WHAT IS LANGUAGE? Introduction to Linguistics. WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
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WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
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The study of language (linguistics) may treat a language as a self-contained system; or it may treat it as an object that varies over space, time, and social class.
We will consider only the SECOND (focus on diachronic linguistics and sociolinguistics).
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We can study the way in which language organizes thought and expresses statements about (perceived) reality; or,
We can study the internal structure of language systems.
Language
Perceived reality
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Humans manage to analyze an extremely complex acoustic signal and translate it into an internal representation linked to meaning with little conscious awareness of the intermediate steps or the complexity of the operation.
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Linguistics
Phonetics: sound, described as an acoustic and articulatory event
Phonology: the study of systems of discrete soundsMorphology: ... the internal structure of wordsSyntax: ...the principles governing combinations of
words.Semantics:...the relationship between syntactic
structures and meaning.
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Language is a brain function
Since the 19th century, we’ve known about
Broca’s area (posterior inferior frontal lob) (damage leads to non-fluent speech, lack of grammatical markers)
Wernicke’s area (left temporal lobe, auditory association area). (damage leads to aphasia with fluent speech lacking in content)
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But what is language?
A system of great complexity Much of the complexity is learned (we know that,
because it is “language-specifïc”) It still eludes our attempts to accurately model it
on computers (witness continuous speech recognition products)
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Language
A system of rules for using symbols
to share meaning!
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modes
Receptive Expressive
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methods
Oral
Written
Visual
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Receptive Expressive
Oral Listen Speak
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Receptive Expressive
Oral Listen Speak
Written Read Write
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Receptive Expressive
Oral Listen Speak
Written Read Write
Visual Appreciate Create
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What do you ‘know’ when you ‘know’ a language?
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A body of Linguistic Knowledge How to:
• Combine sounds• Create words• Build sentences• Construct texts• Participate in conversations
Language is axiomatic to being human.
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Arbitrariness
the connection between the signifier (form) and the signified (meaning) is arbitrary
these arbitrary relationships are agreed upon by speakers, i.e. a matter of convention (consensus)
even interjections and onomatopoetic signs are arbitrary
– ouaoua ~ bow-wow ~ mŏng-mŏng ~ wan-wan
– aïe! ~ ouch! ~ aigo! ~ aiya!
moon
signifier
signified
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Arbitrariness
shoe“shu”
all
“tu”
two/too/to“tu”
cabbage“shu”
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Duality
Linguistic units have a dual nature:1. They are observable physical events
“noise” or “image”
2. They are more than simple physical events• They are produced in order to communicate meaning
• They are connected to a concept
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Discreteness
What is “discrete” vs. “continuous”? Discrete entities have clear boundaries; they’re
units; categorical. Continuous entities don’t have clear boundaries. Language is… DISCRETE
Language is made up structured units if…… you have knowledge of the system!
Otherwise, utterances can sound like continuous streams of sound, without discernible units.
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The last three Design Features
Displacement– We can communicate beyond the here and now
– We are not “stimulus bound”
Cultural Transmission– Grammars are transmitted from one generation to the next
– Acquiring “a language” requires involvement in a culture Each human is born with Language; it’s a biological instinct.
Interchangeability– All members of the community are physically capable of
transmitting and receiving messages
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Assessing the Design Features
Arbitrariness Productivity Duality Discreteness Displacement Cultural Transmission Interchangeability
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Relationship between Prescription and Description
Universe of all word combinations in language X
Combinations that speakers actually
produce
Combinations that are officially
sanctioned by the authorities
Descriptively grammatical but
prescriptively ungrammatical
Descriptively ungrammatical
but prescriptively grammatical
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Comparing Languages: Who’s is Better?
Who gets to judge what is good?
Do you have the right to say that somebody else’s language is too hard or backwards or illogical or ugly?
We have to be wary of 2 traps:– Because language is changing, it is getting “corrupted.”
– My language variety is more X than another.
All languages are capable of communicating what they need to communicate.