Learning Concepts /: Craft of Letters'. It Is An Apt Description

LEARNING CONCEPTS
\ A. WHAT IS GRAMMAR?
The word grammar comes from the Greek, meaning ‘craft of letters’. It is an apt description.
In any language, grammar is:
1. The systematic study and description of language
2. A set of rules and examples dealing with the sentence pattern and word structures of
language.
B. WHAT ARE THE MAIN TYPES OF GRAMMAR?
DESCRIPTIVE
PRESCRIPTIVE GENERATIVE
COMPARATIVE TRANSFORMATIVE
UNIVERSAL TRADITIONAL
1. DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR
Refers to the structure of language as it’s actually used by the speakers and writers. "Descriptive
grammars do not give advice: They detail the ways in which native speakers use their language. A
descriptive grammar is a survey of a language. For any living language, a descriptive grammar from
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COURSE TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
SUBJECT TEACHER: Karemina D. Lanzuela, LPT
one century will differ from a descriptive grammar of the next century because the language will have
changed."—From In "An Introduction to Language" by Kirk Hazen
"Descriptive grammar is the basis for dictionaries, which record changes
in vocabulary and usage, and for the field of linguistics, which aims at describing languages and
investigating the nature of language."—From "Bad Language" by Edwin L. Battistella.
2. PRESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR
Refers to the structure of language as certain people think it should be used. A person who
dictates how people should write or speak is called a prescriptivist or a prescriptive grammarian.
According to linguists Ilse Depraetere and Chad Langford, "A prescriptive grammar is one that gives
hard and fast rules about what is right (or grammatical) and what is wrong (or ungrammatical), often
with advice about what not to say but with little explanation" (Advanced English Grammar: A Linguistic
Approach, 2012).
The prescriptive grammarians went out of their way to invent as many rules as possible which
might distinguish polite from impolite speech. They didn't find very many--just a few dozen, a tiny
number compared with all the thousands of rules of grammar that operate in English. But these rules
were propounded with maximum authority and severity, and given plausibility by the claim that they
were going to help people to be clear and precise. As a result, generations of schoolchildren would be
taught them, and confused by them.
3. COMPARATIVE GRAMMAR
The analysis of comparison of grammatical structure of related languages. It is the name of the
grammar used when comparing two things. Comparative grammar, like the comparative work carried
out by nineteenth-century grammarians, is concerned with establishing [an] explanatory basis for the
relationships between languages. The work of the nineteenth century focused on relationships between
languages and groups of languages primarily in terms of a common ancestry. It assumed a view
of linguistic change as by and large systematic and lawful (rule governed) and, on the basis of this
assumption, attempted to explain the relationship between languages in terms of a common ancestor
(often a hypothetical one for which there was no actual evidence in the historical record).
Comparative grammar, in contrast, is significantly broader in scope. It is concerned with a
theory of grammar that is postulated to be an innate component of the human mind/brain, a faculty of
language that provides an explanatory basis for how a human being can acquire a first language (in
fact, any human language he or she is exposed to). In this way, the theory of grammar is a theory of
human language and hence establishes the relationship among all languages--not just those that
happen to be related by historical accident (for instance, via common ancestry.)
4. GENERATIVE GRAMMAR
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The grammar that stored in the brain that allow speakers to produce language that other
speakers understand. Generative grammar is a theory of grammar, first developed by Noam Chomsky
in the 1950s, that is based on the idea that all humans have an innate language capacity. Linguists
who study generative grammar are not interested in prescriptive rules; rather, they are interested in
uncovering the foundational principals that guide all language production.
Generative grammar accepts as a basic premise that native speakers of a language will find
certain sentences grammatical or ungrammatical and that these judgments give insight into the rules
governing the use of that language.
5. TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR
The term traditional grammar refers to the collection of prescriptive rules and concepts about
the structure of language that is commonly taught in schools. Traditional English grammar, also
referred to as school grammar, is largely based on the principles of Latin grammar, not on
modern linguistic research in English.
Traditional grammar defines what is and is not correct in the English language, not accounting
for culture or modernizing in favor of maintaining tradition. Because it is fairly rigid and rooted in the
ways of the past, traditional grammar is often considered outdated and regularly criticized by experts.
Even so, many children learn this proper, historical form of grammar today.
6. TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR
Transformational grammar, also called Transformational-generative Grammar, a system

of language analysis that recognizes the relationship among the various elements of a sentence and
among the possible sentences of a language and uses processes or rules (some of which are called
transformations) to express these relationships. For example, transformational grammar relates the
active sentence “John read the book” with its corresponding passive, “The book was read by John.”
The statement “George saw Mary” is related to the corresponding questions, “Whom [or who] did
George see?” and “Who saw Mary?” Although sets such as these active and passive sentences appear
to be very different on the surface (i.e., in such things as word order), a transformational grammar tries
to show that in the “underlying structure” (i.e., in their deeper relations to one another), the sentences
are very similar.
Transformational grammar assigns a “deep structure” and a “surface structure” to show the
relationship of such sentences. Thus, “I know a man who flies planes” can be considered the surface
form of a deep structure approximately like “I know a man. The man flies airplanes.” The notion of deep
structure can be especially helpful in explaining ambiguous utterances; e.g., “Flying airplanes can be
dangerous” may have a deep structure, or meaning, like “Airplanes can be dangerous when they fly”
or “To fly airplanes can be dangerous.”
7. UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR
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Universal grammar, theory proposing that humans possess innate faculties related to the
acquisition of language. The definition of universal grammar has evolved considerably since first it was
postulated and, moreover, since the 1940s, when it became a specific object of modern linguistic
research. It is associated with work in generative grammar, and it is based on the idea that certain
aspects of syntactic structure are universal. Universal grammar consists of a set of atomic grammatical
categories and relations that are the building blocks of the particular grammars of all human languages,
over which syntactic structures and constraints on those structures are defined.
A universal grammar would suggest that all languages possess the same set of categories and
relations and that in order to communicate through language, speakers make infinite use of finite
means, an idea that Wilhelm von Humboldt suggested in the 1830s. From this perspective, a grammar
must contain a finite system of rules that generates infinitely many deep and surface structures,
appropriately related. It must also contain rules that relate these abstract structures to certain
representations of sound and meaning—representations that, presumably, are constituted of elements
that belong to universal phonetics and universal semantics, respectively.
C. WHAT ARE THE GRAMMATICAL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE?
LINGUISTICS- The study of language that concerns itself with all the aspects of how people
use the language and what they must know in order to do so.
PHONETICS
PRAGMATICS MORPHOLOGY
SYNTAX SEMANTICS
There are five grammatical aspects of language or branches of Linguistics namely:
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1. PHONETICS- The study of speech sounds, how they are produced in the vocal tract, their
physical properties, and how they are perceived.
2. PHONOLOGY- The study if the sound system of the language, how the particular sounds used
in each language form an integrated system for encoding information and how much systems
differ from one language to another.
3. MORPHOLOGY- The study of the ways in which words are constructed out of smaller units that
have a meaning and grammatical function.
4. SYNTAX- The study of meaning, how the word and sentences are related to the objects they
refer to and the situations describe.
5. PRAGMATICS- The study of how the meaning conveyed on aspects of the concept in which it
is used such as the time, place, social relationships, between speaker and hearer, and the
speaker’s assumptions about the hearer’s beliefs.
D. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE AND

LINGUISTIC PERFORMANCE?
.
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
Knowledge of a human language presented by the mental grammar that accounts for
speaker’s linguistic ability and creativity. For the most part linguistic competence is unconscious
knowledge while,
LINGUISTIC PERFORMANCE
The use of linguistic competence in the production and comprehension of language;
behaviour as distinguished from linguistic know.
E. WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE OF THE INNATENESS OF LANGUAGE?
SIGN LANGUAGE of the deaf communities provides some of the best evidence to support the
notion that humans are born with the ability to acquire language, and that all languages are governed
by the same universal properties. Because deaf children are unable to hear speech, they do not require
spoken languages as hearing children do. However, deaf children are exposed to sigh languages
acquire them just as hearing children acquire spoken languages.
A. WHAT IS SIGN LANGUAGE?
SIGN LANGUAGE, any means of communication through bodily movements, especially of the
hands and arms, used when spoken communication is impossible or not desirable. It is a conventional
communication which is a part of non-verbal communication. Sign language is not the only way deaf
people can use gestures or make signs with their hands to communicate. Sign language - whichever
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one - is usually preferential to other forms of gesture based communication systems because it is a
language as a whole. It has grammar, structure, syntax and rules. However, for a variety of reasons
people may not want to or indeed be able to learn a whole language based around signing.
B. TYPES OF SIGN LANGUAGE
1. Sign Supported English or SSE

The preferred signing system for hearing people to communicate with the deaf.
Who uses Sign Supported Sign English?
There are a few scenarios where SSE can be useful:
• People Who Are Learning Sign Languages or Wants to Learn the Basic Phrases – If you are
someone like me and you are learning or you want to learn some basic phrases in sign
language, you can do that if you have good vocabulary.
• For Those Working in Educational Sector – if you are a teacher and you happen to have a deaf
student in your class, the first thing I would do is to find out what kind of support they really
need. But in other cases, learning a few signs and vocabularies will enable you to
communicate with SSE.
• Used With Those Who Have Speech or Language Difficulties – if a person has learning
disabilities, you may find it easier to communicate with SSE combined with other forms of
communications sign as voice, hand gestures and demonstrations.
• When signing to popular music – when you see covers of popular music done using the
vocabularies of British Sign Language, more of than not, they are using SSE. As Wayne
Barrow, who runs his own sign-singing academy, explained in a recent podcast, it is a better
way and more accurate of expressing that song like how the artist intended it.
2. American Sigh Language or ASL
It is a complete , complex language that includes hand movements, including facial expressions
and postures of the body. It is the most common used sign language in United States. American Sign
Language (ASL) is a visual language. With signing, the brain processes linguistic information through
the eyes. The shape, placement, and movement of the hands, as well as facial expressions and body
movements, all play important parts in conveying information.
Sign language is not a universal language — each country has its own sign language, and
regions have dialects, much like the many languages spoken all over the world. Like any spoken
language, ASL is a language with its own unique rules of grammar and syntax. Like all languages, ASL
is a living language that grows and changes over time.
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ASL is used predominantly in the United States and in many parts of Canada. ASL is accepted
by many high schools, colleges, and universities in fulfillment of modern and “foreign” language
academic degree requirements across the United States.
EXAMPLE:
(WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Raa0vBXA8OQ)
3. British Sign Language
Its s a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language of
some deaf people in the UK. There are 125,000 deaf adults in the UK who use BSL, plus an
estimated 20,000 children. In 2011, 15,000 people living in England and Wales reported themselves
using BSL as their main language. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the
hands, body, face, and head. Many thousands of people who are not deaf also use BSL, as hearing
relatives of deaf people, sign language interpreters or as a result of other contact with the British deaf
community.
EXAMPLE:
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4. Finger Spelling
Finger spelling, also known as dactylology is manual representation of written letters

according to manual alphabets which in turn are based on the standard alphabets. Representation of
the letters with hand movements is a part of sign language of the deaf communities worldwide. British
Sign Language (BSL) uses the so-called two-handed alphabet which like its name suggests, involves
the use of both hands to represent letters and numbers. Some sign languages such as American Sign
Language (ASL), however, use one-handed alphabet.
When Finger Spelling is Used?
Finger spelling is most often used to spell names of people, places, books, film titles, products
and other words for which no sign exists. But it can also be used for spelling out words for which the
person does not know the sign. Spelling words with hand movements can also be used to emphasise
or clarify a particular sign or word which is a common practice in education of sign language. Lastly,
finger spelling can be a part of the sign language as such. For example, some signs start by finger
spelling of the first letter which is followed moving hands or making other gesture.
Why Finger Spelling is Not the Main Method of Communication of the Deaf?
To be able to finger spell words, you need to remember only 26 signs as opposed to hundreds
of signs that often do not evoke an association with a spoken equivalent. Theoretically, it would
therefore be easier to use finger spelling to communicate, especially for the hearing people. The use
of hand movements to spell out words indeed serves as a bridge between the spoken language and
the language of the deaf. But finger spelling cannot be used as a substitute for sign language. It can be
used to spell out words the way they are written in the spoken language only in the above mentioned
situations.
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Finger spelling cannot be used as the main method of communication of the deaf for two
reasons. Firstly, it is not practical for communication because it would simply take too much time to
finger spell a few sentences. Finger spelling is an important part of sign language of the deaf worldwide
but the use of hand movements to communicate signs rather than letters is by far more effective. And
secondly, using finger spelling alone would also increase the risk of misunderstanding because by the
time you would complete a sentence, letter by letter, the other person may forget or misinterpret
particular words and misinterpret the communicated information.
EXAMPLE:
5. Sign English or SE
It is used to help with reading and writing and has important signs to teach grammar. It has
one sign to present each word into English Language but is not a language like BSL.
COMPARISON OF Filipino Sign Language (FSL) and American Sign

Language (ASL)
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F. DOES ANIMALS HAVE LANGUAGE?
ANIMAL LANGUAGE is the modeling of human language in animal systems. While the term is
widely used, most researchers agree that they are not as complex or expressive as the
human language. They argue that there are significant differences separating human language from
animal communication even at its most complex, and that the underlying principles are not related.
Other researchers argue that an evolutionary continuum exists between the communication
methods these animals use and human language. There is a general consensus that human language
is more complex than communication between animals
These are the properties of human language that are argued to separate it from animal communication:
• 'Arbitrariness:' There is no rational relationship between a sound or sign and its meaning (There
is nothing "housy" about a house.)
• 'Cultural transmission:' Language is passed from one language user to the next, consciously or
unconsciously.
• 'Discreteness:' Language is composed of discrete units that are used in combination to create
meaning.
• 'Displacement:' Languages can be used to communicate ideas about things that are not in the
immediate vicinity either spatially or temporally.
• 'Duality:' Language works on two levels at once, a surface level and a semantic (meaningful)
level.
• 'Metalinguistics:' Ability to discuss language itself.
• 'Productivity:' A finite number of units can be used to create an infinite number of utterances.
The most studied examples of animal languages are:
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1.Bee dance - used to communicate direction of food source in many species of bees.
(WATCH: http://bit.ly/1T2BVUi)
2.Bird songs - songbirds can be very articulate. African Grey Parrots are famous for their ability to mimic human
language, and at least one specimen, Alex, appeared able to answer a number of simple questions about objects he was
presented with. Parrots, hummingbirds and songbirds- display vocal learning patterns.
(WATCH: http://bit.ly/BBCEarthSub)
3.Whale songs -Two groups of whales, the Humpback Whale and the subspecies of Blue Whale found in the Indian
Ocean, are known to produce the repetitious sounds at varying frequencies known as whale song. Male Humpback
Whales perform these vocalizations only during the mating season, and so it is surmised the purpose of songs is to aid
sexual selection. Humpbacks also make a sound called the feeding call. This is a long sound (5 to 10 s duration) of near
constant frequency. Humpbacks generally feed cooperatively by gathering in groups, swimming underneath shoals of
fish and all lunging up vertically through the fish and out of the water together. Prior to these lunges, whales make their
feeding call. The exact purpose of the call is not known, but research suggests that fish react to it. When the sound was
played back to them, a group of herring responded to the sound by moving away from the call, even though no whale was
present.
(Watch: http://soundcloud.com/iwhales)
4.Prairie dog -Slobodchikoff studied prairie dog communication and made the following discoveries. His
current findings are that prairie dogs have:
• different alarm calls for different species of predators;

• different escape behaviors for different species of predators;
• transmission of semantic information, in that playbacks of alarm calls in the absence of predators
lead to escape behaviors that are appropriate to the type of predator which elicited the alarm
calls;
• alarm calls containing descriptive information about the general size, color, and speed of travel
of the predator.
(Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdLvQhMcaTk)
5.Caribbean Reef Squid -have been shown to communicate using a variety of color, shape, and
texture changes. Squid are capable of rapid changes in skin color and pattern through nervous control
of chromatophores.[5] In addition to camouflage and appearing larger in the face of a threat, squids
use color, patterns, and flashing to communicate with one another in various courtship rituals.
Caribbean Reef Squid can send one message via color patterns to a squid on their right, while they
send another message to a squid on their left.
( WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZhILmMhu34)
G. WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
Language, a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of

which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves.
The functions of language include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative
expression, and emotional release.
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H. HOW AND WHEN DID LANGUAGE?
?ORIGINATE?
Most of the Western Linguists and Philosophers:
Believe
✓ There was a time when people didn’t have the ability to talk.
✓ Humans developed language between 100,000 and 50, 000 years ago.
✓ There is no physical evidence about when and how of language in humans emerged.
✓ All what is said in this regard is a matter of speculation.
SPECULATIONS ARE FROM FOUR DIFFERENT

SOURCES
PHYSICAL
NATURAL SOUND GENETIC DIVINE
ADAPTATION
SOURCE SOURCE SOURCE
FORCE
1. NATURAL SOUND
SOURCE
✓ The Bow-Wow Theory
According to this theory, language began when our ancestors started imitating the natural
sounds around them. The first speech was onomatopoeic—marked by echoic words such
as moo, meow, splash, cuckoo, and bang.
✓ The Ding-Dong Theory

This theory, favored by Plato and Pythagoras, maintains that speech arose in response
to the essential qualities of objects in the environment. The original sounds people made were
supposedly in harmony with the world around them.
✓ The Pooh-Pooh Theory

This theory holds that speech began with interjections—spontaneous cries of pain
("Ouch!"), surprise ("Oh!"), and other emotions ("Yabba dabba do!").
✓ The Yo-He-Ho Theory

According to this theory, language evolved from the grunts, groans, and snorts evoked
by heavy physical labor.
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2. GENETIC FORCE
✓ The reasons why physical adaptation takes place in human and why deaf and dumb can be
fluent sign language users is answered by supporters of human offspring are born with
special capacity for language.
3. PHYSICAL ADAPTATION
✓ Human FORCE
teeth are upright /t,v/
✓ The lips are made to intricate muscles /p,b/
✓ Human larynx (voice box and resonators)
✓ Human Brain (left hemisphere)
✓
4. DIVINE SOURCES
✓ Hinduism: Saraswati (Sarasvati), Brahma’s wife, has given language to humans as a gift.
✓ Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-He taught Adam the names of all things, then He placed
them before the angels, and said: “Tell me the names of these if ye are right.”
TYPES OF LANGUAGE
1. ARGOT
An argot is a secret language used by various groups—including, but not limited to, thieves and
other criminals—to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. The term argot is
also used to refer to the informal specialized vocabulary from a particular field of study, hobby, job,
sport, etc. The author Victor Hugo was one of the first to research argot extensively. He describes it in
his 1862 novel Les Misérables as the language of the dark; at one point, he says, "What is argot;
properly speaking? Argot is the language of misery." The earliest known record of argot was in a 1628
document.
The word was probably derived from the contemporary name, les argotiers, given to a group of
thieves at that time. Under the strictest definition, an argot is a proper language, with its own grammar
and style. But, such complete secret languages are rare, because the speakers usually have some
public language in common, on which the argot is largely based. Argots are mainly versions of other
languages with a part of its vocabulary replaced by words unknown to the larger public. For example,
the term is used to describe systems such as verlan and louchébem, which retain French syntax and
apply transformations only to individual words. Such systems are examples of argots à clef, or "coded
argots."
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EXAMPLE:
2. CREOLE
When different groups of people want to open relations with each other, language can be as
tremendous an obstacle as geography or distance. Typically, the initial contact is handled through sign
language and a lot of patience. After enough contact, the groups begin to use similar terms to
communicate with one another. One group's word for 'wool' might be used, while the other group's word
for 'oats' might be used, especially if those commodities are being traded. The two languages that
combine to form a pidgin are referred to as parent languages.
With enough exposure, this exchange of language forms what is known as a pidgin, or trade
language. A pidgin (pronounced like 'pigeon') is a form of language with limited vocabulary, useful for
trade and other practical matters. Pidgins are rarely used outside specific situations and the vocabulary
is geared toward concepts like trade goods, amounts, and other relevant information. Discussing more
in-depth things like philosophy or emotions are difficult or even impossible with such a limited
vocabulary.
EXAMPLE:
3.
DIALECT
A dialect is a way of speaking based on geographical. It is a form of the language that is spoken in a
particular part of the country or by a particular group of people. There are many different dialects of
English and they have different words and grammar. Most learners of English learn the standard
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dialects of the language. A dialect is not the same as an accent. An accent refers to the way we
pronounce words and the standard dialect of a language can be spoken with different accents.
EXAMPLE:
4.
JARGON
Jargon refers to the specialized language of a professional or occupational group. While this
language is often useful or necessary for those within the group, it is usually meaningless to outsiders.
Some professions have so much jargon of their own that it has its own name; for example, lawyers
use legalese, while academics use academese. Jargon is also sometimes known as lingo or argot. A
passage of text that is full of jargon is said to be jargony. Jargon is the complex language used by
experts in a certain discipline or field. This language often helps experts communicate with clarity and
precision. It is different from slang, which is the casual language used by a particular group of people.
Critics of jargon believe such language does more to obscure than clarify; they argue that most jargon
can be replaced with simple, direct language without sacrificing meaning.
EXAMPLE:
5. LINGO
Lingo is language or vocabulary that is specific to a certain subject, group of people, or region;
including slang and jargon. Sometimes people use the word lingo to refer to a foreign language, or,
when they mean that certain language is foreign to them—it is known to one group and unknown to
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people outside of it. For instance, an elderly man hears some teenage boys talking about their “kicks”
while showing each other their new shoes, and he might say, “I can’t understand the lingo of young
kids today!”
EXAMPLE:
6. LINGUA FRANCA
A lingua franca (pronounced LING-wa FRAN-ka) is a language or mixture of languages used

as a medium of communication by people whose native languages are different. It is from the Italian,
"language" + "Frankish" and also known as a trade language, contact language, international language,
and global language. The term English as a lingua franca (ELF) refers to the teaching, learning, and
use of the English language as a common means of communication for speakers of different native
languages.
Where a language is widely used over a relatively large geographical area as a language of
wider communication, it is known as a lingua franca—a common language but one which is native
only to some of its speakers. The term 'lingua franca' itself is an extension of the use of the name of
the original 'Lingua Franca,' a Medieval trading pidgin used in the Mediterranean region.
EXAMPLE:
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7. PATOIS
Patois refers loosely to a nonstandard language such as a creole, a dialect, or a pidgin,

with a connotation of the speakers’ social inferiority to those who speak the standard language.
EXAMPLE:
8.
PIDGIN
In linguistics, a pidgin (pronounced PIDG-in) is a simplified form of speech formed out of one or
more existing languages and used as a lingua franca by people who have no other language in
common. Also known as a pidgin language or an auxiliary language. English pidgins include Nigerian
Pidgin English, Chinese Pidgin English, Hawaiian Pidgin English, Queensland Kanaka English, and
Bislama (one of the official languages of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu).
"A pidgin," says R.L. Trask and Peter Stockwell, "is nobody's mother tongue, and it is not a real
language at all: it has no elaborate grammar, it is very limited in what it can convey, and different people
speak it differently. Still, for simple purposes, it does work, and often everybody in the area learns to
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handle it" (Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts, 2007). A simplified language arising from the
efforts of people speaking different languages to communicate is a pidgin. These languages generally
develop to facilitate trade between people without a common language. In time, pidgins often evolve
into creoles.
EXAMPLE:
9. SLANG
A vocabulary of terms (at least initially) employed in a specific subculture is slang. Slang terms,
either invented words or those whose meanings are adapted to new senses, develop out of a
subculture’s desire to disguise — or exclude others from — their conversations.
Slang, unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in
a new way. It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. Its
colorful metaphors are generally directed at respectability, and it is this succinct, sometimes witty,
frequently impertinent social criticism that gives slang its characteristic flavor. Slang, then, includes not
just words but words used in a special way in a certain social context.
EXAMPLE:
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10. VERNACULAR
A vernacular is a native language or dialect, as opposed to another tongue also in use, such
as Spanish, French, or Italian and their dialects as compared to their mother language, Latin.
Alternatively, a vernacular is a dialect itself as compared to a standard language (though it should be
remembered that a standard language is simply a dialect or combination of dialects that has come to
predominate).
EXAMPLE:
11. COLLOQUIAL
The word “colloquial” comes from the Latin colloquium, which means a “conference” or
“conversation.” As a literary device, colloquialism refers to the usage of informal or everyday language
in literature. Colloquial is generally geographic in nature, in that a colloquial expression often belongs
to a regional or local dialect. They can be words, phrases, or aphorisms (see below for examples).
Native speakers of a language understand and use colloquialisms without realizing it, while non-native
speakers may find colloquial expressions hard to translate. This is because many colloquialisms are
not literal usages of words, but instead idiomatic or metaphorical sayings.
EXAMPLE:
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FIVE THEORIES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
.
1. Daniel Everett’s Theory: Language Scratches the Communicative Itch
Picking up and using a language is something, inventing it from scratch is a whole another thing.
Here come the homo Erectus! The language phenomenon may not have started with us, homo
sapiens. According to linguist Daniel Everett, nearly two million years have passed since “homo
Erectus” first started uttering meaningful sounds. Homo erectus is considered as the first human
species, which also includes homo sapiens and Neanderthals. These early hominins had big brains,
walked upright, and were the first gatherer-hunters. They traveled in groups across the islands, and the
ocean couldn’t get in their way. The Erectus needed language because they had to communicate more
complex ideas than just pointing to a mammoth to alert the hunting party.
2. Chomsky’s Nativist Linguistic Theory: Universal

Grammar
Evertt’s work suggests that language is a social tool that humans developed to communicate
and share knowledge to solve problems. Linguist Noam Chomsky, however, thinks language
is innate. The nativist linguistic theory postulates that every human being is born with innate
language ability. Pioneered by Chomsky, this theory suggests that a human baby’s brain comes to the
world pre-equipped with language-learning systems.
3.B.F. Skinner Behaviorist Theory
It’s American behaviorist and psychologist B.F. Skinner who developed the behaviorist theory
of language acquisition. This theory suggests that learning a language is much like learning any new
skill through observation, imitation, repetition, errors, rewards, and punishments. Or what Skinner
calls Operant Conditioning. Behavior theorists posit that language development is a learned behavior.
Skinner believes that language is acquired or get through the behavior that is being reinforced. For
example, the child cannot learn to read without the parents or families help in teaching him to read the
alphabet first, the parents must use reinforcement such as rewards, prices, or even praises to change
the child’s behavior and help himself in learning how to read.
20
4. Vygotski’s Social Interactionist Theory
The social interactionist theory is based on the work of Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky.
The basic notion of this theory is that language has a social origin. In that regard, it has some similarities
with Everett’s model. This concept suggests that the child, from birth, is continually engaging in social
interactions, which allows him to develop higher cognitive functions, namely language, and thought.
According to Vygotsky’s social development model, socio-cultural interactions come first, then cognition
and language development. Vygotsky’s theory hooks in acquiring the language through social
interaction. He believes that language can be acquired through interacting from the environment. For
example, the child learns the language through socializing to his fellow children by playing, since it’s
their main pleasure and a very good means of learning.
5. Piaget’s Constructivist Theory
For Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, language is not only due to genetic predisposition or
imitation Piaget’s constructivist theory argues that language is constructed by following cognitive
development. In other words, people develop their language skills and construct overall knowledge
based on their own experience. Piaget believes that language is not developed through neither in social
interaction nor in behavioral aspect, it develops by the cognitive aspects of the brain through time by
means of experiences and education.
THE HUMAN BRAIN: ITS PARTS & LOBES
The BRAIN is one of the largest and most complex organs in the human body. It is made up of
more than 100 billion nerves that communicate in trillions of connections called synapses.
21
PARTS OF THE BRAIN THAT WORK TOGETHER
• The cortex is the outermost layer of brain cells. Thinking and voluntary movements begin in the cortex.
• The brain stem is between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain. Basic functions like breathing and
sleep are controlled here.
• The basal ganglia are a cluster of structures in the center of the brain. The basal ganglia coordinate
messages between multiple other brain areas.
• The cerebellum is at the base and the back of the brain. The cerebellum is responsible for coordination
and balance.
LOBES OF THE BRAIN
• The frontal lobes are responsible for problem solving and judgment and motor function.
• The parietal lobes manage sensation, handwriting, and body position.
• The temporal lobes are involved with memory and hearing.
• The occipital lobes contain the brain's visual processing system.
THE LOCALIZATION OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE BRAIN
An issue central concern has been determined which parts are responsible for human linguistics
abilities. In the early nineteenth century, Franz Joseph Gall proposed the Localization theory, which
is the idea that different human cognitive abilities and behaviours are localized in specific parts of the
brain. He also put forth a Organology theory that later came to be known as phrenology, which is the
practice of determining personality traits, intellectual capacities, and other matters by examining the
bumps of the skull.
BRAIN PROBLEMS
1. Headache: There are many types of headaches; some can be serious but most are not
and are generally treated with analgesics/painkillers.
EXAMPLE:
22
2. Stroke (brain infarction): Blood flow and oxygen are suddenly interrupted to an area of brain
tissue, which then dies. A blood clot, or bleeding in the brain, are the cause of most strokes.
EXAMPLE:
3. Brain aneurysm: An artery in the brain develops a weak area that swells, balloon-like. A brain
aneurysm rupture can cause a stroke.
EXAMPLE:
4. Subdural hematoma: Bleeding within or under the duration, the lining inside of the skull. A
subdural hematoma may exert pressure on the brain, causing neurological problems.
23
EXAMPLE:
5. Epidural hematoma: Bleeding between the tough tissue (dura) lining the inside of the skull and
the skull itself, usually shortly after a head injury. Initial mild symptoms can progress rapidly to
unconsciousness and death, if untreated.
EXAMPLE:
6. Intracerebral hemorrhage: Any bleeding inside the brain.
EXAMPLE:
7. Concussion: A brain injury that causes a temporary disturbance in brain function. Traumatic head
injuries cause most concussions.
24
EXAMPLE:
8. Cerebral edema: Swelling of the brain tissue in response to injury or electrolyte imbalances.
EXAMPLE:
9. Brain tumor: Any abnormal tissue growth inside the brain. Whether malignant (cancer) or benign,
brain tumors usually cause problems by the pressure they exert on the normal brain.
EXAMPLE:
10. Hydrocephalus: An abnormally increased amount of cerebrospinal (brain) fluid inside the skull.
Usually this is because the fluid is not circulating properly.
25
EXAMPLE:
11. Meningitis: Inflammation of the lining around the brain or spinal cord, usually from infection. Stiff
neck, neck pain, headache, fever, and sleepiness are common symptoms.
EXAMPLE:
12. Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain tissue, usually from infection with a virus. Fever,
headache, and confusion are common symptoms.
EXAMPLE:
13. Parkinson's disease: Nerves in a central area of the brain degenerate slowly, causing problems
with movement and coordination. A tremor of the hands is a common early sign.
26
EXAMPLE:
14. Huntington's disease: An inherited nerve disorder that affects the brain. Dementia and difficulty
controlling movements (chorea) are its symptoms.
EXAMPLE:
15. Epilepsy: The tendency to have seizures. Head injuries and strokes may cause epilepsy, but
usually no cause is identified.
EXAMPLE:
16. Dementia: A decline in cognitive function resulting from death or malfunction of nerve cells in the
brain. Conditions in which nerves in the brain degenerate, as well as alcohol abuse and strokes,
can cause dementia.
EXAMPLE:
27
17. Aphasia: It is a the neurological term for any of the language disorder that results from the
damage caused by disease or trauma.
EXAMPLE:
The aforementioned above are the brain problems that human being encountered. Its purpose is
just to let the students get acquainted to risks of the brain and the speech problem specifically the
aphasia that takes big counterpart of problem with regard to the language in communication.
APHASIA, ITS TYPES AND LINGUISTIC CHRACTERIZATION OF APHASIC

SYNDROMES
APHASIA
It is the neurological term for any of the language disorder that results from the damage
caused by disease or trauma.
TWO KINDS OF APHASIA
1. BROCA’S APHASIA OR AGGRAMATICS APPHASIA
This aphasia was coined by Paul Broca, a French surgeon who proposed that language resides at
the front of left hemisphere of the brain. Broca’s finding that his patient who has language deficits after the
brain injury to the left frontal lobe. In which Broca’s aphasia is a syndrome where frequently lacks of articles,
prepositions, pronouns, and other grammatical elements of function words. It is a speech syndrome in
28
which the patient cannot speak fluently, he or she speaks without functions words just as mentioned above.
But when talk to him, he can still understand the message of the speaker.
2. WERNICKE’S APHASIA OR JARGON APHASIA
This was coined by Carl Wernicke, a German neurologist, described another variety of aphasia that
occurred in patients with lesions in areas of the left hemisphere of temporal lobe of the brain. Wernicke’s
Aphasia produce fluent speech with good intonation and they may largely adhere to the rules of syntax or
sentence patterns. This speech syndrome is in reversed to Broca’s Aphasia in which the patient can talk
completely and fluently with the use of function words but the main problem is the response of the patient
from the questions of speaker is too far from what he/she answered.
BRAIN TESTS
These machines are used to test the brain particularly related to language test caused by trauma, accidents,
genes, etc. These are the following Brain Tests:
1. Computed tomography (CT scan): A computerized tomography scan (CT or CAT scan) uses
computers and rotating X-ray machines to create cross-sectional images of the body. These
images provide more detailed information than normal X-ray images. They can show the soft
tissues, blood vessels, and bones in various parts of the body specifically the brain of human
body.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan): Using radio waves in a magnetic field, an MRI scanner
creates highly detailed images of the brain and other parts of the head.
29
• Angiography (brain angiogram): A special substance doctors call "a contrast agent" is injected
into the veins, and travels into the brain. X-ray videos of the brain are taken, which can show
problems in the brain's arteries.
• Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA): A special MRI scan of the brain's arteries. An MRA
scan may show a blood clot or another cause for stroke.
30
• Lumbar puncture (spinal tap): A needle is inserted into the space around the spinal nerves, and
fluid is removed for analysis. Lumbar puncture is often done if meningitis is suspected.
• Electroencephalogram (EEG): Brain activity is monitored through electrodes placed on the skin
on the head. EEG can help diagnose seizures, or other brain problems.
• Brain biopsy: In rare situations, a very small piece of the brain is needed to make the diagnosis of
a brain condition. Brain biopsies are generally done only when the information is needed to provide
treatment.
31
VI.REFERENCES
The Study of Linguistics, Yule, George 4th Edition pp.15-21

http:///www.humanbrain.pigryi.com
http:///www.languagesanditstypes.ouehcmykfe.com
http:///www.linguistsview.bingrow.com
http:///uritestbrains.com
http:///yuriwkiglinguists.com
www.brainproblemsjiuring.com
http:///huringlinuistc.com
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146309#side-effects
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-lingua-franca-1691237
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/67766/worlds-top--languages-and-words-english-
has-borrowed-them
The Study of Linguistics, Yule, George 4th Edition pp.2-12
An introduction to Language, Fromklin, et.al. 9th Edition pp. 3-7
Various Video Clips, YouTube
32
VIII. LEARNER’S GUIDE
NAME: ______________________________YR. & SEC. _________________SCORE: __________

SUBJECT: ____________________________ DATE: _________________
Direction: Construct a creative essay on the titles listed below while writing, integrate the lessons you
learned in this module. Make sure to meet the description of the criteria of the rubrics for essay writing.
1. “THE WORLD WITHOUT LANGUAGE”

2. “BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH MY FAVORITE PET”
3. “I HAVE NO MOUTH BUT I SHOULD SCREAM”
4. “HOMESICK TO MY LANGUAGE”
5. “TELL ME HOW GRAMMAR LESSON SHOULD BE TAUGHT”
33
RUBRICS FOR ESSAY WRITING
4 / 2 /
5/ 3 / 1 /
VERY NEEDS
EXCELLENT AVERAGE UNACCEPTABLE
GOOD IMPROVEMENT
This paper is clear This paper is The writer is Topic is not well-defined As yet, the paper has no
and focused. It holds mostly beginning to and/or there are too many clear sense of purpose or
the reader's focused, and define the topic, topics. central theme. To extract
Ideas attention. Relevant has some even though meaning from the text, the
details and quotes good details development is reader must make
enrich the central and quotes. still basic or inferences based on
theme. general. sketchy or missing details.
The organization Paper (and The organizational Sentences within paragraphs The writing lacks a clear
enhances and paragraphs) structure is strong make sense, but the order of sense of direction. Ideas,
showcases the are mostly enough to move paragraphs does not. details, or events seem
central idea or organized, in the reader through strung together in a loose
theme. The order, order, and the text without or random fashion; there is
Organization
structure of makes sense too much no identifiable internal
information is to the reader. confusion. structure.
compelling and
moves the reader
through the text.
The writing has an The writing The text hums The text seems choppy and The reader has to practice
easy flow, rhythm, mostly flows, along with a is not easy to read orally. quite a bit in order to give
and cadence. and usually steady beat, but this paper a fair
Sentence Sentences are well invites oral tends to be more interpretive reading.
Fluency built, with strong and reading. businesslike than
varied structure that musical, more
invites expressive mechanical than
oral reading. fluid.
The writer The write The writer shows The writer seems to have Errors in spelling,
demonstrates a good understands reasonable control made little effort to use punctuation, capitalization,
grasp of standard good writing over a limited conventions: spelling, usage, and grammar
writing conventions conventions range of standard punctuation, capitalization, and/or paragraphing
(e.g., spelling, and usually writing usage, grammar and/or repeatedly distract the
punctuation, uses them conventions. paragraphing have multiple reader and make the text
capitalization, correctly. Conventions are errors. difficult to read.
Conventions grammar, usage, Paper is easily sometimes
paragraphing) and read and handled well and
uses conventions errors are rare; enhance
effectively to minor touch- readability; at
enhance readability. ups would get other times, errors
this piece are distracting and
ready to impair readability.
publish.
34
The form and The format The writer's The writer's message is only The reader receives a
presentation of the only has a few message is understandable occasionally, garbled message due to
text enhances the mistakes and understandable in and paper is messily written. problems relating to the
ability for the reader is generally this format. presentation of the text,
Presentation
to understand and easy to read and is not typed.
connect with the and pleasing
message. It is to the eye.
pleasing to the eye.
Note: Questions that are subjective type and answered with plagiarism will NOT be given points.
Encode your answer in MS or WPS format and “turn in” for submission. If submitted in through
link, please turn “link sharing on” to make file viewable.
35

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LEARNING CONCEPTS

B. WHAT ARE THE MAIN TYPES OF GRAMMAR?

Transformational grammar, also called Transformational-generative Grammar, a system

C. WHAT ARE THE GRAMMATICAL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE?

There are five grammatical aspects of language or branches of Linguistics namely:

D. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE AND

E. WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE OF THE INNATENESS OF LANGUAGE?

A. WHAT IS SIGN LANGUAGE?

B. TYPES OF SIGN LANGUAGE

1. Sign Supported English or SSE

Who uses Sign Supported Sign English?

There are a few scenarios where SSE can be useful:

2. American Sigh Language or ASL

3. British Sign Language

Finger spelling, also known as dactylology is manual representation of written letters

COMPARISON OF Filipino Sign Language (FSL) and American Sign

The most studied examples of animal languages are:

• different alarm calls for different species of predators;

Language, a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of

SPECULATIONS ARE FROM FOUR DIFFERENT

✓ The Ding-Dong Theory

✓ The Pooh-Pooh Theory

✓ The Yo-He-Ho Theory

A lingua franca (pronounced LING-wa FRAN-ka) is a language or mixture of languages used

Patois refers loosely to a nonstandard language such as a creole, a dialect, or a pidgin,

1. Daniel Everett’s Theory: Language Scratches the Communicative Itch

2. Chomsky’s Nativist Linguistic Theory: Universal

3.B.F. Skinner Behaviorist Theory

5. Piaget’s Constructivist Theory

THE HUMAN BRAIN: ITS PARTS & LOBES

LOBES OF THE BRAIN

THE LOCALIZATION OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE BRAIN

6. Intracerebral hemorrhage: Any bleeding inside the brain.

APHASIA, ITS TYPES AND LINGUISTIC CHRACTERIZATION OF APHASIC

TWO KINDS OF APHASIA

1. BROCA’S APHASIA OR AGGRAMATICS APPHASIA

2. WERNICKE’S APHASIA OR JARGON APHASIA

The Study of Linguistics, Yule, George 4th Edition pp.15-21

NAME: ______________________________YR. & SEC. _________________SCORE: __________

1. “THE WORLD WITHOUT LANGUAGE”

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NAME: ______________________YR. & SEC. _SCORE: __