U211 Tma1

U211
TMA1
Part 1

Explain the meaning of the following terms, using examples from the U211 materials and any relevant examples of your own.

a) Inflections
b) Language Planning

a) Inflections are word endings. In Old English nouns generally changed their endings depending on the case. For example, when a noun was used as the grammatical subject, this related to a ‘nominative case’ (i.e.drihten - the lord), the indirect object revealed a ‘dative case’ (i.e. drithtne- to the lord). Plural form nouns changed their endings also. Moreover, inflections were used within adjectives and verbs. For example, verbs changed their endings not only depending on a singular or plural form used, but also in the relation to a particular pronoun linked such as I, you, he, she, we or they (Ic singe - I sing; ‘P’u singest -You sing) (Leith,   2007, pp.58-59).

Although inflections have been erased from modern English language, and it considered to be non-inflective now, some elements are still survived, such as the third person's verb ending‘s’ (I sing - he sings), used within the present tense verbs.

Word count: 146.

b) Language planning is an official activity raised at the government level for selecting and using one or several unified languages for administrative and political purposes (McArthur, 2002).   This planning is effected by the political and socioeconomic situation of a particular country, and carried out not solely by governments, but also by other organizations and individuals (Leith & Graddol, 2007, p.84).

There are more than forty languages are spoken in Kenya, however, the government gave the national status to two of them, Swahili and English (Swann, 2007, p.16). Kenya is one of ex-British colonies and the solution for choosing these particular official languages was rather challenging. According to Kanaryo (1991, cited by Swann, 2007, p.17), some residents prefer English to other indigenous languages because it brings neutrality; others feel...