语言学期末复习资料一.ppt
LinguisticsThe Goals for this CoursevTo get a scientific view on language;vTo understand some basic theories on linguistics;vTo understand the applications of the linguistic theories,especially in the fields of language teaching&learning(SLA or TEFL),cross-cultural communication;vTo prepare for the future research work.The Requirements for this coursevClass attendancevClassroom discussionvFulfillment of the assignmentvExaminationReference Booksv戴炜栋，何兆熊，(2002)，新编简明英语语言学教程，上海外语教育出版社。v胡壮麟，(2001)，语言学教程，北京大学出版社。v刘润清，(1995)，西方语言学流派，外语教学与研究出版社。vFromkin,V.&R.Rodman,(1998),An Introduction to Language the sixth edition,Orlando,Florida:Holt,Ranehart&Winston,Inc.Chapter 1.IntroductionvFerdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist who occupies an important place in the history of linguistics.Saussures ideas on the arbitrary nature of sign,on the relational nature of linguistic units,on the distinction of Synchronic&Diachronic and of Langue&parole,etc.pushed linguistics in to a brand new stage.What is language?vLanguage can meanvwhat a person says(e.g.bad language,expressions)vthe way of speaking or writing(e.g.Shakespeares language,Luxuns language)va particular variety or level of speech or writing(e.g.language for special purpose,colloquial language)vthe abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community(e.g.Chinese language,first language)vthe common features of all human languages(e.g.He studies language)va tool for human communication.(social function)v a set of rules.(rule-governed)v1.1What is language?vlanguage is most essential to mankind.vit is the possession of language that distinguishes humans from animals.v language is far more complex than most people have imagined.v1.1.1 Definition of languagev(1)Language:a.the method of human communication,either spoken or written,consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way.b.the system of communication used by a particular community or country.(The New Oxford Dictionary of English)v(2)Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas,emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.Sapir,1921v(3)Language is the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.Hall,1968 v(4)Language is a set of finite or infinite sentences,each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.Chomsky,1957v(5)语言:a.人类的言语;b.通过言语来交流的能力;c 用来表达或交流思想和感觉的一套声音及这些声音互相结合的系统;d 系统的文字表达 韦氏新世界词典v vMost modern linguists would accept a tentative vdefinition like the following:vLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.Language is a systemvSystematic-rule-governed,elements in it are arranged according to certain rules;cant be combined at will.e.g.*bkli,*I apple eat.Language is arbitraryvArbitrary-no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes,e.g.“pen”by any other name is the thing we use to write with.Language is symbolic in naturevSymbolic-words are associated with objects,actions ideas by convention.“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”-ShakespeareLanguage is primarily vocalvVocal-the primary medium is sound for all languages;writing system came much later than spoken form.Language is human-specificvHuman-specific-different from the communication systems other forms of life possess,e.g.bird songs,bee dance,animal cries.The design/defining features of human language ArbitrarinessProductivity/CreativityDualityDisplacementCultural transmissionArbitrariness-No logical(motivated or intrinsic)connection between sounds and meanings.vOnomatopoeic words(which imitate natural sounds)are somewhat motivated(English:rumble,crackle,bang,.Chinese:putong,shasha,dingdang)vSome compound words are not entirely arbitrary,e.g.type-writer,shoe-maker,air-conditioner,photocopyDualityvLower level-elements(meaningless)vHigher level-units(larger units of meaning)vA communication system with duality is considered more flexible than one without it,for a far greater number of messages can be sent.A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning(words),and the units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences.(we make dictionary of a language,but we cannot make a dictionary of sentences of that language.Productivity/creativity-Peculiar to human languages，users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before,e.g.we can understand sentence like“A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed”,though it does not describe a common happening in the world.vThe bee dance does have a limited productivity,as it is used to communicate about food sources in any direction.But food sources are the only kind of messages that can be sent through the bee dance;bees do not“talk”about themselves,the hives,or wind,let alone about people,animals,hopes or desires vA.because of duality the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences,most of which are never before produced or heard.vB.it has the potential to create endless sentences.for example:vHe brought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who.Displacement-Language can be used to refer to things,which are not present:real or imagined matters in the past,present or future,or in far-away places.vA gibbon never utters a call about something he ate last year.vThere is something special about the bee dance though.Bees communicate with other bees about the food sources they have found when they are no longer in the presence of the food.In this sense,the bee dance has a component of displacement.But this component is very insignificant.For the bees must communicate about the food immediately on returning to the hive.They do not dance about the food they discovered last month nor do they speculate about future discoveries.Cultural transmission-Language is culturally transmitted(through teaching and learning;rather than by instinct).vAnimal call systems are genetically transmitted.All cats,gibbons and bees have systems which are almost identical to those of all other cats,gibbons and bees.vA Chinese speaker and an English speaker are not mutually intelligible.This shows that language is culturally transmitted.That is,it is pass on from one generation to the next by teaching and learning,rather than by instinct.vThe story of a wolf child,a pig child shows that a human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire human language.2.What is linguistics?-Linguistics is the scientific study of language.-A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist.The process of linguistic studyvlinguistic facts observed;vgeneralizations made about the linguistic facts;vhypothesis formulated to account for the linguistic facts;vthe hypothesis tested by further observations;vlinguistic theories of language constructed.vThe scope of linguistics:vphonetics语音学vPhonology音系学 vmorphology 形态学，词法vsyntax 句法学vsemantics语义学 vpragmatics 语用学 vhistorical linguistics 历史语言学phoneticsv the study of how speech sounds are produced and classifiedvPhonetics studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description,classification and transcription.v语音学研究语音,包括言语的产生(也就是言语在现实中怎样形成、传递和接受),言语的声音,语音的描写和分类,词语和话语的连接等。phonology vthe study of how sounds form systems and function to convey meaningvIt identifies the set of speech sounds for each language,how they are arranged to form meaningful units,and the function of each sound.v（Phoneme）音素，音位是语音的最小的语言学单位，能够区分意义的不同。英语中大概有45个音位。v 音系学研究的是语音和音节的结构、分布和序列。v语音学是研究在言语中人类嗓音所能发出的语音，而音系学则是研究这些语音中所能形成语言和意义的一个子集。morphology v the study of the form of wordsvIt identifies the smallest meaningful units in a language which are called morphemes and looks into the ways the morphemes are arranged to form words.v形态学涉及词语的内部组织，研究意义的最小单位语素(morpheme)和成词的过程。syntax vthe study of how words and phrases are combined to form sentencesvIt investigates the rules governing the combination of words into sentences and identifies the permissible sequences in a language and the relationships between elements in sentence structure.v句法是形成和理解正确的英语句子的规则。这些规则规定了词语顺序、句子组织、以及词之间、词的格之间和其他句子成分之间的联系。semantics v the study of meaning(in abstraction)v语义学考察的是意义如何在语言中编码，不仅研究字词作为词汇的意义，还研究语言中词之上和词之下的其他成分的意义，如语素和句子的意义。pragmatics v the study of meaning in context of usevIt looks into the relation between linguistic expressions on the one hand and objects,persons and events to which the words refer on the other.It also studies the ways in which the meaning in a language is structured and distinguishes different types of meaning.v 语用学研究在特定情景中的特定话语,特别是研究在不同的语言交际环境下如何理解语言和御用语言。historical linguistics vthe study of language change vIt is concerned with the historical development of languages and the processes involved in language change over various periods of time and at various historical stages.Use of linguisticsvApplied linguistics-linguistics and language teaching vSociolinguistics-social factors(e.g.class,education)affect language use vPsycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process vStylistics-linguistic and literature Some important distinctions in linguisticsvDescriptive vs prescriptivevDescriptive-describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language people actually use(modern linguistic)e.g.Do/Dont say X.vPrescriptive-lay down rules for“correct”linguistic behavior in using language(traditional grammar)e.g.People do/dont say X.vthe difference between modern linguistics and traditional grammar:vthe former is descriptive;its investigations are based on authentic,and mainly spoken language data while the latter is prescriptive;it is based on the“high”written language.synchronic vs.diachronic va synchronic study:the description of a language at some point of time in historyve.g.a study of the features of the English used in Shakespeares timeva diachronic study:the description of a language as it changes through timeve.g.a study of the changes English has undergone since Shakespeares timevModern linguistics is mainly synchronic,focusing on the present-day language.Langue vs parolevLangue-the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community.vParole-the realization of langue in actual use.vSaussure takes a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions.v索绪尔说:“(语言)是某一社会集团全体成员通过言语实践而获得的一种宝库,是可能存在于每一个人的脑子里,或者说得更正确些,是存在于一群人的许多脑子里的一个语法系统,因为在任何一个人的脑子里,语言总不是完整的,它只有在群众中才是完整的。相反的,言语则是个人的意志和智慧的一种活动。”Competence and performance(Chomsky)vCompetence-the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language vPerformance-the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication vChomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.vThe object of investigation in linguistics is the ideal speakers competence,not his performance.vChomskys distinction and Saussures distinction are not exactly the same.Sausssures langue is a social product,a set of conventions for a speech community.Chomsy regards competence as a property of the mind of each individual.vSaussure looks at language more from a sociological point of view while Chomsky looks at it more from a psychological point of view.v语言能力：一个语言使用者关于语言系统规则的基本理解v语言应用：在具体场合中语言的真实使用vtraditional grammar and modern linguistic v the beginning of modern linguistics:the publication of F.de Saussures book“Course in General Linguistics”vthe difference between traditional grammar and modern linguistic:v（1）Modern linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.v（2）Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary while traditional grammar tended to emphasize the importance of the written word.v（3）Modern linguistics does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.vHomeworkvQuestions and Exercises on pages 11-12vPreview the next chapter:phonetics and phonologyvSelf-study guidevRead “A New Concise Course On Linguistics For Students Of English”Chapter 1 Introduction
