![BASICS OF LINGUISTICS
Prescriptive grammar
The grammar that we are taught in school. Typically a prescriptive grammar is about the shoulds and
should’ts" in a language rather than a description of what speakers know when they know a language.
Prescriptive grammars typically reflect the grammar of a written standard and are concerned with making
determinations about the "correct" choice when there are potent variants (e.g. in English, we can choose
to either separate a preposition from the noun modifies What did you play with?] or not to do so [With
what did you play]).
The prescriptive grammar of English says that only one of those is "correct” even though all speakers of
English have the option.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/basicsoflinguistics-250215183817-fd504a69/85/Introduction-to-the-basics-of-linguistics-2-320.jpg)
![Cont.
Generative grammar
The idea that a finite set of rules or constraints can generate [e.g. produce
as an output] an infinite number of utterances, many of them novel. This
model shows that native speakers of a language acquire a set of rules and
a lexicon rather than specific sentences.
Phonetics
The study of the sounds we use to produce/interpret speech.
Phonology
The study of the sounds that occur in specific languages and the rules
govern when they occur.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/basicsoflinguistics-250215183817-fd504a69/85/Introduction-to-the-basics-of-linguistics-4-320.jpg)
![Cont.
Morphology
The study of the units of meaning (words, prefixes etc.) in a language and their patterns of occurrence.
Lexicon
The set of morphemes in a language.
Root
The main meaning morpheme in a word and the morpheme to which affixes attach (e.g'untie', the root is tie").
Inflection
The morphology that governs grammatical relationships between words (e.g. the person, present verb marker in
English [-s] tells us something about the relations between the noun and the verb).
Derivation
The morphology that governs how new meanings are created (e.g. if I attach the prefix to a verb like tie', I create a new
meaning-namely the opposite of the original word).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/basicsoflinguistics-250215183817-fd504a69/85/Introduction-to-the-basics-of-linguistics-5-320.jpg)
Introduction to the basics of linguistics
- 1. BASICS OF LINGUISTICS PRESENTED BY KOMAL ZULFIQAR
- 2. BASICS OF LINGUISTICS Prescriptive grammar The grammar that we are taught in school. Typically a prescriptive grammar is about the shoulds and should’ts" in a language rather than a description of what speakers know when they know a language. Prescriptive grammars typically reflect the grammar of a written standard and are concerned with making determinations about the "correct" choice when there are potent variants (e.g. in English, we can choose to either separate a preposition from the noun modifies What did you play with?] or not to do so [With what did you play]). The prescriptive grammar of English says that only one of those is "correct” even though all speakers of English have the option.
- 3. Cont. Standard language A variety of a language serves as the model for what is "correct" and "incorrect" given language. The standard language is generally the one that is written a given language. Dialect A variety of a language with a grammar that differs in predictable ways from other varieties of the language. In many places, "dialects" are especially tied to different regions or geographic areas.
- 4. Cont. Generative grammar The idea that a finite set of rules or constraints can generate [e.g. produce as an output] an infinite number of utterances, many of them novel. This model shows that native speakers of a language acquire a set of rules and a lexicon rather than specific sentences. Phonetics The study of the sounds we use to produce/interpret speech. Phonology The study of the sounds that occur in specific languages and the rules govern when they occur.
- 5. Cont. Morphology The study of the units of meaning (words, prefixes etc.) in a language and their patterns of occurrence. Lexicon The set of morphemes in a language. Root The main meaning morpheme in a word and the morpheme to which affixes attach (e.g'untie', the root is tie"). Inflection The morphology that governs grammatical relationships between words (e.g. the person, present verb marker in English [-s] tells us something about the relations between the noun and the verb). Derivation The morphology that governs how new meanings are created (e.g. if I attach the prefix to a verb like tie', I create a new meaning-namely the opposite of the original word).
- 6. Cont. Syntax The study of the construction of sentences in a language. This includes the linear or (e.g. Subject Verb Object vs. Subject Object Verb) as well as the relationships between the parts of the sentence. Semantics The study of meaning (e.g. what does "open" mean) Pragmatics The study of meaning in context (e.g. "the door is open" can have different interpretations depending on the context). Diachronic The study of language across time (e.g. the history of the changes in a language). Synchronic The study of language at a specific point in time.
- 7. Cont. Pidgin A language that often has a simplified grammar and lexicon and that is used as a kind of lingua franca among speakers who don't share a native language. Pidgins are typically not anyone's native language. Creole A pidgin that has been expanded to fulfill all the functions of a human language and that has become some group of speakers' native language. Of some potential confusion is the fact that creoles are often called pidgins by their speakers.