语言学概论教案

语言学概论教案

语言学概论教案ChapterOneInvitationstoLinguisticsFocusandDifficulties：1.DesignFeaturesofLanguage2.FunctionsofLanguage3.ImportantDistinctionsinLinguistics4.DesignFeaturesofLanguage5.FunctionsofLanguage6.ImportantDistinctionsinLinguisticsTeachingContents：I.WhyStudyLanguage?1.1SomemythsaboutlanguagenLanguageisonlyameansofcommunication.nLanguagehasaform-meaningcorrespondence.nThefunctionoflanguageistoexchangeinformation.nEnglishismoredifficulttolearnthanChinese.nBlackEnglishisnotstandardandshouldbereformed.1.2SomefundamentalviewsaboutLnChildrenlearntheirnativelanguageswiftly,efficientlyandwithoutinstruction.\nnLanguageoperatesbyrules.nAlllanguageshavethreemajorcomponents:asoundsystem,asystemoflexicogrammarandasystemofsemantics.nEveryonespeaksadialect.nLanguageslowlychanges.nSpeakersofalllanguagesemployarangeofstylesandasetofjargons.nLanguagesareintimatelyrelatedtothesocietiesandindividualswhousethem.nWritingisderivativeofspeech.II.WhatIsLanguage?Language“isnottobeconfusedwithhumanspeech,ofwhichitisonlyadefinitepart,thoughcertainlyanessentialone.Itisbothasocialproductofthefacultyofspeechandacollectionofnecessaryconventionsthathavebeenadoptedbyasocialbodytopermitindividualstoexercisethatfaculty”.--FerdinanddeSaussure(1857-1913):CourseinGeneralLinguistics(1916)“Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,emotionsanddesiresbymeansofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols.”\n--EdwardSapir(1884-1939):Language:AnIntroductiontotheStudyofSpeech(1921)“Alanguageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsbymeansofwhichasocialgroupco-operates.”--BernardBloch(1907-1965)&GeorgeTrager(1906-1992):OutlineofLinguisticAnalysis(1942)“Alanguageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsbymeansofwhichthemembersofasocietyinteractintermsoftheirtotalculture.”--GeorgeTrager:TheFieldofLinguistics(1949)“FromnowonIwillconsiderlanguagetobeaset(finiteorinfinite)ofsentences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements.”--NoamChomsky(1928-):SyntacticStructures(1957)Languageis“theinstitutionwherebyhumanscommunicateandinteractwitheachotherbymeansofhabituallyusedoral-auditoryarbitrarysymbols.”--RobertA.Hall(1911-1997):IntroductoryLinguistics(1964)\n“Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.”--RonaldWardhaugh:IntroductiontoLinguistics(1977)“Thequestion‘Whatislanguage?’iscomparablewith--and,somewouldsay,hardlylessprofoundthan--‘Whatislife?’,thepresuppositionsofwhichcircumscribeandunifythebiologicalsciences...itisnotsomuchthequestionitselfastheparticularinterpretationthatthebiologistputsuponitandtheunravellingofitsmoredetailedimplicationswithinsomecurrentlyacceptedtheoreticalframeworkthatnourishthebiologist'sday-to-dayspeculationsandresearch.Soitisforthelinguistinrelationtothequestion‘Whatislanguage?’”--JohnLyons(1932-):LanguageandLinguistics(1981)“Languageisameansofverbalcommunication.”nItisinstrumentalinthatcommunicatingbyspeakingorwritingisapurposefulact.nItissocialandconventionalinthatlanguageisasocialsemioticandcommunicationcanonlytakeplaceeffectivelyifalltheusersshareabroadunderstandingofhumaninteractionincludingsuchassociatedfactorsasnonverbalcues,motivation,andsocio-culturalroles.\n--Ourtextbook(2006)III.DesignFeaturesofLanguagenLanguagedistinguisheshumanbeingsfromanimalsinthatitisfarmoresophisticatedthananyanimalcommunicationsystem.3.1ArbitrarinesSaussure:theformsoflinguisticsignsbearnonaturalrelationshiptotheirmeaningnArbitrarinessatthesyntacticlevel:languageisnotarbitraryatthesyntacticlevel.nHecameinandsatdown.nHesatdownandcamein.nHesatdownafterhecamein.nnThelinkbetweenalinguisticsignanditsmeaningisamatterofconvention.语言符号的任意性和规约性从词的本身来看，语言符号音义之间并没有什么必然、本质的联系，什么音与什么义结合完全是任意的、不可论证的，是由不同社会集团约定俗成的。比如汉语中的”马”\n，普通话用”MA”，说不出道理，不同方言用不同的声音表示同一个词义等，都无从考证，只能从语言的任意性去解释。但是这种任意性并不是可以任意地更改语言符号的音义关系。相反，一个符号在语言集体中确立以后，个人是不能对它有任何改变的，具有规约性，即强制的不变性。例如”玫瑰花”而不说成”玫瑰草”，是约定俗成的，不可更改的。这两种特性是一个矛盾体的两个方面。辜正坤先生指出：音义关系既有任意性，又有必然性，二者衍变的程度与历史进程的关系是：音义关系的必然性程度与历史进程呈反比；音义关系的任意性程度与历史进程呈正比。即：越是远古期，音义之间的必然性越强；越是近现代，音义之间的任意性越强。3.2DualitynThepropertyofhavingtwolevelsofstructures,suchthatunitsoftheprimarylevelarecomposedofelementsofthesecondarylevelandeachofthetwolevelshasitsownprinciplesoforganization:nPrimaryunits‘words’(meaningful)consistofsecondaryunits‘sounds’(meaningless).nHierarchyoflanguage:stratificationas‘theinfiniteuseoffinitemeans’.nSounds>syllables>morphemes>words>phrases>clauses>sentences/utterances>texts/discourses3.3Creativity\nnLanguageisresourcefulbecauseofitsdualityanditsrecursiveness.Wecanuseittocreatenewmeanings.nWordscanbeusedinnewwaystomeannewthings,andcanbeinstantlyunderstoodbypeoplewhohavenevercomeacrossthatusagebefore.nBirds,bees,crabs,spiders,andmostothercreaturescommunicateinsomeway,buttheinformationimpartedisseverelylimitedandconfinedtoasmallsetofmessages.nBecauseofdualitythehumanspeakerisabletocombinethebasiclinguisticunitstoformaninfinitesetofsentences,mostofwhichareneverbeforeproducedorheard.nTherecursivenatureoflanguageprovidesapotentialtocreateaninfinitenumberofsentences.Forinstance:nHeboughtabookwhichwaswrittenbyateacherwhotaughtinaschoolwhichwasknownforitsgraduateswho...3.4DisplacementnHumanlanguagesenabletheiruserstosymbolizeobjects,eventsandconceptswhicharenotpresent(intimeandspace)atthemomentofcommunication.\nnThus,wecanrefertoConfucius,ortheNorthPole,eventhoughthefirsthasbeendeadforover2550yearsandthesecondissituatedfarawayfromus.nAnimalcommunicationisnormallyunder“immediatestimuluscontrol”.Forinstance,awarningcryofabirdinstantlyannouncesdanger.nHumanlanguageisstimulus-free.Whatwearetalkingaboutneednotbetriggeredbyanyexternalstimulusintheworldoranyinternalstate.nDisplacementbenefitshumanbeingsbygivingusthepowertohandlegeneralizationsandabstractions.Oncewecantalkaboutphysicallydistantthing,weacquiretheabilitytounderstandconceptswhichdenote“non-things”,suchastruthandbeauty.IV.OriginofLanguageThe“divine-origin”theory“InthebeginningwastheWord,andtheWordwaswithGod,andtheWordwasGod.”(Gospel,John1:1)“AndtheLordsaid,Behold,thepeopleisone,andtheyhaveallonelanguage;andthistheybegintodo;andnownothingwillberestrainedfromthem,whichtheyhaveimaginedtodo.”(Genesis,11:6)\nn創10:32這些都是挪亞三個兒子的宗族，各隨他們的支派立國，洪水以後，他們在地上分為邦國。n創11:1那時，天下人的口音言語，都是一樣。n創11:2他們往東邊遷移的時候，在示拿地遇見一片平原，就住在那裡。n創11:3他們彼此商量說：來罷，我們要作磚，把磚燒透了。他們就拿磚當石頭，又拿石漆當灰泥。n創11:4他們說：來罷，我們要建造一座城，和一座塔，塔頂通天，為要傳揚我們的名，免得我們分散在全地上。n創11:5耶和華降臨要看看世人所建造的城和塔。n創11:6耶和華說：看哪，他們成為一樣的人民，都是一樣的言語，如今既作起這事來，以後他們所要作的事，就沒有不成就的了。n創11:7我們下去，在那裡變亂他們的口音，使他們的言語，彼此不通。n創11:8於是耶和華使他們從那裡分散在全地上，他們就停工，不造那城了。n創11:9因為耶和華在那裡變亂天下人的言語，使眾人分散在全地上，所以那城名叫巴別。〔就是變亂的意思〕B.The“bow-wow”theorynInprimitivetimespeopleimitatedthesoundsoftheanimalcallsinthewildenvironmenttheylivedandspeechdevelopedfromthat.nOnomatopoeicwordsseemtobeaconvenientevidenceforthistheory.Buttheyareverydifferentinthedegreeofresemblancetheyexpresswiththenaturalsounds.nThistheorylackssupportiveevidence.C.The“pooh-pooh”theory\nnInthehardlifeofourprimitiveancestors,theyutterinstinctivesoundsofpain,angerandjoy.Asforevidence,wecanonlycitetheuniversaluseofsoundsasinterjections.nWhatmakesthetheoryproblematicisthatthereisonlyalimitednumberofinterjectionsinalmostalllanguages.nBesides,interjectionssuchasOh,Ah,Oopsbearlittlerelationshipwiththesoundsystemofalanguageandthereforearenotgoodevidence.D.The“yo-he-ho”theorynAsprimitivepeopleworkedtogether,theyproducedsomerhythmicgruntswhichgraduallydevelopedintochantsandthenintolanguage.nWedohaveprosodicuseofrhythmsinlanguages,butrhythmicgruntsarefardifferentfromlanguageinitspresentsense.Thetheoryisagainatmostaspeculation.V.FunctionsofLanguageA.InformativenLanguageistheinstrumentofthoughtandpeopleoftenfeelneedtospeaktheirthoughtsaloud.Theuseoflanguagetorecordthefactsisaprerequisite\nofsocialdevelopment.Theinformativefunctionisindeedacrucialfunctionoflanguage.nItisalsocalledideationalfunctionintheframeworkoffunctionalgrammar.A.InterpersonalnByfarthemostimportantsociologicaluseoflanguage,andbywhichpeopleestablishandmaintaintheirstatusinasociety.nIntheframeworkoffunctionalgrammar,theinterpersonalfunctionisconcernedwithinteractionbetweentheaddresserandaddresseeinthediscoursesituationandtheaddresser'sattitudetowardwhathespeaksorwritesabout.B.PerformativenThisconceptoriginatesfromthephilosophicalstudyoflanguagerepresentedbyAustinandSearle,whosetheorynowformstheback-boneofpragmatics(Chapter8).Forexample,nInowdeclarethemeetingopen.nIbetyoutwopoundsitwillraintomorrow.C.Emotive\nnTheemotivefunctionoflanguageisoneofthemostpowerfulusesoflanguagebecauseitiscrucialinchangingtheemotionalstatusofanaudiencefororagainstsomeoneorsomething.nItisameansofgettingridofournervousenergywhenweareunderstress,e.g.swearwords,obscenities,involuntaryverbalreactionstoapieceofartorscenery;conventionalwords/phrases,e.g.nGod,My,Damnit,Whatasight,Wow,Ugh,Oh.A.PhaticnPhaticcommunionreferstothesocialinteractionoflanguage,originatingfromMalinowski'sstudyofthefunctionsoflanguageperformedbyTrobriandIslanders.Forexample,nMrs.Psneezesviolently.nMrs.Q:Blessyou.nMrs.P:Thankyou.B.RecreationalnTherecreationalfunctionofalanguageisoftenoverlookedbecauseitseemssorestrictiveinpurposeandsupposedlysolimitedinusefulness.nHowever,noonewilldenytheuseoflanguageforthesheerjoyofusingit,suchasababy'sbabblingorachanter'schanting.\nA.MetalingualnOurlanguagecanbeusedtotalkaboutitself.nToorganizeanywrittentextintoacoherentwhole,writersemploycertainexpressionstokeeptheirreadersinformedaboutwheretheyareandwheretheyaregoing.VI.WhatIsLinguistics?nThescientificstudyofhumanlanguagenAimsoflinguistictheory:nWhatisknowledgeoflanguage?(Competence)nHowisknowledgeoflanguageacquired?(Acquisition)nHowisknowledgeoflanguageputtouse?(Performance/languageprocessing)VII.MainBranchesofLinguisticsA.PhoneticsnPhoneticsstudiesspeechsounds,includingtheproductionofspeech,thatishowspeechsoundsareactuallymade,transmittedandreceived,thedescriptionandclassificationofspeechsounds,wordsandconnectedspeech,etc.\nA.PhonologynPhonologystudiestherulesgoverningthestructure,distribution,andsequencingofspeechsoundsandtheshapeofsyllables.Itdealswiththesoundsystemofalanguagebytreatingphonemeasthepointofdeparture.nAphonemeisthesmallestlinguisticunitofsoundthatcansignaladifferenceinmeaning.B.MorphologynMorphologyisconcernedwiththeinternalorganizationofwords.Itstudiestheminimalunitsofmeaning—morphemesandword-formationprocesses.nAlthoughmanypeoplethinkofwordsasthebasicmeaningfulelementsofalanguage，manywordscanbebrokendownintostillsmallerunits,calledmorphemes.C.SyntaxnSyntaxisaboutprinciplesofformingandunderstandingcorrectsentences.nTheformorstructureofasentenceisgovernedbytherulesofsyntax,whichspecifywordorder,sentenceorganization,andtherelationshipsbetweenwords,wordclassesandothersentenceelements.\nA.SemanticsnSemanticsexamineshowmeaningisencodedinalanguage.nItisnotonlyconcernedwithmeaningsofwordsaslexicalitems,butalsowithlevelsoflanguagebelowthewordandaboveit,e.g.meaningofmorphemesandsentences.B.PragmaticsnPragmaticsisthestudyofmeaningincontext.Itdealswithparticularutterancesinparticularsituationsandisespeciallyconcernedwiththevariouswaysinwhichthemanysocialcontextsoflanguageperformancecaninfluenceinterpretation.nInotherwords,pragmaticsisconcernedwiththewaylanguageisusedtocommunicateratherthanwiththewaylanguageisinternallystructured.C.MacrolinguisticsnLinguisticsisnottheonlyfieldconcernedwithlanguage.nOtherdisciplinessuchaspsychology,sociology,ethnography,thescienceoflawandartificialintelligenceetc.arealsopreoccupiedwithlanguage.\nA.PsycholinguisticsnPsycholinguisticsinvestigatestheinterrelationoflanguageandmind,forexample,inprocessingandproducingutterancesandinlanguageacquisition.nItalsostudieslanguagedevelopmentinthechild,suchasthetheoriesoflanguageacquisition,biologicalfoundationsoflanguage,andaprofoundaspect—therelationshipbetweenlanguageandcognition.B.SociolinguisticsnSociolinguisticsisthestudyofthecharacteristicsoflanguagevarieties,thecharacteristicsoftheirfunctions,andthecharacteristicsoftheirspeakersasthesethreeconstantlyinteractandchangewithinaspeechcommunity.nAnumbrellatermwhichcoversavarietyofdifferentinterestsinlanguageandsociety,includingthesocialfunctionsoflanguageandthesocialcharacteristicsofitsusers.C.AnthropologicallinguisticsnAnthropologyandlinguisticsbecamecloselyassociatedintheearlydaysofanthropologicalfieldworkwhenanthropologistsenlistedthehelpoflinguiststostudyunwrittenlanguages.nIncontrastwithotherlinguists,then,anthropologicallinguistsare\ninterestedprimarilyinthehistoryandstructureofformerlyunwrittenlanguages.A.ComputationallinguisticsnComputationallinguisticscentersaroundtheuseofcomputerstoprocessorproducehumanlanguage(alsoknownas“naturallanguage”,todistinguishitfromcomputerlanguages).nTothisfield,linguisticscontributesanunderstandingofthespecialpropertiesoflanguagedata,andprovidestheoriesanddescriptionsoflanguagestructureanduse.VIII.ImportantDistinctionsinLinguisticsA.Descriptivevs.prescriptivenDon'tsayX.nPeopledon'tsayX.nnThefirstisaprescriptivecommand,whilethesecondisadescriptivestatement.nThedistinctionliesinprescribinghowthingsoughttobeanddescribinghowthingsare.\nThereasonwhypresent-daylinguistsaresoinsistentaboutthedistinctionbetweenthetwotypesofrulesissimplythattraditionalgrammarwasverystronglynormativeincharacter,e.g.Youshouldneveruseadouble-negative;Youshouldnotsplittheinfinitive;etc.A.Synchronicvs.diachronicAsynchronicdescriptiontakesafixedinstant(usually,butnotnecessarily,thepresent)asitspointofobservation.Mostgrammarsareofthiskind.Diachroniclinguisticsisthestudyofalanguagethroughthecourseofitshistory.B.LanguevsparoleSaussuredistinguishedthelinguisticcompetenceofthespeakerandtheactualphenomenaordataoflinguistics(utterances)aslangueandparole.Whileparoleconstitutestheimmediatelyaccessibledata,thelinguist'sproperobjectisthelangueofeachcommunity,thelexicon,grammar,andphonologyimplantedineachindividualbyhisupbringinginsocietyandonthebasisofwhichhespeaksand understandshislanguage.\nA.CompetencevsperformanceThisfundamentaldistinctionisdiscussedbyChomskyinhisAspectsoftheTheoryofSyntax(1965).Alanguageuser'sunderlyingknowledgeaboutthesystemofrulesiscalledhislinguisticcompetence.Performancereferstotheactualuseoflanguageinconcretesituations.Chomskypointsoutthatthisdistinctionisrelatedtothelangue-paroledistinctionofSaussure;buthedoesnotaccepttheviewofseeinglangueasameresystematicinventoryofitems.CompetenceisclosertothefamousGermanlinguistHumboldt'sconception,thatis,itshouldrefertotheunderlyingcompetenceasasystemofgenerativeprocesses.