语言学学名词解释.doc

1)Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific or systematic study of (human) language.
a.The word language preceded by zero article in English implies that linguistics studies not any particular language, e.g. English , Chinese , French and Japanese, but languages in general.
b.The word study does not mean “learn” but “investigate”.
c.The word scientific refers to the way in which
language is studied.
It is a science in the sense that it scientifically studies the rules,systems and principles of human languages. It deals with a wide range of linguistic phenomena,analyzes them,and makes general statements about them.
2)Linguistics is always guided by the 3 canons of science:(e c e)
exhaustiveness: it strives for thorough-goingness in the examination of relevant materials;
consistency: there should be no contradiction between different parts of the total statement
economy: other things being equal, a shorter statement or analysis is to be preferred to one that is longer or more complex. (e c e)
3) The subject matter of linguistics is all natural language, living or dead.
4) Linguistics has 2 main purposes:
it studies the nature of language and tries to establish a theory of language, and describes languages in the light of the theory established.
It examines all the forms of language in general and seeks a scientific understanding of the ways in which it is organized to fulfill the needs it serves and the functions it performs in human life
linguistics differs from traditional grammar at least in 3 basic ways:
Linguistics describes languages and does not lay down rules of correctness. Linguists are interested in what is said. So they are often said to be descriptive.
Linguists regard the spoken language as primary. It is believed that speech came into being first for any human language and the writing system came along much later.
Traditional grammar is based on Latin and it tries to impose the Latin categories and structures on other languages, while linguistics describes each language on its own merits.
For a student of language, some knowledge of linguistics is of both interest and importance.
For a teacher of foreign languages, he will definitely a great deal from the knowledge of linguistics.
For a researcher, there is even more scope for displaying his abilities.
Why study linguistics ?
1. Linguistics takes an analytical approach to the study of language, and focus on developing skills in data analysis, problem solving, and logical thinking that can be applied to many fields.
2. It is an interdisciplinary subject.
3. Linguistics is a science that is still in its infancy but undergoing rapid development, and it is “a pilot science”.
What and how linguists study language?
1. nature of language (focus on language itself)
2. nature of acquisition (focus on learners)
3. nature of teaching (focus on teachers)

The process of linguistic study can be summarized as follows:
.First, certain linguistic facts are observed, and generalizations are made about them;
.Next, based on these generalizations, hypotheses are tested by further observations;
.And finally a linguistic theory is constructed about what language is and how it works.

General linguistics: The study of language as a whole. It deals with the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study.
Microlinguistics （微观语言学）includes 6 branches, namely, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. It studies language itself.
Macrolinguistics （宏观语言学）studies language in use--- practical usage.
macrolinguistics includes:
Sociolinguistics studies the relations between language and society: how social factors influence the structure and use of language. Another name for sociolinguistics is the sociology of language.
Psycholinguistics is the study of language and mind: the mental structures and processes which are involved in the acquisition, comprehension and production of language. Neurolinguistics or neurological linguistics is the study of language processing and language representation in the brain.
Stylistics is the study of how literary effects can be related to linguistic features. It usually refers to the study of written language, including literary texts, but it also investigates spoken language sometimes.
Discourse analysis, or text linguistics is the study of the relationship between language and the contexts in which language is used.
Computational linguistics is an approach to linguistics which employs mathematical techniques, often with the help of a computer.
Cognitive linguistics is an approach to the analysis of natural language that focuses on language as an instrument for organizing, processing, and conveying information.
Apart from the different branches of linguistics, there are some distinctions of linguistics, such as: functional linguistics vs formal linguistics; theoretical linguistics vs applied linguistics.
Applied linguistics is primarily concerned with the application of linguistic theories, methods and findings to the elucidation of language problems which have arisen in other areas of experience.
Phonetics（语音学）:Phonetics is the scientific study of speech sounds.
It studies how speech sounds are articulated, transmitted, and received. It is a pure science and examines speech sounds in general.
Phonetics: The general study of the characteristics of speech sounds.
Phonology（音系学/音位学）: The description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language.
Phonology is the study of how speech sounds function in a language. It studies the ways speech sounds are organized. It can be seen as the functional phonetics of a particular language.
Morphology（形态学，词法学）: The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words.
Morphology is the study of the formation of words. It is a branch of linguistics which breaks words into morphemes.
Syntax（句法学 The study of those rules that govern the combination of words to form permissible sentences.
Syntax deals with the combination of words into phrases, clauses and sentences. It is the grammar of sentence construction.
Semantics(语义学） is a branch of linguistics which is concerned with the study of meaning in abstraction.
Pragmatics can be defined as the study of language in use. It deals with how speakers use language in ways which cannot be predicted from linguistic knowledge alone, and how hearers arrive at the intended meaning of speakers. In a broad sense, pragmatics studies the principles observed by human beings when they communicate with one another.

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.
This definition is widely accepted because it includes some of the important characteristics of human language.
Language as system ---The key word in the definition is "system". Language is systematic. Otherwise we would not be able to learn or use it consistently. Each language system contains two subsystems: a system of sound and a system of meaning.
Language is a system—elements in it are not arranged and combined randomly, but according to some rules and principles.
Language as arbitrary ---There is no natural relationship between the sound and what it means in a certain language.
The relation between sound and meaning is almost always arbitrary or conventional.
The relation between sound and meaning is almost always arbitrary.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Romeo and Juliet
The relation between sound and meaning is almost always conventional
《荀子·正名》：“名无固宜，约之以命，约定俗成谓之宜，异于约则谓之不宜。名无固实,约之以命实，约定俗成，谓之实名。名有固善，径易而不拂，谓之善名。”
《道德经》 第一章
道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。
无名天地之始；有名万物之母。
Language as vocal ---By "vocal" we mean that the primary medium of all languages is sound, no matter how well developed their writing system might be.
Language as symbol ---Language is just symbol for the thing it refers. Language is a symbolic system.
Language as human ---Language is human-specific, it is very different from animal communication systems. No system of animal communication makes use of the design features of human language .
Language as communication ---Language is used for human communication. It allows people to say things to each other and express their communicative needs.
Design feature refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it form any animal system of communication.
Arbitrariness: there is no logical or intrinsic connection between a particular sound and the meaning it is associated with.
Productivity or creativity man’s linguistic ability which enables him to produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences in our native language, including the sentences which were never heard before.
Duality or double articulation: this organization of language into two levels--a level of sounds, a level of meaning.
Displacement: Displacement is a property of language enabling people to talk about things remote either in space or in time.
Cultural transmissionLanguage is culturally transmitted. It cannot be transmitted through heredity.A human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire language. What language the baby is going to speak is determined by the culture he is born into.
Interchangeability or reciprocity : man can both produce and receive messages, and his roles as a speaker and a hearer can be exchanged at ease.
Specialization: man does not have a total physical involvement in the act of communication. Speech is a specialized activity. We use it in a detached manner.
Language functions as a principal means of communication.
It also functions as social control.
It is not only a psychological phenomenon, but also a social fact
The primary function of language is to transmit information and to convey commands,feelings and emotions. Language is a tool of communication.
“Communication” can be used to cover much of the function of language. Here are some of the major categories:
The functions of language :
Phatic function/communion（寒暄功能）: Language is used to establish an atmosphere or maintain social contact between the speaker and the hearer. Greetings, farewells, and comments on the weather serve this function.
Directive (指令) function : Language serves a directive function when it is used to get the hearer do something.
Most imperative sentences have this function. "Get out!" "Close the window, please.", "Walk slowly" are a few examples.
Informative(信息) function : Language serves an informative function when it is used to tell what the speaker believes, to give information about facts or to reason things out. Informative function is met through declarative sentences. Such informative statements are either true or false.
Interrogative(疑问) function:Language severs an informative function when it is used to get information from others. All questions that expect answers have this function, such as: "When will the meeting begin?"
Expressive(表达) function : Language serves an expressive function when it is used to reveal the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.
Ejaculations like: "Good heavens!"
*to release inner feelings
Evocative(情感) function:The evocative function is the use of language to arouse certain feelings in the hearer. Its aim is to amuse, startle, anger, soothe, worry or please.
Performative (施为) function: Language is used to do things or to perform acts.
Manner of articulation refer to the manner in which obstruction is created,and the place of articulation refers to the place where obstruction is created.
Classification of English consonants:stops(爆破音)，fricatives(擦音),affricates(塞擦音)
Liquids（流音），nasals(鼻音)，glides（滑音），bilabial(双唇音)，labiodental(唇齿音)
Dental（齿音），alveolar(齿龈音)，palatal(上颚音)，velar（软腭音），glottal(喉音)
Monophthongs can be classified according to：
The Highest Part of the Tongue （舌高）
The Opening of the Mouth （口腔张开度）
The Shape of the Lips （唇形）
The Length of the Vowel （元音音长）

Most modern linguistics is descriptive. It attempts to describe what people actually say.
As traditional grammars tried to lay down rules, they are often called prescriptive.
Descriptive grammars attempt to tell what is in the language, while
prescriptive grammars tell people what should be in the language
When we study language at one particular time, it is called synchronic linguistics.
synchronic linguistics focuses on the state of language at any point in history while
diachronic or historical linguistics focuses on the differences in two or more than 2 states of language over decades or centuries.
To study language diachronically relies on the synchronic study of language.
Synchronic linguistics and diachronic linguistics are correlated in the valid study of language.

Linguists regard the spoken language as primary.
It is believed that speech came into being first for any human language and the writing system came along much later.
Language is primarily vocal.
Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.
Parole refers to particular realizations of langue.
Langue is the social, conventional side of language.
Parole is individualized speech.
Langue is the abstract knowledge necessary for speaking, listening, writing and reading.
Parole is the concrete manifestation of language either through speech or writing.
Langue is relatively stable and systematic.
Parole is more variable and may change according to contextual factors.
Langue is the code.
Parole is the message
Competence refers to the knowledge that native speakers have of their language as a system of abstract formal relations.
Performance refers to their actual linguistic behavior, that is ,the actual use of this knowledge.
Phonetics (语音学)
What’s Phonetics?
The scientific study of the speech sounds that occur in all human languages is called phonetics.
The task of phonetics is to identify what are speech sounds in a language,and then to study their characteristics.
The three main branches of phonetics
i)articulatory phonetics（发音语音学）
(ii)auditory phonetics（听觉语音学）
(iii)acoustic phonetics（声学语音学）
The phonic medium of language consists of individual speech sounds that are meaningful in human communication.
Phonology is the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language.
Phonology is the study of how speech sounds function in a language. It studies the ways speech sounds are organized. It can be seen as the functional phonetics of a particular language.
Both phonology and phonetics are studies of speech sounds.
But while both are related to the study of sounds,they differ in approach and focus.
Phonetics is of a general nature ;it is concerned with all the speech sounds used in all human languages:how they are produced,how they differ from each other,what phonetic features