the nature of language

The Nature of Language

Introduction

1.1What is linguistics

1.1.1Definition

Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.

The Scope of Linguistics

Language is a complicated entity with multiple layers and facets , so the linguists have to concentrate on one aspect of it at a time. The study of sounds which are used in linguistic communication is called phonetics .

The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology.

While sounds are primary in linguistic communication, they are represented by certain symbols, i.e. , words and morphemes. The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words is called morphology.

The combination of these words to form permissible sentences in languages is governed by rules. The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences is called syntax.

The ultimate objective of language is not just to create grammatically well-formed sentences, but to convey meaning. The study of meaning in language is called semantics.

Language communication does not occur in a vacuum. It always occurs in a context, i.e., it always occurs at a certain time, at a certain place, between participants with particular intentions. The study of meaning in context of use is called pragmatics .

Language is a social activity carried out in a certain social environment by human beings. Therefore, language and society are closely related.

The language a person uses often reveals his social background, and there exist social norms that determine the type of language to be used on a certain occasion ;

Language changes are often caused by social changes. The study of language with reference to society is called sociolinguistics.

The study of language with reference to the workings of mind is called psycholinguistics.

Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the solution of such problems as the recovery of speech ability. The study of such applications is generally known as applied linguistics.

But in a narrow sense, applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign and second languages.

According to Sapir (1921:8): ”Language is a purely human �and non-instinctive method of c� �ommunicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily producedsymbols.”

1) However broadly we construe the terms “ idea”, “emotion” and “desire”, it seems clear that there is much that is communicated by language which is not covered by any of them; and “ idea” in particular is inherently imprecise.

This definition suffers many defects.

2) there are many systems of voluntarily produced symbols that we only count as languages in what we feel to be an extended or metaphorical sense of the word

“language”.

what is now popularly referred to by means of the expression “body language” ---which makes use of gestures, postures, eye-gaze, etc.---would seem to satisfy this point of Sapir’s definition.

For example

In their Outline of Linguistic Analysis Bloch and Trager wrote (1942:5): “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group co-operates.”

What is striking about this definition, in contrast with Sapir’s is that it makes no appeal, except indirectly and by implication, to the communicative function of language

Instead, it puts all the emphasis upon its social function; and, in doing so, as we shall see later, it takes a rather narrow view of the role that language plays in society.

The Block and Trager definition differs from Sapir’s in that it brings in the property of “arbitrariness” and explicitly restricts language to spoken language (thus making the phrase “ written language” contradictory).

“ the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.”

In his Essay on Language, Hall (1968:158) tells us that language is

are, first of all, the fact that both communication and interaction are introduced into the definition (“interaction” being broader than and, in this respect, better than “ cooperation”)

Among the points to notice here

second, that the term “ oral-auditory” can be taken to be roughly equivalent to “ vocal” differing from it only in that “ oral-auditory” makes reference to the hearer as well as to the speaker i.e. to the receiver as well as the sender of the vocal signals that we identify as language- utterances).

by a particular society is part of that society’s culture.

Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution; and the term “ institution” makes explicit the view that the language that is used

Chomsky says that “From now on I will consider a language to be a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.”

Syntactic Structures

(1957:13)

Design Features of Human LanguageDesign Features of Human Language

1) Arbitrariness: there are no direct or intrinsic links between form and meaning or between the signal and

the message.

There are sporadic instances in all languages of what is traditionally referred to as onomatopoeia: cf. The non-arbitrary connection between the form and the meaning of such onomatopoeic words as “cuckoo”, “peewit”, “crash”, in English.

Onomatopoeic Motivation

Primary onomatopoeia

Primary onomatopoeia means the imitation of sounds by sounds.

Apes gibber.

Bears growl

Bulls bellow

Cats mew ( purr)

Eagles scream.

Frogs croak.

Goats bleat.

Asses bray.

Beetles drone.

Camels grunt.

Ducks quack.

Flies buzz.

Geese cackle (gabble).

Horses neigh ( snort).

Hens cluck. Larks warble

Lions roar Magpies chatter.

Mice squeak Owls hoot (screech)

pigeons coo. Pigs squeal ( grunt).

Snakes hiss. Wolves howl.

Turkeys gobble.

模仿金属的声音：clash, clank, ting, tinkle, clang, jangle, ding-dong, tick-tack

模仿水等液体声：splash, bubble, sizz, sizzle, splish-splosh, drip-drop

Secondary onomatopoeia

It means that certain sounds and sound sequences are associated with certain senses in an expressive relationship

Sn-

1) breath-noise: sniff, snuff, snore,

snort

2)quick separation or movement: snip,

snap, snatch

3)creeping: snake, snail,

sneak, snoop

Sl-

1) slippery: slide, slip, slither, slush,

sluice, sludge

2) pejorative sense: slattern, slut,

slang, sly, sloppy, slovenly

Sk-: 与表面接触：skate, skim, skin, skid, skimp

-ump: 表示圆形体：plump, chump, rump, hump, stump, dump, mump

/h/ 表示猛烈使劲时的气喘声：heavy, haste, hurry, hit, heave, hoarse, hurl 等

Wh- 表示“剧烈”的拟声词：wham, whang, whap, whop, wheeze, whicker, whinny, whomp, whoop

But the vast majority of the words in all languages are non-onomatopoeic: The connection between their form and their meaning is arbitrary in that, given the form, it is impossible to predict the meaning and, given the meaning, it is impossible to predict the form.

2) Duality: It is meant the property of having two levels of structure. The units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.

3) creativity

It refers to the ability that we all have to construct and understand an indefinitely large number of sentences in our native language, including sentences that we have never heard before, but that are appropriate to the situation in which they are uttered.

4) displacement

Displacement means that language can be used to talk about the things that exist in our world of experience or in the world of imagination.

We can use the language to talk about things that happened in the past , or that are happening now or that will happen in the future.

5) Cultural Transmission

It means that language is not genetically passed down from one generation to another. Rather, language has to be learned.

Some important distinctions in linguistics

1)Prescriptive vs descriptive

If a linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive

If the linguistic study aims to lay down rules for correct and standard behaviour in using language, it is prescriptive.

2) Synchronic vs diachronic

The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study.

The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study.

3) Speech and writing

Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons:

A. Speech is prior to writing

B. The writing system is always invented by

its users to record speech.

• C. Speech plays a greater role than writing in

the amount of information conveyed.

• D. Speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue.

4) Langue and parole

Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.

Parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use.

5) Competence and performance

Competence is the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language.

Performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication.