Category: Linguistics 473

Introduction

First language is usually learnt during child development and is normally related to the environment in which a child is raised. This is quite different from the way a second language is learnt, within four years of a childs development, it is highly expected that the language will have been fully acquired. Theorists describe childrens learning of first language as simple and one that occurs rapidly, usually starting with simple words, monosyllabic, and associated with the family. On the contrary, learning a second language is quite different in both children and adults. What is quite common in children is the way they acquire one or more languages, this is mostly learnt through their interactions with the environment and other people. It occurs naturally by listening and practicing. However, this is not same with adults, who have to study the second language in classrooms, and therefore takes time. Various models have been proposed to explain the concepts of language acquisition, among those are Krashens monitor model and the communicative competence model. This paper seeks to compare the two models as well as explore their instructional implications to second language learners (Gass & Selinker, 2008, pp. 434-475).

Comparison of Krashens Monitor model to Communicative competence model

Krashen proposed various hypotheses that are used in acquiring a secondary language. Communicative competence model, on the other hand, emphasizes on grammatical knowledge and social aspect of the language. The table below gives a comparative analysis of the models.

Instructional implications to second language learners

Implementation of the two models in a classroom will definitely account for diversity in language acquisitioned approach; Students will be able to learn according to the model that best fits them. Environment of learning will require being conducive for uptake of a second language according to Krishens monitor hypothesis. A class implementing Krishens model will be reviewed using cognitive application of academic language as well as literacy. Theories and researches would be done with that which pertains to the models. The two models can be integrated to promote variety given the difference in cultural or societal approaches. A new curriculum that integrates the two models will have to be incorporated to exploit fully their potentials in learning anew language (Gass & Selinker, 2008, pp. 334-475).

This will include standards and frameworks regarding the various models to effectively promote learning SLA. Demonstration sessions will also form part of learning process to promote easy uptake of the language by the students by reducing behavioral factors like stress. Younger students would use Krishens model of acquisition while the adults will incorporate learning and communicative competence (Gass & Selinker, 2008, pp. 434-475).

Conclusion

The two models are different in their approach; Krishens model is in line with the natural approach theory that posits that acquisition from the environment is like the natural concept in which a child acquires new language through listening and copying, while Communicative model entails, grammatical competence, strategic, sociolinguistics, pragmatic and discourse competence, among others. Integration of the two models in a classroom is quite effective in reaching out to various students with varying powers of acquisition. The two models are critical in designing an integrated set of model that would help in promoting effective learning and hence proficiency (Gass & Selinker, 2008, pp. 434-475).

Reference List

1. Gass, M.S. & Selinker, L. (2008). Second Language Acquisition: an introductory course. (3^rd Ed.). Madison Ave, New York. Routledge. Web.
2. Hymes, D.H. (1966). Two types of linguistic relativity. In W. Bright (Ed) Sociolinguistics pp. 114-158. The Hague: Mouton.

The desire, to represent the exact time of occurrence of an event, is the reason why most scholars spend time in studying tense. It is quite easy to represent an event accurately at the time of occurrence, but as time passes, it then becomes difficult to give an exact representation of the occurrence of such an event. Different definitions of what a tense is have been given, but the most suitable of all is that which defines a tense as the use of grammar in representing the occurrence of an event in time. The common and most recognised tense are: the present tense, which refers to an ongoing event, the past tense, referring to an event which has already taken place to which reference is been made, and finally the future tense, which refers to an event that is yet to take place or is about to take place.

When making reference to an event that has already occurred, it is imperative to make use of a reference point on the time line. This is because, reference to a past event might refer to general past, distant past or immediate past, thus making use of a reference point enhances the exact representation of such an event. These are some of the ambiguities that exist in the definition and usage of tense. For example, in speech a speaker might refer to an event in distant past, not because it has been measured in terms of passage of time, but because the event seems remote to the speaker. In another vain, an event might be referred to as remote, simply because the speaker is making reference to some other event that just occurred.

An attempt to provide us with an introduction into the varying nature of tense is the basis for Bernard Comries work, tense. In as much as the tense aid us in our daily expressions, Comrie in his work identified logically the variation of tense in languages and the limitations of the variations. In the opening chapter, he speaks of the concept of tense in relation to time, making reference to the definition of tense that, the definition gives us reason to look at other forms of time representation in language.

The core massage in Comries book is from Chapters two to chapter four; these chapters are centred on the key parameters necessary for the discussion and understanding of the three basic tense traditionally used. The discussion in chapter two is centred on what is referred to as the present tense or deictic centre, referring to an occurrence at the time of reporting. Chapter three, deals with relative tense, an event occurring in time other than the present moment. The last, and most intuitive chapter of the work which is chapter four, in this chapter Comrie seems to be asking questions that were absent in previous publications on tense. For example, where on the time line is an event in the past located, or how can the remoteness of an occurrence be measured? Comries questions are intuitive, but it is important to note that, it will be too rigid of him to insist that the exact location of an event be specified, an event in the past can be represented effectively by making reference to a preceding event, and not necessarily to the deictic centre as he is prescribing. According to Comrie, the perceived absence of discussions on remoteness is partly accounted for, as a result of the absence of grammatical expressions in most Europeans languages for remoteness of an event. On the absence of grammatical expressions in representing remoteness, what Comrie failed to note in his work is that, in most languages of the world, remoteness is expressed through stress or emphasis in speech on words used to represent a past event.

Finally, Comrie ends his Book by drawing together all the arguments raised in the opening chapters, the key issue been that, a formal theory of tense is almost impossible, as a result of the variations in grammatical representations and absence of grammatical expressions for remote occurrences. What Comrie has failed to do is to go on, and propose appropriately how a formal theory of tense generalisation can be arrived at. Leaving us with no direction and proposing a formula that should be followed if such generalised theory is to hold water, ending his work more like that of a critique.

All the stories David Phillips told in the video evoked different kinds of emotions: from joy and interest to sadness and sympathy. The reason is that while listening to stories, the brain is filled with neurotransmitters and hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and others, the so-called angels cocktail (TEDx Talks, 2017). They affect the cerebral cortex and make listeners more emotional and focused. Whenever people hear a story, they try to relate it to their existing experience. While we are trying to remember a similar situation that we had, the part of the brain is activated that connects what we hear with the same feelings of pain, joy, or sympathy.

Evoking emotions is one of the most significant skills in the science of storytelling. Where emotions dominate, facts and rationality are not always the basis for decision-making (Bietti et al., 2019). David Phillips says that the more emotionally people feel about something in life, the less critical and less objective their perception is (TEDx Talks, 2017). There are many special lexical, syntactic, morphological, and intonation techniques to make the story emotional. However, the most important thing is just not to exclude feelings and impressions in pursuit of the clarity and reasoning of the text.

This TEDx Talks video has changed the way I viewed storytelling. Now, when I write my narrative essay, I will focus not only on the meaning and morality but also on evoking emotions. It is important to understand for whom the story is being prepared, how it will be perceived, what people already know, and what stereotypes they have formed. I also need to choose the way of telling so that I will be heard and people will be interested. I have realized that emotionality can be seen as an integral part of storytelling. A good story must evoke feelings, and emotional content often gets more engagement.

References

Bietti, L. M., Tilston, O., & Bangerter, A. (2019). Storytelling as adaptive collective sensemaking. Topics in Cognitive Science, 11(4), 710-732.

TEDx Talks. (2017). The magical science of storytelling | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholm [Video]. YouTube. Web.

Introduction

Semiology refers to the study of sign processes or communication through signs and symbols and it can either be individually or grouped into a system of signs. The field of semiology is categorized under three branches namely; semantics which refers to the relationship between the signs and the specific things to which they refer, syntactic which describes the relationship between deferent signs in formal structures and lastly pragmatics which describes the relationship existing between signs and the Impacts they have on people who use them.

Semiotics is commonly understood to have important dimensions that are anthropological as it was proposed by Umberto that every phenomenon resulting from a particular culture can be studied as a form of communication although some semioticians mainly focus on logical dimensions in science and also examine those areas that belong to the natural science like how an organism can make a prediction and be able to adapt to an environment as it tries to perform best in the position it holds in the ecosystem.

Generally, theories that explain semiotics explain signs and sign systems to be their key objects of study. The term semiotic was derived from the Greek word semiotics, which meant the person who interprets the signs and when it was used for the first time in English it meant precisely the branch of science in the medical field dealing with the interpretation of signs concerning human understanding. semiotics argue that science can be categorized into three parts all of which fall within the scope of human understanding and one of them is the nature of all things and their relations in the way they operate.

The other category is anything which a man considers right to do using his rational thought and through voluntary basis to achieve satisfaction in form of happiness and lastly how the knowledge of the first two categories are attained and communicated. (Pavis, 2001)

Formulation

People who study semiotic deal with the classification of signs or their systems regarding the way they are transmitted where the method of deriving the meaning of those signs depends on codes being used which can be individual sounds or even letters that human beings usually use in forming words and the body gestures that a person can make to communicate an attitude or a certain emotion he is undergoing.

A message can also be communicated through the kind of clothes that one wears especially when in public which is easily interpreted by the majority of his target group. This implies for the message to be conveyed or for a specific word to have a certain meaning the members of the community require to reach an agreement on some simple meaning of the same word within their community language since a particular word can only have a particular meaning within correct grammatical structures and correct codes within that language because different codes represent deferent values of that culture which imply that they can add shades to almost all aspects of life.

Understanding of relationship connecting semiotic and studies of communication requires one to understand the meaning of communication as mode and process of data transfer between the source and the recipient in a way that is efficient and as effective as possible. This explains why people dealing with communication theories design models that depend on the codes and media as well as the contexts of the message in explaining the psychology, biology, and all the mechanics involved.

Semiotic and communication recognize that technical process is inseparable from the truth of the matter that the recipient of the information has to decode data and distinguish it as salient to extract meaning from it which indicate that there exists an important overlap linking communication and semiotics making the majority of the concepts to be shared even though in each of the two fields the emphasis is different. Priorities in semiotics are to study signification first then second communication and even on some extreme views they consider communication in semiotics as insignificant and irrelevant to apply. (Bertin, 2003)

Semiotic and linguistics

Semiotic is different from linguistics because it defines a sign in a general way encompassing signs in all mediums of sensory modality and in this way it widens the broad range of sign relation and sign system and makes the definition of language extend to its widest metaphorical as well as analogical sense. According to the definition of Peirces semiotic means study of features in signs that are necessary to distinguish this field from linguistic in that linguistics is the study of features that the language of the world happens to have acquired during the process of human evolution.

Semiology and philosophy of language

The difference between the two terms is more of the tradition than of the subject and even different authors have addressed themselves as semioticians or philosophers of language and the difference fails to match the distinction between continental and analytical philosophies though to some extent on closer look there are some differences concerning the subjects. Philosophy of language focuses its attention on natural languages or the general language while on the other hand semiotic is rooted deeply in the concern about the signification of non-linguistics and is nearer to some humanities while the philosophy of language connects strongly to linguistics.

History of semiotics

Throughout philosophy history as well as psychology the benefit of signs and signification has been recognized so well. Both Plato and Aristotle studied the relationship of the world and the signs while Augustine explored the nature of the signs existing in a conventional system and these theories gave rise to a lasting consequence in western philosophy and more so with scholastic philosophy. Umberto Eco argues in his semiotic and philosophy of language that theories of semiotic are implicit through the work of majority great thinkers. (Pavis, 2001)

Element of semiology

According to Saussure, there exist general science of which linguistic forms only a part and therefore semiology which is a general science system is aimed to accommodate all systems of signs regardless of the substance they have or even their limit and which include images, musical sounds, body gestures, physical objects as well as the complex association between all these components forming the content of ritual, public entertainment through media and all conventions. The analysis of these facts leaves no doubt that mass communication in the modern days holds a lot of relevance with the wide-field in signifying medias disciplines success like linguistics, the information theory, structural anthropology, and formal logic to gives semantic analysis in line with the new instrument.

Presently, there is a demand for the study of signs and their interpretations stemming from the history of the modern world although the facts still hold it strongly that this study remains a tentative science as opposed to Saussure thought because he thought linguistics just formed part of general science. Today it is beyond reasonable doubt that semiology applies inhuman life because there are extensive sign systems that are outside human language with concern in highway codes and situations where sociological significance is beyond superficial.

It then becomes true that physical objects, visual images, and patterns of ones behavior can signify on a large scale although not autonomously. All known semiological systems have their linguistic admixture for example in the presence of a visual substance confirmation of the meaning is made possible through duplication in linguistic information as it happens with the cinema, comic strips, an advertisement, the press photography, and all other forms of the media communication to ensure that at least all or a part of a used iconic message in terms of the relationship of its structure is either redundant or is absorbed by the linguistic system.

Regarding the collections of objects like clothes and food, these objects can only obtain pleasure from the system only if they can communicate the message which they are meant to signify in form of their use and the reasons attached to them. (Bertin, 2003)

The modern man is far beyond the former times and even with the spread of illustrations in pictorial form, he is more of a civilization of written words which implies that signs and written messages have to be coupled for one to obtain complete information. It would be increasingly harder to interpret a system comprising of images and objects whose signs do not depend on language and for a person to have a right perception about what an object or a sign signifies he has to depend on his language because all meanings are designated and language is the world of signs.

Semiology prospects

Garment system

Considering the issue of the garment that a person put on it can be subdivided under different systems depending on the specific substance directed towards a particular communication because the most important feature in the analysis of linguistics is the distinction between language and speech meaning it would be futile in proposing applying the separation directly to systems of images, objects as well as behavior patterns that have not been studied from semantic view. In analyzing the communication through clothing for example using a fashion magazine through the use of articulated language, practically there is no use of speech and the garment that is being described has never corresponded to the rules of handling the fashion of that particular individual being targeted.

The person who designs the magazine comes up with a set of systemized rules and signs and yet it qualifies to be a language in its pure form but according to the schema by Saussure, one cant have a language that does not contain speech.

It is important to understand that what qualifies this fact to be acceptable is the fact that fashion language does not have its source from the mass peaking but rather from a group making a decision as well as deliberately elaborating the codes and also from the fact that abstraction inherent in all language, in this case, has been materialized to acquire the same status as a written language. It is therefore important for one to note that fashion clothes are a language at vestment level of communication and on the other hand is speech at the verbal communication level. (Pavis, 2001)

In the case of a photographed woman garment, one may argue that because there is no verbal description then there is no duplication but the language still manifest from the fashion group though it is not issued in an abstract form since a photographed garment can only be worn by an individual woman. A fashion photograph of a woman garment gives a semi-formalized form of the system of the garment because the fashion language, in this case, has to be related to a pseudo-real garment and the person who is wearing in this case the model photographed, is an individual who is normative and has been chosen for generality and she represents a fixed speech devoid of any combinative freedom.

semiology makes it clear that an image is not all about an image but rather a visual language whose function is a sign or a symbol to enhance communication in human beings as well as animals even if they do not know how to speak and can therefore be in language form or other various non-linguistic modes. For example, the Revlon image has many implications as far as its myth and the ideology it has is concerned like creating false ideas regarding how women ought to be and give society a hung up on an impossible perfection.

The Revlon image is a photo of a young woman which is enticing and has an effect like that the media portrays by telling everyone to look young. The image is white implying that it has a target group audience. It has porcelain skin that is making anyone think that she is perfect and also flawless although that is not real and the image it gives on our girls is a perfect goal that they can never achieve.

The image of her head has been made to tilt up with her eyes also facing up creating an effect that everyone is looking at up as if she is above everyone in terms of power. Her light brown hair makes her appear likable and adds a lot of value to all the other unrealistic good qualities. If she happened to have a fat face or imperfect yellow teeth the whole picture of perfectionism would be destroyed. (Kreusch, 2004)

Conclusion

Semiotics represent methodology for us to analyze the text without much consideration to the modality and therefore text can be defined as any preserved message in an independent form both to the sender and the receiver. The study also improves ergonomic design if the situation requires human beings to interact with their environment in a more effective manner both on a large scale or small scale like when one wants to configure the instrument for a human being to use.

Semiotic as a study is currently slowly getting established as a respectable discipline where in some countries it is confined with its roles limited to Christian and audiovisual media appreciation which is a narrow focus inhibiting general study of society as well as political forces which have roles in shaping how media can be used and the status media has on the modern culture. Understanding the relationship between the sign which are well understood by our culture and the meaning they portray is important because it enhances quick communication even when only the signs have been used without any writing accompanying them. Once it is generally accepted by the majority worldwide then it will easily become a discipline to be practiced and studied.

References

Bertin J. (2003): semiology of graphics: university of Wisconsin press.

Pavis P. (2001): essays in the semiology of the theatre: PAJ publications.

Kreusch J. (2004): Dermoscopic semiology: Blackwell synergy.

Introduction

The debate concerning the use of a standard form of English has been a heated one for several decades, especially amongst linguistic and partly the general public. One of the most central issues characterizing the debate is the use of Standard English in education and more specifically whether it is entirely necessary. The standard form of English as a relatively uniform variety that does not show regional variation can be described as being subject to an observers point of view making it a social judgment (Florence Ma, 2012: 280).

According to Bocanegra-Valle, Standard English has been regarded by some scholars as of gold standard against which other forms of English can be measured (2014: 72). Proponents of the change argue that change is inevitable and that a language needs to change in order to meet the needs of the times. On the other hand, opponents of the change posit that Standard English is and should remain resistant to any forms of change. With this ongoing debate, the big concern remains on whether we should accept this change. This paper seeks to analyze the implication of having a Standard English in terms of advantages and disadvantages. It further evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a prescriptive approach to language use.

Analysis

Largely, Standard English has for a long time sought to resist this change. However, a section of scholars, as Mumford (2011: 18) notes, argue that it is just a matter of time before the change, seen as inevitable, can be adopted.

There can never be a moment of true standstill in language, just as little as in the ceaseless flaming thought of men. By nature, it is a continuous process of development (Aitchinson, 2001: 4).

This implies that language gradually transforms itself over time just like everything else. However, many resistances against such a change have been common among linguists. For instance, a cross-section of scholars argues that change is likely to kill the language. The argument is that English, a language that used to be universally understood, is continuously becoming strange even to the natives.

Notably, Standard English reinforces social, economic, and cultural privileges by allowing people from diverse walks of life to communicate more easily than if regional dialects are used. Within the education system, Standard English with its grammatical rules and regulations is an imperative aspect. As Aitchinson (2001: 15) argues, The principal design of grammar is to teach people to express themselves with propriety in that language. It should also assist the judgment of every phrase as well as forms of construction.

The only way to achieve this is through a set of rules. Since it is regarded as the variety of the highest status, power, and prestige, it offers users and especially children a higher advantage in several aspects of their lives, both academically and socially. Another perception is that using Standard English often provides connotations of perfection whereby a speaker of Standard English is regarded as a well-educated person.

In the same line, prescriptive grammar enforces rules that concern the correct or incorrect language use. The prescriptive approach is basically the traditional approach used in grammar textbooks (Mumford, 2011: 18). Teaching prescriptive grammar is beneficial for both teachers and learners because it has laid down rules of language, which avoids ambiguity and confusion among students. It is important for beginners to be taught on how a language should be used.

Again, prescriptive grammar helps students to draw a language system within their mind and as such makes the learning process easier for them. Moreover, when learners know the rules of prescriptive grammar, it becomes easier for them to write in the target language. It also works better for non-native teachers because they are not likely to have precise knowledge about a foreign languages descriptive grammar.

On the other hand, the use of a standard form of English has been criticized as a form of discrimination against specific groups that use other English dialects. It is argued that some of the other common dialects used by some social groups characterize low social standing (Bodine, 2009: 129). In this case, the adoption of a Standard English would be taken to imply that it is superior to those other dialects.

Characterizing other dialects as less prestigious is demeaning to these sub-groups and would in turn lead to loss of their cultural heritage. In most cases, the use of Standard English results in the stigmatization of certain categories of people. Another argument is that imposing Standard English upon students who speak a different dialect at home is unfair and results in alienation.

In terms of prescriptive grammar, there are a number of disadvantages of using it as well. For instance, if it is taught in schools, learners are likely to be confused when they communicate with a native speaker. In this case, they will realize that natives do not adhere to the rules in the grammar books. Again, people who learn prescriptive grammar might not be able to speak or communicate like a native speaker, because they are only accustomed to the use of the standard grammar and lack knowledge of how the natives use the language in communication. Furthermore, they are bound to get bored with learning and having to adhere to grammar rules all the time particularly because prescriptive grammar deals with rules (Anderwald, 2013: 146).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is imperative to note that the stability of Standard English happens to be one of its key advantages, which makes it very effective for use throughout the English-speaking world. One of its key features is its ability to avoid variation and resist change. Indeed, writers of grammar books and dictionaries have codified the language and people seek these books as authorities for what is right and wrong. Nevertheless, there has been a looming debate on whether Standard English should be strictly adhered to or subjected to pressure for change, which in many instances seems inevitable. Just like anything else in the world, language is subject to change.

References

Aitchinson, Jean. (2001) Language Change: Progress or Decay. Cambridge University Press.

Anderwald, Lieselotte. (2013) Natural language change or prescriptive influence?, English World-Wide, 34 (2). pp. 146-176.

Bocanegra-Valle, Ann. (2014) English is my default academic language: Voices from LSP scholars publishing in a multilingual journal, Journal Of English For Academic Purposes, 13, pp. 65-77.

Bodine, Ann. (2009) Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar: Singular They, Sex-Indefinite He, and He or She, Language in Society, 4 (2). pp. 129-146.

Florence Ma, Lai Ping. (2012) Advantages and Disadvantages of Native- and Nonnative-English-speaking Teachers: Student Perceptions in Hong Kong, TESOL Quarterly, 46 (2). pp. 280-305.

Mumford, Simon. (2011) Making grammar connections, increasing connectedness, Modern English Teacher, 2, pp. 18-21.

The textbook identifies three views of grammar  traditional grammar, structural linguistics, and transformational grammar. Standard grammar refers to a set of prescriptive rules and concepts about the structure of language. This type of grammar has its roots in the principles formulated by the scholars of ancient Greece and Rome. D. Thrax distinguishes two descriptive units  the sentence, which defines the upper boundary of grammatical description, and the word. He defines a sentence as expressing a complete thought (Bauer, 2021). His principal merit was that he was one of the first to divide the lexical volume of language into different parts of speech according to the functions they perform.

Structural linguistics is a set of views on language and methods of its study, based on the understanding of language as a sign system with different structural elements. The writings of Ferdinand de Saussure greatly influenced the emergence of structural linguistics. Saussure wrote Memoir on the original vowel system in the Indo-European languages, his only book in his lifetime. It was dedicated to reconstructing the sound system of the Indo-European proto-language (Bauer, 2021). It contained innovative for its time ideas about the strict and uniform structure of its roots.

Transformational grammar is a theory of grammar that accounts for language constructions through linguistic transformations and phrase structures. After the publication of Noam Chomskys Syntactic Structures in 1957, transformational grammar dominated linguistics for the next few decades. Chomsky suggested a deep inaudible structure behind every sentence in the speakers mind, an interface to the mental lexicon (Coffey, 2021). Transformational rules transform the deep structure into a surface structure that corresponds more closely to what is said.

Works Cited

Bauer, L. (2021). The Linguistics Students Handbook. Edinburgh University Press.

Coffey, S. (2021). The History of Grammar in Foreign Language Teaching. Amsterdam University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1b0fvzr

Babbling is a period of childhood development and a condition of vocabulary acquisition in which a toddler attempts to explore with articulating sounds but cannot yet create identifiable phrases. Moreover, Morgan and Wren (2018) described babbling as a phase of pre-linguistic speech advancement characterized by repeating consonant-vowel sounds. When babies begin to communicate through babbling, they all use the same words independent of the dominant language. Consonants /b/, /d/, /g/, /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/, /w/, and /j/ appear often in the babbling of newborns, irrespective of language context (Morgan & Wren, 2018). Some of the benefits of universal babbling in language acquisition among infants are discussed herein in the paper.

Babbling is a crucial period in language development since it demonstrates that children already comprehend fundamental linguistic meanings at younger ages. Babbling is a developmental stage in which newborns experiment with various kinds of intonation in their speech, elevating the pitch and intensity of their vocals throughout the sequence of sounds they make (Goswami, 2022). In addition, newborns may also acquire and exhibit how to take turns during this point of their development. Therefore, this implies that caregivers and others should connect with toddlers while they babble to explain how speech is employed in communication. A child is inclined to babble less and utilize formal phrases more frequently as they develop (Morgan & Wren, 2018). This is because a child typically starts forming specific characters after reaching this developmental point. These words are generally short utterances, such as up or please.

Finally, babbling proves to be a critical diagnostic signal as well. The capability of a kid to incorporate consonants in their speech is a powerful indication of subsequent communicative competence. Assessment of early indicators of speech results is advantageous for excluding infants, not in danger of developing future speech disorders, and identifying newborns who are more susceptible to aberrant linguistic mechanisms. In their research, Yankowitz et al. (2019) enumerated the importance of childhood syllable articulation and babbling rhythms to increase peoples comprehension of the connection between earlier and later word learning. They insinuated that autism, child apraxia of voice, and communication and speech difficulties had been linked to babbling deficits.

References

Goswami, U. (2022). Language acquisition and speech rhythm patterns: An auditory neuroscience perspective. Royal Society Open Science, 9(7), 1-13.

Morgan, L., & Wren, Y. E. (2018). A systematic review of the literature on early vocalizations and babbling patterns in young children. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 40(1), 3-14.

Yankowitz, L. D., Schultz, R. T., & Parish-Morris, J. (2019). Pre-and paralinguistic vocal production in ASD: Birth through school age. Current psychiatry reports, 21(12), 1-22.

Introduction

The struggle for nationalism was one of the significant events during the colonial period in Indonesia. It was facilitated by the unity of the Indonesian tribes. The natives of Indonesia achieved unity through the adoption of a common language that facilitated communication. Therefore, the adoption of a common language was one of the significant factors that contributed to the development of nationalism in Indonesia. Today, Indonesian is the formal lingo in Indonesia. It is used as a language of instruction in most learning institutions and national media (Simpson 2007, pp. 45-46). Moreover, it is one of the most popular languages globally. Indonesian evolved during the colonial period. It was called Malay before independence. Apart from Indonesian, the natives commonly speak Javanese and Madurese. This paper discusses the emergence of Indonesian during the colonial period and its development since independence.

Emergence of Indonesian

Indonesian originated during the colonial period. In the early period of the twentieth century, many dialects existed in Indonesia because the indigenous communities had their own languages. The European invasion of Indonesia led to the rise of more languages. It was out these numerous dialects that the Indonesian developed gradually.

During the colonial period, the Dutch dominated the natives in all spheres of life (Woodward 2010, pp. 121-122). For instance, the Dutch colonialists disrupted the social, economic, and political organization of the natives. Therefore, colonialism led to the immense suffering of the natives. This led to the struggle for independence.

During the colonial period, Dutch, Javanese, French, and Malay languages became popular in various parts of Asia (Anwar 2001, pp. 57-58). The colonial regime made Dutch the official language in the colony. The well-read individuals spoke Dutch during the colonial period. For example, most of the political leaders in Indonesia spoke Dutch. Thus, it was a popular and homogeneous language. Nonetheless, Dutch never had the same prominence as other foreign lingos such as French and English. As a result, Indonesian became more popular than Dutch and other foreign languages.

Javanese had a well-developed fictional custom (Smith-Hefner 2009, pp. 57-58). However, there are social registers in Javanese with completely separate lexicons used depending on the age and social class of the person addressed, which makes the language difficult for outsiders to learn (Paauw 2009, p. 2). If the Javanese were resolute on the formal recognition of their superior language all over the country, they would certainly have a better chance to do. Nonetheless, many people disliked the perceived supremacy of the Javanese in the political and economic spheres. Thus, it was difficult to make Javanese a countrywide language. It is providential that these challenges were circumvented.

The Selection of Malay

When Indonesia attained independence, the Javanese were about fifty percent of the population of Indonesia. Conversely, a few natives spoke Malay before independence. Nonetheless, Malay was easier to learn than Javanese were. Initially, many people learned Malay trough trade and Islam. Later, Christianity facilitated the development of Malay (Woodward, 2010, pp. 123-124).

Moreover, many people perceived Malay as a classless language. Thus, it became a common language among various tribes in Indonesia. Interestingly, Malay became an indigenous language along major trade routes. Finally, since Malay was a dialect of a small number of people who did not possess political authority in the community, it was not looked upon as an intimidation to the traditions of other tribes.

Malay was an important language that facilitated communication during the colonial period in Indonesia. Initially, it was used in spreading European religions such as Christianity. It was also taught in missionary schools. After some time, the Dutch colonial regime adopted the use of Malay and made it the second official language in the colony. In the twentieth century, Malay gained prominence in many learning institutions. It was also adopted by many local media organizations. For instance, many local newspapers were written in Malay. Most of the Indonesians who attained formal education during the colonial period were taught in Malay. Only a few natives from rich families had a chance to learn in Dutch schools during the colonial period.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, well-liked associations with pro-independence ambitions began to form. In 1911, the Sarekat Muslim Organization made Malay its formal language. In 1926, the First Congress of Indonesian Youth was held, and the future leaders of Indonesia discussed the national language issue (Paauw 2009, p. 4). The second assembly was held after two years, and Malay became the formal language of the congress (Anwar 2001, pp. 67-68). During the second congress, Malay acquired new status because the participants unanimously supported the idea of making it a national language. After the congress, Malay was called Bahasa Indonesia. The struggle for independence in Indonesia gained momentum after the second congress. The Youth Pledge gave new prestige to the Malay language, which was renamed Indonesian (Paauw 2009, p. 4). Nonetheless, the youthful pro-independence advocates continued to use Dutch in their everyday communication.

Opposition from the Dutch affected the development of Malay during the 1930s. The colonial regime felt threatened by the development of nationalism. They responded by prescribing the teaching of Malay in learning institutions. The natives and local media condemned the proscription of Malay in learning institutions. The first lingua meeting that was held in 1938 strengthened the role of Indonesian in the struggle for self-determination (Harper 2001, p. 89). Indeed, this meeting marked the beginning of the official preparation tasks for the advancement of the Indonesian language.

The Japanese Occupation

The invasion of Indonesia by Japan in 1942 influenced the development of Indonesian. Immediately after the incursion, the Japanese proscribed the use of foreign languages such as Dutch. Their primary motive was to make the Japanese an official language (Errington 2000, pp. 90-91). Nonetheless, this ambition was unattainable in the short term. The banning of the use of Dutch by the Japanese facilitated the rapid propagation of Malay. Thus, within a short period after the Japanese invasion, Malay became the only official language of the journalists, learning, and political administration. Before the Japanese intrusion, all instructional materials in learning institutions were written in Dutch (Mietzner 2006, pp. 29-31. The Japanese colonial regime encouraged the translation of the Dutch texts to Indonesian. Thus, the Japanese intrusion facilitated the propagation of Indonesian. The Japanese left Indonesia in late 1945. After attaining independence, the natives made Indonesian an official language.

Some scholars contend that the following factors compelled the natives to make Indonesian a formal language after attaining autonomy. First, it played a significant role in the struggle for self-determination (Simpson 2007, pp. 145-146). Second, it did not have any tribal inclination. Hence, it did not denote tribal superiority. Third, Indonesian acted as a unifying factor during the colonial period. In fact, there was a great potential for tribal conflicts in the post-independence period since Indonesia comprised many tribes with diverse cultures. Therefore, Indonesian served as a symbol and means of achieving countrywide unity (Bertrand 2004, p. 65). For instance, it enabled the natives to develop a sense of individuality. The function of this language has been closely connected with nation-building activities. Since independence, Indonesian has had a dual function in Indonesian society as a language of unity, political administration, modernization, literacy, and education (Paauw 2009, p. 5).

Development of Indonesian after Independence

The development of the national language has continued progressively since independence. Interestingly, many factors have reinforced the development of Indonesian in the post-independence period. The Indonesian model of education is one of the factors that have contributed to the popularity of the national language (Sen & Hill 2000, p. 101). At present, Indonesian is a compulsory subject in the majority of elementary learning institutions in Indonesia. Nonetheless, children can be taught vernacular languages during their first three years of elementary education. Thus, education has contributed to the propagation of literacy skills in Indonesia. Many natives have been able to access learning institutions since independence. Thus, they can speak and write Indonesian.

The mass media is another significant factor that has promoted the growth of the national language (Jurriens 2010, p. 82). For example, many mass media programs are in Indonesian. In addition, most of the magazines and newspapers are written in Indonesian. Unfortunately, the media has been quite detrimental to the growth of the national language because some radio and television programs are broadcasted in English. In response to this challenge, the Indonesian Department of Education and Culture has drafted a law, which would ban the use of written foreign languages in public and the print and electronic media (Paauw 2009, p. 6). Currently, expatriates in Indonesia can only be given job permits if they can speak and write Indonesian fluently.

Urbanization is an additional factor that has reinforced Indonesian. Urban areas and cities attract people from various tribes with unique cultural practices. Thus, urbanization creates an environment, which favors the development of a common language for all tribes. Moreover, town dwellers have facilitated the spread of the Indonesian by abandoning local dialects and acquiring Indonesian as their first language (Mietzner 2006, p. 56). The nationwide language strategy has also facilitated the development of Indonesian as a sign of countywide harmony. These factors have contributed to the popularity of Indonesian among the natives.

Today, Indonesian is one of the most successful languages in the postcolonial era because the majority of the natives have adopted it. Therefore, some language experts contend that Indonesian has the capacity to become a common language in entire Southeast Asia in the future (Anderson 2006, pp. 35-45). Moreover, Indonesia is likely to be spoken by almost everyone in Indonesia in the next generation. The successful adoption of Indonesian has fostered peace and stability among various tribes in the post-independence period. Thus, it has greatly contributed to development (Anderson 2006, pp. 45-47).

Nonetheless, some scholars and language experts have different views about the success of Indonesian. According to James Peacock, Bahasa Indonesia is a language, peculiarly turgid, humorless, awkward, mechanical, and bereft of sensuality (Paauw 2009, p. 7). On the other hand, Wright notes that Indonesian is an example of the kind of tensions rising within multi-ethnic states between the centripetal efforts of the nation-building center and the centrifugal pressures of independence and autonomy movements (Paauw 2009, p. 7).

Conclusion

This essay has discussed the origins and development of Indonesian as a countrywide language in Indonesia. During the colonial period, many local and foreign languages were spoken in the Indonesian colony. Dutch became popular during the colonial period because the colonial regime made it an official language. Thus, it was taught in most of the colonial schools. Conversely, Javanese became popular because many natives spoke it. Nonetheless, it failed to be a nationwide language because it denoted tribal superiority. The natives disliked some aspects of the Javanese; hence, it lost its popularity.

Conversely, Malay gradually gained popularity because of social and economic activities in Indonesia facilitated its spread in various parts of Southeast Asia. Unlike the other languages, Malay was perceived to be classless. Hence, many natives adopted it quickly. The colonial regime also made it the second official language. Malay fostered unity among the natives during the struggle for independence. It is worth noting that the Japanese conquest was one of the most significant factors that led to the development of Malay towards the end of the colonial period. The Japanese colonialists curtailed the development of Dutch. Consequently, Malay became dominant in the entire colony. In the post-independence period, various factors such as language policy, urbanization, the media, and education have all contributed to the development of Malay. At present, Malay is recognized as one of the most successful postcolonial languages worldwide.

References

Anderson, B 2006, Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia, Equinox Publishing, London.

Anwar, K 2001, Indonesian: the development and use of a national language, Wiley, New York.

Bertrand, J 2004, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Indonesia, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Errington, J 2000, Shifting Languages: Interaction and Identity in Javanese Indonesia, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Harper, T 2001, The End of Empire and the Making of Malaya, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Jurriens, E 2010, From Monologue to Dialogue: Radio and Reform in Indonesia, Brill Academic Publishers, London.

Mietzner, M 2006, The Politics of Military Reform in Post-Suharto Indonesia: Elite Conflict, Nationalism, and Institutional Resistance, Sage, London.

Paauw, S 2009, One land, one nation, one language: An analysis of Indonesias national language, University of Rochester Working Papers in the Language Sciences, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-16.

Sen, K & Hill, D 2000, Media, Culture and Politics in Indonesia, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Simpson, A 2007, Language and National Identity in Asia, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Smith-Hefner, N 2009, Language Shift, Gender, and Ideologies of Modernity in Central Java, Indonesia, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 5777.

Woodward, M 2010, Java, Indonesia and Islam, Wiley, New York.

Linguistic changes occurred in historical migrations and the mass development of new lands. Native North American peoples initially settled the lands of Canada. Nevertheless, lands began to be filled with British and French colonizers, and after the struggle for American independence, many U.S. citizens migrated to Canada (Anderson). This led to the spread of the English language into Canada. Thus, Canadian English is an example of this differentiation of languages with development, where the reinforcement of alien linguistic traditions and the emergence of unique dialects occurred as a result of the settlement of the country. Continuity can be traced through the study of orthography, phonetics, and language grammar. There has also been an enrichment of the language with new words through infiltration into indigenous communities. Finally, Canadas ethnographic composition influences the dynamics of Canadian English. Thus, the peculiarities of Canadas history are reflected in the language, the study of which shows the history of the settlement of the territories.

Canadian English is one of the varieties of the English language. Canadian vocabulary reflects the wide use of the letter u in such words as colour and labour, which is a form of standard British. Meanwhile, most words in Canadian English resemble the American version. Canadians skip the [j] sound in the words news or stew and utilize the consonant [d] instead of [t], pronouncing words like pardy instead of party or bedder instead of better (Collins; Leggett). Like the British, Canadians tend to pronounce the letter [z] as zed rather than zee in the alphabet (Yarhi). These facts indicate the continuity of Canadian English from the different language families that inhabited the Canadian territories.

The invasion of forms of British and American English into Canadian territory could not go unnoticed by the Native communities. The Native Indians of Canada include the Inuit tribes living on lands even before the migration of Europeans. Filling the alien English language with indigenous lexical forms and meanings understood only by the Inuit has created a new version of the Canadian language. This is evidenced by Canadianisms absent from British and American languages. For example, words such as muskeg (swamp) or longlinerman (fisherman) are strictly Canadian forms, which gives the language a unique identity (longlinerman; Terasmae). It also includes the development of dialects among the various Aboriginal settlements. Such unique syntheses of dialects include the Cree and Algonquin languages (Gallant). Thus, the British and American languages played an essential role in the emergence of Canadian English, but the absorption of new forms came with the cultural invasion.

However, Canadian is a dynamic language, reflecting the countrys ethnographic transformations. Historically, as a result of migrations, Canada is represented mainly by French, British and American settlers who brought their culture (Miletic et al. 6255). English and French are thus spoken by more than 80% of the population (ONeill). Multiculturalism continues to influence the development of the version of English, shaping its unique form. In addition to the existing heritability from the British and American, Canadian English also incorporates the basics of French phonetics for some French words such as niche, croissant, and clique (Settarova). Moreover, about one in five inhabitants of modern Canada is a migrant, which confirms the plasticity of the Canadian language through the introduction of new constructions (SRD). Thus, Canadian English is not created by integrating Standard English and French alone. On the contrary, migrants who do not speak either of these languages contribute to Canadian English daily.

The unique nature of the development of Canadian English, based on a historical synthesis of alien language forms and local indigenous cultures, must be emphasized. As a result of the gradual settlement of Canadian lands by British, French, and American migrants, English and French have been embedded in local traditions. Canadian English has been shown phonetic continuity, confirming its affiliation with the British and American. Moreover, this language also includes Canadian dialects and Canadianisms characteristic only of local communities. Canada continues to be populated by migrants, and their numbers in the country are actively growing, and they contribute to forming the composite Canadian language. Consequently, a historical and linguistic analysis of the Canadian language can fully reflect the history of its settlement and foreign language adaptation.

Works Cited

Anderson, Connie Wyatt. Human Settlement in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2020, Web.

Collins, Brain. Why and When did /t/ and /d/ Become a Flap Consonant in American English? Which Consonant was Affected First? Quora, Web.

Gallant, David Joseph. Indigenous Languages in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2020. Web.

Leggett, Colin. This Guide To Speaking Canadian English Claims We Never Use Ts. Narcity, Web.

longlinerman. Lexico, Web.

Miletic, Filip, Anne Przewozny-Desriaux, and Ludovic Tanguy. Collecting Tweets to Investigate Regional Variation in Canadian English. European Language Resources Association, 2020, pp. 6255-6264. Web.

ONeill, Aaron. Languages in Canada 2011. Statista, 2021, Web.

Settarova, M. Phonological Features of Canadian English. ConfContact, Web.

SRD. Immigration in Canada: Statistics & Facts. Statista, Web.

Terasmae, J. Muskeg. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2018, Web.

Yarhi, Eli. Zed. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2017, Web.

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness (PA) is considered an essential skill and an important step towards literacy in the childrens early development stages. First of all, a research by Milankov et al. (2021) showed that there was a direct correlation between the kids ability to read and the level of PA. Students having better PA were predicted to master reading skills significantly faster than those with lower levels of awareness. Furthermore, the PA helps children to not only read print words but also to comprehend them better by shifting the focus from how to read each individual word to the meaning behind them (Armbruster, 2010). Finally, PA is believed to be closely connected to the vocabulary development and may significantly assist a multilingual child in learning phonemics and phonology of other languages (Cassano and Rohde, 2021). This paper will present a short glossary with key terms related to PA as well as a number of useful PA activities.

Glossary

Phoneme addition  the strategy for pronouncing the rest of the word when one or more phonemes are added to it. E.g. using the process of phoneme addition the word tick (/tik/) can be pronounced as the word stick (/stick/) when the phoneme /s/ is added.

Phonemic awareness  the ability to recognise, differentiate and use phonemes. E. g. PA allows a child to read the print words with the use of phonemes.

Phoneme blending  the strategy for pronouncing a combination of sounds or phonemes as words. E.g. phoneme blending allows a child to recognise that phonemes /k/, /æ/ and /t/ put together can be pronounced as the word cat.

Phoneme elimination  the strategy for pronouncing the rest of the word when one or more phonemes are eliminated from it. E.g. using the process of phoneme elimination the word sand (/sænd/) can be pronounced as the word and (/ænd/) when the phoneme /s/ is deleted.

Phoneme identification  the strategy for identifying identical sounds or phonemes in different words. E.g. phoneme identification allows a child to recognise that the words cat (/kæt/) and hat (/hæt/) share the phoneme /æ/.

Phoneme isolation  the strategy for identifying individual phonemes and their location in a given word. E.g. phoneme isolation allows a child to recognise that the phoneme /k/ is at the start of the word cat.

Phoneme segmentation  the strategy for decomposing any given words into phonemes or a combination of sounds. E.g. the word cat can be segmented into three phonemes  /k/, /æ/ and /t/.

Phoneme substitution  the strategy for correctly reading a word when one or more phonemes in the word are changed. E.g. using the process of phoneme substitution the word cat (/kæt/) can be read as a hat (/hæt/) when the phoneme /k/ is changed for /h/.

Phoneme  a unit corresponding to the sound that a letter or a combination of letters produce in any given word. E.g. the sound that the letter t and h produce are represented by phoneme /t/ in the word thyme and by phoneme /ð/ in the word brother.

Phonemics  the study of phonemes and phonetic systems of a given language. E.g. this paper covers the importance of phonemics for childrens literacy and reading skills.

Phonetic awareness activities

1. Exposure to rhyming texts and word plays can be beneficial to the childs vocabulary, oral language and recognising words sound structure recognition (Cassano and Rohde, 2021)
2. Limitation of syllable-level instructions can be beneficial for preschoolers as they would not confuse syllables and phonemes. In case the child is having troubles with particular phonemes, more accessible syllable units can be introduced (Cassano and Rohde, 2021)
3. Phonemes associated with particular letters and vice versa can improve the childs understanding the mechanisms behind reading and spelling (Cassano and Rohde, 2021)
4. Listening to and perception of music and individual pitches can benefit the childs phoneme segmentation and isolation abilities (Skubic et al., 2021)
5. Limiting PA exercises to only one or two types of strategies can help preschoolers not to get confused when working on phonemes manipulation (Armbruster, 2010)

References

Armbruster, B. B. (2010). Put reading first. The research building blocks for teaching children to read: Kindergarten through grade 3 (3^rd ed.). Diane Publishing Company.

Cassano, C. M. and Rohde, L. E. (2021). Phonological awareness in early childhood literacy development. International Literacy Association, Web.

Includes a helpful guide for parents and teachers on phonological awareness and literacy development.

Milankov, V., Golubovi, S., Krsti, Y. and Golubovi, S. (2021). Phonological awareness as the foundation of reading acquisition in students reading in transparent orthography. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), Web.

Thorough academic research on the connection between the levels phonological awareness and primary school pupils reading skills.

Skubic, D., Gaberc, B. and Jerman, J. (2021). Supportive development of phonological awareness through musical activities according to Edgar Willems. SAGE Open, Web.

Insightful experimental research on the importance of musical activities for phonological development.