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The document discusses the history and role of English in South Africa, highlighting its prominence due to colonialism and education. It covers various aspects of language, including bilingualism, standard vs. non-standard English, and the importance of understanding syntax, sentence structure, and grammar rules. Additionally, it addresses the impact of identity, region, and social factors on language use and the practical applications of language learning in diverse classrooms.

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5 views

Lecture notes

The document discusses the history and role of English in South Africa, highlighting its prominence due to colonialism and education. It covers various aspects of language, including bilingualism, standard vs. non-standard English, and the importance of understanding syntax, sentence structure, and grammar rules. Additionally, it addresses the impact of identity, region, and social factors on language use and the practical applications of language learning in diverse classrooms.

Uploaded by

monique020304
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture Notes from Slides

History & role of English in SA


• English became prominent due to colon colonialism and missionary education systems
• South African schools mainly use English as the language of teaching and learning.

Bilingualism
1. Subtractive bilingualism- replaces a learner’s original language with English
2. Additive bilingualism: encourages the development of English alongside the learner’s home language promoting multilingual engagement

Standard vs. Non-Standard English


• Standard English is typically used in formal context while non-standard. English includes slang, jogging
• Informal language using various social and professional settings.
• How we speak in writing in English various depends on the context

Slang & Jargon


• Slang is influenced by social media, culture and regional dialects
• Jargon refers to the specific language used within professional communities, which can be inaccessible to outsiders

Language Study Approaches


• Prescriptive language: focuses on rules and correctness, as traditionally taught in classrooms
• Descriptive language: observes and records how language is used in real life settings, including dialects and slang

Code Switching
• Encouraged in education to help learners navigate between different forms of English based on context
Accent vs. Dialect
• Accent: refers to pronunciation unique to a specific regional group, but genuinely intelligible to others
• Dialect: include unique words and structures used within specific communities often unintelligible to outsiders

Practical Applications
Students are encouraged to think about their own language experiences, reflect on how they would apply additive or subtractive language
policies in teaching, and develop strategies to facilitate language learning in diverse classrooms

Idiolect
• Refers to the unique way an individual speaks, influenced by factors such as socioeconomic status, education, geographic location, and cultural
context
• Code switching is a common phenomenon where individuals switch between languages or accents depending on the situation and the people
they are speaking with

Identity & idiolect


• Identity shaped by various factors, including geographic, ethnic, personal national and social identities these elements influence an individual’s
way of speaking
• Social solidarity and social distance also affect how people align or distance themselves from specific social groups

Region, Gender, age & social Position Factors that affect idiolect

• Speech patterns, very bad region, gender, and age with regional accents and primary languages influencing pronunciation in South Africa
• Gender related speech differences of an include stereotypes about men and women speech, such as emotive, language, and slang use
• Lexical choices. Also change with age and social position can influence access to different linguistic opportunities.

Phonology & phonetics


• Phonetics is the study of science, used in language, focusing on health sounds are produced and perceived
• Phonology deals with the abstract understanding of how sounds function within a language, including patterns and rules for sound
combinations
What is syntax
Study of a sentence structure and how sentences are organized in different languages
• English follows an SVO structure while other languages like Japanese use an SOV structure
S- subject
O- object
V. Verb

Phrases, clauses & Sentences


• Phrase: a group of words that form part of a meaning, but like a subject or object
• Clause: includes a subject and a verb, but lacks a complete idea (object)
• Sentence: concepts of a subject, verb and object and expresses a complete thought

Subjects & predicates


• Subject: part of the sentence that performs the action (usually placed before the verb)
• Predicate: includes the verb, object, and other sentence elements like adjectives & adverbs

Verbs
• Action words
• Can be categorized into finite (active) and infinitive (preceded by “to” and not acting)

Nouns
• Categorized into different types, such as proper nouns, common nouns, collective nouns, abstract nouns, and uncountable nouns

Pronouns
Pronoun replace nouns in sentences

Adjectives
• Adjectives describe nouns
• There’s a rule about the order: opinion, size age, shape, Cultural origin, material, and purpose
Prepositions & conjunctions
• Prepositions describe the position of something
• Conjunctions join sentences together

Determiners
• Reflect the quantity of quality of an object
• They differ, depending on whether the noun is countable or uncountable
• Eg: Few, many, some

Adverbs
• Describe verbs
• Come in three types: adverbs of time, manner and place

Articles
• A and An are indefinite articles, while the is a definite article used to specify a particular object

Sentence types
• Classified into statements, questions, exclamations, and commands based on the purpose and structure

Sentence classifications
• Simple sentences have one independent clause
• Complex and compound sentences contain a mix of independent and subordinate clauses
• Other examples: Compound-complex, loose, periodic, balanced, and mixed sentences

Basic punctuation marks


1. Full stop/ periods: indicate end of sentence
2. Question marks: end sentences that pose questions
3. Exclamation marks: emphasize excitement, anger or volume
Commas (,)
Used for various purposes, including:
• separating introductory phrases
• Items in a list
• Clauses in complex sentences
Comma splice: a common error where a comma is used incorrectly between independent clauses, instead of a conjunction or other punctuation
Overuse and underuse: should be used thoughtfully to enhance clarity without being overused

Apostrophes (‘)
Used to:
• Show possession
• Form contractions
• Indicate omission
• Creat verbs from nouns (SMS’D)

Colons (:)
Used to introduce:
• Lists
• Explanations
• Conclusions
• Direct speech
Can substitute conjunctions and are often used to link contrasting statements

Semi colons (;)


• Provide a pause longer than a comma but weaker than a full stop
• Used to link independent clauses or clarify complex lists

Brackets ()
• non-essential information, narrative comments or clarifications within a sentence
Dashes (-)
Used for:
• Emphasis
• Add afterthoughts or comments
• Alternative to parenthesis or colons

Ellipses (…)
• Represent omitted words or trailing thoughts

Abbreviations
• Shortened forms of words, often ending in a period
• Acronyms (AIDS)
• Initialisms (ATM)

Introduction to Tenses:
• Tenses describe when actions occur in the narrative, such as the past, present, future, and conditional tenses.
• There are 16 official tenses in English, divided into Simple, Continuous, Perfect, and Perfect Continuous forms, used with Past, Present,
Future, and Conditional times.

The Tense Table


A table is provided to demonstrate how tenses are formed using the verb “write” (e.g., “wrote,” “was writing,” “had written,” “will write”).

Examples of Tenses:
• Past Tense: Covers simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous examples, such as “The students wrote a test” (past simple) or “The
writer had been writing” (past perfect continuous).
• Present Tense: Includes examples like “The man writes” (present simple) and “She has been writing” (present perfect continuous).
• Future Tense: Uses examples such as “I will write” (future simple) and “She will have been writing” (future perfect continuous).
• Conditional Tense: Shows how conditional forms are used in scenarios, like “The mayor would write” (conditional simple) or “This exam would
have been written” (conditional perfect continuous).
Usage of Tenses in Context:
• Explains when to use different tenses for various actions, such as the present tense for unchanging actions, repeated actions, or
widespread truths (e.g., “The covid vaccine is helping”).
• Past tense is used to describe actions completed in the past, while the future tense describes actions that will occur later.

Present Perfect vs. Past Simple:


• Present perfect is used for ongoing actions or actions that just ended
• Past simple is used when giving specific details of when or where something occurred (e.g., “I have known” vs. “I knew”).

Present Simple vs. Present Continuous:


• Present simple is used for repeated or habitual actions
• Present continuous is used for actions happening right now.

Coherency in Sentences and Paragraphs:


• Ensures that tense consistency is maintained within a sentence or paragraph to avoid confusion for the reader.

Modal Verbs:
Explains modal verbs (should, would, have, had) and how they are used in combination with various tenses.

Participles and Irregular Verbs:


• Describes how participles work with auxiliary verbs and provides examples of irregular verbs (e.g., “Awake – Awoke – Awoken”).

Rules of Concord (Subject-Verb Agreement):


• Outlines how verbs must agree with their subjects in terms of number (singular/plural) and includes rules for handling subjects joined by
“and,” indefinite pronouns, collective nouns, and constructions using “either/or” or “neither/nor.”

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