语言学-chapter 1 introduction

语言学-chapter 1 introduction

Linguistics2014/2—2014/7Chapter1Introduction1.1Whatislinguistics?1.1.1Definition:Linguisticsisthescientificstudyoflanguage.Languageandlanguages:lLanguageisthesystemofhumancommunicationwhichconsistsofthestructuredarrangementofsounds(ortheirwrittenrepresentation)intolargerunits,e.g.morphemes,words,sentences,utterances.lLanguagesareparticularsystemsofhumancommunication,e.g.theFrenchlanguage,theHindilanguage.languageingeneral,notanyparticularlanguage,e.g.English,Chinese,Arabic,andLatin.1.1.2TheScopeoflinguisticsA）generallinguisticsThestudyoflanguageasawholeisoftencalledgenerallinguistics.basicconcepts:language;sentence;wordstheories:descriptions:models:methodsapplicableinanylinguisticstudy:B)mainbranchesoflinguisticsLanguagestudyfocusesonMeaningandForm.i)Form:soundphoneticsphonologywrittenmorphologysyntaxii)Meaning:semanticspragmaticsiii)introductiontothemainbranches1)PhoneticsThestudyofsoundsusedinlinguisticcommunication.2)PhonologyThestudyofthewayinwhichthesoundsareputtogetherandusedtoconveymeaningincommunication.3)MorphologyThestudyofthewayinwhichthesymbolsarearrangedandcombinedtoformwords.12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/74)SyntaxThestudyofruleswhichgovernthecombinationofwordstoformgrammaticallypermissiblesentencesinlanguages.5)Semantics:meaninginlanguageThestudyofmeaningisknownassemantics.6)Pragmatics:meaningincontextWhenthestudyofmeaningisconducted,notinisolation,butinthecontextoflanguageuse,itbecomesanotherbranchoflinguisticstudycalledpragmatics.C)MacrolinguisticsLinguisticsisnottheonlyfieldconcernedwithlanguage.Otherdisciplinessuchaspsychology,sociology,anthropology,artificialintelligence,medicineandeducationetc.arealsopreoccupiedwithlanguage.1)SociolinguisticsThestudyofthesocialaspectsoflanguageanditsrelationwithsocietyformsthecoreofthebranchcalledsociolinguistics.2)PsycholinguisticsItrelatesthestudyoflanguagetopsychology.Itinvestigatestheinterrelationoflanguageandmind,inprocessingandproducingutterancesandinlanguageacquisition.e.g.tostudylanguagedevelopmentinchildren,suchasthetheoriesoflanguageacquisition;3)Appliedlinguisticsa)thestudyofsecondandforeignlanguagelearningandteaching.b)thestudyoflanguageandlinguisticsinrelationtopracticalproblems.Itusesinformationfromsociology,psychology,anthropologyandinformationtheoryaswellaslinguisticsinordertodevelopitsowntheoreticalmodelsoflanguageandlanguageuse,andthenusesthisinformationandtheoryinpracticalareas.1.1.3LinguisticsasaScienceThreeadequaciesHowcanweappraisetheextentofsuccessinscientificstudy?Therearethreelevelstoconsider,namelyobservation,description,andexplanation.Whatalinguistseeksforcanbesummarizedasthreeadequaciescorrespondingly.a)observationaladequacyAsuccessfulresearchisexpectedtobeadequateinobservationatfirst.Itischaracterizedbycorrectlyspecifyingwhatisobservedtobephonologically,morphologically,syntactically,semantically,orpragmaticallywell-formedorill-formed.b)descriptiveadequacyProperdescriptionisbasedonadequateobservation,andapieceofscientificworkisdescriptivelyadequateifitprovidesaprincipledaccountofthenativespeaker’sintuitionsaboutthestructureofthelinguisticphenomenonobserved.c)explanatoryadequacyExplanatoryadequacyistheultimategoalofanyscientificexploration.Inlinguistics,atheoryattainsexplanatoryadequacyjustincaseitprovidesa12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7descriptivelyadequategrammarforeverynaturallanguage,anddoessointermsofamaximallyconstrainedsetofuniversalprincipleswhichrepresentpsychologicallyplausiblenaturalprinciplesofmentalcomputation.12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/71.2Whatislanguage?1.2.1DesignfeaturesDesignfeaturesrefertothedefiningpropertiesofhumanlanguagethatdistinguishitfromanyanimalsystemofcommunication.TheframeworkofthedesignfeatureswasproposedbytheAmericanlinguistCharlesHockett.1)ArbitrarinessArbitrarinessmeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Why?a)differentlanguagesmayhavedifferentsoundstorepresentthesameobjectthatexistsinsociety.b)thesamesoundmayexpressdifferentmeaningsexception:onomatopoeia:basedonthenaturalvoices.2)DualityDEFINITION:Languageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstructures,ortwolevels.Atthelowerorthebasiclevelthereisastructureofsounds,whicharemeaninglessbythemselves.Butthesoundsoflanguagecanbegroupedandregroupedintoalargenumberofunitsofmeaning,whicharefoundatthehigherlevelofthesystem.3)ProductivityDEFINITION:Languageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionandinterpretationofnewsignalsbyitsusers.comparingwithanimalcommunicationsystemse.g.anexperimentonbeedance:Beecommunicationregardinglocationhasafixedsetsignals,allofwhichrelatetohorizontaldistance.Thebeecannotmanipulateitscommunicatingsystemtocreatea“new”messageindicatingverticaldistance.4)DisplacementDEFINITION：Languagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimaginedmattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Animalsareunder“immediatestimuluscontrol”.Humanlanguageis,unlikeanimalcommunicationsystems,stimulusfree.5)CulturaltransmissionLanguageculturaltransmissionmeansthatlanguageisculturallytransmitted.Itispassedonfromonegenerationtothenextthroughteachingandlearning,ratherthanbyinstinct.1.2.2DefinitionsoflanguageLanguageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.1.2.2.1Languageisasystemelementsoflanguagearecombinedaccordingtorules.a)rulesofsoundsystem12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7b)rulesofwrittensystem1.2.2.2Languageisarbitraryandsymbolic1.2.2.3Languageisvocala)theprimarymediumforalllanguagesissound.b)writingsystemscameintobeingmuchlaterthanthespokenforms.c)somelanguageonlyhavesoundsystemsandnowritingsystems1.2.2.4Languageishuman-specific1.2.2.5communicationvsinformation1.2.3Knowledgeoflanguage:endowedorconventional?TIME-HONOREDPROBLEMS•WHATISKNOWLEDGEOFLANGUAGE?•WHEREDOESITCOMEFROM?Aristotle(384-322B.C.):Languageisarrivedatbyconventionandagreementofthespeakersofagivenlanguage.BEHAVIORISMEMPIRICISMOurbrainwasblankwhenwewereborn.Languageisasocial,empiricalentity.B.F.Skinner:theAmericanpsychologistandafamousHarvardbehaviouristThefamousquotation“languageisbehaviour”Verbalbehaviouristhesameasanyotherfundamentalrespectofnon-verbalbehaviour.Theoccurrenceofbehavioursisdependentuponthreecrucialelements:astimulus,whichservestoelicitbehaviour;aresponsetriggeredbyastimulus;reinforcement,whichservestomarktheresponseasbeingappropriate(orinappropriate)andencouragestherepetition(orsuppression)oftheresponseinthefuture.Verbalbehaviour:thestimulusaswhatistaught(languageinput),theresponseasthelearner’sreactiontothestimulus,thereinforcementastheapprovalorpraise(ordiscouragement)oftheteacherorfellowstudents.Argumentfor“povertyofthestimulus”la)Thechild’slinguisticexperience(stimulus)isnotsufficienttojustifytheadultgrammar.lb)Asfarasachildisconcerned,anutterancecontainingamistakeisjustanotherpieceoflinguisticexperiencetobetreatedonaparwitherror-freeutterance.Buttheystillknowthecorrectgrammar.lc)Achildandachimpanzeebothliveinthesamelanguageenvironment,onlythechildcanlearnthelanguage.12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7Plato(427?-347B.C.)Thereisauniversallycorrectandacceptablelogicoflanguageformantofollowinexpressinghisideas.NATIVISMMENTALISMThereisabiological,physiologicalentityinsideourbrainwhichdecidesthatwespeak.Languagefaculty/(LAD=LanguageAcquisitionDevice):Humanbeingsdohaveaninbornknowledgeoflanguagewhichmustbeuniversallycorrectandacceptable,thelocationofsuchinnateknowledgejustinourgenes.ExperienceofL—LF—GrammarofLChomsky’sepistemologyoftheknowledgeoflanguagelTheinitialstateofhumanlanguagefacultyiscalledUG(UniversalGrammar).lUG(universalgrammar):Everyspeakerknowsasetofprincipleswhichapplytoalllanguagesandalsoasetof(binary)parametersthatcanvaryfromonelanguagetoanother.principles:allhumanlanguageshavethesubject,verb,andobject.reflexiblepronounprinciple:thereflexiblepronounshouldtakethenouninthesameclauseasantecedent.parameters:binaryparameter:thepositionofthewh-elementinthesentencelDuetotheeffectoflaterexperience,ourbrain/minddevelopsfromtheinitialstateintothesteadystate,whichcorrespondstothecompetenceofspeakingahumanlanguage.experienceUG----------------PG(ParticularGrammar)PG=a.UG12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/71.3Someimportantdistinctionsinlinguistics1.3.1Prescriptivevs.descriptivePrescriptiveanddescriptiverepresenttwodifferenttypesoflinguisticstudy.Prescriptivestudy:Ifalinguisticstudyaimstolaydownrulesfor“correctandstandard”behaviorinusinglanguage,itissaidtobeprescriptive.Descriptivestudy:Ifalinguisticstudyaimstodescribesandanalyzethelanguagepeopleactuallyuse,itissaidtobedescriptive.1.3.2Synchronicvs.diachronic--byFerdinanddeSaussure.synchronicstudy:thedescriptionofalanguageatsomepointoftimeinhistory.diachronicstudy:thedescriptionofalanguageasitchangesthroughtime.Adiachronicstudyoflanguageisahistoricalstudy;itstudiesthehistoricaldevelopmentoflanguageoveraperiodoftime.1.3.3SpeechandwritingSpeechandwritingarethetwomajormediaoflinguisticcommunication.Thespokenlanguageasthenaturalortheprimarymediumofhumanlanguage.1)speechispriortowriting:(fromthepointofviewoflinguisticevolution)2)Speechisalwaysthewayinwhicheverynativespeakeracquireshismothertongue,andwritingislearnedandtaughtlaterwhenhegoestoschool.3)Spokenlanguagerevealsmanytruefeaturesofhumanspeechwhilewrittenlanguageisonlythe“revised”recordofspeech.4)Ineverydaycommunication,speechplaysagreaterrolethanwritingintermsoftheamountofinformationconveyed.1.3.4LangueandparoleThedistinctionbetweenlangueandparolewasmadebytheSwisslinguistFerdinanddeSaussure.1)definitionA)langue:a)theabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallthemembersofaspeechcommunity(asocialcode);b)thesetofconventionsandruleswhichlanguageusersallhavetoabideby;c)abstract,itisnotthelanguagepeopleactuallyuse.d)relativelystable,itdoesnotchangefrequently.B)parole:a)therealizationoflangueinactualuse.b)theconcreteuseoftheconventionsandtheapplicationoftherules.c)concrete,itreferstothenaturallyoccurringlanguageevents.d)variesfrompersontoperson,andfromsituationtosituation.2)Thesignificancesofthedistinction:a)itisconvenientinthatitdelimitsanareaofenquirywhichismanageable:thatareaislangueb)theconceptoflanguecanbesaidtocapturethecentralanddeterminingaspect12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7oflanguageitself.3)Therelationbetweenthelangueandparolea)Languecomesfromparole.b)Paroleisguidedbylangue.1.3.5competenceandperformanceProposedbytheAmericanlinguistNoamChomsky.1)definitionCompetence:theidealuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage.Performance:theactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinlinguisticcommunication.2)Therelationbetweenthecompetenceandperformancea)competenceisessentialandprimary;performanceistheresidualcategoryofsecondaryphenomena,incidental,andperipheral.b)competenceandperformancearequitedifferentphenomenaandyoucannotdirectlyinferonefromtheother.3)Thedifferencebetweenthetwopairsofconcepts:languevsparoleandcompetencevsperformancei)similarities:a)Itrepresentsasimilardichotomyofknowledgeandbehaviour.b)Itrepresentsasimilardemarcationofthescopeoflinguisticenquiry.c)Theyarebothbeglossedintermsofabstractknowledgeii)differences:a)thenatureofknowledgeisconceivedofinverydifferentways.--Saussuretookasociologicalviewoflanguageandhisnotionoflangueisamatterofsocialconventions.--Chomskylooksatlanguagefromapsychologicalpointofviewandtohimcompetenceisapropertyofthemindofeachindividual.b)thedifferentstudyinterest--Langue,thefocusofattentionwillbeinwhatmakeseachlanguagedifferent.--Competence,thefocusofattentionwillbeinwhatmakeslanguagesalike.1.3.6Traditionalgrammarandmodernlinguistics1)definition:Modernlinguistics:ThebeginningofmodernlinguisticswasmarkedbythepublicationofF.deSaussure’sbookCourseinGeneralLinguisticsintheearly20thcentury.Traditionalgrammar:Thegeneralapproachtraditionallyformedtothestudyoflanguageovertheyears,beforethebook“CourseinGeneralLinguistics”waspublished.2)differencesbetweentraditionalgrammarandmodernlinguistics:a)modernlinguisticsisdescriptivewhiletraditionalgrammarisprescriptive.b)modernlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewriting.Traditionalgrammarians,ontheotherhand,tendedtoemphasize,theimportanceofthewrittenword.c)traditionalgrammarforceslanguagesintoaLatin-basedframework,butmodernlinguisticsdoesnot12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7ReadingrecommendationBeginner-friendly:S.C.Poole:AnIntroductiontoLinguistics.MacmillanPublishersLtd,1999;外语教学与研究出版社2000（刘润清导读）。H.G.Widdowson:Linguistics.OxfordUniversityPress1996；上海外语教育出版社，2001。胡壮麟、姜旺琪：语言学教程（修订版）。北京大学出版社，2001。Morechallenging:V.Fromkin,etal:AnIntroductiontoLanguage(the7thedition).Holt,RinehartandWinstonInc.2002；北京大学出版社，2004。DCrystal:TheCambridgeEncyclopediaofLanguage.CambridgeUniversityPress,1995，2003;外语教学与研究出版社2002（王克非等导读）。12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7Chapter1IntroductionExerciseI:Amongthefollowingresearchquestions,couldyoutellwhichbelongstowhichbranchoflinguisticsorwhichbelongstowhichinterdisciplinarydomainofmacrolinguistics?l1)Whatdetermineswhetherastringofwordsinalanguageisasentenceorsimplyastringofunrelatedwords?l2)Howdopeopleuselanguagewithinacontextandwhydotheyuseitinparticularways?l3)Whatarewordslike?l4)Whatarespeechsounds?Whatistheirphysicalnature?l5)Howdosoundsbehaveinlanguages?l6)Whydoesonesetofwordsmeanonethingandasimilarsetmeansomethingverydifferent?ll7)Whendotwodifferentsentencesmeanthesamething?Howcanonesentencemeanmorethanonething?l8)Howsimilararetheprocessoflisteningandreading?l9)WhatarethemajorfeaturesoftheEnglishlanguageasitisusedbywomennativespeakers?12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7Chapter1IntroductionExerciseII:1.WhichofthefollowingstatementsaboutlanguageisNOTtrue?A.Languageisasystem.B.Languageissymbolic.C.Languageshouldhaveawrittenform.D.Languageisarbitrary.2.WhichofthefollowingfeaturesisNOToneofthedesignfeaturesoflanguage?A.Symbolic.B.Dual.C.Productive.D.Arbitrary.3.Whatarethedualstructuresoflanguage?A.Soundsandletters.B.Soundsandmeaning.C.Lettersandmeaning.D.Soundsandsymbols.4.Whichofthefollowingstatementscanbeusedtodescribe‘displacement’，oneoftheuniquepropertiesoflanguage?A.Wecaneasilyteachourchildrentolearnacertainlanguage.B.Wecanuseboth‘shu’and'tree'todescribethesamething.C.Wecanuselanguagetorefertosomethingnotpresent.D.Wecanproducesentencesthathaveneverbeenheardbefore.5.Whichofthefollowingisoneofthecorebranchesoflinguistics?A.Phonology.B.Psycho-linguistics.C.Socio-linguistics.D.Anthropology.6.Whichofthefollowingbranchesoflinguisticstakestheinnerstructureofwordasitsmainobjectofstudy?A.Phonetics.B.Semantics.C.Morphology.D.Syntax.7.Whichofthefollowingmodesofstudyemphasizesonthe"standards"oflanguage?A.Prescriptive.B.Descriptive.C.Synchronic.D.Diachronic.8.WhoputforwardthedistinctionbetweenLangueandParoleA.SaussureB.ChomskyC.HallidayD.Anonymous9.Thedistinctionbetweencompetenceandperformanceisproposedby——.A.SaussureB.HallidayC.ChomskyD.thePragueSchool10.AccordingtoChomsky,istheidealuser'sinternalizedknowledgeofhislanguage.A．competenceB.paroleC.performanceD.langue11._____isadesignfeatureofhumanlanguagethatenablesspeakerstotalkaboutawiderangeofthings,freefrombarrierscausedbyseparationintimeandspace.A.DisplacementB.ArbitrarinessC.DualityD.Productivity12.Generallinguisticsisthescientificstudyof———.A.languageofacertainindividualB.theGermanlanguageC.humanlanguageingeneralD.thesystemofaparticularlanguage13.Themainbranchesoflinguisticsincludethefollowingexcept———.A.phoneticsB.phonologyC.morphologyD.grammar12\nLinguistics2014/2—2014/7Chimpanzeesandlanguage◇Afterreadthefollowingpassage,trytoanswerthequestion:Dothechimpanzeeshavethecapacityforlanguage?Whyorwhynot?BeginninginJune1966,theGardnersandtheirresearchassistantsraisedWashoelikeahumanchildinacomfortabledomesticenvironment.SignlanguagewasalwaysusedwhenWashoewasaroundandshewasencouragedtousesigns,evenherownincomplete‘baby-versions’ofthesignsusedbyadults.Inaperiodforthreeandahalfyears,Washoecametousesignsformorethanahundredwords,rangingfromairport,baby,andbananathroughtowindow,womanandyou.EvenmoreimpressivewasWashoe’sabilitytotaketheseformsandcombinethemtoproduce‘sentences’ofthetypegimmetickle,morefruitandopenfooddrink(togettherefrigeratoropened).SomeoftheformsusedappeartohavebeeninventionsbyWashoe,asinthecombinationwaterbird(referringtoaswan).Moreover,Washoedemonstratedunderstandingofamuchlargernumberofsignsthansheactuallyproduced.Shealsoseemedcapableofholdingrudimentaryconversations,mainlyintheformofquestion-answersequences.Intheabsenceofanyhuman,Washoecouldproducecorrectsignstoidentifyobjectsinpictures.Agroupofyoungerchimpanzees(Moja,Pili,TatuandDar)notonlylearnedsignlanguage,butuseditwitheachotherandwithWashoe,evenwhentherewerenohumanspresent.Inalaterdevelopment,aninfantchimpanzeenamedLouliswasadoptedbyWashoeand,withoutanyhumantrainingatall,developedasigningvocabularyofmorethanfiftysigns.12