語(yǔ)言學(xué)第一章

1、Introduction to General LinguisticsLecture 1: An Introduction By Ke Xianbing 2012-09-03Chapter 1: Introduction 1. What is linguistics? 2. What is language? 3. Important Distinctions in linguistic study1.1 Definition of Linguistics Discussion: Linguistics is “ rich mens game”? It is the game of every

2、body: We use language every day. We live in a world of words. Nobody can live in a world of silence. Hardly any moment passes without someone talking, writing, or reading. Language is most essential to mankind. However , linguistics is not very familiar to many people 1.1 Definition of Linguistics L

3、inguistics : the scientific or systematic study of language. The subject matter of linguistics is all natural languages, living or dead. Linguistics , a pilot science, tries to answer the basic questions: What is language? And How does language work? 1.1 Definition of Linguistics Linguistics studies

4、 the origin, growth, organization, nature and development of language and discovers the general rules and principles governing language. It employs scientific methods to observe, record and analyze all the phenomena related to language. It tries to explain how language has become what it is and why

5、it works the way it does. Linguistics has two main purposes: One is to study the nature of language by means of theory and practice; The other is to examine all the forms of language in general and seek a scientific understanding of the ways in which it is organized to fulfil the needs it serves and

6、 the functions it performs in human life. Linguistics may be defined as the systematic( or scientific) study of language. Linguistics tries to answer the basic questions “What is language?” and “How does language work?” It probes into various aspects of these problems, such as “ What do all language

7、s have in common?”, “What range of variation is found among languages?”, “Why do language change?”, “To what extent are social class differences reflected in language?”, “How does a child learn to speak?” and so on . A person who studies linguistics is usually referred to as a linguist. He does not

8、need to be able to speak a large number of languages, though he must have a wide experience of different types of languages. He is usually a skilled, objective observer, who takes great interest in analyzing and attempting to explain various linguistic phenomena. His task is basically to study and u

9、nderstand the general principles upon which all languages are built.1.2 Scopes of linguistics General linguistics studies linguistics as a whole. Phoneticsstudy of sounds Phonology-study of the system of sounds, how they are combined Morphologystudy of the structure and formation of words Syntaxstud

10、y of sentences, rules governing sentence making Semanticsstudy of meaning in isolation Pragmatics- study of meaning in context Sociolinguisticsstudy of the social aspects of language Psycholinguisticsstudy of how human beings acquire language 1.2 Scopes of linguistics Applied linguistics General sen

11、se: the application of the theories and principles of linguistics to other areas. Narrow sense: the application of the theories and principles of linguistics to language teaching Neurolinguisticsdeals with the way in which language is presented in the brain Historical linguistics considers how langu

12、age changes over time in pronunciation, syntax, and meaning Stylistics and poetics study literary language and how it achieves its effects Dialectology observes how language varies across geographical or social boundaries Computational linguistics look at languages as essentially formal systems, whi

13、ch could be mastered by machines2 What is language? What do we mean by the word “l(fā)anguage”? 1. Linguistics is the systematic study of language. 2. Chinese belongs to Sino-Tibetan language. 3. Chinese is our language. 4. I want to learn Guangdong language. 5. Both Jane and John like Shakespeares lang

14、uage. 6. I was deeply hurt by his language. 7. The language of bees is really interesting. 2 What is language? The reasonable categorization might be: A. English is not my native language. B.I was hurt by his language. C. Many people think that black people speak bad language. D. He is using languag

15、e of diplomacy. E. 心靈美心靈美,語(yǔ)言美語(yǔ)言美,行為美行為美,環(huán)境美。環(huán)境美。 F. Professor Li studies language. G.I like Shakespeares language. H. Language is the crust of mind. I. You should use forma language in your report. J. Chinese is quite different from European languages. 2 What is language? Language is a set of rules.

16、 Language is a tool for human communication. Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols. Language is a system of symbols designed for the purpose of human communication. Language is a system of arbitrary

17、 vocal symbols used for human communication.2. What is language? 2.1. Definition: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 2.1.1. Language is a system. 2.1.2. Language is arbitrary. 2.1.3. Language is vocal. 2.1.4. Language is symbolic. 2.1.5. Language is human s

18、pecific. 2.1.6. Language is used for communication.2.2 Design features of language Why language is human-specific? Design features refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. A framework proposed by American linguist Charles Hocket

19、t, specifies 12 design features, among which five come highlight as: 2.2.1. duality（二重性） 2.2.2. arbitrariness(任意性) 2.2.3. productivity（多產(chǎn)性） 2.2.4. displacement（移位姓） 2.2.5. cultural transmission（文化傳承性）2.2 Design features 2.2.1 Duality （二重性） Language is a system. This system has two sets of structures

20、, one of sounds and the other of meaning. 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.2.2.1 Duality （二重性） The nature of this relationship constitute

21、s a most interesting problem. For instance, we make dictionaries of a language, but we cannot make a dictionary of sentences of that language. For the number of words is relatively finite, but the number of sentences is absolutely infinite.2.2 Design features 2.2.2 Arbitrariness （任意性） As mentioned e

22、arlier ,by “l(fā)anguage is arbitrary”, we mean that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. There is no reason why we should use the sounds /dog/ to denote the animal “dog”, or /pig/ to refer to the animal ”pig”. However, language is not entirely arbitrary, there are cases where the

23、re are seems to be some association between sounds and meaning. There are certain words in every language which imitate natural sounds, such as bang, crash, and roar in English, dingdang(叮當(dāng)），kacha （喀嚓），putong（撲通）in Chinese. They are called onomatopoeic words. They only make up a small percentage of

24、the vocabulary in a language.1.2 Design features 1.2.3 Productivity（創(chuàng)造性） Language is productive in the sense that users can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before. Every day we send messages that have never before been sent and understand novel message. 2.2 Design features 2.2

25、.4 Displacement(移位性) 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. This property of language provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from the barriers caused by r

26、emoteness in time and place. 2.2 Design features 2.2.5 Cultural transmission(文化傳承性) Language is culturally transmitted, rather than heredity. Language has a “genetic” basis, but the details of any language system are not genetically or biologically transmitted. They have to be taught and learned. Th

27、e process of acquiring a language relies on both “genetic ” basis and a certain language/culture environment. Language is “culturally transmitted”.However, animals call systems are “genetically transmitted”. 2.2 Design features 2.2.6 Specialization(專(zhuān)業(yè)性化) Specialization refers to the fact that man do

28、es not have a total physical involvement in the act of communication. 2.2 Design features 2.2.7 Interchangeability(互換性) Interchangeability or reciprocity refers to the fact that man can both produce and receive messages , and his roles as a speaker and a hearer can be exchanged at ease.2.2 Design fe

29、atures 2. 2.8 Other design features 8) Fuzziness(模糊性) 9) Semantics(語(yǔ)義性) 10) Preseverance (唐塞性) 11) Reflexiveness (映射性) 12) Discontiunity (不連續(xù)性)2.3 Functions of language Then, what does language function? 1. Phatic（寒暄功能寒暄功能） -meta-language level（元話(huà)語(yǔ)層面元話(huà)語(yǔ)層面） 2. Interrogative（疑問(wèn)功能疑問(wèn)功能） Informative（信息功能

30、信息功能） -informational level(信息層面信息層面) 3. Directive（指令功能指令功能） Performative （行事功能行事功能） -behavioral level（行為層面行為層面） 4. Expressive（表達(dá)功能表達(dá)功能） Evocative（表情功能表情功能） -mental level （心靈層面）（心靈層面） 四美：四美： 心靈美，心靈美， 語(yǔ)言美，行為美，環(huán)境美。語(yǔ)言美，行為美，環(huán)境美。2.3 Functions of language 2.3.1 Phatic（寒暄功能）（寒暄功能） The phatic function refers

31、 to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging information or ideas. Greetings, farewells, and comments on the weather serve this function. A sentence like “A nice day, isnt it?” does not inform the hearer about the weather, for it is a fact

32、 he himself can see. But it does make the hearer feel good because the sentence shows that the relationship between them remains what it was. 2.3 Functions of language 2.3.2 Informative（信息功能）（信息功能） Language serves an informative function when it is used to tell what the speaker believes, to give inf

33、ormation about facts, or reason things out. One important feature of this function is that the speaker commits himself to （set sth in certain situation) the truth that something is or is not the case. Informative statements are often judged as either true or false. For example,” Water boils at 212 d

34、egree Fahrenheit” is a true statement while “Gold melts at 300 degrees Fahrenheit “ is false.2.3 Functions of language2.3.3 Interrogative（疑問(wèn)功能） When language is used to get information from others, it serves an interrogative function. This includes all questions that expect answers, such as “ When d

35、id he arrive?” “What is it like！“ These questions typically focus on the hearers beliefs, opinion, knowledge, judgment, and sometimes feelings and attitudes. “What do you think of it?” “How do you feel now?” 2.3 Functions of language2.3.4 Directive（指令功能） When language is used to get the hearer do so

36、mething, it serves a directive function. Most imperative sentences are associated with this function, as in “shut the door”, “pass the salt, please”, but there are other forms for this purpose. Sentence like “You should leave right now”, “I advise you not to do it”, which can be taken as directive,

37、though their force is very weak.2.3 Functions of language2.3.4 Directive（指令功能） The directive use of language does not necessarily always disadvantage the hearer, in many cases it brings benefit to him. In making offers( as in “Have a seat”, “ Do have another sandwich”), or issuing invitations( as in

38、 “Do come in, please”, “Drop in whenever you are free”), language performs a directive function with the hearer as the beneficiary2.3 Functions of language2.3.5 Performative （行事功能） Apart from the six functions already discussed , language is also used to “do things”, to perform actions. This is call

39、ed the performative function. At a meeting, for example, as soon as the chairman says” I declare the meeting open”, the meeting has started. If the president says “ I declare war”, war exists between the two countries. When the judge says in the court” I sentence you to ten years of hard labor”, the

40、 criminal is sentenced.2.3 Functions of language2.3.5 Performative （行事功能） It should be pointed out, however, that it is always necessary that the circumstances in which the words are uttered should be in some way appropriate. Thus, for naming a ship or street, it is essential that the speaker should

41、 be the person appointed to name it, otherwise the act is not successfully performed even though the sentence has been uttered. 2.3 Functions of language2.3.6 Expressive（表達(dá)功能） The expressive function is the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker. The simp

42、lest examples are like” Good heavens!” “My God!”, more complex ones are sentences like “ Im extremely sorry about” “We are most grateful for this”.2.3 Functions of language2.3.7 Evocative（表情功能） The evocative function is the use of language to create certain feelings in the hearer. Its aim is to amus

43、e, startle, anger, worry or please. For instance, jokes are designed to amuse or entertain the audience; advertising is devised to urge customers to buy the mentioned goods; propaganda aims to influence public opinion along a certain line. The expressive and the evocative functions often go hand in

44、hand. 3. Some important distinctions of linguistics 3.1 Prescriptive vs. descriptive 3.2 Synchronic vs. diachronic 3.3. Speech vs. writing 3.4. Langue vs. parole 3.5 Competence vs. performance 3.6 Actual and potential linguistic choice 3.7 Etic vs. Emic (非位的與位學(xué)的）非位的與位學(xué)的） 3.8 Syntagmatic vs. paradigm

45、atic relations （橫組合關(guān)系和縱聚合關(guān)系）（橫組合關(guān)系和縱聚合關(guān)系） 3.9 Formalism vs. Functionalis （形式主義和功能主義）（形式主義和功能主義）3. Some important distinctions of linguistics 3.1 prescriptive vs. descriptive prescriptiveTraditional Grammar taught to learners of a language is basically prescriptive. It tells the reader “how they shou

46、ld say”laying down rules for “correct” behavior descriptive describes and analyzes the language people are currently speaking. It deals with “what people actually say” 3.2 synchronic vs. diachronic synchronicdescription of a language at some point in time is a synchronic study diachronicthe study of

47、 a language as it changes through time 3.3. speech and writing speech: primary, more basic, precedes written form in language development, more practical than written form, hard to record writing : permanent, can be recorded 3.4.langue and parole by the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure langueabstract s

48、ystems shared by all members of a speech community parolethe realization of langue in actual use 3.5 competence and performance put forth by American linguist Noam Chomsky competencelearners knowledge of a language performancethe actual realization of the knowledge in real linguistic communication3.

49、6 Actual and potential linguistic choice Another similar distinction is made by the English linguist M.A.K. Halliday in the 1960s. From a functional point of view: Language (behavioral)potential : with language , there is a wide range of things a speaker can do in the culture he is in. Actual lingui

50、stic behavior : What he is actually says on a particular occasion to a particular individual is what he has selected from among the many possible things he could have said. Hallidays linguistic potential is similar to Saussures langue and Chomskys competence; His actual linguistic behavior is simila

51、r to the notion of parole and performance. Among the distinctions, parole, performance and actual linguistic behavior have a lot in common; But langue , competence and linguistic potential differ considerably. They are only similar in that they all refer to the constant which underlies the utterance

52、s that constitute parole/performance /actual behavior. Their difference is fairly obvious: Langue is a social property while linguistic potential is something available for the speaker to select from. Competence is a form of “knowing” while linguistic potential is a set of possibilities for “doing”.

53、 The competence versus performance distinction is one between what a person “knows” and what he “does”, while the linguistic potential versus actual linguistic behavior distinction is one between what a person “can do and what a person “does”.3.7 Etic vs. Emic (非位的與位學(xué)的）非位的與位學(xué)的） The two terms origina

54、te from the American linguist Pikes distinction of phonetics and phonemics . An etic speech acts : to devise a listing of detailed speech acts and events as he can, as was often the case with phonetics vs. phonemic analysis in linguistic proper. An emic set of speech acts: the speech acts and events

55、 that is validated as meaningful via final resources to the native members of a speech community rather than via appeal to the investigators ingenuity or intuition alone. 3.8 Syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic relations （橫組合關(guān)系和縱聚合關(guān)系）（橫組合關(guān)系和縱聚合關(guān)系）Syntagmatic relations refers to the horizontal relationship

56、between linguistic elements , which form linear sequences;-positional / chain / horizontal relationE.g: (1) b( f, h, k, p, s, w ) it (2) Nature( Beauty, Love, Honesty , Morality, Education, etc. ) purifies the mind.Paradigmatic relations refers to the vertical relationship between forms , which migh

57、t occupy the same particular place in a structure.-choice/ vertical / associative relation (1) Love purifies the mind. (2) Purifies love the mind (3) Mind the purifies love3.9 Formalism vs. Functionalism（形式主義和功能主義）（形式主義和功能主義） 當(dāng)代語(yǔ)言學(xué)研究當(dāng)代語(yǔ)言學(xué)研究中有兩根主線(xiàn): 一是研究語(yǔ)言系統(tǒng)語(yǔ)言系統(tǒng)(結(jié)構(gòu)結(jié)構(gòu))本本身身,這是理論語(yǔ)言學(xué)的世襲領(lǐng)地;一是研究語(yǔ)言系統(tǒng)研究語(yǔ)言系統(tǒng)(結(jié)

58、構(gòu)結(jié)構(gòu))的實(shí)的實(shí)際使用際使用,調(diào)整這包括人類(lèi)語(yǔ)言學(xué), 社會(huì)語(yǔ)言學(xué), 心理語(yǔ)言學(xué), 語(yǔ)用學(xué), 文化語(yǔ)言學(xué), 話(huà)語(yǔ)分析等.(桂詩(shī)春) Linguistic system- Linguistic varieties Linguistic form(structure)- Linguistic function Linguistic usage- Linguistic use Grammatical correctness- Communicative Appropriacy American Structuralism, Chomskys Transformational Generative Gr

59、ammar (TGG)- Hallidays Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) Syntax(句法學(xué)) -Text linguistics(語(yǔ)篇學(xué)/話(huà)語(yǔ)語(yǔ)言學(xué)) Discourse Analysis(語(yǔ)篇分析學(xué)) Semantics(語(yǔ)義學(xué))- Pragmatics (語(yǔ)用學(xué))Review exercises of Chapter OneType1:Judge the following statements T(rue) or F(alse): 1.Linguistics studies not any particular language , but l

60、anguage in general.2.A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks.3.In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation.4.General linguistics studies the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any