语言学教程第一章ppt课件.ppt

English Linguistics,School of Foreign Languages, Shandong University of Technology,What do you expect of the course?,Textbook: 胡壮麟（主编），2011，语言学教程（第四版），北京大学出版社。Time for the course：two sessions, one yearAssessment method: final examination (70%) +attendance+homework Miss more than six classes, fail; Leave of absence for private affairs for more than eleven classes, fail.,Course Description,Course Description,Aim:This course will present you with some of the basic knowledge about language, including the nature of language, its system and organization, its relations with other factors such as psychology, culture, society, mind, literature, language learning and teaching, etc. Have a basic understanding on the key ideas and main branches of linguistics.Develop the ability of observation and analysis,The myths of language wait us to reveal:四川人不怕辣，湖南人辣不怕，贵州人怕不辣。我激动得说都不会话了。菊 清平乐 相逢缥缈，窗外又拂晓。长忆清弦弄浅笑，只恨人间花少。黄菊不待清尊，相思飘落无痕。风雨重阳又过，登高多少黄昏。Is bilingual environment beneficial for childrens IQ?Is English or Chinese a more developed language than others?,Why bother to study linguistics,It makes you distinct from mere English learners and English speakers.It helps to develop your ability to think consciously, the ability to find and solve problems.It is tested if you pursue your graduate study in the English department.,Why bother to study linguistics,How to study,网络教学平台Preview and reviewRelate it to your daily language use, use it as a tool to explainAn official account in Wechat : 语言学午餐Ling-Lunch,What is special about language of linguistics?,Language of commonsense Vs. Language of scienceThe discourse of science cannot translate into commonsense without lost of meaning.In any typical group of science students there will be some who find themselves in difficulty.,Is linguistics difficult to learn?,人之为学有难易乎？学之，则难者亦易矣；不学，则易者亦难矣。,What to learn in this session,Chapter 1 Invitations to linguisticsChapter 2 Speech sounds Chapter 3 Morphology (word formation) Chapter 4 Syntax (sentence structure)Chapter 5 MeaningChapter 8 Language in use (meaning in use),Chapter One,The basic issues in this chapter:1. What is Linguistics? 1.1 The definition of linguistics 1.2 Main branches of linguistics 1.3 Important distinctions in linguistics2. What is Language? 2.1 The definition of language 2.2. Design features of language 2.3 Functions of language,1. What is Linguistics?,Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Two important messages are conveyed in this definition: first, scientific communicates the method that should be adopted in linguistic study; second, language communicates the proper object of study for linguistics.,1.1 The definition of linguistics,The method used in linguistic study,1. Collect and observe language facts, which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made. 2. Hypotheses about the language structure are formulated. 3. The formulated hypotheses are checked against the observed facts to prove their validity.,A one year old boy pronounces some unintelligible sounds. His mom finds it like the sound of ball. (collect and observe)Thirsty? Hungry? Ball? Circles? The boy smiles when mom call circles in a handkerchief ball. Something round is a ball.（hypotheses）Try other round objects. (check the validity of hypotheses),The study object of linguistics,What is language?What are rules there are that govern the structure of language?What do all languages have in common?How social factors are reflected in language?How does a child acquire his mother tongue?,1.2 Main branches of linguistics,1.3 Important distinctions in linguistics,1. Descriptive vs. prescriptive2. Synchronic vs. diachronic3. Langue and parole4. Competence and performance5. Speech and writing,1) Descriptive vs. prescriptive,The descriptive study of language is to record linguistic phenomena or rules, to study language as a social phenomenon. The prescriptive study of language is to state that certain linguistic phenomena or rules should or should not be obeyed, like a grammar book does. Linguists usually use the first method in their study of language.,Prescriptive: 网络语言不标准，不规范。Descriptive: 网络语言的性质、词汇、句法、修辞特征；网络语言的规范以及对待网络语言的态度；网络语言与语文教学、当代社会文化、网民的社会心理特征、网络词语及其意义生成的认知机制等。,2) Synchronic vs. diachronic,Synchronic study of language takes a fixed instant as its point of observation. Diachronic study examines language through the course of time. It studies the development or history of language.,Synchronic or diachronic?,近代汉语副词研究60年（1949-2009）汉语基本颜色词的进化阶段与颜色范畴离合词形成的历史及成因分析主观化对句法限制的消解国外话语标记研究及其对汉语研究的启示中英文前言作者自称语语用对比研究,3) Langue and parole,Saussure made the distinction between langue and parole. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community. It is a social phenomenon. Parole is the actual speaking of language by an individual speaker. It is an individual linguistic phenomenon.,4) Competence & performance,Chomskys competence refers to the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language. It stresses the psychological or mental property of language. Performance refers to the actual use of the language by a speaker in a real communicational context. It is the external realization of the internal linguistic competence.,How is Chomskys distinction between competence and performance similar to Saussures langue and parole?Similarity: the study object of linguistsDifferences: sociological view vs. psychological view,5. Speech and Writing,Is speech or writing the primary medium of human languages according to modern linguists? Why?From the point of view of linguistic evolutionFrom the ways that are gotten by usersFrom the information conveyed,2. What is Language?,2.1 The definition of language,Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.,2.2 Design features of language,Design features refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. They are devised to distinguish the communication system as possessed by human, which we term language, from communication systems as possessed by other life forms.,1) Arbitrariness,By arbitrariness we mean that there is no logical or intrinsic connection between a particular sound and the meaning it is associated with.e.g. A is called a “laoshu” in Chinese, while a “rat” or “mouse” in English.,And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Genesis 2:19,Onomatopoeic words, as direct imitations of natural sounds, are not in conflict with this feature. e.g. a Chinese dog barks wangwangwang, while an English dog barks bowwow. Although they describe the same sound, the forms are different.,Arbitrariness at the syntactic levele.g. He came in and sat down. He sat down and came in. He sat down after he came in. Arbitrariness and conventionThe link between a linguistic sign and its meaning is a matter of convention.,“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean neither more nor less.”“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”,By arbitrariness it means that there is no logical or intrinsic relation between sound and meaning for human language. However, this does not entail that speakers of human language can use language in his own manner, regardless of what other speakers would think. If language can be used to express meaning and exchange information, a mutual agreement as for what sound can express what meaning has to be reached at the first place, otherwise language would not exist at all. We call this mutual agreement conventionality. This is exactly what Alice remarks in the dialogue, i.e. you cannot use language in whatever way you yourself like it to be used.,2) Duality,b k t l s f r : e u Old, sad, glad, let, back, farBy duality we mean that each language is organized at two levels, one is sound and the other is meaning. The sounds at the basic level are meaningless by themselves, but they can be grouped into a large number of units of meaning at higher level of language.,山东,sound,sounds,words,Lower level,Higher level,The advantage of this division is that we can use limited number of sounds to produce unlimited number of sound combinations with distinctive meanings.e.g. in the language of English we use around 48 sounds to produce almost infinite number of sound combinations (words). This feature is very economical for the system of language.,A large number of words can be formed out of a small set of sounds. And out of the huge number of words, there can be endless number of sentences, which in turn can form unlimited number of texts. Sounds (small number) words (large number) sentences (large number) texts (large number),Does the traffic light system have duality? Can you explain by drawing a simple graph?,Does the traffic light system have duality? Can you explain by drawing a simple graph?,3) Creativity /Productivity,蒜你狠、富二代、裸婚、低头族A red-eyed elephant is dancing on a hotel bedBy creativity we mean that speaker of a language can produce new expressions and understand utterances that they have never heard before.,Can you tell which feature of language makes it a creative system? duality,My goal for 2016 is to accomplish the goals of 2015 which I should have done in 2014 because I made a promise in 2013 & planned in 2012Another sense of creativity of language is due to its potential to create endless sentences. （recursiveness递归性）,Attention:我骗了你。我知道你骗了我。我知道你知道我骗了你。张三知道我知道你知道我骗了你。,4. Displacement,Where is the book?相对论的基本假设是相对性原理，即物理定律与参照系的选择无关。Journey to the West By displacement we mean that language can be used to refer to things that are present or not present, real or imagined. In other words, language can be use to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker.,This feature enables speakers to communicate free of the barriers caused by time and space. It also gives human beings the ability to generalize and abstract.,5) Cultural transmission,It refers to the fact that details of the linguistic system must be learned anew by each speaker. Language is not transmitted biologically from generation to generation. e.g. A Chinese-American child brought up in the States may not be able to say one single Chinese word if he is not purposefully taught to speak Chinese, he can only speak English.,2.3 Functions of Language,Linguists talk about the functions of language in an abstract sense, that is, not in terms of using language to chat, to think, to buy and sell, to praise and condemn etc. They summarize these practical functions and attempt some broad classifications of the basic functions of language.,Comprehensive theories Jakobsons theory Hallidays theory,Comprehensive theories,Informative functionInterpersonal functionEmotive functionPerformative functionPhatic functionRecreational function Metalingual function,1. InformativeThe use of language to record facts, to state what things are like, and to exchange information. This serves as the primary function of language.e.g. ,2. Interpersonal FunctionThe most important sociological use of language, which serves to establish and maintain peoples status in a society (through expressing identity).Eg. honorable guests; dear teacher;Can you think of other examples that performing the interpersonal function of language?,Do you like my new hair style? Its terrible.I apologize for The interpersonal function is such a broad category that it is often discussed under various other terms as performative, emotive (expressive), phatic, recreational.,3. Performative Function Language can be used to do things (Austin and Searle), to change the social status or the immediate state of affairs of people. e.g. in Western countries, when the priest says: “I thereby pronounce you husband and wife.” The marriage status of the couple is recognized legally.,Can you think of other examples showing performative function?,4. Emotive Function Language can be used to express the emotional state of the speaker. e.g. exclamation. The expressions of gratitude and apology are also examples of this function. Expressive function,5. Phatic Communion Ritual exchanges, exchanges that have little meaning but help to maintain our relationships with other people. e.g. Speaker A: Whats up?” Speaker B: Hey, man, hows it going? (And each just walks on.) Can you mention some typical expressions of phatic communion in Chinese?,6. Recreational Function1. （初入江湖）化肥会挥发2. （小有名气）黑化肥发灰，灰化肥发黑3. （名动一方）黑化肥发灰会挥发；灰化肥挥发会发黑4. （天下闻名）黑化肥挥发发灰会花飞；灰化肥挥发发黑会飞花5. （一代宗师）黑灰化肥会挥发发灰黑讳为花飞；灰黑化肥会挥发发黑灰为讳飞花,Word play, word for words sake, the use of language to have fun. e.g. Tongue twisters such as she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore, and the shells that she sells on the sea-shore are sea-shells is uttered only for the sheer joy of language. The Chinese crosstalk and mini-comedy also belong to this category of language use.,7. Metalingual Function Language can be used to explain or describe itself or other languages. e.g.,Man is bipedal hairless primate. Man is a noun. It is composed of 3 phonemes.,Jakobsons framework of language functions,How is Jakobsons theory similar to language functions we learned just now? Can you give examples for each function according to Jakobsons theory ?,We use language to talk about our experience of the world, including the world in our own minds, to describe events and states and entities involved in them. (ideational function)We also use language to interact with other people, to establish and maintain relations with them, to influence their behavior, to express our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit and change theirs. (interpersonal function)Finally, we organize our messages in ways which indicate how they fit in with the other messages around them and with the wider context in which we are talking or writing. (textual function),Alice is bored sitting on the riverbank with her sister, when she notices a talking, clothed White Rabbit with a watch run past.She follows it down a rabbit hole when suddenly she falls a long way to a curious hall with many locked doors of all sizes.,Homework for Chapter 1,1. What are the major functions of language? Use your own examples for illustration. (List five functions, one example for one function)2. Communication can take many forms, such as sign, speech, body language and facial expression. Do body language and facial expression share or lack the distinctive properties of human language?,