History of the English Language ENGL Spring Semester 2005

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Language– A Definition A SYSTEM OF PATTERNED, SYMBOLIC BEHAVIOR, THE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND THE FORMATION OF WHICH INCLUDES ALL CONVENTIONALIZED LINGUISTIC HABITS SHARED BY MEMBERS OF A SPEECH COMMUNITY. SAPIR (1921), BLOCH AND TRAGER (1942), AND SOMERFELT (1950)

Some Ideas about Language Children learn their native language swiftly, efficiently, and largely without instruction

Language operates by rules: When we learn a language, we are acquiring a vast system of mostly subconscious rules that allow us to make meaningful and increasingly complex utterances. These rules govern sound (phonology), words (lexicon and semantics), the arrangement of strings of words (morphemes and syntax), and social aspects of speaking (pragmatics).

All languages have three major components: Phonology-- The sound system of a language; Lexicon-- The vocabulary of a language and semantics (what words mean); Grammar-- The system of rules we use to arrange words into meaningful English sentences, using markers such as tense, plurality and agreement.

Grammar: Two Meanings Prescriptive Grammar-- Attempts to describe in detail the system of rules that governs how a person should speak (according to an ideal standard). Descriptive Grammar-- Attempts to describe in detail the system of rules that governs how a person (or community) actually speaks.

Some other facts about language: Everyone speaks a dialect. Language change occurs all the time, and it is normal, not a corruption. Value judgments about language (dialects, change, etc.) are matters of education and socio- cultural factors. Languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals that use them. Writing is derivative of speech: