COURSE MANUAL

A Survey of the English Language

ENG103

University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre

Open and Distance Learning Course Series Development
Version 1.0 ev1
Copyright © 2010, Revised 2015 by Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN 978-021-812-2

General Editor: Prof. Bayo Okunade

University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre

University of Ibadan,
Nigeria
Telex: 31128NG
Tel: +234 (80775935727)
E-mail: ssu@dlc.ui.edu.ng
Website: www.dlc.ui.edu.ng
Vice-Chancellor’s Message
The Distance Learning Centre is building on a solid tradition of over two decades of
service in the provision of External Studies Programme and now Distance Learning
Education in Nigeria and beyond. The Distance Learning mode to which we are
committed is providing access to many deserving Nigerians in having access to higher
education especially those who by the nature of their engagement do not have the
luxury of full time education. Recently, it is contributing in no small measure to
providing places for teeming Nigerian youths who for one reason or the other could
not get admission into the conventional universities.
These course materials have been written by writers specially trained in ODL course
delivery. The writers have made great efforts to provide up to date information,
knowledge and skills in the different disciplines and ensure that the materials are user-
friendly.
In addition to provision of course materials in print and e-format, a lot of Information
Technology input has also gone into the deployment of course materials. Most of them
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can also download into your mobile phones, IPod, MP3 among other devices to allow
you listen to the audio study sessions. Some of the study session materials have been
scripted and are being broadcast on the university’s Diamond Radio FM 101.1, while
others have been delivered and captured in audio-visual format in a classroom
environment for use by our students. Detailed information on availability and access is
available on the website. We will continue in our efforts to provide and review course
materials for our courses.
However, for you to take advantage of these formats, you will need to improve on
your I.T. skills and develop requisite distance learning Culture. It is well known that,
for efficient and effective provision of Distance learning education, availability of
appropriate and relevant course materials is a sine qua non. So also, is the availability
of multiple plat form for the convenience of our students. It is in fulfilment of this, that
series of course materials are being written to enable our students study at their own
pace and convenience.
It is our hope that you will put these course materials to the best use.

Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka

Vice-Chancellor
Foreword
As part of its vision of providing education for “Liberty and Development” for
Nigerians and the International Community, the University of Ibadan, Distance
Learning Centre has recently embarked on a vigorous repositioning agenda which
aimed at embracing a holistic and all encompassing approach to the delivery of its
Open Distance Learning (ODL) programmes. Thus we are committed to global best
practices in distance learning provision. Apart from providing an efficient
administrative and academic support for our students, we are committed to providing
educational resource materials for the use of our students. We are convinced that,
without an up-to-date, learner-friendly and distance learning compliant course
materials, there cannot be any basis to lay claim to being a provider of distance
learning education. Indeed, availability of appropriate course materials in multiple
formats is the hub of any distance learning provision worldwide.
In view of the above, we are vigorously pursuing as a matter of priority, the provision
of credible, learner-friendly and interactive course materials for all our courses. We
commissioned the authoring of, and review of course materials to teams of experts and
their outputs were subjected to rigorous peer review to ensure standard. The approach
not only emphasizes cognitive knowledge, but also skills and humane values which are
at the core of education, even in an ICT age.
The development of the materials which is on-going also had input from experienced
editors and illustrators who have ensured that they are accurate, current and learner-
friendly. They are specially written with distance learners in mind. This is very
important because, distance learning involves non-residential students who can often
feel isolated from the community of learners.
It is important to note that, for a distance learner to excel there is the need to source
and read relevant materials apart from this course material. Therefore, adequate
supplementary reading materials as well as other information sources are suggested in
the course materials.
Apart from the responsibility for you to read this course material with others, you are
also advised to seek assistance from your course facilitators especially academic
advisors during your study even before the interactive session which is by design for
revision. Your academic advisors will assist you using convenient technology
including Google Hang Out, You Tube, Talk Fusion, etc. but you have to take
advantage of these. It is also going to be of immense advantage if you complete
assignments as at when due so as to have necessary feedbacks as a guide.
The implication of the above is that, a distance learner has a responsibility to develop
requisite distance learning culture which includes diligent and disciplined self-study,
seeking available administrative and academic support and acquisition of basic
information technology skills. This is why you are encouraged to develop your
computer skills by availing yourself the opportunity of training that the Centre’s
provide and put these into use.
In conclusion, it is envisaged that the course materials would also be useful for the
regular students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria who are faced with a dearth of high
quality textbooks. We are therefore, delighted to present these titles to both our
distance learning students and the university’s regular students. We are confident that
the materials will be an invaluable resource to all.
We would like to thank all our authors, reviewers and production staff for the high
quality of work.

Best wishes.

Professor Bayo Okunade

Director
Course Development Team
Content Authoring Adesina B. Sunday

Content Editor Prof. Remi Raji-Oyelade

Production Editor Dr. Gloria O. Adedoja
Learning Design & Technologist Folajimi Olambo Fakoya
Managing Editor Ogunmefun Oladele Abiodun
General Editor Prof. Bayo Okunade
 Table of Contents

About this course manual 1

How this course manual is structured .................................................................................................................... 1

CourseOverview 3
Welcome to A Survey of the English LanguageENG103 .................................................................................. 3
Course outcomes .............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Timeframe........................................................................................................................................................................... 3
How to be successful in this course ......................................................................................................................... 4
Need help?........................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Academic Support............................................................................................................................................................ 5
Activities .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Assessments ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Getting around this course manual 8

Margin icons ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Study Session 1 9
English Sounds I: Segmental Level ........................................................................................................................... 9
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 9
1.1 Phonetics and Phonology ......................................................................................................................... 9
1.2 English Sounds ............................................................................................................................................. 9
1.3English Consonants .................................................................................................................................. 15
Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 20
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 21

Study Session2 22
English Suprasegmentals........................................................................................................................................... 22
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 22
2.1 Syllable .......................................................................................................................................................... 22
2.2 Stress ............................................................................................................................................................. 25
2.3Intonation ..................................................................................................................................................... 27
2.4 The Tone-Unit ............................................................................................................................................ 27
2.5Rhythm........................................................................................................................................................... 30
Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 31
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 31

Study Session3 33
Theoretical Categories: Class ................................................................................................................................... 33
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 33
3.1 Class ............................................................................................................................................................... 33
3.2 Unit ................................................................................................................................................................. 33
3.3Structure ....................................................................................................................................................... 41
 ii

3.4 System ........................................................................................................................................................... 41

Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 43
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 44

Study Session4 45
Scales .................................................................................................................................................................................. 45
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 45
4.1 Types of Scale............................................................................................................................................. 45
Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 47

Study Session5 48
Transformational Generative Grammar ............................................................................................................. 48
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 48
5.1 Some Basic Assumptions of TGG........................................................................................................ 48
5.2 Phrase Structure (PS) Rules................................................................................................................. 49
5.3Sentence ........................................................................................................................................................ 55
Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 60
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 60

Study Session 6 61
Stylistics ............................................................................................................................................................................ 61
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 61
6.1 Concept of Stylistics ................................................................................................................................ 61
6.2 Levels of Stylistic Analysis .................................................................................................................... 62
6.3 Application of Stylistics ......................................................................................................................... 62
6.4 Approaches to Style ................................................................................................................................. 63
Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 65
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 65

Study Session 7 66
Meaning............................................................................................................................................................................. 66
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 66
7.1 Meaning Types........................................................................................................................................... 66
7.2 Theories of Meaning................................................................................................................................ 69
Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 72
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 72

Study Session 8 73
Sense Relations .............................................................................................................................................................. 73
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 73
8.1 Hyponymy ................................................................................................................................................... 73
8.2 Synonymy .................................................................................................................................................... 74
8.3 Antonym ....................................................................................................................................................... 74
8.4 Ambiguity .................................................................................................................................................... 75
 Study Session Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 75

References 76
 About this course manual

About this course manual

A Survey of the English LanguageENG103 has been produced by
University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre. All course manuals
produced by University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centreare structured
in the same way, as outlined below.

How this course manual is

structured
The course overview
The course overview gives you a general introduction to the course.
Information contained in the course overview will help you determine:
If the course is suitable for you.
What you will already need to know.
What you can expect from the course.
How much time you will need to invest to complete the course.
The overview also provides guidance on:
Study skills.
Where to get help.
Course assignments and assessments.
Margin icons.

We strongly recommend that you read the overview carefully before

starting your study.

The course content

The course is broken down into Study Sessions. Each Study Session
comprises:
An introduction to the Study Session content.
Study Session outcomes.
Core content of the Study Session with a variety of learning activities.
A Study Session summary.
Assignments and/or assessments, as applicable.
Bibliography

1
 ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Your comments
After completing A Survey of the English Language we would appreciate
it if you would take a few moments to give us your feedback on any
aspect of this course. Your feedback might include comments on:
Course content and structure.
Course reading materials and resources.
Course assignments.
Course assessments.
Course duration.
Course support (assigned tutors, technical help, etc.)
Your constructive feedback will help us to improve and enhance this
course.

2
 Course Overview

Course Overview

Welcome to A Survey of the

English LanguageENG103
Language
ENG103 provides a broad survey of different aspects of the English
language from phonology through semantics and pragmatics to stylistics
and language acquisition. It will provide a basis and background for
further language studies. Our discussion of these levels will be
introductory in the main. At higher levels in this programme, you will
encounter detailed study of each of these levels.
The Study Sessions in each of these levels of linguistic analysis will be
handled under different
differe parts. Part I discusses Phonetics and Phonology;
Part II discusses Syntax; Part III handles Stylistics; while Part IV is
devoted to Semantics.

Course outcomes
Upon completion of A Survey of the English LanguageENG103
Language you will
be able to:

describe the nature of speech, the physiology and processes of

speech production, with an emphasis on the written notation of
speech sounds.
analyse words in their distinctive
tinctive linguistic units, especially
Outcomes phonemes and morphemes.
outline the composition of phrases, clauses and sentences.
classify expressions according to their meanings.

Timeframe
This is a 15 week course. It requires a formal study time of 45 hours. The
formal study times are scheduled around online discussions / chats with
your course facilitator / academic advisor to facilitate your learning.
Kindly see course calendar on your course website for scheduled dates.
You will still require independent/personal
independent/personal study time particularly in
How long? studying your course materials.

3
 ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

How to be successful in this

course
As an open and distance learner your approach to learning will be
different to that from your school days, where you had onsite education.
You
ou will now choose what you want to study, you will have professional
and/or personal motivation for doing so and you will most likely be
fitting your study activities around other professional or domestic
responsibilities.
Essentially you will be taking control
control of your learning environment. As a
consequence, you will need to consider performance issues related to
time management, goal setting, stress management, etc. Perhaps you will
also need to reacquaint yourself in areas such as essay planning, coping
with exams and using the web as a learning resource.
We recommend that you take time now—before
now before starting your self-
self
study to familiarize yourself with these issues. There are a number of
study—to
excellent resources on the web. A few suggested links are:
http://www.dlc.ui.edu.ng/resources/studyskill.pdf
This is a resource of the UIDLC pilot course module. You will find
sections on building study skills, time scheduling, basic concentration
techniques, control of the study environment, note taking, how to read
techniques,
essays for analysis and memory skills (“remembering”).
http://www.ivywise.com/newsletter_march13_how_to_self_st
http://www.ivywise.com/newsletter_march13_how_to_self_study.htm
l
This site provides how to master self-studying,
self studying, with bias to emerging
technologies.
http://www.howtostudy.org/resources.php
Another “How to study” web site with useful links to time
management, efficient reading, questioning/listening/observing skills,
management,
getting the most out of doing (“hands-on”
(“hands on” learning), memory building,
tips for staying motivated, developing a learning plan.
The above links are our suggestions to start you on your way. At the time
of writing these web links were active. If you want to look for more, go to
www.google.com and type “self-study basics”, “self--study tips”, “self-
study skills” or similar phrases.

4
 Course Overview

Need help?
As earlier noted, this course manual complements and supplements
ENG103 UI Mobile Class as an online course.
ENG103at

You may contact any of the following units for information, learning
Help resources and library services.
servi
Head Office
Distance Learning Centre (DLC)
Morohundiya Complex, Ibadan-
University of Ibadan, Nigeria Ilorin Expressway,
Expressway Idi-Ose,
Tel: (+234) 08077593551 – 55 Ibadan.

(Student Support Officers)

Email: ssu@dlc.ui.edu.ng

Lagos Office
Information Centre
Speedwriting House, No. 16
20 Awolowo Road, Bodija, Ajanaku Street, Off Salvation
Ibadan. Bus Stop, Awuse Estate, Opebi,
Ikeja, Lagos.

For technical issues (computer problems, web access, and etcetera),

please send mail to webmaster@dlc.ui.edu.ng.

Academic Support
A course facilitator is commissioned for this course. You have also been
assigned an academic advisor to provide learning support. The contacts of
your course facilitator and academic advisor for this course are available
at onlineacademicsupport@dlc.ui.edu.ng
onlineacademicsupport@dlc.ui.ed
Help

Activities
This manual features “Activities,” which may present material that is
NOT extensively covered in the Study Sessions. s. When completing these
activities, you will demonstrate your understanding of basic material (by
answering questions) beforere you learn more advanced concepts.
concept You will
Activities be provided with answers to every activity question. Therefore, your
emphasis when working
working the activities should be on understanding your
answers. It is more important that you understand why every
ev answer is
correct.

5
 ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Assessments
There are three basic forms of assessment in this course: in-text
in questions
(ITQs) and self assessment questions (SAQs), and tutor marked
assessment (TMAs). This manual is essentially filled with ITQs and
SAQs.
AQs. Feedbacks to the ITQs are placed immediately after the questions,
Assessments while the feedbacks to SAQs are at the back of manual. You will receive
your TMAs as part of online class activities at the UI Mobile Class.
Feedbacks to TMAs will be provided by your tutortutor in not more than 2
weeks expected duration.
Schedule dates for submitting assignments and engaging in course / class
activities is available on the course website. Kindly visit your course
website often for updates.

Bibliography
For those interested in learning more on this subject,, we provide you with
a list of additional resources at the end of the Study Sessions;
Sessions these may
be books, articles or websites.

Readings

6
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Getting around this course manual

Margin icons
While working through this course manual you will ll notice the frequent
use of margin icons. These icons serve to “signpost” a particular piece of
text, a new task or change in activity; they have been included to help you
to find your way around this course manual.
A complete icon set is shown below. We suggest that you familiarize
fam
yourself with the icons and their meaning before starting your study.

Activity Assessment Assignment Case study

Discussion Group Activity Help Outcomes

Note Reflection Reading Study skills

Summary Terminology Time Tip

8
 Study Session 1English Sounds I: Segmental Level

Study Session 1

English Sounds I: Segmental Level

Introduction
In this Study Session, we will discuss phonetics and phonology. Since
there are many things to explore in phonology and phonetics, we will
only discuss the English pure vowels. In subsequent study sessions, other
aspects of English phonetics and phonology will be explained.

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
1.1 defineand use correctly the terms in bold:
• phonetics
• phonology
1.2 explainthe two levels in which sounds can be studied.

1.1 Phonetics and Phonology

Phonology The branch of The branch of linguistics that is concerned with the pattern of the sounds
linguistics concerned with of a language is referred to as phonology. Closely related to it is
the pattern of the sounds of phonetics, which deals with the study of the actual sound produced by the
a language.
speaker of a language. Phonetics has three branches: articulatory,
auditory, and acoustic. Articulatory phonetics deals with the production
of sounds; auditory phonetics deals with the perception of the sounds
produced; while acoustic phonetics deals with the properties of the
sounds produced.
Hint Phonology deals with the pattern of sound while phonetics focuses on the
study of actual produced by a speaker.

1.2 English Sounds

The study of sounds of a language can be approached from the segmental
level and the suprasegmental level. The former deals with each segment
while the latter deals with features above the segment. At the segmental
level, focus is on vowels and consonants. Vowels are those sounds
produced without any obstruction of the airstream coming from the lungs.
In the production of consonants, on the other hand, there is obstruction of
the airstream coming from the lungs.
The Organs of Speech

9
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Organs of speech refer to the parts of human body used in producing speech
sounds. You will notice that these organs have their primary functions, such as
for digestion or respiration. Speech function is secondary to these organs. In
fact it is superimposed on them. The diagram below shows the organs of
speech.

Fig 1.1 Organs of Speech

Source:
http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/3201/member_submitted/vocal_organs_of_speech
21/10/2011

Sounds can be studied at segmental and suprasegmental levels.

Tip

1.2.1Segmental Level of English Sounds: Vowels

1.2.1Segmental
Vowels are classified into monophthongs and diphthongs. A
monophthong is made up of vowels while a diphthong is made up of
two vowels produced as one vowel. Monophthongs (also called pure
vowels) are further subdivided
ided into long and short vowels. English has 5
long vowels and 7 short vowels. Altogether, there are 12 monophthongs
in English. The diphthongs are 8 in number. This means that English has
20 vowels.
Mono
Monophthongs
Now let’s look at each of these monophthongs and see words that contain
it.

1 / i: /

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 Study Session 1English Sounds I: Segmental Level

key
beat
feet
quay
foetus
police

2 / i/
kit
bit
fit
kick
middle
fittings

3 /e/
beg
send
best
threat
says
fence

4 /æ/
bag
sack
ram
bat
drag
pack

5 /a: /
bark
fast
laugh
half
star
barn

6 /Ǥ/

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

pot
shot
want
lorry
top
sorry

7 / Ǥ:/
port
fourth
pour
caught
drawer
board

8 /ʊ/
put
cook
brook
push
took
pull

9 / ʊ:/
pool
lose
juice
blue
prove
moon

10 /Ȝ/
cup
come
worry
blood
flood
love
lucky

11 / Ǭ:/
worship

12
 Study Session 1English Sounds I: Segmental Level

burn
furniture
birth
mercy
nursery

12 /ə/
doctor
daughter
interim
potato

Hint Monophthong vowels are also known as pure vowels.

English Diphthongs
DiphthongsTwo pure In the previous sub-section, we discussed monophthongs. We are
vowels that are pronounced focussing on diphthongs. As we mentioned in earlier, diphthongs are
and treated as a single
sound. made up of two vowels. But the two are pronounced and treated as one.
In other words, the sequence is taken to be one vowel and not two
vowels. Diphthongs are classified as either centring diphthong or closing
diphthong. The former ends in schwa, a central vowel; while the latter
ends in closing vowel, either/ / or / /. Diphthongs are otherwise called
glides. This is because in the course of producing them, the organs of
speech glide from one point to another (Roach 1997).In producing a
diphthong, the first vowel is longer than the second one. English
diphthongs are 8 in number. We will now take the diphthongs one by one
and examine words that contain them.

1 /eǺ/

page
fake
labour
sailor
neighbour

2 /əʊ/

home
foam
loan
shown
dose

3 / ai/

buy

13
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

cry
side
fight
guide
shy

4 / aʊ/

how
crowd
sound
fowl
gown

5 / ǤǺ/

choice
boys
noise
voice
toilet

6 / ǺǬ/

career
ceremonious
carrier
median
cranium
junior
here
tear (fluid from the eye)

7 /ea/

bear
their
fair
care
fare
where
tear (to pull apart)

8 /ʊə/

cure
furious

14
 Study Session 1English Sounds I: Segmental Level

centurion
curious
spiritual
continuous

1.3English Consonants
The previous sub-section of this sessionwas devoted to the vowels. We
will now examine consonants. A consonant is a sound during whose
production there is radical obstruction of the airstream coming from the
lungs. There are three parameters used in describing a consonant:
i. position of the glottis
ii. place of articulation
iii. manner of articulation
The position of the glottis gives information on whether the sound is
voiced or voiceless. A sound is voiced if there is vibration of the vocal
cord when such a sound is produced. Conversely, a sound is voiceless if
there is no vibration of the vocal cords in the course of the production of
such a sound. The vocal cords are the two cartilaginous organ found in
the glottis. All English vowels are voiced. You can perceive this vibration
if you block your two ears or if you place your finger in your Adam’s
apple (Egbokhare, 1994). The following English consonants are voiceless
/p, t, k, f, s, h, , t , /. All English nasals (/m,n /) are voiced.
The place of articulation has to do with where the constriction occurs in
the course of production of a consonant. It gives descriptions such as
bilabial, dental, labiodentals, alveolar, alveo-palatal, palatal, velar, glottal,
and so forth.
The manner of articulation describes the way the airstream escapes in the
course of production of a given consonant. It gives descriptions like
plosive, fricative affricate, nasal approximant, and so on.
We will now take each of the consonants and give you words to illustrate
its occurrence:
1 /p/

Shepherd
Capable
Profit
Possible
Principal
Pattern

2 /b/

Burn
Cable
Baby

15
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Blunt
Banter
Basket

3 /t/

Train
Slapped
Ranked
Latter
Apartheid
Attribute
Attention

4 /d/

Odd
Begged
Attend
Medal
Double
Drawer

5 /k/

Cloak
Kite
Cousin
Broke
Account
Character

6 /g /

Growth
Eagle
Ghost
Guest
Game
Wig

7 / /
Thin
Thought
Both

16
 Study Session 1English Sounds I: Segmental Level

Bath
Mouth
Birth

8 /ð/

Than
Them
Though
That
Writhe
Brother

9 /f/

Phone
Phenomenon
First
Fellow
Floor
Friend

10 /v/

Valley
Vehicle
Vest
Vine
Vantage
Stove

11 /s/

Slow
Sample
Serve
Base
Cats
Works

12 /z/

Zone
Zoom
Zebra

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Designer
Zest
Buzz

13 /h/

Home
House
Help
Hen
Hawk
Horrible

14 /m/

Tomb
Comb
Room
Money
Mingle
Lemon
Make

15 /n/

Nurse
Neuron
Onion
Earnest
Pneumonia
Notable

16 /ŋ/

Sing
Ring
Bank
Sprinkle
Ankle
Uncle

17 /ʃ/

Show
Pressure
Mission
Sure

18
 Study Session 1English Sounds I: Segmental Level

Wish
Crush

18 /Ȣ/

Television
Leisure
Lesion
Measure
Seizure
Conclusion

19 /ʧ/

Stature
Statute
Christian
Church
Culture
Bench

20 /ȴ/

Join
Junior
Edge
Cage
Range
Judgment
Jungle

21 /l/

Long
Leg
Alone
Level
Little
Lost

22 /w/

Wed
When
Wife
Wing

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Withstand
ithstand
Away
ay

23 /r/

Wrest
est
Wrong
ong
Right
ight
Orange
ange
Arrive
ive
Marr
rry
Rate
ate

24 /j/

Young
oung
Union
nion
University
niversity
Yes
Yacht
acht
Yesterday
esterday

There is still another type of vowel

vowe – triphthong. A triphthong is made up of
three vowels pronounced and treated as one (such as / , /). There is
some controversy concerning the existence of triphthongs, but that will not be
our concern in this course.
cours
Note

Study Session Summary

In this Study Session,
Session we have introduced phonetics and phonology to
you. We discussed the branches of phonetics and the preoccupation of
phonology. We went further to discuss the English monophthongs and
Summary diphthongs. You also learnt that a consonant sound is produced with the
obstruction of the airstream coming from the lungs. We noted that a
consonant sound can be described using the three parameters – place of
the glottis, place of articulation and manner of articulation.
articul

20
 Study Session 1English Sounds I: Segmental Level

Bibliography
Akinjobi, A. 2000. An introduction to English phonetics and phonology.
Studies in English language. A.O. Babajide. Ed. Ibadan: Enicrownfit
Publishers. 5-24.
Malmkjær, K. 2002. Auditory phonetics. The linguistics encyclopedia.
Reading K. Malmkjær. Ed. London and New York: Routledge. 51-63.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sound
s/ retrieved August, 2013.
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4178420?uid=3738720&uid=212
9&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102695284943 retrieved August,
2013.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Study Session2
English Suprasegmentals
Introduction
In this Study Session, we will introduce you to the second level of
phonological analysis –suprasegmental level. At this level, the unit of
analysis is no longer the segment; rather it is the unit above the segment.
Stress, intonation, rhythm are the major concepts that will be discussed.
The first Study Session on English suprasegmentals will begin with the
basic domain of the suprasegmentals. This is the syllable. Then we will
discuss stress placement in English.

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
2.1define and use the term syllable correctly.
2.2 discuss the term stress.
2.3 define intonation
2.4 identify tone groups
2.5 define rhythm

2.1 Syllable
Syllabification The act of The syllable is the smallest pronounceable unit of a language. The native
breaking a word into its speaker of a language is endowed with the ability to know what
smallest pronounceable
units constitutes the syllable of his/her language. S/he knows the boundary of
the syllables of a word. The process of breaking a word into its
component syllables is known as syllabification. It is a relatively simple
process, but for some words there could be some disparity among
speakers on where the syllable boundaries should be. A typical example
is the word ‘extra’. The following syllabification patterns are possible:
e|xtra, ex|tra, ext|ra. This example shows that perception of syllable
boundary may vary from hearer to hearer.

4.1.1 English Syllable Structure

The syllable has three components: the onset, the nucleus/peak, and the
coda. The nucleus/peak is the vowel in the syllable; however, syllabic
consonants l/m n l/can also occupy this position (Kuiper and Allan,
1996:99). The onset comprises the consonant(s) that occur(s) before the
nucleus/peak; the coda comprises the consonant(s) that occur(s) after the
nucleus/peak. The nucleus/peak and the coda constitute the rhyme of the
syllable. Therefore, it could also be said that the syllable has two parts,
that is, onset and rhyme (Kuiper and Allan, 1996: 97-98). The nucleus is

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 Study Session2English
English Suprasegmentals

usually a vocalic element, in most cases, a vowel. But syllabic consonants

too can occupy the nucleus
nucleus (peak) position (Egbokhare, 1994: 64).
Syllabic consonants are so called because they occupy the nucleus
position. This position is customarily occupied by vowels. Syllabic
position.
consonants occur only in word-final
word final positions. Now, let’s see some words
that have syllabic consonants:
i. Bottle /bǤtl/
ii. Little /lǺtl/
iii. Scuttle /skȜtl/
iv. Bottom /bǤtm/
v. Rhythm /rǺðm/
vi. Fathom /fæðm/
vii. Cotton /kǤtn/
viii. Britain /brǺtn/
ix. Shorten / Ǥ:tn/
The structure of the English syllable is (C0-3) V (C0-4) (Roach, 1997). This
means that English permits a maximum of three optional consonants in
the onset; an obligatory vowel (or syllabic consonant) in the nucleus; and
a maximum of four optional consonants in the coda. This relationship can
be schematized thus:

Syllable

Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda

A syllable can also be described

desc as either closed/checked/arrested
oropen.
open. A syllable that has a coda is called a closed/checked/arrested
syllable, while the one that has no coda is called open syllable
(Abercrombie, 1967:41). Let us explore examples of each.
Closed/checked/arrested syllable

i. Rod /rǤd/
ii. Board /bǤ:d/
iii. Fold /fəʊld/
iv. Top /tǤp/

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Open syllable

i. Floor /flǤ:/
ii. More /mǤ:/
iii. Draw /drǤ:/
iv. Sure / ʃ Ǥ:/

A closed/checked/arrested syllable has a coda while an open syllable has no

coda.
Tip
The components of the syllable shown above combine in different ways.
Some of the
the patterns are considered in the box that follows.

1. V
Or /Ǥ:/
A /eǺ/ or /ƽ/
Awe /Ǥ:/

2. CV
Go /DZƽʊ/
Tea /ti:/
Bee /bi:/

3. CCV
Draw /drǤ:/
Blow /blƽʊ/
Flow /flƽʊ/

4. CVC
Block /blǢk/
Take /teǺk/
Give /DZǺv/

5. VC
Egg /eDZ/
As /ƽs/, /æs/ or /æz/
Of /Ǣf/ or /Ǣv/

6. VCC
Eggs /eDZz/
Odds /Ǣdz/
Ebbs /ebs/

7. CVCC
Heads /heds/
Birds /bǬ:ds/
Legs /leDZz/
Serves /sǬ:vz/

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 Study Session2English Suprasegmentals

8. CCVC
Drip /drǺp/
Step /step/
Press /pres/
Blame /bleǺm/

9. CCVCC
Steps /steps/
Brand /brænd/
Drinks /drǺŋks/
Plant /plɑ:nt/
Braids /breǺdz/

10. CCVCCC
Brings /brǺŋDZs/
Blends /blendz/
Friends /frendz/
Brands /brændz/

11. CCCVC
Spray /spreǺ/
Splash /splæʃ/
Stream /stri:m/
Spread /spred/

12. CCCVCC
Strong /strǢŋDZ/
String /strǺŋDZ/
Screams /skri:m/
Screen /skri:n/

13. CVCCC
Banks /bæŋks/
Helps /helps/
Tests /tests/
Pests /pests/

14. CVCCCC
Sixths /sǺksθs/
Texts /teksts/
Belts /belts/
Tempts /tempts/
15. CCVCCC
Twelfths /twelfθs/

2.2 Stress
StressThe extent of Stress refers to the degree of prominence given to a particular syllable.
prominence given to a From the angle of the speaker, a stressed syllable requires greater breath
particular syllable effort and more muscular energy than an unstressed syllable. Like pitch,
quality, and quantity, stress is a way of givinga syllable prominence

25
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

above its neighbours (Gimson, 1980:222). On the part of a speaker, a

stressed syllable involves more energy or intensity; on the part of the
hearer, a stressed syllable is perceived as being louder than its neighbours
(Quirk, 1972: 315; Akinjobi, 2000:17).
Stress is also associated with pitch prominence. A stressed syllable brings
about a pitch movement (Knowles, 1974: 119). Pitch plays significant
roles in distinguishing the word class of some homographs.
Stress/loudness is not enough in distinguishing between, as seen in 'object
(n) and ob'ject (v), and 'convict (n) andcon'vict (v), where stress shift has
changed the part of speech of the words.

2.2.1 Degrees of Stressin English

Three degrees of stress exist in English:
1) Primary Stress (Primary Accent). This is marked with a small stroke
above and before the syllable that receives it, or by capitalizing the
syllable that bears it as shown below:

- geography /dǬiǤ'grəfi/

- madam /'mædəm/
- FINger
- TEAcher
2) Secondary Stress (Secondary Accent). This is the syllable next in
prominence to the most prominent syllable. It is shown by a small
stroke below and before the syllable that receives it, as exemplified
below:

- Education /edjʊ'keǺ n/

- University /jʊ:nǺ'vǬ:sǺti/
3) Unstressed Syllable. This consists of any other syllable in the word
that does not receive stress. This syllable is not given any mark. It is
to be noted that some scholars put the stress mark on the vowel of
the syllable that receives the stress mark (Akinjobi, 2000:17), as
shown below:

- mercy /m'Ǭ:si/

- welcome /w'elkəm/

2.2.2 Stress Patterns of English

In any language, stress could be free or fixed. In a language with fixed
stress, stress falls on a particular syllable. An example is French, in which
stress falls on the last syllable. In Czech, it falls on the first syllable. In
Polish, it falls on the penultimate syllable (Gimson, 1980: 221). In a
language with free stress, on the other hand, the primary stress falls on
any syllable.
As far as English is concerned, stress is both fixed and free. It is fixed in
the sense that the stress always falls on a particular syllable; it is free
26
 Study Session2English Suprasegmentals

because it is not tied to any particular syllable. The freeness of stress in

English makes stress marking chaotic. Even if a rule is designed, many
exceptions to the rule exist. This makes it difficult for L2 users of English
to master the stress patterns of English. This chaotic nature
notwithstanding, some rules could still be of help. Cruttenden (1986: 19)
argues that ‘a general rule with exceptions is more economical than
listing every word with its own unique pattern (i.e. listing everything as
an exception).’ In this course we will not examine the rules. At higher
levels, you will come across these rules.

2.3Intonation
IntonationThe variation in Normally, when a person speaks, his/her voice does not remain constant;
the pitch of voice there is variation in the pitch of the voice. This variation in the pitch of
the voice is referred to as intonation. Different languages deploy
intonation in different ways. Some languages deploy it at the syllable
level; such languages are known as tonal languages, for example Yoruba.
Some languages deploy it at much larger units; these languages are
known as intonational languages, for example English.
There are four basic intonation tunes in English:
i. rise
ii. fall
iii. rise-fall
iv. fall-rise
Intonation is often described in terms of high and low. But you should
note that what is considered as low pitch to somebody will be high to
another person and vice-versa. Some activities such as sports could also
affect the normal pitch level of an individual. Therefore, if pitch
difference is to be of linguistic significance, it must be under the control
of the speaker. When doing intonational analysis, you need to consider
the state of the speaker at such a time.

2.4 The Tone-Unit

The tone-unit is a part of phonological units (Roach, 1997:145). It is also
called tone-group or sense-unit. You can see its position in the schema
below:
Utterance
Tone-unit
Foot
Syllable
Phoneme
At the lowest level is the phoneme; followed by the syllable; then the
foot; the tone-unit is next in hierarchy below the utterance, which is the
highest in the hierarchy. Notice that an utterance is a stretch of speech
before and after which there is a pause. As seen in the schema above, the
tone-unit is between the foot and the utterance.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

In the analysis of intonation, the basis of analysis is often that the unit
that is greater in size than the syllable is often used. This unit is called
tone-unit. However, the tone-unit may also consist of just a syllable.
The tone-unit has four components: Pre-head (PH), Head (H),
TonicSyllable (TS), Tail (T). Among these, only the TS is obligatory;
the other three components are optional. WE will now explain each of
them, beginning with the obligatory element.
The TS is also called Nucleus. It is the syllable that carries a tone. It is
the syllable on which the pitch change begins. It is the syllable that has
the highest degree of prominence; therefore, it is stressed; it carries the
TonicStress or Nuclear Stress. This stress is often assigned to the last
lexical word in the tonic-unit.
The PH refers to the entire unstressed syllable(s) in a tone-unit before the
first stressed syllable. In other words, the PH can only be found in context
where there is no H or where there is an H.
The T refers to any syllables between the TS and the end of the tone-unit.
Let’s now consider some examples:
1. with a man
This has no H; it only has PH. This is a case of PH occurring when
there is no H.
2. in the car of our teacher
PH H TS T
The first stressed syllable here is car; therefore, ‘in the’ constitutes
the PH, while ‘car of our’ constitutes the H, and ‘tea-’ is the TS,
while ‘cher’ is the T. Take special note of this example. The TS and
the T are found in a word ‘teacher’.
3. for me
PH TS
4. Tolu hates writing
H TS T
5. Come in
TS T
Intonation performs the following functions:
1) Attitudinal function
2) Accentual function
3) Grammatical function
4) Discourse function
The attitudinal function of intonation refers to the use of intonation to
display emotion and feeling. Roach (1997:167-168) presents the
intonational patterns that are commonly deployed for some attitudes.
These are presented below:
1. Fall - Finality, definiteness
Stop them
I rest my case

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 Study Session2English
English Suprasegmentals

No one like Him

2. Rise
A.General question
Is this possible?
Are we free?
B.Listing
Orange, guava, cashew and apple
Notice that the last item will naturally be uttered with the fall tune

C. “More to follow”
Do it right (and you will be rewarded)

D. Encouraging
You are on the right track
3. Rise-fall
Surprise, being impressed
You made it
That boy

4. Fall-rise
A.Uncertainty, doubt:
You are capable
She is considerate
B.Requesting
Should we leave
Will you attend the programme
The above uses are just generalisations; there could be variations.

it is not only intonation that shows attitude; facial expression, body

movements, and gestures also play important roles in the display of attitudes.
In fact, a combination of these is often used to show attitude.
Note

2.4.1 The Accentual Function of Intonation

2.4.1
This is also known as contrastive function of intonation. It involves
placing tonic stress on a particular syllable to mark it out as the most
important in the tone-unit.
tone
In the utterances
utter below, the second ones is contrastive:
I need a blue pen.
I need a red pen. (not a blue pen)
In the utterances below, the second ones are emphatic:
He is quite decent.
He is quite decent
You should always be serious.
You should always be serious.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

There are some situations in which the tonic syllable does not fall on the
last lexical word, yet it is not accentual. Roach (1997:173) gives this
example:
I have plans to leave (i.e. I am planning to leave)
I have plans to leave (i.e. I have some plans/drawing that I have to
leave.)
Don’t you see this as intonation being used to disambiguate this
utterance?

2.4.2 Grammatical Function of Intonation

This is the use of intonation to show the grammatical or syntactic
structure of an utterance. It could be to indicate:
a. The boundaries between phrases, clauses or sentences
b. The type of sentence. Usually polar sentences have rise tone
Is she coming?
Do you want use to go
Wh-type questions usually have fall tune:
Where are you doing?
What is the problem?
c. Grammatical subordination
Those who sold quickly made profit
Those who sold quickly made profit (Roach 1997:174)
There are two tone-units in each. In the first sentence, the meaning is that
only those who sold quickly made profit; whereas the second one means
that anybody who sold made profit
Tone-unit boundaries often occur at boundaries of grammatical units that
are higher than words:
I won’t go home. I am afraid.

2.4.3 Discourse Function of Intonation

This is the use of intonation to indicate what is new information and what
is given information. This can show the listener the kind of response to
give.Roach (1997:177) illustrates with this:
1. I’ve got to take the dog for a walk.
2. I’ve got to take the dog to the vet.
Each underlined item on which the pitch changes is NEW, while the other
items are GIVEN.But it is not always easy to determine which one is new

2.5Rhythm
RhythmOccurrence at Rhythm has to do with some noticeable events which happen at regular

30
 Study Session2English
English Suprasegmentals

regular intervals of intervals of time. If delivered fluently and without interruption or

noticeable events hesitation, all speeches are said to have rhythm. This implies that certain
phonetic events occur at roughly isochronous intervals, that is intervals
that are approximately equal in time. The rhythmicity of speech is a
perceptual phenomenon because it is a feature of speech production and it
can be perceived only
only within certain units (Roach 1997, Sunday 2001:
81).
There are three main theories of rhythm: stress timing, syllable timing,
and full vowel timing.

Study Session Summary

We discussed the the suprasegmental aspect of English phonology in this
Study
udy Session.
Session We also learnt how English syllable and English stress
patterns operate. We finally advised that we need to frequently consult
Summary our dictionaryin order to master the stress pattern of each word because
of the fact that stress is free in English.
English
Wee also examined how ow intonation and rhythm operate in English.
English We
illustratedthe various functions of intonation. We were also exposed to
the way intonation is analysed. This unit concludes our discussion on
English phonetics and phonology. The next Study Session of this course
is syntax

Bibliography
Egbokhare, F.O. 1994. Introductory phonetics.. Ibadan: Sam Bookman.
Akinjobi, A. 2005 A study of the use of weak and strong forms of
English grammatical words by Educated Yoruba English speakers.
Ibadan Journal of English Studies.
Studies 2: 76-95.
Readings
Atoye, R.O. 2003. The nature of prosodic analysis. Readings in language
and literature.
literature L. Oyeleye and M. Olateju. Ed. Ile-Ife:
Ife: ObafemiAwolowo
University Press.35-46.
Press.35
Sunday, A.B. 2004. Compound and phrasal stress(es)
str in Educated
Yoruba English. M.A. Dissertation. Department of English. University
of Ibadan, Ibadan.
Udofot, I. 2000. “The Rhythm of Educated Spoken Nigerian English: An
Alternative Description” A Paper Presented at the 22nd West African
Languages Congress,
Congress, WALC, University of Ghana.
http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling201/test2materials/prosody.htm
retrieved August 2013.
http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/PROSODY.htm retrieved August
2013.
http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/hurley/Ling102web/mod3_speaking/3

31
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

mod3.7_suprasegmentals.htm retrieved August 2013.

32
 Study Session3Theoretical Categories: Class

Study Session3
Theoretical Categories: Class
Introduction
Systemic functional grammar, also called Hallidayan Grammar, will be
introduced to you in this Study Session. It was propounded by Halliday,
although many scholars have also contributed to its development.
Halliday identifies four theoretical categories and four scales in the
analysis of language. The categories are class, unit, system and structure,
whilethe scales are rank, delicacy, exponence and depth.

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
3.1 identify grammatical units and state their functions.
3.2 constructcorrectly specific types of phrase.
3.3 constructcorrectly specific types of clause.
3.4 makecorrect sentence.
3.5 analyse structure.
3.6 explain the concept of system.
6.1

3.1 Class
This refers to the group to which members of a unit belongs. The
grouping is based on their similarities and differences of structure. It is
also based on their functions in the next largest unit. Besides, it is based
on how they combine with other units of the same rank (Morley, 1985:
13).

3.2 Unit
Unit accounts for “stretches of language of varying length and
composition which themselves carry grammatical patterns” (Morley,
1985: 8). Members of a unit are classified based on their structural
similarities and differences, how they function in the units above them
and how they combine with other units of the same rank.Five units are
identified for English: morpheme, word, group, clause and sentence.

3.2.1 Morpheme
MorphemeThe smallest The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of a language. There are
meaningful grammatical two basic types of morpheme: free morpheme and bound morpheme.
unit of a language.
While a free morpheme can stand on its own, a bound morpheme cannot.
This is why a free morpheme qualifies as a word. This does not mean that
a bound morpheme is not meaningful. Let me now give you examples of

33
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

each.
Example 3.1
In the examples below, bound morphemes are underlined:
1) Bags
2) Helped
3) Disadvantage
4) Apolitical
5) Correction
6) Wickedness
7) Useful
8) Melodious
9) Taken
10) Misinformation

A free morpheme can stand on its own. A bound morpheme depends on

other morphemes to be meaningful.
Tip
You need to know that in some cases it is not possible to separate the
bound morpheme from the free morpheme, but it will be obvious that a
bound morpheme is present. Examples are presented in the box that
follows.
Example 3.2
In the examples below, bound morphemes are inseparable from free morphemes
1) Went
2) Caught
3) Fought
4) Bent
5) Wrote

Another important point I must bring to your notice is that bound

morphemes are affixes. In English, they are either prefixes or suffixes.
Also notice that some morpheme may not be visible at all. These are
called zeromorphemes.. It is the context of use that th hints about their
presence. Examples abound in the plural forms of nouns that are not
different in spelling from the singular forms, such as sheep and fish; past
forms that are not different from the present forms, such as cut, split,
cast, and broadcast.

34
 Study Session3Theoretical
Theoretical Categories: Class

You should be careful not to take a morpheme to mean a syllable. While the
syllable is a unit of phonology, the morpheme is a unit of grammar. However
the two could be coterminous.
Note

3.2.2 Word
The word is the next unit above the morpheme. It is a letter or a group of
letters before and after which there are spaces. There are different
perspectives from which a word can be classified. From the perspective
of function, a word is either a content word
word or a grammatical word.
Content words are those that belong to the classes of noun, pronoun verb,
adjective and adverb; while grammatical words are articles, conjunctions,
prepositions and others.
From the angle of structure, a word could belong to any of these types:
simple, complex, or compound. A simple word has just one free
morpheme (such as cat, dog, man). A complex word has both free and
bound morphemes but the morphemes cannot be separated (such as went,
men, sought). A compound word is made up of at least two free
morphemes. There are three ways a compound word can be written:
a. Solid
backfire
network,
passbook
b. Hyphenated
love-letter
pain-killer
open-ended
c. Open
post office
senior common room
Master of Ceremonies
However, “there are no safe rules-of-thumb
thumb that will help in the choice
between these three possibilities” (Quirk et al, 1972:1019). Akmajianet
Akmajian al
(1990:25), echoing Quirk and Greenbaum (1973), claim that:
The conventions of writing compounds in English are simply
inconsistent. The hyphen is used when a compound has been newly
created or is not widely used; when a compound has gained a certain
currency or permanence, it is often spelled closed up, without the hyphen.
The word blackboard,, when it was first created, was written black-board,
a spelling found in texts from the first part of this century. The rule in
English for spelling multiword compounds such as community center
finance committee is not to write them as a single word.But
word. it seems that
British English favours the use of hyphen more than it does others (Quirk
et al, 1972:1019). A word can be classified based on its function or its
structure.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

3.2.3 Group/Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that has no subject and finite verb.
A phrase can go with other forms of other verb like present participate
going past participle-given.
A phrase has 3 parts; namely:
i. Modifier
ii. Head
iii. Qualifier
Out of the 3, 2 are optional but one is obligatory, that is the head. The
modifier refers to the entities that come before the head, while the
qualifier comes after the head are sometimes called post.
Noun Phrase
A noun phrase is headed by a noun or pronoun. If a pronoun is the head,
there will not be any modifier or qualifier, but if you have a noun as the
head, there may be both modifier and qualifier example:
i. The talltree
M H
ii. Thecockin your room
M head qualifier

iii. Thecarwhich he stole

M h q r
Verb Phrase
A verb phrase is made up of a lexical verb and its auxiliary
1. They have gone home.
2. She is reading.
Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase is a phrase headed by a preposition. It has 2
obligatory elements: preposition and a nominal phrase
i. In your own interest
ii. By the road
iii. With God
iv. For our friends
Functions of Prepositional Phrase
1. It could function as an adjective if it qualifies a noun
2. It could function as an adverb, if it modifies an action that is
verb.
3. It could function as a complement of a linking verb.

1. She is in your car. (complement)

2. The man under that tree is angry. (adverb)
3. He did it for you. (adverb)
4. We will not sing with them. (adverb)

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 Study Session3Theoretical Categories: Class

Gerundive Phrase
is a phrase headed by a gerund. It is also known as verbal noun, that is the
‘ing’ form of a verb used as a noun. It functions as an adjective.
1. Dancing is good.
2. Fighting is bad.
3. I like praying.
The following are gerundive phrases:
1. Fighting in class is bad.
2. I like sleeping during church service
3. Deceiving people is not good.

Adjectival Phrase
This is a phrase headed by an adjective. Its modifier is an intensive
adverb, such as very, quite, much, so etc.
1. Very beautiful
2. Too bitter
3. Quite ugly

Adverbial Phrase
An adverbial phrase has an adverb as its head and another intensive
adverb as its modifiers very carelessly.
1. She dresses very carefully.
2. She speaks quite impressively in town.

Infinitival Phrase
A phrase headed by an infinite verb is termed infinitival phrase. It
functions as a noun a complement, or an adjective.
1. To be lucky is good(subject)
2. To be wealthy does not necessarily mean to be healthy
(complement)
3. She is a lady to disgrace (it modifies ‘the lady’)

Participial Phrase
A participial phrase has either a present participle or a past participle
form of a verb as its head. It functions only as an adjective. This is why it
must be far from the subjects it modifies. It functions as a noun.
1. Having gone there twice, we can lead others there (it modifies
‘we’)
This can be reconstructed as
We, having gone there twice, can lead others there.
2. Dejected by the news, the woman cried uncontrollably.
3. Perplexed by what he heard, the boy went home sad.
4. Reprimanded by the lecturer, the students stopped making noise.

Appositive Phrase
This is a noun phrase that is in apposition to another nominal entity, that
is it presents the nominal entity in another form. It is similar to repetition,
as an appositive phrase can be used in place of the nominal entity in the
same construction.
1. Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is slumbering

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

2. Fr. Sasa, the rector, is away

3. Lion, the king of the jungle, is dangerous.
4. Henry, the footballer, is hardworking
5. Sodium chloride, common salt, has many functions.
3.2.4 The Clause
A clause is a group of related word that has a subject and finite verb.
There are 2 major types of clause:
i. Main clause (alpha)
ii. Subordinate clause (beta)
A main clause can stand on its own while a subordinate clause cannot
stand on its own.
1. Unless you are neat, you cannot eat with me.
2. The boy cried because his father beat him.
We also have different types or classification of subordinate clause. This
is based on the function it performs. This deals specifically with
subordinate clauses.
Noun Clause
This is a subordinate clause that functions as a noun as underlined in the
examples below:
1. What the man did to his wife is wrong.
2. That we cannot solve this problem is quite unthinkable.
3. Whose research work is the best cannot be ascertained.

Adjectival or Relative Clause

An adjectival clause is a subordinate clause that performs the function of
an adjective. Examples are underlined below:
1. The driver who killed the dog has been arrested.
2. He has finished reading the book which his mother bought for
him.
3. The man whose house was damaged is dead.

Adverbial Clause
An adverbial clause is a subordinate clause that performs the function of
an adverb in a sentence. Adverbial clauses also have various types. It is
based on the question they answer. Examples are:

Adverbial Clause of Time

It answers the question ‘when?’
1. I saw him as he was going to the church.
2. The boy dropped the cup when he saw a big rat.

Adverbial Clause of Reason

It answers the question ‘why?’ For example:
1. He came to class because he had no option.
2. He passed because he worked hard.
3. He travelled because he was compelled to do so.

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 Study Session3Theoretical Categories: Class

Adverbial Clause of Concession

This is a clause that gives a proposition which is opposite the one
contained in the main clause. For example:
1. Although you are ready, you will not be attended to.
2. Even if you call me, I will not answer.

Adverbial Clause of Manner

This answers the question ‘how?’ For example:
1. He talks as if he knows everything.
2. He behaves as if he were God.

Adverbial Clause of Place

It answers the question ‘where?’ For example:
1. We met him where he was sleeping.
2. I saw it where you hid it.

Adverbial Clause of Condition

This answers the question ‘under what condition?’ For example:
1. Except you are serious, you will be dealt with.
2. Unless you repent of your sins, you will die.

3.2.5 The Sentence

Sentence A group of A sentence is a group of selected words that begins with a capital letter
words that begins with a and ends with a full stop. This is a definition from the angle of writing or
capital and ends with a full orthography. From the angle of meaning, a sentence can be defined as a
stop, and expresses a
group of related words that expresses a complete thought.
complete thought.

Types of Sentence
There are two parameters for classifying a sentence. These are
A. Function, and
B. Form / Structure
Classification Based on Function
Declarative Sentences
This is a sentence which makes a statement of fact. This sentence may
either be true or false and may also be in the negative or positive.
i. We are hungry.
ii. She is not serious.
iii. They are tired.
iv. We love ladies.
Imperative Sentences
This is a sentence which makes a request or an entreaty. The subject is
usually ‘you’ but it is often deleted since it is not understood.
i. Get out.
ii. Keep quiet.
iii. Leave me alone.
iv. Get ready to go.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Interrogative Sentence
This is asentence that asks a question; the question could be wh-type or
polar- type. The polar-type is also a yes or no question.
Wh-type
i. Where is she now?
ii. Where do I come in here?
iii. How did you get here?
iv. What have done wrong?
Polar type
i. Are you ready for the exam?
ii. Does he know the right thing?
iii. Is he the right person?
iv. Will they help us?
v. Can we rely on them?
Note however, that there are some expressions that look like questions
but are not actually questions. We will consider two of them below.
Rhetorical Questions
This is a question asked only for dramatic or emphatic purposes.
Examples:
i. Who does not want to enjoy life?
ii. Where else can you find fulfilment except in God?
Mild Imperatives
This is a commandthat pretends to be a request and the request also
pretends to be a question.
i. Shall we pray?
ii. Can you please pass the salt?
Classification Based on Structure/Form
Simple Sentence
This is made up of only a main clause and no subordinate clause.
i. The man is ready.
ii. Don’t deceive others.
Compound Sentence
This sentence is made up of at least two main clauses and one subordinate
clause. The clauses may be joined by a coordinating conjunction, colon,
semi-colon, or comma.
i. Watch and pray.
ii. He read well but he did not pass.
iii. Man proposes while God disposes.
Complex Sentence
This consists of a main clause and at least a subordinate clause.
i. If you cheat in exams, I will penalise you.
ii. Unless you repent, you shall perish.
iii. The man had been buried, before they arrived
Compound-Complex Sentences
It comprises at least two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause.
i. Come and see what the Lord has done.
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 Study Session3Theoretical
Theoretical Categories: Class

ii. Because the father died after a protracted illness and the mother
was killed by armed, their children were sent to the orphanage.
iii. Come and eat if you are hungry.
iv. If you are serious, I will serve and protect you.
Exclamatory Sentence
This is a sentence
sentence which expresses the strong feeling of a person.
i. How fortunate are we!
ii. What a fortunate man he will be!

3.3Structure
Structure Structure accounts for “the composition of a unit in terms of functional
The composition of unit in elements and for the relationships between these elements” (Morley,
terms of its functional
elements and the 1985: 9). A group has the structure (m) h (q). M stands for modifier, h for
relationship that exists head and q for qualifier.
qualifier. Of these, only the head is obligatory, this means
between these elements. that a group must have a head, but it may not have either or both of m and
q.
1) a nice girl
m h

2) the red blouse in your wardrobe

m h q
A clause has the structure SPCA
S = subject
P = predicator
C = complement
A = adjunct
The Subject is associated with the nominal group. The verbal group
serves as the Predicator. The complement is associated with nominal
group, the adjectival group, the adverbial group or the prepositional
group.

1) The ball has red patches

S P C

2) Nobody can go home now

S P C A

3) Leave this place

P C

You will notice that the elements in a phrase are different from those of a
clause. But you can find a clause in a phrase, particularly a relative clause in a
noun phrase, because there is a concept called embedding or rankshifting.
Note And a clause is essentially made up of at least a phrase.

3.4 System
SystemThe range of System accounts for the range of choices (classes) that are available
choices available within a within a unit. This range is called a set of terms. A system has these

41
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

unit. properties:
1. The list of term contained in it is finite
2. The options are all mutually exclusive. This means that if a new
term is added, the meaning of at least one of the existing terms is
affected (Morley, 1985: 17).

The mood system (Adapted from Huddleston (1981) cf Morley 1985)

42
 Study Session3Theoretical
Theoretical Categories: Class

Study Session Summary

In this Study Session, we examined class and unit, two of the theoretical
categories identified by Halliday.
Halliday Our discussion extensively dwelt on
three of the grammatical
grammatical units: morpheme, word, group/phrase, clause
Summary and sentence. You also learnt how structure and system operate in
English.
nglish. Each unit has what makes it possible for it to belong to that
unit.

43
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Bibliography
Babajide, A. O. (1996), Introductory English Grammar and Writing
Skills, Ibadan: ECFP.
Kuiper, K. and Allan, W.S. (1996), An Introduction to English
Language: Sound, Word and Sentence, London: Macmillan.
Reading Napoli, D.J. (1996), Linguistics: An Introduction, New York and
Oxford: OUP.
http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/boundmorphterm.htmretrieved August
2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hallidayretrieved August 2013.
http://homepage.uconn.edu/~li101is1/SP111030HH/DL%20-
%20Class%203-5%20-%20Grammar%20Basics%20-
%20printed%20slides.pdfretrieved August 2013.
http://webdelprofesor.ula.ve/humanidades/azapata/materias/english_4/u
nit_1_types_of_words_and_word_formation_processes.pdfretrieved
August 2013.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1207/s15516709cog1004_2/pdfretr
ieved August 2013.

44
 Study Session4Scales

Study Session4
Scales
Introduction
We have devoted the previous Study Session to the theoretical categories
identified by Halliday. We will now examine scales of grammatical
analysis in Systemic Functional Grammar.

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
4.1 present the types of scales in English.

4.1 Types of Scale

The scales of grammatical analysis in Systemic Functional Grammar
include the following:
• Scale of Rank
• Scale of Delicacy
• Scale of Exponence
• Scale of Depth

4.1.1 Scale of Rank

This scale accounts for the hierarchical relationship among the
grammatical units (Morley 1985).
Sentence
Clause
Group
Word
Morpheme
Each unit, except the morpheme, is made up of at least one of the unit of
the rank below it. The sentence, however, does not form a part of any
other higher grammatical unit, since it is the highest in the hierarchy. We
have discussed each of these units under grammatical categories.
4.1.2 Scale of Delicacy
This scale determines the degree of detail in analysis. It is a rank-bound
scale. For instance, in analysing the unit of clause, at the primary degree
of delicacy, we talk of free/alpha and bound/beta clauses. If we move to
the secondary degree of delicacy, we consider the degree of grammatical
subordination that is distance from the alpha/free clause. What this means
is that some bound/beta clauses are closer to the alpha/free clause than

45
ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

others. In this case, we talk of: alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ), delta (δ),
epsilon (ε), and so on (Morley 1985). Let us consider these structures:
free bound
primary degree of delicacy: α β
Adeola said you should leave

If the boy dances before you talk

secondary degree of delicacy: bound bound
γ δ

4.1.3 Scale of Exponence

Exponence scale relates the categories to each other and to the data. In
the analysis, the rank can be changed as necessary. This scale accounts
for the formal nature of a unit of utterance grammatically and lexically.
Its focus is not restricted to any rank (Morley 1985).
Let me illustrate using these symbols for analysis:
= has the structure
= is expounded by
Tunde delayed the boy
# S # α
α
clause
clause SPC
S
Nominal group
nominal gp h
h
word: proper noun
p
verbal gp
VG h
h
word: verb (past tense)
verb
delayed
C
Nom. grp
Nom grp mh
m
art
art
the
h
word: noun
noun
boy

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 Study Session4Scales

4.1.4
.1.4 Scale of Depth
This scale is at times treated as the scale of delicacy. This is why some
writers claim that Halliday’s scale and category grammar has 4
theoretical categories and 3 scales. The scale of depth considers the
degree of complexity of a stretch of language. You will remember that
the Scale of Delicacy deals with the degree of detail of analysis. This
scale focuses on the relationship between an element of structure and the
point of origin in the structure or the top of the node (Morley 1985). A
gamma clause, for instance, represents a stage of greater depth in
structure than
tha a beta clause.
Fig 4.1 Scale of depth of
clause
α
β
γ

Tip Box
• Delicacy deals with the degree of analysis of a stretch of language.
• Depth deals with the degree of complexity of a stretch of language.

Study Session Summary

In Study Session, we learnt that Systemic Functional Grammar uses 4
scales
ales for analysis of language. Some scholars feel that there are just
three scales because of the similarities between the scales of delicacy
Summary and depth. However, the difference between
between these two scales was
highlighted in this Study Session

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Study Session5
Transformational Generative Grammar
Introduction
In this Study Session, we will focus on Transformational Generative
Grammar (TGG).

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
5.1 explain the basic assumptions of TGG.
5.2 outline phrase structures.
5.3 analyse sentences using PS rule.

5.1 Some Basic Assumptions of TGG

Transformational Generative Grammar began with the seminal work of
Chomsky titled Syntactic Structures (1957). It is further expounded in
Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965). The basic assumption of the
grammar is that from a finite set of rules, we can generate an infinite
number of structures. The grammar also claims that grammatical analysis
should be based on the intuitive knowledge of an ideal native speaker.
TGG distinguishes between competence and performance. Competence
is described as the knowledge which an ideal native speaker has of
his/her language. Conversely, performance is the actual use of that
knowledge. Performance is not reliable in grammatical analysis because
it could be affected by the following:
1. Stage fright
2. Memory loss
3. Distraction of attention.
TGG equally identifies 2 important levels:
1. Deep structure (DS)
2. Surface structure (SS)
The DS is the level of combination. Here, the lexicon and the PS rules
combine to form structures. It is after transformations have applied on
these that the SS is got. This is the phonetic form of what DS and
transformations have produced. You could now see that TGG is highly
mentalistic. It deals with the mental processes involved in the derivation
of structures.
TGG distinguishes between Acceptability and Grammaticality. A
structure may be grammatical but not acceptable and vice-versa. A

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 Study Session5Transformational Generative Grammar

sentence is grammatical if it conforms to the rules of the grammar of a

given language. It is acceptable if the users of the language take it to be
meaningful. Chomsky gives this classical example to illustrate this:
Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.
This sentence is grammatical, in that it follows the rules of English
grammar, but it is unacceptable as it violates some rules, such as
selectional restriction. However, figuratively, it is meaningful.

5.2 Phrase Structure (PS) Rules

There are rules that account for the components of each phrase.
Transformational Generative Grammar has rules for each phrase. Notice
that each phrase derives its name from the head word in it.

5.2.1 Noun Phrase

A noun phrase is headed by a noun
NP (Det) (Adj) N (S') (PP)
Pro
Let’s illustrate with these structures
1. The lazy teacher
2. A very strong warning
3. This unserious and fake prophet
4. The two tall boys and their short leader
5. You and your problem
6. The book on your table
7. An indigenous language without a dictionary
8. Kunle and Femi
9. The musician who duped us
You can use bracketing, labelled brackets and phrase markers or tree
diagrams to analyse any structure. You will still arrive at the same result.
The difference between bracketing and labelled bracket is that whole the
latter indicate the category in bracket, the former does not. Let us use
labelled bracket to analyse structures 1-3 above, and phrase markers for
the rest.
The Lazy teacher
AdjP
1.
Det N
NP

A very strong warning

Adj Adj
2.
Det N
NP AdjP

This unserious and fake prophet

"
Adj conj Adj
3.
Det N
NP AdjP

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

4.

50
 Study Session5Transformational Generative Grammar

5.2.2 Prepositional Phrase

P P NP
1. on the table

2. before the day of vengeance

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

3. with the boy and his captors

4. from a noble man

5. for the two diligent scholars

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 Study Session5Transformational Generative Grammar

5.2.3 Adverbial Phrase

AdvP DegAdvAdv
1. very interesting
2. very well
3. quite carelessly
4. so impressively
5. too clearly

1.

2.

3.

4.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

5.

5.2.4 Adjectival Phrase

AdjPAdvAdj
1. verydirty
2. quite vew
3. much better
4. so marvelous
5. too slow
1.

2.

3.

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 Study Session5Transformational Generative Grammar

4.

5.

5.3Sentence
Below is the PS rule for sentence:
S NP INFL VP
INFL AGR TNS (M) (ASP) (PASS)
AGR Pers No
PerS 1st 2nd 3rd
M can will should, etc
ASP Prog Perf
Prog be ing
Perf have en
Pass be en
Since we have discussed NP in the previous section, let me now go to
VP.

5.3.1 Verb Phrase

VP V (NP) (PP) (AdvP) (AdjP) (SI)
1. Dele saw us
2. She is with the boys
3. He did it well
4. We are ready
5. You said that she was humble

1.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

2.

3.

4.

5.

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 Study Session5Transformational Generative Grammar

1. You know the truth.

2. The men must serve us.
3. That man has beaten the lady.
4. Moses is reading the letter now.
5. The boy in your group should come to us

1.

AHR: AGR + TNS +know

know
Surface Structure(SS): You know the truth

2.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

AHR: AGR + TNS + must

must
SS: The men must serve us

3. S

NP INF VP

AGR TNS
ASP V NP
Det N

Pets no have en Det N

Prs beat the lad

The man

AHR: AGR + TNS + have beat + en

has beaten
SS: That man has beaten the lady.

4.

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 Study Session5Transformational Generative Grammar

AHR: AGR + TNS + be read + ing

is reading
SS: Moses is reading better now.
5.

AHR: AGR + TNS + shall read + ing

should
SS: The boy in your group should come to us

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Study Session Summary

This Study Session focused on the historical
rical background of TGG. We
also learnt some basic tenets of this grammar. A great portion of the
Study Session was devoted to syntactic analysis, with particular
Summary emphasis on phrases.
In this Study Session, we examined how tree diagrams are used for
syntactic analysis. Note that what we discussed here is the elementary
form of analysis in TGG. The grammar has undergone series of
development. The current model of the grammar is The Minimalist
Program. So you need to study further to know the stages that this
grammar has gone through.

Bibliography
Chomsky, N. (1957) Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton
Chomsky, N. (1965), Aspects of the Theory of Syntax,
Syntax Cambridge,
Mass: MIT.
Lamidi M. T. (2000) Aspects of Chomskyan Grammar. Ibadan: Emman
Reading
Mohanan K.P. (1995), “The Organization of the Grammar” in
Goldsmith, J.A. (ed.) The Handbook of Phonological Theory,
Theory Oxford
and Cambridge: Basil Blackwell.
http://sweb.cityu.edu.hk/sm2220/2004-05/notes/TranGenGrammar.ppt
http://sweb.cityu.edu.hk/sm2220/2004 05/notes/TranGenGrammar.ppt
retrieved August, 2013.
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/matdeu--1063776-
http://ww
c6chomsky/ retrieved August, 2013.

60
 Study Session 6Stylistics
6

Study Session 6
Stylistics
Introduction
This Study Session, we will introduce to you an important aspect of
linguistic analysis, stylistics. It is an important discipline that you will
find useful as you study language further. Since this thi course is
introductory, we will only be interested in the major concepts that will
help you in attempting stylistic analysis.

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
6.1 defineand use correctly the term “stylistics”.
6.2 perform stylistic analysis.
6.3 enumerateapproaches to style.

6.1 Concept of Stylistics

Stylistics is the branch of linguistics concerned with the study of style in
spoken and written text. It also involves other higher and lower units. It is
“the analysis of distinctive expression in language and the description of
its purpose and effect” (Verdonk, 2002: 3-4). 3 . Style is concerned with
constituent occurrences in the text. This means that it is not identification
of items in a text rather, what will qualify as the style should be recurring
patterns in a text. A stylistic analysis covers all the traditional levels of
linguistics from the perspective of any descriptive linguistics. In essence,
it is a descriptive enterprise.
There are two broad senses of conceiving style: the evaluative and the
descriptive. The former sees style in a critical way, focusing on the
features
atures that make a person stand out. It focuses on a degree of
excellence. The latter sense lacks this judgmental approach. It merely
describes those distinctive features of the text/author. Both senses,
however, see style as the conscious or unconscious choices
c made from
alternatives available in a language. Remember the theoretical category
of system in Halliday’s scale and category.

Evaluative conception of style focuses on uniqueness the degree of excellence

of a style while descriptive conception of style merely describes distinctive
features of text.
Note

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

6.2 Levels of Stylistic Analysis

Stylistic analysis can be done at the following levels:
1. Phonetic/Graphetic
2. Phonological/Graphological
3. Grammatical
4. Lexical
5. Semantic
These are explained as follows:

6.2.1 Phonetic/Graphetic
This relates to the actual substance, that is the raw material of language.
Phonetics deals with the spoken text, while graphetics relates to the
written text. Ideophones and onomatopoeia particularly are relevant here.
Type-size or colours, though non-linguistic, may show the semantic
structure of the text.

6.2.2 Phonological/Graphological
While phonetics/graphetics deals with the basic phonic/graphic substance
of language, phonology/graphology deals with the organisation of
phonic/graphic substance of a given language. Graphological
consideration will include capitalisation, spacing, distinctive use of
punctuation, lettering size and type. Phonological consideration will
include patterns of stress, rhythm, intonation and pitch.

6.2.3 Grammatical
This involves studying the organisation of phonology/graphology. Here
morphological and syntactic features of the text are considered.

6.2.4 Lexical
This refers to the study of vocabulary, including idiomatic expressions
and single words. It concerns why some choices are made in relation to
the subject matter

6.2.5 Semantic
This studies the meaning of stretches of language longer than single
lexical items.

6.3 Application of Stylistics

Stylistics is useful in carrying out a number linguistic function, as
discussed below.

6.3.1 Statistical Linguistics/Stylo-

Stylistics/Stylometrics
Stylometricsis a field investigates the differences between samples or
texts and the properties which such have in common. This is an effort
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 Study Session 6Stylistics

toward identifying linguistic universals, what Chomsky calls Universal

Grammar. It may involve count of word (any linguistic item) frequency.
In essence, it uses a small number of carefully selected textual features to
search for these in large body of text. Stylo-stylistical investigation is
carried out in three major areas:
Formal Characteristics
That is those features that do not relate directly to meaning; such as word
class, source of vocabulary, and the length of words, sentences or lines.
Characteristics that Relate Directly to Meaning
Examples are those sizes of diversity of an author’s vocabulary.
Detailed Study of Single Words or Small Set of Words
This approach concentrates on cases involving choosing among
alternatives. These selections must be regular to be of stylistic relevance.

6.3.2 Authorship Identification

Stylistics is useful in resolving cases of disputed or unknown authorship.
If the authorship of a text is in contest, the frequency and distribution of a
small number of linguistic items can be made and compared with the
corresponding features in the text contest.

6.3.3 Forensic Language

Forensic linguistics involves using linguistic tools to detect criminal. By
studying style, one can differentiate between normal language usage of an
accused person and the statements made under duress. Stylisticians can
notice the style of a person to support or debunk incriminating utterances
heard on a tape recording.

6.4 Approaches to Style

6.4.1 Style as Choice
This approach sees style as the choices made by an individual. There are
many possibilities in language. If an individual then chooses a particular
pattern rather than the others, such constitutes his /her style. For instances
if somebody selects the indicative mood rather than the imperative mood
to express a particular idea, we take that to mean his style. This choice is
based on purpose and context. Context could be linguistic or non-
linguistic. The former means the surrounding feature of language inside a
text. These include typography, sounds, words, phrases, and clauses and
sentences. The latter refers to features outside the text which influence the
language and style of the text (Verdonk, 2002: 3-4). Warburg (1959: 50),
cited in Enkvist (1964: 19), claims that:
Good style, it seems to me, consists in choosing the
appropriate symbolisation of the experience you wish
to convey, from among a number of words whose
meaning-area is roughly, but only roughly, the same
(by saying cat, for example, rather than pussy)

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ENG103 A Survey off the English Language

6.4.2
4.2 Style as Personality or Individual
This
is approach sees style as revealing an individual. In other words, each
person has in mind that an individual is a product of many influences. In
the light of this, what is regarded as somebody’s style is not entirely
his/hers. Some of the ideas belong to the community that has produced
him/her. Style is “some or the entire feature of the language of one
person” Crystal and Davy (1969:9). In this connection we talk about
Soyinka’s style, Achebe’s style and so on. This refers to a person’s
linguistic idiosyncrasies.
idiosyn

The aggregate feature of the language of an individual is the style of that

individual.
Tip

6.4.3
.4.3 Style as Deviation
Style here is regarded as an individual’s deviation from the norm of a
language. The deviation could be at any level of linguistic analysis. The
aggregate of this constitute the style of such a person. It often features at
the orthographical level e.g. 9ice for nice; Tuface, for Two Face.
Deviation is a form of foregrounding, making something to stand out.
This involves breaking
breaking the norms of the standard language (Malmkjaer
and Carter 2002:513).

6.4.4
.4.4 Style as a Temporal Phenomenon
Each age has a particular way of using language. The writers of that age
tend to use language in similar ways. The style of writers at such an age
a
will reflect certain similarities. This gives rise to expressions like
Elizabethan drama, Victorian writing. In short, the period in which
someone writes Influences and reflects his/her style. According to
Spencer (1964: xi): ‘A writer’s style may be regarded
regarded as an individual
and creative utilization of the resources of language which his period,
chosen dialect, his genre and his purpose within it offer him.’

6.4.5
.4.5 Style as Situation
The situation in which a person finds himself/herself determines his style.
st
This means that style varies according to situation. For instance, the way
language is used at wedding is different from how it is used during burial.
There are also some stereotypic uses of language, such as the language of
law.
The goal of stylistics
stylistics is succinctly captured by Crystal and Davy (1969:
10-11)
11) thus:
“the
the aim of stylistics is to analyse language habits with the main purpose
of identifying from the general mass of linguistic features…as used on
every conceivable occasion, those features which
which are restricted to certain
kinds of social context; to explain, where possible, why such features
have been used, as opposed to other alternatives; and to classify these
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 Study Session 6Stylistics
6

features into categories based upon a view of their function in the social
context. By “features” here, we mean any bit of speech or writing which a
person can single out from the general flow of language and discuss-
discuss a
particular word, part of a word, sequence of words,
words, or way of uttering a
word”

In doing stylistic analysis, the linguistic features need to be related to context.

It is then that the relevance of these items can be seen
Note

There are many approaches to style, which one do you find most
interesting?
Post your reasons on Study Session Six forum page on course website.
Discussion
Activity

Study Session Summary

This Study Session has been devoted to the discussion of style. We
learnt that Style, in a restricted sense, means the effectiveness of a mode
of expression. Another sense in whichwhic style is conceived is its use as
Summary literary language.
language

Bibliography
Vendonk, Peter 2002. Stylistics.. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lawal, Adebayo (Ed) 2003. Stylistics in Theory and Practice.
Practice Ilorin:
Paragon Books.
Malmkjaer K. and Carter R.A. (2002) Stylisticss
ylisticss K. Malmkjær. Ed.
Reading
London and New York: Routledge.511-520.
Routledge.511
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/writing/style retrieved August, 2013.
http://stylistics.minb.de/index.php?c=Lecture%20Notes%202 retrieved
August, 2013.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Study Session 7
Meaning
Introduction
Scholars
cholars have approached the study of meaning from different
perspective
erspective because
ecause meaning is difficult to define.
define This has produced
different types of meaning. It is important for you to be familiar with
types of meaning to better appreciate language and human
communication. Therefore ini this Study Session,, we will explorethe
major types of meaning.

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
7.1 classify expressions according to their meanings.
meanings
7.2 discussat least eight theories of meaning.

7.1 Meaning Types

There are different types of meaning. Meaning is usually dependent on

context.
Tip

7.1.1
.1.1 Denotative/Conceptual Meaning
This is the plain of word. It is also the general meaning, literal meaning
or dictionary meaning of a word.

7.1.2Connotative
.1.2Connotative Meaning
This is the meaning people associate with a word. The culture and
emotions of individuals reflects in this meaning. What a word means to
one person may be different from what it means to another person.
person

7.1.3
.1.3 Collocative Meaning
The environment in which a word occurs influences its meaning. The
kind of meaning a word/ expression gets by virtue of its association with
other words/ expression is termed collocative meaning. There are some
words that naturally go together, such as highh building not high man, in
terms of length. However in figurative usage, there could be deliberate
miscollocation to achieve some effects.

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 Study Session 7Meaning

7.1.4 Reflected Meaning

This is the kind of meaning got when one sense of word rubs off on
another sense. This may be a product of frequency or strength of
association. According to Ogunsiji 2000, reflected meaning arises when
one of the meanings of a word is directly associated with it and the users
of the language tend to forget other meanings of the word. An example is
the association of the word ‘ejaculation’ with only sexual intercourse,
whereas it also means sudden shout.

7.1.5 Affective Meaning

This has to do with attitude to a word. Depending on the way an
expression, particularly spoken form, is used, different meanings can be
derived.

7.1.6 Thematic Meaning

This has to do with the organization of the message in terms of how it is
ordered to show the theme and the rheme. The theme is the GIVEN,
while the RHEME is the NEW meaning.

7.1.7 Sentence Meaning

This is the meaning a sentence can have on its own. This is also called
propositional meaning. There are different types of sentence based on
meaning. You should not mix these with the types considered under
syntax.

7.1.8 Analytic Sentence

This is a sentence that is necessarily true as a result of the senses of the
component words in it. An analytic sentence can be broken down into its
components.
Examples
1. All goats are animals.
2. All boys are humans.
The meaning of each of the sentences above is amalgamation of the
component words.

7.1.9Synthetic Sentence
This is a sentence which may be either true or false, depending on the
senses of the words.
Examples
i. Ayoke is from Ikire.
ii. The boy is nice.
The first sentence may be true or false, as there is nothing in the senses of
Ayoke and Ikire that make the sentences necessarily true or false.
Therefore, the truth/falsity of a synthetic sentence depends on the state of
affairs. The same applies to the second sentence.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

7.1.10Contradictory Sentence
This is a sentence that is necessarily false owing to the senses of the
component words.
i. That table is a man.
ii. The tree is an animal.

7.1.11 Utterance Meaning

An utterance meaning is any stretch of talk by one person before and after
which there is silence on the part of that person. It is not necessarily a
sentence. It could be a word, a phrase, a simple sentence or a complex
sentence. The meaning of the entire utterance is known as utterance
meaning.

7.1.12 Contextual Meaning

This is the meaning of a sentence or word when it is found in context.
The linguistic context refers to the linguistic items before and after it.
Contextual meaning can also mean the occasion in which a particular
utterance is used. It could be linguistic or non-linguistic. This type of
meaning is also known as the functional value of the utterance. Out of
context, the following expressions may be meaningless:
1. He butchered the lady.
2. This box will kill you.
But with the provision of appropriate context, they become meaningful.
Essentially, language becomes meaningful only in context (the context of
situation of situation involving participants, actions etc).

7.1.13 Social Meaning

This is the kind of meaning produced from the use of language to express
social meaning, such as endearment, enthusiasm, praise, politeness,
friendliness, solidarity and so on. On the negative side, it includes the use
of language for insult, criticism, irony, hostility. The society of the
interlocutors is important here. This is because what is positive in a
culture may be negative in another.

7.1.14 Pragmatic/Interpersonal Meaning

This involves the meaning derived from interaction among people in
conversation. It considers speaker’s meaning and hearer’s meaning. A lot
of contextual considerations come in here.

7.1.15 Emotive Meaning

This has to do with the use of language to show emotion. There could be
ironical use of language.

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 Study Session 7Meaning

7.1.16 Cultural Meaning

In a language spoken by people from different cultures, a word may have
different meaning. An example is English spoken in different continents.
The cultures involved colour the meanings of words.

7.2 Theories of Meaning

Semantics is the branch of linguistics that studies meaning. But meaning
itself is difficult to define. This difficulty has led to different theories of
meaning. The major ones are discussed below.

7.2.1 Ideational Theory of Meaning

This theory sees the meaning of a word as the idea that gives rise to an
expression and that which it gives rise to. One of the limitations of this
theory is the possibility of lack of correspondence between the idea that
the speaker has and that of the hearer. It is also possible for a word to
have more than one idea. This theory is also suitable for only concrete
objects. It is also limited to only words, whereas meaning extends beyond
words. Besides it is rather too mentalistic.

7.2.2 Image Theory of Meaning

The image theory of meaning is somehow similar to the theory of
meaning. It contends that the meaning of a word is the image that it calls
forth in the hearer’s/speaker’s mind. Like I argued above, a word may
call forth more than one image in the hearer’s/speaker’s mind; in such
situation which one will be taken to be the meaning of the word? Besides
a word may produce an image in the mind of the speaker and produce a
different one in the mind of the hearer. How then do we reconcile these?
Also, the theory does not cater for grammatical words and units above
and below the word.

7.2.3 Behavioural Theory of Meaning

This theory sees the meaning of a linguistic form as the situation
surrounding its uttering and the response it produces in the hearer. In
other words, it sees meaning as involving stimulus and response.
This implies that a stimulus produces a response and response serves as a
stimulus to a final action taken by the hearer. Thus the meaning of a
linguistic form is the situation which precedes the performance of a given
utterance and the behaviour of the participants in response to it. (Ogunsiji
2000). A weakness of this theory is its oversimplification of human
behaviour. What of if the hearer’s response is contrary to what the
speaker expects? The theory is also cumbersome. We have to keep
investigating behaviour before determining the meaning of an utterance.
The behaviourist view of meaning as
stimuli words responses

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Meaning can be divided solely by studying the situation of speech use-

the stimulus (S) which led someone to speak (r), and the response (R)
which resulted from this speech (s)
S - - - - - - - - - r - - - - - - - s - - - - - -R
(Crystal 1987: 101)
Bloomfield (1933) illustrates this with Jill and Jack; Jill is hungry and he
sees an apple (S) ‘She asks Jack to get it for her (r); this linguistic
stimulus (S) leads to Jack getting the apple (R) (Crystal 1987:101). There
are some problems with this theory. Bloomfield’s argument that one can
tell what the meaning r - - - - - s must be just by observing the events that
accompanied it, has some problems. For instance, there are some events
(like expression of feelings) that are not clearly visible. There is also the
problem of predictability of the other person.

7.2.4 Contextual Theory of Meaning

This theory claims that it is the context that determines the meaning of a
word, as a word may mean different things in different contexts. There
are linguistic and extra linguistic contexts. All of these have to be
considered before arriving at the meaning of an expression. But it should
be stressed that there is a limit to which the grammar of a language can be
extended to capture context (Ogunsiji 2000).

7.2.5 Signification/Semiotic Theory

Language is a semiotic signs just like picture photograph Ogden and
Richards (1923) propose a semiotic triangle. The link between the
signifier and the signified is arbitrary. It is not direct; it is negotiated by
reference.

Ogden and Richards (1923: 99) cf. Crystal 1987: 101

7.2.6 Field Theory of Meaning

This theory focuses on the meaning of words and the organisation of
vocabulary. It claims that there is a mutual relation among word. Words
belong to semantic/lexical relation field. This is linked with the concept
of register.
Examples
Cooking: roast, fry, boil, heat, perboil.
Government: local, state, federal, execution, legislature

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 Study Session 7Meaning

7.2.7 Componential Theory

This theory focuses on the semantic properties of words. It helps in
knowing the words that collocate, + stands for the feature which a word
possesses, while – stands for the feature it does not possess. The basic
assumption is that there are some basic meaning components that make
up the meanings of more complex terms Malmkjaer K. (2002: 462)
Examples
MAN
+ MALE
+ ADULT
- YOUNG
+ ANIMATE
+ HUMAN
COW
+ MALE
+ ADULT
- YOUNG
+ RUMINANT
- HUMAN
+ ANIMATE
CHILD
+ MALE
+ FEMALE
- ADULT
+ YOUNG
+ ANIMATE
+ HUMAN
PIG
+ MALE
+ FEMALE
+ ADULT
- YOUNG
- RUMINANT
- HUMAN
+ ANIMATE
7.2.8 Truth Condition Theory
The truth condition theory claims that to account for the meaning of a
sentence is to specify the condition under which such a sentence will be
true or false of the situation or state of the particular world which it
claims to describe. Therefore, one knows the condition under which it
will be true/false. A major criticism of this approach is the difficulty of
identifying ‘concepts’. Besides, some words do not have neat visual
images. There could also be different images (Crystal 1987: 101).

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

Study Session Summary

In this Study Session, you learnt that there are different types of
meaning, depending on the perspectives we adopt. . However, there
could be some overlap. The context in which an expression is used will
Summary help you to determine the label you give to an expression.
expression You also
learnt the
th different theories that have emerged in the study of meaning.

Bibliography
Malmkjaer K. (2002) Semantics K. Malmkjær. Ed. London and New
York: Routledge. 455-465.
455
http://www.russelldale.com/dissertation/TheTheoryofMeaning.pdf
retrieved August, 2013.
Reading

72
 Study Session 8Sense Relations

Study Session 8
Sense Relations
Introduction
In this Study Session, we will discuss concepts like synonymy,
hyponymy, and polysemy among others. This will help you to better
understand the relationship that exists among words.

Learning Outcomes
When you have studied this session, you should be able to:
15.1itemise some sense relations
15.2 exemplify these sense relations

8.1 Hyponymy
HyponymyThe relationship Hyponymy It is the meaning relation of inclusion. A more specific term
between a specific word is included in a more general term. It involves a kind of implication, for
and a general word when
the specific word is example if X is a gown; it implies that it is a dress. But the converse does
included within the general not hold. The subsumed items are called subordinates or co-hyponyms.
word

If ambiguity pertains to both the spoken and the written form of a term, it
called homonymy, for example bank. If it pertains to the spoken form
only, it is homophony, for example read and red. If it is only in terms of
writing, it is called homography, for example lead.

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

8.2 Synonymy
This is meaning relation of similarity of meaning. However, no two
words are exact synonyms. So, care must be taken when using synonyms.
Examples
Examples:
Easy: simple
Negotiate: bargain

Words are synonymous if there are similarities in their meanings.

Tip

8.3 Antonym
An antonym is a word that has a meaning opposite that of another word.
word
This is relation of oppositeness of meaning.
Gradable antonyms:
antonyms These are antonyms that could be expressed in
degrees
Big Small
Good Bad
Neat Dirty
Very Big
Quite Neat
So Dirty
Too Bad

8.3.1
.3.1 Non-Gradable
Non Antonyms
These are also called complementary terms. These do not permit degrees
of contrast:
Single Married
Male Female
Inferior Superior

8.3.2
.3.2 Converse
Con Terms
These involve two-way
two way contrasts which are interdependent
Buy Sell
Brother Sister

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 Sense Relations

8.3.3
.3.3 Incompatibility
This involves sets of lexemes which are mutually exclusive of members
of the same superordinate category.
Monday and Tuesday
Saxophone and Trumpet
Mango and cashew

8.4 Ambiguity
This is a situation in which one expression has different or many
senses/interpretations. There are three or many major types.

8.4.1
4.1 Lexical Ambiguity
This results from ambiguity of a single word. The ambiguity may arisear
from polysemy or homonymy. Polysemy may be a product of semantic
shift, for example horn, used to refer to that part of animal found on the
head, and musical instrument. It could also be a product of specialisation
of meaning in a social environment; paper
paper meaning newspaper, scholarly
writing, travel document. Homogomy refers to a situation in which a
word spelt or pronounced like another word but has different meaning.
Examples
rice food item
rise to stand up
can container
can be able

Study Session Summary

In this Study Session, we discussed some sense relations that exist
among words. Some of them are synonym, antonym, and hyponymy and
so on. Unless for stylistic purposes, avoid ambiguity.
Summary

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ENG103 A Survey of the English Language

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Malmkjaer K. (2002) Semantics K. Malmkjær. Ed. London and New York: Routledge. 455-
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77