语言学概论Chapter 1 What is Language

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. (19941985) 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 Chicago Press.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 University Press. 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。 1.1 The Significance of Language 1.2 What Is Language? 1.3 The Functions of Language 1.4 What Is a Language? 1.5 The Elements of Language1.1 The Significance of LanguageThe human race dominates life on Earth. How comes it that human beings rather than other animals dominates the world? Not because they can use tools. Chimpanzees can use tools, too. They strip twigs and use them to extract termites from their nest. Not because they have a complex social structure with its hierarchies and its division of labor. The chimpanzees and termites both live in social groups. Chimpanzee females live on individual home ranges within a territory that is defended by a group of related males. Termites live in a colony with three castes: reproductives, workers and soldiers. Not because they have the ability to conceptualize, to learn, to solve problems. Chimpanzees can be trained to respond in accordance with different symbolic gestures. But because they can speak. Why cant chimpanzees or bees build power stations as humans do?Chimpanzees can learn to respond in accordance with different symbolic gestures, but they can not speak.Honey-bees have a remarkable way of letting others know the direction in which a source of nectar lies and how far away it is by means of a “dance”, but they could not speak in the real sense of the word.Human language is infinitely versatile and powerful. One frequently-quoted illustration comes from the Bible: The Tower of Babel. Babel n. a.【圣】(古巴比伦人建筑未成的)通天塔(上帝因他们狂妄, 责罚他们各操不同的语言, 彼此不相了解, 结果该塔无法完成。见旧约创世纪。)b. babel 喻摩天楼; 难以实现的计划The Tower of BabylonAnd the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. (From this textbook)11 At first, the people of the whole world had only one language and used the same words. As they wandered about in the East, they came to a plain in Babylonia and settled there. They said to one another, “Come on! Lets make bricks and bake them hard.” So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together. They said, “Now lets build a city with a tower that reaches the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.”Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which those men had built, and he said, “Now then, these are all one people and they speak one language; this is just the beginning of what they are going to do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want! Let us go down and mix up their language so that they will not understand each other.” So the LORD scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. The city was called Babylon, because there the LORD mixed up the language of all the people, and from there he scattered them all over the earth. (From Good News Bible, pp11-12, Genesis)(Babylon: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “mixed up”. Babylon n.巴比伦, 奢华淫靡的城市, 任何大的富庶的或罪恶的城市 )Extra Material about the Tower of Babel:The Tower of BabelNow the whole earth had one language and few words. And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar 【Shinar n.希纳尔(基督教圣经中提到的名称,即苏美尔或巴比伦尼亚地区)】 and settled there. And they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and bitumen 【n.沥青】 for mortar 【n.灰泥vt.用灰泥涂抹, 用灰泥结合】. Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the earth, and they left off 【停止】 building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the earth. - Genesis 11. The story of the tower of Babel found in the Bible is familiar to many. Is there evidence that such a tower really existed? There are archaeological indications that it did, indeed. In the fertile Mesopotamian 【美所不达米亚：西南亚的底格里斯和幼发拉底两河流域地区】plain between the Tigris 【n.底格里斯河(西南亚，流经土尔其和伊拉克)】 and Euphrates 【n.幼发拉底河】 rivers, in what is now modern Iraq, is a mound, or tell 【传说】, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris. This is all that remains of the ancient famed city of Babylon 【n.巴比伦, 奢华淫靡的城市, 任何大的富庶的或罪恶的城市】. Babylon was one of a number of cities built by a succession of peoples that lived on the plain starting around 5,500 years ago. There developed a tradition in each city of building a temple in the shape of a stepped pyramid. These temples, or ziggurats n.古代亚述及巴比伦之金字形神塔(顶上有神殿), most likely honored a particular god. The people of Mesopotamia believed in many gods and often a city might have several ziggurats. Over time Babylon became the most influential city on the plain and its ziggurat, honoring the god Marduk n.马杜克( 古代巴比伦人的主神, 原为巴比伦的太阳神), was built, destroyed and rebuilt until it was the tallest tower. Ziggurat:n. (in ancient Mesopotamia) a rectangular stepped tower, sometimes attested 证明 in the late 3rd millennium BC and probably inspired the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.Archaeologists examining the remains of the city of Babylon have found what appears to be the foundation of the tower: a square of earthen embankments 【n.堤防, 筑堤】 some three-hundred feet on each side. The towers most splendid incarnation 【n.赋予肉体, 具人形, 化身】 was probably under King Nebuchadnezzar II 【n.尼布甲尼撒二世(古巴比伦国王,攻占耶路撒冷,建空中花园)】who lived from 605-562 BC. The King rebuilt the tower to stand 295 feet high. According to an inscription made by the king the tower was constructed of baked brick enameled 【n.珐琅, 瓷釉, 指甲油 vt.涂以瓷釉, 彩饰】 in brilliant blue.” The terraces of the tower may have also been planted with flowers and trees. Constructing ziggurats on the Mesopotamian plain was not easy. The area lacks the stone deposits the Egyptians used effectively for their timeless monuments. The wood available is mostly palm, not the best for construction, so the people used what they had in abundance: mud and straw. The bulk of the towers were constructed of crude bricks made by mixing chopped straw with clay and pouring the results into molds. After the bricks were allowed to bake in the sun they were joined in construction by using bitumen, a slimy material imported from the Iranian plateau. Bitumen was used widely as a binding and coating material throughout the Mesopotamian plain. The tower, referred to by the Babylonians as Etemenanki, was only one of the marvels of the city. Down the street was the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Nebuchadnezzar also had two impressive palaces inside the city. The final beginning of the end of the tower of Babel probably began around 478 BC. The city had been taken over by the Persian King Xerxes who crushed a rebellion there that year. The tower was neglected and crumbled . Because of the use of mud-baked bricks, ziggurats needed constant maintenance. Often they had elaborate internal drainage systems to channel rain water away so that the bricks would not be eroded. If the pipes on a ziggurat were not cleaned regularly and allowed to jam the tower would slowly crumble. Ziggurats were also highly susceptible to earthquake damage. Their height amplified the effect of quake forces while the rigid, unreinforced-brick construction did not allow the structures to flex (伸缩) with the shaking. Although the Tower of Babel now gone, a few lesser ziggurats still exist. The largest surviving (although damaged) temple is now found in western Iran, in what was once the ancient land of Elam 【n.埃兰(亚洲西南部一古国)】. It is located about 18 miles from the capital of Elam, a city named Susa 【苏萨(伊朗西部古代遗址, 古代埃兰 Elam 王国的首都)】. Built in 1250 BC by the King Untash-Napirisha it once had five levels and stood 170 feet in height. What we know about the Tower of Babel today comes only from the little archaeological evidence found and a few ancient writings. Nebuchadnezzar described how gold, silver and precious stones from the mountain and from the sea were liberally set into the foundations and how to rebuild it he called on various peoples of the Empire, from north and south, from mountains and the coasts to help with the construction. Even in 460 BC, after the tower had been crumbling for many years, the Greek historian Herodotus 【n.（希腊的历史学家）希罗多德（约公元前485-约公元前425）】visited the tower and was very impressed. It has a solid central tower, one furlong 【n.浪, 弗隆, 英国长度单位，1/8哩或201.167米】 square, with a second erected on top of it and then a third, and so on up to eight. All eight towers can be climbed by a spiral way running around the outside, and about halfway up there are seats for those who make the journey to rest on. Though the tower has been gone for many years, its biblical story has continued to inspire artists. It was a favorite subject during the 14th century when several well-known paintings were done. As archaeological and historical research has shown most were not truly representative of the actual building.1.2 What Is Language? Animals can communicate by means of sight, smell or sound, but as we said before, they can not speak.A number of features of human language listed by Charles F. Hocket (1958):Interchangeability: the ability to transmit information and receive such information.Productivity: the ability to vary a message to reflect differences in the circumstances concerned.Cultural transmission: the ability to learn from others. (not instinctive)Definition by Edward Sapir (1921):Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. The element “symbols” reflects the fact that there is rarely an inherent association between a word and the object or concept that it denotes (Arbitrary is the usual word). Any sequence of sounds can serve to denote an object as long as the speakers of the language concerned make the same association. Take the animal “dog” ( a domesticated carnivorous adj.食肉类的 mammal that typically has a long snout, an acute sense of smell, non-retractile adj.伸缩自如的 claws, and a barking, howling or whining voice. It is widely kept as a pet or for work or field sports. ) for example:Chinese: gouEnglish: dogSpanish: perroFrench: chienDutch: hondThe element “system” reflects the fact that language provides us with the framework for generating appropriate utterances rather than providing us with an infinite store of ready-made utterances. Definition given by a modern British linguist, David Crystal (1989):The discussion may be summarized by referring to language as human vocal noise (or the graphic representation of this noise in writing) used systematically and conventionally by a community for purposes of communication. Although there is a danger of definitions of language being simplistic, it might help us to focus our study of language if we try to distil a definition. Definition given by Stuart C. Poole:Language is a form of human communication by means of a system of symbols principally transmitted by vocal sounds. Now compare this definition with that given by Professor Hu Zhuangling in Linguistics: A Course Book:Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 1.3 The Functions of LanguageThe function of language is varied and linguists have different terms for the different functions of language. Functions listed in this book:Phatic communion (交际性谈话): the use of speech with the aim of establishing or maintaining social relations. E.g. How do you do? How are you? Lovely day, isnt it?Emotive utterance (情绪性言辞)： an expression of emotion such as surprise, anger, happiness. E.g. Thats fantastic! Shit! Son of the bitch! Great!Performative utterance (述行语)：the utterance spoken by somebody with relevant authority. E.g. I declare this bridge open. A major function of language is communication, but the word communication is too general in sense. Professor Hu Zhuangling has listed seven basic functions of language (obviously finer distinctions have been made) in Linguistics: A Course Book:a. Phatic (寒暄)The Phatic function refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging information or ideas. Greetings, farewells, and comments on the weather serve this function. b. Directive (指令)When language is used to get the hearer do something, it serves a Directive function. E.g. (Imperative) Shut the door; Pass the salt, please. (Sentences) You should leave right now. I advise you not to do it. (Subjunctive Mood) If I were you, I would take it. c. Informative (传达信息)Language serves an Informative function when it is used to tell what the speaker believes, to give information about facts, or to reason things out. This function is characterized by the use of declarative sentences and is most often used in all branches of learning. e.g. Water boils at 212 degree Fahrenheit. d. Interrogative (询问)When language is used to get information from others, it serves an interrogative function. This includes all questions that expect answers, such as “When did he come?”“How do you feel now?”e. Expressive (表白)The expressive function is the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker. E.g. Good heavens! My God! I am extremely sorry about it. Here language is used to evaluate, appraise and assert the speakers attitudes. f. Evocative （唤发情感）The evocative function is the use of language to create certain feelings in the hearer. Its aim is to amuse, startle, anger, soothe, worry or please. E.g. Jokes are designed to amuse or entertain the audience; advertising is devised to urge customers to buy the mentioned goods; propaganda aims to influence public opinion along a certain line. g. Performative (述行、言语行为)Language is used to do things, to perform actions. E.g. I sentence you to ten years of hard labour. I name the ship Warrior. 1.4 What Is a Language?Language stands in contrast with “a language”. Language, the faculty for communication by speech sounds, is a universal characteristic of the human race. But we do not share one medium of communication.A language is a medium of communication specific to a society; it forms part of the culture of that society. Being a feature of the human race, “language” is inherited genetically, whereas we acquire “a language” from the society in which we spend our first years. E.g. a child born in Russia of Russian parents will acquire Arabic if it is taken away from its parents and spends its earliest years in an Arabic environment in, say, Jordan or Algeria. 1.5 The Elements of LanguageLexis: the study of words. Semantics: the study of meaning and of the relationship between word and the real world.Phonetics: the study of speech sounds.Phonology: the study of speech sounds in the context of language systems.Morphology: the study of the structure of words. Syntax: the study of the structure of phrases and sentences.Regional variation and social variation: This is the field of sociolinguistics. Language used in a community varies with the regions where the speakers live and with the classes the speakers belong to. The choice of words, the sentence structures, and the sound features often differ from class to class or from region to region. Historical linguistics: the study of changes of language over time. The language of western Europe: designed to be read after class.Writing systems: a study of how language is recorded on paper. Supplementary Material: Design Features (结构特征)Design 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 get a better understanding of the nature of language. 1. Arbitrariness （任意性）By “language is arbitrary”, we mean that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. There is no reason why we should use the sounds /dog/ to denote the animal dog. The arbitrary