English linguistics and grammar
Inhoudsopgave
PART 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER 1: LINGUISTICS, LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH......................................................................................................2
PART 2: THE SOUNDS AND PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH..............................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: PHONETICS...........................................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 3: PHONOLOGY.......................................................................................................................................10
PART 3: MORPHOLOGY................................................................................................................................ 14
CHAPTER 4: MORPHEMES, MORPHS & ALLOMORPHS..................................................................................................14
CHAPTER 5: WORDS & WORD CREATION.................................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 6: LEXICAL AND PHRASAL CLASSES..............................................................................................................23
CHAPTER 7: NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES.................................................................................................................25
CHAPTER 8: ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES......................................................................................................31
CHAPTER 9: ADVERBS AND ADVERB PHRASES............................................................................................................33
CHAPTER 10: OTHER LEXICAL CLASSES.....................................................................................................................36
1
,Part 1: Introduction
Chapter 1: Linguistics, language and English
1.1. Linguistics
Linguistics: the scientific study language, including:
Its structure
Its use
Its acquisition
Its development over time
Linguistics -> phonetics, phonology and morphology
1.2. Language
Language -> “natural” and “artificial”
NATURAL: English, French, Italian, British Sign Language, …
ARTIFICIAL: Esperanto, Python, …
Basic features of (natural) language:
Exclusively human:
Language is unique to the human species -> communication is not
language
Sonic & vocal:
Language is primarily sound based
Writing is a secondary, derived manifestation of language
Functional & meaningful:
Primary function: to express meaning, convey messages
DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE:
Information function: communicate factual information
Social function: convey social information (familiarity, respect)
Identifying function: convey information about the identity,
personality and background of the speaker/writer
Emotive function: express psychological emotions and physical
sensations
Aesthetic function: arouse aesthetic sensations by exploiting the
sonic, rhythmic, melodic and imaginative potential of speech
Cognitive function: structure thoughts and facilitate mental
operations
Open-ended & flexible:
Human language can express an infinite number of new and different
meanings by means of a finite set of speech signs.
Symbolic, conventional & arbitrary:
2
, Speech sounds are symbols or signs which stand for something
Arbitrary and conventionalised link between the form of linguistic signs
and their meaning.
Structured, rule-based, complex & hierarchical
The components of language must be structured, both horizontally and
vertically, in specific ways in order to be meaningful.
1.3. English
The English language can be characterized in different ways and from
different perspectives, historical and geographical.
HISTORICAL:
1) The Anglo-Saxon or English Period
2) The Middle English Period
3) The Early Modern English period
4) The Modern English Period
GEOGRAPHICAL -> DIFFERENT DIALECTS
Regional dialects: British English, American English, Cockney, …
Social dialects: Standard English, non-Standard English, working class
English, …
Ethnic dialects: African American English, Jewish English
Registers: formal English, informal English, academic English, …
Part 2: The sounds and pronunciation of English
Chapter 2: Phonetics
2.1. Definitions
= Scientific study of speech sounds (or phones)
Why?
Important for linguistic study
Important for teaching and learning English as a foreign language
Phonetics is divided into three main branches:
Articulatory phonetics: the study of the way speech sounds is produced
Acoustic phonetics: the study of the transmission of speech sounds
3
, Auditory phonetics: the study of the reception of speech sounds
2.2. Phonetic alphabets & symbols
2.2.1. Inadequacies of traditional writing systems
Alphabets: writing systems which make use of visual symbols called letters
1) More or fewer phones in a word than its spelling suggests:
e.g., cough: 5 letters and 3 sounds -> /kɒf/
2) One sound = more than one spelling:
/i:/ = theme, machine, see, sea, Caesar, conceive, niece, happy, …
3) One spelling = more than one pronunciation:
Cough = /kɒf/
Though = /ðɘʊ/
Thorough = /θʌrɘ/
Bough = /baʊ/
Bought = /bɔːt/
Hiccough = /hıkɘp/
2.2.2. Phonetic Alphabets
Strict match between sound and spelling:
1 phonetic symbol = 1 symbol
2.2.3. IPA symbols for RP
Vowel Sounds:
MONOPHTHONGS:
/i:/ = eel, scene, see, sea, feet, me, field
/ɪ/ = ill, sin, him, big, women, guilt
/ʊ/ = pull, foot, put, wood, would, look
/u:/ = pool, food, soon, do, shoe
/e/ = end, sex, get, head, Thames, any
/ə/ = the, about, butter, nation, asleep, colour
/ɜ:/ = earth, her, turn, learn, bird
/ɔ:/ = all, saw, more, caught, four, horse
/æ/ = and, sax, hand, sat, plait
/ʌ/ = undone, sun, son, mother, month, does
/ɑ:/ = are, far, calm, father, heart
/ɒ/ = on, lock, dog, swan, cough, watch
4
Inhoudsopgave
PART 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER 1: LINGUISTICS, LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH......................................................................................................2
PART 2: THE SOUNDS AND PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH..............................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: PHONETICS...........................................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 3: PHONOLOGY.......................................................................................................................................10
PART 3: MORPHOLOGY................................................................................................................................ 14
CHAPTER 4: MORPHEMES, MORPHS & ALLOMORPHS..................................................................................................14
CHAPTER 5: WORDS & WORD CREATION.................................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 6: LEXICAL AND PHRASAL CLASSES..............................................................................................................23
CHAPTER 7: NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES.................................................................................................................25
CHAPTER 8: ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES......................................................................................................31
CHAPTER 9: ADVERBS AND ADVERB PHRASES............................................................................................................33
CHAPTER 10: OTHER LEXICAL CLASSES.....................................................................................................................36
1
,Part 1: Introduction
Chapter 1: Linguistics, language and English
1.1. Linguistics
Linguistics: the scientific study language, including:
Its structure
Its use
Its acquisition
Its development over time
Linguistics -> phonetics, phonology and morphology
1.2. Language
Language -> “natural” and “artificial”
NATURAL: English, French, Italian, British Sign Language, …
ARTIFICIAL: Esperanto, Python, …
Basic features of (natural) language:
Exclusively human:
Language is unique to the human species -> communication is not
language
Sonic & vocal:
Language is primarily sound based
Writing is a secondary, derived manifestation of language
Functional & meaningful:
Primary function: to express meaning, convey messages
DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE:
Information function: communicate factual information
Social function: convey social information (familiarity, respect)
Identifying function: convey information about the identity,
personality and background of the speaker/writer
Emotive function: express psychological emotions and physical
sensations
Aesthetic function: arouse aesthetic sensations by exploiting the
sonic, rhythmic, melodic and imaginative potential of speech
Cognitive function: structure thoughts and facilitate mental
operations
Open-ended & flexible:
Human language can express an infinite number of new and different
meanings by means of a finite set of speech signs.
Symbolic, conventional & arbitrary:
2
, Speech sounds are symbols or signs which stand for something
Arbitrary and conventionalised link between the form of linguistic signs
and their meaning.
Structured, rule-based, complex & hierarchical
The components of language must be structured, both horizontally and
vertically, in specific ways in order to be meaningful.
1.3. English
The English language can be characterized in different ways and from
different perspectives, historical and geographical.
HISTORICAL:
1) The Anglo-Saxon or English Period
2) The Middle English Period
3) The Early Modern English period
4) The Modern English Period
GEOGRAPHICAL -> DIFFERENT DIALECTS
Regional dialects: British English, American English, Cockney, …
Social dialects: Standard English, non-Standard English, working class
English, …
Ethnic dialects: African American English, Jewish English
Registers: formal English, informal English, academic English, …
Part 2: The sounds and pronunciation of English
Chapter 2: Phonetics
2.1. Definitions
= Scientific study of speech sounds (or phones)
Why?
Important for linguistic study
Important for teaching and learning English as a foreign language
Phonetics is divided into three main branches:
Articulatory phonetics: the study of the way speech sounds is produced
Acoustic phonetics: the study of the transmission of speech sounds
3
, Auditory phonetics: the study of the reception of speech sounds
2.2. Phonetic alphabets & symbols
2.2.1. Inadequacies of traditional writing systems
Alphabets: writing systems which make use of visual symbols called letters
1) More or fewer phones in a word than its spelling suggests:
e.g., cough: 5 letters and 3 sounds -> /kɒf/
2) One sound = more than one spelling:
/i:/ = theme, machine, see, sea, Caesar, conceive, niece, happy, …
3) One spelling = more than one pronunciation:
Cough = /kɒf/
Though = /ðɘʊ/
Thorough = /θʌrɘ/
Bough = /baʊ/
Bought = /bɔːt/
Hiccough = /hıkɘp/
2.2.2. Phonetic Alphabets
Strict match between sound and spelling:
1 phonetic symbol = 1 symbol
2.2.3. IPA symbols for RP
Vowel Sounds:
MONOPHTHONGS:
/i:/ = eel, scene, see, sea, feet, me, field
/ɪ/ = ill, sin, him, big, women, guilt
/ʊ/ = pull, foot, put, wood, would, look
/u:/ = pool, food, soon, do, shoe
/e/ = end, sex, get, head, Thames, any
/ə/ = the, about, butter, nation, asleep, colour
/ɜ:/ = earth, her, turn, learn, bird
/ɔ:/ = all, saw, more, caught, four, horse
/æ/ = and, sax, hand, sat, plait
/ʌ/ = undone, sun, son, mother, month, does
/ɑ:/ = are, far, calm, father, heart
/ɒ/ = on, lock, dog, swan, cough, watch
4
