2301-02-properties of language

8/4/2019 2301-02-Properties of Language

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The Properties of LanguageLecture #2


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Do you remember?

What is Language (big-L)?

What is a language (little-L)?

grammar

The systematic rules and

patterns that govern wordordering.

The body of knowledge thatallows one to produce a

particular language

{


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Grammar

A Body of Linguistic Knowledge

How to:Combine sounds

Create words

Build sentences

Construct texts

Participate in conversations

Language is axiomatic to being human.


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Communicative Signs


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Core Properties of all Communication

}signForm

Meaning

Function


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Analyze this Non-Linguistic Sign


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Three Types of Signs

Iconic

Signifier (form) resembles signified (meaning)Indexical

Signifier gives directional information

Arbitrary

No inherent relationship between form and meaning


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How About This Sign?

? ? ?

Q: If words are signs and they are

what kind of sign are they?


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Arbitrariness

the connection between the signifier(form) and the signified (meaning) is

arbitrary

these arbitrary relationships are agreedupon by speakers, i.e. a matter ofconvention (consensus)

even interjections and onomatopoeticsigns are arbitrary

ouaoua ~ bow-wow ~ mng-mng ~ wan-wan

ae! ~ ouch! ~ aigo! ~ aiya!

moonsignifier

signified


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Arbitrariness

moon

lune

yueiliang

luna

mwezi


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Arbitrariness

shoe

shu

alltu

two/too/to

tu

cabbageshu


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Productivity (a.k.a. Creativity)

How many utterances are there in a language?

Humans are capable of unlimited expression.

We routinely create and comprehend novelutterances.

Rule Governed Creativity

An infinite number of utterances can be created by alimited number of rules / patterns.


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Duality

Linguistic units have a dual nature:

1. They are observable physical events noise or image

2. They are more than simple physical events

They are produced in order to communicate meaning

They are connected to a concept


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Discreteness

What is discrete vs. continuous?

Discrete entities have clear boundaries; theyreunits; categorical.

Continuous entities dont have clear boundaries.

Language is DISCRETE

Language is made up structured units if

you have knowledge of the system!

Otherwise, utterances can sound like continuous

streams of sound, without discernible units.


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The Last Three Design Features

Displacement

We can communicate beyond the here and now

We are not stimulus bound

Cultural Transmission

Grammars are transmitted from one generation to the next

Acquiring a language requires involvement in a culture

COMPARE Genetic Transmission of big-L Language Each human is born with Language; its a biological instinct.

Interchangeability

All members of the community are physically capable of transmittingand receiving messages


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Assessing the Design Features

Arbitrariness

Productivity

Duality

Discreteness

Displacement

Cultural Transmission

Interchangeability


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Focus on Sentences

Consider the following finite lexicon:hugged

saw laughed

dog

cat

the

acute

big

baby

we

Create two differentsentences using

only these words

*The we laughed a cute.

*A a a baby cat dog the the.

*Cat the hugged baby the.


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Which of the Following Strings are Grammatical?

a. I shall speak to her tomorrow

b. I shall her tomorrow speak.

c. Tomorrow her to speaking do shall.

d. Speak shall I with her tomorrow.

Ik zal haar morgen spreken. Dutch

Naeil ke-ege mal-ha-gessumnida. Korean

Falar-ei com ela amanh. Portuguese

*

*

*


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What do we Mean by Grammatical?

Prescriptive Grammar(Prescriptively Grammatical)

The set of rules (or patterns)that are deemed to be thecorrect or proper way to

use a language

Set by members of thecommunity that possess thepower to enforce the rules:teachers, editors


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What do we Mean by Grammatical?

Descriptive Grammar(Descriptively Grammatical)

The set of rules (or patterns) thatcharacterize observed languagebehavior

Determined by observing

language users and extractingrelevant generalizations


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Determine the Grammaticality of

PrescriptivelyGrammatical

DescriptivelyGrammatical

If a student is sick, they should go to theschool nurse. No Yes

What are you talking about?

Nancy danced a jig.

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Im going to just quickly finish my lunch.

I havent never been to New York.

No

No

Yes

Yes/No

Bubba aint very bright. No Yes/No

Her I saw the house in. No No


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Grammaticality vs. Semantically Odd

We believe that each men were created equal.

The industrious bunnies baked a delicious cake forMimis birthday.

The red roses are yellow.

*

!


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Relationship between Prescription andDescription

Universe of all word combinations in language X

Combinationsthat speakersactually

produce

Combinationsthat areofficiallysanctioned bythe authorities

Descriptivelygrammatical butprescriptively

ungrammatical

Descriptivelyungrammaticalbut prescriptively

grammatical


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Comparing Languages:Whos is Better?

Who gets to judge what is good?

Do you have the right to say that somebody elses

language is too hard or backwards or illogical or ugly?

We have to be wary of 2 traps:Because language is changing, it is getting corrupted.

My language variety is more X than another.

All languages are capable of communicating what they

need to communicate.

2301-02-properties of language

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