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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

A IINGUISTIC THEORY
OF READING

presented by

Pew Ann Blasted

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph' D' degree in ____Edu°3u°n

é

Major professor

Date Mil—2.419.67—

0-169

ABSTRACT
A LINGUISTIC THEORY
OF READING
By

Peggy Ann Ramstad

This study was designed to develop a theory of reading
based on a synthesis of the findings of pertinent research in
synchronic structural linguistics.

An analysis of contemporary linguistic scientists' descrip-
tions of the American-English oral communication system at the
phonemic, morphological, and syntactical levels and its fit with
the derived system of graphic representation was made. Deductions
from this analysis were then synthesized to form a theory of read-
ing based on the assumption that reading is the derived language
process of translating the complex inter—related cues of a written
message into the oral message which it represents accurately enough
to make responses to the translated message that parallel those that
would be made to the oral message.

Major premises of the theory are:

1). For the beginner who is able to express himself orally
and understand what is said to him, there are two major steps involved
in learning to read: a) learning the phoneme-to-grapheme relation-
ships of English orthography and b) learning to translate a graphic

message into the oral message it represents.

Peggy Ann Ramstad

2). The major source of instructional material should be
the student's dictated messages with the instructor faithfully
recording what has been said.

3). Instruction in what was recorded and why should relate
to the total message with the sentence being the major teaching unit,
reference to its structure used to clarify details.

h). Instruction should be organized to capitalize on the fact
that the basic principle of the language system is that of meaningful
contrasts of patterns.

5). Grammar in the sense that a student learns how intonation
contours, sentence patterns, the functions of words, and word form
changes influence lexical meaning and pronunciation and determine gram-
matical meaning should be taught concurrently with reading.

6). Instruction in phoneme-grapheme relationships should be
developed by the use of lists of spelling patterns, such lists being
based on an analysis of the student's dialect. This instruction
must also be related to sentence structure.

7). All written materials should be read aloud by the student
in the same style which he would use if he were telling this information
directly to someone. The methodological use of oral reading is to pro-
vide a medium for developing consciousness of the basic signals of
oral language already known and their relationship to the graphic system.

8). Learning to write should be developed concurrently with
but not necessarily at the same rate as learning to read.

9). Instructional reading materials written for the student

but not dictated by him should also utilize his oral language patterns.

Peggy Ann Ramstad

10). If the student's ability to use oral language is developed
ahead of and along with instruction in reading, the instructional ma-
terials used can gradually incorporate increasingly complex and varied
vocabulary and sentence patterns leading to the acquisition by the
student of the ability to independently translate varying styles of
formal writing successfully.

The theory provides, it is felt, a conceptual framework for
research in the deveIOpment of methods and materials of reading

instruction and the evaluation of their effectiveness.

A LINGUISTIC THEORY

OF READING

By

Peggy Ann Ramstad

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

College of Education

1967

© Peggy Ann Ramstad 1968

 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

6' H vs?

'- }\ f ‘3"
3 a " " l) t’

Copyright by
PEGGY ANN RAMSTAD

1967

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer acknowledges her sincere appreciation to
Dr. Byron VanRoekel, major advisor, and to Dr. Calhoun Collier,
Dr. William Hicks, and Dr. Clessen Martin for their guidance

and encouragement.

ii

TABLE OF

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . .

Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . .

II. PHONEMES . . . . . . .

III. MORPHEMES . . . . .

IV. INTONATION CONTOURS

V. FUNCTION WORDS

VI. PARTS OF SPEECH . . .

VII. SENTENCE PATTERNS .

VIII. A THEORY OF READING .

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . .

CONTENTS

iii

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
I. Consonant phonemes of English . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Vowel Phonemes of English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IO
3. Complex Vowel Nuclei of English . . . . . . . . . . . ll
h. Suprasegmental Phonemes of English . . . . . . . . . l2
5. Noun Determiners . . . . . . . . .v. . . . . . . . . 31
6. Verb Determiners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7. Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3h
8. Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9. Interrogators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

IO. Qualifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
ll. Irregular Plural Noun Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . M2
12. Noun-marking Derivational Suffixes . . . . . . . . . M3
13. Substitute Classification of Nouns: Gender . . . . . A5
14. Irregular Verb Forms showing Past Time . . . . . . . #8
l5. Verb-marking Derivational Affixes . . . . . . . . . . A9
16. Adjective-marking Derivational Suffixes . . . . . . . 52
17. Adverb-marking Derivational Affixes . . . . . . . . . 5h

18. Substitution Classification of Adverbs . . . . . . . 55

iv

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to deveIOp a theory of reading
based on a synthesis of the findings of pertinent research in
synchronic structural linguistics.

Educators Specializing in the development of methods and
materials for reading instruction have consistently emphasized the
relationship of reading to the other areas of verbal communication
which are listening, Speaking, and writing. They have also either
stated explicitly or implied that learning to read is dependent
upon oral language ability and that the first major step in learning
to read is the discovery that those "queer-looking marks stand for

speech."1

However, there has been no attempt on the part of these
educators to systematically investigate and describe the structure
of the system of English oral communication and its relationship

to the graphic symbols which represent it to provide a conceptual

framework for the development of methods and materials of reading

instruction and the evaluation of their effectiveness.

 

lAlbert J. Harris, How to Increase Reading Ability, Third
Edition (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1956), p. EB

Support for using the area of linguistics as the theoretical
focus in an explanation of language processes, of which reading is
one, can be found in the relatively new science of Psycholinguistics
which is concerned with the "relations between the structure of
messages and the characteristics of the human individuals who pro-
duce and receive them."1 Osgood refers to the psycholinguist as
one who "stretches one hand out toward the linguists"2 and Miller
states that the description of the communicative behavior of human
beings is "largely the responsibility of the linguist . . . the
psychologist must understand the formal properties and frequencies
of occurrence of linguistic structures if he is to control them."3
This science, which shows promise of eventually contributing
greatly to the field of reading has not at this time, however,
formulated principles for, nor investigated the area of the inter-
pretation of written communication sufficiently to be helpful in
the construction of a linguistically oriented theory of reading
instruction.

Linguistic scientists have in recent years, beginning with

the publication of Leonard Bloomfield's "Linguistics and Reading"

 

1Charles E. Osgood, "Psycholinguistics," Psychology:
A Study of a Science, Volume 6, ed. Sigmund Koch (New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Co., 196M), p. 2MB.

 

 

2Ibid. , p. 2115.

3G. A. Miller "Psycholinguistics," Handbook of Social

3
Psychology, Volume II, ed. Gardner Lindzey (Cambridge: Addison-
Wesley Publishing Co., Inc., l95h), p. 69h.

 

 

in a l9h2 issue of The Elementary English Review, proposed specific

 

methodology for teaching reading based on their analyses of the
signalling systems of English as represented by graphic symbols.
Unfortunately, each linguist has tended to explain the reading
process in terms of a particular area of linguistic study and to
either ignore or de-emphasize all others. No theory based on

a synthesis of linguistic knowledge of the basic signalling systems

of contemporary English has been proposed.

nailgi‘iissiisi

There are three interrelated levels of language structure
at which the fit between the language and its written representa-
tion is pertinent to understanding the reading process: the
phonemic level, the morphological level, and the syntactical level
which is a broad area of study encompassing intonation contours,
function words, parts of Speech, and sentence patterns.

For each of the above areas of language structure, the
language principles and their relationship to reading will be
described. This description will be based on an analysis of the
findings of contemporary structural linguistic science which is
considered to have begun with the publication of Langflage in which
Leonard Bloomfield gave the first detailed explanation of the
methods of investigation appropriate to the analysis of a specific

language.1 The results of this analysis of the components of the

 

lLeonard Bloomfield, Lagguage (New York: Henry Holt
and Co., 1933).

English language and their relationship to reading will then be

synthesized to form a theory of reading as a language process.

Basic Assumptions

 

A language is a learned, arbitrary system of oral symbols
used by the members of a human society to communicate with each
other. Each language has a unique structure and can be described
only in relation to that structure.

Alphabetic writing is a method of recording language by
means of visible marks based on the relationship between letters and
the significant Speech sounds of a language. Written American-
English, primarily an alphabetic system, is a complex structure
utilizing graphic symbols that have relative position in a left-
to-right space sequence to represent the language.

Reading is the derived language process of translating
the complex inter-related cues of a written message into the oral
message which it represents accurately enough to make responses to
the translated message that parallel those that would be made
to the oral message.

The reading process can be analyzed in terms of the language
cues represented by the graphic symbols thus producing a linguistic
theory of reading.

A theory is a "set of generalizations believed to have some

value in predicting important events."1 A theorist has the

 

lRobert Travers, An Introduction to Educational Research,
Second Edition (New Ybrk: Macmillan Co., 196A), p. 16.

option of choosing the elements and type of construction which
he considers best suited to describe the phenomenon in which he
is interested. A theory is not subject to evaluation as to its
"correctness" except where logic proves its generalizations to
be inconsistent or incompatible. It is subject to evaluation

of its usefulness in generating predictions and to empirical

inquiry and experimental investigation of these predictions to

prove or disprove the soundness of the theory.1

Limitations

 

The following description of American-English as used by
the native Speaker limits the application of the theory based
upon it to the teaching of reading to those whose first language
is American-English and who have mastered the essential elements
of that language as have most children upon entrance to first

2,3,u

grade. Subsequently, the shortened term English will be used

but the reference is always to American-English.

 

lCalvin Hall and Gardner Lindzey, Theories of Personality
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1957), p. 10.

2M. E. Hocker and Ruth Strang, "First Grade Children's
Language Patterns," Elementary English, A2 (January, 1965), pp. 38-Al.

 

 

3Walter D. Loban, The Lan age of Elementary School Children
289
(Champaign: National Council of Teachers of English, 1963).

"Ruth G. Strickland, The Language of Elementary School
Children: Its Relation to Language of Reading Textbooks and the
Quality of Reading of Selected Children (Bulletin of the School
of Education, Indiana University, 38, July, 1962).

 

 

The inclusion of all findings of all linguistic scientists
was not feasible nor was it necessary for the purpose of the study.
The findings included are those considered pertinent by the writer
on the bases of intensive study of the writings of linguistic
scientists and authorities in the field of reading and personal
experience in the teaching of reading.

The soundness of the theory can only be determined by

empirical inquiry and experimental investigation of its hypotheses.

CHAPTER II

PHONEMES

The phoneme is the "smallest semantically functional unit
of sound that can be isolated in an act of speech,"1 that is, it
is the significant unit of sound that enables one thing that may
be said to be distinguished from any other thing that might have
been said. It is, therefore, the smallest unit of sound relevant
to the description of a specific language.

Phonemes occur in utterances, not in isolation, and have
no meanings or referents but "enable words and other elements to
have meaning by making them phonetically different and distinguish-
able from each other."2

Each phoneme can be defined according to its function in
the structural pattern of the speech forms of a particular language
in terms of its differences from the other phonemes of the same
1anguage.3

There are variations within a phonemic unit. Each phoneme

consists of speech segments called phone-types or allophones that

 

lJ. P. Soffietti, "Why Children Fail to Read: A Linguistic
Analysis," Harvard Educational Review, 25 (Spring, 1955), p. 6h.

 

2Stephen Ullmann, Semantics: An Introduction to the Science
of Meaning (New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1962), p. 25

 

 

3Bloomfie1d, p. 136

are "phonetically similar and in complementary distribution or in
free variation,"1 that is, allOphones are not used in contrast
with one another so are not semantically functional. They are,
therefore, outside the scope of this study.

Phonemes may be segmental or suprasegmental. Segmental
phonemes are those that follow one another consecutively in the
stream of Speech. There are two types of segmental phonemes,
consonants and vowels.

Consonants are phonetically characterized by constriction
in the breath channel and phonemically characterized by always
appearing in the same syllable with a vowel which is the nucleus
of that syllable. Because of this phonemic character, semi-vowels
(phonetically similar to vowels) are classified as consonants when
the level of investigation, as in this study, is concerned pri-
marily with semantic function instead of with production as in
articulatory phonetics. Also, the tendency to classify according
to phonemic qualities regardless of the purpose of the study is
gaining acceptance among linguists. Pike has said that the attempt
to find a phonetic dividing line has never really been possible
and that the deciding criterion establishing whether a certain
phoneme is to be classified as a vowel or consonant has always been

according to "grouping in specific syllable contextual functions."2

 

lW. Nelson Francis, The Structure of American English
(New York: Ronald Press Co., 1958), p. 127.

2Kenneth L. Pike, Phonetics (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 19u3), p. 7 .

Gleason states that "the distinction between vowels and consonants

is not phonetic, but phonemic."l

There are twenty-four consonant

phonemes which are listed with examples given in conventional

spelling in Table I .

TABLE I

CONSONANT PHONEMES OF ENGLISH

 

 

phoneme

example in

conventional Spelling

 

/b/ .
/d/ . . . . .

/f/ . . . . . . . .
/g/ . . . . . . . .
/h/ . . . . . . . .
/k/ . . . . . . .
/1/ . . . . . . .
/m/ . . . . . .
/n/ . . . . . . . .
/p/ . . . . . . . .
/r/ . . . .
/s/ . . . .
/t/ . . . . . . . .
/v/ . . . . . . . .
/w/ -. . . . .
/z/
/9/
/5/
/é/
M
W
/3/

bad

dip .

fine
gone
hen
kiss
lot

man 0

not
pit
ran

. sat .
tall

vat
wall
yet
zinc

. thin

then

Shell .

chin
jest

. cab
. mad
. ruff

leg

sack

. tell
. jam
. ton

tip
mar

o moss

mat
have

. has
. with

clothe
mash

. rouge

match

edge

sing

 

 

1H. A. Gleason, Jr., An Introduction to Descriptive Lin-

quistics (New York:

 

Holt, Rinehard and Winston, 1961), p. 3&0.

lO

vowels are phonetically characterized by the relatively
unobstructed flow of the breath stream and phonemically contrasted
with consonants in that each is accompanied by a stress; conversely,
each stress is accompanied by a vowel. A vowel is always the nu-
cleus of a syllable.

There are nine vowel phonemes in English. Though Americans
use the same total inventory of vowel phonemes, few words will
have identical vowel sounds in all dialects. In Table II the vowel
phonemes are listed with examples of common spellings illustrating
the pronunciation of these phonemes in the General American dialect
which is the dialect spoken by the writer and the most generally
used dialect in the United States.

TABLE II

VOWEI.PHONEMES OF ENGLISH

phoneme example in conventional spelling

 

/i/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bit
/e/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bet
/a/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . bat
/i/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . just
/3/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . but
/a/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . box
/u/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . put
/o/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . whole

/9/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bought

 

What are commonly but erroneously referred to in most

reading methods books as "long" vowels are actually complex nuclei

11

consisting of a vowel followed by /y/ or /w/. These are listed in
Table III. There are numerous other complex nuclei consisting of
two phonemes blended so closely together that they give the general
impression of one sound. These are referred to as dipthongs. How-
ever, the great number and the fact that there is so much variation
in both number and kind among dialects makes it impractical to
attempt to list them. They will be automatically supplied by the
native speaker in the dialect which he commonly uses.

TABLE III

COMPIEX VOWEL NUCLEI OF ENGLISH

 

 

nuclei example in conventional spelling

 

/iy/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . beet
/ey/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bate
/ay/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bite
/ow/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . boat
/uw/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . boot

 

Suprasegmental phonemes are those that parallel (appear
synchronously with) the segmental and give the effect of being an
extra layer imposed upon segmental phonemes. These are of three
types: stresses, pitches, and junctures.

Stress is the relative degree of loudness or softness with
which syllables are pronounced. In English there are four levels
of stress that are Significant as shown in Table IV.

Pitch is the relative height of the tone with which syllables

are uttered caused by the fluctuating rate of vibration of the

A—K— ‘n-‘n— .-

 

l2

sounds produced. The four pitch phonemes in English are listed in
Table IV.
Juncture is a significant pause or cut in the speech stream.

In English there are four significant junctures. These are listed

 

 

 

in Table IV.
TABLE IV

SUPRASEGMENTAL PHONEMES OF ENGLISH
stress phonemes pitch phonemes juncture phonemes
/// primary /A/ (highest) /+/ plus
/A/ secondary 3/ /+/ sustained terminal
/\/ tertiary /2/ [3/ rising terminal
/U/ weak /1/ /M/ falling terminal

 

In a basically alphabetic writing system such as that utilized
in transcribing English, phonemes are represented by graphemes--visual
symbols having phonemes as their referents but, like phonemes, having
no meaning and not occurring in isolation as functional units. In
English twenty-six letters of the alphabet, eleven marks of punctua-
tion, and space (which may be thought of as a zero grapheme represent-
ing word divisions) are utilized.

In English, there is no one-to-one relationship between
graphemes and phonemes. A grapheme may represent more than one phoneme,
e.g., the letter 3 represents /s/ in git, /S/ in.gpgg£, and /z/ in
hag and the question mark may represent either a rising terminal
juncture or a falling terminal juncture. A phoneme may be represented

by more than one grapheme or combination of graphemes, e.g., /e/ is

13

represented byug in ggt,.g§ in leather, 23 in aesthetic, g; in heifer,
is in friend, 22 in leopard, g; in Egid and E in gay. Stress and pitch
phonemes are not represented in the writing system but must be in-
ferred from the cues provided by the higher level signalling systems

of which a sentence is composed.

In fact, not one phoneme of English is represented graphically
in all positions by only one grapheme and certain graphemes or combi-
nations of graphemes refer to as many as seven different phonemes.

And, as has been mentioned before, the relationship between graphemes
and phonemes, particularly between graphemes and vowel phonemes, varies
with each dialect. It is, therefore, not possible to identify the
specific phoneme represented by any grapheme appearing in isolation
nor can the individual letters of which a word is formed be translated
into separate phonemes that can be fused to obtain the pronunciation
of a word. Consequently, reading cannot be taught at this simple level
of interaction between the language and its written representation

for this extreme lack of consistency between graphemes and phonemes
reduces to a fractional minimum the reliability of any one grapheme as
a cue for accurate translation. It is only as the patterning of graph-
emes is studied in relation to the common spelling patterns utilized
in English that the segmental phonemes can be identified with any
degree of accuracy. Identification of suprasegmental phonemes is de-
pendent upon the cues provided at the sentence level of structure.

Learning to identify each letter grapheme by name is useful
in reading instruction because it facilitates learning to differen-

tiate between graphemes and communication between instructor and

11+

learner. However, such an activity is neither essential to nor
directly related to reading because the names of the letters are
not their phonemic referents except in certain positions which are
not the most frequently occupied positions of the graphemes. It
is only necessary at this level that the learner be able to iden-
tify each grapheme as being different from all other graphemes,

that is, be able to discriminate among graphemes.

CHAPTER III

MORPHEMES

The smallest grammatical unit relevant to the description
of a language is the morpheme, that is, "the morpheme is the
smallest linguistic unit with a lexical or a relational meaning
of its own,"l--a unit "which cannot be divided without destroying
or drastically altering the meaning."2 It consists of one or more
phonemes and occurs as either a root, an affix, a replacive, or a
superfix.

Roots are centers of such constructions as words, carry
the principal meanings of the constructions in which they appear,
and can generally be used as minimum.free forms, that is, as words.
Affixes occur only in bound form, either preceding the root (pre-
fixes) or following it (suffixes). An affix may be added directly
to a root or to a root plus one or more other morphemes. A.morpheme
or combination of morphemes to which an affix may be added is a
stem.

A relatively limited and special type of morpheme occurs

when phoneme alteration is necessary to form a past tense of a verb

 

lSoffietti, Harvard Educational Review, 25, p. 66.

 

2Gleason, p. 52.

15

16

or a plural of a noun that cannot be formed by adding an affix to
the root. These morphemes are referred to as replacives--the
phonemes used in the alteration replace those used in the original
form, e.g., /aw/ in EQEES replaces /ay/ in flag.

All roots, affixes, and replacives are composed of segmental
phonemes and are consequently referred to as segmental morphemes.

Morphemes composed of stress and pitch phonemes or plus
juncture, stress, and pitch phonemes occurring with morphemes com-
posed of segmental phonemes, thus appearing to be superimposed on
them, are suprasegmental morphemes referred to as superfixes.
Superfixes are grammatically important as the distinguishing features
enabling one to determine whether a word with identical segmental
phonemes is a verb or a noun, e.g., ids::gct (noun), Eas:géht (verb).
They also serve to distinguish an adjectival and noun from a com-

2A _’ 3 l 2’}
pound word, e.g., black + bird (adjectival and noun), black+b1rd

 

(compound), or a verb followed by an object from a compound word,

2 A 3/' 3 I 2\
e.g., spit + fire (verb followed by an object), spit+fire (compound

word), and to differentiate between such words and word phrases as

3(9 A 2A 3/ %’2 A 2A
nitrate contrasted with night rate; _ scream contrasted with ice
3 /

cream.

 

A word is a minimum free form, the "smallest unit of language
capable of acting as a complete utterance."l Most words consist of
a root and a superfix (no word can be pronounced without some degree
of stress), with or without one or more affixes. Words are of three

principal types: simple, complex with a bound stem, and complex

 

lUllmann, p. 31.

17

with a free stem.

Simple words consist of a free root and a superfix, with or

without an inflectional suffix, e.g., make, makes. Complex words

 

with a bound stem consist of two bound morphemes (one of which is a
root) and a superfix, with or without an inflectional suffix, e.g.,

conceive, conceives; version, versions. Complex words with a free

 

stem consist of a stem which is itself a word (may be a simple word or
a complex word with a bound stem), a prefix or a derivational suffix,
and a superfix, with or without an inflectional suffix, e.g., helpless,

undisturbed.l

 

A fourth type, the compound word, a special category not
covered by the above description, consists of two or more roots, with

or without an inflectional ending, e.g., houseboat, bluebirds.

 

The classification of words into parts of speech has tradition-
ally been included in the linguistic science area of morphology
though the borderline between morphology and syntax was never clearly
defined. However, with the discovery by structural linguists that the
position of a word in relation to all the other words in a sentence
as well as word form is necessary to determine exactly what part of
speech a particular word belongs to, the subject of parts of speech
can be considered a syntactical one. Therefore, discussion of it in
this paper will be deferred until Chapter VI.

In the writing system, the only suprasegmental morphemes

specifically represented are those composed of contrasts between Open

 

lFrancis, pp. 207-208.

18

juncture, stress, and pitch patterns wherein space is utilized to
represent the position of the Open juncture, e.g., 2.222? as contrasted
with 32.52E' All others must be inferred from the cues provided by

the language systems operating at the sentence level.

Segmental morphemes are represented by single graphemes as
in the use of-g to form the plural of such nouns as 223 and ggg but
most frequently they are represented by groups of graphemes. It is
not which graphemes are used that is most significant in determining
the morphemic referent but the pattern formed by the graphemes that are
utilized, e.g., the letters 233 do not represent any English morpheme
but those same letters rearranged to form the pattern 2E3 do.

Though it is the pattern of the graphemes that enables one to
identify its morphemic referent in such a word as hat, in this word
form each grapheme does have a phonemic referent as is to be expected
in an alphabetic writing system. No one writing system is pure,
however, and there are instances of morphemic and semi-morphemic
systems in English that are in such common use that it is necessary to
know about them to understand the fit between the oral and the written
English systems.

The significant example of morphemic writing is the use of the
apostrOphe to denote possession. For example, in the sentence, Ehg

boy's clothes are dirty, the apostrOphe has no phonemic reference

 

whatsoever; it tells the reader that this is a possessive inflection;

therefore, its referent is a morpheme. FUrthermore, the placement of

the apostrophe gives a visual cue signalling that boy's as used here is

singular as Opposed to boys' which is plural. Thus not only the

l9

apostrOphe itself but also its placement refers to a morpheme.
Semi-morphemic writing is found in English in the use of
alternate Spellings to represent, not different pronunciations, but
different meanings, that is, to distinguish between or among what are
actually different words having the same oral form. Examples are:

here, hear; right, rite, write; and rain, rein, reign. It is the use

 

of this device which is partly responsible for the so called irregu~
larities of the spelling system.

At this level of study it is possible to learn what phoneme/s
some graphemes represent by studying their use in the written word
form in relation to the pronunciation of the oral word form. The
spelling forms (patterns of graphemes) which allow accurate identifi-
cation of a large number of oral forms of English and therefore offer
a medium for learning grapheme-phoneme relationships are:

1). One syllable words having the oral form of (consonant)—
vowel-consonant in which each vowel letter represents a single vowel
phoneme.

a). Initial and final consonant each represented by

only one letter as in bat, fat, bad, cad, but, and cut.

 

 

b). Initial consonant represented by two letters as

in that, chat, and shed.

 

c). Final consonant represented by two letters as in
bath, cash, sang, back, cuff, and doll.
d). Initial consonant cluster represented by two letters

as in clad, brat, spin, and stab.

 

e). Final consonant cluster represented by two letters

as in gasp, best, and dusk.

20

f). Initial and final consonant clusters each repre-

sented by two letters as in brand, clamp, blunt, and crank.

 

2). One syllable words in which the final letter S is used
to differentiate them from the patterns described in la and 1d above.
e.g., £323 as contrasted with :23 and E2329 as contrasted with gpig.

The above represent the two major patterns. Common but more
limited patterns are:

3). The two patterns used to distinguish between oral forms
having /iy/ as the central vowel and those having /e/.

a). Two different vowel letters are used to represent
/iy/ as in beat as contrasted with bgt and 2223 With.TE£°

b). A vowel letter repeated to represent /iy/ as in
w as contrasted with it, Elie}. with 3132.

A). The pattern used to distinguish between /ey/ and /a{,
e.g., bait as contrasted with bat, rgig'with 323°

5). The pattern used to distinguish between /Ow/ and /a/,
e.g., gggp as contrasted with ggt, Eggt'with 223.

However, cues offered at this level of study (relationships
between written and oral word forms) are still too ambiguous to be
called reliable even for pronunciation purposes for the following
reasons:

1). There are exceptions (written pattern not representing
the common oral pattern) to each of the above generalizations. The
learner has no way of determining whether or not the pattern under con-
sideration fits the generalization without reference to context or

appeal to authority. A detailed description of the limitations of

21

using these generalizations as teaching techniques is given in a
study by Clymer.l

2). All words pronounced in isolation receive primary stress
and falling pitch; as utilized in communication the stress and pitch
will vary according to function in the sentence. Giving each word
primary stress and falling pitch is synonymous with reading each word
as if it were a complete sentence (commonly referred to as word-by-word
reading). Should this be done while attempting to read a sentence, the
serious disruption of the sentence rhythm can make an accurate trans-
lation impossible.

3). Identical written forms may represent different oral
forms which can be differentiated only with reference to context. The
oral difference may consist of differences in stress and/or differences
in vowel sound as illustrated by the following examples:

a). The lead in my pencil is broken.
I will lead you to him.

b). The can is full.
I can go.

o). The wind is very strong today.
I will wind the clock.

 

d). His permit is valid.
Will he permit me to go?

Other limitations to reading instruction at this level are
apparent when meaning as well as mere word pronunciation is considered.
These are:

l). The same word may perform different functions, therefore

 

lTheodore Clymer, "The Utility of Phonic Generalizations in the
Primary Grades," The Reading Teacher, 16 (January, 1963), pp. 252-258.

22

its grammatical meaning will vary according to usage, e.g., as in
the sentence, the map gave the boy a penny, as contrasted with, The
boy gave the Egg a penny.

2). The same word form in isolation may be assigned to any
of several parts of speech so that both the grammatical and the lexical
meaning will vary according to usage, e.g., as in the sentence, The
Eglk is slippery, as contrasted with, I will pglk to the store.

3). The written form may always represent one oral form but
that oral form even in positions which give it the same grammatical
meaning may have different lexical meanings which can only be iden-
tified in context, e.g., as in the sentence, The pgpk of the tree is
rough, as contrasted with, The pgpk of the dog is loud.

Further shortcomings of reading instruction concentrated at
the word form level are:

1). The limited choice of available words if only the words
fitting the major spelling patterns are utilized until the most common
grapheme-phoneme relationships are learned (the method used in the
current "linguistic" readers) drastically curtails the scope and
quality of the reading material.

2). The tendency to develop within the student the false
expectation that he can place reliance upon spelling pattern cues to
the exclusion of all others and Obtain an accurate pronunciation and/or
an accurate definition.

3). The teaching of function words (to be discussed in Chapter
V), most of which have irregular spellings, that is, do not fit into
any major Spelling pattern, as pronunciation "exceptions" rather than

as items having Special grammatical functions is misleading and lessens

23

the probability of their being learned as most of them have little
or no lexical meaning so that understanding of their meanings is
dependent upon associating them with their uses.

It is the sentence that assigns specific pronunciation,
grammatical meaning, and lexical meaning to a word. Attempts to find
the meaning of a sentence by adding the lexical meanings of the words
within it cannot be successful; the inter-relationships of the cues
within the sentence create a structure that is more than a sum of its
parts. Ullmann states that "the nature of word-meaning is such that
quite often it cannot even be properly conceived, let alone defined,
without the support of the context"1 and Lloyd and Warfel claim that
"not only the specific meanings of words but actually their whole
function in the sentence is held undecided until a final, usually
falling, juncture indicates that the utterance is done.“2 The major
signalling systems operating at the sentence (syntactical) level will

be the subjects of the next four chapters.

 

lStephen Ullmann, The Principles of Semantics (New York:
PhiIOSOphical.Iibrary, Inc., 1957), p. 62.

2D. J. Lloyd and H. R. Warfel, American English in its
Cultural Setting (New York: A. A. Knopf, 19627, p. 91.

CHAPTER IV

INTONATION CONTOURS

The sentence, the principal unit of language, is a "minimum

"1 it is not part of a larger grammatical form.

complete utterance;
Sentences are composed of a word or, much more frequently, varying
arrangements of several or more words of two types, function words
and parts of speech, and are marked off by intonation contours each
having a final tone-pause pattern. Intonation contours provide "the
maximal defining criteria for sentences since they establish the out-
side boundaries of the sentence."2
Intonation contours are those contrasting basic patterns of
stress, pitch, and juncture that signal grammatical meanings. The term
basic here is used to refer to those patterns which are a part of the
grammar of English as Opposed to those which, overlaid on basic patterns,
Signal the particular attitude or intention of the speaker (paralin-
guistic intonational features). The grammatical meanings signalled by
intonation contours are the morphological meanings already discussed

in Chapter III and the syntactical meanings of end-of—sentence or

end-of—phrase.

 

lSimeon Potter, Modern Linguistics (London: Andre Deutsch
Limited, 1957), p. 10A.

 

2
Francis, p. 371.
2A

25

The final tone-pause pattern signalling the end of a sentence
is the most significant intonational feature of English.1 The most
common end—of—sentence intonation pattern is the falling terminal
juncture-—a fall from high /3/ to the lowest tone /1/ accompanied
by fading voice-~which signals the conclusion of statements, requests,
commands, questions introduced by question markers, and questions
which cannot be answered by yes or no. Questions that can be answered
by yes or no end with a rising terminal juncture--a rise from pitch
/2/ to pitch /3/ accompanied by an abrupt voice cut-off. These final
tone—pause patterns are in direct contrast with any grammatical juncture
within a sentence, that is, there is no juncture within a sentence that
indicates finality as these do.

Sentences may be composed of one or more phonological phrases
(as much of an utterance as falls between two clearly distinguishable
pauses). If composed of only one, there will be no terminal junctures
within the sentence and only one primary stress within each phonologi-
cal phrase. The primary stress will occur on the final word of the
phonological phrase.

If composed Of more than one phonological phrase, the juncture/s
within the sentence will be significantly different from the one at
the end; and, as each phrase must contain one primary stress, there
will be as many primary stresses within the sentence as there are
phonological phrases. Junctures used within sentences to mark the end
of a phrase are the rising terminal and the sustained terminal juncture.

The rising terminal juncture within a sentence does not have

 

lPotter, p. 70.

26

as abrupt a voice cut-Off as that which occurs at the end of questions
that can be answered by yes or no and always implies that more is to
follow. It occurs between units in a series, between an introductory
phrase and the rest of the sentence, before a function word connecting
the parts of a compound sentence, and preceding and following a non-
restrictive clause.

The sustained terminal juncture may be used to separate im-
portant internal structural units. Its use is optional with the
speaker and dependent mainly upon his rate of Speech and use of primary
stress. In a sustained terminal juncture the pitch is held steady and
the sound is cut, with or without a distinct interval of silence
after the cut. It commonly occurs between subject and predicate,
preceding and/or following prepositional phrases, and preceding and/or
following restrictive clauses.

Originally punctuation graphemes were used as a guide in the
delivery of sermons to indicate exactly what pauses the speaker should
make. As writing developed and the system became more sophisticated,
editors and publishers began to conventionalize punctuation largely in
relation to logic rather than intonation so that today there is only
a "more or less incidental correlation between punctuation marks and
the different intonation contours."l Certain of these correlations,
however, occur frequently and knowledge of them is necessary to under-
stand the task Of translating the representative written message into
the oral.

In relation to the linguistic definition of a sentence, a

 

lGleason, p. A31.

27

written sentence may be defined as a "word-group or word with end
punctuation intended to symbolize a final tone-pause pattern."1

The most reliable and most often used Of the punctuation marks
referred to above is the period which always signals the final falling
terminal juncture. If a particularly emphatic fade-fall terminal is
desired, an exclamation mark may be substituted for the period.

The question mark, though signalling the end of the sentence,
may represent either a falling or a rising terminal juncture depending
upon the type of question as discussed on p. 25.

The comma is consistently used to signal the internal rising
terminal juncture between units in a series, between an introductory
phrase and the rest of the sentence, and preceding and following a
non-restrictive phrase but may or may not be used (at the discretion
of the writer) before a function word connecting the parts of a com-
pound sentence.

There is no graphemic representation for the sustained terminal
juncture.

In more complex writing in which either the colon or the semi-
colon is used to separate sentence elements, the single written sentence
usually represents two or more sentences in speech and the colon or
semicolon represents a final fade-fall terminal.

The interpretive overlays conveyed by the paralinguistic in-
tonation contours are occasionally partially represented by the use of

italics or underlining to indicate stress. Usually, however, this type

 

lHarold Whitehall, Structural Essentials of English (New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1956), p. 30.

 

28

of contour must be inferred from descriptive words in the text referring
to the speaker and/or to his manner of Speaking.

It is essential that the reader apply the intonation contours
intended by the writer to his translation of the written message to
achieve the grouping of words with appropriate stress on each necessary
for accuracy. Knowledge of the relationship between punctuation graph-
emes and the contours they represent is necessary but not sufficient
to allow the reader to be certain of the accuracy of his translation
because the cues provided by punctuation only partially signal the
intended contour. However, further cues are provided by the pattern
of the function words in relation to the parts of Speech within a
sentence so that reconstruction of the intended message is possible.

These cues will be discussed in Chapter V.

CHAPTER V

FUNCTION WORDS

Many words, "at least one in every three in normal English,"l
have little or no lexical meaning but serve primarily to Signal gram-
matical meanings. Because these words "indicate various functional
relationships among the lexical words of an utterance"2 they are
commonly referred to as function words though the terms structure
words, form words, and empty words are also used. In this paper they
will be referred to as function words.

In modern linguistic science function words are not considered
to be parts of speech because there are no formal contrasts by which
they can be identified. They "must be learned as separate items sig-
nalling particular structural meanings."3 When signalling such structur-
al meanings as, for example, a noun follows or a question is being
asked, function words also provide cues helpful to identifying intonation
contours as "within the larger groups roughly cut off by punctuation

marks, we use the structure (function) words as signals of speech

 

1Harry R. Warfel, Language: A Science of Human Behavior
(Cleveland: Howard Allen, Inc., 1962), p. 157.

 

2Francis, p. 23A.

3Charles C. Fries, The Structure of English (New YOrk: Har-
court, Brace and Co., 1952), p. 108.

 

29

30

groups that are spoken together and must be seen together . . . The
'1ittle words' are crucial to the meaning; they guide the eye as
substitutes for the complicated patterns of intonation that tell the
ear and the brain how to hear Speech."l

It is estimated that in English there are approximately 300
function words of which only 150 are in common use. These words may
be listed in groups according to the functions they perform. The
major groups are noun determiners, verb determiners, prepositions,
conjunctions, interrogators, and qualifiers.

Noun determiners are those function words which signal that
a noun will follow either immediately or with certain other types of
words intervening. "But Since these intervening words can be left
out, the determiner is typically a marker immediately preceding the
noun."2 Noun determiners pattern like the word Eng does in the sen-

tence, The boy went home, and in the sentence, The money was needed.

 

 

In Table V the first seven words listed, each preceded by an asterisk,
always act as noun determiners. The other words listed usually sig-
nal that a noun follows but may on occasion be used as noun substi-
tutes (replace nouns in the patterns). A few may also function as
qualifiers of adjectives and/or adverbs.

Of the noun determiners listed in Table V, our, their, two...

 

ninetyhnine, many, these, most, both, several, and a few always signal

 

plural nouns; a, an, one, this, that, many a, each, and every signal sin-

 

 

gular nouns; and the rest may signal either singular or plural nouns.

 

lLloyd and Warfel, p. A15

2Francis, p. 237.

31

TABLE V

NOUN DETERMINERS

 

 

*a one...ninety-nine her
*an no its
*the any both
*my many (a) each
*your every _ most
*our these more
*their those (a) few
all that several
some much other
this his enough

 

The noun determiner appears as the weak—stressed element of a
noun group. When the same word form occurs as a noun substitute, it
will be given greater stress.

Noun determiners are essential to the identification of nouns
within the sentence structure when the forms of both the noun and the
verb being used can belong to either of those two parts of speech. Con-

trast the ambiguity of the sentence, Ship sails today, in which it is

 

impossible to know whether the writer intended ship or sails as a noun

with the sentence, Ship the sails today, in which the noun determiner

 

.32? clearly marks sails as the noun.1

Noun determiners pattern differently from adjectives which
also may precede nouns (to be discussed in Chapter VI) in that the
determiners cannot be modified or inflected and always precede the ad-
jective if both are used in the same noun group.

Verb determiners are to verbs what noun determiners are to nouns,

 

lCharles C. Fries, Linguistics and Reading (New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1963), p. 106.

 

32

that is, they all pattern with verbs, acting as a signal that a verb

follows.

Because they mark Off verbs, they help to clarify the struc-

tural meaning of which word is filling the verb function in a sentence.

Verb determiners pattern like the word can in the sentence, I can write;

'ig in He is writing; or has in He has written.

 

 

ferred to as auxiliaries or as modals.

TABLE VI

VERB DETERMINERS

 

They are also re-

 

 

Used with the base form of the verb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

can will does must dare
did may Shall might need
do could would should

Used with the present-participle
am is were get kept
are was got gets

Used with the past-participle
am is were has get/s
are was had have got
Used with the infinitive

am was had ought get/s
are were has used got
is have

 

33

Most of the words in Table VI usually occur as verb deter-
miners but forms of ES:.§9).E§X§) and pan are also commonly used
as full verbs. When so used, they will be followed by a part of
speech other than a verb and will receive greater stress than when
used as determiners.

The most frequently used verb determiners and, therefore,
those most pertinent to reading instruction are the forms of 22) 2232)
and‘gp.

Prepositions function as modifiers of preceding structural
elements in the sentence by relating things, persons, processes,
ideas, and qualities to them. They pattern as does the word Kipp in

the sentence, That boy with the dog looks happy. Though in diction-

 

aries the number of definitions given to each preposition tends to
be very large-~from ten up to as many as sixty-five--their meanings
must be inferred from the surrounding contexts because of their func-
tion of indicating relationships, primarily the relationships of
location, direction, association, agency, and time.1 The preposi-
tional system of English is continually eXpanding and structures Of
great complexity can be devised. Normally, however, the ones listed
in Table VII will be sufficient for all purposes. Of those listed,
the first nine, each marked with an asterisk, form the basis of the
system.

Prepositions occur under weak stress. When the same word

form is used as a part of speech, it receives significantly stronger

 

lWhitehall, pp. 62-63.

3A

stress as can be seen by contrasting the use of the word.gp in the

/
sentence, John must stay in all day (in functioning as an adverb),

 

\
with its use in the sentence, John lives in the city(gp as a prepo-

 

 

 

sition).
TABLE VII

PREPOSITIONS
*at *to into near off
*by *with before down behind
*for after above beside among
*from upon across about through
*in over below out underneath
*of along under up out of
*on around

 

Conjunctions function to join two syntactically similar units
which may range in complexity from single words functioning as parts
of speech to subject-predicate structures or to incorporate a sentence
unit within a larger structure. Those used for the first function
mentioned are referred to as coordinators; for the second, subordi-
nators. Certain conjunctions work in pairs and are then called
correlatives. Coordinators pattern like the word and does in the sen-

tence, Mary and John went to school, and in the sentence, Mary went to

 

 

school and John went home. Subordinators pattern like the word pp-

 

cause in the sentence, Mary was angry because John went home, and like

 

the word who in the sentence, The man whopjust left the room is my

 

brother. An example of the patterning of correlatives is the use of

the words neither and nor in the sentence, Neither John nor Mary wanted

 

to go to school, and the words if and then in the sentence, If you go

 

home, then I will too.

 

35

Like the prepositional system, the conjunctional system is

very complex and is continually being expanded. Certain conjunctions,

however, are much more commonly used than others. These are listed

in Table VIII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE VIII

CONJUNCTIONS

Coordinators
and nor so that
or yet therefore
not as however
but than nevertheless
so rather than consequently
for other than

Subordinators
if before that
though since who
while unless what
when until why
where although which
after how whose
because

Correlatives
both - and as - so rather - than
not only - but if - then whether - so
not - but either - or where - there

not only - but also
as - as

neither - nor
now - now

when - then

 

36

Interrogators are those function words which, when appearing
as the first or only word in a sentence, signal that that sentence

is a question. They pattern as does the word who in the sentence,

 

 

Who is going?, and as does where in the sentence, Where did he go?

 

 

TABLE IX
INTERROGATORS
who where how
when what why
whose which

 

Qualifiers pattern with adjectives and adverbs in the position

that the word very occupies in the sentence, He is very happy, and in

 

the sentence, He walked very rapidly. They increase or minimize the

 

meaning of the adjective or adverb which they precede. Those listed

in Table X are the ones in common use.

 

 

TABLE X

QUALIFIERS
very even little
no too real
most quite almost
awfully mighty some
still really rather
pretty right least
so much fairly
less more any

awful

 

Though in other positions some of these word forms may have a

rich lexical meaning, when occurring as qualifiers they always signal

37

some degree or quantity of the quality for which the adjective or
adverb stands and any attempt to interpret them literally usually
makes little or no sense, e.g., contrast the function and lexical

meaning of the word pretty in the sentence, Mary is pretty (pretty

 

functioning as an adjective), with its use in the sentence, Mary 18

pretty nice (pretty as a qualifier).

 

In addition to the major groups of function words listed in
Tables V through X, there are a few function words in very common use
which are relatively insignificant both grammatically and lexically
but are frequently used to provide a starting syllable or to conform

to the strictures of etiquette. These are: well, ah, now, yes, no,

 

say, listen, look, please, and thank you.

 

 

 

As can be seen from the preceding discussion, function words
"provide a grammatical framework within which the meanings of the full
words Operate."l Also, because, when used, they begin significant
word groups and usually receive weak stress, they provide cues to the
intonation contours of the written sentence which augment those pro-
vided by punctuation marks thus aiding the reader to obtain an accurate

translation.

 

lWhitehall, p. 53.

 

CHAPTER VI

PARTS OF SPEECH

As has been discussed in the preceding chapter, certain words,
few in number, have primarily grammatical meanings and, because there
are no formal contrasts by which they can be identified, must be
remembered as items. Most words, however, belong to one of four parts
of speech-~noun, verb, adjective, adverb--to which they can be as—
signed on the basis of a variety of formal markers which allow
identification of the class even though the lexical meaning of the word
is not known.

These words, commonly referred to as full words because of
their relatively rich lexical meanings as contrasted with function words,
are not grammatically pertinent as isolated items. AS Fries has stated,
"The structural signals of English consist of arrangements, not of
words as words, but of words as parts of speech . . . Unless these
functioning units, these parts of Speech, are clearly'marked, are iden-
tifiable in an utterance, some type of structural ambiguity will
result.“1 For example, hearing or reading a sentence in which one can-

not be Certain whether a word is fulfilling a noun function or a verb

 

lFries, The Structure of English, pp. 69-70.

 

38

39

function means that the sentence will have at least two possible
meanings and that which one the speaker or writer meant to convey is
impossible to determine.

Some linguists have attempted to separate parts of speech into
two categories--those that can be identified by the word form changes
they will take and then another categorization according to function.
Others combine the two categories into one, recognizing the functional
uselessness of the first categorization in which so much overlapping
occurs that many word forms belong to at least two and often three
parts of speech. As this study is concerned with the functional problem
of how language is used so that signals supplied by material in print
can be reliably interpreted, the latter approach, used by such promi-
nent linguists as W. Nelson Francis, Paul Roberts, and Charles C. Fries,
will be used here and the following definition is based upon their
work.

Parts of speech are functional grammatical units which can be
identified on the bases of the cues given by the positions they occupy
and the forms they have. In such a classification five inter-related
signals, varying in degree of influence, may operate though seldom will
you find all five in relation to a given word within an utterance. The
five possible signals are relative position within the sentence (word
order), function words, derivational affixes, inflectional suffixes,
and stress. These will now be discussed as they are important to the
definition of each part of Speech. "In general, 'position' markers in

any particular sentence supercede morphological or form markers,"1 that

 

lFries, The Structure of English, p. 1A1.

 

A0

is, each part of speech has certain sentence positions in which it
can appear; a word belongs to that part of Speech when it occurs in
any of those positions. Roberts has stated, "It may be true that
there is a kind of general meaning common to nouns and other meanings
common to other word classes. But this meaning is created precisely
by similarity of occurrence in sentence patterns. The structure
produces the meaning, not the other way around. We do not, in our
use of language, perceive that a word names a person, place, or thing
and therefore occurs in a noun pattern. We perceive that it occurs

in a noun pattern and therefore names a person, place, or thing."1

A9323
Nouns are those words which occur in such positions as do the
underlined words in the following sentences:
Darkness fell.
The E212 sailed.
.QQHE lost his Epy_.
gppk gave the PERTH a.§l§§°
Nouns are most commonly and most clearly identified by noun de-
terminers which, when present, always precede, with or without inter-
vening words, the nouns they mark.
Most nouns have two possible inflections, the plural and the
possessive. The plural morpheme {hes} , usually an /s/, /z/, or /iz/

ending according to what the preceding phoneme is, correlates with the

 

lPaul Roberts, Understanding English (New York: Harper and
Row, 1958), p. 153.

 

Al

meaning of more than one item of whatever the noun refers to. In
writing, the /s/ and /z/ suffixes are represented by p, the /iz/ by
pp though, with the latter spelling, there may be an alteration of the
grapheme representing the preceding phoneme as there is in the plural
graphic form of the word cities as contrasted with its singular form
.2131: Some nouns in common usage do not fit the regular pattern of
forming plurals by adding /s/, /z/, or /iz/. These, representative
conventional spelling examples of which are listed in Table XI, must
be learned as items because of their irregularity of form.

The possessive morpheme {E'S} is joined with nouns "on the
same pattern as the plural, except that there are no irregular for-
mations. We add /s/, /z/, or /iz/ according to what the preceding
sound is."1 There is no phonemic difference between the plural in-
flection and the possessive inflection of the Singular and plural
forms of most nouns but position will usually serve to distinguish
which is being used. Graphemically, the possessive morpheme is rep-
resented by an apostrophe, placement of which enables the reader not
only to identify the possessive but also to differentiate the singular
possessive from the plural possessive.

Many nouns can be identified by derivational suffixes which
mark them as nouns because of the contrast of form with words which,
though belonging to other parts of speech, have the same root. The
list in Table XII gives the major regular patterns with examples
of each in the most frequently used conventional Spelling patterns.

However, it must be kept in mind in referring to this table of

 

lRoberts, p. 155.

A2

suffixes and following ones that form markers may be superseded by

positional markers and that some suffixes are common to more than

one part of speech.

TABLE XI

IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUN FORMS

 

 

Singular form

Formed by a replacive

Plural form

 

man 0 O O
tooth . .
m0 us 8 o o o 0

men
teeth
mice

 

Replacive plus regular suffix

 

knife . . .
leaf . . .
wife . . . .

knives
leaves
wives

 

Irregular suffix

 

child . . . .
ox . . . . .

children
oxen

 

NO change in form

 

sheep . . . .
deer . . . .

sheep
deer

 

A3

TABLE XII

NOUN-MARKING DERIVATIONAL SUFFIXES

 

 

Differentiating noun from verb

Suffix Verb form Noun form

 

age . . . . . . . . . . . break . . . . . . . . breakage

a1 . . . . . . . . . . . . arrive . . . . . . . arrival
ance . . . . . . . . . . . perform . . . . . . . performance
ant . . . . . . . . . . . assist . . . . . . . assistant
ee . . . . . . . . . . . . employ . . . . . . . employee

er . . . . . . . . . . . . work . . . . . . . . worker
ment . . . . .... . . . . pay . . . .... . . . payment
ure . . . . . . . . . . . fail . . . . . . . . failure
y . . . . . . . . . . . . deliver . . . . . . . delivery

 

Differentiating noun fitmladjective

Suffix Adjective form Noun form

 

ness . . . . . . . . . . . big . . . . . . . . . bigness

ity . . . . . . . . . . . false . . . . . . . . falsity

th . . . . . . . . . . . . warm . . . . . . . . warmth

ism . . . . . . . . . . . real . . . . . . . . realism

ce . . . . . . . . . . . . independent . . . . . independence
cy . . . . . . . . . . . . consistent . . . . . consistency
ster . . . . . . . . . . . young . . . . . . . . youngster

 

Nouns occupy certain characteristic positions in relation to
other parts of speech, most commonly preceding or following a verb
so that, if the other part of Speech is identifiable, then the noun
can be identified by its position, e.g., in the sentence, Shipped

sails today, the suffix {fed} plainly Signals that shipped is a verb;

 

therefore, we can identify the word sails as a noun because of its

AA

position following the verb. However, because of the number of
positions which nouns may occupy and the common occurrence in most
sentences of one or more of the noun markers previously discussed,
position alone is seldom sufficient for or necessary to the identi-
fication of nouns except in sentences where no noun determiner or
unambiguous derivational or inflectional suffix marks the noun as
is the case in the example given on p. A3.

The stress pattern differentiates some nouns from verbs;
however, we only become aware of stress differentiation when it is
used to distinguish words which are otherwise identical in form.
Because there is no graphemic representation of this stress pattern,
it is fortunate for the reader that it is reliably signalled by
one or more of the other four cues previously discussed.

There are a limited number of words that occur in noun po-
sitions but are not marked off by the determiners, suffixes, or
contrasts of stress which characterize full nouns so that they are
considered to be a sub-class of nouns. These words function as
replacements for previously mentioned full nouns and as references
to the person spoken to or the person Speaking. They are commonly
referred to as pronouns.

Full nouns may be classified on the basis of the pronouns
which can be substituted for them, a classification which categor-
izes nouns according to gender as listed in Table XIII with examples

given of the words which can be included in each category.

A5

TABLE XIII

SUBSTITUTION CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS: GENDER

 

 

Masculine gender
Those for which the substitute is pg or him

 

boy tenor brother
man bass uncle

 

Feminine gender
Those for which the substitute is she or her

 

woman lady aunt
mother queen sister

 

Neuter gender
Those for which the substitute is it

 

house medicine snow
poem friendship mosquito

 

Masculine or Neuter
Those for which the substitute is pp, him, or ;p

 

bull ram steer
rooster buck tomcat

 

Feminine or Neuter
Those for which the substitute is she, her, or £3

 

cow doe hen
ewe ship heifer

 

A6

TABLE XIII — Continued

 

Masculine or Feminine
Those for which the substitute is_p§, himz she, or her

 

parent friend doctor
child student teacher

 

Masculine or Feminine or Neuter
Those for which the substitute is he, him, she, her, or it

 

 

baby horse deer
dog cat tot

 

Another classification is that distinguishing prOper nouns
from common nouns. Proper nouns either pattern without any deter-

miner, e.g., as does the word Charles in the sentence, I saw Charles,

 

or always pattern with the noun determiner the but not with any
other determiner, e.g., as does the Hague in the sentence, He is an

ambassador from the Hague. Graphemically, the first letter of this

 

type of noun is always capitalized.

Verbs are words occupying such positions as do the underlined
words in the following sentences:
John‘pgn.
Please remove it.
Mary ig beautiful.

John will come later.

A7

The most common significant characteristic of verbs is their
ability to Show past time by change of form, usually the addition
of a /t/, /d/, or /id/ ending according to what phoneme precedes the
suffix. These suffixes are usually represented graphically by pg.
Examples in conventional Spelling of commonly occurring verbs whose
change of form to Show past time does not fit the regular pattern
are given in Table XIV.

Another verb inflection is the third-singular {4s} so named

because it patterns with third person singular nouns, e.g., as does

 

the word yppgg in the sentence, Mary works slowly. This inflection
is identical in form with the regular forms of the plural inflection
of nouns so is of no aid in differentiating between verbs and nouns.
However, it is a distinguishing feature differentiating verbs from
adjectives and adverbs. I

There is also a present-participle inflection {Ling} of
verbs but, as this is identical in form with the derivational suffix
{Eing} which can be added to both nouns and adjectives, it is neces-
sary to heed other cues, particularly positional ones, to reliably
identify this verb form.

The fact that when a verb determiner is used in a sentence
the verb follows it is an important structural characteristic of
verbs.

A few derivational affixes, listed in Table XV in conventional

spelling, differentiate verbs from certain other parts of speech.

 

 

A8

TABLE XIV

IRREGULAR VERB FORMS SHOWING PAST TD’EE

 

 

Base form

Inflected form

Formed by a vowel replacive

 

stand . .
meet . .

. stood
. met

 

Consonant replacive

 

 

 

 

 

bend . . . . . . . . . . . . bent

build 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O bmlt
Replacive plus regular suffix

sleep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . slept

hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . heard

No change in form
put . . . . . . . . . . . . put
hit I I O O O O O O 0 hit

 

Complete change in form

 

 

 

with Singular with plural
subject subject
be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . was . . . . . were
Two forms
without with
auxiliary auxiliary
drink 0 O I O O O I O O O I O O O O O O drank O O O 0 arm
know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . knew . . . . known

 

A9

TABLE XV

VERB MARKING DERIVATIONAL.AFFIXES

 

 

Prefixes differentiating verb from noun

 

Prefix Noun form Verb form
be I O O O I I O O O O O 0 friend 0 O O O O O I befriend
en . . . . . . . . . . . . joy . . . . . . . . enjoy

 

Prefix differentiating verb from adjective

Prefix Adjective form Verb form

 

en . . . . . . . . . . . . large ...... . . . . enlarge

 

Suffixes differentiating verb from noun

 

Suffix Noun form Verb form
ize . . . . . . . . . . . idol . . . . . . . . idolize
fy . . . . . . . . . . . . beauty . . . . . . . beautify

 

Suffixes differentiating verb from adjective

 

Suffix Adjective form Verb form
an . . . . . . . . . . . . sharp . . . . . . . sharpen
ize . . . . . . . . . . . equal . . . . . . . equalize

 

The most characteristic positions that verbs occupy in

addition to following a verb determiner are following a noun;

-----

 

 

50

preceding a noun, with or without an intervening noun determiner; and
between two nouns, the second of which may or may not have a deter-
miner.

The stress pattern differentiating some verbs from nouns
has already been discussed on p. 16 and on p. AA.

In relation to the verb signalling cues discussed in the
previous paragraphs it is important to keep in mind that "so fre-
quent is the occurrence of either an auxiliary verb determiner
or an inflection that it is seldom necessary to rely on either
derivative affixes or positions to identify verbs. They are usually
the most clearly marked of all the parts of speech."1

Verbs may be classified as linking, intransitive, or tran-
sitive; a categorization that is necessary to the description and
identification of the differences between certain basic sentence
patterns which will be discussed in Chapter VII.

linking verbs are few in number. Those most frequently
used are forms of the verb pg when it is used as a full verb and all

forms of the verbs become, appear, feel, seem,_lgok, taste, smell,

 

 

 

 

sound, grow, and remain when they appear in patterns where they are

 

followed by an adjective, e.g., as does the verb seems in the sentence,

John seems happy, or by a noun which has the same referent as the

 

noun preceding the verb, e.g., as does the verb became in the sentence,

John became my friend.

 

Intransitive verbs pattern with no word following or by

being followed by an adverb as does the verb went in the following

 

;Francis, p. 262.

_..._._'_. .__..— . _.__

51

sentences:
Mary went.
Mary went quietly.
Transitive verbs will pattern as does the verb removed in
the following sentences:
I removed it.

It was removed by me.

Adjectives

 

Adjectives are characterized primarily by their ability to
fill both the position between a noun determiner and a noun and the
position after a linking verb and a qualifier as does the word

beautiful in the sentence, The beautiful girl is very beautiful

 

(lexically redundant but grammatically acceptable). The particular
noun, noun determiner, and qualifier used in the test sentence may

be varied according to which adjective is being used to avoid lexical
incompatibility without affecting the structure, e.g., as in the

sentence, That shaggy dog is really shaggy.

 

Inflectional suffixes common to adjectives are the {fer}
and -est} endings added to bases to form the comparative and super-
lative degrees. The qualifiers mppg and mpgp will substitute for
these suffixes with most derived adjectives, examples of which are
listed in Table XVI in the most frequently used conventional spelling
pattern.

Qualifiers, when used, appear immediately before an adjective

but they also appear immediately before an adverb so cannot be

52

considered as adjective determiners. However, they do differentiate
adjectives from nouns and verbs.
TABLE XVI

ADJECTIVE-MARKING DERIVATIONAL SUEFIXES

 

 

Differentiating adjective from noun

Suffix Noun form Adjective form

 

y . . . . . . . . . . . . . dirt . . . . . . . . . dirty

1y . . . . . . . . . . . . . friend . . . . . . . . friendly
ish . . . . . . . . . . . . child . . . . . . . . childish
a1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . accident . . . . . . . accidental
ous . . . . . . . . . . . . joy . . . . . . . . . joyous

ic . . . . . . . . . . . . . angel . . . . . . . . angelic

ar . . . . . . . . . . . . . consul . . . . . . . . consular
ary . . . . . . . . . . . . moment . . . . . . . . momentary
ful . . . . . . . . . . . . power . . . . . . . . powerful
less . . . . . . . . . . . . home . . . . . . . . . homeless
like . . . . . . . . . . . . war . . . . . . . . . warlike
ate . . . . . . . . . . . . affection . . . . . . affectionate
en . . . . . . . . . . . . . gold . . . . . . . . . golden

ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . wood . . . . . . . . . wooded

 

Differentiating adjective from verb

Suffix i Verb form Adjective form

 

ive . . . . . . . . . . . . select . . . . . . . . selective
ent . . . . . . . . . . . . depend . . . . . . . . dependent
able . . . . . . . . . . . . agree . . . . . . . . agreeable
some . . . . . . . . . . . . tire . . . . . . . . . tiresome
ory . . . . . . . . . . . . promise . . . . . . . promissory
ed (/id/ . . . . . . . . . learn . . . . . . . . learned

ing . ._. . . . . . . . . . interest . . . . . . . interesting

 

The stress pattern differentiating an adjective preceding

a noun from a compound word has been discussed on p. 16. In print, a

53

space between the words used in the structure usually signals that

it is an adjective plus noun rather than a compound word.

591193322
Adverbs are characterized by their ability to fill both
the final sentence position after an intransitive verb, e.g., as

does the adverb suddenly in the sentence, The rain stOpped suddenly,

 

and the final sentence position after a noun which is preceded by
a transitive verb, e.g., as does the adverb, fast in the sentence,

He drove his car fast. Any word which fits the second position

 

described above is an adverb (though the same word form may be used
in other positions as a different part of Speech), and any adverb
will fit this position. Changes in the specific-words used (but
not changes in the structure) may be necessary to avoid lexical in-
compatibility as can be seen by contrasting the use of the adverb

downstairs in the sentence, He brought his book downstairs, with

 

 

the previous example.

Certain derivational affixes serve to contrast adverbs with
other parts of Speech. Of those, the first one listed in Table XVII
characterizes the largest and most clearly marked group.

Like adjectives, adverbs may be preceded by qualifiers
and may have comparative and superlative forms.

Four adverbs--then, there, thus, so--can serve as substi-
tutes for others. Classifying adverbs on this basis produces three
groups as listed in Table XVIII with examples given of the adverbs

that can belong to each group.

5A

TABLE XVII

ADVERBAMARKING DERIVATIONAL AFFIXES

 

 

Suffix differentiating adverb from adjective

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suffix Adjective form Adverb form
1y . . . . . . . . . . . . sad (base form) . . . sadly
healthy (derived) . . healthily
Suffixes differentiating adverb from noun
Suffix Noun form Adverb form
ly . . . . . . . . . . . week . . . . . . . . . weekly
ward (s) . . . . . . . . . . home . . . . . . . . . homeward (s)
wise . . . . . . . . . . length . . . . . . . . lengthwise
Prefixes differentiating adverb from adjective
Prefix Adjective form Adverb form
a O O O O O O O O O O O O lOIJd O O O O O O O O O aloud
Prefix differentiating adverb from noun
Prefix Noun form Adverb form

 

. . . . . . . . . . head . . . . . . . . . ahead

 

55

TABLE XVIII

SUBSTITUTION CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBS

 

 

Those for which the substitute is then

 

today daily tomorrow
yesterday early late

 

Those for which the substitute is there

 

outside backward home
indoors abroad upstairs

 

Those for which the substitute is thus or pp

 

easily rapidly fast
slowly aloud regularly

 

 

This chapter has been concerned with how words can be classi-
fied as belonging to one of four parts of speech--noun, verb, adjective,
adverb--according to their form and the positions they occupy. To
avoid ambiguity, reliable identification of each of the parts of speech
used in a particular sentence must be possible. How the parts of
speech and function words pattern in certain types of sentences will

be discussed in the next chapter.

CHAPTER VII

SENTENCE PATTERNS

Grammatically, sentences are classified according to the
type of response they ordinarily elicit; the assumption being that
if "a particular response regularly occurs after a speech form or
language pattern then this pattern of form 'means' this response."1
Such a classification produces three major types of English sentences:
statement sentences which are those eliciting continued attention;
question sentences eliciting oral responses; and request sentences
eliciting action responses.

In the majority of verbal communicative acts, the type of
sentence being uttered is signalled by contrastive patterns of ar-

2 so that

rangement of a noun and a verb tied by concordance of form
the noun has the meaning of subject of the sentence. The following
formulas for the simplest forms of commonly occurring sentence pat-

’terns illustrate this principle: a noun tied to a verb = a statement,

e.g., John ran; a verb tied to a noun = a question, e.g., Can I?;

 

lVerna L. Newsome, Structural Grammar in the Classroom
(Oshkosh: Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English, 1961), p. 11.

 

2The form of one is affected by, must agree with, the form
of the other. When the verb has a determiner, the noun functioning
as subject is tied to the verb determiner rather than to the verb.

56

57

a verb (not tied) = a request, e.g., an.

However, all statements, questions, and requests can con-
sist of other arrangements of some or all parts of speech and,
usually, function words; also, questions can be signalled by means
other than a simple reversal of the statement pattern so each type
of sentence will be discussed in relation to the most frequently
occurring patterns of each type.

In the formulas used to illustrate the sentence patterns,

the following abbreviations will be used:

N = Noun
iV = Intransitive Verb
1V = Linking Verb
tV = Transitive Verb
A = Adjective
Ad = Adverb
nD = Noun Determiner
vD = Verb Determiner
Q = Qualifier

= Tied

() = the enclosed element is not essential to the
basic pattern; its use is considered an expan-
sion

a (following two nouns
in the same pattern) = the nouns refer to the same
person or thing

b (following a noun when Na
occurs in the same pattern) = the noun so marked
refers to some other
person or thing than
a noun marked with
an a

c (following a noun when Na and
Nb occur in the same pattern) = the noun so marked
refers to some other
person or thing than
either a noun marked
with an a or a noun
marked with a b

58

The sequence in which the sentence elements are listed is
an indispensable characteristic of the pattern, that is, change
the order (particularly of the nouns and verbs) and you have a new

pattern signalling a different meaning.

Statement Sentences

 

In studies of adult utterances, statement sentences have
been found to exceed other types in frequency, constituting as much
as 60% of the material, and in studies of children's language pat-
terns, statements also dominate. The six sentence patterns consti-
tuting the most commonly used patterns in English writing are all
statements.

Statement sentences are characterized by their final falling
terminal juncture and, with one exception (Pattern Six), a Subject/Verb
basic structure. The formula for each will be given first in the
simplest form in which the pattern occurs, then with the most fre—
quently occurring types Of function words and parts of speech used in

expansions of the basic pattern.

Pattern One
a. N —- iV
People talk.
b. (nD) N -— iv
The dog barked.
c. (nD) N -- (VD) iv

All cats can purr.

 

a.

59

(nD) N -- (vD) iV (Ad)

Our team has played well.

(nD) (A) N -- (vD) iv (Ad)

The excited girls were screaming loudly.
(nD) (A) N -- (vD) iV (Q) (Ad)

Those yellow birds can sing very sweetly.

Pattern Two
N -- 1V A
John looks healthy.
(nD) N -- 1v A
Those birds are noisy.
(nD) N —- (VD) 1V A
These boys have been naughty.
(nD) N -- (VD) 1v A (Ad)
The lawn does look beautiful now.
(nD) (A) N -- (vD) 1V A (Ad)
His left arm has been sore recently.
(nD) (A) N -- (vD) 1V (Q) A (Ad)
That little boy is feeling quite happy now.
(MD) (A) N -- (vD) 1v (Q) A (Q) (Ad)

Those naughty boys may feel very foolish
quite soon.

A common

 

60

Pattern Three
Na -— tV Nb
Dogs eat meat.
(nD) Na -- tV Nb
My friends play bridge.
(nD) Na -- (VD) tv Nb
Some men can pilot airplanes.
(nD) Na -- (VD) tv Nb (Ad)
Most cashiers can make change rapidly.
(nD) (A) Na -- (vD) tV (nD) Nb (Ad)
Her young son does drive a car expertly.
(nD) (A) Na -- (VD) tV (nD) (A) Nb (Ad)

My silly friend will forget her own name
someday.

(nD) (A) Na -- (M W (MD) (A) No (9) (Ad)

My younger sisters must purchase several
birthday presents very soon.

structure is this pattern with the two nouns reversed

and the addition of a verb determiner and the function word py.

The sentence is then said to be in the passive voice with the subject

as receiver of the action instead of the doer of the action as in

the sentences in the active voice as are those in a through g.

The pattern for the passive voice form is:

Nb -- vD tV by Na

Meat is eaten by dogs.

61

Pattern Four
Na -- 1V Na
They are friends.
Na -- 1v (nD) Na
Mary is my friend.
(nD) Na -- 1V (nD) Na
My brother is a doctor.
(nD) Na -- (VD) 1v (nD) Na
A doctor can be a specialist.
(nD) Na -- (vD) 1v (nD) Na (Ad)
Her brother will be a doctor soon.
(nD) (A) Na -- (vD) 1v (nD) Na (Ad)
My little sister has been a pest lately.
(nD) (A) Na -- (vD) 1V (nD) Na (Q) (Ad)

Those pretty girls may become my sisters-in—law
very soon.

Pattern Five
Na —— tV Nb Nc
She told me lies.
Na -- tV Nb (nD) Nc
Mother gave me some money.
Na -— tv (nD) Nb (nD) Nc
Father gave my brother a spanking.
0m)Na--tv(m»1n hm)Nc

The nurse gave the baby her bottle.

62

e. (nD) Na -- (VD) tv (nD) Nb (nD) Nc

The nurse will sing the baby a lullaby.
f. (nD) Na -- (vD) tv (nD) Nb (nD) (A) Nc

My boss is giving his clerks a rough time.
g. (nD) Na -- (vD) tV (nD) (A) Nb (nD) (A) Nc

The coach is giving his new players some extra
attention.

h. (nD) (A) Na -- (vD) tv (nD) (A) Nb (nD) (A) Nc

These nice boys will give that Old tramp some
new clothes.

i. (nD) (A) Na -- (vD) tv (nD) (A) Nb (nD) (A)
No Ad)

That small store is Offering its regular
customers some good bargains today.

j. (an (A) Na -— (vD) tv (nD) (A) Nb (nD) (A)
Nc Q Ad)

The downtown stores will offer their charge
customers some excellent bargains very soon.

There are some verbs which, when used in this pattern, signal

that the nouns following the verb have the same referent. There
is no special designation for such verbs which are few in number.
They are given below in sentences which illustrate their special
function, patterning:

Na -- tV Nb Nb

They elected John chairman

I thought John a bore.

He considered John a genius.

He believed John a genius.

Three verbs are frequently used in both ways though some

63

additional signal, usually a familiar lexical one, almost always
indicates which form of the pattern is intended, as in the following
statements:
He found Mary a help.
She made him a great man.
He called me a liar.
Like Pattern Three, Pattern Five can also occur in the

passive voice.

Pattern Six
a. There iV -- N Ad
There were rOpes there.
b. There iV'(nD) N Ad
\__/
There are some rOpes here.
c. There (vD) iV (nD) N Ad
There may be some ropes outside.

As used in this pattern, the introductory word 32332 is not
an adverb; it is merely a way of getting this particular pattern
started. It may be considered a function word in a class by itself.
As a function word, EEEES is never a stressed word. It is used
in this capacity with the verb pp and occasionally with the verb

come as in the expression, There comes a time.

 

Question Sentences

 

Questions are the second largest group of sentences. They

are used in conversation, constituting approximately 28% of the

6A

material studied, and in conversational writing; however, they seldom
occur in non-conversational writing.

All six basic statement patterns can be converted into
question sentences by some type of reversal Of word order: the
first five patterns by reversal of subject and verb or subject and
verb determiner (the verb pg is the only one that always reverses
simply), the sixth by reversal of the function word HERE? and the

verb. IThis produces the following basic question patterns:

Pattern One
a. iV -- N Ad
IS John here?
b. vD -- N iV

Can John come?

Pattern Two
a. 1V -- N A
Is John healthy?
b. vD -- N lV'A

Does John feel healthy?

Pattern Three
a. vD -- Na tV Nb

Does John play tennis?

65

Pattern Four
a. 1V -- Na Na

Are they friends?

Pattern Five
a. vD -- Na tV Nb Nc
Has she told me lies?
b. vD -- Na tV Nb Nb

Have they elected John chairman?

Pattern Six
a. iV there N Ad
-____,/
Were there ropes outside?
Any statement sentence can be converted into a question
sentence by imposing a final rising terminal juncture upon it. In
print, the use of the question mark with these patterns reliably

.2
signals this juncture, e.g., as in the sentence, John is going?,

 

contrasted with the sentence, John is going)!

 

The third major grammatical device used to signal the meaning
of question sentence is the occurrence of an interrogator as the
first element in the pattern, as illustrated by the following exam-
ples:

'Whp went with you?
Whppg book did you borrow?
'ngp are you leaving?

Where are you going?

66

What do you want?
Which dress are you going to buy?
How will you get there?

Why are you leaving?

Request Sentences

 

Requests occur infrequently in comparison to the other two
types of sentences, constituting only approximately 7% of the
language material studied. They are not used in non-conversational
writing.

Request sentences are characterized primarily by not having
a subject in contrast to statement and question sentences which do.
The first five statement patterns become requests when the first
noun, the subject, is omitted. The sixth statement pattern does
not occur as a request.

Requests are Often introduced by a function word or words
according to prevailing standards of politeness, e.g., as in the

use of the word please in the sentence, Please close the door, and

 

the words, will you please, in the sentence, Will you please close

 

 

the door.

Negatives
The basic patterns can become negative structures by using

the word not in sentences having a verb determiner, e.g., as done

to convert the positive statement, Our team has played well, to the

 

negative one, Our team has not played well. Usually the added word

 

67

.293 will be joined to the verb determiner in contracted form, e.g.,
as in the sentence, Our team hasn't played well. In sentences
having no verb determiner, a form of the verb $2 is added and the
negative is used with it, e.g., as in converting the positive state-

ment, They'play well, to a negative one, They do not play well,

 

 

which may also be said or written as, They don't play well.

 

Word Group substitutions

 

Word groups may be substituted for single words and perform
an equivalent function thus allowing for an almost unlimited amount
of expansion of the basic sentence patterns. Warfel has stated
that "the most important syntactical maneuver in English is the sub-
stitution of word—groups for single words in the four functions."1

The two most common types of word group substitutions are:

l). the use of a conjunction, two conjunctions, or a com-
bination Of internal rising terminal junctures and a conjunction
to link words identical in function:

a). Mary and John are leaving.

 

b). Both Mary and JOhn are leaving.

 

c). Mary? Johnf‘and Jim.are leaving.

 

This type of substitution may occur with any or all parts
of speech used in a particular sentence pattern.

2). the use of a preposition group (prepositional phrase)--
a preposition followed by a part of speech (usually a noun, with Or

without a determiner) functioning as the object of the preposition--

 

lWarfel, p. 1AA.

as a sentence element:

a). John went to his car.

 

b). The girls in that school are snobbish.

 

c). Mary is inside the church.

 

Combined Patterns

 

English sentences may be combined by using a conjunction
to join two equivalent patterns or to subordinate one pattern to
another. The first method produces such constructions as Mary went

home but John went to school; the second such constructions as Mary

 

went home because John went to school.

 

Sentences seem to be endlessly varied and may be very long
and involved; however examination of them will Show that structurally
they almost all conform to one of the patterns described in this
chapter; patterns so frequently used, such standard units of coma
munication, that they may be said to be sufficient for all practical
purposes.

Because the sentence is the principal unit of English,
understanding of how it conveys meaning by the inter-related gram-
matical signals of intonation contours, function words, word and
word group order, and word form changes (described in this and pre-
vious chapters) acting upon the lexical items used is necessary to
understanding the nature and functioning of the English language

and, consequently, the derived language process of reading.

69

A theory of reading instruction based upon the cues pro-
vided by the signalling systems of English as described in this

study will be the subject of the next chapter.

CHAPTER VIII

A THEORY OF READING

Learning to read is essentially learning to decode a complex
system of graphic symbols which represents but does not duplicate
a complex system of oral communication symbols already known. This
decoding must be accurate enough so that the reader can respond to
the written message in a manner parallel to that to which he would
respond to the oral.

For the beginner who is able to express himself orally and
understand what is said to him there are two major steps involved
in the process: 1) learning the phoneme—to-grapheme relationships
of English orthography (the transfer stage) and 2) learning to
translate a graphic message into the oral message it represents.

Prior to beginning work at the transfer stage, the student
needs to be able to differentiate each graphic language symbol from
all others. He has to learn the alphabet in that he must, for
example, be able to perceive that g is different from g or p or i
or any other letter of the alphabet. This learning is facilitated,
as is communication with his instructor, by his learning the names
of the letters. It must always be clear to him that he is learning

the names of these configurations and not the sounds they represent.

70

71

Because communication using oral symbols is the known and
the primary language system, it is necessary that the student be
helped to bridge the gap between his already acquired ability to
listen and Speak and his acquisition of the ability to decode the
secondary language system of graphic symbols by the use of instruc-
tional materials as closely allied both lexically and grammatically
to his oral language learnings as possible. The transfer stage
and the merging of it into independent reading ability can best be
accomplished, therefore, by using as the major source of instructional
materials written materials that the student dictates with the
instructor faithfully recording what is said.

During and following the recording of the dictated message,
instruction in what is being done and why can make the student
aware of the language signals he is already using to encode and
decode orally and enable him to learn how they relate to their
graphic representations. This instruction Should relate to the total
message with the sentence being the major teaching unit and reference
to its structure used to clarify details. It should be organized
to capitalize on the fact that the basic principle of the language
system is that of meaningful contrasts of patterns: that it is
how one form or structure differs from all others that gives it its
significance.

The use of the sentence structure as the focal point Of

instruction is necessary because it is the minimal unit refining

the meaning and making specific the pronunciation of words suffi-

ciently to allow for a correct interpretation of the written message.

72

So that the student learns he must consider the context to have
enough reliable cues and learns how to use this multi-referential
system, vocabulary study and word analysis study at the morphemic
level should be taught in relation to how the distribution of the
kinds and classes of all words and structural signals in the sen-
tence combine in mutual support to express meaning. Therefore,
grammar in the sense that a student learns how intonation contours,
sentence patterns, the functions of words, and word form changes
influence lexical meaning and pronunciation and determine grammatical
meaning should be taught concurrently with reading.

The development of word analysis ability at the phonemic
level, the learning of phoneme—grapheme relationships by the study
of spelling patterns, must be based on an analysis of the student's
dialect so that word lists are used which accurately represent the
speech pattern of the learner. Words used in these lists for this
type of instruction must also be used in sentences as well as in
isolation so that the habit of giving primary stress to each and
the set that a spelling pattern is a sufficient cue for correct
pronunciation are not developed.

. All written materials should be read aloud by the student
in the same style which he would use if he were telling this infor-
mation directly to someone. The methodological use of oral reading
is to provide a medium for develOping consciousness of the basic
signals of oral language already known and their relationship to the
graphic system. Hearing what is read is a means of checking on

the accuracy of the translation of those language cues reliably

73

signalled in print and learning to supply those only partially repre-
sented. Oral reading is the bridge to silent reading, i.e., reading
without any overt Signs of speech activity. As skill is developed,
as the ear is trained, the student can be guided into Silent reading
activities.

The close relationship between the derived language processes
of writing (the encoding of written messages), which requires the
ability to synthesize discrete graphic symbols into a communication
unit, and reading (the decoding of written messages), which requires
the ability to analyze signals from an already encoded communication,
indicates that instruction in one will be facilitated by instruction
in the other. Learning to write should be developed concurrently
with, though not necessarily at the same rate as learning to read.

Instructional reading materials written for the student
but not dictated by him should also utilize his oral language pat-
terns if he is to be expected to translate them accurately and
respond meaningfully to them.

If the student's ability to use oral language is developed
ahead of and along with instruction in reading, the instructional
materials used can gradually incorporate increasingly complex and
varied vOcabulary and sentence patterns leading to the acquisition.
by the student of the ability to independently translate varying

styles of formal writing successfully.

7A

Suggestions for Further Study

The theory presented in this study has been developed to
stimulate research in reading as a secondary language process based
on the primary system, the oral.

All hypotheses made must be subjected to empirical inquiry
and experimental investigation to determine the soundness of the
theory. Greater attention to the student's oral language and the
use of instructional materials based on it and to the language
principle of meaningful contrasts of patterns would be particularly
fruitful avenues of investigation. It is also indicated that new
instruments of evaluation, particularly in appraising a student's
vocabulary in the sense that he can discriminate among lexical and
grammatical meanings of the same word form, need development and that
the use of the sentence as the major unit of instruction be care-
fully investigated.

AS so many of the signals of intonation are not represented
in standard written material, it is possible that the use of addi-
tional cues for beginners, cues which are gradually faded out as
skill is gained should be studied. These cues could be such as
greater spacing between phonological phrases than between each word
and larger letters or more obvious type for syllables receiving
primary stress.

The motivational and sociological implications Of using the
student's dictation as a source of instructional materials also needs
further investigation particularly if it is directed toward the pos—
sible merging of the sociological, psychological, and linguistic

theories of reading into a more global theory.

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