Linguistics.docx

1、LinguisticsLinguistics（语言学）Chapter 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 fi

2、nite in length 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 la

3、nguage, but 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（创造性） Language provides oppor

4、tunities for sending 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（结构二重性） Language contains two subsystems, one of sounds and the other of

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

6、 meaning. Displacement（时空性） There 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（文化传递性） Culture cannot be genetically transmitted. Instead, it must be learned. Language is a way of transmitting cultu

7、re. Interchangeability All members of 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 thi

8、ngs, to think, or to record information. 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 wo

9、rd order, such as Chinese and Vietnamese 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

10、 each unit expressing a particular grammatical 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

11、 pooh-pooh theory Language arose from 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

12、 process of labour and answered the call 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（

13、语音学） Phonology（音位学） Morphology（形态学） Syntax（句法学） Semantics（语义学） External branches: inter-disciplinary divisions Pragmatics Psycholinguistics Sociolinguistics Applied linguistics Computational linguistics Neurolinguistics Features of linguistics Descriptive Dealing with spoken language SynchronicChapt

14、er 2 Phonetics（语音学） What is phonetics? Phonetics is termed as the study 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 spee

15、ch organs Where does the air stream come from? From the lung What is 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

16、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 distinguish phonetic transcriptions from the spelling system of a la

17、nguage. In more detailed transcription (narrow transcription) a sound may be transcribed with a symbol to which a smaller is added in order to mark the finer distinctions. Description of speech sounds Description of English consonants（辅音） General feature: obstruction Criteria of consonant descriptio

18、n Places of articulation Manners of articulation Voicing of articulation Places of articulation This refers to each point at which the air stream can be modified to produce a sound. Bilabial: p b m w Labiodental: f v Interdental: Alveolar: t d s z l n r Palatal: t d j Velar: k g Glottal: h Manners o

19、f articulation This refers to how the air stream is modified, whether it is completely blocked or partially obstructed. Stops: p b t d k g Fricatives: s z f v h Affricates: t d Liquids: l r Glides: w j Nasals: m n Voicing of articulation This refers to the vibrating of the vocal cords when sounds ar

20、e produced. Voiced sounds Voiceless sounds Description of English vowels General feature: without obstruction Criteria of vowel description Part of the tongue that is raised Front Central Back Extent to which the tongue rises in the direction of the palate High Mid Low Kind of opening made at the li

21、ps Position of the soft palate Single vowels (monophthongs) and diphthongs Phonetic features and natural classes Classes of sounds that share a feature or features are called natural classes. Major class features can specify segments across the consonant-vowel boundary. Classification of segments by

22、 features is the basis on which variations of sounds can be analyzed.Chapter 3 Phonology（音位学） What is phonology? Phonology is the study of sound systems and patterns. Phonology and phonetics are two studies different in perspectives, which are concerned with the study of speech sounds. Phonology foc

23、uses on three fundamental questions. What sounds make up the list of sounds that can distinguish meaning in a particular language? What sounds vary in what ways in what context? What sounds can appear together in a sequence in a particular language? Phonemes and allophones A phoneme is a distinctive

24、, abstract sound unit with a distinctive feature. The variants of a phoneme are termed allophones. We use allophones to realize phonemes. Discovering phonemes Contrastive distribution phonemes If sounds appear in the same environment, they are said to be in contrastive distribution. Typical contrast

25、ive distribution of sounds is found in minimal pairs and minimal sets. A minimal pair consists of two words that differ by only one sound in the same position. Minimal sets are more than two words that are distinguished by one segment in the same position. The overwhelming majority of the consonants

26、 and vowels represented by the English phonetic alphabet are in contrastive distribution. Some sounds can hardly be found in contrastive distribution in English. However, these sounds are distinctive in terms of phonetic features. Therefore, they are separate phonemes. Complementary distribution all

27、ophones Sounds that are not found in the same position are said to be in complementary distribution. If segments are in complementary distribution and share a number of features, they are allophones of the same phoneme. Free variation If segments appear in the same position but the mutual substituti

28、on does not result in change of meaning, they are said to be in free variation. Distinctive and non-distinctive features Features that distinguish meaning are called distinctive features, and features do not, non-distinctive features. Distinctive features in one language may be non-distinctive in an

29、other. Phonological rules Phonemes are abstract sound units stored in the mind, while allophones are the actual pronunciations in speech. What phoneme is realized by what allophones in what specific context is another major question in phonology. The regularities that what sounds vary in what ways i

30、n what context are generalized and stated in phonology as rules. There are many phonological rules in English. Take the following ones as examples. +voiced +consonant -voiced/-voiced +consonant_ -voiced +bilabial +stop unaspirated/-voiced +alveolar +fricative_ Syllable structure A syllable is a phonological unit that is composed of one or more phonemes. Every syllable has a nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The nucleus may be preceded by one or more consonants called the onset and followed by one or more consonants called the coda. Sequence of phonemes Native s