2.2.4. The Elements of Language
2.2.4.1. Sounds
According to DeSantis (1999, p.84), «The smallest
functional unit of sound in a language is called a phoneme. In English language
there are thirty-nine phonemes. Each phoneme is distinct from the other ones.
For language to exist, a series of these distinct sounds must be produced by
successive movement of the speech organs».
He adds that, «Most of us learn to speak a language
before we learn to write it, and most of us are born with the physical
mechanisms that enable us to make speech sounds. However, we do not all learn
to produce the sounds in exactly the same way. Though using the same language,
people of certain geographical regions or cultural groups may speak quite
differently». (op cit., p.83)
He continues saying that «The International Phonetic
alphabet (IPA) was devised as a consistent and universal system for
transcribing the speech sounds of all languages. This is useful since the
letters of our alphabet and our spelling system do not represent the sounds of
our language». (op cit., p.84)
2.2.4.2. Words
DeSantis defines the word as «The symbol that stands for
the objects or concepts that it names». (op cit., p.106) He continues
saying that a word can represent an object, as the word chair
represents the actual piece of furniture, or it can represent an abstract
concept, as freedom represents the intangible qualities of
self-determination and civil and political liberty.
Words are agreed-upon sound combinations within a language
community. For example, the sounds in the word help constitute a word
because English speakers agree that they do. On the other hand, zelp,
while consisting of common sounds in our language, is not a word because
this combination of sounds does not an agreed-upon meaning. (op cit.)
2.2.4.3. Grammar
While DeSantis (op cit., p.106) defines grammar as «Rules
that govern how words are put together to form phrases and sentences»,
Roberts (1972) defines «grammar» as the particular knowledge of how
to assemble words in sentences and how to pronounce these sentences. Therefore,
according to Roberts, saying that a person speaks English is to say that he has
built into him a set of rules that enable him to produce, or generate, English
sentences as he needs them. These rules enable him also to understand the
sentences of another person speaking that language.
He divides grammar into three components. The syntactic
component describes the parts of the sentence and the order in which they are
arranged. The phonological component tells us how the sentence is pronounced.
And then, the semantic component which tells us what the sentence means. (op
cit.)
In addition, Leech and Svartvik (1975, p.23) say that
«The grammar of spoken sentences is simpler and less strictly constructed
than the grammar of written sentences». Therefore, since the modern
society is in need of people who not only read English well but also speak it
fluently, E.L. learners have to make any possible effort to increase their
knowledge in oral language skills. (op cit.)
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