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2.1 The definition of language

2.1 The definition of language. The question “what is language?” is comparable with – and, some would say, hardly less profound than – “what is life?” ---John Lyons. How do you define language?.

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2.1 The definition of language

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  1. 2.1 The definition of language The question “what is language?” is comparable with – and, some would say, hardly less profound than – “what is life?” ---John Lyons How do you define language?

  2. 列宁(《论民族自治》)：Language is the most important tool for human communication. • Chomsky(1957): a set of (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements. • Sapir(1921): Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.

  3. Language is a system of arbitraryvocal symbols used for humancommunication. --- 胡壮麟

  4. “language” used in various contexts(pp.10-11, No. 1) • ‘Chinese is a language • Linguistics is the systematic study of language. • Both Jane and John like Shakespeare’s language. • the language of bees

  5. 2.2 The functions of language • Language contributes to the success of our everyday life and the survival of human beings. • Discussion: • What functions does language serve for our life and survival?

  6. Humans are said to be language animals. But what if we humans lived without language? • There are some 6,800 known languages spoken in the 200 countries of the world. In 2003, the total number of languages in the world was estimated to be 6,809, of which 2,261 have writing systems (the others are only spoken). What if there were only one language the world over? (P. 11 No. 2)

  7. Some common functions of language • phatic: Hello! • directive: Get out of my way! • informative: The earth revolves around the sun. • interrogative: Do you know his hobby? • expressive: I hate her. • evocative: How do you like Jack? • performative: I hereby declare the meeting open. • interpersonal: Tommy, Dear Friend • recreational: humor; rhyming; puns • metalinguistic: what I mean is; in other words

  8. Discussion: PP. 16-17 No.5

  9. 2.3 The origin of language • PP. 12-13 No. 6

  10. 2.4 The defining features of language • Also called design features (C. F.Hockett, A Course in Modern Linguistics, 1958) a. creativity • “creativity”, sometimes also “productivity”, means the property which makes possible the construction and interpretation of new symbols, i.e. of signals that have not been previously encountered. • Of course, the property of creativity is rule-governed according to Chomsky. Thus, the creativity in linguistics is different from that in art, which means breaking rules.

  11. b. arbitrariness • The term “arbitrary” here means something inexplicable in terms of some more general principles. It is impossible to predict the meaning from the form, or vice versa. word form meaning Discuss: P. 12 No. 5

  12. Question: • By this property do we mean that a person can use the language as freely as we like? • How about argot? How about onomatopeic words? [PP. 11-12 No. 4] • How about words like flow, float, flood, fluent, etc.? [P. 17 No.6] and floor? flour? • Other examples: • J-: joy, jovial, jubilate, joyous, joyful, jubilant • Gl-: glow, glisten, gleam, glare, glint, glimmer, glitter • (p124 HU)

  13. c. duality of structure/double articulation • b-o-o-k (meaningless segments: lower level, secondary) ----> • Book (meaningful unit: higher level, primary)

  14. Question: Why is this property generally assumed as central to language? Does animal language have this property? How is this related to communicative power?

  15. d. displacement • This property give rise to the flexibility and versatility of language. Communication by means of language is constrained neither by time nor by space. • Question: What advantages does this property of language yield? • How about the other communication systems?

  16. e. cultural transmission • Animal call systems are genetically transmitted. • Language is passed on from one generation to another by teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. • Question: Can we deny that human language has a genetic basis? What is the implication of the story about “wolf child”? What about those patients with neurological lesions in areas like Broca area (named after a French scientist) and Wernicke area (named after a German scientist) [aphasia] ?

  17. What all languages seem to share P. 15 No. 12

  18. What do we mean by “knowing a language”? • * /bdek/ • * enblack • * He me laugh at. • * The father of the orphan is in Beijing. • A: Sorry I broke your glass. *B: Thank you.

  19. After gathering adequate materials, each group should prepare a 15-minute powerpoint-version report and present it in class. The PPT needs to be emailed to me a week prior to the presentation so that I can offer advice for modification.

  20. 2.5 The acquisition of language L1 acquisition is said to have the following features: a. universally successful; b. without explicit instruction (teacher, textbook, school, syllabus, etc.); c. rapid (0-4 years’ old); d. conditional (i. exposure; ii. critical period 1.5-4years old; iii. no mental deficiency).

  21. L1 acquisition generally falls into some stages:三躺六坐七爬爬，八个月会踏踏 a. babbling period: birth--around 6 months, produce some sounds; b. syllabic speech period: around 8 months, syllables replace babbled sounds, like [mama]; c. single-word stage: around 1 year old, first words, no grammar; carry out simple commands; d. onset of speech: 18 months, more words (3-50 words);

  22. e. two-word utterances stage: 2 years old, can name most things around him; begin his own creation of two-word phrases (early stage of grammar), pivot words +open words, e.g. Mummy sock; f. full-understanding stage: 2.5 years old, e.g. daddy kick ball; g. near adult-speech: 3 years old; overgeneralization of inflections; Going swimming-pool on Sunday. Mummy goed to market yesterday. Want to eat. h. adult speech: 4 years old. Are you my brother’s family teacher? glasses Agriculture.

  23. Discuss PP. 13-14: No. 7, 8, 9

  24. Assignments 1. Review the major points of this lecture. 2. Browse the Internet for some definitions of language and bring at least 2 to class.

  25. Form “ study and research” groups (4-5 persons for 1 group). Each group draws a topic out of the following: a. Word formation in English [Week 3] b. Interrogative sentences in English [Week 4] c. Phatic communion in English and Chinese [寒暄] [Week 5] d. The naming of people in English [Week 6] e. Metonymy in English [Week 7] f. Complimenting and responding to compliments in English [Week 8] g. Strategies for doing face-threatening acts in English [Week 9] h. Euphemisms in English [Week 10] i. The change of English [Week 11] j. Chinglish [Week 12]

  26. The members of each group must work together when collecting materials, preparing the PPT, and presenting the report. • Each presentation is to last about 20 minutes. • Each PPT must be sent to the teacher for comments and advice ONE weak prior to the report.

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