MODULE 1

REVIEW OF LINGUISTIC COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE

Definitions of Language

1. a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of
the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural
tradition
2. communication by voice in the distinctively human manner, using arbitrary
sounds in conventional ways with conventional meanings; speech
3. any set or system of such symbols as used in a more or less uniform fashion by
a number of people, who are thus enabled to communicate intelligibly with one
another
4. any system of formalized symbols, signs, sounds, gestures, or the like used or
conceived as a means of communicating thought, emotion, etc.: the language of
mathematics; sign language.
5. the means of communication used by animals: the language of birds.

Four Macro Skills of Communication

We often think communication is limited to what we say or hear, but that's not the
case. Language is expressed in four ways: reading, speaking, writing and listening.
These are also defined as the macro skills of communication. These macro skills are
utilized by essentially all languages. Babies develop language skills by first listening and
then speaking, followed by reading and writing. When learning a new language, the best
way to do so is by engaging in a balance of each of these areas, as they are all
interconnected. As with any skill, the more you practice or exercise, the stronger and
you become. The same is true with improving communication skills.

Listening
There are three modes of listening: competitive, passive and active. Active
listening is considered the most effective because the listener is not only listening with
interest, but actively acknowledging listening by brief responses. Most individuals are
not as skilled at listening as they think. Depending on the study, listeners likely
remember 25 to 50 percent of what they hear, according to Mindtools. Giving the
speaker your undivided attention and not focusing on what you are going to say in
response while he is talking is a good way to ensure you hear more of what is being
said.
Speaking
Speaking can be an intimidating experience, even in your native tongue, let alone
when learning a new language. The best way to learn how to speak, though, is by
practicing, so put your inhibitions aside and strike up a conversation whenever you are
given an opportunity to do so. When speaking, be aware of your pace and try not to
mumble, speak clearly. Consider being expressive when you talk; avoid a monotonous
tone. Expression adds interest and depth to what you are saying and it will keep your
listener interested.

Reading

Children learn to read by first learning their ABCs and sounding out the letters to
discover what sound they make. The phonetic approach to reading—using sound units
to figure out the words—is arguably the best approach because theoretically, if you
know the sounds, you can read any word, regardless of the difficulty level. This is also
the case when learning a new language. Reading has many benefits, including
improving memory by exercising the brain, increasing vocabulary, and exposing you to
new ideas.

Writing
Writing is perhaps the most complex of the communication skills and takes the
most time to master. As with any other skill, the craft of putting words on paper is
improved through practice and a willingness to improve on past attempts. The more you
practice, the better you will get! Moving beyond the basics, many types of writing can be
used, depending on audience and purpose. Writing can be a basic means of conveying
information—such as in newspapers—or it can be a tool to create elaborate new worlds,
much like those found in fiction novels such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Communicative Competence

Communicative language teaching involves developing language proficiency

through interactions embedded in meaningful contexts. This approach to teaching
provides authentic opportunities for learning that go beyond repetition and memorization
of grammatical patterns in isolation. A central concept of the communicative approach
to language teaching is communicative competence: the learner‟s ability to understand
and use language appropriately to communicate in authentic (rather than simulated)
social and school environments.
The table below illustrates how each communicative area contributes to
communicative competence.
Phonetics and Phonology

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on

the production and classification of the world‟s speech sounds. The production of
speech looks at the interaction of different vocal organs, for example the lips, tongue
and teeth, to produce particular sounds.

Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across

languages. Put more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical organisation of
speech sounds in languages; how speech sounds are organised in the mind and used
to convey meaning

Morphology

Morphology is the study of words and other meaningful units of language like
suffixes and prefixes. A morphologist would be interested in the relationship between
words like “dog” and “dogs” or “walk” and “walking,” and how people figure out the
differences between those words.

Syntax

Syntax is the study of sentences and phrases, or how people put words into the
right order so that they can communicate meaningfully. All languages have underlying
rules of syntax, which, along with morphological rules, make up every language‟s
grammar. An example of syntax coming into play in language is “Eugene walked the
dog” versus “The dog walked Eugene.” The order of words is not arbitrary—in order for
the sentence to convey the intended meaning, the words must be in a certain order.

Semantics and Pragmatics

Semantics, most generally, is about the meaning of sentences. Someone who

studies semantics is interested in words and what real-world object or concept those
words denote, or point to. Pragmatics is an even broader field that studies how the
context of a sentence contributes to meaning—for example, someone shouting “Fire!”
has a very different meaning if they are in charge of a seven-gun salute than it does if
they are sitting in a crowded movie theater.
Difference between a First Language and a Second Language

Language is the most significant aspect which makes us different from all other
species. Accordingly, language acquisition is the most impressive aspect of human
development both in psychological and cognitive perspective. However, all the normal
human beings acquire the language they first encounter as children. Then they might
learn multiple languages but those languages will always be different from the first
language they acquired by being exposed to. So, it is evident that there are a lot of
differences between the first language and the second language of a person.

Let’s explore the differences:

 A first language is the mother tongue or native language of a person while a
second language is a language a person learns in order to communicate with
the native speaker of that language.
 The first language is like an instinct which is triggered by birth and developed
with the experience of being exposed to it. A second language is a personal
choice of a person.
 There is no other alternative to a first language. A person cannot decide his/her
first language. It comes to him/her as an inheritance/legacy/birthright. On the
other hand, a second language is always fixed by the person. There are many
alternatives to a second language. A person/community can choose a second
language among other languages.
 The acquiring process of the first language is very rapid while the learning
process of the second language can vary from language to language and from
person to person, but can never be as rapid as the first language acquisition.
 The first language is „acquired‟ and the second language is „learned‟. The
difference between these two words describes the qualities of the two
languages. „Acquire‟ means “to come into possession or ownership of” which
indicates that the first language is like a dynamic and abstract property which
comes into possession of a person. On the other hand, „learn‟ means “to gain
knowledge or skill by study, instruction, or experience” which indicates that there
is nothing passive in second language learning.
 A first language is completely acquired with 100% proficiency within 6 years from
the birth. However, a second language can never be learned as efficiently as a
first language; though good competence can be achieved in the second
language, the process is slow.
 The first language acquisition is always natural and there is no need for
instruction in acquiring it, but second language learning is not natural and it
needs continuous guidance and instruction.
 The first language acquisition begins with telegraphic speech. The term
'telegraphic speech' deriving from the word „telegram‟ was coined by Roger
Brown, an American psycholinguist, in 1963. It refers to the two-word a child can
 utter when s/he is 18 to 24 months of age. Examples of telegraphic speech: Mom
see, Dad go, No ball, Daddy walk, Mommy milk, etc. On the other hand, the
second language acquisition begins with a full sentence. A child cannot start
learning the second language without being fully efficient in the first language.
 The first language is a natural part of a person‟s everyday life. But the second
language is a new aspect of the person‟s life if s/he chooses it to be.
 The first language does not require any conscious effort; the acquisition process
of the first language is subconscious. The second language requires constant
conscious effort so that the learners can internalize the structures of the second
language.

Some factors of difference for the first language and the second language.

1. Age

It is the most important factor that makes a second language totally different from
the first language. Children of the age of 6 who have already acquired full proficiency
in their first language are most capable of learning a second language. Adults
usually find it difficult to learn a new language when they become too accustomed to
their first/native language.
2. Personality

A child‟s personality does not usually make that much of difference in the acquisition
of the first language. But it makes a huge difference in the learning process of the
second language. In the second language learning process, the learners with an
introvert personality usually make slow progress than the learners with an extrovert
personality.
3. Culture

The first language is one of the most important factors of a person‟s culture, but a
second language is not that important in anyone‟s culture. However, the second
language has some effects on the culture of a person but not significant enough to
be counted as an element of that culture.
4. Motivation

It is an important factor for the second language learning. A learner with good
motivation to learn a second language is likely to learn that language faster. But the
 acquisition of the first language does not require any motivation because it is a
natural phenomenon. The first language is acquired subconsciously and there is no
need for motivation to acquire it.
5. Mother Tongue

The first language is the mother tongue of a person. The second language learning
depends a lot on the structures of the first language. If the structure of the first
language is similar to the second language, it will be easy and fast for the learners to
internalize it. For instance, an English native speaker will find Dutch easier to learn
than Hindi as a second language.

A first language and a second language both have their effects on each other.
However, as we have learned that the first language is natural and has a solid base in a
person‟s intellectual and psychological development, the first language is not affected
by the second language as much as the second language is affected by the first
language. Finally, we can say that the relationship and the differences between a first
and a second language are complex but constant.

Similarities Between Mother Tongue and First Language

 Mother tongue, first language and native language are usually synonyms.
 It is usually the language we learn as a child and the language we speak at home.
 A person is generally most fluent and competent in his or her mother tongue or first
language.

Difference Between Mother Tongue and First Language

There is no significant difference between mother tongue and first language
since both refer to a person‟s native language, which is the language a person acquires
in early childhood as it is spoken in the family. However, in some countries, the term
mother tongue refers to the language of one‟s ethnic group, instead of one‟s first
language.

In most cases, the term native language refers to the language that a person
acquires in early childhood because it is spoken in the family and/or it is the language of
the region where the child lives. It is also known as a mother tongue, first language,
or arterial language.
What is Foreign Language

1. A language different from a person‟s mother tongue which is learned consciously

2. A foreign language is a language not widely spoken and used by the people of a
community / society / nation. For example, Spanish is a foreign language in Canada.

3. A language not native to the speaker or to the country

4. In the context of this material, typical foreign languages are Spanish, French, Italian,
German, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian.

5. The terms “foreign language,” “second language,” “target language,” and “language”
are used interchangeably to refer to languages other than English taught as an
academic subject.

6. A language that is not one‟s mother tongue. It should be noted that, even though
there are many authors who establish a distinction between foreign language and
second language, it is also very common to use them as interchangeable terms. Those
who do make the difference consider that a second language is learnt in a context
where that particular language is normally used (a natural learning environment), while
a foreign language is always learnt in a context where the members of the community
do not normally speak it. For instance, if an Australian whose mother tongue is English
moves to Spain, this person will learn Spanish as a second language. On the contrary,
if the same person, instead of moving to Spain, decides to learn Spanish at
a language school in Australia, this will be a foreign language learning context.