preoperational Stage
 Emergence of language
Historical Background 3. Concrete Operational Stage
Wilder Penfield and Lamar Roberts (1959)  Concrete and literal thinking
4. Formal Operational Stage  Increase in logic
Lesson 4: Language and other Species’  Jespersen
Natural Communication System of
5. Yo-He-Ho Theory
Other Species  Rhythmic chants from heavy works
Definition of other species  A.S Diamond
 Group of organism that can interbreed 6. Goo-Goo Theory
Communication in animal behavior  Florida scientists
 Information is passed from one animal to  Baby talk or Motherese
another 7. Divine Theory
 Often happens between members of a  Gift from divine source
species  Babel
Common types of Signals  Sarasvati
Pheromones 8. Gestural Theory
 Chemical signal  Hands to depict events
 Common on social insects 9. Computational Assumption
Auditory cues  Brain computes
 Widely used 10. Storage Assumption
Visual cues  Stored in minds as a set of rules
 Gestures, facial expression, body postures,  Behaviorist - brain is tabula rasa
and coloration  Universal Grammar - environment is key
Tactile cues 11. Either - Or Assumption ‘
 Limited in range  Language is innate or learned
 Touch A. Structure
Common functions  Bloomfield (1933)
 Obtaining mates  Grammatical structure as separates
 Establishing dominance or defending 12. Componential Assumption
territory  Language is built from smaller pieces
 Coordinating group behavior  Start with sounds and ending with meaning
 Caring for young in texts
Three things involved in effective canine 13. Correctness Assumption
communication  Accuracy - correctness is successful
 Body language language learning
 Tone  Fluency - correcting hampers language
 Words development
14. Warring language assumption
 False : Bilingualism causes mental
Introduction to English Language retardation
 Modern : Bilinualism leads to code
Lesson 1 : Origins of Language switching
15. Separateness Assumption
Otto Jespersen (1860-1943)  Language is separate and distinct part of
 Danish Linguist’ human experience
 Advocacy on developing international  Chomskyan generative grammar - language
language system is separate
 Treatments on English syntax and the  Chomsky and Pinker - Language is instinct
history of language
Theories if Origin of Language Lesson 2 : Overview of Language
1. Bow-wow Theory Definitions of Language
 Jespersens (1922) Language
 Formed by echoing naturally occurring  is Systematic
sounds  Set of arbitrary symbols
2. Pooh-Pooh theory  Primary vocal and may be visual
 Instinctive sounds  Symbols have conventionalized meaning
 Cries from pain, anger , joy  Used for communication
3. Ding-Dong Theory  Operates in a speech community or culture
 Max Muller  Essentially human
 Relationship between sounds and meanings  Acquired by all people the same way
4. Sing-Song Theory Ethonologue records
 Melodic and Musical mutterings
 7,358 living languages
 May 20, 2015 - 7,102 living language
Nature of Language
1. Language is a combination of sounds
2. Words have meanings
3. Follows a grammatical structure
4. Based on aural and oral system
5. Can die and be extinct
6. Can be diverse
Functions of Language
Regulatory Function - influence behavior
Interactional Function - develop social
relationship
Personal Function - express personal preferences
Representational Function-exchange information
Heuristic Function - learn and explore
Instrumental Function - express needs
Lesson 3: Properties of Human
Language’
Language is an essential tool for communication
1. Reflexivity - talk about language itself
2. Displacement - refer to past and future time
3. Arbitrariness - no natural connection between
linguistic form and meaning
4. Cultural Transmission - language is passed on
from one generation
5. Productivity - create new expressions
6. Duality - organized at two levels
simultaneously
Public Speaking
Lesson 1: Speaking in Public”
Greeks
 Public speaking is political in nature
 Study art of rhetoric on Sicily
Dale Carnegie, Joseph Borg Esenwein (2007)
- Public Speaking is utterance
Corax and Tislas - Greek teacher of rhetoric
Basic Three Parts of Speech
1. Intro 2. Evidence 3. Conclusion
Protagoras - Father of Debate
Aristotle
 Father of Modern Communication
 Wrote “Rhetoric”
Logos - Logical
Pathos - Emotional
Ethos - Credibility
Demosthenes - Famous Greek Orator
Cicero - Famous Roman Orator
Quintillian - Roman Lawyer and Educator
“public speaking should be ethical”
Morreale (2010) - Ideal speaker = ethical and
high character
Pre - colonial times Philippines
 Women speak in public as Babaylan
 Karagatan - game young men and women
duel through words
 Huwego de Prenda - entertain bereaved
family
 Balagtasan - debate, argue in verse
Best Practice in Public Speaking
1. Introduction - should be captivating
2. Performance - deliver authentic and earnest
3. Plan the speech - choose words carefully
4. Eye contact - helps with rapport
5. Speaking style - develops overtime
6. Hand gesture - make it natural
7. Recording the speech for feedback
8. Peer evaluation - observation from fresh eye
9. Appearance - adds credibility
10. Clothing - formal
11. Good grooming - must look clean
12. Visual aids - necessary guidelines
13. Conclusion - dissemenate info.
Lesson 2 : Ethics on Public Speaking
Us national Communication Association
Credo for Ethical Communication
- enhances human worth and dignity
Unethical - threatens quality of comm.
Four Ethical Principles of Comm.
1. Truthfullness
2. Freedom of expression
3. Condemn degrading communication
4. Accept responsibility of consequences
Lesson 3: Listening
Hearing - vibration of sound waves on the
eardrums
Listening - paying close attention
Listening is Important
 Making sense of what we hear
 Way you get info
 Improve your own speech
Critical Thinking - analyse, evaluate about what
you read, hear, say, or write
Greek word “kritikos” - able to judge or discern
Four Kinds of Listening
1. Appreciative listening - for pleasure
2. Empathic listening - emotional support
3. Comprehensive listening - understand
4. Critical listening - evaluate a message
Central skills to comprehensive listening
 Summarize
 Recall facts
 Distinguish main and minor points
Other skills of critical thinking
 Separate facts from opinions
 Spotting weakness
 Judging evidence
Four causes of Poor Listening
1. Not concentrating
2. Listening too hard
3. Jumping to conclusion
4. Focusing on delivery and appearance
Become a better listener
1. Take listening seriously
2. Be an active listener
Five key active listening techniques
 Pay attention
 Show that you're listening
 Provide feedback
 Defer judgement
 Respond appropriately
3. Resist distraction
4. Do not be diverted by appearance or delivery
5. Suspend judgement
6. Focus your listening
Tips to focus on your listening
 Listen for main points
 Listen for evidences
 Listen for techniques
7. Develop note taking skills - key word outline
Lesson 4 : Selecting a Topic and a
Purpose
Choosing a topic - first step to speech making
Topic - subject of the speech
Two broad categories of potential topics
1. You know a lot about
2. Subjects you want to know more about
Brainstorming for Topics
Brianstorming- generating ideas
1. Personal inventory
2. Clusteering
3. Reference search
4. Internet search
Determining the General Purpose
General purpose - broad goal of speech
1. To inform - convey information
2. To persuade - win over your listeners
Determining the Specific Purpose
Specific purpose - precisely what the speakers
wants to accomplish
 Write the purpose as full infinitive phrase
 Express your purpose as statement
 Avoid figurative language
 Limit to one distinct idea
 don’t be vague or general
Questions ask about your specific purpose
 Purpose meet assignment?
 Can I accomplish my purpose timely?
 Purpose relevant to audience?
 Purpose too trivial to audience?
 Purpose too technical for audience?
Phrasing central idea
Central idea
- refines specific purpose of a statement
-concise statement of what you want to say
- sometimes called thesis statement
Residual message - what speaker wants the
audience to remember
Guidelines for the central idea
 Full sentence
 Not be in a form of a question
 Avoid figurative language
 don’t be vague or general
Lesson 5 : Analyzing the Audience
Audience - Centeredness - good speakers are
audience centered. Speech is to gain a desired
response from listeners
- keeping audience foremost in every step of
speech preparation
Questions to keep in mind
1. Whom am I speaking
2. What do I want them to know
3. Effective way of composing and presenting?
Classmates as an Audience - artificial speaking
situation
Psychology of Audience
Speech contains two messages - sent by speaker
and received by listener
Paul Simon’s classic song “THE BOXER” -
people hear what they want to hear
Harry Emerson Fosdick (the great preacher )
-People are interested in themselves
Egocentric - concered with their own values
Saul Alinsky - people only understand in terms
of their experiences
Demographic Audience
- characteristics like age, gender, sexual
orientation, religion, racial, ethnic or cultural
background
Two parts
1. Identify general demographic
2. Assessing importance of those features
Demographic Audience Analysis - focus on
factors such as age, gender, religion, sexual
orientation, group membership
Stereotyping - oversimplified image of particular
group of people
Major Demographic
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Sexual Orientation
4. Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Background
5. Religion
6. Group membership
Situational Audience Analysis
 Builds on demographic analysis.
 Identifies unique traits on the situation
 Size, setting, disposition towards the
subject, speaker, and occasion
Getting Information about the Audience
Three major types of questions
1. Fixed- alternative questions - fixed choice
2. Scale questions - resembles fixed questions
3. Open ended - maximum leeway
Lesson 6: Gathering Materials Lesson 7: Supporting your Ideas
Gathering Materials - gather info for any project Strong supporting materials bolster speakers
Using your own Knowledge point of view
Doing Library Search Examples - illustrate or represent
Where can you do research Without examples, ideas seem vague
 Librarians 1. Brief examples - illustrate a point
 The catalogue 2. Extended Examples - pull listeners into the
 Periodical databses speech
 Reference work 3. Hypothethical examples - get listeners
 Quotation books involved
 Biographical aids Tips for using examples
 Encyclopedia  Clarify - abstract ideas to concrete
 Newspaper  Reinforce - representative
 Yearbooks  Personalize - human interest
 Abstract Vivid and richly example - more impact
 Call number Practice delivery - impact depends as much on
Searching the Internet - worlds largest library delivery on content
1. Search engine -keys to finding materials
2. Specialized research resources Statistics - numerical data
3. Virtual libraries Representative?
4. Government resources Measures used correctly?
Muti Cultural Resources - internet mirrors From reliable source?
diversity of our times Tips for using statistics
Evaluatuing Internet Documents  Quantify ideas - numerical precision
1. Authorship -first thing to look for  Use sparingly - use only when needed
2. Sponsorship - purpose of the document  Identify source - figures easy to manipulate
3. Recency  Explain - statistics do not speak
Interviewing  Round off - unless important, give exact
Investigative interview - gather info for speech  Visual aids - make listeners comprehend
Five steps to help unsure a successful outcome Testimony - support a point
1. Define purpose Expert Testimony - acknowledged authorities
2. Decide whom to interview Peer Testimony - firsthand experience
3. Arrange the interview Quoting - use if brief
4. Decide whether to record Paraphrasing - use if longer
5. Prepare questions Tips for using testimony
During the interview  Be accurate - don’t misquote
Steps to make things proceed smoothly  Qualified sources - people with special
1. Dress appropriately and be on time experience
2. Repeat the purpose  Unbiased sources - objective authorities
3. Set up recorder  Identify people - ethical responsibility
4. Keep the interview on track Citing Sources Orally - no standard format
5. Listen Key is to tell your audience where you got your
6. Do not overstay information
Review and Transcribe
Review notes as soon as possible - fresh in your
mind
Transcribe your notes
Tips for Doing Research
1. Starting early
2. Make preliminary biography
3. Take plenty of notes
4. Record notes in consistent format
5. Make separate entry for each note
6. Distinguish among direct quotations,
paraphrases and your own ideas

Ethics
Lesson 1 : Definition and Importance
Ethics - morality and rightness or wrongness of
human conduct
“ethos” - character, custom, or manners
Morality - code or system of behavior
Ethical and moral used interchangeably
Influence to the Concept of Morality
 Religion
 Culture
 Social contract to live in harmony
 Empathy
Importance of Rules to Human Beings
Rules - explicit or understood regulations
1. Rules protect by regulating behavior
2. Rules guarantee person rights and freedom
3. Rules produce justice
4. Rules are essential for healthy economic
system
Moral Standards - moral values and principles
that people have for kinds of actions
Non - Moral Standards - unrelated to moral or
ethical considerations
Dilemma and Moral Dilemma
Dilemma - situation in which a tough choice has
to be made
Moral/Ethical Dilemmas - situation which a
difficult choice has to be made between 2
courses of action
Key Features of Moral Dilemma
1. The agent is required to do each actions
2. Agent can do each but cant to both
Three Levels of Moral Dilemma
1. Personal Dilemmas - experienced and
resolved on personal level
2. Organizational Dilemmas - encountered by
social organizations .
e. g. healthcare orgs, business-related
3. Structural Dilemmas - network of institutions
and operative theoretical paradigm
Lesson 2: Culture in Moral Behavior
Culture
 Cumulative deposit of knowledge
 Patterns of behavior
 Sum of total learned behavior of group of
people
 Symbolic communication
Culture’s Role in Moral Behavior
 Culture is way of life - moral values and
behaviors
 Social Learning - process individual
acquire knowledge from other groups
It is impossible to live in a society without being
affected by culture
De Guzman and Pena, 2016 - individuals are a
product of their culture
Cultural Relativism - persons belief and values
should be understood based on their own culture
-Other cultures are not wrong, but different
Cultural Relativism in Ethics - most dominant
form of moral relativism
Moral Subjectivism - standard is a particular
agent
Cultural Relativism - basis is the given society
Cultural Relativism : an Analysis
1. Valuable lesson from ethical relativism - no
universal truth
2. Theory’s ethical faults - discourages analytical
thinking and independent decision making
Rachel’s Evaluation of Cultural Relativism
 Cultural differences argument - different
cultures have different moral codes.
Bad Consequences of Cultural Relativism
A. No customs are morally inferior to our own
Ex. Anti semitism is not wrong
B. Decide whether actions are right or wrong by
consulting standards of our society
C. Moral progress is called into doubt
Filipino Moral Character: Strengths and
Weaknesses
 Filipino Culture Morality - smooth
interpersonal relationship
1. Pakikisama - maintain good public relations
2. Hiya - concern how we appear to others
3. Amor propio - protect dignity and honor
4. Utang na loob - debt of gratitude
5. Filipino hospitality - courteous to guest
6. Respect for elders
Universal Values - strong proof cultural
relativism is wrong
1. Truth telling -
2. Valuing or respecting life
Lesson 3: Moral Agent : Developing
Virtue as a Habit
Moral Character - existence or lack of virtues
such as courage, integrity, and fortitude.
“charakter” - Greek word used as a mark
impressed upon a coin
Character vs Personality
Character involve normative judgement
Moral character trait is a trait for which the agent
is morally responsible
Circular Relation of Acts and Character
 Not all acts build moral character
 Virtuous traits of character are excellence's
of human being
Virtuous traits - best exercise of reason
Moral Character as Dispositions
Dispositions - particular kind of properties or
characteristics that objects can possess
A good moral character = disposition to do
virtuous acts
Heinz Dillema - woman on deathbed. Steal
medicine or not
3 Distinct Levels of Moral Reasoning
Level 1 - Preconventional Morality
Stage 1:obedience
Stage 2:Individualism
Level 2 - Conventional Morality
Stage 3: interpersonal relationships
Stage 4: maintaning social order
Level 3 - Post - conventional morality
Stage 5: social contract and individual rights
Stage 6: universal principles
Six stages of Moral Development by
Lawrence Kohlberg
Stage 1 : Respect for power (Obedience)
Age 1-5
“might makes right”
Stage 2: Exchange of favors (Self-interest)
Age 5-10
“whats in it for me?”
Stage 3: Conformity
Age 6-18
“i want to be nice”
Stage 4: Law and Order
Age 16 and older
“ill do my duty”
Stage 5: Justice through Democracy
“ill live by rules or try to change them”
Stage 6: Universal Human Ethics
People are tough enough to act on their values
Highest level conscience based on moral
decisions
Problem with Kohlberg’s Theory
 Dilemmas are artificial. Lack ecological
validity
 Androcentric definition of morality
Lesson 4: Feeling and Moral Decision -
Making
Ethics as a matter of emotion - feelings are
necessary in ethical judgement. Deemed
instinctive and trained response.
 Ethical judgments are highly emotional
Feelings as Obstacles to Making the Right
Decisions - happens when feelings roles in ethics
are misinterpreted or exaggerated.
Ethical subjectivism - contrary to principle that
there is objectivity in morality
 Moral judgement describe our personal
feelings
Ethical Subjectivism is Problematic
 Allows us to think for our self
 If we like something it would make it good
(slavery,racism)
 If correct, then each of us is infallible in
our own moral judgement
 No disagreement between A and B
Emotivism
 Improved version of subjectivism
 Developed by American philosopher
Charles Stevenson (1909-1979)
 Moral judgement express positive or
negative feeling
 Most popular form of non-cognitivism
 Moral judgement are not statements of
facts but expression of emotion
 Argues utterances in ethic are not fact-
stating sentences
Purpose of Emotivism
1. Use to influence other behavior
2. Moral sentences express speakers attitude
Emotivism is Problematic
 Cant appeal to reason but only emotion
 Fails to distinguish moral judgments from
personal preference
 Fails to notice humans have reason
Reason - Basis or motive
Reason in Ethics
 Weighing reasons and being guided
 Moral truths are objective
 Morality is arbitrary
Impartiality - every pov is important
-everyone is important
Moral Courage - doing the right thing
Will - faculty of the mind
Arthur Schopenhauer - will is the innermost
essence
Will Power - inner strength to make a decision
- ability to overcome to laziness
- recognize our responsibilities and be
accountable
Developing Will and Moral Courage
A. Develop self - discipline
Self -discipline - giving up pleasure for a higher
goal
B. Do mental strength training
C. Draw inspiration from people of great
courage
D. Repeatedly do acts that exhibits moral
courage
E. Avoid deeds that show lack of moral courage