Classification of languages

CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH SOUNDS – Vowels and Consonants
The work of speech organs necessary for making speech sounds is called articulation. According to
The specific character of articulation, especially according to the presence or absence of the
obstruction speech sounds are divided into vowels and consonants. The most substantial difference
between vowels and consonants is that in the articulation of vowels the air passes freely through the
mouth cavity, while in making consonants an obstruction is formed in the mouth cavity or in the
pharynx and the flow of the air meets a narrowing or complete obstruction. Vowels have no fixed
place of articulation, the whole of the speaking apparatus takes part in their formation, while the
articulation of consonants can be localized, and an obstruction or a narrowing for each consonant is
formed at a definite place of the speaking apparatus. In producing vowels all the organs of speech are
tense, while in making consonants, the organs of speech are tense only in the place of obstruction.
Voice prevails in vowels while in most consonants noise prevails over voice. Vowels are syllable
forming sounds while consonants are not, as a rule.
Monophthongs and Diphthongs
English vowel phonemes are divided into two large groups: monophthongs and diphthongs. This
division is based on the stability of articulation. A monophthong is a pure (unchanging) vowel sound.
In its pronunciation the organs of speech do not change their position throughout the duration of the
vowel; e.g. [i], [e], [æ], [o], etc. In most educated, standard, accents of English – not only in UK, but
also around the world – this vowel requires a relatively steady tongue position. Diphthongs are
described as sequences of two vowels pronounced together, the two vocalic elements being
members of the same syllable. Thus, a diphthong is a complex sound consisting of two vowel
elements pronounced so as to form a single syllable. In the pronunciation of a diphthong the organs
of speech start in the position of one vowel and glide gradually in the direction of another vowel,
whose full formation is generally not accomplished. The first element of an English diphthong is called
the nucleus. It is strong, clear and distinct. The second element is rather weak. It is called the glide.
Linguistics
Linguistics, the systematic study of human language, lies at the crossroads of the humanities and the
social sciences. Much of its appeal derives from the special combination of intuition and rigor that
the analysis of language demands. The interests of the members of the Department of Linguistics
and colleagues in other departments span most of the major subfields of linguistics:
1. phonetics and phonology, the study of speech sounds;
2. syntax, the study of how words are combined;
3. semantics, the study of meaning; historical linguistics, the study of language change in
time;
4. Computational linguistics, the modelling of natural language in all its aspects from a
computational perspective.
Studying linguistics is not a matter of studying many languages. Linguistics is a theoretical discipline
with ties to such areas as cognitive psychology, philosophy, logic, computer science, and
anthropology. Nonetheless, knowing particular languages (e.g., Spanish or Japanese) in some depth
can enhance understanding of the general properties of human language.
Linguistics attempts to answer such questions as:
1. how the mind enables us to produce and understand utterances
2. how children acquire language
3. how and why languages resemble and differ from each other
4. how and why languages change over time, and how they are related
5. how the categories of language relate to the world
6. how language use varies across different social and cultural contexts
7. how to make computers talk and 'understand' human languages

Pragmatics
For any specific language, natural speakers will inherently know the uses and the rules for many
types of expressions. These rules determine the interaction between people and between societies.
This lesson will look at one aspect of those rules: pragmatics.
Pragmatics is a branch of linguistics, which is the study of language. Pragmatics focuses on
conversational implicature, which is a process in which the speaker implies and a listener infers.
Simply put, pragmatics studies language that is not directly spoken. Instead, the speaker hints at or
suggests a meaning, and the listener assumes the correct intention.
In a sense, pragmatics is seen as an understanding between people to obey certain rules of
interaction. In everyday language, the meanings of words and phrases are constantly implied and
not explicitly stated. In certain situations, words can have a certain meaning. You might think that
words always have a specifically defined meaning, but that is not always the case. Pragmatics studies
how words can be interpreted in different ways based on the situation.
Examples
The definition might be a bit confusing, so let's look at some examples to clarify the role of pragmatics
in our language. This first example is one that you probably use in your own life every day. Say you are
in line at a store to pay for your purchases. The cashier asks, 'How are you today?' Do you immediately
go into an in‐depth account of your health issues, varying mood, relationship status, and everything
else going on in your life? Of course not! Usually, you respond with something similar to, 'Fine, how
are you?' with the same expectation that the cashier will not go into full detail of how she truly is. This
interaction perfectly shows pragmatics at work. It is understood that this question does not really ask
you to explain everything going on in your life. The implication relies on the context and situation. It
is good manners to ask strangers how they are, but it is not intended for a detailed response.
Interlanguage
Inter language pragmatics is the study of the ways in which non-native speakers acquire,
comprehend, and use linguistic patterns (or speech acts) in a second language.
The influence of first language (L1 hereinafter) in the learning of second language (L2). The term’
Interlanguage' was first introduced by Selinker (1972 &1974) who referred it to as L2 systematic
knowledge independent of both L1 and L2. According to Richards et al. (1996), IL is the type of
language which can be produced by FL/L2 (FL=Foreign Language) learners who are in the process of
acquiring or learning a new language. Within the cognitive perspective, refers to the separateness of
an L2 learner's system, a system which includes a structural status between the NL (Native Language)
and TL (Target Language). It reflects L2 learners' attempts at building up a linguistic system which
progressively and gradually approaches the TL system.
The main theoretical assumption of IL theory is that when a FL/L2 learner is trying to communicate in
the TL, he/she uses a new linguistic system different from the NL and the TL. This assumption has been
supported by Selinker (1974:35) who states that IL can be "a separate linguistic system based on the
observable output which results from a learners' attempted production of a TL norm". IL theory is
important for some reasons. First, it looks at the L2 learner as an active participant because he/she
has the ability to form rules from the data he/she might encounter. This leads to saying that the study
of IL is universal and systematic by nature, which makes it similar to the innateness theory. Second,
the study of IL theory might help us in determining what a FL leaner knows at a particular point in
time and what he/she should be taught. Third, IL theory helps in understanding the L2 learners'
problems better and in providing timely help to such learners; hence, they can achieve competence
in their TL. Fourth, IL theory has also brought about significant changes in the teaching methodology,
with communicative teaching making its way into the teaching system. IL also brought in the

acknowledgement of the fact that errors are a part and parcel of the learning process, thus reducing
the need for continuous supervision by the teachers.
Multilingualism is the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community
of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world’s population.
Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of globalization and cultural
openness.
LANGUAGE, SOCIETY, CULTURE. CONCEPT OF CULTURE IN LINGUISTICS
According to theoretical manuals in sociolinguistics there are several possible relationships between
language and society. One is that social structure may either influence or determine linguistic
structure and/or behaviour. Certain evidence may be adduced to support this view: the age‐grading
phenomenon whereby young children speak differently from older children and, in turn, children
speak differently from mature adults; studies which show that the varieties of language that speakers
use reflect such matters as their regional, social or ethnic origin and possibly even their sex (gender).
A second possible relationship is directly opposed to the first: linguistic structure and/or behaviour
may either influence or determine social structure. This is the view that is behind the Whorfian
hypothesis. A third possible relationship is that the influence is bi‐directional: language and society
may influence each other.
Hence language is a social institution it both shapes and is shaped by society in which it plays an
important role. Language is not an “autonomous construct” [Fairclough 1989: VI] but social practice
both creating and created by the structures and forces of the social institutions within which we live
and function. Certainly, language cannot exist in a vacuum; there is a kind of “transfusion” between
language and culture.
To go back to the relationship between language and culture Samovar, Porter, & Jain [1981: 24]
observe: “Culture and communication are inseparable because culture not only dictates who talks to
whom, about what, and how the communication proceeds, it also helps to determine how people
encode messages, the meanings they have for messages, and the conditions and circumstances under
which various messages may or may not be sent, noticed, or interpreted... Culture...is the foundation
of communication”.
Fairly recently, many ethnographers such as Buttjes (1990), Ochs & Schieffelin (1984), Poyatos, (1985),
and Peters & Boggs, (1986) have attempted to show that “language and culture are from the start
inseparably connected”.
More specifically, he summarises the reasons why this should be the case:
1) Language acquisition does not follow a universal sequence, but differs across cultures;
2) The process of becoming a competent member of society is realized through exchanges of language
in particular social situations;
3) Every society orchestrates the ways in which children participate in particular situations, and this,
in turn, affects the form, the function and the content of children's utterances;
4) Caregivers' primary concern is not with grammatical input, but with the transmission of
sociocultural knowledge;
5) The native learner, in addition to language, acquires also the paralinguistic patterns and the kinesics
of his or her culture.
Language and gender the word ‘gender’, originally a grammatical term, has come to refer to the social
roles and behaviour of individuals arising from their classification as biologically male or female. This
is a huge complex embracing virtually all aspects of social behaviour of which language is only one. In
the past three decades or so intensive research has been carried out into the relationship of language
and gender, largely by female scholars who have felt drawn to the topic because of the obvious
discrimination against women which has taken place in the past and which is still to be observed
today. It is assumed by all researchers on language and gender that men and women use language

differently. This is taken to result from what is called socialisation, the growing into a society from
early childhood onwards. Gender roles are presented to infants and lead them along paths full of
preconceived opinions. Language & Class Studies, such as those by William Labov in the 1960s, have
shown that social aspirations influence speech patterns. This is also true of class aspirations. In the
process of wishing to be associated with a certain class (usually the upper class and upper middle class)
people who are moving in that direction socio‐economically will adjust their speech patterns to sound
like them. However, not being native upper class speakers, they often hypercorrect, which involves
overcorrecting their speech to the point of introducing new errors. The same is true for individuals
moving down in socio‐economic status.
Language & Literature Language, literature, teacher effectiveness and quality (language) education
are related and in fact inextricably interwoven concepts. This is because an ineffective language
teacher cannot provide quality education but it is not possible for a language teacher to be effective
if he is not well grounded in both the language he teaches and the literature that emanates there‐
from. This is because language and literature are two sides of the same coin such that it is hard to say
which of the two takes precedence over the other. Their relationship is just like that between a chicken
and an egg: without an egg you cannot have a chicken yet it is the chick that grows to lay eggs. Welleck
and Warren (1970: 22) have succinctly captured this relationship when they say, “Language is the
material of literature as stone or bronze is of sculpture, paints of picture, or sounds of music”
implying that whereas language is system of communication, literature is the content being
communicated.
Other cannot arise because both are complementary as they enrich and glorify each other. That is why
a successful language teacher must be highly proficient in both, to provide quality education.
That is also why a background of literature is a necessary precondition for prospective language
students and especial y for those seeking to teach language at all levels of our education.
Several classroom situations vindicate this position as we shall see shortly:
First and foremost, “quality (language) education” requires that students be nurtured to acquire and
sustain a rich repertoire of words that enables them to explore the creative potentials of language in
all ramifications. Language students that go through a goal oriented language course are exposed to
literature that enriches their vocabulary and by so doing release themselves from the claws of
dictionaries. This empowers them with sufficient creative acumen to generate not just an infinite
number of words but more importantly an expansive range of quality sentences; thus, widening
their communicative efficacy. This is important because according to Fromkin et al. (2011), it is the
creative nature of human language that marks human language out from that used by animals. To
achieve this however, the teacher must carefully select literature texts he chooses to expose the
students to and insist that they read all with a pen and jotter; ready to jot all new words and sentence
structures they encounter for discussion later in the classroom. This way, the teacher ensures that a
very rich quantum of words and literature class.
Secondly, for many students in a language class, literature motivates them to read based on the
interesting plots. We can cast our minds back to those years when we used to read the action packed
novels of James Hardley Chase, or James Bond or the Mills and Boom series. At the time, the main
motivation would be the thrill that the content provided but every language teacher knows that apart
from the stories, the works themselves are ideal vehicles for demonstrating language use: The
various syntactic structures we scrupulously teach during language lessons, the tedious and
sometimes gruelling lessons on lexis and structures, the painstaking efforts we expend on registers
as well as the exhausting inroads we make into idiomatic expressions etc. will not amount to much

without avenues of practical demonstration. The success, of course, in using literature for the
attainment of this objective depends largely on the selection of texts which will not be difficult on
either the linguistic or conceptual level. Good choice of texts not only helps to bring all language
lessons to life but also shows how language should be used in contexts.
Thirdly, we had already pointed out during our discussion on effective language teaching that what
we do in language class is to develop and sustain the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and
writing and this is where literature becomes indispensable. It helps students not only to learn and
improve their reading but also their listening, speaking and writing through the series of texts they are
exposed to. However, success cannot be attainable in this regard unless the class is made as
participatory and as student centred as possible. This is because listening, speaking, reading and
writing skills cannot be developed through teacher centred approaches that make students passive
participants.
Furthermore, through literature, learners are exposed to experiences and events in real life which
expose people to a spectrum of real life experiences that exert varying demands on language and their
language competence. Learners for instance appreciate the fact that being proficient in English
language, necessarily requires not only being able to acquire but more importantly delineate the
varieties of English language to be used from the existing “English’s” as dictated by the exigencies
of the language situations they may find themselves in. When for instance learners read and analyse
Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah and are led through a systematic analysis of its narrative
techniques, particularly language use, they will understand why the major characters in the novel
such as Chris Oriko, Ike Osodi, Sam, and particularly Beatrice code switch seamlessly from Queen’s
English to Nigerian English and then to pidgin despite the fact that they are graduates of famous
British universities. Understanding the dynamics that occasion such fluid and effortless transition from
one variety of English to another in the novel will expedite students’ language acquisition skills
particularly as regards equipping them to select from the multiplicity of varieties that preponderate
the Nigerian English community.
Characteristics of dialect:
1. Regional variety of a standard from
2. The utterance of dialect is unique
3. Maximum time using dialect is influenced by rural or urban socio‐cultural aspects.
4. Dialect can be varied from geographic area to area.
5. A language could have more than one dialect.
6. Standard language is unbiased comparing dialect for public or common use. But dialect has more
variation than standard.
7. Dialect is not approved in formal situation but standard form can be used in both formal and
informal situation.
8. Standard language is considered as a prestigious language by society while dialect does not count
as a prestigious language. 9. A standard language can represent all dialect under it. Dialect has not
the power.
10. Standard language is not a formation of dialect but all dialects are formation of a standard
language
Differences between standard language and dialect:
Many time people get confused with the aspect of language and dialect but there is some basic diffe
rences between language and dialect. Virtually dialect is one kind of form which derived from langua
ge. So, the differences are quite transparent and also inevitable. The main differences are:

1. Standard language can has huge speaker and expanded language area comparing that dialect has
little small language area with less speaker.
2. Implicit difference can be seen in Pronunciation style, vocabulary and also in sentence structure.
3. Standard language is apprehensive for all dialect speakers where dialect is not.
4. Standard language can be used in every field but dialect has limitation in use.
5. People follow Standard language in their writing system but there is no use of dialect in written
language. If it use it cannot be approved by society.
6. Standard language is unbiased comparing dialect for public or common use. But dialect has more
variation than standard.
7. Dialect is not approved in formal situation but standard form can be used in both formal and
informal situation.
8. Standard language is considered as a prestigious language by society while dialect does not count
as a prestigious language.
9. A standard language can represent all dialect under it. Dialect has not the power.
10. Standard language is not a formation of dialect but all dialects are formation of a standard
language

Classification of languages

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Classification of languages