语言学笔记陈银2014/3/8Lecture 2Pretest•Define the following terms:• 1. design features• 2. arbitrariness• 3. duality• 4. creativity• 5. displacement• 6. languageAnswers• 1. design features:the distinctive features of human language that essentially make human language distinguishable from languages of animals.(从本质上将人类语言与动物语言区分开的人类语言的区别性特点。
)• 2. arbitrariness：the absence of any physical correspondence between linguistic signals and the entities to which they refer.(语言符号和这些符号所指的实体间不存在任何物质的联系。
)• 3. duality：the structural organization of language into two abstract levels: meaningful units (eg. words) and meaningless segments (e.g. sounds, letters) 语言的结构组织可分为两个抽象的层面：有意义的单元（如词语）和无意义的片段（如语音.字母）• 4.creativity：also called productivity, refers to the ability to construct and understand an indefinitely large number of sentences in one’s native language, including those which he has never heard before, but which are appropriate to the speaking situation.(亦称“能产性，指人们可以说出（或构造）也可以懂得无穷多的语句，哪怕是从未听说过的句子（只要语境条件充分）。
”)• 5.displacement: the ability of language to refer to contexts removed from the speakers immediate situation. (语言能够指称说话人即时情景以外的语境。
) • nguage:Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.(语言是人类用于交际的有声符号系统。
)What’s the property of language?•Systematic---- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; can’t be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat•Arbitrary---- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes, e.g.“pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with.•Symbolic---- words are associated with objects, actions ideas by convention. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”----Shakespeare•V ocal---- the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form.•Human-specific---- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess,e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.1.4 Origin of LanguageHow did language come into being?(1) The Divine Theory endowed by God (Adam’s naming; The Tower of Babel)(2)The Invention Theory(3)The Evolutionary Theory(1). The Divine TheoryAdam’s naming•And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.•耶和华神用土造成野地各样走兽和空中各样飞鸟,并把它们都带到亚当面前，看他叫把它们叫什么。
亚当怎样叫这些它们，它们就叫什么名字。
•And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.•那人便给一切牲畜和空中飞鸟，野地走兽都起了名。
只是那人没有遇见配偶帮助他。
（2）. The Invention TheoryThe Bow-wow theory（咆哮说/拟声说）imitative of animal calls (mew【猫叫声】, hiss【嘶嘶声】)The Pooh-pooh theory （啵啵说/感叹说）instinctive cries out of emotions (interjections)The “Yo-he-ho”theory（吆嘿嗬说/喘息说）rhythmic grunts when working (heave【举，投】, haul【拉】)The Ding-dong theory natural resonance：(ding-dong, bang)（3）. The Evolutionary TheoryThere is certain relationship between the development of language and the evolutionary development of thehuman species.• 1. Children are born with both thought and language.• 2. The development of the physical apparatus for speech.• 3. It is labor that created the necessity for language.1.5 Functions of LanguageLinguists talk about the FUNCTIONS of language in an abstract sense. They summarize practical functions and attempt some broad classifications.☞Jakobson (1960): referential (context), emotive (addresser), poetic (message), conative (addressee), phatic (contact), meta-lingual (code)☞Halliday early: instrumental, regulatory, representational, interactional, personal, heuristic and imaginative.☞Halliday (1994): ideational (logical), interpersonal (social) and textual (relevant)M.A.K Halliday: Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday (often M.A.K. Halliday) (born 1925) is a British linguist who developed an internationally influential grammar model, the systemic functional grammar [SFL].1.5 Functions of LanguageIdeational (informative): to express the speaker’sexperience of the external and internal worldInterpersonal: to establish and maintain social rules1,Performative: to perform actions (directive)2,Emotive (expressive) : overlapped with expression of the inner experience3,Phatic: purely social/interpersonalTextual (Metalingual): to describe language itself历年专八语言学真题•The ______ function refers to the fact that language can be used for establishing a favorable atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging information or ideas.A. phaticB. directiveC. evocativeD. performative1.5. Functions of language•Linguists talk about the functions of language in an abstract sense, that is, not in terms of using language to chat, to think, to buy and sell, to read and write, to greet, praise and condemn people, etc.•They summarize these practical functions and attempt some broad classifications of the basic functions of language.•For Jakobson, language is above all for communication.•While for many people, the purpose of communication is referential, for him (and the Prague school structuralists), reference is not the only, not even theprimary goal of communication.•In his famous article, Linguistics and Poetics, he defined six primary factors of any speech event, namely:•speaker, addressee, context, message, code, contact.•In conjunction with these, Jakobson established a well-known framework of language functions based on the six key elements of communication, namely: •referential 所指(to convey message and information),•poetic 诗学(to indulge in language for its own sake),•emotive 情感(to express attitudes, feelings and emotions),•conative 意动(to persuade and influence others through commands and requests), •phatic 寒暄(to establish communion with others)•metalingual 元语言(to clear up intentions and meanings).•They correspond to such communication elements as context, message, addresser, addressee, contact and code respectively.•Jakobson's views of the functions of language are still of great importance.•Halliday proposes a theory of metafunctions of language, that is, language has ideational（概念）, interpersonal（人际）and textual（语篇）functions.•1) ideational function is to organize the speaker’s or the writer’s experience of thereal or imaginary world, i. e. language refers to real or imagined persons, things actions, events, states, etc.•概念功能指组织说话者或作者现实或虚构世界的体验，即语言指称实际或虚构的人、物、动作、事件、状态等。