week 2 language and linguistics 0

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Introduction to

Linguistics

Week 2

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Language

 a system of conventional spoken or written symbols a system of conventional spoken or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a

by means of which human beings, as members of a

social group and participants in its culture,

communicate (Encyclopedia Britannica)

 expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined into

combined into words. Words are combined into

sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas

into thoughts (Henry Sweet, an English phonetician

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 a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means

of which a social group cooperates (The U.S.

linguists Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager)

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Design Features of Language

 Duality of patterningDuality of patterning

 DisplacementDisplacement

 Open-the endednessOpen-the endedness

 Stimulus-freedomStimulus-freedom

 ArbitrarnessArbitrarness

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Language as a Means of

Communication

Language

Speaker Message Listener

Information

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Difference between Languages

 Languages can differ in: the fundamental elements or the Languages can differ in: the fundamental elements or the rules of combination

rules of combination

 The units and rules can be different for all of the modules of The units and rules can be different for all of the modules of language: sounds, words, and sentences

language: sounds, words, and sentences

 But all languages are equally complex, they all have units But all languages are equally complex, they all have units and rules.

and rules.

 Dialects differ in the same way -- units and rules. Dialects differ in the same way -- units and rules.

 Languages change in the same way -- units and rules. Languages change in the same way -- units and rules.

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Linguistics

 the scientific study of language that answers the scientific study of language that answers

the questions: what is language? how is it

represented in the mind?

 a social science that shares common ground a social science that shares common ground

with other social sciences such as psychology,

anthropology, sociology and archaeology; may

also influence other disciplines such as

English, communication studies, computer

science etc

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History

 Comes from the Latin word Comes from the Latin word lingua lingua which which

means

means languagelanguage

 Ferdinand de Saussure (the father of modern Ferdinand de Saussure (the father of modern

linguistics) in his book

linguistics) in his book Cours de linguistique Cours de linguistique generale

generale proposed the terms proposed the terms langagelangage, , languelangue and

and paroleparole.. langage

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Linguistic Knowledge vs

Performance

 Linguistics studies what people KNOW when they know a language. Linguistics studies what people KNOW when they know a language.  Most of the time we learn what people KNOW by what they DO. Most of the time we learn what people KNOW by what they DO.

 But sometimes what people actually DO does not reliably indicate what But sometimes what people actually DO does not reliably indicate what they KNOW.

they KNOW.

 Someone with laryngitis still KNOWS their language, they just have a Someone with laryngitis still KNOWS their language, they just have a medical, physical problem performing (DOING) speech.

medical, physical problem performing (DOING) speech.

 Many external factors can affect performance. Many external factors can affect performance.

 Linguistics abstracts away from such complicating factors to study the true Linguistics abstracts away from such complicating factors to study the true system of knowledge.

system of knowledge.

 But we must use what people DO to discover and test our theories about But we must use what people DO to discover and test our theories about what people KNOW about language.

what people KNOW about language.

 Much linguistic knowledge is "implicit", that is, people are not conscious Much linguistic knowledge is "implicit", that is, people are not conscious of what they know.

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Linguist

 is someone who engages in studying is someone who engages in studying

linguistics

 focuses on describing and explaining focuses on describing and explaining

language; not concerned with the prescriptive

rules of the language

 is not an interpreter; not required to know is not an interpreter; not required to know

many languages

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The Field of Linguistics

 synchronic vs diachronic linguisticssynchronic vs diachronic linguistics

 theoretical vs applied linguisticstheoretical vs applied linguistics

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Disciplines within Linguistics

 PhoneticsPhonetics

 PhonologyPhonology

 MorphologyMorphology

 SyntaxSyntax

 SemanticsSemantics

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Phonetics

 the study of the production and perception of the study of the production and perception of

speech sounds

 is concerned with the sounds of language, how is concerned with the sounds of language, how

these sounds are articulated and how the

hearer perceives them

 is related to the science of acoustics in that it is related to the science of acoustics in that it

uses much the same techniques in the analysis

of sound that acoustics does

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Phonology

 the study of the sound patterns of languagethe study of the sound patterns of language

 is concerned with how sounds are organized in a is concerned with how sounds are organized in a

language language

 examines what occurs to speech sounds when they examines what occurs to speech sounds when they

are combined to form a word and how these speech are combined to form a word and how these speech

sounds interact with each other sounds interact with each other

 endeavors to explain what these phonological endeavors to explain what these phonological

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Morphology

 the study of word formation and structurethe study of word formation and structure

 studies how words are put together from their studies how words are put together from their

smaller parts and the rules governing this

process

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Syntax

 the study of sentence structurethe study of sentence structure

 attempts to describe what is grammatical in a attempts to describe what is grammatical in a

particular language in term of rules

 these rules detail an underlying structure and a these rules detail an underlying structure and a

transformational process

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Semantics

 the study of meaningthe study of meaning

 is concerned with describing how we represent is concerned with describing how we represent

the meaning of a word in our mind and how

we use this representation in constructing

sentences

 is based largely on the study of logic in is based largely on the study of logic in

philosophy

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Language Acquisition

 examines how children learn to speak and how examines how children learn to speak and how

adults learn a second language

 is very important because it gives us insight in is very important because it gives us insight in

the underlying processes of language

 suggests that all languages operate within the suggests that all languages operate within the

same framework and the understanding of this

framework would contribute greatly to the

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Language Acquisition

 Child (First) language acquisitionChild (First) language acquisition

Children have to learn language from scratch,

although the capability to speak is inherent in

everyone. There are certain milestones and

stages of language acquisition during the

child's first months and years.

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 Second language acquisitionSecond language acquisition

Some aspects of second language acquisition

are similar to first language acquisition. The

learner has already acquired learning

techniques and can reflect on how to learn

best. However, learning languages depends on

the personality, age, intelligence, and active

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Others

 NeurolinguisticsNeurolinguistics

 PsycholinguisticsPsycholinguistics

 SociolinguisticsSociolinguistics

 Historical LinguisticsHistorical Linguistics

 Anthropological LinguisticsAnthropological Linguistics

 Pragmatics Pragmatics