语言学PPT what is language
语言学导论
语言学导论一What is LanguageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. To give the briefest definition, language is a means of verbal communication. Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animal communication system.二Design Features of Language一）ArbitrarinessThe widely accepted meaning of this feature, which was first discussed by Saussure, refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. For instance, we cannot explain why a book is called /buk/.二）DualityIt means the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.三）CreativityBy creativity we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. One of the reasons why language is actually a far more complicated entity is that we can use it to create new meanings.四）DisplacementDisplacement means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts, which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication. For example, we can refer to Confucious or the North Pole, even though the first has been dead for 2,500 years and the second is situated far away.练习：1、Which of the following statements about language is NOT true?A. Animals also have languages.B. Language is a system.C. Language is arbitraryD. Language is symbolic.正确答案:Animals also have languages.2、Productivity is one of the _____ features of languages.A. DesignB. DistinctiveC. PragmaticD. Superasegmental正确答案:designFunctions of Language一）InformativeIt is the major role of language. The use of language to record the facts is a prerequisite of social development.It is also ideational function in the framework of functional grammar.二）Interpersonal FunctionIt is the most important sociological use of language, by which people establish and maintain their status in a society.Attached to the interpersonal function of language is its function of the expression of identity.三）PerformativeThis concept originates from the philosophical study of language presented by Austin and Searle, whose theory now forms the backbone of pragmatics.The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons as in marriage ceremonies, the blessing of children and the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized.四）Emotive FunctionThe emotive function of language is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something. e.g. God, My, Damn it ......五）Phatic CommunionThe term originates from Malinowski's study of the function of language performed by Trobriand Islanders. It refers to the social interaction of language.We all use small, seemingly meaningless expressions such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day to maintain a comfortable relationship between people. 六）Recreational FunctionNo one will deny the use of language for the sheer joy of using it such as baby's babbling or a chanter's chanting.七）Metalingual FunctionOur language can be used to talk about itself. For example, we can use the word "book" to talk about a book.What is Linguistics?Linguistics is a branch of science, which takes language as its object of investigation.Main Branches of Linguistics一）PhoneticsPhonetics studies speech sounds, including the production of speech, that is how speech sounds are actually made, transmitted and received, the sounds of speech, the description and the classification of speech sounds, words and connected speech, etc.二）PhonologyPhonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. It deals with the sound systems of a language by treating phonemes as the point of departure.三）MorphologyMorphology is concerned with the internal organization of words. It studies the minimal units of meaning—morphemes and word-formation processes.四）SyntaxSyntax is about principles of forming and understanding correct English sentences.五）SemanticsSemantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language. It is not only concerned with meanings of words as lexical items, but also with levels of language below the word and above it, e.g. meaning of morphemes and sentences.六）PragmaticsPragmatics is the study of meaning in context. In other words, it is concerned with the way language is used to communicate rather than with the way language is structured.练习：1、Which branch of study cannot be included in the scope of Lingustics？A. AnthropologyB. PhoneticsC. PragmaticsD. Syntax正确答案:Anthropology2、______ is the study of the relationship between symbols and their interpreter.A. PragmaticsB. SemanticsC. SociolinguisticsD. Syntax正确答案:Pragmatics3、____ is concerned with the study of the actual use of language in communication.A. PragmaticsB. SemanticsC. SociolinguisticsD. Synchronic linguistics正确答案:Pragmatics4、Once the notion of _____ was taken into consideration, semantics spilled into pragmatics.A. ContentB. ContextC. FormD. Meaning正确答案:context5、_____ is the major concern of semantics.A. MeaningB. Phrase structure rulesC. Sentence structuresD. Words正确答案:MeaningMacrolinguistics一）PsycholinguisticsPsycholinguistics investigates the interrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition. The psychological constraints on the form of grammar are studied. It also studies language development in the child, biological foundations of language and the relationship between language and cognition.二）SociolinguisticsSociolinguistics is the study of the characteristics of language varieties, the characteristics of their function and the characteristics of their speakers as these three constantly interact and change within a speech community.三）Anthropological LinguisticsAnthropological linguistics deals with the emergence of language and also with the divergence of languages over thousands of years.四）Computational LinguisticsComputational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language.Important Distinctions in Linguistics一）Prescriptive & Descriptive（规定性研究与描述性研究）Do/Don't say X.People do/don't say X.The first are prescriptive commands and the second are descriptive statements. The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are. （规定性的语言学研究着重观察、总结语言中的“标准”，其目的通常是为了规定人们应该如何说话、写作，因而称为规定性研究；现代语言学诞生之前的大部分语法研究都属于此类。
语言学第一章整理
Chapter one1.What is language?Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. System means it is rule-governed; arbitrary means there is no logical relationship between language elements and their meaning; vocal means speech is primary; symbols related to arbitrariness, it means language elements are only the symbols for the meaning they express. Human, it means language is uniquely human; communication is the primary function of language.2.What are the design features of language, give their definitions and examples. Arbitrary: arbitrary is the core feature of language, which means that there is no logical relation between meanings and sounds. Arbitrary is a matter of degree, language is not entirely arbitrary, first, the onomatopoeia are words that sound like the sound they describe, to some extent, they have natural basis. Second, some compounds are not entirely arbitrary either, “snow” and“storm” are arbitrary words, but the compound word “snowstorm”is less so. Thirdly, some surnames, such as Longfellow, Johnson.Examples: a rose by other name would smell as sweetDuality: is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization .we call sounds secondary units as opposed to primary units as words, since the secondary are meaningless and the primary unit have distinct and identifiable meaning.Creativity: language users can understand and produce new sentences to express new meanings. By creativity, we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and recursiveness. By duality the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never produced or heard before. Language is creativity in another sense, that is, itspotential to create endless sentences. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis of this possibility.Example: He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who……Displacement: means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts, which are not present at the moment of communication.Examples : we can refer to Confucius and Bush at the moment of communication , but the former lived thousands of years ago and the latter live far away from us .3.Functions of the language and their examples⑴informative function: when language is used to express human experience and knowledge about the world. It is predominantly the major role of language.⑵interpersonal function is the most important sociological use of language by which people establish and maintain their status in a society. Language marks our identity, physically in terms of age, sex, and voiceprints; psychologically in terms of language, personality, and intelligence; geographically in terms of accents and dialects; ethnically and socially in terms of social stratification, class, status, role, solidarity, and distance.(3) Performative function: is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony and the cursing of enemies. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized.(4) Emotive function: changes the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.(5) Phatic communion: occurs when language is used for pure interpersonal purposes, e.g. greetings, farewell, etc.(6) Recreational function: when language is used for the pure joy of using it, such as baby’s babbling and chanter’s chanting.(7) Metalingual function: when language is used to discuss itself. For example, to be honest, to make a long story short, come to think of it, on second thought.4. What is linguistics?Linguistics is the scientific study of language.4.Main branches of the linguistics1)Phonetics: studies speech sounds, it is the description, classification, andtranscription of speech sounds. It includes articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics and auditory phonetics.2)Phonology: the study of speech sounds as a system: the relations betweenspeech sounds, the way in which speech sounds are related to meaning, the rules governing the structure, distribution and sequencing of speech sounds. 3)Morphology: the internal structures of words. It studies the minimal units ofmeaning-morphemes and word-formation processes.4)Syntax: studies the internal structure of sentences5)Semantics: the study of meaning as encoded in language6)Pragmatics: the study of language use, meaning in context5. Macrolinguistics1) Psycholinguistics investigates the interrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition. The psycholinguistics constraints on the form of grammar are studied. It also studies language development in the child, biological foundations of languages, and the relationship between language and cognition.2) Social linguistics: is an umbrella term, which covers a variety of different interest in language and society, including the social functions of language and the social characteristics of its users.3) Anthropological linguistics: anthropology and linguistics combined: the relationship between language and culture.4) Computational linguistics: the use of computers to process or produce human language: machine-translation, information retrieval, expert systems.6. Important distinction in linguistics1) Descriptive VS PrescriptiveThe distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are. Describing language as it is used by its native speakers is descriptive; trying to lay down language rules for correct uses of language is prescriptive. To say linguistics is a descriptive science is to say that linguist tries to discover and record the rules to which the members of a language community actually conform and does not seek to impose upon them rules, or norms, of correctness.2) Synchronic VS diachronicStudying language as it is used at a particular point in time is synchronic study; studying language as it changes over time is a diachronic study.3) Langue Vs paroleSaussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics as langue and parole. Langue is the language system, which is social, essential, and stable while parole is the actual use of the language system, which is individual, accidental, and unstable.4) Competence VS performanceA language user’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called his linguistic competence, and performance refers to the actual use of language in concrete situation. (Chomsky)5) Syntagmatic VS paradigmatic relationsSyntagmatic relations are relations between units present in the same sequence or construction, syntagmatically related elements form structures.Paradigmatic relations are relations between a unit and other units that can replace it in a given sequence. Paradigmatically related units form systems.how he can get to his destination. Then you tell him all that you know about the course, including which bus or subway he should take. This is the very process in which you use your experience and knowledge to help him. If you have no idea about his destination, you would say “Sorry, I can’t help you”. At this moment, he may buy a map of the city. This is the reason why map came into being. Map provides the detailed information including not only the complicated and crossing roads, but also the course of bus and subway. Map is an instrument by that peopleuse language to show their experience and knowledge. By analogy, there are also many other instruments for people to express content, such as books, papers, magazines and dictionaries and so on. These forms are utilized by human to record the facts of social development; conversely, the recorded facts is a prerequisite of social development. Having talked so much, I believe there are two important points to be captured. 一是，人这个主体通过使用语言将内容传递出去；另一个是语言通过报纸、杂志、书、字典等的外在形式把知识和经验传递出去。
语言学Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Invitations to LinguisticsTeaching aims: let the students have the general idea about language and linguistics.Teaching difficulties: design features of language ; some important distinctions in linguisticsTeaching procedures1. language1.1 Why study language?为什么学习语言A tool for communication交流的工具An integral part of our life and humanity 人类生活和人性中不可或缺的一部分.If we are not fully aware of the nature and mechanism of our language, we will be ignorant of what constitutes our essential humanity.如果不能完全理解语言的本质和结构,我们就会对人类的本质一无所知.1.2 What is language?什么是语言1.2.1 different senses of language 语言的不同意义1. what a person says( concrete act of speech)a person’s consistent way of speaking or writinga particular level of speaking or writing e.g. colloquial language an abstract system2. A webster’s New Dictionrary offers a frequently used sense of the word “language”:a. human speech 人类的言语b. the ability to communicate by this means 通过言语来交流的能力c. a system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings; 用来表达或交流思想和感觉的一套声音及这些声音互相结合的系统d. the written representation of such a system 系统的文字表达3. the barest of definition, language is a means of verbal communication.最简洁的定义:语言是言语交流的一种方式.Language is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act. It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiostic and communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such associated factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and socio-cultural roles. Language distinguishes us from animals.因为说和写的交流方式是一种有目的的行为,所以语言是实用性的;因为语言是社会符号,语言的交流只能在所有参与者广泛理解了人类的那些非言语的暗示,动机,社会文化角色等等互相关联的因素之后才能有效进行,因此语言又是社会的,约定俗成的.语言使人类区别于动物.1.2.2 definitions一.Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.What is communication?A process in which information is transmitted from a source (sender or speaker) to a goal (receiver or listener).A system----since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules systematically, rather than randomly. They cannot be arranged at will. e.g. He the table cleaned. (×) bkli (×)Why do we say language is arbitrary?Arbitrary----there is no intrinsic (logic) connection between a linguistic form and its meaning, between the sounds that people use and the objects to which these sounds refer. This explains and is explained by the fact that different language have different words for the same object, it is good illustration of the arbitrary nature of language . it is only our tacit agreement of utterance and concept at work and not any innate relationship bound up in the utterance. A typical example to illustrate the arbitrary of language is a famous quotation from shakepeare’s play:” Romeo and Juliet: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.一朵玫瑰不管它叫什么名字,闻起来都是一样香的.Symbols----words are just the symbols associated with objects, actions, and ideas by nothing but convention. Namely, people use the sounds or voval forms to symbolize what they wish to refer to.Vocal-------- the primary medium for all languages is sound, no matter how well developed their writing systems are. Writing systems came much later than the spoken forms. The fact that small children learn and can only learn to speak and listen before they write or read also indicates that language is primarily vocal, rather than written.Writing systems came into being much later than the spoken forms. People with little or no literacy can also be competent language users.Human ----language is human-specific.Human beings have different kinds of brains and vocal capacity.“Language Acquisition Device”(LAD)二.What characteristics of langauge do you think should be included ina good ,comprenhensive definition of language?Language is a rule-governed system; langauge is basically vocal; langauge is arbitrary ; langague is used for human communication.1.3 Design features of language 语言的结构特征Design features------ refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, creativity/ productivity, displacement, clutural transmission and interchangeability.Design features----- are features that define our human languages,such as arbitrariness,duality,creativity,displacement,cultural transmission,etc.(指决定了人类语言性质的特征.例如任意性,二重性,创造性,移位性,文化转移性等.)The American linguist Charles Hockett specified twelve design features. What is arbitrariness?任意性a. arbitrariness----arbitrariness(任意性): one design feature of human language,which refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning.(人类语言的本质特征之一,指语言符号的形式与意义之间没有自然的联系.)It was discussed by Saussure first.The link between them is a matter of convention.E.g. “house” uchi (Japanese)Mansion (French)房子(Chinese)(1) arbitrary between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning语言的音和义之间的任意性a. By “arbitrary”, we mean there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. 语言的意义和语音之间没有逻辑关系。
语言学精品课胡壮麟版ppt课件
2. Scopes of linguistics
☺General linguistics—studies linguistics as a whole.
☺ Phonetics—study of sounds ☺ Phonology--study of the system of
sounds, how they are combined ☺ Morphology—study of the structure and
language development, more practical than written form, hard to record • writing : • permanent, can be recorded
• ngue and parole • —by the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure
• descriptive –describes and analyzes the language people are currently speaking. It deals with “what people actually say”
• 3.2 synchronic vs. diachronic • synchronic—description of a language at
• 2.1.4. Language is symbolic. • 2.1.5. Language is human –specific. • 2.1.6. Language is used for
communication
2.2. Design features of language
• 2.2.1. arbitrariness • 2.2.2. productivity • 2.2.3. duality • 2.2.4. displacement • 2.2.5. cultural transmission
语言学第一章
语言学第一章Chapter 1 Invitation to linguistics1.1 Why study language?1. Language is very essential to human beings.2. In language there are many things we should know.3. For further understanding, we need to study language scientifically.1.2 What is language?Language is a means of verbal communication. It is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.1.3 Design features of languageThe features that define our human languages can be called design features which can distinguish human language from any animal system of communication.1.3.1 ArbitrarinessArbitrariness refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meanings.1.3.2 DualityDuality refers to the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.1.3.3 CreativityCreativity means that language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness.Recursiveness refers to the rule which can be applied repeatedly without any definite limit. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for the possibility of creating endless sentences.1.3.4 DisplacementDisplacement means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of conversation.1.4 Origin of language1. The bow-wow theoryIn primitive times people imitated the sounds of the animal calls in the wild environment they lived and speech developed from that.2. The pooh-pooh theoryIn the hard life of our primitive ancestors, they utter instinctive sounds of pains, anger and joy which gradually developed into language.3. The “yo-he-ho” theoryAs primitive people worked together, they produced some rhythmic grunts which gradually developed into chants and then into language.1.5 Functions of languageJacobson——language has six functions:1. Referential指称功能: to convey message and information;2. Poetic: to indulge in language for its own sake;3. Emotive: to express attitudes, feelings and emotions;4. Conative意动功能: to persuade and influence others through commands and entreaties;5. Phatic寒暄功能: to establish communion with others;6. Metalingual元语功能: to clear up intentions, words and meanings.Halliday ——that language has three metafunctions:1. Ideational function: to convey new information, to communicate a content that is unknown to thehearer;2. Interpersonal function: embodying all use of language to express social and personal relationships;3. Textual function: referring to the fact that language has mechanisms to make any stretch of spokenand written discourse into a coherent and unified text and make a living passage different from a random list of sentences.Hu Zhuanglin——language has at least seven functions:1.5.1 InformativeThe informative function means language is the instrument of thought and people often use it to communicate new information.1.5.2 Interpersonal functionThe interpersonal function means people can use language to establish and maintain their status in a society.1.5.3 Performative施为功能The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enemies.1.5.4 Emotive functionThe emotive function is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.1.5.5 Phatic communionThe phatic communion means people always use some small, seemingly meaningless expressions such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day,etc., to maintain a comfortable relationship between people without any factual content.1.5.6 Recreational functionThe recreational function means people use language for the sheer joy of using it, suc h as a baby’s babbling or a chanter’s chanting.1.5.7 Metalingual functionThe metalingual function means people can use language to talk about itself. E.g. I can use the word “book” to talk about a book, and I can also use the expression “the word book” t o talk about the sign “b-o-o-k” itself.1.6 What is linguistics?Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It studies not just one language of any one community, but the language of all human beings.1.7 Main branches of linguistics1.7.1 PhoneticsPhonetics is the study of speech sounds, it includes three main areas: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, and auditory phonetics.1.7.2 PhonologyPhonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.1.7.3 MorphologyMorphology studies the minimal units of meaning –morphemes and word-formation processes.1.7.4 SyntaxSyntax refers to the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences in a language, or simply, the study of the formation of sentences.1.7.5 SemanticsSemantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language.1.7.6 PragmaticsPragmatics is the study of meaning in context.1.8 MacrolinguisticsMacrolinguistics is the study of language in all aspects, distinct from microlinguistics, which dealtsolely with the formal aspect of language system.1.8.1 Psycholinguistics心理语言学Psycholinguistics investigates the interrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances (and in language acquisition for example).1.8.2 Sociolinguistics社会语言学Sociolinguistics is the study of the characteristics of language varieties1, the characteristics of their functions2, and the characteristics of their speakers3. (123相互作用构成一个speech community 语言社团)1.8.3 Anthropological linguistics人类语言学Anthropological linguistics studies the history and structure of formerly unwritten language, the emergence of language and the divergence of languages.1.8.4 Computational linguistics计算语言学Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language.1.9 Important distinctions in linguistics1.9.1 Descriptive描写vs. Prescriptive规定A linguistic study is descriptive if it describes and analyses the facts observed.It is prescriptive if it tries to lay down rules for the “correct” use of language.1.9.2 Synchronic共时vs. Diachronic历时The description of a language at some point in time is a synchronic study.The description of a language as it changes through the time is a diachronic study.The distinction between synchronic and dischronic studies is only theoretically clear.原因：①Languages are in a constant state of changing.②The language of any speech community is never uniform.③When a language changes, one set o f features are not suddenly replaced by another set of features.1.9.3 Langue 语言& parole言语Saussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics as langue and parole.Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.Parole refers to the actualized language, or realization of langue.区别：①Langue is abstract but parole is specific to the situation in which it occurs.②Langue is not actually spoken by anyone; parole is alwaysa naturally occurring event.③Langue is relatively stable and systematic; parole is subject to personal and situational constraints.1.9.4 Competence and performanceAccording to Chomsky, a language user’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called the linguistic competence, and the actual use of language in concretesituations is called performance.Competence is the ideal language user`s knowledge of the rules of his language.Performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in utterances.。
胡壮麟语言学教程u1(第一单元)提纲
5) any means of expressing or communicating, as gestures, signs, or animal sounds
6) a special set of symbols, letters, numerals, rules etc. used for the transmission of information, as in a computer
3)Creativity:By creativity we mean language is resourcefulbecause of its duality and its recursiveness.
●Words can be used in new ways to mean new things, and can be instantly understood by people who have never come across that usage before.(与其他动物的交流区别开来)
●Creativity partly originates from its duality, because of duality the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never before produced or heard.
(eg: pin&bin; fish& dish)
Arbitrariness and convention.
语言学---第一章知识框架
Chapter 1Invitations to Linguistics1.1 Why Study Language?1.Some myths about language2.Some fundamental views about language3.Some concrete demonstrations to show Linguistics’importance1.2 What is Language?1. Language “is not to be confused with human speech, of which it is only a definite part, though certainly an essential one. It is both a social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty”.--Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913): Course in General Linguistics (1916) 2. “Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”--Edward Sapir (1884-1939): Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech (1921)3. “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group co-operates.”--Bernard Bloch (1907-1965) & George Trager (1906-1992): Outline of Linguistic Analysis (1942)4. “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which the members of a society interact in terms of their total culture.”--George Trager: The Field of Linguistics (1949)5. “From now on I will consider language to be a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.”--Noam Chomsky (1928- ): Syntactic Structures (1957)6. Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.”--Robert A. Hall (1911-1997): Introductory Linguistics (1964)7.“Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.”--Ronald Wardhaugh: Introduction to Linguistics (1977)8. “Language is a means of verbal communication.”—It is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act.—It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic and communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such associated factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and socio-cultural roles. -- Our textbook (2006)9. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.1.3 Design Features of LanguageLanguage distinguishes human beings from animals in that it is far more sophisticated than any animal communication system.Human language is ‘unique’1. Arbitrariness①Definition②Different levels of arbitrarinessa.Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme and its meaningb.Arbitrariness at the syntactic levelc.Arbitrariness and convention2. Duality①Definition②Two levels of structures in languageThe secondary level (sounds, meaningless)The primary level (words, meaningful)③Hierarchy of language3. Creativity①Language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. We can useit to create new meanings.②The recursive nature of language provides a potential to create an infinitenumber of sentences. For instance:---He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who ..4. Displacement①Definition②Two examples③The advantage of displacement1.4 Origin of language1.The “bow-wow”theory2.The “pooh-pooh”theory3.The “yo-he-ho”theory1.5 Functions of language1.Jakobson’s classificationContextREFERENTIALAddresser EMOTIVE(e.g. intonation showing anger)MessagePOETIC(e.g. poetry)AddresseeCONATIVE(e.g. imperatives andvocatives)ContactPHATIC(e.g. Good morning!)CodeMETALINGUAL(e.g. Hello, do you hear me?)2.Halliday’s classification①Three metafunctions of language②Seven categories of language functions by observing child languagedevelopment3.The author’s introduction①Informative②Interpersonal Function③Performative④Emotive Function⑤Phatic Communion⑥Recreational Function⑦Metalingual Function1.6 What is Linguistics?Linguistics is usually defined as the science of language or, alternatively, as the scientific study of language.1.7 Main branches of Linguistics1.Phonetics2.Phonology3.Morphology4.Syntax5.Semantics6.Pragmatics1.8 Macrolinguistics1.Psycholinguistics2.Sociolinguistics3.Anthropological Linguisticsputational Linguistics1.9 Important distinctions in Linguistics1.Descriptive vs. Prescriptive2.Synchronic vs. Diachronicngue & Parolepetence and Performance。
语言学概论Chapter1WhatisLanguage
语言学概论研究生课程使用教材：语言学入门（英语版）An Introduction to Linguistics by Stuart C. Poole 外语教学与研究出版社Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press麦克米伦出版社Macmillan Publishers Ltd参考资料：[1] Halliday, M. A. K. (1994[1985]) An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 2nd edn. London:Edward Arnold.[2] Labov, William 1966. The Social Stratification of English in York City. Washington, DC:Center for Applied Linguistics.[3] Ladefoged, Peter. 1993. A Course in Phonetics . 3rd ed. Fort Worth,TX: Harcourt Brace.[4] Lakoff, George & M. J. Johnson 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of ChicagoPress.[5] Leech, G. 1969. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. Longman.[6] Leech, G. and M. Short. 1981. Style in Fiction. Longman.[7] Radford, Andrew et all. 1999. Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.[8] Roach, Peter. 1991. English Phonetics and Phonology. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press.[9] Yule, George. 1996. The Study of Language, 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.[10] 胡壮麟. 2001.《语言学教程》北京：北京大学出版社.第一章What Is Language?本章的教学目的、要求与内容：掌握语言的意义和定义、语言的功能和结构特征。
语言学Language and culture(课堂PPT)
4
Properties of language
• Language is systematic.(系统的) • Language is arbitrary.（任意的） • Language is symbolic.（符号的） • Language is vocal.（有声的） • Language is uniquely human.
Chapter 9 Language and culture
1
• 9.1 introduction
• 9.2 what is culture
• 9.3 the relationship between language and culture
• 9.4 Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis 萨皮尔—沃 尔夫假说
• 9.5 linguistic evidence of cultural difference
• 9.6 culture contact（联系）, cultural overlap and diffusion（传播）
• 9.7 the significance of cultural teaching and learning
societies, not natural things got directly from nature.
9
• not natural things got directly from nature
10
• c. national phenomenon（民族现象）: • Each nation has its unique culture. We
5
• What is culture?
英语语言学复习资料
语言学Linguistic各章重点,学习资料整理1.1What is language？Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.1.2Design features of language①Arbitrariness任意性：The property of language by which there is in general no natural (i。
e。
logical）relation between the form of a single lexical unit and its meaning。
②Duality二重性Language consists of two levels of structures. The lower (secondary）level is a definite set of meaningless sounds, which combine to form meaningful units which constitute a higher (primary) level。
③Creativity创造性Language is creative in the sense that its users can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before。
④Displacement移位性By displacement is meant that language can be used to refer to things that are not present (in time and space）at the moment of communication。
1.3Functions of language①Informative信息功能Language serves an informative function when it is used to express the speaker’s opinion, to state a fact，or to reason things out。
语言学概论考试复习资料
语言学概论第一章：1、what is language?A:Language is a system of arbitray vocal symbols by means of which the member of a speech community communicate ,interact and transmit their culture.It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic and communication can only take place effectively if all the useres share a broad understanding of human interaction .2、Design features of language?(1)Arbitrarine: The fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to theirmeaning .However there seem to be different levels of Arbitriness.Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning. B: Arbitrariness at the syntactic level: C:Arbitrariness and convention: Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative ,and conwentionality of language makes learning a language laborious.(2)Duality二元性: “By DUALITY is meant the property of having two levels of structures ,suchthat units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own ptinciples of organization.”By CREATIVITY we means language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursivveness .(3)Displacement替代性:DISPLACEMENT means that human language enable their users tosymbolize objects,events and concepts which are not present in time and space at the moment of conmmunicationPhonetics and Phonology :It is generally agreed that linguistics should at least five parameters, namely ,phonological, morphological,syntactic,semantical and pragmatic.Phonetics:PHONETICS studies speech sounds,including the production of speech ,that is how speech sounds are actually made,transmitted and received,the description and classification of speech sounds,words and connected speech,etc.Phonology:PHONOLOGY studies the rules governing the structure,distribution,and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.3、Descriptive描写的vs.Prescriptive规定的The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are.”ere are obvious administrative and education advantages,in the modern world,in standardizing the principal dialect that is employed within a particular country or region .”But the nature of linguistics as a science determines its preoccupation with descpiption instead of prescription. SYNCHRONIC限于一时description takes a fixed instant as its point of observation .However ,the fiction of synchronic description is essencial to linguistics.DIACHRONIC历时linguistics is the study of a language through the course of its history.4、Language &ParoleSaussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics as LANGUE and PAROLE. While parole constitutes the immediately accessible date,the lingustic ‘s proper object is the langue of each community,the lexicon.grammar,and phonogy implanted in each individual by his upbring in society and on the basis of which he speaks and understand his language.Competence: A language user’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules. Performance: refers to the actual use of language in concrete situations.第二章Consonants辅音：are produced by constricting or obstructing the vocal tract at some place to divert, impede, or completely shut off the flow of air in the oral cavity.Vowels元音:are produced without such obstruction so no turbulence or a total stopping of the air can be perceived.Cardinal vowels are a set of vowel qualities arbitrarily defined, fixed and unchanging, intended to provide a frame of reference for the description of the actual vowels of existing languages.Eight primary cardinal vowels are:[i][e][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]Phonemes音素:refers to a “unit of explicit sound contrast”:the existence of a minimal pair automatically grants phonemic status to sounds responsible for the contrasts.例/p/、/l/ Allophony: the phenomenon of variation in the pronunciation of phonemes in different positions.例[p=,p h]belong to /p/;[l,]belong to /l/. peak,speak;lead,deal.Assimilation同化: nasalization, dentalization, and velarization are all instances of assimilation, a process by which one sound takes on some or all the characteristics of a neighboring sound. Regressive回归assimilation: a following sound is influencing a preceding soundProgressive进步assimilation: a preceding sound is influencing a following sound.第三章Morpheme词素: the smallest unit of language in terms of relationship between expression and content, a unit that cannot be divided into further smaller units without destroying or drastically altering the meaning, whether it is lexical or grammatical.Inflection变音: is the manifestation of grammatical relationships through the addition of inflectional affixes, such as number, person, finiteness, aspect and case, which do not change the grammatical class of the stems to which they are attached.Word-formation: process of word variations signaling lexical relationships. Including compound and derivation.第四章：1、SYNTAX句法is the study of the rules governing the ways different constituents are combined to form sentences in a language ,or the study of the interrelationships between elements in sentence structures.Syntactic relation can be analysed into three kinds:positional relations, relations of substitutability,and relations of co-occurrence.Position Relation ,or word order to the sequential arrangement of the words in a language .If the words in a sentence fail to occur in a fixed order required by the convention of a language ,one tends to produce an utterance either ungrammatical or nonsensical at all.Relation of StustitutabilityFirstly ,the Relation of Stustitutability refers to classes or sets of words substitutable for each other grammatically in sentences with the same structure. Secondly,it refers to groups of one word which may be jointly substitutable grammatically for a single word of a particular set.By the Relation of Co-occurrence one means that words of different sets of clauses maypermit ,or require ,the occurrence of a word of another set or class to form a sentence or a particular part of a sentence.第五章：1、Meaning of “MEANING”:7 types of meaning:(1)Conceptual meaning (2)Connoative meaning (3)Social meaning (4)Affective meaning (5)Reflected meaning (6)Collocative meaning (7)Thematic meaning2、Sence RalationsWords are in different sence relation with each other .There are three kinds of sense relation recognized ,namely ,sameness relation,oppositenness and inclusiveness relation.(1)Synonymy同义:SYNONYMY is the technique name for the sameness relation.English is saidto be rich in synonys.Its vocabulary has two sources :Anglo-Saxon and Latin. But to synonymy is rare.The synonyms are all context dependent. Thirdly,there are dialectal differences.(2)Autonymy反义:is the name of for oppositeness relation.There are 3main sub-types:gradableantonymy,complementary antonymy,and converse antonymy.A:Gradable antonymy:First,as the name suggest,they are gradable.Scond,antonymy of this kind are graded againsr different norms. Third,one member of a pair,usually the term for the higher degree,serves as the cover term.B:Comlementary antonymy:In constrast to the first typr,the members of a pair in this type are complementary to each other.That is ,they divided up the whole of a semantic field completely.(3)Hyponymy上下位关系: the term HYPOYMY is of recent creation,which has not found its way to some small dictionaries yet.But the notion of meaning inclusiveness is not new.第八章Cp: cooperative principle. Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose of direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.Characteristics of implicature: 1)calculability: the fact that speakers try to convey conversational implicatures and hearers are able to understand them suggests that implicatures.2)cancellability: also defeasibility. 3)non-detachability: a conversational implicature is attached to the semantic content of what is said, not to the linguistic form. 4)non-conventionality:Conversational implicature: a type of implied meaning, which is deduced on the basis of the conventional meaning of words together with the context, under the guidance of the CP and its maxims.语言学与英语学习的关系：Linguisics helps you understand how languages work from biological, social, cultural and psychological perspectives. If you enter this field, you can either pursue academic research about a language, or become a very acomplished english teacher.。
语言学 1.1 Language
LanguaLeabharlann e is arbitrary.Language is vocal.
Language is symbolic.
Language is particularly human.
Features of Language
Illustration
Language is a system. Language is arbitrary.
Language is arbitrary.
Language is vocal.
Language is symbolic.
Language is particularly human.
1.1.2 Design features of language Design features: the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication.
1 Arbitrariness (任意性)
Any form is not arbitrary? -- Onomatopoetic words -- Compound words -- Sentences non-arbitrariness about word order Clauses occur in linear sequence. e.g. As the rain fell, the hot weather became cooler. * As the hot weather became cooler, the rain fell.
The following is a definition which has been accepted by most people: “Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. communication.” (Wardhaugh, 1979)
linguistics语言学
What is linguistics? the science of language the scientific study of language more design features cultural transmission mutual interchangeability
Second, there are other facts that are puzzling if language is not innate. Children learn their mother tongue in very different environments. But they follow more or less the same stages in acquisition: the babbling stage, nonsense word stage, holophrastic stage, two-word utterance, developing grammar, nearadult grammar, and full competence.
Displacement
Human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication. Displacement gives human the power to handle generalizations and abstraction. Displacement make it possible for us to talk and think in abstract terms. e.g. Non-things: beauty and truth
戴语言学1-INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION1.1 What is linguistics?1.1.1 DefinitionLinguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. It tries to answer the basic questions "What is language?" and "How does language work?" It probes into various problems related to language such as "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?", and many others.Linguistics studies not a n y particular language, e.g. English, Chinese, Arabic, and Latin, but it studies languages in general. It is a scientific study because it is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In order to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system, what the linguist has to do first is to collect and observe language facts, which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them; then he formulates some hypotheses about the language structure. But the hypotheses thus formed have to be checked repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation; that is, a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things.★Four criteria of doing linguistics: objectivity, rigorousness(accuracy), explicitness, and adequacy (信息充分).▲(Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.Linguistics studies not any particular language, but languages in general. The process of linguistic study is: first, certain linguistic facts are observed, and generalizations are made about them; second, based on these generalizations, hypotheses are formed to account for these facts; third, the hypotheses are tested by further observations; and finally, a linguistic theory is constructed about what language is and how it works.)1.1.2 The scope of linguisticsThe study of language as a whole is often called general linguistics. This deals with the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study, in contrast to those branches of study which relate linguistics to the research of other areas.Language is a complicated entity with multiple layers and facets, so it is hardly possible for the linguists to deal with it all at once. They have to concentrate on one aspect of it at a time. This has given rise to a number of relatively independent branches within the area of linguistics.What first drew the attention of the linguists were the sounds used in languages. The study of sounds used in linguistic communication led to the establishment of phonetics.Then, as linguists became interested in how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication, they developed another branch of study related tosounds called phonology. (the study of sound patterns)The sounds used in linguistic communication are represented by symbols, i. e. morphemes. The study of the way in which these symbols are arranged and combined to form words has constituted the branch of study called morphology.Then the combination of words to form grammatically permissible sentences in languages is governed by rules. The study of these rules constitutes a major branch of linguistic studies called syntax. (★The study of sentence structure; it attempts to describe what is grammatical in a particular language in terms of rules)But the ultimate objective of language is not just to create grammatically well-formed sentences. In most general terms language is used to convey meaning. The study of meaning is known as semantics.Language communication does not occur in a vacuum, it always occurs in a context. When the study of meaning is conducted, not in isolation, but in the context of language use, it becomes another branch of linguistic study called pragmatics.The study of all these aspects of language form the core of linguistics.Then, language is not an isolated phenomenon; it is a social activity carried out in a certain social environment by human beings. Naturally, in the course of time the study of language has established close links with other branches of social studies, resulting in some interdisciplinary branches of linguistic study.Language and society are closely connected. The language a person uses often reveals his social background, and there exist social norms that determine the type of language to be used on a certain occasion; and language changes are often caused by social changes. The study of all these social aspects of language and its relation with society form the core of the branch called sociolin guistics.Psycholinguistics relates the study of language to psychology. It aims to answer such questions as how the human mind works when we use language, how we as infants acquire our mother tongue, how we memorize, and how we process the information we receive in the course of communication.Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the solution of such practical problems as the recovery of speech ability. The study of such applications is generallyBut in a narrow sense applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic theories and principles to language teaching, especially the teaching of foreign and second languages.▲(Other branches of linguistics include anthropological linguistics, neurological linguistics, mathematical linguistics, and computational linguistics.)Prescriptive and descriptive represent two different types of linguistic study. If a linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive; if the linguistic study aims to lay down rules for "correct and standard" behaviour in using language, i.e. to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive.Modern linguistics is mostly descriptive. It differs from earlier studies of language normally known as "grammar" in that the latter is based on "high" (religious, literary) written language. It aims to set models for language users to follow. On the other hand, modern linguistics is supposed to be scientific and objective and its task is to describe the language people actually use, be it "correct" or not. Modern linguists believe that whatever occurs in the language people use should be described and analyzed in their investigation.▲(Modern linguistics is descriptive, not prescriptive. The major task of a linguist is to describe language in an objective way. His investigations are based on authentic, and mainly spoken language data. Traditional grammar is prescriptive in the sense that it tries to lay down a series of grammatical rules and these grammatical rules are then forced on the language users. Any use of language which conforms to the prescribed rules is labelled as correct, otherwise, it will be lablled as incorrect.)★高:All languages are systems of conventions, not systems of natural laws.The first and essential step in the study of any language is observing and setting down precisely what happens when native speakers speak it. Each language is unique in its pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. It cannot be described in terms of logic or of some theoretical, ideal language. It cannot be described in terms of any other language, or even in terms of its past. All languages are dynamic rather than static, and hence a “rule” in any language can only be a statement of contemporary practice. “Correctness”can rest only upon usage, for the simple reason that there is nothing else for it to rest on and all usage is relative.1.1.3.2Language exists in time and changes through time. The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A diachronic study of language is a historical study; it studies the historical development of language over a period of time.In modern linguistics, a synchronic approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic one. It is believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development. Synchronic descriptions are often thought of as being descriptions of a language in its current existence, and most linguistic studies are of this type.1.1.3.3Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication. Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any language is always "invented" by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even in today's world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. (▲And then in terms of function, the spoken form of language is used for a wider range of purposes than the written form, and carries a larger load of communication than the written.)Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. And also, speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writing is learned and taught later when he goes to school. For modern linguists, spoken language reveals many true features of human speech while written language is only the "revised" record of speech. Thus their data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regard as authentic.1.1.3.4The distinction between langue and parole was made by the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure in the early 20th century. Langue and parole are French words. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use. Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to abide by, and parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules. Langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use. Parole is concrete; it refers to the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently; while parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation.Saussure made this distinction in order to single out one aspect of language for serious study. In his opinion, parole is simply a mass of linguistic facts, too varied and confusing for systematic investigation, and what linguists should do is to abstract langue from parole, i.e., to discover the regularities governing the actual use of language and make them the subjects of study of linguistics.1.1.3.5Similar to Saussure's distinction between langue and parole is the distinction between competence and performance, which was proposed by the American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950's. Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user's knowledge of the rules of his language, and performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. According to Chomsky, a speaker has internalized a set of rules about his language, this enables him to produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences and recognize sentences that are ungrammatical and ambiguous. Despite his perfect knowledge of his own language, a speaker can still make mistakes in actual use, e.g., slips of the tongue, and unnecessary pauses. This imperfect performance is caused by social and psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, and embarrassment. Similar to Saussure, Chomsky thinks that what linguists should study is the ideal speaker's competence, not his performance, which is too haphazard to be studied. Although a speaker possesses an internalized set of rules and applies them in actual use, he cannot tell exactly what these rules are. So the task of the linguists is to discover and specify these rules.While Saussure's distinction and Chomsky's are very similar, they differ at least in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions, and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.1.1.3.6It is generally believed that 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. But we have to be aware that before that language had been studied for centuries in Europe by such scholars as philosophers and grammarians. The general approach thus traditionally formed to the study of language over the years is roughly referred to as "traditional grammar." Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar in several basic ways. Some of these have already been briefly mentioned before.Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive. A linguist is interested in what is said, not in what he thinks ought to be said. He describes language in all its aspects, but does not prescribe rules of "correctness". He does not believe that there is some absolute standard of correctness concerning language use which linguists or school teachers should view as their duty to maintain. Instead, he would prefer to be an observer and recorder of facts, but not a judge. He might recognize that one type of speech appears to be more socially acceptable than others because of the influence of fashion. But this will not make him think that the socially acceptable variety can replace all the other varieties, or the old words are always better than new ones or vice versa. He will regard the changes in language and language use as the result of a natural and continuous process, not something to be feared.Second, modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not thewritten. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tended to emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence. Before the invention of sound recording, it was difficult for people to deal with utterances which existed only for seconds. Then, the traditional classical education was also partly to blame. People were encouraged to imitate the "best authors" for language usage. Many of the rules of traditional grammar apply only to the written language; they cannot be made meaningful in terms of the spoken language, without much qualification and addition.Then, modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework. For a long time on the European continent it was unquestionably assumed that Latin provides a universal framework into which all languages fit. As a result, other languages were forced to fit into Latin patterns and categories, especially its case system and tense divisions of past, present and future. To modern linguists, it is unthinkable to judge one language by standards of another. They are opposed to the notion that any one language can provide an adequate framework for all the others. They are trying to set up a universal framework, but that will be based on the features shared by most of the languages used by mankind.1.2 What is language?If we take linguistics to be the scientific study of language, our next question then is "What is language?" This may at first sound like a naive and simple question. Yet to this extremely familiar, everyday phenomenon, it is difficult to give a satisfactory definition. Some people probably will say "language is a tool for human communication". Far from a definition, this only tells us what language does, or what it is used f or, i.e. its function. Alternatively, one might say "language is a set of rules. " Then this tells nothing about its functions, and there are actually other systems that are also rule-governed.Modern linguists have proposed various definitions of language, some of which are quoted below:"Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols." (Sapir, 1921)Language is "the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols." (Hall, 1968)"From now on I will consider language to be a set (finite or infi nit e) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements. " (Chomsky, 1957)Each of these definitions has its own special emphasis, and is not totally free from limitations. However, there are some important characteristics of human language linguists have agreed on; these are embraced in the following generally accepteddefinition:Short as it is, this definition has captured the main features of language.First of all, language is a system, i.e., elements of language are combined according to rules. This explains why "iblk" is not a possible sound combination in English, and also why "Been he wounded has " is not a grammatically acceptable sentence in English.Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for, for instance, between the word "pen" and the thing we write with. The fact that different languages have different words for the same object is a good illustration of the arbitrary nature of language. This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are just symbols; they are associated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention. This conventional nature of language is well illustrated by a famous quotation from Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet": "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. "Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound. All evidence points to the fact that writing systems came into being much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper. The fact that children acquire spoken language before they can read or write also indicates that language is primarily vocal.The term "human" in the definition is meant to specify that language is human-specific, i.e., it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, such as bird songs and bee dances.1.2.2Design features refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. By comparing language with animal communication systems, we can have a better understanding of the nature of language. A framework was proposed by the American linguist Charles Hockett. He specified twelve design features, five of which will be discussed here.▲vast majority of linguistic expressions are arbitraryAs mentioned earlier, language is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages. (▲In addition, the same sound may be used to refer to different objects in different languages.) On the other hand, we should be aware that while language is arbitrary by nature, it is not entirely arbitrary; certain words are motivated. The best examples are the onomatopoeic words, such as rumble, crash, cackle, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. For example while"photo" and "copy" are both arbitrary, the compound word "photocopy" is not entirely arbitrary. But, non-arbitrary words make up only a small percentage of the vocabulary of a language.The arbitrary nature of language is a sign of sophistication and it makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions.▲creativity or open-endednessLanguage is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences they have never heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Much of what we say and hear we are saying or hearing for the first time.Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. For example, gibbon calls are not productive, for gibbons draw all their calls from a limited repertoire, which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. And bee dancing is used only to indicate food sources, which is the only kind of message that can be sent through the dancing.double articulation (sounds and meanings)Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures, or two levels. At the lower or the basic level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning, which are found at the higher level of the system. For example, the grouping of the three sounds /k/, /a:/, and /p/ can mean either a kind of fish (carp), or a public place for rest and amusement (pa rk). Then the units at the higher level can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. This duality of structure or double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system has duality or even comes near to possessing it.▲By duality we mean that each language is organized at two levels or layers, one is sound and the other is meaning. The advantage of this division is that we can use limited number of sounds to produce unlimited number of sound combinations with distinctive meanings. e.g. in the language of English we use around 48 sounds to produce almost indefinite number of sound combinations (words). This feature is very economical for the system of language.eg. Santa Claus, Superman, mimicsLanguage can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This is what "displacement" means. 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.In contrast, no animal communication system possesses this feature. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation, i.e., in contact of food, in presence of danger, or in pain. Once the danger or pain is gone, calls stop.5)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 anew. An English speaker and a Chinese speaker are both able to use a language, but they are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. It is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. In contrast, animal call systems are genetically transmitted, i.e., animals are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species.The sounds used in language are meaningfully distinct. e.g. the distinction between pack and back in meaning can only be due to the difference between the / p / and / b / sound in these two words.Revision exercises:1. How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language.2. What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study?3. In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?4. Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?5. For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writing?6. How is Saussure's distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky's distinction between competence and performance?7. What characteristics of language do you think should be included in a good, comprehensive definition of language?8. What are the main features of human language that have been specified by C.Hockett to show that it is essentially different from animal communication system?。
本科自考英语语言学概论精心整理ChapterOnelanguage
本科⾃考英语语⾔学概论精⼼整理ChapterOnelanguage English Linguistics:An Introduction 英语语⾔学概论(王永强⽀永碧)Chapter One language1 What is language2 What are the features of language3 What are the functions of languageThe definition of languageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.语⾔是⽤于⼈类交际的任意性的发⾳的符号系统。
First ，language is a system: sound ,words, rules, meaningsElements of language are combined according to rules. Every language contains a set of rules. By system ，we mean the recurring patterns or arrangement or the particular ways or designs in which a language operates. The sounds and the words which form sentences are used in fixed patterns that speakers of a language can understand each other. It is because every language has its system that it conveys the same meaning to its speakers. 语⾔的元素组合根据规则。
英语语言学导论
Chapter 1 Introduction介绍1.语言定义What is languageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.First, language is a system, i.e. elements of language are combined according to rules. This explains why “iblk” is not a possible sound combination in English, and also why “Been he wounded has” is not a grammatically acceptable sentence in English.Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for, for instance, between the word “pen” and the thing we write with. Different languages have different words for the same object. Words are just symbols. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”.Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound. All evidence points to the fact that writing systems came into being much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper. The fact that children acquire spoken language before they can read or write also indicates that language is primarily vocal.2. 语言特征Design Features of LanguageDesign features refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication.Charles Hockett (American) in 1960 : (5 of 13)①Arbitrariness 任意性: There is no logical connection between meanings and sounds.(A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages.) On the other hand, language is not entirely arbitrary, such like onomatopoeic words and some compound words.②Productivity 多产性: Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users.③Duality 双重性: Language is a system, which consists of two levels. The basic level is a structure of sounds, and the higher level is the units of meaning.④Displacement 移位性: Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker.⑤Cultural transmission 文化传承性: Language is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by instinct.3.语言功能Function of LanguageThree main functions : the descriptive function, the expressive function and the social function.①The descriptive function: also referred to differently as the cognitive, or referential, or propositional function, is assumed to be the primary function of language.It is the function to convey factual information, which can be asserted or denied, and in some cases even verified.②The expressive function: also called the emotive or attitudinal function, supplies information about the user’s feelings, preferences, prejudices, and values.③The social function: also referred to as the interpersonal function, serves to establish and maintain social relations between people.Roman Jakobson (Russian-born) :He identifies six elements of a speech event and relates each one of them to one specific language function.①Addresser, Emotive 情感功能The addresser expresses his attitude to the topic or situation of communication.②Addressee, Conative 意动功能The addresser aims to influence the addressee’s course of action or ways of thinking.③Context, Referential 信息功能The addresser conveys a message of information.④Message, Poetic 诗性功能The addresser uses language for the sole purpose of displaying the beauty of language itself.⑤Contact, Phatic communication 寒暄功能The addresser tries to establish or maintain good interpersonal relationship with the addressee.⑥Code.Metalinguistic 元语言，纯理功能The addresser uses language to make clear the meaning of language itself, e.g. “Let me tell you what the word ‘linguist’ means.”M.A.K. Halliday (British) in the early 1970s :He explored the functions of child language, and found that as a child grew into an adult the7 functions are gradually replaced by a more abstract system of functions.①Ideational 经验功能: The ideational function is to organize the speaker or writer’sexperience of the real or imaginary world. It corresponds closely to the descriptive function, but it is broader because it also includes the expression of the speaker’s attitude, evaluation, his feelings and emotions.②Interpersonal 人际功能: The interpersonal function is to establish or maintain socialrelationships between people.③Textual 语篇功能: The textual function is to organize written or spoken texts in such amanner that they are coherent within themselves and fit the particular situation in which they are used.4.语言学定义What is LinguisticsLinguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.(Linguistics studies not any particular language, but it studies languages in general.)(It is a scientific study because it is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.)5.语言学范围the scope of linguisticsRelatively independent branches within the area of linguistics, and also the core of linguistics:①Phonetics语音学: The study of sounds used in linguistic communication.②Phonology音位学: how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication.③Morphology形态学: The study of the way in which symbols are arranged and combined to form words.④Syntax 句法学: the study of rules that govern the combination of words to form grammatically permissible sentences in languages.⑤Semantics语义学: In most general terms language is used to convey meaning. The study of meaning is known as semantics.⑥Pragmatics语用学: Language communication does not occur in a vacuum, it always occurs in a context. The study of meaning in the context of language use is called pragmatics. Interdisciplinary branches of linguistic study: sociolinguistics社会语言学psycholinguistics 语言心理学applied linguistics 应用语言学。
语言学内容讲义 Chapter One
Chapter One Invitation to LinguisticsTeaching aims: let the students have the general idea about linguistics as the science of languageFocal points: design features; functions of languageTeaching difficulties: design features; important distinctions in linguisticsTeaching procedure：Outline of this chapter:1 Why study language?2 What is language?3 Design features of language3.1 Arbitrariness3.1.1 concept3.1.2 two levels3.1.3 Arbitrariness and convention 3.2 Duality二重性3.2.1 concept3.2.2 two levels3.2.3 advantages3.3 Creativity创造性3.3 .1 concept3.3 .2 two senses3.4 Displacement移位性3.4.1 concept3.4.2 three senses4 Origin of language语言的起源4.1 The bow-wow theory汪汪理论4.1.1 arguments4.1.2 evidence4.1.3 problem4.2 The pooh-pooh theory噗噗理论4.2.1 arguments4.2.2 evidence4.2.3 problem4.3 The ―yo-he-ho‖ theory吆嗬吆理论4.3.1 arguments4.3.2 evidence4.3.3 problem5 Functions of language语言的功能5.1 schools5.1.1 the Prague School5.1.2 the London School5.2 Functions of language6 What is linguistics? p147 Main branches of linguistics8 Macrolinguistics9 Some important distinctions in linguistics1 Why study language?Language is such an integral part of our life and humanity that too much about it has been taken for granted. For some people, language may not even be a worthy subject for academic study. They take it as a tool for access to some other fields rather than study it as a subject in and of itself. However, if you pause and think of the following myths about language, it is indeed necessary to reconsider how much we really understand the nature of language and its role in our life. And you may be surprised to realize that some of our most damaging racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic prejudices are based on our linguistic ignorance and wrong ideas about language.The following are some fundamental views about LANGUAGE, which you may instinctively agree without having thought about the reasons,or you may not agree at the moment. Follow this course and you will find they are discussed in more detail in the ensuing chapters.1）．Children learn their native language swiftly, efficiently and without instruction.2）．Language operates by rules.3). All languages have three major components; a sound system, a systemof lexico-grammar and a system of semantics.4)．Everyone speaks a dialect.5)．Language slowly changes.6)．Speakers of all languages employ a range of styles and a set of jargons.7)．Languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals that use them.8)．Writing is derivative of speech.Some people find the subject of language intriguing and useful for many different reasons. Language can be used as a way of finding out more about how the brain works, or how damage to the brain results in certain kind of language disorders, how children learn language, how people learn and teach different languages, what the relationship between meaning and perception is, what the role of language is different cultures, why people use different varieties of language, why there are linguistic differences between different groups, and how scientists make the computer work in a more human-like manner. This course book will serve as a starting point from which you may go on researching in one of the above and other language-related fields.2 What is language?Webster‘s New World Dict ionary offers several most frequently used senses of the word ―language‖, namely,Language is human speech; the ability to communicate by this means; a system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings; the written representation of such a system. (Webster's New World Dictionary)Most widely accepted definition of language is that a language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which the members of speech community communicate , interact and transmit their culture.3 Design features of languageThe features that define our human languages can be called DFESIGN FEATURES. The following are the frequently discussed ones.3.1 Arbitrariness3.1.1 conceptThe widely accepted meaning of this feature, which was discussed by Saussure, first refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning.For instance, we cannot explain why a book is called a / buk / and a pen a / pen /. However there seems to be different levels of ARBITRARINESS.3.1.2 two levels1) Word level: Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning.（1）we cannot explain why a book is called a / buk / and a pen a / pen /. （2）And we cannot explain why a book is called a / buk / in English ,书in Chinese .You may object to this when you think of words with different degrees of onomatopoeia, namely, words that sound like the sounds they describe.e.g. In Chinese, these linguistic forms seem to have a natural basis. But in English, totally different words are used to describe the sound. For example, the dog barks wow wow in English but wangwangwang in Chinese.2) Sentence level: Less arbitrariness at the syntactic level According to systemic-functionalists and American functionalists, language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level.（1）By syntax we refer to the ways that sentences are constructedaccording to the grammar of arrangement. We know, the order of elements in a sentence follows certain rules.(2)And there is a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the real happenings.In other words, syntax(sentence) is less arbitrary than words, especially in so far as this kind of order is concerned.Compare the sentence at P5:When we say (a) we refer to the sequence of actions; if we say (b) the readers will take it as meaning the opposite sequence of real happenings—perhaps he got into his wheelchair and propelled himself into the room. In (c) with the help of the word ―after‖ we can reverse the order of the clauses. Therefore the functionalists hold that the most strictly arbitrary level of language exists in the distinctive units of sounds by which we distinguish pairs of words like pin and bin, or fish and dish.3.1.3 Arbitrariness and conventionWhat then is the link between a linguistic sign and its meaning? It is a matter of CONVENTION. Here we have to look at the other side of the coin of arbitrariness, namely, conventionality.(1)Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative.(2)And conventionality of language makes learning a language laborious. For learners of a foreign language, it is the conventionality of a language that is more worth noticing that its arbitrariness.3.2 Duality二重性3.2.1 concept―By DUALITY is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization‖ (Lyons, 1982:20)3.2.2 two levels1）primary level （words）We call sounds here secondary elements as opposed to such primary units as words which convey meaning in them and have distinct and identifiable meaning, which are made up of the secondary level.2)secondary level (sounds)Roughly speaking, the elements of the spoken language are sounds, which do not convey meaning in them. The only function of sounds is to combine with one another to form units that have meaning, such as words.3.2.3advantagesNow we can perceive the advantage of duality, which lies in the great productive power our language, is endowed with. 1)Countless words can be formed out of a small set of sounds, around 48 in the case of the English language. And 2)the huge number of words can be combined together to form endless number of sentences, 3)which in turn can form unlimited number of texts.3.3 Creativity创造性3.3 .1 conceptBy creativity we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness.3.3 .2 two senses1)dualityThe creativity of language partly originates from its duality which we just discussed in the above section, namely, because of duality the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never before produced or heard.2) recursive natureLanguage is creative in another sense, that is, its potential to create endless sentences. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for this possibility. For instance, we can write a sentence like the following and go on endlessly:Eg:He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who…3.4 Displacement移位性3.4.1 conceptDISPLACEMENT means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.3.4.2 three senses1) Our language enables us to describe things in the past, now and in the future.2) Our language also enables us to communicate about things that don‘t exist or don‘t yet exist.3) Our language also makes it possible for us to talk and think inabstract terms.4 Origin of language语言的起源4.1 The bow-wow theory汪汪理论4.1.1 arguments1) In primitive times people imitated the sounds of the animal calls in the wild environment they lived and2) Speech developed from that.4.1.2 evidenceOnomatopoeic words seem to be a convenient evidence for this theory.4.1.3 problemBut in our discussion we can find they are very different in the degree of resemblance they express with the natural sounds. This theory lacks supportive evidence.4.2 The pooh-pooh theory噗噗理论4.2.1 arguments1) In the hard life of our primitive ancestors, they utter instinctive sounds of pain, anger and joy.2) And speech developed from that.4.2.2 evidenceAs for evidence, we can only cite the universal use of sounds as interjections.4.2.3 problemWhat makes the theory problematic is that there is only limited number of interjections in almost all languages. Besides, interjections such as Oh, Ah, aiyo bear little relationship with the sound system of a language and therefore are not good evidence.4.3 The ―yo-he-ho‖ theory吆嗬吆理论4.3.1 arguments1) As primitive people worked together, they produced some rhythmic grunts .2) They gradually developed into chants and then into language.4.3.2 evidenceWe do have prosodic use of rhythms in languages.4.3.3 problemRhythmic grunts are far different from language in its present sense. The theory is again at most a speculation.5 Functions of language语言的功能5.1 schoolsLinguists talk about the FUNCTIONS of language in an abstract sense, that is, not in terms of using language to chat, to think, to buy and sell, to read and write, to greet people, etc, they summarize these practical functions and attempt some broad classifications of the basic functions of language like the following:5.1.1 the Prague School1)representative: Jacobson.2)Arguments: 6 functions, based on the key elements of communication,namely: referential (to convey message and information), poetic (to indulge in language for its own sake), emotive (to express attitudes, feelings and emotions), cognitive (to persuade and influence others through commands and entreaties), phatic (to establish communion with others) and metalingual function (to clear up intentions, words and meanings).5.1.2 the London School1) representative: Halliday2) arguments: 3 functions. He proposes a theory of metafunctions of language, that is, language has IDEATIONAL, INTERPRESONAL and TEXTUAL functions. Ideational function constructs a model of experience and constructs logical relations, interpersonal function enacts social relationships and textual function creates relevance to context (Halliday, 1994)5.2 Functions of language5.2.1 Informative信息功能For most people the informative function is predominantly the major role of language.1) Language is the instrument of thought .2) Language is used to record the facts, which is a perquisite of social development.It is also called ideational function in the framework of functional grammar:1)Halliday notes that ―Language serves for the expression of ‗content‘: that is, o f the speaker‘s experience of the real world, including the innerworld of his own consciousness.2)In serving this function, language also gives structure to experience, and helps to determine our way of looking at things, so that it requires some intellectual effort to see them in any other way than that which our language suggests to us.‖ (in Lyons, 1970, p.142-3)5.2.2 Interpersonal function人际功能By far the most important sociological use of language is the interpersonal function,1）by which people establish and maintain their status in a society.2) Language serves to establish and maintain social rules.3) Language also serves in the expression and development of his own personality.4）Attached to the interpersonal function of language is its function of the expression of identity.( Language also serves in the expression of identity)5.2.3 Performative施为功能This concept originates from the philosophical study of language represented by Austin and Searle, whose theory now forms the backboneof pragmatics. (see section 8.1 below)1) The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enemies. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized.2)The performative function can extend to the control of reality as on some magical or religious occasions. For example, in Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say sui sui ping an (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling the forces which the believers feel might affect their lives.5.2.4 Emotive function感情功能According to some investigations, though the conveying of some information occurs in most uses of language, it probably represents not more than 20 percent of what takes place in verbal communication (Nida, 1998:17).1) It is a means of changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.The emotive function of language is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.2) It is a means of getting rid of our nervous energy According to David Crystal (1992: 17).When we are under stress, swear words, obscenities, involuntary verbal reactions to beautiful art or scenery can relax us; conventional words / phrases, e.g. God, My, Dam it, What a sight, Wow, Ugh, Ow…can do so ,tooIt is also discussed under the term expressive function:1)The expressive function can often by entirely personal and totally without any implication of communication to others.2)Such expressive utterances can also be a communal response of a group of people who reinforce one another‘s expressive use of language to show their solidarity.(Nida, 1998:21)The ―expressive function‖ is the use of language to reveal something about the feelings or attitudes of the speaker. Subconscious emotional ejaculations are good examples, like ―Good heavens!‖ ―My God!‖ Sentences like ―I‘m sorry about the delay‖ can serve as good examples too, though in a subtle way.5.2.5 Phatic communion交感性谈话The term PHATIC COM MUNION originates from Malinowsky‘s study of the functions of language performed by Trobiand Islanders. It refers to the social interaction of language,1) We all use such small, seemingly meaningless expressions to maintaina comfortable relationship between people without involving any factual content.2) Broadly speaking, this function refers to expressions that help define and maintain interpersonal relations.We have to learn a large repertoire of such usages such as slangs, jokes, jargons, ritualistic exchanges, switches to social and regional dialects ifthey are to interact comfortably with different people.5.2.6 Recreational function娱乐性功能1) It is performed for the sheer joy of playing on language.If you observe children‘s play, you will fin d the power of sound. Sometimes even nonsensical lyrics perform a recreational function in the game: the repetitive rhythms help to control the game, and the children plainly take great delight in it.2) Adults also have their way to appreciate language for its own sake. For instance, poetry writing gives them the pleasure of using language for its sheer beauty. We are getting very close here to Jacobson‘s poetic function.5.2.7 Metal lingual function元语言功能1) Our language can be used to talk about itself. P 132) This makes the language infinitely self-reflexive.6 What is linguistics?什么是语言p147 Main branches of linguisticsPhonetics the production of speech,Phonology studies the rules governing the structure ,the sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.Morphology the internal organization of words, the minimal units of meaning –morphemes and word-formation process.Syntax principles of forming and understanding correct English sentencesSemantics How meaning is encoded in a languagePragmatics the study of meaning in context.8 MacrolinguisticsPsycholinguistics the interrelation of language and mind in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisitionSociolinguistics the social function of language and the social characteristics of its users.Anthropological linguistics the history and structure of unwritten languagesComputational linguistics the use of computer to process or produce human language9 Some important distinctions in linguistics 9.1 Prescriptive & descriptive 规定性研究和描述性研究：前者总结语言中的标准，后者着重分析语言中的事实。
- 1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性，平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
- 2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
- 3、如文档侵犯您的权益，请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间：9:00-18:30)。
by creativity we mean language is resouceful owing to its duality and its recursiveness. Peculiar to human languages，users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before. “ A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed”
----Language can be used to refer to things, which are not present: real or imagined matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. Displacement enables people to handle generalizations and abstractions.
Systematic---- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; can’t be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat.
Arbitrary---- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”----Shakespeare
2. Phonology----sound patterns of languages (the rules governing the structure,distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables) Distinctions between phonetics (chaos )and phonology(order)
Morphology----the form of words It studies the minimal units of meaning and word-formation processes. 4. Syntax----the rules governing the combination of words into sentence. E.g. The children watched the firework from the hill.
It
refers to the property of having two levels of structures: units of the primary level being composed of elements of the secondary level and each level having its own principles of organization. Lower level----sounds (meaningless) Higher level----meaning (larger units of meaning)
From these explanation we can conclude that language can be defined as a means of verbal communication. It is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act. It is social and conventional / arbitrary in that language is a social semiotic and communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such associated factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and socio-cultural roles.
1. Phonetics----speech sound
(description, classification, transcription) which includes three levels: Articulatory phonetics, Acoustic phonetics, Auditory phonetics. Channel Speaker ……… Listener
5. Semantics----the meaning of language (when the meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use----Pragmatics) 6. Pragmatics---the study of meaning in context the study of the use of signs and the relationship between signs and their users.
Vocal---- the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form.
Human-specific---- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries Arbitrariness Duality Productivity/Creativity Displacement
Webster’s New World Dictionary offers several most frequently used senses of the word “language”. [1] (a) human speech (b) the ability to communicate by this means (c) a system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings; (d) the written representation of such a system [2] (a) any means of expressing or communicating, as gestures, signs, or animal sounds (b) a special set of symbols letters, numerals rules etc. used for the transmission of information.
Applied
linguistics----linguistics and language teaching social factors (e.g. class, education) affect language use behavior
Sociolinguistics----
Psycholinguistics----linguprocess
Anthropological linguistics: anthropological linguists are interested primarily in the history and structure of formerly unwritten languages. Computational linguistics (e.g. machine translation): an interdisciplinary field which centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language.
许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学, 至少不够严谨.他对语言的定义做了如下概括:语 言是一种符号系统. 当它作用于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达 相互反应的中介; 当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认 知事物的工具; 当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体
Oral language: a human natural language in which the words are uttered through the mouth. Written language: a conventional system of graphic signs (or letters),compared to spoken English. Sign language: using the hands, arms, and face rather than parts of the mouth as their place of articulation.