intro ling handout 1

Introduction to Linguistics

INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE STUDIES

To know a language = to be able to understand, to produce, and to use one of the possible sign systems employed by human beings in order to communicate. Semiotics: the study of systems of signs. Linguistics: the scientific study of language. Language: an arbitrary system of signs, which is manifested in verbal behaviour and which is used by the society for communication (Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk 1993: 11). Linguistic sign: an entity which involves the signified and the signifying (de Saussure 1916/1959). Communication: the transfer of information from the sender to the addressee.

(1) Model of communication SENDER - ENCODING - MESSAGE - COMMUNICATION CHANNEL - MESSAGE - ADDRESSEE - DECODING

Charles Hockett’s design features of language: (2)

a. vocal-auditory channel: the main organs of speech production are the mouth and the nose, and of speech reception the ears; b. broadcast transmission: the signal travels in all directions and can be localised by anyone within the hearing distance; c. rapid fading: the signal lasts only for a short period of time; d. interchangeability: the signal users can act interchangeably as the senders and the receivers of the message; e. total feedback: while producing the signal, the sender can hear it; f. specialisation: the only purpose of sending the signal is communication; g. semanticity: the signal conveys meaning which correlates with the content of the perceptual and cognitive universes of the participants of the communicative act. h. arbitrariness: no natural link between sounds and meaning; i. discreteness: a language unit (e.g. a speech sound) may be indeterminate in terms of its physical properties, but its interpretation allows no gradation; j. openness/creativity/productivity: we can produce utterances never produced before and understand utterances never heard before; k. duality of patterning: language units are composed of two levels, i.e. sounds and meanings; l. displacement: ability to talk about things and events beyond the immediate context; m. cultural transmission: language is acquired in the process of learning the whole culture to which a child is born, which is transmitted from the older to the younger generation.

Competence vs. performance Prescriptive grammar vs. descriptive grammar Diachronic study vs. synchronic study

Roman Jakobson’s communicative functions of language: (3)

a. referential function: language is used to point to objects and events in the actual world context or in the universe determined by the participants of a verbal interaction; b. emotive function: language is used to describe or appeal to emotions; c. conative function: language is used to achieve some practical effects (e.g. the speaker wants to persuade the receiver to do something); d. phatic function: language is used to start and maintain contact between the speaker and the addressee; e. metalinguistic function: language is used to describe language; f. poetic (aesthetic) function: language is used to attract the addressee’s attention primarily by the exploitation of the formal properties of the message; g. performative function: language is used to perform certain, frequently ritualized, acts.

Philosophical interest in language: ontology and epistemology. Realism: language exists independently of the human mind. Mentalism: language is a product of the human mind. Empiricism: language, as all other knowledge, comes exclusively from our perception of sensory data. Rationalism: the language faculty is a special innate capacity.

Traditional approach 19th century: the history and the reconstruction of the development of languages in comparative terms Structuralism (de Saussure, Bloomfield, Hockett): synchronic and descriptive aspects of language Sapir and Whorf: language and culture Linguistic relativity hypothesis: language influences our way of perceiving the world around us by imposing predetermined bonds on our categories of thought

De Saussure’s dichotomies: Syntagmatic relations vs. paradigmatic relations Syntagmatic relations: those holding between elements forming serial structures or ‘strings’. Paradigmatic relations: those holding between comparable elements at particular places in structures. Langue vs. parole Langue: language as a system of abstracted oppositions among sounds and among notions, which functions in a society. Parole: language as an individualised manifestation of the system.

References:

Aronoff, M. and J. Rees-Miller (eds.) (2002) The Handbook of Linguistics. Blackwell Publishing. Crystal, D. (1987) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D. (1997) A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Fourth edition. Blackwell Publishers. Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, B. (ed.) (1993) Ways to Language. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Radford, A., M. Atkinson, D. Britain, H. Clahsen, and A. Spencer (1999) Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. Robins, R.H. (1989) General Linguistics. An Introductory Survey. Fourth edition. Longman. Saussure de, F. (1916/1959) A Course in General Linguistics. Translated by W. Baskin. Philosophical Library. Trask, R.L. (1999) Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics. Routledge. Yule, G. (2005) The Study of Language. Third edition. Cambridge University Press.