Good Communications

 Name : Anis Septianingsih 

Class : 3E

NPM : 1910631060066

Good Communications

Communication can be described as the exchange of information or passing of information, ideas or thought from one person to the other or from one end to the other. The communication brings people together, closer to each other. The communication is an important management function closely associated with all other managerial functions. It bridges the gap between individuals and groups through flow of information and understanding between them. Information is the most vital aspect for communication. It is the information which is transmitted, studied, analyzed and interpreted and stored. The manager therefore has to spare time to collect, analyze and store the information for decision-making and routine day to day business. 

Success in any field requires a clear understanding of the most effective ways to communicate with others. Poor communication skills can not only damage our reputation, but also cause a company to lose business. 

There are seven things that can arise from a lack of communication:

1. Misunderstandings

Misunderstandings out of a lack of communication can lead to some serious issues in the workplace. For example, an employee might misunderstand what their responsibilities are if they're not clearly spelled out (preferably written out someplace) for them. They might then not do their job as well as they could be if they fully understood.

2. Missed opportunities

A lack of communication can often lead to missed opportunities, especially at work. This can happen because an employee does not clearly communicate their interest in an opening for a promotion, for example, or because they don't effectively communicate their interest and/or willingness to take on more responsibilities. As such, they may be passed up for the promotion.

3. Unnecessary conflict

Unnecessary conflict can certainly arise from a lack of communication. For example, a lack of communication might cause two colleagues to end up doing more work for a team project than necessary. Perhaps they thought the other person wasn't doing a certain task, so they took it on for themselves only later to find out that the other person already did it. This can cause tension on the team.

4. The "grapevine" effect

A lack of communication can lead to the "grapevine" effect, also known as the "telephone game." If one person miscommunicates information, that information can easily be passed along throughout the office. Of course, the dissemination of misinformation can lead to disarray, panic and overall disaster in the workplace.

5. Mistrust

A lack of communication can lead to mistrust in the workplace in a whole array of situations. For example is if a manager knows of an opening for a promotion but doesn't communicate it to their team, they might not trust that the manager has their best interest and career development in mind, its employees might not trust that the company is handling them responsibly. 

6. Low morale

A lack of communication can ultimately lead to low morale. Because ineffective communication can create misunderstandings, missed opportunities, conflict, the dissemination of misinformation and mistrust, employees might just feel overall defeated. They might not be motivated to work for such a company or for such a manager who cannot communicate important matters well. And we all know that stress, of course, can lead to low morale, which eventually leads to burnout. Burnout is no good for anyone and can cost companies money.

7. A Broken Company Culture

At the end of the day, a lack of communication can seriously hurt company culture. Company culture relies on communication. If not everyone in the company is on the same page about what's expected of them, the values the company and its members shares or the longer-term and bigger-picture goals, then how can everyone work seamlessly together? 

Causes of Poor/Bad Communication

1. Unclear Objectives

When management doesn’t communicate their objectives, whether they’re day-to-day or long-term goals, their team can’t meet their expectations. This can lead to frustration in both the employee team and the management team, who must now communicate to their supervisors that goals have not been fulfilled.

2. Lack of Empowerment

In workplaces where employees don’t feel empowered, they are less likely to communicate about potential problems. Employees who fear for their jobs may prefer for a project to fail than to speak up and risk termination. They also may not see the point in speaking up if they have been ignored by management in the past.

3. Limited Collaboration

In a workplace that prefers to have executives and managers call the shots, employees may not be as inclined to collaborate. When they don’t care about a project as much, they tend to communicate poorly or not at all.

4. Lack of Professionalism

Many workplace misunderstandings come from mixing personal and professional life. Teams often become so comfortable with each other that they become comfortable talking about more personal issues that would normally be appropriate at work. They also might text or call each other rather than use the company’s official communication channels. Blurring the lines between employees and friends can erode a company’s professional etiquette and communication.

5. Poor Writing Skills

Many communication errors in the workplace stem from poor writing, imprecise language, or an unclear tone. Employees who don’t have strong writing skills aren’t likely to express themselves well in an email or office memo.

6. Technological Discomfort

The modern workplace has gone through many technological changes in the last half-century. Some hires are often quick to adapt to changing systems, while other employees may be reluctant to change how they work. They miss important messages and operate with an improper amount of information because they’re uncomfortable with the work process itself.

7. Poor Management

Sometimes the cause is as simple as a hiring issue. Employees who move up the ranks to managers, or even managers who come from outside the company, may not be equipped to handle the needs of a busy department. They may micromanage their team, leading to resentment and lack of communication, or back off too much, which leaves the team with an absence of leadership.

Solutions for Poor Communication 

1. Make Objectives Clear

When workplace objectives are clear, fair, and understandable, everyone wants to be on board. Employees who understand what’s expected of them on a daily, weekly, quarterly, or yearly basis are more productive and happier at their jobs. Readdress these objectives at staff meetings and performance reviews to keep the conversation going.

2. Empower Employees

Employees want to feel like they have a say in their own future. Empower them to speak up about what they see in their jobs that prevents them from being more productive. The most important part of this step is to listen to what they say and act on it.

3. Encourage Collaboration

A collaborative workplace is a communicative workplace. Teams who regularly collaborate are more likely to communicate about other issues, as well. But don’t stop at department teams – mix up your employee groups for different collaborative projects. It’s an effective way to get employees out of their silos and into great communication patterns.

4. Reinforce Professional Etiquette

At the workplace, it’s important to ensure professional etiquette is clear and fair. Making professional expectations clear whenever possible reinforces that employees use proper communication channels. It also eliminates unnecessary workplace drama and puts everyone on the same page.

5. Train Employees in Professional Writing

Providing this training not only ensures that staff writing will improve, it helps to reestablish your objectives for clear and precise communication everywhere in the workplace.

6. Make a Technological Plan

Decide how you want your employees to communicate with you and with each other. If your company uses email for official communication, make sure everyone knows how to use it. If you’re bringing in a brand new messaging system, don’t assume that everyone is willing to adapt to it immediately. And if you notice that some employees aren’t as active in technological channels, try to engage with them to make sure their voice is still heard.

7. Provide Regular Management Training

Management isn’t an easy skill to pick up just because someone gets promoted. Managing a team involves careful attention and nuance, strong communication skills, and an ability to understand what an employee needs to get their job done. Providing regular management training ensures that a management team is up-to-date on the most effective communication methods possible, and that poor communication caused by management is addressed quickly.

How to Improve Your TOEFL Reading Score

Name : Anis Septianingsih

Class : 3E

NPM : 1910631060066

Resume of International Webinar on Teaching English to Young Learners 2020

 Name : Anis Septianingsih

Class : 3E

NPM : 1910631060066

Resume of International Webinar on Teaching English to Young Learners 2020

The international webinar on teaching English to young learners was held on Saturday, November 14th 2020 via Zoom with more than five hundred people attended this webinar. The topic of the webinar was “Effective English Teaching for Young Learners during the pandemic: Critical Issues”.

At the beginning of the webinar, the keynote speaker, Prof. Bachrudin Musthafa, M.A., Ph.D. from Indonesia University of Education, brought up a subject matter about ‘Essentials in TEYL for Indonesian Elementary Schools: An Update for 2020’. There are a few points that can be concluded from his presentation:

1. English in Indonesia has the official status of a foreign language (EFL). This FL status has consequences: lack of exposure, lack of engagement; and lack of support.

2. Effective Teachers of English can fluently use English for functional communicative purposes, including for instructional purposes. (effective English teachers are disciplined in using English)

3. Teachers can help increase children’s learning motivation by acknowledging these principles: Children learn from direct experiences; children learn from hands-on physical activities; children’s thinking is embedded in here-and-now context of situation; children learn holistically from whole to parts using scripts; and children have a short memory span.

4. There are a few ways to face the challenges: Choose only excellent TEYL teachers to be assigned to teach in class. Teachers of English should be disciplined in using English as much as possible during teaching-learning process. Apply a merit-system in managing teachers’ work and payment. Introduce contract-based assignment of teachers in the school system.

After that, the first speaker, Asst. Prof. Rolando P. Quinones, Jr., MA. Ed., TESOL from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, brought up a subject matter of ‘From Traditional to Digital: Quality Instructions and Materials Preparation for Online English Instructions for Distance Learners’. There are a few things that can be concluded from this topic:

1. All teaching and learning activities are diverted to online learning. Therefore, we need to ensure that we are still able to deliver quality instructions with the help of technology. Technology use will be maximized with considerations to the capacities and limitations of the situation most especially, of the students and the teacher/instructors. The survey may also be used for knowing the learner’s preferred online activities in learning English.

2. Students’ preferred style in learning English language are: By listening, reading, copying from the board, repeating what they hear, and making summaries. 

3. Macro skills focus in teaching English to young learners are: Listen, speak, read, write, and view.

• Listening. Most common in interpersonal communication are: Informational Listening (Listening to Learn), Critical Listening (Listening to Evaluate and Analyse), and Therapeutic or Empathetic Listening (Listening to Understand Feeling and Emotion).

• Speaking. These skills allow the speaker, to convey his message in a passionate, thoughtful, and convincing manner. Speaking skills also help to assure that one won't be misunderstood by those who are listening.

• Reading. Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. There are a few types of reading activities: Silent reading followed by group discussions (student to student / student to teacher), Line-a-child (each student reads a line of the story aloud), and Think-a-loud (the teacher pauses at some parts of the reading material then asks the listeners to predict the next event).

• Writing. Writing skills are important because they allow people to get a point across without being physically present. Writing skills include all the knowledge and abilities related to expressing ideas through the written word, such as blogs, newsletters, diaries, and even poetries.

And the last speaker of this webinar was Yuna Tresna Wahyuna, M.Hum from University of Singaperbangsa Karawang. She brought up a subject matter of ‘The Three-Period Lesson: a Key Part of the Montessori Method’ which was a really interesting topic in my opinion. There are a few things that can be concluded from this topic:

1. The Montessori Method is founded on Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy. The teacher’s role is to prepare the classroom, and observe and guide their students in their learning. As a result, children progress at their own pace, according to their own abilities.

2. Principles of Montessori are: Follow the Child (children are free to choose and work on activities at their own pace. Here, they experience a combination of freedom and self-discipline, as guided by the environment and the teacher). Through work in the Montessori environment, children learn to develop concentration, self-discipline, and a love of learning.

3. The Montessori motto is: “Help me to do it myself”

4. The Montessori areas are Exercises of Practical Life (EPL), Sensorial, Language, Math, and Cultural.

5. The three period lesson’s purpose is to introduce a concept or vocabulary and demonstrate the purpose of a material. There are three periods: Naming, Recognizing & Associating, and Recalling.

• The first period is naming. This step can be done by the teacher showing some things and explaining what they are to the students. For example, the teacher shows a picture of a tiger, then the teacher says “This is tiger.” So the students can understand that the picture shown by the teacher is an animal called tiger.

• The second period is recognizing and associating. This step can be done by the teacher showing some things that have been explained before, the teacher asks a specific question about the previous lesson and lays out some answers, then the teacher asks the students to point out the correct answer to the question. For example, previously the teacher explained about an animal called tiger. This time, the teacher shows some animal pictures to the students and then asks them to point out which one the animal called tiger is.

• The third period is Recalling. This step can be done by the teacher showing some things that have been explained before, the teacher asks a specific question about the previous lesson, then the students have to say or give the correct answer to the question. This last step is to see if the students recognize or remember the lesson well.

For example, previously the teacher explained some things about animal, then the teacher lays out some animal pictures and points out one animal picture to the students then asks about what animal it is. The students have to say or give answer to the question. If they answered correctly, it means that they have understand the lesson really well.

That is all that can be concluded from this international webinar of teaching English to young learners. It was an informative and educative webinar. All of the speakers provided really useful and present-day information. All of the points mentioned above are really helpful, especially for the English education students that hopefully can also teach English successfully in the future. 

Modern and Traditional Dance

Name : Anis Septianingsih

Class : 3E

NPM : 1910631060066

Dance is a performing art form consisting of purposefully selected sequences of human movement. This movement has aesthetic and symbolic value, and is acknowledged as dance by performers and observers within a particular culture. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements, or by its historical period or place of origin.

An important distinction is to be drawn between the contexts of theatrical and participatory dance, although these two categories are not always completely separate; both may have special functions, whether social, ceremonial, competitive, martial, or sacred/liturgical. Other forms of human movement are sometimes said to have a dance-like quality, including martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading, figure skating, synchronised swimming, marching bands, and many other forms of athletics.

There are two types of dance:

1. Modern Dance

Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance, primarily arising out of Germany and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern dance is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of or rebellion against, classical ballet. Socioeconomic and cultural factors also contributed to its development. In the late 19th century, dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan and Loie Fuller were pioneering new forms and practices in what is now called aesthetic or free dance for performance. These dancers disregarded ballet's strict movement vocabulary, the particular, limited set of movements that were considered proper to ballet and stopped wearing corsets and pointe shoes in the search for greater freedom of movement.

Modern dance has evolved with each subsequent generation of participating artists. Artistic content has morphed and shifted from one choreographer to another, as have styles and techniques. Artists such as Graham and Horton developed techniques in the Central Modern Period that are still taught worldwide and numerous other types of modern dance exist today.

Example: Contemporary dance

Contemporary dance emerged in the 1950s as the dance form that is combining the modern dance elements and the classical ballet elements. It can use elements from non-Western dance cultures, such as African dancing with bent knees as a characteristic trait, and Butoh, Japanese contemporary dancing that developed in the 1950s. It is also derived from modern European themes like poetic and everyday elements, broken lines, nonlinear movements, and repetition. Many contemporary dancers are trained daily in classical ballet to keep up with the technicality of the choreography given. These dancers tend to follow ideas of efficient bodily movement, taking up space, and attention to detail. Contemporary dance today includes both concert and commercial dance because of the lines being blurred by pop culture and television shows. 

According to Treva Bedinghaus, "Modern dancers use dancing to express their innermost emotions, often to get closer to their inner-selves. Before attempting to choreograph a routine, the modern dancer decides which emotions to try to convey to the audience. Many modern dancers choose a subject near and dear to their hearts, such as a lost love or a personal failure. The dancer will choose music that relates to the story they wish to tell, or choose to use no music at all, and then choose a costume to reflect their chosen emotions."

2. Traditional Dance

Traditional dance reflects the country's diversity of ethnicities and cultures. For example, there are more than 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia: Austronesian roots and Melanesian tribal forms are visible, and influences ranging from neighboring Asian and even western styles through colonization. Each ethnic group has its own dances: there are more than 3,000 original dance forms in Indonesia. 

The dance traditions in Indonesia; such as Balinese, Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, Palembang, Malay, Aceh and many other dances traditions are age old traditions, yet also a living and dynamic traditions. Certain traditional dances might be centuries old, while some others might just created less than a decade ago. The creation of a new dance choreography but still within the frame of respected dance tradition and discipline is still possible. As the result, there is some kreasi baru (newly created) dances. The newly created dance could be the rediscovery and the revival of lost old traditions or a new interpretation, inspiration and exploration of traditional dances.

Example: Tari Piring (Plate dance)

Piring dance is a traditional Minangkabau plate dance from West Sumatra, Indonesia. The dance might be performed by a group of women, men or couples, each of them holds plates in each hands, and vigorously rotate or half rotate them in various formations and fast movements.

The dance demonstrates the skill of the dancers that manage balance and to move the ceramics plate swiftly without dropping or breaking the plates. Sometimes candles are lit on the plate, and this variant is called tari lilin (candle dance). Dancers hold the bottom of plates in the palm of their hands and swing them wildly using the inertia to keep the plate from falling. Dancers tap their plates with a ring on one of their fingers to animate their movement with sonic accompaniment.

This dance is usually performed as a ceremonial welcoming dance to honor the guests and elders to a traditional ceremony. Next to randai, saman, pendet and jaipongan, the dance is also one of popular Indonesian traditional dances performed in festivals abroad to promote Indonesian culture and tourism.

Post Intermediate Reading - Do People Like Their First Names?

 Name : Anis Septianingsih

Class : 3E

NPM : 1910631060066

Who do you think said each statement? Write Delana (D) or Ember (E)

1. Delana                     4. Ember

2. Delana                     5. Ember

3. Delana                     6. Delana

A. Write the number of the paragraph that each statement describes.

a. Names are very important to people. (Paragraph 3)

b. Some children with unusual names dislike their names and use nicknames. (Paragraph 1)

c. Most adults like their names, despite how they felt when they were younger. (Paragraph 2)

B. Find the words in italics in the reading, then match each word with its meaning.

1. stick (f. continue or stay)

2. come to terms (d. accept a difficult situation)

3. change of heart (c. a change of opinion)

4. subside (b. become less and less)

5. favorable (g. good)

6. core (a. the most important part)

7. tease (e. laugh at)

C. Answer these questions.

1. If you have a child, what would you name him or her and why?

·         If I had a daughter, I’d name her Luna or Aurora because it reminds me of the moon and polar lights, both shine in the dark which brings light to those around them. And if I had a son, I’d name him Alexander or Zander, because they symbolize bravery and strength

2. What are your three favorite English names for male and female?

·         For male (Alexander, Noah, Ryker)

·         For female (Aurora, Luna, Annalise)

3. If you could change your name, what would you change it to and why?

·         I’d change it to Alana, because the name means “calm as still waters” in Hawaiian which I think really suits my personality a lot.

Post Intermediate Reading: Naming Traditions

Name : Anis Septianingsih

Class : 3E

NPM : 1910631060066

1. Different naming traditions used by people around the world (Paragraph 5)

2. Different naming traditions in the United States (Paragraph 7)

3. Reasons why some people’s names are hard to remember (Paragraph 8)

4. What happens to a woman’s name when she gets married (Paragraph 6)

A. Who do you think the text was written for? Check (ü) the correct answer.

1. People who are coming to the United States for the first time

2. People who are going to a non-English speaking country (ü)

3. Americans who are living in a foreign country (ü)

4. Americans who are living in the United States

B. Write the correct name

1. Lee Hyun Ju is from Korea. Her fiance’s name is An Ho Jae.

What is her name now? Ms. Lee Hyun Ju

What is his name? Mr. An Ho Jae

What will her name be after she marries? Mrs. Lee Hyun Ju

2. Tomoko Kato is from Japan. Her fiance’s name is Hideo Suzuki.

What is her name now? Ms. Tomoko Kato

What is his name? Mr. Hideo Suzuki

What will her name be after she marries? Mrs. Hideo Kato

3. Guadalupe Gomez is from Mexico. Her fiance’s name is Emilio Rodriguez.

What is her name now? Ms. Guadalupe Gomez

What is his name? Mr. Emilio Rodriguez

What will her name be after she marries? Mrs. Guadalupe Gomez de Rodriguez

C. Answer these questions.

1. Who do you call by their first name? Close friends and relatives who are younger than me.

Who calls you by your first name? My close friends and people who are older than me

Who do you call only by their last name? People who are older than me and acquaintances

2. How would your name be different in the other countries mentioned in the reading? If I had a surname and I lived in Korea then my surname comes before my given name and it stays that way even after marriage. The same rule’s applied in Japan, except the surname is replaced by the husband’s surname after marriage. In the US, my surname would be placed after my given name and then replaced by the husband’s surname after marriage.

3. What would you tell a foreign visitor about the naming traditions in your country? Many people in Indonesia don’t really use family name or surname, a single name is recognized as a full personal name. Some use their clan name as their surname, for example like the Bataks.

Sentence Semantics 1: Situations

Name : Anis Septianingsih

Class : 2E

Synonyms and Homonyms

Name: Anis Septianingsih

Class: 2E

NPM: 1910631060066

Synonyms 

A synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word in the same language.

Synonyms occur in a language in different contexts, such as formal language like in business or academic paper, and informal language like when we use in daily conversation. 

Examples of synonyms:

- Big, large, huge
- Evil, bad, wicked
- Famous, well-known

- Gloomy, sad, unhappy

- Quiet, calm
- Rest, relax
- Strange, odd, weird

Also, some synonyms have slightly different connotations when they're used, even though they might mean the same thing. For example, the differences between the terms for money: moolah, greenbacks, cash, currency, and revenues, which all occur in different contexts and levels of formality.

Synonyms can be any part of speech, as long as both words belong to the same part of speech. Examples:

• noun
  • drink and beverage
• verb
  • buy and purchase
• adjective
  • big and large
• adverb
  • quickly and speedily
• preposition
• on and upon

Homonyms

Homonyms are words that are spelled and pronounced the same, but have different meanings and origins.

Homonyms can be more confusing for young readers or people learning English as a second language, usually because they aren't yet familiar with the alternate definitions of a word.

Examples of homonyms:

• Address - to speak to / location
• Bark - a tree's out layer / the sound a dog makes
• Bat - an implement used to hit a ball / a nocturnal flying mammal
• Current - up to date / flow of water
• Kind - type / caring
• Match - to pair like items / a stick for making a flame
• Mean - average / not nice
• Right - correct / direction opposite of left
• Rock - a genre of music / a stone
• Spring - a season / coiled metal
• Tire - to grow fatigued / a part of a wheel
• Well - in good health / a source for water in the ground

The trick is if we ever come across a word that just doesn't seem to make sense in its context, check for alternate definitions. We may just have a homonym in that case, and we'll feel much better when we learn the secondary meaning of one of these tricky English language. 

What is Linguistics?

Linguistics is the study of language - how it is put together and how it functions. Various building blocks of different types and sizes are combined to make up a language. Sounds are brought together and sometimes when this happens, they change their form and do interesting things. Words are arranged in a certain order, and sometimes the beginnings and endings of the words are changed to adjust the meaning. Then the meaning itself can be affected by the arrangement of words and by the knowledge of the speaker about what the hearer will understand. Linguistics is the study of all of this.



What are branches of Linguistics?

There are various branches of linguistics which are given their own name, some of which are described below. Linguists are people who study linguistics.

1. Phonetics is the study of the sounds of speech. It includes understanding how sounds are made using the mouth, nose, teeth and tongue, and also understanding how the ear hears those sounds and can tell them apart. A study of phonetics involves practicing producing (sometimes exotic) sounds, and figuring out which sound you heard. The wave form of each sound can be analysed with the help of computer programs. In sign language, phonetics refers to the the possible shapes, movements and use of physical space.

2. Phonology makes use of the phonetics in order to see how sounds or signs are arranged in a system for each language. In phonology, it matters whether sounds are contrastive or not, that is, whether substituting one sound for another gives a different, or "contrastive," meaning. For example in English, [r] and [l] are two different sounds - and the words "road" and "load" differ according to which of these sounds is used. But in some languages, [r] and [l] are variations of the same sound. They could never make a meaning difference in words that differ by only that sound. Phonologists describe the contrastive consonants and vowels in a language, and how pronunciation is affected by the position of the sound in the word and the sounds that are nearby. They are also interested in syllables, phrases, rhythm, tone, and intonation.

3. Morphology looks at how individual words are formed from smaller chunks of meaningful units called morphemes. For example, the English word 'untied' is really made up of three parts, one refering to the process of reversing an action (un-), one indicating the action of twisting stringlike things together so they stay (tie), and the last indicating that the action happened in the past (-d). Many languages have a much more complex way of putting words together. Morphology interacts in important ways with both phonology (bringing sounds together can cause them to change) and syntax, which needs to pay attention to the form of a word when it combines it with other words.

4. Syntax is the study of how phrases, clauses and sentences are constructed and combined in particular languages. Writing a grammar requires defining the rules that govern the structure of the sentences of the language. Such rules involve both the order of words, and the form of words in their various possible positions. There are common patterns among even unrelated languages, and many linguists believe this is the result of general principles which apply to most, if not all, languages. For example, languages where the direct object generally follows the verb have a lot of things in common, in contrast to the things in common held by languages in which the direct object generally precedes the verb.

5. Discourse analysis looks at bigger chunks of language - texts, conversations, stories, speeches, etc. Different types of these use language differently, and there can even be differences in how a language is used based on the genre. For example, "Once upon a time" is an appropriate start to a fairy tale, but not to a news story on the evening news. Discourse features can also show important principles of organization such as which players in a story have key roles and which just have bit parts.

6. Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between words, phrases and other bits of language and on how these words and phrases connect to the world. Pragmatics is similar, but it involves the study of how speakers of a language use the language to communicate and accomplish what they want. Pragmatics looks more at the relationship between speaker and listener which allows assumptions to be made about the intended message, considering, for example, the way context contributes to meaning. A classic example is where someone is asked "Do you want some coffee?" Does the reply "Coffee will keep me awake" mean yes or no? It depends whether the person wants to stay awake - and the questioner will only understand the intended meaning if they know whether the person wants to stay awake.

7. Historical Linguistics is the study of how languages have changed over time. Some changes happen because of slow (maybe incremental) changes within the language, such as in pronunciation or in the meaning of a word. Other changes happen because of contact with speakers of other languages. The most well know example of this is "borrowing," but language contact can cause other types of change as well. It can be interesting to compare phonology, syntax and word lists of similar or geographically close languages to see how similar they are. Some linguists then use this information to figure out the past of the languages, such as when two languages split from each other. Combined with other known facts about the speakers of the language, it can lead to important discoveries about their history.

8. Sociolinguistics is the study of society and language. Sociolinguists may use surveys to examine in which contexts a language is used (e.g. market, home, school, workplace) and the attitudes to each language (particularly in multilingual contexts). They may look at ways that variation in a particular language correlates with social factors such as speaker age, ethnic identity, location, etc.



The Importance of Linguistics

Linguistics helps us understand our world.
Every language is like a one-of-a-kind species. It captures unique conceptualizations of the world and has its own ways of constructing words, phrases and sentences for communicating ideas. As we compare the words and structures of various languages, we come to a greater understanding of our world. Apart from simply understanding the intricacies of world languages, this knowledge can be applied to improving communication between people, contributing to translation activities, assisting in literacy efforts, and treating speech disorders. And, of course, linguistic training is valuable for studying and learning languages.