LESSON The Foundations on the Study of Language

1 A. Definition of Language and Views

B. Nature and Characteristics of Language
C. Language Functions
LESSON An Overview on the Study of Linguistics: Branches, Theories, and
2 Approaches
A. Branches of Linguistics
Linguistics Theories and Models
B. Distinctions of Linguistic Approaches
Phonology
A. Understanding the Concept Vowels
LESSON Morphology
3 A. Understanding the Concept
B. Morphological Process
C. Word Formation Process
LESSON Syntax
4 A. Review of the Basics of Syntax
B. Principles of Syntax
C. Structures of Predication
D. Structures of Modification
E. Structures of Coordination
F. Structures of Complementation
LESSON Semantics
5 A. Overview of Semantics
B. Semantic Features and Roles
C. Lexical Relations
Semantic Ambiguity
LESSON Pragmatics
6 A. Overview of Pragmatics
B. Speech Act Theory
CHAPTER 1:
The Foundations on the Study of Language
A. Definition of Language and Views
B. Nature and Characteristics of Language
C. Language Functions

CHAPTER 1: The Foundations on the Study of Language

A. Definition of Language and Views
 Definition of Language: Language can be defined as a complex, rule-governed system of
symbols used by humans to communicate thoughts, emotions, and ideas. It encompasses
both spoken and written forms and varies across cultures and societies.
o Ferdinand de Saussure’s View: Language is a system of signs where each sign is
composed of a signifier (sound or written symbol) and a signified (concept). The
relationship between the two is arbitrary.
 Example: The word “tree” (signifier) and the mental image of a tree (signified)
have no natural connection; different languages have different words for the
same object (e.g., "árbol" in Spanish).
o Chomsky’s View: Noam Chomsky proposed that language is innate to humans
through a Universal Grammar (UG) that underlies all languages. The UG contains a
set of grammatical rules common to all languages, which are activated as children
learn their native language.
B. Nature and Characteristics of Language
1. Arbitrariness: There is no inherent link between the sound or appearance of a word and its
meaning.
o Example: The word "book" has no intrinsic connection to the physical object it
represents.
2. Productivity: Language allows users to generate an infinite number of sentences, including
those never spoken before.
o Example: You can create a sentence like “The blue giraffe danced in the moonlight,”
which has likely never been said before, but it is still understandable.
3. Displacement: Language enables communication about things that are not present in the
immediate environment.
o Example: Humans can talk about historical events or speculate about future
occurrences (e.g., “In 10 years, flying cars might be common”).
4. Cultural Transmission: Language is passed down from one generation to the next, and it
is learned through interaction with others.
o Example: A child raised in a French-speaking environment will learn French,
whereas a child in a Spanish-speaking community will learn Spanish.
C. Language Functions Roman Jakobson outlined six major functions of language, each
associated with a different aspect of communication:
1. Referential: Language used to convey information about the world.
o Example: “The Earth revolves around the sun.”
2. Emotive: Expresses the speaker's emotions or attitudes.
o Example: “I’m really excited about the trip!”
3. Conative: Directed toward the listener, often taking the form of commands or requests.
o Example: “Please close the door.”
4. Phatic: Language used to establish or maintain social relationships.
o Example: “How’s it going?” or “Nice weather today.”
5. Metalinguistic: Language about language, such as discussing grammar or vocabulary.
o Example: “The word ‘run’ can be both a noun and a verb.”
6. Poetic: Focus on the aesthetic qualities of language, as seen in poetry or wordplay.
o Example: "The night is a starry veil draped over the world."
CHAPTER 2:
An Overview on the Study of Linguistics: Branches, Theories, and Approaches
A. Branches of Linguistics
B. Linguistics Theories and Models
C. Distinctions of Linguistic Approaches
Phonology
A. Understanding the Concept Vowels

CHAPTER 2: An Overview of Linguistics

A. Branches of Linguistics
1. Phonetics: The study of the physical sounds of human speech. Phonetics investigates how
sounds are produced (articulatory phonetics), how they are transmitted (acoustic
phonetics), and how they are perceived (auditory phonetics).
o Example: The English sounds /p/ and /b/ differ in voice onset time (the timing of the
vocal cords vibrating).
2. Phonology: The study of the abstract, cognitive aspects of sounds. Phonology examines
how sounds function within a particular language or languages.
o Example: In English, the /p/ in "spin" and "pin" are pronounced differently (aspirated
vs. unaspirated), but both are understood as the same phoneme /p/.
3. Morphology: The study of the structure of words and how they are formed from
morphemes, the smallest units of meaning.
o Example: The word "unhappiness" consists of three morphemes: "un-" (prefix),
"happy" (root), and "-ness" (suffix).
4. Syntax: The study of sentence structure and the rules that govern the formation of
sentences.
o Example: In English, the typical word order for a declarative sentence is Subject-
Verb-Object (SVO), as in “The cat eats the food.”
5. Semantics: The study of meaning in language, focusing on how words, phrases, and
sentences convey meaning.
o Example: The word "bank" can refer to a financial institution or the side of a river,
depending on the context.
6. Pragmatics: The study of how context influences the interpretation of meaning. Pragmatics
looks at the intended meaning behind the words, considering factors like social norms and
speaker intent.
o Example: The sentence “Could you pass the salt?” is understood as a request rather
than a literal question about ability.
B. Linguistic Theories and Models
1. Transformational-Generative Grammar (Chomsky): This theory explains how humans
can produce an infinite number of sentences by transforming basic sentence structures. It
emphasizes the deep structure (underlying meaning) and surface structure (actual spoken
form).
o Example: The sentences “John gave Mary a book” and “A book was given to Mary
by John” have different surface structures but share the same deep structure.
2. Saussurean Structuralism: Ferdinand de Saussure proposed that language is a system of
signs, with each sign consisting of a signifier (sound or written symbol) and a signified
(concept). He emphasized the arbitrary nature of this relationship.
o Example: The word "house" in English and "casa" in Spanish represent the same
concept but use different signs.
3. Functionalist Models: Functionalist theories, such as Halliday's Systemic Functional
Linguistics (SFL), argue that language is shaped by its communicative functions. SFL
emphasizes the role of context and purpose in shaping linguistic structure.
o Example: In a legal document, passive constructions like “the contract was signed”
are used to focus on the action, rather than the person performing it.
C. Distinctions of Linguistic Approaches
1. Synchronic vs. Diachronic Linguistics:
 o Synchronic Linguistics: Studies language at a specific point in time (e.g., modern
English grammar).
o Diachronic Linguistics: Studies language change over time (e.g., the evolution of
English from Old English to Modern English).
2. Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Approaches:
o Descriptive: Describes how language is actually used without imposing rules.
 Example: Describing how people say “ain’t” in some dialects.
o Prescriptive: Provides rules on how language should be used.
 Example: Insisting on the use of “isn’t” instead of “ain’t.”
3. Phonology: Understanding the Concept of Vowels
o Vowels are sounds produced without any significant obstruction of airflow, typically
characterized by the position of the tongue and lips.
 Example: The difference between the vowel sound /i/ in "seat" (high front
vowel) and /ɑ/ in "father" (low back vowel).
CHAPTER 3:
Morphology
A. Understanding the Concept
B. Morphological Process
C. Word Formation Process

CHAPTER 3: Morphology
A. Understanding the Concept
 Morphology: The study of the internal structure of words and how words are formed from
smaller units known as morphemes. Morphemes can be free (able to stand alone) or bound
(must be attached to other morphemes).
o Example: "Cats" consists of "cat" (a free morpheme) and "-s" (a bound morpheme
indicating plural).
B. Morphological Process
1. Affixation: Adding prefixes, suffixes, infixes, or circumfixes to a base word to create new
words or forms.
o Example: In "unhappiness," "un-" is a prefix, and "-ness" is a suffix added to the base
"happy."
2. Reduplication: Repeating all or part of a word to create a new meaning.
o Example: In Tagalog, "bili" means “buy,” and "bibili" means “will buy” (future tense).
3. Suppletion: When one word form is completely replaced by another that is unrelated to the
root.
o Example: "Go" and "went" are different forms of the same verb, but they have no
morphological similarity.
C. Word Formation Process
1. Compounding: Combining two or more words to create a new word.
o Example: "Notebook" (note + book) and "blackboard" (black + board).
2. Blending: Combining parts of two words to create a new word.
o Example: "Brunch" (breakfast + lunch).
3. Back-formation: Creating a new word by removing an affix from an existing word.
o Example: The verb "edit" comes from the noun "editor."
CHAPTER 4:
Syntax
A. Review of the Basics of Syntax
B. Principles of Syntax
C. Structures of Predication
D. Structures of Modification
E. Structures of Coordination
F. Structures of Complementation

CHAPTER 4: Syntax
A. Review of the Basics of Syntax
 Syntax: The study of the rules and principles that govern the structure of sentences. Syntax
focuses on how words combine to form grammatically correct and meaningful sentences.
o Example: “The dog chased the cat” is a syntactically correct sentence in English with
an SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) structure.
B. Principles of Syntax
1. Constituency: Sentences are composed of smaller units called constituents, which can be
words or groups of words that function together.
o Example: In the sentence “The big dog barked loudly,” “The big dog” is a noun
phrase (NP), and “barked loudly” is a verb phrase (VP).
2. Recursion: A property of language that allows for the embedding of phrases within
phrases, leading to potentially infinite sentence structures.
o Example: “The man who saw the woman who was holding a cat walked away”
involves nested relative clauses.
C-F. Structures of Predication, Modification, Coordination, Complementation
1. Predication: The relationship between the subject and the predicate (verb and its
complements) in a sentence.
o Example: In “The teacher explains the lesson,” “explains the lesson” is the predicate,
describing what the subject (teacher) does.
2. Modification: The addition of descriptive elements, such as adjectives and adverbs, to a
sentence.
o Example: In “The extremely tired student slept soundly,” “extremely” modifies “tired,”
and “soundly” modifies “slept.”
3. Coordination: Joining two or more sentences or clauses of equal importance using
conjunctions like "and," "but," or "or."
o Example: “She likes tea, but he prefers coffee.”
4. Complementation: A complement completes the meaning of a sentence or a phrase.
o Example: In “She seems happy,” “happy” is the complement of the verb “seems.”
CHAPTER 5:
Semantics
A. Overview of Semantics
B. Semantic Features and Roles
C. Lexical Relations
D. Semantic Ambiguity

CHAPTER 5: Semantics
A. Overview of Semantics
 Semantics: The study of meaning in language. It examines how words, phrases, and
sentences convey meaning, and how those meanings are interpreted by speakers and
listeners.
B. Semantic Features and Roles
1. Agent: The doer of the action.
o Example: In “John kicked the ball,” John is the agent.
2. Theme: The entity affected by the action.
o Example: The ball is the theme in the same sentence.
3. Experiencer: The one who perceives or experiences the action.
o Example: In “Mary heard the music,” Mary is the experiencer.
4. Goal: The destination or endpoint of the action.
o Example: In “She sent the letter to New York,” New York is the goal.
C. Lexical Relations
1. Synonymy: Words with similar meanings.
o Example: “Big” and “large.”
2. Antonymy: Words with opposite meanings.
o Example: “Hot” and “cold.”
3. Hyponymy: A relationship where one word is a more specific instance of a broader
category.
o Example: “Rose” is a hyponym of “flower.”
4. Polysemy: When a word has multiple related meanings.
o Example: “Head” can refer to a part of the body, the leader of an organization, or the
top of something.
D. Semantic Ambiguity
 Semantic ambiguity arises when a word, phrase, or sentence has more than one possible
meaning.
o Example: “I saw her duck” can mean either that you saw a bird (her pet duck) or that
you saw her lower her head.
CHAPTER 6:
Pragmatics
A. Overview of Pragmatics
B. Speech Act Theory

CHAPTER 6: Pragmatics
A. Overview of Pragmatics
 Pragmatics: The study of how context influences the interpretation of meaning. It focuses
on the social aspects of language and how speakers use language to achieve
communicative goals.
B. Speech Act Theory John Searle’s Speech Act Theory divides speech acts into three
components:
1. Locutionary Act: The literal meaning of the utterance.
o Example: “It’s cold in here” (stating a fact).
2. Illocutionary Act: The intention behind the utterance.
o Example: “It’s cold in here” (intended as a request to close the window).
3. Perlocutionary Act: The effect the utterance has on the listener.
o Example: The listener responds by closing the window.