TSLB 3013

LINGUISTICS
TOPIC 1: NATURE
AND FUNCTIONS OF
LANGUAGE
PISMP JUNE 2015 S1T1TESL
Date of presentation :
CHEN HUI YING
DASINTA SELADORAI
LHEKKAH SIVARAJA

1. Compare the similarities and

differences between speech and
writing.
2. Analyze and explain the notion of
correctness in a list of given
sentences/ utterances (written or
spoken)

Speech
Takes place against the
background of the
situation.

Features
Context

Writing
Writer creates the
context.

It is a two-way
Way of
It is a one way
communication which
communicatio communication whereby
involves continuous
n
it occurs in the absence
feedback and interaction.
of the reader.
The way of delivering a
message with prosodic
characteristics such as
pitch, loudness, speed,
rhythm, pauses and
gestures.

Mode to
convey
meaning

Immediate feedback. A
lot of ambiguity and
vagueness

Feedback/
features

The way of conveying

the intended meaning
using graph logical
devices such as
punctuation,
capitalisation, spatial
organisation, underlining
and exclamation marks.
There will be no
immediate response
therefore sentence
structure will be
constructed well.

Done in a
Spontaneity
sudden way
and Structure
without any
planning. It is
loosely
connected to the
subject matter.
Uses simple
sentences.
Its usually informal
Formality
in nature.
There are many
dialects according
to geographical
and social groups.

Intricately
structured
expressions
and always
logically
stuructured.
Uses complex
sentences.

More formal than

spoken
language.
Standardisation Standard English
is used.

Notion of correctness
1) Anna and Mike isgoing skiing.
- Anna and Mike aregoing skiing.
- Anna and Mikeare plural.Isis singular.
2) Igoto the store and Iboughtmilk.
- I went to the store and I bought milk.
- Boughtis a past tense verb. Gois a present
tense verb.To make it a past tense sentence,
it should beI went.

3) Everyoneforgottheirnotebook.
- Everyoneforgothis or hernotebook.
- Everyoneis singular (every single individual one)
andtheiris plural.
4) I can't hardly believe.
- I cant believe./ I cannot believe.
- Can'tandhardlyare both negative.(use only one)
5) Because I ate dinner.
- Sentence fragment
- It doesn't express a complete thought... what
happened because you ate dinner?