语言学第一章

1、Welcome to LinguisticsThe Goals for this Course1.To get a scientific view on language;2.To understand some basic theories on linguistics;3.To understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of language teaching & learning (SLA or TEFL), cross-cultural communicati

2、on;4.To prepare for the future research workThe Requirements for this courseClass attendanceClassroom performancesFulfillment of the assignment (memory of basic concepts is required)Examination Reference Books胡壮麟，(2001)，语言学教程，北京大学出版社。戴炜栋，何兆熊，(2002)，新编简明英语语言学教程，上海外语教育出版社。2010修订版刘润清，(1999)，西方语言学流派，外语教

3、学与研究出版社。苏立昌，简明英语语言学教程， (2009)，南开大学出版社。Fromkin,V. & R. Rodman, (1998), An Introduction to Language the sixth edition, Orlando, Florida: Holt, Ranehart & Winston, Inc.Reference BooksLinguistics H.G. Widdowson语言学,牛津语言学入门丛书,上海外语教育出版社，2000 Linguistics: An Advanced Course Book语言学高级教程胡壮麟,姜望琪主编,北京大学

4、出版社The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (Second Edition), David Crystal剑桥语言百科全书Study Methods1 Combination of Macroscopic and Microscopic Perspective 宏观与微观相结合 2. Combination of Understanding and Memory, Theory and Practice 理解与记忆相结合; 理论与实践相结合 3. Combination of Comparison and Contrast 比较与对比相结合4. Comb

5、ination of Reading and Exercises 阅读与练习相结合Lecture I Introduction to the CourseLinguistics & English linguisticsLinguistics is a scientific study of language. It is a major branch of social science.English linguistics is a scientific study of English language. 1.language1.1 Why study language? A t

6、ool for communication An integral part of our life and humanity If we are not fully aware of the nature and mechanism of our language, we will be ignorant of what constitutes our essential humanity.1.2 What is language? 1.2.1 different senses of languagewhat a person says ( concrete act of speech)a

7、persons consistent way of speaking or writinga particular level of speaking or writing e.g. colloquial languagean abstract system1.2.2definitions Before we start the definition of language, it should be understood that occasionally the commonest concepts are the most difficult to define. How you are

8、 going to define a human?Human: A featherless biped (two-footed )animal PlatoDefinition of HumanDiogenes held a plucked chicken aloft in the marketplace, proclaiming, “Behold Platos man!”Definition of HumanSapir(1921): Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emo

9、tions, and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols. Hall(1968, Essay on Language): Language is the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each by means of habitually used oral-auditory symbols. Trager (1942: Outline of Linguistic Analysis ): A language is a system of arbit

10、rary vocal symbols by means of which a social group co-operates.Definition of LanguageDefects of Sapirs Definition What is now popularly referred to by means of the expression “body language” -which makes use of gestures, postures, eye-gaze, etc. would seem to satisfy this point of Sapirs definition

11、Definition of LanguageDefinition of LanguageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.A system-elements in it are arranged according to certain rules. They cannot be arranged at will.e.g. He the table cleaned. () bkli ()Arbitrary-there is no intrinsic (logic) conne

12、ction between a linguistic form and its meaning.Symbols-words are just the symbols associated with objects, actions, and ideas by convention.Definition of LanguageVocal-the primary medium for all languages is sound, no matter how well developed their writing systems are. Writing systems came into be

13、ing much later than the spoken forms. People with little or no literacy can also be competent language users.Human -language is human-specific. Human beings have different kinds of brains and vocal capacity. 1.3 Design features of language Design features refers to the defining properties of human l

14、anguage that distinguish it from any animal system of communication.a. arbitrariness-the form of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. The link between them is a matter of convention.E.g. “house” Mansion (French) 房子(Chinese)象形文字： 日， 门， 男， 月， 人 b. duality-language is simulta

15、neously organized at two levels or layers, namely, the level of sounds and that of meaning. b-o-o-k (meaningless segments: lower level, secondary) - Book (meaningful unit: higher level, primary) It is one of the most economical features of human language with a limited set of distinct sounds we are

16、capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words) which are distinct in meaning.c. Creativity-language is resourceful. It makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. (novel utterances are continually being created.)non-human signals ,on t

17、he other hand, appears to have little flexibility. e.g. an experiment of bee communication:d. Displacement-human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present at the moment of communication.We dont use real money to tell people the price of the product,

18、 while we only use price tags. e. Cultural transmission-genetic transmission You acquire a language in a culture with other speakers and not from parental genes. The process whereby language is passed on from one generation to the next is described as cultural transmission.The story of a wolf child,

19、 a pig child shows that a human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire human language. Does animal language have the property of cultural transmission?1.4 functions of language Phatic: establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact. E.g. -Its really cold today. - Yeah, reall

20、y. Directive: get the hearer to do something. Informative: give information about facts. Interrogative: get information from others. Expressive: express feelings and attitudes of the speaker. e.g. I love this class Performative: language is used to do things, to perform actions. Evocative: create ce

21、rtain feelings in the hearer (amuse, startle, soothe, worry or please) E.g. jokee.g. Lets begin our class. I name the ship “Titanic”M.A.K. Halliday, representative of the London school, recognizes three “Macro-functions”: ideational, interpersonal and textual. 意念功能，人际功能，语篇功能 许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学,至少

22、不够严谨.他对语言的定义做了如下概括:语言是一种符号系统. 当它作用于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介; 当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具; 当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体.2.linguistics2.1 What is linguistics? Linguistics is a scientific study of language. It is a major branch of social science. Linguistics studies not just one language of any society, but the l

23、anguage of all human society, language in general.-A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist. A scientific study is one which is based on the systematic investigation of data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.observation-generalization-hypothesis-te

24、sted by further observation-theory2.2 The scope or major branches of linguisticsBranches of linguistics (theoretical linguistics)1.Phonetics2. Phonology3. Morphology4. Syntax5. Semantics6. PragmaticsUse of linguistics1. Applied linguistics2. Sociolinguistics3. PsycholinguisticsThe study of sounds wh

25、ich are used in linguistic communication is called phonetics 语音学 .The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology音系学.While sounds are primary in linguistic communication, they are represented by certain symbols, i.e. , words and morphemes. The study of the way

26、in which morphemes are arranged to form words is called morphology 形态学.The combination of these words to form permissible sentences in languages is governed by rules. The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences is called syntax句法学The ultimate objective of language is not just

27、 to create grammatically well-formed sentences, but to convey meaning. The study of meaning in language is called semantics 语义学. Language communication does not occur in a vacuum. It always occurs in a context, i.e., it always occurs at a certain time, at a certain place, between participants with p

28、articular intentions. The study of meaning in context of use is called pragmatics 语用学.Applied linguistics-linguistics and language teaching Sociolinguistics- social factors (e.g. class, education) affect language use Psycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process Stylistics-linguist

29、ic and literature The part of linguistics that studies the language of literature is termed literary stylistics文体学. The study of language with reference to the workings of mind is called psycholinguistics.2.3 Important distinctions in linguisticsDescriptive vs. prescriptive “描写式”和 “规定式”Descriptive -

30、 describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language people actually use (modern linguistic)Prescriptive -lay down rules for “correct” linguistic behavior in using language (traditional grammar)They represent two different types of linguistic study. Synchronic vs. diachronic “共时”和 “历时”Synchronic

31、study- description of a language at some point of time (modern linguistics) Diachronic study- description of a language through time (historical development of language over a period of time) langue vs. parole“语言” 和 “言语”Langue - the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech comm

32、unity.Parole - the realization of langue in actual use.What linguists should do is to abstract langue from parole, i. e. to discover the regularities governing the actual use of language and make them the subjects of study of linguistics. Competence vs. performance 语言能力和语言运用Competence - the ideal us

33、ers knowledge of the rules of his language Performance - the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual. The distinction is discussed by the American

34、linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950s. Traditional grammar vs. modern linguisticsTraditional grammar - prescriptive, written, Latin-based framework Modern linguistics - descriptive, spoken, not necessarily Latin-based framework Modern linguistics started with the publication of F. de Saussure s book

35、 “Course in General Linguistics” in the early 20th century. So Saussure is often described as “father of modern linguistics”. Speech vs. WritingOne general principle(原则) of linguistic analysis is the primacy of speech over writing. Writing gives language new scope(范畴) and uses that speech does not h

36、ave.2.4 The history of linguisticsHuman beings started to do research on language 2000 years ago. From the end of 18th century to the beginning of 19th century, linguistists put their attention on historical comparison of languages; as a result, linguistics became an independent subject.From 19th ce

37、ntury, linguistics went through three development phases: 1. In the 19th century: historical comparative linguistics-Humboldt 2. In the early and mid 20th century: structural linguisticsSaussure 3. At the end of 20th century: T-G Grammar (transformative-generative grammar) Nome Chomsky From the midd

38、le of 20th century, linguistics has witnessed a great development. The mutual penetration of linguistics and other subjects brought many marginal subjects, such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, anthropological linguistics, computational linguistics, etc. At the same time, linguistics was comb

39、ined with foreign language teaching and learning by the application of advanced technology, thus, applied linguistics came into being. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False: 1. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.2. Linguistics studies part

40、icular language, not languages in general.3. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks. 4. In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on language facts and checked against the observed facts. 5. General linguistics is generally the study of language as a

41、 whole. 6. Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the spoken language. 7. The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by F. de Saussure 8. A study of the features of the English used in Shakespeares time is an example of the diachronic study of language.

42、Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given: 1. Chomsky defines “competence” as the ideal users _ of the rules of his language. 2. Langue refers to the _ linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community while the parole is the concrete use o

43、f the conventions and application of the rules. 3. _ is one of the design features of human language which refers to the phenomenon that language consists of two levels: a lower level of meaningless individual sounds and a higher level of meaningful units. 4. Language is a system of _ vocal symbols

44、used for human communication. 5. Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the settlement of some practical problems. The study of such applications is generally known as _ linguistics.6. Language is _ in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. In other words, they