| Terms & Definitions |
| |
| Acquisition/Learning |
| (see "Monitor Theory")
The "Monitor Theory" explains the difference between
"acquisition" of a language verses "learning" of a
language.
|
| |
| Affective Domain |
| The 'affective domain' is the portion of the human psyche
which consists of emotions, emotional stability, and E.Q. (see
also Cognitive Domain, and Humanism) |
| |
| Approach |
| According to Richards and Rogers, 1986, and approach to
language education must have two things:
1. A Theory about language.
2. A Theory about how language is learned / acquired.
(see also 'Method') |
| |
| Attributive Clause |
| (see clause) |
| |
| Audio-lingualism |
| Audio-lingualism is a method of second language education based upon
behaviorism. The main idea is: Audio (listening) comes
first, then Lingualism (speech). Of course, the theory is that
language is primarily spoken (as opposed to written), but that is not to
say that the method disregards the written language all together. |
| |
| Applied Linguistics |
| The branch of linguistics that deals with the
issues/problems regarding learning, teaching, and translating languages. |
| |
| Automaticity |
| The term is associated with Bialystock's
"Automaticity Theory", and was probably coined by her.
The main idea is that language should be "automatically"
produced, without having to think about the "form".
There are two "roads" or "paths" to automaticity:
(1) immersion into the language, (2) lots of formal practice. |
| |
| Behaviorism |
| B.F. Skinner's theory, which basically states that all
behavior is learned (aside from reflexes). There is no innate
behavior (aside from reflexes). This, of course, includes the
behavior of processing, and producing language. |
| |
| Bilingualism |
| BI (two) + LINGUA (tongues) + AL (adj.) + ISM (condition)
The condition of having two tongues (i.e., two languages)
But, there are several kinds of bilingualism:
Two of these are:
Compound Bilingualism and Co-ordinate Bilingualism.
Compound Bilingualism is when a child begins learning the two
languages before the age of 6-8, AND the languages are organized in the
brain as one language is organized.
Co-ordinate Bilingualism is when a child begins learning the second
language after the age of 10-14, AND the two languages are organized in
the brain separately.
Between the age of 6-14 it could go either way. It is a
case-by-case thing.
I think this distinction comes from Fabbro, 1990.
For more information about the different kinds of bilingualism, see this
website. |
| |
| Bottom-up Education |
| This term is not used in applied linguistics
(and that's why you've never encountered it before:). It is used
by L1 language arts educators (in the U.S.), such as I once was. A
synonym used in applied linguistics would be: (1)
Deduction (AKA: Deductive language education)
Application:
In reading, one would start from the "bottom", also known as basic skills,
such as phonics and general grammar rules. Then, one would move to word recognition,
and from there one would move to the
sentence level, then to the paragraph, and finally to whole compositions.
[The same would apply to writing, reading and speaking].
Compare: Deduction (below)
Contrast: Top-down Education; Holism; & Induction
(all below)
|
| |
| CELTA |
| Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to
Adults |
| |
| Clause |
| A clause must have a subject and a predicate. Some
clauses are NOT sentences, for instance:
Attributive Clause (AKA: Relative Clause).
Example: McDonalds is the place where I eat.
("...where I eat" is a relative clause)
I have a whole page on clauses. |
| |
| Code Mixing |
"Very often the expression code mixing is used synonymously with code switching and means basically intra-sentential code switching. However, recent research has given new meaning to this term. Maschler (1998) defines code mixing or a mixed code as ?using two languages such that a third, new code emerges, in which elements from the two languages are incorporated into a structurally definable pattern? (p.125) In other words, the code mixing hypothesis states that when two code switched languages constitute the appearance of a third code it has structural characteristics special to that new code."
(Source)
An example of code switching is when a Korean says, "Englisheuruel
baeuja!" (Let's learn English).
|
| |
| Code Switching |
| (see 'Code Mixing') |
| |
| Cognitive Code
Learning |
| A method of second language learning/teaching based upon
Chomsky's Transformational Grammar Theory. |
| |
| Cognitive Domain |
| The 'cognitive domain' is the portion of the human psyche
which consists of the ability to acquire, store, process, and retrieve
knowledge. |
| |
| Collocation |
| CO (together) + LOCUS (place) + ATE (do) + ION (process
of), i.e.,
the process of placing to things together. (In this case, we're
talking about placing two words together in a sentence).
But, collocations are more than that. They are fixed phrases
that are unchangeable.
Learn about some collocations on my grammar
page. |
| |
| Colloquialism |
| A "chunk" of oral language, which is used in a
given region or culture, and may not be used elsewhere. A
colloquialism may include slang and idioms.
Compare: Slang (below); Iidioms (below).
I have a page on English slang.
|
| |
| Communicative
Approach |
| The theory (approach) is that language is primarily for
communication AND communication is primarily spoken. |
| |
| Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT) |
| This is an Approach, not a Method. In fact, it is
synonymous with the Communicative approach. |
| |
| Comprehension-based
Approach |
| The theory is that language is learned ONLY when
comprehended (primarily when the spoken language is comprehended, but to
a certain extend when the written language is comprehended).
Incomprehensible input cannot be learned as "language".
It might be recognized as sounds, but not as language. This is
possibly based upon Krashen's Comprehensible Input Hypothesis (see
Monitor Theory below). |
| |
| Consciousness-Raising |
| I pretty sure this term was coined by Rutherford. The
general idea is that grammar does not need to be explicitly memorized in
order to learn/acquire a language, but sometimes is it advantageous for
the teacher to point out when something is un-grammatical (and for
adults to explain WHY it is ungrammatical). |
| |
| Constructivism |
| A major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner is that learning
is an active process in which learners construct
new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The
learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and
makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive
structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and
organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond
the information given".
Source: Bruner |
| |
| Content-based
Education |
| The idea is that learners of a language can learn it by
studying subjects and/or topics of interest to them through the medium
of the target language.
I have a whole page on content-based
education.
|
| |
| Contrastive Analysis |
| Contrasting two languages. The purpose is usually
to discover where learners will have problems in acquiring the target
language. {some studies have show that contrastive analysis is not
100% reliable, but I don't think it is entirely useless}. |
| |
| Corpus |
| [ > Latin. body.] A "body" of
written compositions from the target language. [ The plural of
'corpus' is 'corpora ].
(see also: Corpus Linguistics) |
| |
| Corpus Linguistics |
| The branch of linguistics that deals with the study of
languages based upon how the language is expressed in 'corpora'
(authentic texts) of the target language. |
| |
| Counseling Learning |
| A Method of Second Language Acquisition based upon the
tenets of Humanism. (see Humanism below). |
| |
| Creole |
| When a Pidgin becomes a native tongue, it is called a
Creole. (see Pidgin below). |
| |
| Critical Period |
| The period of human life when it is considered
"critical" to proper and complete acquisition of one's first
language (and some suggest second language as well, but some disagree,
such as Lightbrown).
The critical period is between birth and age 12 (roughly). |
| |
| Data-driven Learning |
| The idea is that by exposing the learner to copious
amounts of data (of the target language), acquisition will be
facilitated, if not optimized.
Compare: Input flooding (below)
|
| |
| Deduction,
deductive language education |
| The process of deduction is: SPECIFIC ->
GENERAL.
In Second Language Acquisition, this means from SPECIFIC RULES of the
language to GENERAL PRODUCTION.
That means: the teacher explicates (gives) some specific rules and then
the students DEDUCE (figure out) general production of the target language.
Compare: Bottom-up Education (above)
Contrast: Holism (below); Induction (below)
(see also the diagram at the bottom of this page) |
| |
| DELTA |
| Cambridge Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults |
| |
| Design |
| The part of a "METHOD" (defined by Richards and
Rogers, 1986), where the approach is "turned into" a plan on
how to teach a second language. |
| |
| Determiner |
| The part of a language which functions as an adjective
and "determines" the relationship of the subject of the
sentence to the producer of the sentence. For instance:
That, this, my, his, a, the, etc. in the following sentences:
That book is mine. This book is yours. My
eyes are green. His hair is blonde. A cow
jumped over the moon. |
| |
| Diglot Weave |
| The term 'diglot weave' was coined by Dr. Robert
Blair. It is actually a technique for teaching a second language
or a foreign language. The Power-Glide Method employs the diglot
weave as a (the) main technique. It is based upon a
comprehension-based approach to learning a second language. [Two
thumbs up from me!]
The word 'diglot' comes from Greek and is composed of two morphemes: di
(two) and glot (tongues/languages).
The technique "weaves" two languages together (the mother
tongue and the target language), for the most efficient way (yet) to
assimilate a new language. |
| |
| Digraph |
| Simply: two letters--one sound, like: "ch",
"sh", "th", etc. |
| |
| Diphthong |
| Simply: two vowel sounds together, which are
pronounced so quickly as to seem one sound.
Example: the long "a" sound is /ei/, as in
"ate"; or "ou" /au/, as in
"out"; or "ou" /ou/, as in though. |
| |
| EFL |
| English as a Foreign Language
English that is learned in an environment where English is not the
primary language of speech and education. |
| |
| ELT |
| English Language Training
Consists of both TESL and TEFL. |
| |
| ESL |
| English as a Second Language
English that is learned in an environment where English is the
primary language of speech and education. |
| |
| Error |
| A wrong use or usage of the target language, when the
correct use/usage is not known to the speaker.
(contrast "mistake" below) (see also USE and USAGE
below). |
| |
| False Cognates |
| Two words: one of the mother tongue, the other of
the target language, which are very similar in pronunciation, but have
different meanings and usually are NOT etymologically related. Example between English and
Spanish:
English: embarrassed = ashamed
Spanish: embarasada = pregnant
|
| |
| False Friends |
| (see 'False Cognates')
Example between English and German:
English: billion = 1,000,000,000
German: billion = 1,000,000,000,000
|
| |
| Fossilization |
| the process (in language learning) of making an error become a permanent mistake |
| |
| Generative Grammar |
| (see 'Transformational Grammar' below) |
| |
| ~glot |
| [ > Greek. tongue] language.
monoglot = one language; a person who can produce only one language
diglot = two languages; a person who can produce two languages
polyglot = many languages; a person who can produce many languages
omniglot = all languages; a person (or computer) who (which) can
produce all languages known to human kind. |
| |
| Grammar |
| Simply: the rules of a language; it includes
syntax rules, usage rules, phonological rules
There are many kinds of "grammars", for instance:
1. prescriptive grammar: the rules of a given language,
without exception, as the language was "prescribed".
2. descriptive grammar: the rules of a given language,
"described" as it is actually spoken in real, daily life.
3. pedagogic grammar: the rules of a given language
as taught in classrooms (generally second language or foreign language
classrooms).
4. transformational grammar (see below)
5. universal grammar (see below) |
| |
| Grammar Translation
Method |
| A Method based upon the theory that a second language is
primarily written (thus, antiquated). The 'design' is such that
one learns to discern the written word and how to produce the written
word. As the name suggests, heavy emphasis was on grammar and
translation. |
| |
| Graphology, grapheme |
| Graphology: the study of the written part of a
language
Grapheme: the smallest unit of the written language |
| |
| Holism, holistic
teaching, holistic learning |
| The term 'holism' was coined by Jan C. Smuts.
Originally, the term was applied to organisms, as in the whole
organism cannot be defined as merely the sum of its parts (compare Gestalt
Psychology). Later it was applied to education. In
education, especially language education, holism is the idea that
you cannot simply teach a language by teaching the parts thereof and
hope the students can 'assemble' the parts in the proper way.
Basically, the idea is that one teaches/learns language as a whole
unit (compare corpus linguistics).
Compare: Induction; Top-down Education (both below)
Contrast: Bottom-up Education; Deduction (both above) |
| |
| Homonymy, homonym |
| Homonymy: the condition of having two words with
the same spelling, same pronunciation, yet different meanings.
And, the two words are NOT etymologically related, in 99.9% of cases.
Homonym: one or two or more words that have the same spelling,
but different meanings and different etymologies.
I have a whole page on homonyms,
homophones, and heterophones.
|
| |
| Humanism |
| The movement (credited to Carl Rogers) which suggests
that learning anything is optimized by focusing upon the Affective
Domain FIRST, before the Cognitive Domain. |
| |
| Idiom, Idiomatic
Expression |
| A verbal expression, where the 'deep structure' is
different from the 'surface structure'. Idioms differ from slang
in that they are phrases (not individual words).
(for definitions of 'deep structure' and 'surface structure', see
Transformational Grammar below)
Compare: Colloquialism (above)
Contrast: Slang (below)
|
| |
| Illocution,
Illocutionary Act |
| A speech act, which carries a meaning in addition to the
one conveyed.
For example: "It's cold in here," could
mean: "It's cold in here, so would you close the
window?"
I believe the terms above were coined by Austin and Searle. |
| |
| Illocutionary act /
illiocutionary force |
| The illocutionary force of "It's
cold in here," would be: "Would you close the window?"
See?
Illocutionary Act: "It's cold in here."
Illocutionary Force: "Would you close the window?"
I believe the terms above were coined by Austin and Searle. |
| |
| Induction, Inductive
language education |
| The process of induction is GENERAL -> SPECIFIC.
In Second Language Acquisition, this means: GENERAL SAMPLES OF
THE LANGUAGE to SPECIFIC RULES by which the language appears to be
governed.
The idea is that the teacher gives general samples of compositions
in the target language, and students are supposed to induce (figure out)
the specific rules.
(see diagram at the bottom of this page) |
| |
| Inner Language |
| The language of a classroom second language lesson, which
is both in the target language AND part of the objectives for the
lesson. I believe this term was coined by Wilson.
(contrast 'Outer Language') |
| |
| Input Flooding |
| The "flooding" of the learner with copious
input from the target language, the aim being to allow the learner to
induce the general rules of the language and increase vocabulary knowledge. Compare:
Data-driven Learning (above) |
| |
| Interlanguage |
| A language of second language learners, which is composed
of:
1. correct target language components
2. incorrect target language components
The incorrect target language components are composed of:
1. errors based upon L1 interference
2. errors based upon incorrect hypotheses about how the target
language works.
I believe the term above was coined by Selinker. |
| |
| Interlanguage
Hypothesis |
Selinker (1972) lists five factors which may cause the output of
interlanguage:
(1) Language transfer - fossilizable items, rules, subsystems which occur in the interlanguage as a result of transfer from the native language.
(2) Transfer of training - items resulting from particular approaches used in training.
(3) Strategies of second language learning - identifiable approaches by the learner to the material being learned.
(4) Strategies of second-language communication - identifiable approaches by the learner to communication with native speakers of the target language.
(5) Overgeneralization of target language linguistic material - overgeneralization of target language rules and semantic features.
|
| |
| Interlocutor |
| One's dialogue partner. |
| |
| L1, L2 |
| L1 = One's first language; L2 = One's second
language |
| |
| Language Competence |
| The part of Linguistic Competence that deals with
organization and pragmatic competence.
(See my Language Competence page) |
| |
| Lingua franca |
| "a common language that consists of Italian mixed
with French, Spanish, Greek, and Arabic and is spoken in the ports of
the Mediterranean" (Merriam-Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary)
Also: a "lingua franca" could be any Pidgin (see Pidgin
below)
Some people say that English is the lingua franca of the
Information Age. |
| |
| ~lingual |
| [ > Latin. tongue.] 1. (adj.) of
language (s); 2. (n.) language producer
unilingual = of one language; a person who can produce only one
language competently
bilingual = of two languages; a person who can produce two languages
competently
trilingual = of three languages; a person who can produce three
languages competently
multilingual = of many languages; a person who can produce many
languages competently |
| |
| Linguistic Competence |
| Linguistic Competence (coined by Bachman) consists of
Language Competence AND Strategic Competence. |
| |
| Lexis |
| From Greek language meaning: All the words of a given language. |
| |
| Lexical Approach |
| The theory is that having a huge vocabulary in the target
language facilitates acquisitions of the target language, since
languages are primarily composed of words. |
| |
| Locution, Locutor |
| Locution = Speech; Locutor = Speaker. |
| |
| Method |
| According to Richards and Rogers (1986), a Method must
have an 'Approach' (see 'Approach'), a 'Design' (see 'Design'),
and a 'Procedure' (see 'Procedure'). |
| |
| Mistake |
| A wrong production of the target language, when the
producer knows the correct way.
This usually happens due to 'fossilization'. (see
'Fossilization' above). |
| |
| Monitor Theory |
The Monitor Theory (by Krashen) has 5 parts (hypotheses):
1. Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
The idea here is that ‘acquisition’ of a language is implicit knowledge of a language & ‘learning’ a language is explicit knowledge of a language. Also, acquisition is supposed to be superior, in that ‘acquirers’ can produce the target language spontaneously, while ‘learners’ of a language must take time to think about it, and even then often make mistakes. (A good question for interview students might be: “Have you ‘acquired’ English, or have you ‘learned’ English?”)
2. Natural Order Hypothesis
As the name implies, the idea is that people learn a second language in a natural order. [NOTE: there is a lot of evidence (and no counter evidence) for a natural order in L1 learning; BUT, there is some counter evidence for such in L2 learning.]
3. Monitor Hypothesis
The idea is that learners of a second language should monitor themselves as they speak, and correct themselves.
4. Input Hypothesis
Also called “i + 1” hypothesis by Koreans. “i” stands for input (but means: “known input”); and “1” stands for one unknown ‘chunk’ of language (whether it’s a word or an idiomatic expression). The idea is that students can only process one ‘chunk’ of knew information at a time. [Note: this is a highly theoretical assumption and I don’t know if the evidence can support it, but certainly one cannot process TOO much information at once, and if we take this hypothesis ‘in the spirit of the law’, it sounds reasonable.]
5. Affective Filter Hypothesis
l Don’t know much about this, but I surmise that it deals with the ‘affective domain’ in regards to language acquisition, probably a humanistic approach to language instruction.
|
| |
| Mother tongue |
| One's first language.
Contrast: Target Language (below)
|
| |
| Motor Learning Theory |
| This theory was the basis for Asher's Total Physical
Response Method of second language acquisition.
It attests that children learn best by doing (i.e., through motor
involvement). |
| |
| Morphology, Morpheme |
| Morphology = the study of the morphemic components of a
language.
Morpheme = the smallest unit of a language that has meaning.
For more information about English morphemes, see my Morpheme
Page. |
| |
| NS, NNS |
| NS = native speaker; NNS = non-native speaker |
| |
| Nativization |
| This is when a word is borrowed from another language and
is institutionalized into the mother tongue.
Example: The English word: Okay has been nativized in
most world languages. SEE:
Spanish: oquei
Korean: okei
Polish: okej
|
| |
| Natural Approach |
| (By Terell, 1976) The Natural Approach is a Comprehension-based
approach, which aims to supply a high amount of input made
comprehensible through the use of pictures, actions, gestures, situation
instruction, and so on. |
| |
| Organizational
Competence |
| The second part of Language Competence, which consists of
Grammatical Competence and Textual Competence.
(for more information, see my Language
Competence page). |
| |
| Outer Language |
| As opposed to 'inner language', it is the language of a
particular second language lesson, which is composed of words, phrases,
directives, etc, which are NOT part of objectives for the lesson. |
| |
| Pidgin |
| A language, used primarily for trade, which consists of
less lexis than that of the original language, and sometimes incorrect
grammar as well.
(see also 'Creole') |
| |
| Phoneme |
| The smallest unit of sound in a language. |
| |
| Phonemics |
| The science that deals with the suprasegmental sounds of
a spoken language (i.e., intonation and voice quality) |
| |
| Phonetics |
| The science that deals with the segmental sounds of the
spoken language (i.e., pronunciation) |
| |
| Phonics |
| The science that deals with the sound of the written
symbols of a language, and often the teaching thereof
(form more information, please visit my Phonics page)
|
| |
| Phonology |
| Phonetics and Phonemics together |
| |
| Phrase |
| A series of words, less than a clause
(see 'Clause' above) |
| |
| Phrasal Verb |
| A single verb, that is composed of more than one word,
(AKA: two-part, or three-part verbs)
Note: the second (and third, if there is a third) part(s) of
the phrasal verb are called 'particles'. For more information about
phrasal verbs, click here. |
| |
| Polysemy, Polyseme |
| POLY (many) + SEME (meanings)
Polysemy = the condition of a word having more than one meaning.
Polyseme = a word that has more than one meaning.
For more information about polysemy, click
here. |
| |
| Pro-drop language |
| A language that can "drop" the subject (when
known).
I'm still looking for a term for a language that can "drop"
the object, such as Korean.
Koreans generally say, "Love" when they mean "I love
you." |
| |
| Procedure |
| The part of a 'Method' which consists of the individual
techniques for effecting the 'Design' of a 'Method'.
(For more info, see 'Method' and 'Design' above). |
| |
| Process-oriented
education |
| Education which focuses on the process, i.e., the way of
teaching, which is more concerned with the way students acquire the
curriculum than the curriculum. |
| |
| Product-oriented
education |
| Education which focuses on the product (i.e.,
curriculum). Finishing the curriculum is more important than
making sure the students actually acquire any knowledge. |
| |
| Realia |
| real objects (as opposed to pictures or mere symbols),
which are to
be used as instructional tools
pronunciation: /ri: ei li: a/ or /rei ae li: a/
(according to Merriam-Webster's Unabridged
Dictionary), which is funny , because I've always pronounced it this
way: /ri: ae li: a/, because that is the way it should be
pronounced, according to the ruled of Phonics, which is my forte. The
rules of Phonics say that if two vowels are juxtaposed, the first vowel
is long and the second vowel is short (with the exception of a few
diphthongs and several vowel-digraphs).
|
| |
| Relative Clause |
| (see 'Clause') |
| |
| Semantics |
| The science that deals with the meanings of words. |
| |
| Silent Way, The |
| A 'Method' which allows NO use of the mother tongue, and
lots of body language and gestures to compensate. |
| |
| Slang |
| A single word, which is generally NOT in the dictionary,
but is common in speech.
NOTE: Slang is different from "idiom". For more
information, see my "Slang and Idioms"
page.
|
| |
| Speech Act |
| An utterance which has a complete thought or force. |
| |
| Strategic Competence |
| Strategic Competence is the part of Linguistic Competence
that deals with being able to use language in strategic ways, such as to
gain approbation from one's peers or superiors. |
| |
| Structuralism |
| Theorist: F. de Saussure
Content of Theory: language contains only two things: signifiers and signifieds
Signifier = a symbol, sound, or image (as a word) that represents an underlying concept or meaning
(From: Merriam-Webster online)
Signified = a concept or meaning (as distinguished from the sign through which it is communicated)
(From: Merriam-Webster online)
|
| |
| Suggestopedia |
| A Method of second language acquisition, which was
started by Lozonov, and involves first getting the mind into a
'suggestive' state, like hypnosis, before teaching the target
language. It works, but it requires intensive training and music
of exactly the right tempo. |
| |
| Syntax |
| The proper order of words in a sentence. |
| |
| Target language |
| The language to be learned.
Contrast: Mother Tongue (above)
|
| |
| TEFL |
| Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
(See also 'EFL'). Also, I have a page full of resources
for TEFL teachers. |
| |
| TESL |
| Teaching English as a Second Language.
(See also 'ESL'). Also, I have a page full of resources
for TESL teachers. |
| |
| TESOL |
| Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (an
international organization).
Primarily, it is NOT a certificate, although secondarily, there does
appear to be a
certificate offered by the same title, possibly offered by the
organization of the same title. (I admit ignorance in this matter).
|
| |
| Top-down Education |
| This term is not an applied linguistic term (and that's
why you have never seen it before :). It is a term used by L1
language arts educators (in the U.S.) as I once was. Two synonyms
of the term, used in applied linguistics would be:
(1) Holism; (AKA:
holistic education)
(2) Induction: (AKA:
inductive education)
Basically, the 'top' refers to language as being units of
"wholes" (i.e., complete compositions). Language,
therefore should be taught in the context of "wholes". Students are
then to induce
the "down" part which is composed of specific rules of the
target language.
Compare: Holism (above); Induction (above)
Contrast: Bottom-down (above); Deduction (above)
Also: (see
diagram)
|
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| Total Physical
Response |
| A Method a second language acquisition, by Asher, which is
based upon the Motor Learning Theory.
(see 'Motor Learning Theory' above). |
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| Transformational
Grammar |
| Coined by Noam Chomsky, Generative/Transformational Grammar is:
Each human language is composed of rules. Theoretically, all human languages adhere to some universal rules (i.e., deep
structure). The 'surface structure' may be different between languages, but the deep structure will be the same.
More Details about the theory:
The 'surface structure' is composed of 'phrase structure' AND 'transformations'.
The 'phrase structure' is the syntax of words in phrases.
English Example: "In the brown house"
Spanish Example: "in the house brown"
Korean Example: "brown house in"
'Transformations' are rules of putting phrases together.
English Example: "I live in the brown house."
Spanish Example: "I live in the house brown."
Korean Example: "I brown house in live. "The 'deep structure' (i.e., meaning) of all three sentences is the same. |
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| Universal Grammar |
| Coined by Noam Chomsky, Universal Grammar is not really a concrete grammar.
It is an abstract concept, and a totally un-provable one. But,
though it is un-provable, it is without Achilles heel. It is
flawless. In short, it is very likely true.
The basic idea is that all humans possess (innately) a 'working'
grammar in their minds, from which language can
"sprout". It is like a template for language to
"fit into". This "template" is universal
grammar. When a child learns a language, it is like fitting
geometric shaped objects into their corresponding geometric molds. |
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| Use and Usage |
| Use (n.): application of a word or phrase.
Usage (n.): proper (or improper) use (application) of a word or phrase to convey
meaning. Thus, improper usage would either convey the wrong
meaning, or would be totally incomprehensible. |
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| Utterance |
| any spoken word or words, which is brought to conclusion
by interruption, or long pause. |
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| Whole Language |
| There are 2 meanings, which creates confusion for one,
such as myself, who is involved in both L1 education & L2 education.
In L1 language arts, the term "Whole Language" refers to a
movement which combines both bottom-up (deduction) and top-down
(induction) in the same educational APPROACH.
In L2 education, the term "Whole Language" refers to the
instruction of all 4 language skills, namely, listening, speaking,
reading and writing. |
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