Introduction to English Language

LINGUISTICS= the scientific study of all forms of language manifestationother related fields of science = applied linguistics

LANGUAGE= basic means of human communication most widely used & most convenient means

Man = homo loquens (speaking man) rather than homo sapiens

CONVENTIONgenerally accepted in a speech communitychain of sounds – acoustic realization to a notion

The DUAL NATURE of linguistic sign:

notion = non-linguistic worldits phonetic realization = language phenomenon

Phonetic realization varies from language to language, e.g.:dog, Hund, chien, sobaka, kutya, perro, cachorro, pes

SPEECH COMMUNITY= society (a group of people) using the same language, agreed to use the same convention

Linguistic signs:

- arranged in a grammatical system- used as a convention in the speech community - The ability to create a system out of signs = a unique capacity of human beings.

LANGUAGE FAMILIES

- More than 4000 languages spoken in the world today:

classified into several language families, 2 to 100 or more separate but related languagesLanguages diverged from a single ancestoral tongue = PROTOLANGUAGE

BASIC ENGLISH = British American Scientific International Commercial EN

1927, Charles Kay OGDEN: reduced & deliberately simplified natural language as:

- international auxiliary lg 600 names of things- aid for teaching/learning EN as a second lg + 150 names of qualities- limited nr of words, extensive use of paraphrases + 100 “operators“

-----------------------------------850 words:

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GRAMMAR OF BASIC ENGLISHa small number of gram. rules necessary for: the clear statements of ideas saying anything for purposes of everyday existence.

GRAMMAR: 1. pl. –s; 2. more, most; 3. adverbs –ly; -er, -ing, -ed; 4. negative un-;

to disembark = to get off a ship, difficult = HARD, weapons = ARMS, weeping = CRYING, beloved = DEAR, enter the room = GET IN

EXTENDED CORE VOCABULARY 850 words of BASIC English)300 words for fields of trade, economics, science 350 international words

--------------------------------------------------------------------- = general vocabulary of 1500 words

Later: extended to a 2000 word list.

However, 2 important language facts:

lexicon = CNs & derivatives not only basic words language learning = not only about words but: relations of words to one another & the relation of signs to meaningsLanguage learning is more than rote memory.

COMPOUND WORDS= 2 words joined together referring to a single objectEach part = as a separate word but meaning of a CN often differs from the meaning of its elements.

N stem + N stem ()Adj stem + N stem ()V stem + N stem ()

-ing form: with a linking element ()

IDIOMS= a number of words which, when taken together, have a different meaning from the individual

meanings of each word:

to give someone the green lightsto kick the bucketa hard / tough nut to crack

NOUN PHRASES: the calm before the storm

ADJECTIVE + NOUN: a fair weather friend

IDIOMATIC PAIRSof adjectives: spick and span

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of nouns: ifs and butsof verbs: do or die

identical pairs: step by stepphrasal Vs: to look sth up, to look up to sb,

to look after sb, to look forward toparts of body: to lose one´s head, Achilles´ heelcolours: a black list, white lienumbers: ten to onetime: at the eleventh houranimals: a busy bee, the lion´s share (of sth)

TYPES OF SPEECHL. Bloomfield, founder of AM structural linguisticsLITERARY STANDARD formal lg manifestation of highly educated people (unnatural in everyday conversation)

COLLOQUIAL STANDARD educated people speak/write in informal situation

Not one but different colloquial standards for EN in: Britain: spoken with RP & Southern type of grammar

USA: several standards = acc. to what is the most common variety in that part of USAustralia & other countries = own colloquial standards

TYPES OF SPEECHPROVINCIAL STANDARD shows only slight phonetic & lexical differences (sth of a kind of funny accent)

SUBSTANDARD sounds uneducated, the lg of the lower middle class, less prestigious than either colloquial or provincial

LOCAL DIALECT in small parts of the countryshows phonetic & lexical diversions from other types, morphological & syntactic differencesincomprehensible to persons not familiar with it

SLANGbelow the level of educated standard speech new / current words in special sensepeople look down on it but cannot avoid using it

Reasons for using it:to be different, escape from cliché, be brief, enrich lg, soften a tragedy, amuse public, show that one belongs to a certain school, be secret, not understood by others

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Bugger off! fishy Slang & diminutives & nicknames = emotional tinge manifestations of social closeness & intimacy

SPOKEN ENGLISH – WRITTEN ENGLISHThe spoken & written forms – a number changesDevelopment of the spoken – quicker than written formEnglish pronunciation = different from spellingPhonetic transcription= learning correct pronunciationThe spoken form based on speech sounds more sounds than letters no diacritical marks = to use different means to represent sounds in writing

DIGRAPH= combination of letters represents a sound

ENGLISH SOUNDS & LETTERSSound [ i ] = by different letters or digraphs:

e, i, ee, eo, ea, ie, ei, ey, oe, ae, uay

One letter “a“ = different sounds: [æ], [e], [ə], [a:], [o:], [ei], [i]

Homophones - Homographs - Homonyms -

HINTS ON PRONUNCIATION FOR FOREIGNERSI take it you already knowOf tough and bough and cough and dough

Others may stumble but not youOn hiccough, thorough, lough and through

Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,To learn of less familiar traps?

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HINTS ON PRONUNCIATION FOR FOREIGNERSBeware of heard, a dreadful word,That looks like beard and sounds like bird.

And dead: it´s like bed, not bead –For goodness sake don´t call it “deed“.

Watch out for meat and great and threat(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt)

THE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE

1) DUALITY = the dual nature of linguistic structure

Linguistic forms: significant units of sounds (phonemes) significant units of forms (morphemes)

Arrangement of phonemes= meaningful in a ling. form

Speech production: physical level:individual sounds (n, b, i) = distinct soundsanother level = sounds in combinations: bin, nib = distinct meanings

THE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGEDUALITY OF LEVELS (“double articulation“) one of the most economical features of language:limited set of distinct sounds = sound combinations distinct in meaning (words)

2) PRODUCTIVITY (creativity, open-endedness)combine structural elements of lg into combinations understood by other members, e.g.:

children learning lg / adults describing new objects: create new expressions, sentences, novel utterances

The productivity of human language = infinite

THE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE3) ARBITRARINESS no direct relation /“natural“ connection between a notion & its phonetic shape

The phonetic realization of a notion = arbitrary, a matter of convention.

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Property of linguistic signs = their arbitrary relationship with the objects they are used to indicateTHE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE4) INTERCHANGEABILITY

in communication members of a speech community – both send & receive messages

Any speaker/sender of a ling. sign = a listener/receiver

5) SPECIALIZATION

Every human language = a special system made up for communication in a speech community.

Linguistic signals = special, not for breathing or feeding

THE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE6) DISPLACEMENT

to speak in a direct context of:things present & things not existing at allto refer:to past or future timeto other locationallows the language user:to create fiction to describe possible future world understood by persons familiar with these notions

THE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE7) DISCRETENESS

sounds used in lg = meaningfully distinct, e.g. a slight difference between b + p sound

The pronunciation of forms back & pack leads to a distinction in meaning due to the difference between b & p sound

Each sound in lg = treated as discrete.

THE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE8) CULTURAL TRANSMISSION

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Every human being = ability:to use language to learn mother tongue & other languages

A language = also the speech community, its members, its history, its cultureDevelopment of lg- influenced human culture & vice versa

Non-linguistic culture & language exist side by side, depend upon each other = interdependent

SPEECH ACTa manifestation of speaker´s communicative activityan act of verbal (spoken / written) behaviour

Its realization makes up the utterance which has certain illocutionary force.

question - polite requestcommand - good adviceSPEECH ACTCan you help me, please? Please, help me immediately. (urgent demand)

I think he understands what I mean. Does he really understand what I mean? (uncertainty)

Don´t worry he will be all right in a couple of days.You should not be upset about his illness. (good advice)SPEECH ACTDeclarative questions & polite requestsspecific function in EN conversation expressing: uncertainty, hesitation, non-imposition

You seem to realize how difficult it is to study medicine. (declarative question) Do you realize how difficult it is to study medicine?

I would be very pleased to meet you again. (polite request)Will it be possible to meet you again?

POLITE REQUESTSacc. to their syntactic structure = questionsacc. to their meaning = polite requests more polite & acceptable than the imperative:

SHOW ME THE WAY TO THE MUSEUM (PLEASE)- rarely used to issue requests

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PLEASE SHOW ME THE WAY TO THE MUSEUM- a direct speech act (too urgent)

Sentences indirectly doing requests – with: Would – Will – Could – Can

PRE-REQUESTSshort questions:a preparatory phase for expressing the full request:

MAY I ASK YOU FOR SOMETHING?

COULD YOU DO ME A FAVOUR? FORMALITY vs. INFORMALITY

The character & choice of lg. expressions depend on the relation btw: a sender & a receiver of a message.It differs according to whom we communicate

The opposition of formality & informality = a continuum with several interphases:posh talk distance familiar tone spontaneous, informal chat relaxed conversation

FORMALITY vs. INFORMALITY

The relation expressed between a sender & a receiver of a message, e.g.: I appreciate your kind offer and support.It´s very kind of you to give me the backing.Nice of you to back me up.

FACTORS OF FORMALITY

FORMAL:complex sentencespolysylabic, classical vocabulary:

investigate, extinguish

POLITE:respectful terms of address: Sirindirect requests: Would you be so kind as to ...

IMPERSONAL:passive voice: the terrorists were shotthird person noun phrases:the reader, customers

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FACTORS OF FORMALITY

INFORMAL:simple sentencesmonosyllabic, native vocabulary, esp. phrasal verbs: look into, put out

FAMILIAR:intimate terms of address: John, love,direct imperatives: Give me ...

PERSONAL:active voice: police shot the terrorists1st and 2nd person pronouns: I, you,

ACCENT vs DIALECTEvery language-user = an accent:description of aspects of pronunciationidentific. of where a speaker is from (socially/regionally)

The term dialect:= pronunciation & grammar & vocabulary

You don´t know what you´re talking about.StandE with a Scottish accent - generally understood

Ye dinnae ken whit yer haverin´aboot.in Scottish dialect (not generally understood - differences in P, V, Gr)

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO REGIONS (1)

first a speaker´s pronunciation is recognized, then distinctive vocabulary & grammar

Geographical dispersion = basis for linguistic variation:

British Isles: Irish, Scots, Northern, Midland, South-Western, Welsh, London variety

North America: Canadian, New England, Midland, Southern variety of English VARIETIES ACCORDING TO REGIONS (2)

Investigation of regional dialects = the identification of consistent features of speech found in one geographical area rather than another

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The aim of dialect surveys:to find significant differences in the speech of those living in different areas to be able to chart boundaries between the areas

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO REGIONS (3)

ISOGLOSS line representing a boundary between areas with regard to particular linguistic itemsthe limit of an area - a linguistic feature is usedUSA:Northern area: Minnesota, North./Southern Dakota: taught [o]/; paper bag; get sick

Midland dialect area: Iowa, Nebraska: taught [a]; paper sack; take sick;

Drawing isoglosses & dialect boundaries = useful but:- in most areas one variety merges into another.

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO REGIONS (4)The Scandinavian dialect continuum: across different languages - different countries

Speakers of Norwegian & Swedish:use different dialects of a single languagebidialectal speakers (speaking 2 dialects)

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO REGIONS (5)The speaker speaking 2 languages = bilingual

CANADA (bilingual country) - official languages:English (essentially an English-speaking country) &French = French-speaking minority group (Quebec)

Individual bilingualism:mother - speaking English, father – Frenchchild = both languages not noticing disctinctions 1 language = dominant, the other = subordinate role

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO EDUCATIONEducated speech (Standard EN): governmentprofessionscourtpolitical partiesthe pressRP = standard, non-regional, of considerable prestige

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Uneducated speech (substandard): identified with regional dialect (I don´t want no cake)

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO SUBJECTThe switch = turn to particular set of lexical items for handling the subject in question, e.g.: lawcookeryengineeringfootball

Particular subject matter, e.g. legal sentence= educated variety of EN

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO MEDIUMspoken: stressrhythm intonationtempogestures

written: absence of person addressedprecise completion of sentences

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO ATTITUDEstylistic varieties

Linguistic form depends on our attitude to: the hearer (reader) the subject matter the purpose of our communication

Sentences: informal (friendly) formal (impersonal)

VARIETIES ACCORDING TO INTERFERENCErefer to the trace left by someone´s native lg upon the foreign lg he has acquired, e.g.:

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„I am here since Monday.“ the Frenchman / the Slovak imposes French / Slovak gram. usage on EN

Interferencelinguistic disturbance which results from 2 languages coming into contact in a specific situation.

VARIETIES OF ENGLISHFrom a linguistic point of view no variety is “better“ than another, they are simply different.

The varieties involved on the common core of EN:American & British Englishspeech & writingformal & informal

LANGUAGE – INDIVIDUAL – SOCIETYLANGUAGE both an individual & social phenomenonmost important link btw an individual & society

An individual uses lg as a functioning member of a social group – a speech community If not lg, no thorough communication among individuals

Every job = jargon difficult to understand, e.g.: „Bucket of mud, draw one, hold the cow.“

The same social class but differences acc. to age/sex:teenagers: fridge; grandparents: iceboxfemale: I did, he isn´t; male: I done, he ain´t

DIALECTS develop because language is constantly changingdefined by geographical barriers (mountains, rivers) = difficult communication

The Atlantic Ocean prevented easy & frequent communication.

Based on speech of England in 17ct:2 distinct dialects (BE & AE) = developed

Each person = his own way of expressing himself, slight differences enable to communicate freely with other members of the same speech community.

IDIOLECT an individual´s total set of language habits

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personal dialect of each individual language speaker determined by:social factors & other factors (voice quality, physical state)

“YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY“

Every idiolect differs from others.The idiolects of individuals in close contact = similar, but never identical.The greater density of communication = the more similar idiolects.

IDIOLECT Members of social groups:share the same interestwork in the same fieldinfluence each other, e.g. idiolect of a teacher

At present:the factor influencing the idiolect = language manifestation in mass media = sounds educated & more prestigious & respected

IDIOLECTS = becoming more & more similar

IDE FAMILY OF LANGUAGES= historically related groups of languages= a closer kinship to one another

Most languages = hypothetical speech ancestor:INDO-EUROPEAN- its descendent languages = half of the world´s population

The original form of the language (PROTO) =source of modern languages in Indian sub-continent & in EuropeThe different pronunciation of the initial velar / guttural “k“ sound in theword meaning “hundred“:

CENTUM (western) SATEM (eastern)= a hard sound: = a softer sound:Hundert, ... sto, ...

IDE FAMILY OF LANGUAGESCENTUM (western) SATEM (eastern)GERMANIC BALTO-SLAVIC:

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NORTH G.: BALTIC: Latvian, LithuanianNorwegian SLAVIC: East: Russian, Byelorussian, Ukrainian Swedish West: Slovak, Czech, Polish Icelandic South: Bulgarian, Slovenian, Croatian, SerbianDanish ARMENIAN: Armenian EAST G. – Gothic ALBANIAN: Albanian WEST G.: English, German, Dutch INDO-IRANIAN:HELLENIC: Ancient Gr.– Mod. Greek Indic – Sanskrit: Bengali, Panjabi, Hindi, CELTIC: Welsh, Irish, Gaelic Nepali, Urdu ITALIC - Latin: Iranian – Old Persian – Persian, Kurdish,Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguesse, Romanian

IDE FAMILY OF LANGUAGESThe proto-language reconstructed by comparison of sounds & forms of langauges = in written forms

DIACHRONIC STUDY = study of the history of language developmentSYNCHRONIC STUDY = study of the description of contemporary language

Old Norse: einn, steinn Gothic: ains, stainsOld High German: ein, steinOld English: ᾱn, stᾱn

Conclusion: Proto-Germanic forms of Englishone < *ainaz stone < *stainazThese forms prove the mutual relationship of the comparedGermanic languages in the given point of their system.

IDE FAMILY OF LANGUAGESComparative research = comparing Germanic languages & Slavonic,Baltic, Celtic, Indo-Iranian, Latin, etc.

- similarities in phonic and grammatical structures = hypothesis:All the languages originated from a common source, a proto-language:INDOEUROPEAN, e.g.: *mᾱter, *dwo, * trējesGermanic branch = TEUTONIC

GOTHIC = extinct language; - known mostly from a 4th ct edition of the Bible- important for understanding early developments in the entire lg branch

ENGLISH – developed from the western Germanic tribes:Saxons, Jutes, Angles – the name EN derived from

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IDE FAMILY OF LANGUAGESCENTUM (western) SATEM (eastern)NORTH GERMANIC INDICIcelandic: tvo, θri Sanskrit: dvau, trayasSwedish: tva, tre BALTICWEST GERMANIC Lithuanian: du, trýsGerman: zwei, drei SLAVONICDutch: twee, drie Russian:English: two, three Polish: EAST GERMANIC Croatian:Gothic: twai, θreis Slovak: IDE LANGUAGESThe two main common features:

- they are inflectional in structure syntactic distinctions (C, G, Nr, mood, tense) - indicated by varying the form of the word, e.g -s (pl); -ed (past tense)- they have a common word-stock

IDE FAMILY TREE- covers a small number of languages: 30 language families 4000 languages spoken

Number of speakers:Mandarin Chinese (more than 400 million)English (300 million)Russian, Spanish (200 million each)

NON-IDE LANGUAGES (non-inflectional system)ISOLATING, e.g. Chinese: mostly monosyllabic words, relation - by WOAGLUTINATIVE, e.g. Hungarian, Turkish - affixes attached to bases(e.g. Barát-om-nak = to a friend)INCORPORATING / POLYSYNTHETIC, e.g. Eskimo (lg of Greenland) a single word expresses S, V, Od, Oi = a sentence of 5-6 words =“incorporated“ as a single word

FINNO-UGRIAN: Finnish, Hungarian, LappishALTAIC: Turkish, Mongolian, ManchuHAMITIC: African languages (Egyptian)SEMITIC: Hebrew, ArabicINDO-CHINESE: in Tibet, Burma, ChinaMALAY-POLYNESIAN: in Philippines, Malay Peninsula, MadagaskarAMERICAN INDIAN FAMILIES: Iroquoian, Siouan, Uto-Aztecan, …

COGNATESClose similarities in sets of terms = within groups of related languages

COGNATES: 2 words in different languages - similar in form & meaning

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English: mother, father, friend = cognates of German: Mutter, Vater, Freund= common ancestor in the GERMANIC BRANCH of IDE

Spanish: madre, padre, amigo = cognates of Italian: madre, padre, amico= common ancestor in the ITALIC BRANCH of IDE

MAIN ASPECTS OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLISHCELTIC BRANCH OF LANGUAGES

Britonnic/British: WELSH BRETON CORNISH of Cornwall (died out)

Gaelic:IRISH GAELIC – by country folk in the NW of IrelandSCOTTISH GAELIC – in the Highlands in Scotland MANX (died out)

Gaulish – died out

1) CELTIC LANGUAGE INFLUENCECELTIC = 1st IDE language spoken in England

Celtic tribes, the BRITONS (btw 6th – 3rd ct. B.C.) invaded the islands & overcame the Iberians

The southern part of the island named after them: BRITAIN

Words of CELTIC origin in ModE:

- geographical names: Avon (in Celtic: river)Derwent (clear water)the Downs (the chalk highlands in the S and S-E)the river Thames

- town names: London, Leeds, Dover2) LATIN LANGUAGE INFLUENCE

LATIN = when Britain (ex. Scotland) a province of Roman Empire1st -5th ct A.D.: establishment of Latin as the language of administration,law, the ChurchLATIN did not replace the CELTIC language in Britain.

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Roman legions left Britain in 407 A.D.Words of LATIN origin in ModE:

street (strata), port (portus), wall (vallum), wine (vinum), market(mercatus)

Roman towns – strongly fortified, called castra (camp)

English town names ending in: chester, cester, caster:Chester, Winchester, Manchester, ColchesterLeicester, Gloucester, Doncaster, Lancaster;Lincoln = from Latin colonia (colony)

3) GERMANIC LANGUAGE INFLUENCEGermanic tribes of SAXONS, ANGLES & JUTES(now: the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany) attacked the country in the middle of 5th ct (449)- closely akin in speech and customs- merged into one people: the ANGLO-SAXONS- made up the majority of the population- their customs & language = predominant- called the Celts wealas (welsh) = foreigners The CELTS (the minority):merged with the conquerors learned to speak their language

The CELTS in W. Scotland & Ireland = native language

CELTIC = Gaelic = Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic

3) GERMANIC LANGUAGE INFLUENCEThe conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity = a revival of learning:

Greek: arithmetics, maths, theatre, geography

Latin: school, paper, candle, devil, mental, monk, cap, spade, mill, tile, mortar, marble, chalk

Seven (Germanic) kingdoms: the HEPTARCHY

Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex

Kingdom of Wessex & its capital Winchester in 9 ct = centre of learning – the reign of King Alfred (the Great)

- translations of books on religion, history, philosophy from Latin into ANGLO-SAXON (hand written copies in monasteries)

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3) GERMANIC LANGUAGE INFLUENCEThe main dialects: Northumbrian, West Saxon, Kentish, Mercian (= direct ancestor of ModE)Mercian & Northumbrian grouped: Anglian dialect

Most of the literary documents (10th – 11th ct) survived in later West-Saxon versions - some Anglian features6 ct. Latin writers – began to refer to Anglo-Saxons asANGLI/ENGLI (the Angles)7 ct. Latin name ANGLI/ANGLIA – for the country around 1000ENGLALAND (= land of the Angles)the nation: ANGELCYNN (= nation of the Angles)the language: ENGLISC (= English)Some references = ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE

OLD ENGLISH (language period 600/700 – 1100)

4) SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCEIn 787: - invasion of the VIKINGS / Scandinavian (ancestors of contemporary DANES and NORWEGIANS)- the period = the VIKINGAGE - England under Danish rule: 1017 – 1042

Words of Scandinavian origin:both, cloud, die, egg, fellow, give, husband, kettle, root, take, them,shirt, sky, skirt, scale, score, steak

5) FRENCH LANGUAGE INFLUENCE- the last invasion of England = in 11 ct.Norman duke William the Conqueror defeated the W-S king Harold in the battle of Hastings (1066) = King of England William I.

Norman conquest = important landmark in political and linguistic history

Linguistic changes = 2nd period in E. language history

MIDDLE ENGLISH (1100 – 1500)Linguistically: the Norman Conquest = dissemination of a non-Germanic language in EnglandThe peasantry (80%) = English, didn´t adopt French

Words of French origin (from various periods of the process of borrowing):appartment, artist, aristocrat, ballet, brochure, blouse, democrat,essay, envelope, champagne, menu, pilot, restaurant, society

OLD ENGLISH700 = 1st coherent literary documents = beginning of the documented history of EN

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OLD ENGLISH:known from translations of the Bible, old chroniclesmore similar to German than to present-day Englishsynthetic type of language rather than analyticmorphosyntactic relations expressed by inflectionsweak and strong declensions of Ns, Adj grammatical gender (on formal linguistic criteria)weak and strong conjugations of VsWO not as rigid as in present-day English syntaxvocabulary = Germanic, not many borrowingsword formation by compounding and affixation

OUR FATHER Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum [´fæder u:re ∂u: ∂e eart on heovonum]Sie þin nama gehalgod [´si:e ∂i:n nama je´ha:lvod] to becume þin ríce [to: be´kume ∂i:n ´ri:tje]geweorþe þin willa on eorþan swa swa on heofonum [je´weor∂e ∂i:n ´wila on ´eor∂an swa: swa: on ´heovonum]Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf sele us to dæg [u:rne jedæ:jhva:mlikan hla:f sele us to:dæj]and forgief us ure gyltas [and forjief us u:re gyltas]Swa swa we forgiefaþ urum gyltendum [swa: swa: we forjieva∂ u:rum gyltendum]and ne gelaed þu us on costnunge [and ne jelaed ∂u: us on kostnunge ]ac alies us of yfele [ak alies us of yvele]

MIDDLE ENGLISH (1100 – 1500)French words: administration, law, medicine, art, fashionLatin words: religion, medicine, law, literature

Borrowings did not change the structure of English.

Simplification of English inflectional system was caused by an innerdevelopment of EN morphology and syntax.

Major changes from OE to ME:- loss of inflections in Ns (only in plural + G sg.)- no distinction between strong and weak Adj.- no dual number in pronouns- loss of final –e in adverbs, instead -ly

Geoffrey CHAUCER = most important literary figure:the Canterbury Tales = famous collection of stories

MIDDLE ENGLISH

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EARLY MODERN ENGLISH- not so difficult to understand today, grammar was more simplified- numerous changes in pronunciation=spelling could not follow them- many dialects = difficult to achieve a uniform pronunciationS. JOHNSON completed:Dictionary of the EN language (40 000 words)Words of W. Shakespeare & the King James´ Bible= 2 most important influences on the development of EnglishWilliam CAXTON - introduced printing in England in 1476 = it was easier to standardize the literary languageSHAKESPEARIAN EXPRESSIONS: it´s Greek to me (Julius Caesar), in my mind´s eye (Hamlet), a tower of strength (Richard III), make a virtue of necessity(Pericles), I must be cruel only to be kind (Hamlet)SOME BIBLICAL EXPRESSIONS:the salt of the earth, the root of the matter, an eye for an eye, in sheep´s clothing, if the blind leads the blind

LATE MODERN ENGLISH (1750 - today)Anglo-Saxon words = a small part of the total modern lexicon- most frequently used: mother, father, love, name, in, be, thatSince 1950 a new wave of borrowings - position of EN= a world languageSome loan-words into English in 20th ct.:paparazzi, dolce vita (Italian), macho, salsa (Spanish), limousine, déja vu (French), karaoke, origami (Japanese), Luftwaffe, blitz (German), kalashnikov, perestroika (Russian)Some NEOLOGISMS – in 20th ct.:Euroskeptic (Europe + skeptic), alcopop (alcohol + pop), Schwarzeneggerian (refers to a film star), mickey (unit of computermouse distance, cca 0.005 inch), netrepreneur (Internet entrepreneur)At present: some differences between different standards & dialects, but English speaking persons have no serious problem in understanding one another (American, Australian or British-born persons)

STRUCTURALISMa new era in the development of linguisticsa new approach into linguistic research focusing on: - language as a system of signs with their internal structural interrelations & function of linguistic units - language as a social phenomenon – main function the communicative function - synchronic evaluation of facts

GENEVA SCHOOL: F. de Saussure, Ch. Bally, A. Sechehaye

PRAGUE LING. SCHOOL: V.Mathesius, R.Jakobson, N.Trubetzkoy

COPENHAGEN SCHOOL: L. Hjelmslev, V. Brondall, K. Togeby

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AMERICAN STRUCTURALISM: E. Sapir, L. Bloomfield, F. Boas

THE GENEVA SCHOOLFerdinand de SAUSSURE - founder of structuralism

In 1916: Charles BALLY + Albert SECHEHAYE:Cours de linguistic génerale - new terms and concepts introduced into linguisticsTHEORY OF SEMIOLOGY (SEMIOTICS)= a science that studies signs in human societyLANGUAGE= the most important system of signs used by peopleLINGUISTICS= a component part of semiology= belongs to humanities (not to natural sciences)LINGUISTIC SIGNDe Saussure:- language is a system of mutually related signs- the value of each sign is determined by: - its meaning - its relationship to other signs within the system

The system of signs: based upon the oppositions among the signs = connection of:- signifié (the concept)- signifiant (the phonic substance)

S + S = inseparable abstract notions mutually related in human consciousness by association

The relationship between S + S = obligatory, once established as a convention in a speech community

3 MAIN FEATURES OF A LINGUISTIC SIGNARBITRARENESS: signifié is determined by various signifiants =arbitrary - based on convention in the speech comunity

LINEARITY = The theory of linear character of linguistic signs =two signs cannot occur concurrently, they must be ordered in sequence, because utterances are realized in time(opposed to visual signals that are set in space).This theory = important within the word order: - rules of WO determine the order of separate signs in the utterance- value of each sign – by its position to other members of utterance

The theory of the DISCRETENESS of linguistics signs= phonic substance by itself is amorphousLinguistic sign = created when a concrete number of phonemes of agiven language in a certain order starts to be connected with others

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SYNTAGMATIC/PARADIGMATIC RELATIONSDe Saussure: the value of each linguistic sign – by its relationship:- to other signs within an utterance = syntagmatic relationship - to other signs that could replace it in its position = paradigmatic rel.e.g.: The notion “mouse“: a) We caught a mouse in our cellar yesterdayb) I have got a wireless mouse. The concrete meaning – by SYNTAGMATIC RELATIONS:a)We don´t catch a PC mouse in a cellar. b)Home mouse doesn´t have wiresSYNT.REL.=sth common/opposite that can be imagined by association

The meaning of sign “mouse“ – determined by PARADIGMATIC REL., i.e. by various associations in both sentences, e.g.:a)home mouse/rodent/it bites. b)PC mouse/accessory/click on the mouse= a sign mouse is polysemantic

DICHOTOMY SYNCHRONY - DIACHRONYLinguistic situation in particular historical period = different & closed

= not possible to completely reconstruct previous states

= distinction btw diachrony as non-grammatical, & synchrony as gram.

Mixing up facts of various periods, i.e. various idiosynchronies, ordiachronic & synchronic facts = the mixing of facts of different systems.

THEORY OF THE OPPOSITION LANGUE/PAROLELANGUE - system of all rules that are obligatory for all speakers of the community- a property of the society = a social phenomenon

PAROLE- concrete manifestation of langue uttered by an individual- an individual phenomenon, the use of languageF. de Saussure distinguishes a third term:

LANGAGEgeneral ability to create in language a system of signs that is not inherited but arbitrary & serves the purpose of communication

Noam CHOMSKY proposed opposition between:competence = the language systemperformance = the use of the system

THE PRAGUE SCHOOL OF LINGUISTICS

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In 1926, a group of Czech linguists: Mathesius, Havránek, Mukařovský, Trnka, Vachek a group of Russian linguists: Jakobson, Trubetzkoy, Isačenkoestablished:Cercle Linguistic de Prague

The theories influenced:- the development of Czecho-Slovak linguistics- other linguistic schools & directions in Europe

COMPARATIVE METHOD = a language typology describing varioustypes of language structure

In the USA Roman Jakobson founded so-called Harvardschool based on the theories of Prague structuralism

THESES (1929) - The basic principles: LANGUAGE= system of expressive means serves for communication= to investigate the particular functions of languageThe functions of language phenomena emphasized = the term:functional linguistics= functional approach to the languageLANGUAGE= concrete physical phenomenon depending on external (non-linguistic) factors:- language of particular culture in general & of literature- language of science & of newspapers- language of street & of administrationLINGUISTICS:- pecularities of the spoken & written forms- synchronic approach & diachronic (in development)MORPHONOLOGY/ MORPHOPHONEMICS / MORPHONEMICSa new branch of linguistics deal. with phonological structure of morphemesMorphological phenomena= treated in relation to the phonological ones

PHONOLOGY OF THE PRAGUE SCHOOLN. TRUBETZKOY: Základy fonológie = based on:- distinctive features of phonemes (dot, pot, hot, lot) - a binary principle (voiced vs. voiceless)Binary features have 2 values: 1 is regarded as the absence of the other.Contrast btw presence/absence of a feature btw 2 distinctive features:opposition

SYSTEM OF PHONEMES:1.Unidimensional oppositionsthe base is common for both phonemes: t - d = alveolar plosives2. Multidimensional oppositionscommon base - in more than 2: p – t – k = voiceless oral plosives3. Proportional oppositionsthe relation between 2 phonemes – in several pairs: p-b, t-d, k-g

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4. Isolated oppositionsthe relation between 2 phonemes does not occur elsewhere: r - l

MORPHOLOGY OF THE PRAGUE SCHOOLB. TRNKA: Studies in functional linguistics = the term morphologicalexponents1) phonological (sing – sang – sung)2) synthetic (re-work, day-s, rob-ím, dom-y)3) analytic (I have written, napísal som)4) composite (groups of words)

R. JAKOBSON: Zur Struktur des russischen Verbumsa theory of privative morphological oppositions =theory of binary opposition, “binarism“:the marked member implies the unmarked one, but the unmarked isneutral to the marked member.Grammatical category of gender in SK (EN), the feminine = marked, itdenotes females only, the masculine=unmarked member of the oppositionSYNTAX OF THE PRAGUE SCHOOLThe theory of functional sentence perspective

V. MATHESIUS: the fundamental terms of FSP, i.e.the theme (T) = the basis, part about which sth is stated, it represents a link to the previous part of the textthe rheme (R) the nucleus of the utterance, the actual new information

FUNCTIONAL SENTENCE PERSPECTIVE affected by several factors:CONTEXT – linguistic & situationalSEMANTICS = individual sentence elements contribute to the communicative dynamism, e.g. English verb =relatively low degree of communicative dynamism,it requires to besemantically completed: - by an object- by the adverbial phrase

FSPSENTENCE LINEARITY- grammatical principle: SVOMPT- emotive principle, or emphasis, e.g.: Where is John? HOME went John.- rhythmical principle:He took off the hat. He took the hat / it off. Who will visit you?-ordering T&R=objective:We will be visited by our relat. focus on hearer-ordering R&T=subjective:Our relatives will visit us. import. for speakerPROSODIC FEATURES = help to correctly interpret an utteranceINTONATION = 2 basic functions:1) formal – specifying the mood of the utterance2) content function containing: - sentence layer (statement, question, command,) - modal function (possibility, probability, validity,)

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- attitudinal function (politeness, emphasis,) - informatory (dichotomy: known vs. unknown)

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