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LECTURE TWO

LECTURE TWO. The Universals of Language Branches of Linguistics. The Universals of Language.

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LECTURE TWO

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  1. LECTURE TWO The Universals of Language Branches of Linguistics

  2. The Universals of Language • Characteristics that apply to all known languages, everywhere, at any one time, are called universal traits. The exact number of such traits will vary according to the classifying system used, but here we shall discuss five major ones: 1. Language is human. 2. Language is spoken. 3. Language changes in various ways. 4. Language is systematic. 5. Language is symbolic in various ways.

  3. The Universals of Language • Language is human • No species besides homo sapiens appear to use the communication system of language in the same way that human beings do. Belonging only to human beings, language is therefore species specific. Children (with the exceptions of isolated feral children and of the physically impaired) do acquire language. To be human is, above all, to speak.

  4. The Universals of Language • Language is spoken • All languages, whether they are now or were ever writen, were and are first spoken. Children learn to speak long before they are able to write; and children do not need to be formally taught to speak, as they usually do to write. Furthermore, all adult language users speak more often, and speak many more utterances, than they ever write.

  5. The Universals of Language • Language changes • All languages change in various ways, and any language is in a constant, slow, not always steady process of alteration. Constructions are dropped or added, old patterns combined in new ways, new words coined from old parts. This form of change is chronological or historical: change over time. • In addition to changing over time, all languages show variation over space. At any particular time, many different versions of the same language will be spoken in different regions by different types of people. These variations are collectively known as dialects. ( It is important to note here, however, that a dialect is not a debased or lessworthy form of a language; it is just a variant form.)

  6. The Universals of Language • Language is systematic • Every language in the world regulates itself, fits its units and unit groups together in predictable ways, and produces systematically intelligible sounds and sentences. No language’s systems are more ‘primitive’ or more ‘advanced’ than any other’s -- which is to say, there is no correlation between the technological complexity of a culture and the complexity of its language. So-called primitive societies (those with a relatively low level of technology) frequently have language systems far more complicated than the languages of more technologically advanced societies. All languages are complex but regular at all levels, from sound to form to sentence.

  7. The Universals of Language • Language is symbolic • Words have no inherent, innate, or divinely decreed meanings. Words merely stand for, represent, or symbolize meaning. The creature we call a ‘whale’ is not so named because ‘whale’ has some innate connection with large, aquatic mammals, but because a majority of English speakers use that name. Other language speakers use other names: la baleine (French), der Walfisch (German), la ballena (Spanish). All of these different terms are symbols for the creature itself, for the referent-- that is, the figure (or idea or action) to which a word refers.

  8. What do you know when you know a language? • Knowing a language differs from using that knowledge. Many people consider ‘knowing a language’ to be the ability to speak that language well. In this course we are looking at knowledge of a language in this light. We will be after something a little deeper; that is, what linguists refer to as linguistic competence. Your linguistic competence is your (mostly unconscious) knowledge of the rules of a language. This competence differs in significant ways from linguistic performance, which is your actual speech behavior.

  9. What do you know when you know a language? • The sound system (phonology) • Part of your competence has to do with the phonology of the language. When you hear or attempt to learn a foreign language, you become acutely aware that other languages have sounds that English does not have -- for example, the French r , Spanish or French p , the clicks of some African languages, the German u and o vowels, and the tones of languages like Chinese.

  10. What do you know when you know a language? • Morphology • Speech consists of continous utterances. Often there are no physical breaks between words. Yet we can break utterances down into words without difficulty. For example, (a) can be broken down into (b), but no speaker would break it down to (c). (a) hewenttotownonhishorse (b) he went to town on his horse (c) * hew enttot ow nonh ishor se

  11. What do you know when you know a language? • Words function in different ways and it is possible to determine what function a word has even when its meaning is somewhat obscure. eg. Lewis Carroll : Through the Looking Glass, from The Jabberwocky ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gymble in the wabe • Without too much difficulty, you will be able to identify the functions of the unfamiliar words in the sentence above. For example, slithy must be and adjective modifying toves, a plural noun.

  12. What do you know when you know a language? • Syntax • You can recognize well-formed -- that is, grammatical sentences: (a) *You up pick at o’clock will eight. (b) * I will picks you up at eight o’clock. (c) I will pick you up at eight o’clock. • Only (c) is grammatical: (a) is ‘word salad’ and (b) violates the English rule of subject- verb agreement.

  13. What do you know when you know a language? • There is an important difference between the grammaticality of a sentence-- is it structurally well formed? -- and semantic well-formedness -- does it make sense? Below, (d) is structurally well formed but semantically odd. Compare (d) through (g). (d) I just saw a unicorn playing a concerto on his horn. (e) *Colourless green ideas sleeps furiously. (f) Colourless green ideas sleep furiously. (g) *Green furiously colourless sleep ideas. • Both (d) and (f) are grammatical; however, they are semantically peculiar.

  14. What do you know when you know a language? • Semantics • Part of your linguistic competence has to do with your ability to determine the meaning of sentences. But your competence goes beyond this. You can determine when a sentence has more than one meaning. (a) Jack rolled over Jill. (b) Mary threw up her lunch. (c) Visiting martians can be a nuisance. (d) I saw her duck. • You also know when different sentences mean the same thing. (a) John is an unmarried male. (b) John is a bachelor.

  15. What do you know when you know a language? • Styles of speech • You also understand the contexts or situations in which different styles of language may be used.

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