what is linguistics? · prescriptive grammar prescribes rules governing what people...
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“Language is only the
instrument of science,
and words are but the
signs of ideas.”
-- Samuel Johnson
What is Linguistics?
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 1
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Overview
What is Linguistics?
Linguistic competence vs.
performance
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive
rules/grammars
Readings: 1.1-1.3
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 2
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What is Linguistics?
The scientific study and analysis of the structure of human language.
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 3
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Levels of Linguistic Structure
Pragmatics
Semantics
Syntax
Morphology
Phonetics, Phonology
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 4
(Discourse)
(Meaning)
(Sentence)
(Word)
(Sounds)
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Phonetics
The study of the physical properties of speech sounds and how they are made
Park the car in Harvard yard.
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 5
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Phonology
The study of the organization and
distribution of speech sounds
blick vs. bnick
yulp kton
froy lafp
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 6
Possible vs. Impossible English words
Blerg!
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Morphology
The study of the formation of words
e.g., which affixes go where, in what order:
quick + -ly = quickly
run + -er = runner
friend + -ly + -er = friendlier
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 7
* = ungrammatical
or ‘not possible’
* fast-ly
* er-run
* friend-er-ly
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Syntax
The study of the structure of phrases and
sentences
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 8
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Syntax
“I once shot an elephant in my pajamas”
Different structure = different meaning:
I once shot an elephant
(while I was) in my pajamas
vs.
I once shot
an elephant (who was) in my pajamas
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 9
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The study of meanings of words and
sentences
Which marble is
near the box?
Joe kicked the ball. = Different structure,
The ball was kicked by Joe. same meaning
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 10
Semantics
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Which marble is
near the box?
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 11
Semantics
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Pragmatics
The study of how linguistic meaning
depends on context
“Do you have the time?”
= Tell me what time it is
“yeah, right” as agreement
vs. sarcastic disagreement
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 12
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Linguistics is NOT…
… the study of writing
…the study of how to speak properly
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 13
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Grammar
Prescriptive grammar
Prescribes rules governing what people
should/shouldn’t say (i.e., what is considered
“right/correct/proper” vs. “wrong/incorrect”)
Descriptive grammar
Describes the rules that govern what people
actually do or can say in their language
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 14
This is what linguists are concerned with
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Prescriptive rules
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 15
“Don’t end a sentence with a
preposition!”
“Don’t use double negatives!”
“Say ‘to whom’ not ‘to who’.”
“It’s pronounced NOO-klee-yer
not NOO-kyuh-ler”
Clip: “The State of American”
http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/correct/
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Descriptive rules
Phonological:
In English, the sounds [rt] can end a word, but
not begin it
e.g., art, *rta (‘*’ = ungrammatical)
Syntactic:
In English, adjectives precede the nouns they
modify.
e.g., That is a big, red balloon.
*That is a balloon big, red.
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 16
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Prescriptive vs. Descriptive
Prescriptive rules are
… not natural
… must be taught/learned in school
… reflect value judgments
Descriptive rules are
… natural
… known intuitively (need not be taught)
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 17
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What kind of rule violation?
Freeman 2011 18
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What kind of rule violation?
What is the problem Marshall and his
friend have with the way Kate used
“literally”?
How do they think “literally” should be used?
How does Kate use it?
As an intensifier (= “really” or “so much”)
Freeman 2011 19
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What does it mean
to ‘know’ a language?
Can be understood by other speakers
Can recognize possible sentences, words
What you ‘know’ about your language =
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 20
Linguistic
Competence
The (largely hidden,
unconscious) knowledge
speakers have about their
native language(s) (sounds,
words, sentences, etc.)
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Linguistic competence
(knowledge of phonetics, phonology,
morphology, syntax, semantics, etc.)
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 21
Mental Lexicon
A mental dictionary
containing all the
information you know
about the words of
your language
Mental Grammar
Knowledge of the
(descriptive) rules that
govern the sounds,
words, sentences, etc.
of your language
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How do linguists study competence?
Observe linguistic performance:
Make hypotheses and draw conclusions about
what our linguistic competence must be like
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 22
Linguistic
Performance
The observable
realization of linguistic
competence as
revealed in speech or
language behavior
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Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 23
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Competence vs. Performance
Unconscious
knowledge What you
actually say
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 24
Linguistic
Competence Linguistic
Performance
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Homework
Enroll in Moodle class webpage
Read 1.1–1.4 (Intro) & 2.1 (Phonetics)
Look at / Start ‘HW: Intro material’
Due online by 11:30pm TOMORROW
Do IPA font support “quiz”
Charis SIL font needed for Phonetics section
Modified from McGarrity 2009-2011 25