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WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

WHAT IS LANGUAGE?. The study of language (linguistics) may treat a language as a self-contained system; or it may treat it as an object that varies over space, time, and social class. We will consider only the SECOND (focus on diachronic linguistics and sociolinguistics ). Language.

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WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

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  1. WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

  2. The study of language (linguistics) may treat a language as a self-contained system; or it may treat it as an object that varies over space, time, and social class. • We will consider only the SECOND (focus on diachronic linguistics and sociolinguistics).

  3. Language • We can study the way in which language organizes thought and expresses statements about (perceived) reality; or, • We can study the internal structure of language systems. Perceived reality

  4. Humans manage to analyze an extremely complex acoustic signal and translate it into an internal representation linked to meaning with little conscious awareness of the intermediate steps or the complexity of the operation.

  5. Linguistics Phonetics: sound, described as an acoustic and articulatory event Phonology: the study of systems of discrete sounds Morphology: ... the internal structure of words Syntax: ...the principles governing combinations of words. Semantics:...the relationship between syntactic structures and meaning.

  6. Language is a brain function Since the 19th century, we’ve known about • Broca’s area (posterior inferior frontal lob) (damage leads to non-fluent speech, lack of grammatical markers) • Wernicke’s area (left temporal lobe, auditory association area). (damage leads to aphasia with fluent speech lacking in content)

  7. But what is language? • A system of great complexity • Much of the complexity is learned (we know that, because it is “language-specifïc”) • It still eludes our attempts to accurately model it on computers (witness continuous speech recognition products)

  8. Language A system of rules for using symbols to share meaning!

  9. modes

  10. methods

  11. What do you ‘know’ when you ‘know’ a language?

  12. A body of Linguistic Knowledge • How to: • Combine sounds • Create words • Build sentences • Construct texts • Participate in conversations Language is axiomatic to being human.

  13. moon Arbitrariness • the connection between the signifier (form) and the signified (meaning) is arbitrary • these arbitrary relationships are agreed upon by speakers, i.e. a matter of convention(consensus) • even interjections and onomatopoetic signs are arbitrary • ouaoua ~ bow-wow ~ mŏng-mŏng ~ wan-wan • aïe! ~ ouch! ~ aigo! ~ aiya! signified signifier

  14. Arbitrariness shoe “shu” two/too/to “tu” cabbage “shu” all “tu”

  15. Duality • Linguistic units have a dual nature: • They are observable physical events “noise” or “image” • They are more than simple physical events • They are produced in order to communicate meaning • They are connected to a concept

  16. Discreteness • What is “discrete” vs. “continuous”? • Discrete entities have clear boundaries; they’re units; categorical. • Continuous entities don’t have clear boundaries. • Language is… DISCRETE • Language is made up structured units if… • … you have knowledge of the system! • Otherwise, utterances can sound like continuous streams of sound, without discernible units.

  17. The last three Design Features • Displacement • We can communicate beyond the here and now • We are not “stimulus bound” • Cultural Transmission • Grammars are transmitted from one generation to the next • Acquiring “a language” requires involvement in a culture • Each human is born with Language; it’s a biological instinct. • Interchangeability • All members of the community are physically capable of transmitting and receiving messages

  18. Assessing the Design Features • Arbitrariness • Productivity • Duality • Discreteness • Displacement • Cultural Transmission • Interchangeability

  19. Relationship between Prescription and Description Universe of all word combinations in language X Combinations that speakers actually produce Combinations that are officially sanctioned by the authorities Descriptively ungrammatical but prescriptively grammatical Descriptively grammatical but prescriptively ungrammatical

  20. Comparing Languages: Who’s is Better? • Do you have the right to say that somebody else’s language is too hard or backwards or illogical or ugly? • We have to be wary of 2 traps: • Because language is changing, it is getting “corrupted.” • My language variety is more X than another. • All languages are capable of communicating what they need to communicate. Who gets to judge what is good?

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