现代语言学概论.docx

1、现代语言学概论Chapter 1: Introduction1. What is linguistics?1.1 DefinitionLinguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. The word “language” implies that linguistics studies not any particular language, but languages in general.The word “study” does not mean “learn” but “investigatio

2、n” or “examine”. “Scientific” refers to the way in which the language is studied.Based on systematic investigation of language data, the study is conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In studying language, the linguist first has to study language facts, then he formu

3、lates some hypotheses about language structure which have to be re-checked against the observed facts so as to prove their validity.The process of linguistic study:1) Certain linguistic facts are observed, and generalizations are made about them; 2) Based on these generalization, hypotheses are form

4、ed to account for these facts;3) Hypotheses are tested by further observations;4) A linguistic theory is constructed about what language is and how it works. 1.2 The scope of linguisticsGeneral linguistics the study of language as a whole, which deals with the basic concepts, theories, descriptions,

5、 models, methods applicable in any linguistic study.Phonetics the study of sounds, which are used in linguistic communication,Phonology the study of how sounds are put together and used in communication.Morphology the study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words.Syntax the study of

6、 how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences.Semantics the study of meaning in language.Pragmatics the study of meaning in context of use.Socio-linguistics the study of language with reference to society.Psycholinguistics the study of language with reference to the workings of mind. Appli

7、ed linguistics Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the solution of such problems as the recovery of speech ability. This study is called applied linguistics. In a narrow sense, it refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning, es

8、pecially the teaching of foreign and second languages.Anthropological / neurological / mathematical / computational linguistics 1.3 Some important distinctions in linguistics1.3.1 Prescriptive vs. DescriptiveIf a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to

9、 be descriptive (modern); if it aims to lay down rules for “correct” behavior, i.e. to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive (traditional). (Question: how is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?)1.3.2 Synchronic vs. DiachronicT

10、he description of a language at some point in time is a synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. In modern linguistics, synchronic study seems to enjoy priority over diachronic study. 1.3.3 Speech and writingAs two major media of communication

11、, modern linguistics regards spoken form as primary, because the spoken form is prior to the written form and most writing systems are derived from the spoken form. In the past, traditional grammarians tended to over-emphasize the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence.(Why

12、 does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of a language as primary?)1.3.4 Langue and parole (语言和言语)The distinction was made by famous Swiss Ferdinand de Saussure early this century. Both are French words. 1) Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech

13、community, and parole refers to realization of langue in actual use. 2) Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to follow while parole is their concrete use. 3) Langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use, but parole is concrete; it refers to the n

14、aturally occurring language events. 4) Langue is relatively stable and does not change frequently; while parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation. Saussure made this distinction in order to single out one aspect of language for serious study. In his opinion, parole is sim

15、ply a mass of linguistic facts, too varied and confusing for systematic investigation, and linguists are supposed to abstract langue from parole. 1.3.5 Competence and performance (语言能力和语言运用)Similar to 1.3.4, American Noam Chomsky defines competence as the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his la

16、nguage, and performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. Chomsky thinks that linguists should study competence but not performance.Similar to Saussure, Chomsky thinks that linguists should study the ideal speakers competence, but not his performance. As one diffe

17、rence, Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of language is a matter of social inventions, whereas Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual. 2. What is language2.1 DefinitionsNowadays, the g

18、enerally accepted definition of language is that language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 1) Language is a system, as elements of language are combined according to rules;2) Arbitrary, as no intrinsic connection between form and meaning, or between sign and what

19、it stands for. 3) Vocal, as primary medium is sound for all languages.“Human” indicates the difference from the communication systems of other living creatures. “Communication” means that language makes it possible for its users to talk to each other and fulfill their communicative needs.2.2 Design

20、featuresRefer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. The American Charles Hockett specified 12 design features, 5 of which will be discussed here.1) Arbitrariness No logical connection between meanings and sounds, symbols, words. Not

21、 entirely arbitrary, there are some words in every language that imitate natural sounds. Some compound words are not entirely arbitrary. But this makes up only a small percentage.This nature is a sign of sophistication, which only human beings are capable of and it makes it possible for language to

22、have an unlimited source of expressions.2) Productivity3) DualityLanguage is a system, which consists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds ad the other of meanings. At the lower or the basic level, there is the structure of sounds, which are meaningless. But the sounds of language

23、can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning such as morphemes and words. Then at the higher level, the units can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. 4) DisplacementLanguage can be used to refer to things, which are present or not present, real or

24、 imagined matter in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker.5) Cultural transmissionWe are born with the ability to acquire language, the details of any language are not geneti

25、cally transmitted, but instead have to be taught and learned anew. In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectal complementation.Chapter 2: Phonology1. The phonic medium of languageOf two media of language, speech is more basic than writing, for the reasons:1) In l

26、inguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing;2) In everyday communication, speech plays a greater role in terms of the amount of information conveyed;3) Speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writing is learned and taught later in school.This limite

27、d range of sounds which are meaningful in human communication and are of interest to linguistic are the phonic medium of language; and the individual sounds within this range are the speech sounds (语音). 2. Phonetics2.1 What is phonetics?Phonetics is defined as the study of the phonic medium of langu

28、age; it is concerned with all the sounds that occur in the worlds languages. Three branches: (the most important conclusion is that phonetic identity is only a theoretical ideal.)1) Articulatory phoneticsHow a speaker uses his speech organs to articulate the sounds. Longest established, highly devel

29、oped. 2) Auditory phoneticsHow the sounds are perceived by the hearer.3) Acoustic phonetics Studies speech sounds by looking at the sound waves (recorder named spectrographs). It studies the physical means by which speech sounds are transmitted through air from one person to another. 2.2 Organs of s

30、peechThe articulatory apparatus of a human being are contained in three important areas or cavities, where the air stream coming from the lungs may be modified by complete or partial interference. It may also be modified in the larynx (喉)before it reaches any of the cavities. They are: Pharyngeal ca

31、vity the throatAir stream: lung windpipe glottis (vocal cord) Vibration of the vocal cords results in a quality of speech sounds called “voicing”, which is a feature of all vowels and some consonants. Otherwise “voiceless”Oral cavity the mouthThe greatest source of modification of the air stream. To

32、ngue is the most flexible organ.Nasal cavity the noseThe velum can be drawn back to close the passage of the air stream so that all air exiting from the lungs can only pass through the oral cavity. Produced are oral sounds. Otherwise, nasalized sounds such as three nasal consonants. Generally, the passage is definitely open or closed.2.3 Orthographic representation of speech sounds broad and narrow transcriptionsInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) came into being at the end of