Date: October 26-30, 2020

Duration: 1 week
Subject: Communication Studies
Topic: The Nature of Language
Focus: Language: Purpose and characteristics
Language Registers and Variations
Attitudes to language
Communicative Behaviour

General Objectives: Appreciate the role of Language in Society.

Appreciate the nature of language and understand its role in society
Specific Objectives: By the end of the less students should be able to:
1. Distinguish between the purpose and characteristics of language.
2. Identify the features of the creole.
3. Differentiate between language registers and dialectal variations.
4. Assess the use of attitude to language considering its representation in a performing art or
literary work.
5. Define the term attitudes to language
6. State at least 3 terms that can be used to describe an attitude to language.

Summary of Content: There is a difference between “language” and “a language”. Language has
several purposes, but interestingly, there are several distinguishing characteristics that will
enable “a language” to be recognized as same.
Resources: Projector, Speakers, YouTube Videos,

Previous Knowledge: Students have been introduced to the process of communication, and how
‘language’ serves as a tool/medium/channel thereof.

Recommended reading: Communication Studies (for self-study and distance learning) - Pages
70-84. CAPE Communication Studies by Leila Lord et. al - Pages 61-86 (Chapter 4)
Procedure

Day 1: Purpose and Characteristics

The Teacher will: Student will
Engagement
Solicit response from students as to whether
animals have a language. Brainstorm definition
Have students brainstorm a definition for the
term language. Engage in open discussion

Several researched definitions for the term

language will be shared with the students.

Engage students in discussion about the

difference between Language and A language
Inform them of the topics to be explored for
this week.
Share their ideas and responses
Explore
Direct students’ attention to article about the
chimp who learnt sign language.

Have them share their thought as to whether

this proves that animal can use language.

Based on their understanding of language,

have them share what they believe are the
characteristics of language.

Share slides containing information on the

characteristics of language and what makes it
innately human.

Explain: Identify and discuss the systematic

Focus on the systematic purpose of language. characteristics of language
Inform students that each language must have
a particular “structure” or “system” that
enables it to be identified as same. Share examples of the systematic
characteristics of language: morphology
Provide students with information on the Phonology
systematic characteristics of language. Semantics
Engage students in open discussion. Syntax
Lexicon
Elaborate
Ask students to state what they understand to
be the purpose of language. Discuss the purpose of language

Project information on the purpose of

language and engage students in open
discussion

Evaluate:
Have Consultation with students on their IA
topics.
Review and give examples of each purpose of
language.

Day 2-Elements of Language: Registers and

Dialectal Variation The student will:
The Teacher will:
Engage:
Instruct students to view the following on ppt View ppt ppt and engage in discussion
slide

 A teacher, principal, or boss

 A parent, relative, or guardian
 A friend or sibling
 A boyfriend or girlfriend
 A stranger on the street
 A shop clerk or librarian
 A scientist or mathematical expert

Ask the students to think about the following

Engage in open discussion
situation: You are taking a stroll through the
mall when someone approaches you. It is one
of the persons described in the list above.
What do you imagine this person will say to
you? Will all of the above people speak to
you in same way?

Explore

Ask students to think about what kind of

words the person might use, for example,
would this person use slang terms in their
conversation? What about sentence structure?

Have a short class discussion in which the

class compares and contrasts how they would
speak to each of the people in the previous
list.
Inform them that we use different registers
when communicating with various
individuals.

Finally, present the class with the ppt on the

different language registers. Discuss each of
the different levels of conversation (static,
formal, consultative, casual, and intimate).
Ask the class to think about the situations in
which you would use each of the language
registers.

Teacher will emphasize that there are a few

things that dictate the language register that
will be used: Tone, audience, context of Listen attentively
communication, choice of words, purpose of
the communication.

Explain- Language Variation

Allow students to watch the following videos

 Things uptown people say Watch video and engage in discussion

 How could you (Ity and Fancy Cat)

Engage in discussion about how language is

used by the different individuals in the video.
Engage in discussion
Engage students in discussion about the
difference that exists between standard
English and Creole.

Provide students with a definition for creole.

Show table highlighting some of the major

differences that exist between standard
English and creole View table and discuss

Elaborate

Introduce students to the term dialectal

variation.

Inform students that we all fall along a

continuum in terms of the way we speak.
Refer to the videos. Have them discuss the
differing variations of the language that were
used in the videos.

Provide a definition for the term language

variation.

Engage students in discuss about the terms Engage in open discussion

acrolect mesolect and dialect, reiterating the
fact that they all fall on the language
continuum.

Evaluate:

Day 3: Elements of Language: Attitudes to

Language
The Teacher will: The student will:
Engage: Read the poem “Don’t Judge me by Listen to the reading of the poem.
Carla Moore.

Ask students if it is fair to judge someone

based on how they speak. Engage in open discussion

Encourage students to share their ideologies

about the use of standard Jamaican English
and Jamaican Creole.

Allow them to share their views on whether Share views openly

Creole should be used in schools.
(You could choose to share with students how
people related to Louise Bennett and her
poetry before she became a cultural icon).

Inform them that there are varying attitudes to

the use of Standard Jamaican English and Listen attentively
Jamaican Creole

Explore:
Ask students if patois should be formalized as
a language.
Share readings from the patois bible and Share their opinions
whether it is appropriate for preaching.

Garner from students their views on the

formalization of patois in schools and whether
it is a sign of disrespect.

Explain:
Garner from students’ adjectives that they
could/would use to describe the attitude
towards
1. Jamaican creole
2. Standard Jamaican English
3.
Share words used to describe attitudes to
language (promoted, celebrated, endorsed,
approved, scorned, met with disdain,
appreciate). Engage in open discussion

Dictate definition of Attitudes to language.

Students will be asked to note the words and

think of times when either the patois or the
standard English was either promoted,
endorsed, scorned etc.)

A volunteer will be asked to do a dramatic

reading of Louise Bennett's Nuh Likkle
Twang and Dry Foot Boy and describe the
attitudes to language.

EXTEND:

The Jamaican ‘situation’

1. Students will be prompted to discuss the
difference between a standard language and a
second language/ dialect
2. Teacher will state that whenever there is an
official language, that language is normally
given the most prestige.
3. Explain to students that attitudes to
language is not just a Jamaican phenomenon,
the issue exists also in America.

Evaluate:
In groups, begin doing a comparative analysis Complete given activity
of both poems,” Nuh likkle Twang” and Dry
foot Bwoy” by Louise Bennett in light of the
varying attitudes to language.
Students should select one representative
 from each group to present their ‘findings’.
(You may grade these presentations if you so
desire)

Content
NOTES FOR DAY 1
In order to master language we must be able to master the use of language for all its purposes.
Communication is the aim of Language, the conveyance of information and concepts. Language
acts like a code, the rules need to be understood before communication can be achieved.
Research Definitions of Language
1. “Language is both a body of symbols (most commonly used words) and the systems for their
use in messages that are common to the people of the same speech community” (Kathleen &
Rudolph Verderber, Communicate, 11 th Edition).
2. “Language is a medium of communication” (Lall, Communication Skill for CAPE Students)
Dictionary Definitions:
1. “system of communication between humans, through written and vocal symbols”
2. “speech peculiar to an ethnic, national or cultural group”
3. “words, especially employed in any art, branch of knowledge or profession”
4. “a person’s characteristic mode of speech
Terms Relating to Language Characteristics
1. Systematic – use of different systems eg. sounds & grammar to communicate effectively -
Phonology – sound and pronunciation of words. - Semantics/lexicon – word meaning and
vocabulary - Morphology – word formation - Orthography – spelling - Syntax – Grammar
2. Symbolic – words being used as representations or symbols of ideas (dictionaries are usually
records of the symbolic meaning of the words in a language)
3. Evolutionary – it changes over time, hence the invention of new words or changes in meaning
occurs
Terms Relating to the Purpose of Language
1. Expressive – allows for venting, to express one’s ideas or attitudes without necessarily taking
a reader or listener into consideration. When language is issued in this way the speaker or writer
is not trying to effect change in an audience or elicit responses (diaries and journals are obvious
examples of language used for expression purposes).
2. Informative – facilitates the conveying of information to others eg. news broadcasts, bulletin
board and textbook.
3. Cognitive – the intention of affecting the audience in some way in order to evoke a response
eg. Language used to persuade, entertain, stir to anger, or arouse sympathy (jokes, political
speeches, horror stories are also always in which language is used cognitively).
4. Phatic – this is the language being used to establish or maintain contact and not necessarily
seeking to generate a meaningful response. This is not popular in written communication though
the ‘greeting’ and ‘closure’ of letters are usually phatic.
NOTES FOR DAY 2
A Creole is a Language that came into being through contact between two or more languages.
When people who speak different languages find themselves in a situation where they have to
communicate with each other for purposes of trade, business or to survive, these people usually
devise a form of language communication, called a Pidgin.
A Pidgin which becomes the native language of a people having acquired a more complex
grammar is referred to as a Creole. Creoles are classified based on the dominant language
structure (eg English Creole, French Creole etc).
Elements of Language REGISTERS – a systematic variant of a language appropriate to a
particular setting. It also speaks to the level of formality used in written or spoken language.
There are six(6) Language Registers :
Frozen Register: This style of communications RARELY or NEVER changes. It is “frozen” in
time and content. e.g. the Pledge of Allegiance, the Lord’s Prayer, the Preamble to the US
Constitution, the Alma Mater, a bibliographic reference, laws . Formal Register : This language
is used in formal settings and is one-way in nature. This use of language usually follows a
commonly accepted format. It is usually impersonal and formal. A common format for this
register are speeches. e.g. sermons, rhetorical statements and questions, speeches,
pronouncements made by judges, announcements.
Consultative Register: This is a standard form of communications. Users engage in a mutually
accepted structure of communications. It is formal and societal expectations accompany the users
of this speech. It is professional discourse. e.g. when strangers meet, communications between a
superior and a subordinate, doctor & patient, lawyer & client, lawyer & judge, teacher & student,
counselor & client, Casual Register: This is informal language used by peers and friends. Slang,
vulgarities, and colloquialisms are normal. This is “group” language. One must be member to
engage in this register. e.g. buddies, teammates, chats and emails, and blogs, and letters to
friends.
Intimate Register: This communication is private. It is reserved for close family members or
intimate people. e.g. husband & wife, boyfriend & girlfriend, siblings, parent & children.
 Dialectal Variation – speaks to the idea of having a variety of one language common to a
particular speech community (which is mutually intelligible). Difference in accent does not
indicate a different Dialect because Dialects differ from each other in terms of semantics (word
choice), syntax (sentence structure), grammar and morphology (word forms) whereas accents
refer to pronunciation.
The Dialect spoken by the dominant group in the society commands the most prestige.
Education, publishing, and an established body of Literature enhances the status of the
prestigious dialect and it becomes the STANDARD. In this regard one can speak about the
Language/Dialect Continuum - this is the range of a language spoken by a speech community.
BASILECT is the form of Creole with more African derived features than other forms and is said
to be the first point on the continuum. It is most often spoken in rural areas and by uneducated
persons.
MESOLECT is the form of Creole with more English derived features than the basilect and is
said to be the point on the continuum next to the basilect. It is most often spoken by urban and
educated persons.
ACROLECT is the Jamaican Standard English, and it is the last point on the continuum. It is
most often spoken in formal situations
 Dry-Foot Bwoy”By Louise Bennett
“No Lickle Twang” - Louise Bennett
Wha wrong wid Mary dry-foot bwoy?
Me glad fi see yuh come back, bwoy, Dem gal got him fi mock,
But lawd, yuh let me dung An when me meet him tarra night
Me shame a yuh so till all a De bwoygi me a shock!
Me proudness drop a grung. Me tell him seh him auntie
an Him cousin demsen howdy
Yuh mean yuh go dah Merica An ask him how him getting awn.
An spen six whole montdeh, Him seh, 'Oh, jolley,jolleyl'
An come back not a piece better Me start fi feel so sorry fi
Dan how yuh did go weh? De po bad-lucky soul,
Bwoy, yuh no shame? Is so yuh come? Me tink him come a foreign lan
After yuh tan so lang! Come ketch bad foreign cole!
Not even lickle language, bwoy? Me tink him got a bad sore-troat,
Not even lickle twang? But as him chat-chat gwan
Me fine out seh is foreign twang
Anyuh sister what work ongle De bwoywasa put awn!
One week wid Merican For me notice dat him answer
She talk so nice now dat we have To nearly all me seh
De jooce fi understan? Was 'Actually', 'What', 'Oh deah!'
An all demsintingdeh.
Bwoy, yuhcouldn improve yuhself! Me gi a joker de gal dem laugh;
Anyuh get so much pay? But hear de bwoy, 'Haw-haw!
Yuh spen six mont a foreign, I'm sure you got that bally-dash
an Come back ugly same way? Out of the cinema!'
Same time me laas me temper, an
Not even a drapes trousiz, Me holler, 'Bwoy, kirout
or A pass de riddim coat?
Bwoy, not even a goleteet
or Agole chain rounyuhtroat?

Suppose me laas me pass

go introjooce Yuh to a stranger
As me lamented son what lately
Come from Merica!

Dem hooda laugh after me, bwoy!

Me couldn tell dem so!
Dem hoodaseh me lie,
yuhwasa Spen time back a Mocho!

No back-answer me,
bwoy - yuh talk Too bad!
Shet up yuhmout!
Ah doan know how
yuhanyuhpuppa Gwine to meck it out.

Efyuhwaan please him,

meck him tink Yuh bring back someting new.
Yuh always call him 'Pa' –
dis evenin When him comes seh 'Poo’.