Synchronic AND Diachronic Study

SYNCHRONIC
AND
DIACHRONIC
STUDY
DEFINITION
•Language can be studied at a given

point in time or over time. When we
study language at one particular time, it
is called synchronic linguistics.
•When we study language developments
through time, it is called diachronic or
historical linguistics.
to describe and account for observed changes
in particular languages
to reconstruct the pre-history of languages and
determine their relatedness, grouping them into
language families
to develop general theories about how and why
language changes
to describe the history of speech communities
to study the history of words
•Structural linguistics concern the:
-Phonology (sounds)
-Morphology (words)
-Syntax (sentence structure)
-Semantics (meaning)
-Pragmatics or grammar (rules)
•An important distinction between langue
and parole (F. de. Saussure);
•Langue is the system of conventions
and signs while parole is the speech of
the individual
Distinctions:
(1) Langue is the whole system of language that
precedes and makes speech possible. A sign is a
basic unit of langue. Parole is the speech of
the individual.
(2) Langue is the social, conventional side of
language, while parole is individualized speech.
(3) Langue is the code, and parole is the
message.
(4) Parole the concrete use of the language, the
actual utterances. It is an external manifestation
of langue. It is the usage of the system, but not
the system. Langue is the abstract knowledge
DEDUCTIVE THEORIES AND
PSYCHOLOGY
•Sapir believes in the deductive theories and
psychological approach to grammar explanation;
•He believes that each language should be
described in its term based on basic categories
(nouns and verb) and basic grammatical processes
(ordering of words) which has universal elements;
•Grammar resulted from the economy of thought
and speech;
•Yet no language system is always consistent
•Sapir’s interest was in the relations between
external grammatical and internal psychological
processes
BEHAVIORAL PSCHOLOGY:
STIMULUS-RESPONSE MODEL
•Bloomfield (1933) constructs a model
that describe processes that take place
in the mind;
•The stimulus-response model supports
the claim that language was a habit of
verbal behavior which consisted of a
series of stimuli and response;
•He believes that the description of a
language should begin with phonology;
DESCRIPTIVE OR
STRUCTURAL LINGUISTIC
•after Bloomfield, other descriptive
linguists tried to separate grammar and
semantics completely;
•phonemic analysis involved the
consideration of stress, pitch, and
juncture, or degree of separation
(suprasegmental phoneme)
TRANSFORMATIONAL
GRAMMAR : Discourse Analysis
•Transformation is another process of
analysing discourse whereby connected
speech or writing can be analysed
instead of the whole sentence;
•This process would enable linguists to
analyse active/passive sentences and
relationship among discontinuous
elements
•According to Chomsky , a person is able
to produce infinite number of sentences
and that language can be used
creatively;
•Transformationalists are interested in
rules for sentence formation which
account for a native speaker’s linguistic
intuition;
a. Phrase Structure Rules
- Phrase structure rules are simple rules which
allow for substitutions and for the expansion
of grammatical categories.
b. Transformational Rules
- operates on the structure of a given “string”
or sentence, and converts it into a related
structure. E.g. passive into active
c. Morphophonemic Rules
- the final written or spoken form of sentences
TRANSFORMATIONAL
GRAMMAR : Theory of Syntax
•A grammar is said to consist of the
following parts:
(a) A syntactic component (word order)
(b) A semantic component (meaning)
(c) A phonological component (sound)
SOCIOLINGUISTICS: Functional
varieties of Language
•a language with many varieties, all have
the legitimate functions in different social
situations;
•The ability to vary style and to recognise
the social value of different forms is part
of an individual’s competence.
WORDS AND WORD GROUPS
•Jespersen separates words and word
groups are divided into three:
•Primary (nouns)
•Secondary (verbs and adjectives)
•Tertiary (particles)
•Degree of connection called “juncture”
(single composite idea) and ”nexus”
(connection of two ideas) are also dealt
with;
•Some subordinate member
(clauses/phrases) can be raised to higher
level and the type of connection is altered;
•“nominalisation” is the conversion of
sentences into noun phrases;
•E.g. The doctor arrived can be changed
into The doctor’s arrival
WORDS AND WORD GROUPS
•Jespersen separates words and word

groups are divided into three:
•Primary (nouns)
•Secondary (verbs and adjectives)
•Tertiary (particles)
•Degree of connection called “juncture”
(single composite idea) and ”nexus”
(connection of two ideas) are also dealt
with;
•“the dog barks furiously,”
•“the barking dog” are ranked as:
•dog – primary
•barking and barks – secondary
•furiously - tertiary
•“the connection between “barking” and “dog”
is a juncture, forming a composite unit
(a noun phrase), whereas the connection
between “dog” and “barks” is a nexus,
a joining of two units (subject and verb).
•In some instances, subordinate members can
be raised to a higher level and the type of
connection altered;
•The conversion of sentence into noun phrase
is called nominalisation;
•E.g. “The doctor arrived” can be changed
into “the doctor’s arrival”
•Form and meaning of words change over
time;
•The change can be both organic and imitative
sound changes and external sound changes;
•changes of form (sound) and meaning are
often caused by having the majority of
speakers on its side, or because it is more
convenient or easier to carry out.
•some words change in two or more different
ways, according to its surroundings;
•E.g. the indefinite article an drops its /n/ before another
word beginning with a consonant, as in a man
•Some words resemble each other in terms of form
and meaning;
•This may lead to modification by linguistic changes
through either convergence or divergence changes;
•convergent changes cause the leveling of
distinctions between the words in term of phonetic
or to cause words to have similar meaning;
•e.g. ‘no’ and ‘know’ have both the same
initial phonic /n/ (homomyms)
‘buy’ and ‘purchase’ re synonymous
•Divergent change cause a sound-change in the
‘of,’
and ‘off’.
•Isolation often leads to the creation of new
grammatical categories;
•It detaches a word from its elements as in an
idiom and a general sentence;
•The development of proper names out of
common nouns and adjectives is also a process
of isolation such as “Brown” and “Smith” as
compared to “brown” and “smith”;
•the use of nouns and adjectives as
Particles is also a process of isolation.
One principle of grammar of any language is to
teach learners to express themselves with
appropriateness in that language and to enable
them to ascertain whether the phrase and form
of construction, is right or not.
(a) What is prescriptive grammar?
(b) Why is there a need to teach grammar to
our school children?
(a) it tells how people should use language in speaking
and writing
(b)
a. Comprehensibility – communicate meaning
successfully
b. Acceptability – to be accepted into the community
of native speakers
c. The language of grammar is a shared language
for
talking about speech and writing
d. Knowing about grammar can help writers
take control of their writing: they can craft
and create because they understand what
they are doing
e. Knowing about grammar can help readers
explore how texts operate and how their
messages and effects are created

Synchronic AND Diachronic Study

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SYNCHRONIC

•Language can be studied at a given

•Jespersen separates words and word

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