1、 Chapter1.IntroductionOrlando,Florida:Holt,Ranehart&Winston,Inc.edition,Fromkin,V.&R.Rodman,(1998),AnIntroductiontoLanguagethesixth刘润清,(1995),西方语言学流派,外语教学与研究.。胡壮麟,(2001),语言学教程,北京大学.。戴炜栋,何兆熊,(2002),新编简明英语语言学教程,上海外语教育.。ReferenceBooksExaminationFulfillmentoftheassignmentClassroomdiscussionClassattendan
2、ceTheRequirementsforthiscourseToprepareforthefutureresearchwork.(SLAorTEFL),cross-culturalcommunication.;especiallyinthefieldsoflanguageteaching&learningTounderstandtheapplicationsofthelinguistictheories,Tounderstandsomebasictheoriesonlinguistics;Togetascientificviewonlanguage;TheGoalsforthisCourseS
3、choolofForeignStudies,SCNU-ChengZhenquanStudentsofEnglishACourseonLinguisticsfor1.What is language?Language can mean what a person says(e.g.bad language,expressions)the way of speaking or writing(e.g.Shakespeare language,Luxuns language)a particular variety or level of speech or writing(e.g.language
4、 for special purpose,colloquial language)the abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community(e.g.Chinese language,first language)the common features of all human languages(e.g.He studies language)a tool for human communication,(social function)a set of rules.(ru
5、le-governed)Sapirs definition(1921)Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas,emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.wHairs definition(1968)Language is“the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitua
6、lly used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.wChomskys definition(1957)From now on I will consider language to be a set of(finite or infinite)sentences,each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.Language can be generally defined asa system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for h
7、uman communication.Language is a system Systematic-rule-governed,elements in it are arranged according to certain rules;cant be combined at will.e.g.*bkli,*/apple eat.Language is arbitrary Arbitrary-no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes,eg pec”by any other name is the thi
8、ng we use to write with.Language is symbolic in nature Symbolic-words are associated with objects,actions ideas by convention.t(A rose by any other name would smell as sweef-ShakespeareLanguage is primarily vocal Vocal-the primary medium is sound for all languages;writing system came much later than
9、 spoken form.Language is human-specific Human-specific-different from the communication systems other forms of life possess,e.g.bird songs,bee dance,animal cries.The design/defining features of human language(Charles Hockett)Arbitrariness Productivity/Creativity Duality Displacement Cultural transmi
10、ssionArbitrariness-No logical(motivated or intrinsic)connection between sounds and meanings.Onomatopoeic words(which imitate natural sounds)are somewhat motivated(English:rumble,crackle,bang,.Chinese:putong,shasha,dingdang.,)Some compound words are not entirely arbitrary,e.g.type-writer,shoe-maker,a
11、ir-conditioner,photocopy.Productivity/creativity-Peculiar to human languages,users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before,e.g.we can understand sentence like“A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed,though it does not describe a common happening in the w
12、orld.A gibbon call system is not productive for gibbon draw all their calls from a fixed repertoire which is rapidly exhausted,making any novelty impossible.The bee dance does have a limited productivity,as it is used to communicate about food sources in any direction.But food sources are the only k
13、ind of messages that can be sent through the bee dance;bees do not talk about themselves,the hives,or wind,let alone about people,animals,hopes or desiresDuality(double articulation)Lower level-sounds(meaningless)Higher level-meaning(larger units of meaning)A communication system with duality is con
14、sidered more flexible than one without it,for a far greater number of messages can be sent.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,(we make dictio
15、nary of a language,but we cannot make a dictionary of sentences of that language.Displacement-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.A gibbon never utters a call about something he ate last year There
16、 is something special about the bee dance though.Bees communicate with other bees about the food sources they have found when they are no longer in the presence of the food.In this sense,the bee dance has a component of displacement.But this component is very insignificant.For the bees must communic
17、ate about the food immediately on returning to the hive.They do not dance about the food they discovered last month nor do they speculate about future discoveries.Cultural transmission-Language is culturally transmitted(through teaching and learning;rather than by instinct).Animal call systems are g
18、enetically transmitted.All cats,gibbons and bees have systems which are almost identical to those of all other cats,gibbons and bees.A Chinese speaker and an English speaker are not mutually intelligible.This shows that language is culturally transmitted.That is,it is pass on from one generation to
19、the next by teaching and learning,rather than by instinct.The story of a wolf child,a pig child shows that a human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire human language.Functions of language Phatic:establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact.Directive:get the hearer to do
20、 something.Informative:give information about facts.Interrogative:get information from others.Expressive:express feelings and attitudes of the speaker.Evocative:create certain feelings in the hearer(amuse,startle,soothe,worry or please)Performative:language is used to do things,to perform actions.Th
21、e origin of language The divine-origin theory-Language is a gift of God to mankind.The invention theory-imitative,cries of nature,the grunts of men working together.The evolutionary theory-the result of physical and psychological development.许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学,至少不够严谨.他对语言的定义做 了如下概括:语言是一种符号系统.当它作用
22、于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介;当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具;当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体.2.What is linguistics?-Linguistics is the scientific study of language.-A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist.Four principles of linguistic studies Exhaustiveness/adequacy Consistency Economy ObjectivityThe sco
23、pe or major branches of linguistics Theoretical linguistics Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics Use of linguistics Applied linguistics Sociolinguistics PsycholinguisticsTheoretical linguistics Phonetics-speech sound(description,classification,transcription):articulatory phonetics,acousti
24、c phonetics,auditory phonetics.Phonology-sound patterns of languages Morphologythe form of words Syntax-the rules governing the combination of words into sentence.Semantics-the meaning of language(when the meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use-Pragmatics)Use of linguistics
25、Applied linguistics-linguistics and language teaching Sociolinguistics-social factors(e.g.class,education)affect language use Psycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process Stylistics-linguistic and literatureSome other applications Anthropological linguistics Neurolinguistics Compu
26、tational linguistics(e.g.machine translation)Some important distinctions in linguisticsDescriptive vs prescriptive Descriptive-describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language people actually use(modern linguistic)Prescriptive-lay down rules for“correct”linguistic behavior in using language(tr
27、aditional grammar)Synchronic vs diachronic Synchronic study-description of a language at some point of time(modern linguistics)Diachronic study-description of a language through time(historical development of language over a period of time)Speech vs writing Speech-primary medium of language Writing-
28、later developedLangue vs parole(F.de Saussure)Langue the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community.Parole the realization of langue in actual use.Saussure takes a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions.Competence and pe
29、rformance(Chomsky)Competence-the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language Performance-the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.Traditi
30、onal grammar vs modern linguistics Traditional grammar prescriptive,written,Latin-based framework Modern linguistics descriptive,spoken,not necessarily Latin-based frameworkChapter 2 Phonology Language is primarily vocal.The primary medium of human language is sound.Linguists are not interested in a
31、ll sounds,but in speech sounds-sounds that convey meaning in human communication.Phonetics-A branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description,classification and transcription,e.g.p bilabial,stop.Three branches of phonetics Articulato
32、ry phonetics-from the speakers5 point of view,Hhow speakers produce speech sounds”Auditory phoneticsfrom the hearers1 point of view,llhow sounds are perceived”Acoustic phonetics-from the physical way or means by which sounds are transmitted from one to another.Articulatory phoneticsSpeech organs:thr
33、ee important areasThe diagram of speech organs Lips Teeth Teeth ridge(alveolar)Hard palate Soft palate(velum)Uvula Tip of tongue Blade of tongue Back of tongue Vocal cords Pharyngeal cavity Nasal cavityOrthographic representation of speech sounds-A standardized and internationally accepted system of
34、 phonetic transcription is the International Phonetic Alphabet(IPA).The basic principle of the IPA is using one letter to represent one speech sound.Broad transcription-used in dictionary and textbook for general purpose,without diacritics,e.g.clear ,pit Narrow transcription-used by phonetician for
35、careful study,with diacritics,e.g.dark I,aspiratedpSome major articulatory variables-dimensions on which speech sounds may vary:Voicing-voiced&voiceless Nasality-nasal&non-nasal Aspiration aspirated&unaspiratedClassification of English speech soundsEnglish speech sounds are generally classified into
36、 two large categories:Vowels ConsonantsNote:The essential difference between these two classes is that in the production of the former the airstream meets with no obstruction of any kind in the throat,the nose or the mouth,while in that of the latter it is somehow obstructed.Classification of conson
37、ants-English consonants may be classified according to two dimensions:The manner of articulation The place of articulationThe manner of articulation stops/plosives:p,b,t,d,k,g;fricatives:,v,s,z,h;affricates:,;liquids:l(lateral),;nasals:,;glides/semivowels:w,.The place of articulation bilabial:p,b,w;
38、labiodental:.,v;dental:,;alveolar:t,d,s,z,n,I,r;palatal:,.;velar:k,g,;glottal:h.The place of articulation Bilabial;Labiodental;Dental or interdental;Alveolar;Palatoalveolar;Palatal;Velar;Uvular;Glottal.The description of English consonantsClassification of vowels-English vowels can be divided into t
39、wo large categories:Monophthongs or pure/single vowels Diphthongs or gliding vowelsMonophthongs or pure/single vowels-According to which part of the tongue is held highest in the process of production,the vowels can be distinguished as:front vowels:central vowels:,;back vowels:,L,.According to the o
40、penness of the mouth Close:,.Semi-close:,;Semi-open:,;Open:,;The diagram of single vowel classification by applying the two criteria so far mentioned:According to the shape of the lips or the degree of lip rounding rounded:,;unrounded:,.According to the length of the vowels long:,short:.Diphthongs/g
41、liding vowels,L A L L,1.Exercises:underline the words that begin with a sound as required.A bilabial consonant:mad sad bad cad pad had lad A velar consonant:nod god cod pod rod Labiodental consonant:rat fat sat mat chat vat pat An alveolar consonant:nick lick sick tick kick quick A palato-alveolar c
42、onsonant:sip ship tip chip lip zip A dental consonant:lie buy thigh thy tie rye A glide:one war yolk rushUnderline the words that end with a sound as required:A fricativepay horse tough rice breath push sing wreathe hang cave message A nasal train bang leaf limb A stop drill pipe fit crab fog ride l
43、augh rack through tip An affricate:rack such ridge booze Underline the words that contain the sound as required:A central vowel:mad lot but boot word A front vowel:reed pad load fate bit bed cook A rounded vowel:who he bus her hit true boss bar walk A back vowel:paid reap fool top good fatherDescrib
44、e the underlined consonants according to three dimensions:vd/vl placemanner Letter Brother Sunny Ho 能 er Itching Lodger Calling Singing Robber eitherPhonology Phonology studies the patterning of speech sounds,that is,the ways in which speech sounds form systems and patterns in human languages.Phonet
45、ics&phonology Both are concerned with the same aspect of language-the speech sounds.But they differ in their approach and focus.Phonetics is of general nature;it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages;it aims to answer questions like:how they are produced,how they differ
46、from each other,what phonetic features they have,how they can be classified,etc.Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.Phone,phoneme,allophone Phone A phone-a phonetic unit or segment.The sp
47、eech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phones.Phones do not necessarily distinguish meaning,some do,some dont,e.g.b t&b t,sp t&sp t.Phoneme A phoneme-is a phonological unit;it is a unit of distinctive value;an abstract unit,not a particular sound,but it is represente
48、d by a certain phone in certain phonetic context,e.g.the phoneme/p/can be represented differently in p t,t p and sp t.Allophone Allophones the phones that can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments.Phonemic contrast,complementary distribution and minimal pair.Phonemic contrast Phonem
49、ic contrast-different or distinctive phonemes are in phonemic contrast,eg/b/and/p/in b t and p t.Complementary distribution Complementary distribution-allophones of the same phoneme are in complementary distribution.They do not distinguish meaning.They occur in different phonetic contexts,e.g.dark I
50、clear I,aspirated p&unaspirated p.Minimal pair Minimal pair-when two different forms are identical(the same)in every way except for one sound segment which occurs in the same place in the strings,the two sound combinations are said to form a minimal pair,e.g.beat,bit,bet,bat,boot,but,bait,bite,boat






