Linguistics: The Science of Human Language · In this way, human language is unlike anything else...

Linguistics:The Science of

Human Language

Course Readings

The FundamentalQuestion ofLinguistics

Towards anAnswer to theQuestion

How Language Is,Not How It ShouldBe

Summary

Linguistics:The Science of Human Language


Human Language

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Summary

Course Readings

The following readings have been posted to the Moodlecourse site:

I Contemporary Linguistics: Chapter 1 (pp. 1-14)I Language Instinct: Chapter 1 (pp. 1-11)


Human Language

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The FundamentalQuestion ofLinguisticsLanguage as a BiologicalMystery

The Fundamental Question

The Importance of Rules

The Fundamental Question,Rephrased



Summary

Some Opening Questions

What is linguistics?

I The study of language (duh!)I The scientific study of human language.

OK, but why study human language?

I Because our ability to learn and use human languageconstitutes a profound biological mystery


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I The study of language (duh!)

I The scientific study of human language.




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Human Language

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Human Language

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Human Language

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Language as a Biological Mystery

Like all core mental faculties, the miraculous nature oflanguage is obscured by how effortless it seems to us.

I When you see a book, you ‘just see it’.I You’re not aware of all the incredible neurological

computation that goes on.

I When you speak/understand, you ‘just do it’I You’re not aware of all the incredible neurological

computation that goes on.


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An Illustration

Close your eyes, and listen to this sentence:

I Aardvarks from Eastern South Africa have a special,triangular pocket in their abdomens that they use tostore rocks and sometimes small rodents.


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An Illustration

Close your eyes, and listen to this sentence:



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An Illustration

What Happened?I I put a thought into your head.I But not with ‘magic’ or telepathy; I did it by making

sounds with my mouthI Moreover:

I Your thinking this thought was automaticI (like a reflex, you couldn’t help it)

I The thought was incredibly specificI (wasn’t just about ‘aardvarks’ in general)

I The thought was one you’d never thought beforeI (I put a new ‘piece of information’ into your head)


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The Uniqueness of Human Language

In this way, human language is unlike anything else in thenatural world.

It’s fundamentally unlike other animal communicationsystems (LING 101)

I In terms of the kind of information it can conveyI In terms of the kind of combinatoric system it is


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How do we do all of this?

I What kinds of computations are going on in our brainsthat make all of this happen?


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The Fundamental Question:How Do We Do It?

One Obviously Wrong Answer:Maybe, with our big brains, we just memorize a ton ofexpressions (like thousands)?

I After all, memorizing is a big part of learning a languageI When we acquired (learned) English, we had to just

memorize:I “dog” = canis familiarisI “kick the bucket” = dieI ?? “Pencils taste woody” = Pencils taste woody ??


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Why Is This ‘Obviously Wrong’?

I Although memorizing single expressions is a big part oflanguage learning, it’s not the only part...

I ... Because you can understand complex expressions thatyou’ve never heard before:


... so what are we missing here?...


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A Thought Experiment:I Suppose you knew these words of Yalalag Zapotec:

“tu” = a “bekw” = dog “xid” = cat “blhelhe” = saw

I Would you be able to translate ‘A dog saw a cat’ intoYalalag Zapotec?

I No, because I haven’t told you the rules forcombining the words


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“tu” = a “bekw” = dog “xid” = cat “blhelhe” = sawI Would you be able to translate ‘A dog saw a cat’ into

Yalalag Zapotec?

I No, because I haven’t told you the rules forcombining the words


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“tu” = a “bekw” = dog “xid” = cat “blhelhe” = sawI Would you be able to translate ‘A dog saw a cat’ into

Yalalag Zapotec?I No, because I haven’t told you the rules for

combining the words


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A Fundamental Insight:

When you know a language, what you know is:I A memorized set of individual, basic expressions

(words, idioms)

I And also a set of rules, for combining those basicexpressions

The Importance of Rules (LING 101)I The rules are what give human language its unique

expressive power.I The rules are what sets human language apart from

other animal communication systems.


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(words, idioms)I And also a set of rules, for combining those basic

expressions





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(words, idioms)I And also a set of rules, for combining those basic

expressions





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The Fundamental Question, Rephrased


I What is the system of rules and expressions thatunderlies our ability to use a human language?

But, how do we answer this question?...


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The Fundamental Question, Rephrased


I What is the system of rules and expressions thatunderlies our ability to use a human language?

But, how do we answer this question?...


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Towards anAnswer to theQuestionThe Problem ofSubconscious Knowledge

Answering the QuestionThrough Science

An Illustrative Example


Summary

Towards an Answer

Here’s one, totally wrong line of thought:I If you wanna know the rules for rugby, just ask

someone who knows how to play to explain them!

I So, if you wanna know the rules of some language,just ask someone who speaks the language toexplain them!


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Towards an Answer

Here’s one, totally wrong line of thought:I If you wanna know the rules for rugby, just ask

someone who knows how to play to explain them!I So, if you wanna know the rules of some language,

just ask someone who speaks the language toexplain them!


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Towards an AnswerThe Problem of Tacit Knowledge

Why This is Totally, Obviously Wrong:Our knowledge of the rules of our language issubconscious (tacit)

I Speakers aren’t conscious of the rules of their language...I All the computation takes place subconsciously...I And so, speakers can’t just introspect and tell you what

the rules are...


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Answering the Question Through Science

The Problem of Tacit Knowledge:Speakers can’t just tell us the rules of their language.So, how do we answer our fundamental question:

I What is the system of rules and expressions thatunderlies out ability to speak and understand ahuman language?


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The Solution to the Problem:We have to do science! (Hypothesis & Test)We have to:

I Make a hypothesis (dream up a possible answer)I Test whether the hypothesis is correct:

I Determine the predictions of the hypothesis.I Check whether those predictions are true.

I If they are not, the hypothesis must be wrong.I If they are true, the hypothesis might be right.


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Human Language

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Human Language

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An Illustrative ExampleFraming a Hypothesis

Let’s write a rule that will make (‘generate’) the followingEnglish sentences:

I Dave danced.I Mary sang.I Bill swam.

The Rule:To form an English sentence, combine a name (Bill, Mary,Dave) with an ‘action word’ (danced, swam, sang).

... This rule is our hypothesis.

... Now, let’s test it!


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An Illustrative ExampleTesting the Hypothesis


The Predictions:I True Prediction: The following are all English

sentences:I Dave danced. Mary sang. Bill swam.

I False Prediction: The following are also Englishsentences:

I *Danced Dave. *Sang Mary. *Swam Bill.(Notation: ‘*’ = Not a possible sentence)

Conclusion:The rule above, as stated, is not actually a rule of English grammar.We need a new hypothesis, one that does not make those false predictions.


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An Illustrative ExampleRevising the Hypothesis

New Rule:To form an English sentence, combine a name with an ‘actionword’, in that order.

The Predictions:

I True Prediction: These are all English sentences:I Dave danced. Mary sang. Bill swam.

I True Prediction: These are not English sentences:I *Danced Dave. *Sang Mary. *Swam Bill.

I False Prediction: These aren’t English sentences:I Dave saw Mary, Mary likes Bill, Bill hit Dave

Conclusion:The rule above, as stated, is not the only rule of English grammar.We need more rules, that will also ‘generate’ sentences like ‘Dave saw Mary’.


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The Predictions:I True Prediction: These are all English sentences:

I Dave danced. Mary sang. Bill swam.

I True Prediction: These are not English sentences:I *Danced Dave. *Sang Mary. *Swam Bill.




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I Dave danced. Mary sang. Bill swam.I True Prediction: These are not English sentences:

I *Danced Dave. *Sang Mary. *Swam Bill.




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I *Danced Dave. *Sang Mary. *Swam Bill.I False Prediction: These aren’t English sentences:

I Dave saw Mary, Mary likes Bill, Bill hit Dave



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I *Danced Dave. *Sang Mary. *Swam Bill.I False Prediction: These aren’t English sentences:

I Dave saw Mary, Mary likes Bill, Bill hit Dave



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Language As It Is,Not As It ‘Should Be’

As scientists, linguists are interested in the real worldI Thus, linguists are interested in the rules speakers

actually do follow...I They aren’t interested in the rules that (some people

think) speakers should follow...

Vocabulary:I ‘grammatical’ = used by fluent speakers of the

language in real, every-day conversationI (People really do talk that way.)

I ‘ungrammatical’ = never used by fluent speakers inreal, every-day conversation

I (People don’t really actually talk that way.)


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Human Language

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Human Language

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Thus, all these are ‘grammatical’ English structures(even though ‘style manuals’ say not to use them):

I Stranding Prepositions: (Who did you talk with?)I Splitting Infinitives: (To boldly go ... )I Passive Voice: (Dave was hit by a car.)I Singular ‘They’: (If someone asks, let them know.)I Adjectives as Adverbs: (I dance good.)


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I Stranding Prepositions: (Who did you talk with?)

I Splitting Infinitives: (To boldly go ... )I Passive Voice: (Dave was hit by a car.)I Singular ‘They’: (If someone asks, let them know.)I Adjectives as Adverbs: (I dance good.)


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I Stranding Prepositions: (Who did you talk with?)I Splitting Infinitives: (To boldly go ... )

I Passive Voice: (Dave was hit by a car.)I Singular ‘They’: (If someone asks, let them know.)I Adjectives as Adverbs: (I dance good.)


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I Stranding Prepositions: (Who did you talk with?)I Splitting Infinitives: (To boldly go ... )I Passive Voice: (Dave was hit by a car.)

I Singular ‘They’: (If someone asks, let them know.)I Adjectives as Adverbs: (I dance good.)


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I Stranding Prepositions: (Who did you talk with?)I Splitting Infinitives: (To boldly go ... )I Passive Voice: (Dave was hit by a car.)I Singular ‘They’: (If someone asks, let them know.)

I Adjectives as Adverbs: (I dance good.)


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I Stranding Prepositions: (Who did you talk with?)I Splitting Infinitives: (To boldly go ... )I Passive Voice: (Dave was hit by a car.)I Singular ‘They’: (If someone asks, let them know.)I Adjectives as Adverbs: (I dance good.)


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Thus, all the following are ‘ungrammatical’ Englishstructures (even though some ‘style manuals’ say youshould use them):

I Not-Stranding Prepositions:(* With whom did you talk?)

I Not-Splitting Infinitives:(* Boldly to go where no one has gone before.)


Human Language

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Human Language

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Human Language

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SummaryLanguage as a Biological Mystery

A deep, unanswered question about of the natural world:‘What do we know when we know a language?’

I What is the system of rules and expressions thatunderlies out ability to speak and understand ahuman language?


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SummaryAnswering the Question Through Science

Because our knowledge of the rules of our language is‘tacit’ (unconscious), we can only answer this questionthrough science (hypothesis & test)

I We hypothesize a system of rules and expressions.

I We test the predictions of that hypothesis.

I We check whether the expressions the rule makes(‘generates’) are all really expressions of thelanguage (i.e., things people actually say).

I We check whether there are expressions of thelanguage that the rule alone doesn’t ‘generate’.


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SummaryLinguists and Their ‘Rules’

As scientists, linguists are interested in the real world.

I We want rules that reflect how people actually dospeak

I We’re not interested in rules that tell people how theyshould speak...

I No linguist will ever tell a native speaker of alanguage that they ‘shouldn’t’ talk a certain way.

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Linguistics: The Science of Human Language · In this way, human language is unlike anything else...

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