1. Levels of Linguistic Analysis Prof. Nitin Doke Deptt
Levels of Linguistic Analysis Prof. Nitin Doke Deptt. of English

2. Introduction
For Language study, areas are marked and subdivided – it helps in analytic & systematic study
Language has linear and hierarchical structure
Language is made up of smaller units which are made up of still smaller units & finally smallest indivisible unit – single distinguishable sound called phoneme

3. Introduction (contd..)
Other way round also possible – Phonemes combine to make up morphemes which combine to make up words which combine to make up phrases and sentences ….. Text or discourse
At each stage (or level) certain rules operate which permit occurrence and combination of smaller units

4. Rules? (Conventions)
Rules of phonology determine occurrence and combination of particular phonemes (sp/pl/pr/sk/sl )
Rules for word formation – behaviour of morphemes (unfaithfully)
Rules of sentence formation – combination & positioning of words in a sentence
So each level is a system in itself.

5. Rules? (Conventions)
Because of rules at each level, we can analyse each level independently of the other
Although each level is linked to the other in hierarchy, still it is independent because of distinct rules that can be described, analyzed and understood.
Each level of analysis corresponds to each level of the structure of language

6. Levels
Levels of Analysis Levels of structure Phonetics & Phonology Sounds Morphology Word formation Syntax sentence formation Semantics Meanings Pragmatics(Discourse) Connected sentences in context

7. Levels of language linked
Levels of language are not completely separate, important & vital linkages are present
Earlier thought – Phonology had no link with semantics
Now we know – Link much more complex than thought earlier
e.g discourse made up of all levels working together, Semantics has analysis both at words & sentence meaning

8. Levels (Brief description)
Phonetics: Phonetics explores how the linguistically relevant sounds in the languages of the world are produced, and how these sounds are perceived
Studies language at the level of sounds: articulated by the human speech mechanism & received by auditory mechanism
Articulatory/ Auditory/ Acoustic Phonetics
Minimal distinctive contrastive unit of speech- Phoneme

9. Phonetics (contd..)
It studies how sounds can be distinguished and characterized by the manner in which they are produced
It also talks about different symbols (phonetic symbols) used for different sounds / alphabets

10. Phonology
Phonology: Phonology examines how sounds pattern in languages, how sounds are combined to make words, how sounds near each other affect each other and how sounds are affected by where in the word/phrase they occur. (comfort/ wind mill/ good girl)
Studies the formation of syllables and larger units

11. Phonology (contd..)
It studies combination of sounds into organized units of speech, the formation of
syllable and larger units.
It describes the sound system of a particular language & the combination and distribution of sounds which occur in that language.

12. Phonology (contd..)
Classification is made on the basis of the concept of
phoneme i.e /m/, /g/,/p/. These distinct sounds
enter into combination with others – rules of
combination are different in different languages

13. Morphology
Morphology: Morphology examines the structure of words and the principles that govern the formation of words.
Words also made up of a number of units, the word ‘unhappiness’ involves three elements (or morphemes) un-, -happy- and –ness. Morphology deals with how languages add morphemes together.
Morpheme- minimal, distinctive and grammatical/semantical unit

14. Morphology (contd..)
It studies the patterns of formation of words by combination of sounds into minimal distinctive units of meaning called morphemes
Morpheme cannot be broken – it will no longer make sense e.g bat (single morpheme)
Single morpheme – bat or two morphemes bat + s
Morpheme- Prefix, suffix (Inflectional/ Derivational)
(class changing/ class maintaining)

15. Morphology (contd..)
Level of morphology is related to phonology on the one hand and to semantics on the other
take – took (change in one of the sounds)
take the action take + time present change
took the action take + time past in
meaning

16. Syntax (Structure)
Syntax: Syntax investigates the structure of sentences and the common principles that determine how phrases and sentences are built up from words.
Linearity and hierarchy clearly visible here
It also explores the way that languages vary in their application of these common principles by looking at the variation across languages.
SVO/ SOV

17. Syntax (contd..)
Syntax describes the rules of positioning of elements in a sentence – Noun /nouns syntax phrases, verb/verb phrases, adverbial phrases
Syntax also describes the function of elements in a sentence e.g Noun ‘boy’ has different functions / roles in (a) & (b)
(a) The boy likes cricket.
(b) The old man loved the boy.
(a) Sprinkle water on the plants
(b) I watered the plants

18. Syntax (contd..)
Rules of syntax should explain how grammatical & meaningful sentences are formed.
e.g. Colourless green ideas sleep furiously (meaningless)
The tree ate an elephant
The bachelor gave birth to six children
Ambiguity:
Time flies
She gave her dog biscuits
He kissed her back

19. Semantics
Semantics studies the meanings of words and sentences independently of any context.
It is a factual/ surface level study of meaning
Semantics seeks to explain how it is that we come to have such a clear understanding of the language we use.
It analyses the structure of meaning in language.

20. Semantics (contd..)
Example: Semantics analyzes how words similar and different are related; it attempts to show these inter-relationships through forming categories.
Synonym/ antonym/ Homonym/ Homophone
It attempts to analyze and define ‘abstract’ words. Example: easy to define ‘tree’, ‘table’
difficult to define ‘love’, ‘feel’
Ambiguity:
They must be married
The priest married the poor girl
The dish is too hot to eat

21. Pragmatics
Level of language analysis that studies meaning in context (Semantics doesn't)
Our language use is guided by – who, whom, when, where, why, how
Death
Shut up/ be quite/would you please be quiet/would you please keep your voice down
One of the most influential brains, David Crystal, states, "Pragmatics is the study of language from the point of view of users, especially of the choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using language in social interaction and the effects their use of language has on other participants in the act of communication"

22. Pragmatics
“Pragmatics can be usefully defined as the study of how utterances have meanings in situations.” (Leech, 1983:13)
“Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said.” (Yule, 1996:3)
Mey (2001:6) states, “Pragmatics studies the use of language in human communication as determined by the conditions of society.”

23. Pragmatics
According to George Yule (1996:3) Pragmatics is concerned with the following four areas:
a) Pragmatics studies speaker meaning:
b)Pragmatic studies contextual meaning:
c) Pragmatic studies how more gets communicated than what is said:
d) Pragmatic studies relative distance:
Speech Act/ Implicature/ Face/ Politeness…

24. Man: Does your dog bite?
Woman: No.
[The man reaches down to the pet the dog. The dog bites the man’s hand]
Man: Ouch! Hey! You said your dog doesn’t bite.
Women: He doesn’t. But that’s not my dog.

25. Sally: What’s the weather going to be like today?
Harold: You should bring your umbrella.
A: I am out of petrol
B: There is a garage round the corner
A: Smith doesn’t seem to have a girl friend these days.
B: He has been paying a lot of visit to New York lately.

26. A:Let’s get the kids something.
B: Okay, but I also Veto I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M-S
a. Miss X sang ‘Home sweet Home.’
b. Miss X produced a series of sounds that corresponded closely with the score of ‘Home sweet home’

27. Discourse
Discourse: a unit of text used by linguists for the analysis of linguistic phenomena that range over more than one sentence.
formal and orderly and usually extended expression of thought on a subject
connected speech or writing
a linguistic unit (as a conversation or a story) larger than a sentence

28. Discourse (contd..)
At discourse level we analyze inter-sentential links that form a connected or cohesive text.
Cohesion – relation formed in a sentence between it and the sentences before it and after it, by using connectives
By this study we can know how a piece of connected language can have greater meaning that is more than the sum of the individual sentences

29. Some other studies
Graphology: study of the writing system of the language and conventions used in representing speech in writing – formation of letters
Lexicology: studies the manner in which lexical items are grouped together as in compilation of dictionaries

30. Two views about scope
Micro-linguistic: Study confined to phonology, morphology and syntax
Macro-linguistic: Other aspects of language and its relationship with many areas of human activity

31. Thank you