Introduction to Linguistics Essay

What is meant by the field of linguistics? This introductory chapter concerns some dimensions of linguistics, which give us a general idea of what linguistics is, including the history of linguistic, grammar, and other disciplines of linguistics study. What does grammar consist of and what are the relationship between one and another? How many languages do human beings have the capacity to acquire? What other studies are made in recent centuries? Each of these aspects are clearly described, and other chapters will go into further details. While in this chapter we will provide some less detailed information on the various aspects of linguistics mentioned so far. 1. 1 Defining Linguistics There is nothing that can be said by mathematical symbols and relations which cannot also be said by words. The converse, however, is false. Much that can be and is said by words cannot successfully be put into equations, because it is nonsense. C. Truesdell Linguistics is a study to describe and explain the human faculty of language. There is no doubt that linguistics has changed through human development. 1. 1. 1 History of linguistics The history of linguistics can be divided into three periods: antiquity, middle ages and modern linguistics. Antiquity Dating back to earlier period of linguistics, linguistics is often associated with a need to disambiguate discourse, especially for ritual texts or in arguments. Ancient Indians made a big contribution to linguistics development. Similarly, ancient Chinese played a key role in improving linguistics development. Around the same time as the Indian developed, ancient Greek philosophers were also debating the nature and origins of language. During this period, syntax and the use of particles developed fast. In addition, scholars proposed that word meanings are derived from sentential usage. 1. 1. 1. 2 Middle Ages In Middle East, in terms of expanding Islam in 8th century, a large number of people learn Arabic. Because of this, the earliest grammar came to being gradually. At the same time, Sibawayh, a famous scholar, wrote a book to distinguish phonetics from phonology. In the 13th century, Europeans introduced the notion of universal grammar. Modern Linguistics Modern linguistics’ beginning can date back to the late 18th century. With time passing by, the study of linguistics contains increasing contents. Meanwhile, it is used in other fields, computer, e. g. , has come to be called computational linguistics. The study of applications (as the recovery of speech ability) is generally known as applied linguistics. But in a narrower sense, applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories of language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign and second language. Other related branches include anthropological linguistics, neurological linguistics, mathematical linguistics, and computational linguistics. However, linguistics is only a part of a much larger academic discipline, semiotics. It is the scientific study of language. It studies not just one single language of any one society, just like Chinese or French, but the language of all human beings. A linguist, though, does not have to know and use a large number of languages, but to investigate how each language is constructed. In short, linguistics studies the general principles whereupon all human languages are constructed and operated as systems of communication in their societies or communities. 1. 1. 2 An Interesting Comparison Linguistics is a broad field to study, therefore, a linguist sometimes is only able to deal with one aspect of language at a time, and thus various branches arise: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, applied linguistics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, lexicology, lexicography, etymology and so on. Suppose that the study of linguistics can be considered to be a computer, so linguistics is equal to the CPU, which supports all the other parts. Moreover, sound card would stand for phonetics and phonology, and then morphology and semantics are like the memory of the computer. What’s more, syntax plays as an important role to translate single words to a whole sentence which is full of meaning, just like a graphics card, which uses picture to make sense of the idea of memory stick. Finally, everything is ready, it’ s time to use computer and the same goes for language acquisition. Very interestingly, the properties of computer are amazingly similar to human language. from www. iflytek. com/english/Research-Introduction%20to%20TTS. htm Above all, linguistics is concerned with the study of verbal language– particularly speech and written language. What’s more, language is a system and there is a set of options of which one must be chosen depending on the purpose and context. (Marie E. & John P. , 1991, p. 64). 1. 2 The broad study of language Language is a highly complex system of communication, so it sometimes will be called a ‘system of systems’. It is used to construct, exchange, express, and record information and ideas. It performs these functions effectively because it is based upon systems that are understood by those using the language. In this chapter, four topics will be concerned. They are phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. In this section, some overall definitions and interactions among the four parts will be talked about. 1. 2. 1 Phonology In order to assist learners at the early stages of literacy, it is very important to understand the relationship between sounds and letters. The sounds of speech are studied in phonetics and phonology. (Marie E. & John P, 1991) 1. 2. 1. 1 Definitions of phonology and phonetics Phonology is the study of sound systems- the invention of distinctive speech sounds that occurs in a language and the patterns wherein they fall. In other words, we study the abstract side of the sounds of language, a related but different subject that we call phonology (Peter, 2000). In short, it is about patterns and roots. On the other hand, it is more strict linguistics. Phonetics is the science which studies the characteristics of human sound-making, especially sounds used in speech, and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription. In common, speech sound is used everywhere, and it can be divided into three parts: articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics, and acoustic phonetics. . 2. 1. 2 The difference between phonology and phonetics It seems that phonology and phonetics are similar. That is why both of them make learners confused. In fact, they have great difference. Phonology pays attention to how speech sounds of a language pattern are put together according to regular rules. On the contrary, phonetics focuses mainly on description of how speech sounds are made. For instance, if someone says â€Å"we should get our two lips close together and then push them open with a strong air†, that means he or she is relevant to phonetics field.

Creon’s tragic Downfall Essay

Creon is the tragic hero of the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, and suffers the greatest downfall. It all begins when he maes his public announcment as the new king. He states his message loud and clearly to everyone, that if anyone feels the need to bury the body od Polyneices, they will be going against the law and will be sentenced to death. In this powerful speech, he shows the need for control and order in the way he plans to rule. At the same time, he is showing arrogance in the way he insures all of his choices in judgement are correct. Creon is told that someone has gone against his words and burried the body of Polyneices; he becomes outraged and orders the sentry to find him and turn him over at once. The sentry watches as he sees Antigone come out to bury her brother’s body for a second time. He catches her and she is presented to Creon. Creon questions her, and she does not deny what she has done. He orders her to death. She tells him her reasons for her actions, but they are completely ignored by Creon. Antigone is going to be taken toa vault and left to die. Creon, being stubborn, won’t even listen to the pleas and threats of his own son, but when Teiresias enters, he listens to what will happen if he does not change his decisions. So he takes a drastic turn. He pushed all of his arrogance aside, along with his stobbornness and he asks for help, â€Å"what shall I do?† At this moment he becomes weak in front of his people. Creon the king, asking for help? He is suppose to know it all! He is then told to go quickly and free Antigone from her vault and build a tomb for the body of Polynieces. Creon is ordered to do exactly what he stated was against the law, but in order to save himself, he follows everything that he is told. Immediately he performs a burial for Polynieces and digs out Antigone’s vault, in hopes of saving himself from the proce of paying flesh for flesh. Asking for help is not an easy thing to do, especially when you’re so head strong like Creon, but asking for help in a situation where you know you need it shows incredible courage. If only Creon had done it a little bit  earlier. After doing everything he could to change his stubborn choices, he fails. Mourning over what destruction he had caused, the deaths of his wife, son, and Antigone are his entire fault. He has tragicallu ruined himself, and now instead of dying,je os fprced to live in shame and in great pain in front of the people he ruled for his short time as king.

Move And Position Individuals In Accordance With Their Plan Of Care

When i work with a client with different conditions, this effects how i support them to move and change positions. A client with dementia who is confused might not understand what we are saying and when we are supporting her to move, so we have to show the client by our actions and take time to do this. Clients with arthritis have to be supported to move gently as they may be in a lot of pain and positioning or moving may be uncomfortable. An individual that has had a stroke might have one arm or leg stronger than the other, so this needs to be taken into account when weight bearing or moving so as to avoid putting pressure on the weak side and resulting in the client falling.Legislation that is relevant includes the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations; this iintroduced the requirement for risk assessments, risks when moving and handling clients must be assessed, acted on and reviewed; also all staff must be trained in moving and handling. The Manual handling Operatio ns Regulations for employers states that they must carry out risk assessments for all moves and reduce the risk of injuries from happening and avoid dangerous moving and handling; the employees' responsibilities include using all equipment as trained to do so, follow all health and safety working practices and putting themselves or other staff at risk, reporting any hazards or risks to their employer.Agreed ways of working mean that employers must have work place policies and procedures for moving and handling; these must be explained to staff and staff provided with training and supervision. it is also important that all employees, read these procedures and if they do not understand they attend training.Before moving or positioning a client, i have to take responsibility for the health and safety of the service user, others and myself and while doing this adhere to the organisational policies in place and meet all health and safety obligations. I only move and positions clients whe re I have had training to do so. I do this by ensuring that I am wearing appropriate clothing and foot wear when I move a client or am supporting them to change position to avoid any risk of being harmed; for example when using a hoist IÂ  must not wear open shoes or sandals.I also make sure that I do a manual risk assessment before performing any move or re-position. I do not use any equipment that I have not been trained to use and I check that there is enough space around me to carry out the move. All equipment needs to be checked that it is working correctly, if a hoist that it is charged, and all equipment must be clean and safe to use. I look out for any obstacles, like loose rugs, clothes and move them to one side. It is important the space around me is clean and comfortable. All moving and handling must not be rushed. Infection control is also important, washing of hands before and after and wearing of PPE according to my workplace policy.I also check with the client their needs and preferences and check this against their plan. I then ask the service user for their agreement before the move and make sure I am using the correct equipment, that the sling and hoist are clean and safe to use and the correct ones for the client; these must then be stored away safely to avoid any accidents or them being used for someone else. Also to take into account is whether the client will keep their arms in the sling or whether they may decide not to or may become anxious when being moved.

Competing in World Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Competing in World Markets - Essay Example t varies from one place to the other, for instance some regions witness high rates of poverty, hence low purchasing power and this undermines international trade. There are also economic barriers to international trade for example the famous global financial crisis which has led to high inflation and bailouts (Shah, 2011). Finally political barriers for example formation of trade bodies like world trade organization, (WTO). It is mandated to promote free and fair global trade but it has been criticized for serving the interests of rich countries therefore exploiting the poor ones (Shah, 2011). Political barriers are the most significant since politics involves power and allocation of resources and it dominates social, economic and cultural issues of trade. To curb the barriers, many businesses employ earned value technique to measure their progress. Earn value is a monitoring tool used to find out whether the budget and the planned time frame tallies with the actual work done to est ablish if the project is on track. There are barriers to smart earned value like cost, performance and quality. Opponents of the technique say that its implementation cost and efforts are enormous yet the derived benefits of implementation are limited (Tammo, 1999). This means that a business may spend a great deal to implement this project management tool but there may be low quality output. Cost barrier is the most difficult one to overcome since a business always need money to expand and operate. If more money is used to implement earned value technique then the business may run at squeezed profits or even at a loss due to high cost of

Natural disasters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Natural disasters - Essay Example What we see that is really different lately is we keep setting records for the warmest-year-ever for the globe, and we have various kinds of catastrophes or extreme events that stand out". (Groat) Hurricanes Albert Einstein saidGod does not play dice meaning there is a predictable pattern in everything. In a CNN interview Climatologist Mark Cane acknowledges some connections in certain atmospheric conditions, in excerpts from that interview he said. One of the things that has been studied a lot is the impact of the El Nino events on the Hurricanes. So, in an El Nino phase, you get fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic. We are not in an El Nino phase-we are in the opposite phase-and so we should expect more hurricanes, that is what is predicted and it seems to be, so far in this hurricane season, what is happening. (Cane) Jack Williams in his piece, A Guide to Storms, which was printed in USA Today, presents the commonality inherent in most storms and offers the practicality for their existence. All storms have two things in common: low atmospheric pressure at the storms center, and winds that are created by the flow of air from higher pressure outside the storm toward the low pressure outside the storm toward the low pressure at the center. Wind, in other words, is air that's being pushed by high pressure toward low pressure. Areas of low air pressure occurs because the sun heats the earth unequally. The sun shines down almost directly on the Earth's tropical regions near the equator, heating this region more than the polar region around the North and South Poles and the middle latitudes between the Poles and the tropics. Storms along with ocean currents, redistribute heat from the...(4) Fires which are caused by lightening, and prolonged sun rays on an excessively dry vegetated earth cover. (5) Lack of rain. (a) Drought, and (b) famine. (6) Outbreaks of disease (a) sars, (b)small pox, (c) HIV/AIDS, et. el. Earthquakes, landslides and floods, - these hazards are part of the way the earth operates. Although we can't prevent natural hazards from happening, we can learn from them, and use the knowledge to prevent natural hazards from turning into natural disasters. The next century gives us a new chance to apply the lessons we have learned about natural hazards. As we look ahead to the next millennium, we must continue to improve our understanding of how the earth works and our ability to provide timely, effective warnings, so that we can live safely on our planet. I think it will be one of the superstar years for the century in a lot of ways. What we see that is really different lately is we keep setting records for the warmest-year-ever for the globe, and we have various kinds of catastrophes or extreme events that stand out". (Groat) and gained the dubious distinction as the most destructive hurricane in United States history.

The use of deep breathing exercises as a stress management technique Essay

The use of deep breathing exercises as a stress management technique for elementary school children - Essay Example Stress refers to the physical or psychological result of external or internal pressure (AllPsych Online). Stress is also considered a normal physical response to any stimulus causing threat or that which upsets the balance of an individual in some way. Factors causing stress may include external pressure, encompassing the physical environment, like home, work, school, inter-relationships, challenges and difficulties, or even expectations that an individual faces every day. In addition, internal pressures may also cause stress; these cover the over-all health and fitness level of the person, his emotional well-being and mental capacity. The latter in part, determines the body’s ability to respond to external stress-inducing factors (Understanding stress, helpguide.org). It has been ascertained that there are abundant potential causes of stress uniquely expressed for each individual. However, for this particular study, the focus shall be on the factors of stress in school performance of elementary pupils in the United Kingdom. Based on gathered research and studies conducted in UK context, students in primary education particularly those from the ages of 5 up to 12 years old are now generally experiencing school stress which results to a variety of physical and psychological conditions. Stress manifests in different forms, especially among children ages 5 years old or younger since they are still incapable of recognizing and communicating feelings of stress to their parents or guardians. However, stress indicators like clinging to parents, unusual crying, display of temper tantrums and other regressive behaviour (i.e. thumb sucking, bedwetting), and rocking, biting and even toilet accidents are evident. Likewise, children ages 6 to 11 years old, or school-aged children, are more articulate with their emotions and experiences toward stress-related incidences, and the obvious reactions are physical complaints and uncharacteristic

Friday project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Friday project - Assignment Example make default crises more frequent; when a budget that is balanced at the start of the year falls out of balance during the year due to slower-than-expected economic growth or other factors beyond policymakers’ control, default could threaten if cuts large enough to restore balance can’t be passed swiftly and it proves impossible to secure a three-fifths vote to raise the debt limit. By the same token, the balanced budget amendment would not only undermine the automatic stabilizing function the federal government plays but would push in the opposite direction by requiring greater retrenchment when the economy falters. As a consequence, the constitutional amendment is likely to make recessions more frequent and deeper. The amendment also would increase the risk of a government default. It has often proved difficult to amass a simple majority in Congress to raise the debt limit so an impending default could be averted. The constitutional amendment also undermines majority rule, the basis for our democracy. The amendment would essentially enable minorities to engage in a form of extortion; they could threaten to plunge the nation into serious fiscal difficulty by refusing to help provide a three-fifths vote to waive the balanced budget requirement and raise the debt limit when a recession loomed, unless they were granted concessions on major policy issues as the price for their votes. A recent CBO study found that if deficits are held to two percent of the Gross Domestic Product through 2030, we will experience solid economic growth, and younger generations will be substantially better off than current generations. In fact, CBO found little difference in growth rates between such a policy and a policy of balancing the budget every year. It also is instructive that the goal Senator Bob Kerrey and former Senator Jack Danforth — both deficit hawks — set for the Entitlement Commission in 1994 was to limit the deficit to two percent of the Gr oss Domestic Product in