A Course on Linguistics for Students of English

1、A Course on Linguistics for Students of EnglishDepartment of Foreign Language, XFUCompany LogothemegalleryMain contentsChapter 1 Introduction (linguistics; scope of it ; Some important distinctions)Chapter 2 PhonologyChapter 3 MorphologyChapter 4 SyntaxChapter 5 SemanticsChapter 6 PragmaticsChapter

2、7 Language ChangeChapter 8 Language and SocietyChapter 9 Language and CultureChapter10 Language acquisitionChapter11 Second Language Acquisition Chapter12 Language and BrainChapter 1. IntroductionCompany Logothemegallery1.1 What is linguistics? 1.1.1 Definition -Linguistics is the scientific study o

3、f language. (戴炜栋 2002：1) -A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist. Company Logothemegallery1.1.2 The scope of linguistics General /Theoretical linguistics- the study of language as a whole, which deals with basic concepts, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic

4、 study. They are the core of linguistics.Use of linguistics-the branches which relate linguistics to the research of other areas. They are Interdisciplinary branches of linguistic study Company LogothemegalleryTheoretical linguistics a. Phonetics b. Phonology c. Morphology d. Syntax e. Semanticsf. P

5、ragmaticsUse of linguistics a. Scociolinguisticsb. Psycholinguisticsc. Applied LinguisticsCompany LogothemegalleryTheoretical linguisticsPhonetics-speech sound (description, classification, transcription): articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics.Phonology-sound patterns of lan

6、guagesMorphology-the form of wordsSyntax-the rules governing the combination of words into sentence.Semantics-the meaning of language (when the meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use, it is regarded as Pragmatics)Company LogothemegalleryUse of linguisticsApplied linguistics

7、-Broad sense: Findings in linguistics study are applied to the solution of practical problems, such as IT process, recovery of speech ability. -Narrow sense: the application of linguistics theories and principles to language teaching, esp, ELT or FLT. Sociolinguistics- social factors (e.g. class, ed

8、ucation) affect language use Psycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process Stylistics-linguistics and literature Company LogothemegallerySome other applications Anthropological linguisticsNeuro-linguisticsComputational linguistics (e.g. machine translation, IT Process)Company Logot

9、hemegallery1.1.3 Some key Distinctions(区分) in LinguisticsDescriptive(描述性) and Prescriptive(规定性)Synchronic(共时) and Diachronic(历时) StudiesSpeech and WritingLangue(语言) and Parole(言语)Competence(能力) and Performance(行为)Traditional grammar and Modern linguistics Company LogothemegalleryDescriptive vs presc

10、riptiveDescriptive - 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)Company LogothemegallerySynchronic vs diachronicSynchronic study- description of a

11、language at same point of time in history (modern linguistics) Diachronic study- description of a language as it changes through time (historical development of language over a period of time) Company LogothemegallerySpeech vs writingSpeech - natural or primary medium of languageWriting - later deve

12、loped; the writing system of any language is always invented by is users to record speech when the need arises.Company LogothemegalleryLangue vs parole (F. de Saussure)Langue -the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community. It is a set of conventions and rules which lan

13、guage users all have to abided by. Parole -the realization of langue in actual use. It is concrete, ie, the naturally occurring language events.Comparison: Langue is relatively stable and does not change freely, while parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation.Saussure take

14、s a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions.Company LogothemegalleryCompetence vs performanceCompetence - the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language Performance - the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication Noam Ch

15、omsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.Company LogothemegalleryTraditional grammar vs modern linguisticsTraditional grammar - prescriptive, written, Latin-based framework Modern linguistics - descriptive, spoken,

16、not necessarily Latin-based framework Traditional grammar vs Modern linguistics1.2 What is language? Language is a means of verbal communication. It is instrumental in that communicating by speaking and writing isa purposeful act. It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic a

17、nd communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction.1.2. Design features of language1.2.1 Arbitrariness The forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. a-Arbitrariness between sound and meaning. the naturalis

18、t: an intrinsic correspondence between sound and meaning Tis not enough no harshness gives offence, The sound must be an echo to the sense. - Pope: Essay on Criticism1.2.2.Duality. By duality is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed

19、of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels have its own principles of organization -Lyons,1982:20 sounds-secondary levels , meaningless words -primary levels , distinct and identifiable meaningThe language is hierarchical : syllable: smallest unit formed by sounds morpheme: meanin

20、gful segments of words words: free form phrase: composed of words clause: composed of phrases and words sentence: composed of phrases ,(n+v) discourse: a unit of language above sentence1.2.3 Creativity: By creativity we mean language is resourceful because of its duality andits recursiveness Duality

21、 means language is stratified, able to combine the basic language units into infinite set of sentences. Recursiveness means language has its potential to create endless sentences. e.g.1. Johns friends wifes fathers gardeners daughters cat1.2.4 Displacement The language enable their users to symboliz

22、e objects, events and concepts which are not present at the moment of communication. 1.3. Origin of language 1.3.1 the bow-wow theory: onomatopieic 1.3.2 the pooh-pooh theory: interjections 1.3.3. the “yo-he-yo” theory:workChapter 2. PhonologyCompany Logothemegallery2.1 The concept of phonic medium

23、of language and speech sounds Phonic medium of language: -Language is primarily vocal. The primary medium of human language is sound. This limited range of sounds which are meaningful in human communication constitute the phonic medium of language; and the individual sounds within this range are the

24、 speech sounds.speech sounds: -Linguists are not interested in all sounds, but in speech sounds-sounds that convey meaning in human communication. Company Logothemegallery2.2 Phonetics Phonetics -A branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for thei

25、r description, classification and transcription, e.g. p bilabial, stop. Company LogothemegalleryThree branches of phonetics Articulatory phonetics-from the speakers point of view, “how speakers produce speech sounds”Auditory phonetics-from the hearers point of view, “how sounds are perceived”Acousti

26、c phonetics-from the physical way or means by which sounds are transmitted from one to another. Company LogothemegallerySpeech organs: three important areas Pharyngeal cavity - the throat; The oral cavity - the mouth; Nasal cavity - the nose. Company LogothemegalleryThe diagram of speech organsLipsT

27、eethTeeth ridge (alveolar)Hard palateSoft palate (velum)Uvula(小舌)Tip of tongueBlade of tongueBack of tongueVocal cordsPharyngeal cavityNasal cavity Company LogothemegallerySome major articulatory variables Dimensions on which speech sounds may vary:Voicing- voiced & voicelessNasality - nasal & non-n

28、asal Aspiration - aspirated & unaspirated Company LogothemegalleryThe place of articulationBilabial;Labiodental;Dental or interdental（齿间）;Alveolar（齿龈）;Palatal velar;Palatal（上腭）;Velar（软腭）;Uvular（小舌）;Glottal（声门）.Company Logothemegallery2.3 PhonologyI. Objectives: Ss are to know the following from this

29、 lecture1.The differences between phonology and phonetics2.The concepts of phone, phoneme, allophone, phonemic contrast, complementary distribution, and minimal pair3.Some rules in phonology4.Some suprasegmental featuresII. ProceduresA. Review questions (10): 1. In what ways can English consonants b

30、e classified? 2. In what ways can English vowels be classified?B. New Contents: Company LogothemegalleryPhonologyPhonology studies the patterning of speech sounds, that is, the ways in which speech sounds form systems and patterns in human languages.Company LogothemegalleryPhonetics & phonologyBoth

31、are concerned with the same aspect of language-the speech sounds. But they differ in their approach and focus.Phonetics is of general nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages; it aims to answer questions like: how they are produced, how they differ from each othe

32、r, what phonetic features they have, how they can be classified, etc.Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication. Company LogothemegalleryPhone, phoneme, allophoneCompany LogothemegalleryPhone, p

33、honeme, allophoneCompany LogothemegalleryPhonemic contrast, complementary distribution and minimal pairCompany LogothemegalleryPhonemic contrast, complementary distribution and minimal pairCompany LogothemegallerySome rules of phonology Sequential rules（序列原则）Assimilation rule （同化原则）Deletion rule （不发

34、音原则）Company LogothemegallerySequential rulesSequential rules - the rules that govern the combination of sounds in a particular language, e.g. in English, “k b i I” might possibly form blik, klib, bilk, kilb.If a word begins with a l or a r, then the next sound must be a vowel.Company Logothemegaller

35、ySequential rulesIf three consonants should cluster together at the beginning of a word, the combination should obey the following three rules, e.g. spring, strict, square, splendid, scream. a)the first phoneme must be /s/, b)the second phoneme must be /p/ or /t/ or /k/, c)the third phoneme must be

36、/l/ or /r/ or /w/.* N never occurs in initial position in English and standard Chinese,but it does occur in some dialects, e.g. in Cantonese: “牛肉，我， 俄语”Company LogothemegalleryAssimilation ruleAssimilation rule-assimilates one sound to another by “copying” a feature of a sequential phoneme, thus mak

37、ing the two phones similar, e.g. the prefix in is pronounced differently when in different phonetic contexts:Company LogothemegallerySuprasegmental featuresSuprasegmental features -the phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments ( larger than phoneme):stress toneintonationCompany Lo

38、gothemegallerySyllable (what is syllable?)Ancient Greek: a unit of speech sound consisting of a vowel or a vowel with one or more than one consonant.Dictionary: word or part of a word which contains a vowel sound or consonant acting as a vowel.The syllable consists of three parts: the ONSET（节首/韵头）,

39、the PEAK（节核/韵腹）, the CODA（节尾/韵尾）, e.g. mAn.The peak is the essential part. It is usually formed by a vowel. But l, n and m might also function as peaks as in “ apple, hidden, communism”. Company LogothemegalleryStress Word stress Sentence stressCompany Logothemegallery ToneTones are pitch variations

40、,which are caused by the differing rates of vibration of the vocal cords.English is not a tone language, but Chinese is. ma 妈 (level) ma 麻 (the second rise) ma 马 (the third rise) ma 骂 (the fourth fall)Company LogothemegalleryIntonation When pitch, stress and length variations are tied to the sentenc

41、e rather than to the word, they are collectively known as intonation.English has three types of intonation that are most frequently used:falling tone (matter of fact statement)rising tone (doubts or question)the fall-rise tone (implied message) For instance, “Thats not the book he wants.”Company Log

42、othemegalleryGrammatical functions of intonations Intonation plays an important role in the conveyance of meaning in almost every language, esp. in English.a) It may indicate different sentence types by pitch direction. b) It may impose different structures on the sentence by dividing it into differ

43、ent intonation units, e.g. “John didnt come because of Marry” Within one intonation unit, it means: John came, but it had nothing to do with Marry.Company LogothemegalleryGrammatical functions of intonationsWith two intonation units, it means: Marry was the reason why John didnt come. Exercises: Thi

44、nk of the utterance in different intonations: “Those who bought quickly made a profit.”c) It can make a certain part of a sentence especially prominent by placing nucleus on it, e.g. Jack came yesterday by train.Company LogothemegalleryGrammatical functions of intonationsd) Its attitudinal functions

45、. Falling tone - matter-of-fact statement, downright assertion, commands. Rising tone -politeness, encouragement,pleading. Note: these can only be very general indications. The specific attitudinal meaning of an intonation pattern must be interpreted within a context.Chapter 3. MorphologyCompany Log

46、othemegallery3.1 Morphology Morphology refers to the study of the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed. Company LogothemegalleryOpen class word and closed class word Open class words-content words of a language to which we can regularly add new words, such as nouns, ad

47、jectives, verbs and adverbs, e.g. beatnik(a member of the Beat Generation), hacker, email, internet, “做秀，时装秀” in Chinese.Closed class words-grammatical or functional words, such as conjunction, articles, preposition and pronouns. Company Logothemegallery3.2 Morpheme-the minimal unit of meaning Words

48、 are composed of morphemes. Words may consist of one morpheme or more morphemes, e.g.1-morpheme boy, desire2-morpheme boy+ish, desir(e)+ble3-morpheme boy+ish+ness, desir(e)+bl(e)+ity4-morpheme gentle+man+li+ness, un+desir(e)+abl(e)+ity5-morpheme un+gentle+man+li+ness6-morpheme nti+dis+establish+ment

49、+ari+an+ism Company LogothemegalleryAffixPrefix - morphemes that occur only before others, e.g. un-, dis, anti-, ir-, etc.Suffix - morphemes that occur only after others, e.g. -ful, -er, -ish, -ness, -able, -tive, tion, etc.Company LogothemegalleryFree morpheme & bound morphemeFree morpheme-is one t

50、hat may constitute a word (free form) by itself, such as bed, tree, sing, dance, etc.Bound morpheme-is one that may appear with at least one other morpheme. They can not stand by themselves, such as “-s” in “dogs”, “al” in “national”, “dis-” in “disclose”, “ed” in “recorded”, etc. Company Logothemeg

51、alleryAllomorph Some morphemes have a single form in all contexts, such as “dog, bark, cat”,etc. In other instances, there may be some variation, that is, a morpheme may have alternate shapes or phonetic forms. They are said to be the allomorphs of the morpheme, the plural morpheme may be represente

52、d by:map-maps sdog-dogs zwatch-watches izmouse-mice aiox-oxen ntooth-teeth sheep-sheepEach of the underlined part is called an allomorph of plural morpheme. Company Logothemegallery3.3 Derivational morpheme & inflectional morpheme Derivational morphemes- the morphemes which change the category, or g

53、rammatical class of words, e.g. modern-modernize, length-lengthen, fool-foolish, etc.Inflectional morphemes- the morphemes which are for the most part purely grammatical markers, signifying such concepts as tense, number, case and so on; they never change their syntactic category, never add any lexi

54、cal meaning, e.g. a) number: tables apples cars b) person, finiteness and aspect: talk/talks/talking/talked c) case: John/JohnsCompany LogothemegallerySome other terms:Root, Stem, BaseA root is that part of the word left when all the affixes (inflectional & derivational) are removed, e.g. “desire” i

55、n “desirable”, “care” in “carefully”, “nation” in “internationalism”, “believe” in “unbeliev(e)able” A stem is part of a word-form which remains when all inflectional affixes have been removed, e.g. “undesiralbe” in undesirablesA base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. This means

56、 any stem and root can be termed as a base.Company LogothemegalleryThe difference between root, stem & baseA base can be added by both inflectional & derivational affixes while a stem can be added only by inflectional affixes;A base is derivationally analyzable (e.g. undesire in undesirable) while a

57、 root cannot be further analyzed, e.g. desire in undesirable;Root, stem and base can be the same form, e.g. desire in desired;Undesirable in undesirables is either a stem or a base;Desirable in undesirable is only a base.Company Logothemegallery3.4 Morphological rulesThe rules that govern the format

58、ion of words, e.g. the “un- + -” rule. unfair unthinkable unacceptableCompounding is another way to form new words, e.g. landlady rainbow undertakeCompany Logothemegallery3.5 CompoundsNoun compounds daybreak (N+V) playboy (V+N) haircut (N+V) callgirl (V+N) windmill (N+N)Verb compounds brainwash (N+V

59、) lipread (N+V) babysit(N+V)Adjective compounds maneating (N+Ving) heartfelt (N+Ved) dutyfree (N+adj.)Preposition compounds into (P+P) throughout (P+P)Company LogothemegallerySome points about compoundsWhen the two words are in the same grammatical category, the compound will be in this category, e.

60、g. postbox, landlady, icy-cold, blue-blackWhen the two words fall into different categories, the class of the second or final word will be the grammatical category of the compound, e.g. head-strong, pickpocketCompounds have different stress patterns from the non-compounded word sequence, e.g. red co