Step 2.

The nature of Linguistics and Language

Yamileth Estefany leal Rincón

Curso 518017 Introduction to Linguistics –Grupo 37

Tutor
Viviana Andrea Ospina Giraldo

Universidad Nacional abierta y a distancia-UNAD

Escuela de Ciencias de la Educación
Licenciatura en lenguas extranjeras con énfasis en ingles
Cúcuta/Norte de Santander
2020
Study questions
2.1. Identify all the parts of speech used in the following sentence: “The woman kept a
large snake in a cage, but it escaped recently”.
The: definite article
Woman; noun
Kept: verb
A: indefinite article
Large: adjective
Snake: noun
In: preposition of place
Cage: noun
But: conjunction
It: subject pronoun
Escaped: verb
Recently: adverb

Respond to following analysis:

According to the author, what is an important wrong linguistic view at establishing a
proper English grammar model in eighteenth-century (this conceptual error is even
today present when considering “a good English use”).
It is one thing to adopt the grammatical labels (e.g. “noun,” “verb”) to categorize words in
English sentences; it is quite another thing to go on to claim that the structure of English
sentences should be like the structure of sentences in Latin. That was an approach taken by
a number of influential grammarians, mainly in eighteenth-century England, who set out
rules for the “proper” use of English. This view of grammar as a set of rules for the
“proper” use of a language is still to be found today and may be best characterized as the
prescriptive approach.
2.2. What prescriptive rules for the “proper” use of English are not obeyed in the
following sentences and how would they be “corrected”?

(i) The old theory consistently failed to fully explain all the data.
The rule is that you must not split an infinitive. The correct sentence is: “The old theory
consistently failed to explain fully all the data”.

(ii) I can’t remember the name of the person I gave the book to.
The rule is you must not end a sentence with a preposition. The correct sentence is “I can’t
remember the name of the person to whom I gave the book”.

2.3. Tasks
2.3.1. Another term used in the description of the parts of speech is “determiner.
“What are determiners? How many examples were included in this chapter?
A determiner is a word that introduces a noun. It always comes before a noun, not after,
and it also comes before any other adjectives used to describe the noun. Determiners are
required before a singular noun but are optional when it comes to introducing plural nouns.
In this chapter they only include the articles.

2.3.2 In this chapter, we discussed “correction” in grammar. What is

hypercorrection?
It is the use of an inappropriate form or pronunciation by someone who is trying to show
that they know what is the best or proper way to use the language.
Hypercorrection crucially is motivated by the relationship between different dialects or
languages--or rather by the relationship between these as perceived by their speakers.

2.3.3. The structural analysis of a basic English sentence (NP + V +NP) is often
described as “Subject Verb Object” or SVO. The basic sentence order in a Gaelic
sentence (V + NP + NP) is described as “Verb Subject Object” or VSO.
After looking at the examples below (based on Inoue, 1979), would you describe the
basic sentence order in these Japanese sentences as SVO or VSO or something else?

Japanese, in its most elemental structure, not only follows the SOV order (subject, object,
verb) but also has a basic construction that is totally foreign to Spanish and English: TSV
(theme, subject, verb)
2.3.3.1 Jakku-ga gakkoo-e ikimasu:
Jack school to go (“Jack goes to school”)
The order here is SOV.

2.3.3.2 Kazuko-ga gakkoo-de eigo-o naratte imasu

Kazuko school at English learn be (“Kazuko is learning English at school”)
The order here is SOV

2.3.3.3 Divergence in the syntactic patterns of languages is responsible for the patterns
of errors made by English-language learners. Given that English-language learners
from Korea produce sentences such as *I ice-cream like and *I book read, what can
you say about word order in Korean? (Taken from Gordon T. 2012)
In English, we say SVO John kissed Mary. In Korean, the verb comes at the end of the
sentence. SOV John Mary kissed.
4. Based on the second text please answer: In the text we can see that in the history of
linguistics we have two forms to understand grammar: a Prescriptive form and a
Descriptive one; why the second comprehension it is considered a breakthrough in
Linguistics?
The descriptive approach is used in theoretical linguistics, in linguistic typology and in the
study of the language and structure of human languages. This approach aims to give a
complete characterization of the forms used in a given linguistic community, and to explain
through theoretical principles why certain forms do not occur or are deemed inappropriate
by speakers of a certain language. Here the criteria of acceptability or non-acceptability are
not based on opinions, tradition, dialect preferences or aesthetic tastes, but on deep
theoretical reasons.
The most modern grammars generally have a greater tendency to follow the descriptive
approach, at least in certain aspects, than older grammars. In part this arises from the
conviction that linguistic change is a natural, inevitable and universal phenomenon to all
natural languages.