Introduction to Linguistics: Understanding Language and its Theories

The goals for our study: • 1. Form the basic understanding of the system of language. • 2. Get to know some famous linguists and their works or theories. • 3. Understand and memorize the basic concepts about linguistics and its branches. • 4. Understand the basic ideas of some most influential linguistic theories. • 5. Be able to explain language phenomena with language theories and illustrate theories with • examples.

Introduction 1.1 What is linguistics? 1. definition 2. scope 3. some distinctions 1.2 What is language ? 1. definitions 2. design features 3. functions

1.1 What is linguistics? Lingu ist ics :scientific study of language. lingu- tongue, language ics- subject, science

Basic questions to be answered: • What is language? • How does language work? • What rules there are that govern the structure of language? • What do all languages have in common? • What range of variation is found among languages? • What makes language change? • To what extent are social class differences reflected in language? • How does a child acquire his mother tongue?

What’s the differences and similarities between Chinese sound system and English sound system? There are two English sounds which are more difficult to pronounce in the standard way for Chinese learners.

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Linguistics studies not any particular language, e.g. English, Chinese, Arabic, and Latin, but it studies languages in general.

Why Is Linguistics a Scientific Study? It is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. • Methods of linguistic study • collect and observe language facts (similarities, and generalizations ) • formulates some hypotheses • Test the hypotheses repeatedly

The Scope of Linguistics phonetics phonology general linguistics syntax morphology semantics pragmatics

The Scope of Linguistics society Sociolinguistics Applied linguistics Psycholinguistics linguistics psychology solution of practical problems

▲ Phonetics: The study of sounds used in linguistic communication ▲ Phonology: how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication. ▲ Morphology: the structure of words ▲ Syntax: the structure of sentences ▲ Semantics: the study of meaning ▲ Pragmatics: the study of meaning in the context of language use ▲ Sociolinguistics: language and society ▲ Psycholinguistics: language and mind ▲ Applied linguistics: Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the solution of practical problems

Distinctions Prescriptive vs. descriptive(限定性的，描述性的） Synchronic vs. diachronic（共时的，历时的） Speech and writing(口语，书面语） Langue and parole(语言和言语） Competence and performance Traditional grammar and modern linguistics

Prescriptive vs. descriptive 1.Two different types of linguistic study 2.Definition 3. Modern linguistics is mostly descriptive.

Synchronic vs. diachronic 1. The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study. 2. The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. 3. A synchronic approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic one.

Speech and writing 1. Two major media of communication. 2. Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons.

Langue and parole 1. Swiss linguist F. de Saussure in the early 20th century. 2. Langue :the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community Parole :refers to the realization of langue in actual use 3. What linguists should do is to abstract langue from parole.

Langueabstract a set of rules and conventions Paroleconcrete concrete use of application of rules varies from person to person, and from situation to situation relatively stable

Competence and performance 1. American linguist N. Chomsky 2. based on the distinction between langue and parole 3. Competence: the ideal user's knowledge of the rules of his language 4. Performance: the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication 5. What linguists should do is to abstract langue from parole.

Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions. • Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.

Traditional grammar and modern linguistics 1. The beginning of modern linguistics was marked by the publication of F. de Saussure's book "Course in General Linguistics" in the early 20th century. 2. Linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive. 3. Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tended to emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance of the written word 4. Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.

Language can be... • what a person says(e.g. bad language, expressions) • the way of speaking or writing(e.g. Shakespeare’s language, Luxun’s language) • the abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community(e.g. Chinese language, first language) • the common features of all human languages(e.g. He studies language) • a tool for human communication. (social function) • a set of rules.(rule-governed)

Sapir’s definition (1921) “Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”

Hall’s definition (1968) Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.”

Chomsky’s definition (1957) “From now on I will consider language to be a set of (finite or infinite) sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.”

Language can be generally defined as a systemof arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.

Language is a system Systematic— rule-governed, elements in it are combined according to certain rules; e.g. bilk I eat apple. *bkli, *I apple eat.

Language is arbitrary Arbitrary---- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it stands for, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with.

Language is symbolic in nature Symbolic---- words are associated with objects, actions ideas by convention. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”----Shakespeare

Language is primarily vocal Vocal---- the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form.

Language is human-specific Human-specific---- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.

The design features of language(Charles Hockett) • Arbitrariness 任意性 • Productivity/Creativity 能产性 • Duality 二重性 • Displacement 移位性 • Cultural transmission 文化传承性

Arbitrariness • There is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. • While language is arbitrary by nature, it is not entire arbitrary; certain words are motivated. • onomatopoeic words: rumble, crash, cackle, bang • compound words: photocopy; handwriting • a sign of sophistication

Language is not arbitrary at syntactic level. E.g. He came in and sat down. He sat down and came in. What then is the link between a linguistic sign and its meaning? It is a matter of convention.

Productivity • it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. • Productivity is unique to human language. • bee dancing is used only to indicate food sources, which is the only kind of message that can be sent through the dancing

Duality Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures, or two levels. lower or the basic level :sounds, meaningless. higher level: the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning, ( morphemes, words) meaningful

Displacement • language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. • This property provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time and place.

Cultural transmission • While human capacity for language has a genetic basis, i. e., we were all born with the ability to acquire language, the details of any language system are not genetically transmitted, but instead have to be taught and learned.

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Introduction to Linguistics: Understanding Language and its Theories