语言学简明教程Chapter1.ppt

1,Linguistics: An Introduction School of Foreign Languages Gu Tongqing,2,Linguistics: course description,English linguistics is a basic course on the systematic explanation of the linguistic theories mainly about English language. It is a required course for students majoring in English education. Only when students learn linguistics well, can they grasp the English linguistic skills systematically, have a solid basic foundation of English teaching methodology, study English literature and practice translation well enough. In other words, linguistics is the systematic study of language. It aims to answer the basic questions of “what is language” and “how does language work”. What we are going to discuss in this course includes: -the sound of language -the lexicon and grammar of language -the meaning of language -the writing system of language -language change ,3,Course objectives -to introduce the basic knowledge about (mainly English) linguistics -to help students systematically understand the sounds, words, grammar, meaning of languages (especially English language) -to help students understand the relationship between language and context, language and culture, language and society etc,4,Course assessment,Class attendance & participation (10%) A mini-paper on language & linguistics (10%) Final examination (80%),5,Questions,1. What is linguistics ? 2. Why do we study linguistics?,6,3. To be a qualified teacher of a language,2. To learn a language better ( for example English),1. To know more about language,4. To get higher marks in TEM 8,5. To take the entrance exam to be a postgraduate of a language,6. To do research,Why do we need to study linguistics?,7. ,7,The use of linguistics: -Why do we usually add “im-” in front of words beginning with /p/ or /m/ and “in-” before words beginning with /t/ or /d/? -Why do we pronounce /l/ differently when it occurs in different positions of words? /li:d/, /fi:l/, /hel/, /plei/ -Why is it possible for us to mean more than or even the opposite of what is actually said? . .,8,Chapter 1 Language and Linguistics,1.1 Introduction to Linguistics (definition, scope & history) 1.2 What is language? 1.3 Properties of language 1.4 Body Languages and Other Languages 1.5 Functions of Language 1.6 Some Distinctions in Linguistics (FAQ),9,It is a major branch of social science. Linguistics studies not just one language of any society, but the language of all human societies-language in general. Linguistics studies the general principles upon which all languages are constructed and operate as a system of communication in the societies in which they are used.,What is Linguistics ?,Linguistics can be defined as the scientific study of language.,1.1 Introduction to Linguistics,10,:,11,Linguistics is guided by several acknowledged principles:,Systematicity Exhaustiveness Objectivity Consistency Economy,12,Scope of Linguistics,1. General Linguistics (in theory):,2. Macro linguistics ( Application of Linguistics),3. Other classifications of linguistics,Next,13,General Linguistics (in theory): Phonetics (语音学) Phonology (音系学) Morphology (形态学/词形学) Syntax (句法学) Semantics (语义学) Pragmatics (语用学) .,Core of linguistics,14,Sociolinguistics （社会语言学） Psycholinguistics （心理语言学） Corpus linguistics （语料库语言学） Computational linguistics （计算语言学) Stylistic linguistics （stylistics) (文体学/语体学） Applied linguistics (应用语言学） ,2. Macro linguistics ( Application of Linguistics),Cross-disciplines or interdisciplinary studies,15,3. Other Classifications of Linguistics (linguistic schools),Functional linguistics (功能语言学） Structural linguistics （结构语言学） Chomskyan linguistics （乔姆斯基语言学） Hallidayan linguistics（韩礼德语言学） ,16,5th century BC, Ancient Greeks began to study language Ancient (Plato), word origin & word class of Greek 15th century, universal grammar (Europe encountered other languages which forced scholars to look for a universal grammar.) 18th century, the similarities of some languages (1786, Sir William Jones , the historical kinship of Sanskrit with Lain, Greek and the Germanic languages.) 19th century, historical comparison of different languages early 20th century, modern linguistics (1916, F. de Saussure, Course in General linguistics),History of Linguistics,17,The historical development of linguistics,-Philology (语文学） ( 5th cen BC18th cen) -Historical (comparative) linguistics (early 19th cen) -Modern （synchronic） linguistics (1916-) (Course in General Linguistics, Ferdinand de. Saussure),18,F. de Saussure (1857-1913),索绪尔,19,Biography 1857年生于瑞士日内瓦的一个学者家庭。 1875年进入日内瓦大学，主修化学和物理。 1876年转入德国莱比锡大学文学系，主攻历史语言学。 1878年发表论印欧语元音的原始系统，轰动语言界。 1878年赴柏林大学学习18个月。 1880年获莱比锡大学博士学位，论文梵语绝对属格的用法 1880年秋开始任教巴黎高等学院，长达10年。成立法兰西学派。 1891年就任日内瓦大学文学社会科学系教授。 1907-1911年连续三次讲授普通语言学课程。 1913年病逝于日内瓦。,20,惊人的语言天赋： 幼年就学会了法语、德语、英语、拉丁语和希腊语。 不到15岁就写了论诸语言一文。 认真的教学态度： 曾开设日耳曼比较语法，拉丁语希腊语比较语法，立陶宛语， 印欧语言比较， 希腊与拉丁语音学，古代希腊碑文选读，波斯诸王碑文，欧洲地理语言学， 日耳曼历史语言学，古英语，古高地德语， 三次讲授普通语言学。连续21年讲授梵文。 严谨的治学精神： 平生只发表过一篇论文。 “我通常感到在语言问题上，要写上十行言之成理的文字也有困难。”（许国璋 1983：5）,21,Course in General Linguistics (1916) J. Culler (an important figure of the structuralism movement of literary theory and criticism.) says: “Ferdinand de Saussure is the father of modern linguistics, the man who reorganized the systematic study of language and languages in such a way as to make possible the achievements of the 20th century linguistics.”,22,乔姆斯基,Noam Chomsky (1928-) TG Grammar,有三种简单而强大的情感主宰着我的一生：对爱的渴望、对真理的追求、对苦难大众的巨大悲悯。 -罗素,23,24,Chomsky is: both a linguist and a social reformer. the worlds most influential living thinker. the most-quoted writer in history following Marx, Lenin, Shakespeare, the Bible (treated as an author), Aristotle, Plato and Freud. The result of the global public intellectuals pool, held by Prospect and Foreign Policy in 2005, shows that Chomsky is the first most influential public intellectual in the world. This is partly due to his research on social affairs and his independent views on American domestic and foreign policies.,25,M.A.K. Halliday,韩礼德 Systemic-Functional Grammar (SFG),26,Halliday was born and raised in England. He took a BA Honours degree in Modern Chinese Language and Literature (Mandarin) at the University of London. He then lived for three years in China, where he studied under Luo Changpei at Peking and under Wang Li at Lingnan University, before returning to take a PhD in Chinese Linguistics at Cambridge. Having taught Chinese for a number of years, he changed his field of specialization to linguistics, and developed systemic functional grammar, elaborating on the foundations laid by his British teacher J. R. Firth and a group of European linguists of the early 20th century, the Prague School.,27,1.2 What is language?,Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.,system-elements in it are arranged according to certain rules. They cannot be arranged at will.,arbitrary-there is no intrinsic (logic) connection between a sign and its meaning.,vocal-the primary medium for all languages is sound, no matter how well developed their writing systems are.,28,symbols-words are just the symbols associated with objects, actions, ideas by convention.,human-specific-human beings have different kinds of brains and vocal capacity. Only human have language. “Language Acquisition Device” (LAD),29,Arbitrariness（任意性） Duality（双重性） Productivity （创造性） Cultural transmission （文化传递性）,1.3 Properties of language 语言的结构特征 (Design features),next,back,30,1. Arbitrariness-the form of linguistic signs(eg. words, phases) bear no natural relationship to their meaning. The link between them is a matter of convention E.g. “house”, uchi (Japanese), mansion (French), 房子(Chinese) “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” -Shakespeare,31,Conventionality-In any language, there are certain sequences of sounds that have a conventionally accepted meaning. Those words are customarily used by all speakers with the same intended meaning and understood by all listeners in the same way.,32,Iconicity: (There is a natural connection between form and meaning.) -onomatopoeic words: rumble, crash, crackle, bang, 叮咚，轰隆，咔嚓 -compound words: typewriter, washing machine -phrases(proximity iconicity) the famous delicious Italian pepperoni pizza the old black wooden desk -sentences (sequencing iconicity) He came in and sat down. He sat down and came in. He sat down after he came in.,33,Icons（图形） are physically similar to the objects represented. Eg. road traffic sign. Indexical（指示）：there is a causal relation between sign and referent. Eg. Smoke is indexical of fire. Symbolic (象征): serving as a symbol of something. Eg. the word in language, the formula in mathematics are symbols. These symbols are arbitrary as well as conventional.,34,2. Duality-language is a system which consists of two sets of structures, or two levels, and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization. Higher level-units which are meaningful Lower level-sounds which are meaningless. They can be grouped and regrouped into meaningful units. This is the most economical feature of language.,35,Examples,/k/, /p/, /a:/ /pa:k/, /ka:p/ /m/, /ai/, /n/, /t/, /i:/,36,Language is hierarchical:,discourse/texts sentences words morphemes sounds,The advantage of duality, which lies in the great productive power our language is endowed with. A large number of different units can be formed out of a small number of elements- for instance, tens of thousands of words out of a small set of sounds, around 48 in the case of the English language. And out of the huge number of words, there can be astronomical number of possible sentences and phrases, which in turn can combine to form unlimited number of texts.,37,PAUSE and RECALL,How about traffic lights?,38,3. Productivity (creativity)- Language is resourceful. It makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. when new situations arise or new objects have to be described, the language users manipulate their linguistic resources to produce new expressions and new sentences.,39,Source of productivity/creativity Duality of language（结构二重性） Recursiveness (递归性)： He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who,40,Do worker bees display creativity?,In one experiment, a hive of bees was placed at the foot of a radio tower and a food source at the top. Ten bees were taken to the top, shown the food source, and sent off to tell the rest of the hive about their find. The message was conveyed via a bee dance and the whole gang buzzed off to get the free food. They flew around in all directions, but couldnt locate the food. According to Karl von Frisch, who conducted the experiment, “the bees have no word for up in their language”. Moreover, they cannot invent one.,41,4. Cultural transmission Language is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning rather than by instinct. the case of “the wolf child”,15,4,42,Genie 1957年4月出生，从20个月起被关在小房子里，发出任何声音就受到父亲惩罚；大部分时间被捆在婴儿椅，或在婴儿床的睡袋里，床上罩着金属丝网 14岁时被发现，基本无语言。 给予语言训练，但语法进步缓慢。 两词句，正常孩子只要几个星期，但她超过5个月 使用No Mummy go这样的句式超过两年 难以学会疑问句 （Boeckx，2010：51）,43,Chimpanzees and language: Gua, Viki, Washoe, Sarah and Lana Non-human primates do not have a physically structured vocal tract which is suitable for producing human speech sounds. Apes and gorillas can, like chimpanzees, communicate with a wide range of vocal calls, but they just cannot speak.,44,Review: 1. What is linguistics? 2. What is language? 3. What are the design features of language? (or properties of language) 4. In theory, how can linguistics be classified? 5. Who is the forefather of modern linguistics? 6. What is Halliday famous for? 7. What is Chomsky famous for?,45,Examples: Hand to cheek Tapping or drumming fingers Tilted head Biting nails ,1.4 Body Languages and Other “Languages”,Qs: 1）What is body language? Can you name some kind of body language? 2）Is it language? Why or why not?,thinking,Impatience,Interest,Insecurity, nervousness,46,According to Halliday(2003), there are three broad functions of language: Ideational function（概念功能） Interpersonal function （人际功能） Textual function（语篇功能）,1.5 Functions of Language,47,Ideational function（概念功能）: to convey new information unknown to the hearer. Interpersonal function （人际功能） : to express social and personal relations; the ways speaker enters into a speech situation and performs a speech act. Textual function（语篇功能）: to make any stretch of spoken or written discourse into a coherent and unified text and make a living message different from a random list of sentences. “John saw a handbag in a field. John walked across a field and picked up a handbag, John took a handbag to the police station and John.,48,Ideational function: 语言是对存在于主客观世界的过程和事物的反映，这是“经验”功能。逻辑功能以表现为并列关系和从属关系的线性的循环结构的形式出现。由于两者都是建立于说话人对外部世界和内心世界的经验，与其它功能相比较是中性的，因而可统称为“概念”功能。 Interpersonal function：语言是社会人有意义的活动，是做事的手段，是动作，因此它的功能之一必然是反映人与人之间的关系，如反映说话人和听话人之间的社会地位和亲疏关系。这个纯理功能称为“人际”功能。 Textual function：实际使用中的语言的基本单位不是词或句这样的语法单位，而是表达相对完整思想的语篇。上述两种功能部分最后要由说话人把它们组织成语篇才能实现。这就是“语篇”功能。语篇功能使语言和语境发生联系，使说话人只能生成与情境相一致和相称的语篇。,49,Ideational function: “观察者”的功能（指说话人对主客观世界的观察） Interpersonal function: “闯入者”的功能，（指向他人灌输自己的思想） Textual function: “相关”功能（指语篇的完整性、一致性和衔接性）。,50,Other classifications of the functions of language,Informative function (信息功能) Interpersonal function (人际交往功能) Performative function (行事功能) Emotive function (感情功能) Phatic function (寒暄功能) Recreational function (娱乐功能) Metalingual function (元语言功能),51,Informative function(信息功能) the major role of language,Convey information Serve for the expression of content and give structure to experience,52,Interpersonal function(人际交往功能) the most important sociological use of language,Establish and maintain peoples status in a society Express and mark peoples identity,53,Interaction between the addresser and addressee in the discourse situation and the addressers attitude toward what he speaks or writes about,Address others and refer to themselves,Dear professor His Highness Prince Charles will attend the meeting. 查尔斯亲王殿下将出席本次会议。 Sincerely yours, Wang Ning,54,Performative function(行事功能),Change the social status of persons; the language in the performative function is usually quite formal and ritualized. Extend to the control of reality as on some magical or religious occasions. -I appoint you head of the class. -I name this ship Titanic. -You are fired. -I now pronounce you man and wife.,55,Marriage ceremony,formal,ritualized,盖头,结发,拜天地、高堂,夫妻对拜,掀盖头,结发仪式,三拜九叩,56,This function is also discussed under the term expressive function which can often be entirely personal and totally without any implication to others.,Emotive function(感情功能) one of the most powerful uses of language,57,Oh, my God！,e.g. Swear words Obscenities(猥 亵语言),Conventional words: God, My, Damn it, what a sight, wow, oh,58,Phatic function(寒暄功能),It originates from Malinowskis study of the functions of language performed by Trobriand Islanders. We all use such small, seemingly meaningless expressions to maintain a comfortable relationship between people without involving any factual content.,59,Bless you,Mr. p sneezes violently. Mr. Q Bless you Mr. P Thank you,60,To express sheer joy,Verbal dueling （口头决斗）,对歌,To appreciate language for its own sake,Poetry,The power of sound,To control a game,醉花阴,Dragon Boat Race,Recreational Function (娱乐功能),61,醉花阴 薄雾浓云愁永昼， 瑞脑消金兽。 佳节又重阳， 玉枕纱橱， 半夜凉初透。 东篱把酒黄昏後， 有暗香盈袖。 莫道不消魂， 帘卷西风，,人比黄花瘦。,62,Metalingual function,Language is used to describe languge. Our language can be used to talk about itself. Eg: “the” is a definite article which is used before nouns.,63,1.6 Some Distinctions in Linguistics (FAQ) (1) Description vs. Prescription (2) Synchronic vs. Diachronic (6) Modern linguistics vs. Traditional grammar,64,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. ,65,Prescriptive rules:,You should say: It is I. Do not say: It is me. Dont say: Who did you speak to? Say: Whom did you speak to?,66,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. ,67,synchronic linguistics,diachronic linguistics (historical),68,索绪尔的共时与历时观-“tree trunk”,见教程 87页,69,A,B,C,D,Axis CD represents the historical development of language or language change in the course of time. It is diachronic study.,Axis AB represents the relations among co-existed linguistic phenomena, without considering the element of time. It is synchronic study.,70,Modern linguistics is descriptive, which means its investigations are based on authentic, and mainly spoken language data. Modern linguistics mainly describes and analyses the facts of language. Traditional grammar is prescriptive; it is based on “high” written language. It tries to lay down rules for “correct” or standard language behavior. Modern linguistics is mainly synchronic, focusing on the present-day language. Unless the various states of a language are successfully studied, it will not be possible to de