LCS 4  The child is NOT being taught the language.

 The child’s linguistic production appears to be mostly

FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION through trying out constructions.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS - During the first two or three  The child does NOT acquire the language through a
years of development, a child requires interaction with other process of imitating adult speech.
language-users in order to bring this general language capacity  Adults “ corrections “ are NOT very effective..
into operation with a particular language such as English  The child will continue to use personally constructed
forms.
THE ACQUISITION SCHEDULE- Language acquisition
schedule has the same basis as the biologically determined DEVELOPING MORPHOLOGY
development of motor skills ( sitting up, crawling, standing,  0 By 2-and-a-half years old:
walking, using the hands and many other physical activities. -‐  Use of some inflectional morphemes to indicate the
This schedule is related to the maturation of the infant's brain. grammatical function of nouns and verbs.
CAREGIVER SPEECH  The first inflection to appear is –ing ( mommy reading
book )
 The simplified speech style adopted by someone who  2-After it comes the –s for plural ( boys- cats )
spends a lot of time interacting with a young child. Overgeneralization: the child applies –s to words like
 Features: Frequent use of questions- exaggerated ‘foots’ ‘mans’ and later ‘feets’ ‘mens’
intonation- extra loudness- slower tempo with longer  3-The use of possessive ‘s’ appears ‘mommy’s bag’
pauses.  4- After that, forms of verb to be appear ‘is’ and ‘are’.
 Forms: Simplifies words ( nana – tummy) forms with  5- Went and came appear simultaneously with forms such
repeated simple sounds and syllabuses for things in the as was
child’s environment ( choo-choo, kii-kii )  6- Then, The appearance of –ed inGlection would appear
in the child’s speech. - Also The –ed inGlection would be
COOING overgeneralized as in ‘goed’ or holded’ .
 7-Finally –s marker for 3rd person singular preset tense
 During the Girst few months of life : Producing sequences
appears with full verbs Girst then with auxiliaries (does-
of vowel-like sounds- high vowels [i] and [u]. –
has)
 4 months: sounds similar to velar consonants [k] & [g]
 5 months: distinguish between [a] and [i] and the syllables
[ba] and [ga], so their perception skills are good.
BABBLING
DEVELOPING SYNTAX
 6-8 months: Different vowels and consonants ba-ba-ba
and ga-ga- ga  A child was asked to say the owl who eats candy runs fast
 9-10 months: • Intonation patterns and combination of and she said the owl eat candy and he run fast.
ba-ba-ba-da-da. • Nasal sounds also appear ma-ma-ma  Two syntactic structures appear:
 10-11 months: • Use of vocalization to express emotions  Forming questions
• Complex syllable combination (ma-da-ga- ba)  Forming negatives
 They appear through three stages:
THE ONE-WORD STAGE  Stage 1 = 18-26 months
 Stage 2 = 22-30 months
 12-18 months. - Characterized by Single terms are uttered
 Stage 3 = 22-40 months
for everyday objects ‘milk’, ‘cookie’, ‘cat’ .
 Holophrastic : a single form functioning as a phrase or FORMING QUESTIONS
sentence.
 Produce utterance such as ‘Sara bed’ but not yet capable  Stage 1= has two procedures:
of producing a phrase.  Add a WH-form to the beginning of the expression
 Utter the expression with a rise in intonation towards the
THE TWO-WORD STAGE end. E.g. Where kitty? Doggie?
 Stage 2= more complex expressions. E.g. What book
 18-20 months: Vocabulary moves beyond 50 words
name? You want eat?
 2 years old:
 Stage 3= movement of the auxiliary in questions becomes
 children produce utterances ‘baby chair’, ‘mommy eat’
evident. I can have….cam I have ?
 Interpretation depends on context .
 Adults behave as if communication is taking place. FORMING NEGATIVES
(feedback).
 Stage 1= Putting not and no at the beginning E.g. not
TELEGRAPHIC SPEECH teddy bear, no sit here
 Stage 2 = Don’t and can’t appear but still use no and not
 Between 2 years & a half:
before VERBS E.g. he no bite you, I don’t want it .
 They produce multiple-word speech.
 Stage 3= didn’t and won’t appear e.g. I didn’t caught it,
 The number of words changes
she won’t go
 The variation in word forms begin to appear.
 Developing sentence building capacity. E.g. ‘this shoe all DEVELOPING SEMANTICS
wet’, ‘cat drink milk’, ‘daddy go bye-bye
 During the two-word stage children use their limited
TELEGRAPHIC SPEECH vocabulary to refer to a large number of unrelated objects.
 Overextension: overextend the meaning of a word on the
 Grammatical inGlections begin to appear
basis of similarities of shape, sound, and size. e.g. use ball
 Simple prepositions are used ( in, on ).
to refer to an apple, and egg, a grape and a ball. ( p.180)
 By 2 years & a half: - Vocabulary is expands rapidly.
 This is followed by a gradual process of narrowing down
 The child initiates more talk.
as more words are learned .
 By tree: Vocabulary continues to grow. Better
pronunciation. THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Behaviorist Psychology Theory (B.F Skinner) - According to
this theory, the human environment (parents, older peers, and
THE ACQUISITION PROCESS
others) provides language stimuli to which the child responds,
largely by repetition of what he or she is hearing. If the The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) concept
response is acceptable or commendable, the learner is reflects the range of tasks a child can perform with
rewarded (by praise or some other way). guidance.
- Children imitate adults. Their correct utterance are Limitations
reinforced when they get what they want or are praised.
- Behaviorist psychology theory, in simple terms, is an While sociocultural theory provides valuable insights into the
approach to understanding human behavior that focuses role of social interactions, culture, and language in human
on observable actions and how they are influenced by the development and learning, it also has its limitations such as
environment. neglect of individuals differences, lack of specificity, and
overemphasis of social interaction.
Limitations
LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN
 Language is based on a set of structures or rules, which
could not be worked out simply by imitating individual Neurolinguistics--the branch of linguistics concerned with the
utterances. The mistakes made by children reveal that role the brain plays in language and speech processing
they are not simply imitating but actively working out and explores questions on which parts of the brain control
applying rules. For example, a child who says "drinked" language and speech, how the brain encodes and decodes
instead of "drank" is not copying an adult but rather over- speech, and whether the controls of such aspects of language
applying a rule. as sounds, grammar, and meaning are neuroanatomically
 There is evidence for a critical period for language distinct or joint
acquisition. Children who have not acquired language by
the age of about seven will never entirely catch up.
Innatist Theory (Noam Chomsky) - Where behaviorism
argues that all of language is acquired through different types
of learning (stimulus response, classical conditioning, etc.)
innatist theory argues that there are at least some aspects of
language which must already be present in the child at birth.
- The child's natural predisposition to learn language is
triggered by hearing speech and the child's brain is able to
interpret what s/he hears according to the underlying
principles or structures it already contains. This natural
faculty has become known as the Language Acquisition Cerebrum - situated at the top of the brain and consisting of
Device (LAD). two lobes the left and right cerebral hemispheres and
- Innatist theory, in simple terms, is the idea that certain connecting structures.
knowledge, skills, or behaviors are innate or present from Left hemisphere - associative thought, calculation and
birth, rather than learned through experience analytical processing, the right visual field, temporal relations,
Limitations visual field, some use of language in social context, and
others, language, speech, writing, and reading
Chomsky's work on language was theoretical. He was
interested in grammar and much of his work consists of Right hemisphere - tactile recognition of material qualities,
complex explanations of grammatical rules. He did not study visuospatial skills, nonlinguistic auditory stimuli (including
real children. The theory relies on children being exposed to music), visual field, temporal relations, and other functions,
language but takes no account of the interaction between language specialization
children and their carers. Nor does it recognize the reasons Broca’s aphasia - also referred to as expressive or motor
why a child might want to speak the functions of language. aphasia, is caused by a lesion in what is known as Broca’s area
language acquisition device - this device provides children and is characterized by omission of function words (such as
with acknowledgement of those features that are common to articles, prepositions, demonstratives, and conjunctions) and
all languages. past tense and plural endings, as well as by faulty word order
and distortions of sounds.
The Language Acquisition Device (LAD), in simple terms, is a
theoretical concept proposed by linguist Noam Chomsky. It's a Wernicke’s aphasia - also known as sensory or receptive
hypothetical mental mechanism or structure that he suggests is aphasia, is due to a lesion in Wernicke’s area; it is
present in the human brain, specifically designed for the characterized by 92 | P a g e circumlocutions, impaired ability
acquisition of language. According to Chomsky's theory, the to understand written and spoken language, and occasional
LAD allows humans, especially children, to learn and generate substitutions of inappropriate words, leading in severe cases to
language naturally and rapidly. nonsensical utterances.

It is indirectly supported by the somewhat controversial BILINGUAL AND MULTILINGUAL BRAINS

critical period (or critical age) hypothesis that language is Language Stereotypes and Misconceptions
acquired with remarkable ease during brain maturation, that is,
before puberty. By this time, the brain has reached its full In the past, it was often assumed that competence acquired in
development, and the various functions it performs have been the first language (L1) was qualitatively different from that in
localized in one side or the other (lateralization). a second language (L2) or any subsequent language.
Sociocultural Theory - the process of children’s learning their Ex: Maria grows up in a Spanish-speaking household in the
culture was usually studied without giving attention to the role U.S, where Spanish is her first language (L1). When she starts
language plays in the process. school, she learns English as her second language (L2).
- Sociocultural theory is a psychological and educational This misconception led to the notion that bilingual children
framework developed by Russian psychologist Lev might not fully acquire either language, labeling them
Vygotsky. This theory emphasizes the role of social linguistically disadvantaged.
interactions, cultural context, and language in shaping
human development and cognition. He posited that Ex: In a Canadian family, parents speak French at home (L1),
children learn language through interactions with more and their kids learn English in school (L2). Some think this
knowledgeable individuals, such as parents or caregivers. might be a problem as the kids are learning two languages.
They might perceived them as linguistically disadvantaged. 2. Coordinate Bilingualism: Learning each language in
They worry it could affect the children's language skills and separate environments, maintaining a clear separation between
their school and social life. them.
Such beliefs stemmed from the idea that monolingualism was 3. Subordinate Bilinguals: Subordinate bilinguals have a
the norm, particularly in countries with a politically or socially strong primary language (mother tongue) and learn a second
dominant language. language through it. They use their primary language to
understand and learn the second language
Prevalence of Multilingualism
Based on Time of Acquisition:
 Contrary to language Stereotypes and Misconceptions,
bilingualism and multilingualism are prevalent 1.Simultaneous Bilingualism: Learning two languages at the
worldwide. Even in nations perceived as monolingual, same time.
language diversity exists.
 U.S. Census figures reveal that at least 20% of the U.S. 2. Sequential Bilingualism: Learning a second language after
population regularly speaks a language other than acquiring the first, often using the first language to understand
English, and 53% of these individuals also speak English. the second.
This data underscores the global prevalence of Childhood Bilingual Acquisition can be divided into three
multilingualism. developmental stages:
 Monolingual - the ability to speak only one language
 Bilingual - the ability to speak two languages First step: Initial Word Building
 Multilingual - the ability to speak several languages.
The child builds up a set of words from both languages, but
It was often assumed that competence acquired in the first usually keep them separate, and not as translations of each
language (L1) was qualitatively different from that in a second other.
language (L2) or any subsequent language. This privileging
the “native language” led to many popular misconceptions, Second step: Sentence Formation and Mixing
such as believing that children of bilingual parents would
• Sentences begin to appear, words from both languages can be
never fully acquire either language, remaining somehow
used.
linguistically disadvantaged.
• This mixing rapidly declines, however, dropping almost
completely by the end of the third year.
• After this, vocabulary in both languages grows, but a single
grammatical pattern is used
Third step: Language Differentiation and Sociolinguistic
Awareness
Usually by the fourth year, however, the syntax of each
language becomes distinct as the child becomes more
cognizant that the two languages are not the same. It is then
that they become aware of the sociolinguistic power of each
Three developmental stages (Crystal) language the ways each language is to be used, and for what
purposes
First, the child builds up a set of words from both languages,
but usually keep them separate, and not as translations of each THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF MULTILINGUALISM
other.  Plains Indian societies were similar in culture but quite
Second, as sentences begin to appear, words from both distinct by virtue of the languages they spoke, some of
languages can be used. This mixing rapidly declines, however, which were as different from each other as English is
dropping almost completely by the end of the third year. from Russian or Japanese. And it used to be assumed that
peoples who speak different languages have different
After this, vocabulary in both languages grows, but a single cultures and therefore the boundaries between different
grammatical pattern is used. societies coincide with lines separating mutually
unintelligible languages.
Usually by the fourth year, however, the syntax of each  According to Hymes, the world of human societies is
language becomes distinct as the child becomes more divisible not so much according to the languages their
cognizant that the two languages are not the same. members speak but rather according to communicative
Based on Language Fluency units “composed of repertoires of codes and rules of code
use,” and it must further be recognized that these units
1. Additive Bilingualism: Learning a second language while overlap, that the criterion of mutual intelligibility is only
maintaining and strengthening the first language. one of several factors to be taken into account, and that
the nature of the association between a particular code and
2. Subtractive Bilingualism: Learning a second language particular cultural features must be considered on a case
without reinforcing the first, potentially leading to a loss of by case basis
proficiency in the first language.  Concerns the relationship of language, ethnic identity, and
social change in southern Nigeria (Hans Wolff)
3. Receptive Bilingualism: Understanding a second language
 In one part of the eastern Niger Delta live, from east to
but not actively using it.
west, two coastal peoples the Kalabari and the Nembe-and
4. Subordinate Bilingualism: Learning a second language three hinter land peoples-the Abua, the Odual, and the
through the first language, with both languages closely Ogbia-five ethnic groups altogether.
connected.  This five-unit ethnic division does not coincide with the
language situation.
Based on Learning Context  The two coastal peoples speak closely related dialects of
the Ijo branch of the Niger Congo language family.
1. Compound Bilingualism: Learning two languages in the
 The hinterland peoples speak related dialects of another
same environment, often leading to a mix of vocabulary and
language group.
grammar.
 The Abua and Odual speak divergent dialects of the same  Bilingualism is a world-wide phenomenon. Most nations
language, with poor mutual intelligibility. However, four have speakers of more than one language.
ethnically Odual villages speak a closely related but  Hundreds of millions of people the world over routinely
different language, Kugbo. make use of two or three or four languages in their daily
 To complicate matters further, the eastern dialects of lives.
Ogbia are not mutually intelligible with the western  Individual multilingualism involves people who are able
dialects but are intelligible with Kugbo. to make themselves understood in more than two
 Bilingualism continued to be present, with Igbo becoming languages, whether they are teenagers or adults who have
the second language among the Abua learnt two or more foreign languages in addition to their
 In India, nearly three times as populous as the former mother tongue –in which case they are referred to as
Soviet Union but occupying an area only one seventh as polyglots.
large, the number of different languages is reported to be
almost 200. CODE SWITCHING, CODE-MIXING, AND DIGLOSSIA
 In the United Kingdom, the number of minority languages  In these multilingual situations the codes that is, language
presently in routine use exceeds one hundred, and in the varieties or languages often become blended. This is so
United States close to 10 percent of the population common that linguists have special terms for this
regularly speak a language other than English. blending: code-switching and code-mixing.
 In several African countries that have a single official  Code switching
language, as many as nine out of every ten people are
estimated to make regular use of more than one language. Einar Haugen (1956:40) -when a bilingual introduces a
 If members of different ethnic groups live side by side and completely unassimilated word from another language into his
interact frequently, at least some of them learn to speak a speech
language or languages other than their own mother tongue
and thereby become multilingual. Carol Myers Scotton (1993:3) - is the selection by bilinguals
 The most common instance of multilingualism is or multilinguals of forms from an embedded variety (or
bilingualism, characterized by the ability to speak two varieties) in utterances . . . during the same conversation.
languages
Eyamba Bokamba (1989:3) - distinguishes code switching
 bilinguals are individuals who have complete and equal
and code mixing: Code switching is the mixing of words,
command of two languages in all situations in other
phrases and sentences from two distinct grammatical (sub)
words, those who pass for native speakers in either
systems across sentence boundaries within the same speech
language. In practice, however, the term is applied more
event . . . [while] code mixing is the embedding of various
loosely, extending to those who can spontaneously
linguistic units such as affixes (bound morphemes), words
produce meaningful utterances in a language other than
(free morphemes), phrases and clauses from a cooperative
their first.
activity where the participants, in order to infer what is
 bilingualism is common and trilingualism far from rare
intended, must reconcile what they hear with what they
 German with more than 65 percent, Romansh with less
understand.
than 1 percent).
 In Canada, which in 1969 granted official status to both  Code mixing and code switching can serve a variety of
French and English, most bilingual Canadians live in the functions, such as building or reinforcing solidarity
province of 2uebec, where a large majority (about 80 among speakers who share these languages
percent) consider themselves French Canadians and are  Diglossia - The use of two distinct varieties of a language
on guard against the spread of English at the expense of for two different sets of functions
French, even though a great many of them (about 38  The common language is the colloquial, or the “low”
percent) speak both languages. variety (L). A second, “high” variety (H), is used in
 The source of this phenomenon is strict tribal exogamy, a formal circumstances:
custom requiring marriage partners to be from different  Charles Ferguson (1959) coined this term in reference to
tribes, making multilingualism the cultural norm rather the Classical Arabic based on the standards of the 2uran
than the exception. Children first learn their parents’ (Koran) used in formal setting against the local or
languages, acquire two or more additional ones during regional dialects of colloquial Arabic found throughout
adolescence, and often learn still others in adulthood. the Middle East.
 multilingualism is a transitional and asymmetrical  Of the two varieties, the colloquial typically is learned
phenomenon first and is used for ordinary conversation with relatives
 According to 2008 surveys by the U.S. Census, there are and friends or servants and working persons, in cartoons,
some 35 million speakers of Spanish in the United States popular radio and television programs, jokes, traditional
(about 12 percent of the total population). narratives, and the like. The formal variety, which carries
 In four states, more than one in five residents speak prestige, is taught in schools and assumes most of the
Spanish as a first language: New Mexico (43 percent), literary, administrative, legal, and religious functions.
California (34.7 percent), Texas (34.6 percent), and  Multilingual Communities: Many parts of the world are
Arizona (28 percent). home to communities where multiple languages and
 Multilingualism: It means being able to understand and dialects coexist. Individuals within these communities
use multiple languages. For example, some Native often possess varying degrees of proficiency in these
American tribes can speak and understand several languages.
regional languages because of their customs.  Blending of Language Varieties: In multilingual settings,
 Bilingualism: This is when someone can speak and the boundaries between languages often become blurred.
understand two languages. For instance, some immigrant This blending of language varieties is known as "code-
families in the United States may speak their native switching" and "code-mixing."
language at home and use English outside, making them  Code-Switching and Code-Mixing: Code-switching refers
bilingual. to introducing words from another language into speech,
 Multilingualism: It means being able to understand and while code-mixing involves embedding linguistic units
use multiple languages. For example, some Native from multiple languages within the same conversation.
American tribes can speak and understand several  Three Systems Available: Bilingual individuals have three
regional languages because of their customs. linguistic systems available for use: Language A,
 Bilingualism: This is when someone can speak and Language B, and a combination of both (Language C).
understand two languages. For instance, some immigrant  Functions of Mixing and Switching: Code mixing and
families in the United States may speak their native code switching serve various functions, including building
language at home and use English outside, making them solidarity among speakers who share these languages.
bilingual.
 They may be used to express comfort or preference in one Congruaent lexicalization - refers to the situation where two
language over another in different contexts. languages share grammatical structures which can be filled
 Diglossia: In some situations, two distinct varieties of a lexically with elements from either language
language coexist. The colloquial or "low" variety (L) is
used for everyday communication, while the formal or Diglossia - originated from the greek word meaning “state of
"high" variety (H) is reserved for formal, prestigious, and being bilingual”
educational contexts. This phenomenon is referred to as - Sociolinguists may also use the term diglossia to denote
diglossia.
bilingualism, the speaking of two or more languages by
 Examples of Diglossia: Examples of diglossia include the
the members of the same community
coexistence of Standard German and Swiss German in
- Second, highly codified variety (designated "H" or
Switzerland and the use of colloquial Greek alongside the
"high"), in addition to the community's everyday or
literary form in Greece.
vernacular language variety (labeled "L" or "low"), is
 Blurred Boundaries: In practice, the strict separation of
utilized in certain contexts like literature, formal
diglossic varieties or languages is not always maintained
education, or other specific settings but is not used for
in spoken communication.
casual speech.
 In summary, the text discusses the coexistence of multiple
languages and dialects in various communities, the 2 varieties
blending of language varieties through code-switching
and code-mixing, and the concept of diglossia where High - It is learned at school Its speakers learn how to write,
formal and colloquial varieties of a language are used for and learn grammar rules
different functions. It highlights that language boundaries
are not always strictly upheld in actual speech. Low - not formally learned, Its speakers dont formally learn
grammar or writing, Its learned as a spoken language
Code is essentially a language variety or dialect used in
communication. LCS 5

Code switching - It is the process of shifting from one HOW LANGUANGE ARE CLASSIFIED
linguistic code (a language or dialect) to another, depending LANGUAGE FAMILIES - refers to groups of languages that
on the social context or conversational setting. share a common ancestral language. These languages are
Reasons for Switching: considered related because they have evolved over time from a
single, ancient source. Language families are a fundamental
Directive Function -People switch languages to include or concept in historical linguistics, allowing linguists to trace the
exclude other people from the conversation. historical development and relationships between languages.

Expressive Function - People include the embedded language LANGUAGE ISOLATES - Language isolates are languages
in order to express some part of their identity. that stand alone, with no known linguistic relatives or
connections to other languages
These languages exist in isolation, without any apparent
Referential Function - Someone is unable to express an idea historical or genetic links to other languages in their region or
easily in one language and switches to other languages in beyond.
order to express it more easily.
NEW WORLD SIMPLIFICATION - In the study of Native
Phatic Function - Sometimes a speaker switches languages or American languages, linguist Edward Sapir in the 1920s tried
repeat something in both languages in order to emphasize it. to make things simpler by grouping them into six major
language groups. This idea aimed to make research easier but
Metalinguistic Function - Reporting something in the other
also raised questions about preserving each language's
language, or commenting on something said in the other
uniqueness and cultural importance.
language.
NOSTRATIC AND MACROFAMILIES - A macrofamily in
Poetic Function - The speaker says certain words or makes
linguistics is like a super-extended family of languages,
jokes in the embedded language for amusement or humor.
suggesting that various language families could have a very
3 types of switching distant common ancestor

Intra-sentential - is code-switching in which switches occur 10 Largest Language Families

within a clause or sentence boundary. Switching language in
• Indo-European Language Family - The Indo-
one sentence
European family is one of the most extensive
Inter-sentential - is code switching that happens for entire language families globally, including languages like
clause or sentence boundary. Switching language in the next English, Spanish, German, and Hindi. It has branches
sentence or phrase spread across Europe, Asia, and parts of the
Americas.
Tag/emblematic - is code switching with sentence tags that
they precede or follow a sentence • Sino-Tibetan Language Family - This family
primarily includes Chinese languages and Tibetan.
Code mixing - It is the embedding of language of various Mandarin Chinese, with over a billion speakers, is
linguistic units such as affixes (bound morphemes), words one of its most widely spoken members.
(free morphemes), phrases and clauses from a co-operative
activity where the participants, in order to infer what is • Niger-Congo Language Family - is the largest
intended, must reconcile what they hear with what they language family in Africa, encompassing over 1,000
understand. languages and numerous dialects, such as Swahili,
Yoruba, and Zulu.
3 types
• Afro-Asiatic Language Family - Afro-Asiatic
Insertion - occurs when lexical items from one language are includes languages spoken in Northern Africa and the
incorporated into another Middle East, such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Amharic.
Alternation - occurs when structures of two languages are • Austronesian Language Family - spans the islands
alternated indistinctively both at the grammatical and lexical of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with languages like
level Indonesian, Tagalog, and Hawaiian.
 • Dravidian Language Family - Primarily spoken in NEOLOGISM - a new word, usage or expressions; the
South India and parts of Sri Lanka, Dravidian coining or use of new words
languages include Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.
Semantic Extensions - a way of extending the literal
• Japanese Language Family - Japanese and related meaning of a word, phrase or a expression to; something
languages, including Ryukyuan languages, make up different from what it originally means.
this language family, primarily spoken in Japan.
HOW AND WHY SOUND CHANGES OCCUR
• Altaic Language Family - While the classification
of Altaic is debated, it includes languages spoken in sound change can involve the replacement of one speech
parts of Asia, like Turkish, Mongolic, and Korean. sound (or, more generally, one phonetic feature value) by a
different one (called phonetic change) or more general change
• Austroasiatic Language Family - This family to the speech sounds that exist (phonological change), such as
includes languages spoken in Southeast Asia and merger of two sounds are the creation of a new sound. Sound
parts of India, such as Khmer, Vietnamese, and changes occur in languages due to a combination of phonetic,
Munda languages phonological, historical, social, and psychological factors.
• Korean Language Family - Korean and the Jeju why and how sounds changes occur:
language are often classified within their own
language family, although there is debate about their Lexical diffusion refers to the gradual spread or evolution of
precise linguistic relationships. new words, phrases, or linguistic features through a language
community over time. Lexical diffusion involves substitution
Word order - refers to how languages arrange words in a of one pre-existing phoneme for another in the underlying
sentence to convey meaning.- Languages with different representations of individual words
word orders can express the same ideas but in different
ways. Aphesis is a type of aphaeresis or apheresis, a noun describing
the loss of a sound or syllable from the beginning of a word;
Inflections involve adding prefixes, suffixes, or other the opposite of aphesis is prothesis.
markers to words to indicate their grammatical roles and
meanings.-Languages that heavily rely on inflections Apocope refers to the omission or loss of one or more sounds
often have fewer fixed rules for word order. or syllables from the end of a word

Agglutinative languages are a type of language that Assimilation in linguistics refers to a phonological process
express various grammatical meanings by adding separate where a sound becomes more similar to a neighboring sound
morphemes, such as prefixes or suffixes, to a base or root in a word
word. Each morpheme in an agglutinative language Dissimilation in linguistics is a phonological process where
typically represents a single grammatical meaning, and two similar sounds in a word become less alike or more
these morphemes are added one after another in a linear distinct from each other
fashion."
phonetic environment - refers to the specific sounds or
LANGUAGE THROUGH TIME: INTERNAL AND phonetic features that surround a particular sound or phoneme
EXTERNAL CHANGES within a word or utterance
Reasons why Language changing through time, according to Analogical change - refers to a type of language change
Holmes; where speakers adjust words or forms in a language to make
Social Status - members of the group with most social status, them more consistent with other similar words or forms.
for example tend to introduce changes into a speech RECONSTRUCTING PROTOLANGUAGE
community from neighboring communities which have greater
status prestige in their eyes. William Jones - Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin “have sprung from
some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists [and
Gender - differences in women’s and men’s speech are a that] there is a similar reason . . . for supposing that both the
source of variation which can result in linguistic change. Gothick and the Celtick . . . had the same origin with the
Interaction - Interaction and contact between people is crucial Sanscrit [and] the old Persian might be added to the same
in providing the channels for linguistic change [social family” (Salus 1969).
networks]. - Sanskrit, ancient Greek, Latin, and other European
Media - Some researcher belief that media has a great languages were the descendants of a language spoken in
influence on people’s speech patterns and new forms. prehistoric times.

The internal reasons are referred to the causes from the August Schleicher - The earliest extensive use of
nature language itself while the external reasons are reffered reconstruction in comparative linguistics is found in the work
to the situations found in the society using the language that of August Schleicher (1821-1868).
trigger the change.
- 19th-century German linguist known for his contributions
SOUND CHANGES to the field of historical linguistics and the reconstruction
of protolanguages.
Assimilation - is the influence of a sound on a neighboring - Schleicher's Fable, also known as "The Sheep and the
sound so that the two become similar or the same Horses,"
Dissimilation -works the other way around; one of two RECONSTRUCTING PROTOLANGUAGES - requires
identical or very similar neighboring sounds of a word is thorough knowledge of historical grammar and good
changed or omitted. acquaintance with the daughter languages.
METATHESIS- The transposition of sounds, letters and PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN
syllables in a word.
- Is a highly inflected language
CHANGES IN VOCABULARY - is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-
European language family, which includes a vast array of
Loanwords and Borrowing -Much more common than
languages spoken across Europe, Asia, and parts of the
orthographic borrowings are lexical borrowing, known as
Middle East.
Loanwords
 Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more
languages or varieties interact with and influence each other.
language contact generally leads to bilingualism or
RECOSTRUCTING ANCESTRAL HOMELAND multilingualism.

AT THE END OF THE OLD ENGLISH PERADD IN THE Type of Language Contact
1100s, English speakers dropped many Suffixes, changing the  CODE SWITCHING - The use of more than one
language's grammar. Then between 1400 and 1600, English language by a speaker within an intercourse with others.
went through a major change in the pronunciation of vowels  BORROWING - A word from one language is adapted
known as the Great English vowel for use in another
►For Example; apron use to be napron but people heard a  LANGUAGE SHIFT - A change from the use of one
napron as an apron language to the use of another language.
 PIDGIN - It is a contact language that doesn't have any
In Nicaragua, before 1970 there wasn't a deaf community, so native language, and pidgin has a limited vocabulary and
the deaf people just stayed in their villages and didn't share a reduced grammar.
common language because of a lack of structural support
A creole is a language that comes from a simplified version of
Home sign - Spanish, lipreading, and fingerspelling of the another language, or the mix of two or more language.
Spanish word
STYLES
Synchronic Analysis
The way language is utilized or manipulated to express
 English-Father meaning in a certain situation or for a specific goal is referred
 Dutch-Vader to as style. It includes all the different facets of language, like
 German-Vater syntax, vocabulary, tone, and structure, that can be changed or
adjusted to accomplish a specific communication goal.
To prove a relationship between language, historical linguists
make giant spreadsheets of words that might be related and Variation in Language - The language used can change
look for systematic patterns across the whole dramatically based on the context. For instance, vocabulary
used in casual discussion with friends differs from that used in
Centuries of dedicated meticulous work to find cognates and a formal academic work. It's common to refer to this linguistic
understand language change backward has led to the variance as "stylistic variation."
reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language.
Register and Genre -Style is often related with registers and
 Proto-Semitic -Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew genres. A "register" is a variant of language used in a specific
 Proto-Algonquian - Cree, Ojibwe, Massachusett social or professional environment. For example, legal,
 Proto-Austronesian - Javanese,Tagalog,Malagasy medical, or technical writing cach have their own registers.
 Proto-Pama-Nyungan - Yolnu, Kaura, Dharug "Genre" refers to different categories or genres of discourse,
 Proto-Bantu - Swahili, Zulu, Shona such as poetry, news stories, or advertising copy, cach of
which has its own stylistic standards
►Sometimes, even after years of careful study, a language
doesn't have any evidence of being related to any other Formality vs. Informality - Styles fall into many categories
language, near or far. These languages are known as isolates, based on how formal they are. Informal styles are
and examples Include Basque in Spain and France, Ainu in distinguished by simpler language and may contain slang or
Japan and Korea colloquialisms, whereas formal styles typically use more
complicated vocabulary and grammatical structures.
LCS 6
Diction and Vocabulary - Word or vocabulary selection can
LANGUAGE IN VARIATION AND LANGUAGE IN
have a big influence on style. Tone and connotation might vary
CONTACT: IDIOLECTS & DIALECTS
depending on the term used. For instance, a scientific
Language in Variation. This pertains to the vast variety of document written in technical jargon communicates a different
language in different settings of saying the same thing. As style than one written in plain, everyday language.
great as diversity in this field is as speakers may vary in
Syntax and Sentence Structure - Textual style can be
pronunciation, word choice, or morphology, boundaries are
influenced by sentence structure, including phrase length and
still to be made for linguistics in variation does not regard
complexity. While some styles utilize short, simple sentences,
identical to language ungrammaticality.
others may use long, complicated ones.
Language in Contact. Language in contact signifies the
Tone and Emotion - Language's emotional content and tone
circumstance of two people interacting with each other with
are intimately linked to style. Depending on the tone the
two or more language varieties thus, influencing each other.
author wants to express, a book may, for instance, have an
This commonly occurs in language borrowing and
informal, amusing style or a formal, serious style.
convergence, and relexification.
Rhetorical Devices - Authors and presenters frequently
Idiolects. The term idiolect – made up of the Greek “idio”
employ a variety of rhetorical strategies, like similes,
which means personal, private along with (dia)lect was
metaphors, alliteration, and hyperbole, to improve the tone and
coined by linguist Bernard Bloch. In linguistic, idiolects fall
persuasiveness of their writing.
under the study of linguistic variation, such as dialects and
accents. How an individual speaks in different varieties is Intertextuality - References to other texts or cultural
called an idiolect. All speakers make use of several idiolects components can also be a part of style. Writers can employ
depending on different settings and circumstances of references, quotations, and allusions to establish a distinct
communication. style.
Dialect. This talks about how people talk in different forms IN LINGUISTICS, STYLE DESCRIBES HOW LANGUAGE
used by members of a regional or ethnic group. All languages IS MODIFIED TO FIT VARIOUS SITUATIONS AND
spoken by more than one small homogenous community are GOALS, SUCH AS CONVEYING PARTICULAR TONES
found to consist of two or more dialects. AND EMOTIONS OR SERVING AS A MEDIUM FOR
OFFICIAL OR INFORMAL COMMUNICATION, IT'S AN
LANGUAGE CONTACT
ESSENTIAL IDEA FOR COMPREHENDING HOW
LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS WELL IN A VARIETY OF of population size or the prestige of a written tradition. This
COMMUNICATION CONTEXTS. process of expansion of a pidgin to other language functions is
referred to as creolization, and the end result is termed a
creole.
A creole, then, is a pidgin that has become the first language of
a speech community examples of Creoles are Chavacano,
Haitian Creole, Haitian Creoles help the people of that certain
PIDGINS community especially in doing busines

Pidgins - According to Merriam Webster it is a simplified Creoles undergo a change, moving in the direction of the
speech used for communication between people with different standard language in a process known as decreolization. Such
languages. a change is currently taking place, for example, in
Englishbased Jamaican Creole, giving rise to a continuum
• A common way in which individuals and groups interact ranging from the basilect, the variety most differentiated from
across language boundaries is by means of pidgins. the standard and used by members of the rural working class,
to the acrolect, an urban variety approaching the standard and
 A pidgin originates when speakers of two or more
therefore seen as more prestigious.
mutually unintelligible language develop a need to
communicate with each other for certain limited or Decreolization - is the process by which a creole language
specialized purposes, especially trades. gradually becomes more like the standard language of a region
(or the acrolect)
CHARACTERISTICS OF PIDGIN
LANGUAGE CONTACT IN THE CONTEMPORARY
 reduce grammar.
WORLD
 does not save as the native, or first, language of any
particular group. Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more
 less complex. languages or varieties interact with and influence each other.
 limited vocabulary.
The transfer of words of phrases can be one-way or two-way.
ORIGIN OF PIDGINS Chinese has influenced Japanese, for instance, though the
reverse has not largely been true Two-way influence is less
A good illustration of the origin, succession, demise of pidgins
common and is typically restricted to specific regions.
can be drawn from recent Vietnamese history. When Vietnam
was ruled by the French. A french-based pidgin was used by A. Language and Languages
those French and Vietnamese who lacked command of other's
language. After the defeat of French, two years later the pidgin The term language is used in the singular, as though language
was no longer needed and became almost instinct. were a single unitary phenomenon. Yet, although languages
have common properties, from the point of view of their users
EXAMPLE: THE FIRST LINES OF SHAKESPEARE'S it is the differences that count. People do not speak language
JULIUS CAESAR IN MALENESIAN TOK PISIN as an abstraction, but particular languages. And from a
COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL ENGLISH. practical perspective the most salient feature is that these
languages are mutually incomprehensible.
Pren, man bolong Rom, Wantok, harim nau - Friends, romans,
countrymen, lend me your ears; B. Attitude to Languages
Mi kam tasol long plantim Kaesar. Mi noken beiten longen. - I Native speaker of a language usually regard it as in some
come to bury Caesar, not to praise him sense their own property. Yet they do not reason other people
acquiring it. They was nothing in the process and are flattered
ALTHOUGH THEY CHARACTERISTICALLY LACK
to share something so highly valued. Yet, however many
INFLECTION AND POSSESS A LIMITED VOCABULARY,
people learn their language, they still regard it as theirs. They
PIDGINS HAVE A STRUCTURE OF THEIR OWN AND
feel that outsiders cannot identify with it quite as they do. To
READILY TO ADAPT TO CHANGING
them it remains familiar and intrinsic, to others it remains
CIRCUMSTANCES. THE STRUCTURAL SIMPLICITY OF
foreign and something apart.
PIDGINS IS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE, ALLOWING
ACROSS- CULTURAL COMMUNICATION WITHIN A C. The languages of nations: boundaries and
MINIMUM OF EFFORT. relationships
Finally, it is important to remember that pidgins are not In addition to academic linguistic and popular approach,
"broken" lan-guages, a kind of "primitive" speech or there are two other ways in which languages can be
manifestations of "corrupt" thought processes of simple peo compared, both of which are of particular importance in
ples. They are quite the opposite: "pidgins are demon-strably the contemporary world. These are by number of speakers
creative adaptations of natur al languages, with a structure and and by geographical distribution. While the world's largest
rules of their own. languages, such as Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, and
Arabic, have hundreds of millions of speakers and are
PIDGINS TO CREOLES
frequently used beyond their homelands, the majority of
PIDGIN - A common way in which individuals and groups the world's languages are much smaller some with only a
interact across language boundaries is by means of a pidgin. few hundred speakers
Pidgins have a much narrower range of functions than the
D. The growth of English
languages for which they substitute, they possess a limited
vocabulary, and because they need to be learned rapidly for Whereas in the past, English was but one international
the sake of efficiency, they have a substantially reduced language among others it is now increasingly in a category of
grammatical structure. Has no native speaker. its own. In addition to its four hundreds million or so first-
language speakers, and over a billion people who live in a
Creoles - Is a common type of language that developed
country where it is an official language, English is now
historically from a pidgin and came into existence at a fairly
thought as the main foreign language in virtually every
precise point in time. It takes generation
country, and used for business, education, and access to
Pidgin to creoles - a pidgin has come to be used by a growing information by a substantial proportion of the world's
number of people over an increasingly large area, especially population. Consequently the role of other international
when none of the native languages can claim priority by virtue languages such as French or Russian has diminished
drastically. As with geographical areas, so with areas of The top ten official or semiofficial languages serving the
activity. French is no longer the international language of air largest number of speakers are, in descending order: English,
traffic control, or dominant and diplomacy. German and Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, French, Arabic, Portuguese,
Russian are no longer internationally necessary for scientific Malay (including Indonesian), and Bengal
study Nor is it just a question of native-speaker numers
D. English and englishes
In the case of smaller and less powerful languages, limited to a
particular community in a particular place, this is both
unexceptional and unremarkable. Once, however a language LCS 7
begins to spread beyond its original homeland the situation
changes and conflicts of opinion begin to emerge. Thus even Units of speech behavior
until surprisingly recently, many British English speakers
regarded American English as an impure deviation, rather as Speech Behavior is the use of language to perform intentional
they might have regarded non standard forms within their own acts.
islands. While such feeling of ownership are to be expected,
Hyme’s 3 Units of Speech Behavior
they quickly become, as they are in the USA, more numerous
and more internationally powerful than sneakers of the parent
 Speech Situation - A speech situation is the context
F. Native speakers within which speaking occurs. Examples of speech
situation: a family meal, birthday party,
All this raises issues about the very term native speakers. We
need to look at some of the common assumptions about what
 Speech Event - A speech event is the basic unit of
it means to be a native speaker. Firstly, there is the question of
verbal communication. event is defined by a unified
personal history. Native speakers are considered to be people
set of components throughout:
who acquired the acquired the language naturally and
 same purpose of communication
effortlessly in childhood, through a combination of exposure,
 same topic
the child's innate talent for language learning, and the need to
 same participant
communicate. Secondly, there is a question of expertise.
 same language variety in general
Native speakers are seen as people who use the language, or a
variety of it, correctly, and have insight into what is or is not
acceptable. Thirdly, there is a question of knowledge and Examples of speech event: conversation, a confession
loyalty. Being a native speaker, it is assumed, entails to a priest,
knowledge of, and loyalty to, a community which uses the
language.  Speech Act - The minimal unit of speech for
purposes of an ethnographic analysis is the speech
G. English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) act. A speech act focuses on how to do something by
saying words.
What matters in its use is clarity and comprehensibility rather
than conformity to one of the existing standards. Indeed, being
native speaker in the traditional sense does not necessarily Three types of Speech Act:
imply expertise in ELF, and of the purposes of international
communication native speakers may need to adjust their  Locutionary Speech Act - This act happens with the
language to a new norm. utterance of a sound, a word, or even a phrase as a
natural unit of speech
This rapid growth of ELF should be a major concern to  Illocutionary Speech Act - It is not just saying
contemporary applied linguistics. We need to consider whether something itself but the act of saying something with
the current situation is unprecedented, whether it has produced the intention of: stating an opinion, confirming, or
a new set of language related problems. denying something; making a prediction, a promise, a
These are pressing issues, affecting in one way or another request; issuing an order or a decision; or giving
everyone who learns or uses English, native, nonnative advice or permission
speaker alike.  Perlocutionary Speech Act - This is seen when a
particular effect is sought from either the speaker, the
WORLD OF LANGUAGES listener, or both. The response may not necessarily be
physical or verbal and is elicited by: inspiring or
It may come as a surprise to learn that no one knows exactly insulting; persuading/convincing; or
how many languages are spoken in the world today. One deterring/scaring.
standard source suggests the total is more than 6,900 (Gordon
2005). PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING (COMPONENTS OF
Top 10 Language COMMUNICATION)

 I-E Indo-European - most of the languages spoken in Participants - include the sender, receiver, and those who can
Europe perceive speech signals.
 S-T Sino-Tibetan – Tibetan, Burmese, and Chinese Cultural and sociolinguistic background must be taken
Southeastern Asia into account:
 N-C Niger-Congo - western, central, and southern Africa
 Af-A Afro-Asiatic - Semitic, Berber, Cushitic, and Chadic  age
Northern Africa and Southwestern Asia  gender
 Au Austronesian - Madagascar eastward through the  ethnic group
Malay Peninsula to Hawaii and Easter Island  relationship/kindship
 D Dravidian - Southern India and Sri Lanka  degree of acquaintance
 J Japanese – language of japan  social status
 Al Altaic – spoken form turkey
 Au-A Austroasiatic - Southeastern Asia (Laos, Vietnam, Setting - location/time where communication happens
and Cambodia)
Scene - mood and context, “psychological setting”,
 K korean - the language of the two Koreas
contributes to the setting
10 mother tongue
Genre -type of speech act or communication event  Jeffrey Heath preferred “the original text, warts and all”
or at least kept “editorial emendations . . . To a minimum”
e.g. telling bedtime stories to children to entertain them, (Heath 1985:90).
teaching the lesson to students
 Furthermore, he liked to obtain texts that are stylistically
Key - overall tone or manner of speech; tonality, pacing, diverse rather than uniform. Having such texts made it
loudness; “tone, manner, or spirit in which an act is done” - easier to match different styles with corresponding
Dell Hymes grammatical (or even “ungrammatical”) forms.
Rules of Interaction - The speech community knows what is  English speakers view fillers like “er,” “uh,” and “um”
and what is not appropriate; unspoken rule with stigma, among Ngandi speakers, the word “jara” is
Norms of Interpretation - social rules that govern fully acceptable and used to fill pauses while searching
communication; conventions; whether something is socially for a specific noun.
acceptable or not  The noun “jara” has derivational forms and a full set of
OTHER COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION noun-class prefixes and suffixes, indicating its syntactic
prominence in Ngandi
The purpose of speaking is not always to transmit information
or to exchange ideas. Sometimes it is to establish an  What struck Heath in particular “about the differences
atmosphere's of sociability and is the equivalent of a hug or a between English and such Australian languages as Ngandi
hearty handshake. . . . Is that most of them relate closely to
‘psycholinguistic’ aspects of speech production” and that
Channels - refers motivation for communicative behavior the underlying clear-cut grammar and the psycholinguistic
varies from one occasion to the next. An individual may make component concerned with memory limitations, surface
an offer or a request, threaten or plead, praise or blame, invite ambiguities, and the like “are far more tightly welded to
or prohibit some action, reveal or try to conceal something, each other than it seems at first” (Heath 1985:108).
and so on
Context as a Process - As something that develops and
Codes - refers to a framework for communication in a given - perhaps even changes significantly while two or more
speech community. As an academic discipline, it explores the individuals are interacting rather than as something that is
manner in which groups communicate based on societal, given, or fixed.
cultural, gender, occupational or other factors
Contextualization Cues - Those features of the settings that
Message Content and Form - A paraphrase may be sufficient are used at particular stages of the interaction to aid in the
to indicate the message content, but only the quoting of the interpretation of the content are signaled by contextualization
exact words can represent adequately the message form of a cues.
speech act.
 In a relatively short period of time, verbal exchanges
Speaking - in discussing the various components of speech, between individuals can abruptly change in terms of tone,
Hymes used as a mnemonic device the word SPEAKING, message content, form, and rules of interaction. This
whose letters stand for change can be triggered by a simple remark, which leads
to a significant shift in the conversational atmosphere and
S- SETTING AND SCENE, P- PARTICIPANTS, E- ENDS, direction.
A- ACT SEQUENCE, K- KEY, I- INSTRUMENTALITIES,  For example, two neighbors are chatting casually about
N- NORMS OF INTERACTION, G- GENRES the weather and their gardens until one happens to make a
remark about the other’s child and the remark is taken as a
 SETTING AND SCENE -where the speech event is
criticism of parenting skills.
located in time and space
 PARTICIPANTS -who takes part in the speech event, Casual Atmosphere - contextualization cues determine the
and in what role (e g. speaker, addressee, audience) nature and purpose of verbal exchange during casual
 ENDS -what the purpose of the speech event is, and what interaction.
its outcome is meant to be
 ACT SEQUENCE -what speech acts make up the speech Misinterpretation - A remark taken as criticism can lead to a
event, and what order they are performed in. change in tone and indicate a misinterpretation of the original
 KEY -the tone or manner of performance (serious or message.
joking, sincere or ironic, etc.)
 INSTRUMENTALITIES -what channel or medium of To linguists who would most likely be analyzing unwritten
communication is used (e.g. speaking, signing, writing, languages spoken by very small, out-of-the-way societies,
drumming, whistling), and what language/variety is Ngandi discourse structure might well appear as highly
selected from the participants' repertoire fragmented and unpredictable.
 NORMS OF INTERACTION - what the rules are for
producing and interpreting speech acts
 GENRES -what 'type' does a speech event belong to (e.g. LCS 8
interview, gossip), and what other pre-existing
conventional forms of speech are drawn on or 'cited' in THE STIMULUS OF SAPIR’S WRITING
producing appropriate contributions to talk. Edward Sapir - Sapir's full name is Edward Sapir he was
Recent trends in the ethnography of speaking born on January 28, 1884 in Lauenburg, Pomerania, Germany
[now Lebork, Poland] he died on February 4, 1939 in New
Ethnography of Speaking Haven, Connecticut, U.S. He was one of the foremost
American linguists and anthropologists of his time, most
 The ethnography of speaking according to Dell Hymes is widely known for his contributions to the study of North
concerned with describing ways of speaking, as they American Indian languages.
construct and reflect social life within particular speech
communities.  Edward Sapir define language as "a purely human and
noninstinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions,
 ‘Ethnography’ refers to fieldwork, supplemented by and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced
techniques developed in other areas of study (notably symbols."
conversation analysis, history, and pragmatics), which  Anthropology has shown that culture, race, and language
produces a written description of the way of life of a are historically separate and not inherently linked.
group of people.
 Although language is necessary for the development of Linguistic Determinism - This hypothesis suggests that the
culture, there is no correlation between cultures and structure and vocabulary of a language determine or shape the
languages of a certain type. For example, North American thoughts and perceptions of its speakers
Indians of the Great Plains shared similar cultural traits,
but their languages belonged to at least six different Linguistic Relativity - This hypothesis proposes that language
families. Conversely, Estonians and Lapps speak related influences thought and perception but doesn't entirely
languages but have different cultures. Franz Boas determine them.
emphasized the absence of intrinsic relationships among Spatial Orientation in Kuuk Thaayorre - Kuuk Thaayorre
physical type, culture, and language. language uses cardinal directions, not left and right,
 Edward Sapir, like his teacher Franz Boas, influencing spatial perception. Language influences their
acknowledged that language and culture are not inherently understanding of space.
linked, but believed that they are intertwined and
essentially the same. While Boas and Sapir recognized Russian has two blues - Languages categorize colors
that the relationship between language, physical type, and differently. For example, Russian has separate words for light
culture is a historical coincidence, they also blue ("голубой" - "goluboy") and dark blue ("синий" -
acknowledged that language helps young individuals "siniy"), affecting how Russians perceive these colors
learn and operate within their society's culture, suggesting compared to English speakers
a connection between language and culture.
 Sapir's interest in how languages influence culture Inuit language for snow - Linguistic relativism about snow is
created significant interest in the subject. He switched his how snow-related language influences people's thoughts and
focus from Germanic studies to anthropology while interactions with snow. It's often discussed in the context of
studying under Boas at Columbia University. Most of his Inuit languages, which have rich terminology for snow and
work was dedicated to studying Native American ice.
languages, and his book Language (1921) is considered a
Hopi Language - The Hopi language is spoken by the Hopi
classic.
people of northeastern Arizona in the United States
 Sapir's 1916 work on Time Perspective in Aboriginal
American Culture discussed methods for developing  Whorf highlighted that Hopi, unlike English, had a rich
cultural chronologies when native testimonies and linguistic framework for describing vibratile phenomena,
historical or archaeological records are lacking. Sapir using versatile verb forms.
noted that linguistic changes are slower and more
consistent than cultural changes, and that language is Punctual Aspect - The punctual aspect typically describes a
more self-contained and less rationalized. While major verb action that occurs in a very short period of time, often as
societal revolutions lead to significant structural changes, a single, momentary event.
languages remain relatively unchanged except for minor
Segmentative Aspect - Segmentative aspect involves actions
vocabulary adjustments.
that are seen as being distributed over time, often involving
 Sapir used language to uncover cultural history by
repetition or continuation
analyzing descriptive terms used by Native American
groups for Mount Shasta. The Yana word, "wagalu," for Lacks of Time Reference - In the Hopi language, time is
the mountain was untranslatable and therefore older than approached differently. Unlike English and European
the Hupa word, "nin-nis-Pan tak-gai." Similarly, Sapir languages, Hopi verbs lack common tense markers.
examined the Nootka word " tło-kwa-na," which suggests
that the wolf ceremonial complex was borrowed from the
neighboring Kwakiutl people, revealing both borrowing
and the likely source of cultural influence. SAPIR-WHORF’S HYPOTHESIS RECONSIDERED
 A paragraph in a paper presented by Sapir in 1928 at a The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, suggests that the language we
scholarly meeting in New York caught the imagination of speak can influence the way we perceive and think about
many scholars and inspired active research for several the world. The hypothesis posits two main versions:
decades.
 Language is crucial in indexing a civilization's cultural 1. Strong version: Language determines thought, and
patterns and expressing its social reality. It conditions our linguistic categories shape cognitive processes. Speakers
thinking about social issues, and societies are at the mercy of different languages would perceive and understand the
of the particular language that they use. The "real world" world in fundamentally different ways.
is largely built on the language habits of a group, and no
two 2. Weak version: Language influences thought, but it
languages represent the same social reality. Different doesn't determine it entirely. It suggests that language can
societies live in distinct worlds, not just the same world shape certain cognitive patterns and guide thinking but
with different labels. doesn't impose rigid constraints.

THE WHORF HYPOTHESIS OF LINGUISTIC Whorf’s Views Of Lexical Differences in Language.

RELATIVITY AND LINGUISTIC DETERMINISM Whorf's views on lexical differences emphasized the role of
Edward Sapir (1884-1939) - He was an influential linguist, language in shaping thought. He argued that the vocabulary of
anthropologist, and scholar. Sapir made significant a language influences how speakers perceive and categorize
contributions to the study of indigenous languages in North the world. Whorf believed that unique lexical distinctions
America and developed the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis contribute to cultural and cognitive variations among linguistic
communities, reflecting different priorities and worldviews.
Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) - Whorf was an American
linguist and fire prevention engineer. He expanded on Sapir's For instance, In Pintupi, one of the aboriginal languages of
ideas and further developed the linguistic relativity hypothesis. Australia, there are at least ten words designating various
Whorf's noticed how linguistic labels like "gasoline drums" or various kinds of holes found in nature or in manufactured
"empty gasoline drums" can influence people's behavior, objects: mutara is a special hole in a spear, pulpa is a rabbit
leading them to underestimate the hazards in situations and burrow, makarnpa is a burrow of a monitor lizzard, katarta is
potentially engage in risky behavior. the hole left by a monitor lizard after it has broken the surface
after hibernation and so on.
Sapir and Whorf’s Relationship - Sapir was Whorf's mentor
and supervisor during Whorf's time at Yale University, where The Power of Pronouns. Whorf highlighted how the structure
Whorf pursued linguistic studies and worked closely with of pronoun systems in different languages can influence
Sapir speakers' perspectives. For instance, languages may vary in
the extent to which they distinguish between inclusive and LENNEBERG AND JOHN ROBERTS - Their idea was to
exclusive "we" or in the precision of gendered pronouns. use an array of 320 scientifically calibrated color chips
These distinctions, according to Whorf, could shape the way varying in the dimensions of hue and brightness, and put them
speakers perceive social relationships and hierarchy. Pronoun together in a physical chart. Immediately found significant
usage in Japanese is more complex than in the Indo-European differences between the Zuni and English speakers, both in the
languages, another dimensions beside familiarity must be number of color terms found in each language and in the
considered. Pronouns must be selected depending on differing ranges informants marked off these color terms.
levels of intended formality and the gender of the speaker.
CRITERIA IN DEFINING ABSTRACT “BASIC”
Kinship Terminology TERMS
Whorf also emphasized the impact of kinship terminology on  Monolexemic and Unanalyzable
cultural cognition. The specific terms a language employs to  Not a Subset
describe familial relationships can reflect the social structure  Wide applicability
and values of a community. For example, if a language has  Psychologically Salient
distinct words for various types of aunts or uncles, it may  consistently productive
indicate a cultural emphasis on these relationships. The  Term for basic colors should not name objects
Japanese kinship and pronominal systems reflect fine nuances  Recent foreign loanwords are suspect
of meaning or social distance, Japanese social structure at least  Morphological complexity can be given some weight
linguistically follows what anthropologists call an "Eskimo"
kinship terminology CONCLUSION OF BERLIN AND KAY’S
EXPERIMENTS
What this means is that the kinship system in Japanese is
similar in many ways to the American one, but with three 1. In all languages, there at least two, but no more than
important exceptions: eleven or twelve, color terms that could be considered as
basic.
● Terms of address are different from terms of reference.
● older siblings are distinguished from younger siblings, 2. These basic color terms label universal perceptual
● and terms for relatives of the speaker are different from categories (“psychological referents”) of which there are
terms for others relatives. probably no more than eleven.

Shape, Color, and Space. 3. These basic color categories are historically encoded in a
given language in one of two possible orderings, as given
 Several studies indicate that grammatical features may on the next page.
indeed have some influence on memory and nonverbal
behavior. Among the hot-known studies of this type is the
report on an experiment administered in Navajo and white
American children by John B. Carroll and Joseph B.
Casagrande (1915-1982) in the late 1950s.
 A speaker of Navajo must choose from among several
forms of Navajo verbs of handling according to the shape
or some other characteristic of the object being handled-
for example, solid roundish (rock), slender and flexible
(rope), flat and flexible (cloth), slender and stiff (stick),
noncompact (wool), and so on.
 Even though the use of the appropriate forms is
obligatory, the selection operates below the level of
THEORETICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL
conscious awareness on the part of the speakers, and even
CHALLENGES
children as young as three or four make no errors (In a
somewhat similar fashion, in English one shrugs one's  Translatability
shoulders and node one's head, and no native speaker  Mutual Linguistic Comprehension
would ever use one term for the other.)  Language and Thought
 One of the hypotheses of the investigators was that this  Multilingualism
feature of Na-vajo affects the perception of objects and  Language Change
consequently the behavior of speakers.  Untestability
 Language and Perception
COLOR NOMENCLATURE AND OTHER
 Language Universals
CHALLENGES TO LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY
THEORETICAL ALTERNATIVES TO LINGUISTIC
Franz Boas - anticipated much for this work stating that
RELATIVITY
Differences of principles of classification are found in the
domain of sensations. In course of time we have been adding Noam Chomsky’s Universal Grammar Theory
names for additional hues which in earlier times, in part also
now in daily life, are not distinguished. Noam Chomsky - Born December 7, 1928 in East Oak Lane,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 94 years old. Often
Color Terminologies - Have been a source of fascination for called the Father of Linguistics. Studied on the University of
anthropologists ever since early ethnographers noticed that Pennsylvania from 1951-1955
“non- Western” peoples often have very different ways of
dividing up the color spectrum. MAIN POINTS TO REMEMBER IN CHOMSKY’S
UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR THEORY/ UNIVERSALISM
It was puzzling to find that so natural and neutral a stimulus as
the color spectrum could be divided up in hundreds of  LAD or language acquisition device is innate within us,
different ways children only acquire vocabulary from their surroundings
but the basic concepts of grammar are already within their
Aspects of Formal Color Nomenclature minds. This helps in children’s effortless learning and
acquisition of language
One of the most important-though also somewhat neglected-
 Certain Languages around the world share similarities on
studies in color was conducted by Eric Lenneberg and John
their grammarical structure or features, such as their
Roberts.
Subject-Verb Agreement along with some similarities on
their vocabulary they may be different terminologies like
 certain verbs, adjectives and adverb per language but the
way they are structured within a sentence would remain
the same
 Since humans share the innate capacity to understand and
recognize language, everyone can learn any language they
want to, Complexities may vary from one language onto
another but languages across the world share similarities
within their cores accroding to Chomsky
CULTURAL DETERMINISM John Gumperz (1958) - One of the experience of John
Gumperz, when he lived in the Indian village of Khalapur
GARY WITHERSPOON about 80 miles north of Delhi, he reported that although the
popular at the time of his research was only about 5,000 it was
 Born July 27, 1943 divided into 31 endogamous castes, none of them had equal
 Was an American Anthropologist known for his status
contributions in the field of studying the Navajo language
 Attended the University of Chicago in 1970
 Awards include the Guggenheim fellowship for social
science in the US and Canada
Navajo Tribe
 The Navajo tribe are amongst the most studied tribes in
North America
 Studied by Gary Witherspoon an American
Anthropologist
 There are more than 300,000 speakers of the Navajo
Language in the US
 • According to the Navajo “Language is not a mirror of
reality, reality is a mirror of language” • The word Hózhó
is considered to be the most important word in their Variations in IDENTITY
language.
 Zhó” refers to a state of being, characterized by peace, William Labov - He conducted a well-known study of
goodness, order, happiness, blessedness, beauty, Sociolinguistics change. Labov's pioneering work was
satisfaction and so on. concerned with relationship between the social status of
 Hó” means as a whole or altogether speakers in New York City and their pronunciation of 'r'-
sounds.
DANIEL EVERETT
Language Gender
 An American Linguist
 Born July 26, 1951  Sex roles vary from culture to culture, and time and place,
 Greatly known for his study of the Piraha tribe of Brazil how any given male or female might behave is predicated
 Attended the University of Campinas Moody Bible upon numerous cultural expectations, biological options,
Institute and individual personalities. Thus, social scientists often
restrict the use of the term sex to a person’s biological
Piraha Tribe physiology, while using gender to refer to someone’s
social or cultural identity as a male or female.
 An Isolated tribe in the banks of the Amazon river in
 Sexual orientation is something different. It ranges along
Brazil
a continuum from exclusive attraction to the opposite sex
 Studied by Daniel Everett, in which he lived with the
to exclusive attraction to the same sex. Although
Piraha People for a few months
“straight” is generally taken as the default role, gay
 through his experiences with the tribe Everett stated
people—and most scientists—point out that sexual
that there is no such thing as “Universal Grammar” as
orientation is probably not a lifestyle choice but rather the
opposed to the claims of Noam Chomsky
result of a complex interaction of genetic, hormonal, and
 The piraha language does not have words for
environmental influences. Therefore, we may need to add
counting instead they use the term Hoí to distinguish
a third variable to the “sex = biology” and “gender =
between what is small and what is big in terms of
culture” equations mentioned previously: “sexual
quantity
identity.”
 The word Baíxí is used to refer for both parents since
they have no words or terms to represent mother and Gender - is a social construct that is likely to vary from one
father society to the next, or even from one social group to another
 The Piraha tribe also does not have any stories or within a society or culture.
myths about their creation and where they came from Grammatical Gender - It is the sorting of nouns into two or
more classes, as reflected in the form of words associated with
LCS 9 the noun common, masculine, feminine, neuter.
 Many languages also make distinctions based on
Language: Social Class and Identity
grammatical gender. That is, words fall into certain
Variations in Social Class classes or categories—generally exclusively—based on
some property or feature assigned to them.
Social Class - grouping based on similar factors like wealth,  We should mention here that the origin of the word gender
income, education, and occupation. comes from the Latin “genus” (“class” or “sort”). So in
linguistics, gender refers to a grammatical category based
on certain properties a word has, including—but hardly
restricted to—the common “masculine,” “feminine,” and
“neutral” genders found in some Indo-European
languages. And even then, in Indo-European languages
these assignments are often arbitrary.
 For example, in German “knife” (das Messer) is neutral,
“fork” (die Gabel) is feminine, and “spoon” (der Löffel) is
 masculine. Common kinds of gender classes include  To sum up, in American English there are no
“masculine versus feminine,” “masculine versus feminine pronunciations, grammatical forms, words, or sentence
versus neutral,” and “animate versus inanimate,” though constructions that are employed exclusively by men or by
many others actually exist. Although uncommon, some women. Rather, what differences there are between male
languages, such as Bantu in Africa, can have more than a an female speech have to do with the frequency with
dozen gender classes. For example, Ganda has sixteen, which some usages are employed by one sex or the other
Lozi has eighteen, and Venda has twenty. and the use of certain lexical items. That these differences
Gender and Speech in American Society are decreasing rather than maintaining themselves or
 In American English, some differences have been noted in growing is an indication that long-standing social
intonational patterns between male and female speakers. differences between women and men are in the process of
If one analyzes intonational contours as four relative pitch breaking down.
levels, then men tend to use only three, hardly ever Gender and Speech in Japan
reaching the highest one.  Perhaps one of the most famous examples of how women
 Consider, for example, how men and women say the and men speak differently in Japanese is found in the
phrase “Oh, that’s terrible!” Women’s range frequently classic overview of the language by one of the West’s
includes all four. Among the contours very rarely heard leading scholars of Japanese historical linguistics, Roy
from men is the full downglide from the highest to the Andrew Miller.Here in translation is an excerpt he gives
lowest pitch level, as when expressing surprise, of a conversation between two women about a garden
excitement, concern, and the like. In general, women’s (1967: 289–290)
speech appears to be more dynamic, making greater use  As Miller suggests, the dialogue between these two
of paralinguistic features and extending over a broader women was in every sense a special kind of discourse.
pitch range. The conveying of information is less important than the
Vocabulary and Word Choice - Certain words are used by way it is said, the feelings that are exchanged, and the
women much more frequently than by men. Among such emphatic communication taking place. At the same time,
words are expressive adjectives that convey approval or “Japanese men would not carry on in this way about
admiration—for example, delightful, spectacular, charming, anything, particularly about gardens”.
divine, lovely, fascinating, and sweet—and fashionable color Honorifics and Polite Language - The Japanese language is
names—for example, beige, chartreuse, fuchsia, magenta, and noted for having an extremely complex system of honorifics to
mauve. indicate in various ways differing degrees of politeness,
 Men are much more likely to phrase their approval or formality, humility, distance, and hierarchy. In general,
liking for something by using a neutral adjective, such as Japanese differs from English in that, in Japanese, politeness is
fine, good, or great, and reinforcing it, if necessary, with encoded in the grammar, whereas in English it is generally
such an adverb as damn, as in “That was a damn good encoded in words or phrases. Polite forms in Japanese are
show.” rather complex and appear in many grammatical forms,
 As a rule, men’s color vocabu-lary is much less usually with more levels than those mentioned above.
discriminating, and hence somewhat poorer, than
women’s. But in the United States, differences between GENDER AND LANGUAGE: THEORETICAL
men’s and women’s word choices seem to be steadily MOVEMENTS
growing smaller. For example, until a decade ago, sweet Deficit is an approach established by Lakoff (1975) that
and awesome were slang terms exclusively used by young introduces a 'women's language' as classified by linguistic
women, but now these adjectives are commonly used by trends in women's speech. This approach created a dichotomy
both genders. between women's language and men's language.
 And profanities are now casually used by many young
women whose mothers and grandmothers not only would  greater use of tag questions (“ . . . , right?”; “ . . . don’t
never have uttered them but would probably have been you think?”)
embarrassed even to hear them. Nonetheless, on the  greater use of polite forms (“If you don’t mind, could
whole, as several authors have noted, in careful speech you . . . ”)
women are likely to use fewer stigmatized words than are  greater use of wh- words (“Why don’t we go to the
men. store?”)
Tag Questions - One of the characteristics of women’s  greater use of hedges (“I kinda like it”)
speech—particularly of older women—is the use of a “tag  greater use of qualifiers (“I think that might be true”)
question” in certain contexts. The term refers to a question  • greater use of apologies (“Sorry to bother you, but . . .
attached to an utterance to obtain the assent of the addressee, ”)
as in “That was a silly thing for them to do, wasn’t it?”  greater use of intensifiers (“That’s so so adorable!”)
Seeking confirmation or validation of a statement may indicate  greater use of certain “women’s vocabulary” (e.g.,
the speaker’s desire to avoid assertiveness colors)
 greater use of modal auxiliaries (“We ought
Hedges - Another way women may try to avoid assertiveness to/should/might . . . ”)
is to use so-called hedge words or phrases, such as maybe,  wider range of intonation (“That dress JUST looks SO
rather, perhaps, I guess, sort of, I am wondering, and others. A adorable on you! . . . ”)
sentence using a hedge word may even be combined with a tag  greater use of adjectives expressing admiration (“She
question, as in the first of the following examples: “You are wore a divine dress”)
rather tired, aren’t you?”  greater use of euphemisms (“I’m going to the bathroom
Other Alleged Differences and powder my nose”)
 Other differences between the speech behavior of men Difference Theory/Subculture Theory - argues that men
and women have been suggested. For example, some and women live in different linguistic worlds basically
investigators found that when women talk with other because they live in different subcultures. “[W]omen and
women on a social basis, favored topics are relationships, men use specific and distinct verbal strategies and
social issues, house and family, the workplace, and communicative styles which were developed in same-sex
personal and family finances. When men talk with other childhood peer groups” (Freed 2003:701). Subculture theory
men, the favored topics have been work, recreation and claims that the social lives of women lie in a subculture
sports, and women. In other studies of speech behavior, somewhat apart from the mainstream. Women and women’s
women interviewees were found to be more cooperative language are marked as different from men and men’s
and polite and offered more information than did men. language.
Dominance theory—or social power theory—focuses on  Anglophones - refers to those who indicated English-only
patriarchy and male power. Researchers using dominance as their mother tongue
theory characterize the “social and political arrangement  The promotion of personal bilingualism in English and
between the sexes as one in which women were viewed and French is an important objective of the Canadian
treated as unequal to men because the norms of society” have government
been established by men; the “division of labor between  According to Monica Heller (1988), because of the social
women and men was seen to include a division of language and economic tensions between Francophone and
practices, one belonging to the powerful and the other Anglophone speakers in Quebec, how bilingual speakers
belonging to women” (Freed 2003:701). of French and English see these two languages is highly
charged. Some believe that the only way to protect the
DOES GRAMMATICAL GENDER AFFECT HOW WE French language and Francophone rights is for Quebec to
THINK? split off from the rest of Canada
At the beginning of this chapter we stressed the difference Spain - Euskara (Euskera) or Basque, is the language of
between biological and grammatical gender. There we said Basque people who are inhabitants of northeast Spain and
that the use of masculine, feminine, or neutral genders to southwest France. It has 5 major dialects under the language
classify words does not require their speakers to conceptualize policy of the Franco Regime (1939-1975) from 1937 until the
these words as necessarily having male- or female-like mids of 1950 ' s
properties.  The royal Academy of the Basque Language created a
LANGUAGE IN GAY, LESBIAN, AND TRANSGENDER standard form of Basque in 1964 called Euskara-Batua
SUBCULTURES and established a standard orthography.
In the past two decades, linguistic anthropologists and other  Unlike Basque, Catalan is the Roman Language of
scholars have been paying increasing attention to the language IndoEuropean family and shares 85 percent lexical
found in gay, lesbian, and transgendered communities. similarity with spanish. Right after World War II the
Sometimes this field of study is termed lavender linguistics Franco government took severe repressive measures
(e.g., Leap, 1995), named for the (stereotypical) color against Catalan language and culture. - Catalan language
associated with gay and lesbian civil-rights activism since the was prohibited
1960s.
The Life and Death of Languages
TERMINOLOGY ISSUES  All languages change and evolve. Some linguists think of
The 1980s saw attempts at theorizing the language found in language as a living organism: when a country or a group
gay, lesbian, and transgendered communities by analyzing the of people are formed, language arises or they get born,
performative aspects of these lexical items. For example, in they live, grow and changes over time. Eventually, they
his analysis of the language of gay American men, Hayes pass away, making space for a new and better language.
(1981a, 1981b) claimed that it had three functions: (1) to act as And with this process, languages die as a result.
a secret code to protect against exposure (by, for example, Endangered - A dead language is a language that is no longer
switching the gender of pronouns); (2) to enable one to take on the native language of a community, even if it is still used in
a variety of roles and behaviors (e.g., playing a drag queen); other contexts. Its uses tend to only exist in specific situations;
and (3) to empower gays to politicize social life (by, for perhaps in academic or amongst individuals or in special
example, co-opting pejorative terms like fag or dyke and circumstances.
turning them into symbols of defiance) (Kulick 2000:259). Extinct - are no longer spoken or used in any purpose and that
do not have any speakers. Many extinct languages are totally
LANGUAGE AND NATIONALITY lost to history, with only the record of the language name itself
Four Case Studies remaining.
India - Second largest population in the world One of the most
multilingual countries in the world. More than 400 languages Dead Language examples: Latin, Sanskrit, Old Norse, Ancient
are spoken (Gordon 2005: 353) Greek
 Language families (Indo European, Dravidian, Extinct Language – Dicamay Agta, Villaviciosa Agta
Austroasiatic, and Tibeto-Burman) and some isolates. The
Presidential Order of 1960 states that english should be David Crystal 5 reasons on why should we care if language
the principal official language and Hindi the subsidiary dies
Official Language till 1965.  because we need diversity in order to preserve our
Interethnic oral communication of an informal nature traditional culture wealth
Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, Urdu in a modified  because a language constitutes the primary symbol of
form of Arabic script ethnic identity
Formal and written communication  because languages, whether written or unwritten, are
The official use of English was intended to be only temporary. repositories of history
Indians with knowledge of English tend to be the cultural,  because languages contribute to the sum of human
economic, and political leaders. knowledge
 because languages are fascinating in themselves
Czech Republic - Czech Republic is also known as "Czechia
" . The official language in Czech Republic is the Czech Language Maintenance - “The term language maintenance is
language. Czech is mutually intelligible with Slovak. The the study of how languages survive, or the continuing use of
Austrian census administration used the concept of (minority) language in the face of a mere regionally, socially
umgangssprache (language of use) rather than mutterssprache or politically dominant language.” (Van Herk, 2012)
(mother tongue).
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND
Canada - The word Canada is derived from the Huron- TRANSLATION
Iroquios Kanata, meaning a village or settlement. The biggest
issue is the tension between the two official languages, French
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION - Entails
and English.
interaction among individuals who have different languages,
 In 1969 the official languages Act made English and cultures, and traditions. It occurs when people communicate,
French as Canada ’ s two official languages. negotiate, and establish information while leaning on their
 Francophones - those who indicated French as mother diverse cultural origins.
tongue.
 experience challenges such as publication bias and limit
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IS VITAL TO of participation in global intellectual exchange.
STUDY AS:  Employment Opportunities - English proficiency is a
 Increases cultural awareness. requirement for many high paying jobs and international
 Allows people to be creative in problem solving. career opportunities. Those who lack these skills may face
 Work place and economic globalization. barriers in social and economic advancement, creating
 Foster globl peace. disparities in opportunities based on language proficiency.
 Trade and Business - International companies and
businesses prefer to discuss negotiations in English,
CULTURAL COLLISION - Are cultural differences that
giving its speakers a competitive advantage in accessing
individuals may refuse to compromise on. It arises when there
global markets and investors. Additionally, large portion
is a difference in beliefs and perspectives about a topic of
of the population favors English products which further
discussion. Filipinos and Chinese perspectives about clocks.
limits non-English speakers to gains and representations.
Cultural inequality refers to non-material or ideological
Translation inequality. This involves the marginalization and devaluation
 According to Merriam-Webster, translation is an act, of local cultures and language in the face of English
process, or instance of translating one language to dominance.
another.  Language Prestige - English is the symbol of modernity
 It is essential when conversing with individuals who and sophistication leading to devaluation of local
speak different languages, as it enables people to languages and cultures. Stigmatization of local languages
understand one another. surfaces and its speakers experience prejudice and
 Translation may be challenging. Translation of words and discrimination.
phrases may be different in each language.  Social Prestige - Proficient English speakers earn social
 It is essential when conversing with individuals who prestige or high respect and status in their community.
speak different languages, as it enables people to They are perceived as more educated and globally aware,
understand one another. however also giving linguistic inequalities within
 It is essential when conversing with individuals who societies to those who are non-speakers or not proficient
speak different languages, as it enables people to speakers.
understand one another.
Phillipson’s work emphasizes the need to recognize and
English as an International Language address these linguistic and cultural inequalities, promoting
linguistic diversity and ensuring that all languages and cultures
 English is the most widely used spoken language. It is the are respected and valued.
official language in many nations, the second language in
others and even taught as foreign language in some. These prove of the intensity of English’s impact to the world
 It is the most successful language (at least today), and is and nations. It has not just left a mark in history, but also
the dominant language across the land, the sky and even affected many cultures and shaped society.
the sea!
Titles of English
✧ English as the global lingua franca
✧ English as international language
✧ English as the global language
 English served as a language that brings us together and
we undeniably benefited a lot from it. But the active usage
of English resulted also in inequalities.
Hegemony - refers to the dominant influence of one group
over others.
Robert Phillipson - introduced Linguistic Imperialism which
he described as a form of linguicism in his 1992 book,
“Linguistic Imperialism.” Linguistic Imperialism is the
imposition of one’s language on speakers of other languages.
Linguistic Imperialism - This was first seen through
colonization and military power. And then more subtly
through economic, social, and cultural penetration. English is
the primary example of this occurrence. (Zeng, Ponce, Li,
2023)
Furthermore, Phillipson says that a “working definition of
English linguistic imperialism is that the dominance of English
is asserted and maintained by the establishment and
continuous reconstruction of structural and cultural
inequalities between English and other languages.”
Structural inequality refers to inequality related to material
wealth such as resources, education and opportunities.
 Education - English became the language of instruction,
and often related as the language of knowledge and
progress. It places its speakers to an advantage in
accessing and distributing global educational resources
such as researches, and causing non-English speakers to