How to make one’s communication ambiguity-free? A critical study in the light of Structural Linguistics in ESL context
S. Joseph Arul Jayraj, India
S. Joseph Arul Jayraj is the Head & Associate Professor of English, at St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli-620 002, Tamil Nadu, India. He is interested in teaching and doing research in English Language and Literature. He has written two books and co-written three books. His current professional interests are literary criticism, theories, and creative writing. He can be contacted at 6jayraj@gmail.com
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Abstract
Introduction
How does language function?
Understanding the terms ‘Sign’, ‘Signifier’ and ‘Signified’
The basic elements of Semiology
How to make one’s communication ambiguity-free?
Grammatically well-formed sentences which convey wrong meaning or the meaning which cannot be true
The notional and formal sentences
Ambiguous sentences
Lexical ambiguity
Syntactic ambiguity
Reduced relative clauses
Scope of ambiguity due to anaphora resolution
Change in the order of adjectives
Avoidance of fronting or stranding a “prepositional phrase”
Compound use
Parallel sentence
Combinational complexity
Incremental and local language
Semantic ambiguity
The surface structure and the deep structure
Surface structure
Deep structure
What is grammar?
The need to study grammatical structures
What is to be taught and studied under grammar?
When to teach grammar?
The important points that need to be borne in mind while teaching grammar
The procedure that has to be adopted in analyzing the errors committed by the learners
The analysis
Action-plan proposed to make one’s communication ambiguity-free by rectifying errors
Conclusion
References
This research paper critically studies words and sentences which are uttered in isolated contexts during social interactions. It analyses the elements of ambiguities bestowed on the language used in specific contexts of communication with a variety of linguistic structures such as lexical, syntactic, semantic, contextual and pragmatic. It makes the readers aware of the various language-related issues which exist with regard to its structure and the varied uses of language in human communication. It also proposes the strategies and action-plan to eradicate errors which create various types of ambiguities in one’s communication and underscores the necessity to make the learners understand the rules of grammar and use them effectively in communication in ESL context.
Key Words:
Ambiguities, lexical, syntactic, semantic, contextual, pragmatic, and ESL context.
Every human language is composed of certain specific components such as phonemes (the smallest units of sound that may cause a change of meaning within a language but that do not have meaning by themselves), morphemes (the smallest units of a word that provide a specific meaning to a string of alphabets/letters, which are called phonemes), lexemes (the sets of all the inflected forms of a single word), syntax (the set of rules by which a person can construct sentences), semantics (the study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences), context (that explains how all these components within a language work together to convey a particular meaning, to a particular person, at a particular place, at a particular time), and pragmatics (meaning that happens in the context of discourse). All languages have these intrinsic structural rules that make meaningful communication possible. If any mismatch creeps into existence among these innate components of a language, it will lead to the committing of extrinsic mistakes, lapses and errors, which occur due to breach of codes or errors in the use of codes, in the process of reception and expression of communication among individuals and groups of communicators. Mistakes, lapses, errors, and breach of codes or errors in the use of codes do occur because of the lack of ‘grammatical competence’, and get manifested in the form of the lack of ‘communicative competence’ of the users of the target language. This process of communication starts gradually from speech perception to speech production. Language acquisition is the process by which a person acquires the capacity/competence to perceive and comprehend the message conveyed through the phonic and graphic signs used by the communicator. The reciprocator also uses the same signs to respond to one’s communication. Therefore, it is the bounding duty of a teacher of English as a Second/Foreign language to train the learners to be effective communicators.
Human language happens as a byproduct of a series of interactions between man and his environment. Language is used by a variety of people in a variety of contexts. The context or situation in which a sentence is uttered is very important in deciding its meaning. For example, ‘Could you show me the way to the Church, please?’ The given sentence is interrogative in form but expresses a polite request. The construction of these types of sentences creates room for misinformation due to the inbuilt elements of ambiguity and ultimately results in confusion and misunderstanding between the speaker/writer and the listener/reader.
Structural linguistics has its roots in Saussurean linguistics. A good knowledge of Saussurean thinking is indispensable to grasp the structures that underlie language and the role they play in deciding the meaning of one’s communication. Language is not a name to refer to things which already existed, but a set of labels because language existed before the existence of independent signs. It makes things intelligible by differentiating between the meaning of a word with the help of the graphical and the sound forms of the same word. According to Saussure, language is a system of signs. The connection between language as a sign and its meaning is arbitrary because the language is based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system. It is a convention accepted by all users of a given language (signifier) to refer to the thing/animal (signified) that is referred to. It is the verbal sign that necessitates a systematic structure for language. Linguistics is not based on a ‘diachronic’ study which deals with the way a language has developed over a period of time, but on a ‘synchronic’ study which is concerned with a language as it exists at one point of time.
Ferdinand de Saussure was the first to elaborate on the tripartite relationship among ‘sign’ = ‘signifier’ + ‘signified’. He perceived a word/phrase/sentence/a work of art as a sign. The term sign has a ‘double’ entity namely ‘Signifier’ and ‘Signified’. For example, as soon as one hears the word ‘chair’, it acts as a sign/an indicator of the object one refers to. In other words, the meaning of the word ‘chair’ is embedded in the ‘Signifier’ which refers to the combination of the graphical and the acoustic forms of the word ‘chair’, and the ‘Signified’ refers to the meaning of the word ‘chair’. Neither of these entities exists outside the construct called sign. They are separated or shown as two different entities in this paper for sake of the convenience of the readers. Literature and culture are embedded in language. All in the same culture share the same language. Claude Lévi-Strauss, a French social anthropologist, viewed cultures as systems of communication. His reorientation of linguistics underscores the fact that language must be considered a social phenomenon and a structured system of signs. According to him, though the function of a sign is basic to both language and literature, the meaning of the language varies according to the context and time in which it is used. For example, one is always “confused by the terms washroom, restroom, bathroom, lavatory, toilet and toilet room. …The Canadians use the word washroom to refer to a toilet while the Americans colloquially refer to it as bathroom or Saint John’s in the same situation” ( http://english.stackexchange.com/Questions/8281/ washroom-restroombathroom -lavatory-toilet-or-toilet-room). Therefore, Semiotics is relevant to the study of literature because literature uses language which is the primary system of sign in human culture. Symbol is a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process. The letter or letters that stand for a chemical element or a character in musical notation are the examples. Symbol refers to a thing or a word which denotes or stands for the referent. Saussure deliberately ignores the referent, which, in other words, is the thing that is referred to because a word which refers to a specific object in one cultural context refers to either the same object with the same word or a different cultural object with a different word as in the afore-cited example.
Saussurean terms namely ‘langue’, which means “language considered as an abstract system or a social institution, being the common possession of a speech community” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/langue) and ‘parole’, which means language as manifested in the actual utterances produced by speakers of a language (www.dictionary.com/browse/parole) play pivotal roles in a semiotic analysis of any text. Furthermore, all texts/signs consist of lexical (word), graphic (written/printed) and phonic (sound) units and gain their meaning via the constant clashes between these systems. Therefore, Semiological analysis aims to identify the principle at work in the message or text, and ties together all the elements to determine the rhetoric or the grammar.
The use of an image of a thing, a letter of the alphabet, word, hieroglyph, and character in literature
Example-1: A successive use of a letter of the alphabet such as XXX is used as an acronym or abbreviation for WWW which means World Wide Web.
Example-2: Ecclesiastically, the word ‘Gospel’ means “the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ” (www.thefreedictionary.com/gospel), which is epitomised by John in his gospel with the help of the following words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/John-3-16/). The Phonemes in the passage are italicised and underscored for emphasis. The italicised and underscored phonemes in the passage quoted above can be grouped together and the word ‘Gospel’ can be coined as an acronym from them.
Example-3: The image of a thing known as ‘Cross’ is considered a symbol for redemption and the symbol of the ‘Holy Ash’ on one’s forehead is considered a mark of impermanence of worldly life which is emphasised in “Genesis” as follows: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis-3-19/).
Example-4: The word ‘hieroglyph’ means a system of writing in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound (www.thefreedictionary.com/hieroglyphic). It is an artistic and pictographic representation of an ‘esoteric idea’ which is intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.
Example-5: The character like Judas is notoriously known for his kiss and betrayal of Jesus. His name is often invoked to accuse someone of betrayal. Judas is still somewhat of an ambivalent figure in Christian history. Judas’ betrayal, for instance, set in motion the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, which, according to traditional Christian theology, brought salvation to humanity. Some theological scholars praise Judas for his role in triggering humanity’s alleged salvation, and view Judas as the best of the apostles (http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Judas). The relational nature of language implied by Saussure’s system rejects the concept that a word or symbol corresponds to an outside object or referent. Instead, meaning is the interpretation of a sign which can exist only in relationship with other signs. In other words, a word does not refer to any object because meaning is not embedded in the object that is referred to, but in the word which is used as a sign to refer to the object.
People use their own language to put labels on all observable phenomena and they are conditioned to see only the object and ideas that can be expressed in the language. In other words, though ‘Syntax’ of a language presents the graphic form of a language, it does not provide any information about the meaning of the language in itself. It is the society which assigns meaning to these graphic forms of language according to the context in which these graphic symbols are used (Yule, 2014, pp.96-111). For example, ‘How does one identify a cow?’ The word ‘cow’ is used by people of the world after an agreement that this word can be used to identify an animal called ‘cow’. When someone pronounces the word ‘cow’, the hearer is able to recollect from his mind the image of the animal and correlate the image with that of the sound and graphic symbols of the word ‘cow’ and identify it as the animal referred to.
Stanley Eugene Fish in his essay “Is There a Text in this Class?” is of the opinion that the instability of the text means that no text can mean anything in particular. Others may believe that words in the texts undeniably have meaning. But the meaning of the text is not embedded in the language. Every text or utterance has an infinite plurality of meaning. Because of referential meaning of language, several situations and contexts can be attached to a single utterance. One of the valid reasons for the texts or statements to be understood or misunderstood differently by different persons at different contexts is that the readers of the texts or the listeners of the statements are able to construct meaning because the text that is read or the words that are heard are already embedded in contexts. There are as many meanings as possible for the text as there are readers. But the meanings are available to those who know the context in which the statement is uttered or the text is written.
Fish says that it is impossible to think of a sentence independently of a context. In other words, language cannot happen in isolation. It can happen only in contexts. The meaning of a text or a statement does not lie in the text, but in the contexts wherein the statement is uttered or the text is written. Therefore, the context is essential for proper understanding of the statement or the text. The listeners/readers are not free to confer any meaning on any utterance they like. Sometimes, the listeners/readers assume what the meaning would be. But the assumption of meaning can be challenged by another hearer or reader. Thus, the misunderstanding of the meaning of an utterance or the text becomes possible. There is one more reason that some listeners or readers may ‘mishear’ the utterance or ‘misread’ the text. Some others may ‘misprehear’ the utterance or ‘mispreread’ the text. Thus, according to Fish, the construing of sense leads to the identification of the context of the utterance or text. These reasons give vent to a question whether the context has come into existence first or the meaning. The answer, according to Fish, is that they occur simultaneously. Fish’s another question is that if the speaker’s words do not lead the hearer to the context of the speaker’s utterance, how the listener is able get there. The answer Fish gives is that it is due to the hearer’s preparation for organizing the world and its events. When the speaker and the listener agree on the statement and its meaning, it is a sign that the words are spoken and heard within the same system of intelligibility or frequency of understanding from which the statement and its meaning emerge. It is possible because the structures of words or sentences are not abstract and independent, but social. Fish shares the opinion of Derrida that texts are empty containers waiting to be filled with meaning. The reader assigns meaning to words and sentences of the text. The meaning assigned is not at all based on the reader’s private views, but on the shared agreement of the society in which the reader lives. Therefore, the meaning of words or sentences becomes the voice of the society. Thus, the speaker and the hearer indulge in communication confidently and their confidence has its source in a set of beliefs which are not individual but societal and conventional (Sethuraman, 1989, pp. 276-292). Therefore, the teachers of English and the students of ESL classes have to define their objectives of communication very clearly.
In spite of all the precautions taken by the speaker and the hearer, and the writer and the reader, ambiguities of various kinds do occur in one’s communication. They are:
Communicators assign specific meaning to a sentence in a specific context. The sentence may be a grammatically well-formed one but still can convey a wrong meaning. For example, ‘Honey is bitter’. The meaning of the sentence is not true. The sentence is grammatically well-framed but expresses the meaning that is not true.
The term ‘syntax’ is derived from the Greek word “‘syntassein’ which means ‘to put in order, arrange’”. It also means “Sentence structure: the arrangement of word forms to show their mutual relations in the sentence” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Vol. III, 1971, p. 2321). It can also mean “the arrangement of words in sentences, and the codified rules explaining this system” (Sylvia Chalker & Edmund Weiner, 2011, p.391). Therefore, syntax is a branch of Linguistics that is concerned with the study of the structure of a sentence and ordering of its components (Abrams, 2000, pp.141-142; Yule, 2014, pp.96-111). One of the tasks of syntactic analysis is to explain the arrangement of different parts of a sentence. As a general rule, a sentence is described as a group of words arranged in such a way to convey a complete sense. Nevertheless, in practice, especially in oral communication, the basic concept of a sentence undergoes a sea change. Sometimes, the thoughts expressed are not in the form of fully developed sentence. For example, ‘Come’, ‘Sit’, ‘Eat’, ‘Drink’, ‘Stand’, ‘Go’, etc. ‘You’ is implied before these imperative sentences. These sentences cannot be divided into patterns of elements of a sentence, because they are constructed in ‘unusual’ patterns of sentences and they do not follow the rules of a sentence pattern. Therefore, the linguists have developed two different approaches to define sentences. The first approach is known as ‘notional’ which characterizes a sentence as an expression of a single idea/concept, and the second approach is known as ‘formal’. The second approach explains the manner in which the sentences are constructed.
Some sentences can be constructed with single clause. For example, ‘The passenger wanted II class ticket’ (Main Clause). It is a simple sentence. It can also be modified or sub-divided further into different patterns of sentences which consist of multiple clauses as follows:
- The passenger enquired at the booking counter (Main Clause) whether (Subordinating Conjunction) a berth was available in the Grand Trunk Express of the 1st January 2016 (Subordinate Clause). It is a complex sentence.
- The Clerk at the booking counter wanted to know (Main Clause) whether (Subordinating Conjunction) the passenger wished to travel by II class A.C (Subordinate Clause). It is a complex sentence.
- The Clerk at the booking counter informed the passenger of the availability of the ticket (Main Clause) and (Coordinating Conjunction) directed him to Counter Number: 6 (Main Clause). It is a compound sentence.
This kind of examples and analyses enables the ESL (English as a Second Language) learners in constructing meaningful sentences according to the rules of the language and transform them from one sentence structure to another. For example,
- Positive statement in active voice: ‘Ms. J. Winfan Celes joins Ph. D programme in Biotechnology.’ From the above-constructed Positive Statement which is written in Active Voice, a variety of sentences can be created.
- Positive statement in passive voice: ‘Ph. D programme in Biotechnology is joined by Ms. J. Winfan Celes.’
- Negative statement: ‘Ms. J. Winfan Celes does not join Ph. D programme in Biotechnology.’
- Interrogative sentence: ‘Does Ms. J. Winfan Celes join Ph. D programme in Biotechnology?’
- Question tag: ‘Ms. J. Winfan Celes joins Ph. D programme in Biotechnology, doesn’t she?’
Taking into account the difficulties of learning the syntactic structures of English language, it can be reduced into a formula which will enable the learners to construct sentences with ease. The formulae for constructing sentences in Present Tense are as follows:
- Subject + am/is/are + Object/Complement/Adjunct.
For example,
- Subject (I/We/You/They) + First Form of Main Verb+ Object/ Complement/Adjunct.
For example,
- Subject (He/ She/ It) + First Form of Main Verb (+s/ +es/ +ies) + Object/Complement/ Adjunct.
For example,
In theoretical linguistics, grammaticality is the quality of a linguistic utterance of being grammatically well-formed. A judgment on whether a sentence or constituent is grammatically well-formed is based on whether the sentence is produced and interpreted in accordance with the relevance of grammar. If the rules of the particular language are followed, then the sentence is considered to be grammatical. In contrast, an ungrammatical sentence is one that violates the rules of a given language. Meaning is only divided into smaller structural units of words which happen in concrete social interactions based on certain specific contexts. These words are best presented in a sequence of sentences and in suitable contexts of interaction but certainly not in isolation. If a language is used outside the specific contexts of interactions, language will cause ambiguity of meaning. The term ‘ambiguous’ means “indefinite; capable of being understood in more than one way” (Tim, 2003, p.19). Different types of ambiguity may arise in one’s communication. The following are the examples of various types of ambiguous sentences.
The term “‘lexeme’ means a meaningful speech form that is an item of the vocabulary of a language. … ‘Lexical’ relating to words” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Vol. III, 1961, p.1301). For example, in the sentences given below, ambiguity of meaning arises because of the order of the arrangement of words.
Never drink a drink when the drink drinks you.
When the drinker drinks the drink (alcohol) and enjoys the intoxication of it, the drinker keeps the drink under his control.
When the drinker drinks the drink (alcohol) and crosses the limit, the drink (alcohol) starts drinking the drinker.
The following sentence has two layers of meaning. For example, “Rose rose to put rose roes on her rows of roses”. The given sentence can be interpreted in a meaningful way as follows: Rose [Name of a person] rose [stood, past tense of rise, meaning to get up] to put rose roes [a roe is a fish egg, and rose here is referring to a colour on her rows of roses] on the rows of roses [on the rows of flowers she has planted]. Therefore, the above-cited sentence means: Rose got up to put red fish eggs on her rows of rose flowers (https://prezi.com/rweuiaxhqjuc/ambiguity/). The successive sidings of words which have different spellings and meaning but have same pronunciation and multiple meanings may happen in certain contexts. In the sentences given below, “ambiguity arises out of a word or phrase having more than one meaning” (Sylvia Chalker & Edmund Weiner, 2011, p.21).
The given sentence is ambiguous because of its structure. For example, ‘The lady kissed the man with spectacles’. Such sentences are said to have syntactic ambiguity. The phrase ‘with spectacles’ is the cause for ambiguity. “There is often considerable doubt as to what the phrase refers to” (Sylvia Chalker & Edmund Weiner, 2011, p.21). The meaning of the sentence is ambiguous because it is not clear whether the lady used spectacles to kiss a man or she kissed a man who was with spectacles.
Though syntax and meaning interact, a sentence may be syntactically valid. Sometimes, all the words of a sentence may be meaningful, but the sentence as a whole may not be meaningful. For example, ‘About meaningless rhetoric this article is’. The words used in the sentence are all meaningful. But the change in the order of words in the sentence structure results in meaninglessness and confusion. The correct order of the words in the sentence is: ‘This article is about meaningless rhetoric.’
Demonstrations of ambiguity between alternative syntactic structures may arise as in the case of the following sentence. An ungrammatical sentence such as the following admits of no meaning. For example, ‘Neither of them and either of them sees them.’
In the absence of a personal pronoun followed by a comma in a sentence of relative clause, the meaning becomes ambiguous. For example, ‘While the boy was stoning the dog was running through the street’. The correct syntax of the sentence would be: ‘While the boy was stoning the dog [,] [it] was running through the street’.
Anaphora is the repetition of a certain word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines of writing or speech. For example, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck sings: “Over hill, over dale,/ Through hush, through briar,/Over park, over pale,/Through flood, through fire,/I do wander everywhere…” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1975, Act 2, Scene1, ll.2-6, p.47). The reader can note the point that the repetitions of not only certain words like ‘over’ and ‘through’, but also the repetition of grammatical constructions, prepositions and nouns which give the song the movement.
Similarly, John Milton, in Samson Agonistes, imagines Samson, blind and dejected, saying these words: “O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,/Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse” (Samson Agonistes, 2016, ll.80-81, p.6). The reader can understand the point that the repetition of the word ‘dark’ in the lines conveys to the reader the complete dejection of Samson and also the hopelessness of everlasting blindness.
Another example of anaphora occurs in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: “My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter,/ Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!/Justice, the law, my ducats, and my daughter!/A sealèd bag, two sealèd bags of ducats,/ Of double ducats, stol’n from me by my daughter/ (The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene Viii, ll:15-19, p.30) Solanio informs Salarino of the words blabbered by Shylock on the streets. It also echoes the disturbed frame work of the mind of Shylock who is under the influence of hysteria on having heard the news that his daughter Jessica has eloped with Lorenzo with all the properties of Shylock.
Therefore, from these examples, the reader can understand that anaphora is a fundamental rhetorical unit employed in a poem wherein the words and sounds are repeated merely for the pleasure they give the ear. In songs and choruses, a series of nonsense syllables are repeated at times (http://study.com/academy/lesson/anaphora-in-literature-definition-effect-examples.html).
Note the order of adjectives in the following sentences. The adjectives are used as adverbs in the following sentences:
- I’ve no doubt absolutely.
- We’ve understood the theory completely.
- The explanation is useless utterly.
Note: The afore-drafted sentences should have been written as follows:
- I’ve absolutely no doubt.
- We’ve completely understood the theory.
- The explanation is utterly useless.
The following sentence not only demonstrates the absurdity of fronting a “prepositional phrase” instead of stranding, but also illustrates the ungrammaticality resulting from fronting a “prepositional phrase” that is not a component of a proper syntax of the statement. For example, ‘This sort of nonsense which I will not put up with’. Rather, the sentence should have been stated as ‘I will not put up with this sort of nonsense’.
For example, “Being at once an inside-outsider and an outside-insider to the cultural geographies of his times, Jesus inhabited an “in-between” space that uniquely privileged him to see and appreciate the best and worst of the cultures that prevailed in ancient Judea” (Anthony B. Pinn and Benjamin Valentin, 2009, p. 47)
A parallel structure that begins with clauses must keep on with clauses. Changing to another pattern or changing the voice of the verb (from active to passive or vice versa) will break the parallelism. For example, ‘The teacher told the students that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some reading before the examination.’
The noun phrases and verb phrases in the following sentence are parallel with respect to structure. ‘The teacher taught grammar to the boy and the boy learnt grammar from the teacher.’
The following sentences are grammatically correct but are based on semantic combinations that are contradictory and therefore they would not normally occur. The sentences end in an unusual or unexpected manner. Although the following sentences are unlikely to have ever been said, the combinatorial complexity of the linguistic system makes them possible. For example, ‘One day, a big fish encountered a small fish. The small fish laughed at the big fish and said: “I’ll swallow you!” The small fish swallowed the big fish! ‘
A syntactic analysis of incremental and local language helps one to find out whether a sentence conforms to the rules of a formal grammar. The term ‘parsing’ means part of speech that leads to infelicitous constructions and interpretations. ‘Infelicitous’ means inappropriate and unpleasing manner or style of expression. The following example explains how incremental and (at least partially) local syntactic parsing can lead to infelicitous construction and interpretation. For example, if one says: ‘I express my hearty condolences’, the sentence is considered an infelicitous expression. The sentence should be constructed as follows: ‘I express my heart-felt condolences’.
A locally ambiguous sentence is one that contains an ambiguous phrase but has only one interpretation. The ambiguity in a locally ambiguous sentence briefly persists and is resolved by the end of the utterance. For example, ‘Jim: “Call me a dog.”/ Jill: “Ok, you’re a dog.” ’
“The Greek ‘semantikos’ means ‘the study of meaning’” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Vol.III, 1971, p.2062). In Linguistics, ‘semantics’ means the study of meaning of words, phrases and sentences that are used to understand human expression of concepts through language. According to George Yule (2014), it is concerned with the conventional or traditional meaning and not the associative meaning (p.114). Sylvia Chalker and Edmund Weiner (2011) opine that semantics is “the study or analysis of the relationships between linguistic forms and meaning” (p.355). Semantics is different from ‘Pragmatics’. Pragmatics is a study of the understanding of the implied meaning of interactions (Abrams, 2000, p.142). For example, ‘The room is warm’. The sentence is self-explanatory and literal meaning of the sentence is: ‘The room is not airy’. The implied meaning of the sentence is: ‘Open the window and allow the air to come in or Switch the fan on.’
Noam Chomsky underscores the difference between the ‘surface structure’ and the ‘deep structure’ of a sentence. What he calls the ‘surface structure’ of a sentence is its grammatical form, and the ‘deep structure’ is understood as the meaning of a sentence (Abrams, 2000, p.145). Furthermore, construction of identifiable parts of speech gives a definite structure and meaning to a sentence to one’s communication. Sentence structures have defined boundaries within which (a) each part of speech is physically or functionally connected to the other parts of speech, and (b) the parts of speech themselves have their relationships with the other.
It refers to a sentence in a specific structure that is heard and spoken. In transformational grammar, it refers to the formal structure of a sentence as it actually occurs in speech. For example, the surface structure of the opening line of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice reads in Chapter-I as follows: “IT is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (p.1).
- The surface level meaning of the surface structure of the opening line of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice indicates how Austen is going to assemble the idea of social conventions having a role in how individuals are “supposed” to act. Such a line indicates the idea that a single man is going to marry. This social expectation is placed upon women in that their function is “supposed” to compete for such a man’s affection. The fact that Austen uses the words “universally” and “truth” to describe such a condition indicates that social conventions are something that are meant to be upheld under all circumstances, just as universal truths are to be upheld in all circumstances.
- The surface level meaning of the surface structure of the following words: “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke, 1:34). The literal meaning of the surface structure of the sentence is that the speaker is wondering how she can bear a child being a spinster.
In transformational grammar, it refers to the abstract syntactic pattern and meaning underlying the construction in the surface structure of a sentence. In other words, it does not refer to the formal structure of a sentence and its meaning as it actually occurs in speech, on the other hand, it refers to the abstract intentions with which the words are uttered or arranged in a sentence structure.
The deeper level meaning of the deep structure of the opening line of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice indicates how Austen uses this line to open her novel which will question socially dictated notions, stratification within a social order, and tells men and women what to do (“universally acknowledged truth”) as opposed to allowing them what they wish to do. As one reads the novel, it will be interesting for him/her to compare this line to the situations that he/she will encounter and test its validity. In doing so, one will understand why Austen begins with such a notion.
The deeper level meaning of the deep structure of the following words: “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34). Note that this sentence does not have any syntactical difference at the surface level, but it does have semantic difference in its deep level as follows: Mary, understanding the angel to imply an immediate conception, objected to the marriage-relationship and she was not allowed to get married to Joseph till the year of espousal was completed.
A commonly held opinion among the catholic exegetes holds that Mary had made a vow of perpetual virginity even before her espousal to Joseph; Joseph accepted marriage under this most unusual condition. Mary decided upon perpetual virginity at the time of the annunciation, either because of the demands of Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (http://www.biblegateway.com/ passage/?Search= Isaiah+7% 3A14&version=NIV) [The quote is mine] or because of the impelling necessity of the mystery of the divine maternity (A. Joseph Fitzmyer SJ & E. Raymond Brown, 1968, pp.122-123).
“The study of grammar is an exercise in logical thinking; therefore, it trains the mind” (Frisby, 1966, p.267). So, teaching of grammar undertakes a scientific study of its rules, and of the use of these rules, and analyses the components of a language. John M. Kean and Carl Personke (1976) distinguish the grammar of a language from its ‘concept’ and ‘use’ as follows: “Grammar is a description of the expression system of a language, including rules for manipulation of that system” (p.16).
Grammar can be classified into two types: formal and functional grammar’. ‘Formal Grammar’ refers to grammar which is taught in a formal way. It is also called the ‘Prescriptive Grammar’ or the ‘Traditional Grammar’, which deals with the definitions and rules of the language. In this type of grammar, there are set rules. The learners first learn rules and then practise the rules in speech and writing. Normally, in almost all the educational institutions in India, the first type of teaching grammar is followed in ESL classes. ‘Formal Grammar’ develops the learners’ ability to describe the language. The second type of teaching grammar is known as ‘Functional Grammar’, which is also called ‘Incidental Grammar’. The learners learn this type of grammar when language learning is the first concern of the learners and knowing the rules of the language is secondary. ‘Formal Grammar’ develops the learners’ ability to describe the language, whereas ‘Functional Grammar’ develops the learners’ ability to use the language. If it is taught inductively through activities without using technical words and rules, then grammar can be learnt with a lot of interest.
“Otto Jesperson’s (1904) How to Teach a Foreign Language advocates the use of contextualized learning material” (Krishnaswamy, 1992, p.204). According to Kelly and Titone, ‘Form-focused’ language teaching lays stress on “the rules of grammar, structures, the development of vocabulary and the sounds of language” (Methods of Teaching English, 1995, p.65). ‘Meaning-focused’ language teaching “emphasizes language use, communication or fluency, and appropriacy of expression in different situations” (Methods of Teaching English, 1995, p.65). ‘Form-focused teaching’ (Formal/Prescriptive/Traditional Grammar) is the basic foundation on which the superstructure namely ‘Meaning-focused teaching’ (Functional/Incidental Grammar) can be built. So, the objectives of teaching and learning English need to be modified suitably. It is also advisable to use grammar not only in contexts but also in a full sentence pattern. It should not be taught and learnt in isolation.
Michael Swan, while reviewing S. Thornbury’s How to Teach Grammar (1999), states “… that a bit of grammar practice is probably all right if it is done tastefully in appropriate communicative contexts...for instance, when embedded in tasks” (The Journal of English Language Teaching, Vol.55 / 2, pp.203 - 204). Skinner perceives grammar as a necessary discipline, which can be made fascinating. As language is basically meant for communication, teaching of the grammatical rules helps the language learners to use language effectively. Any language course must be organized on the skeleton of grammar, which the language teacher must be conscious of throughout the course. But a care must be taken by the teachers in teaching grammar because according to Comenius (1592-1670), “...language should not be the object of learning but the outcome, the product” (Krishnaswamy, 1992, p.201).
At this juncture, one feels the need to make the teaching grammar mandatory because it plays a pivotal role in ESL context. Grammatical competence empowers the learners to communicate accurately and fluently in phonic as well as graphic modes of expression accurately. It is the need of the hour to learn both ‘usage’ and ‘use’ in the target language. In teaching and learning of English in ESL context, grammar has been ignored, slighted, bungled, mismanaged or barely managed. Of course, for the multifarious injustice done to grammar, all the academicians and students are to be blamed. So it is high time to restore the teaching of grammar to its full due in order to enable the learners to get on to a surer footing when they are required to express themselves in either mode—phonic or graphic. The neglect of grammar, in particular, hampers the learners’ accuracy not only at the level of language production but also at the level of assimilation. This is only too true because the core of language (‘langage’), even as Ferdinand de Saussure has affirmed, is ‘langue’ and knowledge of langue-grammar determines the myriad modes of parole manifesting ‘langue’. In order to avoid the above-mentioned ambiguities that are likely to happen in one’s communication, the teachers of English need:
- To emphasize the necessity and prudence of teaching relevant grammar and teaching it delightfully to the students.
- To make the students aware of the elements of ambiguity that may arise during interpersonal communication.
- To re-position the language teaching securely on foundations of the learners’ cognitive activities such as i) pattern-detection ii) insight-formation iii) hypothesis-formulation iv) rule generalization and v) the eventual internalization of grammatical rules and regulations synthesizing the different activities mentioned and implied.
- To extend, update and so augment the grammatical competence and performance of the teachers and the students by re-acquainting them with a plurality of grammar theories and models.
- To moderate and correct the excessive and exclusive emphasis on ‘fluency’ and harmonize it with accuracy so as to achieve genuine fluency in lieu of the currently pursued pseudo-fluency.
- To highlight the relevance of Structural Method for ‘accuracy’ development and Communicative Language Teaching for ‘fluency’ development so as to work out a suitable blend or balance.
- To propose strategies to teach and learn grammar successfully.
A rapid revision of basic grammar can be done inductively, if needed, deductively. It will increase the confidence of the learners to indulge in communicative language activities and also enhance the learners to start with speaking and writing competencies and performance. Language is a means of communication. In L1 situation, one learns to speak informally at home. In L2 situation, one is taught grammar and trained to listen, speak, read and write formally only at school (Jayraj, 2009, p.350).
If the user of a language has only knowledge of language rules and forms, he/she is said to have ‘linguistic competence’. If he/she also has the knowledge to communicate functionally and interactively, then he/she is said to have ‘communicative competence’. “Communicative competence includes: (i) knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language, … (ii) knowing how to use and respond to different types of speech acts such as requests, apologies, and thanks at different contexts, and (iii) knowing how to use the language appropriately” (Jayraj, 2009, p.350).
An “implicit” grammatical knowledge is a prerequisite to enable a second language learner to communicate in English. But in a second language situation, experience shows that learners spend years to learn English in vain irrespective of the continuous composition, corrections and suggestions. It is a bitter experience for the learners to learn English, especially if the learners do not have fluency and accuracy in using English. It may be due to i) the learners’ aversion to formal instruction of grammar, ii) the intellectual laziness of the learners, and iii) lack of language teaching atmosphere in the classrooms.
A learner can learn English as a second language easily by learning grammar well. Learning of grammar rests on the assertion of the learner’s Will. The training of the Will of the learner is not taken into consideration in the language teaching pedagogy because most teachers do not believe in it. But classroom experience shows that a learner can learn any skill at any time provided English is taught continuously in a formal way. If anyone wants to learn how to ride a bicycle, the art of riding a bicycle can be learned by constant use. Similarly, English can also be learnt through trial and error method.
If a learner does not systematically train his/her mind in the logic of using grammar accurately when he/she is young, it will be very difficult to train the mind of the learner in using English fluently and accurately. The best shortcut method to learn English is to learn it formally. For example, if a learner wants to learn English, let the learner try to pick up English Grammar for a stipulated period every day. By doing so, the learner can learn the pattern of English language.
If a teacher teaches English Grammar to a learner who has an internal motivation, the learner can learn it by all means. If anyone thinks that learning formal grammar will be boring, so would any other linguistic activity. One cannot write many interesting sentences with ease during the beginning of a language learning programme. So, the learners should not worry about trying to learn English. The learners should know how to use the parts of speech in grammatically correct sentences. Gradually, more such language using activities can be added as the learners get more and more efficient in forming them.
Stage-1: During the primary school years, an informal way of teaching English grammar is very much suitable. The learners need to be taught the parts of speech, but they can be presented without being too technical. So, formal grammar has to be taught gradually and systematically.
Stage-2: During the middle school years, a learner is quite young and it is easy for the learner to learn grammar. So, grammar can be taught intensively through plenty of composition and drill.
Stage-3: During the high school years, the learners become adults. If grammar is taught at a later stage, still a learner can learn it. But, he/she has to exert himself/herself to learn it. But normally, a learner will find it more difficult when he/she grows older.
Close attention to formal grammar accelerates the process of learning it effectively. For example, formal instruction in phonetics and mathematics accelerates the pace by which decoding and reproduction becomes easy to the learners.
Learning English Grammar is a skill like learning to swim, paint, etc. Teachers do “teach” children to swim, paint, etc. So, one can learn English Grammar through constant practice.
Teaching remedial grammar will play a decisive role in training the minds of the learners to think logically and empowering them to acquire language skills effectively.
Scholars who support formal study of grammar are of the opinion that the study of grammar accelerates language acquisition with good speed. Interest is the strongest catalyst in effective language acquisition, and dry grammar rules, drills and test-taking push the excitement and fear out of the minds of the learners.
Language is an innate psychological as well as physical skill that all learners have to acquire consciously over a period of time. Only then, the learners can speak confidently and fluently. Provision can be made to enable the learners to have participatory learning experience. A sense of curiosity, an urge or a desire can be created in the learners in order to help them find out and learn on their own. For example,
Statement: I go to Church.
Negative: I do not go to Church.
Question: Do I go to Church?
Question Tag: I go to Church, don’t I?
The analysis is based on Pit Corder’s three stages of error analysis as shown in the following diagram:
The first stage, Recognition, is “crucially dependent upon correct interpretation of the learner’s intentions.”
The second stage, Description, places the erroneous entity after the correct form of the target language and makes a description of the error.
The third stage, Explanation, is regarded as a linguistic problem, i.e., “a statement of the way in which the learner has deviated from the realization of rules of the target language in the derivation of the sentence, that is, what rules he has broken, substituted or discarded” (Corder, 1971, pp.127).
Given below is an erroneous sentence. It is followed by its plausible reconstruction in the target language. The learner intended to convey the message in the Simple Present Tense. For example, ‘He goes to the Church.’
Recognition of the erroneous form of the sentence:
The definite article ‘the’ brings about a change of meaning to the sentence. The statement means that he goes to Church not for worship, but for some other purpose.
Description of the correct form of the sentence
‘He goes to Church.’ The statement means that he goes to Church for worship.
Explanation
When he was asked for an explanation for the mistake he had committed, the learner was able to identify and correct the mistake. He has the habit of using the definite article unnecessarily.
Thus, in ESL context, an account of the context in which the lexical, syntactic, and semantic errors committed by the learners can be analyzed. The sentences that are uttered or written by the learner in spelling and form have to be taken for careful scrutiny and analysis. The errors need to be identified and described by comparing them with the appropriate forms. Based on the appropriate structures of sentences, explanations of the errors can be offered. The reason and the manner in which they occur can be found out. The correct interpretation of the learner’s intentions can be made known to the learners.
The class can be allowed to do the grammatical activity after a model presented by the teacher. Individual learners can be invited to do it. The learners can be encouraged to take part in the learning process. The learners can learn more readily, if they are encouraged to use the rules of grammar that they are learning.
The learners should not only be involved in doing the grammar activities but also be encouraged to carry out correction of the mistakes that they have committed after completing the activities. What matters is whether the learners enjoy them, no matter whether they are artificial or authentic (Andrew Wright as qtd. in Holden, 1980, p.65).
If the activities are presented in proper and known contexts, they can motivate the learners to participate in grammar learning activities. If a learner is rewarded or encouraged by a round of applause, a smile or a word of appreciation, greater learning will take place. It can be done both in the beginning and after taking part in the language activities. The grammatical activities designed need to be interesting and relevant to the learners. They also need to be presented in a language that is simple and understandable, and the learners can be made to believe that they can do the exercises on their own initiative with ease. The exercises can be designed in such a way that they should be made to build up the confidence and standard of the learners. Gradually the learners can be guided to move from simple repetition of grammatical activities to more free use of sentence patterns.
The grammar-teaching programme and the materials produced can be made realistic by taking into consideration the entry level of the learners to a carefully worked out final level. Otherwise, the teacher will be teaching above the heads of the learners. Remedial materials can be used to enable the slow learners to rise to the level of participating confidently in language activities. A good teacher can get good results by whatever approach, method and technique he is using (Abercrombie, 1956, p.16).
The emotions and feelings one has in one’s mind on anything are expressed through specific language structures that exist in the form of words, phrases, and sentences which are approved of and used by the society in specific contexts of communication. The underlying elements in a language that are used in various contexts to develop general conclusions about the individual words, phrases, and sentences which are part and parcel of a specific linguistic system from which they emerge are underscored. Certain systems that underlie the linguistic structures are classified and how an individual structure belongs to a particular structural category is demonstrated. The meanings the language structures convey are explained and the points are elucidated with apt examples. The reasons that are embedded in the conveyed thoughts in the form of specific linguistic structures which are responsible for creating rooms for understanding or misunderstanding in one’s communication are explained. The readers of the paper are enabled to indulge in structuralist activity when he/she examines the structure of words, phrases, and sentences to discover how their composition demonstrates the underlying principles of a structural system of a specific language. The ways and means to make one’s communication ambiguity free and effective are proposed.
Thus, the elements of ambiguities which happen while using language in specific contexts of communication in lexical, syntactic, semantic, contextual and pragmatic structures, words and sentences which are created in specific contexts of communication are brought out. The different purposes with which these words and sentences are used are analyzed. The readers are made aware of the different language-related issues which exist with regard to its form and function in communicative contexts. The strategies to teach grammar are mentioned and an action-plan is proposed to eradicate errors which create various types of ambiguities in one’s communication. The teacher’s role to make the learners understand the rules of the language and the methods to enable the learners to use them effectively in communication in ESL context is emphasized.
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