英语语言学笔记

英语语言学笔记

Linguistics Chapter 1

Introduction: Language and Linguistics

What is language?

Different definitions of language

Language is a system whose parts can and must be considered in their synchronic solidarity. (de Saussure, 1916)

[Language is] a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements. (Chomsky, 1957)

Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.

Each of the definitions above has pointed out some aspects of the essence of language, but all of them have left out something. We must see the multi-faceted nature of language.

As is agreed by linguists in broad terms, language can be defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.

Features of human language

Creativity

Language provides opportunities for sending messages that have never been sent before and for understanding brand new messages.

The grammar rules and the words are finite, but the sentences are infinite. Every speaker uses language creatively.

Duality

Language contains two subsystems, one of sounds and the other of meanings.

Certain sounds or sequences of sounds stand for certain meanings.

Certain meanings are conveyed by certain speech sounds or sequences of speech sounds. Arbitrariness

The relationship between the two subsystems of language is arbitrary.

There is no logical connection between sound and meaning.

Displacement

There is no limit in time or space for language.

Language can be used to refer to things real or imagined, past, present or future.

Cultural transmission

Culture cannot be genetically transmitted. Instead, it must be learned.

Language is a way of transmitting culture.

Interchangeability

All members of a speech community can send and receive messages.

Reflexivity Human languages can be used to describe themselves.

The language used to talk about language is called meta-language.

Functions of language –three meta-functions

The ideational function

To identify things, to think, or to record information.

The interpersonal function To get along in a community.

The textual function To form a text.

Types of language

Genetic classification

Typological classification

Analytic language –no inflections or formal changes, grammatical relationships are shown through word order, such as Chinese and Vietnamese

Synthetic language –grammatical relationships are expressed by changing the internal structure of the words, typically by changing the inflectional endings, such as English and German Agglutinating language –words are built out of a long sequence of units, with each unit expressing a particular grammatical meaning, such as Japanese and Turkish

The myth of language –language origin

The Biblical account

Language was God’s gift to human beings.

The bow-wow theory

Language was an imitation of natural sounds, such as the cries of animals, like quack, cuckoo. The pooh-pooh theory

Language arose from instinctive emotional cries, expressive of pain or joy.

The yo-he-ho theory

Language arose from the noises made by a group of people engaged in joint labour or effort –lifting a huge hunted game, moving a rock, etc.

The evolution theory

Language originated in the process of labour and answered the call of social need.

What is linguistics?

Linguistics is the scientific study of language.

Observing & questioning Formulating hypotheses Verifying the hypotheses Proposing a theory Branches of linguistics

Internal branches: intra-disciplinary divisions

Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics

External branches: inter-disciplinary divisions

Pragmatics Psycholinguistics Sociolinguistics Applied linguistics Computational linguistics Neurolinguistics

Features of linguistics

Descriptive Dealing with spoken language Synchronic

Chapter 2 Phonetics

What is phonetics?

Phonetics is termed as the study of speech sounds.

Sub-branches of phonetics

Articulatory phonetics –the production of speech sounds

Acoustic phonetics –the physical properties of speech sounds

Auditory phonetics –the perceptive mechanism of speech sounds

The speech organs

Where does the air stream come from? From the lung

What is the function of vocal cords? Controlling the air stream

What are the cavities? Oral cavity Pharyngeal cavity Nasal cavity Transcription of speech sounds Units of representation Segments (the individual sounds)

Phonetic symbols