2. Communication
• When we speak, our message is made up of different elements. All of
them convey meaning in various ways. So they’re all meaningful and help
the speaker communicate his ideas and the listener understand the
information.
• Any act of oral communication is made up of different elements. These
elements are subsystems within the system of oral communication
4. ◦ Talking and writing are different modes of expressing linguistic meanings
(Halliday.)
◦ Writing creates a world of things, talking creates a world of happening.
The written language presents a synoptic view. It defines its universe as
product rather than process. The spoken language presents a dynamic
view. It defines its universe primarily as process, encoding it not as a
structure but as constructing.
5. ◦HOW DO WE LEARN?
◦BY LISTENING AND SPEAKING AS WELL
AS BY READING AND WRITING.
LEARNING IS A PROCESS OF
CONSTRUCTING LINGUISTIC MEANING
6. Differences between SPEECH and WRITING.
(Crystal, D. Speaking of Writing and Writing of Speaking))
SPEECH
◦ Time-bound, dynamic, transient
◦ Spontaneity and speed of speech
exchanges. Looser construction,
repetition, rephrasing, comment
clauses (intonation and pause)
WRITING
◦ Space-bound, static, permanent
◦ Careful organisation, compact
expression (punctuation and layout)
7. Differences between SPEECH and
WRITING. (Crystal, D. Speaking of Writing and Writing of
Speaking)
SPEECH
◦ Face-to-face interaction. Immediate
feedback. Extra linguistic clues.
◦ Deictic expressions. Vague lexicon.
◦ Prosodic features: intonation, loudness,
tempo, rhythm.
◦ Lengthy coordinate sentences and
often of considerable complexity.
WRITING
◦ Lack of visual contact. No immediate
feedback
◦ No deictic expressions
◦ Lines, capitalisation, spatial organisation
and several aspects of punctuation.
◦ Multiple instances of subordination.
Complex lexis and constructions.
8. Differences between SPEECH and
WRITING. (Crystal, D. Speaking of Writing and Writing of
Speaking)
SPEECH
◦ Suited to social or phatic functions
◦ Opportunity to rethink an utterance,
errors cannot be withdrawn,
interruptions and overlapping
speech
WRITING
◦ Suited to the recordings of facts and
the communication of ideas.
◦ Errors can be eliminated in later
drafts. Interruptions are invisible in
the final product.
9. Spoken and Written Language. (Halliday, M.A.K.)
SPOKEN LANGUAGE
◦ It presents a dynamic view. It
presents its universe as PROCESS
◦ It favours the clause (processes
take place)
WRTTEN LANGUAGE
◦ It presents a synoptic view. It
defines its universe as PRODUCT
◦ It favours the nominal group.
Grammatical metaphor
10. Grammar, semantics and phonology
◦Grammar: the whole system and structure of a language or of
languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and
morphology (including inflections)
◦Linguistic semantics is the study of how languages organize and
express meanings (Kreidler)
◦Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language
and across languages.
11. Prosody: the grammar of oral language
◦ In linguistics, prosody is concerned with those elements of speech that are
not individual phonetic segments (vowels and consonants) but are
properties of syllables and larger units of speech. These contribute to
linguistic functions such as intonation, tone, stress, and rhythm. Prosody
may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the emotional
state of the speaker; the form of the utterance (statement, question, or
command); the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, and
focus; or other elements of language that may not be encoded by grammar
or by choice of vocabulary.
12. So, we can restructure our idea of phonetics
and phonology. They do not only include the
study of phonemes, their production and
distribution, but also other features of sound
that also convey meaning in oral discourse.
14. ‘Linguistics is primarily concerned with studying the culturally
determined vocal aspects of human communication as end in
themselves, and the non-vocal only so far as they systematically
and conventionally modify the function of the vocal. Within the
vocal range, what linguists omit to study are vocal effects which
are not culturally determined, and which occur independently of
an intentional communicative act.’ (Crystal)
15. ◦ An act of communication consists of the
- a general context of situation which includes the personal physical
setting (voice quality)
- vocal / auditory systems
-segmental and verbal: phonetics, phonology, morphology,
morphophonology, syntax, ,lexis, semantics
- vocalisations: interjections, hesitation features
- prosodic and paralinguistic subsystems
- non vocal systems: visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory
16. A phoneme is always accompanied by other aspects of oral
communication such as prosodies and gestures, eye contact,
proximity, physical contact, body movements, etc.
Some of these aspects can be studied systematically but others
can’t because they depend mainly on the speaker’s personality
and personal experience. Probably other sciences can study them
such as psychology or sociology but not linguistics.
These two systems are known as prosodic and paralinguistic
systems
17. ◦Any linguistically contrastive sound effect which
cannot be described by reference to a single segment
but which either continues over a stretch of
utterance(minimally a syllable) or requires reference to
several segments in different parts of the utterance
(Wells)
19. ◦Segmental system: the sounds used to create meaningful units.
◦Prosodic system: other obligatory sound effects the speaker
uses to convey different kinds of meaning besides the linguistic
one.
◦Segmental and prosodic features are oral (vocal) and are under
the scope of linguistic studies.
◦Paralinguistic features : unstable features used to accompany
and emphasize the meaning conveyed by linguistic elements
(segments and prosodies)
21. Segmental features
Vowels and consonants
Prosodic features/
supra segmental
features
Rhythm
Stress
Intonation
Pitch
Length
Loudness
Tempo
Pause
Paralinguistic
features
Expressions
Proximity
Movements
Visual images
Olphatory images
22.
23. Prosodic systems convey meanings of different kinds
• attitudinal
• garammatical
• social
• job
• age
• feelings
24. ◦ Prosodic systems are defined as sets of mutually defining
phonological features which have an essentially variable to the words
selected, as opposed to those features for example, the segmental
phonemes, the lexical meaning, which have a direct and identifying
relationship to such word. (Crystal, 1969)
◦ Prosodic features may be defined as vocal effects constituted by
variations along the parameters of pitch, loudness, duration and
silence. (Crystal, 1969)
25. PROSODIC FEATURES PARALINGUISTIC ORAL FEATURES
Vocal effects due to meaning Vocal effects due to physiological mechanisms
Easily identifiable Less discrete
Always present Phonetically discontinuous
Culturally determined Physiologically or personally determined
Mutually exclusive/contrastive Not contrastive
Based on a system of choices Not systematic
Always conscious Sometimes unconscious and uncontrollable
Systematic patterned Allow idiosyncratic variations
Have some relation to grammar Have only personal idiosyncratic relations
27. The degree of force with which a sound or
syllable is uttered
The auditory impression given by the
succession of strong and weak syllables
It depends on the rate of vibration of the vocal
cords. It’s the auditory sensation according to
which sounds can be classified into high or low
stress
rhythm
pitch
28. The auditory sensation according to which
sounds can be classified into loud or soft.
The auditory sensation according to which
a sound or syllable can be classified into
long or short.
It’s the speed of delivery, either fast or slow.
loudness
length
tempo
29. It’s a momentary break or silence in the
normal flow of speech.
In its strictest meaning, it’s the
movement in the pitch of the voice
within the tone group
pause
intonation
32. Each one consists of one or more of the one below it.
An intonation unit has a structure of one or more rhythmic
units, or ‘feet’; each foot has a structure of syllables; and
each syllable has a structure of phonemes. Thus there are
four ranks of phonological structure: at the lowest level,
phonemes, then syllables, feet and intonation units. (Tench)
33. There is relationship of function, as well as structure, between the ranks:
Vowels function as the nuclei of syllables, consonants as the margins.
Certain types of syllable have their functions in feet, stressed syllables
function as the nuclei of feet, unstressed syllables as margins.
Certain types of feet have their function in intonation units: the foot
containing the tonic acts as the nucleus, the others contribute to the head
and the tail.
The nucleus at each rank is obligatory
34. The tone group
The foot
The syllable
◦The phoneme Sound
Intonation
Stress and
Rhythm Syllabicity
35. Elements of the 4 phonological units
Tone group: tonic (syllable) and pre tonic
The foot: ictus and remiss
The syllable: salient (the nucleus) and weak
The phoneme: strong and weak sound
37. Tonality: it’s the realization of
information distribution
One tone group corresponds to one information
unit
TONALITY: The division of the speech into intonational
units (word groups, tone units or intonational phrases). There
is a tendency for the tone group to coincide with a clause.
39. When Sarah, my second child, was born some years ago, I
secretly hoped that sibling rivalry wouldn’t happen to my own
kids. Now, five years later, however, I’ve learnt that it’s natural
for them all to fight and it’s our job as parents to help them to
accept each other. To help Jason’s adjustment to his sibling, we
took him to a sibling class at a local hospital, where he learnt
to change a teddy bear’s diaper and he heard stories about
babies. So, after the baby’s arrival home, Jason was thrilled and
to make him feel at ease, every Saturday morning, my husband
got some donuts just for dad and son.
40. //wen seərə maɪ seknd tʃaɪld wəz bɔːn səm jiəz əɡəʊ aɪ siːkrɪtli
həʊpt ðət sɪblɪŋ raɪvəlri wʊdn
̩ t hæpn tə maɪ əʊn kɪdz naʊ faɪv jiəz
leɪtə haʊevə aɪv lɜːnt ðət ɪts nætʃrəl fə ðem ɔ:l tə faɪt ənd ɪts aʊə
dʒɒb əz peərənts tə help ðəm tu əksept iːtʃ ʌðə tə help dʒeɪsənz
ədʒʌstmənt tu hɪz sɪblɪŋ wi tʊk hɪm tu ə sɪblɪŋ klɑ:s ət ə ləʊkl
hɒspɪtl weə hi lɜːnt tə tʃeɪndʒ ə tedi beəz daɪəpər ən hi hɜːd stɔːrɪz
əbaʊt beɪbiz səʊ ɑːftə ðə beɪbiz əraɪvl həʊm dʒeɪsən wəz θrɪld ən
tə meɪk hɪm fiːl ət iːz evri sætədi mɔːnɪŋ maɪ hʌzbənd ɡɒt səm
dəʊnʌts dʒəs fə dæd ən sʌn//
41. //wen seərə /maɪ seknd tʃaɪld / wəz bɔːn səm jiəz əɡəʊ / aɪ siːkrɪtli
həʊpt ðət sɪblɪŋ raɪvəlri / wʊdn
̩ t hæpn tə maɪ əʊn kɪdz//naʊ/ faɪv jiəz
leɪtə haʊevə/aɪv lɜːnt ðət ɪts nætʃrəl fə ðem ɔ:l tə faɪt/ ənd ɪts aʊə
dʒɒb əz peərənts/ tə help ðəm tu əksept iːtʃ ʌðə //tə help dʒeɪsənz
ədʒʌstmənt tu hɪz sɪblɪŋ/ wi tʊk hɪm tu ə sɪblɪŋ klɑ:s ət ə ləʊkl
hɒspɪtl/ weə hi lɜːnt tə tʃeɪndʒ ə tedi beəz daɪəpər/ ən hi hɜːd stɔːrɪz
əbaʊt beɪbiz//səʊ ɑːftə ðə beɪbiz əraɪvl həʊm/ dʒeɪsən wəz θrɪld/ ən
tə meɪk hɪm fiːl ət iːz/evri sætədi mɔːnɪŋ /maɪ hʌzbənd ɡɒt səm
dəʊnʌts(/) dʒəs fə dæd ən sʌn//
42. Everything had been going smoothly ever since Sarah came home, so it was with some
surprise that one day I heard Jason say: "Let's put the baby in the trash." I was alarmed
because I thought we had done everything we could to help Jason in this process of
adjustment. But apparently, there was something we were missing: Jason had the right to
express his negative feelings and, of course, they had to be recognized, so if I had answered
him that he actually didn’t mean that because he loved the baby, I would have been ignoring
his feelings, and when feelings are pushed aside, they won’t go away and they could be
expressed through nightmares or allergies. The truth is that all kids fight and it is our job as
parents to think of strategies to help them, which isn’t easy at all, is it?
43. /evrɪθɪŋ həd bɪn gəʊɪŋ smuːðli evə sɪns seərə keɪm həʊm
səʊ ɪt wəz wɪð səm səpraɪz ðət wʌn deɪ aɪ hɜːd dʒeɪsən seɪ lets pʊt ðə beɪbi ɪn
ðə træʃ aɪ wəz əlɑːmd bɪkɒz aɪ θɔ:t wi həd dʌn evrɪθɪŋ wi kʊd tə help dʒeɪsən ɪn
ðɪs prəʊsɪs əv ədʒʌstmənt bət əpærəntli ðə wəz sʌmθɪŋ wi wə mɪsɪŋ dʒeɪsən
hæd ðə raɪt tu ɪkspres hɪz neɡətɪv fiːlɪŋz ənd əf kɔːs ðeɪ hæd tə bi rekəɡnaɪzd
səʊ ɪf aɪ həd ɑːnsəd hɪm ðət hi æktʃuəli dɪdnt miːn ðæt bɪkɒz hi lʌvd ðə beɪbi
aɪ wʊdəv bin ɪɡnɔːrɪŋ hɪz fiːlɪŋz ən wen fiːlɪŋz ə pʊʃt əsaɪd ðeɪ wəʊnt ɡəʊ əweɪ ən
ðeɪ kəd bi ɪksprest θruː naɪtmeəz ɔːr ælədʒiz ðə truːθs ðət ɔːl kɪdz faɪt ənd ɪts
aʊə ʤɒb əz peərᵊnts tə θɪŋk əv strætəʤiz tə help ðəm wɪʧ ɪzᵊnt iːzi ət ɔːl ɪz ɪt//
45. Tonality helps to organize the information into
manageable pieces.
It helps avoid misunderstandings, confusions,
ambiguity.
Let’s analyse some examples:
46. ◦//When they go abroad/ they travel by plane//
They travel by plane when they go abroad
◦George,/ look at me
Look at me, George
47. ◦Luckily we haven’t had any rain since the day we
arrived.
◦Luckily we haven’t/ had any rain since /the day we/
arrived/
◦Luckily/ we haven’t had any rain since the day we
arrived /
◦We haven’t had any rain since the day we arrived
luckily
48. A group is necessary when:
• there’s an adverbial clause in initial
position.(time/place)
• there’s a vocative in initial position
• sentence modifiers occur in initial
position.
49. ◦We were rather naughty once we stuck a picture of an
elephant on the back of dad’s coat.
◦//We were rather naughty /once we stuck a picture of
an elephant /on the back of dad’s coat.//
◦//We were rather naughty once/ we stuck a picture of
an elephant/ on the back of dad’s coat.//
◦They’ve just been eating, said Lydia.
50. ◦//He’s my friend Sam//
◦//He’s my friend/Sam// (apposition)
◦//He’s my friend, Sam//(vocative)
◦//There was no money for the workers who came on
Friday// (defining relative clause )
◦//There was no money for the workers /who came
on Friday. (defining relative clause )
51. She washed and brushed her hair
She sings happily to herself
Tonality helps disambiguate parallel
structures
She washed /and brushed her hair
She sings /happily /to herself
52. Long post modified subjects
The long stony passage by the right of the road, was
covered by yellow flowers
The long stony passage by the right of the road,/
was covered by yellow flowers
53. ◦A tone group is necessary:
-With vocatives in initial position
-Sentence modifers in initial position
-Time and place adverbials in initial position
-cases of open apposition
-long subjects or objects
54. ◦A tone group is NOT necessary:
◦-when there is a reporting phrase in final position
◦-when there is a vocative in final position
◦When there is a time and place adverbial in final
position. (esp. short)
55. The tone group shows the speaker’s
organisation of the information into
meaningful units.
The division into tone groups guides the
listener into the organisation of the
information
56. practice
◦ . I’ll take you to a house and you can phone from there. Without
waiting for an answer she set off ahead and Julia had to run to
catch her up. The woman walked fast and said very Little. After a
few minutes, they came round a corner and saw a small cottage
hidden in some trees. The woman walked straight up to the front
door and knocked loudly. The house was quiet and dark. She
knocked again and this time a light went on upstairs. Julia heard
someone coming down the stairs and then the door was opened
slowly
57. practice
◦//I’ll take you to a house /and you can phone from there//.
Without waiting for an answer/ she set off ahead/ and Julia had
to run to catch her up.// The woman walked fast/ and said very
Little//. After a few minutes/ they came round a corner /and saw
a small cottage hidden in some trees.// The woman walked
straight up to the front door /and knocked loudly.// The house
was quiet and dark.// She knocked again/ and this time/ a light
went on upstairs// Julia heard someone coming down the stairs/
and then the door was opened slowly //
58. practice
◦ // I’ll ‘take you to a ‘house /and you can ‘phone from there//.
Without ‘waiting for an ‘answer/ she ‘set off a’head/ and ‘Julia had to
‘run to ‘catch her ‘up.// The ‘woman walked ‘fast/ and ‘said very
‘Little//. After a ‘few ‘minutes/ they ‘came round a ‘corner /and ‘saw
a small ‘cottage ‘hidden in some ‘trees.// The ‘woman ‘walked straight
‘up to the ‘front ‘door /and ‘knocked ‘loudly.// The ‘house was ‘quiet
and ‘dark.// She ‘knocked a’gain/ and ‘this time/ a ‘light went ‘on
up’stairs// ‘Julia heard ‘someone ‘coming down the ‘stairs/ and then
the ‘door was ‘opened ‘slowly //
