Syllabus | EN 1104: Language Structure Usage & Linguistics

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE USAGE

Word classes and their grammatical functions (10/ 05 hrs)

• Open classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
• Closed classes: determiners, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, operator-verbs, interjections, enumerators.
• Types of activities: write examples for each word class
• Rationale for word classes in grammar: Words which belong to one class only can be used in a particular position in a sentence. Provide examples.
• List the differences between the two types: e.g. open class-thousands of words. Closed classes- limited number
• Some words appear under more than one word class, e.g. ‘play’ as noun and verb, ‘that’ as determiner and conjunction
• Types of activities: write sentences to show how the word ‘round’ appears as noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and preposition.

Note: Word classes should be taught briefly (Only the introduction to word classes)

Elements of grammar (10 / 05 hrs)

• Units of language:

The sentence-a set of words standing on their own as a sense unit. 

Clause – a kind of mini sentence, a set of words which makes a sense but may not be concluded by a full stop. A sentence may have only one clause or 2 or more clauses.
The phrase: A shorter unit of one or more words e.g. noun phrase

• Parts of a sentence

Subject (topic), predicate 9everything said about the topic)-give examples

• Sentence element

- Subject, verb, object, complement, adverbial

- The most common parts of the sentences

- Object may be direct or indirect, the complement refers to the same thing as the subject,

- Adverbial adds further information (words, phrases such as, at home, yesterday)

• Activities: make sentences using the clause elements. Analyse their structure.

The simple sentence (10 / 05 hrs)

• A sentence consisting of only one clause
• Clause types: S V, S V O , S V C, S V O , S V O O , S V O A , (provide examples)
• Activities: Indicate to which of the clause types the given sentences belong to

The simple sentence: questions, commands, exclamations, negation (10 / 05 hrs)

• Questions

• Types of questions; yes-no questions, tag questions, Declarative questions, Alternative questions, wh- questions

-Yes-no questions- operator is placed before the subject. If there is no operator, ’do’ is introduced. e.g.has the boat left? Does he like Mary 

- Wh- questions: 

- Alternative questions-

• Commands: Usually has no subject. It has an imperative finite verb (the base form) of the verb
• Exclamations: sentences which have an initial phrase introduced by ‘what’ or ‘how’             e.g. What a noise they are making!
• Negation: accomplished by inserting ‘not’, n’t ‘between the operator and the predication

Nouns & Noun phrases (10 / 05 hrs)

• Noun classes
• Differences between count and mass nouns, regular and irregular nouns, abstract and concrete nouns.
• Structure of the noun phrase: head word, pre-modifiers, post modifiers
• Word classes that can function as pre-modifiers-determiners, enumerators, adjectives, modifying nouns
• Word classes that can function as post modifiers-mostly prepositional phrases
• Functions of the noun phrase-subject, direct object, indirect object, complement, apposition, adverbial. (provide examples)
• Activities: analysis of noun phrases, expanding the noun phrase using pre and post modifiers.

LINGUISTICS

Introduction to language & Linguistics (10 / 05 hrs)

• What is language?
• What is Linguistics?

Phonetics & Phonology (30 / 15 hrs)

• What is phonology?
• What is phonetics?
• Differences between phonology & phonetics.
• Sounds of English & phonetic transcription.
• Organs of speech.
• Introduction to phone, phoneme & Allophone. ( Only the introduction to terminologies)

Coming Soon