Linguistics

Chapter 1 Introduction: Language and Linguistics

l        What is language?

n        Different definitions of language

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

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

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

n        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.

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

l        Features of human language

n        Creativity

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

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

n        Duality

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

u      Certain sounds or sequences of sounds stand for certain meanings.

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

n        Arbitrariness

u      The relationship between the two subsystems of language is arbitrary.

u      There is no logical connection between sound and meaning.

n        Displacement

u      There is no limit in time or space for language.

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

n        Cultural transmission

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

u      Language is a way of transmitting culture.

n        Interchangeability

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

n        Reflexivity

u      Human languages can be used to describe themselves.

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

l        Functions of language – three meta-functions

n        The ideational function

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

n        The interpersonal function

u      To get along in a community.

n        The textual function

u      To form a text.

l        Types of language

n        Genetic classification

n        Typological classification

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

u      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

u      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

l        The myth of language – language origin

n        The Biblical account

u      Language was God’s gift to human beings.

n        The bow-wow theory

u      Language was an imitation of natural sounds, such as the cries of animals, like quack, cuckoo.

n        The pooh-pooh theory

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

n        The yo-he-ho theory

u      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.

n        The evolution theory

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

l        What is linguistics?

n        Linguistics is the scientific study of language.

u      Observing & questioning

u      Formulating hypotheses

u      Verifying the hypotheses

u      Proposing a theory

n        Branches of linguistics

u      Internal branches: intra-disciplinary divisions

l        Phonetics

l        Phonology

l        Morphology

l        Syntax

l        Semantics

u      External branches: inter-disciplinary divisions

l        Pragmatics

l        Psycholinguistics

l        Sociolinguistics

l        Applied linguistics

l        Computational linguistics

l        Neurolinguistics

n        Features of linguistics

u      Descriptive

u      Dealing with spoken language

u      Synchronic