语言学理论与流派教案大纲.docx

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1、Chapter 2 Traditional Grammar2.1 Philosophical Origins of Traditional Grammar For the Greeks 6grammar5 was a part of philosophy9.2.2 Nature and ConventionTo say that a particular institution was natural was to imply that it had its origin in eternal and immutable principles outside man himself; to s

2、ay that it was conventionar implied that it was merely the result of custom and tradition.With reference to language, what does the opposition mean? In the discussion of language, the distinction of nature and convention9 was made to turn principally upon the question whether there was any necessary

3、 connexion between the meaning of a word and its form.Various ways were recognized in which the form of a word might be naturally9 appropriate to its meaning.2.3 Analogists and AnomalistsThe dispute between naturalists and 6conventionalists9 was to endure for centuries.The controversy between the na

4、utralists9 and the conventionalists developed rather later (from about the second century B.C.) into a dispute as to how far language was regular9. The Greek words for regularity and irregularity in this sense of these terms are analogy5 and anomaly7.(Analogical reasoning was widely applied by Plato

5、 and Aristotle, and their followers, in the study of the sciences.)What did the analogists and anomalists do?The dispute still remains.2.4 Alexandrian Period (the last three centuries B.C.)When did it begin? And what did the Alexandrian scholars do?What was the purpose for this?2.5 Greek Grammar (es

6、tablished from the fourth century B.C. to the second century A.D.)Classifications of words2.6 The Roman Period (the second century B.C. to 500 A.D.)Influence of Greek scholars and Latin scholars9 belief2.7 Medieval PeriodWhen did it begin and when did it end?A dominant feature of the medieval period

7、Contribution to traditional grammar1.1.1.1 Boass Views on Language(Boas s views on language) Boas held that there is no ideal type or form of languages for human languages are endlessly diverse.Boas was strongly opposed to the view that language is the soul of a race, and he proved that the structur

8、e and form of a language has nothing to do with the evolution of a race and the development of a culture.And Boas expounded that what would sound “primitive“ of a language is in fact never primitive at all.1.1.1.2 Boass Methodology(For Boas, description is an end) Boas and his contemporaries thought

9、 that the description of an individual language was an end in itself, or a necessary first step towards understanding the wider culture of a particular community.(Description consists of three parts) He held that such descriptions consist of three parts: the sound of languages, the semantic categori

10、es of linguistic expression, and the process of grammatical combination in linguistic expression.(Boass methodology) Boass methodology in processing linguistic data of American Indian languages is analytical.Starting from an anthropological view in studying linguistics, Boas regarded linguistics as

11、part of anthropology and failed to establish linguistics as an independent branch of science. But his basic theory, his observation, and his descriptive methods paved the way for American descriptive linguistics and influenced generations of scholars.1.1.2 Edward Sapir(Personal information) Edward S

12、apir (1884-1939) was an eminent anthropological linguist.He studied Germanic languages at Columbia University and graduated in 1904.Before meeting Boas in New York in the same year, Sapir was pursuing his masters degree in Germanic studies and felt confident that he understood the nature of language

13、 quite well.After meeting Boas, who had gathered a wealth of information concerning American Indian languages, Sapir said he felt as though he had everything to learn.In 1921, his only book Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech was published.1.1.2.1 Sapirs Definition of Language(What is l

14、anguage?) In the introductory chapter of his Language, Sapir defined language as “a purely human and non-instinctivc method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols”.This is Sapirs remarkable finding, and it is different from later theories of

15、 Bloomfield behaviourism and Chomskys innateness hypothesis. For example, while one is born able to cry and move the limbs, he is not born able to speak a language.(His views on speech and meanings on speech and thought) Sapir also had a lot to say about the relations between speech and meaning, bet

16、ween speech and thought. He held that the association of speech and meaning is a relation that may be, but need not be, present.On the relation between speech and thought, Sapir held that although speech and thought are intimately related, they are not to be considered the same. Language is the mean

17、s, and thought is the end product: without language, thought is impossible. Language is a fabric, the framework for thought.1.1.2.2 On the Sounds of Language(His contribution to the study of sound) Sapir conducted a detailed study on the sounds of language. He distinguished a phonetic unit and a pho

18、neme.Sapir also recognized different allophones of a phoneme.1.1.2.3 On the Elements of Speech(Elements of speech) By element of speech，he referred to meaningful units rather than parts of speech.1.1.2.4 On the Linguistic Form(His contribution to the study of linguistic form) He said that the lingui

19、sts prime interest lies in the study of language as formal structures, and that one of the striking features of any language is its formal completeness.According to Sapir, there are two ideas to be considered in studying linguistic form-the basic concepts communicated by a language and the formal me

20、thods by which these basic concepts are related and modified. Grammatical processes are formal methods for indicating the relation of a secondary concept to the main concept of the radical element. Sapir discussed six main types of grammatical processes.1.1.2.5 On Types of Linguistic Structure(Four

21、types of language) Sapirs contribution to the classification of languages is of great significance. He held that the classification of languages into isolating, agglutinative, and inflectional types is not scientific. Sapir said that all languages need to express four types of concepts and according

22、 to those concepts, all languages can be divided into four types.1.1.2.7 On Language, Race and Culture(Different views on the Telationship between the items) Sapirs basic views are: race, language, and culture arc not evenly distributed; the history of language and culture can not be accounted for i

23、n terms of race. . Thus, language, race, and culture are not necessarily correlated. But this does not mean that they never are.After 1929, Sapir changed his views on the difference of languages, holding that human concepts of the realistic world are affected by linguistic concepts and categories; l

24、anguage not only refers to experience, but also regulates it. It was from this idea that Benjamin L. Whorf developed his own theory that was later known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.1.1.3 The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis(What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis ?) The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, a term first used

25、by J.B. Carroll (1956), refers to the views held by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) on the relationship between language and culture and thought.(It is an old issue.)_Since ancient Greece, philosophers began to contemplate the relation between language and culture, race, and thought.

26、 It has been a challenge to linguists, psychologists, and anthropologists as well. In the ancient time, language was considered as the dress of thought, and it facilitated thinking since once man in the making possessed language his thinking process was better facilitated. But this traditional assum

27、ption was challenged by Sajpir and Whorf.(Two major components) The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis has two major components: linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity.1.1.3.1 Linguistic Determinism(The content of linguistic determinism) The point of Sapir-Whorf9s linguistic determinism is that ones t

28、hinking is completely determined by his native language because one can only perceive the world in terms of the categories and distinctions encoded in the language. Language not only refers to experience acquired independently of language. It actually defines our experience.(Whoiffs evidence) Whorf

29、presented his evidence mainly from his comparisons between the Hopi language and English.(The Sapir-Whorf linguistic determinism has been strongly opposed.) The first criticism is that Whorfs argument is circular.The second criticism concerns the problem of translation.1.1.3.2 Linguistic Relativity(

30、What is linguistic relativity?) The point of Sapir-Whorfs linguistic relativity is that the categories and distinctions encoded in one language system are unique to that system and incommensurable with those of others.In its extreme form, the theory of linguistic relativity may be put as: We are not

31、 able to make distinctions unless these distinctions are lexicalized.5.3 The Bloomfieldian AgeThe period between 1933 and 1950 is known as the Bloomfieldian Age, in which American descriptive linguistics formally came into being and reached its prime development.5.3.1 Bloomfield the ManBloomfield wa

32、s born in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from Harvard College in 1906. He received his PhD degree at the University of Chicago in 1909. After that, he took some more courses at Leipzig and Gottingen universities working with some of the great figures of the Neogrammarian movement. Bloomfield is re

33、membered for his great contributions in general linguistics and also for his insights in foreign language teaching.He was one of the chief founders of the Linguistics Society of America (LSA) in 1924. He was also the founder of structuralist linguistics and trained a generation of linguists, includi

34、ng Z.S. Harris, B. Bloch, G.L. Trager, C. Hockett, W.S. Wells, and M. Joos.Bloomfield developed Boass theory under the influence of the Neogrammarians and Saussure. The only difference is that Bloomfield tried to account for the production and interpretation of speech with the stimulus-response” the

35、ory under the influence of the prevailing behaviourist psychology of the time.5.3.2 Bloomfield and Behaviourism(Watson s behaviourist theory) There were a lot of problems with mentalist psychology at the beginning of the 20th century. The 1920s saw a revolution in psychology in which J.B. Watsons be

36、haviourist theory replaced mentalism.Application of behaviourism in language) Behaviourism in linguistics holds that children learn language through a chain of stimulus-response reinforcement, and adults use of language is also a process of stimulus-response.In his Language (1933), Bloomfield used a

37、n example to explicate his process of stimulus-response theory. And the story can be divided into three parts: (1) the practical event prior to the act of speech; (2) speech; and (3) the practical event after the act of speech. From this, Bloomfield put forward three principles, which are encoded as

38、 follows:S -a rs RHere S stands for practical stimulus, r stands for the substitute reaction of speech, “s stands for the substitute stimulus, and R stands for external practical reaction.(Bloomfield made the study of language into a science.) The behaviourist practice of relying on what is objectiv

39、e (observable and testifiable data) rather than on what is subjective (individualistic intuition or retrospection) provides a scientific basis for psychology and linguistics.Their inductive methods produce impartial and accurate data, giving no generalizations apart from the observed data. Linguists

40、 of later times say that the greatest contribution of Bloomfield is that he made the study of language into a science.(Behaviourism has its limitations.)5.3.3 Bloomfield and his Language(Introduction of Langi/age)_Bloomfield wrote a textbook, Introduction to the Study of Language, in 1914. He revise

41、d and expanded it into Language (1933) , which has been acclaimed as a classic in modem linguistics. The main points in his work are (1) behaviourist view of language; (2) the problem of speech community; (3) phonological features and typology; (4) grammatical units.(About phonetics and phonology) I

42、n his Language, Bloomfield developed theories of phonetics and phonology.(The distinction between free form and bound form) In grammatical description, Bloomfield distinguished free form and bound form (or “tactic form and grammatical fonrT).(About language change) The latter part of Bloomfields Lan

43、guage deals with some important issues in historical linguistics. Bloomfield pointed out two drawbacks in the tree diagram of language families used in comparative linguistics.Bloomfield also pointed out that language change is not limited to sound changes. Some forms have no etymological evidence,

44、and there may be four types of change.(Application of linguistics to language teaching) In the last chapter of Language. Bloomfield touched upon the application of linguistics to language teaching and criticized traditional grammar.5.3.4 Structuralism and Language Teaching(Audio-lingual method) Base

45、d on Bloomfields structuralism is the Audio-lingual method in language teaching.Finally the Audio-lingual method was strongly criticized on the theoretical grounds when, mainly under the influence of Chomsky, both psychology and structuralist linguistics were said to be based on unreasonable views.5

46、.4 The Post-Bloomfieldian PeriodThe Post-Bloomfieldian Period refers to the period of development of American structuralist linguistics in the 1940s and 1950s. Activists include Z. Harris, C. Hockett, G. Trager, H.L. Smith, A. Hill, and R. Hall. All these researchers were heavily influenced by Bloom

47、fields Language, which is characterized by a strict empiricism.5.4.1 Zellig Harris(Personal information) Born in Ukraine in 1909 and moving with his family to America at the age of four, Harris received his education in America and got all his degrees (BA, 1930; MA, 1932; PhD, 1934) and did all his

48、teaching work at the University of Pennsylvania. His research work centred on the methods of analyzing linguistic structure, including distributional structure and discourse analysis. Before 1951 he had mainly focused his work on structural analysis of morphemes and phonemes, and after 1951 he switc

49、hed to syntactical analysis.(His book) Harriss Methods in Structural Linguistics (1951) is generally taken as marking the maturity of American descriptive linguistics. It is the fullest and most interesting expression of the discovery procedure“ approach to linguistics. Harris gives very detailed and explicit rules for moving from a collec