Transcript Document

Lengua Inglesa II
Grammar Topics
2009-2010
Tom Morton
IV-bis 205
[email protected]
Grammar topic 1:
Language and
communication
1. Language
1.1. Language
and
communication
What is language?
–
–
–
Code for communication
Learnt, not biologically inherited
Meaning is arbitrarily assigned to symbols
What / who is involved in human language?
How is language studied?
–
–
–
Language as sounds Phonology: the way languages organize sounds
to convey differences in meaning).
Language as wordings  Syntax / Grammar: the study of word structure
(morphology) and the study of word sequence within sentences (syntax).
Language as meanings  Semantics: the way language is structured or
organized to express meanings.
Approaches to language:
–
–
Cognitive approach: language is something that exists in the minds of
the users.
Social approach: Observe what people do with language and model their
linguistic behaviour.
1. Language
1.2. Grammar
and
communication
Grammar studies how words combine together to form larger units.
•
Approaches to Grammar:
– Generative approach: forms of the language and how they combine
– Functional approach: function of each utterance (e.g. declarative vs.
interrogative)
•
Types of grammar:
– Prescriptive grammar: one variety of language has higher value than
others, and therefore should be imposed on the whole speech
community. Standard.
– Descriptive grammar: concerned with the facts of linguistic usage
1.2. Exercises1.
(i):Language
prescription vs.and
description
communication
Which of the following statements are prescriptive and which
are descriptive?
a. "It's me" is ungrammatical; "It's I" is the correct way to say this.
b. People who say "ain't" may suffer some negative social
consequences because many speakers of English associate
"ain't" with the dialects of the working classes.
c. In casual styles of speaking, English speakers frequently end
sentences with prepositions; ending sentences with prepositions
is avoided in formal styles.
d. "Between you and me" is correct; "between you and I" is
ungrammatical.
(from Language Files 1994: 14)
1.2. Exercises1.
(i):Language
prescription vs.and
description
communication
Language Description via Google:
Which is “correct”?
1.
John and I went out.
2.
John and me went out.
3.
John and myself went out.
1.2. Exercises1.
(i):Language
prescription vs.and
description
communication
Language Description via Google:
Which is “correct”?
Google hits
1.
John and I went...
10 million
2.
John and me went ...
71,000
3.
John and myself went ...
50,000
With so many real usages, can any of these be said to be
incorrect?
(Important to check for false hits, and pages written by nonnative speakers)
1. Language
and
1.2. Exercises
(ii): Prescriptive
rules broken
communication
All of these sentences are acceptable to some speakers of English, but not to others.
Which prescriptive rule has been violated in each case?
a. He don't know about the race.
b. You was out when I called.
c. Me and Peter walked to school.
d. There's 20 horses registered in the show.
e. That window's broke, so be careful.
f. Jim and me are gonna go campin' this weekend.
g. I hope to quickly finish writing my essay.
h. Jack has approached the essay topic differently to the way I took it.
i. None of us were there on time. (???)
j. We haven't done nothing wrong.
(a-f from O'Grady et al. 1993. Contemporary Linguistics. An Introduction, p. 12; g-k from O'Dell, F. 1997.
English Panorama 1. C.U.P)
1. Language
and
1.3. Language:
types of meaning
•
communication
Experiential meaning:
– Deals with the content of the message, the speaker's conceptualisation of
reality.
– Experiential meanings are expressed through the choice of processes,
participants, circumstances and attributes.
Tarantino
will present
Actor
Process: material
He
told
Sayer
Process:
verbal
his new
movie
Goal
reporters
tomorrow
Circumstance:
time
that he thought it was
his best movie yet
Addressee
Verbiage
1. Language
and
1.3. Language:
types of meaning
communication
Experiential meaning:
– Deals with the content of the message, the speaker's conceptualisation of
reality.
– Experiential meanings are expressed through the choice of processes,
participants, circumstances and attributes.
Tarantino
will present
his new
tomorrow
movie
Actor
Process: material
Goal
Circumstance:
time
Participant
Process
He
told
Sayer
Process:
verbal
Participant
reporters
Circumstance
that he thought it was
his best movie yet
Addressee
Verbiage
1. Language
and
1.3. Language:
types of meaning
communication
Interpersonal meaning:
•
•
•
•
•
What is the speaker/writer trying to achieve in respect to the listener/reader:
give information, request information, demand action, etc.
Often called speech acts.
Informal labels: statement, question, order, promise, offer, thanking, etc.
Examples: Thanks a lot; Do not close the door; Shall we go?
Interpersonal meanings are expressed through the Mood structure.
Typically:
– Statement: declarative mood
– Question: interrogative mood
– Order: imperative mood
•
Although other expressions are possible:
– Question/declarative:
– Order/declarative:
John is coming?
This floor must be clean by 5!
1. Language
and
1.3. Language:
types of meaning
communication
Textual meaning:
– How the text is organised as a message:
– What does the speaker/writer indicate as important (Theme,
marked word order), e.g.
John was seen by Mary vs. Mary saw John
– Use of cohesive devices to help us understand the text:
John lost his bag. vs.  John lost John’s bag.
– Textual meaning expressed through various parts of the
grammar, e.g.,
• Theme: use of marked word order and other grammatical choices to
place particular entities at the front (see Topic 8)
• Cohesion: pronouns, determiners, ellipsis, substitution (see Topic 7)
1. Language
and
1.3. Exercise
on interpersonal
meanings
communication
Match each line with the following discourse functions/illocutionary acts: thanking, offer, echo
question, directive, promise, exclamation (2), question (3), statement (3).
Offer
J: If you like, I'll come into your shop tomorrow and get some model aeroplane kits.
C: OK.
Don't forget to bring the bill with you this time.
J: I won't.
Do you enjoy working here?
C: It's all right, I suppose.
C: But I am looking for another job.
My dad keeps on at me to go into his business.
but the last thing I want to do is work for him!
J: Why?
C: Why?
He’s a bit of a slave driver.
Do you think it is possible to get me on a part-time Youth Leadership course?
J: I'll ring up tomorrow, Chris, and find out for you.
C: Thanks a lot.
1. Language
and
1.3. Exercise
on interpersonal
meanings
Offer
communication
J: If you like, I'll come into your shop tomorrow and get some model aeroplane kits.
C: OK.
dir
prom
quest
Stat
Don't forget to bring the bill with you this time.
J: I won't.
Do you enjoy working here?
C: It's all right, I suppose.
C: But I am looking for another job.
stat
My dad keeps on at me to go into his business.
exclam
but the last thing I want to do is work for him!
quest
J: Why?
Echo quest
C: Why?
exclam
He’s a bit of a slave driver.
Quest/dir
Do you think it is possible to get me on a part-time Youth Leadership course?
prom
J: I'll ring up tomorrow, Chris, and find out for you.
thank
C: Thanks a lot.
1. Language and
communication
For each of the following clauses say whether a
Exercise (i)
1.
participant or a circumstance has been chosen as
Theme:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Main Street is usually crowded on late shopping nights.
The girls armed with hockey-sticks chased the burglar.
Quite by accident I came across a very rare postage-stamp.
Away in the distance you can see Mount Kilimanjaro.
What I am going to tell you must not be repeated.
1. Language and
communication
For each of the following clauses say whether a
Exercise (i)
1.
participant or a circumstance has been chosen as Theme:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Main Street is usually crowded on late shopping nights.
participant
The girls armed with hockey-sticks chased the burglar.
participant
Quite by accident I came across a very rare postage-stamp.
circumstance
Away in the distance you can see Mount Kilimanjaro.
circumstance
What I am going to tell you must not be repeated.
participant
1. Language and
communication
In each of the following clauses say whether the Subject,
Exercise (ii)
2.
the Direct Object or the Adjunct has been chosen as
Theme:
a.
About fifty or sixty thousand years ago, there lived on earth a creature
similar to man.
b.
Skulls and bones of this extinct species of man were found at
Neanderthal.
c.
Where the first true men originated we do not know.
d.
These newcomers eventually drove the Neanderthalers out of
existence.
e.
In Asia or Africa there may be still undiscovered deposits of earlier
and richer human remains.
1. Language and
communication
In each of the following clauses say whether the Subject,
Exercise (ii)
2.
the Direct Object or the Adjunct has been chosen as
Theme:
a.
About fifty or sixty thousand years ago, there lived on earth a creature
similar to man. Adjunct
b.
Skulls and bones of this extinct species of man were found at
Neanderthal. Subject
c.
Where the first true men originated we do not know. Direct Object
d.
These newcomers eventually drove the Neanderthalers out of
existence. Subject
e.
In Asia or Africa there may be still undiscovered deposits of earlier
and richer human remains. Adjunct
Windows is shutting down, and grammar are
On their last leg. So what am we to do?
A letter of complaint go just so far,
Proving the only one in step are you.
Better, perhaps, to simply let it goes.
A sentence have to be screwed pretty bad
Before they gets to where you doesnt knows
The meaning what it must of meant to had.
The meteor have hit. Extinction spread,
But evolution do not stop for that.
A mutant languages rise from the dead
And all them rules is suddenly old hat.
Too bad for we, us what has had so long
The best seat from the only game in town.
But there it am, and whom can say its wrong?
Those are the break. Windows is shutting down.
(Guardian, April 27, 2005)
"hI KATHY i am sending u the assignmnet
again,". "i had sent you the assignment earlier
but i didnt get a respond. If u get this
assgnment could u please respond . thanking u
for ur cooperation."
Agree or disagree?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
New forms of communication such as email, twitter or
text messages are changing the grammar of English and
Spanish.
Using ‘correct’ forms of grammar is not important in
these types of communication.
Young people (e.g. in Spain, the US or UK) do not use
grammar correctly.
A new variety of English (English as a Lingua Franca or
ELF) is emerging and its rules are different from those of
native speakers.
It is better (and easier) to learn ELF for communicating
with other non-native speakers than ‘native’ English.