1、Chapter 1 IntroductionGengtang WuGuangdong Polytechnic Normal UniversityGuangzhou,September 1/29Preliminary questions:What is language?What does it look like?Is there any concrete object that is called language?Can we feel it by our sensory organs?Where does it located?2/293/291.Brocas area2.Wernick
2、es area3.The motor cortex/皮层运动区4.The arcuate fasciculus/弓状束4/291.1.1 Definitiona“mirror of mind”In,by Noam Chomsky(1968).Language is probably the best window we have on the workings of the human mind.The units of language elements of form,words,grammatical patterns,conventions of usage are in some s
3、ense also units of cognition.5/29Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communicationLanguage is a systemmeans rulegovernedArbitrarinessmeans there no intrinsic connection between the words and what they refer toSymboliclanguage can mean a sign system,e.g.the vocal signsHuman
4、specificinnate to human(distinctive characteristics of human being).6/29The defining properties of human languageArbitrarinessLinguistic forms are said to lack any physical correspondence with entities in the world to which they refer.“HOUSE”uchi(Japanese)Mansion(French)房子(Chinese)7/29Duality which
5、sees languages as being structurally organized in terms of two abstract levels.At the first,higher level,language is analyzed in terms of two combinations of units,such as morphemes words;at another,lower level,it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves,but which combi
6、ne to form units of meaning./ai ni:d buk/the sound sequenceWe can distinguish each individual sound.We can segment them into groups of sounds and get the meaning.8/29CreativityLanguage is resourceful.It makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users.(novel utterances
7、are continually being created.)a.We can create new words.b.We can create endless new sentences with limited number of words.nonhuman signals,on the other hand,appears to have little flexibility.9/29DisplacementLanguage can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situation of the spea
8、ker,i.e.it can be displaced.Talk about the past.Talk about some fictitious event or story.Talk with somebody far away(via phone).Listen to the recording(the past).10/29Cultural transmissionThe ability to speak a language is transmitted from generation to generation by a process of learning,and not g
9、enetically.(contrasting with the properties of many other semiotic systems)Language is transmitted culturally;that is,it is learned.“Language Acquisition Device”(LAD)LAD is a postulated organ of the brain that is supposed to function as a congenital(先天)device for learning symbolic language(i.e.,lang
10、uage acquisition).First proposed by Noam Chomsky11/29The divine-origin theoryThe ancient theories were of Divine origin by which man was created almost instantaneously,and at the moment of his creation,he was provided with speech as a divine gift.The invention theorywhich holds that man invented his
11、 own language.bowwow theory(imitation of the sound of nature)poohpooh theory(expression of emotion as cries of nature)hoheho theory(language first began in social setting,that of men working together)tata theory(gesture theory),singsong theory(musical theory)12/29The evolutionary theoryLanguage is d
12、eveloped by a long process of evolution involving biological and social factors as a whole.Stress the importance of the biological base.Some genetic mutation leads to development of modern man.Brain capacity outweighs other animals.13/29Three main functionsdescriptive function the function to convey
13、 factual information,which can be asserted or denied,and in some cases even verified.expressive functionsupplies information about the users feelings,preferences,prejudices,and values.social functionserves to establish and maintain social relations between people14/29Jakobsons view on language funct
14、ion:Context referential function to convey message and informationAddresser emotive function to express attitudes,feelings and emotionsMessage poetic function to indulge in language for its own sakeAddressee conative function to persuade and influence others through commands and entreatiesContact ph
15、atic function to establish communication with othersCode metalingual function tool languageto clear up intentions,words and meanings15/291.2.1 DefinitionLinguistics is the branch of learning which studies the languages of any and all human societies.It can be defined as the scientific study of langu
16、age.In a word,linguistics studies the general principles upon which all languages are constructed and operate as systems of communication in the societies in which they are used.16/29 Sound Phonetics phonology Form morphology syntax Meaning semantics pragmatics (in context)language system17/29Phonet
17、icsThe science which studies the characteristics of human soundmaking,especially those sounds used in speech,and provides methods for their description,classification and transcription.1)articulatory phonetics is the study of the way speech sounds are made by the vocal organs;2)acoustic phonetics st
18、udies the physical properties of speech sound,as transmitted between mouth and ear;3)auditory phonetics studies the perceptual response to speech sounds,as mediated by ear,auditory nerve and brain.18/29Phonology studies the sound system of languages.The aim of phonology is to demonstrate the pattern
19、s of distinctive sound found in a language,and to make as general statements as possible about the nature of sound systems in the languages of the world.Morphology studies the structure of forms of words,primarily through the use of the morpheme construct.19/29Syntaxthe study of the interrelationshi
20、ps between elements of sentence structure,and of the rules governing the arrangement of sentences in sequences.Semanticsthe study of meaning in language.Pragmaticsthe study of meaning in the context of use.20/29Psycholinguistics studies the correlation between linguistic behavior and the psychologic
21、al processes thought to underlie that behavior:(a)the mental process tat a person uses in producing and understanding language,and(b)how humans learn language.21/29Sociolinguistics studies all aspects of the relationship between language and society.Sociolinguistics study such matters as the linguis
22、tic identity of social groups,social attitudes to language,standard and nonstandard forms of language,the patterns and needs of national language use,social varieties and levels of language,the social basis of multilingualism,and so on.Anthropological linguisticsa branch that studies language variat
23、ion and use in relation to the cultural patterns and beliefs of man,as investigated using the theories and methods of anthropology.22/29Computational linguisticsa branch in which computational techniques and concepts re applied to the elucidation of linguistic and phonetic problems.Several research
24、areas have developed,including speech synthesis,speech recognition,automatic translation,the making of concordances,the testing of grammars and the many areas where statistical counts and analyses are required.23/29Descriptive vs.prescriptiveDescriptiveto describe the fact of linguistic usage as the
25、y are,and not how they ought to be,with reference to some real or imagined ideal state.Prescriptivea term used to characterize any approach which attempt to lay down rules of correctness as to how language should be used.24/291.7.2 Synchronic vs.diachronic(by Swiss linguist,Ferdinand de Saussure)Syn
26、chronic(linguistics)languages are studied at a theoretic point in time:one describes a state of language,disregarding whatever changes might be taking place.Diachroniclanguages are studied from point of view of their historical development for example,the changes which have taken place between Old a
27、nd Modern English could be described in phonological,grammatical and semantic terms.25/29Speech and writingthe primacy of speech:1)Speech is prior to writing historically2)genetically,children always learn to speak before they learn to write.The importance of writing:1)space displacement2)time displ
28、acement3)a visual recording of a speech26/29Langue&parolealso by de SaussureLanguerefers to the language system shared by a community of speakersParoleis the concrete act of speaking in actual situations by an individual speaker.27/29Competence and performanceby Noam ChomskyCompetencerefers to a per
29、sons knowledge of his language,the system of rules which he has mastered so that he is able to produce and understand an indefinite number of sentences,and to recognize grammatical mistakes and ambiguities.Performancerefers to language seen as a set of specific utterances produced by nativespeakers,
30、as encountered in a corpus.28/29Traditional grammar and modem linguisticsTraditional grammarLatin based(e.g.Traditional English grammar)Prescriptive:it focuses on the distinction between what some people do with language and what they ought to do with it,according to a preestablished standard.Modem linguisticsDescriptiveTaken the spoken language as primaryNon Latin based 29/29
