Linguistics, Language Structure, Language Variation, and Plain Language

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Linguistics, Language Structure, Language
Variation, and Plain Language

• John P. Broderick, Ph.D.
• Old Dominion University
• jpbroder_at_odu.edu

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Linguistics is an empirical science It bases its
claims on objective analysis of perceptible data
(what speakers of a language say and write) and
on what they know about what they say and
write. Thus, linguists are interested in what
you know about English. What do you know about
English? First, you know what is not English . .
. Second, you know what is English, to various
degrees For example, are the things that I am
about to say English, yes or no?
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• Phonology/Pronunciation/Sounds
• Formal CategoriesSounds about 3 dozen
  Consonants and Vowels, but not, e.g., German ach
  or French rue.
• Patterns of Arrangement ...... into
  Syllables(C) (C) V (C) (C)(smart,
  mart, art, mar, a, but not zbart, ngar)
• Flayber aybul shawd velery tay mordodon.

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• Morphology/Vocabulary/Words
• Formal CategoriesMorphemes numerous Prefixes,
  Roots, and Suffixes, e.g., holi, day, -s, crowd,
  -ed, train and -s.
• Patterns of Arrangement ...... into Words(P)
  (R) R (S)(crowded, unbreakable but not
  edcrowd, ablebreakun)
• holidays the during crowded most are trains the

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• Syntax/Grammar/Sentences
• Formal CategoriesParts of Speech numerous
  Articles (e.g., the) Adjectives (e.g., fast),
  Nouns (e.g., trains), etc.
• Patterns of Arrangement ...... into Phrases,
  etc. (Art) (Adj) N
• (the fast trains but not trains fast the)
• The trains are most crowded during the holidays.

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the train-es are most crowd-ed during the
holy-day-es /?? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??
??? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???/
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Speakers of English (you) know more than its
sounds, words, and sentences you also know that
certain sub-sets of sounds, words, and sentences
are consistently associated with certain groups
of speakers (dialects) or with certain
communicative situations (styles). For example
. . . British Regional Dialect The committee
are studying worker attitudes concerning the cost
of petrol for the plants lorries. I jolly-well
havent time to meet with them directly, but if I
must, I will do later.
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Standard Social Dialect Im not going to
tolerate any more corruption. Versus . .
. Vernacular Social Dialect I aint gonna put
up wit no more ripoffs. Dialects, regional and
social, are defined by the groups of speakers who
use them, and use them all the time. The group
can live in or come from a specific geographic
location (regional dialect) or can be members of
a particular social class (social dialect).
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Styles (versus dialects) are sub-sets of sounds,
words, and sentences that are consistently
associated with certain communicative situations.
Speakers dont use them all the time but shift
from one style to another. Casual Spoken
Style Ran into a guy at the Colonels
yesterday. Walked up to me and said, How about
givin me a buck. He looked so down and out, I
did. . . . versus . . . Careful Spoken
Style I met a man at a fast-food restaurant
yesterday, who approached me and requested a
dollar he looked so destitute, I decided to give
him one.
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Informal Written Style The fact that a girl
can earn her own living and may leave her husband
to do so, brings out respect. Half the working
women are married, which makes them an economic
asset, something they havent been since the days
of the farm. Since theyre out, the husband
helps with the housework, which leads toward
equality. In a marriage, theres either equality
or the stronger personality takes over
. . . versus . . . Formal Written
Style Todays women are in a position unique
in their history. For the first time, they are
not shackled by marriage they can go out and
earn their own livelihood. This fact has
enhanced progress toward sexual equality. With
wives spending more time outside the home,
husbands assume more of the household
responsibilities, and the two roles in a marriage
tend to equalize. Personality rather than sex,
now determines who will be the dominant partner
in a marriage
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• Formal written style is the subject matter of
  middle-school, secondary-school, and college
  courses in English Composition. Such courses
  often instill more insecurity than skill
• Students learn that formal written style has a
  rather long list of special features (of
  spelling, word choice, grammar, paragraph
  structure, etc.).
• But students do not tend to learn just what
  those special features of formal written style
  are or how to use them effectively.
• As a result, much writing (especially in
  government) tends to exaggerate (or even seems to
  parody) what formal written style should be.
• The plain language movement arose both to tone
  down those exaggerations and to help people learn
  the special features of formal written style and
  use them effectively.

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Some Plain-Language Resources The Plain Language
Action Network (part of the National Partnership
for Reinventing Government NPR) An enormous
array of resources may be found at this web site
http//plainlanguage.gov/ John P. Brodericks
home page at Old Dominion University His paper
on Reinventing Government The Role of Plain
Language and a number of documents from the
above web site that might not be so obviously
accessible upon first visiting that site (which
has many links) http//web.odu.edu/al/jpbroder/pl
ainlang.html/