语言学第一章笔记和习题.doc

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1、Chapter one 学点语言学语言学是对语言的系统研究，对于一个学习英语的人来说，应该懂一点语言学的知识，它可以在理论上对学习语言有指导作用，有助于更好的学习语言。The Goals for this CourseTo get a scientific view on language;To understand some basic theories on linguistics;To understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of language teaching

2、& learning (SLA or TEFL), cross-cultural communication;To prepare for the future research work. The Requirements for this courseClass attendanceClassroom discussionFulfillment of the assignmentMonthly examExamination Reference Books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。胡壮麟，(2001)，语言学教程，北京大学出版社。胡壮麟，李战

3、子，语言学简明教程，北京大学出版社刘润清，(1995)，西方语言学流派，外语教学与研究出版社。Fromkin,V. & R. Rodman, (1998), An Introduction to Language the sixth edition, Orlando, Florida: Holt, Ranehart & Winston, Inc.许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学,至少不够严谨.他对语言的定义做了如下概括:语言是一种符号系统.当它作用于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介;当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具;当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的

4、载体.Teaching aims: let the students have the general idea about language and linguistics.Teaching difficulties: design features of language; some important distinctions in linguisticsWhy do we study language?A tool for communicationAn integral part of our life and humanityIf we are not fully aware of

5、 the nature and mechanism of our language, we will be ignorant of what constitutes our essential humanity.What can language mean? Language can meanwhat a person says (e.g. bad language, expressions) the way of speaking or writing (e.g. Shakespeares language, Luxuns language)a particular variety or l

6、evel of speech or writing (e.g. language for special purpose, colloquial language) the abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community (e.g. Chinese language, first language) the common features of all human languages (e.g. He studies language)a tool for human c

7、ommunication. (social function) a set of rules. (rule-governed) The origins of language-the myth of language The Biblical accountLanguage was Gods gift to human beings.The bow-wow theoryLanguage was an imitation of natural sounds, such as the cries of animals, like quack, cuckoo.The pooh-pooh theory

8、Language arose from instinctive emotional cries, expressive of pain or joy.The yo-he-ho theoryLanguage arose from the noises made by a group of people engaged in joint labour or effort lifting a huge hunted game, moving a rock, etc.The evolution theoryLanguage originated in the process of labour and

9、 answered the call of social need.To sum up:The divine-origin theory: language is a gift of god to mankind.The invention theory: imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together.The evolutionary theory: the result of physical and psychological development.What is LanguageLanguage is a

10、system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.What is communication?A process in which information is transmitted from a source (sender or speaker) to a goal (receiver or listener).A system-elements in it are arranged according to certain rules. They cannot be arranged at will. e.g.

11、 He the table cleaned. () bkli ()Arbitrary-there is no intrinsic (logic) connection between a linguistic form and its meaning.Symbols-words are just the symbols associated with objects, actions, and ideas by convention.Vocal-the primary medium for all languages is sound, no matter how well developed

12、 their writing systems are. Writing systems came into being much later than the spoken forms. People with little or no literacy can also be competent language users.Human -language is human-specific. Human beings have different kinds of brains and vocal capacity. “Language Acquisition Device”(LAD)De

13、sign features of language 语言的结构特征Design features refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication.a. arbitrariness-the form of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. The link between them is a matter of conventio

14、n. E.g. “house” uchi (Japanese) Mansion (French) 房子(Chinese)conventionality-It means that in any language there are certain sequences of sounds that have a conventionally accepted meaning. Those words are customarily used by all speakers with the same intended meaning and understood by all listeners

15、 in the same way.There are two different schools of belief concerning arbitrariness. Most people, especially structural linguists believe that language is arbitrary by nature. Other people, however, hold that language is iconic, that is, there is a direct relation or correspondence between sound and

16、 meaning, such as onomatopoeia.(cuckoo; crash)For the majority of animal signals, there does appear to be a clear connection between the conveyed message and the signal used to convey it, And for them, the sets of signals used in communication is finite.b. duality-language is simultaneously organize

17、d at two levels or layers, namely, the level of sounds and that of meaning. the higher level -words which are meaningfulthe lower or the basic level-sounds which are meaningless, but can be grouped and regrouped into words.Dog: woof (but not “w-oo-f ” ) This duality of levels is, in fact, one of the

18、 most economical features of human language, since with a limited set of distinct sounds we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words) which are distinct in meaning. The principle of economyc. Productivity/Creativity-language is resourceful. It makes possible the

19、 construction and interpretation of new signals by its users.(novel utterances are continually being created.) non-human signals ,on the other hand, appears to have little flexibility. e.g. an experiment of bee communication:The worker bee, normally able to communicate the location of a nectar sourc

20、e , will fail to do so if the location is really new. In one experiment, a hive of bees was placed at the foot of a radio tower and a food source at the top. Ten bees were taken to the top, shown the food source, and sent off to tell the rest of the hive about their find. The message was conveyed vi

21、a a bee dance and the whole gang buzzed off to get the free food. Theyflow around in all directions, but couldnt locate the food. The problem may be that bee communication regarding location has a fixed set of signals, all of which related to horizontal distance. The bee cannot create a new message

22、indicating vertical distance.d. Displacement-human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present at the moment of communication. Bee communication: When a worker bee finds a source of nectar and returns to the hive, it can perform a complex dance routin

23、e to communicate to the other bees the location of this nectar. Depending on the type of dance (round dance for nearby and tail-wagging dance, with variable tempo, for further away and how far), The other bees can work put where this newly discovered feast can be found. Bee communication has displac

24、ement in an extremely limited form. However, it must be the most recent food source.e. Cultural transmission-genetic transmission You acquire a language in a culture with other speakers and not from parental genes.The process whereby language is passed on from one generation to the next is described

25、 as cultural transmission.f. interchangeability: it means that individuals who use a language can both send and receive any permissible message within that communication system. Human beings can be a producer as well as receiver of messages. g. human vocal tractFunctions of language (3+6+7+3)1. Thre

26、e main functionsthe descriptive function: the primary function of language. It is the function to convey factual information, which can be asserted or denied, and in some cases even verified.the expressive function: it supplies information about the users feelings, preferences, prejudices and values

27、.the social function：also referred to as the interpersonal function, serves to establish and maintain social relations between people2. The Russian-born structural linguists Roman Jakobson identifies six elements of a speech event and relates each one of them to one specific language function. That

28、is, in conjunction of the six primary factors of any speech event, he established a well-known framework of language functions based on the six key elements of communication in his famous article: Linguistics and PoeticsAddresserEmotive (intonation showing anger)AddresseeConative (imperatives and vo

29、catives)ContextReferential (conveys a message or information)MessagePoetic (indulge in language for its own sake)ContactPhatic communion (to establish communion with others)CodeMetalinguistic (to clear up intentions, words and meanings)3. In the early 1970s the British linguist M.A.K. Halliday found

30、 that child language performed seven basic functions, namely, instrumental, regulatory, representational, interactional, personal, heuristic, and imaginative.This system contains three macrofunctionsthe ideational, the interpersonal and the textual function.three meta-functions proposed by M. A. K.

31、Halliday(1) The ideational functionTo identify things, to think, or to record information. It constructs a model of experience and constructs logical relations(2) The interpersonal functionTo get along in a community. It enacts social relationships(3) The textual functionTo form a text. It creates r

32、elevance to context. What is Linguistics(语言学)Linguistics is a scientific study of language .It is a major branch of social science.Linguistics studies not just one language of any society, but the language of all human society, language in general.A scientific study is one which is based on the syst

33、ematic investigation of data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.Process of linguistic study: Certain linguistic facts are observed, generalization are formed; Hypotheses are formulated; Hypotheses are tested by further observations; A linguistic theory is construc

34、ted.observation-generalization-hypothesis-tested by further observation-theoryPerson who studies linguistics is known as a linguist. The Scope of LinguisticsGeneral linguistics is the study of language as a whole.Internal branches: intra-disciplinary divisions (micro-linguistics)Phonetics(语音学) is th

35、e branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription.Phonology(音韵学) is the branch of linguistics which studies the sound patterns of languages.Morphology(词法) is the branch of linguistics which studies

36、the form of words.Syntax(句法) is the branch of linguistics which studies the rules governing the combination of words into sentences.Semantics(语义学) is the branch of linguistics which studies the meaning of language.Pragmatics(语用学) is the branch of linguistics which studies the meaning of language in

37、use. External branches: inter-disciplinary divisions (macro-linguistics)Applied linguistics(应用语言学) is the study of the teaching of foreign and second languages.Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society.Psycholinguistics is the study of the relationship between la

38、nguage and the mind.Historical Linguistics(历史语言学) is the study of language changes.Anthropological linguistics(人文语言学) uses the theories and methods of anthropology to study language variation and language use in relation to the cultural patterns and beliefs of man.Neurolinguistics(神经语言学) studies the

39、 neurological basis of language development and use in human beings.Mathematical linguistics(数学语言学) studies the mathematical features of language, often employing models and concepts of mathematics.Computational linguistics(计算语言学) is an approach to linguistics in which mathematical techniques and co

40、ncepts(概念) are applied, often with the aid of a computer.Features of linguisticsDescriptiveDealing with spoken languageSynchronicSome Basic Distinctions(区分) in Linguistics1. Speech and WritingOne general principle(原则) of linguistic analysis is the primacy of speech over writing. Writing gives langua

41、ge new scope(范畴) and uses that speech does not have.2. Descriptive(描述性) or Prescriptive(说明性)A linguistic study is descriptive if it describes and analyses facts observed; it is prescriptive if it tries to lay down rules for correct behavior.3. Synchronic(共时) and Diachronic(历时) StudiesThe description

42、 of a language at some point in time is a synchronic study and The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study.4. Langue(语言) and Parole(言语)This is a distinction made by the Swiss linguist F.De Saussure (索绪尔）early last century. langue refers to the abstract linguistic s

43、ystem shared by all the members of a speech community and parole refers to the actualized(实际的) language, or realization of langue.5. Competence(能力)and Performance(行为)Competence is the ideal language users knowledge of the rules of his language. Performance is the actual realization of this knowledge

44、 in utterances(发声).6. Potential and Behavior: English linguist Halliday makes another similar distinction in the 1960s, namely the distinction between linguistic potential and linguistic behavior. He approaches language from a functional view and concentrates primarily on what speakers do with langu

45、age which led to the distinction between linguistic potential (what speakers can do with language) and behavior (what speakers actually do with language). In Hallidays distinction between potential and behavior, potential is similar to Saussures “langue” and Chomskys competence, and behavior is simi

46、lar to Saussures “parole” and Chomskys performance.7. Modern linguistics started with the publication of F. de Saussure s book “Course in General Linguistics” in the early 20th century. So Saussure is often described as “father of modern linguistics”. The general approach traditionally formed to the

47、 study of language before that is roughly referred to as “traditional grammar.” They differ in several basic ways:Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive. A linguist is interested in what is said, not in what he thinks ought to be said. He describes language in

48、all its aspects, but does not prescribe rules of “correctness”.Secondly, modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tend to emphasize, may be over-emphasize, the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence.Then,