各章节提纲笔记.docx

1、各章节提纲笔记Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics Chapter 2 Speech Sounds Chapter 3 Lexicon Chapter 4 Syntax Chapter 5 Meaning Chapter 6 Language Processing in Mind Chapter 7 Language, Culture and Society Chapter 8 Language in Use Chapter 9 Language and Literature Chapter 10 Language and Computer Chapter

2、11 Linguistics and Foreign Language Teaching Chapter 12 Theories and Schools of Modern Linguistics Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics1.1 Why study language? 1. Language is very essential to human beings. 2. In language there are many things we should know. 3. For further understanding, we need to

3、study language scientifically.1.2 What is language? Language is a means of verbal communication. It is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.1.3 Design features of language The features that define our human languages can be called design features which can distinguish hum

4、an language from any animal system of communication. 1.3.1 ArbitrarinessArbitrariness refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meanings. 1.3.2 DualityDuality refers to the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary l

5、evel are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization. 1.3.3 CreativityCreativity means that language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. Recursiveness refers to the rule which can be applied repeatedly without

6、 any definite limit. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for the possibility of creating endless sentences. 1.3.4 DisplacementDisplacement means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at th

7、e moment of conversation.1.4 Origin of language 1. The bow-wow theoryIn primitive times people imitated the sounds of the animal calls in the wild environment they lived and speech developed from that. 2. The pooh-pooh theoryIn the hard life of our primitive ancestors, they utter instinctive sounds

8、of pains, anger and joy which gradually developed into language. 3. The “yo-he-ho” theoryAs primitive people worked together, they produced some rhythmic grunts which gradually developed into chants and then into language.1.5 Functions of language As is proposed by Jacobson, language has six functio

9、ns: 1. Referential: to convey message and information; 2. Poetic: to indulge in language for its own sake; 3. Emotive: to express attitudes, feelings and emotions; 4. Conative: to persuade and influence others through commands and entreaties; 5. Phatic: to establish communion with others; 6. Metalin

10、gual: to clear up intentions, words and meanings. Halliday (1994) proposes a theory of metafunctions of language. It means that language has three metafunctions:1. Ideational function: to convey new information, to communicate a content that is unknown to the hearer;2. Interpersonal function: embody

11、ing all use of language to express social and personal relationships;3. Textual function: referring to the fact that language has mechanisms to make any stretch of spoken and written discourse into a coherent and unified text and make a living passage different from a random list of sentences.Accord

12、ing to Hu Zhuanglin, language has at least seven functions:1.5.1 Informative The informative function means language is the instrument of thought and people often use it to communicate new information.1.5.2 Interpersonal function The interpersonal function means people can use language to establish

13、and maintain their status in a society.1.5.3 Performative The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enem

14、ies.1.5.4 Emotive function The emotive function is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.1.5.5 Phatic communion The phatic communion means people always use some small, seemingly meaningl

15、ess expressions such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day, etc., to maintain a comfortable relationship between people without any factual content.1.5.6 Recreational function The recreational function means people use language for the sheer joy of using it, such as a babys babbling or a chanters

16、 chanting.1.5.7 Metalingual function The metalingual function means people can use language to talk about itself. E.g. I can use the word “book” to talk about a book, and I can also use the expression “the word book” to talk about the sign “b-o-o-k” itself.1.6 What is linguistics? Linguistics is the

17、 scientific study of language. It studies not just one language of any one community, but the language of all human beings.1.7 Main branches of linguistics 1.7.1 PhoneticsPhonetics is the study of speech sounds, it includes three main areas: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, and auditory p

18、honetics. 1.7.2 PhonologyPhonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. 1.7.3 MorphologyMorphology studies the minimal units of meaning morphemes and word-formation processes. 1.7.4 SyntaxSyntax refers to the rules gover

19、ning the way words are combined to form sentences in a language, or simply, the study of the formation of sentences. 1.7.5 Semantics Semantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language. 1.7.6 Pragmatics Pragmatics is the study of meaning in context.1.8 Macrolinguistics Macrolinguistics is the st

20、udy of language in all aspects, distinct from microlinguistics, which dealt solely with the formal aspect of language system. 1.8.1 PsycholinguisticsPsycholinguistics investigates the interrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition for example.

21、1.8.2 SociolinguisticsSociolinguistics is a term which covers a variety of different interests in language and society, including the language and the social characteristics of its users. 1.8.3 Anthropological linguisticsAnthropological linguistics studies the relationship between language and cultu

22、re in a community. 1.8.4 Computational linguisticsComputational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language.1.9 Important distinctions in linguistics 1.9.1 Descriptive vs. prescriptiveTo say that linguistics is a descriptiv

23、e science is to say that the linguist tries to discover and record the rules to which the members of a language-community actually conform and does not seek to impose upon them other rules, or norms, of correctness.Prescriptive linguistics aims to lay down rules for the correct use of language and s

24、ettle the disputes over usage once and for all.For example, “Dont say X.” is a prescriptive command; “People dont say X.” is a descriptive statement. The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are. In the 18th century, all the main European languages were st

25、udied prescriptively. However, modern linguistics is mostly descriptive because the nature of linguistics as a science determines its preoccupation with description instead of prescription. 1.9.2 Synchronic vs. diachronicA synchronic study takes a fixed instant (usually at present) as its point of o

26、bservation. Saussures diachronic description is the study of a language through the course of its history. E.g. a study of the features of the English used in Shakespeares time would be synchronic, and a study of the changes English has undergone since then would be a diachronic study. In modern lin

27、guistics, synchronic study seems to enjoy priority over diachronic study. The reason is that unless the various state of a language are successfully studied it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development. 1.9.3 Langue & paroleSaussure distinguished

28、the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics as langue and parole. Langue is relative stable and systematic, parole is subject to personal and situational constraints; langue is not spoken by an individual, parole is always a naturally occurring event. Wha

29、t a linguist should do, according to Saussure, is to draw rules from a mass of confused facts, i.e. to discover the regularities governing all instances of parole and make them the subject of linguistics. 1.9.4 Competence and performanceAccording to Chomsky, a language users underlying knowledge abo

30、ut the system of rules is called the linguistic competence, and the actual use of language in concrete situations is called performance. Competence enables a speaker to produce and understand and indefinite number of sentences and to recognize grammatical mistakes and ambiguities. A speakers compete

31、nce is stable while his performance is often influenced by psychological and social factors. So a speakers performance does not always match his supposed competence. Chomsky believes that linguists ought to study competence, rather than performance. Chomskys competence-performance distinction is not exactly the same as, though similar to, Saussures langue-parole distinction. Langue is a social product and a set of conventions of a community, while competence is deemed as a property