Discuss the salient/General features of English language. Or How far can English be considered a masculine language.
To characterize in one formula, English may be said to be positively and expressively masculine. "It is the language of a grown up man and has very little childish or feminine in it, says Jespersen. Many phonetical, grammatical and lexical things, words and terms go together to produce this impression.The following qualities may be mentioned as the basic characteristics of English:
1) Sound system: The most important feature of English is found in its sound system. The English consonants are well defined and clearly and precisely pronounced, not indistinct or half-slurred. Only 'R' remains silent when not followed by a vowel, Each English consonant belongs to its own type, that is, a 't' is always pronounced as 't' as In bat; a 'K' is always a 'k', as in 'king'. Even the vowel sounds are comparatively independent of their surrounding. The large number of words ending in two or more consonantal sounds, like 'wealth', 'feasts' etc., give the language a masculine quality.
2) Briefness and conciseness: By virtue of its briefness, conciseness and terseness, English is more masculine than most languages. In grammar it has got rid of a great many superfluities. In German language a plural idea is expressed in each word separately, apart from the adverb. But in the English expression "All the distinguished guests who attended the programme...'', on the other
hand, the article 'the', the adjective 'distinguished' and the relative pronoun 'who' do not receive any mark of the plural number.
3) Monosyllabisn: The tendency towards monosyllabism has undoubtedly given English great force. For example, 'thanks' is harsher and less polite, but of greater force than the two syllabled 'thank you'. Even bigger sentences like, "If there is no cure, there will be no pay, have become "No cure, no pay'. The predominance of male rimes in English is also a result of monosyllabism.
4) Business-iike shortening of words and sentences: A fourth masculine characteristic of the English is the business-like shortening of words and sentences. Thus superfiuous articles are often omitted and sentences are shortened without disturbing the core meaning. Abbreviations like 'While fighting in Germany (=while he was fighting in Germany) he was taken prisoner' are found
abundantly in English. There are also the morphological shortenings like, 'bus' for 'omnibus' or 'phone' for 'telephone' frequently used in English.
5) Sobriety in expression: The demand for the economy of expression leads to a masculine sobriety in expressing ideas. Strong or hyperbolical expressions of approval or admiration are always avoided in English. 'That isn't half bad' or 'she is rather good looking' are often the highest praises found in English.
6) Sobriety in the use of diminutives: The extreme fewness of diminutive endings and their rarity signify the masculine quality of English.In contrast to the abundance of diminutives in Italian or German, the only important diminutives in English are '-let' as in 'booklet', '-ling' as in 'nursling and the fondlings like, '-y' or '-ie' like 'Bill' - 'Billy', 'aunt'-'auntie' etc.
7) Word order: Another virile quality of Engiish is that the word order in English remains always the same. For example, an auxiliary verb does not stand far from the principal verb, as in "he will come tomorrow''. The adjective neariy always precedes the noun, as in 'he is a talented man.'
8) Logic: English is one of the most logical languages. This logic is found in the use of tenses.The difference between the past tense 'I came' and the present perfect 'I have come' and the past perfect 'I had come' is maintained with great consistency as compared with similarly formations in Danish and German. English follows the logic of facts more than the logic of grammar. Words like 'family' and 'ciergy' are grammatically singular, but may be taken as plural when the idea demands. English language has an extra-ordinarily receptive and adaptable quality. It has taken and assimilated wonderfully materials from almost every known language of the world. "English has built up an unusual capacity for assimilating outside elements", says A.C. Bough. However, the virile characteristics of English language are indicative of and due to the essential masculinity of the English national mind, each linguistic quality finding its counterpart in the character of the race:
"For words, like Nature, half reveal
And half conceal the soul within."
------Tennyson.
∆Md Samir
1) Sound system: The most important feature of English is found in its sound system. The English consonants are well defined and clearly and precisely pronounced, not indistinct or half-slurred. Only 'R' remains silent when not followed by a vowel, Each English consonant belongs to its own type, that is, a 't' is always pronounced as 't' as In bat; a 'K' is always a 'k', as in 'king'. Even the vowel sounds are comparatively independent of their surrounding. The large number of words ending in two or more consonantal sounds, like 'wealth', 'feasts' etc., give the language a masculine quality.
2) Briefness and conciseness: By virtue of its briefness, conciseness and terseness, English is more masculine than most languages. In grammar it has got rid of a great many superfluities. In German language a plural idea is expressed in each word separately, apart from the adverb. But in the English expression "All the distinguished guests who attended the programme...'', on the other
hand, the article 'the', the adjective 'distinguished' and the relative pronoun 'who' do not receive any mark of the plural number.
3) Monosyllabisn: The tendency towards monosyllabism has undoubtedly given English great force. For example, 'thanks' is harsher and less polite, but of greater force than the two syllabled 'thank you'. Even bigger sentences like, "If there is no cure, there will be no pay, have become "No cure, no pay'. The predominance of male rimes in English is also a result of monosyllabism.
4) Business-iike shortening of words and sentences: A fourth masculine characteristic of the English is the business-like shortening of words and sentences. Thus superfiuous articles are often omitted and sentences are shortened without disturbing the core meaning. Abbreviations like 'While fighting in Germany (=while he was fighting in Germany) he was taken prisoner' are found
abundantly in English. There are also the morphological shortenings like, 'bus' for 'omnibus' or 'phone' for 'telephone' frequently used in English.
5) Sobriety in expression: The demand for the economy of expression leads to a masculine sobriety in expressing ideas. Strong or hyperbolical expressions of approval or admiration are always avoided in English. 'That isn't half bad' or 'she is rather good looking' are often the highest praises found in English.
6) Sobriety in the use of diminutives: The extreme fewness of diminutive endings and their rarity signify the masculine quality of English.In contrast to the abundance of diminutives in Italian or German, the only important diminutives in English are '-let' as in 'booklet', '-ling' as in 'nursling and the fondlings like, '-y' or '-ie' like 'Bill' - 'Billy', 'aunt'-'auntie' etc.
7) Word order: Another virile quality of Engiish is that the word order in English remains always the same. For example, an auxiliary verb does not stand far from the principal verb, as in "he will come tomorrow''. The adjective neariy always precedes the noun, as in 'he is a talented man.'
8) Logic: English is one of the most logical languages. This logic is found in the use of tenses.The difference between the past tense 'I came' and the present perfect 'I have come' and the past perfect 'I had come' is maintained with great consistency as compared with similarly formations in Danish and German. English follows the logic of facts more than the logic of grammar. Words like 'family' and 'ciergy' are grammatically singular, but may be taken as plural when the idea demands. English language has an extra-ordinarily receptive and adaptable quality. It has taken and assimilated wonderfully materials from almost every known language of the world. "English has built up an unusual capacity for assimilating outside elements", says A.C. Bough. However, the virile characteristics of English language are indicative of and due to the essential masculinity of the English national mind, each linguistic quality finding its counterpart in the character of the race:
"For words, like Nature, half reveal
And half conceal the soul within."
------Tennyson.
∆Md Samir
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| Md Samir |
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