In chapter 6 of his book “The Study of Language,” George Yule discusses the various types of ways in which words form. Yule describes how neologisms, or new words, come into our language through ten individual or combined possibilities: etymology, coinage, borrowing, compounding, blending, clipping, backformation, conversion, acronym or derivation. Interestingly, some of the ways neologisms form are clear, like through acronyms and coinage, while other ways are not as apparent, for instance, through blending or etymology.
Yule uses chapter 7 of his book to discuss the study of morphology (the basic forms in language) and the ‘elements’ of messages in a language. He introduces the reader to terms used by linguists to organize these ‘elements,’ also known as the morpheme, which is the “minimal unit of meaning or grammatical unit.” It was remarkable to see Yule’s chart on the various types of morphemes and understand the purpose for each term, like functional morphemes that serve largely as prepositions, conjunctions, articles and pronouns. The idea of morphemes in itself struck me as I read the chapter and I can see how understanding morphology can help a person predict the purpose of a word through the understanding of morphemes.
Finally, in chapter 8, Yule discusses grammar and its function in languages. He explains numerous rules in grammar adopted by languages, such as the traditional grammar used in English or grammatical gender as it is used in Spanish. In addition, Yule talks about the role of agreement as it applies to the grammar of a language. The structure of a language changes depending on categories like the number of nouns, the person (first-person, second-person or third-person), the tense (past, present or future), the voice (active or passive), and the gender (natural gender or grammatical gender). I found it most appealing when he discussed the range of ways to show the descriptive approach of analysis is used to describe the way a language is used.
These chapters struck me as I thought to myself how minimally I analyze language. I think back to elementary school, when we learned the proper ways to construct a sentence, and how I apply grammar instantaneously or use some of the rules of word formations to predict the meanings of unfamiliar words. Even as I came across the structural analysis approach, I recall practicing these “test-frames” in elementary school. These chapters remind me of many of the ways I, myself, have learned English. It was a welcomed reminder.
Yule uses chapter 7 of his book to discuss the study of morphology (the basic forms in language) and the ‘elements’ of messages in a language. He introduces the reader to terms used by linguists to organize these ‘elements,’ also known as the morpheme, which is the “minimal unit of meaning or grammatical unit.” It was remarkable to see Yule’s chart on the various types of morphemes and understand the purpose for each term, like functional morphemes that serve largely as prepositions, conjunctions, articles and pronouns. The idea of morphemes in itself struck me as I read the chapter and I can see how understanding morphology can help a person predict the purpose of a word through the understanding of morphemes.
Finally, in chapter 8, Yule discusses grammar and its function in languages. He explains numerous rules in grammar adopted by languages, such as the traditional grammar used in English or grammatical gender as it is used in Spanish. In addition, Yule talks about the role of agreement as it applies to the grammar of a language. The structure of a language changes depending on categories like the number of nouns, the person (first-person, second-person or third-person), the tense (past, present or future), the voice (active or passive), and the gender (natural gender or grammatical gender). I found it most appealing when he discussed the range of ways to show the descriptive approach of analysis is used to describe the way a language is used.
These chapters struck me as I thought to myself how minimally I analyze language. I think back to elementary school, when we learned the proper ways to construct a sentence, and how I apply grammar instantaneously or use some of the rules of word formations to predict the meanings of unfamiliar words. Even as I came across the structural analysis approach, I recall practicing these “test-frames” in elementary school. These chapters remind me of many of the ways I, myself, have learned English. It was a welcomed reminder.
Chapter eight did bring back memories of learning the structure of a sentence. It also reminded of how much I have forgotten about grammar. Of cause most people know what a noun is or an adverb but if given a long sentence the person might start questioning themselves if the word is an article or a preposition most likely not but chapter eight does have me thinking about grammar and sentences structure.
ReplyDeleteYes, it does bring back memories of my third grade teacher who I never listened to because I figured I could just tell by speaking what I should say. I really learned grammar when I studied Latin and French!
ReplyDeleteGreat writing, Jonathan. You're a born-blogger!
Thank you both for your responses.
ReplyDeleteAfua, I understand you completely. As I read about verbs and prepositions, I found it difficult to destinguish between them (if i say "I will go out," is 'will' a verb or preposition?).
Professor Jerskey, I felt the same way in my childhood. I did not value these "rules" of English because I felt they undermined the differences between grammar when speaking with friends or when speaking slang.
Thank you also for the compliment, I'm glad you enjoyed my reflection!