English Language

Factors of Language:

Context - the setting (time and place) in which the message is communicated.

Message - the information being communicated.

Addresser - the person delivering the message.

Addressee - the audience receiving the message.

Contact - the form through which the addresser and addressee communicate.

Code - a system of signs (a language) common to the addresser and addressee.

Functions of language:

Referential function: sharing information with an intended audience. (Example: "The weather is warm.")

Emotive function: expressing emotions and desires. (Example: "I love this song!")

Conative function: using language to direct or persuade. (Example: "Please pass the salt.")

Poetic function: focusing on the formation of the message itself. (Example: "The wind whispered through the trees.")

Phatic function: using language to establish or maintain social connections. (Example: "How are you?")

Metalinguistic function: describing or commenting on language itself. (Example: "What does 'happy' mean?")

MRS PT FACT?

• Mode - How the message is delivered (spoken, written, or online). Example: A conversation is spoken mode, while a text message is written mode.

• Register - How formal or informal language is. Example: Talking to a teacher is more formal than chatting with a friend.

• Situational context - The time, place, and situation of the communication. Example: You speak differently at a job interview than at a party.

• Purpose - Why the message is being communicated. Example: A speech might be to persuade, while an ad might be to sell something.

• Tenor - The relationship between the people communicating. Example: You talk differently to your boss than to your best friend.

• Function - What the message is trying to do. Example: A joke entertains, while instructions help someone understand a task.

• Audience - Who the message is meant for. Example: A kids’ book is written differently than a newspaper article.

• Cultural context - The values and traditions that affect language use. Example: Some slang is common in Australia but might not make sense elsewhere.

• Text type - The kind of communication used. Example: A news article, a novel, a speech, or a tweet all have different styles.

Morphology

Morphology

What is morphology?

The study of words and their parts is called morphology.

What are the two main types of morphemes?

Root morpheme: a single morpheme with a primary meaning. They can also combine with other morphemes, and stems words form

Free morpheme: a standalone lexeme (word) consisting of one or more morphemes.

   Sentence example: The So, "happy" is a free morpheme because it can stand alone as a word, and "happiness" is made by combining the root "happy" with other morphemes.

What are the three main types of affixes?

Prefix: an affix that occurs at the beginning of a root or stem. (prefix-)

• Un- in unhappy 

• Re- in redo 

Suffix: an affix that occurs at the end of a root or stem. (-suffix)

• -ed in walked 

• -ness in happiness 

Infix: is inside the root or stem (-infix-)

• Fan + -friggin- + tastic → Freaking fantastic
  (Infix: -friggin-)

• Un + -believable- + ly → Unbelievably
  (Infix: -believable-)

Inflectional Affixes VS Derivational Affixes

Inflection – affects the form or amount

• Adding -s to make a noun plural: cats (from cat)

• Adding -ed to indicate past tense: talked (from talk)

Deviational – affixes change meaning

• Dis- in dislike (meaning "not like")

• Un- in uncertain (meaning "not certain")

Semantics

Semantics

What is Semantics?

The study of meaning in words, phrases, sentences and whole texts is called semantics.

What is the relationship between the signifier and the signified in language?

Sentence example: The sounds "c-a-t" are conventionally associated with the concept of a small, furry domesticated animal.

The signifier is the word or sound itself ("c-a-t"), and the signified is the idea or the thing it stands for — in this case, the cute, furry animal called a cat.

The important thing is that there's no natural reason why "cat" is the word for that animal. People just agree that "c-a-t" means a cat. So, the connection between the sound ("c-a-t") and the animal (the concept) is arbitrary (meaning it's based on our choice) and conventional (we all agree on it).

Semantic domains and Inference?

Semantics Domains are groups of words or phrases with related meanings

Interference is the skill of determining implied information/meaning that is not overtly stated

Syntax

Syntax

What is Syntax?

The study of word order and sentence structure is called syntax.

Syntax and clause structure:

A clause typically consists of a subject and a predicate.  They can have a direct or indirect object.

• The object is impacted by the noun and verb.

• Sentences have complements and adverbials.

What is predicate, subject, complements and adverbials?

What is a predicate?

   - A predicate is the verb phrase or sentence part that expresses the action or state described by the subject.

What is a subject?

 - Typically, a noun/noun phrase the main actor in the clause

What is a complements?

Complements are parts of a phrase that are necessitated meaning, they cannot be deleted and keep the phrase having integrity

What is a adverbials?

- Adverbials add information about time, place, manner, degree, probability, and they can be deleted

What are clauses?

- Clauses can have a direct or indirect object. The object is impacted by the noun and verb

   Sentence example: "The cat drank the milk" is a predicate with the verb "drank" and the direct object "the milk".

Lexicology

Lexicology

What is lexicology?

The study of word formation and classification is called lexicology.

What are nouns?

Nouns are words that name people, places, things, qualities, ideas, or concepts.

Types of Nouns:

Common Nouns: Generic names for a class of objects or concepts (e.g., "beach," "apple").

Proper Nouns: Specific names of people, places, or organizations that are always capitalized (e.g., "Australia," "Saleh").

Collective Nouns: Words that refer to a group of people or things (e.g., "team," "flock").

Abstract Nouns: Names for things that are not tangible, such as feelings or qualities (e.g., "wisdom," "happiness").

Concrete Nouns: Names for things that can be perceived by the senses (e.g., "car," "dog").

What are Verbs?

Verbs are ‘doing words’. Verbs offer information about actions, states and occurrences. Verbs are complex world class, and their state is affected by tense.

Types of Verbs

Participles are a form of a verb that construct tense they can also be used as adjectives to describe nouns

Infinitives are a form of verbs that can function as a noun, adjective or adverb. Infinitives usually work by adding ‘to’ before base verb, infinites usually describe action yet to occur

Primary auxiliary verbs support the main verb

Modal auxiliary verbs express possibility, ability, intent, obligation or necessity. The change the role of the verb they attach to (can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, ought)

What are Adjectives?

They offer more information about a noun

What are adverbs?

Adverbs describe, modify or quality verbs, adjectives, other adverbs or whole phrases adverbs express, other elements of time, place, manner, cause and effect, degree, certainty, frequency comment

Types of Adverbs?

• Interrogative adverbs begin a question

• Relative adverbs introduce a clause

• Prepositions identify the form of time, space or location between 2 elements

What are conjunctive adverbs, determiners and interjections?

Conjunctive adverbs are used to identify addition, comparison, contrast, emphasis, cause and effect or time

Determiners are placed before nouns to clarify (determine) quantity of possession

Interjections are exclamative words or phrases that convey feelings or open or close conversational exchanges

Sentences

Sentences

What is a sentence?

A sentence is a unit of meaning that contains, at least, a subject and predictable. Sentences can be analysed either by how they convey meaning type or by ordering of words (structure)

Subsystem development of language in children

Subsystem development of language in children

Theories of Language Acquisition

Universal Grammar (nature): Children are born with a built-in understanding of how language works. This helps them learn any language quickly and easily.

Usage Based Theory (nurture): Children learn language by listening, copying, and noticing patterns from the people around them. Experience and social interaction are very important for learning language.

Critical Age Hypothesis: There is a special time in early childhood when learning a language is easiest. After that age, it becomes much harder to learn a language like a native speaker.

What is Phonological Development?

Definition: Learning the sounds of speech, including how to produce and recognize them.

Example: A child saying “mama” or “dada” shows they are developing their phonological skills.

What is Morphological Development?

Definition: Understanding the structure of words, including prefixes and suffixes.

Example: A child correctly saying "cats" (plural) instead of "cat" shows they are using morphological rules.

What is Lexical Development?

Definition: Growth in the vocabulary of words a child understands and can use.

Example: A four-year-old who can say "apple," "run," and "happy" demonstrates lexical development.

What is Syntactic Development?

Definition: Learning how to arrange words into sentences properly.

Example: A child saying, “I want cookie” (incorrect) as opposed to “I want a cookie” (correct) illustrates their understanding of syntax.

What is Semantic Development?

Definition: The process of understanding the meanings of words and how they relate to each other.

Example: If a child can differentiate between “dog” and “cat,” they are developing semantic understanding.

What is Phonetics and Phonology?

Phonetics: Study of speech sounds and their physical properties.

Phonology: Study of how sounds function within a particular language system.

What are Prosodic features?

are elements of speech regarding acoustics

• Pitch: How high or low a sound is. Example: Your voice goes higher when you're excited and lower when you're serious.

• Intonation: The way pitch changes in a sentence. Example: "You're coming?" sounds like a question because of rising intonation, but "You're coming." sounds like a statement with falling intonation.

• Stress: Emphasizing a word or syllable to change meaning. Example: "I really like this" sounds stronger than "I really like this."

• Tempo: How fast or slow someone speaks. Example: People talk faster when they're excited and slower when they're explaining something carefully.

• Volume: How loud or soft a voice is. Example: Yelling shows strong emotion, while whispering can mean secrecy.

Connected speech process?

Assimilation - When a sound changes to become more like a nearby sound. Example: People often say "samwich" instead of "sandwich" because the "n" sound changes to match the "w."

Vowel Reduction - When vowel sounds become weaker or shorter, making speech more relaxed. Example: Instead of saying "banana" clearly, it may sound more like "benaneh."

Elision - When a sound or syllable is left out to make words easier to say. Example: Many people say "libry" instead of "library" or "choklet" instead of "chocolate."

Insertion - When an extra sound is added between words or letters to make speaking easier. Example: Some Australians say "ath-e-lete" instead of "athlete," adding a small extra vowel sound.

Stages of child language acquisition?

0 – 6 months: Pre-Linguistic (crying)

6 – 12 months: Babbling (repetitive vocal words/constant vowel sounds)

12 – 18 months: Holophrastic (first word, one word to communicate)

18 – 24 months: Two words (two-word constructions, noun-verb combinations)

24 – 30 months: Telegraphic (combing content words/still lacking grammatical function words)

30+ months: multi-world (increase in synaptic knowledge/using function words for grammatical accuracy)