WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

The study of language (linguistics) may treat a language as a self-contained system; or it may treat it as an object that varies over space, time, and social class.

We will consider only the SECOND (focus on diachronic linguistics and sociolinguistics).

We can study the way in which language organizes thought and expresses statements about (perceived) reality; or,

We can study the internal structure of language systems.

Language

Perceived reality

Humans manage to analyze an extremely complex acoustic signal and translate it into an internal representation linked to meaning with little conscious awareness of the intermediate steps or the complexity of the operation.

Linguistics

Phonetics: sound, described as an acoustic and articulatory event

Phonology: the study of systems of discrete soundsMorphology: ... the internal structure of wordsSyntax: ...the principles governing combinations of

words.Semantics:...the relationship between syntactic

structures and meaning.

Language is a brain function

Since the 19th century, we’ve known about

Broca’s area (posterior inferior frontal lob) (damage leads to non-fluent speech, lack of grammatical markers)

Wernicke’s area (left temporal lobe, auditory association area). (damage leads to aphasia with fluent speech lacking in content)

But what is language?

A system of great complexity Much of the complexity is learned (we know that,

because it is “language-specifïc”) It still eludes our attempts to accurately model it

on computers (witness continuous speech recognition products)

Language

A system of rules for using symbols

to share meaning!

modes

Receptive Expressive

methods

Oral

Written

Visual

Receptive Expressive

Oral Listen Speak

Receptive Expressive

Oral Listen Speak

Written Read Write

Receptive Expressive

Oral Listen Speak

Written Read Write

Visual Appreciate Create

What do you ‘know’ when you ‘know’ a language?

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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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Arbitrariness

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

these arbitrary relationships are agreed upon by speakers, i.e. a matter of convention (consensus)

even interjections and onomatopoetic signs are arbitrary

– ouaoua ~ bow-wow ~ mŏng-mŏng ~ wan-wan

– aïe! ~ ouch! ~ aigo! ~ aiya!

moon

signifier

signified

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Arbitrariness

shoe“shu”

all

“tu”

two/too/to“tu”

cabbage“shu”

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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; they’re

units; categorical. Continuous entities don’t 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 Each human is born with Language; it’s a biological instinct.

Interchangeability– All members of the community are physically capable of

transmitting and receiving messages

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Assessing the Design Features

Arbitrariness Productivity Duality Discreteness Displacement Cultural Transmission Interchangeability

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Relationship between Prescription and Description

Universe of all word combinations in language X

Combinations that speakers actually

produce

Combinations that are officially

sanctioned by the authorities

Descriptively grammatical but

prescriptively ungrammatical

Descriptively ungrammatical

but prescriptively grammatical

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Comparing Languages: Who’s is Better?

Who gets to judge what is good?

Do you have the right to say that somebody else’s 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.