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Engl 103 Lesson 1

This document is a coursepack for an Intensive Grammar and Communication Skills class at the College of Arts and Sciences of the Notre Dame of Marbel University in the Philippines. It provides an introduction to grammar, the English language, and language change and variation. It defines grammar and describes two types: descriptive grammar based on actual language use and prescriptive grammar based on perceived correct usage. It then traces the development of the English language over time and discusses some regional variations. The purpose is to help students understand and explain key concepts relating to grammar and the nature of language.

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488 views

Engl 103 Lesson 1

This document is a coursepack for an Intensive Grammar and Communication Skills class at the College of Arts and Sciences of the Notre Dame of Marbel University in the Philippines. It provides an introduction to grammar, the English language, and language change and variation. It defines grammar and describes two types: descriptive grammar based on actual language use and prescriptive grammar based on perceived correct usage. It then traces the development of the English language over time and discusses some regional variations. The purpose is to help students understand and explain key concepts relating to grammar and the nature of language.

Uploaded by

v santi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JMJ Marist Brothers

Notre Dame of Marbel University


COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

COURSEPACK
in:
ENGL 103
INTENSIVE GRAMMAR AND
COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Jireh Clarisse T. Salomsom

JMJ Marists Brothers


Notre Dame of Marbel University
College of Arts and Sciences 1|Engl 103
LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

Lesson 1: Grammar and English;


Language Change and Variation
Presenting the Matter

The English language plays an important role in our life. It is


understood by many people in the world, since it is the most spoken
language; thus, it helps us to communicate with nearly all the
people around the world. Consequently, the grammar of the
English language is always included in school syllabi and children
start learning English and its grammar at a young age. This part of the module
introduces you to the definition of grammar and its two basic kinds. Likewise, the
development of the English language is traced, and its variations are presented.

Jotting Down Targets

After working on this module, you should be able to:

1. explain what grammar and English are; language change and variation; and

2. compare and contrast prescriptive and descriptive grammar.

Kicking it Off

What comes into your minds when you hear the following terms?

1. Grammar
2. English
3. Language change and variation

What concepts/ ideas do you associate with them?

2|Engl 103
JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

Processing the Matter

LANGUAGE

• The expression and communication of emotions/ideas between


human beings by means of speech and hearing, the sounds spoken or
heard being systematized and confirmed by usage among a given
people over a period of time (Webster’s).
• A system of conventional spoken or written symbols by means of which
human beings express themselves. The functions of language include
communication, the expression of identity, imaginative expression, and
emotional release (Robins & Crystal, n.d.)

ENGLISH

• A West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England
and is now a global lingua franca.
Language family: Indo- European (relating to the family of languages
spoken over the greater part of Europe and Asia as far as northern India.

Germanic: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish

Italic: Latin*, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese

Celtic: Irish, Welsh

Balto- Slavic: Russian, Polish, Czech

Hellenic: Greek

Indo- Iranian: Sanskrit*, Hindi, Bengali, Persian (Farsi)

Albanian: Albanian

Note: * Languages that are considered dying or dead

3|Engl 103
JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

5 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT (language change) ENGLISH HAS GONE


THROUGH:

• Old English (400- 1100 AD) :


Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum
(Listen! We of the Spear- Danes in days of yore) - Beowulf

• Middle English (1100- 1500 AD) :


Experience, though noon auctoritee

(Experience, though no authority) - The Wife of Bath’s Tale

• Early Modern English (1500- 1800 AD):


That flesh is heir to? ‘Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep -Hamlet

• Modern English (1800- present)

• Contemporary English (present and onwards)


According to Meyer (2009), English is the most widely spoken
language around the world - not just in countries in which it is a native
language (Australia, Canada, Ireland, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the
United States) but in many other countries in which it is either a second
language (Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Singapore) or a foreign
language (most of Western Europe). It is important to remember that the
widespread use of English has little to do with the language itself but more
with the fact that British colonization spread English around the world, a
phenomenon that was followed by the emergence of the U.S. (which has
the highest percentage of native speakers) as a political and economic
force. Had world events been different, English might still be a language
spoken only in Great Britain, where it had its origins over 1500 years ago.

4|Engl 103
JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

LANGUAGE VARIATIONS (Lobeck & Denham, 2014)

• Scots English: That’s me away. (I’m going now).


• Varieties of British English: That house looks a nice one.
• Appalachian English: They went a- hunting yesterday.
• Varieties of Southern US English: We might should do that.
• Indian English: I asked him where does he work.
• Australian English: She’ll be right. (Everything will be all right.)

What is Grammar?

And why grammar is your friend...

Grammar is the system of a language. People


sometimes describe grammar as the "rules" of a language;
but in fact no language has rules. If you use the word
"rules", it is suggested that somebody created the rules first
and then spoke the language, like a new game. But
languages did not start like that. Languages started by
people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No
commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call
"grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.

Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is


"no". Very many people in the world speak their own native language without
having studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the
word "grammar". But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long
answer is "yes”. Grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more
efficiently." It is important to think of grammar as something that can help you, like
a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can
understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book.

So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that


you can use to find your way - like a signpost or a map.

5|Engl 103
JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

TWO KINDS OF GRAMMAR

• Descriptive grammar: a set of rules about language based on how it is


actually used. In descriptive grammar, there is no right or wrong language.
• Prescriptive grammar: a set of rules based on how people think language
should be used.

ORIGINS OF PRESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR

Latin, the language of the Christian church, was the language of scholarship
in medieval England. As English inevitably began to compete with Latin as the
language of commerce, literature, and scholarship, English was found sorely
wanting, and was considered corrupt. Between the 15th and 18th centuries scholars
set out to “fix” and “improve” English, introducing spelling reforms, borrowing many
Latin words into English, and attempting to codify its grammatical rules.

For a prescriptivist, grammar covers a broad range of rules:

1. punctuation rules (where to put commas and apostrophes, for example)


2. vocabulary rules (avoid “slang”; use “academic” vocabulary)
3. spelling rules (don’t mix up they’re, their, and there)
4. other injunctions such as “Never start a sentence with because;” “Never end
a sentence with a preposition;” “Don’t split infinitives;” “Use I instead of me
and whom instead of who,” and so on.

6|Engl 103
JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
City of Koronadal, South Cotabato

REFERENCES

Lobeck, A. & Denham, K. (2014). Navigating English grammar. Malden, USA:

Meyer, C. (2009). Introduction English Linguistics. U.S.A: Cambridge University

Press. Wiley- Blackwell Publishing.

Murcia, M., Brenton, D., & Snow, M. (2014). Teaching English as a second or

foreign language. Boston, USA: National Geographic Learning

7|Engl 103

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