Introduction

1. Introduction LanguageandLinguistics

2. Preview • Introduction • Originsoflanguage • Communication systems • Classificationofsigns • Universalpropertiesoflanguage • Functionsoflanguage • Definitionsoflanguage • Approaches to thestudyoflanguage

3. Language • “History is universalandbasic. It’s abouteveryeventthatinvolves all people at all timesandinallplaces” • “Yes, but how wouldyourecordand interpret thathistorywithoutlanguage?”

4. Language • A means to pass a recordofwhathashappenedfrom one generation to thenextthroughstoriesandsagas, evenbeforewrittenrecords • Developmentoftools to meet a broad rangeofneeds – impossiblewithoutlanguage

5. Language • Capacity for self-awarenessandabstractthought – dependent on language • Theability to transfer complexinformation, to discussthemeaningofeventsandoutcomesof alternative actions, to sharefeelingsandideas – impossiblewithoutlanguage

6. Originsoflanguage • Shroudedinobscurity • Theability to model the world and to communicateusinglanguage – thesingle most advantageousevolutionaryadaptationofthe human species

7. Originsoflanguage • Overthousandsofyears, the human speciesdeveloped a vocaltractflexibleenough to make a wide rangeofdistinguishablesoundsandtheability to perceivedifferencesamongthosesounds • Theability to use thesesoundsin systems whichcouldcommunicatemeaning • Language – a distinctiveattributeofthe human species

8. Communication • Sign – sththatstands for sthelse to communicate it (communicate = to makesthcommon) • Communication – transfer ofinformation; intentionality: a messageproducedbyasenderinorder to passinformationtothereceiver

9. Communication • Intentional transfer ofinformation • Sign – a basicunitofcommunication

10. Communication

11. Communication

12. Code • Senderintentionallyproduces a sign for therecipient • Howcantherecipient interpret thesign? • Code – a set ofsigns, determinedbyconvention, thatprovidestherulesofinterpretation • Allcommunication systems - codes

13. Language • Signifiant ‘ expression, form, theaspectthatcanbeperceived’ (e.g. the word cat, spoken or written) • Signifiée ‘ thecontent, informationtransmittedbysignifiant’ (theconceptof a “cat”)

14. Semiotic triangle

15. Semiotic triangle • (a) ‘sign', • (b) 'thought or reference' and • (c) 'referent'

16. Fourtypesoflinguisticarbitrariness • A) relationshipbetweenthesignandthe referent • B) relationshipbetweensignifiantandsignifié • C) relationshipbetweenformandsubstance (differentlanguagescodifyrealityindifferentways • D) relationshipbetweentheformandsubstanceofsignifiant (e.g. vowelquantityindifferentlanguages)

17. Freedomfromstimulus • Language – independentfromstimuli, i.e. externalaspectsof a situation • Distinguishes human fromanimallanguage • Human verbalmessages – free, no deterministicaspect

18. Distancing • Thepossibility to formulatemessageswhich are distantinspaceand time – characteristicof human language as opposed to animalcommunication

19. Socialtransferability • Anthropologically, anylanguage is sociallyandculturallytransmitted • Any human beingacquires at least one language (mothertongue) andcanlearnotherlanguages • Innatelanguagefaculty: universalpropertiesoflanguage – emptyslotsfilledbymaterialprovidedbytheenvironment

20. Transferabilityofmedium: spokenandwritten • Primacyofthespokenlanguage: • Ontogenetic (a child first learns to speak) • Filogenetic (writingdevelopedmuchlaterin human history) • Socialprimacyofthewrittenlanguageinmodernsocieties (higherculturalprestige; science, education, law)

21. Multifunctionalityoflanguage • Expressesthought • Transmitsinformation • Initiates, maintainsandregulatescooperativeactivitiesandsocialrelationships • Expressesfeelingsandstatesofmind • Resolvesproblems • Createspossibleworlds (literarycreation)

22. R. Jakobson’s classification

23. R. Jakobson’s classification • Functions: • 1) emotive or expressive • 2) metalinguistic • 3) referential • 4) conative (speechacts) • 5) phatic (establishingcontact) • 6) poetic

24. Languagefunctions • Emotive (expressive)-expressesthespeaker’s feelings (“What a surprise!”) • Referential – informationaboutexternalreality • Conative – makingtherecipientactin a particularway (“Openthewindow!”) • Phatic – establishingcontact (“Hello!”) Poeticfunction – focuses on themessage (CarlSandburg: “Thefogcomesinonlittlecatfeet”; metaphor) Metalinguistic – focuses on thecode “What’s thesubjectofthis sentence?”

25. Universalpropertiesoflanguage • Althoughlanguagesdifferinmanyways, they are madepossiblebythe same geneticinformation, processedinthebraininthesamewaysandtheyshare some fundamentalfeaturesandstructuralcharacteristics • Understandingandexplainingthepropertieswhich are universal to all languages, as wellasthosewhichvaryacrosslanguages – taskoflinguistics

26. Universalpropertiesoflanguage • Modularity • Compositionalityandrecursion • Discreteness • Productivity • Arbitrariness • Reliance on context • Variability

27. Modularity • Language – a modularsystem: producedandinterpretedbyusinga set ofcomponentsubsystems (or modules) in a coordinatedway • Different regions ofthebrain – associatedwithdifferentaspectsoflanguageprocessing

28. Modularity • Productionandinterpretationofspeechsounds – phonetics • Wordsandtheirstructure – morphology • Structureofsentences – syntax • Lexicon – interactingwiththeseproperties • Meaning – semantics • Discourse - organizationoflanguagebeyondthe sentence

29. Compositionalityandrecursion • Languages – organizedintoconstituents, allowing more complexunits to enter structureswheresimplerones are alsopossible

30. Compositionality: examples • She sat down. • Thesmartwoman sat down. • Thetall, dark-haired, smartwomanwiththebright red sweaterandpearlnecklace sat down.

31. Compositionality • Beingcomposedofconstituentsgiveslanguage a balanceofstructureandflexibility • Constituentscanbemoved or replacedbyotherconstituents, but youcan’t move or replace a constituentwitha word that is not a constituent (Smartwiththebright red sweater sat down*)

32. Compositionality • Constituentscanbemoved, but youcanonlymove a completeconstituent • (Possible: She is verysmart; verysmart, sheis, but not: Smart, she is very)

33. Recursion • Propertyoflanguagewhichallowsgrammaticalprocesses to be applied repeatedly, combiningconstituents to produceandinfinitevarietyofsentencesofindefinitelength

34. Recursion • Profoundimplications – noonecanlearn a languagebymemorizing all thesentencesofthatlanguage, sothere must beanotherexplanation for how human beings are able to learnthem • The human brain – finite, but recursivenessmeansthat it is capableofproducingandunderstandinganinfinitenumberofsentences

35. Productivity • Languagecanalwaysproducemessagesthathaveneverbeenproducedbefore • Infinitecombinationsofbasicunitswhosenumber is limited • Rule-basedcreativity: infiniteproductivitybased on a limitednumberofprinciplesandrules

36. Productivity • Languagescansystematicallycombinetheminimalunitsofmeaning, calledmorphemes, into new words, whosemeaning is nonethelessdeduciblefromtheinteractionofitsmorphemiccomponents • A wayinwhichlanguages change to meetthechangingcommunicativeneedsoftheirspeakers

37. Productivity • Theproductivityoflanguagesderivesfromthefactthatthey are organizedaround a finite set ofprincipleswhichsystematicallyconstrainthewaysinwhichsounds, morphemes, words, phrasesandsentencesmaybecombined • Sincelanguages place no limits on the use ofrecursiveprocesses, they are potentiallyinfinitelyproductive

38. Discretness • Unitsoflanguage are notcontinuous; there is a limit between one element andthenext

39. Discreteness • Therangeofsoundsthat human beingscanmake – continuous, but all languagesdividethatcontinuousspaceofsoundintodiscreteterritories • Soundsthat are discretein one languagemaynotbediscreteinanother

40. Discreteness • Language – composedofsounds, words, sentencesetc. • Thefactthatwehearspeech as a sequenceofindividualsounds, wordsandsentences – incredibleaccomplishment • Childreninthe first year or twolearn to pickoutwordsfromthestreamofspeechwith no instruction

41. Reliance on context • Pronounciationofoneandwon: the same sequenceofsoundscanrepresentdifferentconceptsinthesamelanguage • Themeaningof a sentence depends on thecontextinwhich it is uttered • Thecontext: sentence or sentenceswhichprecede it, or thebroaderphysicalorsocialcircumstancesinwhichthe sentence is uttered

42. Reliance on context: examples • It’s cold inhere– couldbe a complaint, arequest to close thewindow, or even a compliment • Languagesrely on theconnectionbetweenform (what is said) andcontext (when, where, bywhom, and to whom it is said) to communicatemuch more than is containedin a sequenceofwords.

43. Variability • Thelanguagepeople use variesdepending on who’s speakingandthesituationinwhichthey are speaking • Variation – essenceofinformation • Variabilityoflanguage – indexical • Speakersvarythelanguagethey use to signal theirsocialidentities (geographical, social status, ethnicity, gender) andalso to definetheimmediatespeechsituation

44. Variability • Peopleshow who they are bythevarietyoflanguagethey use - theyrevealtheirgeographicaloriginandsocial status. • They signal membershipin a rangeofoverlappingsocial groups: male or female, teenageroradult, memberofanethic group, etc.

45. Variability • Peoplealso use languagevariation to communicatethesituationandpurposeinwhichthey are talking, as wellastherolesthey are playinginthosesituations

46. Variability • A largepartofaspeechcommunity’s culture is transactedthroughlanguagevariation • Normsofappropriatelanguage use helpspeakers to constructandnegotiatetheirrelations

47. Variability • Theunwrittenrules for thevariousformsandusesoflanguagecanvaryfrom one culturalmilieu to another, withinandbetweensocieties, evenbetweengenders • Thisraisestheriskofmisunderstandingwhenspeakersunknowinglybehaveaccording to differentculturalnorms, but enrichesourwaysofseeingthe world whenthosedifferences are understood

48. Thedescriptiveapproach • Language – universalcharacteristicof human beings • Alllanguages (andlanguagevarieties) – equal • Languagevarietiesdifferbecauseover time theyhaveadapted to differingneedsoftheirspeechcommunities • Eachlanguage – equallyfunctionalinmeetingthecommunicativeneedsofitsspeechcommunity

49. Thedescriptiveapproach • Sometimeswhentwo or more speechcommunitiescomeintocontact, one group willhave more power; • thelanguagevarietyofthedominant group is oftenperceived as havinghigher status as well, especiallyifspeaking it affordsincreased access to power or wealth; languagevarietiesspokenbythelesspowerful groups – oftenstigmatized as “incorrect” or “bad” language

50. Thedescriptiveapproach • Linguiststakelanguage as theyfind it, ratherthanattempting to regulate it inthedirectionofpreconceivedcriteria