Chapter 1 Invitation to Linguistics语言学

Chapter 1 Invitation to Linguistics语言学

ChapterIInvitationtoLinguisticsI.Whystudylanguage?a.b.c.II.Whatislanguage?ØhumanspeechØtheabilitytocommunicatebythismeansØasystemofvocalsoundsandcombinationsofsuchsoundstowhichmeaningisattributed,usedfortheexpressionorcommunicationofthoughtsandfeelingsØthewrittenrepresentationofsuchasystem²anymeansofexpressingorcommunicating,asgestures,sings,oranimalsounds²aspecialsetofsymbols,letters.Numerals,rulesets.Usedforthetransmissionofinformation.Asinacomputer(Webster’sNewWorldDictionary)Ûlanguageisameansofverbalcommunication5\nÛinstrumentalÛsocialandconventionalÛdeterminedbybiological,cognitive,psychosocial,andenvironmentalfactorsÛmoresophisticatedI.Featuresoflanguage(本质特征)1.Arbitrariness：Formsoflinguisticsignsbearnonaturalrelationshiptotheirmeaning(Saussure)Whatisthelinkbetweenalinguisticsignanditsmeaning?It’samatterofconvention.2.Duality:Propertyofhavingtwolevelsofstructures,suchthatunitsoftheprimarylevelarecomposedofelementsofthesecondarylevelandeachofthetwolevelshasitsownprinciplesoforganization”(Lyons,1982:20)“Stratification–thisorganizationoflevelsonlevels–isthephysicalmanifestationofthe‘infiniteuseoffinitemeans’,thetraitthatmostdistinguisheshumancommunicationandthatprovidesitstremendousresourcefulness”(BolingerandSears,1981,3-4)3.Creativity5\nLanguageisresourcefulbecauseofitsdualityanditsrecursiveness.Ontheonehand,itcancreatenewmeanings;ontheotherhand,ithasgreatpotentialtocreatenewmeanings,andtherecursivenatureprovidesatheoreticalbasisforthispossibility.1.Displacement:Humanlanguagesarestimulusfree,whichenabletheiruserstosymbolizeobjects,eventsandconceptswhicharenotpresent(intimeandspace)atthemomentofcommunication.Displacementcangivehumanbeingsthepowertohandlegeneralizationsandabstractionsandmakeitpossibleforustotalkandthinkinabstractterms.IV.OriginoflanguageWow-wowtheoryPooh-poohtheoryYo-he-yotheoryLanguageevolveswithinspecifichistorical.Socialandculturalcontexts.V.FunctionsoflanguageJacobson(1960:21-22),onthebasisof6keyelementsof5\ncommunication(speaker,addressee,context,message,code,contact),establishedawell-knowframeworkoflanguagefunctions:referential,poetic,emotive,conative,phatic,metalingual.Halliday(1994)proposesatheoryofmetafunctionsoflanguage,thatis,languagehasideational,interpersonalandtextualfunctions.Tosumup,thefollowingfunctionsarementioned:Informative(ideational)(cf.P12)InterpersonalPerformativeEmotivePhaticcommunicationRecreationalV.Whatislinguistics?VI.MainbranchesofliguisticsPhoneticsPhonologyMorphologySyntaxSemanticsPragmaticsVII.MacrolinguisticsPsycholinguistics5\nSociolinguisticsAnthropologicallinguisticsComputationallinguisticsV.ImportantdistinctionsinlinguisticsDescriptivevs.prescriptiveSynchronicvws.DiachronicLanguage&paroleCompetenceandperformanceEticvs.emic5