Intro to Linguistics Essay

The study of human languages; including the influence of one language on another; how language and words are formed and change within time; the rules of the language- how words are formed, the structure of sentences and words; relationship between culture and language; how language is acquired- the process of language acquisition (foreigner verses mother tongue language). There are two approaches/types of linguistics: 1. Traditional Linguistics- the only field that ruled until the 20 century. 2. Modern Linguistics Traditional Linguistics. Characteristics: 1. Proscriptive approach- according to this approach, linguists tell native speakers how to use their own mother tongue- what are the rules: set norms of/ dictating the right use of the language, the rules and the right use of the language- educating the native speakers. The goal is to tell the speakers what is considered right or wrong language. 2. Focus on the written language- Most of the focus is on the written text, which is considered superior to the spoken language; the base of the rules. 3. Diachronic Research (etymology) – Historical research- the study of the origins of words and languages, which reveals many connections between different languages. Due to technological developments, the influence of one language on another is even higher these days. Modern Linguistics At the beginning of the 20 century, there was a shift of interest to the following: The human languages are more complex and highly different than animal communication systems- due to amazing cognitive human communication ability (the language faculty). A known Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Sassure- the first linguist to pose the following question: what do we know when we know a language (mother tongue)? By asking this question the focus of linguistics was shifted from grammar to the study of human language as a cognitive ability (cognitive science). The focus shifted to Language faculty ( ) – and what it consists of. Characteristics: 1. Descriptive approach- we observe native speakers’ use the language, both in writing and in speaking, and try to draw conclusions out of it- learn about the changes that the language undergoes through time. Not interested in what should be, but rather in what IS. There is no judgment of the use, just observation and description of the current use, in order to analyze and find correlations. 2. Focus is on the spoken language- point of departure is that the spoken language is more important to the research because of the following: * It is less conscious, more natural, spontaneous and dynamic and therefore it reflects better the current use of the language. * Not all languages have a written system, but everyone has at least one mother tongue language. * The written language is less natural- one needs to study it in a very logical way; whereas the spoken language –mother tongue is acquired in a natural process, common to everyone (normally in the early years of 3-4). 3. Synchronic Research (current) – the focus is not on the origin/History of the words; but on the current use of the words today. We are less interested in what happened; but rather in what is happening today. Knowing â€Å"The† whereas knowing â€Å"about†! 07/11/11 Linguistic Fields 1. Phonetics- the study of linguistic sounds (also called phones) which are consisted of consonants and vowels. The focus is on the articulation and pronunciation of sounds (independent of the letters/ graphics). How the sound is produced. It is independent of the letters (which is just the graphics). How we produce and perceive sounds. 2. Phonology- deals with sounds in interaction, and when they are brought together into words- they usually affect each other. Cats(s), dogs(z)- something very systematic- ( )) 3. Morphology- examines words’ structure, and the ways words are added into our vocabulary, i. e. – how we form new words. Ex- dis/content/ed/ness (the parts are also called Morphemes- small units of words) 4. Syntax- deals with sentence structure and the meaning of sentences. We also examine differences between languages- the order of verb and its subject, adj, nouns etc. In addition, we examine Syntaxic Processing , for example: Without her contributions/ are hard to find. – At first glance- it looks like something is missing in the sentence, when actually we did not process it in the right way- we can look at the sentence as: without her, contributions are hard to find. 5. Semantics- the study of meaning- both of words and sentences, and the logic behind them. 6. Pragmatics –deals with meaning in context- how we understand one another beyond what is actually said (the use of the language). For example: do you have the time? – One won’t answer: â€Å"yes†; but rather tell the person what time it is. Not like the dry literate meaning, Pragmatics deal with the actual use of language – meaning in context- beyond the literate words that were actually said. – 2 â€Å" â€Å"- : * 6 ( = – 6 ) * 6 ( = ! – ) 7. Discourse Analysis- Like Pragmatics, this also examines the use of language, but the focus is on the text. Written vs. spoken text; Narratives vs. expository text; the use of conjunctions; types of text; different tenses; complex vs. simple sentences; the length of sentences; vocabulary etc. 8. Language acquisition- we examine the process of acquiring a language- mother tongue and then foreign languages. How children acquire their mother tongue so quickly? How does the process happen? Which words are produced first etc. It is related to all the other fields mentioned above. 9. Neuro Linguistic- examines how linguistic knowledge is represented in the brain. For example: aphasia- brain injury that affects the part of the brain that understands linguistics. 10. Psycho Linguistic- a very big field that examines the correlation between language and psychological cognitive processes (for example: lexical retrieval). Sometimes one meaning of a word is more prominent than the other, depending on the context. For example: bug- insect/ computer related problem. The field also examines what happens when there is no context- how we associate between words and its meanings. For example: word priming- â€Å"Duck†-(goose/ book)- the word duck primes with goose, faster than with the word book. 11. Historical Linguistics- examines the evolution of languages, the origin of words, and the relation between languages- how they genetically related to one another (Etymology). 12. Computational Linguistics-deals with building artificial intelligence, creating models that try to imitate how language works and use it in different applications. Related to the implementation of linguistics. Information extraction, more practical. (for example: Google translate). 13. Clinical linguistics ( )- the use of linguistic tools for speech therapy, for people who have language disorders (both kids and adults). 14. Social Linguistics- the field that examines the interaction between language and society (socio economic and cultural factors). Socio-linguistics We distinguish between dialects- different varieties of the same language, as a result of many factors. Types of Dialects- 1. Geographic Dialect-changes according to region (city, country). In the states there are so many different dialects, depending on the area one grew up in. 2. Sociolect-typical for a certain group in the society, which has its own social, economic and cultural characteristics. 3. Idiolect-dialect that is typical to an individual. It is sometimes gradual, and we don’t always notice it. Usually bases on imitation. Each of us speaks a little bit differently (intonation, pronunciation, vocabulary etc). 21/11/11 Linguistic knowledge- every 4-5 year old can speak the mother tongue language. Where does the ability to understand and speak a language comes from? The 2 opposed approaches argue on the source of that ability/knowledge – Is it innate (genes) or acquired (comes from the environment, stimulates, feedback)? Two opposed currents in science, which have great debate on the nature of human knowledge in general. They argue on the source of the human knowledge: 1. Empiricism (John lock; Hume) -every person comes to the world, as a clean slate- have no knowledge, which means that human knowledge equals the sum of experiences. Nothing is innate, we are only equipped with the ability to respond. Everyone are born equal- with nothing innate. This means humans can be shaped- their thought can be manipulated using feedback and exposure. 2. Rationalism (Decardes)-claim that human knowledge does not equal the sum of experiences: we are born with some innate material- we are equipped with some ability, to which experience is added. Experience is not the only thing! All people are equal, but this equality is based on richness- we all share something very basic and innate, to which environment is added. At the beginning of the second half of the 20 century, the argument of human knowledge continued with regards to the human language – mother tongue (different theories): Behaviorism- As continuance of Empiricism- there was a current called Behaviorism (BF Skinner, wrote the Verbal Behavior, 1957). B. F. Skinner claimed, based on Empiricism, that Linguistic knowledge is based solely on exposure and the ability to react- to learn from experience. That means everything is acquired, nothing is in the Genes. Skinner also claimed we expand our sets of sentences, by analogy (differ in only one thing- thus it is able to expand one’s use with the other). For example: a kid only heard â€Å"John ate an apple†- but he will be able to create the following sentence: â€Å"John ate an Orange†; using Analogy. This means, we learn and use language, by: exposure +analogy. —————- In the following sentences, configuration of who does what changes (relationships between the entities) when changing the word â€Å"told† to â€Å"promise† and still, it is automatically understood by a child in his mother tongue: John told bill to clean the room; John promised Bill to clean the room. How? -analogy is not enough to explain the above. —————- Noam Chomsky (Influenced from Rationalism; wrote the Syntactic Structures, 1957) -a linguistic who argued against Skinner’s observations, claiming Analogy is not enough; and we have to assume inborn/innate linguistic knowledge, common to all human beings (regardless of their language or culture), which is also known as â€Å"the Hypothesis of innateness†. The experience and the feedback are mapped on to these language biological properties (encoded in our genes). The experience and feedback are not enough to explain mother tongue knowledge! We have to add it to something innate. Language is partially innate! Evidence Chomsky proposed to enforce his theory: 1. Properties of human languages (natural languages, animals’ communication systems are excluded)- * Homogeneity- except for pathological cases, all human beings acquire at least one mother tongue; more or less at the same time; regardless of their region, culture, socio-economical condition etc. This implies there is something biological in the acquiring of a mother tongue language- we are all the same. * Infiniteness- language is infinite- we have the ability to produce and understand an endless number of sentences, including sentences that we have never heard before. We have the ability to expand the language (for example- we never count to 1,000,000 but we can). * Identical properties across languages- there are some properties that all languages share (therefore- it has to be in the genes, otherwise – how can it be explained? ). For example: * All languages have nouns and verbs –thus, it has to be some inborn categories. * Universal grammer rules/structures, that all languages share: * John said that Mary bought a car. What did John say Mary bought? * Bill said that John said that Mary bought a car. What did Bill say that John said that Mary bought? * John spread the rumor that Mary bought a car. What did John spread the rumor that Mary bought? – Ungrammatical sentence- any speaker will know this sentence is ungrammatical- impossible in English. What prevents speakers of using the above structure intuitively (in other languages as well)? Chomsky claimed that there are universal constraints (in all grammer of all languages) that prevent it. 28/11/11 2. Properties of the process of language acquisition (mother tongue) * Process is quick and efficient- child has to acquire a very complex system of rules, and he does it by the age of 4-5. By the age of 5 he already masters the language (in comparison to the long and complex process of learning a foreigner language). It shows that there is something innate behind it, otherwise- it would have been a quick process also when learning foreigner language. * Critical period/age- there is a certain age in which the child must be exposed to a language (the innate system has to be stimulated, activated), in order to acquire it- the age is usually around 6-8, and in some extreme cases it can go until adolescence (16). If it was not activated during the critical period, the child will have no mother tongue- he will have no grammer. He will be able to communicate in a basic function, but without the richness and infinity of the mother tongue acquisition, since the brain is no longer elastic enough to acquire a mother tongue. The issue of critical period provides support for the importance of both exposer and innate theories. Chomsky agrees that exposer is crucial, but it is crucial to activate innate abilities. If it was only exposer – it would have been possible to acquire a mother tongue at any age. * Process is spontaneous/ immune against external interference- the process happens by itself and the teacher/ parent cannot manipulate it. MCNeal (1964)-research that shows you cannot manipulate child’s grammer, it will eventually change by itself with exposer. * Identical stages across languages- children acquire their mother tongue in parallel stages across linguistics, more or less at the same time, regardless of the language. This shows that there is some biological aspect to the process of mother tongue acquisition we have to assume something innate in order for the process to be so universal. (First they babble, then acquire first words, combining 2 words together, then start using sentences). * Poverty of stimuli- stimuli(the input) is poor- it is not enough to explain completely how a child acquires and masters his mother tongue: a. The stimuli is partial and consists of errors- the child can never be exposed to everything, still he makes up sentences he has never heard before. What he is exposed to is limited, yet what he can produce is endless. In addition, the stimuli consist of errors- he child doesn’t always listen to complete/ grammatical correct sentences: the input he hears consists of partial sentences and grammatical errors; yet the children know how to filter the errors and eventually acquire a perfect grammer. b. There is no teaching- the process of acquiring a mother tongue involves no methodological and pedagogical process (in regard to grammer). c. No negative evidence- there are mistakes that no child will ever make, even though he is not told ahead not to make them. For example: John thinks he is smart (he can be either John or somebody else) VS. He thinks John is smart (he can never refer to John). When examining language acquisition, we see children making many mistakes, but no child will ever use the second sentence when he wants to refer to John. No child will make such mistakes to begin with- they just know, without being told ahead. De Sassure – was the first one to ask what do we know when we know a language? What does it mean to know a language? He distinguished between the following terms: * Langue-the rules of the language, that are agreed upon by some society. The rules of a language, but from a social point of view (a social term). * Parole-everything we use or say- the way we actually use the language (What we actually do, language wise). Linguists are generally more interested in the Langue (the knowledge). De Sassure didn’t relate to the question of innateness- what abilities, if any, we have in our minds†¦ 12/12/11 Noam Chomsky used 2 other terms: Competence vs. Performance. 1. Performance: the same as Parole: performance is how we actually use the language: what we actually write or say. 2. Competence: is not exactly the same as Langue. Both relate to the rules of the language, but Langue is about the society, the community (grammer is something social, that we all agree on- social interaction creating social agreement) and Competence is about the individual (the system one has in his mind: some of it comes from the genes and some from the environment). Competence is the ability that each of us has to produce and understand an endless number of sentences. Every speaker of every language, has the ability (whether it is innate or not). The point of view of Chomsky and De Sassure is different when relating to the rules of the language. In modern linguistics- the focus is on the Langue- competence and not directly what we say/do with the language (the main goal is to crack the black box and understand how the system works). The performance is the mean to learn about the competence, not the direct end. It teaches us/indicates about the competence: the way we speak or write tells us about how the knowledge is organized in one’s mind. The main question that linguists ask is: what does competence consist of? Chomsky’s Model: UG+EXPOSER= G. Chomsky assumes innateness and that language faculty is to some extent universal (some things are common to all languages). He Offers a SPECIFIC model for this question: When a child is born he is in the initial state. In this state, he has some specific knowledge, shared by all languages: Universal Grammer (UG) – it is the grammer that is common to all languages. In addition to the difference in vocabulary, there are grammatical differences between languages: by the end of the critical period, he has more than the UG, he ends up with Particular Grammer (PG, G)- specific grammer of a specific language. There are many Gs, as many as the number of languages in the world. A child is equipped with universal grammer, common to all languages, and during the first years he is exposed to his mother tongue and how it takes place (feedback, corrections, mistakes etc)- and acquires particular/specific grammer. UG+EXPOSER= G. The G is a combination of something innate and something that comes from the environment. What does the UG consist of? According to Chomsky’s model, UG consists of two things: 1. Principles- rules that are innate and that are common to all languages (things that don’t change at all from one language to another, such as: the existence of nasal consonants). 2. Parameters- those are also rules that are innate, and are also part of universal grammer; but in contrast to principals, these are open rules, whose values (â€Å"fillings†) are acquired during the exposer. The values are not common to different languages, Thus they have to be acquired via exposer. For example: in all language there is a subject in every sentence; but in some languages the subject must be a separate entity- which means the subject position is always occupied vs. in some languages the subject can be dropped (English does not allow the dropping of a subject: can’t say â€Å"ate an apple†. We must add a subject; vs. Hebrew- – â€Å" † represents the subject. In the French language, we are not allowed to drop the subject, even when it is known who did the action: J’ai mange la pomme- the French â€Å"ai† is like the Hebrew â€Å" † , yet we still cannot drop the J: we have to have a separate entity for the subject). This parameter is called the Null subject parameter ( )- The Parameter: the subject must be pronounced separately; The Values of the Parameter: (that has to be filled- determined through the acquisition process) Yes or No. In Hebrew and Italian the value is no (in some cases, we can have a sentence without a subject), in English and French the value is Yes. During the critical period, the child is exposed to the data in his mother tongue and they acquire the values to the fixed parameters (the parameter is innate, its values though are not innate- they change from language to language and acquired in the child’s critical period). Another Parameter is: * It is hot outside- * It seems that Marry is late- * There is a cat in the room- In English the occurrence of the pronouns (functioning as the sentence’s subject) â€Å"it† and â€Å"there† is a must: they cannot be dropped (it is not grammatical, although one will be perfectly understood if he’ll say it); in Hebrew, we can drop them. Even though semantically we don’t need the subject, in English it must be filled. These pronouns are called: Expletive / Pleonastic Pronouns- pronouns that do not refer to an entity, but they’re only function is to fill the subject position. They HAVE NO SEMANTIC ROLE, THEY ARE ONLY THERE TO FILL THE POSTION OF THE SUBJECT. We distinguish between pleonastic pronouns and referential pronouns, which refer to some kind of entity (he, she, w, they etc). â€Å"It† and â€Å"There† are not always expletive pronouns- they can also function as referential pronouns: It is hot outside (expletive) vs. I can’t eat the soup, (referential); the cat is there (referential) vs. there is a cat in the room (expletive). We can relate to it as two parameters: 1. Parameter: an expletive pronoun exists; values: yes/no. (In English- yes, in Hebrew- no). 2. Parameter: a subject is a must; values: yes/no. (We can say that if a language must have a subject, it will necessary have Expletive pronouns; and vice versa: If the subject is not a must- there are no expletive pronouns. there might be, but they will not be a must). The two things come together- * Cluster of properties- The Parameters come in clusters- one affects/ can teach about the other. The existence of Principles and Parameters strengthens the hypothesis of innateness, because it shows the occurrence of certain grammer structures is not random- there is something consistent across different languages, which therefore must be predetermined, innate. 19/12/11 Some languages require an independent subject and in addition- they have expletive pronouns (it seems that the quiz will be difficult- expletive; this soup is not tasty because it is cold. – The â€Å"it† is referential- points to an entity). Proposition Stranding and Pied Piping â€Å"Who did you speak to? † can also be asked as followed: â€Å"To whom did you speak? â€Å"- These are two possible grammatical structures that manifest the same idea. It is not possible in Hebrew: : : This construction is called- Preposition Stranding- you desert the proposition by itself: leaving the proposition by itself at the end of the sentence. It can be viewed as a parameter, differentiating languages. Another construction/parameter is: Pied Piping- locating the proposition at the beginning of the sentence. This parameter is valued â€Å"yes† in both English and Hebrew (allowed in both languages). Material for the quiz is up to here! ————————————————- Phonetics and Phonology- These are both fields that deal with sound and specifically linguistic sounds (phones- ) – sounds that are parts of a language. Phones are divided into: consonants (b, l, r, m†¦) and vowels (e, a, i†¦ ). The differentiation doesn’t refer to the letters, but to the sounds that are used naturally/ automatically. (Since the same sound can be expressed/ represented by different symbols/letters, for example: the sound â€Å"K†- is represented by 4 letters: k, c, q, ch. We will refer to all 4 as â€Å"K†). In Phonetics- Different sounds are examined in different languages: how they are produced and how they are perceived- it is a technical field regarding how pronunciation works. One sound can be expressed/ represented by different symbols/letters or one letter â€Å"u† represents many sounds: university, fur, put, cut etc. Conclusion: there is no correspondence between sound and symbol. Phonetic systems (systems of symbols- used for transcription- write exactly as you here it- distinguish between spelling and pronunciation) 1. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – a system of symbols, used mainly by linguists, in which every sound corresponds to one symbol and vice versa. 2. American Phonetic Alphabet (APA) – similar, yet competing system to the IPA. These are two similar, yet competing, artificial languages/ systems, dealing with the ambiguity of the languages/ with the lack of correspondence between sound and symbol. Both systems are based on English letters, other than special sounds/exceptions (that have no one specific letter in English that prescribe them) such as: * in order to indicate/transcribe â€Å"sh† – we use: stretched big s (IPA) or s^(APA)- (the ^ should be upside down) * ch= t+stretched big S with a bow on top of them (IPA) or c^ (APA) * for th (such as in thin) = 0 with a line across it (APA+IPA) 26/12/11 A minimal pair- * big- pig * sing- sang. * dean- teen (The only difference is the phone- â€Å"t† vs â€Å"d†. The spelling is irrelevant) * knight- light These words are different in meaning, yet they are different in only one sound. The switch of the consonant â€Å"g†/ â€Å"p† changes the meaning of the word. This kind of word pairs are called â€Å"minimal pair†-a pair of words that differ from one another in meaning and in one phone (sound) only. (Only one difference in pronunciation- the spelling is irrelevant) * night- knight : are not a minimal pair, because there is no difference in pronunciation. Phoneme- Phoneme- a minimal linguistic unit that can change the meaning. One of the goals of recognizing minimal pairs is to recognize the basic sounds in a language, that can cause a change of meaning. We use the tool of minimal pairs to identify and distinguish between the Phonemes of a language. Aspirated consonant ( ) * Spy vs. pie- when we pronounce â€Å"pie†, there is a greater puff of air when pronounced. This is also the case in: stole vs. tall (in â€Å"tall† we puff much more air). These are aspirated consonants, which are marked with a little â€Å"h† on top of the consonant. They are two types for the same consonant- the regular and the aspirated one, where we puff a greater amount of air (pie; tall). Are the aspirated consonants phonemes? (Can they distinguish between a minimal pair? -can we find a pair of words that the only difference between them is aspirated consonant vs. non-aspirated). In English, there is no such pair; yet in the Hindi language we can find several examples. Conclusions: 1. In English, they are not phonemes (vs. Hindi), because they can never occur in the same environment/location of the word, which means they are 2 manifestations/versions of the same thing. We can predict in which environment/ when the aspirated consonant will occur. 2. Minimal pairs are used to distinguish between phonemes and also to determine which consonants and vowel are not phonemes. 2/1/2012 Pig – big (minimal pair) vs. Pie, spy (not a minimal pair since there are 2 differences in pound). In English, aspirated and regular – Complementary Distribution- these two sounds never occur at the same environment/ same location of the words, which means they are two manifestations of the same thing – of the phone â€Å"p†. This means P is the phoneme which has two manifestations: aspirated and regular (non-aspirated). This means that this phone has two allophones. Two ways of language representation- 1. Phonemes- the general term for linguistics sounds. These are the basic sounds of a language, and are language specific (are not the same in different languages). They are part of the Underlying Representation (UR): the way and the place words and sounds in specific, are represented in our mind- in the â€Å"backstage†- abstract representation. The phoneme has two manifestations: one is the actual p and the other is the aspirated one. 2. What we actually say are allophones. Allophones are in the Phonetic/ Representation (PR) – what comes out of our mouths (articulation). Every phoneme is also an allophone, but not the other way around! Thus, there are some things that are represented in the PR, yet are not represented in the UR (like the aspirated p). In the Ur we have the regular P phoneme, which has two manifestations in the PR: In English, the only case we see an aspirated P is in the beginning of a word and before a vowel (both must occur together). In all other case the P will not be aspirated. For example: Possible, put, pink, pan, etc. vs. apply, spring, play etc. This means the aspirated P has no independence existence- we can predict its occurrence. The default is the regular P and only in a specific environment will have an aspirated P. The aspirated P doesn’t exist in the UR! Another example is: regular â€Å"N† vs. the back â€Å"N†: They cannot distinguish between minimal pairs in English- will never occur in the same environment. We will find the back â€Å"n† only before the sounds â€Å"k† and â€Å"g†- in specific environment, which is predictable. For ex: bank, Bangkok, rank, chunk, rang, ring, thanks, bring. The normal N is the default – will occur everywhere else, except for before the sounds: â€Å"g† and â€Å"k† sounds. These two allophones are two versions of the same thing (of the one phoneme) that never occur in the same environment- complementary distribution. â€Å"N† is the phoneme, which has two allophones: â€Å"n† and back â€Å"n†. We can predict exactly where each of the manifestations will occur. * The phoneme is in the UR and the allophones are in the PR. * The default is always in the UR! – The phoneme. * The allophones are always in complementary distribution- meaning they never occur in the same environment and will never distinguish between minimal pairs. You can nver find in English 2 words where the only difference between them will be â€Å"n† and back â€Å"n†. * Minimal pairs are the tools to identify phonemes. Distinctive Features 1. Aspiration The pair pal- pal (with aspirated p) in Hindi – these two words are different in meaning and in one phone only. In specific, they are different in one feature only: aspirated vs. non-aspirated. This means, they constitute a minimal pair (In Hindi). Aspiration – this feature in Hindi unlike the English, we have both – because they have independent existence- each of them is a phoneme on its own. Aspiration – this feature in Hindi, unlike English, is a Distinctive Feature- a feature that distinguishes between 2 phonemes in the same language and as a result it can create a difference between minimal pairs. Aspiration is not a distinctive feature in Hebrew and English. It is a distinctive feature in Hindi language. 2. Voicing ( )- Dean – Teen: â€Å"d†- Is a voice (+voice) consonant ( ) and â€Å"t† is voiceless (- voice). This feature, called voicing, creates different meaning in both words. Thus, it is a distinctive feature in English, because it can distinguish between minimal pairs. Minimal pair- a minimal pair is a pair of words that differ from one another in one meaning, 1 phone (sound) only, and the 2 phones must be different in one feature! 9/1/2012 Phonetic features of consonants- What makes sound/phones different from one another? Linguistic sounds are called phones, and are divided into: consonants and vowels. The difference between the two: in the production of vowels the air flows freely, however in the production of consonants the air is blocked to some extent. The speech organs- body organs that are involved in the production of phones (Lips, tongue, nose, teeth, and palate). Generally, the following are involved: the oral cavity and the nasal cavity ( ). The consonants differ from one another according to 3 criteria: 1. Place of articulation- the location in which the air is blocked and the consonant is produced (B- in the lips; T- in the tongue; P-in the lips and teeth) 2. Manner of articulation ( ) – relates to the manner of the air flow and the degree of blocking. For example: â€Å"n†- blocked in the nose. 3. Voicing- relates to the vibration/ the lack of vibrat.

My wish for the world

According to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, ‘world' means the earth with all its countries, people and natural features around us. Now, the world is craving for freedom. Can't people these days hear the earth's cry? It cry saying ‘I want peace, I want no pollution, I want the rivers to run free and I want my nature back! The only thing man can care about is themselves. Nothing else. They don't realize it until one day they suffer. My wish for the world is simple like everyone else writing this wants it to be. I wish that the world is free from pollution. Pollution is the process of making air, water and many other things dirty. There are many type of pollutions such as air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution. Air pollution is harmful to all living organisms on this earth. Air pollution can exist in many type of states such as open burning, release of carbon monoxide from vehicles, cigarettes smoke and factories and haze. This may lead to many type of sickness such as difficulty in breathing, sore throat, cough, blurriness of vision and many more. The effects of air pollution on the earth are green house effects, global warming and the thinning of the ozone layer. Ways to overcome this problem are filtration of smoke before being released into the environment, a person who does open burning should be fined and vehicles should use catalytic converter. Water pollution can happen with the spilling of oil in the sea, toxic substances being thrown into the river and many more. The effects of this is that many aquatic creatures will die and extinct since the layer of oil covering it will block the oxygen from entering the water. Besides that, the fisherman will lose his daily income and we will lose our main source of protein. Ways to overcome this problem are ships that does oil spilling should be fined and the laws should be tightened. I also wish the world would always be in peace. Everyone wishes a peaceful world. But if the war continues, the world will be destroyed. War occurs when countries are not satisfied with what they have. They always want more which is a necessary to them. Their wish to rule other countries and widen their empires also causes war. For example, the war against Iraq and America. The need of oil to America has forced them to invade Iraq. This war is also caused by misunderstanding among leaders. Unlike Malaysia, Iraqians are living in misery because of lack of food. Malaysians live in peace and harmony. If all countries were like Malaysia, I am sure the world would be in peace forever. Furthermore, I wish that there would be no extinction in fauna. When an animal extinct, that means that no member of its species exist anymore anywhere in the world. Species extinct because of not being able to cope with the environment changes such as pollution and species evolution or hunters. The most unnatural phenomenon that causes animal to extinction is man's need to hunt animals for their parts. This is because there is a demand for animal parts such as fur and other medicinal purposes. Among the animal that used to exist but now are extinct are the auroches, dodo bird, woolly mammoth, dinosaurs, quagga, Tasmanian tiger and Steller's sea cow. Among the animals now on the endangered list are elephants, great apes, marine turtles, monarch butterflies, panda bears, American pikas, polar bears, rhinoceroses, snow leopard, tigers, whales and dolphins. There are many type of ways to solve this problem such as there are various organizations and bodies in each country that work towards conserving wildlife as well as protecting endangered animals. In some countries, work is done to help certain animals mate in the hope of procreating more of their species. If we play our part by not creating a demand on such products on animal parts, then the hunting will stop. This means that we have to stop buying fur products, alligator skin bags and shoes and even traditional medicines that use animal parts. Man is the main reason why most animal are becoming extinct. We are killing the animals for our own selfish needs whether directly or indirectly. I wish the people in the world would appreciate nature and take good care of it so that in the future there will be no extinction. Malaysia's forests have been home to many great animals over the years. However, due to the development, deforestation and man, certain species of flora and fauna have dwindled in number. If we could learn how to live close to nature and love it, definitely there wouldn't be any extinction. If extinctions continue, there wouldn't be any animals or plants left. Then, man will lose their source of food. We should understand that whenever nature is harmed, mankinds are the ones who is going to be most affected. I also wish that natural disasters wouldn't happen. Natural disasters are phenomenon which can cause death, destruction and leave harmful effects. So far, natural disasters have taken lives of billions including plants and animals. For instance, the tsunami tragedy which happened in December 2004. it took the lives of billions. The tsunami waves hit Jakarta, Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia. Many believe that this is a sign showing that our earth and the God are angry with us for destroying living plants and animals. By now, we should realize our mistakes and stop all activities that are destroying the earth. Because if we don't, we will pay for our mistakes when time comes. The world is a place for all living organisms and everybody should appreciate it by preventing the world from destruction in time to come. Lastly, I hope that all my wish for the world will come true.

Ancient Greek Theatre Essay Example for Free

Ancient Greek Theatre Essay The Greek theatre history begins with festivals which honor gods. An example of such a festival was ‘City Dionysia’ festival which honored god Dionysus. During this festival, which was taking place in Athens men perform songs to welcome god Dionysus. Plays were also presented. Athens was the main city where these festivals and theatrical traditions were presented. At ancient Greek Festivals, the actors, directors and dramatists were all the same person. Later only three actors were allowed to perform in each play. And this was followed by adding few non-speaking roles to perform on-stage. Because of the limited number of actors, the chorus played a very active part of Greek theater. During the chorus’ delivery of its lines music was often played. The theatrical forms of the ancient Greek theater were tragedy, comedy and satyr. Athenian tragedy, comedy and satyr plays were some of the earliest theatrical forms to emerge in the world. Greek theater and plays have had a lasting impact on Western drama and culture. Satyr plays dealt with mythological subject in comic manner. Tragedy had as an originator, Thespis, who is considered to be the first Greek actor of tragedy plays. Aristotle’s Poetics say that tragedy originates from dithyrambs which were songs sung in praise of Dionysus at the Dionysia each year. Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus were three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights. The structure of Greek tragedy consisted of the following: 1. Late point of attack 2. Violence and death offstage 3. Frequent use of messengers to relate information 4. Usually continuous time of action 5. Usually single place 6. Stories based on myth or history 7. Focus on psychological and ethical attributes of characters Comedy plays were derived from imitation. Aristophanes wrote most of the comedy plays. The structure of the comedy consisted of two parts. Part one had the prolog, where chous gives debate or ‘agon’ and parabasis, a choral ode addressing the audience, in which a social or political problem is discussed. Part two consists of scenes which show the result of the happy idea. Theatre buildings were called a theatron. They were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. Most of the Greek theatres were constructed in such a way so that the smallest sound could be transmitted to any seat of the audience. They consisted of four main parts: the orchestra, the skene and the audience (theatron) and the parodos. The orchestra was a large area at the center part of the theatre normally circular. It was there where play, dance and acting took place. The earliest orchestras were simply made of hard earth but later in the Classical period some orchestras began to be made of marble and other materials. The orchestra of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was about 60 feet in diameter. The skene was a large building behind the orchestra which was used as a backstage. It was the place where actors change their costumes and masks. It was usually decorated as a palace, temple or other building, depending on the needs of the play. The audience (theatron) was where people were sitting to enjoy the play and it was in the front of the orchestra. It was usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra. People in the fifth century BC probably sat on cushions or boards but by the fourth century many Greek theaters had marble seats. The parodos were the passageways by which the chorus and some actors made their entrances and exits. The audience also used them to enter and exit the theater before and after the performance. The two masks of the picture represent the symbols for theater. They represent the comedy and tragedy masks which were worn in ancient Greece. They also represent duality. Actors were very far away from the audience that without the aid of costumes and masks they would be difficult to see. Actors wore thick boots to add to their height and gloves to exaggerate their hanks so that their movements would be easy to see by the audience. The masks were made of linen or cork, so none have survived. We however know that they looked like from statues and paintings of ancient Greek actors. Tragic masks carried mournful or pained expressions, while comic masks were smiling. The head of the actor was covered by his mask, which included hair. It is believed that the shape of the mask amplified the actor’s voice, making his words easier for the audience to hear. This mask is associated with the famous ancient Ancient Greek Theatre. (2016, Dec 09).

Explain how equilibrium is detemined in the keynesian income Essay

Explain how equilibrium is detemined in the keynesian income expenditure model. Use this model to examine the impact of a fall in government spending on the eco - Essay Example Given this rigidity of wages and prices, equilibrium output therefore is determined by demand. The aggregate effective demand is composed of planned real aggregate consumption expenditure (C), planned real aggregate investment (I) and real aggregate government expenditure (G). Real aggregate consumption expenditure is assumed to be a function of real aggregate output (Y) such that if Y rises C also rises but less than proportionally. The equilibrium is attained at that level of income or real output, equal to the effective demand. In the diagram above, the effective demand curve (obtained by vertically summing up C(Y), I and G) intersects the 45 degree line for the level of real aggregate output Y*. Thus Y* is the level of real aggregate output that satisfies the demand supply equality. The intersection point between the effective demand curve and the 45 degree line is referred to as the Keynesian cross. Now if there is a decline in government spending (G) given everything else remains unchanged, the effective aggregate demand will fall for each level of real output. Suppose G falls from G0 to G1. Therefore, the effective demand curve will shift downwards. Therefore the newer intersection point with the 45 degree line shall be to the left of the initial equilibrium point. Y** is the new equilibrium level of income which is lower than Y*. As a result of this decline in the level of real output, there will be a fall in employment as well. As government spending falls, there is a reduction in the effective demand. This reduction causes real output to shrink. This decline in real output again leads to a fall in real aggregate consumption expenditure which in turn reduces effective demand again. This again reduces real aggregate consumption expenditure and so on. However the magnitude of the second fall shall be smaller than the first one due to the non-proportional dependence of consumption on real income. Therefore, as a

Text and Audience Paper Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Text and Audience Paper - Coursework Example It is increasingly becoming a conventional activity. Its growing significance is affecting the relationship between corporate organizations and their various stakeholders such as clients, workers, suppliers, governments, and the communities. The article by Griffiths is to remind corporate players of the fact that taking considerable care of the people and the environment is fundamental to good financial results. Organizations are not supposed to wait for the relevant government bodies to impose certain rules and regulations for them to oblige. They have a responsibility to protect the social and cultural systems of the societies under which they expect to coexist in. To build a business based on trust and prescience, corporate social responsibility has to be considered as a fundamental factor. This is essential in building and keeping trust with communities and clients. To flourish and achieve long-term goals of a business, organizations are expected to focus on much more than issues affecting them at present, and think more about the future (Griffiths, 2010). This fact is not just applicable to the advancements in technology, but also on the changes in social, cultural, and environmental matters. Griffiths explains corporate social responsibility as â€Å"business behavior that creates the trust and commitment of stakeholders, both now and in the future†. He suggests that corporate social responsibility can no longer be viewed as a background corporate public relations strategy, but a significant factor that is gradually becoming correlated to fundamental operational performance. The key drivers of this primary concept comprise of compliance to laws and regulations crafted for this purpose, and an emphasis on the significance of environmental rules necessary to create customer loyalty and brand likeness. According to Griffiths (2010), unlike what many may suggest, â€Å"Corporate social responsibility is a set of business values and not a tool†. Due to this fact, it is unlikely to follow the line of reengineering. Not all organizations will successfully implement this concept; however, it is not logical for anyone to suggest that it has been applied to the wrong reasons. Unlike other business concepts, it is not likely to fade away anytime soon (Griffiths, 2010). This is because the environment under which corporate social responsibility operates is characterized by a much wider group of stakeholders; many of them exhibit opposing interests in this context. A good example is an incidence whereby a company decides to invest in reducing carbon emissions for environmental protection. This would mean that it probably will have to cut funding towards employee training initiatives, pay less dividend ratio, and also reduce funding towards community development program. According to Griffiths, the effectivity of the concept of corporate social responsibility can be managed in four different perspectives, i.e. â€Å"corporate gover nance and ethics, environment, people, and contribution to development†. Information plays various primary tasks in the implementation of this key concept. The general conceptual model of implementation incorporates processes, people, and technology. This is to make sure that its outcomes are integrated

Debating Rococo's Role in the French Revolution Essay

Debating Rococo's Role in the French Revolution - Essay Example The lower classes were tired of the bourgeoisie taking advantage of them by taxing them mercilessly while people were struggling to survive in brutally horrible socioeconomic conditions. â€Å"But the poor, who paid for the†¦[wealthy aristocrats’ party] (because they were the only taxed segment of French society), the whole period had a let-them-eat-cake feel and helped ignite the French Revolution of 1789. The celebration started [with the death of King Louis XIV, when] French aristocrats felt liberated.†1 In fact, after Marie Antoinette said, â€Å"Let them eat cake,† that phrase was coined to mean that one had insensitivity to the plight of the less fortunate, and especially with regard to being poor. It was thought that the French aristocracy had no idea how much their own constituents were suffering in abject poverty while they attended lavish parties and lounged in luxury. III. The Precursor to the Revolution Many French did not take kindly to the noti on that the people and scenes being depicted in Rococo art was indeed true-to-life. They were angry that they were languishing in poverty while their aristocrat counterparts luxuriated in posh surroundings.

Discuss arguments related to global warming.where are there Essay

Discuss arguments related to global warming.where are there differences of opinion and can they be justified - Essay Example Present science points toward the matter to unrestrained release of gases. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognizes discharge of anthropogenic conservatory gases as the major cause for global warming in the middle of twentieth century. Clearly, the results are aiming to control the discharge of these dangerous gases. Approximately, all the countries have signed the Kyoto procedure but this is concerning all our governments. On the other hand, at any rate, the scientists are to be answerable, not the politicians since scientists have failed to recognize the actual reason, and therefore, solutions recommended by them are not useful. (Thakur, pp.115, 2002) An added alarming situation is that due to the global warming, many cyclones and hurricanes can take place on common basis with a greater force. There is also a chance of sea levels to rise and give a passage to the coastal flooding. (Codrington, pp.396, 2005) On the other hand, argument that global warming may cause tropical cyclones to turn into more relentless is rooted on the supposition that sea level temperatures will boost as the atmosphere become warmer. (Codrington, pp.396, 2005) Warm oceans give the majority of the energy supply from tropical cyclones. Again, the confirmation for this argument is vague. In the opinion of Landsea (1996), there has been a wide-ranging decline in the number of intense tropical cyclones tendency in the Atlantic. Several climatologists bring to a close that even though global warming has a number of effects on the occurrence and intensity of tropical cyclones, nearly all of the variations, are due to natural factors for instance ocean temperatures and the movement of ocean currents. (Codrington, pp.396, 2005) In today’s world, there has been more increase of rate of global warming as in comparison to what has been experienced in the past. Therefore, if we look into past we will notice that even in the history a large