1、Readingso Textbook: The Study of Language, by George Yule. (copy it)o Additional readings: Pinker, S. The Language Instinct (available at bookstore)Requirements o Class attendanceo Take notes carefullyo Final examinationo The examination will be based on the ppt slides and the textbook.o At the end
2、of the whole classes, I will let you copy this ppt material.Introduction I. Some interesting facts about languageII. What is linguistics?III. Why study linguistics?IV. Distinctive features of language V. Basic attributes of languageI. Some Interesting Facts About LanguageoNumber of languages: about
3、6,809 languages in the world (or about 4,000 8000 languages because its hard to define what counts as a language), about 50% of these are dying out. Most of them do not have a written form.oTen most widely spoken languages:n1. Mandarin Chinese 2. Spanish 3. English 4. Bengali 5. Hindi/Urdu 6. Portug
4、uese 7. Russian 8. Japanese 9. German 10. Chinese-WuTen Most Widely Spoken LanguagesTen Most Widely Spoken Languageso According to David Crystal The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (1987, p. 287)mother tongue speakerso 1. Chinese (Mandarin) 2. English 3. Spanish 4. Hindi 5. Arabic 6. Bengali 7. R
5、ussian 8. Portuguese 9. Japanese 10. GermanReasons for the Uncertainty over Numbers of languageo New discoveries: new people (and therefore languages) continue to be discovered in the unexplored regions of the world (esp. in the Amazon basin, Central Africa, and New Guinea).o Alive or dead language?
6、nPolitical decisionsnEconomic reasonnDiseasesnothersLanguage and dialectLanguage and dialecto Language or dialect?n Five types of relationship between dialect and languagen Type 1community A community Be.g. British Eng. same language American Eng.Mutually intelligible common cultural history n Type
7、2community A community Be.g. Englishdifferent languages Hindi n Type 3community A community Be.g. Norwegian ? DanishMutually unintelligible different cultural history Mutually intelligible different cultural history nType 4community A community Be.g. Cantonese Hakka (Chinese) ? (Chinese)nType 5 Comm
8、unity A community Be.g. Turkish ? UzbekMutually unintelligible same cultural history Partially (un)intelligible overlapping cultural history o The number of sentences is infinite. o We are able to distinguish grammatical from ungrammatical sentences.o We are able to recognize truncated sentences (“S
9、top it”) that are missing nouns.o We are able to recognize ambiguous sentences (“Andrew saw the girl with binoculars”)o We can create sentences that paraphrase each other. What Is Linguistics?o Definitionn the systematic & scientific study of languageo Purpose: to learn the different aspects of lang
10、uagen How it is structured; how we produce & understand it in ongoing time; how we learn it; how it develops in humans; how we use it every day & what we use it for; how it works in our minds and in society.Core fields of linguisticso Phoneticso Phonologyo Morphologyo Syntaxo Semanticso PragmaticsOu
11、ter fields of linguisticso Sociolinguisticso Psycholinguisticso Neurolinguisticso Computational linguisticso Historical linguisticso Why study linguistics?o To explore the nature of human languageso From studying language, one may have a closer look at human nature.o A joke: it is harmless to study
12、linguistics.What is grammar?o Descriptive grammarn Describes the rules that govern what people do or can say (their “mental grammar”)o Prescriptive grammarn Prescribes rules governing what people should/shouldnt sayPrescriptive rules: school grammar“Dont end a sentence with a preposition!”“Dont spli
13、t infinitives!”“Dont use double negatives!”Distinctive features of languageHuman language vs. animal communicationWe are Uniquely Language-UsersOther Animals also CommunicateoCats arch their back to scare the neighbor catoBees tell each other when they have found foodoChimpanzees can be taught to us
14、e primitive sign language to communicate desires. Design featureso Charles Hockett (1960): a set of key properties of language not shared or not known to be shared as a set, with systems of communication in any other species. Their number and names vary from one account to another; but all include,
15、as among the most important, the properties of duality, arbitrariness and productivity.o Characterize language, distinguish it from other communication systems o If a system lacks even one feature, it is communication, not language 7 Design featureso Discretenesso Dualityo Arbitrariness o Cultural t
16、ransmissiono Displacemento Productivityo RecursivenessDiscretenesso Larger, complex messages can be broken down into smaller, discrete parts. Each sound is discrete.e.g., pattapaptpa tDualityoDuality enables us to use our language in a very economic way for a virtually infinite production of linguis
17、tic units.oAll human languages have a small, limited set of speech sounds. The limitation derives from the restricted capacity of our vocal apparatus. oLinguistically speaking, the distinctive speech sounds are called phonemes, which are explained in more detail in the chapter on phonology. You cann
18、ot use isolated phonemes for communication, because phonemes are by themselves meaningless. But we can assemble and reassemble phonemes into larger linguistic units. These are commonly called words. Although our capacity to produce new phonemes is limited, we frequently coin new words. Hence, our ca
19、pacity to produce vocabulary is unlimited. Arbitrarinesso There is no (necessary) connection between the form of signal and its meaning e.g., whale is small word for big animal, microorganism is just the reverseSound symbolism in namesoLilliputoBrobdingnag oTarzanHumpty Dumpty means the shape he iso
20、 “My name is Alice, but ” o “Its a stupid name enough!” Humpty Dumpty interrupted impatiently. “What does it mean?” o “Must a name mean something?” Alice asked doubtfully. o “Of course it must,” Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh: “my name means the shape I am - and a good handsome shape it is, t
21、oo. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost.” Cultural transmissiono At least some aspect of communication system is learned from other users e.g., child of French-speaking parents will learn FrenchDisplacemento Ability to talk about things not present in space or timee.g., Productivi
22、tyo Speakers can create infinite number of novel utterances that others can understand. e.g., “colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”o Speakers can create new forms of language according to the language rules.oThe child is presented with a new object:This is a wug:Now there are two The Wug Test:The
23、 Walkman Testo This is a man, now there are two_.o This is a Walkman, now there are two_.Creativity: We automatically produce and understand utterances we have never heard before, whether they make sense or not:Seventeen and one half turtles wearing yellow hats with penguins on them began to simulta
24、neously yodel as I approached the food truck.Put differently: Languages have a finite number of words, from which infinite sentences can be created/understood; its not just about making senseRecursivenesso I think that John guesses that Tom believes that Mary suggests thato Can we find larger recurs
25、iveness in language?o Yes.Recursiveness in discourse:o从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。
26、讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？从前有座山，山上有个庙，庙里有个老和尚在给一个小和尚讲故事。讲的什么呢？Aspects of Languageo We are concerned with the objective study of language; no
27、t with claims about how language should be made by so-called expertso By language here we mean roughly the system of principles that account for linguistic expressions; languages that actually exist (or existed) and are used by peopleo Moreover: Our production and comprehension of complex linguistic
28、 utterances is automatic and (typically) effortless. o We do not have to think about using language any more than we have to think about walking or about using visionOralo Speech primaryn Historyn individualo Writing is not always present.o Change reflected slowly in writingo Similar writing system
29、can be used for very different languages, or more than one system for one language.But written language is also important in any civilized societyo If you hear the following language:o Shi shi shi shi shi shi, shi shi shi shi, shi shi, shi shi shi shi, shi shi shi shi shi shi, shi shi shi shi, shi s
30、hi, shi shi shi shi, shi shi shi shi shi shi, shi shi shi shi, shi shi, shi shi shi shi, shi shi shi shi shi shi, shi shi shi shi, shi shi, shi shi shi shi,In written language, this make a beautiful little proseo 石室诗士施氏，嗜狮，誓食十狮。施氏时时适市视狮。十时，适十狮适市。是时，适施氏适市。氏视是十狮，恃矢势，使是十狮逝世。氏拾是十狮尸，适石室。石室湿，氏使侍拭石室。石室拭，氏始
31、试食是十狮。食时，始识是十狮，实十石狮尸。试释是事。 Universalo Language is universal- every human society ever known has languageUnlike cultural inventions or technology- which vary in complexity from culture to culture- every human society has complex languageThis suggests that humans have a biological capacity for languag
32、eEasy acquisitionoOne well-known fact about language: children acquire language easily and without explicit instruction.oIt should be clear that adults do not have this capacity; acquiring language in adulthood is difficult and typically results in sub-native performance.oThis suggests a biological
33、window of opportunity for acquiring a language natively.Structuralo Phonetics/Phonology: The sounds of a language, and how they combineExample: the sounds p, t, k in English are pronounced with a puff of air (aspirated) at the start of a word:pilltillkillThis is not the case when s precedes:spill st
34、illskillo Morphology: The structure of words. Some words seem simple, e.g. cat. But others are made out of parts:vapor-izeun-attain-ableun-lock-ing-sSometimes the rules are complex, and the same pieces can combine in different ways:Un-(lock-able): cant be locked(un-lock)-able: capable of being unloc
35、kedoSyntax: How words combine to form sentences:1) The tall man2) *The man tall3) I saw John and Mary.4) *Who did you see Mary and?5) I saw a thief with a telescope.o Semantics/Pragmatics: What words/sentences mean, and how this relates to how they are used. o Example:nEvery man loves a woman.Changi
36、ngo New wordso New grammaro I seye not the wordes.o 古之人不我欺o 一屠晚归Language is a biological capability, not social or culturalVery importantInnatenesso A research program initiated by Chomsky; two major points nProducing and understanding novel utterances indicates speakers must have a mental grammar-
37、a kind of program for constructing/understanding sentences.nWhat is mental grammar? In Chomsky, it is linguistic competence as distinguished from linguistic performance. Competence vs performanceoLanguage or grammar is innate rather than a cultural invention.oGrammar/language is encoded genetically
38、in human brain.oIn the course of normal human development, language arises in the same way that e.g. walking does: as an automatic instinctoWhy it is so?Language is innate.Arguments1) The invention of language by childrena) In first language learningb) In creolizationc) Arguments for creative use ra
39、ther than imitation2) Biological considerationsa) Specialization of brain regions for languageb) Links between genes and linguistic abilitiesChildren inventing languageo As noted, language acquisition in childhood is automaticnNot imitation: Mommy giggled me and I holded the baby rabbits are things
40、that are produced by children. But they are not in the input. The idea then is that they are generated by systematic rules; in this case, rules that are overapplied:o As a general point, the idea is that the evidence for learning the grammar of a language is relatively fragmentary. The childs innate
41、 competence fills in the gaps.o The same principle applies in creolization, seen below.o Consider yes/no question formation in English:1) The dog is in the garden. 2) Is the dog in the garden?Yes/No QuestionsoThe dog that is eating the food is in the garden.oThe dog that is eating the food is in the
42、 garden.oIs the dog that is eating the food in the garden? o*Is the dog that eating the food is in the garden?oChildren employ rules of this type correctly, without having been exposed to such complicated examples.Pidgins and Creoleso Pidgin: A makeshift jargon that arises when speakers of different
43、 languages are in contactnNo systematic grammarnNo native speakerso In Hawaii, for example, speakers of different languages worked together on sugar plantations, and a pidgin developed in order to communicate with each other.Creolizationo In the case of children who grow up hearing a pidgin, somethi
44、ng special happens. They wind up speaking a fully complex natural language.o The complex language is not in the input to these children (which is the pidgin).o The children create (uniformly) the complex grammatical structure.o Since the structure is not in the input, it must come from somewhere els
45、e. It is hypothesized that the structure comes from the innate linguistic capacity of the (child) brain.Another exampleo In schools for the deaf, children invented a system of communication where none had existed before; it was a (signed) pidgin.n Like other pidgins, the signed pidgin in Nicaragua h
46、ad relatively little grammatical structure and systematicity.n Children who were brought into this environment at a young age learned something different: a fully formed language, in effect, a language created from the fragmentary input of the pidgin.Brains and Disorderso Evidence from the study of
47、the brain and the study of diseases and other afflictions supports the conclusion that language is innate.n Specialization of brain areas for language.n Systematic correlation between impairment of certain linguistic abilities and specific areas of brain injury.n Disorders that show that language an
48、d general intelligence can be dissociated from one another.Brain areaso There are at least two major language areas in the cortex, Brocas Area and Wernickes Area:Sources of evidenceo A source of evidence comes from cases of brain injury that affect language; these are instances of aphasia.o The area
49、 of the brain that is damaged has a direct effect on how someones linguistic abilities are going to be affected.Aphasiao Two primary types:n Brocas Aphasia: Difficulty in creating sentences. Speech is often labored or halting, with omission of function words, endings to verbs (e.g. no -ed on past te
50、nse verbs), and so onn Wernickes aphasia: Speech is fluent but often non-sensical, containing nonwords, filler words like that, etc.Specific Language Impairmento SLI appears to run in the family, suggesting that it has a genetic basis.o People with SLI have normal intelligence.o Speech is slow and c
