《新编简明英语语言学教程》教案

河池学院课时计划（教案）

Chapter 1 Introduction

Date: March 12, 2007

Teaching aims: let the students have the general idea about language and linguistics. Teaching difficulties:design features of language ; some important distinctions in

linguistics

Teaching procedures

1.What is linguistics?

1.1Definition

Linguistics is a scientific study of language. It is a major branch of social science.

Linguistics studies not just one language of any society, but the language of all human society, language in general.

A scientific study is one which is based on the systematic investigation of data,

conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.

observation------generalization-----hypothesis------tested by further

observation------theory

1.2Main branches (scope) of linguistics

General linguistics—the study of language as a whole.

1) main branches

phonetics 语音学– the study of sounds used in linguistic communication

phonology 音系学（音位学）-- the study of how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication.

morphology词法学—the study of the way in which these symbols are arranged and combined to form words

syntax 句法学– the study of the rules which govern the combination of words to form grammatically permissible sentences in languages.

semantics 语义学—the study of meaning.

pragmatics 语用学—the study of meaning in the context of language use

2) interdisciplinary (跨学科的)branches of linguistic study

sociolinguistics – the study of all social aspects of language and its relation with

society. E.g. language used and social background(the

difference between the educated and uneducated people);

language used and certain occasion( formal and informal

settings); language change and social change (new words) psycholinguistics – 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 wee memorize, and how we process the

information we receive in the course of communication.

Applied linguistics – 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 generally known as

applied linguistics. In a narrow sense it refers to the

application of linguistic theories and principles to language

teaching, especially the teaching of foreign and second

languages.

1.3Important distinctions in linguistics

a.Descriptive vs. prescriptive “描写式”和“规定式”

They 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” behavior in using language, i. e. to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive.

Grammar – prescriptive Modern linguistics – descriptive

b.Synchronic vs. diachronic“共时”和“历时”

The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study; the description of language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A diachronic study is a historical study; it studies the historical development of language over a period of time.

Synchronic (modern linguistics) diachronic (historical study)

c.speech and writing

first learned and taught

ngue & parole“语言”和“言语”

The distinction was made by the Swiss linguist Saussure in the early 20th century.

Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community. (conventions and rules – abstract – not spoken by anyone–stable)

parole refers to the realization of language in actual use. (realizations of language – concrete—a naturally occurring event – changeable)

langue: 1) the abstract system

2) it is social, a set of conventions

3) relatively stable and systematic

parole: 1) the actualization of language

2) it is personal, it is the concrete use of conventions

3) it is more variable and may alter

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.