Thursday, October 15, 2020
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Basic concepTS in LinguisTICS
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study
of language, of the systems and principles underlying human languages. It is
called a scientific study because it follows the methodology of science, i.e.,
analysis of the data and formation of all theory to explain it. A linguist
studies his subject matter in all its aspects. Since language is made up of
speech sounds, words, and sentences used for meaningful communication and
expression, a linguist analyses linguistic data at all these different levels.
Level of linguistic analysis
●
Phonetics is the study of speech
sounds in general, the articulation, transmission and reception of speech
sounds.
●
Phonology is the study of the
selection and organization of speech sounds in a language
●
Morphology is the study of the
internal organization of words, the way morphemes are organized into words.
●
Syntax deals with the
organization of words into phrases.
●
Semantics is the study of meaning
in all its aspects.
Phonology
Phonology or phonemics deals with the
distinctive sounds and their specific patterning in a particular language,
i.e., their functional behaviours, their combinatory possibilities or syllabic
structure, and the nature and use of such prosodic features as stress, pitch,
intonation, etc. Each language has its own system of sounds and also its own
specific ways of organizing them into larger units, which together constitute
its phonology.
A phoneme is the smallest
distinctive unit of sound in the sound system of a language. The phonemes of a
language are distinctive or contrastive, they stand in contrast with one
another in the phonological system of that language. Units that can be
substitute for one another in the same environment are said to be in
contrastive or parallel distribution and those which do not occur in the same
linguistic environment are said to be in non- contrastive or complementary
distribution.
Allophones
Each phoneme may have a
number of variant forms called allophones, occurring in different contexts. The
allophones of a phoneme have considerable phonetic similarity between them as
well as differences and they do not occur in the same phonetic environment.
Example: pin -/p/ is
aspirated
: Spin-/p/ is unaspirated
The two /p/ are the
allophones of same phoneme /p/.
The Syllable
At a level higher than
individual sound segments or phonemes, we have the unit called syllable. In
every word made up of more than a single sound, at least one sound is heard to
be more ‘prominent' than the neighbouring sounds. If there is one such
prominent sound, the sequence is said to consist of one syllable. E.g.: tree,
hit, bell. They are called monosyllabic words. Words like calmer, letter,
sister have syllables each and they are called disyllabic words. Words with
more than two syllables are called polysyllabic. Examples are civilization,
cultivation, humanity, etc.
Suprasegmentals
Certain additional speech
features, such as stress, pitch, length, etc., affecting speech sounds which
may hence be called sound attributes or suprasegmentals.
Word Stress: All the syllables in a polysyllabic word in English are not
articulated with the same force. Some are uttered with greater force than the
others. Stress may be described as the degree of force with which a sound or
syllable is pronounced.
Rhythm: one of the important characteristics of stress in English is that it is
a language with a stress timed rhythm. This means that in English stressed
syllables tend to occur at regular intervals of time. Such a phenomenon of
certain features occurring at regular intervals of time is called isochrony.
Stress in English is isochronous.
Juncture or Transition: Juncture refers to the phenomenon of pauses in speech, the
pause that we make between two words to make out meaning.
Pitch and Intonation: The term intonation is used to cover both the pattern of
changes in the pitch of the voice and the terminal contour. Utterance bound
pitch is called intonation.
ASSIMILATION
The way in which sounds
influence each other is called assimilation. It is a process by which a certain
sound is replaced by another under the influence of a third one which is
adjacent to it.
/nju:z / + / print / - /
nju: sprint /
ELISION
When a sound which exists
in a word pronounced in isolation or in connected speech is dropped or elided
in a compound or connected phrase, it is called elision.
Eg: bed time = / betaim /
Last time= / la:staim /
MORPHOLOGY
The part of linguistics that deals
with the study of the structure of words is called morphology or morphemics. It
is the study of how morphemes are put together or organized to form words.
THE MORPHEME
The smallest unit of form that has
meaning in a given language is called a morpheme. Thus a morpheme may further
be described as a meaningful phoneme or series of phonemes which is not further
divisible without destruction or alteration of meaning in a given language.
ALLOMORPHS
An allomorph may be defined as a
variant concrete realization of a morpheme, which occurs in certain definable
environments.
CONDITIONING
A phenomenon is said to be
conditioned when it occurs in certain definable context or environments, i.e.,
when certain conditions are fulfilled. The occurrence of allomorphs is not always
phonologically conditioned; they may be morphologically conditioned also.
SYNTAX
The rules and principles governing
the arrangement of words into such higher units is technically called syntax.
Approaches to the Study of Grammar
●
The grammar of a language can be studied diachronically or
synchronically. A diachronic study deals with the evolutionary stages of
grammar. Synchronic study describes it as it exists at a point of time.
The term traditional grammar is
rather vague and it is difficult to pin point its definite features.
Traditional English grammars are mainly an inheritance from the Latin based
grammar of the 18 th century. But those early grammarians forgot that Latin is
Latin and English is English and tried to fit English grammar in the framework
of Latin grammar.
Structural/Descriptive Linguistics and Grammar
The most influential school of
linguistics from the early to mid-20th century was structural or descriptive
grammar. Structural grammar was in fact a reaction against notional grammar of
the traditional kind. The vagueness of the notions, the inexplicitness in the
criteria of definitions, and the use of meaning for the establishment of
grammatical categories were anathema to the structuralists of the time. They
vehemently opposed semantic criteria and concentrated on formal criteria.
Phrase Structure Grammar
A more sophisticated model of grammar
is called phrase structure grammar. Phrase structure grammar contain a set of
rules called phrase structure rules or rewrite rules. Rewrite rules are capable
not only of generating strings of linguistic elements, but also of providing a
constituent analysis of the string. They provide a set of directions, which, if
followed mechanically, will generate the abstract framework of Basic English
sentences. A rewrite rule is a replacement rule in which the symbol to the left
of the arrow is replaced by the expanded form written to the right of the
arrow. Phrase structure grammar have an advantage over IC model in that labels
are in built the rewrite rules, and the rules themselves can be arranged in a
sequence so that each rule can be used to rewrite the output of the previous
one.
Transformational Generative Grammar
Transformational generative grammar is one of
the most influential of modern linguistic theories, introduced through Noam
Chomsky’s Syntactic Structures in 1957. He questioned some
of the basic principles of the structural approach. Transformational generative
grammar comprises – syntactic, semantic, and phonological.
SEMANTICS
Semantics or semiotics is the
philosophical and scientific study of meaning in natural and artificial
languages. The word semantics has ultimately prevailed as a name for the
doctrine of meaning, of linguistic meaning in particular. Semiotics is still
used, however, to denote a broader field: the study of sign-using behaviour in
general.
The notion of linguistic meaning, the
special concern of philosophical and linguistic semantics, must be
distinguished from other common notions with which it is sometimes confused.
Among them are natural meaning, as in smoke means fire or those spots mean
measles; conventional meaning, as in a red traffic light means stop or the
skull and crossbones means danger; and intentional meaning, as in John means
well or Frank means business. The notion of linguistic meaning, in contrast, is
the one exemplified in the following sentences:
The words bachelor and unmarried man
have the same meaning (are synonymous).
The word bank has several meanings
(is ambiguous).
The string of words colourless green
ideas sleep furiously is meaningless (anomalous).
The sentence all bachelors are
unmarried is true by virtue of its meaning (is analytic).
The complex expressions generated by
these devices are not only grammatical (assuming that their constituents are
grammatical) but also meaningful (assuming that their constituents are
meaningful). An adequate semantic theory, therefore, must account for this
fact. In other words, it must explain how the meanings of complex expressions
are determined by and predictable from the meanings of their simpler
constituents. The fact that complex meanings are determined by the meanings of
their constituents is often referred to as the compositionality of natural
languages.
THEORETICAL BASE OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
Language is a source of
communication. We share our ideas and thoughts with others using languages.
There are thousands of languages in this world. Countries have their own
national languages in addition to a variety of local languages spoken and
understood by their people. Some languages are spoken by millions of people,
others by only a few thousand.
English was originally the language
of England. Due to historical reason it has become the primary or secondary
language of many former British colonies such as the United States, Canada,
Australia, and India. Now It is the language of Hollywood and the language of
international banking and business. As such, it is a useful and even necessary
language to know. There are several factors that make the English language
essential for communication. First of all, it is the most common foreign
language. When two people who come from different countries meet usually they
use English as a common language to communicate. That’s why everyone needs to
learn the language in order to get in touch on an international level. Speaking
it will help us to communicate with people from countries all over the world.
English enriches the field of
education. In many countries, children are taught and encouraged to learn
English as a second language. It is the dominant language in the sciences. Most
of the research and studies we find in any given scientific field will be
written in English. At the university level, students in many countries study
almost all their subjects in English in order to make the material more
accessible to international students. It is the application of an integrating
approach for the development of communicative skills in the classroom, in which
the four skills in the acquisition of knowledge of a foreign language can be
taught in a coherent way, and practiced together, with a distinction of the
importance of one upon the other.
Teaching English as a second or
foreign language (ESL/EFL) is possible when the instructor’s teaching style
address the learning style of the learner, the learner must be motivated, and
the setting must provide resources and values that strongly support the
teaching of the language. Four primary skills – listening, reading, speaking,
and writing also includes related skills such as knowledge of vocabulary,
spelling, pronunciation, syntax, meaning, and usage. English communication
improves when the skills are interwoven during instruction. This is known as
the integrated-skill approach.
Friday, October 18, 2019
The Sower- Victor Marie
Hugo
The poem 'THE SOWER' is written by the famous French writer, Victor Hugo. He is well known for his poetry, drawing, novels and also famous journalist. He is famous among the Romanic writers. Notable works of Victor Hugo are; Cromwell (1827), Herani (1830), The Hunch Back of Notre-Dame(1831), Ruy Blas, Les Miserables (1862), Toilers of the Sea(1827), He was one of the Rationalist writer among the Russian writers. He was a passionate supporter of republicanism. He was honored in many ways, including his portrait being placed in French currency. He was buried in Pantheon in Paris.
Romantic features was one of the major factors which made Victor
Hugo famous among his contemporaries. He proposed to deal with materials from
common life in a selection of language used by the men. The poem titled The
Sower is one among such works. According to the poet and the translator of the
poem (Toru Dutt) poetry is not primarily a mirror of men in action, it is the
poets own feelings while processing the composition. Poems come out of the real
life situations that touched the poet’s heart. The remarkable use of
landscapes, together with flora and fauna become the major theme of romantic
poets The Farming and
the life of a farmer is the major theme of the poem and the poet describes his
feelings for the farmer along with the detailed description about the nature
around the farmer. The poet goes directly into the description from the very
first line itself.
First Stanza
“Sitting in a porchway……………………………working hours
are well night past.”
The poet is sitting leisurely in a porchway
enjoying the sunset and reddish sky. Poet describes the twilight sky. ‘The
twilight hastens on to rule’ the line suggest the over power of the twilight
sky over the day time because it is a time between the day and soon it will
become the night sky. ‘Working hours are well night past’ this line suggest the
time of work in the fields are over and the farmers and other workers can’t be
seen anywhere. Soon it is going to be night and dark all around.
Second Stanza:
“Shadow shoots…………………………………………………….. I feel a
thrill”
The twilight sky beautifies the place. An over
shadows and dark images are spreading all around the nature. All of a sudden
the attention of the poet is struck on a farmer who is standing alone in the
fields. From this stanza onwards the major attention is taken over by the
farmer who is standing alone in the fields. ‘Old in rags, he patient stands’
this line says about the old sower and his cloths, how tattered and muddy, but
the poet is so much thrilled to see his calm and peaceful in the field.
Third Stanza:
“Black and high……………………………………………….a time to reap
Since it is a twilight time everything appears
to be blackish and reddish in colour. ‘Silhouette’ the term used by Victor Hugo
in the poem which is a word of French origin, an illustrated outline filled
with solid colour usually black. The black shadows of the sower is dominating
the deep furrows in the fields. Since the sun is setting the silhouette
gradually becomes bigger and bigger thus even the deep furrows seems to be
small in front of the sower. Here the human aspects is shown powerful and
dominating over the nature. In the next line of the poem Victor Hugo describes
about the mindset of the sower in detail ‘now to sow……………..a time to reap’ the
farmer is hoping for a good harvest that will have to do in future because
today he will sow some seeds, later it will be watered, the seeds will grow and
soon the grains will appear and all his wishes will be fulfilled. Just like
hard work ultimately results in a fruitful joy the farmer also dreams about the
time of the harvest.
Fourth Stanza:
“Marches he along the plain…………………………to see
him stride”
The stanza deals with the movement of the farmer and about his actions in the field. The poet describes the farmer as marching rather than just saying walking this might be because of his strong determination and positive attitude towards a better future. The farmer was all alone in the field because he was the only person so fond of farming. Just like us when we face our problems in life individually with courage he also stands alone in the field. The farmer moves forward and backward scattering the precious grains which are both a symbol of prosperity and wealth of future. The grain is called ‘precious grains’ because each and every grain is important in the life of a farmer, he collects each one of them carefully so that he could have a harvest of better crops from his fields. The poet becomes dodgy and gloomy to see the sowers painful efforts.
Fifth
Stanza:
“Darkness deepens………………………………………..touch the starry skies”
The last stanza concludes with the description
of the night sky. The twilight sky gradually turns to night sky. The light are
all out and everywhere the darkness appears. Now the sower is invisible to the
poet even then the poet speaks about the gestures of the sower which will be
continuing in the field because he may not go back to his house. Now the poet
feels the majestic and awe-inspiring image of the sower. The gradual and
progressive growth of the shadow of the sower now reached the top of the sky and
the world appears to be the reflection of his shadow. The starry skies are
nothing but the reflection of the seeds thrown out from the hand of the sower.
LITERARY ASPECTS OF THE POEM
· Rhyming Scheme:
Rhyming words are standard rhymes consist of the repetition, in the rhythm
words of the last stressed vowel and of all the speech sounds of the following
vowel.
· Rhymes in the
poem are; cool-rule, fast-past, lands-stands, still-thrill, silhouette-set,
deep-reap, plain- grain, wide- stride, light- height, eyes- skies.
· Word pictures in
the poem
The poem titled ‘The Sower’ written by Victor
Hugo is a magnificent poem dealing with both nature and humanistic features.
The words are carefully selected and have detailed description of each and
every events happened in front of the poet. The poem was translated by the
famous writer from India, Toru Dutt. She is well known Indian writer, this poem
was translated by her. This translation is considered as most appreciated among
all the other translations of the poem.
QUESTIONS
1) “But
one sower linger still” why does the sower linger?
2) Why
does the speaker feel thrilled on seeing the sower?
3) Why
does the poet say “precious grains” rather than just grains?
4) Why
the poet does becomes moody in the fourth stanza?
5) Bring
of some comparisons between the poet and the sower?
EXERCISE & ACTIVITIES:
1) Collect
other poems of Victor Hugo and write appreciation?
2) Collect
some farming songs similar in theme from Malayalam or English language?
3) Make
comparison of the poet and the sower?
4) List
out the words showing emotions in the poem?
APARNA I JOY
ROLL . NO : 3
ENGLISH OPTIONAL
MICRO TEACHING LESSON PLAN - SET INDUCTION
MICRO
TEACHING LESSON PLAN FOR THE SKILL OF SET INDUCTION
Name of the student : Aparna I
Joy
Skill focused :
Set Induction
Subject : English
Unit : 3, Seeds and
Deeds
Topic : The Sower ( first
paragraph)
Strength: 35
Duration: 45 min
Learning objectives
To develop the skill of set induction by focusing on the following
component skills
· Use of previous knowledge or experience
· Link with the topic and topic
declaration
· Arousing curiosity and motivation
· Communication, verbal and non-verbal
· Use of appropriate device
· Confidence level
· Preliminary attention gaining
· Relevance and continuity
· Learner involvement
· Pleasing/ approachable
Process
Informal Interaction
Teacher enters the classroom and greets
the students. Then makes an informal interaction in order to create a good
rapport in the classroom.
Entry activity
Teacher first shows a picture and ask
the students to comment on it. Shows the picture of ant. And receive the
feedback from the students.
Teacher slowly generates discussion
about agriculture and ask few questions
·
What
does a farmer do?
·
How
important is the job of a farmer?
·
Does
a farmer enjoy a respectable position in the society?
·
What
is the attitude of the society towards farmers?
·
What
type of life farmer lead?
-Teacher shares her experience
and views like:
· India is an agrarian country
· Agriculture is the part and life of our
country
· Farmers are our primary providers
ACTIVITY
· Teacher shows a chart and give bits of
paper to the students and asked the students to write the benefits and problems
faced by agriculture.
· Teacher again shows a picture of Millet's 1850 painting The Sower and describe
the significance of the picture.
· The poem is the reflection of that
picture
· Then the teacher directly introduces the
chapter the name of the poem and author
Use of
appropriate devices
· Charts
· Pictures
· Activity box
Comprehension
Teacher asks several questions from the paragraph discussed to ensure
that the learners have clearly understood the poem.
Assignment
Teacher advices learners to make a thorough reading of the poem and
to clarify their doubts if they have
any.
APRANA I JOY
ROLL . NO : 3
ENGLISH OPTIONAL
Thursday, September 26, 2019
MERIT CUM TALENT DAY - REPORT
REPORT ON THE MERIT CUM TALENT DAY PROGRAMME-
തളിരും താരകങ്ങളും
“Talent is a dreadfully cheap commodity, cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work”.
-Stephen King
The merit cum talent day programme
of Govt. College of teacher Education, Thycaud was held on 26.09.2019(Monday) from 10.00 AM onwards. As the name suggests it
was a combination of two programmes- the Merit Day and the Talent Day. The
comparers of the programme were Anjana S and Aparna I Joy (I B.Ed). The
name of the programme was തളിരും താരകങ്ങളും.
The programme started with a prayer by Sathya and Vidhya (I B.Ed). The
welcome speech was done by Dr. J Lidson
Raj, Asst. Professor, GCTE, Thycaud. He welcomed the august gathering. He
also talked in brief about the importance and relevance of conducting such
programmes in educational institutions as they helps in bringing out the
talents of the students. Dr. B Suresh,
the Principal of GCTE, Thycaud was the chairman of the function. He talked
about the importance of nurturing talents in students and the role of teachers
in promoting the same. Being student teachers one needs to know the nuances
that happens behind every function. First-hand information regarding that can
only be earned by participating in such events.
The main attraction of the function
was the presence of the versatile persona Dr.
K K Suma, the Director, Department of Collegiate Education, Kerala University.
The function was officially inaugurated by lighting the lamp. She delivered a
wonderful and memorable speech. She talked about her studies, personal life and
her career. It was a motivational one. She shared with the audience all the
sweet and bitter experiences she faced in her life that has made her into a
successful person now. Her talk touched the hearts of many. She congratulated
all the winners of the merit day.
“It is the things that we work hardest for that will
reward us the most”.
A student should be appreciated for his or her merits. It
would help them to improve their performance. One of the main agenda of the
Merit cum Talent Day programme was to acknowledge the achievements of the
brilliant students who have made both the college and their parents proud
through their academic excellence. Those excellent students exhibits such
qualities that will not only help them in achieving their goals but also bring
glory of success to our college. Our college has a great history regarding
excellent academics. Every year we get so many prices both in academic and
cultural fields that shows the academic and cultural intelligence of the
students. They were appreciated during the event.
Our institution has always provided the students with a
healthy and fairly competitive environment to help them grow in every sphere of
activity, be it academics, other extra- curricular roles etc. The students are
given equal opportunities so that they realise their true potential and get
ready to face the outer world once they complete their academic life and move
on to their respective areas of interest. Trophies which were sponsored by
former teachers and students of this college were awarded in the function.
Their memories, hopes and aspirations lives through the trophies which were
handed over to the winners. They are not just for recognising those students
who have performed exceptionally well in their academics but also in other
fields too. It was a memorable moment for the prize winners and the visitors
alike and it motivates them to shine in the near future.
After the prize distribution it was time for the
felicitations. Felicitation was done by Dr.
A V Sujith, Asst. Professor, GCTE, Thycaud who motivated the students to
perform well. He shared his valuable experiences in being a student and a
teacher and the importance of getting the correct kind of motivation. Dr. Jolly S, Asst. Professor, GCTE,
Thycaud and convener of the event talked about the importance of cultural
activities in shaping a student's character. Nisha C S. the chairperson
of the institution felicitated the gathering and congratulated the winners and
gave her best wishes for the programs to be conducted. Abjini Merin Roy,
representative of the students also congratulated and wished the winners all the
best.
The last event was
the vote of thanks by V K Santosh Kumar.
He advised the students to be thankful for whatever we receive in our life. He
also addressed those students who have not got any price and advised them not
to lose hope as this is not the end of everything and there will be many more
opportunities coming their way to prove their mettle.
“To those of you who
received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C
students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States”.
As the name indicates the Talent day programme was rich in
talents- all the sprouts that is the first year B.Ed and M.Ed students
wholeheartedly took the courage to showcase their innate talents. The anchors
of the programme were Anjana S and Aparna I Joy of I B.Ed English. The Talent
day programs started at 12:20 p.m. with a fusion dance of I M.Ed students. The
Government College of Teacher Education witnessed a wide variety of talents
performed on stage by future teachers. The song of Srinath sir, Asst. Professor,
GCTE, Thycaud added more beauty to the event. The Talent day ended at 4:00 PM
with the comments of Jolly teacher, Asst. Professor, GCTE. She made a review on
the talent day programs that all the students were superb and did their job
well.
“Talent can’t be taught, but it can be awakened”.
-Wallace Stegner


