MODULE 1

REVIEW OF LINGUISTIC
COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Pidgin and Creole
• The word pidgin refers to a language used as a means of
communication between people who do not share a
common language.
• The word pidgin derives from a mispronunciation of the
English word business. The term “Pidgin English” was first
applied to the commercial lingua franca used in southern
China and Melanesia, but now pidgin is a generic term
that refers to any simplified language that has derived
from two or more parent languages.
• When a pidgin develops into a more complex language
and becomes the first language of a community, it is
called a creole.
• The vocabulary of a typical creole is supplied for the
most part by the dominant language, while the grammar
tends to be taken from the subordinate language.
• A pidgin is nobody’s natural language; a creole
develops as a new generation grows up speaking the
pidgin as its main language. The grammar of a creole
usually remains simpler than that of the parent
languages, but the new language begins to develop
larger vocabularies to provide for a wider range of
situations.
Understanding Prescriptive vs.
Descriptive Grammar
Prescriptive grammar describes when people focus on
talking about how a language should or ought to be used.
One way to remember this association is to think of going
to a doctor’s office. When a doctor gives you a prescription
for medication, it often includes directions about how you
should take your medication as well as what you should
not do when taking your medication. In a similar way, a
prescriptive grammar tells you how you should speak, and
what type of language to avoid. This is commonly found in
English classes as well as other language classes, where the
aim is to teach people how to use language in a very
particular (typically described as ‘proper’ or ‘correct’) way.
Descriptive grammar, on the other hand, focuses
on describing the language as it is used, not saying
how it should be used. For example, think about a
prescriptive rule like Don’t split infinitives. A
descriptive grammarian would see a sentence like
“To boldly go where no man has gone before” and
would try to describe how the mental grammar
can cause that ordering of words, rather than
saying that the surface form is faulty due to
prescriptive rules (which would require the
sentence “To go boldly where no man has gone
before”). Linguistics takes this approach to
language.
Synchrony and Diachrony 
• Synchrony and diachrony are two different and
complementary viewpoints in linguistic analysis.
A synchronic approach considers a language at a
moment in time without taking its history into
account. Synchronic linguistics aims at describing
a language at a specific point of time, usually the
present. By contrast, a diachronic approach
considers the development and evolution of a
language through history. Historical linguistics is
typically a diachronic study.
Difference between Oral Communication
and Written Communication
 Words play a crucial role in communication process, to
transmit the message in the way it is intended to be conveyed.
When words are used in the process of communication, it is
known as verbal communication. Verbal transfer of information
can be performed, orally or in written form. 
• Oral Communication is the oldest means of
communication, which is most commonly used as a medium
for the exchange of information. It involves gathering or
disseminating information through spoken words.
• Written Communication, on the other hand, is a formal
means of communication, wherein message is carefully
drafted and formulated in written form. It is kept as a source
of reference or legal record. Below are the important
differences between oral and written communication in
tabular form.
 BASIS FOR ORAL WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION
Meaning Exchange of ideas, Interchange of message,
information and opinions and information
message through spoken in written or printed
words is Oral form is Written
Communication. Communication.

What is it? Communication with the Communication with the

help of words of mouth. help of text.

Literacy Not required at all. Necessary for

communication.
Transmission of Speedy Slow
message
 BASIS FOR ORAL WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION

Proof No record of Proper records of

communication is communication are
there. present.

Feedback Immediate feedback Feedback takes time.

can be given

Revision before Not possible Possible

delivering the
message?

Receipt of nonverbal Yes No

cues

Probability of Very high Quite less

misunderstanding
Key Differences between Oral Communication
and Written Communication

1. The type of communication in which the sender

transmits information to the receiver through
verbally speaking the message. The communication
mode, which uses written or printed text for
exchanging the information is known as Written
Communication.
2. The pre-condition in written communication is that
the participants must be literate whereas there is no
such condition in case of oral communication.
3. Proper records are there in Written Communication,
which is just opposite in the case of Oral
Communication.
4. Oral Communication is faster than Written
Communication.
5. The words once uttered cannot be reversed in
the case of Oral Communication. On the other
hand, editing of the original message is
possible in Written Communication.
6. Misinterpretation of the message is possible in
Oral Communication but not in Written
Communication.
7. In oral communication, instant feedback is
received from the recipient which is not
possible in Written Communication.
Linguistic Universal and Universal Grammar
• A linguistic universal is a pattern that occurs
systematically across natural languages,
potentially true for all of them. For example, All
languages have nouns and verbs, or If a language
is spoken, it has consonants and vowels.

• Universal grammar (UG) is a theory in

linguistics usually credited to Noam Chomsky
that suggests that the ability to learn grammar is
built into the human brain from birth regardless
of language.
Standard English, Common Language and
Multiligualism
• Standard English is the English that with respect to spelling, grammar,
pronunciation, and vocabulary is substantially uniform though not
devoid of regional differences, that is well established by usage in the
formal and informal speech and writing of the educated, and that is
widely recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken and
understood.

• Common Language is a language spoken by two or more people –

allowing them to communicate.

• Multilingualism is the ability of an individual speaker or a community

of speakers to communicate effectively in three or more languages.
Contrast with monolingualism, the ability to use only one language. A
person who can speak multiple languages is known as a polyglot or
a multilingual.
World Englishes
English is, of course, multiple Englishes. We are familiar with
the U.S.’s regional dialects and to some degree with British
English, Australian English, and Irish English, and perhaps a few
others. Differences can be considerable. The English spoken
in India shares much with U.S. and British English, but its
phonology is quite different, and so is quite a bit of its lexicon.
Many nations, such as Singapore and the Philippines, use English
as a first language, but most speakers also use another
language, a co-language for that region, as well. (For example, in
the Philippines speakers might use Tagalog, Ilocano, or another
language, depending on the region.) Here are some of the
world’s Englishes:
Australian English New Zealand English
British English Nigerian English
Canadian English Philippine English
Caribbean English Scots English
Hong Kong English Singaporean English
Indian English South African English
Irish English U.S. English
Malaysian English Zambian English
Kachru Model “The Three Circles of English”

Throughout the history of England and the British

Empire, experts have proposed many models to try to
classify English speakers. However, not all linguists agree in
which classification is the best. In this article I will take a
look at one of those classifications, Kachru’s model, which
was proposed just five decades ago. But before starting to
explain any the model we need to be aware of the fact that
this is a three group model. That is, one that classifies
speakers as:
• ENL: English as a native language, these are
native speakers born in an English- speaking
country, having then this language as their
mother tongue or first tongue.
• ESL: English as a second language, these are the
non-native speakers who have learnt English
almost at the same time as their mother tongue.
• EFL: English as a foreign language, these are the
non-native speakers who learnt English in a
country where English is not usually spoken
For many sociolinguists the most important and accurate model
is the one proposed by Braj Kachru in 1988. His “Three circle
model of World Englishes”, states that there are three circles
inside which, the different speakers are classified. The different
circles are:
• The Inner Circle is made up the traditional bases of English and its
speakers are the ones in charge of providing the norms. These places
are where the norms are created and from which they spread to the
other circles. Some of the countries that conform the Inner Circle are
USA, UK and Canada.
• The Outer Circle represents the places where they speak official
non-native varieties of English because of their colonial history. The
speakers of these places are the ones who challenge the norms and
develop them. They are mainly ESL. Some of the countries that
belong to this circle are India, Pakistan and Egypt.
• The Expanding Circle is made up by EFL speakers where English is
not usually spoken. In this circle the speakers have to follow the
rules established by the Inner Circle and developed or challenged by
the Outer one. Some examples of countries that belong to this circle
are China, Russia and Brazil.
Philippine English

Philippine English is one of the very few American-

transplanted Englishes. The language was introduced in the
country by American colonization that started in 1898. From
only 300,000 users or 4% of the population at the beginning of
the 20th century, it is estimated that there were around 42
million or 70% of the population who are able to use English,
almost fifty years after the American colonization ended at the
end of the century (Gonzalez, 1996). In the implementing 1987
Constitution, English is regarded as one of the two official
languages of the Philippines, the other one being the national
language Filipino. It also interacts with 180 other Austronesian-
type languages used in the country, nine of them considered
major languages.
English plays a major role in the Philippine society, offering a
rightfully unique rendering of the psycho-sociolinguistic
phenomenon of the spread of English: A sizeable number of
Filipinos even learn it as a first language (and sometimes only
language). The language is widely used in government,
education, business, science and technology, and the arts but it
has also penetrated the personal and private lives of Filipinos,
where code-switching can be prevalent. Proficiency in English
may also be equated with socio-economic status; those with
higher socio-economic status tend to be more proficient in the
language. Philippine English is presently entering a stage of
structural systematicization (cf. Borlongan & Lim, 2012) and is
being codified through dictionaries and grammars.
Consequently, some claims are made that Philippine English is
already at the phase of endonormative stabilization (Borlongan,
2011).