CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Definition

: linguistics can be defined as the scientific or systematic study of language. It is always

guided by the

three cannons of science:exhaustiveness, consistency and economy.

Linguistics

Linguistics versus

traditional grammar:

Scope Microlinguistics Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics

Pragmatics

Macrolinguistics Sociolinguistics Psycholinguistics Neurolinguistics Stylistics

Discourse analysis Computational linguistics Cognitive linguistics

Definition:

Ding-Dong Theory: human speech developed from primitive man giving vocal expression to the objects

he encountered.

Sing-Song Theory: language developed from primitive ritual songs of praise.

Pooh-Pooh Theory: language came from interjections, which express he speaker’s emotions.

Origins Yo-He-Ho Theory: language came from the cries uttered, during strain of work.

Ta-Ta Theory : language came from the combination of certain gestures and tongues movements.

Bow-Wow Theory: language came from imitation of animal cries and other sounds heard in nature.

Design

features

Linguistics describes languages and does not lay down rules of correctness while

traditional grammar emphasizes correctness.

Linguists regard the spoken language as primary, not the written while

traditional grammar emphasizes the priority of written language.

Traditional grammar is based on Latin and it tries to impose the Latin categories

and structures on other languages. Linguistics describes each language on its

language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.

Language is a system---elements in it are not arranged and combined randomly, but according to some

rules and principles. Language is arbitrary --- there is no intrinsic connection between the word .

pen) and the thing. what we write with).Language is vocal---the primary medium for all languages

is sound. Language is used for human communication ---it is human-specific, very different form

Arbitrariness: this refers to the fact that there is no logical or intrinsic connection between a particular

sound and the meaning it is associated with. For example, English should use the sounds/d?g/ to refer to

the animal dog, but Chinese should use “gou” to refer to te same animal. A dog may be called a pig if

the first man happens to name it as a “pig”. So, the relationship between the sounds and their meaning

is quite accidental. Of course, onomatopoetic words such as “quack-quack” and “bang” are exceptions,

but words these are relatively few compared withe the total number of words in language.

Duality: language operates on two levels of structure. At one level are elements which have no meaning

in themselves but which combine to form units at another level which do have meaning.

Productivity: productivity or creativity refers to man’s linguistic ability which enables him to produce

and understand an infinitely large number of sentences in our native language, including the sentences

which were never heard before.

Interchangeability : interchangeability or reciprocity refers to the fact that man can both produce and

receive messages, and his roles as a speaker and a hearer can be exchanged at ease.

Displacement: displacement is a property of language enabling people to talk about things remote either

in space or in time.

Specialization: specialization refers to the fact that man does not have a total physical involvement in

the act of communication.

Cultural transmission: language is culturally transmitted. It cannot be transmitted through heredity. A

human being brought up in isolations simply doesn’t acquire language, as is demonstrated by the studies

of children brought up by animals without human contact. Animals transmit their cries simply from parent

to child, while human baby doesn’t speak any language at birth. What language a baby is going to speak

Functions

Some major concepts in linguistics

Descriptive and prescriptive grammar

Descriptive grammars attempt to tell what is in the language; while prescriptive grammars tell people what should be

in the traditional grammars tried to lay down rules, they are often called prescriptive. Most modern linguistics is

descriptive.

Synchronic and diachronic linguistics

When we study language at one particular time, it is called synchronic linguistics. When we study language developments

through time, it is called diachronic or historical linguistics. Synchronic linguistics focuses on the state of language

at any point in history while diachronic linguistics focuses on he difference in two or more than two tates of language

over decades or centuries.

Langue and parole

Saussure made an important distinction between langue and parole. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system

shared by all the members of a speech community. Parole refers to particular realizations of langue. Langue is the

social, conventional side of language, while parole is individualized speech.

Competence and performance

According to Chomsky, competence refers to the knowledge that native speakers have of their language as a system of

abstract formal relations, while performance refers to their actual linguistic behavior, that is , the actual use of

this knowledge.

Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations

Saussure has put forward another pair of concepts: syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations. The former refers to the

horizontal relationship between linguistic elements, which form linear sequences. The later means the vertical

relationship between forms, which might occupy the same particular place in a structure.

Functionalism and formalism

Functionalism or functional linguistics refers to the study of the forms of language in reference to their social function

in communication. Formalism or formal linguistics is the study of the abstract forms of language and their internal

relations.

课后练习

If language is partially defined as communication, can we call the noises that dogs make language Why

or why not

No,we can’t call the noises that dogs make as language even though language is partially defined as communication.

There are two reasons for that: first, language is human-specific,it is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used only

for human communication. Second, language has design features which are totally lack in animal communication systems.

For example, language has two levels of structures: at one level are elements which have no meaning in themselves but

which combine to form units at another level which do have meaning. Noises made by dogs represent certain meaning but

can not be further analyzed into smaller units.

What is the difference between a prescriptive and a descriptive approach to language

Descriptive approach to language attempt to tell what is in the language, while prescriptive approach to language tells

people what should be in the language. Most contemporary linguists believe that whatever occurs naturally in the language

should be described. Certain forms are sued more regularly than others and by different people. Though some forms occur

less frequently they should not be ignored. They can all be recorded and explained as aspects of the languages since

hey are actually used.

A wolf is able to express subtle gradations of emotion by different positions of the ears, the lips,

and the tail. There are eleven postures of the tail that express such emotions as self-confidence, Phatic function/communion Directive function Informative function

Interrogative function Expressive function Evocative function Performative