An Introduction to the Properties of Language, Morphology and Communication renders a quick and crisp adumbrate of the said title.

1. An Introduction to the
Properties of Language, Morphology and
Communication
S. Mohan Raj
Ph.D Research Scholar
VIT, Vellore.
9751660760
rajmohan251@gmail.com
1
Welcome

2. 1. Advances in information technology, scientific knowledge and applications have
transformed Earth into a global village and English as a global language.
2. People of various cultures and nationalities now meet, interact, trade, socialize
with ease.
3. English becomes the official language of the administration, medium of instruction,
and subject.
English Language
Language
Language is a word derived from Latin Lingua which means tongue and the French
term langue. Language is a social phenomenon, a living and a very complex human
phenomenon.
Encyclopaedia Britannica defines language as “a system of conventional, spoken or
written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group
and participants in its culture, express themselves.”
Nature of Language
A language consists of words, idioms and syntax. It is through language that we
think, feel, judge and express. Hence language is one of the most important and
characteristic forms of human behaviour.
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3. Language is a learned arbitrary system of vocal symbols through which human
beings interact and communicate in terms of their common cultural experience.
Characteristics of Language
1. Language is learned
2. Language is a system
3. Language is a system of symbols
4. The system is arbitrary
5. Language symbols are vocal
6. Language changes
- Jawaharlal Nehru
Language Functions
1. The Social Aspect - a) Aesthetic b) Expressive
2. The Individual Aspect - a) Cultural b) Expressive or Communicative
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Universal properties of language
Informative signals: signals which you have not intentionally sent  body language
Communicative signals: signals you use intentionally to communicate something
Yule’s classification sums up the properties of a language.

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What is Morphology?
The term morphology is generally attributed to the German
poet, novelist, playwright, and philosopher Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), who coined it early in
the 19th century in a biological context. Its etymology is
Greek: morph- means ‘shape, form’, and morphology is the
study of form or forms.
1. In linguistics morphology refers to the mental system involved in word formation, branch
of linguistics that deals with words, their internal structure, and how they are formed.
2. Morphology is the study of word structure and word formation.
3. Study of internal structure of words.
4. Study of word formation processes of language.
What is Morpheme?
A morpheme is the smallest grammatical and linguistic unit in a language that
carries meaning. Often referred as ‘morph’.

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The word reconsideration can break it into three morphemes: re-, consider, and -ation.
Consider is called the stem.
A stem is a base morpheme to which another morphological piece is attached. The stem
can be simple, made up of only one part, or complex, itself made up of more than one piece.

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1. Bound Morpheme: a morpheme that cannot stand by itself to form a word; it must
be joined to other morphemes. Prefixes and suffixes are bound morphemes.
2. Free Morpheme: a morpheme itself can function as a word in a language. (Ex. Cat)
3. Derivational Morpheme: when a morpheme is added to a stem or root to form a
new stem or word, possibly, but not necessarily, resulting in a change in the
syntactic category. The result of a derivational process is a new word. A derivational
morpheme can change the grammatical category of a word. For example, the verb
‘Teach’ becomes a noun as ‘Teacher’ if we add the derivational morpheme –er.
4. Inflectional Morpheme: serve as grammatical markers that indicate tense,
number, possession, or comparison. Inflectional morphemes in English include the
suffixes -s (or -es); 's (or s'); -ed; -en; -er; -est; and -ing. An inflectional morpheme
never changes the grammatical category of a word. For example, both old and older
are adjectives.
Types of Morphemes

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5. Affix: a bound morpheme that attaches to a root or stem that occurs before (prefix),
after (suffix), in the middle of (infix), and around (circumfix) stems (root morphemes).
6. Derivational Affix: an affix by means of which one word is formed from another.
The derived word is a different word class from the original. (Ex: Joyful)
7. Inflectional Affix: serve as grammatical markers that indicate tense, number,
possession, or comparison. Inflectional Affix is an affix that expresses a grammatical
contrast that is obligatory for its stem's word class in some given grammatical
context, does not change the word class of its stem. (Ex: The "es” in Buses)
8. Allomorph: Any of the variant forms of a morpheme. For example, the phonetic (s)
of cats (k ts), (z) of pigs (p gz), and ( z) horses (hôr s z) are allomorphs of the
English plural morpheme.
9. Clipping: In linguistics, clipping is the word-formation process which consists in the
reduction of a word to one of its parts. Clipping is also known as "truncation” or
"shortening." (Ex: Clipping of the word Do Not to Don’t) Acronym and
Blends/Consonant Clusters are other formative processes.
Types of Morphemes

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Morphological processes
1. Concatenation (adding continuous axes) - the most common process often
phonological changes on morpheme boundaries.
2. Reduplication - part of the word or the entire word is doubled.
3. Templates - both root and affix.
4. Morpheme internal changes (apophony, ablaut) - the word changes internally.
5. Subtraction (Deletion) - some material is deleted to create another form.
6. Suppletion - `irregular' relation between the words. Hopefully quite rare.

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Communication is a
process in which
people can transfer
meaning between
themselves.
The communication
process allows people
to share information,
ideas, and feelings.
This is the transfer of
meaning. When no
meaning is transferred,
no communication has
taken place.
Definition of Communication
The Seven Communication Skills include your ability to:
• Read • Listen • Think • Write • Remember • Speak • Study

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The term "communication" has been derived from the Latin "communis," that
means "common”. Thus "to communicate" means "to make common” or "to
make known", "to share" and includes verbal, non-verbal and electronic means
of human interaction.
1. Interpersonal Communication
2. Internal / Organisational Communication
3. External communications
4. Formal and Informal Communications
5. Upward and Downward Communications
6. Lateral Communication
7. Diagonal Communication
8. Oral communication
9. Nonverbal communication
10. Web Communication etc.
Communication and its Types

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Other Barriers to Communication
1. Physiological Barrier
2. Poor Listening Skills
3. Information Overload
4. Inattention
5. Poor Retention
6. Physical and Environmental Distractions
7. Psychological Barrier
8. Social Barriers
9. Cultural Barriers
10. Semantic Barrier
11. Linguistic Barriers
12. Inappropriate Channel etc.
Non- Verbal Communication Barriers
1. Flashing or rolling eyes
2. Quick or slow movements.
3. Arms crossed, legs crossed
4. Gestures made with exasperation
5. Slouching, hunching over
6. Poor personal care
7. Doodling
8. Staring at people or avoiding eye contact
9. Excessive fidgeting with materials etc.

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Six Steps for Effective Communication
1. Analyze your purpose and your audience. Make sure you know why you are
communicating and to whom you are addressing your ideas. Knowing about the
receivers of your communication is called an audience analysis.
2. Conduct the research. Use a variety of resources.
3. Support your ideas. Find facts, figures, data, statistics, and explanations that
give credibility to your ideas.
4. Get organized. Use an outline or notes to organize your ideas into a logical
sequence.
5. Draft and edit. Use language to your best advantage. Look for the best way.
6. Get feedback. Test your work with one or more people. Testing your
communication with others will.

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Group talk/discussion
Group discussion is an important activity in academic, business and administrative
spheres. It is a systematic and purposeful interactive oral process. Here the
exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings take place through oral communication.
How does Group Discussion (GD) differ from a
Debate?
1. Debate is competitive nature while group discussion is a co-operative group process.
2. In a debate, a speaker can speak either ‘for’ the topic or ‘against’ the topic whereas in a
GD, the speaker can express both.
3. The final decision or result in a debate depends on voting while in a GD, the group
reaches group consensus.
Why it is important?
It is an effective tool in problem-solving, decision making and personality assessment.
GD skills may ensure academic success, popularity and good admission or job offer.
Thus it is important to take part in a GD effectively and confidently.

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Group talk/discussion
There are four major areas of evaluation in selection GDs: subject knowledge, oral
communication skills, leadership skills and team management.
Participants must possess a thorough understanding of the topic, prepare yourself to talk on
a wide range of subjects.
1. Oral Communication Skills
2. Listening Skills
3. Clarity of thought and expression
4. Apt Language
5. Proper non-verbal clues
6. Team behavior
7. Leadership Skills
Advantages of a GD
• Ideas can be generated, shared and tried out.
• Groups provide support and growth for any endeavour.
• Combine talents to provide innovative solutions.
• Initiator
• Procedure facilitator
• Opinion seeker/giver
• Clarifier
• Summarizer
• Social supporter
• Harmonizer
• Tension reliever
• Energizer
• Attacker
• Dominator
• Information seeker and giver
Roles in a Structured GD:

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Group talk/discussion
 The best way to equip yourself is to read daily newspapers, good magazines, national
and international journals and also watch news bulletins and informative programmes on
the television.
 Internet is the greatest boon which provides you with everything you are looking for.
 The World Wide Web is a vast database of current authentic materials that present
information in multimedia form and reacts instantly to a user’s input.
Qualities
• Team player
• Reasoning
• Leadership
• Flexible
• Assertiveness
• Initiative
• Inspiring ability
• Listening
• Awareness
• Creativity (out of the box
thinking)
1. Speak freely.
2. Do not monopolize or talk too much.
3. Give everyone a chance to speak.
4. Maintain eye contact.
5. Listen actively.
6. Do not interrupt.
7. Keep the topic on track.
8. Encourage to talk.
9. Do not argue.
10. Do not debate.
11. Do not repeat.
12. Clarify your doubts.
13. Be brief.
14. Do not commit grammatical errors.
What to do in a GD?

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Reference:
1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/language
2. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction to Linguistics/Nature of Language
3. http://cec.nic.in/wpresources/module/Anthropology/PaperI/12/content/downloads/file1.pdf
4. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/what-is-communication.html
5. http://nepalicommunication.blogspot.com/2011/01/origin-of-word.html
6. http://phicare.com/competencies/communicationbarriers.php
7. https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-correspondence-and-reporting/communication/barriers-in-communication/
8. https://bizfluent.com/list-6721900-non-verbal-barriers-communication.html
9. https://www.cciu.org/cms/lib/PA01001436/Centricity/Domain/7/Six%20Steps%20to%20Successful%20Communication_
PR%20Toolkit.pdf
10. https://www.sastra.edu/nptel/download/Prof%20GPRagini/pdf_New/Unit%2026.pdf
11. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/group-discussion-and-debate.htm
12. Yule, G. (2006). The study of language. Cambridge University Press.

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