FILI 101

Verbal / Speech Communication

Fundamentally involves the production and reception of oral sounds using the vocal tract, traveling across acoustic wavelengths to neural pathways.

Primacy of Speech

Oral speech is primary, innate, and historically antecedent. Written language is a secondary, invented preservation system.

Mental Process & Cognition

Functions as an instrument of thought that directly "mirrors the mind"; internal speech reflects human consciousness. While neurologically typical humans share equivalent vocal tract anatomy, variations in cognitive processing account for individual differences in verbal facility.

Linguistic Structure

An arbitrary system of signs, symbols, and syntactic categories arranged according to logical, rule-governed constraints. Example: English requires a structure; scrambling these structural units destroys both grammatical and semantic coherence. The specific structure is missing in the source.

Culture-Shaped Institution

Language serves as the primary vehicle for transmitting community values, social norms, and cultural identities. Ferdinand de Saussure: "Language is a social institution."

Sociolinguistic Example: Po and Opo

The use of honorifics such as "Po" and "Opo" in Batangueño/Tagalog reflects deep cultural respect depending on social distance. Elder/Teacher: "Opo, Ma'am. Susunod po ako." Close Friend: "Oo, susunod ako." Younger Sibling: "Oo, gawin mo na."

Structuralism

Key figures: Ferdinand de Saussure and Leonard Bloomfield. A structured, semiotic system of interrelated, rule-governed, arbitrary vocal components operating as a system of systems. Pedagogical application: Structural mastery, phonological pattern drills, sentence parsing, and systematic code analysis.

Transformationalism / Generativism

Key figure: Noam Chomsky. An abstract, generative mental system. Acquisition depends on innate cognitive mechanisms (competence) and creative realization (performance). Pedagogical application: Creative open-ended tasks, role-playing, and activities activating the learner's innate generative grammar.

Functionalism

Key figures: Michael Halliday and Richard Nordquist. An instrument for communication, social interaction, and personal expression operating within broader discourse contexts. Pedagogical application: Authentic communicative tasks where learners negotiate meaning, persuade, express emotions, and exchange information.

Interactionism

Key figures: Lev Vygotsky and Jerome Bruner. The product of human social drive, emerging from the continuous interplay between biological capability and active social interaction. Pedagogical application: Collaborative peer activities, group problem-solving, and communicative immersion to foster internal speech.

Learned

Acquired via environmental exposure and social interaction. While genetically pre-programmed, language proficiency requires practice, imitation, and behavioral reinforcement.

Culture-Related

A bidirectional relationship where language reflects cultural norms while culture reshapes linguistic structure.

Species-Specific

A biological endowment unique to Homo sapiens, mediated by the cerebral cortex (Edward Sapir: "Language is human"). Animal communication is bound to context and immediate stimuli (e.g., bee dances, bird calls); conditioned responses include a dog responding to its name as an auditory cue rather than an abstract signifier. Human communication involves left-hemisphere cortical manipulation of abstract, arbitrary symbolic structures.

System of Systems

A structural hierarchy of interdependent subsystems (phonological, morphological, syntactic). The source gives an example of a phonotactically permissible sequence contrasted with one that violates English phonotactic and semantic rules, but the sequences are missing.

Vocal

Sound production via the vocal apparatus is primary; graphic representations are secondary conventions.

Skill Subject

Requires the coordination of receptive decoding skills (Listening, Viewing) and expressive encoding skills (Speaking, Writing).

Arbitrary

Words have no natural or intrinsic physical connection to the things they represent.

Socrates on Arbitrariness

Posited an inherent "integral correctness" between words and physical reality.

Lucretius on Arbitrariness

Refuted intrinsic meaning, arguing that naming arises through continuous social convention.

Wilhelm von Humboldt on Arbitrariness

Suggested speech sounds are selected to match subjective auditory impressions.

Ferdinand de Saussure on Arbitrariness

Formulated the principle that the linguistic sign is completely arbitrary and established by social convention.

Conventional & Non-Instinctive

An unwritten social contract preserved and modified across generations; not inherited purely by biological reflex without socialization.

Productivity & Creativity

The capacity to produce and comprehend an infinite number of novel utterances using a finite set of grammatical rules.

Duality of Patterning (Double Articulation)

Primary Level (Low level): Discrete, meaningless sound segments (e.g., individual phonemes; some symbols are missing in the source). Secondary Level (High level): Combinations of these units according to strict morphosyntactic rules to construct meaningful morphemes, words, and sentences (e.g., "pen"). Syntactic ordering determines meaning ("The hunters shot the lion" vs. "The lion shot the hunters").

Humanness

Rooted in specialized anatomical structures (vocal tract geometry) and neural architecture. Noam Chomsky: "To say that language is not innate is to say there is no difference between my grandmother, a rock, and a rabbit".

Displacement

The capacity to convey messages about events, entities, and abstract ideas that are removed in time and space (past, future, counterfactuals). Bertrand Russell: "No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest."

Absolute Universals

Structural properties shared by every natural language (e.g., presence of vowels and consonants).

Implicational Universals

Conditional structural properties where the presence of one feature systematically predicts the presence of another.

Language Functions (Saving, 1983)

"Language functions represent the practical application of linguistic form... the use to which language is put, the purpose of an utterance rather than the particular grammatical form an utterance takes."

Interpersonal Function

Manages and sustains interpersonal ties and social actions ("Let us talk.").

Informative Function

Conveys declarative assertions, empirical facts, or logical descriptions that carry truth values ("Humans are capable of love.").

Performative Function

Directly executes an action or commits the speaker to a state of affairs via the utterance itself ("I do", "I apologize").

Expressive Function (General)

Discloses internal emotional states, attitudes, or psychological moods ("You are such a happy pill!").

Roman Jakobson's Six-Factor Model

Context—Referential; Sender (Addresser)—Emotive/Expressive; Receiver (Addressee)—Conative; Channel/Contact—Phatic; Code—Metalingual; Message—Poetic.

Referential Function

Focuses on denotative cognitive content, topic, and real-world reference ("The sun rises from the east and sets in the west.").

Emotive / Expressive Function (Jakobson)

Direct expression of the speaker's affective attitude toward the topic; characterized by interjections ("Ouch!", "Yuck!", "Wow!").

Conative Function

Directive orientation aimed at engaging or commanding the addressee to act ("Come in and join the class", "Run.").

Phatic Function

Verifies, prolongs, initiates, or terminates the physical and psychological channel of contact ("Are you still listening?", "Hello", "Bye.").

Metalingual Function

Self-referential language used to discuss, explain, or define the language code itself ("Sky has three letters.").

Poetic Function

Focuses on the aesthetic form, acoustic texture, rhythm, and structural qualities of the message itself. Examples include metaphorical, lyrical, and stylized literary language.

Ideational Metafunction

Interprets human inner and outer experience. Experiential: Encodes elements of the real world (processes, participants, circumstances). Logical: Encodes grammatical and logical relationships between clauses (e.g., conditionals, coordination).

Interpersonal Metafunction (Halliday)

Realizes interpersonal roles and social relationships via mood, modality, and polarity choices.

Textual Metafunction

Organizes ideational and interpersonal meanings into a coherent, contextually cohesive discourse.

Instrumental Function (Child Language)

Satisfies material desires ("I want..."). Belongs to the Pragmatic Group (Social / Physical Action).

Regulatory Function (Child Language)

Controls the behaviors of others ("Go away..."). Belongs to the Pragmatic Group (Social / Physical Action).

Interactional Function (Child Language)

Establishes and maintains social bonds ("I love you"). Belongs to the Pragmatic Group (Social / Physical Action).

Personal Function (Child Language)

Asserts personal identity, subjective emotions, and unique voice ("Here I am"). Belongs to the Pragmatic Group (Social / Physical Action).

Heuristic Function (Child Language)

Explores and questions external reality ("Tell me why..."). Belongs to the Mathetic Group (Learning / Cognitive Exploration).

Imaginative Function (Child Language)

Creates imaginary worlds, narratives, and creative expressions. Belongs to the Mathetic Group (Learning / Cognitive Exploration).

Representational / Informative Function (Child Language)

Transmits propositionally meaningful factual declarations. Belongs to the Mathetic Group (Learning / Cognitive Exploration).

Micro-Linguistics

Internal Structural Subsystems. Includes phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics; the diagram also lists phonetics and phonology.

Macro-Linguistics

External Applications and Contexts. Includes sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, applied linguistics, historical/comparative linguistics, computational linguistics, and clinical linguistics.

Phonology

Sound systems and functional sound units.

Morphology

Internal organization and structure of words (minimal meaningful units).

Syntax

Principles and rules governing sentence and phrase construction.

Semantics

Literal, conventional meaning of linguistic forms.

Pragmatics

Meaning in context and speaker intention.

Sociolinguistics

Language in relation to society, class, culture, and context.

Psycholinguistics

Cognitive, neurological, and mental processes underlying language acquisition and processing.

Applied Linguistics

Practical application of linguistic insights (e.g., second language pedagogy, language policy).

Historical / Comparative Linguistics

Diachronic changes and evolutionary commonalities across language families.

Computational Linguistics

Modeling natural language through computational frameworks.

Clinical Linguistics

Linguistic analysis and remediation of speech and language disorders.

Behaviorism (B.F. Skinner)

Language is acquired through operant conditioning, environmental stimulus-response associations, imitation, practice, and habit formation.

Nativism (Noam Chomsky)

Rejects environmental determinism; posits that children possess an innate biological capacity for language.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Theoretical neurological construct facilitating natural acquisition.

Universal Grammar (UG)

Innate core principles and structural parameters underlying all human language.

Interactionism (Lev Vygotsky) in SLA

Language develops out of dynamic sociocognitive interplay.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The distance between actual development (independent performance) and potential development (assisted performance).

Scaffolding

Temporary cognitive and contextual support provided by a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO).

Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

Implicit, natural acquisition differs fundamentally from conscious, formal learning.

Natural Order Hypothesis

Grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable, developmental sequence.

Monitor Hypothesis

Consciously learned grammar acts only as an editor or "monitor" for self-correction during planned production.

Input Hypothesis

Acquisition occurs through exposure to comprehensible input containing structures slightly beyond current competence.

Affective Filter Hypothesis

Emotional factors (high anxiety, low motivation, low self-confidence) create a psychological barrier that blocks input from reaching language acquisition mechanisms.

Grammatical Competence

Knowledge of the structural code (lexicon, morphology, syntax, phonology).

Sociolinguistic Competence

Knowledge of sociocultural rules of use; producing contextually appropriate utterances.

Discourse Competence

Ability to combine forms and meanings into cohesive and coherent texts across genres.

Strategic Competence

Verbal and non-verbal compensatory strategies used to repair communication breakdowns.

Descriptive Approach

Observes, records, and analyzes language as it is naturally used by native speakers.

Prescriptive Approach

Mandates authoritative rules governing how language ought to be used.

Synchronic Approach

Analyzes a language state at a single, fixed point in time.

Diachronic Approach

Studies language transformation and historical evolution over time.

Langue (Saussure)

The abstract, shared mental system and grammatical conventions of a language community.

Parole (Saussure)

The actual concrete, individual acts of speech or writing.

Competence (Chomsky)

The underlying, idealized mental knowledge of a language's structural grammar.

Performance (Chomsky)

The actual realization of language in speech production, subject to slips of the tongue, fatigue, and memory limitations.

Etic

Descriptive perspective from an external, culturally neutral, objective standpoint.

Emic

Descriptive perspective examining meaningful distinctions recognized from within the linguistic community itself.

Articulatory Phonetics

Studies the physiological production of speech sounds using vocal tract organs (tongue, lips, velum, glottis).

Acoustic Phonetics

Analyzes the physical properties of speech sound waves traveling through the atmosphere (frequency, amplitude, duration, wave patterns).

Auditory Phonetics

Studies the perceptual reception of speech sounds by the inner and outer ear, auditory nerve, and the neurocognitive decoding of these signals in the brain.

Phoneme

The minimal abstract distinctive sound unit in a specific language that differentiates lexical meaning. Contrastive distribution is demonstrated via minimal pairs. The specific minimal-pair examples are missing in the source.

Allophone

Nondistinctive, predictable phonetic variants of a single underlying phoneme; their substitution does not alter lexical meaning. Examples in the source include aspirated vs. unaspirated sounds in "kit"/"skit" and "top"/"stop", and the alveolar flap in "batter"; the sound symbols are missing in the source.