Structure of English

A Definition

Reported by:Myra Sarmiento-Candol

How do we study SoEstudy classes of words (parts of speech)meanings of words, with or without

considering changes of meaning (semantics)

how words are organised in relation to each other and in larger constructions (syntax)

how words are formed from smaller meaningful units (morphology)

the sounds of words (perception and pronunciation or articulation)

how they form patterns of knowledge in the speaker's mind (phonetics and phonology)

how standardized written forms represent words (orthography).

and how written forms represent these (lexicography).

How do we study SoE (con)

• The most basic units of meaning are simple words (e.g.: dog, yes and swim) or the elements of complex words (e.g.: un- -happi- and -ness in unhappiness). These basic elements are called morphemes, and the study of how they are combined in words is morphology.

• The study of how words are organised into phrases, clauses and sentences is usually referred to as syntax.

• A longer stretch of language is known as discourse, the study of its structure as discourse analysis.

• This hierarchy is partly explained by the table , from David Crystal's The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. The right hand column should be read upwards, in the direction of the arrow.

Morphology Syntax Discourse

morphemes↓

words

phrases↓

clauses↓

sentences

relationships between

sentences in longer

stretches of language

Three-part model of English

sentencesare analysed into

clausesare analysed into

phrasesare analysed into

wordsare analysed into

morphemes

↓ ↑

sentencesare used to build

clausesare used to build

phrasesare used to build

wordsare used to build

morphemes

Outline structure of English

Basic constituent structure analysis of a sentence

Morphology: the study of the structure of words

Your own Definition of SoE:_____________________________________________________

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Definition of Structure of English:It refers to the structure or unit of languageIt focuses mainly on a variety of basic and

complex structures of English, (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, comprehension and writing) phonology, semantic, lexical, syntax and morphology comparing them to structures of other languages.

SoE requires us to gather and analyze information and data on English usage in current authentic discourse.

Thank You

http://www.hum.uit.no/a/moren/what1a.htmhttp://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/engstruct.htm

http://eiilmuniversity.ac.in/coursepack/humanities/Structure_of_Modern_English.pdf.

The structure of Modern English A Linguistic Introduction by Laurel J. Briton

The structure of English by Andrew Moore

References: