bible story

Introductiontolanguage&linguistics

1.1Thedefinitionoflanguage

1.2Thefunctionsoflanguage

1.3Theoriginoflanguage

1.4Thedefiningfeaturesoflanguage

1.5Theacquisitionoflanguage

1.6Linguistics:thestudyoflanguage

‘language’asud

Chineisalanguage(languageinparticular)

Linguisticsisthesystematicstudyoflanguage.(languageingeneral)

Shakespeare‟slanguage(typicalstyleofusingaparticularlanguage)

Basiclanguage(artificiallanguage)

thelanguageofbees(metaphoricaluoflanguage:systemofcommunication)

naturallanguage/artificiallanguage(computerlanguage)/Esperanto(late19thc)

Thequestion“whatislanguage?”iscomparablewith–and,somewouldsay,hardlylessprofound

than–“whatislife?”

---JohnLyons

Howdoyoudefinelanguage?

列宁(《论民族自治》)：Languageisthemostimportanttoolforhumancommunication.

Chomsky(1957):atof(finiteorinfinite)ofntences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedout

ofafinitetofelements.

Sapir(1921):Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,

emotions,anddesiresbymeansofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols.

Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsudforhumancommunication.

Humansareconsideredtobelanguageanimals.

Whatifwehumanslivedwithoutlanguage?

Therearesome6,2003,thetotal

numberoflanguagesintheworldwastimatedtobe6,809,ofwhich2,261havewritingsystems(the

othersareonlyspoken).

Whatiftherewereonlyonelanguagetheworldover?

ABIBLESTORY:TowerofBabel

(OldTestament;Nimrod;Babel;Lord;language)

baplanguage(Central

Cameroon)has30speakers;theLecolanguage(BolivianAndes)(in

northernAustralia)of46languageshavejustasinglespeaker.

Overthelast500years4.5%oftheworld‟sdescribedlanguageshavedisappeared.

UNESCO(UnitedNationsEducational,Scientific,andCulturalOrganization)pasdaresolutionin

1991thatstatesthat“asthedisappearanceofanyonelanguageconstitutesanirretrievablelossto

mankind,itisforUNESCOataskofgreaturgencytorespondtothissituationbypromoting…the

description–intheformofgrammars,dictionaries,andtexts–ofendangeredanddyinglanguages.”

Whatalllanguagesemtoshare

Whereverhumanxist,mon

propertiesthatallnaturallanguagessharearetermed“universals”.

Thevocabularyofanylanguagecanbeexpandedtoincludenewwordsfornewconcepts.

Allgrammarscontainrulesfortheformationofwordsandntencesofasimilarkind.

Therelationshipsbetweenthesoundsandmeaningsofspokenlanguagesandbetweengestures

(signs)andmeaningsofsignlanguagesareforthemostpartarbitrary.

Alllanguageschangethroughtime.

Arethereanymore“universals”?

Allhumanlanguagesutilizeafinitetofdiscretesounds(orgestures)thatarecombinedtoform

meaningfulelementsorwords,whichthemlvesformaninfinitetofpossiblentences.

Similargrammaticalcategories(forexample,noun,verb)arefoundinalllanguages.

Everylanguagehasawayofreferringtopasttime,theabilitytonegate,theabilitytoform

questions,issuecommands,andsoon.

Whatdowemeanby“knowingalanguage”?

*/bdek/

*enblack

*Hemelaughat.

*ThefatheroftheorphanisinBeijing.

A:SorryIbrokeyourglass.

B:Thankyou.

Assignment

Findanswerstothequestionoftheoriginoflanguage.

BrowtheInternetforsomedefinitionsoflanguageandbringatleast2toclass.

Form“studyandrearch”groups(4-5personsfor1group).Eachgroupdrawsatopicoutofthe

following:

rmationinEnglish[Week4]

isinEnglish[Week5]

communioninEnglish[Week6]

oneconversationsinEnglish[Week7]

ingofpeopleinEnglish[Week8]

myinEnglish[Week9]

mentinginEnglish[Week10]

faddressinEnglish[Week11]

ismsinEnglish[Week12]

hintheworld[Week13]

rtalk[Week14]

Aftergatheringadequatematerials,eachgroupshouldpreparea15-minutepowerpoint-versionreport

andprentitinclass.

ThePPTneedstobeemailedtomeaweekpriortotheprentationsothatIcanofferadvicefor

modification.

WeekTwo

PreliminariesofLanguageandLinguistics

1.2Thefunctionsoflanguage

Languagecontributestothesuccessofoureverydaylifeandthesurvivalofhumanbeings.

Discussion:

Whatfunctionsdoeslanguagerveforourlifeandsurvival?

Somecommonfunctionsoflanguage

phatic:Hello!

directive:Getoutofmyway!

informative:Theearthrevolvesaroundthesun.

interrogative:Doyouknowhishobby?

expressive:Ihateher.

evocative:HowdoyoulikeJack?

performative:Iherebydeclarethemeetingopen.

interpersonal:Tommy,DearFriend

recreational:humor;rhyming;puns

metalinguistic:whatImeanis;inotherwords

Taxonomy(Jacobson,1960)

context

REFERENTIAL（指称的）

addresrmessageaddrese

EMOTIVEPOETICCONATIVE

（情感的）（诗学的）(意动的）

contact

PHATIC（寒暄的）

code

METALINGUAL（元语言的）

Taxonomyofthefunctionsoflanguage

Taxonomy:thinkingandcommunicating

Taxonomy:ideational,interpersonalandtextual

（概念功能）（人际功能）（语篇功能）

Languageasameansofinclusionandexclusion

Wheredoeslanguagecomefrom?

1.3Theoriginoflanguage

Thedivinetheory(Hencethemagicofspell,languageworship)

Thebow-wowtheory

Primitivewordswereimitativeofsounds;forexample,fromthebarkingofdogs,wegetaword

whichmeant„dog‟or„bark‟.

Thepooh-poohtheory

Languageisderivedfrominstinctivecriescalledforthbyintenemotions.

Theding-dongtheory

Everysubstancehasanaturalresonancewhenstruck;whenmanisstruckbyanimpression(for

example,thesightofasheep),hewillemittheappropriatevocalresonance,thatis,theword„sheep‟.

Theyo-he-hotheory

Understrongphysicaleffort,manwillemitnoisfromhisvocaltract;thenoisbecame

language,sothefirstwordswillmean„heave‟or„haul‟.

Theta-tatheory

Manmakesgesturesappropriatetocertainsituations,forexamplewavingwhentakingleave;

thetonguemayduplicatethemanualgesture,andstrikingtheroofofthemouth,willutterthesound

ta-ta.

Theta-ra-ra-boom-de-aytheory

Languagearofromritualdanceandincantation.

Somequestions:

Couldthetheoriesbeprovedordisproved?

Whyistheprobeintotheoriginoflanguagesignificant?

GardenofEdenstory

1.4Thedefiningfeaturesoflanguage

Alsocalleddesignfeatures(t,ACourinModernLinguistics,1958)

vity

“creativity”,sometimesalso“productivity”,meansthepropertywhichmakespossiblethe

constructionandinterpretationofnewsymbols,alsthathavenotbeenpreviously

encountered.

Ofcour,,thecreativityin

linguisticsisdifferentfromthatinart,whichmeansbreakingrules.

Question:Howislinguisticcreativitydifferentfromartisticcreativity?

Definingfeature(2)

ariness

Theterm“arbitrary”h

isimpossibletopredictthemeaningfromtheform,thefollowingdiagram.

word

formmeaning

Question:

Bythispropertydowemeanthatapersoncanuthelanguageasfreelyaswelike?

Howaboutargot?

Howaboutwordslikeflow,float,flood,fluent,etc.?

Otherexamples:

J-:joy,jovial,jubilate,joyous,joyful,jubilant

Gl-:glow,glisten,gleam,glare,glint,glimmer,glitter

Definingfeature(3)

yofstructure/doublearticulation

b-o-o-k(meaninglessgments:lowerlevel,condary)---->

book(meaningfulunit:higherlevel,primary)

Question:Whyisthispropertygenerallyassumedascentraltolanguage?Doesanimallanguage

havethisproperty?Howisthisrelatedtocommunicativepower?

I,a,book,have,new(isolatedwordsofmeaning)

Ihaveanewbook.(alargerunitofmeaning)

Designfeature(4)

cement

icationbymeans

oflanguageisconstrainedneitherbytimenorbyspace.

Question:Whatadvantagesdoesthispropertyoflanguageyield?

Howabouttheothercommunicationsystems?

Designfeature(5)

altransmission

Animalcallsystemsaregeneticallytransmitted.

Languageispasdonfromonegenerationtoanotherbyteachingandlearning,ratherthanby

instinct.

Question:Canwedenythathumanlanguagehasageneticbasis?Whatistheimplicationofthe

storyabout“wolfchild”?WhataboutthopatientswithneurologicallesionsinareaslikeBrocaarea

(namedafteraFrenchscientist)andWernickearea(namedafteraGermanscientist)[aphasia]?

1.5Theacquisitionoflanguage

L1acquisitionissaidtohavethefollowingfeatures:

sallysuccessful;

texplicitinstruction(teacher,textbook,school,syllabus,etc.);

(0-4years‟old);

ional(re;alperiod1.5-4yearsold;aldeficiency).

L1acquisitiongenerallyfallsintosomestages:

ngperiod:birth--around6months,producesomesounds;

icspeechperiod:around8months,syllablesreplacebabbledsounds,like[mama];

-wordstage:around1yearold,firstwords,nogrammar;carryoutsimplecommands;

fspeech:18months,morewords(3-50words);

-wordutterancesstage:2yearsold,cannamemostthingsaroundhim;beginhisowncreationof

two-wordphras(earlystageofgrammar),pivotwords+openwords,ock;

-understandingstage:2.5yearsold,ickball;

ult-speech:3yearsold;overgeneralizationofinflections;

peech:4yearsold.

Belowaresamplesofspeechfromchildrenatthreedifferentstagesintheacquisitionprocess.

ChildA:Youwanteat?

Ican’temybook

Whyyouwakingmeup?

ChildB:Wherethodogsgoed?

Youdidn’teatsupper

Doeslionswalk?

ChildC:Nopictureinthere

Wheremommaboot?

Havesome?

ASK:

(1)Canyouidentifythemostlikelyorder(fromleasttomostadvanced)ofthesamples?

(2)Whatfeaturesineachchild‟sutterancescanyouuavidencetosupportyourordering?

Child:Myteacherholdedthebabyrabbitsandwepattedthem.

Adult:Didyousayyourteacherheldthebabyrabbits?

Child:Yes.

Adult:Whatdidyousayshedid?

Child:Sheholdedthebabyrabbitsandwepattedthem.

Adult:Didyousaysheheldthemtightly?

Child:No,sheholdedthemlooly.

ASK:

(1)Childretation

accountfortheaboveproductiononthepartofthechild?

(2)Whatdistinguishesthechild‟sproductionfromthatoftheadult?

Child:Nobodydon’tlikeme.

Mother:No,say“nobodylikesme.”

Child:Nobodydon’tlikeme.

(dialoguerepeatedeighttimes)

Mother:Now,listencarefully,say“Nobodylikesme.”

Child:Oh,nobodydon’tlikesme.

ASK:

(1)Howdoadultsreinforcetheprocessofchildren‟sacquisitionaxemplifiedhere?

(2)Dochildrenknowwhattheyaredoingwrong?

(3)Dotheadultssucceedintheirreinforcement?

(4)Howshouldwetreatthe“mistakes”thatchildrenmakewhileacquiringtheirmothertongue?

Somescholarssuggestthatchildrenareabletolearnlanguagebecauadultsspeaktothemina

special“simplified”languagesometimescalledmothere,care-takere,orchilddirectedspeech

(CDS)(moreinformally,babytalk.)Thistheoryofacquisitionplacesalotofemphasisontheroleof

ultureadultsdotypicallytalktoyoung

tospeakmoreslowlyandmoreclearly,weexaggerateour

intonation,andntencesaregenerallygrammatical.

ASK:

(1)Dochildrenlearnthroughstructuredorsimplifiedinput,assuggested?

(2)Canyouoffersomeexamplesrevealingthewayadultstalktoinfants?

Linguistics:what,whyandhow

Linguistics……systematic/scientificstudyoflanguage(fromdifferentperspectives:phonological,

syntactic,mantic,pragmatic,sociolinguistic,psycholinguistic,cultural,cognitive,etc.)

Systematic:part-whole,individual-overall,type-token,regularity-pattern,etc.

Scientific:exhaustiveness

consistency

economy

objectivity

lectionofEnglishverbs

Whystudylanguage?

--Themagicalpoweroflanguage,curs,spell

--languageasfossil

--languageandadvertising/naming/contracting/legislature;

--languageandright(xdiscrimination);

--languageandphilosophy(wars;knowingtheworld)

--artificialintelligence,machinetranslation;

--languageandcommunication(quarrels,misunderstanding);

--condlanguageacquisition

etc.

Mysteriesandmechanismsoflanguage

--Wheredoeslanguagecomefrom?How?When?

--Whyislanguagehuman-specific?

--Whycanachildlearnhis/hermothertongueinashortperiodoftime?

--Howdoeslanguagechange?

--Howcanpeopletalkorderly?

--Howcanwesayonethingbutmeananother?

--Whycanapersonspeakandunderstandantences/hehadneverspokenorheardbefore?

Etc.

Thebeginningofmodernlinguistics

In1916,FerdinanddeSaussure‟sCourinGeneralLinguisticswaspublished,whichmarkedthe

beginningofmodernlinguistics.

Saussure‟sviews

izetheimportanceofeinglanguageasalivingsocialphenomenon(asagainstthe

historical,natural,biologicalviews.)

criptionofsynchronicstudyled

totheschoolofdescriptivelinguistics(LeonardBloomfieldinAmerica)(asagainstprescriptive

traditionalgrammar)

ioritytothestudyofspeech(asoppodtowrittentexts).Hedistinguishesbetween

parole(theactofspeaking,utterancesinalanguage),language(thefacultyofspeech,humanspeechas

awhole)andlangue(thelanguagesystemaccordingtowhichspeakersinaspeechcommunity

speak).

Saussure‟sviewcontinued

guageasasystemofsigns,thuslinguisticsabranchofmiotics.

inethevalueoflinguisticsignsinthelightoflinguisticsystem

guishbetweenparadigmaticrelationsandsyntagmaticrelations.

Summary

•TraditionallinguisticsModernlinguistics

•parolelangue

•writtenlanguagespokenlanguage

•diachronicsynchronic

•prescriptivedescriptive

•atomismstructuralism

•particularityuniversality

•individuality

Scopeoflinguistics

Corebranches:

phonetics,phonology,mantics,syntax,(pragmatics)

Peripheralbranches(hyphenatedones):

socio-linguistics,psycho-linguistics,neuro-linguistics,etc.

appliedlinguistics:languagetesting,stylistics,discouranalysis,textlinguistics,computation

linguistics,etc.

Advantagesofbeingalinguist:

wmaterials

ientsourceofdata

dual/groupwork

ustibletopics

cal,widelyapplicable

......

Qualitiesrequiredofalinguist

ssofobrvation

sticawarenessornsitivity

ophicalthinking(approach:

langue/parole;diachronic/synchronic;

external/internal;syntagmatic/paradigmatic,

competence/performance,etc.

iveinterdisciplinaryknowledge

(sociology,psychology,logic,philosophy,

statistics,culture,computer,etc.)

Assignments

themajorpointsofthislecture.

ontheInternetforinformationon:

FerdinanddeSaussure

NoamChomsky