English Language’s etymology, emergence, significance, usage & proficiency

Presented by:Ms. Fatima Anwaar

What is a language? The method of human communication,

either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way.

A system of communication used by a particular country or community.

English Language English is a West Germanic Language

that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca .

What is a Lingua Franca? A lingua franca is also known as

a bridge language, common language, trade language or vehicular language, is a language or dialect systematically used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language or dialect, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both native languages.

Significance of English Language

It is the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, and is widely spoken in some areas of the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia.

It is the third most common native language in the world, after Mandarin and Spanish.

It is the most widely learned second language and an official language of the United Nations, of the European Union, and of many other world and regional international organizations.

Development of the Language.

English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century, are called Old English.

 Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England.

 Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible, and the start of the Great Vowel Shift.

Through the worldwide influence of the British Empire, modern English spread around the world from the 17th to mid-20th centuries. Through all types of printed and electronic media, as well as the emergence of the United States as a global superpower, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and in professional contexts such as science, navigation, and law.

Additional InformationI have jot down few important

terminologies regarding language in next few slides just to enhance your knowledge over latest frequently used terms.

Hope it will help you in understanding new approaches toward Lingua Franca.

World Englishes World Englishes refers to the different

varieties of English and English-based creoles developed in different regions of the world.

Examples are: English (Australia) English (Ire-Land) English (South Africa) English (Pakistan)

Pidgin & Creole!Pidgin:

A pidgin or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups that do not have a language in common: typically, a mixture of simplified languages or a simplified primary language with other languages' elements included. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade. 

Creole In contrast to specific languages that have

"Creole" in their name, a Creole language, or simply a Creole, is a type or classification of language; in particular, a Creole is a stable, natural language that has developed from a pidgin, that over time has become nativized by children as their first language, with the accompanying effect of a fully developed vocabulary and system of grammar.

Dialect A variety of language that is

distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar and vocabulary and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from other geographically or socially.

Language and its Domains

Five Language Domains Phonology—study of the speech sound (i.e., phoneme)

system of a language, including the rules for combining and using phonemes.

Morphology—study of the rules that govern how morphemes, the minimal meaningful units of language, are used in a language

Syntax—the rules that pertain to the ways in which words can be combined to form sentences in a language.

Semantics—the meaning of words and combinations of words in a language.

Pragmatics—the rules associated with the use of language in conversation and broader social situations.

Phonology: Phonology is a branch of linguistics

 concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in languages. It has traditionally focused largely on the study of the systems of phonemes in particular languages .

What is a Phoneme?

A phoneme is one of the units of sound that distinguish one word from another in a particular language. 

Example is, run and gun

Syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for

a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants).

Stress 

In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. Stress is typically signaled by such properties as increased loudness and vowel length, full articulation of the vowel, and changes in pitch. 

Accent  The way in which people in

a particular area, country, or social group,  pronounce words.

In sociolinguistics, an accent  is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.

An accent may be identified with the locality in which its speakers reside or influence from their first language.

Pronunciation An accepted standard of the sound and

 stress patterns of a syllable, word, phrase, etc.

Example: Butter --- But/ta (not) Butter -- Boot/ta

Intonation The rise and the fall in a language is

called intonation.

Morphology The study and description of how

words are formed in language

Word Formation In linguistics, word formation is the

creation of a new word. Word formation is sometimes contrasted with semantic change, which is a change in a single word's meaning.

Types of word formation

Blending

A blend is a word formed by joining parts of two or more older words.

An example is smog, which comes from smoke and fog, or brunch, which comes from 'breakfast' and 'lunch'.

A blend is a word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two or more other words or word parts. Also known as a portmanteau word.

Additional Examples of Blending in a Language.

Biopic, from biography and picture Motel, from motor and hotel Saifina, from Saif Ali and Karina

Borrowing Sometimes you find some foreigner

words in English language, which now have become part of this language.

Examples: Restaurant is basically a French word

which came from French language, has become a part of English language.

Avatar, is taken from Sanskrit Voodoo, is taken from African Language  kindergarten, is taken from German

Language (Kinder: Children, Garten: Garden).

Coinage: Introduction of any new word in a

language is called coinage. Coin a new term means to generate a

new term.

Examples i-pad i-phone Android Mac Wi-fi

Affixation Prefixes – When we place an alphabet

or a combination of alphabets before a Root word

Suffixes – When we place an alphabet or a combination of alphabets after a Root word.

Root-Word– A word which you could easily find in a lexicon (dictionary).

Compounding

When we use compounding, we link together two or more bases to create a new word. Normally, the first item identifies a key feature of the second word. For example, the two bases back and ache can combine to form the compound noun backache, and the two bases post and card combine to form the compound noun postcard.

The most common types of compounds are: 

Adjectives: heartbreaking, sugar-free, airsick

Verbs: oven-bake, baby-sit, chain-smoke

Adverbs: good-naturedly, nevertheless

Abbreviation

Abbreviation involves shortening a word. We do this in three main ways: clipping, acronyms and blends.

We use clipping when we shorten or ‘clip’ one or more syllables from a word. We also commonly clip proper names for people:

ad: advertisement, advert lab: laboratory Matt: Matthew

Syntax In linguistics, syntax refers to the rules

that govern the ways in which words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. More simply, syntax can be defined as the arrangement of words in a sentence.

The term syntax is also used to mean the study of the syntactic properties of a language.

What is a phrase? The combination of two or three words

to give one full meaning of something is called a phrase.

Examples: Take-off Break into

What is a clause? A clause is a group of words that

includes a subject and a verb. There are two types of clauses: Independent clauses Dependent clauses

Independent clauses: An independent clause (or main

clause) is a clause that can stand by itself as a simple sentence. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate and makes sense by itself.

Dependent Clauses: The meaning of dependent clause is

a clause that provides an independent clause with additional information, but which cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Dependent clauses either modify the independent clause of a sentence or serve as a component of it.

Semantics Semantics  is the study of meaning—

in language. It is the study of the meaning, or an

interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign or sentence. 

Types of Meanings

Denotation Connotation

Denotation the literal or primary meaning of a

word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.

the action of indicating or referring to something by means of a word, symbol, etc.

the object or concept to which a term refers.

Connotation A connotation is a commonly

understood cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation.

A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regards to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection.

Example: Stubborn Person

Pragmatics is a branch of linguistics, which is the study of language. Pragmatics focuses on conversational impli-cature, which is a process in which the speaker implies and a listener infers. Simply put, pragmatics studies language that is not directly spoken. Instead, the speaker hints at or suggests a meaning, and the listener assumes the correct intention.

In a sense, pragmatics is seen as an understanding between people to obey certain rules of interaction. In everyday language, the meanings of words and phrases are constantly implied and not explicitly stated. In certain situations, words can have a certain meaning

Examples

How are you? I am fine.

How can you become proficient in English Language?

1: Vocabulary Building EVERYONE—FROM BEGINNING LEARNERS in

English to veterans in journalism—knows the frustration of not having the right word immediately available in that lexicon one carries between one's ears. Sometimes it's a matter of not being able to recall the right word; sometimes we never knew it. It is also frustrating to read a newspaper or homework assignment and run across words whose meanings elude us. Language, after all, is power.

Making It Personal

By using some durable piece of paper or a notebook begin to write down readable script that you discovered in reading but couldn’t understand it at all.

Read newspapers and journals that challenge you in term of vocabulary. (Dawn Newspaper, The News)

Try to recall those words throughout the day whenever you get chance.

Once mastered, you will observe that they were not even alien words because they are the words most commonly used in electronic media. You will probably be listening them being uttered in by an actor in any sitcom or talk-show.

 people are using words you never saw before, but that you are now reading and using words that you had previously ignored.

Using Every Resource

Most bookstores carry books on building a more powerful vocabulary, some of them with zany names such as Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary. 

Newspapers often carry brief daily articles that explore the meanings of words and phrases. These articles often emphasize peculiar words that won't find themselves into your working vocabulary, but they can still be fun.

Play dictionary games with your family in which someone uses the dictionary to find a neat word and writes down the real definition and everyone else writes down a fake (and funny) definition. See how many people you can fool with your fake definitions.

Play another dictionary game by selecting random words from the dictionary by flipping through its leaves and compose a poem out of it. you could also write a short story or an article by using those words. A short paragraph could also be handy.

A thesaurus is like a dictionary except that it groups words within constellations of meaning. It is often useful in discovering just the right word you need to express what you want to say.

When people use a word that puzzles you, ask what it means! You'll find that most instructors, especially, are not in the least bothered by such questions—in fact, they're probably pleased that you're paying such close attention—but if they do seem bothered, write down the word and look it up later, before the context of the word evaporates

Knowing the Roots

At least half of the words in the English language are derived from Greek and Latin roots. Knowing these roots helps us to grasp the meaning of words before we look them up in the dictionary. It also helps us to see how words are often arranged in families with similar characteristics.

Examples:Root Meaning English

Geo Earth Geography, Geology

Bio Life Biology , Autobiography

Learning Prefixes and Suffixes

Knowing the Greek and Latin roots of several prefixes and suffixes (beginning and endings attached to words) can also help us determine the meaning of words. 

Examples Word Meaning English Semi half Semi circleUni One Unicellular

Bi Two Bilingual

Using Your Dictionary

The dictionary should be one of the most often used books in your home. Place the dictionary somewhere so that you can find it immediately and use it often.

Using the Internet

You can use the internet as an aid to vocabulary development by exploring the abundant opportunities for reading available on the World Wide Web. Capital Community College maintains an extensive list of online newspapers and commentary magazines.

Some Vocabulary Building Worksheets

English Language Skills Listening Skills Speaking Skills Reading Skills Writing Skills

Developing Listening Skills in English

How can you get better at

understanding spoken English?

Listen to English A-Lot The best way to improve is to listen to

English. A lot. There's no way around it; you have to spend hours and hours listening to people speaking English. Listen to things that interest you

Other useful listening tips

Interactive listening is best. In other words, it's better to talk with someone than just to listen to a recorded TV show, radio program, or podcast. When you talk to people live, you listen more carefully, and you also think about how you're going to respond.

Don't just listen to the same kind of English all the time. Don't just listen to the news, or only watch TV comedies. Expose yourself to a variety of different kinds of situations and topics.

Prefer English captions to subtitles in your native language. When you read subtitles in your language, it keeps your brain locked into "native language mode". English subtitles are good, though. They help you to match words that you know with their natural pronunciations.

Try listening to English in different ways.

The 5 best ways to improve your English listening skill (in order!)

Live and work in a completely English-speaking environment.

Do some kind of sports, hobbies, or other activities with a group of English speakers.

Talk one-on-one with an English-speaking tutor a few times a week.

Watch movies, TV shows, and videos in English.

Listen to English podcasts on a topic that's interesting to you.

Record conversation on your cell phone.

If you have trouble understanding every spoken English word, record them. Later you can listen to the recording and hear any of the words you might have missed the first time. 

You should listen for the tone and intonation (sound of voice, high or low) of their words. This will help you pronounce difficult words more clearly and easily.

Strategies

Once you have begun to listen on a regular basis, you might still be frustrated by limited understanding.

What should you do?

Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything.

Keep cool (idiom=stay relaxed) when you do not understand - even if you continue to not understand for a long time.

Do not translate into your native language (synonym=mother tongue)

Listen for the gist (noun=general idea) of the conversation. Don't concentrate on detail until you have understood the main ideas.

Developing Speaking Skills in English

How can you get comfortable and fluent in speaking English?

Speak, speak, speak!

Be confident and speak as often as possible to as many people as you possibly can! Do not be shy to make mistakes! The more you practice the better and more confident you will become in your pronunciation and vocabulary. Remember, speaking is a skill like learning a musical instrument or new sport – the only way you can get good is to actually do it!

Use technology

A smartphone can be a powerful tool for learning languages. Use it to record yourself speaking then listen back to see how your English sounds to other people. Make the most of all your favourite productivity apps to organise your practice time and make a note of all the new words you learn.

Read out loud

Read the newspaper or a magazine out to yourself. You could even find a script for your favourite TV show and act it out! This is a great way to practice pronunciation because you only need to concentrate on making sure you English sounds great and don’t need to worry about sentence structure or grammar.

Learn a new word every day

Choose a word you would like to work on and use practice it in different sentences. Use the word until you have learnt it and keep using it regularly.

Make friends

Make friends with English speakers or others learning to speak English and compare notes. Talk about things that you have learnt and exchange ideas.

Watch films/ Listen Music

Watch movies in English and pay attention to new vocabulary and pronunciation. Imitate the actors and have fun with it.

You could also listen to your favourite music in English along with the display of lyrics on your computer screen.

Mirror Practice This one is personally my favourite hack

among the others. You need to stand in front of the wall mirror or

any mirror and stare in your own eyes through your reflection in the mirror.

Be confident and practice speaking. You could go loud while practicing and pretend

if you are alone in the room, this way you will be able to get yourself more confident at speaking this foreign language fluently.

Developing Reading Skills in English

How you can enhance your reading

skills?

Many people have trouble with reading. Reading is hard for some people and it can take time. Reading is a process of the brain where you look at symbols on a page, and your mind sees the patterns of characters and understands the meaning in them. If you develop good reading skills, it'll be very helpful to your future. 

Significance of Reading Reading is like exercise for your brain. It can improve your focus and memory. It can help you learn new words and teach you things you

didn’t know. People read to relax, to learn or just to have fun. But reading in English can be difficult if you’re still learning the

language. It can be really tough if you’re trying to read material that’s

too hard for you. If you’re having trouble reading, you might think you need to

take special lessons or classes. But you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to! You can improve your English reading skills by yourself. You can do it right from home in your free time.

How to Effectively Improve Your English Reading Skills on Your Own

Determine your reading level Knowing your reading level will help

you find good reading materials and keep track of your progress.

Even if you don’t know exactly what your level is, the ideal (perfect) reading level is one that is comfortable but also a little challenging

Choose the kind of reading you want to do

Will you be reading books for kids or adults? Fiction or non-fiction? Are you studying English so you can get a job or make friends? All these questions are important in choosing the kind of material to read. Find writing that’s interesting or relevant to you.

Visit your local library…or don’t

You can get English books and other reading materials from your local library. If the selection there is not that great, try your library’s digital lending section.

If you prefer digital books, Project Gutenberg and Amazon are good places to start.

Find a good time to read

Pick a time and place where you can read without interruption. Choose someplace quiet and well-lit, where you can sit comfortably for a while.

How to Skim To skim means to glance over the text

without fully reading it to get a general idea of what it’s about.

Skimming will become easier the more you do it.

Here are some tips for skimming your text

Read the title and first paragraph. Read all the headings and subheadings (the big words at

the tops of some sections). Read the first sentences of a couple of paragraphs. Watch out for words in bold, italics, charts, pictures and

lists (like this one!). Let your eyes wander over the page and stop on any

words you don’t know. Try to understand what the main idea of the text is. See

if you can answer the five Ws: who, what, where, when, why.

Don’t spend too much time on skimming—five minutes at the most!

How to Read

So you have your perfect book. You’re sitting in a comfortable place and you have plenty of time. Next to you is your handy notebook.

To improve your reading skills,

Read a lot: As they say, practice makes perfect!

The more you read, the better you’ll get.

Take your time

There’s no need to rush. It doesn’t matter if you read one page or one hundred. What matters is that you understand what you read. Pause if you’re tired. Re-read if you’re confused.

Read along with an audio-book if you can

If the book you’re reading has an audio-book version, read along with the narrator. This may force you to read at a slightly faster speed than is comfortable, which can help improve your fluency.

Read phrases, not words

Have you ever gotten stuck reading one sentence over and over…and still not understanding it? Try backing away from the sentence. Try not to see it as being made out of words. Instead of reading the words one by one, read entire phrases. Don’t try to understand the meaning of each word. Just try to understand what they mean together.

Learn sight words

To learn to read entire sentences instead of individual words, work on learning sight words. Sight words are common words that appear often in texts.

Sight words are words that our eyes glide over as we read because we already know them.

Activity!

“The cerulean cat is in a tree.”

(You should only have to pause at the word “cerulean.” By the way, cerulean is a shade of blue.)

Use context clues

Using context clues means trying to understand a new word by looking at what’s around it. If you’re stuck on a word you don’t know, try looking at the whole sentence for a hint about what it means.

Use your imagination

When you’re reading in English, it might be difficult not to translate into your native language in your head. Don’t do this! Instead, try to picture what you’re reading.

Read for meaning, and test your understanding

After you finish reading, give yourself a few minutes to think about what you just read. How much did you understand? Try to summarize what you read. You can write it, say it out loud or just think about it. If you can’t do this, you might have been too focused on the words instead of the meaning. Next time you read, try to focus less on each word you read, and more on what the text is trying to say.

Develop English Writing Skills

How to improve English Writing Skills?

Strong writing skills in English come from practice and determination. No one is born an excellent writer. Learning to be an excellent writer in English takes a lot of time and practice. Anyone can be a good writer if they are determined enough.

Below are 8 Tips to Improve Your English Writing Skills:

1. Keep All of your Writing in One Place

Buy a notebook or journal or start an electronic journal. By keeping your writing all in the same place, you will be able to see how much you are improving and keep it organized.

2. Practice Writing in English Daily

The importance of writing daily is that you start to create a new habit. Writing every day in English will soon become natural and something you look forward to. You will not see a significant improvement if you are not dedicated to becoming a better writer in English. You cannot create awesome stories and papers if you never try.

3. Pick a Topic and WRITE!

Don’t get stuck on figuring out what to write about. You can write about anything. You can write about what you do, things you hear or see, news, or make up a story.

4. Write More than One Draft

Draft means a preliminary version of piece of writing. Sometimes, your best writing becomes better after you take a break and work on a second or third draft. When you revise (or rewrite) your work you are often able to get your message across more clearly. You make think of things that you did not think to write in the first draft and you can add it in a later draft.

5. Use Online Resources to Correct your Grammar

Yes, grammar is a pain. You don’t need to know everything about English grammar. Use online resources, such as Grammarly, GrammarCheck orGrammarBook.com to help you answer a grammar question when it comes up. You could also switch the spell and grammar check on MS Word, your iPad or Google Doc to check your spelling and grammar in English.

6. Think Outside the Box (or Lines)

Don’t write about the same thing every day or you will get bored. Try writing the same story from different perspectives or different tenses.

For instance, instead of writing about your experience with an animal, try to write a story from animal’s perspective.

7. Have a Friend Edit Your Writing

Have a friend that knows English correct or edit your work. Having another person read your work helps generate more ideas to better your writing. You could have them edit everything or just a part that you are stuck on. Often having another set of eyes look at your writing helps find mistakes that you have overlooked.

8. Find the Best Place for You to Write

You should try writing in different places or at different times of the day. Maybe you have writer’s block at night; try getting up 15 minutes earlier and writing in the morning. Maybe you have trouble writing where there is a lot of noise; try writing in a quiet and comfortable place. Experiment in finding the right (or write?) environment for you to write.

Thank-You !!!!