Linguistic prescription Linguistic prescription, or prescriptive grammar, is the attempt to lay down rules defining preferred or "correct" use of language.[1][2] These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Sometimes informed by linguistic purism,[3] such normative practices may suggest that some usages are incorrect, improper, illogical, lack communicative effect, or are of low aesthetic value.[4] They may also include judgments on socially proper and politically correct language use. Linguistic prescriptivism may aim to establish a standard language, teach what a particular society perceives as a correct form, or advise on effective communication. Prescriptive approaches to language are often contrasted with descriptive linguistics ("descriptivism"), which observes and records how language is actually used.[6] The basis of linguistic research is text (corpus) analysis and field study, both of which are descriptive activities. Aims[edit]
Linguistics In the early 20th century Ferdinand de Saussure distinguished between the notions of langue and parole in his formulation of structural linguistics. According to him, parole is the specific utterance of speech, whereas langue refers to an abstract phenomenon that theoretically defines the principles and system of rules that govern a language.[9] This distinction resembles the one made by Noam Chomsky between competence and performance, where competence is individual's ideal knowledge of a language, while performance is the specific way in which it is used.[10] In classical Indian philosophy of language, the Sanskrit philosophers like Patanjali and Katyayana had distinguished between sphota (light) and dhvani (sound). In the late 20th century, French philosopher Jacques Derrida distinguished between the notions of speech and writing.[11] Nomenclature[edit] Variation and Universality[edit] Lexicon[edit] The lexicon is a catalogue of words and terms that are stored in a speaker's mind.
Linguistic description Work of objectively describing a particular language All academic research in linguistics is descriptive; like all other scientific disciplines, it seeks to describe reality, without the bias of preconceived ideas about how it ought to be.[2][3][4][5] Modern descriptive linguistics is based on a structural approach to language, as exemplified in the work of Leonard Bloomfield and others.[6] This type of linguistics utilizes different methods in order to describe a language such as basic data collection, and different types of elicitation methods.[7] Descriptive versus prescriptive linguistics[edit] Linguistic description is often contrasted with linguistic prescription,[8] which is found especially in education and in publishing.[9][10] History of the discipline[edit] Even though more and more languages were discovered, the full diversity of language was not yet fully recognized. Methods[edit] The first critical step of language description is to collect data. Challenges[edit] See also[edit]
Communication In the realm of biology in general, communication often occurs through visual, auditory, or biochemical means. Human communication is unique for its extensive use of language. Non-human communication is studied in the field of biosemiotics. Nonverbal communication[edit] Verbal communication[edit] Effective verbal or spoken communication is dependent on a number of factors and cannot be fully isolated from other important interpersonal skills such as non-verbal communication, listening skills and clarification. Written communication and its historical development[edit] Over time the forms of and ideas about communication have evolved through the continuing progression of technology. The progression of written communication can be divided into three "information communication revolutions":[3] Communication is thus a process by which meaning is assigned and conveyed in an attempt to create shared understanding. Business communication[edit] Effective communication[edit] Physical barriers.
Pedagogical grammar A pedagogical grammar is a modern approach in linguistics intended to aid in teaching an additional language. Structure[edit] This method of teaching is divided into the descriptive: grammatical analysis, and the prescriptive: the articulation of a set of rules. Following an analysis of the context in which it is to be used, one grammatical form or arrangement of words will be determined to be the most appropriate.It helps in learning the grammar of foreign languages. References[edit] Jump up ^ Odlin, T., (ed.) Notes[edit]
Telecommunication Earth station at the satellite communication facility in Raisting, Bavaria, Germany Visualization from the Opte Project of the various routes through a portion of the Internet A revolution in wireless communication began in the first decade of the 20th century with the pioneering developments in radio communications by Guglielmo Marconi, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909. Other notable pioneering inventors and developers in the field of electrical and electronic telecommunications include Charles Wheatstone and Samuel Morse (inventors of the telegraph), Alexander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone), Edwin Armstrong and Lee de Forest (inventors of radio), as well as Vladimir K. Zworykin, John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth (some of the inventors of television). Etymology[edit] The word telecommunication is a compound of the Greek prefix tele (τηλε), meaning distant, far off, or afar,[11] and the Latin communicare, meaning to share. History[edit] Beacons and pigeons[edit]
Poverty of the stimulus Linguistic argument Poverty of the stimulus (POS) is the controversial[1] argument from linguistics that children are not exposed to rich enough data within their linguistic environments to acquire every feature of their language. This is considered evidence contrary to the empiricist idea that language is learned solely through experience. The claim is that the sentences children hear while learning a language do not contain the information needed to develop a thorough understanding of the grammar of the language.[2] The POS is often used as evidence for universal grammar. This is the idea that all languages conform to the same structural principles, which define the space of possible languages. The form of the argument[edit] An argument from the poverty of the stimulus generally takes the following structure:[3][4][5] Background and history[edit] Chomsky coined the term "poverty of the stimulus" in 1980. Examples[edit] Syntax[edit] Binding theory – Principle C[edit] Passives[edit]
Mail System for transporting documents and other small packages A universal symbol of mail – an envelope Postal authorities often have functions aside from transporting letters. The Universal Postal Union (UPU), established in 1874, includes 192 member countries and sets the rules for international mail exchanges. Etymology[edit] The word mail comes from the Medieval English word male, referring to a travelling bag or pack.[2] It was spelled in that manner until the 17th century and is distinct from the word male. The term email (short for "electronic mail") first appeared in the 1970s. Post is derived from Medieval French poste, which ultimately stems from the past participle of the Latin verb ponere ("to lay down or place").[6] History[edit] Many early post systems consisted of fixed courier routes. The practice of communication by written documents carried by an intermediary from one person or place to another almost certainly dates back nearly to the invention of writing. Persia (Iran)[edit]
Phrase structure rules Rewrite rule used to describe a given language's syntax Definition and examples[edit] Phrase structure rules are usually of the following form: is separated into the two subconstituents and . Beginning with the sentence symbol S, and applying the phrase structure rules successively, finally applying replacement rules to substitute actual words for the abstract symbols, it is possible to generate many proper sentences of English (or whichever language the rules are specified for). Colorless green ideas sleep furiously This sentence was constructed by Noam Chomsky as an illustration that phrase structure rules are capable of generating syntactically correct but semantically incorrect sentences. A constituent is any word or combination of words that is dominated by a single node. Top down[edit] Alternative approaches[edit] Constituency vs. dependency[edit] Phrase structure rules as they are commonly employed result in a view of sentence structure that is constituency-based. See also[edit]