Chapter 1Introduction.ppt

1、A New Concise Course on Linguistics for students of English,Ye Haixia,Goals for the Course,To get a scientific view on language; To comprehend some basic concepts, theories and models on linguistics; To understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of language teac

2、hing To prepare for the future research work.,Requirements of the Course,Class attendance (10%) Classroom discussion (10%) Fulfillment of the assignment (quizzes and presentation 20%) Final examination (60%),Reference Books,戴炜栋，何兆熊，(2013)，新编简明英语语言学教程，上海外语教育出版社。 胡壮麟，(2006)，语言学教程，北京大学出版社。 George Yule,

3、 (2010), The Study of Language, Cambridge University Press,Chapter 1 Introduction,Why study language? What is language? What are the functions of the language? How does language work? How does a child acquire his/her mother tongue? Is speech prior to writing or writing prior to speech?,Some Misunder

4、standings of Language,Myth1. Language is only a means of communication. Myth3. The function of language is to exchange information. Myth4. English is more difficult to learn than Chinese. Myth5. Black English is not standard and should be reformed,Some Views about Language,1. Children learn their na

5、tive language swiftly, efficiently and without instruction. 2. Language operates by rules. 3. All languages have three major components: a sound system, a system of lexicogrammar and a system of semantics. 4. Everyone speaks a dialect. 5. Languages are intimately related to the societies and individ

6、uals who use them. 6. Writing is derivative of speech.,What is Language?,what a person says (e.g. bad language, expressions) the way of speaking or writing (e.g. Shakespeares language, Luxuns language) a particular variety or level of speech or writing (e.g. language for special purpose, colloquial

7、language) a tool for human communication. (social function) a set of rules. (rule-governed) .,Sapirs definition (1921),“Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.,Halls definition (1968),Language is “th

8、e institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.”,Chomskys definition (1957),“From now on I will consider language to be a set of (finite or infinite) sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite se

9、t of elements.”,Language can be generally defined as,a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 语言是人类用来交际的任意性的有声符号体系。,Language is a system,Systematic- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; cant be combined at will. e.g. *bkei, *I apples eat.,La

10、nguage is arbitrary,Arbitrary- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes. e.g. “pen”, “笔”,Language is symbolic in nature,Symbolic- words are associated with objects, actions ideas by convention. e.g. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”-Shakespeare,Language is prim

11、arily vocal,Vocal- the primary medium is sound for all languages -writing system came much later than spoken form.,Language is human-specific,Human-specific- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess. e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.,Design features of language,Ar

12、bitrariness Productivity/ Creativity Duality Displacement Cultural transmission,Arbitrariness,-No logical connection between sounds and meanings . e.g. book (English), 书(Chinese), livre (French) -Onomatopoeic words (which imitate natural sounds) are somewhat motivated. e.g. 叮咚，轰隆，叽里咕噜，噗通 rumble, cac

13、kle, bang dogs: (bowwow), 汪汪汪 - Some compound words are not entirely arbitrary, e.g. type-writer, shoe-maker, air-conditioner, photocopy,Productivity/creativity,Unique to human languages，users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before e.g. 1) A red-eyed elephant i

14、s dancing on the hotel bed. 2)The Grapes of Wrath 3) He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in school which was known for its graduates who Animals: Cicadas, vervet monkey, bee dance,Duality (double articulation),Lower level-sounds (meaningless) e.g. n, i, b (bin, nib) /k/, /:/,

15、/p/ (carp, park) Higher level-meaning (larger units of meaning) No animal communication system has duality or even comes near to possessing it. e.g. dog (woof, *oowf, *foow),Displacement,Language can be used to refer to things which can be removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. e.g. I

16、 met him last night. I am talking. I will have English class tomorrow. Animals: cat, dogs, bee,Cultural transmission,-Language is culturally transmitted (through teaching and learning; rather than by instinct). e.g. an infant (Korea, America, English) kitten (meow) a wolf child (isolation),Functions

17、 of Language,Descriptive function (primary): to convey factual information (deny, assert) e.g. The Sichuan earthquake is the most serious one China has ever suffered. Expressive (emotive) function: to supply information such as feelings, preferences, prejudices, and values. e.g. I will never go camp

18、ing with him again. Social (interpersonal) function: establish and maintain social relations. e.g. Good morning! Can I help you?,Roman Jakobson,Addresser- Emotive (to express attitude) e.g. I hate whatever they are planning for me! Addressee- Conative e.g. Why not go and see another doctor ? Context

19、- Referential e.g. As far as I know, the earths resources are being astonishing wasted. Message-Poetic e.g. poetry Contact-Phatic communication e.g. Hi! Code- Metalinguistic e.g. Let me tell you what the word anorexia means.,M. A. K Halliday,Ideational (descriptive) function Interpersonal: to indica

20、te, establish, or maintain social relationships between people. Textual: to organize written or spoken texts.,The origin of language,The divine-origin theory- Language is a gift of God to mankind. The bow-wow theory- imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together. The pooh-pooh theor

21、y- ancestors utter instinctive sounds of pain, anger and joy. (eg: Oh, Ah, Aiyo) The evolutionary theory- the result of physical and psychological development.,2. What is linguistics?,-Linguistics is the scientific study of language. -A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist.,Process

22、of linguistic studies,Observe and collect language facts; Formulate some hypotheses; Test hypotheses by further observations; Construct a linguistic theory;,The Scope of Linguistics,Theoretical linguistics Phonetics-speech sound Phonology-sound patterns of languages Morphology-the form of words Synt

23、ax-the rules governing the combination of words into sentence Semantics-the meaning of language (when the meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use-Pragmatics),Use of Linguistics Applied linguistics-linguistics and language teaching Sociolinguistics- social factors (e.g. class,

24、 education) affect language use Psycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process Stylistics-linguistic and literature,Some Important Distinctions in Linguistics,Prescriptive vs. descriptive Synchronic vs. diachronic Speech and writing Langue and parole Competence and performance Tradi

25、tional grammar and modern linguistics,Prescriptive vs. descriptive,Prescriptive -lay down rules for “correct” and “standard” linguistic behavior in using language (traditional grammar) Descriptive - describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language people actually use (modern linguistics) e.g.

26、Dont say X. People dont say X.,Synchronic vs. Diachronic,Synchronic study- description of a language at some point of time (modern linguistics) e.g. The structure of Shakespeare language Diachronic study- description of a language through time (historical development of language over a period of time) e.g. old English, middle English , early modern English and present-day English (or modern