语言学专业笔记.docx

1、语言学专业笔记LinguisticsChapter 1 Introduction: Language and Linguistics What is language? Different definitions of language Language is a system whose parts can and must be considered in their synchronic solidarity. (de Saussure, 1916) Language is a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in l

2、ength and constructed out of a finite set of elements. (Chomsky, 1957) Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols. Each of the definitions above has pointed out some aspects of the essence of language, b

3、ut all of them have left out something. We must see the multi-faceted nature of language. As is agreed by linguists in broad terms, language can be defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Features of human language Creativity Language provides opportunities for s

4、ending messages that have never been sent before and for understanding brand new messages. The grammar rules and the words are finite, but the sentences are infinite. Every speaker uses language creatively. Duality Language contains two subsystems, one of sounds and the other of meanings. Certain so

5、unds or sequences of sounds stand for certain meanings. Certain meanings are conveyed by certain speech sounds or sequences of speech sounds. Arbitrariness The relationship between the two subsystems of language is arbitrary. There is no logical connection between sound and meaning. Displacement The

6、re is no limit in time or space for language. Language can be used to refer to things real or imagined, past, present or future. Cultural transmission Culture cannot be genetically transmitted. Instead, it must be learned. Language is a way of transmitting culture. Interchangeability All members of

7、a speech community can send and receive messages. Reflexivity Human languages can be used to describe themselves. The language used to talk about language is called meta-language. Functions of language three meta-functions The ideational function To identify things, to think, or to record informatio

8、n. The interpersonal function To get along in a community. The textual function To form a text. Types of language Genetic classification Typological classification Analytic language no inflections or formal changes, grammatical relationships are shown through word order, such as Chinese and Vietname

9、se Synthetic language grammatical relationships are expressed by changing the internal structure of the words, typically by changing the inflectional endings, such as English and German Agglutinating language words are built out of a long sequence of units, with each unit expressing a particular gra

10、mmatical meaning, such as Japanese and Turkish The myth of language language origin The Biblical account Language was Gods gift to human beings. The bow-wow theory Language was an imitation of natural sounds, such as the cries of animals, like quack, cuckoo. The pooh-pooh theory Language arose from

11、instinctive emotional cries, expressive of pain or joy. The yo-he-ho theory Language arose from the noises made by a group of people engaged in joint labour or effort lifting a huge hunted game, moving a rock, etc. The evolution theory Language originated in the process of labour and answered the ca

12、ll of social need. What is linguistics? Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Observing & questioning Formulating hypotheses Verifying the hypotheses Proposing a theory Branches of linguistics Internal branches: intra-disciplinary divisions Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics

13、External branches: inter-disciplinary divisions Pragmatics Psycholinguistics Sociolinguistics Applied linguistics Computational linguistics Neurolinguistics Features of linguistics Descriptive Dealing with spoken language SynchronicChapter 2 Phonetics What is phonetics? Phonetics is termed as the st

14、udy of speech sounds. Sub-branches of phonetics Articulatory phonetics the production of speech sounds Acoustic phonetics the physical properties of speech sounds Auditory phonetics the perceptive mechanism of speech sounds The speech organs Where does the air stream come from? From the lung What is

15、 the function of vocal cords? Controlling the air stream What are the cavities? Oral cavity Pharyngeal cavity Nasal cavity Transcription of speech sounds Units of representation Segments (the individual sounds) Phonetic symbols The widely used symbols for phonetic transcription of speech sounds is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA attempts to represent each sound of human speech with a single symbol and the symbols are enclosed in brackets to distingu