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Some Fundamental Points of Language

Some Fundamental Points of Language. Some General Concepts About Language. Wherever humans exist, L exists Language is systematic & very complex Different languages are very diverse but also share universal properties Speech is primary, writing is secondary

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Some Fundamental Points of Language

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  1. Some Fundamental Points of Language

  2. Some General Concepts About Language • Wherever humans exist, L exists • Language is systematic & very complex • Different languages are very diverse but also share universal properties • Speech is primary, writing is secondary • Children ACQUIRE and are not TAUGHT their L1 • Every language changes as time passes

  3. Some Myths About Language • Some L are primitive • Writing is more perfect than speech • French is romantic, German harsh, English hard to learn • Swearing degrades a language • Sloppy speech should be avoided

  4. Speech versus Writing • Why does ling consider speech primary? • Writing is a later development • Writing does not exist everywhere, spoken L does • Writing must be taught, one can still communicate using language without being literate

  5. Different Definitions of “Grammar” • Mental Grammar • Unconscious rules of L that allow us to construct grammatical utterances (plural /-s/ in English) • Descriptive Grammar • Linguists’ descriptions of the rules of L • Prescriptive Grammar • The “proper” or “correct” way to use language

  6. Prescriptive v. Descriptive Grammar • Prescriptive • “Right” v. “wrong” • Casts value judgments • Tries to force specific L variety • Descriptive • Accounts for observed rules/patterns • Unbiased • Allows for different varieties

  7. Is a prescriptive variety necessary? • Helps establish a ‘standard’ for cross-dialectal communication • Second language learning • Marking social distinctions

  8. Everyone uses several registers: • What is a register? • Professional • Peer group • Motherese

  9. Language Statistics • How many languages are there? • Which languages have the most speakers and which are more official? • What some people think about English

  10. Animal Communication • Observations from File 2.3 “Primate Studies” • We share 99% of genetic material with the great apes, yet that 1% difference is responsible for human’s ability to “speak” • Gua versus Donald

  11. Animal Communication cont. • Viki: female chimp taught to “vocalize” • Washoe and Koko: From human speech sounds to ASL • Sarah: language board ‘sentences’ • Lana: lexigrams

  12. Animal Communication cont. • Still the main questions is Did these chimps acquire human language? • The chimp “Nim Chimpsky” • Use of language: use of grammar • Mental referents, symbols we conjure when we think of a word

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