microsoft power point - lecture 2 nature of language

8/8/2019 Microsoft Power Point - Lecture 2 Nature of Language

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The Nature of LanguageIntroduction

1.1What is linguistics

1.1.1Definition

Linguistics is generally defined as thescientific study of language.

The Scope of Linguistics

Language is a complicatedentity with multiple layers

and facets , so the linguistshave to concentrate on oneaspect of it at a time. Thestudy of sounds which areused in linguisticcommunication is calledphonetics .

The study of how soundsare put together and usedin communication iscalled phonology.


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While sounds are primary inlinguistic communication,they are represented bycertain symbols, i.e. , wordsand morphemes. The studyof the way in whichmorphemes are arranged to

form words is calledmorphology .

The combination of these words toform permissible sentences inlanguages is governed by rules. Thestudy of how morphemes and wordsare combined to form sentences is

called syntax.

The ultimate objective of language is not just to creategrammatically well-formed

sentences, but to conveymeaning. The study of meaning in language is calledsem antic s.

Language communication does not occur ina vacuum. It always occurs in a context , i.e.,it always occurs at a certain time , at a certain

place , between participants with particularintentions . The study of meaning in contextof use is called pragmatics .


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Language is a social activity carriedout in a certain social environmentby human beings. Therefore,language and society are closelyrelated.

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

Language changes are oftencaused by social changes . The

study of language with referenceto society is called

sociolinguistics.

The study of languagewith reference to theworkings of mind iscalled psycho linguistics.


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Findings in linguistic studies can often beapplied to the solution of such problems asthe recovery of speech ability . The studyof such applications is generally known asapplied linguistics.

But in a narrow sense ,applied linguistics refers tothe application of linguisticprinciples and theories tolanguage teaching andlea rning, especially the

teaching of foreign andsecond languages.

According to Sapir (1921:8):

Language is a purely humanand non- instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotionsa n d d e s i r e s b y m e a n s o f v o l u n t a r i l y p r o d u c e dsymbols.

1) However broadly we construe the terms idea, emotion and desire, it seemsc l e a r th a t th e r e i s mu c h th a t i scommunicated by language which is notcovered by any of them; and idea inparticular is in here nt ly imprecise.

This definition suffers many defects.


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2) there are many systems of voluntarily produced symbols thatwe only count as languages in whatwe feel to be an extended ormetaphorical sense of the word

language.

what is now popularlyreferred to by means of the expression bodylanguage ---whichmakes use of gestures,postures, eye-gaze, etc.--

-would seem to satisfythis point of Sapirsdefinition.

For example

In their Outline of Linguistic AnalysisBloch and Trager

wrote (1942:5): Alanguage is a systemof arbitrary vocalsymbols by means of which a social groupc o - o p e r a t e s .

Wha t i s s t r ik in gabout this definition,i n c o n t r a s t w i th

Sapir s is that i tmakes no appeal,except indirectly andby implication, to thec o m m u n i c a t i v efunction of language


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Instead, it puts all the emphasis uponits social function; and, in doing so, aswe shall see later, it takes a rathernarrow view of the role that languagep l a y s i n s o c i e t y .

The Block and Trager

definition differs fromSapir s in that it bringsi n th e p r o p e r ty o f ar bi tr ar in es s a nde xp l i ci tl y r es tr ic tslanguage to spoken

language (thus makingthe phrase writtenl a n g u a g e c o n t r a d i c t o r y ) .

The term arbitrariness is herebeing used in a rather special sense.

t h e i n s t i t u t i o nw h e r e b y h um a n sc o mm u ni ca te a n dinteract with eachother by means of habitually used oral-a ud it or y a rb it ra rys y m b o l s .

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


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are, first of all, the factthat both communicationa n d i n t e r a c t i o n a r ei n t r o d u c ed i n t o t h edefinition (interaction

being broader than and,in this respect, better than c o o p e r a t i o n )

Among the points to notice here second, that the term oral-auditoryc a n b e t ak en to b e ro u g h lyequivalent to vocal differing fromit only in that oral-auditorymakes reference to the hearer aswell as to the speaker i.e. to thereceiver as well as the sender of thevocal signals that we identify asl a n g u a g e - u t t e r a n c e s ) .

by a particularsociety is part of that societysculture.

Hall, like Sapir, treats languageas a purely human institution;and the term institution makes

explicit the view that thelanguage that is used

Chomsky says that From now on I willconsider a language to be a set (finite orinfinite) of sentences, each finite in length and

constructed out of a finite set of elements.

Syntactic Structures

(1957:13)

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DesignDesign FeaturesFeatures of of HumanHuman LanguageLanguage

1) Arbitrariness: there are no director intrinsic links between form andmeaning or between the signal and

the message.

There are sporadic instances in alllanguages of what is traditionallyreferred to as onomatopoeia: cf. The

non-arbitrary connection betweenthe form and the meaning of suchonomatopoeic words as cuckoo,peewit, crash, in English.

Onomatopoeic Motivation

Primary onomatopoeia

Primary onomatopoeia meansthe imitation of sounds bysounds.

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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.

clash, clank, ting, tinkle, clang, jangle, ding-dong, tick-tack

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splash, bubble, sizz, sizzle, splish-splosh, drip-drop

Secondary onomatopoeia

It means that certains o u n d s a n d s o u n ds e q u e n c e s a r eassociated with certain

senses in an expressiver e l a t i o n s h i p

Sn-

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

snort2)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

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Sk-:skate, skim, skin, skid, skimp

-ump:

plump, chump, rump, hump, stump,dump, mump

/h/

heavy, haste, hurry, hit, heave, hoarse,hurl

Wh-

wham, whang, whap, whop,wheeze, whicker, whinny,whomp, whoop

But the vast majority of the words in alllanguages are non-onomatopoeic: Theconnection 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 topredict the form.

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2) Duality: It is meant the propertyof having two levels of structure.The units of the primary level arecomposed of elements of thesecondary level and each of thetwo levels has its own principles of

organization.

3) creativity

It refers to the ability that we all haveto construct and understand ani ndef i n i t e l y l a rge nu mber o f sentences in our native language,including sentences that we havenever heard before, but that areappropriate to the situation in whicht h e y a r e u t t e r e d .

4) displacement

Displacement means that languagecan be used to talk about the thingsthat exist in our world of experienceor in the world of imagination.

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

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5) Cultural Transmission

It means that language is notgenetically passed down fromone generation to another. Rather,language has to be learned.

Some important distinctions in linguistics

1)Prescriptive vs descriptive

If a linguistic study aims to describeand analyze the language peopleactually use, it is said to be descriptive

If the linguistic study aims to lay downrules for correct and standard behaviour inusing language, i t is prescriptive.

2) Synchronic vs diachronic

The description of a language at somepoint of time in history is a synchronicstudy.

The description of alanguage as it changest h r o u g h t i me i s ad i a c h r o n i c s t ud y.

3) Speech and writing

Modern linguistics regards the spokenlanguage as the natural or the primarymedium of human language for someobvious reasons.

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A. Speech is prior to writingB. 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 linguisticsystem shared by all the members of aspeech community.

Parole refers to the realization of langue inactual use.

5) Competence and performance

Competence is the ideal users knowledgeof the rules of his language.

Performance is the actual realization of thisknowledge in linguistic communication.

microsoft power point - lecture 2 nature of language

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