语言学Chapter1WhatisLinguistics

语言学Chapter1WhatisLinguistics

Linguistics:anIntroductiontoLanguageandCommunicationLecturer:Alexanderwz05290002@yahoo.com.cn1\nChapterOneWhatIsLinguistics?\nTeachingfocus:1.designfeaturesoflanguage;Arbitrariness;duality;productivity;displacement;culturaltransmission3\n2.someimportantdistinctionsinlinguisticsDescriptivevs.prescriptiveSynchronicvs.diachroniclangue&paroleCompetenceandperformanceTraditionalgrammarandmodernlinguistics4\n3.DefinitionLanguageLinguistics5\n1.WhatisLinguistics?Thefieldoflinguistics,thescientificstudyofhumannaturallanguage,isagrowingandexcitingareaofstudy,withanimportantimpactonfieldsasdiverseaseducation,anthropology,sociology,languageteaching,cognitivepsychology,philosophy,computerscience,neuroscience,andartificialintelligence,amongothers.6\n1.1DefinitionWhatislinguistics,then?Fundamentally,thefieldisconcernedwiththenatureoflanguageand(linguistic)communication.7\nItisgenerallydefinedasthescientificstudyoflanguage.Languagemeansnotanyparticularlanguage,butlanguageingeneral.Studydoesn’tmeanlearnbutinvestigateorexamine.Scientificreferstothewayinwhichthelanguageisstudied.8\n1.2Thescopeoflinguistics1.MicrolinguisticsPhoneticsPhonologyMorphologySyntaxSemanticsPragmatics9\nPhonetics语音学Phoneticsstudiesspeechsounds,includingtheproductionofspeech,thatishowspeechsoundsareactuallymade,transmittedandreceived,thedescriptionandclassificationofspeechsounds,wordsandconnectedspeech,etc.10\nPhonology音位学Phonologystudiestherulesgoverningthestructure,distribution,andsequencingofspeechsoundsandtheshapeofsyllables.Itdealswiththesoundsystemofalanguagebytreatingphoneme（音素）asthepointofdeparture.Aphonemeisthesmallestlinguisticunitofsoundthatcansignaladifferenceinmeaning.11\nMorphology形态学"Morphology,"isconcernedwiththepropertiesofwordsandword-buildingrules.Morphologyisconcernedwiththeinternalorganizationofwords.Itstudiestheminimalunitsofmeaning—morphemes（词素）andword-formationprocesses.12\nAlthoughmanypeoplethinkofwordsasthebasicmeaningfulelementsofalanguage，manywordscanbebrokendownintostillsmallerunits,calledmorphemes.13\nSyntax句法学Syntaxisaboutprinciplesofformingandunderstandingcorrectsentences.Theformorstructureofasentenceisgovernedbytherulesofsyntax,whichspecifywordorder,sentenceorganization,andtherelationshipsbetweenwords,wordclassesandothersentenceelements.14\nWeknowthatwordsareorganizedintostructuresmorethanjustwordorder.Thechildrenwatched[thefireworkfromthehill].Thechildrenwatched[thefirework][fromthehill].15\nSemantics语义学Semanticsexamineshowmeaningisencodedinalanguage.Itisnotonlyconcernedwithmeaningsofwordsaslexicalitems,butalsowithlevelsoflanguagebelowthewordandaboveit,e.g.meaningofmorphemesandsentences.16\nThefollowingarewhatthekeyconceptslooklike:semanticcomponentsdenotationofwordssenserelationsbetweenwordssuchasantonymyandsynonymysenserelationsbetweensentencessuchasentailmentandpresuppositionandothers.17\nPragmatics语用学Pragmaticsisthestudyofmeaningincontext.Itdealswithparticularutterancesinparticularsituationsandisespeciallyconcernedwiththevariouswaysinwhichthemanysocialcontextsoflanguageperformancecaninfluenceinterpretation.Inotherwords,pragmaticsisconcernedwiththewaylanguageisusedtocommunicateratherthanwiththewaylanguageisinternallystructured.18\n2.MacrolinguisticsLinguisticsisnottheonlyfieldconcernedwithlanguage.Otherdisciplinessuchaspsychology,sociology,ethnography（人种学）,thescienceoflawandartificialintelligenceetc.arealsopreoccupiedwithlanguage.19\nAlthoughSaussure'sgoalwastoestablishtheautonomyoflinguistics,givingitawell-definedsubjectofstudyandfreeingitfromrelianceonotherdisciplines,withitscomingofagelinguisticsisdevelopinginteractivelinkswithothersciences.Thecentralgoalofdescribingtheunderlyingsystemremains:thisistheprovinceofgeneral,descriptivelinguistics.20\nButsincelanguagehasbothindividualandsocialaspects,itisnaturallyofinteresttopsychologistsandsociologistsamongothers.Thereforeitisnotsurprisingthatwehavesomebranchesofmacrolinguisticsthatshowaninterdisciplinarynaturefromtheirverynames:21\nSociolinguistics社会语言学Sociolinguisticsisthestudyofthecharacteristicsoflanguagevarieties,thecharacteristicsoftheirfunctions,andthecharacteristicsoftheirspeakersasthesethreeconstantlyinteractandchangewithinaspeechcommunity.Anumbrellatermwhichcoversavarietyofdifferentinterestsinlanguageandsociety,includingthesocialfunctionsoflanguageandthesocialcharacteristicsofitsusers.22\nPsycholinguistics心理语言学Psycholinguisticsinvestigatestheinterrelationoflanguageandmind,forexample,inprocessingandproducingutterancesandinlanguageacquisition.Italsostudieslanguagedevelopmentinthechild,suchasthetheoriesoflanguageacquisition,biologicalfoundationsoflanguage,andaprofoundaspect—therelationshipbetweenlanguageandcognition.23\n1.3SomeimportantdistinctionsinlinguisticsDescriptivevs.prescriptiveSynchronicvs.diachronicSpeechandwritingLangue&paroleCompetenceandperformance24\nDescriptivevs.prescriptive“描写式”和“规定式”Ifalinguisticstudydescribesandanalyzesthelanguagepeopleactuallyuse,itissaidtobedescriptive;ifitaimstolaydownrulesfor“correct”behavior,i.e.,totellpeoplewhattheyshouldsayandwhattheyshouldnotsay,itissaidtobeprescriptive.25\nSynchronicvs.diachronic“共时”和“历时”Asynchronicdescriptiontakesafixedinstant(usually,butnotnecessarily,thepresent)asitspointofobservation.Mostgrammarsareofthiskind.Diachroniclinguisticsisthestudyofalanguagethroughthecourseofitshistory.26\nSpeechandwritingModernlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewritten.Why?27\nLangue&parole“语言”和“言语”Saussuredistinguishedthelinguisticcompetenceofthespeakerandtheactualphenomenaordataoflinguistics(utterances)aslangueandparole.28\nWhileparoleconstitutestheimmediatelyaccessibledata,thelinguist'sproperobjectisthelangueofeachcommunity,thelexicon,grammar,andphonologyimplantedineachindividualbyhisupbringinginsocietyandonthebasisofwhichhespeaksand understandshislanguage.29\nLanguereferstotheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallmembersofaspeechcommunity,andparolereferstotherealizationoflanguageinactualuse.Whatlinguistsshoulddoistoabstractlanguefromparole,i.e.todiscovertheregularitiesgoverningtheactualuseoflanguageandmakethemthesubjectsofstudyoflinguistics.30\nCompetenceandperformance语言能力和语言运用ThisfundamentaldistinctionisdiscussedbyChomskyinhisAspectsoftheTheoryofSyntax、《句法理论诸方面》(1965).Alanguageuser'sunderlyingknowledgeaboutthesystemofrulesiscalledhislinguisticcompetence.Performancereferstotheactualuseoflanguageinconcretesituations.31\nCompetence----theidealuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage.Performance----theactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinlinguisticcommunication.32\nChomskypointsoutthatthisdistinctionisrelatedtothelangue-paroledistinctionofSaussure;buthedoesnotaccepttheviewofseeinglangueasameresystematicinventoryofitems.33\nTraditionalgrammarandmodernlinguisticsModernlinguisticsstartedwiththepublicationofF.deSaussure’sbook“CourseinGeneralLinguistics”intheearly20thcentury.SoSaussureisoftendescribedas“fatherofmodernlinguistics”.34\nThegeneralapproachtraditionallyformedtothestudyoflanguagebeforethatisroughlyreferredtoas“traditionalgrammar.”Theydifferinseveralbasicways:35\nFirstly,linguisticsisdescriptivewhiletraditionalgrammarisprescriptive.Alinguistisinterestedinwhatissaid,notinwhathethinksoughttobesaid.Hedescribeslanguageinallitsaspects,butdoesnotprescriberulesof“correctness”.36\nSecondly,modernlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewritten.Traditionalgrammarians,ontheotherhand,tendtoemphasize,maybeover-emphasize,theimportanceofthewrittenword,partlybecauseofitspermanence.37\nThen,modernlinguisticsdiffersfromtraditionalgrammaralsointhatitdoesnotforcelanguagesintoaLatin-basedframework.Tomodernlinguists,itisunthinkabletojudgeonelanguagebystandardsofanother.Theyaretryingtosetupauniversalframework,butthatwouldbebasedonthefeaturessharedbymostofthelanguagesusedbymankind.38\n2.WhatisLanguage?2.1DefinitionsoflanguageLanguage“isnottobeconfusedwithhumanspeech,ofwhichitisonlyadefinitepart,thoughcertainlyanessentialone.Itisbothasocialproductofthefacultyofspeechandacollectionofnecessaryconventionsthathavebeenadoptedbyasocialbodytopermitindividualstoexercisethatfaculty”.--FerdinanddeSaussure(1857-1913):CourseinGeneralLinguistics(1916)39\n“Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,emotionsanddesiresbymeansofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols.”--EdwardSapir(1884-1939):Language:AnIntroductiontotheStudyofSpeech(1921)40\nLanguageis“theinstitutionwherebyhumanscommunicateandinteractwitheachotherbymeansofhabituallyusedoral-auditoryarbitrarysymbols.”--RobertA.Hall(1911-1997):IntroductoryLinguistics(1964)41\n“FromnowonIwillconsiderlanguagetobeaset(finiteorinfinite)ofsentences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements.”--NoamChomsky(1928-):SyntacticStructures(1957)42\n“Languageisameansofverbalcommunication.”Itisinstrumentalinthatcommunicatingbyspeakingorwritingisapurposefulact.Itissocialandconventionalinthatlanguageisasocialsemioticandcommunicationcanonlytakeplaceeffectivelyifalltheusersshareabroadunderstandingofhumaninteractionincludingsuchassociatedfactorsasnonverbalcues,motivation,andsocio-culturalroles.43\nLanguageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.Languageisasystem;Languageisarbitrary;Languageisvocal;Languageishuman-specific.44\nWhatiscommunication?Aprocessinwhichinformationistransmittedfromasource(senderorspeaker)toagoal(receiverorlistener).45\nAsystem----elementsinitarearrangedaccordingtocertainrules.Theycannotbearrangedatwill.e.g.Hethetablecleaned.(×)bkli(×)Arbitrary----thereisnointrinsic(logic)connectionbetweenalinguisticformanditsmeaning.46\nSymbols----wordsarejustthesymbolsassociatedwithobjects,actions,andideasbyconvention.47\nVocal--------theprimarymediumforalllanguagesissound,nomatterhowwelldevelopedtheirwritingsystemsare.Writingsystemscameintobeingmuchlaterthanthespokenforms.Peoplewithlittleornoliteracycanalsobecompetentlanguageusers.48\nHuman----languageishuman-specific.Humanbeingshavedifferentkindsofbrainsandvocalcapacity.“LanguageAcquisitionDevice”(LAD)49\n2.2DesignFeaturesofLanguage语言的结构特征Languagedistinguisheshumanbeingsfromanimalsinthatitisfarmoresophisticatedthananyanimalcommunicationsystem.50\nHumanlanguageis‘unique’ArbitrarinessProductivityDisplacementCulturaltransmissionDuality51\n1.Arbitrarines任意性Saussure:theformsoflinguisticsignsbearnonaturalrelationshiptotheirmeaningArbitraryrelationshipbetweenthesoundofamorphemeanditsmeaning:ThedogbarkswowwowinEnglishbut“汪汪汪”inChinese.（miaow，mew喵）E.g.“house”uchi(Japanese)Mansion(French)房子(Chinese)52\nArbitrarinessatthesyntacticlevel:languageisnotarbitraryatthesyntacticlevel.Hecameinandsatdown.Hesatdownandcamein.Hesatdownafterhecamein.Thelinkbetweenalinguisticsignanditsmeaningisamatterofconvention.53\n2.Productivity多产性Languageisresourcefulbecauseofitsdualityanditsrecursiveness.Wecanuseittocreatenewmeanings.Wordscanbeusedinnewwaystomeannewthings,andcanbeinstantlyunderstoodbypeoplewhohavenevercomeacrossthatusagebefore.54\nBirds,bees,crabs,spiders,andmostothercreaturescommunicateinsomeway,buttheinformationimpartedisseverelylimitedandconfinedtoasmallsetofmessages.55\nanexperimentofbeecommunication:Theworkerbee,normallyabletocommunicatethelocationofanectarsource,willfailtodosoifthelocationisreally‘new’.Inoneexperiment,ahiveofbeeswasplacedatthefootofaradiotowerandafoodsourceatthetop.Tenbeesweretakentothetop,shownthefoodsource,andsentofftotelltherestofthehiveabouttheirfind.56\nThemessagewasconveyedviaabeedanceandthewholegangbuzzedofftogetthefreefood.Theyflowaroundinalldirections,butcouldn’tlocatethefood.Theproblemmaybethatbeecommunicationregardinglocationhasafixedsetofsignals,allofwhichrelatedtohorizontaldistance.Thebeecannotcreatea‘new’messageindicatingverticaldistance.57\nBecauseofdualitythehumanspeakerisabletocombinethebasiclinguisticunitstoformaninfinitesetofsentences,mostofwhichareneverbeforeproducedorheard.58\nTherecursivenatureoflanguageprovidesapotentialtocreateaninfinitenumberofsentences.Forinstance:Heboughtabookwhichwaswrittenbyateacherwhotaughtinaschoolwhichwasknownforitsgraduateswho...59\n3.Duality双层结构Thepropertyofhavingtwolevelsofstructures,suchthatunitsoftheprimarylevelarecomposedofelementsofthesecondarylevelandeachofthetwolevelshasitsownprinciplesoforganization:Primaryunits‘words’(meaningful)consistofsecondaryunits‘sounds’(meaningless).60\nHierarchyoflanguage:stratificationas‘theinfiniteuseoffinitemeans’.Sounds>syllables>morphemes>words>phrases>clauses>sentences/utterances>texts/discourses61\n4Displacement移位性Humanlanguagesenabletheiruserstosymbolizeobjects,eventsandconceptswhicharenotpresent(intimeandspace)atthemomentofcommunication.Thus,wecanrefertoConfucius,ortheNorthPole,eventhoughthefirsthasbeendeadforover2550yearsandthesecondissituatedfarawayfromus.62\nAnimalcommunicationisnormallyunder“immediatestimuluscontrol”.Forinstance,awarningcryofabirdinstantlyannouncesdanger.Humanlanguageisstimulus-free.Whatwearetalkingaboutneednotbetriggeredbyanyexternalstimulusintheworldoranyinternalstate.63\nBeecommunication:Whenaworkerbeefindsasourceofnectarandreturnstothehive,itcanperformacomplexdanceroutinetocommunicatetotheotherbeesthelocationofthisnectar.64\nDependingonthetypeofdance(rounddancefornearbyandtail-waggingdance,withvariabletempo,forfurtherawayandhowfar),Theotherbeescanworkputwherethisnewlydiscoveredfeastcanbefound.Beecommunicationhasdisplacementinanextremelylimitedform.However,itmustbethemostrecentfoodsource.65\nThehoneybee'sdanceexhibitsdisplacementalittlebit:hecanrefertoasourceoffood,whichisremoteintimeandspacewhenhereportsonit.Adogcannottellpeoplethatitsmasterwillbehomeinafewdays.Ourlanguageenablesustocommunicateaboutthingsthatdonotexistordonotyetexist.66\nDisplacementbenefitshumanbeingsbygivingusthepowertohandlegeneralizationsandabstractions.Oncewecantalkaboutphysicallydistantthing,weacquiretheabilitytounderstandconceptswhichdenote“non-things”,suchastruthandbeauty.67\n5.Culturaltransmission文化传播性Whilehumancapacityforlanguagehasageneticbasis,i.e.,wewereallbornwiththeabilitytoacquirelanguage,thedetailsofanylanguagesystemarenotgeneticallytransmitted,butinsteadhavetobetaughtandlearned.EnglishandChinesearebothabletousealanguage,buttheyarenotmutuallyintelligible.Languagepassedonfromonegenerationtothenextthroughteachingandlearning,ratherthanbyinstinct.68\nAssignment1.DefinitioninChapter1;2.PreviewChapter2Morphology:TheStudyoftheStructureofWords69