CHAPTER 2 DESCRIBING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

1. A LANGUAGE IN USE
The language we speak or write is governed by a number of rules, styles and
constraints.
SMS or text messaging has developed into a sophisticated way of conveying
messages
In emails, we will often use contracted forms. (wbw= whit best wishes)
We must be careful when using any form because each form express a
different meaning.
2. B WHAT WE WANT TO SAY
The issue that faces us here is that the words we use and what they actually
mean in the context we use them, are not the same thing at all.
There is on one to one correspondence, in other words, between form and
meaning.
a. B1 FORM AND MEANING
There are many different ways of saying the same thing.
Each constructions indicates a time, but each means something slightly
different.
The choice of which time form to use will depend not only on meaning, but
what purpose we wish to achieve.
b. B2 PURPOSE
The philosopher J L Austin identified a series of verbs which he called
performatives that is verbs which do what those same words mean.
The idea the language performs certain functions is not restricted to the kind
of verbs Austin mentioned.
The study of functions has had a profound effect upon the design of
languages teaching materials.
c. B3 APPROPIACY AND REGISTER
A feature of language is that they do not just have on linguistic realization.
When we attempt to achieve a communicative purpose, we have to choose
which of these language form to use.
Six of variables which govern our choice: setting, participants, gender,
channel, topic and tone.
3. C LANGUAGE AS TEXT AND DISCOURSE
We shall see, grammar and vocabulary are vital components of language.
a. C1 DISCOURSE ORGANISATION
The discourse needs to be organized or conducted in such a way that it will
be successful.
In written English this call for both coherence and cohesion.
Grammatical cohesion is achieved in a number ways. One of the most
common is the concept of anaphoric reference, where we use pronouns.

 Cohesive technique is that substitution, using a phrase to refer to something

we have already written.
Grammatical cohesion is also achieved by tense agreement since if the writer
is constantly changing tense.
These features are also present in spoken language, which also shows many
examples of ellipsis.
b. C2 GENRE
we have some understanding of genre to can communicate successfully
a genre is a type of written organization.
Experts prefer to see genre as a staged, goal-oriented social process rather
than a description of text forms.
4. D GRAMMAR
There is a system of rules, in other words, which says what can come before
what and which order different elements can go in.
Studying grammar means knowing how different grammatical elements can
be strung together to make chains of words.
a. D1 CHOOSING WORDS
STUDENTS NEED to understand at some level what these implications.
The students need to be aware of rules.
The problems arise, however, when rules are complex and difficult to
perceive.
5. E LEXIS
Here we will look at what is known about lexis.
Lexis is the technical name form the vocabulary of a language.
a. E1 LANGUAGE CORPORA
lexigraphersand other researches are able to analyse large banks of language
data stored on computers.
Users of computers corpora can get a concordance for words they are looking
for.
The Compleat Lexical Tutor allows us to look, as well, at how asleep is used in
speaking.

b. E2 WORD MEANING
The last problematic issue of vocabulary, it would seem, is meaning.
The point is that the same collection of sounds and letters can have many
different meanings,
As with multi-meaning grammatical forms, this polysemy is only resolved we
see the word in context.
Word can also have synonyms that mean exactly or nearly the same as each
other.
Another relationship which defines the meanings of words to each other is
that of hyponymy.

c. E3EXTENDING WORD USE

Words can also be stretched and twisted to fit different contexts and different
uses.
There are many examples of how the literal meaning of words can be
extended.
It helps us extend our range of expression and interpretation, allowing us the
opportunity to explain our feelings about things in a way creates readily
available images.

d. E4 WORD COMBINATIONS
Words can appear as single items which are combined in a sentence.
Collocations are words which co-occur with each other and which language
users, through custom and practice, have come to see as normal and
acceptable.
The way in which words combine collocationally and in larger chunks has led
people to talk about lexical phrases.
Michael Lewis, a proponent of the lexical approach.
6. THE SOUNDS OF THE LANGUAGES
We represent words and grammar through orthography
We will look at five pronunciation issues
a. PITCH
The pitch we use is, therefore, a device by which we communicate motion
and meaning.
b. INTONATION
We have seen, only the most basic information about mood and emotion. But
once we start altering the pitch as we speak.
Intonation is also used to convey attitude.
Intonation is a notoriously tricky area since very many students find it difficult
to hear changes in pitch direction- or rather they sometimes cannot identify
which direction it is.
c. INDIVIDUAL SOUNDS
d. SOUNDS AND SPELLING
Whereas in some languages there seems to be a close correlation between
sounds and spelling, in English this is often not the case.
Words can change their sounds, too, and this is not indicated by the way we
spell them.
Other changes occur when sounds get close or slide into each other in
connected speech.
e. STRESS
British and American English speakers often differ in where they place the
stress in words.

 Stress is the term we use to describe the point in a word or phrase where
pitch changes vowels lengthen and volume increases.
Words are often not pronounced as one might expect from their spelling.
7. G PARALINGUISTIS FEATURES OF LANGUAGE
a. G1 VOCAL PARALINGUISTIC FEATURES
The tones of voice are voluntary or involuntary, they convey intention and
circumstance.
b. G2 PHYSICAL PARALINGUISTIC FEATURES
The expressions on our faces, the gestures we make and even proximity or
the way we sit, for example, may send powerful messages about how we feel
or what we mean.
The physical paralinguistic features are: facial expression, gesture, proximity,
posture and echoing.
8. H SPEAKING AND WRITING
There is also evidence that we use verb tenses differently in speaking and
writing.
In conversations, we tend to take turns rather than speak in well-formed
sentences.
In face to face spontaneous we are likely to use small units of conversation.
We use interjections and other words to indicate support and to show that we
are listening.

Vocabulary
Assembling
n. act of gathering or putting something together.

Sort
n. type, kind; character, manner, quality.

Within
adv. on the interior; to the interior; inside; to the inside; from the interior.

Asleep
Adj. sleeping, dozing, napping.

Cohesion
The linguistic elements that make a discourse semantically coherent .

Anaphoric
a referential pattern in linguistics.

Cataphoric
adj. preceding the word to which it refers (e.g. of a pronoun); of or pertaining to Cataphora.

Substitution
n. replacement; act or instance of substituting.

Discourse
n. discussion, dialogue, speech, lecture.

paralinguistic
adj. of or pertaining to the study of paralanguage.