Introduction to Linguistics

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

CYRIL POTTER
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ASSOCIATE DEGREE
IN EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

Table of Contents
Page
 Introduction to Linguistics

Course Overview ……………………………............................

Module 1: Introduction to Linguistics..........................

 What is Linguistics?..................................................

Module 2: Phonetics and Phonology..............................

 Unit 1: An Introduction to Phonetics.......................

 Unit 2: Phonological Analyses..................................

Module 3: Morphology.................................

 Unit 1: An overview of morphology............................

 Unit 2: Types of Bound and Free morphemes...........
 Unit 3: Word formation processes..............................
 Unit 4: Morphs and allomorphs..................................

Module 4: Syntax....................................................

 Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of syntax. ................

 Unit 2: Syntax and phrase structure rules.................
 Unit 3: Some rules of generative grammar.................
 Unit 4: Syntax and types of sentences........................

Module 5: Semantics and Pragmatics................................

 Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning...................

 Unit 2: Semantics and multiple word meaning...........
 Unit 3: Pragmatics and context....................................
 Unit 4: Pragmatics and speech act theory...................

Module 6: Language and Society.....................................

 Unit 1: Social Variation in Language......................

 Unit 2: Language in Use...........................................

Module 7: Language Acquisition.......................................

 Unit 1: Nature or Nurture? ........................................

 Unit 2: Second Language Acquisition.........................
 Introduction to Linguistics

Module 8: Language and Cognition...................................

 Unit 1: An overview of theories of cognition.................

 Unit 2: Vygotsky and Social Constructivism................
 Unit 3: The Brain and Language..................................
 Unit 4: Acquired and developmental language disorders

Module 9: Creole Languages

o Unit 1: Overview of Creole Languages
o Unit 1: Language in Guyana

Module 10: Linguistic Human Rights..................................

 Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors............

 Solutions to Combat Linguistic Discrimination.............

GUYANA

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

CYRIL POTTER COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Introduction to Linguistics

ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION

COURSE OUTLINE

NAME OF COURSE: Introduction to Linguistics

Number of Credits: 3

COURSE OVERVIEW

Introduction:
The name of this course is Introduction to Linguistics. It is a
three-credit course which is intended for teachers who operate in
Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary levels. You will study the
course on your own but a course tutor will help you to clarify any
areas of difficulty which you may experience as you go through
the course. When you attend the face to face tutorials, you
should seek clarifications from the tutorial tutor. Your option
tutor will also provide additional support with respect to applying
the different methods / strategies / approaches to your particular
option area.

The course will help you to become a more effective teacher if

you apply what you learn to your classroom. It provides
information on how to approach teaching. It also offers
suggestions on planning and implementing lessons.

Course Description:

The course is written for students studying at a distance. Hence

it is presented in a manner for you to work independently.
 Introduction to Linguistics

However, if someone lives close by it would be useful to work in

pairs or in small groups if that can be arranged. The entire
course is divided into ten modules. The modules comprise 1 to 4
units. There are 27 units in all. Module1 deals with Introduction
to Linguistics; Module 2 discusses Phonetics & Phonology.
Module 3 focuses on Morphology. Module 4 deals with Syntax.
Module 5 focuses on Semantics and Pragmatics. Module 6 is
concerned with Language & Society. Module 7 deals with
Language Acquisition while Module 8 discusses Language and
Cognition. Module 9 discusses Creole Languages, and Module 10,
the final module, deals with Linguistic Human Rights.

Rationale:

This course recognizes that linguistics offers concepts, methods

of description, analysis and factual data about language resulting
from nearly four decades of systematic inquiry, and that these
could provide useful knowledge for the teacher who could apply
some of this knowledge to the teaching of Language arts. It
recognizes too that linguistically sound principles can be
expected to produce satisfactory results only when they are used
by teachers who are linguistically knowledgeable.

This course therefore, seeks to provide teachers with the

opportunity to deepen their understanding of the work of
linguistics, to examine some linguistic findings, and to determine
the relevance of these findings to the teaching of language arts.
It is hoped that this course would also provide a base for
teachers who would later extend or expand their knowledge in
this area.
Introduction to Linguistics

It is essential for every language teacher to become equipped

with linguistically informed teaching strategies. However, it is not
only enough to be equipped with teaching strategies, but to
understand the intricate and dynamic nature of language
especially related to our Guyanese linguistic context. Being
linguistically equipped and enlightened, therefore, translates into
the benefit for all involved in the language teaching and learning
processes.

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course you will be able to:

 Be knowledgeable about linguistic principles

 Examine findings of linguistic research
 Discuss relevance of linguistic principles to language
teaching
 Develop programmes and methods for effective use of
linguistic principles
 Develop a deeper awareness and understanding of
language.

Time Required:

You will need at least 45 hours to go through all the units in the
nine modules of this course.

Special notes / tips to tutors and students:

 Some of the terms which are used in the modules of this
course may not be familiar to you. A dictionary will help to
clarify those terms.
Introduction to Linguistics

 Additional study materials have been provided in a

separate booklet for you.
 Tutors and students may decide the order in which the
modules could be studied. Whatever you decide, ensure
that Module 1 is studied before the others.

COURSE CONTENT
WEEK 1- Module 1: Introduction to Linguistics

 What is Linguistics?


WEEK 2: Module 2 - Phonetics and Phonology

 Unit 1: An Introduction to Phonetics

 Unit 2: Phonological Analyses

WEEKS 3 & 4: Module 3–Morphology

 Unit 1: An overview of morphology

 Unit 2: Types of Bound and Free morphemes
 Unit 3: Word formation processes
 Unit 4: Morphs and allomorphs

WEEKS 5 & 6: Module 4 - Syntax

 Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of syntax

 Unit 2: Syntax and phrase structure rules
 Unit 3: Some rules of generative grammar
 Unit 4: Syntax and types of sentences

WEEK 7 &8: Module 5- Semantics and Pragmatics

 Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning

 Unit 2: Semantics and multiple word meaning
 Unit 3: Pragmatics and context
 Unit 4: Pragmatics and speech act theory
Introduction to Linguistics

WEEK 9: Module 6 -Language and Society

 Unit 1: Social Variation in Language

 Unit 2: Language in Use

WEEK10: Module 7 –Language Acquisition

 Unit 1: Nature or Nurture?

 Unit 2:Second Language Acquisition

WEEKS 11 & 12: Module 8–Language and Cognition

 Unit 1: An overview of theories of cognition

 Unit 2: Vygotsky and Social Constructivism
 Unit 3: The Brain and Language
 Unit 4: Acquired and developmental language disorders

WEEKS 13: Module 9–Creole Languages

 Unit 1: Overview of Creole Languages

 Unit 2: Language in Guyana

WEEK 14: Module 10 - Linguistic Human Rights

 Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors

 Solutions to Combat Linguistic Discrimination

WEEK 15: Revision

 Summary of each unit

 Review activities and sample exam questions

FINAL EXAMINATION
Introduction to Linguistics

Suggested Readings:

Bergmann, Anouschka, Kathleen Currie Hall and Sharon M. Ross,

eds. Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio
State University Press, 2007.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. New

York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics, Grammar. Heinemann, 2004.

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An

Introduction to Language. Boston: Thonson Wadsworth,
2007.

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York:

Pearson Education Ltd., 1992.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford: Oxford University

Press,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus: Charles

E. Merrill Pub. Co., 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Radford, Andrew, et al. Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Introduction to Linguistics

Assessment:
The course will be assessed based on course work and on an end
of semester examination. The course grade will be determined
through three pieces of course work including at least one in-
class test. The course work will value 50% of the final mark. The
examination will last for two hours and will value 50% of the final
grade. Students will be required to answer three questions.

In order to pass the course, a student must score a minimum of

55% in both examination and the course work. If a student
scores less than 55% in either the examination or the course
work, that student is considered a referred student and must
repeat either the examination or the course work (whichever is
relevant). If the student fails the re-sit, then that student is
considered as having failed the course and must therefore repeat
the entire course.

Using Citations:

In college you will be required to write papers after conducting

research on various topics. However, while you are free to quote
and describe these source materials (original texts, literary
criticisms, etc.) in your paper, you must give credit to the author
of these materials when you use their words or ideas in your
paper. This involves using citations throughout your paper and
including a Bibliography or Works Cited page with your drafts. In
the English major, the citation style most often used is MLA. MLA
style involves using parenthetical citations. The purpose of
documentation is to give due credit to the sources from which
you have drawn ideas, phrasing, quotations, or information, and
Introduction to Linguistics

to allow others to follow-up the sources you have used for your
work, in order to corroborate and learn from your work as fully as
possible. You need to provide information that is sufficiently clear
and complete for others to identify the specific sources you have
made use of. The documentation style developed by the Modern
Language Association of America (MLA style) offers one
conventional system for doing this; in published works, you will
also see various other systems in use (such as that of the
Chicago Manual of Style or that of the American Psychological
Association [APA Style]).

Example of MLA style of using citations:

The following examples illustrate the most common type of in-

text citation using MLA format.

It is most common to identify the author in a signal phrase. When

you include the author’s name in the sentence introducing the
source, add only the specific page on which the material
appeared, in parentheses following the information. Example 1:

Carol Clark explains the basic necessities for the creation of a

page on the World Wide Web (77).

Do not include the word “page” or the abbreviation “p” before

the number. The parenthetical reference comes before the
period.

Example 2:

When you do not include the author’s name in your text, add it in
parentheses along with the source page number. Do not
punctuate between the author’s name and the page number(s).
For example:

Provided one has certain “basic ingredients,” the Web offers

potential worldwide publication (Clark 77).
Introduction to Linguistics

Every in-text citation used will direct the reader to a works cited
list which appears at the end of your paper. Example:

According to Freeman & Freeman, “Linguistics has provided

much insight into the teaching of reading” (47).

Works Cited

Clark, Carol. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York, 1995 .
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.
What you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann, 2004.

Your documentation efforts will only be as good as your

bibliographic note-keeping while you are researching a paper.
Whenever you undertake research for a project, you should
record the bibliographic information for each source that you
have consulted, as well as page references for each quotation,
idea, or bit of information you draw from that source. You will
need this information, both for in-text citations and for the Works
Cited list for your paper. If you fail to record this information
initially, it can often be difficult to retrieve the necessary
information later on.

Students should at all times demonstrate academic integrity and

avoid plagiarism by giving credit to others when their work or
ideas is used. You avoid plagiarism by not falsely claiming
someone else’s work or ideas as your own. Material taken from
other sources must be appropriately documented.

Using APA style of citations

 Introduction to Linguistics

Many academic journals use the American Psychological

Association (APA) style. This style is also suggested by many
lecturers perhaps because it is more ‘international.’ The
following guidelines would provide exposure to the APA style.

In APA style, whenever you quote, paraphrase or summarize

material in your text, give both the author’s last name and the
date of the source.

Exotoxins make some bacteria dangerous to humans (Simon,

1945).

For direct quotations, provide specific page numbers. Page

references in the APA system are always preceded, in text or in
the reference list by the abbreviation p. or pp. to designate
single or multiple pages.

Supply author’s names, publication dates, and page numbers

(when listed) in parentheses following the cited material. Do not
repeat any of these elements if you identify them in the text
preceding the parenthetical citation.

For example:

According to Thomas (1974), “Some bacteria are only harmful to

us if they make exotoxins” (P. 76).

Each in-text citation refers readers to the alphabetical list of

“References” at your paper’s end, listing full publication
information about each source.

Use this link to find more information on using APA format of

citation.
 Introduction to Linguistics

http://www.smarthinking.com/static/Document_Library/docs/
writeman/3_15_02.cfm

MODULE 1: Introduction to Linguistics

(1hr)

Overview:

This module presents a general introduction to this course and

an overview of what Linguistics is and its value to the teacher.
For the next several weeks you will embark on an area of study
that will open up a wide range of insights into language. Some of
the concepts will not be entirely new to you because you interact
with language issues every day. Nevertheless, this course will
provide opportunities to apply another perspective - a
perspective that includes linguistic analyses. The course will
become technical at certain points, but this should not deter you
from engaging in exploring interesting tenets of language. In the
end, you will become a better teacher because of the content
covered in this course and begin to see language through a
linguistic eye.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

Introduction to Linguistics

- Understand the nature of language

- Define Linguistics
- Understand the importance of studying Linguistics to their
teaching profession

Module orientation:

This module has one unit with three sections :

 An overview of language
 What is linguistics?
 The value of linguistics to the teacher

Introduction: An Overview of Language (20

minutes)

“To understand humanity, one must understand the nature of

language that makes us human.”

(Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams 2007)

Before any discussion can begin about Linguistics, you should be

able to have a working definition of “language” since language is
the primary field in which linguistic work is conducted. What is
language? Different persons have different answers to this
question. Some believe that animals possess language. Some
talk about computer language. Others see arts such as painting
and dance to be forms of language. Yet others believe that
language is only spoken or written by human beings. These
questions invariably help to point to a definition of language.
 Introduction to Linguistics

Research in communication among animals, such as prairie dogs,

chimpanzees and dolphins, point out some interesting
capabilities that these animals have in solving problems, and in
communicating through the use of symbols. For the linguist,
however, language is essentially a human ability. And there are
very good reasons why they believe so.

Human language is non-instinctive and involuntary, meaning that

humans can choose if, when, where and how to use language.
Human language is also creative, meaning that we can expand
and change it all the time, and we can say the same thing
indifferent ways. The creative nature of language also includes
the fact that every time we use language, we are not speaking or
writing in memorized chunks, but we are creating the sentences
and message afresh in our brains. Because of language, we have
the ability of displacement – that is, human beings can
remember the past and plan for the future. We can dream and
we can lie. Language is also open-ended and variable, meaning
that it is continually changing, and also that it varies from person
to person, community to community and place to place, and time
to time – there is no one fixed language at any point in time. But
language is not random. It is structured and rule-governed, and it
is also systemic, meaning that it is made up of a number of
systems, such as the lexical system and the grammatical system
among others which will be explored later.

Animals possess the ability to communicate, but their systems of

communication do not allow them to do all these things. Animals
only respond to stimuli. Painting, dance, music and the other
arts, fashion, etc. are not language but are ways of
communicating ideas and feelings.
Introduction to Linguistics

The aforementioned discussion indicates that construction of a

definition of language has to include several elements. Language
is a very rich and complex phenomenon. We can conclude that
language is a structured system that is limited to humans who
use it to communicate with each other.

Language is spoken, written, and signed (as in the case of

American Sign Language - ASL). All (human) languages contain
discrete items (sounds and gestures/signs) that are combined to
form meanings. Language contains universal elements (like
nouns, verbs, etc.) that are found in all languages. Speech is the
primary vehicle of language because we acquire it naturally, and
long before we learn how to write. In fact, many persons do quite
well without being able to write, and they can conduct their lives
through speech alone.

Language is naturally acquired by all humans - even by those

who are born mute.
Introduction to Linguistics

What is Linguistics? (20 minutes)

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It is a science and

not considered as an Arts subject primarily because it involves
scientific exploration and methodologies. This means that
linguists work by examining data and actual use of language,
they construct and test hypotheses about aspects of language,
they investigate the actuality of language in its many forms and
usages, and they employ methodologies and procedures of
analysing data. While Linguists start out with ideas about
language and its use, they seek to test their ideas against real
data, and to find evidence to support or disconfirm their ideas.
They try to understand the reasons why languages have their
particular character, why there are variations in a language, why
language is used in particular ways in particular societies, and so
on.

For the linguist, there is no “good” or “bad” language. These are

social judgments, and are rooted in social prejudice. The linguist
considers all languages to be equally good means of
communicating what members of particular societies wish to
communicate.

In this regard there is an important point to make about linguists.

Linguistics, as it is presented in this course, is largely
descriptive in nature and not prescriptive. In other words, the
role of a linguist is different from the prescriptive role of a
language teacher whose role is to enable students to use a
certain language correctly. Linguists do not necessarily know
large amounts of languages and are not required to be fluent in
several languages (such persons are really polyglots, not
linguists). They are versed in linguistic analyses involving the

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

linguistic principles which are present in all languages. Linguists

try to understand the rules by which a particular language or any
language at all, works.

Since language is part of everything that humans do, it is not

surprising that Linguistics has several sub-fields. These sub-fields
are branches of Linguistics and can be categorized as follows:
Structural Linguistics examines the components of a language
(sounds, sentences, word-formation, and meanings); Psycho-
linguistics is the study of how the mind creates language;
Sociolinguistics involves studying how society (and social
factors) influences language; Applied Linguistics is the
application of Linguistics to practical fields such as language-
teaching, translation, speech therapy, speech-language
pathology, and forensic linguistics; and Anthropological
Linguistics explores how culture and language integrate. This
course will incorporate a little bit of each sub-field.

The value of linguistics to the teacher (15

minutes)

Perhaps the most important value of Linguistics to the teacher is

that it increases his or her awareness about language. Language
is central to all things that humans do, but we pay little attention
to it. Linguists make us aware of the richness of language and its
importance in human life.

Linguistics has many benefits to a teacher, especially a language

teacher. However, all teachers will appreciate a different insight
into language use, especially as it relates to their students’ use
of language in the classroom. As mentioned earlier, Linguistics is

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

the scientific study of language and thus the contents of this

course are designed in such a way to enable holistic interaction
with introductory linguistic concepts including language
acquisition, social factors influencing language, sound
distribution and word-structure, language and the cognition, and
language rights.

A teacher trained in Linguistics is more acutely aware of rules

influencing his/her students’ language use. Such a teacher is
better able to understand the underlying rules that shape a
language’s grammar. For example, the most common way of
marking English past-tense is to add an “-ed” to the verb.
However, you will realise that “-ed” has three different sounds:
[d] in “called” and “played”, [t] in “cooked” and “talked”, and
[ɪd] “hunted” and “created”. There are linguistic rules governing
the different pronunciations of the past-tense marker “-ed” as
you will discover and learn more about in the Phonetics and
Phonology modules.

Knowledge of second-language learning theories, will help a

teacher to understand the processes of language acquisition (of
especially students in nursery, primary and early secondary
levels). Sociolinguistic theories will enlighten him/her about and
the reasons for language variation, especially in Guyana’s multi-
linguistic environment.

Importantly, the study of Linguistics will impact on a teacher’s

philosophy of education and teaching in a positive way that
places more value on the students’ language needs. For
example, in Language-Arts subjects, the method of
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is used, and such a
model is linguistically influenced.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

A grammar teacher has a prescriptive approach since s/he aims

to enable students to use a language correctly. On the other
hand, a Linguist has a largely descriptive approach since s/he is
more interested in the rules and reasons. A linguistically trained
teacher is more conscious of the variations in his/her students’
written and spoken language. This understanding aids
tremendously in respecting the language rights of each student,
while at the same time helping them to use language more
proficiently.

In the case of the English-speaking Caribbean and Guyana, a

linguistically trained teacher is more cognizant of the reasons for
English mistakes, and realizes that those mistakes may very well
be correct forms in a Creole language and not mistakes. S/he
also understands the benefit of learning English in Guyana as a
second language both on the coastal region and in the interior
regions. Such a teacher is more acutely aware of the linguistic
differences that are present around him/her in the community
and country at large; and those differences should be used to
embolden a sense of national identity rather than a tool of
embarrassment. Teachers, therefore, can and should help
students to be more aware of their linguistic environment and
the value of their own language.

You can use such knowledge to become a linguist, and expand

on your interests in the field by pursuing a degree in Linguistics
at a university here in Guyana and/or abroad. Essentially,
studying linguistics will enable you to become a better teacher
because you will be able to value students’ language and
understand the underlying linguistic processes that are involved.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Summary (5 minutes)
Language is the structured system of communication that is
limited to humans. It is a social construct that has spoken,
written, and signed structure along with meaning. Linguistics is
the scientific study of those structures present in language.
There are several branches of Linguistics. Teachers will benefit
from the study of Linguistics because it will aid them in
understanding the underlying rules that govern how their
students use language in the classroom and community.
Teachers will and should understand and respect the linguistic
differences that are present among their students.

Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language. Cambridge

University Press. NY. 1995.

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An

Introduction to Language. Boston: Thonson Wadsworth,
2007.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio: Charles

E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,
Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Module 2: Phonetics and Phonology

(4hrs)

Overview:

This module presents an introduction to phonetics and phonology

in language as far as it is relevant to Guyana. It is not meant to
be exhaustive, and should be seen as introductory discussions
into the subject. Spoken languages consist of sounds, and each
sound has its individual properties. Understanding how speech
sounds are produced is very important to teachers, since they
are the ones who are actively involved in the classroom
especially in the formative years of their students’ language
learning experiences. Understanding the processes and rules
that govern the distribution of sounds is also necessary. Such an
understanding can equip teachers to employ more linguistic
pedagogical strategies in order to make their students more
competent in language use. While the latter part of this module
may become very technical (as is the case with this branch of

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Linguistics), the goal is for teachers to employ such knowledge of

not only surface rules of language but the underlying processes
that govern speech to their teaching methods.

Module Objectives:
By the end of this module you will be able to:

- Distinguish between phonetics and phonology

- Understand the mechanics of speech production
- Transcribe words and sentences
- Understand how phonological processes/rules are applied

Module orientation:
This module has two units:

Unit 1: An Introduction to Phonetics

Unit 2: Phonological Analysis

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to

complete each one of them as they would help you to remember
the information which you have learned.

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself.
The answers for these units have been included but you are
advised to check them only after you have completed the
activities.

Time Requirement:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

You will need about 2 hours to complete this module including

the activities.

Unit 1: Phonetics- An introduction (1

hr)

Introduction

Have you ever considered that we acquire and learn spoken

language before we learn to write it? Every spoken language is
composed of consonants, vowels, tones, stress, and rhythms.
Phonetics is the study that is concerned with the production
and description of speech sounds. Even in sign languages, some
theorists claim that there are “signed sounds” because of the
variation in expressionsi. There are essentially three branches of
phonetics: auditory phonetics, the study of the perception of
speech sounds; acoustic phonetics, the study of the physical

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

properties of speech sounds; and articulatory phonetics, the

study of how sounds are produced. For this module, and
especially this section, we will focus on articulatory phonetics.
You will also need to be au fait with terminology used in
phonetics.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

1. Understand the difference between phonetics and

2. Learn about the International Phonetic Alphabet

3. Become familiar with phonetic terminology

4. Transcribe words using the IPA.

Phonetics and the IPA

Consider the words “cat” and “cymbal”. Both begin with the
letter “c” but it makes the sound /k/ in (“kat”) and /s/ in
(“symbal”). There are also variations of vowel sounds with some
being “long” and “short” sounds as in tomato: “tomahto”,
“tomayto”, or even “tomahtee. These examples clearly prove
that the English alphabet does not capture the actual sounds we
make when we speak. There is therefore need for a system to
allow us to record the actual sounds of a language. Such a
system would be a phonetic system, which has a number of
symbols each representing a particular sound and only that
sound.

Linguists have devised such a system that represents every

speech sound regardless of the language. Such a system is

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and is

something that you may have encountered before. You may
recall seeing symbols like /dɪktʃənɛri/ next to words in some
dictionaries. The IPA makes use of symbols of the English
alphabet, and other unique symbols.

Every language has a store of sounds – the sounds that are

significant in that language (of course, we can make all kinds of
sounds with our mouths, but only some of these are used as
language).This store contains the ideal sounds that are used in
the language, and the speakers of the language have these
sounds “in their heads” so to speak.

These ideal sounds that the speakers know are called phonemes,
and we represent them in slashes / /. On the other hand, the
sounds we actually articulate are called phones and these are
shown in square brackets, [ ].We also know how to combine
these sounds and utter them as actual words and sentences. To
understand this difference between phoneme and phone,
consider someone who is “tied tongue”. Although that person’s
pronunciation is different from normal, he or she knows the ideal
sounds they intend to make. You might not realise it, but even
among normal persons, there is variation of pronunciation. You
do not pronounce “k” or “m” or “e” or any other sound of the
language exactly the same way every time.

Phonemes are minimal units of sound, and every word we

articulate is made up of these segments of sounds. For example,
the word “cats” is made up of four phonemes; “food” is made up
of three phonemes, since the two “o” letters are articulated as
one sound, one phoneme. As we can see from the last example,

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

phonemes are not the same as “letters” of the alphabet. They

are the sounds that we make in speech.

Phonetic symbols for English (IPA) (15 minutes)

Below you will find IPA symbols and sample words that are
examples of the sounds of English used in Guyana. In your
reading of Linguistics text books, you will find that the sounds
differ in different dialects of English. For example, words in
Standard American English are pronounced differently than the
way they would be pronounced in Guyana. The IPA is comprised
of consonants and vowels.

Consonants
/p/ please, appeal
/b/ beat, bubble
/t/ tap, brittle, stink
/d/ dive, mud
/k/ kite, critical, critique, coughs
/g/ give, finger
/f/ toffee, fish
/v/ very, convoy, of
/θ/ bath, teeth, three
/ð/ the, this, teethe
/s/ symbol, race
/z/ dogs, zero, Xerox, reside
/ʃ / fish, racial, petition
/ʒ/ casual, division
/dʒ/ judge, Jerry, plunge
/tʃ / chicken, puncture
/m/ mango, sample, dumb
/n/ resign, never

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

/ŋ/ mango, finger, young, ankle

/h/ house, hiccup
/l/ lost, world
/r/ cart, warrior
/w/ wow, twist
/j/ yesterday, young
/ʔ/ uh-oh

Vowels
Vowels are divided in two sections: monopthongs, which are
said to be simple vowels; and diphthongs, which are said to be
complex vowels. Diphthongs are considered to be one sound
even though it is represented by two symbols.

i. Monopthongs

/e/ ape, rate, bait

// eat, people, donkey

// tip, business, injustice

// egg, pest, them

/ square

/o/ over, throat, scope

/u/ moot, truth, through

/ʊ/ book, would, put

/ɔ/ umbrella, pot, wrong

/ʌ/ potato, strut

/ə/ Asia, error, bonus

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

/ trap

/ lot

/ bath, basket

ii. Diphthongs

/ai/ right, isolate, try

/ɔɪ/ boil, toy, rejoice

/ɔu/ cow, now

/ near

 Cure

 Face

 Goat

 Mouth

We use these symbols to transcribe speech. For example,

“cheese” would be transcribed this way: [tʃiz], “bread” would be [brɛd],
“tea” would be [ti] and butter would be [bʌtə].

Phonemes and Allophones (5 minutes)

We said above that the phonemes of a language are ideal

sounds. In actuality when we speak, we use these sounds in
combination with other sounds, and we move very quickly from

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

one phoneme to another. For instance, in saying “car” we do not

say one phoneme at a time - [k-a-r] - but we say all the
phonemes as one flowing sound [kar]. When this happens, the
articulation of one sound sometimes affects or influences the
articulation of another sound, causing a variation from the ideal
sound. Another way in which allophones may be seen is because
of variations in pronunciation. A good example is the way
Guyanese say words that contain “th’ sounds. Instead of “think”
we say “tink”. But we all know that for Guyanese, these two
words are exactly the same – there is no difference in meaning
between them. A Guyanese can choose to articulate the “th’
sounds or not. Therefore, the variation between “th” and “t” is
only a phonological variation, and we say that “th” and “t” are
allophones.

Suprasegmentals(5 minutes)

In addition to symbols given above, speech has other features that

“ride on top” of vowels and consonants. These are called
suprasegmentals (or prosodic features) and include stress, tone, and
length. For example, “father” may have two meanings in Guyana
depending on how it is pronounced. The word, “father”, can either
refer to a male parent; or a priest- the “faather”. A stress on the vowel
[a] indicates the change in meaning. To represent stress, the symbol
used is [ ' ] and would be written over the [а́].

Diacritics, which the IPA also uses, can be added to the existing
phone to indicate a slight change in that sound.

Some diacritics used are:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

a. [:] which indicates length. Example, the vowel [a] in “yard” can be
lengthened to “yaard”. Phonetically, we would transcribe that as
[ja:rd].

b. [~] indicates nasalisation, or when air flows through the nose to

pronounce the word. For example, if a vowel becomes nasalized we
write it as [õ].Hold your nose and say “move”. You will notice that
air is supposed to travel through the nasal passage to pronounce
[o]. Nasalisation will be discussed later in more details in the unit
on Phonology.

c. [ʰ] indicates aspiration, or a puff of air, that is inserted along with

other phonemes. If you put your hand in front of your mouth, you
will feel a puff of air when you begin to say the word “test”. We can
transcribe that as [tʰɛst].Another example is when some persons
aspirate the word “egg” which would be transcribed as [ʰɛg].

Phonetic Transcription (15 minutes)

A linguist from any part of the world would be able to read and
pronounce words transcribed in any language because the IPA allows
the sounds of the language to be captured. Phonetic transcription is
therefore a system of writing that represents each segment of sounds
in words with one symbol at a time depending on how it is
articulated by a speaker. Phonemic transcription is the
representation of the ideal or standard sound. In this section, you will
be required to transcribe words and sentences.

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Phonemically transcribe the words listed below. Remember to

enclose your transcription in slashes- / /. The first one is done
for you.

1. “useful” - [jusfəl]

2. “UG”

3. “teacher”

4. “judge”

5. “Corentyne has a thriving fishing industry.”

6. “Linguistics is an exciting subject.”

Now try the reverse.

Activity 2: (5 minutes)

Give the English sentence for the phonetic transcription below.

[gaijanəIz ʃɛdʒjuld tʊ hav ilɛktʃɔnzðIs jer and pipəl ar bigInIŋ tʊ wɔndər

wɔt It wIl bi laik kɔnsɪdərɪŋ ðItɛnʃənðat nɔrmʌli ɔkrz]

Feedback

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

You would notice that you had to forget the English orthography and
concentrate on the phonemes of the words. It would be good to have a
dictionary that has IPA symbols next to the words. You can try to
phonetically transcribe the words too. Pronounce the words below and
listen to your pronunciation; or ask someone to say the words and
transcribe what you hear. A phonetic transcription would have to be
done using square brackets [ ].

Activity 1

2. /jugi/

3. /titʃər/ or /titʃə/

4. /dʒʌdʒ/

5. /kʌrɛnti:n haz a θraivɪŋ fɪʃɪŋ ɪndɔstʃri/

6. /lɪŋgwɪstɪks ɪz an ɛksaitɪŋ sɔbdʒɜkt/

Activity 2

“Guyana is scheduled to have elections this year and people are

beginning to wonder what it would be like considering the tension that
normally occurs.”

Summary (5 minutes)

Phonetics is the study of sounds - the qualities of sound and how

sounds are produced. Phonology is the study of sounds in use.
Phonetics and Phonology make use of the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA), which contains symbols for consonants, vowels, and

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

suprasegmentals to represent individual sounds of speech since

traditional orthography does not capture sounds entirely. Phonetic
transcription is used to record how sounds are articulated.

Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.
Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge

University Press. NY. 1995.

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An

Introduction to Language. Boston: Thonson Wadsworth,
2007.

Jenkins, Jennifer. The Phonology of English as an International

Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Knight, Rachael-Ann. Phonetics. A Coursebook. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A
Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003 .

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Unit 2: Phonological Analysis (1 hr)

Introduction
Speech could be regarded as a physical manifestation of sound.
Of course, apart from uttering physical sounds, there is much
more going on “behind the scenes” every time we speak: our
minds and brain are thinking and planning what to say and how
to say it, out nerves are controlling our lips and tongue and

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

lungs, and so. In this module, however, we will focus on speech

as sound, and we will discuss the other elements in other
modules. As sound, speech offers a number of interesting and
important areas for us to consider.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

1. Understand the physical properties of speech sounds

2. Understand and identify changes that happen to sounds in the

stream of speech

3. Conduct phonological analysis

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

In this section, we look at the physical properties of speech sounds. We
will restrict our investigation to the sounds of English and Guyanese
Creole, although the sounds of all human languages possess similar
qualities.

Human Vocal Apparatus (5 minutes)

The diagram (source: clas.mq.edu.au) below shows the areas of

the human body that are involved in the production of speech
sounds:

The diagram shows the areas of our body – primarily the mouth,
nostrils and throat – which are involved in the physical
production of speech. We use different parts our vocal apparatus
in different ways to produce the sounds of speech. In doing this,
each sound is produced by a particular set of movements, made
in particular ways, and at particular places in our vocal tract.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Distinctive Features

We can make use of these particularities of sound production to

identify each sound that we make as part of our language. These
particularities are called distinctive features, and they occur in all
languages. In fact, a survey of distinctive features across all
languages will show a relative small set of such features. Some
languages, of course, will produce sounds in somewhat different
ways and in some different places in the vocal tract than other
languages. Speakers of Arabic, for example, make sounds at the
very back of the mouth, which speakers English do not. Speakers
of Spanish have an ordinary /r/ phoneme and a rolled /r/
phoneme.

For the consonant phonemes, the distinctive features that we

use in phonology may be grouped into three kinds: (1) those that
result from where in the vocal tract the phoneme is made: (2)
those that result from how the phoneme is produced and (3)
those that indicate whether the phoneme is produced with
vibration of the vocal chords or not.

A similar system is used to describe the distinctive features of

vowels. We will look first at the consonant phonemes.

Distinctive Features of Consonants (10 minutes)

Place of Articulation

The first kind of distinctive features are called place of

articulation features. Each phoneme is articulated at a particular
point in our articulatory tract. The table below shows these areas
of articulation:

Area of Articulation Explanation

and Phonemes
1. Bilabial by the joining of the two lips

/p, b, m, w/

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

2. Inter-dental with tip of tongue between the teeth

/θ, ð/
3. Labio-dental with the top teeth on the bottom lip

/f, v/
4. Alveolar with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge
/t, d, s, z, n/
5. Alveo-palatal with tongue between the alveolar and
palatal areas
/ ʃ, ʒ, dʒ, tʃ/
6. Palatal with the tip of the tongue on the hard palate

/l, r, j/
7. Velar with back of tongue at the velum

/k, g, ŋ/
8. Glottal at the glottis
/ h, ?/

Manner of Articulation Distinctive Features

These refer to the ways in which the sounds are produced. We use our
lips, tongue and other parts of our speech apparatus to shape the
stream of air from our lungs. We do this shaping of the air in different
ways, and these we classify as the manner of articulation features.
These are shown in the table below:

Manner of Explanation
Articulation
and Phonemes
1. Plosives or Stops stopping the stream of air then releasing it
/p, b, t, d, k, g,? /

2. Nasals directing the air through the nose

/m, n, ŋ/
3. Laterals directing the air along the sides of the
/l/ tongue
4. Fricatives releasing the air in a hissing manner
/f, v, h, s, z, θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ/
5. Affricates a combination of Stop and Fricative
/dʒ, tʃ/ articulation
6. Glides starting the articulation at one point then
/w, j/ smoothly ending it at another point
7. Retroflex with the tongue curled backwards
/r/

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Voicing
Voicing refers to whether the vocal chords are vibrated or not
during the production of a phoneme. Phonemes that are
produced with such vibration are called voiced phonemes while
those that are not are called voiceless phonemes.

The following consonant phonemes are voiced: /b, d, g, m, n, ŋ, ð, ʒ,

v, w, r, j, l, z, ʒ/

The other consonants are voiceless.

Distinctive Features of Vowels (10 minutes)

The distinctive features for vowels are described in terms of (1) place
of articulation, (2) manner of articulation and (3) shape of lips.

All the vowels are voiced.

Place of articulation

Vowels are described as high, mid or low, and front, central or back
depending on where in the oral cavity they are produced. This is shown
in the chart below.

Manner of Articulation

Vowels are described as either tense or lax. Tense vowels are those
which are produced with some effort and energy. Lax vowels have the
opposite qualities – they are produced with less effort and energy.

Shape of Lips

The rounding or spreading of the lips is another distinctive feature in

the identification of different vowel phonemes. These different shapes

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

of the lips are clearly seen when vowels are uttered (check them for
yourself in a mirror!).

Front Centre Back

(spread) (round)
High (tense) /i/ /u/
(lax) /ɪ/ /ʊ/
Mid (tense) /e/ /ʌ / /o/
(lax) /ɛ/ /ə/ /ɔ/
Low (tense)
(lax) /a/

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are classified as rising or falling. Using the /ai/ as an

example, you can see that it begins with a low vowel but ends with a
high vowel. It is therefore a rising diphthong. Classify the others:

/ia/ _____________________________

/ɔɪ/ _____________________________

/ɔu/ _____________________________

Using these features, we can accurately describe phonemes, for instance:

a voiced bilabial stop: /b/

a voiceless inter-dental fricative: / θ/

a velar nasal: /ŋ/

a high, tense front vowel: /i/

a mid, back, lax vowel: /ɔ/

a falling diphthong: /ia/

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Using these distinctive features, we can describe phonemes, we can

compare them and we can contrast them. For example, we can
recognize that some phonemes are generally the same, but they differ
only on one feature. For example, /p/ and /b/ are both bilabial stops,
but one is voiced and the other is voiceless. This kind of insight helps
us when we do phonological analysis.

Phonological Processes (10 minutes)

The distinctive features give us an ideal description of each phoneme.

However, as we saw in the previous unit, when we speak, we do so in
strings of connected phonemes, and we move from phoneme top
phoneme very quickly. In this process, changes can happen to
phonemes or to parts of words.

We call these changes phonological processes, and they are of

different kinds: the distinctive features of one phoneme may influence
or affect those of another phoneme; some phonemes may be dropped;
phonemes may be added; the features of some phonemes may
change, parts of words may be omitted and so on. Here is a list of
some common phonological processes:

1. Conditioning – this happens when the features of one phoneme influence

another. The two phonemes therefore become more similar to one another.
e.g. In English, we write “incomplete” /ɪnkɔmplit/ but we pronounce it
[ɪŋkɔmplit] - the alveolar nasal /n/ changes to a velar nasal [ŋ]. This
happens because of the influence of the sound /k/ which follows it. If
you check the distinctive features, you will see that /k/ is a velar sound.
Thus, in saying the word, your mouth prepares to make the /k/ sound
while it is making the nasal sound – it is easier to make two sounds of
the same kind instead of making an alveolar sound then a velar sound.

2. Degemination – when two similar sounds are made in succession, they

may be fused into one sound, or one of them might be dropped.
e.g. Many persons blend the /n/ and the /m/ into one sound in the word
“environment” so it is articulated as “enviroment”

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

3. Palatalisation - the addition of a /j/ sound between two phonemes

e.g. in Guyanese Creole, many persons say “gyarden” instead of
“garden”.

4. Syncope/Ellipsis- omission of part of a word.

e.g. many persons say “compulsry” instead of “compulsory”

5. Prothesis - addition of a sound or syllable at the beginning of a word.

e.g. some Guyanese say “hevry” instead of “every” -they add an
/h/ sound to the beginning of words that begin with some vowels.
This kind of prosthesis is called Aspiration.

6. Apocope- the loss of sound(s) from the end of a word

e.g. in Guyanese Creole, we usually say “roun” rather than “round”

7. Raising - the change in point of articulation of vowels from a low point to

a higher one
e.g. Guyanese “trimble” from English “tremble”

8. Metathesis - the transposition of sounds in a word

e.g. GCE “aks” from English ‘ask”

Phonological Analysis (15 minutes)

We conduct phonological analysis in order to identify the sounds of a

language, to help persons who have difficulties in articulating sounds,
to help students to understand the differences between words that are
similar, to understand how the phonology of a language works, and for
many other reasons.

Basically, phonological analysis is a comparative and contrastive

process, but it is informed by the principles of phonetics and
phonology. Here is an example:

Question:

Examine the examples below of the prefix (underlined) meaning “not”.

Does this mean that English has five different ways of indicating
“not”?

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

(a) immature, impossible

(b)inaccurate, indecent
(c) irresponsible, irreplaceable
(d)incomplete ingratitude
(e) illegal illogical
Analysis:

To answer this question, you need to first examine the affixes. They all begin with
the same phoneme /ɪ/. The next phoneme, a consonant, however, varies. We now
examine the distinctive features of these consonants. We notice that:

- the first consonant is /m/ and this is a bilabial nasal

- the second consonant is /n/ and this is a alveolar nasal
- the third consonant is /r/ and this is a retroflex
- the fourth consonant in actually /ŋ/ (even though it is spelled “n”) and it is
a velar nasal
- the final consonant is /l/ a liquid sound.

We now examine the environments (i.e., the phonemes before it and the
phonemes after it) in which each of the different forms of the prefix occurs. We
try to see whether there is a similarity between the distinctive features of the
consonants in the prefix and the consonants in their environment.

When we do this we see that:

- im occurs with words that begin with /m/ and /p/ and these are bilabial
sounds
- in occurs with words that begin with /a/ and /d/. /a/ is a vowel and /d/
is an alveolar sound
- ir and il occur with words that begin with the same consonants as in the
prefixes

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

- iŋ occurs with words that begin with /k/ (‘c’ is pronounced /k/) and/g/.
These are velar sounds.

What we notice is that when there is a correspondence between the

consonant in the prefix and the first consonant in the word. For
example,

- The prefix im goes with words that begin with bilabial

phonemes
- The prefix in goes with vowels and alveolar phonemes
- The prefix ir and il go with words that begin with similar
consonants
- The prefix iŋ goes with words that begin with velar
phonemes.

Answer:
English does not have five different prefixes to indicate “not”. It
has one prefix which varies phonologically depending on the
nature of the environment to which it is attached. The prefix is
phonologically conditioned to match the first consonant in the
word to which it is attached.

Activity 2 (5 minutes)

This time we will look at a foreign language. The principles of

analysis remain the same, even though the phonemes may be
different. Understanding of distinctive features and careful
comparison and contrasting of the data will always help you
when doing phonological analysis.

Question: Are [s] and [ʃ] allophones or separate phonemes in

Korean?

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Korean

[ʃi] poem [miso] smile

[ʃilsu] mistake [kasəl] hypothesis

[oʃip] fifty [sal] flesh

Analysis: We again compare the environments in which the two

sounds occur, and the distinctive features of the phonemes
involved.

[ʃ] is a alveo-palatal fricative

[s] is an alveolar fricative

If you look at the diagram of the vocal tract, you will see
that [s] is articulated closer to the front of the mouth while
[ʃ] is articulated a little further back in the mouth.

We notice that vowels always follow these two phonemes, but

interestingly,

- [ʃ] always occurs before [i]

- [s] never occurs before [i]

Clearly, [s] and [ʃ] occur in different environments. Also, we note

that [s] and [ʃ] are two similar sounds. Add to this the fact that
[s] never occurs before [i], which suggests that [s] and [ʃ] are
really one sound that is changed whenever [i] follows it.

Conclusion: [s] and [ʃ] are allophones of the same phoneme.

When [i] comes after [s], the speakers have to raise their tongue
some more to make the high front vowel. This causes [s] to be
articulated as [ʃ].

Suggested further activity:

1. Collect words which show phonological processes. NOTE:

Some words may show more than one process.

- write the words in English

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

- transcribe the standard form of the word, then the

form of the word as it is pronounced. Use the IPA
alphabet to do both of these
- identify the process/processes.

Summary (5 minutes)

Phonetics and Phonology deal with the sounds of speech and

what happens when these sounds combine to make units. The
phoneme is the basic unit of Phonetics and Phonology and there
are also phonological processes that arise in the stream of
speech. We can use the tools and principles of phonetics and
phonology to analyse the speech sounds of any language.

Suggested References

Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.

Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge

University Press. NY. 1995.

Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hymes. An

Introduction to Language. Boston: Thonson Wadsworth,
2007.

Jenkins, Jennifer. The Phonology of English as an International

Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Knight, Rachael-Ann. Phonetics. A Coursebook. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003 .

MODULE 3: Morphology (4 hrs)

Overview:

This module presents an introduction to morphology in language

as far as it is relevant to the content of this course. It is not
meant to be a rigorous discussion of all aspects of morphology.
Morphology – or the study of patterns in the formation of words –
is very important in the study of language. The goal of
morphological analysis is to determine the rules that speakers
actually follow for forming words in a particular language. This
knowledge enhances many areas of speech and writing inclusive
of word selection, spelling and sentence formation.

Module Objectives:
By the end of this module you will be able to:

- Define morphology
- Distinguish between bound and free morphemes

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

- Distinguish between lexical and functional morphemes

- Distinguish between inflectional and derivational
morphemes
- Understand how affixes function in words
- Understand morphs and allomorphs

Module orientation:
This module has four units:

Unit 1: An overview of morphology

Unit 2: Bound and free morphemes

Unit 3: Word Formation process

Unit 4: Morphs and Allomorphs

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to

complete each one of them as they would help you to remember
the information which you have learned.

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself.
The answers for these units have been included but you are
advised to check them only after you have completed the
activities.

Time Requirement:

You will need about 4 hours to complete this module including

the activities.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Unit 1: An Overview of Morphology (1

hr )

Introduction:

This unit will help you to understand how words are formed. It
will help you to discern differences in the formation and meaning
of words, and to take words apart and put them together. English
word forms must consist of one element, but may have other
elements or affixes.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Define morphology
- Define morpheme
- Identify bound morphemes
- Identify free morphemes
-Identify affixes (prefixes and suffixes)
- Define simple, complex and compound words

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

Words are the basic building blocks of the messages we
communicate to one another through spoken or written
language. But when we think some more about what exactly is a
word, we realise that words are not always simple units. For
example, we all will agree that hard and drives are words. But,
what about hard drive? Is this one word or two words? Does it
mean “a drive that is hard”? I think you will agree that the two
words in hard drive function as one unit of meaning, and also
that this meaning is different from the individual meanings of the
two words by themselves. Think about other examples such as
workman, Office of the President, motel, and mother-in-law.

On the other hand, consider words such as books, walked,

talking and disappear. Again you recognize these as simple
words, but that there is something more. We now have some
units (s, ed, ing and dis) which are smaller than words. Yet, these
small units do signal meaning (plurality, past tense, opposite and
continuity) when we add them to words.

All of these examples should make you think some more about
the concept of “word”. We see, therefore, that a “word” can be a
single independent unit such as book, hard, appear, and drive.
Or, it can be a combination of words, e.g., hard drive. Or, it can
be a word and units (e.g. dis, ed, ese) that are smaller than
words, e.g., Guyana + ese (Guyanese).Further, we can create
combinations such as hard drives (hard + drive + s).

In some cases, these combinations create words that had never

existed before (e.g. hard drive). In other cases, the combinations
are necessary for grammatical purposes (e.g. adding s to
indicate plurality or ed to indicate past tense).

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Overview of Morphology (5 minutes)

All of these units that can stand by themselves as words, or can

be combined to create words, or can be added to words for
grammatical purposes are called morphemes.

A morpheme is defined as “a minimal unit of meaning or

grammatical function which is used in a language.” This means
that if we take away any part of the morpheme, the entire
meaning will be lost. Therefore, mother-in-law may be made of
three words, but it is one morpheme. Similarly, the smaller units
such as s, ed and ing which we use to indicate plurality, tense
and other grammatical functions, also cannot be reduced.

The study of morphemes, and how they are used to form new
words or indicate grammar, is called morphology.

Morphology is a sub-discipline of linguistics that studies word

structure. The term morphology literally means “the study of
forms.” It was originally used in biology, but since the middle of
the 19th century, has also been used to describe that type of
investigation which analyses all those basic ‘elements” in a word.
.

Morphemes can vary in size: neither the number of syllables nor

the length of a word can indicate what a morpheme is and what
isn’t. For example, Albatross is a long word but it is a single
morpheme – it cannot be reduced without losing its meaning.
Similarly, -y (as in dreamy) is also a single morpheme.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

(Mini-lecturette) (5 minutes)

The importance of Morphology

Morphology or the study of patterns in the formation of words
has a great deal of value. Morphology helps students to
understand how words are formed, and subsequently how they
may be used in sentences. Morphology is important to speech
and fluency. The definability of linguistic units (word parts) and
how they take part in sentence structure allows a speaker to
manipulate the units. Morphology enhances many areas of
speech and writing inclusive of word selection, spelling and
sentence formation. Making smart word choices, spelling words
correctly, and forming sentences properly each contribute to an
overall mastery of language.

Identifying Morphemes (5minutes)

Morphemes are identified by their shape or form, pattern of

distribution, and meaning.

Shape or form refers to how the morpheme is written or spoken.

For example, ed is the shape or form of the past tense
morpheme in English, while s is the shape or form of the plural
morpheme. These shapes or forms may vary – for example,
sometimes the plural morpheme in English is pronounced “s” as
in “cats”, sometimes it is pronounced “z” as in “cars” and
sometimes it is pronounced “iz” as in “buses”. Sometimes, there
is no discernable shape at all, as is the case with the plural of
“sheep”. We will discuss this further in Unit 4.

The pattern of distribution refers to how a morpheme is used.

You already know that ed is used in a specific manner – it is
added to verbs, not nouns, and it is added to the ends of verbs.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

This, then, is the pattern of distribution of the past tense

morpheme in English. If an s is added to the end of a noun such
as book, you know it indicates plurality; ing added to verbs such
as read to indicate continuity; and ed added to verbs such as
talk indicates past tense.

This raises another important point about morphemes.

Sometimes, different morphemes may have the same shape or
form. For example, if we add s to the end of a noun, it indicates
plurality. If we add s to the end of a verb, what happens? In this
pattern of distribution, s now indicates third person singular. If
we attach it after an apostrophe at the end of a proper noun, it
indicates possession (e.g. Balram’s). These, therefore, are three
different morphemes, even though they all have the same shape
or form.

Morphemes are used systematically. For example, you know that

you cannot combine the small units (e.g. ed and ing) to make a
new word, but you can combine whole words to create new
words - for example, we have combined hard and drive to create
the new word hard drive.

Finally, since morphemes are meaningful units, they are

identified by their meaning function. For example, the s at the
end of the word books indicates plurality and is therefore a
morpheme. On the other hand, the s at the end of the word
Charles is not a morpheme because it does not indicate plurality
(Charles is not the plural of Charl!). Also, the er at the end of
teacher indicates someone who teaches, but the er at the end of
danger does not indicate something that “danges”!

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Word Construction and Analysis (10)

The morphemes we have been discussing can be put into two

groups: bound morphemes and free morphemes. Free
morphemes are those which can stand by themselves (e.g. book,
walk, talk), while bound morphemes are those such as s, ing, and
ed that cannot stand alone.

Words in English are made up of free and bound morphemes.

Using this information, we can now approach words and meaning
in a more systematic manner. Many of the words we use are
morphologically complex –they are composed of more than one
morpheme. In our analysis, we look for the constituent which
may be considered as the basic one, the core of the form, with
the others treated as being added on.

Example 1: The word ‘reopened’ consists of three morphemes.

We recognize the basic, core constituent “open” and other
constituents “re” (meaning ‘again’), and another minimal unit
“ed” which indicates a grammatical function (past tense).

The basic or core morpheme is referred to as the stem, root, or

base, while the add-ons are affixes. Affixes that precede the
stem are of course prefixes, while those that follow the stem are
suffixes.

When doing morphological analysis, we use braces or curly

brackets { } to indicate morphemes. Square brackets [ ] indicate
a semantic characterization. Italics indicate a lexical item. We
will therefore rewrite our word analysis this way:

Example 2: The word ‘tourists’ contains three morphemes: a

stem and two affixes, both of which are suffixes. The stem is
{tour} [a journey through a place or country], and the suffixes

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

are {ist}, [‘person who does something’], and {s} [which serves
the grammatical function of indicating plurality].

Words may be morphologically simple, compound, or complex.

Words with just one free morpheme, for example, ‘tree’ are
simple words. Words that consist of two or more free morphemes
for example, ‘teacup’ are compound words. Words with a free
morpheme and one or more bound morpheme, like ‘trees’ are
complex words.

Simple word Compound word Complex word

One free morpheme Two free morphemes One free morpheme

and one or more bound
Example: {tree} Example: Blackboard
morphemes
{black}+ {board}
Example: {re}
{arrange} {d}

Prefixes and suffixes are almost always bound morphemes.

Example Prefix Stem (free) Suffix Suffix

(bound) (bound) (bound)

undressed {un} {dress} {ed}

carelessnes {care} {less} {ness}

s

teacher {teach} {er}

Base, stem and root

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

In order to make the segmentation of words into smaller parts a

little clearer, we differentiate between the base, the stem and
the root of a word in morphological terms. BASE = an element
(free or bound, root morpheme or complex word) to which
additional morphemes are added. Also called a STEM, a base
can consist of a single root morpheme, as with ‘kind’ in the word
‘kindness’. But a base can also itself contain more than one
morpheme. For example, we can use the word 'kindness' as a
base to form the word 'kindnesses'; to make 'kindnesses', we add
the plural morpheme, spelled '-es' in this case, to the base
'kindness'.

ROOT = a (usually free) morpheme around which words can be

built up through the addition of affixes. The root usually has a
more-specific meaning than the affixes that attach to it. For
example, the root 'kind' can have affixes added to it to form
'kindly', 'kindness', 'kinder', 'kindest'. The root is the item you
have left when you strip all other morphemes off of a complex
word. In the word dehumanizing, for example, if you strip off all
the affixes -- -ing, -ize, and de-, human is what you have left. It
cannot be divided further into meaningful parts. It is the root of
the word.

But what about the stems, are they always free?

There are a number of English words in which the element which

seems to be the stem, is not, in fact a free morpheme. In words
like receive, reduce, repeat, we can recognize the bound
morpheme re, but the elements –ceive, -duce, and –peat, are
clearly not free morphemes.

Forms like, -ceive, -duce, and –peat are bound stems.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Forms like “dress,” “care,” and “teach” are free stems.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Reflect on bound and free morphemes before you complete

the following exercise.

1. State the number of morphemes in the following words:

Actors, strongest, precede, cupboard, anthill, dogs, and
house.
2. State whether each of the above words is simple,
compound, or complex.
3. List the “bound” morphemes to be found in the following
words: misleads, previewer, fearlessly, precede,
disentangled.

Feedback to activity 1 (5 minutes)

Actor has two morphemes ‘act-or.’ It is a complex word.

Strongest has two morphemes ‘strong-est.’ It is a complex word.

Precede has two morphemes ‘pre –cede.’ It is a complex word.

Cupboard has two morphemes. It is a compound word.

Cyril Potter College of Education
English Morphology
Module 4

Anthill has two morphemes. It is a compound word.

The word “Dogs” has two morphemes. It is a complex word.

House has one morpheme. It is a simple word.

In ‘misleads’ the bound morphemes are ‘mis, s’

In previewer the bound morphemes are ‘pre, er’

In fearlessly the bound morphemes are less, ly.’

In precede, the bound morpheme is ‘pre.’

In disentangled the bound morphemes are ‘dis’ and ‘d.’

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Imagine that as a classroom teacher, you have to teach word

parts to your students. What are some ways you could do this?
Write at least three ideas or ways you could use your knowledge
of word parts in the classroom.

Feedback mini-lecturette (5 minutes)

There are many ways a teacher could utilize to teach word-parts.

(1) The teacher can make games to help students identify word
parts, and become familiar with the form and spelling of words.
For example, in a word like ‘dehumanizing, the teacher can strip
all the affixes (de-, -ing, -ize) and place the root ‘human’ and

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

affixes on word cards. The teacher shuffles the words and the
student finds the correct word cards and spells the words. (2)
Students should use a dictionary to ensure they know word
meanings, then they could use words in sentences. (3) Students
can also make the word card game competitive to see which
group wins. Students can also use the root of the words to form
new words.

Summary (2 minutes)

A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit or part of a word.

Identifying these units and how they are combined is called
Morphology. Words are made up of free and bound
morphemes. Linguists analyze words by their structure. Some
words have one free morpheme. Complex words combine free
and bound morphemes while compound words consist of two or
more free morphemes. Students can be taught to use their
knowledge of word parts to see how prefixes, stems and suffixes
go together to form words.

Suggested References

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,

Phonics, Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.
Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Unit 2: Types of bound and free

Morphemes (1hr.)

Introduction:

This unit will sensitize students about types of bound and free
morphemes and how they are used in language. This knowledge
will enhance many areas of both teachers and their students’
speech and writing inclusive of word selection, spelling and
sentence formation.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to define

and identify:

- Lexical morphemes
- Functional morphemes
- Derivational morphemes
- Derivational inflectional morphemes
- Function of morphemes in sentences

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Start of the lesson (3 minutes)

In the previous unit you were introduced to morphemes.

A morpheme can be defined as a minimal unit having more or

less constant meaning and more of less constant shape or form.
(‘More or less’ because... see below.)

For example, linguists say that the word buyers is made up of

three morphemes {buy}+{er}+{s}. The evidence for this is that
each can occur in other combinations of morphemes without
changing its meaning. We can find {buy} in buying, buys, and
{er} in seller, fisher, as well as buyer. And {s} can be found in
boys, girls, and dogs. The more combinations a morpheme is
found in, the more productive it is said to be.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

As we have seen, there are two types of morphemes: ‘bound’
and ‘free.’

1. Categories of Free Morphemes

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Free morphemes are divided into two categories: lexical and

functional.

Free morphemes

lexical functional

1. Lexical morphemes are words that have meaning by

themselves. This category is made up of ordinary nouns,
adjectives, and verbs which we think of as the words which
carry the ‘content.’ Examples are boy, man, house, sad, long,
yellow and break. We can add new lexical morphemes to the
language rather easily, so they are treated as an open class of
words. Below are some examples of lexical morphemes.
Some Examples of Lexical Morphemes in
English

Bases

Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs

dog have silly Very

chart touch hot Too

word be strong Now

child stay new Again

student go quick Then

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Functional morphemes are the other group of free morphemes.

They consist of the functional words in the language -
conjunctions, prepositions, articles and pronouns. For example:
and, near, above, in, the, but, on, that, etc. Functional
morphemes consist largely of functional words in the language
such as conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and pronouns. Some
examples are: and, but, when, because, on, above, in, the, that,
it.

Because we almost never add new functional morphemes to the

language, they are described as a “closed” class of words.

2. Categories of Bound Morphemes

Bound morphemes are the prefixes and suffixes - those
morphemes which cannot stand by themselves, e.g. {re-},
{anti-}, {dis-}, {-er}, {-ed}. Bound morphemes also fall into two
groups: derivational and inflectional:

Bound Morphemes

derivational inflectional

Derivational bound morphemes are used as prefixes and suffixes

to create new words. Some of them are:

Prefixes Suffixes

anti Ness

con Ion

di Ity

pro Or

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

ex ize,

re
Al

un Ic

Ous

pre

dis

We add these to free lexical morphemes, as in anti-government,

re-arrange, stupidity, actor.

Inflectional bound morphemes are used when we need to

indicate grammatical contrasts, for example, the difference
between past and present tense, between singular and plural,
and so on.

Types of Morphology (10 minutes)

Bound morphemes and free morphemes are used in two different

morphological processes: derivational morphology and
inflectional morphology.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

1. Derivational Morphology
Derivational morphology is the process by which we derive or
create new words in a language. This can be done in three ways:

- combining free morphemes

- adding bound morphemes to free morphemes
- adding both free and bound morphemes

There are many examples of derivation using free morphemes:

seawall, backdam, hard drive, gateway and many more.

A list of derivation by bound morphemes will include foolish,

badly, untie, re-examine and many more.

We can even combine bound and free morphemes: driver,

canecutter, multimillionaire.

The new words we derive in these ways sometimes belong to

grammatical categories that are different from those of the stem.
For example, hard is an adjective and drive is a verb, but the new word
hard drive is a noun. The addition of the derivational morpheme -
ness changes the adjective good to the noun goodness. The
noun -care can become the adjective careful or careless through
the derivational morphemes -full or -less.

2. Inflectional Morphology
The second morphological process is called inflection. Inflections
are word endings which reflect grammatical contrasts.
Inflectional morphology studies the way in which words vary (or
inflect) in order to express grammatical contrasts in sentences,
such as singular/plural or past/present tense. In English the

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

inflectional morphemes are a very limited group of suffixes that

can be easily remembered.

Below are examples of some inflectional morphemes:

Morphem
Inflection
e

-s Plural morpheme (dogs)

Third person singular (I

-s
live, he lives)

-ed Past (lived)

-ing Progressive (living)

-er Comparative (taller)

Superlative (tallest)
-est

Possessive (Adrian’s
-‘s, -s’
The Jones’

For practice, let us take the word disappearances and analyse its
bound morphemes

Root word: appear

Bound morpheme type Function

-dis derivational Change meaning not

-ance derivational Change verb to noun

-s inflectional Change singular noun to

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

plural

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Reflect on lexical and functional morphemes, then complete

the following exercises.

A. What are the functional morphemes in the following

sentence?

The old man sat on a chair and told them tales of long ago.

B. What are the inflectional morphemes in the following

phrases:
a. The singer’s songs
b. It’s raining
c. The newest style
d. The cow jumped over the moon

C. Examine the lexical morphemes in the following list and

say what part of speech each one is.

Lexical Part of speech

Morpheme

Dog

Touch

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Strong

Very

Chart

Have

Again

D. Just for fun, take the following long word and

analyze its bound morphemes:

antidisestablishmentarianism

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

Remember that functional morphemes are conjunctions,

prepositions, articles, pronouns.

Activity A:

The functional morphemes are underlined.

The old man sat on chair and told them tales of long ago.

Activity B:

a. –‘s, -s

b. -ing

c. –est

d. -ed

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Activity C:

Lexical Part of speech

morpheme

Dog Noun

Touch Verb

Strong Adjective

Very Adverb

Chart Noun

Have Verb

Again Adverb

Activity D:

Root word: establish

Bound Type Function

morpheme

anti- derivational Change meaning against

dis- derivational Change meaning not

-ment derivational Change to noun (thing)

arian derivational Change to noun (possession)

-ism derivational Change to noun (philosophy)

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Write a paragraph or two to answer the following questions:

What is derivational morphology?

Why is it important?

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Derivational morphology changes the meaning of words by

applying derivations. A derivation is the combination of a word
stem with a morpheme, which forms a new word, which is often
of a different class. For example, develop becomes development,
developmental or redevelop.

The suffix -ation converts the verb nationalize, into the derived
noun nationalization. The suffix -ize converts the noun plural, into
the verb pluralize.

Nominalization is a common kind of derivation in English, and it

involves forming new nouns from verbs or adjectives, by adding
suffixes to them, for example:

Verb/ Derived
Suffix
adjective noun

-ness happy (A) happiness

-ee employ (V) employee

Derivational morphology can be quite complicated, as the

classes of words that an affix apply to are not always clear cut;
for example the suffix -ee cannot be added to all verbs, i.e. to

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

add it to run (V) gives runee, which is clearly not an English

word.

They are important because they produce new words or change

the function of a word. The morphological process of derivational
affixes is one of the richest sources of new words.

Summary (5 minutes)

Lexical morphemes are words that have meanings by

themselves. Some examples are, boy, food and door. Functional
morphemes consist of the function words in the language –
conjunctions, prepositions, articles and pronouns.

Bound morphemes come in two varieties, derivational and

inflectional, the core difference between the two being that the
addition of derivational morphemes creates new words while the
addition of inflectional words merely changes word form.

Inflections are grammatical morphemes. They consist of word

endings, like suffixes, but unlike suffixes, inflections express only
grammatical functions. Derivational morphemes create new
words in the language and are often used to make words of a
different grammatical category. Many new words are formed by
adding derivational affixes to roots. These word formation rules
follow regular patterns.

Suggested References

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge

University Press. NY. 1995.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What

you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,

Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,

1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,

Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Unit 3: Word formation processes (1

hr.)

Introduction:

The vocabulary of a language is in constant flux. Words enter

and leave our language all the time. Vocabularies are also varied
depending on where you live. People from other places where
English is spoken speak other varieties of English. The British use
the word boot to describe the storage compartment of a car and
they queue up at the store’s cash register. On the other hand,
people in the United States put their bags in the trunk of the car
and stand in line at the store’s cash register. Even within a
country vocabulary differs.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Morphology
Module 4

- Understand word formation processes

 Derivation
 Linguistic borrowing
 Compounding
 Clipping and blending
 Reduplication

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

How are words extended?

Derivation:

One process which we discussed in detail in the previous lesson

is derivation, the adding of bound or free morphemes to root
words to extend the meaning of an existing word. For example,
from the root compute comes derived forms such as computer,
computerize, non-computerized, and so on.

However, there are other forms of derivation. Sometimes a word

began life as a noun and was affixed to make it an adjective. For
other words, the base form was the verb and endings were
added later to make adjectives, adverbs and nouns. For instance,
the word snack was first used as a noun, then later, the same
word began to be used as a verb as well. The inflectional
morpheme –ing is now commonly added to the verb snack to
form the present progressive tense, snacking.

Further, it is also possible for words to change their class without

any affixation. Many words in English belong to more than one
lexical category. For instance, the word ride can be either a verb
or a noun. This process which is called lexical category
conversion is a derivational process whereby an item changes its
word class without the addition of an affix.

There is also the process of conversion which involves the

original word being used in a new way. Especially popular at the
moment is the conversion of nouns to verbs as in to diary and to
rubbish. Most unusual forms of conversion are from categories of

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

word not usually subject to alteration: this book is a must; a has

been, the workmen downed tools.

Word Formation Rules

One of the richest sources of new words is the morphological

process of derivational affixes.

Earlier on we explained that goodness is derived by adding ‘ness’

to the adjective good. This is an example of a general pattern.
When the suffix –er is added to a verb a new noun is created.
English has many of these -er words: preacher, baker, and singer
to name just three.

Yet another example of a very productive word formation rule is

that the suffix -ly can be added to adjectives to form adverbs.
Thus, English has words like quickly, slowly and laboriously. The
–ly suffix can be added to many different adjectives.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Besides derivation, there are several methods by which words
are entered into a language. We will be discussing some of them
in this lecture.

Linguistic borrowing

English owes the wealth of its vocabulary to borrowings from

other languages. Throughout the history of English new words
have been incorporated into the language through borrowing
(from languages as varied as Latin, Greek, Scandinavian, Arabic,
and many others) as well as through the application of

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

morphological and derivational rules to existing words and

morphemes. Words currently entering the language are called
neologisms (from "neo" new and "log" word).

Compounding

Another very productive process by which words are added to

language is compounding, the process of merging two pre-
existing words into a new concept. Examples of noun compounds
are toothache, earthquake, bloodstain, and housewife. Examples
of verb/object compounds are haircut and handshake. Examples
of verb/adverbial compounds are sleepwalking and air-borne.

As technology advances many new compounds are added. For

example, many new computer words like download, upload and
hard drive as well as other words like home-schooling and drive
thru have been added to English.

Clipping and blending

A very productive word formation process in English is clipping in

which you simply cut off part of a word: laboratory – lab,
dormitory – dorm and influenza – flu. Sometimes new words are
formed by more than one process. The words sitcom involves
clipping the phrase situation comedy and them blending sit and
com into one word. The same goes for simulcast (simultaneous
broadcast), blog (web log), and two of the most well-known
examples: motel (motor hotel) and brunch (breakfast and lunch).

Coinage

Sometimes when we create new inventions, discover new things

or come up with new concepts, we create totally new words for
them. This process is called coinage (these words may be called
neologisms as well). Some examples are the words gizmo, nerd

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

and quark (a subatomic particle) are all fairly recent inventions.

No one person has contributed to the English language as many
words as Shakespeare. There are more than 1,000 of his
creations in current use including: buzzer, cater, dawn, frugal,
hint, hurry, hobnob, obscene, torture and zany.

Reduplication

Another process of word creation is reduplication in which all or

part of a word is repeated. English has a number of rhyming
reduplications such as hanky panky, helter skelter, super-duper.
But in Guyanese, reduplication is used more effectively to create
new meanings. For example, the word for “one” (waan) is
reduplicated into waan waan and this creates a new meaning:
“a few”. Play is reduplicated to create play play, which means “to
pretend”. People also create whole new words such as bling
bling by using reduplication.

Morphological misanalysis

One prolific and interesting process by which we get new

vocabulary is called morphological misanalysis. In this process,
there has been some play in dividing up a word into the root and
the bound morphemes in a way that is not traditionally done.
One of the best known of these is chocoholic, the word for a
person addicted to chocolate. Consider the original word from
which this word was derived: alcoholic. The root word (free
morpheme) is alcoholic, which is attached to a bound morpheme
–ic (meaning one who does this a lot). If we put the same logic
process to work on chocolate, the addicted person should be
called a “chocolatic.”

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

For some reason this possible word does not sound as good as
chocoholic. For many years the word chocoholic stood alone, but
in the last decade, the –aholic bound morpheme has really taken
off. We now hear: drugaholic, shopaholic and workaholic among
others.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Although about 60 percent of the words in an English dictionary

have Latin or Greek roots, many words in a text are function words
or simple content words. Take a passage of one hundred
consecutive words. Working in pairs, closely examine each word by
placing it on a chart similar to the one that follows. If a word is
repeated, list it each time it appears. An example of each type of
word is shown in the sample chart to help you get started.

Simple Complex D I Compound Function

Nouns boy boys I toothbrus the

h

through

Verbs go prioritize D

Adjective green unsatisfactory D

s

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Adverbs fast slowly D

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

Analyze your results by answering the following questions:

What percentage of the words are function words?

What percentage are simple words?

What percentage are complex words with inflectional suffixes?

What percentage are complex words with derivational

suffixes?

What percent are compound words?

Discuss your findings in groups.

What percent of words in running text have meanings that

can be determined by structural analysis? That is how many
of these words are compound words or complex words with
derivational affixes?

According to the available word counts made on different parts

of speech, we find that derived words numerically constitute the
largest class of words in the existing word-stock. Derived nouns
comprise approximately 67% of the total number, adjectives
about 86% whereas compound nouns make about 15% and
adjectives about 4%. Root words come to about 18% in a noun
that is a trifle more than the number of compound words;
adjectives root words which come to approximately 12%
numerically constitute the largest class of words

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Match the expressions on the left with the correct morphological

description on the right.

(a) wifely, wifehood,

_______ 1. compound noun
wifeless

2. root morpheme plus derivational

_______ (b) take a wife
prefix

3. phrase consisting of adjective

_______ (c) his wife
plus noun

4. root morpheme plus inflectional

_______ (d) tall wife
suffix

5. root morpheme plus derivational

_______ (e) housewife
suffix

6. grammatical morpheme followed

_______ (f) wives
by lexical morpheme

_______ (g) ex-wife 7. idiom

II.

_______ (a) lives 1. compound noun

2. root morpheme plus derivational

_______ (b) a life
prefix

3. phrase consisting of adjective

_______ (c) long life
plus noun

(d) lifeguard, 4. root morpheme plus inflectional

_______
lifetime, lifeblood suffix

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

5. root morpheme plus derivational

_______ (e) for the life of me
suffix

6. grammatical morpheme followed

_______ (f) relive
by lexical morpheme

_______ (g) lifelike, lifeless 7. idiom

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Expression Morphologic
s al

Descriptions

A 5

B 7

C 6

D 3

E 1

F 6

G 2

A 4

B 6

C 3

D 1

E 7

F 2

G 5

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Summary (5 minutes)

There are several word formation processes which ensure that

the English language continues to grow and expand. Foremost of
these is derivation. Derivation is the adding of bound or free
morphemes to root words to extend the meaning of an existing
word. Furthermore, many words belong to more than one lexical
category. For instance the word ride, can be either a verb or a
noun. Derivational word formation rules are also used to make
new words.

Linguistic borrowings account for a huge percentage of English

words. English has borrowed words throughout its history.
Compounding is a popular method whereby pre-existing words
are merged. Clipping in which part of a word is cut off is a very
American method of forming a new word.

Coinage is a word formation method which corresponds to the

times. Shakespeare utilized this method during his era, and in
this computer age many coined words ‘gizmo’ and ‘nerd’ have
entered the vocabulary.
Reduplication focused on intensification of the word usage.
Finally, new words also enter the vocabulary through
morphological misdiagnosis.

Suggested References

Allsopp, J. and J. R. Rickford, eds. Language, Culture, and Caribbean

Identity. Kingston: Canoe Press, 2012.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge

University Press. NY. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What

you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,

Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,

1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,

Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Unit 4: Morphs and Allomorphs (1 hr.)

Introduction:

Many morphemes in English have more than one form or shape.

These variants are called allomorphs (just as we had variations
of phonemes or allophones earlier).One reason why there is
variation is because of phonology – the way sounds are
pronounced. But there are other reasons why the same
morpheme may be expressed in different ways. This lesson will
give you a better understanding of irregular morphemes.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Define morphs
- Define allomorphs
- Distinguish irregular plural morphemes
- Distinguish correct pronunciation of –ed ending

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

What is the difference between morphemes, morphs, and

allomorphs?

How is the plural morpheme created? Is there one way of

creating a plural form? When you look at certain inflectional
endings that occur in English, you’ll notice that they are often
but not always predictable. Here are a few examples for the
plural morpheme.

Singular morpheme Plural morpheme

One car Two cars
One rose Two roses
one mouse Two mice
One ox Two oxen
One sheep Two sheep
stadium Stadia

A vowel change instead of a suffix marks the plural in mice and

men. In oxen the suffix we encounter is rather exotic (meaning
this word is virtually the only one that takes the -en ending). In
the second-to-last example there is no visible plural marking at
all. And in the final example, the plural word has a different
shape.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Morphemes and their allomorphs

1
Introduction to Linguistics

Is every morpheme pronounced the same in all contexts? If it

were, most phonology texts could be considerably shorter than
they are! In fact, many morphemes have two or more different
pronunciations, called allomorphs, the choice between them
being determined by the context.

Morphology and phonetics

No linguistic system exists in a vacuum even though sometimes

we teach them as if they were. An example of how different
language systems affect each other can be seen when we look at
how some morphemes are specifically crafted because of sound
characteristics of the free morpheme. There may be several
spelling forms or several pronunciations that mean the same
thing but fit a particular pronunciation pattern.

If one compares cats, dogs and horses with cat, dog and horse
respectively, the obvious answer is: ‘by adding -s’. But English
spelling is notoriously unreliable as a guide to pronunciation. In
fact, this -s suffix has three allomorphs: [s] (as in cats or lamps),
[z] (as in dogs or days), and [ Iz] or [əz] (as in horses or judges). Is
it, then, that everyone learning English, whether natively or as a
second language, must learn individually for each noun which of
the three allomorphs is used in its plural form? That would seem
extremely laborious.

In fact, it is easy to show that the three allomorphs are

distributed in an entirely regular fashion, based on the sound
immediately preceding the suffix. When the preceding sound is a
sibilant (the kind of ‘hissing’ or ‘hushing’ sound heard at the end
of horse, rose, bush, church and judge), the [Iz] allomorph
occurs. When the preceding sound is voiceless, i.e. produced

2
Introduction to Linguistics

with no vibration of the vocal folds in the larynx (as in cat, rock,
cup or cliff), the [s] allomorph occurs, otherwise (i.e. after a
vowel or a voiced consonant, as in dog or day), the [z] allomorph
occurs.

Another interesting example is the past tense morpheme.

Although it has one spelling, -ed, it is actually pronounced in
three slightly different ways.

(1)Final –ed is pronounced [t] after final voiceless sounds in

the free morpheme. In other words, if the last sound in the
root word is voiceless, then voiceless [t] is added. For
example, the word drip ends in [p] which is voiceless. So
the [ed] past tense ending for dripped is pronounced [t].
Other examples are ‘pushed’ and ‘looked.’

(2) The final –ed is pronounced [d] after final voiced sounds in
the free morpheme. For example, the word sob ends in [b]
which is voiced, so the [ed] past tense ending for sobbed is
pronounced [d] since it is voiced. Other examples are
‘believed’ and ‘judged.’

(3) Some root words end in [t] or [d]. For example: wet, and
add. It is hard to repeat the same consonant twice in
succession, so we don’t simply add a [t] or [d] as with the
other two patterns. We pronounce the vowel as well:
added, wetted [id].

In effect, without realising it, we pay attention to these

phonological characteristics of the noun when deciding which
allomorph to use –though ‘decide’ is hardly the right word here,
because our ‘decision’ is quite unconscious.
3
Introduction to Linguistics

But what about words like oxen, sheep and stadia? The plural
forms of these words are determined not by phonology but by
their history. In the case of oxen, the en ending was originally a
part of the word, but is now only retained to mark the plural
form. Sheep is an example of a word that lost its historical
marking for plurality. As a West Germanic word – skaepa - its
original marking for the plural was by the addition of a vowel.
This type of plural marking was dropped from English, and sheep
remains without a plural form. Stadiaon the other hand is a
latinate word (it comes from Latin), and ia is the latinate plural
form.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Examine the past tense forms below. How would linguists

write the past tense morpheme based on the differences in
pronunciation?

Walked talked Watched

roamed rolled Clothed

defended loaded Spotted

believed wetted Booted

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

Review the lecture given above:

4
Introduction to Linguistics

i. Final –ed is pronounced [t] after final voiceless sounds

in the free morpheme.
ii. Final –ed is pronounced [d] after final voiced sounds in
the free morpheme.
iii. Final –ed is pronounced [id] if root word ends in [t] or
[d].

Walked [t] Talked [t] Watched [t]

Roamed [d] Rolled [d] Clothed [d]

Defended [id] Loaded [id] Spotted [id]

Believed [d[ Wetted [id] Booted [id]

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Discuss your understanding or define morphs, allomorphs, and

allomorphs of the plural morpheme.

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

5
Introduction to Linguistics

Define morphs = a concrete part of a word that cannot be

divided into smaller parts

Define allomorphs

One way to treat differences in inflectional morphemes is by

proposing variation in morphological realization rules. The form
‘cat’ is a single morph realizing a lexical morpheme. The form
‘cats’ consist of two morphs, realizing a lexical morpheme and an
inflectional morpheme (‘plural’). Just as linguists recognize
‘allomorphs’ of a particular phoneme, in the same way they
recognize allomorphs or variants of a particular morpheme.

Define allomorphs of the plural morpheme

Allomorphs are different realizations of the same morpheme, e.g.

-s, -en and nothing for the plural morpheme in dogs, oxen and
fish_

When linguists talk about the allomorphs of the plural

morpheme they are referring to variants of the same functional
element which do not impact meaning in any way. A plural is still
a plural, whether encoded by -s or something else.

To describe the above differences linguists produce structures

like ‘cat’ plus plural, ‘sheep’ plus ‘plural,’ and ‘man’ plus ‘plural.’
It has been suggested that one allomorph of ‘plural’ is a zero-
morph, and the plural form of sheep is actually ‘sheep + zero.’

Summary (5 minutes)

When you examine some inflectional endings, you’d realize that

the plural morpheme has several irregularities. The fact is that

6
Introduction to Linguistics

plural number in English can be marked with several different

inflectional suffixes by vowel change or by no change at all.

Regular English nouns form their plural by adding [s] to the

singular form. However, there are irregular plurals like child –
children, foot – feet, hypothesis – hypotheses, goose – geese.
There are some morphs which have the same singular and plural
form, deer – deer, sheep –sheep. Linguists call the irregular
forms allomorphs of the morpheme plural.

An interesting example of an allomorph is the past tense –ed

which has one spelling but three different pronunciations.

Suggested References

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. NY. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.
7
Introduction to Linguistics

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham Heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

MODULE 4: Syntax (4 hrs)

Overview:

This module presents an introduction to syntax in language as

far as it is relevant to the content of this course. It is not meant
to be a rigorous discussion of all aspects of syntax. What I am
describing is a simple orthodox view of the grammar of
language. Some more complex models are discussed by linguists
but these are beyond the scope of this description. This section is
included for those readers who would like a brief overview
without having to refer separately to linguistics textbook. Those
who would like to read more about the various linguistic theories
on syntax should refer to the bibliography for references to
linguistics books and to sites on the web covering linguistics and
syntax. We are concerned here primarily with the syntax of the
structure of sentences.

8
Introduction to Linguistics

Module Objectives:

By the end of this module you will be able to:

- Define syntax using examples from English sentences

- Distinguish between deep and surface structure
- Understand generative grammar
- Use transformational rules
- Understand recursion
- Generate tree diagrams
- Use syntax in the classroom to improve grammar

Module Orientation:

This module has four units.

Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of syntax

Unit 2: Syntax and Phrase Structure rules

Unit 3: Syntax and types of sentences

Unit 4: Some Rules of generative grammar

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to

complete each one of them as they would help you to remember
the information which you have learned.

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself.
The answers for these units have been included but you are
advised to check them only after you have completed the
activities.

Time Requirement:
9
Introduction to Linguistics

You will probably need about 4 hours to complete this module

including the activities.

Unit 1: Introduction to a theory of Syntax

(1 hr.)

Introduction:

In this unit you will learn about grammar as the study of

syntactic structures. Like all languages, English has rules which
govern how words are used to form sentences. These rules
inform how syntax functions in language.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Define syntax
- Understand how syntax functions in language
- Identify aspects of English syntax
- Define generative grammar

10
Introduction to Linguistics

- Distinguish between deep and surface structure

What is needed?

- A dictionary

- Writing paper

- Pens

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

Examine the following sentence constructions. Can you find

anything that is not right about them?

- Home, have to go, I.

- Develop teachers’ creative lessons linguistics.
- Will the car be here at 3 o’clock / it’s raining/.

The above combinations of units, however, could not be called

sentences since sentences in English follow a certain word order.
You will have no difficulty is accepting the following as
acceptable sentences in English:

1. I have to go home.
2. Linguistics teachers develop creative lessons.
3. Will the car be here at three o’clock? It’s raining.

What is syntax? (5 minutes)

11
Introduction to Linguistics

The study of the structure of a sentence and its ordering

elements is what syntax is all about. It is a branch of linguistics
that is concerned with the study of the rules of a language that
dictate how the various parts of a sentence go together. While
morphology looks at how the smallest meaningful units
(morphemes), are formed into complete words, syntax looks at
how those words are formed into complete sentences.

The word ‘syntax’ comes from syntaxis, the Greek word which
means ‘together’ or ‘arrangement.’ Most syntactic studies have
focused on sentence structure for this is where the most
important grammatical relationships are expressed.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

The Role of Syntax in Language

It is obvious that most often, we speak in groups of words rather

than single words. But these sequences are not just made up of
one word following another. There are certain relationships
between and among the words, forming sub-structures in the
sentence. Just as the sentence as a whole has structure, so too
the individual sub-units also have their internal structure. The
sub-structures in turn play certain roles in building up the
complete meaning of the sentence.

Further, depending on the role that they play in the sentence, it

may be possible to switch some of these structures around, or
omit them, or substitute other units for them, thereby changing
the appearance of the sentence while preserving the meaning.
Syntax is the study that allows us to understand the elements
and structures of sentences, and their roles and relationships.

12
Introduction to Linguistics

Approaches to Syntax (10 minutes)

We can take two major approaches to the study of syntax: the

structural approach, or the generative approach.

The structural approach considers the sentence to be a structure

which is made up of constituents such as noun phrases, verb
phrases, adjectival phrases and so on. An advantage of this
approach is that it gives us a good understanding of the
structure of sentences and their sub-units. This kind of
information is useful to a teacher.

The generative approach to syntax was introduced by linguist

Noam Chomsky as part of his theory of how humans acquire and
use language. Chomsky’s quest was to write a universal
grammar that would be applicable to all human language. He
was not only interested in the surface form of language, but on
the rules that made such surface forms possible without
producing any ungrammatical sentences. For example, he was
interested in how different surface structures might have the
same deeper meaning – e.g., a fire destroyed the hotel is the
same as the hotel was destroyed by a fire. He also noticed that
some sentences were structurally ambiguous, containing a
surface structure and but different deep structures, as in the
case of old men and women which could mean (1) both old men
and old women, or (2) women and old men. Both of these
examples reveal the operations of these rules below the surface
of the sentence. We will discuss generative grammar some more
in Unit 4.

This approach considers the sentence to be generated by each

speaker using a small set of rules that are part of the speaker’s
13
Introduction to Linguistics

inherent language ability. One advantage of this approach is that

it explains how all speakers can produce an indeterminately
large number of sentences, many of which they had never heard
before. A finite number of rules facilitate an infinite number of
sentences that can be simultaneously understood by both the
speaker and the listener. In order for this to work with any
degree of success, the rules have to be precise and have to be
consistently adhered to. These rules cover such things as: the
way words are constructed; the way the endings of words are
changed according to context (inflection); the classification of
words into parts of speech and the way parts of speech are
connected together.

Summary (5 minutes)

Syntax is concerned with the study of the structure of a sentence

and its ordering elements. Further, it is concerned with the rules
of a language that dictate how the parts of a sentence go
together.

The contemporary theory of syntax is an attempt to describe the

rules that govern the order of words at the deep structure level
and also to account for how deep-structure syntax is changed to
create different surface-structure sentences.

Suggested References

Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-

58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

14
Introduction to Linguistics

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
UNIT 2: Syntax and Phrase Structure Rules
(1hr)

Introduction

Syntax and tree diagrams may seem to belong to different

worlds altogether. However, syntax tree diagrams can help you
understand the grammatical structure of a sentence and the
rules of grammar in a better way.

15
Introduction to Linguistics

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Understand the grammatical hierarchy

- Understand phrase structure rules
- Diagram phrases
- Diagram a simple sentences
- Use syntax in teaching of English

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

16
English Syntax
Module 7

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

The Grammatical hierarchy

Words, phrases, clauses and sentences constitute what is called
the grammatical hierarchy. Sentences are at the top of the
hierarchy. One of the first things to do in analyzing a sentence is
to look for groupings within it – sets of words that hang together,

Example: Annette couldn’t open the window.

The above sentence may be divided as follows: Annette /

couldn’t open/ the window.

Units such as ‘Annette’, ‘couldn’t open’ and ‘the window’ are

called phrases. The first of these could be called a noun phrase
because it contains a noun, ‘Annette’. The second is a verb
phrase, because the central word (or head) is a verb, ‘open.’ The
third would also be called a noun phrase, because its head is a
noun, ‘windows.’

Other types of phrases also exist – adjective phrases, for

example such as ‘very nice,’ and prepositional phrases such as,
‘in the house.’

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Phrase structure rules

The types of phrases we saw in the example above may be

summarized in Phrase-structure rules. Such rules are used to
describe the possible structures and constituents of the different
kinds of phrases in a given language. Phrase structure rules are

Cyril Potter College of Education

 English Syntax
Module 7

commonly used in transformational grammar. A grammar which

uses phrase structure rules is called a phrase structure
grammar.

The table below shows the different phrasal categories which

include the noun phrase, verb phrase, adjective phrase and
prepositional phrase; and the corresponding lexical categories
which include noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and other parts of
speech. Note that each PS rule consists of two basic parts. The
material to the left of the arrow specifies the phrasal category
being described. The material to the right of the arrow describes
the items that comprise the phrasal category. Parentheses, as
shown around (Det) in the Noun Phrase rule, indicate an optional
item; if the item appears, it must appear in that position. Braces,
as shown in the verb Phrase rule, indicate that exactly one of the
items in the braces must appear in that position.

Examples of Phrase Structure: (PS) rules in English.

Sentence S NP - VP A sentence consists of a noun

phrase followed by a verb phrase.
Noun Phrase NP (Det) – (AP)-N-(PP) A noun phrase must contain a
noun. The noun may be preceded
by a determiner, an adjective
phrase, or both, and it may be
followed by a prepositional phrase
Verb Phrase VP V-({NP/AP})-(PP) A verb phrase must contain a verb.
The verb may be followed by a
noun phrase, an adjective phrase,
or neither. The verb phrase may
end in a prepositional phrase, but
need not.
Adjective Phrase AP (I)-Adj An adjective phrase must contain
an adjective. The adjective may be

Cyril Potter College of Education

 English Syntax
Module 7

preceded by an intensifier (e.g.,

very).
Prepositional PP Prep-NP A prepositional phrase consists of a
Phrase preposition followed by a noun
phrase.

Thus, for example, the Verb Phrase rule allows a VP to expand in

one of the following ways.

V The battery died.

V-NP Chris hit the ball

V-NP-PP He drove the car into a tree.

V-PP They are in the kitchen.

V-AP The teacher is angry.

V-AP-PP My boss was very happy with

her decision.

These relatively simple rules make it possible to generate, or

describe, an extremely large number of English sentences.

Sentence represented by tree diagram

The Phrase Structure rules show the types of possible sentences

that may be generated in a language. Tree Diagrams show the
hierarchical relationships between the components of actual
sentences in a graphical way. For example:

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Syntax
Module 7

Where:

Subject = “the boy” (article + noun)

Verb = “kicked”

Object = “the ball” (article + noun)

The above structure is the basic syntactic structure for a

sentence in the English language. As more complex sentences
are considered, it is easy, by this method, to see how these
different structures relate to each other, by further breaking
down the branches of the structure. The syntax of the language
contains the rules which govern the structure of phrases and how
these can be joined together. The structures and associated rules
vary from one language to another.

Parsing diagrams are capable of representing not just one

particular language’s grammar but are capable of representing
any kind of grammar. For instance, they can be used to

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Syntax
Module 7

represent the rules of invented languages such as computer

programming languages.

We will continue the diagramming of sentences in another unit.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Below are some English phrases. For each one, identify the
type of phrase it is (S, NP, VP, AP, PP) and determine whether
it (and any phrases it contains) can be generated by the PS
rules just presented.

a. ice floats b. the red car c. John d. in a bad mood. e. in a

very bad mood f. gave a party for Mary g. was a fool h. was
extremely silly

i. ran j. Those people hit that man on the head k. ran with
difficulty l. an extremely quickly

If not, what element in the phrase is not described by the

rules?

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

a. Ice floats S NP-VP

b. The red car NP, containing a DET (the) and

AP (red car) (not in the rules)

c. John NP

d. In a bad mood PP

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Syntax
Module 7

e. In a very bad mood PP

f. Gave a party for Mary VP V-NP

g. Was a fool VP V-NP

h. Was extremely silly VP V-AP

i. Ran VP

j. Those people hit that man S -NP – VP – NP – PP

on the head
k. Ran with difficulty VP V-PP

l. Ran extremely quickly VP V-AdvP (not in the rules)

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Diagram the following sentence:

The boy with red shorts kicked the ball.

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

In an earlier example we examined the sentence, ‘The boy

kicked the ball.’ The sentence contained the following parts.

S (sentence) = NP + VP

NP (subject) = the boy (art + noun)

Cyril Potter College of Education
English Syntax
Module 7

VP (object) = kicked the ball (verb +NP)

NP+ article (the) + noun (ball)

We have now expanded the sentence ‘The boy kicked the ball’
by embedding a phrase within the basic structure. In the
sentence:

"The boy with red shorts kicked the ball."

"with red shorts" is a prepositional phrase that further describes

“the boy” .

This can be represented, within the basic sentence structure, as

follows:

Here we can see how the Prepositional Phrase (PP) “with red
shorts” is embedded within the subject Noun Phrase (NP) so that
the subject is subdivided into a Noun Phrase and Prepositional

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Syntax
Module 7

Phrase (PP). The Prepositional Phrase itself contains a further

Noun Phrase. The parsing diagram clearly shows the hierarchical
relationship between the sentence and its components.

Summary (5 minutes)

Syntax tree diagrams are used to talk about the construction of

sentences in a language. Syntax tree diagrams make use of
phrase structure rules. Phrase structure rules attempt to specify
how the phrases in a sentence are structured. A sentence
consists of a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP). The claim
is that every sentence in English at a deep structure level follows
this pattern.

Syntactic structures can further be described by defining each

type of phrase. A noun phrase can be expanded into a
determiner - sometimes called an article - and a noun. Linguists
try to state rules that govern language processes as clearly as
possible so that they can be tested against new sentences. The
goal is to develop a small set of rules that accounts for all the
possible sentences in a language.

Syntax tree diagrams have at least two roles. One is that, they
show sentences can be broken down to illustrate their structure,
but what is more it shows a general manner of creating
sentences. This has led to the idea that with syntax, tree
diagrams a number of sentences can be created providing
similar structures are used. The phrase structures so created and
formulated are used to construct unlimited sentences.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Syntax
Module 7

Suggested References

Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-

58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Syntax
Module 7

UNIT 3: Syntax and types of sentences (1hr)

Introduction

Linguists have expressed the differences between the simple,

the compound and the complex sentence through tree diagrams.
This visual representation using tree diagrams can have added
appeal to students who have different learning styles.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Diagram simple sentences

- Diagram compound sentences
- Diagram complex sentences
- Understand tree diagrams
- Use tree diagrams to teach sentences

What is needed?

Cyril Potter College of Education

English Syntax
Module 7

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

The simple sentence

In a previous unit we discussed the conception of the sentence
as a hierarchy of levels. Words, phrases, clauses and the
sentence constitute the grammatical hierarchy. A simple
sentence has one finite verb. It also has one clause - one subject
and one predicate.

For example:

The boy kicked the ball.

Phrase structure rules can be used to describe the above simple

sentence.

The S (sentence) is made up of a NP (noun phrase) and a VP

(verb phrase.).

This can be graphically represented as follows:

Sentence

Noun Phrase Verb Phrase

(Subject) (Predicate)

The boy kicked the ball

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

The noun phrase can further be divided into the article plus the
noun. Some linguists use the term determiner and article
interchangeably.

The verb phrase can be divided into the verb and a noun phrase;
the noun phrase can them be dived into the article and the noun
(object).

For example:

The above structure is the basic syntactic structure for a

sentence in the English language. As more complex sentences
are considered, it is easy, by this method, to see how these
different structures relate to each other, by further breaking
down the branches of the structure

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

The syntax of compound sentences

Cyril Potter College of Education
 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

The hierarchy of the simple sentence discussed above can be

made larger by linking several units of the same type to form a
compound sentence. A compound sentence consists of two or
more simple sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction. The
three most common coordinating conjunctions in English are
‘and’, ‘or,’ ‘but.’

Examples:

i. I came home and I turned on the TV.

ii. The TV was on but I turned it off.
iii. Turn the TV off or lower the volume.
iv. I came home and turned on the TV but I later decided to
read a book.

A compound sentence can be represented in a tree diagram in

which the two simple sentences are at the same level with the
conjunction between them as shown in Figure 2.

S Conj S

I came home and I turned on the TV

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Figure 2 – Diagram of compound sentence

The conjunction connects the simple sentences but is not a part

of either one. In this model the simple sentences are represented
by a triangle. Linguists do this when they do not need to show
complete detail to make a point. This convention is followed in
discussing compound and complex sentences .

The Syntax of Complex Sentences

Complex sentences consist of a noun clause and one or more

subordinate clauses. The main clause may also be referred to as
an independent clause because it can stand alone as a complete
sentence. The subordinate clause may be referred to as a
dependent clause because it depends on an independent clause.
Dependent clauses begin with a subordinate conjunction. Unlike
coordinate conjunctions, subordinate conjunctions form part of
the clause they attach to.

Example:

Students draw tree diagrams when they represent syntactic

structures.

The clause with when is the subordinate or dependent clause. It

represents a less important idea than the idea in the main
clause. When suggests a relationship of time. As people speak or
write they signal the important ideas by placing them in main
clauses. Using a different conjunction one could show a different
relationship.

For example:

If would show a condition.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

e.g. Students represent syntactic structures if they draw tree

diagrams.

NP Aux VP

N V NP S

Conj

Students draw tree diagrams when they represent syntactic structures

Figure 3 - Adverb clause diagram

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Dependent clauses can function in a sentence in the same way

that an adverb, an adjective, or a noun functions. The clause is
then represented in a tree diagram in the same position as the
corresponding adverb, adjective or noun. Adverb clauses tell
when, where, why, how, or under what conditions. They answer
the same questions that adverbs do. The conjunctions that begin
adverb clauses are words like after or because. Adverb clauses
can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. The zero
under AUX shows that it is not a feature of this sentence however
we could have included an AUX like do in this sentence. Adverb
clauses like adverbs are placed in the VP.

Adjective clauses, on the other hand function as part of a noun

phrase. Subordinate adjective clauses begin with one of the
relative pronouns, who, which, or that (and perhaps whom /
whose).

The following sentence contains an adjective clause.

Students who draw tree diagrams syntactic structures.

The sentence is diagrammed below.

NP AUX

N S 0 VP

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Students who draw tree diagrams represent syntactic structures.

Figure 4 - Adjective clause diagram

Noun clauses often start with words like what, whatever, and
that. In these sentences the subject or object is a whole noun
clause rather than a noun phrase. Vicky bought linguistics
textbook.

NP AUX VP

N 0 V S

Vicky bought whatever appealed to her.

Figure 5 – Noun clause diagram

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Other sentence Structures

The basic sentence pattern in English is subject + predicate, whether the sentence
is compound or complex.

Apart from this basic structure of subject + predicate, sentences may

be constructed in other ways. These sentences are still correct and
grammatical, but they present the information in different ways. Here
are some of them:

a. Passive sentences – in these sentences, the subject

usually comes at the end of the sentence rather than at
the beginning, and the verb takes on a special
construction.

e.g.: i. The assignment was submitted by the student.

This sentence would normally be written as:

The student submitted the assignment.

This is called the active form of the sentence. Other

examples of passive sentences are:

ii. The assignment will be marked by the lecturer.

iii. The bandits were arrested by the police.
iv. Rice is grown in Berbice.

In passive sentences, the speaker focuses on the thing

that was done rather than on the subject who did it.

Notice that the subject comes at the end of the

sentence and that the word by comes before it. But
notice too that the subject can also be omitted as in
example (iv).

Notice the difference in the form of the verb in the

passive sentences. Before the verb there is an auxiliary
(be, is, are, was, were) and the verb takes the participle
form (marked, arrested, grown).

b. Fronting – Sometimes we can move a part of the

sentence to the front, so as to focus it. For example:
i. Home he went (compare to: He went home)
ii. In the street was a huge crowd (compare to: A
huge crowd was in the street)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

c. Clefting – Here again, a part of the sentence is focused

at the front. This kind of sentence usually starts with “it
is” or “it was” followed by a noun phrase or a
prepositional phrase. For example:
i. It is the high tide that we are afraid of.
ii. It was in 2005 that the great flood happened.
iii. It is Linguistics which we are studying.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Combine the following simple sentences into as many ways as

possible. You may form simple, compound, or complex sentences.

The linguist sits. She sits in a chair. The chair is red. The chair is
comfortable. The linguist is happy.

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

The following are possible sentence combinations:

The linguist sits in a red, comfortable chair, and she is happy.

{Compound)

The happy linguist sits in a red, comfortable chair. (simple)

Because the linguist sits in a red, comfortable chair, she is

happy. (Complex – adverb clause)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

The linguist who is happy, sits in a red comfortable chair.

(Complex – adjective clause)

I know that the linguist who is happy sits in a red comfortable

chair. (noun clause)

Discussion:

Beginning writers often string together their ideas with and. They
represent their ideas as being equally important. As writers
develop, they learn to subordinate one idea to another. They
structure their sentences to show that some ideas are
subordinate to or dependent on other ideas. Instead of using a
series of simple sentences or stringing together several ideas by
and they start writing compound and complex sentences.
Sentence combining calls on the writer to experiment with
different methods of putting words together. Because there are
several ways to build sentences, the writer’s goal is not to find
the one “correct” combination but to consider different
arrangements before deciding which one is the most effective.
The writer’s goal is to eliminate short choppy sentences and
write longer more effective sentences. However, combining is
not necessarily to produce longer sentences but rather to
develop more effective sentences and to help the writer become
a more versatile writer.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

What are syntax tree diagrams?

How can they be used to teach grammar?

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Syntax tree diagrams are very much similar to family tree
diagrams, the difference being that these are used to talk about
the construction of a language rather than a family.

A syntax tree diagram has to accomplish a very important task.

It usually encodes two types of relations between the various
nodes. There are precedence and dominance. The rules of
syntax can be easily understood by assigning by assigning an
individual tree diagram to each rule. Thus a sentence can be
proved to be grammatically appropriate with the help of
structural description.

Teachers can use syntax tree diagrams to help students

understand the different types of sentence structure. The
diagram depicts the structure of sentences and the functions of
phrases within the sentence. Diagrams also depict the different
levels of sentence structure. The NP and the VP are at the top
level.

Students can diagram sentences into NP and VP and the other

functions. Like graphic organizers they are useful because they
help show relationships. Students can separate the phrases into
their parts. Students who write fragments for sentences can also
use diagramming to help them realize where their sentence
construction breaks down.

Diagrams can help students to understand the structure of

sentences and phrases.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Summary (5 minutes)

Tree diagrams are a distinct type of graphic representation used

to depict linguistic structures. Borrowing from the concept of a
family tree, a tree diagram consists of a root and several
branching nodes and branches. They depict a hierarchical
relationship and inner structures and nodes represent
grammatical categories, for example, S, NP, VP, and the
branches represent the relationship of domination. S
immediately dominates NP and VP and all other nodes in the
tree.

The hierarchy of the simple sentence can be made larger by

linking several units of the same type to form a compound
sentence. A compound sentence can be represented in a tree
diagram with simple sentences of the same level and a
coordinating conjunction between them.

In a complex sentence the independent clause can stand alone

as a complete sentence. Dependent clauses can function in a
sentence in the same way that an adverb, an adjective or a noun
functions.

Students can be taught to recognize coordination and

subordination in sentences by using tree diagrams.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Suggested References

Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-

58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

UNIT 4: Some rules of generative grammar

(1hr)

Introduction:

In contrast to the structural approach to syntax, linguists sought

to find a way to describe how the innate human linguistic ability
works in producing language. As we saw in the section on
language acquisition, human beings do not learn a multitude of
sentences. Instead, we acquire the rules of the grammar of our
language and use these to produce a multitude of sentences.
Chomsky and other innateness theorists posit a generative
grammar in order to describe this productive human ability.

Generative grammar attempts to describe the rules that operate

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

at two levels: the deep structure where the rules of syntax are
generated and processed, and the surface structure, where the
final sentence appears. Some rules of this grammar are recursion
and transformational properties.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Understand rules of recursion

- Understand rules of transformation
- Use diagrams to express recursion
- Use diagrams to express transformation

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Transformational Rules (15 minutes)

In keeping with the idea that we generate a multitude of different

but correct sentences by using a small set of Phrase Structure
rules is the accompanying idea that we also know a set of
transformational rules. These rules help us to transform a
sentence into another pattern without changing the meaning of
the sentence. Let us look at some of these rules and how they
help us to create different sentence structures
Cyril Potter College of Education
 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

(1) Recursive rules allow us to repeat items in a self-similar

way. Chomsky theorizes that unlimited extension of a
language such as English is possible using the recursive
device of embedding phrases within sentences. According to
Chomsky, “the rules of grammar will need the crucial
property of recursion that is, the capacity to be applied more
than once in generating a structure” (Chomsky 1959).

Did you play the following game as a child? Even if you did
not, what does the pattern seem to indicate?

1. This is the house that Jack built.

2. This is the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
3. This is the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
4. This is the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

And so it goes on. Some examples of recursion in sentences

are:

(1) John arrived. John and Mary arrived, John, Bill and Mary
arrived.
(2) John worked. John worked and sang. John worked, sang
and ate.
(3) Recursive modifiers (adjectives): bad car bad red car
big bad red car big bad rusty old red car

NOTE: Some items cannot be recursive: Articles are not

recursive: the book *the book. Conjunctions not recursive:
John and Mary *John and or if Mary

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

There is in principle no end to the recursion which would

yield ever – longer versions of this sentence, and the
grammar must provide for this fact.

(2) Movement rules allow us to move parts of the

sentence around. For example, adverbs will always come
at the end of sentences if we follow the rules for the first
sentence given below.

(a) George helped Mary yesterday.

But how would we get the following sentence?

(b) Yesterday, George helped Mary.

We can think of yesterday as having been moved to the

beginning of the sentence in (b).

Transformational rules are used to take a ‘branch’ of the

tree away from one part of the tree diagram and attach it to a
different part.

Below is an example of a movement transformation.

S S

NP VP Adv NP VP

V NP Adv N V N

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

George helped Mary Yesterday Yesterday George helped Mary

(3) Deletion rules allow us to delete parts of sentences

which are unnecessary or redundant or understood.
However, such deletions must be done under strict
conditions. For example, if we join the two sentences
a. John studied hard
b. John became a doctor
We get:
c. John studied hard and John became a doctor.
It is easy to see that if the subject of the first verb in the
sentence (studied) is the same as the subject of the second
verb (became) in the same sentence, we can safely delete
the second subject so that we get
d. John studied hard and became a doctor.

(4) Substitution rules - clearly, we could also

substitute a relevant pronoun for the second John in the
sentence above, so that instead of saying John studied
hard and John became a doctor, we could say

e. John studied hard and he became a doctor

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Ponder on this sentence: Mike said Sue thought Vicky

helped Mary. Can you design a tree diagram to depict
the above sentence?

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

In recursion we need for example to have sentences included
within other sentences. We know that Vicky helped Mary is a
sentence. We also know that Sue thought Vicky helped Mary.
And being tediously recursive, we know that Mike said Sue
thought Vicky helped Mary.

In order to capture these sentences in a tree diagram, we need

to

add V {said, thought} and PN {Cathy, John} to our

lexical rules. We also need to add a crucial recursive rule that
says:

VP ------VS. With these minor additions we can now represent the

structure of the above sentence.

NP VP

V S

NP VP

N V S

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

NP VP

N V NP

Mike said Sue thought Vicky helped Mary.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

The position of a word in a sentence can change the meaning of

the sentence. ‘Only’ is a modifier (it could be classified as a
quantifier) and its position determines which word it modifies.
Moving ‘only’ changes the meaning of the sentence. Consider
the sentences below and discuss their differences in meaning. Do
some sentences mean the same thing?

Only he said that he loved linguistics.

He only said that he loved linguistics.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

He said only that he loved linguistics.

He said that only he loved linguistics.

He said that he only loved linguistics.

He said that he loved only linguistics.

He said that he loved linguistics only.

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Only he said that he loved linguistics. The others did not. If they loved linguistics,
they did not voice that opinion.

He only said that he loved linguistics. Maybe he loved other things but he did not
say.

He said only that he loved linguistics. This has the same sense as the one
immediately above.

He said that only he loved linguistics. He seems to be aware that the others did
not like linguistics.

He said that he only loved linguistics. This seems to have the same sense as the
one immediately above.

He said that he loved only linguistics. He did not like anything else but linguistics.

He said that he loved linguistics only. This seems to have the same seems as the
one immediately above.

Teach students that word order can signal emphasis and

meaning.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Summary (5 minutes)

Recursion, deletion, substitution and movement rules are some

of the ways to characterize what human beings do when they
produce sentences. Using these rules –which happen without our
conscious thought – we produce not only an unlimited number,
but also a variety of sentences and express thoughts and ideas
in many different ways.

Suggested References

Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-

58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English Syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

MODULE 5: SEMANTICS / PRAGMATICS

(4 hrs)

Overview:

This module presents an introduction to semantics and

pragmatics in language as far as it is relevant to the content of
this course. It is not meant to be a rigorous discussion of all
aspects of semantics and pragmatics. Semantics is the study of
linguistic meaning or the meaning of words, phrases and
sentences. Pragmatics on the other hand is the study of intended

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

or invisible speaker meaning. Unlike pragmatics, semantics is

part of grammar proper, the study of the internal structure of
language.

Module Objectives:

By the end of this module you will be able to:

1. Understand differences between semantics and pragmatics

2. Utilize semantic feature analysis

3. Differentiate between linguistic sense and reference

4 Determine linguistic meaning based on context.

5. Determine sense relationships (multiple meanings) between

lexemes

Module orientation:

This module has four units:

Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning

Unit 2: Semantics and multiple word meaning

Unit 3: Pragmatics and context

Unit 4: Pragmatics and speech act theory

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Time Requirement:

You will need about 4 hours to complete this module including

the activities.

Unit 1: Semantics and linguistic meaning

(1 hr.)

Introduction:

This unit will help you to define semantics as linguistic meaning,

to use semantic feature analysis to characterize the sense of
words and to recognize limitations of lexical decomposition.

Specific Objectives

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

1. Define semantics as linguistic meaning

2. Define lexical decomposition.
3. Use semantic feature analysis.
4. Identify limitations of semantic feature analysis.

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

Examine the following sentences and try to decide what is odd

about them. Write a sentence or two to explain why the meaning
in the sentences is odd.

1. The hamburger ate the man.

2. My cat studied linguistics.
3. A table was listening to some music.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

The Meanings of Meaning

In an important early book on the subject - C. K. Ogden & I. A.
Richards, The Meaning of Meaning (1923) - sixteen different
meanings of the words mean/meaning were distinguished. Below
are some of them:

John means to write – intends

A green light means go – indicates

Health means everything – has importance

His look was full of meaning – special import

What is the meaning of life – point, purpose

What does ‘capitalist’ mean to you – convey

What does ‘cornea’ mean – refer to in the world

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

It is the last kind of use that comes closest to the focus of

linguistic semantics. This is the study of the way in which
words and sentences convey meaning in the everyday situations
of speech and writing.

What is semantics?
Because semantics is the most poorly understood component of
grammar it can be one of the most difficult areas of linguistics to
study. Although many theories have been developed to explain
the domain of semantics much of what follows is tentative and
subject to debate.

Contributions to semantics have come essentially from two

sources – linguistics and philosophy. Linguistics has contributed
primarily to the core meaning or sense of individual words, while
philosophers have contributed to the study of the meaning of
sentences. One method linguists have used to characterize the
sense of individual words is called lexical decomposition.

This method represents the sense of a word in terms of the

semantic features that comprise it.

Semantic Features

Linguists study lexical meanings in several ways. One such way

is by analyzing lexemes into a series of semantic features or
components. A semantic approach can help us to account for the
oddness we experience when we read English sentences such as
the following:

The hamburger ate the man.

My cat studied linguistics.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

A table was listening to some music.

The sentences are not odd because of their syntactic structure

because we have well-structured sentences. For example:

Noun Phrase - Verb Noun Phrase -

subject object

The hamburger Ate The man

The sentences are odd because of their conceptual meaning. The

kinds of nouns which can be subjects of the verb “ate” must
denote entities which are capable of eating. That is, we are able
to use words to make meaningful statements because those
words possess certain semantic features which we can match up
with the semantic features of other words in the sentence. For
example, the noun man contains the semantics of being able to
eat, and the noun hamburger contains the semantics of being
able to be eaten. These semantic properties allow us to arrange
these words into a sentence that is meaningful.

We can create a system of relationships using a small set of such

semantic components of words. In this system, we can indicate
by the use of + or – (plus or minus) signs whether a word has a
particular semantic property or not. We call this componential
analysis, and the + or – contrasts are usually presented in a
matrix. We can use such semantic feature analysis to
characterize words e.g. man, woman, boy, and girl. The sense of
each of these words can be partly characterized by specifying a
value (+ or -) for the features (adult) and (male) as follows:

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Man Woman boy Girl

Adult + + - -

Male + - + -

It is easy to characterize the sense of additional words by adding

features. For example: we can account for part of the meanings
of stallion, mare, colt and filly simply by adding the feature
human as follows:

Man Woma boy girl stallion Mare colt filly

n

Adult + + - - + + - -

Male + - +- - + - + -

human + + + + - - - -

This method of analysis does have limitations. Concrete nouns

seem to lend themselves to lexical decomposition more readily
than do other parts of speech. For example, what features can
be used to characterize the sense of “carefully” not to mention
“the”, “of” and “however.”

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Using the features, individual, teams, indoors, outdoors,

board game, card game and kids game, categorize the sense
of the following games: football, baseball, marbles, hide &
seek, video games, hop scotch, golf, checkers, scrabble by
specifying a + or - value.

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

GAMES FEATURES
Individual

Teams

Indoors

Outdoors

Board Games

Card games

Kids games
Football + +

Baseball + +

Marbles + + + +

Hide& Seek + + + +

Video Games + + + +

Hop Scotch + + + +

Golf + + +

Checkers + + +

Scrabble + + + +

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Semantic feature analysis can be used to help students

discriminate details among concepts. This strategy works well
with specialized vocabulary as well as general vocabulary in
several subject areas, for example: science, math, literature,
social studies.

1. The teacher should select a category or topic for semantic

feature analysis.
2. Provide students with key vocabulary words and important
features related to the topic.
3. Vocabulary words should be listed down the left hand
column and the features of the topic across the top row of
the chart.
4. Have students place a ‘+’ sign in the matrix when a
vocabulary word aligns with a particular feature of the
topic. If the word does not align, a student may put a ‘_’ in
the grid. If students are unsure they may leave it blank.
The teacher should then engage students in discussion and
students can defend their choices.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Think of the word ‘chair’ and try to define it for someone who had
never seen a chair. You may use ‘sense’ and ‘reference.’ Sense
may refer to a dictionary definition while reference denotes
things of the same kind or other types of chairs.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Contribution from philosophers:

While linguists have contributed to the core meaning or sense of

individual words, philosophers on the other hand have
contributed to the study of the meaning of sentences. However,
rather than trying to characterize the core meaning or sense of
sentences directly which we have just seen is difficult; they have
approached the semantics of sentences from other directions.
One such direction is the study of reference.

Word Meaning:
Sense versus reference

How do we define all the concepts of a language so that each

word can be completely understood without ambiguity? In
modern linguistics, meaning is studied by making detailed
analyses of the way words and sentences are used in specific
contexts.

The primary focus is on the way people relate words to each

other within the framework of their ‘sense’, rather than their
‘reference’. The dictionary definition of a word is its sense. The
sense of a word may be described using words, but this could
lead to vague definitions.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

It would seem to be simple to circumvent the problem of

definitions by saying that words refer to items in the real world
and using those items as referents.

However, reference presents a number of problems. First, a

referent in the real world may exist; however, the referent is
distinct for almost every individual. For example, the sense of
the dictionary definition of the word mother is quite clear.
However, my referent for mother is quite distinct from yours
because every mother embodies a different set of qualities.

For other concepts, there are other problems, as in the case of

function words. There is no real-world physical referent for
prepositions (on, over), articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions
(and, but). These must be defined via sense.

Moreover, cultural and geographic factors may play a part in

determining the sense of a word. For example, countries differ in
what is their conception or sense of a river.

We could use both sense and reference to describe the word

chair. Let us imagine someone who had encountered the word
“chair’ did not know what it meant. One procedure would be to
explain its reference. We could take a person to a chair and point
to it. But how would this help someone to identify other chairs? A
better procedure would be to explain the sense of the word using
a rough definition such as “a seat with four legs and a back.” The
definition could then be sharpened as related to words we have
met (example, armchair, stool).

In addition, abstract concepts like happiness or freedom, pose

another problem for definition. The sense of abstract words like
these can be quite open to interpretation and there is no real-

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

world referent. For some happiness is a based on being part of a

loving family that is safe and well provided for. For others
happiness is rooted in material possessions or power. We
however, have a general understanding of meaning and
understand that any utterance is open to some variation
depending on the person speaking.

Summary (5 minutes)

Linguistic semantics is the study of the way in which words and

sentences convey meaning in everyday situations of speech and
writing. The field of linguistics has contributed to the core
meaning or sense of individual words by analyzing lexemes into
a series of semantic features, or semantic feature analysis.
Semantic features can be used to characterize the sense of
words. Further, concrete nouns seem to lend themselves to
lexical decomposition more readily than do other parts of
speech.

In modern linguistics meaning is also derived from the sense

and reference of words. Reference refers to the object while
sense refers to the dictionary definition of the word. Since there
is no physical reference for prepositions, articles, conjunctions
and abstract concepts, these must be defined by sense.
Problems arise when dictionary definitions do not account for
individual conceptualizations as in the case of ‘mother’ or ‘river.’

Suggested References

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.
Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What

you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,

Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English Syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,

1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio: Charles

E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,

Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

UNIT 2: Semantics and Multiple Word Meaning

(1hr)

Introduction:

This unit will help you to understand some aspects of linguistic

sense.

There are several sense properties and relations that any

descriptively adequate theory of semantics should account for.
Some of these will be described in this unit.

Specific Objectives

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

Identify some sense properties of a theory of semantics.

- Synonymy
- Hyponymy
- Prototypes
- Antonyms
- Homophony
- Polysemy

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

The study of sense (meaning) can be divided into two areas,
speaker sense and linguistic sense. That is, words may have
meanings that one could find listed in a dictionary, but different
speakers may use these words with different intentions. Speaker
sense is the speaker’s intention in producing some linguistic
expression. For example, if someone says, “Here comes Bharrat
Jagdeo,” sarcastically, in reference to Mike who is approaching,
then the speaker sense might be that Mike likes to act as though
he is the president and ‘lord’ it over others. Because speaker
sense has to do with non-literal meaning and because it varies
according to speaker and context, it comes under Pragmatics
and not semantics.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Linguistic sense on the other hand is the meaning of a linguistic

expression as part of a language. Here comes Bharrat Jagdeo
would refer to the public figure and not someone who is “lording”
it over others.

In the lecture below we will consider some other aspects of

linguistic sense.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes

Linguistic Sense

Linguistic sense is the meaning of a linguistic expression as part

of a language. There are several sense properties and relations
that any descriptively adequate theory of semantics should
account for. Some of these are described below.

Synonymy:

Two words are synonymous if they have the same sense, that is,
if they have the same values for all their semantic features. For
example, the pairs conceal and hide, stubborn and obstinate,
and big and large seem to be synonymous in English.

However, there are no absolute synonyms in any language – that

is words that mean exactly the same thing in all contexts. For
example, even though big and large are near synonyms, the
phrases my big sister and my large sister certainly do not have
the same meaning.

Likewise synonyms do not capture differences in connotations or

the associations that speakers have with a word. For example, a

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

sanitation worker and a garbage collector are similar but one has
a positive connotation and the other a negative.

Hyponymy

When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of

another, the relationship is described as hyponymy. Some
typical example pairs are hibiscus – flower, dog – animal, carrot –
vegetable, oak – tree. The concept of ‘inclusion’ involved here is
the idea that if any object is a hibiscus, then it is necessarily a
flower, so the meaning of flower is ‘included’ in the meaning of
hibiscus, Or, a hibiscus is a hyponym of flower.

When we consider hyponymous relations, we are essentially

looking at the meaning of words in some type of hierarchical
relationship. You could, in fact, represent the relationship
between a set of words such as animal, camoudie, carrot,
cockroach, creature, hibiscus, flower, horse, insect, living things,
greenheart, plant, snake, tree and vegetable as a hierarchical
diagram in the following way:

living things

creature plant

animal insect vegetable flower tree

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

horse snake

camoudie cockroach carrot hibiscus greenheart

Prototypes

A prototype is the best example of its kind, something that best

embodies the definition of the concept. For example, although
there are different birds - kiskadee, dove, duck, parrot etc. - for
many Guyanese, the best prototype of the word “bird” is the
kiskadee.

Given the category furniture we can quickly recognize chair as

an exemplar rather than bench or stool.

Given clothing as the prototype, people quickly recognize shirts

quicker than shoes, and given vegetable, people accept carrot
before potato or tomato. It is obvious that there is some general
pattern to the categorization process involved in prototypes and
that it determines our interpretation However, this is one area
where individual experience results in variation in interpretation,
as when people disagree about whether tomato is a fruit or a
vegetable.

Antonyms

Two words are antonyms if their meanings differ only in the

value of a single semantic feature. The following pairs are
antonyms: dead and alive, hot and cold. The meanings of the

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

members of each pair are presumably identical except for

opposite values of some semantic features. The meaning of dead
and alive are identical except that dead is marked [- living] and
alive is marked [+ living].

Antonyms fall into at least three groups:

Binary antonyms: -

are pairs that exhaust all linguistic possibilities along some

dimension. Dead and alive are examples of binary antonyms.
Everything that can be dead or alive is either dead or alive; there
is no middle ground. All people for example are either dead or
alive.

Gradable antonyms:

are pairs that describe opposite ends of a continuous dimension.

Hot and cold are examples of gradable antonyms. Not everything
that can be hot or cold is in fact either hot or cold. A liquid for
example may be neither hot nor cold; it can be warm or cool.

Converse antonyms:

These are pairs that describe the relationship between two items
from opposite perspectives. Above and below are examples of
converse antonyms. If a picture for example is above a sofa, then
the sofa is below the picture.

Binary Dead alive

Gradable Hot ..................... cold

warm cool

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Converse X Above X

Y Below Y

Figure 1: Illustration of binary, gradable and converse

antonyms

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Classify the following antonyms as binary (B), gradable (G), or

converse C): wide/narrow, smoking/non-smoking, near/far,
defeat/lose to, innocent/guilty, wife/husband, in front of/
behind, true/false, open/closed, debtor/creditor,
deciduous/evergreen, teacher/student, cheap/expensive,
man/woman.

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

Classify the following antonyms as binary (B), gradable (G), or

converse (C).

A Wide/narrow B G C

B Smoking/non- B G C
smoking

C Near/far B G C

D Defeat/lose to B G C

E Innocent/guilty B G C

F Wife/husband B G C

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

G In front of/behind B G C

H True/false B G C

I Open/closed B G C

J Debtor/creditor B G C

K Deciduous/evergreen B G C

L Teacher/student B G C

M Cheap/expensive B G C

N Man/woman B G C

In groups, students are encouraged to discuss their answers.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

What do you know about homonyms? Write at least one

paragraph describing what you know about homonyms.

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Homonphony, homonymy, and polysemy:

There are three other, less well-known terms which are often
used to describe relationships among words in a language. The

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

first of these is homophony or homonyms. When two or more

different (written) forms have the same pronunciation, they are
described as homophones. Some examples are bare-bear, meat-
meet, flour-flower, pail-pale, sew-so.

The term homonymy is used when one form (written and spoken)
has two or more unrelated meanings. Examples of homonyms
are the pairs bank (of a river) bank (financial institution), bat
(flying creature) bat (used in sports) race (contest of speed) race
(ethnic group). The temptation is to think that the two types of
bank must be related in meaning. They are not. Homonyms are
words which have quite separate meanings, but which have
accidentally come to have exactly the same form.

Polysemy, is defined as one form (written or spoken) having

multiple meanings which are all related by extension. Examples
are the word head, which is used to refer to the object on top of
your body, or on top of a company, or the word run (persons do,
water does, colours do).

The distinction between homonymy and polysemy is not always

clear. However, one indication of the distinction can be found in
the typical dictionary entry for words. If a word has multiple
meanings (polysemy) then there will be a single entry, with a
numbered list of the different meanings of the word. If two words
are treated as homonyms, they will typically have two separate
entries. You could check in your dictionary and probably find that
the different meanings of words like head, run, face and foot are
treated as examples of homonymy.

Of course, one form can be distinguished via homonymy, then

shown to have various uses via polysemy. The words date
(oblong, fleshy fruit) and date (point in time) is homonyms. But
Cyril Potter College of Education
 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

the ‘point in time’ kind of date is polysemous in terms of a

particular day and month (on a letter), an arranged meeting time
(an appointment), a social meeting (with someone of the
opposite sex) and even a person (that someone of the opposite
sex). The question How about a date? could have many
interpretations.

Metonymy

The relatedness of meaning found in polysemy is essentially

based on similarity. The head of a company is similar to the head
of a person on top of (and controlling) the body. There is another
type of relationship between words, based simply on a close
connection in everyday experience. That close relationship can
be based on a container-contents relation (bottle –coke; can-
juice), a whole – part relation (car – wheels; house-roof) or a
representative – symbol relationship (king – crown) these are
examples of metonymy. In he drank the whole bottle; we know
that he drank the liquid and not the bottle itself.

Lexical Ambiguity

Humans extract meaning from conversations, television, books

and more everyday of their lives quite successfully. This is no
small feat however. There is so much we must understand to
comprehend the meaning of an utterance. Besides being able to
deal with the fact that meaning changes as conventions changes
and time passes, native speakers are able to deal with the fact
that almost every word has multiple meanings, and depending
on context, a word may be ambiguous. A word is lexically
ambiguous if it has more than one sense.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Because this type of ambiguity rests on the meaning of one

word, it is called lexical ambiguity. Since thousands of words in
English have more than one meaning, we are constantly
selecting among possible meanings.

As native speakers we use context to figure out the correct

meaning of ambiguous words. If a friend is out of money and
declares she is going to the bank, we do not misunderstand and
think she is going to the bank of a river.

However, there are some instances in which the ambiguity may

not be eliminated solely by context. Consider the sentence She
cannot bear children. Does this mean that she physically cannot
have children, or, that she intensely dislikes them?

Ambiguity may also depend on how the morphemes in a word

are divided. In the sentence This door is unlockable is the
negative morpheme un- modifying lockable (as in not able to be
locked) or is the suffix –able modifying unlock (meaning that is
able to be unlocked?)

Structural Ambiguity

Another type of ambiguity may be at the sentence level, and is

called structural ambiguity.

Example: Motorists must stop for pedestrians on the zebra

crossing

The way in which this sentence is constructed leads to at least

two interpretations (1) that motorists must stop on the zebra
crossing when they see pedestrians or (2) motorists must stop

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

and wait when they see pedestrians walking on the zebra

crossing.

Example: I hate boring people.

How is this sentence ambiguous?

Structural and lexical ambiguities are often sources of humour in

newspaper headlines which, because they appear out of context,
can easily be misinterpreted.

Summary (5 minutes)

Linguistic sense is the meaning of a linguistic expression as part

of a language. Some aspects of linguistic sense are synonymy,
hyponymy, prototypes, antonyms, homophony and polysemy. A
theory of semantics should account for synonymy or two words
having the same values for all their semantic features.
Hyponymy relations involve looking at meaning of words in some
type of hierarchical relationship. On the other hand, when the
meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another, the
relationship is described as hyponymy. A prototype means a
resemblance to the nearest example. Antonyms differ only in the
value of a single semantic feature. Homonymy is used when one
form has two or more unrelated meanings, while polysemy has
to do with multiple word meaning. Native speakers are able to
deal with the fact that almost every word has multiple meanings,
and depending on context, a word may be ambiguous. A word is
lexically ambiguous if it has more than one sense.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Suggested References

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

UNIT 3: Pragmatics and Context (1 hr)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / Pragmatics Module 7

Introduction:

This unit will help you to realize the differences between

pragmatic and semantic meaning. It will also highlight the
importance of context to understanding pragmatic meaning.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Identify differences between semantic and pragmatic

meaning
- Identify types of context
- Recognize deictic expressions
- Recognize the importance of the following in making
meaning
 Reference
 Inference
 Anaphora
 presupposition

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

Reflect on the following scenarios:

1) Imagine that you are walking by a store and you see a sign
which says “Baby Sale.” What do you think?

You do not for a minute think that the store is selling babies but
rather that it is advertising the sale of clothes for babies.

2) Let us examine the sentence, ‘I forgot the book.’ Imagine

that you are saying it to a teacher. Then, imagine that you
are saying it to a friend. Finally, imagine you are yelling it
in the car as your parent is driving you to school.
In each of these scenarios the underlying meaning of the
utterance is exactly the same, but each time, the utterance is
performing a very different function.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Pragmatic meaning versus semantic meaning

Pragmatics is the study of intended speaker meaning whereas

semantics as we discussed earlier has to do with the meaning of
words.

In many ways pragmatics is the study of “invisible” meaning or

how we recognize what is meant even when it isn’t actually said.
In order to understand the speaker (or writer) we must be able to

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

depend on a lot of shared assumptions and expectations. The

above examples emphasize the influence of context.

We could say Pragmatics is the study of the conditions of human

language uses as these are determined by the context of society.

Let us consider another example:

‘The boy is sick.’

Semantics would be concerned with the fact that the sentence is

correct grammatically and whether or not the meaning is true.
Pragmatics, on the other hand would emphasize the context. For
instance, if a mother uses this example when she is invited to go
shopping, it may imply that she cannot go out. This is what we
call “pragmatic meaning”. Therefore, it can be said that
sentences once they are put in context can have new meaning.
Semantics relates linguistic forms to the objects of the world
represented by them, however, it does not deal with the reasons
why speakers use such forms in a particular context, a task done
by pragmatics.

Context Coding

In relation to pragmatics, it is important to distinguish two kinds

of context: linguistic and situational.

Linguistic context consists of the linguistic material which

precedes and follows a statement. The linguistic context is also
known as the co-text. The context of a word is the set of other
words used in the same phrase or sentence. This surrounding
context has a strong effect on what we think the word means.
How do we know which meaning is intended in a particular
sentence?

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

We usually do so based on the basis of linguistic context. If the

word bank’ is ‘used in a sentence together with words like ‘steep’
or ‘overgrown’ we have no problem deciding which type of bank
is meant.

However, if we hear someone say, she has to get the bank to

cash a check, we know from linguistic context which type of
‘bank’ is intended.

The situational context contains the information about the

immediate physical material surrounding the situation. We know
what words mean through what can best be described as
situational or physical context. If you see the word ‘bank’ on the
wall of a building in a city, the ‘physical’ location will influence
your interpretation.

Therefore, our understanding of much of what we read and hear

is tied to the context in which we encounter linguistic
expressions.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

Read the following sentence.

You’ll have to bring that back tomorrow because they aren’t here
now.

Or, I’m busy now so you can’t do that here. Come back tomorrow.

Write a paragraph which tells about the importance of knowing the

physical context to make meaning from the above sentences.

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

Deixis:

There are some words in the language that cannot be interpreted

at all unless the physical context, especially the physical context
of the speaker, is known. These are words like here, there, this,
that, now, then, yesterday, as well as most pronouns. Some
sentences of English are virtually impossible to understand if we
don’t know who is speaking, about whom, where and when. For
example: You’ll have to bring that back tomorrow, because they
aren’t here now.

Out of context, this sentence is extremely vague. It contains a

large number of expressions (you, that, tomorrow, they, here,
now) which depend for their interpretation on the immediate
physical context in which they were uttered. Such expressions
are very obvious examples of bits of language which can only be
understood in terms of speaker’s intended meaning. These are
technically known as deictic expressions from the Greek word

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

deixis (pronounced “day-ick-sis”) which means pointing with

language.

An expression used to point to a person is an example of person

deixis. Words used to point to a location are examples of place
deixis. Those used to point to a time are examples of time deixis.

Person deixis I, me, you, him, Since these point to a person,

them they are called person deixis

Place deixis Here, there, Since these point to a location,

yonder they are examples of place deixis

Time deixis Now, then, Since these point to time, they

tonight, are examples of time deixis
yesterday, last
week

People can actually use deixis to have some fun. The shop owner
who puts up a sign that reads Free Ice-cream Tomorrow (to
get you to return to his shop) can always claim that you are one
day too early for the free treat.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

What is one obvious presupposition (or assumption) of the speaker who

says:

1. We regret buying that car.

2. Why did you arrive late?
3. Your brother is waiting outside for you.
4. Okay, Mr. Smith, how fast were you going when you ran the red
light?

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Reference

In discussing deixis, we assumed that the use of words to refer to

people and things was a simple matter. However, words
themselves don’t refer to anything. People refer. Reference is
defined as an act by which a speaker uses language to enable a
listener to identify something.

For example: If you are studying linguistics, you might ask

someone, Can I look at your Chomsky? You might get the
response, Sure it’s on the shelf over there. In inference, we use
the names associated with things to refer to people and the
names of people. In the above example, the speaker used the
name of the author ‘Chomsky’ to refer to Chomsky’s textbook.

Inference

An inference is any additional information used by the listener to

connect what was said with what must be meant. In the above
example, the listener had to infer that the name of the writer of a
book could be can be used to identify a book by that author.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

Anaphora

The term anaphora (which comes from a Greek root meaning ‘to
carry back’) is used to describe situations in which there is
repeated reference to the same thing in a text. Sentence (2)
below contains three instances of anaphora.

(1) John noticed that a window had been left open.

(2) He walked over to the window and closed it firmly.

He, the window, and it mentioned in (2) refer back to the

previous mentions of John and a window in (1). In general,
anaphoras, like those in sentence (2), refer back to previously
mentioned entities. However, anaphora can also occur with
temporal or spatial reference. Temporal expressions, such as
then, the next day, or the week before, often refer back to
previously established times and spatial expressions, such as
there, often refer back to previously mentioned locations. Thus,
anaphora is an important linguistic device for establishing the
coherence of an extended piece of discourse.

Presupposition

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

When a speaker uses referring expressions like this, he is

working with an assumption that the hearer knows which
referent is intended. Speakers continually design their linguistic
messages on the basis of assumptions about what their hearers
already know. These assumptions may be mistaken of course,
but they underlie most of what we say in the everyday use of
language. What a speaker assumes is true or is known by the
hearer can be described as a presupposition.
If someone tells you, your brother is waiting outside for you,
there is an obvious presupposition that you have a brother.

If you are asked, why did you arrive late? There is a

presupposition that you did arrive late.

Questions like these with built in presuppositions, are very useful

devices for interrogators or trial lawyers. If the defendant is
asked by the prosecutor Okay, Mr. Smith, how fast were you
going when you ran the red light, there is a presupposition that
Mr. Smith did, in fact, run the red light. If he simply answers the
How fast part of the question, by giving a speed, he is behaving
as if the presupposition is correct.

Summary (5 minutes)

Pragmatics is the study of intended or ‘invisible’ speaker

meaning or how we recognize what is meant even when it isn’t
actually said.

Context is very important to understanding pragmatic meaning

as different from semantic meaning which is concerned with the
meaning of the words. The linguistic context refers to the set of

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

words or phrases used with the specific expression. This

surrounding context has a strong influence on meaning. The
situational or physical context can also influence meaning.

Deixis which means pointing with language refers to the

importance of the physical context in determining meaning.
There are person, place and time deixis. Meaning is also made
through reference, inference, anaphora and presupposition.

Suggested References

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Semantics / PragmaticsModule 8

Unit 4: Pragmatics and Speech Act

Theory (1 hr)

Introduction:

This unit will help you to understand how speech acts function in
language and differentiate different types of speech acts. In
addition, you will be exposed to how speech acts can be used in
both a literal and a non-literal way.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Define speech acts

- Recognize some types of speech acts
- Differentiate between direct and indirect speech acts
- Understand politeness

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

We use language all the time to make something happen. We ask

someone to pass the salt. We ask for a glass of water. We call a taxi.
These are all “speech acts”.

The following examples are some ways in which we use language.

Speech act Form Function

Did you eat the food? Interrogative Question

Eat the food (please). Imperative Command (request)

You ate the food. Declarative Statement

In the previous unit we have been considering some ways in which we

interpret the meanings of sentences in terms of what the speaker of
those sentences convey. What we have not yet explored is the fact that
we also know how speakers intend us to ‘take’ (or interpret the function
of) what they say. We can usually recognize the type of “act’ performed
by a speaker in uttering a sentence.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

What are speech acts?

The use of the term speech act covers actions such as ‘requesting,’
‘commanding,’ ‘questioning’ and ‘informing.’ Some people can do
extraordinary things with words, like baptizing a baby, declaring war, or
sentencing a convict.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Linguists call these things speech acts and developed a theory called
speech act theory to explain how they work. Speech act theory is the
most important established part of pragmatics.

One of the most common speech acts is a representation. These

statements simply supply information that can be evaluated as true or
false.

Examples of representation speech acts

Guyana has ten This is a statement It supplies a fact

administrative regions

I am tired. This is a statement It supplies a piece of

information

The car is red This is a statement. This is a description of

some physical thing or
condition

There are thousands of possible speech acts and several attempts have
been made to clarify them into a small number of types. One approach
sets up six basic types.

Type Description Examples

Representative The speaker is committed, Affirm, believe, conclude,

deny, report
in varying degrees to the

truth of a proposition

Directives The speaker tries to get the Asking, begging, challenging,

hearer to do something commanding, insisting,

Cyril Potter College of Education

 requesting

Commissives The speaker is committed Guaranteeing, pledging,

in varying degrees to a promising, swearing, vowing
certain course of action

Expressives The speaker expresses an Thanking, congratulating,

attitude or feeling apologising, dis/agreeing,
insisting, welcoming,
commiserating, swearing,

Declarations The speaker alters the resigning, baptizing, firing,

external status or condition declaring war, christening,
of an object or situation marrying
solely by making the
utterance which brings
about a new external
situation

Interrogatives The speaker tries to get Questioning

information that he does
not know or is pretending
he does not know

We make commissives in which the speaker has committed in some

way to the truth of the statement made or has committed to some action
in the future.

For example: I assure you that Tom has left.

I know that the reports have been submitted.

These go beyond the simple fact or statement of the representative. The

speaker wants you to believe something beyond the simple fact of the
statement.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Commissives include promises.

“I promise to pay your university fee.”

Even if I don’t intend to keep it I have still made a promise.

Promises in some contexts may be viewed as declarations.

For example they have weight inside the courtroom.

Interrogatives are speech acts we use to get information that we do

not know (or are pretending we do not know).

For example: One student may ask another, Is the teacher fair?

Through expressives speakers thank, congratulate, apologise, agree, or

disagree, insult, commiserate, swear, express regret or say something
else.

Congratulations on your promotion!

Another speech act, the directive, is unusual in that the act of saying
something officially brings about a new state of affairs. The conditions
which existed before the words were uttered would no longer be viable.

You’re fired!

I resign as president.

Cyril Potter College of Education

With this ring I thee wed.

I confer upon you a Master’s degree in education.

Direct and Indirect speech acts

When a form such as Did he . . . ? Are they . . . ? or Can you . . . ? is used

to ask a question, it is described as a direct speech act. For example,
when a speaker doesn’t know something and asks the hearer to provide
the information, he or she will typically produce a direct speech act of the
following type: Can you ride a bicycle?

Now compare the above utterance with Can you pass the salt? In this
second example, you would not understand the utterance as a question
about your ability to do something. You would treat it as a request and
perform the action requested. Yet this request has been presented in the
syntactic form usually associated with a question.

Such an example is described as an indirect speech act.

The following utterance has the form normally associated with a

statement: You left the door open. If you say this sentence to someone
who has just come into your house (and it is raining outside) you would
probably be understood to have made not a statement, but a request.
You are requesting, indirectly, that the person close the door.

Used in this way it is another example of an indirect speech act.

Perhaps the crucial distinction in the use of these two types of speech
acts is based on the fact that indirect commands or requests are simply
considered more gently or more polite in our society than direct

Cyril Potter College of Education

commands. Exactly why they are considered more polite is based on
some complex social assumptions.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Examine the following speech acts. Try to divide them into direct
and indirect speech acts.

You’re in the way. Could you sit down? Move!. Eat the food!
Please get out of the way. You’re fired! Did you eat your food?
Can you pass the salt? Lend me your notes from Friday. Could
you lend me your notes from Friday? I could sure use the notes
from Friday.

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

Direct Indirect

Move! You’re in the way.

Eat the food! Could you sit down?

You’re fired! Please get out of the way.

Did you eat the food? Can you pass the salt?

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Lend me your notes from Friday Could you lend me your notes
from Friday?

I could sure use the notes from

Friday.

Sometimes we use speech acts in a non-literal way to accomplish our

goals. For instance, if I am having dinner at your house, and I am cold
because the window is open, I could use a direct speech act. I could use a
question like, May I close the window? This question is used to make a
request. However, much of our communication is not so direct.
Sometimes we use a speech act to accomplish an act for which it was not
intended.

There are other ways I can get the host to warm up the cold room by
closing the window. I could make a representative statement.

“It is cold in here.” This is a simple statement of fact or opinion. However,

the host is unlikely to interpret this as simply information. It is clearly a
request to have the window closed. I could also make an assertion, “I
think I am getting a cold,” to achieve the same result.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Think of the word ‘politeness.’ List three situations in which you

have been ‘polite’ to someone. Write three sentences or phrases
you might have used to show politeness.

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

Linguistic Politeness

There are several ways to think of politeness. These might involve ideas
like tactful, modest and being nice to other people. In the study of
linguistic politeness, the most relevant concept is ‘face.’ Your ‘face’, in
pragmatics is your public self-image. This is the emotional and social
stance of self that every person has and expects everyone else to
recognize.

Politeness is showing awareness of another person’s face.

If you say something that represents a threat to another person’s self-

image, that is called a face-threatening act.

For example, if you use a direct speech act to order someone to do

something (Give me that paper!), you are acting as if you have more
social power than the other person. If you do not actually have that social
power then you are performing a face-threatening act.

An indirect speech act in the form of a question (Could you pass me that
paper, please?) removes the assumption of social power. This makes
your request less threatening to the other person’s sense of self.
Whenever you say something that lessens the possible threat to
another’s face, it is a face-saving act.

You have both a negative face and a positive face. Your negative face is
the need to be independent and to have freedom from imposition. Your
positive face is your need to be connected, to belong, to be a member of
the group. Thus, a face-saving act that emphasizes a person’s negative
face will show concern about imposition. (I’m sorry to bother you . . .; I
know you’re busy, but . . .) A face-saving act that emphasizes a person’s
positive face will show solidarity and draw attention to a common goal
(Let’s do this together . . .; you and I have the same problem so . . .).

Cyril Potter College of Education

Cultural differences in politeness

What counts as polite behaviour can differ substantially from one culture
to the next. If you have grown up in a culture that has directness as a
valued way of showing solidarity, and you use direct speech acts (Pour
me some coffee) to people whose culture is more oriented to indirectness
and avoiding direct imposition, then you will be considered impolite.

Summary (5 minutes)

We use language all the time to make something happen. Speech act
covers such actions as requesting, commanding, questioning and
informing. Speech act theory is the most established part of pragmatics.

There are thousands of possible speech acts and several attempts have
been made to classify them into a small number of types. One approach
identifies six types: representatatives, directives, commissives,
expressive, declarations and interrogatives.

When a speaker doesn’t know something and asks the hearer to provide
the information, he or she will typically produce a direct speech act.

Sometimes we use a speech act to accomplish an act for which it was not
intended. This type is called an indirect speech act.

In the study of linguistic politeness, the most relevant concept is ‘face.’

Your face in pragmatics is your public self-image. Politeness is showing
awareness of another person’s face. Acting as if you have more power
than another when you don’t is a face threatening act. When you say
something that lessens the threat to another’s face, it is called a face-
saving act.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Suggested References

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge

University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What

you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,

1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 6: LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY (2hrs)

Overview

A good place to begin understanding the complex and variable nature of

language is to consider how language functions in society. As a human
ability, language is part and parcel of all the things that we do: the
different kinds of interactions we have with different kinds of people, the
different roles we play at different times of our lives - or even during the
same day!

There is therefore a complex interrelationship between language and

society. Understanding this as a teacher is very important, since you
would understand not only that your students come from different
backgrounds and therefore will use language in different ways, but that
they sometimes present themselves as “different” people depending on
the “role” that they see themselves playing at one particular time or
another. Also, your job as a teacher is not to prescribe the rules of
language, but to help your students to negotiate among the different
expectations of language use in a society, including formal and informal
usages.

What is the relationship between language and society? Language is

essentially a social construction. Without society, language would not
exist; and some even argue that without language, society would not be
as developed as it is. The study of the inter-relationships between social
variables and language variables is called Sociolinguistics, which is a
branch of Linguistics that merges language studies with Sociology.

In this module, we will first begin by looking at how social variables

Cyril Potter College of Education

interact with language. Second, we will look at various aspects of
language in use in society.

Module Objectives

At the end of the unit you will be able to:

 Identify the parameters that make language a social phenomenon.
 Understand the various ways in which language is used in society.

Module orientation:
This module has two units:

Unit 1: Social Variation in Language

Unit 2: Language in Use

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to complete each

one of them as they would help you to remember the information which
you have learned.

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself. The
answers for these units have been included but you are advised to check
them only after you have completed the activities.

Time Requirement:

You will need about 3 hours to complete this module including the activities.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Unit 1: Social Variation in Language (1
hr)

Introduction

Language and Society is considered under the sub-field of Linguistics called

Sociolinguistics. It includes various aspects related to the intertwining of social
variables and language. In this lesson, we will begin to examine some of the
social variables that interact with language, especially spoken language.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

 Identify the social variables responsible for social variation of language.

 Apply their knowledge of social variables to their understanding of
Guyana’s language situation.
 Evaluate how social variables influence language

What is needed

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Social Variables

Cyril Potter College of Education

Linguists agree that there is an interrelationship between language and
the social variables of age, gender, social class, ethnicity,
education, and geographic location. Since the 1970’s, the famous
linguist William Labov set out to investigate how social variables
influence speech, and he has produced many interesting studies to prove
the correlation between the two.

The language variations influenced by the five variables are called “social
dialects” and those influenced by the last variable are called
“geographical” or “regional” dialects.

Let us consider the first variable, Age.

Age

Language is dynamic, which means that it is in a constant flux of change.

Because of this “evolution”, every generation develops new words and
phrases. You will have noticed that there are differences between your
language use and that of those around you who belong to a different
generation (either older or younger). There are unique differences in
several areas including phonology, slang, and morphology. For example,
which word do you use: “veranda” or “patio”; “icebox” or “cooler”? The
older generation will tend to use the former words (veranda and icebox).

In many communities across Guyana, older persons will tend to use with
more frequency words and expressions from languages other than
English. On the coastal areas, words and expressions from Indic and
African languages are more often used by older persons, while in the
hinterland area, the same happens with the indigenous languages; For
example, a child living in the Corentyne may hear his/her grandmother
call him/her “dular”. A younger person might refer to that same child and
say “you’re spoiled”, which means that the child is accustomed to being
pampered by relatives to the extent that s/he expects all demands and
requests to be met.

Cyril Potter College of Education

It is generally agreed that younger people tend to use more slang and
words that are current in popular media. For example, young people
make much use of slang in their conversations to refer to their friends,
classmates, activities, and also to refer to social trends, practices and
relationships, among many other things.

Gender

A second social variable is gender. Linguists note that there are

differences between male and female speech patterns. This may be a
natural phenomenon, or it may be because of social conditioning – for
example, society may condition men to be more aggressive, and this
might be reflected in their speech. Also, particular forms of language use
may help men to identify with other men and women to identify with
other women- males may use more colloquial forms of language while
women use more formal language.

An interesting case is that of persons of different sexual orientation.

Sociologists tell us that a male can change his speech patterns (i.e., his
vocabulary, pitch, etc) to become be a social female, and vice versa. This
confirms the idea that society makes a distinction that certain usages of
language are “female” and others “male”.

Education

One’s education, most times, inadvertently shapes one’s language.

Someone who has tertiary education is more likely to speak in a more
formal manner than someone who has only attended primary school.
Many times persons wish to let their language serve as an indicator of
their educational attainment, but this is not always the case. Education is
also closely linked to occupation.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Social Class

Social class influences variation in language. It must be noted that,

linguistically, there is nothing inherently superior about one language
over another. However, it is the social concept that places a bias on
some forms of language causing one to be seen as superior to the other.
Historically, the upper class stratum of a society use language to
maintain and reinforce the social distinction between them and others.
On the other hand, the poorer classes may have less access to education
and so speak a distinct variation of the language.

In this process, certain features of language become stigmatized while

others are seen as prestigious. For example a feature such as the
dropping of /h/ from words such as “head” and “hand” might be seen as
a marker of lower class (as it is seen to a considerable extent in Guyana).
On the other hand, features such as the articulation of word endings –
“walking” rather than “walkin”, “sound” rather than “soun”, and the
rounding of vowels – saying “boll” rather than “ball” - might be seen as
markers of high status. Persons who want to identify themselves as
upper class (or appearing intelligent) may change their ways of speaking
to include these prestige features.

Speaking a certain way usually is a mark of belonging to a certain social

class. Additionally, in some cases the more Standard English one speaks
seemingly places one in an upper social class bracket. Rounding words
more also is an indicator, not only of educational attainment, but social
class. Conversely, speaking in what some people term “brawling” or
“raw” way is seen as the lower class (and uneducated) way of speaking.

Ethnicity

Cyril Potter College of Education

Perhaps one of the most defining characteristics of social variation is
ethnicity. Ethnicity influences our speech. In Guyana, a lot of names for
food and kitchen utensils have been retained throughout the years
because of a unique cultural heritage - one that is characterised by
ethnic peculiarities. For example, in Indo-Guyanese dominated
communities one might say tawa while in an Afro-Guyanese community
one might hear roti pan. In Indigenous communities, it is usual to hear
about tuma pot instead of pepper pot.

Geographic Location

Even though some persons may not refer to geography as a ‘social’

variable, it is very important to recognise the influence of one’s
geographic location on language varieties. Because of historical factors,
movements of people, contact with other people, isolation from other
groups and many other factors, the language of people in one geographic
location may show certain differences from those of another location
even though they all generally speak the same language.

This is most obvious trans-nationally: there is language variation among

people of different countries who speak trans-national languages such as
English, French, and Spanish etc. For example, did you know that English
has international dialects? There is American English, British English,
Australian English, Caribbean English, and the list can go on. Differences
between British and American English include spelling such as:

US: equaled, color, theater

UK: equalled, colour, theatre

There are also

differences in

Cyril Potter College of Education

 vocabulary:

US

truck

sidewalk

French fries

hood

And differences
in
pronunciation:

Schedule:

US: “schedule”
[ʃɛdjul]

UK: “schedule”
[skɛdjul]

Issue:

US: “ishyu”
[Iʃju]

UK: “issyu”
[Isju]

Secondly, even in the same country, there are regional differences in

language. In the first instance, one can categorise rural and urban

Cyril Potter College of Education

differences. Since urban areas are usually better-developed and are
centres of education, business, government, and so on, urban dwellers
tend to speak differently from rural people.

Because of Guyana’s history and settlement of peoples, it is possible to

see other types of geographical variations in language. The people in the
hinterland who spoke indigenous languages and who were taught English
by missionaries tend to show a better level of English than many coast
landers. Of course, they also have their different indigenous languages.
People in the border areas of Lethem and the Corentyne also show the
influence of Portuguese and Dutch respectively in their language.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

1. Make a list of all the words and phrases that sound strange
that your grandparents or older persons in your community
use. Compare that list to one that you use.
2. Make a list of all the slang that you may have heard your
students use but are unfamiliar to you. Ask them to supply
the meanings, and where they possibly got the
word/expressions from.

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

You would have realized that there are distinct differences between your
vocabulary and that of your parents and grandparents.

Cyril Potter College of Education

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

1. Complete the list below by adding the matching ethnicity.
Item Ethnicity
bajii
foo-foo
rooti
rooti pan
tawah
farine
puhar

2. Give the British version of the American English words below.

US UK
liter
center
traveled
plow

Cyril Potter College of Education

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Item Ethnicity

bajii Indo-Guyanese

foo-foo Afro-Guyanese

rooti Indo-Guyanese

rooti pan Afro-Guyanese

tawah Indo-Guyanese

farine Indigenous Guyanese

puhar Indo-Guyanese

2. Give the British version of the American English words below:

US UK

liter Litre

center centre

traveled travelled

plow plough

Summary (5 minutes)
Language is influenced by several social variables such as: age, gender,
education, social class, ethnicity, and geographic location. Age features are
indicative of the differences between young and older people. Gender
differences are expressed in the language of males and females. There are
clear indications that class determines speech. Ethnicity offers variations of
language use in Guyana, especially in vocabulary differences. Names for food
and kitchen utensils offer an interesting example of ethnic influences on

Cyril Potter College of Education

language. Geographic location is also a very influential variable on language
differences across countries and within a country.

Suggested References
Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds. Language
Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State University Press,
2007.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. New York:

Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Crystal, David. Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2006.

Devonish, Hubert. Language & Liberation: Creole Language Politics in the

Caribbean. Kingston: Arawak Publications, 2007.

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York: Pearson

Education Ltd., 2008

Romaine, Suzanne. Language in Society. New York: Oxford University Press

Inc., 2000

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use (1hr)

Introduction
“Language in use” refers to all the social dimensions that are involved in
the use of language. In this section, we will be examining several
concepts in the discussion on language in society. Several aspects of
language use that will be looked at, though not exhaustively, are: social
dialect, notions of prestige, jargon, register, slang, language and sexism,
language and the internet, code switching, and diglossia.

Because society is in a constant flux of change, language will also be

subject to change. When we use language, there are “unwritten rules of
engagement” that guide the way we speak and write to others. It is
important to understand the facets of the social side of language use.

Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:

1. Understand several key concepts in sociolinguistics

2. Differentiate among those concepts.
3. Apply knowledge gained to an understanding of language use in their
own sub-cultures.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Aspects of Language in Use

Dialect

The term “dialect” refers to systematic variations within a

language. When such variations are reflected in all the different
systems – grammar, vocabulary, meaning, etc - of the language
used by a defined group of speakers or in a defined geographical
area, then we say that the language has a dialect. As we learnt
in the previous chapter, there are many factors that tend to
produce variation in a language.

All languages are made up of dialects. There is no language

which is completely uniform everywhere it is spoken. In fact,
Standard English, which many persons in Guyana consider to be
a very powerful language, is itself a dialect of English. Standard
English really means a particular way of speaking English, a
particular set of pronunciation, grammar, semantic and
vocabulary rules. It has particular areas of use as outlined by
Janet Holmes Janet Holmes in her book, An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics “It is the variety used for national news
broadcasts and in print, and it is the variety generally taught in
English-speaking schools”. (1992:144). Another social dialect of
English is Received Pronunciation (RP). It was the accent of the
“best educated and most prestigious members of English
society” (143). RP is also sometimes called the “Queen’s
English”.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

There are generally three types of dialects: regional or

geographical, and social dialects, which we have discussed
above, and temporal dialects.

Temporal dialects are variations of a language over time. For

example, we can see consistent changes in the history of
English, so we can subdivide it into Old, Middle and Modern
English. Each of these would then be an example of a temporal
dialect of English. We can even subdivide these further, as in
when we talk about 19th Century English, for example.

Social Dialects

Of all the social dialects, those that are determined by social

class (i.e. upper, middle, lower class) are the most influential in
society. Such a social dialect entails a unique accent, use of
vocabulary, and style. For example, in Guyana an upper class
social dialect may include persons rounding their vowels more
than other persons in society would do. If this is the case, then
rounding is seen as a feature of a social dialect. Members of a
society recognize these features of social dialects, and therefore,
many persons may adopt some of these features in order to
present themselves in a certain way. Also, most of us make
judgments about people because of the way they speak. This
kind of social dialect is therefore a powerful social tool.

One of the earliest studies on social dialects was carried out by

pioneer Sociolinguist, William Labov, in New York department (or
general) stores. Labov basically asked each store attendant to
tell him where he could find a particular item while recording
their responses. Based on the social ranking of the store, Labov
found that there was a corresponding social dialect. In the

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

higher-social-class stores, attendants dropped /r/ from their word

because this was considered upper class. On the other hand, the
attendants at lower-class stores dropped /g/ at the endings of “-
ing” words; this was considered to be a mark of the uneducated
and lower social class.

Notions of prestige

Prestige in language is a socially-determined phenomenon. Such

prestige is predominantly influenced by social class, as we noted
before. When we talk about the prestige value of language, we
are referring to the positive (or negative) values placed on forms
of language within a group. The group may be as large as a
country, region or even the whole world, or it may be much
smaller. Such prestige can either be used to signal educational
attainment, social class ranking, and give a sense of belonging.
Generally, linguists agree that there is overt prestige and
covert prestige. Overt Prestige refers to the public positive
value placed on a language, or dialect of that language. For
example, SE has overt prestige because there is widespread
regard for this language. Most people in society place positive
value on SE and give it prominence in many situations. Covert
Prestige, on the other hand, refers to hidden positive value that
is attached to the language variety of a sub-group. For example,
the language of Rastafarians, which Velma Pollard refers to as
dread talk may not have public prestige and the wider society
may frown upon this variety of language. However, within the
sub-culture of Rastafarianism, there is a lot of positive prestige
associated with the language. The word “covert” essentially
means hidden, so dread talk has hidden or overt prestige.
Another example of covert prestige is the language of teenagers.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

The vocabulary, sentence structure, slang, and accents of

teenagers may be frowned upon by wider society; but to the
teenage speakers, speaking this way has positive value and is a
mark of their belonging and identity with the sub-group.

Jargon, Register, Slang

The term “Jargon” refers to special terminologies that are limited

to one’s profession. Dentists will talk among themselves about
“periodontal disease” and “halitosis”. Linguists will talk about
fricatives and affricates. Sometimes, professionals can use
jargon to exclude others from their discussion. Periodontal
disease is also called gum disease, and halitosis commonly
called bad breath. On the other hand, jargon allows professionals
to communicate more efficiently. For example, instead of a
carpenter saying to another “bring a piece of wood” he may say
“bring the 2 by 4” and this communicates a exactly what he
wants. For linguists, the terms “jargon”, “social dialect”,
“regional dialect” and so on, communicate precise ideas,
whereas the layman will only see these generally as “variations
of language”.

Register refers to the style of the language used in a special

context. Register can include jargon and other vocabulary used
in a certain context. For example, there can be legal register or
religious register. In a Christian church, one might hear a pastor
talk about “salvation” or being “born again” and “repentance”;
but these words, and the concepts they outline, may be strange
to a non-Christian. In the legal setting such as in court, a certain
Cyril Potter College of Education
 Introduction to Linguistics

tone of voice is used along with legal jargon – all of which

comprise legal register. Register also refers to the levels of
formality. It is usually appropriate to use a formal register, for
example, to speak to a member of the Diplomatic Corps.

Slang demonstrates creativity of humans to use language to suit

their purposes. Slang is sometimes considered as “colourful
language” (Language Files 10th Edition 2007:408). It is usually
the colloquial or informal variety of language. Slang,
interestingly, is usually short-lived and may last for months or
years. As discussed in the previous unit, slang is a feature that
differentiates age groups: mainly old and young. Additionally, a
lot of slang is taken from popular music or movies. You might
recall having said something in front of your parents or
grandparents and they were clueless as to what you said, or you
may have heard younger persons use slang that you were not
familiar with. For example, someone might say “I was bumping
my gum all afternoon with my friend” to mean that they were
chatting with their friends. You may have heard a bus conductor
tell the driver to “bun it down”. This expression is a slang which
means stop the bus (usually to let off or pick up a passenger). In
many parts of Guyana, some ladies will use the slang “red flag
flying” to talking about their menstrual cycle. Slang may also be
seen as having covert prestige because it ensures an in-group
identity. Gang members, for example, can show their solidarity
with each other when they use slang. Talking about a “straps” to
refer to a knife or gun; or a “kilo” to refer to drugs (especially
cocaine) are examples of slang. Because slang is short-lived, in
years to come, those words can be replaced with others.

Language and Sexism

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

The rise of feminist philosophy in the nineteenth century helped

to redefine how we use language as it relates to gender.
Feminists essentially argue that a language can embody
stereotypes against women; and that language has been socially
engineered in such a way that it favours male ideals. Suzanne
Romaine in her chapter “Language and Gender” (2000: 101-134)
outlines several ways that sexism has dominated language use.
She purposefully labels a section “A Misguided attempt to
change herstory” to enforce the idea that language, English in
this case, is male-centered and needs to be re-worded and
reworked.

Because of the need to be more sensitive to the case presented

by feminists and be respectful of general women’s rights, there
is a need to revise several male-centered words and expressions.
More specifically, language has been involved in constant change
towards more gender-neutral words and expressions. For
instance, several years ago we used to talk about an air-host and
air-hostess, but now it is correct to say flight attendant. The
game of cricket, which is traditionally a male dominated sport,
has seen the rise in the amount of women now playing the sport.
Because of this, several “male-centered terms” have to be
modified to be more gender neutral. Instead of saying batsman,
one should say batter.

More importantly, being linguistically gender sensitive is not only

limited to using gender-neutral words but includes showing
respect for women through the use of language in the whole. In
some circles, the slang that some men use to refer to sexual
encounters with women is considered to be sexist. Some writers
have called this the “violent side of sex”, because men use

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

words such as “beat”, “mash”, “slaughter”, “dig out” and “clip”

to talk about their sexual experience or “domination” over
women. We can then conclude that, generally, sexism in
language reflects bias against women.

Language and the Internet

Undoubtedly, the internet has and is still contributing to the

change in written and spoken language. David Crystal, who is
one of the foremost linguists today in the world, refers to
“internet language” as netspeak (2006:19). Social media sites
such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and hi5 all are avenues
where netspeak is used. There are several distinct features of
netspeak that are worth considering.

First, there are unique words (or lexical items) that make up
netspeak. The advent of the internet and constantly changing
technology mean that language has to accommodate the words
and expressions used to represent the new ideas. A few years
ago, no one would have heard about blogging or tweeting. New
words are also formed by combining existing words, blending, or
shortening/clipping (this is discussed in the Morphology module).
For example, a blog is a blend of a weblog. A blog is like a digital
version of a journal or diary where writers share their thoughts
on the internet or World Wide Web. All those who have accounts
with Twitter, which is the social media site that allows people to
keep track of the activities of others, are called tweeps. The word
tweeps is a blendof twitter peeps (or twitter people). Pics is a
shortened version of pictures; vids, for videos; cam for camera,
Cyril Potter College of Education
 Introduction to Linguistics

and the list can go on. Posting in netspeak does not refer to
posting a mail using the postal service, but rather it refers to
putting content (pics, vids, or text) on a blog or social media site
account.

Second, there is no standard spelling system. If one mises the

corect spelin of a wrd while typn he/she does nt hv 2 wrry becoz
ppl will understnd neways. Did you have trouble reading that
sentence? Note that the even though the words had some letters
missing you were still able “fill in the blanks”. It is important to
note, though, that there are still formal and informal registers
that are used in internet communication (and a lot depends on
who is the audience/or receiver of the correspondence). Most
people use a formal register when sending an e-mail. For instant-
messaging (IM services include Yahoo! Messenger, Windows
Live, oovoo, Skype, and ICQ) and writing on social media sites,
most people use an informal register that is made up of
abbreviations and non-standard spelling. Such abbreviations
seem to now become words in themselves. When someone says
lol after your comment they mean “Laugh out loud”; idk means
“I don’t know”; btw, “by the way”; and brb, “be right back”.
These are some of the most common ones.

Third, punctuation marks are used to represent an emotion and

are called emoticons (emotion + icons). When persons use a
colon, a hyphen, and a forward bracket as in :-) they mean to
portray a smile (or smiley face). Tilt your head to the left and
look at it again- the colon represent the eyes, the hyphen the
nose and the bracket the lips. Some people may omit the hyphen
and just write :) instead. The bracket turned the other way
around as in :-( conveys sadness. There is a website devoted to

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

listing all of the current items comprising netspeak. You can visit
www.netlingo.com and learn more about the hundreds of
netspeak terms and emoticons.

Many persons tend to mix netspeak with English (or Guyanese)

in their communication on the internet resulting in written code-
switching. Some teachers may complain that their students’
writing has been corrupted by the influence of the internet.
Interestingly, however, some of the spoken features can become
part of speech. For example, if some responds “IDK” [ai-d-ke]
when you ask them a question, they are simply responding “I
don’t know”. Part of the solution to the “problem” is to look at
the switching from a linguistic perspective. Linguistically, there is
nothing wrong with code switching: it is only natural that humans
switch between and among codes. This phenomenon of netspeak
should be seen as another form of code switching.

Code Switching

We usually switch between varieties of language depending on

the topic and situation that we find ourselves in. In Guyana, we
switch, most times, between different varieties of Guyanese
(popularly called Creolese) and also between Creolese and
English.

Code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two

varieties of language or two languages in one speech act. You
may have done this yourself many times as a teacher when you
want to explain a concept to your students. For example, using a
Guyanese (Creolese) example not only grabs the students’
attention and make them laugh, but it makes them understand
the concept better because they can relate it to their experience.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Many teachers will code-switch between English and Wapishana

in Central Rupununi, or English and Macushi in North Rupununi.
These are examples of code-switching between two languages.
Code-switching among three languages is normal in the Central
Rupununi region because persons code-switch in English,
Wapishana, and Portuguese - sometimes all in one sentence.

Written code-switching is another aspect of language that looks

at switching between two or more languages or varieties of
language. A lot of times we see written code-switching in
correspondence between friends via email and letters when one
may switch between an informal and formal variety of English.
Another case is the switch between Standard English and
netspeak. You may see a sentence which reads, “Hi John. hru?
How’s your family? Btw, pls tell them I said hi”. This is a switch
between English and netspeak. (Hi John, how are you? How’s
your family. By the way, please tell them I said hi).

Diglossia

Diglossia refers to unwritten rules which govern usage (and non-

usage) of certain varieties of a language in a speech community.
Socially, as discussed before, some varieties of language are
given more prestige than others. In a diglossic situation, the
prestigious variety is given the label ‘High Variety’ or H-variety,
while the non-prestigious languages are given the label ‘Low
Variety’ or L-variety. Additionally, a diglossic situation can entail
two languages instead of two varieties (or dialects) of one
language. It is important to remember that in diglossic situations
there are rules of usage dictating where the H and L varieties

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

must be used. Non-compliance of these rules often results in the

speaker being frowned upon. How do we know to speak the
formal or H-variety in class to our tutors? Why do we address
politicians and members of the government or the judiciary in a
formal way? Why do we speak to the market vendor in a different
variety? For example in the classroom situation, rules of diglossia
would maintain that the level of language required for the class
is the H-variety. The H-variety on the coastal region of Guyana is
English, and in most hinterland communities it is the same. As
said before, the H and L varieties can refer to two dialects of the
same language. In the case of Guyanese (or Creolese), the urban
variety of Guyanese tends to be the H-variety, while the rural
variety is the L-variety.

It is important to remember that Diglossia entails unwritten rules

that dictate which language varieties should be used in specific
contexts. The assigning of prestige to certain languages or
dialect is non-linguistic and is done based on social concepts of
class and prestige. Linguistically speaking, there is no superior
language.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Language-in-use Activities

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Social and Regional Dialects

1. Is Standard English a regional or social dialect? Explain your

answer.

2. Do you know of anyone who speaks with a social accent or

dialect? What phonological or lexical features can you notice?

Code switching

Prepare a five-minute speech addressed to members of your

community using both the formal and informal varieties of English;
or English and Guyanese; or English and your indigenous language.
Take note of the sections that require you to code-switch, and ask
yourself: “Why do I need to code-switch at this point?”

Sexism

Make a list of all the words that you know are paired to indicate
masculine and feminine, and give the gender-neutral equivalent.
For example: a. Air-host (masculine) b. Air-hostess (feminine) c.
flight attendant (gender neutral).

Feedback to activity 1

1. Standard English (SE) is both a regional and social dialect. It is

regional because there are different Englishes in the world:
Standard American English, Standard British English, Standard

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Australian English, etc. It is a social dialect because people of the

upper classes, or those with higher educational attainment use
SE as language of belonging.

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

1. Make a list of all the slang that you know for sex, prostitutes, and a
bad behaved child.

2. Make a list of all the jargon that you use in your profession, and
give the version that the average person can understand.
3. What are the differences among register, slang, and jargon?

Summary
A social dialect is socially influenced and is an indicator of prestige and
belonging. Notions of prestige refer to overt prestige which has a
public prestige value; and covert prestige which has a private (in-
group) prestige value. Jargon is specialised terminology that is
associated with specific professions and can be used to exclude other
members outside of the profession. Slang is said to be informal and is
an in-group mode of communication. Register can be classified as
formal and informal, and includes the use of jargon and slang. Gender
issues over the past two centuries have given rise to language
becoming more gender sensitive. Sexism is generally directed to
women. Language is influenced by the internet and is evolving into a
different mode of communication in the areas of spelling and word
formation. When we switch between an informal or formal variety of
language or two or three languages, we are involved in code switching.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Diglossia is the term used to talk about unwritten rules governing the
High and Low varieties of language. The H and L varieties can refer to
dialects of one language, or two separate languages.

Suggested References

Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.

Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. New York:

Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Crystal, David. Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2006.

Devonish, Hubert. Language & Liberation: Creole Language Politics in

the Caribbean. Kingston: Arawak Publications, 2007.

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York:

Pearson Education Ltd., 2008

Romaine, Suzanne. Language in Society. New York: Oxford

University Press Inc., 2000

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

MODULE 7: Language Acquisition (2

hrs)

Overview:

Language acquisition is usually studied as first-language (L1)

acquisition, and second-language (L2) acquisition. In the
discussion in this module about language acquisition, several key
concepts will be touched upon. This module will only seek to
provide a general understanding of concepts that are sometimes
complex to understand in the study of Psycholinguistics. You are
free to pursue further in-depth research on the areas that may
interest you.

Module Objectives:

By the end of this module you will be able to:

- Understand the two main theories of language acquisition.

- Evaluate whether humans learn language or are born with
it.
- Identify the stages of language acquisition.
- Understand what aphasia is.
- Evaluate the role of a child’s second language in the
education process.
- Understand the different second language teaching
strategies that can be employed in the classroom.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Module orientation:
This module has two units:

Unit 1: Nature or Nurture?

Unit 2: Second Language Acquisition

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to

complete each one of them as they would help you to remember
the information which you have learned.

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself.
The answers for these units have been included but you are
advised to check them only after you have completed the
activities.

Time Requirement:

You will need about 2 hours to complete this module including

the activities.

Cyril Potter College of Education

 Introduction to Linguistics

Unit 1: Nature or Nurture? (1hr)

Introduction

How do humans acquire language? Were we born with the ability

to acquire language, or were we born blank-slate? Does our
environment influence our language? These are questions that
are central to the discussion about language acquisition. The
human brain is structured in such a way that it allows for
linguistic development, and there are several stages of language
acquisition.

Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Understand what is meant by nature theory

- Understand what is mean by nurture theory
- Differentiate between nature and nurture theories
- Identify the stages of language acquisition
- Understand, in basic terms, what is aphasia

What is needed?
1. Paper

2. Pens and pencil

3. English dictionary

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

Nature or Nurture

One of the most interesting things about human life is the ability
of language. Steven Pinker (2007) notes:

Language is so tightly woven into human experience that

it is scarcely possible to imagine life without it. Chances
are that if you find two or more people together
anywhere on earth, they will soon be exchanging words.
When there is no one to talk with, people talk to
themselves, to their dogs, even to their plants.

Language acquisition is a perplexing phenomenon, and its study

is a relatively new field in Guyana when compared to other more
“structural” approaches to language. Experts also usually
disagree with some of the sometimes unexplained phenomena of
language acquisition. In his book, The Language Instinct, Pinker
(2007) sees language as something inherent and instinctual in
humanity when he says:

It's far easier for a child to acquire language as an infant and

toddler than it will be for the same child to learn, say, French
in a college classroom 18 years later. Many linguists now say
that a newborn's brain is already programmed to learn
language, and in fact that when a baby is born he or she
already instinctively knows a lot about language. This means
that it's as natural for a human being to talk as it is for a bird
to sing or for a spider to spin a web. In this sense, language
may be like walking: The ability to walk is genetic, and
children develop the ability to walk whether or not anybody
tries to teach them to do so. In the same way, children
develop the ability to talk whether or not anybody tries to
teach them. For this reason, many linguists believe that
language ability is genetic.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

We know that we are genetically prepared for language. Our

biology - our genes, nerves, shape of mouth, lips, etc., and the
design of the human brain - facilitates language. We will discuss
this some more in Module 8

For this reason a four year old who has never gone to school as
yet will already possess a complex grammar. Broca’s area and
Wernicke’s area are the regions in the brain, on the left
hemisphere, that control language and language acquisition.
Broca’s area is concerned with the output of language while
Wernicke’s area controls the input. In other words, Broca’s area
deals with language production while Wernicke’s area deals with
the processing of the language we hear (or see).

The language side of the brain: Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s area

But where does language itself come from? Are we born “blank
state” and learn language from the people around us as some
theorists opine? Or were we born with the ability to acquire
language? These two general views are at the heart of
discussions on language acquisition, and they called
respectively, nurture and nature theories. The nature theory

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

states that the ability to acquire language is innate; while the

nurture theory outlines that a child learns language through
exposure to the community.

Nurture theory is essentially based on the behaviourist theory of

imitation and reinforcement as an explanation of how children
learn language from their surroundings. Behaviourism as
promoted by B.F. Skinner (1955) is based on a system of reward
and punishment. This theory gives a great role to the
environment in language learning. It suggests that children
imitate what they hear and reproduce it to create their own
linguistic repertoire. Children may be rewarded for using the
desirable variety language, and this is called positive
reinforcement. When a parent frowns upon a child for use of a
particular word, the frown serves as negative reinforcement. In
the case of Guyana, for example, the use of Creole may be
frowned upon and a child hears “don’t say it like that, say it like
this”. The theory of the influence of the environment, however,
has some loop-holes. Two of these are: How does one account
for mistakes that the child makes if s/he never heard them from
his/her surroundings? If a child learns via the environment, or
through imitation, how does one explain a child saying “I eated
the food” or “I holded the cup” if s/he never heard those
ungrammatical constructions from the environment? Secondly, if
a child learnt language from his or her environment, we can
reasonably expect that different children of the same age and in
the same language will show different stages of language
learning.

Linguists have concluded that a child does not learn language

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

through imitation or from the environment. Rather, they believe

that children acquire language through an innate mechanism
that each human is born with. As in the case of the incorrect
past-tense endings above, the child is displaying grammatical
knowledge of forming past-tenses. However, there are
exceptions to the rule so the child either cognises these
exceptions or is corrected by persons in his/her environment.
This is a case of linguistic input from the linguistic environment.
Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams (2007) succinctly sum this up by
relating:

It is obvious that children do not learn a language simply by

memorising the sentences of the language and storing them in
some giant mental dictionary. The list of words is finite, but no
dictionary can hold all the sentences of a language, which are
infinite in number. Rather children acquire a system of rules
that enables them to construct and understand sentences,
most of which theyhave never produced or heard before.
Children, like adults, are creative in their use of language. (p.,
314)

Nature theorist Noam Chomsky proposed that each child is born

with an innate grammar of linguistic features. This innateness
hypothesis proposes that each individual is born with a
Language Acquisition Device (LAD). The LAD is like a blueprint or
template for language that exists in each new-born, and as the
child grows s/he receives the input of vocabulary and grammar
conventions from the environment. Chomsky posits that the LAD
is universal (i.e., it exists in all languages). Moreover, he
suggests that there is a Universal Grammar which supports the
LAD. The notion of Universal Grammar basically outlines the
reasons why children of different linguistic systems (Spanish,
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition

English, or Chinese) all seem to develop language at the same

time and in the same stages and sequences: their grasp of the
grammar of the language is identical and universal.

In this theory, language is acquired, not learned, and it unfolds in

developmental stages, rather than being dependent on
environmental input. Interestingly, a mute child who is exposed
to Sign Language at an early age will also develop his/her
language at the same stage as the others recently mentioned.

Chomsky used grammar or syntax to explain his theory. When a

child begins to speak, it seems that s/he has already has innate
understanding of grammar. For example, when a child makes
mistakes such as “sheeps” and “eated”, s/he is simply using the
general English structure of marking plurality (adding an -s) and
past tense (adding -ed). The child is in the process of adjusting
his/her mental grammar to the acceptable norm. Children,
therefore, extract the linguistic rules from their environment.

Secondly, the very initial language “baby talk” that a baby hears
from its parents, siblings and others in its formative years is said
to have structure that is decipherable by the baby. Linguists
categorise this baby talk as “motherese”, “fatherese”, and
“otherese”. This is a speech pattern which is unlike the way in
which persons will normally speak. As simple as it may seem,
baby talk is very complex – it sounds different, many words are
left out, it contains many made-up words, and many other
differences from normal speech. Yet, the child is able to use this
information to help him or her produce normal sentences in a
very short space of time. This shows that a child already
possesses the capacity for complex language processing.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

Therefore, conclusively, we can say that children do not simply

learn language from their environment (nurture). Humans are
born with the innate “instinct” to acquire language and are
already programmed with mental grammars. On the other hand,
children do need the input from the environment to trigger the
process of acquisition, and to help shape the language that they
will eventually acquire. This input helps the child to complete
their grammars with vocabulary and rules of usage.

Stages of Language Acquisition

There are linguistic stages of language acquisition which we can

see evidence of as the child develops. These are:

Theorists and researchers such as Roger Brown, Piaget and

others have posited that children acquire certain aspects of
language at different levels of their development. In other words,
cognitive development is linked to language acquisition. An
outline of the linguistic stages of language acquisition is found
below:

1. Pre-speech. Infants recognise speech even before they

use it; they recognise the phonological differences. Speech
around them has been proven to stimulate more electrical
activity in the left side of the brain. With motherese,
fatherese, and otherese around them, infants sense the
differences. For example, motherese is said to have a lot
more intonations and questions than fatherese.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

2. Babbling stage -while babbling may not seem to be

important, this is an important stage in the child’s
development of language. In this stage, the child begins to
articulate sounds and syllables and experiment with the
use of their vocal apparatus. It is at this stage, about 5 -
7mths, one will hear infant say “baba” or “mama”.
However, this not necessarily means that this is the child’s
first word or that s/he understands the meaning of the
“word”. What it may mean though is that he infant has
started to combine syllables such as “ba”, “ma” or “da”.
Repeating the syllables makes it sound like words are
uttered. In some cases, “mama” is sometimes stopped
being used until a later stage.

3. One word (or holophrastic) stage- at about one-year of

age, children begin to produce single words. These words
refer to things around the child and shows that the child can
attach words to the real world. This stage involves the use of
content words such as nouns (names and things), but not
functional words such as verbs and articles. This stage is
aided by persons who often help the infant to name things in
his/her surroundings. However, the child may not see the
world in the same way as older people do – for example, he or
she may call a horse a dog. What is also important is that
these single words represent sentences, not just words in
isolation.

4. Telegraphic stage. At this stage the child, at 18mths to 2

yrs, usually being combining words such as two-word sentences.
At this stage children already have the correct word order and

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

rules for agreement. For example, “want tea” or “me toy” are
two-word sentences that confirm Chomsky’s concept of a mental
grammar. One would not, or hardly, hear “toy me” or “tea want”
because the child’s mental grammar shapes the structure of the
sentence to have the verb before the object in “want tea” and
the possessive determiner “me” before the noun “toy”.

5. Adult equivalent speech. At this stage, a child has grasped

the rules of language equivalent to the adult. At the age of 5 or
6, a child is said to already have an adult’s grammar. It is also
much easier for a child to learn a second language than it is for
an adult.

A Note on Aphasia

Aphasia is the loss of language, and can be caused by a stroke or

trauma to the head which result in a lesion in the brain.
Generally, there are two types of aphasia. There is Broca’s
Aphasia which is the inability to respond using coherent
sentences. Persons with Broca’s Aphasia tend to use short
sentences which omit articles, but understand the speech of
others. For example, “ride bicycle” may mean “Allow him to ride
that bicycle”. Conversely, persons with Wernicke’s Aphasia may
use long sentences but have no idea of the meaning of those
sentences, and usually have problems understanding other
persons’ speech. Should cases like these arise, such persons will
have to undergo speech therapy.

You will learn more about this in the Unit 4 of Module 8.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

The Tutor introduces activity

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Consider the constructions below uttered by a three year old,

and determine which ones are grammatical. Give reasons for
your answer.

1. me tea want
2. want me tea
3. me want tea
4. want tea

Feedback to activity (10 minutes)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4 are grammatical constructions that can

be possible uttered by a three year old.

2. want me tea - Even though the subject is missing, the

construction is very grammatical. The verb “want” precedes
the object pronoun “me” and object “tea”.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

3. me want tea - This construction resembles a more adult

sentence and is reflective of the SVO (subject-verb-object)
order of English.

4. want tea - This can be seen as a derivation of number 3

above with only the subject missing.

1. me tea want - Is not likely to be uttered. If the

constructions above are examined, one will notice that the
verb precedes the object. In this example, the verb
appears at the end which is highly unlikely considering that
the child has started to adapt his/her mental grammar to
the linguistic system in the environment, which is a
subject-verb-object (SVO) system.

Summary (5 minutes)

There are two general theories of language acquisition: nature

and nurture. The nature theory posits that humans have an
innate ability for language. Its main theorist, Noam Chomsky,
argues that each human is born with a Language Acquisition
Device (LAD) which is like a blueprint for language and shapes
mental grammars. The nurture theory, influenced by
Behaviourist theorist B.F. Skinner, makes the claim that children
learn language from their environment through a system of
reinforcement (i.e., rewards and punishments). However, each
theory cannot stand in isolation as it requires both nature and
nurture to aid in the acquisition of language.
Cyril Potter College of Education
Module 5: Language Acquisition

Further, a child acquires language according to his/her cognitive

development. There are, therefore, various stages of language
acquisition ranging from pre-speech to adult equivalent speech.
Conversely, problems that may arise in the acquisition of
language are termed aphasia and be treated, to an extent, by
speech therapy.

Suggested References

Bergmann, Anouschka, Hall, Kathleen and Ross, Sharon. eds.

Language Files (10th Edition). Columbus: The Ohio State
University Press, 2007.

Birner, Betty. ed. “Language Acquisition”. Linguistic Society of

America. [Undated Pamphlet].

“Broca’s Area, Wernicke’s Area, and Other Language-Processing

Areas in the Brain”. McGill University.
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_10/d_10_cr/d_10_cr_lan/
d_10_cr_lan.html. Accessed on: November 28, 2011

Fromkin, R., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. An Introduction to Language.

Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.

Pinker, Steven. The Language Instinct. New York: Harper Perennial

Modern Classics, 2007.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

Unit 2: Second Language Acquisition

and Teaching (1hr)

Introduction
In the previous unit, you learnt about the acquisition of a first
language. In this unit, we will be discussing the acquisition of a
second language. However, more importantly, the focus will be
on second-language teaching methods. Decades of research
show that students’ first language (L1), also called the mother
tongue, has significant influence on their second language (L2)
or target language (TL). The research also shows that a second
language is also acquired and not merely learnt – that is, persons
go through some of the same kinds of internal processes in
learning a second language as children do in acquiring a first
language.

It is easier for a child to learn a new language than it is for an

adult, which suggests that the formative years are conducive to
language learning. Further, a child may learn up to 3 or 4
languages at one time. However, it is not advisable to teach a
child all those languages at the same time.

Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit students will be able to:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Module 5: Language Acquisition

1. Recognise the importance of children’s first

language while learning a second language.
2. Identify the legal instruments that encourage the
use of L1 when teaching a L2
3. Evaluate the use the L2 teaching strategies that are
relevant to Guyana’s linguistic setting.
4. Apply the L2 teaching strategies to analysing
student writing samples.

What is needed?

1. Pens
2. Paper
3. An English dictionary
4. An English grammar handbook.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

Guyana is a multi-lingual country, and many students will find

themselves in scenarios where there are at least two languages.
On the coast, most children find themselves in bilingual
environments with English and Guyanese Creole. A similar
bilingual situation obtains in interior Indigenous communities
with an Indigenous language and English. However, those
communities that are closer to the Venezuelan or Brazilian
borders have a third language: either Spanish (closer to
Venezuela) or Portuguese (closer to Brazil). Many times children
in those communities will code-switch between (or among) the
different languages.

In Guyana’s education system, Standard British English is the

official language of instruction, and it is one of the main subjects
taught. However, it is sometimes reported, at least on the coast,
those students often times struggle to get excellent English
grades. Conversely, Indigenous students who are schooled in
interior communities are often said to possess better English-
language skills compared to a student living on the coast. This
can be attributed to the fact that the linguistic systems of English
and Indigenous languages are seen as separate entities. In other
words, the lines of difference are clearly drawn and students
easily recognise those differences. However, on the coast, the
lines of differences are often times blurred because Guyanese
Creole is sometimes confused with a bad attempt at speaking
English and is not seen as a separate language. As discussed in
the unit on Creole languages, the vocabulary of Guyanese Creole
contains many words that come from English, but in many case,

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

these words have different meanings and usages from English.

This can be the cause of confusion. All these scenarios have
implications for language teaching.

A UNESCO resolution on language policy, passed in 1953,

declared that a child learns better in his/her native language
(UNESCO 1953). This resolution has significant meaning for
language education in Guyana since it implies that Guyanese
Creole and Indigenous languages should be recognized as
languages in their own right. They are therefore worthy to be
employed in methods of instruction in the classroom. A
successful case of this is seen in the Hope Valley Experimental
School in Jamaica where the language of instruction is Jamaican
(or Patois). The teachers report that students grasp more
knowledge and are able to actively apply it to their evaluation of
the learning material before them. The use of the Creole in such
classrooms enable the students to experience a “sense of
belonging” while boosting their “self-confidence” (Jamaica
Gleaner, 2008). This is supported by the recently compiled
Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-
Speaking Caribbean which states in Section III (a):

Initial instruction in one’s first language is crucial as it

enhances conceptual development, language acquisition
and development, learning in general, and education of
the child.

Second-Language Teaching Strategies (10

minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Based on the aforementioned statements on the value of the L1

in the teaching of a L2, there are several strategies that are used
to teach English as a second language (ESL). Linguistic
knowledge, therefore, is an integral tool in the Teaching English
to Students of Other Languages (TESOL). There are basically two
methods: the synthetic approach and the analytic approach. The
synthetic approach utilizes the teaching of grammar (or rules of
the language) of the L2. Students are given exercises that focus
on those areas and reading exercises that reinforce the rules.
Some of the strategies of this approach include:

 Contrastive Analysis
 Performance Analysis
 Error Analysis

Contrastive Analysis (CA)

This strategy employs the use of the L1 to teach the target or L2

by means of comparison and contrast. For example, a teacher
can prepare a lesson on English past-tense by including
references to the L1 past-tense structure (Guyanese Creole or an
Indigenous language). In the case of Guyanese, bin is the past-
tense marker versus the several past tense conjugations in
English.

Peter Roberts (1983) outlines examples of how contrastive

analysis can work to encourage linguistic production and
creativity. Roberts (Ibid: 243) states that:

The difference between the Creole [or Indigenous

language] and Standard English […] can be presented to
the learner in such a way that it immediately stimulates
interest, heightens appreciation of the structural devices

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

of the Creole [or Indigenous language] and makes the

shift from the one to the other (in this respects) a positive
bilingual exercise. These exercises would have to be
contrastive in nature, that is, the learner would be
introduced to a device in the Creole [or Indigenous
language], he sees what it means, and then he is shown
the English device for the same meaning or the reverse
procedure or a modification of either one

Contrastive analysis (Lado 1957) has been proposed to be the

best method to use to teach English to students in a Creole
environment, and it is definitely needed in Guyana’s case where
differences between SE and Guyanese often become blurred in
speakers’ minds. However, James (1998) argues that CA is
outmoded and suggests some alternatives: Error Analysis (EA),
Transfer Analysis (TA), and Performance Analysis (PA) - all of
which form part of larger L2 teaching methods.

Performance Analysis (PA)

Corder (1972) describes PA as the “the study of the whole

performance data from individual learners” (in James, 1998). This
“performance data” is the language output - spoken and written.
Analyzing the entire performance data of the student provides
the opportunity to determine the extent of code mixing and
occurrence of errors. Asking the student to write an essay on a
selected topic is an ideal activity that will yield performance
data. However, PA is said to be the main source of data for error
analysis (EA) that educators can use to diagnose a student’s
language proficiency.

Error Analysis (EA)

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Error Analysis uses “error elicitation” methods to gather errors

that students make. Error elicitation can be done using a student
essay or translation exercises where the teacher makes note of
the errors. However, instead of just listing or comparing errors of
two languages like is with CA, the teacher will engage in
describing and analyzing the errors in consultation with the
student.

Noteworthy in this discussion is the concept of “mistakes”. A

student may leave off the past tense or past participle
morpheme {ed} endings when writing an English essay. Such
omissions may be seen as mistakes, but what they prove is that
the student is still using strategies from his/her L1. In other
words, Guyanese Creole does not require “-ed” endings at end of
words in sentences such as, “I was impressed by his speech”
which can be translated as “ai dih riili impres how ii taak” (I did
really impress how he talk). Notice the past-tense marker “did”,
and no “-ed” ending on “impress”. Students’ use of their Creole
language when speaking or writing English should not be
considered as grammatical mistakes in English, but as evidence
that the students is still depending on his or her first language.
Appropriate teaching strategies, such as using contrastive
analysis to highlight the differences between the two languages,
should be applied instead.

Essentially what this proves is that is it necessary for the L1 of

student to be employed in the teaching of a L2. Translation
activities, such as translating proverbs from the L1 into the L2,
have been shown to validate the L1 and offer opportunities for
teachers to identify difficulties in the student’s acquisition of
English.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

The analytic approach is not aimed at explicitly teaching

grammar, but is more focused on the communicative needs of
the L2 learner. Classes are structured around the students’
needs and interests. This is also called communicative language
teaching (CLT) where grammar can be learnt covertly and in
context. This approach assumes that the same conditions that
occur in learning a first or native language can apply; i.e., the
speaker will extract the rules of the language based on the input
received. In Guyana’s case, the teacher can ask students to role-
play a communicative event (or speech event) such as a buyer
and seller conversation in the market; or one person asking
another for directions to find a house in a village. The event must
take place in the L2, whether it is Guyanese Creole or an
Indigenous language. Difficulties will inevitably surface since the
students will be in the middle-ground sometimes between their
L1 and the L2 (the target language). It therefore means that a
linguistically trained teacher will be at an advantage in the
language teaching process.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

What kinds of errors are found in the sentences below? Use the
errors as a launching point to compare Creole to English.

1. I been to Georgetown last week.

2. We see them man yesterday.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

1. Error: “been” (= perfect tense in English, as in I have been)

but using it as the past tense marker in Creole instead of the
simple past-tense “went”.

Guyanese Creole signals past-tense via the past-tense marker

“bin”or “did”. These are added to the main verb which retains
its present tense form. However, in the English there are
several ways to signal past-tense:

 Adding -ed to regular verbs like “jump” = “jumped”

 Irregular verbs like “eat” = “ate”; “be” = “was/were”;
“see” = “saw”.
2. Error: “see”; “them man”.

“see” = “saw”. The same explanation given above should be

used when correcting “see” to “saw”.

In Guyanese, the Creole strategy for marking plurality is to

use “dem” as in “dem daag” (dem dog). The plural marker,
dem, is added to the singular form of the noun. However,
there are several ways to signal plurality in English:

 The commonest way is to add an -s to regular nouns as

in “cats”
 Some nouns remain the same as their singular form. In
this case, linguistically, plurality is said to be in the form
of a null-morpheme as in “sheep” and “furniture”.
 Some nouns change internally as in “man”= “men”,
“foot” = “feet”, and “mouse” = mice”.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

For your future lessons, you can ask students to write essays and
use the process of error elicitation to ascertain their grasp of the
L2. For subjects that do not have language-teaching as their foci,
subject-teachers can still ensure that their students use the L2
correctly by drawing a comparison to their students’ L1.

Summary (5 minutes)

One cannot exclude the use of the L1 when teaching a L2.

Research has proven that including the Guyanese Creole – the L1
of much of Guyanese people - will aid in the successful teaching
of English as a L2. There are several ESL strategies, but three
that can be used in Guyana are: Contrastive Analysis,
Performance Analysis, and Error Analysis. Each is intertwined
with the other and places value on importance of the L1.

Suggested References

Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-

Speaking Caribbean. Jamaica: International Centre for
Caribbean Language Research (ICCLR), 2011

Craig, Dennis. Teaching language and literacy: Policies and

procedures for vernacular situations. Georgetown,
Guyana: Education and Development Services, 1999.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Craig, Dennis. “Education and Creole English in West Indian”

(371-379) in Hymes, Dell, ed. Pidginisation and Creolisation
of Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1971.

Craig, Dennis. “The Use of the vernacular in West Indian

Education” (99-117) in Simmons-McDonald, Hazel and Ian
Robertson. Exploring the Boundaries of Caribbean Creole
Languages. Kingston: University of the West Indies Press,
2006.

Fromkin, R., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. An Introduction to

Language. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.

James, Carl. Errors in Language Learning and Use: Exploring

Error Analysis. London: Longman, 1998.

UNESCO. “The Use of the Vernacular in Education”. Monograph.

Vienna, 1953

UNESCO. “Mother Tongue Matters: Local Language as a Key to

Effective Learning.” Paris, 2003

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

MODULE 8: Language and Cognition

(4hrs)

Overview:

This module presents an introduction to Language and Cognition.

Genetic epistemology and information processing theories will be

discussed, in addition to social constructivism. Since the brain is
the center of thinking, the parts of the brain responsible for
language and thinking will be explored. Specifically Broca’s and
Werinike’s areas will be discussed. People suffer from specific
types of brain disorders like aphasia, therefore, Broca’s,
Wernicke’s and conduction aphasia will be discussed. Difficulties
which language users experience in getting the brain and speech
production to work will also be explored.

Module Objectives:

By the end of this module you will be able to understand:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

- Some theories of cognition

- Stages of cognitive development
- Parts of the brain involved in language
- Tongue tips and slips
- Aphasia and other brain disorders

Module Orientation:

This module has four units.

Unit 1: An overview of theories of cognition

Unit 2: Vygotsky and Social constructivism

Unit 3: The brain and language

Unit 4: Acquired and developmental language disorders

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to

complete each one of them as they would help you to remember
the information which you have learned.

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself.
The answers for these units have been included but you are
advised to check them only after you have completed the
activities.

Time Requirement:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

You will probably need about 4 hours to complete this module

including the activities.

Unit 1: Some of theories of cognition (I hr.)

Introduction

This unit introduces some important theories of language and

cognition. Genetic epistemology theory, information processing
and social constructivism theories will be discussed. Students will
be able to assess the relevance of these theories to education.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

1. Understand some theories of cognition

- Genetic epistemology theory
- Information processing theory
- Social constructivism

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

2. Discuss their relevance in education

What is needed?

- A dictionary

- Writing paper

- Pens

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

At the start of this unit, we ask you to ponder on the following

questions.

What is the role of language in cognition? How is thought related

to language? Are cognitive skills and thinking skills primarily
determined by innate factors, or are they the result of social and
cultural interaction? Does a child think before he acquires
language? Do we think with words, or do we use words to
communicate made-up decisions which we have previously
thought of?

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Cognitive Theories and Language

The phenomenon of language has intrigued a great number of

scholars. The abstract relation between cognition and language

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

has further caused controversy and confusion. Opinion is sharply

divided between those who believe that a certain degree of
cognition always exists before human beings are exposed to
language, and those who believe that language influences and
determines the development of cognition. Linguists,
developmental psychologists, psycholinguists, and educators
have all attempted to decipher the mysterious connection
between cognition and language. We will be discussing a few of
these theories.

Genetic epistemology theory

The renowned French psychologist, Piaget, (1896-1980) believed

that both cognitive and language development take place
because of genetic epistemology. He suggested that there is
something in the nature of infants that leads to the development
of cognition and language. Development is distinct levels of
intelligence, and it occurs through the operation of assimilation,
accommodation and equilibration.

Process of Cognitive Development

As a biologist, Piaget was interested in how an organism adapts

to its environment which Piaget described as intelligence.
Behavior (adaptation to the environment) is controlled through
mental organizations called schemes that the individual uses to
represent the world and designate action. This adaptation is
driven by a biological drive to obtain balance between schemes
and the environment (equilibration).

Piaget hypothesized that infants are born with schemes

operating at birth that he called "reflexes." In other animals,
these reflexes control behavior throughout life. However, in

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

human beings as the infant uses these reflexes to adapt to the

environment, these reflexes are quickly replaced with
constructed schemes.

Piaget described two processes used by the individual in its

attempt to adapt: assimilation and accommodation. Both of
these processes are used throughout life as the person
increasingly adapts to the environment in a more complex
manner. An individual uses his schemes (schemata, schema) in
this process of assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation is the process of using or transforming the

environment so that it can be placed in pre-existing cognitive
structures. Accommodation is the process of changing
cognitive structures in order to accept something from the
environment. Both processes are used simultaneously and
alternately throughout life. An example of assimilation would be
when an infant uses a sucking schema that was developed by
sucking on a small bottle when attempting to suck on a larger
bottle. An example of accommodation would be when the child
needs to modify a sucking schema developed by sucking on a
pacifier to one that would be successful for sucking on a bottle.

As schemes become increasingly more complex (i.e., responsible

for more complex behaviors) they are termed structures. As
one's structures become more complex, they are organized in a
hierarchical manner (i.e., from general to specific).

Stages of Cognitive Development. Piaget identified four

stages in cognitive development.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

1. Sensorimotor stage (Infancy). In this period (which has 6

stages), intelligence is demonstrated through motor
activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge of the world
is limited (but developing) because it is based on physical
interactions / experiences. Children acquire object
permanence at about 7 months of age (memory). Physical
development (mobility) allows the child to begin
developing new intellectual abilities. Some symbolic
(language) abilities are developed at the end of this stage.
2. Pre-operational stage (Toddler and Early Childhood). In
this period (which has two substages), intelligence is
demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use
matures, and memory and imagination are developed, but
thinking is done in a nonlogical, nonreversable manner.
Egocentric thinking predominates.
3. Concrete operational stage (Elementary and early
adolescence). In this stage (characterized by 7 types of
conservation: number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area,
volume), intelligence is demonstarted through logical and
systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete
objects. Operational thinking develops (mental actions that
are reversible). Egocentric thought diminishes.
4. Formal operational stage (Adolescence and adulthood).
In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the
logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in
the period there is a return to egocentric thought. Only
35% of high school graduates in industrialized countries
obtain formal operations; many people do not think
formally during adulthood.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Many pre-school and primary programs are modeled on Piaget's

theory, which provides part of the foundation for constructivist
learning, which will be discussed later. (Piaget readings from
Wood, 1988).

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

What are some educational implications of Piaget’s theory?

Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)

Educational Implications

An important implication of Piaget's theory is adaptation of

instruction to the learner's developmental level. The content of
instruction needs to be consistent with the developmental level
of the learner.

The teacher's role is to facilitate learning by providing a variety

of experiences. Discovery learning and supporting the
developing interests of the child are two primary instructional
techniques.

It is recommended that parents and teachers challenge the

child's abilities, but NOT present material or information that is
too far beyond the child's cognitive level of development. It is
also recommended that teachers use a wide variety of concrete
experiences to help the child learn (e.g., use of manipulatives,

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

working in groups to get experience seeing from another's

perspective, field trips, etc).

"Discovery learning" provides opportunities for learners to

explore and experiment, thereby encouraging new
understandings. Opportunities that allow students of differing
cognitive levels to work together often encourage less mature
students to advance to a more mature understanding. One
further implication for instruction is the use of concrete "hands
on" experiences to help children learn. Additional suggestions
include:

 Providing concrete props and visual aids, such as models.

 Using familiar examples to facilitate learning more complex
ideas, such as story problems in math.
 Allowing opportunities to classify and group information with
increasing complexity; using outlines and hierarchies to
facilitate assimilating new information with previous
knowledge.
 Present problems that require logical analytic thinking; the
use of tools such as "brain teasers" is encouraged.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

What are the different types of memory, and how is information

stored in memory? Why is memory important to education?

Feedback Activity 2:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Information Processing Theory

The proponents of the information processing theory postulate

that there is a constant interaction between the inside and the
outside that plays an important role in both cognitive and
linguistic development. The theory is primarily concerned with
what develops and how development occurs. The information-
processing theory focuses on children's representation of
information, the processes they use to transform the information
and the memory constraints on the processing and
representation. In contrast to Piaget's theory, information-
processing postulates that children's thinking changes
continuously as a result of ongoing cognitive activity.

Information-processing emphasizes processing limitations,

strategies to overcome those limitations, and knowledge about
specific contents. In other words, the whole approach to
cognitive and linguistic development is that of problem solving.
The information-processing scientists call it "task analyses." The
representation and processing of information is contingent upon
the nature of the task. It is, therefore, advisable that we
understand the task environment in order to understand people's
actions.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

It is important to discuss three very important structural

characteristics of information-processing: sensory memory,
short-term or working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory is the capacity for retaining large amounts of

information. On the other hand, short-term memory is like a
computer's central processing unit. People are aware of the
contents of short-term memory. However, it is limited in the
sense that it only includes a limited number of information. The
longer the piece of information is kept active in the short-term
memory, the longer it will be transferred to long-term memory.
The information stored in short-term memory can be retrieved
rapidly. Children's ability to retrieve short-term memory helps
them see related and varied events. Unlike sensory and short-
term memory, there is no limit on the storage and retention of
long-term memory. People store information in separable units
and retrieve it as and when they need it.

Long-term memory processes

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

There are three main activities related to long term memory:

storage, deletion and retrieval.

Information from short-term memory is stored in long-term

memory by rehearsal. The repeated exposure to a stimulus or
the rehearsal of a piece of information transfers it into long-term
memory. Experiments also suggest that learning time is most
effective if it is distributed over time. Deletion is mainly caused
by decay and interference. Emotional factors also affect long-
term memory. However, it is debatable whether we actually ever
forget anything or whether it becomes increasingly difficult to
access certain items from memory. Having forgotten something
may just be caused by not being able to retrieve it. Information
may not be recalled sometimes but may be recognized, or may
be recalled only with prompting. This leads us to the third
process of memory: information retrieval.

There are two types of information retrieval: recall and

recognition. In recall, the information is reproduced from
memory. In recognition the presentation of the information
provides the knowledge that the information has been seen
before. Recognition is of lesser complexity, as the information is
provided as a cue. However, the recall can be assisted by the
provision of retrieval cues which enable the subject to quickly
access the information in memory.

A major goal of education is to help learners store information in

long-term memory and to use that information on later occasions
in order to effectively solve problems.

Summary (5 minutes)

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Piaget believed that both language and cognitive development

take place because of genetic epistemology. Piaget described
two processes used by an individual in its attempt to adapt to
the environment: assimilation and accommodation. Piaget also
identified four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor,
preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational
stage.

On the other hand, information processing theory focuses on how

we take in information in memory, how we process it and how we
retrieve it. To a great extent this depends on our analysis of the
task. In sensory memory much information is taken in but is not
attended to. On the other hand, we are aware of the information
in short term memory but short term memory is limited.
Information kept alive in short term memory can be transferred
to long term memory for storage, deletion or retrieval. A major
goal of education is to help learners store information in long
term memory and to use it to solve problems.

Suggested Readings:

Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-

58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge

University Press. NY. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics. What

you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling, Phonics,

Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press. Oxford,

1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,

Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Piaget. J. The Language and Thought of the Child. New York:

Meridian. 1955

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Wood. D. How children Think and Learn. (2 nd edition) Oxford;

Blackwell Publishing, 1988.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Unit 1: Vygotsky and Social Constructivism

(1hr.)

Introduction

This unit introduces some differences between thought and speech

and concept formation. Students explore Vygotsky’s social
constructivism view of cognition and how Vygotsky’s view differs from
Piaget’s.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

1. Discuss origins of thought and language

2. Discuss word meaning and concept formation
3. Discuss Vygotsky’s social constructivism
4. Identify differences between Vygotsky and Piaget
5. Apply social constructivism to the classroom

What is needed?

- A dictionary

- Writing paper

- Pens

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

What is the origin of thought and language? Does a child
think before he acquires language?

According to Vygotsky (1896-1937), thought and speech have

different roots in humans, thought being non-verbal and
language being non-intellectual in an early stage. However, their
development lines are not parallel – they cross again and again.
Around the age of two, the curves of development of thought
and speech until then separate meet and join to initiate a new

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

form of behavior. That is when thought becomes verbal and

speech becomes rational.

What is the origin of concept formation?

According to Vygotsky (1962) once a child realizes that

everything has a name, each new object presents the child with
a problem situation and he solves the problem by naming the
object.

“A problem must arise that cannot be solved otherwise than

through the formation of new concepts (Vygotsky, 1962:55).

When he lacks the word for the new object, he demands it from
adults. The early word-meanings thus acquired will be the
embryos of concept formation.

Vygotsky also discussed the importance of private speech. In his

theory of cognition Vygotsky found private speech, or essentially
talking to oneself to be important because it aided children in
thinking through an issue and coming to a solution or conclusion.
Private speech eventually is internalized, but it never completely
goes away.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Socio-cultural view of cognition

Are cognitive skills and thinking skills primarily determined by

innate factors, or are they the result of social and cultural
interaction?

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Vygotsky’s socio-cultural view of cognition differs from Piaget’s

developmental view. Vygotsky placed emphasis on culture as
the important factor in cognition.

The Social Cognition Learning Model

The social cognition learning model asserts that culture is the

prime determinant of individual development. Humans are the
only species to have created culture, and every human child
develops in the context of a culture. Therefore, a child’s learning
development is affected in ways large and small by the culture–
including the culture of family environment–in which he or she is
enmeshed.

Discussion

1. Culture makes two sorts of contributions to a child’s

intellectual development. First, through culture children
acquire much of the content of their thinking, that is, their
knowledge. Second, the surrounding culture provides a
child with the processes or means of their thinking, what
Vygotskians call the tools of intellectual adaptation. In
short, according to the social cognition learning model,
culture teaches children both what to think and how to
think.
2. Cognitive development results from a dialectical process
whereby a child learns through problem-solving
experiences shared with someone else, usually a parent or
teacher but sometimes a sibling or peer. Vygotsky
determined that the cognitive development of children and
adolescents is enhanced when they work in their Zone of
Proximal Development (ZPD).

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

3. Initially, the person interacting with child assumes most of

the responsibility for guiding the problem solving, but
gradually this responsibility transfers to the child.
4. Language is a primary form of interaction through which
adults transmit to the child the rich body of knowledge that
exists in the culture.
5. As learning progresses, the child’s own language comes to
serve as her primary tool of intellectual adaptation.
Eventually, children can use internal language to direct
their own behavior.
6. Internalization refers to the process of learning–and
thereby internalizing–a rich body of knowledge and tools of
thought that first exist outside the child. This happens
primarily through language.
7. A difference exists between what the child can do on her
own and what the child can do with help. Vygotskians call
this difference the zone of proximal development.
8. Since much of what a child learns comes from the culture
around her and much of the child’s problem solving is
mediated through an adult’s help, it is wrong to focus on a
child in isolation. Such focus does not reveal the processes
by which children acquire new skills.
9. Interactions with surrounding culture and social agents,
such as parents and more competent peers, contribute
significantly to a child’s intellectual development.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Reflect on how Lev Vygotsky cognitive view. Give some broad

areas for application to curriculum, to instruction and/or to
assessment.

Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)

Vygotsky’s theory does not mean that anything can be taught to

any child. Only instruction and activities that fall within the zone
promote development. For example, if a child cannot identify the
sounds in a word even after many prompts, the child may not
benefit immediately from instruction in this skill. Practice of
previously known skills and introduction of concepts that are too
difficult and complex have little positive impact. Teachers can
use information about both levels of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal
development in organizing classroom activities in the following
ways:

 Instruction can be planned to provide practice in the zone

of proximal development for individual children or for
groups of children. For example, hints and prompts that
helped children during the assessment could form the
basis of instructional activities.
 Cooperative learning activities can be planned with groups
of children at different levels who can help each other
learn.
 Scaffolding is a tactic for helping the child in his or her
zone of proximal development. Scaffolding involves
encouragement and assistance in the form of advice and
suggestions to aid a child in mastering a new concept.
Scaffolding is the final piece of Vygotsky’s cognitive
development theory. By using hints and pointers from
Cyril Potter College of Education
Unit 2: Language in Use

teachers, parents, and peers, who have already grasped

the desired concept, children are able to form their own
path toward a solution and by doing this eventually to
self-regulate, or think and solve problems without the
help of others.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Reflect on Piaget’s view of cognition. Reflect on Vygotsky’s view

of cognition. In a paragraph or two compare and contrast the
differences in how they view cognition. Give one application to
the classroom.

Feedback Activity 2:

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Piaget and Vygotsky were both enormously significant

contributors to the cognitive development component of
psychology. Both Piaget and Vygotsky were regarded as
constructivists. Constructivism is an approach to learning and
teaching based on the premise that cognition is the result of
“mental construction.” In other words, students learn by fitting
new information together with what they already know. One
other similarity between Piaget and Vygotsky is that they both
believe that the boundaries of cognitive growth were established
by societal influences.

The main ideas of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theory differ. Piaget

believed that intelligence came from action. He held that
children learn through interacting with their surroundings and
that learning takes place after development. On the other hand,

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Vygotsky felt that learning happens before development can

occur and that children learn because of history and symbolism.
Vygotsky also believed that children value input from their
surroundings and from others. Piaget did not place importance
on the input of others.

Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories on cognitive development also

have differing opinions. While Piaget’s theory has four clear
stages, Vygotsky alleged that there are no set stages at all.
Vygotsky referred to private speech and the ZPD.

Teachers and school systems have been applying the cognitive

development theories of Piaget and Vygotsky for some time. A
good example of Piagetian learning could be set in a preschool
classroom. During the preschool years Piaget views children as
egocentric. Therefore, it would be logical to talk about things
with preschool age children from their own viewpoints as they
feel their experiences are the only experiences. During show and
tell one child might say the ball that another child brought to
class to share is for rolling while the child who brought the ball
might feel the ball is better suited to throwing. Neither child is
wrong in this instance, since the ball can be used for both
purposes. However they may think that because they each
respectively like to roll or throw the ball.

A possible classroom application of Vygotsky’s cognitive theory

could take place in a first grade classroom. First grade students
are often on varying levels of knowledge. Some children may
already know to read while others are still trying to master this
concept. A good way to help the children who are not reading as
well as the others may be to give these children help sounding
out a word when they get stuck while reading a story.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

In conclusion, cognitive development plays a key role in learning

and thinking methods of children. Piaget and Vygotsky offer
some incredible insight into the possible ways children learn and
by using these theories it is possible to create a more conducive
learning environment for each child.

Summary (5 minutes)

Psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed that children learn through

interactions with their surrounding culture. This theory, known as
the, social-cultural view, states that the cognitive development of
children and adolescents is enhanced when they work in their
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

To reach the ZPD, children need the help of adults or more

competent individuals to support or scaffold them as they are
learning things. The ZPD is the range of tasks that one cannot
yet perform independently, but can accomplish with the help of a
more competent individual.

As time goes by, the adult will continually adjust the amount of
support they give to the child’s level of performance.

Piaget and Vygotsky are both regarded as constructivists. They

both believe that students learn by fitting new information
together with what they already know. They both believe that
the boundaries of cognitive growth were established by societal
influences.

However, they differ in that Piaget believed that intelligence

came from action. Children learn through interacting with their
surroundings and learning takes place after development.
Alternatively, Vygotsky felt that learning happens before

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

development can occur and that children learn because of

history and symbolism. Vygotsky also believed that children
value input from their surroundings and from others. Piaget did
not place importance on the input of others.

While Piaget’s theory has four clear stages, Vygotsky’s alleged

that there are no set stages at all.

Both theorists offer incredible insight into the possible ways

children learn and both have made invaluable contribution to
learning and education.

Suggested Readings
Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-
58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 200

Unit 3: The Brain and Language (1hr.)

Introduction:

The unit will introduce you to the neurology of language or

neurolinguistics which is the study of how the brain processes
language. Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, and their relevance to
language processing will be discussed. Students are also introduced to
right brain and left brain functions and their importance in education
and learning.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

-
- Discuss importance of Broca’s area
- Discuss importance of Wernicke’s area
- Identify right brain strengths in students
- Identify left brain strengths in students

What is needed?

-A dictionary

- Writing paper

- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

Where is the ability to use language located?

The obvious answer is ‘in the brain.’ In order to provide a more

specific answer we have to turn to work done in neurolinguistics.
Neurolinguistics is the study of how the brain processes
language. But first let us look at the case of Phineas Gage.

In September of 1848, in Vermont, a construction foreman

named, Phineas Gage was blasting away rocks to lay a new
railway line. As Phineas pushed an iron tamping rod into the
blasting hole in a rock, some gunpowder accidentally exploded
and sent the three- and-a –half foot long tamping pole up
through Phineas upper left cheek and out from the top of his
forhead. The rod landed about fifty yards away. Phineas suffered
the type of injury from which it was assumed, no one could
recover. However, a month later, Phineas was up and about, with
no apparent damage to his senses or his speech.

The point of this amazing story is that, if language ability is

located in the brain, it clearly is not situated right at the front.

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Parts of the brain

Since Phineas’ time, a number of discoveries have been made about

the specific areas in the brain which are related to language functions.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

If we take a head, remove hair, scalp, skull, disconnect the brain stem
and cut the corpus callosum (which connects the two hemispheres) we
will basically be left with two parts, the left hemisphere and the right

hemisphere.

Functions of the brain are shared by these two hemispheres –

this is called lateralization. However, functions are not totally
lateralized, so if damage happens to one hemisphere of the
brain, some of the functions of that hemisphere can be carried
on by the other hemisphere. Language is mainly located in the
left hemisphere. We have come to know that these areas exist
largely through the examination in autopsies of the brains of
people who, in life were known to have specific language
disabilities. That is, we have determined where language abilities
for normal users must be, because people who had language
disabilities also had damage to those specific areas of the brain.

The left brain is the dominant language hemisphere for

approximately 95% and 90% of right-handed men and women,
respectively. The right side of the brain houses the language

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

areas for the other 5% and 10%, respectively. For left-handed

people, roughly 70% have their language areas in the left side of
the brain, while the other 30% have it on the right.

The dominant language hemisphere is the side of a person’s

brain where the machinery for language (i.e., areas of Broca and
Wernicke) is located. Apart from these areas, some functions
associated with language processing are also located in adjacent
areas of the brain.

Broca’s Area

Broca's area is the area of the brain responsible for speech

production, language processing, and language comprehension,
as well as controlling facial neurons. First discovered in 1861,
Broca's area was named after Pierre Paul Broca, a French
surgeon. Broca discovered the area after studying the brain of a
patient with speech impairment after his death. It was noted that
damage to the corresponding area on the right hemisphere had
no such effect. This finding was first used to argue that language
ability must be located in the left hemisphere and since then has
been taken as more specifically illustrating that Broca’s area is
crucially involved in the production of speech.

Brain: Broca's area

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Wernicke’s area

The posterior speech cortex is known as Wernicke’s area. Carl

Wernicke was a German doctor who in the 1870’s reported that
damage to this part of the brain was found among patients who
had speech comprehension difficulties. This finding confirmed
the left-hemisphere location of language ability and led to the
view that Wernicke’s area is part of the brain crucially involved in
the understanding of speech.

Broca's area is connected to the Wernick’s area of the brain by

the arcuate fasciculus, which is a pathway made of neurons. It is
found in the frontal of the cortex, within the inferior frontal 0. It is
comprised of two primary parts: the Pars triangularis and the
Pars opercularis.

The Pars triangularis is located in the anterior portion of Broca's

area. Researchers believe that this area of the brain is
responsible for helping the human brain interpret different
stimulus modes. It is also where verbal conducts are
programmed in the brain.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Based on the above information, what observations can you

make about language and the brain?

Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)

Let us consider the following observations we can make about

language and the brain.

1. Damage to the brain can affect a person’s ability to

process language; damage to the heart, lungs, or kidneys
(short of killing the person) does not.
2. Damage to the left side of the brain is more likely to cause
language processing difficulties (being able to hear speech
but unable to comprehend it) than is damage to the right
side of the brain.
3. Damage to the front part of the brain is more likely to
affect the production of language through speaking and
writing. Damage to the rear part of the brain is more likely
to affect the comprehension of language through listening
and reading.
4. In about 98 percent of right-handers, the left hemisphere
accomplishes most language processing functions. In non-
right handers (which include left-handed and ambidextrous

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

people), language functions are far more likely to involve

the right hemisphere. There is some evidence that
lateralization differs in males and females.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Think of some students in your classroom or some students you

know quite well. Make a list of some of their strengths or skills
and some of their weaknesses. Write a paragraph answering the
following question: Why do students display different strengths?

Feedback Activity 2:

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Right Brain/Left Brain Functions

Every perceptive teacher sees a diversity of strengths and

weaknesses in each of her students: There is the child who loves
math but has trouble playing well with classmates. There is the
one who makes friends easily but struggles to stay focused on
written tasks, and another who creates beautiful paintings but
can't seem to retain much of what she's read.

Recent brain research shows that the complex abilities apparent

in individual kids are reflected on the inside, as well as the
outside. Parts of the brain involved in reading, math, music, and
personal relationships are different -- larger or smaller, more or
less active -- in every child. These circuits are independent, so
even if a child struggles in one domain, like reading, he may

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

have a neurological advantage in others. And perhaps most

surprising, scientists have established that learning and
practicing certain skills can cause the corresponding brain areas
to morph and grow. In other words, by helping a child hone her
abilities, you can actually change her brain.

The following diagram shows how your brain is organized.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

How the Brain Works

Left Brain Functions2 Right Brain Functions

Uses logic Uses feeling

Detail oriented “Big pictures” oriented

Facts rule Imaginations rules

Words and language Symbols and images

Present and past Present and future

Math and science Philosophy and religion

Order/pattern perception Spatial perception

Knows object name Knows object function

Reality based Fantasy based

Forms strategies Presents possibilities

Practical Impetuous

Safe Risk taking

Most scientists and researchers seem to agree that there are

definite differences in the way each hemisphere of the brain
works. Essentially, the right brain is holistic, convergent, and
able to ascertain the big picture. The right brain deals with
emotions, feelings, creativity, and intuition. The left brain is
linear, divergent and focuses on one thing at a time. The left
brain deals with more logical subject areas, such as mathematics
and speech. Much of this knowledge was derived from research

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

by scientists which resulted in a proliferation of books, articles,

web sites, etc., presenting the differences between dominantly
right-brained and dominantly left-brained individuals and how
those differences affect our learning and our personalities. This
research also led to the formation of many theories concerning
how our brain came to develop in this manner, with the right and
left brains apparently controlling such different aspects of our
very being.

Summary (5 minutes)

Neurolinguistics has provided some answers about language

processing and the brain. The brain is composed of the left
hemisphere and the right hemisphere. The left temporal lobe is
thought to be critical for language comprehension and
production. Wernicke’s area is the name of the specific region of
the temporal lobe that is associated with speech comprehension
whereas Broca’s area is the region of the temporal lobe
associated with speech production.

Recent brain research shows that specific parts of the brain

involved in reading, math, music and personal relationships are
different, larger or smaller and more or less active in every child.
The right brain is holistic and able to see the big picture. The
right brain deals with emotions, feelings, creativity. The left
brain is linear and deals with more logical subjects such as
mathematics and speech. Much research has been done on the
brain and how right-brain dominated and left-brain dominated
individual differences affect our learning and personalities.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Suggested References

Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-

58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What
you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,
Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

Unit 4: Acquired and developmental

language disorders(1hr.)

Introduction:

The unit will help you to understand some types of language

disorders from which people suffer. Some of these are less
severe and may be described as tongue tips and slips. Others are
more severe and are due to brain damage generally described as
aphasia.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to

understand and discuss:
- Tongue Tips and slips
- Tip-of-the- tongue phenomenon

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

- Malapropisms

- Slip of the tongue

- Types of aphasia
- Broca’s
- Wernicke’s
- Conduction

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Start of the lesson (5 minutes)

Aphasia
What is aphasia?

Aphasia is an acquired disorder of language due to cortical

damage. It is important to note that aphasia is acquired; that is,
only a person who has already developed a linguistic system can
be stricken with aphasia. For example, a person with brain
damage present at birth (or sustained immediately afterward)
which prevents the acquisition of language would not properly be
said to have aphasia. Moreover aphasia is specifically a language
disorder. It is due to cortical damage, or to damage to the white
fibre tracts immediately underlying language centers in the
cortex.

Here we will be looking at the three most common types of

aphasia: Broca’s, Wernicke’s, and conduction.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

(Mini-lecturette) (10 minutes)

Aphasia is defined as an impairment of language function due to

localized cerebral (brain) damage which leads to difficulty in
understanding or producing linguistic forms. The most common
form of aphasia is a stroke, though traumatic head injuries can
have similar effects.

Broca’s Aphasia

This disorder is also known as motor or expressive aphasia,

because it affects linguistic output rather than comprehension,
and it typically involves a lesion in the third frontal convolution of
the dominant hemisphere. This lesion is close to the motor
cortex controlling the speech muscles.

Symptoms usually include the following. First, motor function is

normal; that is the tongue and lips are fully functioning.
However, there is typically some paralysis on the side opposite
the dominant hemisphere. Second, the patient’s speech output is
hesitant, halting, laboured, and lacks normal intonation. For this
reason, Broca’s aphasia is classified as non-fluent aphasia. Third,
the output is “telegraphic” in that it usually lacks grammatical
morphemes, such as articles, prepositions, plural and possessive
markers, tense markers on verbs and so on. Fourth, reading and
writing usually exhibit the same deficiencies as speech.

Below are some examples of speech produced by patients with

Broca’s aphasia. In the following examples patients are trying to
describe a picture of a girl giving flowers to her teacher. Below is
a sample of responses.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

1. Girl is handing flowers to teacher (Note the sporadic

omission of grammatical morphemes.
2. The young . . . the girl . . . the little girl is . . . the flower .
Note the hesitant style. At each pause the patient seems to
be giving up and starting over.
3. The girl is . . . is roses. The girl is rosing. The woman and
the little girl was rosed. Note here the use of rose as a
verb.

Wernicke’s Aphasia

This type of language disorder typically involves a lesion in the

first temporal convolution of the dominant hemisphere. The
patient’s language consists of 30 – 80 percent neologistic
jargon. This term neologistic refers to ‘new words’ utterances
that confirm to the phonological structure of the patient’s
language but are meaningless. Consequently, Wernicke’s
aphasia is sometimes referred to as neologistic jargon aphasia.
It results in difficulties in auditory comprehension. Someone
suffering from this disorder can actually produce very fluent
speech which is however, often difficult to make sense of. Very
good terms are used, even in response to specific requests for
information, as in the following example:

I can’t talk of all of the things I do, and part of the part I can go
alright, but I can’t tell from the other people,

It is characterized by difficulty in finding the correct words and

circumlocution may be used as in the following answer to the
question: ‘What is ink for? ‘To do with a pen.

Conduction aphasia

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

This type is identified with damage to the arcuate fasciculus and

is much less common. Patients are fluent but may have
disrupted rhythm because of pauses and hesitations.
Comprehension of spoken words is normally good. however, the
task of repeating a word or phrase (spoken by someone else) will
create major difficulty with forms such as vaysse and fosh being
reported as attempted repetitions for the words ‘base’ and
‘wash.’ What is heard and understood cannot be transferred to
the speech production area. However, many of the symptoms (e,
g. word finding difficulty) can occur in all types of aphasia.

Language disorders of the type we have described are almost

always the result of injury to the left hemisphere.

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

In a table, summarize the major symptoms of Broca’s,

Wernicke’s and conduction aphasia.

Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)

The major symptoms of Broca’s, Wernickie’s and conduction

aphasia are summarized in the following table.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Broca’s Wernickie’s Conduction

Lesion Site Third frontal First temporal Arcuate

convolution convolution fasciculus

Language Nonfluent Fluent Fluent

Output

Comprehensio Unimpaired Severely Unimpaired

n impaired

Self- Yes No Yes

monitoring

Paralysis Yes No Contralateral

(contralateral) Weakness

Main Laboured Neologistic Severely

Characteristic “telegraphic” jargon impaired
output repetition

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Think of some tip-of-the-tongue situations which you might have

experienced. For example” in conversation you try to retrieve
someone’s name or a word from memory but fail to do so.

Feedback Activity 2:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

Tongue Tips and Slips

Some researchers have noted that as language users we all

experience occasional difficulty in getting the brain and speech
production to work together smoothly. Minor production
difficulties have been investigated as possible clues to the way
our linguistic knowledge may be organized within the brain. In
this section we will discuss tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon,
malapropisms and slip –of - the –tongue.

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is one in which you feel that

some word is just eluding you, that you know the word, but that
it just wouldn’t come to the surface. Studies of this phenomenon
have shown that speakers generally have an accurate
phonological outline of the word, can get the initial sound correct
and mostly know the number of syllables in the word. When we
make mistakes in this retrieval process there are often strong
phonological similarities between the target word and the
mistake.

Malapropisms

Malapropisms arise when someone confuses words which sound

similar but are different in meaning. For example, someone
might say “the writer of the story is unanimous” rather than the
writer of the story is anonymous”.

Slip-of-the-tongue

A lamb of leg
and A ten-
pound dog

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

of bag food.

Slip-of-the-tongue errors occur in tangled expressions such s

“long shory stort” (for make a long story short). It also occurs in
word reversals as in “use the door to open the key” and “a fifty
pound dog of bag food.” This type of slip is also known as
spoonerism. Most everyday ‘typs of the slung’ however are not
so entertaining. They are often simply the result of a sound being
carried over from one word to the next as in ‘black blaxes’ (for
black boxes). Although the slips are mostly treated as errors of
articulation, it has been suggested that they may result from
‘slips of the brain’ as it tries to organize linguistic messages.

Summary (5 minutes)

Aphasia is an impairment of language which occurs when

someone suffers injury to the language areas of the brain.
Aphasia can affect language in many ways including its
production (ability to speak), and its comprehension (ability to
understand others when they speak), as well as other related
abilities such as reading and writing.

In Broca's aphasia, the production of language is impaired, (such

as speaking) while other aspects of language are mostly
preserved. Broca's aphasia prevents a person from forming
her own intelligible words or sentences, but leaves her with an
ability to understand others when they speak. Often, people with
Broca's aphasia are frustrated because they can't transform their
thoughts into words.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

People with Wernicke’s aphasia can’t understand others, or

even themselves, when they speak. Their speech, however, is
incomprehensible, as they create sentences whose words are
arranged in an apparently random and often amusing fashion.

Conduction aphasia is characterized by intact auditory

comprehension, fluent speech production, but poor speech
repetition. Patients will display frequent errors during
spontaneous speech, substituting or transposing sounds.

Tongue-tips-and-slips occur quite often in regular speech. As

language users we all experience occasional difficulty in getting
the brain and speech production to work together smoothly. In
the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon you feel that some word is
eluding you but it just won’t come to the surface. In
malapropism there are strong phonological similarities between
the target word and the mistake. On the other hand, the slip-of-
the-tongue is a mistake in speaking, usually trivial, but
sometimes amusing.

Suggested References

Chomsky, Noam. “Review of verbal learning.” Language 35: 26-

58.
1959.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

Cambridge
University Press. New York. 1995.

Freeman, David E. & Freeman, Yvonne S. Essential Linguistics.

What

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

you need to know to teach Reading, ESL. Spelling,

Phonics,
Grammar. Heinemann 2004.

Jacobs, Roderick. A. English syntax. Oxford University Press.

Oxford,
1993.

Lamb, Pose. Linguistics in Proper Perspective. Columbus, Ohio:

Charles E. Merrill Pub. Co. 1967.

Parker, Frank. & Kathryn Riley. Linguistics for Non- Linguistics: A

Primer with Exercises. Fourth Edition. Needham heights,
Massachusetts. Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

Winkler, Elizabeth G. Understanding Language. Continuum, 2007.

Yule, George D. (et. al.) The Study of Language. Ninth Edition.

Cambridge University Press Great Britain, 2003.

MODULE 9: Creole Languages (2 hrs)

Overview:

This module presents an introduction to Pidgin and Creole

languages and also to Guyanese Creole as far as it is relevant to
the content of this course. It is not meant to be a rigorous
discussion of all aspects of Creole languages nor a
comprehensive introduction to Guyanese Creole.

Module Objectives:

Cyril Potter College of Education

Unit 2: Language in Use

By the end of this module you will be able to:

1. Understand what Pidgin and Creole languages are.

2. Gain an appreciation of Guyanese Creole.

3. Understand features of Guyanese Creole.

4. Gain an understanding of the Guyanese language situation.

Module orientation:

This module has two units:

Unit 1: Overview of Creole languages

Unit 2: Language in Guyana

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to

complete each one of them as they would help you to remember
the information which you have learned.

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself.
The answers for these units have been included but you are
advised to check them only after you have completed the
activities.

Time Requirement:

You will need about 2 hours to complete this module including

the activities.

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Unit 1: Overview of Creole

Languages (1hr.)

Introduction:

This unit will help you to understand how Creole languages are
formed. It will help you to understand that these languages are
not “corrupt” or “broken” versions of European languages, but
are the results of human linguistic creativity.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

- Understand what Pidgin and Creole languages are

- Understand how Pidgin and Creole languages come into
being
-

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens

Cyril Potter College of Education

Introduction to Linguistics

Pidgin and Creole Languages (10 minutes)

Many persons usually, because of an ignorance of the history of

Creole languages, are under a misconception that Creole
languages are bad attempts to speak a Standard European
language (English in Guyana’s case).

The fact is that Creole languages are the products of multi-

lingual situations that arise when persons need to communicate
but do not have a common language by which to do so.

This could happen in two ways. In situations of brief contact,

such as in trading situations, the persons could create a
temporary, on-the-spot language to facilitate immediate
business needs. The language that is created would be very
basic in nature, and is called a Pidgin. Pidgins have few words,
and a simplified grammar. They use much gestures and body
language and are restricted in usage. Much of their vocabulary is
made up of coined words, and metaphorical usages of words.
When the persons part company and go their separate ways, the
Pidgin ceases to be functional.

It is important to note that a Pidgin is not just a mixing of two or

more languages. Elements of the languages in contact are of
course included in the Pidgin, but this is done through complex
linguistic processing by the speakers, using their innate linguistic
ability (which we will discuss more, later).

If the contact continues, the use of the Pidgin will expand. The
children who are born speaking the Pidgin as their first language
will expand the vocabulary, grammar, semantics and usage of
the Pidgin and when this happens, the Pidgin will become a
Creole language. However, a Pidgin could also continue to
Introduction to Linguistics

develop in its own way and remain a Pidgin, as in the famous

case of Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea.

A creole may also develop from the inception in situations where

there is longer contact between the groups.

Many persons associate Pidgin and Creole languages with

slavery, colonialism and European expansion, and so have
negative attitude towards these languages. But people have
been creating Pidgins and creoles for a long time, much longer
than the slavery and the slave trade. It is true that many pidgins
and creole languages – especially in the Caribbean and in the
Pacific area – were created during the period of slavery. These
pidgins and Creoles are called Plantation Pidgins and Creoles
because they are associated with the plantation system.

However, Pidgin and Creoles have been created in many

different parts of the world, by many different peoples, and at
many different times in history. Many of these people have never
been part of slavery and the slave trade or had never worked on
plantations. These people include North American Indians,
people within African countries, and even Europeans.

The Caribbean is famous for its many creole languages such as

Sranan, Papiamento, Guyanese, and Haitain Creole. Some other
creole languages worldwide are: Tok Pisin, Bislama (Pacific), Nubi
Creole Arabic, Swahili (Africa), Chinook Jargon, Louisiana Creole
(North America).
Introduction to Linguistics

Theories of Creolisation(10 minutes)

The Plantation Pidgins and Creoles are the most well-known

pidgin and creole languages. While we know that they originated
during slavery, the slave trade and European expansion, exactly
how they originated is the topic of much debate. Many different
theories have been proposed to account for how creole
languages are formed. These theories can be divided into
different categories: superstrate theories, substrate theories and
universalist theories.

The term “superstrate languages” refers to the dominant

languages in language contact situations, such as the European
languages during slavery and colonialism. The superstrate
theorists such as Robert Chaudenson claim that Creole
languages are that creoles are the result of imperfect learning of
the superstrate languages. As one group tries to speak the
language of the dominant group, they will make mistakes. Also,
they might not have full acquaintance and access and
opportunities to hear, learn and use the language of the
dominant group, and this therefore limits their ability to speak
the language perfectly.

“Substrate languages” refers to the languages of the other group

in the contact situation. The substrate theorists such as Hall and
Taylor give more credit to the non-European languages. These
linguists show that in the case of the Caribbean creoles, there is
a substantial African influence. When the slaves were brought
from interior villages to the West Coast of Africa to await
shipment to the New World, they were kept in holding pens for
several weeks. One must also remember that there would have
been several languages spoken in the holding pens because the
Introduction to Linguistics

Africans belong to different tribes with each tribe speaking its

own language (or dialect of another language). To add to this
linguistic melting pot, the slaves spent approximately three
months in confinement in ships sailing across the Atlantic Ocean
- a journey referred to as the Middle Passage.

It is interesting to note that many history books present a

somewhat silent picture of the Middle Passage when there had to
be a lot of vocalisation among the slaves. During the three
month journey, the conditions were conducive for the evolution
of a Creole language - a system of communication among
persons of various linguistic systems. When the slaves were
brought to the New World to work on plantations, the plantation
owners deliberately separated slaves belonging to the same
tribes for fear that a revolt may be easily planned. This strategy
again proved to be conducive for a further development of a
Creole language since slaves of different languages had to find a
way to communicate. Further, interaction (though minimal in
some cases) with the Plantocracy provided the opportunities for
English words to enter the vocabulary of the slaves.

Derek Bickerton’s Language Bioprogram Hypothesis (1981) is

one of the most famous of the universalist theories. These
theories propose that creolisation demonstrates the human
capacity to create and use language. According to Bickerton,
children in a situation where a pidgin is spoken do not have the
same kind of models to develop their language that other
children in normal language situations have. These children
therefore have to use their innate language ability – their
language bioprogram – to help them to make use of the input
from the pidgin and form it into a language that they can use.
Introduction to Linguistics

Some theories are monogenetic, meaning that they attribute the

origins of creoles to a single source language. Other theories are
polygenetic, since they propose that many different languages
contributed to the origins of pidgins and creoles.

One famous monogenetic theory proposes a Portuguese Pidgin

as the basis for Caribbean and Pacific creoles. For example,
several Creole languages which have been part of colonisation,
from as far as Papua New Guinea to right here in the Caribbean,
refer to small children as “pikni”, “pikini” or “pikinini”. They all
use variations of this word. Interestingly, the Portuguese word for
small is “pequeño”. Interestingly also, "dosay" which is the
Berbice/Corentyne word for "pancake" (known as "chota" or
"sweet roti" in Demerara and Essequibo) seems to be patterned
after "doce" - the Portuguese word for "sweet”. If one considers
that the Portuguese were among the earliest European explorers
and traders, then the theory of mono-genesis can be used to
explain this phenomenon among the world’s Creole languages.
However, a major flaw with monogenesis in that a one-word
example is insufficient evidence to explain Creole origin.

Are Creoles Languages Versions of Other Languages? (10

minutes)

Another common misconception is that Creole languages are

versions or varieties of another dominant language. In the case
of the Caribbean Creoles, many persons think that our languages
are versions of European languages such as English, French,
Dutch, and Spanish.
Introduction to Linguistics

Creole languages take a large part of their vocabulary from

European languages, but two things must be noted. The first is
that the grammars of the creole languages are different from
those of the European languages. In fact, the grammars of creole
languages are more similar to each other than to their supposed
European versions. Also, creole languages use the vocabulary of
European languages in ways that are different from the European
languages.

Let us take the sentence, mi does wuk backdam. This sentence

uses the English object pronoun me as a subject pronoun; it uses
does as a marker of habitual activity; it has a different
pronunciation of the word work, and it uses two words from
English to create a new word backdam which is not understood
by native speakers of English.

Some other examples:

hot (adjective) is used as a verb as in hot de tea;

disgusting (revolting) means bothersome;

instead of making noise, Guyanese keep noise;

and stupidity becomes stupidness

Creole Continuum (10 minutes)

In some countries where a creole language is spoken but there is

also another language which is the official language, a number of
levels or varieties might arise. Some of these levels are
recognizable as the most original forms of the creole, while other
levels seem to be closer to the official language. This is the case
Introduction to Linguistics

in Guyana and Jamaica, where most persons speak a creole

language but also hear, speak, read and write English, which is
the official language. These variations of the creole may be
arranged in a scale from the most creole varieties (called the
basilect) to those that are most similar to the official language
(the acrolect). Levels between these two are called the mesolect.
This scale is called the Creole Continuum A simplified diagram of
the creole continuum is given below:

Linguists have two different views on this situation developed.

Some linguists – e.g. David De Camp - see this as a further stage
in the history of development of creole languages. These
linguists say that the varieties developed after the Creole was
formed in situations where the speakers of the Creole are also
exposed to a powerful standard language. In our case, English is
the language that is a dominant standard in the world we live.
The standard language (English in our case) exerts an influence
on the speakers of the Creole. That is, they see it as a social
Introduction to Linguistics

dialect which allows them to gain prestige. This causes them to

change their creole as they attempt more and more to speak the
standard language.

David De Camp (1971) called this scale of basilect - mesolect -

acrolect the Post Creole Continuum, and he theorized that it
results from a process of decreolisation. Decreolisation is the
reverse of creolisation – it is the undoing of creole features,
resulting in a continuum of varieties. One theoretical implication
of decreolisation is that the creole would gradually change and
become more and more like the standard language, resulting in
the eventual disappearance of the creole.

Others linguists such as Rickford take a more historical view of

the origins of the continuum, and argue that the variations that
we call the acrolect, mesolect and basilect were present from the
inception of the creole. They claim that the continuum is a
natural result of how creoles are formed. In such situations they
point out, there will always be some differentials in language
creation: different persons would learn and develop language at
different rates; they would have different amounts of contact
with the superstrate language, and different opportunities to use
it, and so on. In other words, we do not all acquire or develop
language at a uniform rate, and this would be reflected in any
society’s language.

Yet other linguists such as Mufwene believe that in the early

days of the plantations when there were fewer labourers and
closer contact between Europeans and non-Europeans, the
conditions were more favourable for the development of
varieties which resembled the European languages. However, as
the plantation system expanded and occupied thousands of
Introduction to Linguistics

labourers, there was less contact between Europeans and others.

Each successive wave of new labourers learnt the language from
those before them, and so the language began to show many
different levels.

ACTIVITY 1

You are asked, as a teacher and as someone who has studied

Linguistics, to respond to the notions that Creole languages are
not proper languages, that they are corrupt and do not have any
grammar. Write a response to this.

FEEDBACK 1

There are many prejudicial notions about creole languages and

you as a teacher and as person who has studied Linguistics
should be able to dispel them.

Creole does not have grammar – all languages have to have

grammar, otherwise, anybody could say what they wanted how
they wanted, and this would lead to confusion. Grammar simply
means the system, order and rules of a language. For example,
Spanish puts quality adjectives after nouns (casa blanca), while
English places them before nouns (white house). Yet, no one
accuses Spanish of not having grammar!

English is the proper language – English is just one of the many

languages in the world. There is no single “proper” language.
Each language is proper for the situations, culture, occasions and
Introduction to Linguistics

usages in its native country, and by its native speakers. English

also has its spheres of proper usage.

English is a pure language while Creole languages are corrupt–

All languages borrow from other languages and moreover, make
use of these borrowings in their own ways. In fact, English has
borrowed and continues to borrow from many other languages to
the extent that almost 2/3 of its vocabulary is from other
languages.

Suggested References
Allsopp, J. and J. R. Rickford, eds. Language, Culture, and Caribbean
Identity. Kingston: Canoe Press, 2012.

Bickerton, Derek. “The Nature of the Creole Continuum”. Article. Jstor.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/412355

Bickerton, Derek. Bastard Tongues. New York: Hill and Wang,

2008

DeCamp, David. "The study of pidgin and creole languages." In

Del Hymes, ed. Pidginization and Creolization of
Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1971. 13-43.

Rickford, John. Dimensions of a Creole continuum: history, texts

& linguistic analysis of Guyanese Creole. Palo Alto:
Stanford University Press, 1987

Robertson, Ian, and H. Simmons-McDonald, eds. Exploring the

Boundaries of Caribbean Creole Languages. University of the
West Indies Press, 2006.
Introduction to Linguistics

Unit 2: Language in Guyana (1hr)

Introduction
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about our
language. Some Guyanese claim that we speak English,
while others say our language is a variety of English. Yet
others believe that we speak bad or broken English, and so
on. Our linguistic situation is indeed interesting poses a
number of problems for teachers. Officially, our language
is listed as English. In real everyday use, however, we
speak a Creole language. Our language seems to resemble
English in some features, but in reality, it is different from
English in pronunciation, meaning, grammar and
vocabulary. This unit will help you to understand the
creole language that we speak in Guyana, and to
understand that it possesses its own grammar and other
linguistic features.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the unit students will be able to:

Introduction to Linguistics

- Understand the nature of the language situation in

Guyana
- Identify varieties of language usage in Guyana
- Understand that Guyanese Creole is a language with its
own grammar
- Dispel prejudicial notions about Creole languages

What is needed?

- A dictionary
- Writing paper
- Pens
Variation in Guyanese Creole (10 minutes)

One of the realities of the language situation in Guyana is that

there are different ways in which the same idea or message
could be said. For example, we can say Me nah know or Me en
know or Ah en know or Ah doan know or I don’t know.

Each of these variations has its accepted level of use within the
Guyanese society and all are therefore acceptable in linguistics.
As a teacher, you would want your students to be able to speak
and write the versions that are closer to English whenever this is
appropriate. On the other hand, you would also want them not to
lose the other variations since these are important for them to
function in the Guyanese society.

As we discussed in the previous section, linguists have shown

that these variations can be arranged into a scale ranging from
those which are close to English to those which are quite
different and other variations fall somewhere in between these
Introduction to Linguistics

extremes. Richard Allsopp was one of the first to notice this in

the 1950’s, but David De Camp in 1971 was the first to introduce
the notion of a creole continuum to describe this scale of
varieties.

It must be noted that the creole continuum is a theoretical

framework used to depict the language situation. Nevertheless,
there are certain linguistic features which can be recognized in
the three broad areas of Guyanese on the creole continuum: the
basilect, the mesolect, and the acrolect.

The basilect, on one extreme, is considered as the purest form

of the creole language. An example of a basilectal construction
is:

mii bin a go maakit wen mii faal dong.

The mesolect is the mid-way mark between the two extremes.

Examples of a mesolect construction are:

mii di goin maakit wen mii faal dong.

And a sentence in between the mesolect and acrolect can be:

ah di goin to di maakit wen ah fall dong.

The acrolect is the variety closest to, but not entirely, Standard
English. An example of an acrolectal construction is:

ah was goin to de market when ah fall dong.

The varieties of Guyanese are not as simple as they might

appear on a chart: there are several other intermediate varieties
between the labels.

Linguists such as John Rickford and Derek Bickerton have

questioned the original concept of the creole continuum, pointing
out that it is “uni-dimensional” meaning that it treats the
Introduction to Linguistics

language as having only a single level of usage and does not

reflect the fact that each section can contain many levels of
variation.

Bickerton (1973) introduced the idea of a Bi-Dimensional Creole

Continuum, and other linguists have proposed a “multi-
dimensional” continuum. These models simply state that
varieties should not limited to particular labels or lects, but
should be seen as varieties that exist within those communities
themselves. For example, there can be an “acrolectal” variety
within a mesolectal community; or according to Bickerton, there
is “Sweet Talk” and “Broad Talk” of one variety.

For example, a speaker at the basilect level is not limited to one

way of speaking. Among his friends, he may say “Fe wha mek
mih ga fa guh?” To his wife, he may say “Wha mek mih ga a
guh?” To a visitor, he may say “Wha mek mih mus guh?”
Introduction to Linguistics

Guyanese English (5 minutes)

The concept of Guyanese English is also important in this

discussion. This is a part of the acrolect which is close to English
but is characterized by particularly Guyanese usages of syntax,
phonology, morphology, semantics or lexicon. For example,
someone may utter a sentence such as Maria is a very
disgusting girl. She only keeps noise all the time with the proper
rounding of the vowels, articulation of word endings and correct
grammar. Yet, this person may be misunderstood, or not
understood at all, by a native speaker of English because the
sentence contains some particularly Guyanese usages of words.
Disgusting means “bothersome” in Guyana but “revolting” in
Introduction to Linguistics

English, and in English, someone makes noise, not keeps noise.

Many persons including politicians, teachers, doctors, and
lawyers use this variety.

There are many other particularities of our language – names of

places, fruits, animals, activities, things; pronunciations of words;
particular phrases such as make story, find out story, go up the
road, fine change; particular semantics such as “corner”
meaning the side of the road and so on that make our language
unique despite its surface resemblance to English.

An intriguing question is whether Guyanese English reflects the

Guyanese Creole becoming more like English, or whether it
shows that English in Guyana becoming more creole.

Some Creole features of Guyanese (10 minutes).

Past Tense–verbs are used without a past tense marker, or bin

is the past tense marker in Guyanese. When sentences are closer
to the acrolect, bin is dropped and di is used.

Future tense – guh is used both basilect and mesolect

The continuous marker in Guyanese is a, so when someone

says me bin a waak, s/he is saying in English “I was walking”.

The completive marker is don as in: Ah don eat (“I have

eaten”). Sometimes, don may be omitted: Me eat (“I have
eaten”).

Pronouns – In the basilect, there is no differentiation for subject

and object pronouns. For example, compare the underlined
pronouns in: dem seh we fool dem (“they said that we fooled
Introduction to Linguistics

them”) and, he seh we fool he(“he said that we fooled him”). In

the mesolect, pronouns that more closely resemble English
pronouns are used, such as Ah (I), dey (they), and we also see
different subject and object pronouns being used: dey seh we
fool dem.

Plurality – In the basilect, nouns are not marked to show

plurality. The word dem is used instead, as in de book dem (“the
books). Even plural nouns may be marked this way, as in: De
chirren dem (the children).

Phonological differences: There are too many such differences

to deal with here. Some of them are:

There is no “r” in “maakit”, “faam”, “shut” (market, farm shirt) and

many other words;

Words like “down” [doʊn] and “town” [toʊn] are pronounced as “dong”
[dɔŋ] and [tɔŋ]

In many case, ends of words are not articulated: call me becomes [ka:
mi]; start back becomes [star bak]; ing words lose the [g] phoneme;
and so on.

The mid back vowel [ɔ] is articulated as [a] so that [pɔt] becomes [pat].

Syntactic differences: In the basilect, some questions begin with

question words: Wha mek de baby a cry? Other types of questions look
like statements: You name Terry?

We can also bring verbs to the front of the sentence as in Is run he run
mek he fall down.

These examples show just a glimpse of the richness of Guyanese

Creole and also its difference from English.
Introduction to Linguistics

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Write a response to the following question:

 “g”is deleted at the end of “goin”; “down” [doʊn] is

pronounced as “dong” [dɔŋ]; “the” [ðɪ] is pronounced as
“de” [dɪ]
Do you think these are cases of Decreolisation or
Creolisation? Explain.

Feedback to Activity 1 (10 minutes)

Judging from the Acrolectal features above, one may conclude

that our Creole is becoming decreolised and those features are
there because the language is on its way to becoming more
English. Conversely, one may also conclude that since the
Acrolectal varieties are closer to Standard English, it is the
Standard that has been Creolised, i.e., resembles Creole
features.

The Tutor introduces activity 2

Introduction to Linguistics

Activity 2: (10 minutes)

Translate the following Creole proverbs into English, and answer the
questions that follow.

o wan wan dotii bil dam (wan wan dutty buil dam)
o tiif fram tiif mek Gaad laf (thief from thief mek God laugh)

 How many Standard English words are contained in each of

the proverbs?
 How many Creole words are contained in each of the
proverbs?
 Is the grammar English or Creole?

Feedback to Activity 2 (10 minutes)

There are two things that you can do with the sentences: a literal
word-for-word translation; or make it grammatically correct. You
can also interpret what the proverb means. You can do that on
your own and discuss it with friends and family.

o wan wan dotii bil dam

o One-one dutty build dam.
o Pieces of mud can build a road.

o tiif from tiif mek Gaad laff

o Thief from thief make God laugh.
Introduction to Linguistics

o A thief who steals from another thief makes God

laugh.
wan wan dotii bil dam
 There are four English words: “one” (wan); “dirty” (dotii);
“build” (bil); and “dam” (dam).

tiif fram tiif mek Gaad laf

 There are four English words: “thief” (tiif); “from” (fram);
“make” (mek); and “God” (Gaad).

Is the grammar English or Creole?

Feedback mini-lecturette (10 minutes)

The proverbs offer useful insight into the grammar of our Creole
language. (a) The process of reduplication is present in wan-wan
or one-one. This is a Creole feature that is said to have come
from Africa; (b) “thief” is both the noun and verb; (c) “mek”
(make) is not conjugated because Creole languages usually use
the simplest form of the verb which is not conjugated (or has any
verb inflections).

Summary (5 minutes)
Creole languages are fully functional languages. They develop
out of human linguistic creativity and are not corrupted forms of
European languages. These languages have their own systems of
grammar, lexicon, phonology and semantics and they should not
be compared with European languages. Some Creole languages,
like Guyanese Creole, have developed internal varieties.
Introduction to Linguistics

Guyanese Creole shows systematic differences in grammar,

phonology, semantics and lexicon, from English.

Suggested References

Bickerton, Derek. “The Nature of the Creole Continuum”. Article. Jstor.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/412355

Bickerton, Derek. Bastard Tongues. New York: Hill and Wang,

2008

DeCamp, David. "The study of pidgin and creole languages." In

Del Hymes, ed. Pidginization and Creolization of
Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1971. 13-43.

Rickford, John. Dimensions of a Creole continuum: history, texts

& linguistic analysis of Guyanese Creole. Palo Alto:
Stanford University Press, 1987

Robertson, Ian, and H. Simmons-McDonald, eds. Exploring the

Boundaries of Caribbean Creole Languages.University of the
West Indies Press, 2006.
Introduction to Linguistics

Module 10: Linguistic Human Rights (1

hrs)

Overview

This module presents information on an aspect that has long

affected Guyana and the wider world but has recently become an
area of study in the Caribbean. This area of study, Linguistic
Human Rights (LHRs), is usually met with a lot debate and
controversy. As you go through this module, try to approach the
concepts with an objective mind.

Module Orientation:

This module has one unit, but is divided up into three sections:

- What is Linguistic Human Rights?

- Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors
- Solutions to Combat Linguistic Discrimination

It is advisable to study the units in sequential order. Try to

complete each one of them as they would help you to remember
the information which you have learned.
Introduction to Linguistics

Some units have activities which would help you to test yourself.
The answers for these units have been included but you are
advised to check them only after you have completed the
activities.

Time Requirement:

You will need about 1 hour to complete this module including the
activities.

Linguistic Human Rights and

Linguistic Discrimination (1hr)

Introduction

Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, and Rannut (1995) observe that

many times in the study of multiculturalism, the fact of the
plurality of multilingualism is forgotten. Linguistic discrimination
can be found mostly in societies where there are several
languages and cultures coexisting, and where one or more
languages may be perceived as being more superior to the other
language(s). This was discussed in the Language and Society
module under Diglossia.

In Guyana’s context a question to ask is: Why is the rural dialect

Introduction to Linguistics

of Guyanese called “raw Creolese” but the Standard English

called “proper English”? Why are labels not used in a reversed
way to say, “raw English” and “proper Creolese”? This simple
labelling of the languages is an example of a bias that exists in
the population towards the two main languages. Linguistically
speaking, there is nothing inherently inferior or superior about a
language. Socially, the notions of “subordinate”, “broken”,
“inferior”, and “bastardised” tend to get attached to languages.
Unfortunately, this has caused stereotypes to be formed of the
speakers of those languages. When a person is disrespected and
disenfranchised because of his/her language, s/he is a victim of
linguistic discrimination.

Specific Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Understand the basic tenets of linguistic human rights

2. Familiarise themselves with the international legal

instruments of linguistic human rights.

3. Identify the areas where linguistic discrimination may

occur.

4. Determine what the best solutions are to curb linguistic

discrimination.

5. Understand the need for language planning in the

education sector.

What is needed?

1. Pen

2. Paper
Introduction to Linguistics

Introduction - What is Linguistic Human Rights?

Linguistic Human Rights, as a concept, is the merger of general

human rights and language rights. Linguistic Human Rights
(LHRs), however, focus on language rights of various people
groups, especially minority and disadvantaged groups. Since
1948, many countries have become signatory partners to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948).This means
that governing bodies in those countries are expected to fulfil the
conditions spelt out in the Declaration since every human being
is guaranteed basic human. Some of these rights include: the
right to freedom of religion, the right food and shelter, and the
right to use the home language (or their L1). Every free society
functions effectively because of the respect for those rights.
Article 2 of the Declaration states:

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth

in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.

Further, Article 2.1 of another United Nations declaration -

Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or
Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (UN, 1992) - states:

Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and

linguistic minorities (hereinafter referred to as persons
Introduction to Linguistics

belonging to minorities) have the right to enjoy their own

culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to
use their own language, in private and in public, freely
and without interference or any form of
discrimination.

In 1996, a more specific document outlining the need for

recognition and respect for language rights came in the shape of
the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights (UNESCO, 1996). In
the Declaration, a pertinent clause states:

Considering that invasion, colonization, occupation and other

instances of political, economic or social subordination often
involve the direct imposition of a foreign language or, at the very
least, distort perceptions of the value of languages and give rise
to hierarchical linguistic attitudes which undermine the language
loyalty of speakers; and considering that the languages of some
peoples which have attained sovereignty are immersed in a
process of language substitution as a result of a policy which
favours the language of a former colonial or imperial power;

And in Article 3.2:

This Declaration considers that the collective rights of language

groups may include the following, in addition to the rights
attributed to the members of language groups in the foregoing
paragraph, and in accordance with the conditions laid down in
article 2.2:

 the right for their own language and culture to be taught;

 the right of access to cultural services;
Introduction to Linguistics

 the right to an equitable presence of their language and

culture in the communications media;
 the right to receive attention in their own language from
government bodies and in socioeconomic relations.

In January 2011, the Charter on Language Policy and Language

Rights in the Creole-Speaking Caribbean was crafted to outline
policies governing the treatment and recognition of languages in
the Caribbean. Languages such as Creole languages, Indigenous
languages and immigrant, and minority, languages are given full
representation in the Charter. In Guyana’s case, according to the
Charter, the term “territorial languages” would refer to Guyanese
Creole.

Linguistic Discrimination in Different Sectors

Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, Rannut (1995) state that “depriving

individuals or groups of linguistic human rights reflects a
contemporary form of racism, namely linguicism”. Whether you
agree with the extremity of this observation or not, you will
recognise that indeed persons of minority languages are often
times denied equal access to services.

However, the opposite seems to apply in Guyana. Guyanese,

Guyana’s heart language (or mother tongue), is a majority
language in Guyana yet speakers of the mesolect and basilectal
varieties are often times discriminated against when they are
denied access to services. In one instance, English has more
social prestige than Guyanese. In another instance, the
acrolectal (or urban) variety has more prestige than the
basilectal and mesolectal (or rural) varieties of Guyanese. Other
Introduction to Linguistics

cases of discrimination in Guyana may also occur when speakers

of the several Indigenous languages interact in dominant English
or Acrolectal contexts and are denied access to services or
treated differently because of their language.

Article 9.2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

This Declaration considers discrimination against

language communities to be inadmissible,
whether it be based on their degree of political
sovereignty, their situation defined in social,
economic or other terms, the extent to which
their languages have been codified, updated or
modernized, or on any other criterion.

Linguistic discrimination occurs in several sectors in a country.

Three important ones are: commerce, education, and the
judiciary. Types of discrimination can include (but are not limited
to): exclusion, disrespect, lack of recognition, and denial of
justice.

We will briefly explore these three areas where linguistic

discrimination occurs with specific reference to Guyana.

Commerce

Examine the following scenario. A university educated young

lady and her mother went to a store to enquire out about prices
of a certain item. While the daughter was browsing through other
items elsewhere in the store, her mother approached the
Introduction to Linguistics

customer-service counter to ask about an item she wished to

purchase. However, the mother’s language was rural Guyanese.
The sales representative was not that friendly and offered short
responses and seemed either hesitant or disgusted to give
information. Upon seeing her mother’s frustration, the daughter
intervened and asked about the price of the item in English. The
sales representative became friendlier and offered information
freely. This is a simple case of one person being discriminated
against because of her language.

Another example is of a Linguistics student who, as an

experiment, used a telephone to call an organization using
different accents requesting information. He placed a call to the
organisation and spoke using an urban dialect of Guyanese and
got a friendly response and quick assistance from the person on
the other end of the phone. After allowing thirty-minutes to
elapse, he called back the same organisation but spoke using a
rural Guyanese dialect (accent and syntax) but was met by curt,
hesitant and at times annoyed responses. In the end, he received
little assistance because of speaking in/ rural Guyanese. This is a
clear case of discrimination based on one’s language, and we
can clearly see that there is a bias against the rural dialect of
Guyanese (or “raw Creolese”).ii

As an experiment, you and a friend/family member can try to

simulate the examples above. Choose two stores (where you are
not well known): one that is considered high class (or expensive),
and one that is lower class (or cheap). Go to either the high-end
of low-end store and ask for an item using the L-Variety of the
language of your community or region and make note of the
responses you receive. Your friend/family member should then
go to the same store at a different time of the day or week and
Introduction to Linguistics

ask for the same item using the H-Variety. Do the same for the
other store. You and your friend/family member should compare
the variety of responses you receive.

Judiciary

The language of the Law is in English and is wrought in legal

terminology which makes it, at most times, difficult for the
average person to understand.

There is a very famous incident reported in legal circles of a

defendant who was on trial for the murder of his wife based on
the evidence of a written admission of guilt. It is reported that
the defendant said of his wife:

a mii gii am claat, a mii mek am, a mii kil am

However when written, the true essence of what the defendant

said was lost. His defence lawyer upon cross examination of the
evidence, offered that the defendant did not admit guilt but
rather said (or asked):

a mii gii am claat, a mii mek am, a mii kil am?

In other words, the defendant made a plea for his innocence by

asking:

If I bought clothes for her and made her who she was, why would
I want to kill her?

Because Guyanese is also a tonal language (i.e., intonation has

meaning), the defendant’s statement was misinterpreted and
could have worked to his detriment in an English-only judicial
system. The absence of a Creole-competent defence lawyer in
the case above would have seen the defendant being convicted
Introduction to Linguistics

for a crime he did not commit based largely on a supposed

“admission” of guilt. There is another case reported in the 1970s
of a man who was fined for theft because he “admitted” to it
(Devonish 1997). The judge asked him if he stole the item in
question, and he replied that he “does thief” which resulted in
the fine. However, the defendant did not admit to stealing the
item in question, but admitted to normally stealing. The habitual
marker in Guyanese is “does”, which indicates his habitual
stealing. The defendant was convicted for his admission of
habitual stealing, but not for theft of the item which landed him
in court in the first place.

Take the case of an elderly Amerindian couple who was brought

before the courts on the charge of illegal possession of firearm.
The man was seen walking in the community with a rifle and was
apprehended by police officers. When placed before the courts,
the judge asked him if he understood the implications of the
charge and he replied that “mii een ahnastaan” (me ain’t
understand). His reply signaled that, first, he did not understand
the language of the law; and, second, he did not understand the
grave implications that his lack of knowledge would lead to. He
was subsequently jailed while his wife was placed on $10,000
bail. Luckily, a sympathetic lawyer intervened and was able at a
later date to secure his release.

The language of the courts, many times, is expressed in legal

jargon that excludes the Creole or Indigenous speaker. Article 14
of the Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the
Creole-Speaking Caribbean states that:

All language communities using the territorial

languages have the right for laws and other legal and
Introduction to Linguistics

administrative provisions which concern them, to be

published in their languages and/or made available in
any other medium that would be accessible to them. If
a written standard does not exist, such laws or legal
provisions must be made available in audio format.

Even when Guyanese lawyers and magistrates are involved in a

case, there is a need for translators. The Caribbean Charter
suggests that translators should be provided free of cost by the
state to persons who speak Creole, Indigenous, and immigrant
languages. In present day court rooms, the presiding
magistrate/judge and lawyer become the default translators with
no guarantee that the defendants are being adequately
represented linguistically. A sentence may be passed down in
English, and the persons on the receiving end may have no clue
as to what is transpiring before them.

Education

Language teaching and the use of language in the classroom are

the areas that usually at the forefront of linguistic discrimination
discussions. Many persons are of the opinion that English is a
superior language to other languages that co-exist with it in
Guyana. Because of this notion, there is a tendency to treat
other languages (Guyanese and Indigenous, and immigrant
languages) as inferior languages.

Interestingly to date, there is no holistic policy in the recent

Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Strategic Plan (2008-2013)
concerning the role of language and language teaching. In fact,
the only mention of the role of language relates to English being
a second language for Indigenous students.
Introduction to Linguistics

Under Section 3.10 (“Developing an Inclusive Education

System”), the following is found:

UNICEF in a listing of the “Characteristics of a Rights-Based and

Child-Friendly School” supports the provision of an education
opportunity that “meets differing circumstances and needs of
children (e.g. as determined by gender, culture, social class,
ability level)”. In Guyana, efforts have been made [...] to
respond to the needs of the indigenous communities where
English may not be the first language and where cultural norms
may be somewhat different from other communities. In
addition it has sought to meet Special Education Needs. [...]
There have been limited attempts to respond to the language
issue with the Ministry supporting the use of the children’s
mother tongue, where possible, in the early years of school and
giving support to projects such as the Macushi Language
project. These are very preliminary efforts and more needs to
be done at the teacher training level to respond to the needs of
different genders or groups.

The admission that more needs to be done in bilingual

Indigenous communities is good news for linguists, and teachers
will linguistic training. However, the glaring omission of
Guyanese Creole signals that the MOE does not recognise
Guyanese as a language (at least as yet). The lack of any
language policy leaves educators to formulate their own
operational procedures resulting in unwritten language policies
or rules based on assumptions and stereotypes.

The Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the

Creole-Speaking Caribbean specifically sets aside a section to
deal with language rights in the education sector. Section III (a)
Introduction to Linguistics

focuses on “Education in Schools” and part (b) “Education out of

Schools” as seen in Articles 24.5 and 26:

Within the context of the foregoing principles, everyone has the

following rights:

- to at least initial instruction and literacy in their first language;

- to learn the territorial languages of the territory in which he/she
resides;
- to learn any other language.

(Article 24.5)

All language communities are entitled to an education which

will enable their members to acquire a full command of their
own language, as well as the most extensive possible
command of any other language they may wish to know.

(Article 26)

The Unit on Second Language Teaching in the Language

Acquisition module outlined strategies of language teaching that
include the use of the territorial language. Information was also
given that pertains to the value of its inclusion in the education
process. By deliberately (and sometimes unconsciously)
excluding the students’ L1, teachers can contribute to denying
their students’ linguistic rights as outlined above.

In some Indigenous communities in Guyana, the parents of the

children protested against the use of the community’s L1 in their
children’s education process. They cited reasons such as: “our
language will confuse the children when they learn in English”;
“we already speak our language at home so there is no reason to
learn it again or use it in school”; “our children will need to know
English to advance in society, not our language”. Unfortunately,
Introduction to Linguistics

they were not aware of all of the linguistic research that showed
the importance of the use of the L1 in such bilingual cases. A
bilingual education cannot neglect the students’ L1 since it is
that same L1 that serves as a reference point for the students.
You will recall that often times when a concept is introduced in
English and you or your students did not understand it; the
solution was to express and explain it as a concept in your L1.

Some Solutions to Combat Linguistic

Discrimination

One of the first and most important steps to combat linguistic

discrimination is to build linguistic awareness. This has to happen
at the grass-roots level, and should begin at home then at
school. Children should be taught to value their L1 as a heart
language. Worth should be assigned to the heart language not as
a “vernacular”, “bastard” or “inferior” language, but as a
language itself: a language that is fully functional and capable of
expressing the thoughts of the people who use it. Linguistically
proving that the L1 is integral to the learning process is vital to
convincing the non-linguistic person. Appealing to the person’s
sense of community belonging and nationhood is also useful
since it is language that shapes our identity and identifies us as
Guyanese people.

Second, language planning is a vital part of a country’s

development. Certain parts of the education sector need to be
revamped so that Creole and Indigenous languages are
integrated into the curricula. This will ensure that “educational
Introduction to Linguistics

linguistic discrimination” is curbed by consciously acknowledging

the important role of the L1 in the education process.

A note on Language Planning

Language planning generally refers to conscious and systematic

decision-making undertaken by organisations and government
agencies to select which language(s) will be used as the official
language of the country for education, commerce, etc.

An official language is different from a national language.

Guyana’s official language is English, and its national language is
Guyanese (or Creolese as it is popularly known). An official
language is used as the language of currency, for example, in
the judicial system, education system, and banks. The national
language is not widely written as the official language, but is
widely used nationally as the country’s first language in informal
scenarios, conversations, when code-switching, etc. An official
language, therefore, is a standardised language. A standardised
language has a standard system of spelling and pronunciation.

The country’s law-makers can decide to make the national

language an official language, but only after certain conditions
are fulfilled. For Guyanese to become an official language, it will
need to be written down; and for it to be written, it’s
orthographical (spelling) system will need to be formalised. In
Jamaica, for example, persons at the Jamaican Language Unit are
constantly in the process of creating reading materials to be
used in schools. They have adopted the Cassidy Phonetic Writing
System, which was developed by Frederick Cassidy as a special
orthographical system to be used for writing Jamaican Creole
English (or Jamaican). Bible translation projects have also made
Introduction to Linguistics

use of the Cassidy system, and have served to formalise and

standardize Jamaican.

The same conscious decisions can be made in Guyana

concerning our Creole language and the several Indigenous
languages.

Third, political activism is needed to include the language-rights

legal instruments in a country’s constitution. This will ensure that
linguistic human rights of the population are safeguarded. The
Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-
Speaking Caribbean is the most recent language rights Charter
and will now need to be assented to by the Caribbean countries’
legal organs. Educational, and other, organizations can still sign
and adopt the provisions listed in the Charter ahead of it being
adopted by the country’s parliament.
Introduction to Linguistics

The Tutor introduces activity 1

Activity 1: (10 minutes)

Examine the following scenario, and make notes on whether linguistic

discrimination is present or not.

A boy from a rural village attends one of the top secondary schools in
Georgetown and is in Form 2 (Grade 8). In one of his English classes, he
replies to a question asked by his teacher in his L1 - a mesolectal (rural)
variety of Guyanese - which earns him a rebuke. His teacher says to him:
“Boy, what is wrong with you? You cannot speak like that because you
are now attending a prestigious school.” For the rest of the class, he
remains withdrawn and does not utter another word.

Do you agree with the teacher’s position? Is the student discriminated

against? Supply reasons for your answer.

Feedback to activity 1 (10 minutes)

From a linguist’s position, the teacher’s response is clearly a

violation of the student’s linguistic human right to use his L1. The
Charters on general human rights and linguistic human rights
provide support for the claim of his rights being violated.

Some persons may argue that the student should have used
English because he was in an English class and speaking to the
English teacher. Here is where linguists and grammar teachers
depart. A linguist’s work is mainly descriptive while a grammar
Introduction to Linguistics

teacher’s task is mainly prescriptive. Nevertheless, the teacher

should have recognised the student’s linguistic difference, and
not use his wonderful Guyanese language as ammunition to
openly embarrass him in the presence of his peers. Perhaps the
student was not clearly au fait with the unwritten rules of
language-use in a Georgetown classroom (i.e., that the H-variety
should be used when addressing teachers, and the L-variety only
for interaction with peers when the teachers are not around). The
action of the teacher led to the exclusion of the student in the
learning process that was done entirely in English.

What the teacher could have done was use the student’s L1 as a
point of comparison with English. Using second-language
teaching strategies, the teacher could have begun the process
that would have seen that student become an excellent English
student while still valuing his L1 and remaining fluent in it.

Summary (5 minutes)
The merger of human rights and language rights is called
Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs). When a person is discriminated
against because of his/her language, this is called linguistic
discrimination or linguicism. There are several international legal
instruments that outline the conditions that should be met to
avoid linguistic discrimination. Each instrument is based on
general human rights. The most recent one is the Charter on
Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-Speaking
Caribbean. There are several areas that are avenues of linguistic
discrimination. These include: commerce, education, and the
judiciary. The three main solutions that are necessary to curb
linguistic discrimination are: linguistic awareness, language
planning, and political activism.
Introduction to Linguistics

Suggested References

Banwarie, K. and Wilkinson, C. “The Charter on Language Policy

and Language Rights in the Creole Speaking Caribbean:
Implications for Language Education in Guyana”.
History This Week, Stabroek News, November 3, 2011,
p., 17.

Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-

Speaking Caribbean. Jamaica: ICCLR, 2011

Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or

Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. United
Nations, 1992.

Devonish, Hubert. Language and Liberation: Creole Language Politics

in the Caribbean.Expanded version. Kingston: Arawak
Publications, 2007

Fromkin, R., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. An Introduction to Language.

Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.

Ministry of Education. Education Strategic Plan 2008-2013.

Georgetown, Guyana.

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. and Phillipson, R. (eds.). Linguistic Human Rights:

Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination. Berlin: Walter de
Gruyter & Co., 1995.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UNESCO Barcelona, 1996.

Introduction to Linguistics
i
ii
Linguistic Discrimination experiment/mini-research carried out by University of Guyana students in ‘ENG 117:
Introduction to Language’ (November, 2010).