MODULE IN BSE I – LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND

SOCIETY (EL 101)

I. Overview:

This Module is designed for First Year students of the

Bachelor of Secondary Education-Major in English course
of St. Paul University at San Miguel, Bulacan. The author
retains and reserves all intellectual property over the use,
distribution, and integrity of this material.

II. Reference:

1. Yule, George. The Study of Language Annotated. 2010;

Cambridge University Press.

III. Tertiary Exit Outcomes:

As a Christ-centered Paulinian, I am a RELIABLE,

PRODUCTIVE EXPERT and IMPLEMENTOR who:

1) Continuously sets and diligently pursues high

performance standards and improvement goals for
myself and my organization; and,
2) Accurately describes the knowledge and skills that adept
career professionals in my field consistently
demonstrate.

IV. Lesson Overview:

This module aims to acquaint freshmen BSE students with

key concepts related to language, language production, and
the influence of language in shaping beliefs and culture
systems around the world.

Lesson 1: Language and Its Characteristics

Lesson 2: Biological Aspects of Language Production

V. Lesson 1 Objectives:

At the end of this module, the successful Second Year

Education student should be able to:

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 a. State a comprehensive working definition of language;
b. State and define the different theories regarding the
origin of language;
c. State and define the different characteristics of language;
d. Give correct situational examples showing the
characteristics of language.

VI. Lesson Proper:

LESSON 1: LANGUAGE

A. What is language?

There is no clear and comprehensive definition of language

that everyone can agree on, but in its most basic form,
language may be defined as “the systematic and conventional
use of sound, signs, or written symbols for the purpose of
communication or self-expression.” (Crystal, 1995).

B. Where did our concept and use of language

come from? What are the different theories
regarding the origins of language?

Nobody knows exactly how language came about, but there

are many theories regarding the same. In summary, these
are:

1. The Divine Source Theory

2. The Natural Sound Source Theory
3. The Social Interaction Source Theory
4. The Physical Adaptation Source Theory
5. The Tool-Making Source Theory
6. The Genetic Source Theory

Briefly explained, each theory puts forth the following claims

regarding the origins of language:

1. The Divine Source Theory states that language is a gift from

an unknown, All-Powerful Being (God, Allah, Sarasvati,
Prometheus, etc.), and was created at the same time as
humanity. This theory posits that if human infants are left to
their own devices, they will speak the original, God-given

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universal language. Critics of this theory note that despite
several attempts, no such God-given language has ever been
discovered.

2. The Natural Sound Source Theory states that the first

words are imitations of the sounds heard by the first humans
in their environment. Thus, we have the words “Moo” from
the first cow encountered by humans, “caw caw” from the first
crow, “screeeeeee” from the first eagle, and so on and so forth.
Words like these that imitate natural sounds are called
onomatopoeia. Critics of this theory note that not all words
within any language are onomatopoeic. The word
“happiness”, for example, refers to an abstract concept, and
hence cannot be said to produce a single identifying sound in
the natural world.

3. The Social Interaction Source Theory states that the first

words could have been produced by concerted effort. Groups
of people might have needed to push, pull, and lift heavy trees,
animals, stones, and the like, so they needed sounds to signal
when exactly to push, pull, and lift. This theory places the
origins of language in a social context, but similarly, apes and
other primates also live in groups, yet they did not develop the
same capacities for language like we did.

4. In the Physical Adaption Source Theory, it is stated that the

human mouth and its related organs – the tongue, lips, teeth,
etc.- were initially used for procuring food. Somewhere along
the way, in the course of evolution, the functions of producing
sound were added to these body parts.

5. In the Tool-Making Source Theory, it is posited that

humans developed words and language for communication in
the same way that they developed tools like hammers, chisels,
wedges, and the wheel. There was a need that needed to be
filled (communication), so humans developed the tools that
would fill that need (words and language).

6. The Genetic Source Theory states that there is something

innate, inborn, and inherent to the human being – something
encoded in his/her genes that allows him/her to learn a
language. This ability is innate, meaning it exists in the
individual regardless of outside circumstances. It is also

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universal, meaning all humans have this ability. And finally, it
is exclusive, meaning only humans have it.

C. What are the properties of language?

Languages throughout the world share certain key properties

despite their many differences. These properties are as
follows:

1. Reflexivity. We can use language to speak and discuss

about language itself.

Ex: We have labels like “nouns”, “verbs”, and other parts of

speech to refer to linguistic elements.

2. Displacement. We can use language to talk about past,

present, and future times.

Ex. I ate spaghetti yesterday (simple past).

I am eating spaghetti now. (present progressive)
I will eat spaghetti tomorrow. (simple future)

3. Arbitrariness. There is no rule for which words or letters

can be used to create which word to refer to any object; we
can name the things around us based on our whims and
desires.

Ex. I can call my cellphone any of the following: mobile,

phone, mobile phone, cellphone, cellular phone, cupcake,
dog, etc.

4. Productivity. We can create new words and terms to

continually describe new things, events, and concepts around
us. There is no limit to the number of words we can produce.

Ex. “ustomoyoin”, “skrrt”, “naol”

5. Cultural transmission. Languages are not acquired in

a vacuum. We learn languages by being exposed to people
around us who speak and use them.

6. Duality. Human languages are organized at two levels:

the levels of sounds, and the level of meanings.

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Ex. the vowels a, e, i, o, u; the consonants; and the words we
produce with them.

LESSON TEST:

1. Give situations that you have encountered that display the

different properties of language. Be prepared to share your
examples with class.

2. Is the property of reflexivity important, in your opinion?

Why or why not?

3. If you were asked to choose and defend one (1) theory

regarding the source of language, which theory would you
defend, and what defense will you use?

LESSON 2: LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND

ARTICULATION

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the successful Language Education

freshman should be able to:

a. Identify the areas of the brain responsible for language

generation and processing;
b. Identify the areas of the mouth and nasal cavity that are
responsible for language production;
c. Identify the different stages of language development;
d. Differentiate between the different language sounds
based on place of articulation;
e. Differentiate between the different language sounds
based on manner of articulation

LESSON PROPER

A. Language and the Brain: Which areas of the brain

are responsible for language development?

The general consensus in the scientific community is that

there are specific areas in the brain which are responsible for

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language development and comprehension. These areas are
as follows:

Image from https://www.sltinfo.com/specialization-within-language-areas-brain-scanning/

1. Broca’s area – also known as the anterior speech cortex,

this area is known for being the center where our skills for
speech articulation and production. Our ability to articulate
ideas and use words accurately in both written and spoken
language comes from this area. Damage to this area, known
as Broca’s aphasia, results in difficulty in producing words,
but comprehension remains. Content words like nouns and
verbs remain, but articles and other words that aid in
semantic meaning are left out. For example, instead of being
able to say “The dog is running around the park”, people with
this type of aphasia might say “dog run park”.

2. Wernicke’s area – also known as the posterior speech

cortex, this area is primarily involved in comprehension. In
Wernicke’s aphasia, the ease of speech production and
articulation remains the same, but comprehension is
impaired. A person with this disorder can make perfectly
sound speech that has no meaning. For example, when
talking about a dog running in the park, the person may say
“The oven talks underwater.” It is grammatically sound, but
not semantically correct. Reading and writing are also
usually severely impaired.

3. The motor cortex is responsible for controlling motor

functions like the movements of our hands, feet, tongue, and
lips.

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4. The arcuate fasciculus is an area of the brain that
functions to connect Broca’s area to Wernicke’s area, and
helps the two areas work together better.

B. Articulatory Phonetics: Place and Manner of

Articulation

Of course, the brain alone cannot help us articulate and

produce language by itself. We have to produce the different
sounds of language, and we need the different parts of the
mouth and nasal cavity for that. The different parts of the
head that we use to produce linguistic sounds are shown in
the diagram below:

The branch of linguistics that deals with the study of the

characteristics of speech sounds is called phonetics.

Linguistic sounds as produced can be classified based on

where in the mouth/nasal cavity/throat they are made, and
how they are made, as follows:

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a. Voiced sounds are produced when the vocal cords are
closed, and the flow of air is restricted. All vowel sounds are
voiced sounds.

b. Voiceless sounds are produced when the vocal cords

are open and air is allowed to pass through.

PLACE OF ARTICULATION

c. Bilabials are sounds produced using both lips. The

three bilabial consonant sounds are /p/ as in “purse”, “pepper”,
and “rap”, /b/ as in “back” and “cab, and /m/ as in “mad” and
“clam”. Some studies also consider /w/ as a bilabial in that both
lips need to be shaped to form the /w/ sound in “whole”, “we”,
and “well”.

d. Labio-dentals are consonant sounds produced by

curling your lower lip back and letting it touch the back of your
upper front teeth. Examples include /f/ as in “fro” and “calf”,
and “v” as in “vine” and “overview”.

e. Dentals are the sounds produced when you place your

tongue on your upper teeth. These include the “th” sounds in
“thorough”, “thick”, “rather”, and “bath”.

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f. Alveolars are produced in the alveolar ridge, where
your teeth meet your gums. Raising the tongue to the alveolar
ridge to block or restrict airflow produces these sounds. The
English alveolar consonants are /n/, /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/ as in “zit”
and “jazz”, and /l/.

g. Post-alveolars are sounds produced by retracting the

tongue just beyond the alveolar ridge. These are /ʃ/ as in “shot”
or “brash” , /ʒ/ as in “vision”, /tʃ/ as in “chick” , and /dʒ/ as in
“jam”.

h. Palatals are consonant sounds that are produced when

the tongue is raised to the hard palate to constrict airflow. The
only palatal consonant in English is “y” as in “yes” and “bayou”.

i. Velars are made with the velum, or soft palate. /ŋ/ as in

“going” and “uncle” (note that the ‘n sound’ in these words is
NOT made at the alveolar ridge, which is why it is distinct from
/n/), /k/ as in “kite” and “back”, /g/ as in “good” and “bug”,
and /w/ as in “wet”.

j. Glottals are produced in the glottis, which is the space

between the vocal folds in the larynx. The /h/ sound in “hi” and
“Bahamas” is made by exhaling harder than usual and
centering the effort at the glottis. Ghost consonants are also
glottal.

Here is the illustration again for your recall:

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 This image is taken from https://www.mimicmethod.com/ft101/place-of-articulation/

MANNER OF ARTICULATION

Manner of articulation refers to the way the air stream is

constricted or unhampered as we produce phonetic sounds. The
following are the different manners of articulation:

a. Nasal – blocking the air flow through the mouth, and

letting all the air pass through the nose. /M/, /n/, and /ŋ/ are
all nasal.

b. Stops or plosives occur when the air is stopped

abruptly in the articulators and then forcibly expelled. P, b, t,
d, k, and g are stops.

c. Fricatives are made by forcing air through a narrow

channel made by a partial blockage. F, v, theta, eth, s, z, and
sh sounds are generally fricative.

d. Affricates start as stops with air building up behind an

articulator, but this air is eventually and gradually released
through a narrow channel made by a partial obstruction. The
English affricate sounds are /ch/ and / dʒ/.

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e. Liquids are formed by letting the air flow around a
tongue that is raised near the middle of the mouth. /l/ is a
lateral liquid, because the tongue has to block the mouth while
air passes around the sides, while /r/ in “red” is a lateral
formed with the tongue at the alveolar ridge.

f. Glides are formed with the tongue starting or ending at

the position of a vowel; hence, they are sometimes called semi-
vowels. /W/ and /y/ are described as glides.

g. Approximants are when two articulators come close

together, but not quite close enough to create air turbulence.
Liquids and glides are sometimes lumped together into this
category.

h. Vowels belong to their own class and are simply called

vowels.

In naming a phonetic sound, we first state whether it is voiced

or voiceless, then its place of articulation, then its manner of
articulation.

For example, the /p/ sound in the word “stop” is a voiceless

bilabial plosive. The /d/ sound in “dictionary” is a voiced
alveolar fricative.

LESSON TEST:

Identify the phonetic sound of the underlined letter and

identify whether it is voiced or voiceless, its place of
articulation, and its manner of articulation.

1. Dog
2. Furry
3. Superhuman
4. Curtains
5. Rich – voiceless post-alveolar affricate
6. Tossing
7. Elephant
8. Insomnia
9. Anonymous
10. Hunter

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