Did you ever wonder why in English the word tree is used to refer to this mental image? Or why in French the same mental representation is named arbre? How is that the word crown can refer to a person (the Queen of England), a royal headpiece, and a synthetic cap used to repair a broken tooth? And most interesting is the fact that in each of these cases, the phonological form, or sounds of … [Read more...]
The Layers of Stratificational Grammar
This system of analysis is called stratificational because it is based upon the notion that every language comprises a restricted number of structural layers or strata, hierarchically related in such a way that units or combinations of units on one stratum realize units or combinations of units of the next higher stratum. The number of strata may vary from language to language. Four strata have … [Read more...]
Hierarchy of Levels Within the Grammar of Language
Within the grammar of a language there is a hierarchy of levels, units of one level being composed of sequences of units of the level below. In many languages, five such levels are recognized, defined in terms of the following units: morpheme, word, phrase, clause, and sentence. (The term level is being used in a different sense from that in which it was used earlier to refer to phonology and … [Read more...]
Modes of Language
Every language is said to be trimodal—i.e., structured in three modes: phonology, grammar, and lexicon. These modes are interrelated but have a considerable degree of independence and must be described in their own terms. Phonology and lexicon should not be seen as mere appendages to grammar, the former simply specifying which phonemes can combine to formmorphemes (or morphs), and the latter … [Read more...]
An Introduction to Linguistics
What is Linguistics? Have you ever wondered why speakers of English are permitted to say White House but not House White, or why Southerners in the US say “pah” for pie? And even more strangely, consider the fact that in English the plural form of the singular noun monkey is monkeys, and yet the plural form of child is children. Why don’t we say monkren or childs? Why do French speakers pronounce … [Read more...]
Distinctive Features
The most basic component of a speech sound is a feature, which can be described as the minimal specification that separates one phoneme from another. In fact, a phoneme can be described as a bundle of features, since all phonemes bear at least two or more. Articulatory features are defined in terms of the amount and type of constriction of air as it travels through the vocal … [Read more...]
An Intro to Language Families
Language Families Language families are groups of languages said to be "genetically" related on the basis of having a common ancestor, or protolanguage. Such languages share several features and vocabulary items, although these similarities are hardly apparent when comparing two languages as seemingly distinct as say, English and Hindi (both of the Indo-European family). As speakers move apart, … [Read more...]
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