Basic concepts of Appiled Linguistics

What is the nature of Applied Linguistics?
• The first nature of AL is that it is interdisciplinary. It is generally acknowledged that the most notable and significant feature in AL is its rapid growth as an interdisciplinary field. • The second nature of applied linguistics is its empiricalness or experimentativeness. This is to mean that Applied Linguistics differs itself from general or theoretical linguistics in that applied linguists make the great effort s to use language learners as their subjects or informants to collect the data in the practical language teaching and learning setting.
What is the theory of Applied Linguistics
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Critical discourse analysis (CDA) Critical applied linguistics (CAL) A theorizing approach More theories: vague theory of language; interlanguage; the dynamic theory of language; levels of language; humanist theory of language; hidden and displaying theory of language; functional and explanation grammar
(3) 语言的动态理论认为, 动态是语言的本质和主 导方面, 语言时时刻刻都在发生着变化,从实践到理论 和从理论到实践都是动态, 实践和理论的互动更是动 态的纵横交错。 (4)语言的层次性理论。对语言层次的理解, 人们也 有着不同的看法, 只要涉及结构、系统这样的概念, 就涉及到层次。 (5) 语言的人文性理论。语言具有人文性, 它是语 言的基本属性之一。于根元认为:“人们的沟通是文化 的沟通, 人们的交际是文化的交际。语言的沟通和交 际, 也是文化的沟通与交际”。这充分说明语言具有 人文性。
(6) 语言的潜、显理论。这里的“显”指的是现在 态, 显语言指的是我们听到和看到的一切行为经验 事实的语言现象的总和。这里的“潜”指的是过 去态和未来态, 潜语言指的是在此之前没有人说过 、未听到过和看到的、但却能意识到它存在的语 言, 如我们看歌剧, 演员有在前台的也有在后台的, 走在前台的演员相当于显语言, 未上前台的相当于 潜语言(7) 功能解释语法(或“功能语法”、“系统 功能语法”、“认知语法”等)。功能解释语法主 要是研究语言的功能, 也可以说是从功能角度研究 语言。功能解释语法说明语言是社会交往的工具, 它把语言的实际使用作为自己的研究对象。“离 开语言使用者的实践, 就不会有系统功能语法理论 的存在”(胡壮麟等)。
应用语言学有没有理论, 人们有着不同的看 法,有人错误地认为应用语言学就是语言学理论的 应用, 其本身并没有什么理论, 这是一种偏见和误 解。事实上，应用语言学有自己的理论，其中于 根元先生总结了以下几种应用语言学理论。 (1) 模糊语言理论。模糊语言学和语言学的研 究对象是自然语言, 但语言学是把自然语言作为 纯语言符号进行研究, 而模糊语言学是把自然语 言作为模糊语言符号加以研究。 (2) 中介语。中介语是指学习者在某一阶段所 建立起来的目的语系统和由此相连接而形成的一 种连续体, 它是一种学习者的语言, 处于母语和目 的语之间的一种语言, 有自己的独立体系。
How are Applied Linguistics developed both at home and abroad? (一) 国外应用语言学的发展状况
◆一般认为，波兰语言学家勃杜恩·德·库尔特内在1870年首先 提出了应用语言学这个概念。 ◆1946 年, 美国密执安大学成立了英语学院, 弗赖斯(C. Frie、 拉多(R. L ado) 出版了《语言学习》(Language Learning ) , 这个杂志的副标题就是《应用语言学杂志》 ◆1956英国爱丁堡大学率先建立了应用语言学院。 ◆1959年, 在美国华盛顿也相继成立了应用语言学中心(Center for App lied Linguistics) , 其负责人是弗格森(C. Ferguson) 。 ◆国际应用语言学学会的成立。1964 年在法国南希成立了国 际应用语言学学会, 这个学会的成立标志着应用语言学已经 走向成熟。
(二) 我国应用语言学研究状况 在我国，真正把应用语言学当作一门独立 学科对待的，是在改革开放以后。 ◆广东外语外贸大学(原广州外国语学院) 在应用语 言学研究方面起步最早, 他们创了我国应用语言 学研究方面的几个“第一”: 我国第一次“应用 语言学与英语教学学术研讨会”是由广东外语外 贸大学和上海外国语大学于1980 年召开的; ◆我国第一部《应用语言学》专著是由我国著名 语言学家广东外语外贸大学桂诗春先生于1988 年撰写的;
• The term AL has been most commonly used to cover all aspects of the academic study of language teaching and learning. Since the 1980s, the term has begun to be used to refer more widely to any area of study ,beyond linguistics itself, that is language related. Generally speaking, AL can be defined in two ways. In a broad sense, it means the application of linguistic knowledge to solving practical problems of other scientific fields, such as language teaching and learning, speech pathology, lexicography, translation, contrastive linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics and several other areas.
• The third nature is practice-oriented or question-driven. Applied Linguistics is not bounded to present the description of an issue of practical language teaching and learning but to analyze the reason and cause.
In a narrow sense, applied linguistics means the scientific study of the principles and practices of second and foreign language teaching and learning. As P. Corder stated that it would be a mistake to associate applied linguistics exclusively with language teaching. Hence, applied linguistics is not only about applying linguistic theories to the real world, but it is also closely related to many other disciplines. Applied linguistics has its own hypotheses, principles, rules and methods in its practical activities.
3.《人类百科全书大系·语言文学百科全书》对 “应用语言学”这一条文的解释是：研究语 言在各个领域中实际应用的学科。 4.桂诗春认为：“一般来说，应用语言学可以从 广义和狭义两个方面去定义,广义的应用语言 学指的是把语言学的知识应用于解决其他科 学领域的各种问题。”
• What is the scope that Applied Linguistics actually covers?
Applied பைடு நூலகம்inguistics
What is the definition of Applied Linguistics?
Defining the term was not a easy task, follows are some definitions which were generated by different experts: 1.P.Corder defined AL as: AL is the utilization of the knowledge about the nature of language achieved by language research for the improvement of the efficiency of some practical task in which language is a central component.(P1) 2.The International Encyclopedia [en,saikləu'pi:djə] of Linguistics defined applied linguistics as follows: Whenever knowledge about language is used to solve a basic language-related problem, one may say that AL is being practiced. AL is technology which makes abstract ideas and research findings accessible and relevant to the real world; it mediates between theory and practice.