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    Nature of Language and Linguistics 1

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    Vega
    This document provides an introduction to the English language system and linguistics. It describes the nature of human language and linguistic signs. It discusses grammatical competence and the universals and innateness of language. It defines grammar and the descriptive and prescriptive approaches. It also outlines the components of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The document familiarizes the reader with the study of linguistics and its subfields.

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    Nature of Language and Linguistics 1

    Uploaded by

    Vega
    15 views18 pages
    This document provides an introduction to the English language system and linguistics. It describes the nature of human language and linguistic signs. It discusses grammatical competence and the universals and innateness of language. It defines grammar and the descriptive and prescriptive approaches. It also outlines the components of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The document familiarizes the reader with the study of linguistics and its subfields.

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    Nature-of-Language-and-Linguistics-1

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    This document provides an introduction to the English language system and linguistics. It describes the nature of human language and linguistic signs. It discusses grammatical competence and the universals and innateness of language. It defines grammar and the descriptive and prescriptive approaches. It also outlines the components of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The document familiarizes the reader with the study of linguistics and its subfields.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    15 views18 pages

    Nature of Language and Linguistics 1

    Uploaded by

    Vega
    This document provides an introduction to the English language system and linguistics. It describes the nature of human language and linguistic signs. It discusses grammatical competence and the universals and innateness of language. It defines grammar and the descriptive and prescriptive approaches. It also outlines the components of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The document familiarizes the reader with the study of linguistics and its subfields.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 18

    INTRODUCTION TO THE

    ENGLISH LANGUAGE SYSTEM

    Nature of

    Language and

    Linguistics
    English Language Studies
    Objectives
    describe the characteristics of human language;
    differentiate iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs;
    identify the nature of grammar;
    familiarize study of linguistics and its subparts
    Are you ready

    for today?
    r
    Natu
    e of

    Human
    Langu age
    Language gives expression to our thoughts.
    Language is used to transmit information, also known

    as its "communicative function".


    Language is used to maintain social intercourse, also

    known as "phatic function".


    Language provides the raw material for works of

    literature.
    Linguistic Signs according to

    Philosopher C.S. Peirce:

    Iconic - resemble the things they represent

    (photographs, models, scales, dioramas, diagrams)


    Indexical - has the necessary connection with the

    things they represent (smoke to fire; symptom to

    illness, smile to happiness)


    Symbolic - is only conventionally related to the

    thing they represent (rose to love, flag to nation,

    dove for peace)


    Grammatical Competence
    Language consists of signs in a system,

    called Grammar (rule-governed).


    Grammatical Competence is one of the

    Communicative Competences by Dell

    Hathaway Hymes.
    Grammatical Competence vs.

    Performance (expectation vs. reality)


    Language Universals
    The shared elements of language are referred to as their

    Principles; the differences are known as Parameters.


    Three (3) main sentence elements:
    Subject (Su), Verb (V), Object (O)
    In the syntax of all languages, a sentence has a subject.
    Each language is unique because of its parameters.
    Language Innateness
    Nature vs. Nurture discourse on language learning
    People are born with an inborn capacity for language

    acquisition and are genetically equipped to learn a

    language.
    In human body development, children learn their first

    language during a crucial period of language acquisition

    (birth to age 4)
    Must: Meeting halfway of two ideologies
    Language Creativity
    1st aspect: Human beings can produce and understand

    novel sentences and new words.


    2nd aspect: We can create sentences of (theoretically)

    infinite length.
    Example: This is the dog that worried the cat that killed the
    rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that
    Jack built.
    Nature of

    Grammar
    What is Grammar?
    In Linguistics, it is the rules or principles by which

    language works, that is, its system or structure.


    Descriptive Grammar vs. Prescriptive Grammar

    sense of grammar and


    Constitutive

    Descriptive
    structure Rules

    how grammar rules


    Regulatory

    Presciptive
    should be used Rules
    Descriptive & Presciptive

    The fly the frog ate it.


    Is it grammatically correct? Did you understand the message?

    "If I was your boyfriend" (Bieber, 2012)


    Is it grammatically correct? Did you understand the message?
    Fallacies on Grammar
    1. There are languages with "no or little grammar"
    2. The simpler the grammar, the more ancient it is, the

    more complex the grammar, the more advanced it is.


    3. Language should be logical/analogical. (relating to

    word inflections)
    4. Change in grammar means deterioration of language.
    5. Equating spoken to written language
    Components of

    Language
    1. Phonetics-speech sounds
    2. Phonology-phonemes
    3. Morphology-words
    4. Syntax-phrases and sentences
    5. Semantics-literal meaning of phrases and sentences
    6. Pragmatics- meaning in the context of discourse
    Any questions?
    Thank You!
    Do you have any questions for

    before we go?

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