新编语言学教程 Chapter 1 Introduction

1、 戴炜栋，何兆熊，(2002)，新编简明英语语言学教程，上海外语教育出版社。 胡壮麟，(2001)，语言学教程，北京大学出版社。 刘润清，(2006)，新编语言学教程，外语教学与研究出版社。 This course, linguistics, is a compulsory course for undergraduates majored in English. The course lasts one semester, with two hours of teaching for each week. The course is intended to introduce undergr

2、aduates the major components of modern linguistics, the main concerns, explorations, and discoveries of this subject, the principles and methods of its different branches, the views and contributions of influential researchers, and important models and disputes between traditions and schools. 1) Att

3、end classes regularly (10); 2) Have two mid-term examinations (20); 3) Do assignments independently. Linguistics may be defined as the scientific study of language (p.1). 1.1.1 The aim of linguistics This study aims at exploring the common properties that characterize all human languages and therefo

4、re linguists are interested in all human languages (living and dead, spoken and written ). (1) Traditional grammar: This school begins with the Greeks and the grammar of Thrax about 400B.C. It is continued by classical Latin grammarians from the 1st century to 6th century. It is characterized by the

5、 analysis based on the hypothesis that Latin Grammar is universally applicable for all languages.(2) F. de Saussure (the founder of modern linguistics) and his contributions:(3) Chomsky and his contributions: Language as a system of symbols; The arbitrariness as the nature of linguistic symbols; The

6、 distinction between langue and parole (p.16); The distinction between synchronic and diachronic study of language (p.15); The distinction between syntagmatic and paradigmatic properties of linguistic structure (p.17).SIGNSthe sound or the real imagepsychological imprint the brainrecognized by acts

7、upon Language is defined as a set of rules; Competence and performance (p.16); Innateness hypothesis; Deep structure and surface structure.(1) Descriptive and prescriptive (p.15);(2) Spoken form vs. written form;(3) Attitude towards the function of Latin Grammar;(4) Attitude towards language change;

8、(5) Scope of interest. Phonetics （语音学） Phonology （音系学） Morphology （形态学） Syntax （句法学） Semantics （语义学） Pragmatics （语用学） Psycholinguistics （心理语言学） Sociolinguistics （社会语言学） Cognitive linguistics （认知语言学） Computational linguistics （计算语言学） Stylistics （文体语言学） Discourse analysis （语篇分析） Neurolinguistics （神经语言

9、学） Applied linguistics （应用语言学）Theoretical linguistics1.Phonetics2.Phonology3.Morphology4.Syntax5.SemanticsUse of linguistics1.Applied linguistics2.Sociolinguistics3.Psycholinguistics 1.6.1 What does “language” mean? Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication (p.8).

10、a. The symbolic nature of language. b. The linguistic symbol is arbitrary. c. Language is vocal. d. Language is systematic. e. The basic function of language is for communication. f. Language is human specific. Arbitrariness (任意性) Duality （二重性） Creativity /productivity（创造性） Interchangeability (互换性)

11、Displacement （移位性) Specialization (特殊性) Cultural transmission （文化传递性） Arbitrariness - There is not a logical and necessary connection between sounds and meanings in human language.(1) Animals vocal communication system has a fixed one-to-one connection between sound patterns and specific objects or

12、events. Besides, the sound patterns of animals are quite limited in number and the objects being referred to are also limited.(2) An onomatopoeia is a word made up by imitating the natural sound. Some may argue that language is non-arbitrary. e.g: the clang of a bell the ticks of a clock But onomato

13、poeias are small in number in any language.(3) Compound words are non-arbitrary in the sense that there is a necessary connection between the two elements in each of them. e.g: postman Each element of a compound is entirely arbitray. Why did English people call him a “man”, but not a “dog”? Duality

14、- 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.Primary level - morphemes, words, phrases and sentences which are meaningful.Secondary level - a sequence of meaningless sounds or segments which combine t

15、o form the units of meaning. Meaningful: sentences: The girls are going shopping.phrases: NP VPwords: the + girls + are + going + shoppingmorphemes: the + girl + s +be +s+ go + ing + shop+ ingMeaningless: syllables: + g:lz + a: + gu + i + ?p + i sounds: + + g + : + l +z + a: + g +u + i + + +?+p + i

16、+ Productivity - A speaker of any language has the ability to produce a sentence he has never heard before and to understand any sentence he hears for the first time. e.g. He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who Q: Do you think the

17、 sounds the parrots produce have the feature of creativity? K: No. parrots can only draw their calls from the fixed repertoire which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. Interchangeability - Man can both produce and receive messages, and his roles as a speaker and a hearer can be exc

18、hanged at ease. Displacement is a property of language enabling people to talk about things remote either in space or in time. Language can refer to things removed from the immediate situations of the speaker; it can be used to refer to things or events which are not present (real or imagined, in th

19、e past, present or in future). Do you think the bee dance has the feature of displacement as human language? The bees must communicate about the food immediately on returning to the hive. Bees do not “talk” about themselves, the hives, let alone about people, animals, hopes or desires. Whats more, t

20、hey do not dance about the food they discovered last month nor do they speculate about future discoveries. Specialization - Man does not have a total physical involvement in the act of communication. Speech is a specialized activity. We use it in a detached manner. e.g: A mother can tell a story to

21、her child while slicing up a cake. Language is culturally transmitted from one generation to the next by a process of learning but not genetically. Why cant Tarzan, a human being, understand human language? Language is culturally transmitted. The ability to speak a language is transmitted from one g

22、eneration to the next by a process of teaching and learning, but not genetically. Ding-dong theory: primitive man giving vocal expression to the objects he encountered Sing-song theory: primitive ritual songs of praise Pooh-pooh theory: interjections which express the speakers emotions Ye-he-ho theo

23、ry: the cries uttered while working Ta-ta theory: combination of certain gestures and tongue movements Bow-wow theory: imitation of animal cries and other sounds in natureInformative function: declarative sentencesPhatic communion: farewells, comments on weatherDirective function: imperativesInterro

24、gative function: questionsExpressive function: My God!Evocative function: jokes, advertising, propagandaPerformative function: I declare the meeting open. (1) Descriptive vs. prescriptive（描述与规定）(two types of linguistic study): If the linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language, it is

25、descriptive；if the study aims to prescribe how things ought to be (to lay down rules for correct and standard behavior in using language), it is prescriptive. a. Do/Dont say X. b. People do/dont say X.(2) Synchronic vs. Diachronic（共时与历时）(two types of linguistic descriptive study): A synchronic descr

26、iption takes a fixed instant as its point of observation. Diachronic linguistics is the study of a language through the course of its history. Exercises: a. a study of the development of the Indo-European tongues b. a study of Shakespeares language(3) Langue & parole (Saussure, early 20th centur

27、y)（语言与言语）: Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use.(4) Competence & Performance (Chomsky, 1950s)（语言能力/语言运用） Competence is an ideal language users underlying knowledge about the s

28、ystem of rules; performance is the actual use of language in concrete situations. Question for discussion: What is the difference between Saussures langue, parole and Chomskys competence and performance? They differ in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a

29、matter of social conventions, and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual. Syntagmatic (horizontal/chain) relation is a relation between one item and others in a sequence, or between elements which are all presen

30、t. E.g: The boy kicked the ball. *Boy the ball kicked the. (syntactic) *The ball kicked the boy. (semantic)There are syntactic and semantic conditions the words in a syntagmatic relation must meet. Sounds after sounds; words following words Horizontal relations Temporal sequence E.g.: syntagmatic She can go I may come You might leave A relation holding between elements replaceable with each other at a particular place in a structure, or between one element present and the others absent. E.g _ is smiling. The boy The woman The teacher The constraint in a paradigmat