Introduction to Linguistics

  

Dr. Sherine Abd El-Gelil 1

1 -Introduction

• What is "linguistics"? • Some general principles in linguistics

• Animal and Human communication System

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What is Linguistics?

The scientific study of language

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Definition of Language

Nobody has so far been able to come out with any standard definition that fully explains the term language. It is a situation like trying to define the term life

Language is better defined in terms of its characteristics.

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Language: Levels of structure In studying language, we subdivide the area in order to study it in an analytical and systematic way. Language has a hierarchical structure. This means that it is made up of units which are themselves made up of smaller units which are made of still smaller units till we have the smallest indivisible unit, i.e. a single distinguishable sound called a phoneme. 5

We can put it the other way round: single sounds

Morpheme

word

Sentence

Unified piece of speech or writing

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Linguistics: Levels of analysis Each level of language structure is studied within a specific branch of linguistics (level of linguistic analysis) as follows:

Levels of structure Levels of analysis Sounds

Letters (graphology) Phonetics and

phonology Word formation Morphology

Sentence formation Syntax Meaning Semantics

Connected sentences Discourse 7

(1) Phonetics & phonology study language at the level of sound.

(2)Morphology studies the internal structure of words

(3)Syntax studies the internal structure of sentences

(4)Semantics deals with the level of meaning

(5)Discourse is the study of chunks of language which are bigger than a single sentence

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Language characteristics

1) Language is a means of communication2) Language is arbitrary 3) Language is a system of systems 4) Language is primarily vocal 5) Language is human these characteristics will be studied in detail later on

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Language is a means of communication

• We use language to communicate our ideas, emotions, beliefs, feelings, etc.

• Is Language the only means of communication ?

There are other means of communication used by humans e.g. gestures, winks, smiles, maps, miming, etc. But, all these systems of communication are extremely limited 10

Language is arbitrary (arbitrariness) • Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no ‘natural’

connection between a linguistic form and its meaning

exception Onomatopoeic words: words whose sound echoes the sounds of

objects or activities e.g. crash, hush, etc.

But, Onomatopoeic words are relatively rare in human language 11

Language is a system of systems (duality- double articulation)

Language is not a disorganized or a chaotic combination of sounds

Sounds are arranged in certain fixed systematic order to form meaningful units or words. Similarly, words are arranged in a particular system to form acceptable meaningful sentences. 12

Language is organized at two levels or layers simultaneously:

1)at one level, we have distinct sounds e.g. t, n, e . As individual sounds, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning

2) at another level we have distinct meanings. e.g. ten has a meaning different from net

Note This duality of levels is one of the most economical features of

human language because, with a limited set of discrete sounds, we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words) which are distinct in meaning.

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Language is primarily vocalSpeech is primary ; writing is secondary

We speak first; writing comes much later. We speak much more than we write 14

Language is human

• Language is primarily human. It is humans alone that possess language and use it for communication. Language is, in that sense, species-specific – it is specific only to a set of species.

• Human Language differs from animal communication system

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Human Language vs. animal communication system

Human Language animal communication system

- Can convey a large number, rather an infinite, number of messages

- Conveys a very limited number of messages

extendable Open-ended, changeable, modifiable and

Closed-systems that permit no change, modification or addition e.g. a bee’s dance is today the same as it was 100 years ago 16

Displacement

A property of human language that allows

language users to talk about things and events

not present in the immediate environment

Lack of displacement

Animal communication system is generally considered to lack this property. It seems to

be designed exclusively for this moment, here and now. It cannot effectively be used to

relate events that are far removed in time and place .

e.g. when your pet comes home and stands at

your feet calling meow, you are likely to understand this message as relating to that

immediate time and place

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Arbitrariness

Human language is arbitrary with the

exception of onomatopoeic words

Non-arbitrariness

-For the majority of animal signals, there does appear to be a connection between the conveyed message and

the signal used to convey it .

-This may be closely connected to the fact that, for any animal, the set of signals used in communication is

finite. That is , each variety of animal communication consists of a fixed and limited set of vocal or gestural

forms 18

Productivity (creativity- open-endedness)

-Humans are continually creating new expressions and novel utterances by manipulating their linguistic resources to describe new objects and situations

-This is linked to the fact that the potential number of utterances in any human language is infinite

Fixed reference

-The communication systems of other creatures do not appear to have this type of flexibility.

-It does not seem possible for creatures to produce new signals to communicate novel experiences or events

- -this limiting feature of animal communication system is described in terms of fixed reference- a property of a communication system whereby each signal is fixed as relating to a particular object or occasion

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Cultural transmission-While we inherit physical features such as brown eyes

and dark hair from our parents, we do not inherit their language .

- -We acquire a language in a culture with other speakers and not from parental genes .

- -This process whereby a language is passed on from one generation to the next is described as cultural transmission

- -We are born with some kind of predisposition to acquire language in a general sense. However, we are not born with the ability to produce utterances in a

specific language .

-The general pattern in Creatures are born with a set of specific signals that are produced instinctively .

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Duality (double articulation-)

Language is organized at two levels or layers simultaneously:

1)at one level, we have distinct sounds e.g. t, n, e . As individual sounds, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning 2) at another level we have distinct meanings. e.g. ten has a meaning different from net

Among other creatures, each communicative signal appears to be a single fixed form that cannot be broken down into separate parts

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Assignment 1 Answer the following questions:

1 -what kind of evidence is used to support the idea that language is culturally transmitted ?

2 -what is the difference between a communication system with productivity and one with fixed reference?

3 - Which property of human language enables people to talk about the future? 22