语言学一到四章.docx

1、语言学一到四章Chapter 1. Language and linguistics 一，language 1.What is language? 2. Design features of language 3. Functions of language 4. The origin of language 5. Differences between human language and animal language 1. What is language? Language can be generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal

2、symbols used for human communication. 语言是一个用于人类交际的 、具有任意性的语音符号系统。 Language is a system. Systematic- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; cant be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat. Language is arbitrary Arbitrary- no intrinsic connection between the word and

3、 the thing it denotes, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with. Language is symbolic in nature Symbolic- words are associated with objects, actions ideas by convention. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”-Shakespeare Language is primarily vocal Vocal- the primary m

4、edium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form. Language is human-specific Human-specific- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries. 2. The design/defining features of human language (Charles Hoc

5、kett) The defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. 人类语言区别于任何一种动物交际系统的规定性特征。 Arbitrariness Productivity/Creativity Duality 双重 Displacement 移位 Cultural transmission Arbitrariness No logical (motivated or intrinsic) connection between sounds and

6、 meanings. Onomatopoeic words (which imitate natural sounds) are somewhat motivated ( English: rumble, crackle, bang, . Chinese: putong, shasha, dingdang ) Productivity/creativity Peculiar to human languages，users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before, e.g. we

7、 can understand sentence like “ A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed”, though it does not describe a common happening in the world. A gibbon call system is not productive for gibbon draw all their calls from a fixed repertoire which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. The

8、 bee dance does have a limited productivity, as it is used to communicate about food sources in any direction. But food sources are the only kind of messages that can be sent through the bee dance; bees do not “talk” about themselves, the hives, or wind, let alone about people, animals, hopes or des

9、ires Duality Lower level-sounds (meaningless) Higher level-meaning (larger units of meaning) A communication system with duality is considered more flexible than one without it, for a far greater number of messages can be sent. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large numbe

10、r of units of meaning (words), and the units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. Displacement Language can be used to refer to things, which are not present: real or imagined matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. A gibbon never utt

11、ers a call about something he ate last year There is something special about the bee dance though. Bees communicate with other bees about the food sources they have found when they are no longer in the presence of the food. In this sense, the bee dance has a component of displacement. But this compo

12、nent is very insignificant. For the bees must communicate about the food immediately on returning to the hive. They do not dance about the food they discovered last month nor do they speculate about future discoveries. Cultural transmission Language is culturally transmitted (through teaching and le

13、arning; rather than by instinct). Animal call systems are genetically transmitted. All cats, gibbons and bees have systems which are almost identical to those of all other cats, gibbons and bees. A Chinese speaker and an English speaker are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is cult

14、urally transmitted. That is, it is pass on from one generation to the next by teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. The story of a wolf child shows that a human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire human language. 3. Functions of language Phatic 寒暄: for establishing an atm

15、osphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging information or ideas. Greetings, farewells and comments on the weather serve this function. eg. “ A nice day, isnt it ?” doesnt inform the hearer about the weather, for it is a fact he himself can see. But it does make the hearer feel

16、good because the sentence shows the relationship between them remains what it was. eg. “How are you today ?” the speaker is not really interested in the hearers state of health, but is an expression of good will Directive指令: get the hearer to do something. eg. “Pass me the salt , please”. Informativ

17、e信息: give information about facts. Informative statements are often judged as true or false. eg. “Water boils at 212 degree Fahrenheit” is a true statement Interrogative: get information from others. eg. “When did he arrive?” Expressive表达: express feelings and attitudes of the speaker. eg. My God!”

18、or“ We are most grateful for this.” Evocative表情: create certain feelings in the hearer (amuse, startle, soothe, worry or please) eg. jokes are designed to amuse or entertain the audience; advertising is devised to urge customers to buy the mentioned goods; propoganda aims to influence public opinion

19、 along a certain line. Evocative function 表情-to use language to create certain feelings in the hearer. Its aim is to amuse, startle, anger, soothe,worry or please. eg. jokes are designed to amuse or entertain the audience; advertising is devised to urge customers to buy the mentioned goods; propogan

20、da aims to influence public opinion along a certain line. 4. The origin of language The divine-origin theory- Language is a gift of God to mankind. The invention theory- imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together. The evolutionary theory- the result of physical and psychological

21、development. 5. What are the differences between human language and animal language Human language is different from animal language in that the former is a symbolic system, whereas the latter is largely symptomatic征兆性. By symptomaticity, we mean the tokens标志 animals use in their communication are s

22、pontaneous reflections of their internal states or emotions. Therefore, animals have a natural communication system rather than possess language. 二，linguistics What is linguistics? Four principles of linguistic studies The scope or major branches of linguistics Some important distinctions in linguis

23、tics 1 . What is linguistics? Linguistics is the scientific study of language. 2. Four principles of linguistic studies Exhaustiveness/adequacy Consistency Economy Objectivity 3. The scope or major branches of linguistics Theoretical linguistics/Microlinguistics微观语言学：Phonetics Phonology Morphology S

24、yntax Semantics PragmaticsUse of linguistics/Macroliguistics 宏观语言学：Applied linguistics Sociolinguistics PsycholinguisticsTheoretical linguistics Phonetics-speech sound (description, classification, transcription): articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics. Phonology-sound patter

25、ns of languages Morphology-the form of words Syntax-the rules governing the combination of words into sentence. Semantics-the meaning of language Pragmatics - when the meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use Use of linguistics Applied linguistics-linguistics and language teac

26、hing Sociolinguistics- social factors (e.g.class, education) affect language use Psycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process Stylistics-linguistics and literature Some other applications Anthropological linguistics Neurolinguistics 神经 Computational linguistics (e.g. machine trans

27、lation) Experimental, philosophical, historical, clinical病理, discourse话语, external & internal linguistics 4. Some important distinctions in linguistics Descriptive vs prescriptive Descriptive描写 - describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language people actually use (modern linguistics) eg. Peop

28、le do dont say . The sun rises from the east. Prescriptive规定-lay down rules for “correct” linguistic behavior in using language i.e. to tell people what they should say and what they should not do. (traditional grammar) eg . Do Dont say . You should obey the rule. Linguistic studies before 20th cent

29、ury are largely prescriptive in the sense that many early grammars were based on “ high” ( literary, religious ) written language. Synchronic vs diachronic Synchronic共时study- description of a language at some point of time (modern linguistics) eg. the study of English in Shakespeare time. Diachronic

30、历时 study- description of a language through time (historical development of language over a period of time) Speech vs writing The two major media of linguistic communication. Speech - primary medium of language. Genetically, children learn to speak before learning to write. Writing - later developed

31、, learned and taught later. With writing, message can be carried through time & space. Langue vs parole (F. de Saussure) Langue语言 the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community. eg. Chinese Parole话语- the realization of langue in actual use. eg. varieties of Chinese Saus

32、sure takes a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions.社会惯例/法规, Differences between them: L. is abstract; P. is specific to the situation in which it occurs. L. is not actually spoken by anyone; P. is always a natural occurring event.自然出现的 语言事件 L is relatively stable & sys