LANGUAGE DESCRIPTIONS

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LANGUAGE DESCRIPTIONS
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LANGUAGE DESCRIPTIONS

• CLASSICAL/TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR
• STRUCTURAL LINGUISTICS
• TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR
• LANGUAGE VARIATIONS REGISTER ANALYSIS
• FUNCTIONAL/NOTIONAL SYLLABUS
• DISCOURSE/RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

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1. CLASSICAL/TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR

• Description of English and other languages were
  based on the grammars of the classical languages
  Greek and latin.
• This description were based on an analysis of the
  role played by each word in the sentence.
• Languages were described in this way because the
  classical L were case-based L where the
  grammatical function of each word in the sentence
  was made apparent by the use of appropriate
  inflections

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Continued............

• Thus, the form of a word would change according
  to whether it was a subject, object, indirect
  object, and so on.
• The influence of classical Grammar has never been
  STRONG.

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2. Structural Linguistics

• The structural or Slot and filler form L
  description will be familiar to most L teachers
  as result of the enormous influence it has had on
  L teaching since the second world war.
• In a structural description, the grammar of L is
  described in terms of SYNTAGMATICS structures
  which carry the fundamental propositions
  (Statement, interrogative, negative, imperative)
  and notions (Time, number, gender etc)

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3. Transformational Generative Grammar

• Chomsky argued in Syntactic Structure that
  structural description was superficial because it
  only described the surface structure of the L and
  thus could not explain relationship of meaning
  which were quite clearly there. But which were
  not realized in the surface structure.
• In the early stages of its Development, ESP put
  most emphasis on describing the performance
  needed for communication in the target situation
  and paid little attention to the Competence
  underlying it

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4. Language Variation Register Analysis

• The concept of L variation gave rise to the type
  of ESP which was based on register analysis. If
  L varies according to text, it was argued, then
  it should be possible to identify the kind of L
  associated with a specific context such as an
  area of knowledge (Legal Eng, Social Eng, Medical
  Eng, Business Eng)

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5. Functional/notional Grammar

• Function are concerned with social behavior and
  represent the intention of the speaker/writer
  e.g. Advising, warning, threatening, describing
• Function Structure context
• Notion reflects the ways in which the human being
  mind thinks.

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6. Discourse Analysis

• It emphasize on how meaning is generated between
  sentences
• The context is important in creating meaning
• The change of meaning is influenced by
  Sociolinguistic context Who is speaking to whom
  and why. The meaning changes according to the
  relationship between the participants in the
  dialogue and according to their reason for
  speaking