《新编简明英语语言学教程》课件

1、A Course on Linguistics for Students of English-Cheng Zhenquan School of Foreign Studies, SCNUThe Goals for this Coursel To get a scientific view on language;l To understand some basic theories on linguistics;l To understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of la

2、nguage teaching & learning (SLA or TEFL), cross-cultural communication;l To prepare for the future research work. The Requirements for this coursel Class attendancel Classroom discussionl Fulfillment of the assignmentl Examination Reference Booksl 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。l 胡壮麟，(2001

3、)，语言学教程，北京大学出版社。l 刘润清，(1995)，西方语言学流派，外语教学与研究出版社。l Fromkin,V. & R. Rodman, (1998), An Introduction to Language the sixth edition, Orlando, Florida: Holt, Ranehart & Winston, Inc.Chapter 1. Introduction1. What is language? Language can meanl what a person says (e.g. bad language, expressions)

4、l the way of speaking or writing (e.g. Shakespeares language, Luxuns language)l a particular variety or level of speech or writing (e.g. language for special purpose, colloquial language) l the abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community (e.g. Chinese langua

5、ge, first language) l the common features of all human languages (e.g. He studies language)l a tool for human communication. (social function) l a set of rules. (rule-governed) Sapirs definition (1921)l “Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desir

6、es by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”Halls definition (1968)l Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.”Chomskys definition (1957)l “From now on I will consider language to be a set of (fi

7、nite or infinite) sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.”Language can be generally defined asa system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.Language is a systeml Systematic- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain r

8、ules; cant be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat.Language is arbitraryl Arbitrary- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with.Language is symbolic in naturel Symbolic- words are associated with objects, ac

9、tions ideas by convention. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”-Shakespeare Language is primarily vocall Vocal- the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form. Language is human-specific l Human-specific- different from the communication sys

10、tems other forms of life possess, e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.The design/defining features of human language (Charles Hockett) Arbitrariness Productivity/Creativity Duality Displacement Cultural transmissionArbitrariness -No logical (motivated or intrinsic) connection between sounds and

11、 meanings.l Onomatopoeic words (which imitate natural sounds) are somewhat motivated ( English: rumble, crackle, bang, . Chinese: putong, shasha, dingdang )l Some compound words are not entirely arbitrary, e.g. type-writer, shoe-maker, air-conditioner, photocopyProductivity/creativity -Peculiar to h

12、uman languages，users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before, e.g. we can understand sentence like “ A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed”, though it does not describe a common happening in the world.l A gibbon call system is not productive for gibbon

13、 draw all their calls from a fixed repertoire which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. l The bee dance does have a limited productivity, as it is used to communicate about food sources in any direction. But food sources are the only kind of messages that can be sent through the bee

14、 dance; bees do not “talk” about themselves, the hives, or wind, let alone about people, animals, hopes or desires Duality (double articulation) l Lower level-sounds (meaningless)l Higher level-meaning (larger units of meaning)l A communication system with duality is considered more flexible than on

15、e without it, for a far greater number of messages can be sent. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning (words), and the units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. (we make dictionary of a language, but

16、we cannot make a dictionary of sentences of that language.Displacement -Language can be used to refer to things, which are not present: real or imagined matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. l A gibbon never utters a call about something he ate last yearl There is something

17、special about the bee dance though. Bees communicate with other bees about the food sources they have found when they are no longer in the presence of the food. In this sense, the bee dance has a component of displacement. But this component is very insignificant. For the bees must communicate about

18、 the food immediately on returning to the hive. They do not dance about the food they discovered last month nor do they speculate about future discoveries.Cultural transmission-Language is culturally transmitted (through teaching and learning; rather than by instinct).l Animal call systems are genet

19、ically transmitted. All cats, gibbons and bees have systems which are almost identical to those of all other cats, gibbons and bees.l A Chinese speaker and an English speaker are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. That is, it is pass on from one generation

20、 to the next by teaching and learning, rather than by instinct.l The story of a wolf child, a pig child shows that a human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire human language. Functions of language l Phatic: establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact.l Directive: get t

21、he hearer to do something. l Informative: give information about facts. l Interrogative: get information from others.l Expressive: express feelings and attitudes of the speaker. l Evocative: create certain feelings in the hearer (amuse, startle, soothe, worry or please) l Performative: language is u

22、sed to do things, to perform actions. The origin of language l The divine-origin theory- Language is a gift of God to mankind. l The invention theory- imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together. l The evolutionary theory- the result of physical and psychological development.许国璋先生

23、认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学,至少不够严谨.他对语言的定义做了如下概括:语言是一种符号系统.l 当它作用于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介;l 当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具;l 当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体.2. What is linguistics? -Linguistics is the scientific study of language. -A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist. Four principles of linguistic studiesl

24、 Exhaustiveness/adequacy l Consistency l Economy l Objectivity The scope or major branches of linguisticsl Theoretical linguisticsl Phoneticsl Phonologyl Morphologyl Syntaxl Semanticsl Use of linguisticsl Applied linguisticsl Sociolinguisticsl Psycholinguistics Theoretical linguisticsl Phonetics-spe

25、ech sound (description, classification, transcription): articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics.l Phonology-sound patterns of languagesl Morphology-the form of wordsl Syntax-the rules governing the combination of words into sentence.l Semantics-the meaning of language (when th

26、e meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use-Pragmatics)Use of linguisticsl Applied linguistics-linguistics and language teaching l Sociolinguistics- social factors (e.g. class, education) affect language use l Psycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process l St

27、ylistics-linguistic and literature Some other applications l Anthropological linguisticsl Neurolinguisticsl Computational linguistics (e.g. machine translation)Some important distinctions in linguistics Descriptive vs prescriptivel Descriptive - describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language

28、 people actually use (modern linguistic)l Prescriptive -lay down rules for “correct” linguistic behavior in using language (traditional grammar)Synchronic vs diachronicl Synchronic study- description of a language at some point of time (modern linguistics) l Diachronic study- description of a langua

29、ge through time (historical development of language over a period of time) Speech vs writingl Speech - primary medium of languagel Writing - later developedLangue vs parole (F. de Saussure)l Langue - the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community.l Parole - the realizat

30、ion of langue in actual use.l Saussure takes a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions.Competence and performance (Chomsky)l Competence - the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language l Performance - the actual realization of this knowledge i

31、n linguistic communication l Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.Traditional grammar vs modern linguisticsl Traditional grammar - prescriptive, written, Latin-based framework l Modern linguistics - descriptiv

32、e, spoken, not necessarily Latin-based framework Chapter 2 Phonology l Language is primarily vocal. The primary medium of human language is sound. Linguists are not interested in all sounds, but in speech sounds-sounds that convey meaning in human communication. Phonetics -A branch of linguistics wh

33、ich studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription, e.g. p bilabial, stop. Three branches of phonetics l Articulatory phonetics-from the speakers point of view, “how speakers produce speech sounds”l Auditory phonetics-from th

34、e hearers point of view, “how sounds are perceived”l Acoustic phonetics-from the physical way or means by which sounds are transmitted from one to another. Articulatory phonetics Speech organs: three important areas The diagram of speech organsl Lipsl Teethl Teeth ridge (alveolar)l Hard palatel Soft

35、 palate (velum)l Uvulal Tip of tonguel Blade of tonguel Back of tonguel Vocal cordsl Pharyngeal cavityl Nasal cavity Orthographic representation of speech sounds - A standardized and internationally accepted system of phonetic transcription is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The basic pri

36、nciple of the IPA is using one letter to represent one speech sound.l Broad transcription - used in dictionary and textbook for general purpose, without diacritics, e.g. clear l , pit l Narrow transcription - used by phonetician for careful study, with diacritics, e.g. dark l , aspirated p Some majo

37、r articulatory variables - dimensions on which speech sounds may vary:l Voicing- voiced & voicelessl Nasality - nasal & non-nasal l Aspiration - aspirated & unaspirated Classification of English speech sounds - English speech sounds are generally classified into two large categories:l Vo

38、wels l Consonants Note: The essential difference between these two classes is that in the production of the former the airstream meets with no obstruction of any kind in the throat, the nose or the mouth, while in that of the latter it is somehow obstructed.Classification of consonants - English con

39、sonants may be classified according to two dimensions:l The manner of articulation l The place of articulationThe manner of articulationl stops/plosives: p, b, t, d, k, g;l fricatives: f, v, s, z, W, T, F, V, h;l affricates: tF, dV; l liquids: l(lateral), r; l nasals: m, n, N; l glides/semivowels: w

40、, j. The place of articulationl bilabial: p, b, m, w;l labiodental: f , v;l dental: W, T;l alveolar: t, d, s, z, n, l, r;l palatal: F, V, tF, dV, j ;l velar: k, g, N; l glottal: h.The place of articulationl Bilabial;l Labiodental;l Dental or interdental;l Alveolar;l Palatoalveolar;l Palatal;l Velar;

41、l Uvular;l Glottal.The description of English consonantsClassification of vowels - English vowels can be divided into two large categories:l Monophthongs or pure/single vowelsl Diphthongs or gliding vowels Monophthongs or pure/single vowels-According to which part of the tongue is held highest in th

42、e process of production, the vowels can be distinguished as:l front vowels: I:, I, e, Z, A, B;l central vowels: E:, E, Q;l back vowels: u:, u, C:, C, B:. According to the openness of the mouth l Close: I:, I, u:, u.l Semi-close: e, E:; l Semi-open: E, C;l Open: A, B, C, B:, Q;The diagram of single v

43、owel classification by applying the two criteria so far mentioned: According to the shape of the lips orthe degree of lip rounding l rounded: u:, u, C:, C;l unrounded: I:, I, e, Z, A, B, E:, E, Q, B:. According to the length of the vowels l long: I:, E:, u:, C:, B:l short: I, e, Z, A, E, Q, B, u, C.

44、 Diphthongs/gliding vowels l ei, ai, aU, EU, Ri, iE, ZE, UE.Exercises: underline the words that begin with a sound as required.l A bilabial consonant: mad sad bad cad pad had ladl A velar consonant: nod god cod pod rodl Labiodental consonant: rat fat sat mat chat vat patl An alveolar consonant: nick

45、 lick sick tick kick quickl A palato-alveolar consonant: sip ship tip chip lip zipl A dental consonant: lie buy thigh thy tie ryel A glide: one war yolk rushUnderline the words that end with a sound as required:l A fricative pay horse tough rice breath push sing wreathe hang cave messagel A nasal tr

46、ain bang leaf limbl A stop drill pipe fit crab fog ride laugh rack through tipl An affricate: rack such ridge boozeUnderline the words that contain the sound as required:l A central vowel: mad lot but boot wordl A front vowel: reed pad load fate bit bed cook l A rounded vowel: who he bus her hit tru

47、e boss bar walkl A back vowel: paid reap fool top good fatherDescribe the underlined consonants according to three dimensions: vd/vl place manner LetterBrotherSunnyHopperItchingLodgerCallingSingingRobbereitherPhonologyl Phonology studies the patterning of speech sounds, that is, the ways in which sp

48、eech sounds form systems and patterns in human languages.Phonetics & phonologyl Both are concerned with the same aspect of language-the speech sounds. But they differ in their approach and focus.l Phonetics is of general nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languag

49、es; it aims to answer questions like: how they are produced, how they differ from each other, what phonetic features they have, how they can be classified, etc.l Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic com

50、munication. Phone, phoneme, allophone Phonel A phone- a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phones. Phones do not necessarily distinguish meaning, some do, some dont, e.g. bI:t & bIt , spIt & spIt.Phonemel A phoneme- is a ph

51、onological unit; it is a unit of distinctive value; an abstract unit, not a particular sound, but it is represented by a certain phone in certain phonetic context, e.g. the phoneme /p/ can be represented differently in pIt, tIp and spIt. Allophonel Allophones - the phones that can represent a phonem

52、e in different phonetic environments.Phonemic contrast, complementary distribution and minimal pair.Phonemic contrastl Phonemic contrast-different or distinctive phonemes are in phonemic contrast, e.g. /b/ and /p/ in bIt and pIt.Complementary distributionl Complementary distribution-allophones of th

53、e same phoneme are in complementary distribution. They do not distinguish meaning. They occur in different phonetic contexts, e.g. dark l & clear l, aspirated p & unaspirated p. Minimal pairl Minimal pair-when two different forms are identical (the same) in every way except for one sound seg

54、ment which occurs in the same place in the strings, the two sound combinations are said to form a minimal pair, e.g. beat, bit, bet, bat, boot, but, bait, bite, boat.Some rules of phonology l Sequential rulesl Assimilation rule l Deletion rule Sequential rulesl Sequential rules - the rules that gove

55、rn the combination of sounds in a particular language, e.g. in English, “k b i I” might possibly form blik, klib, bilk, kilb.l If a word begins with a l or a r, then the next sound must be a vowel.Sequential rulesl If three consonants should cluster together at the beginning of a word, the combination should obey the following three rules, e.g. spring, strict, square, splendid, scream. a)  the first phoneme must be /s/,