Language: A Preview

1. Language: A Preview LI 2013 Nathalie F. Martin

2. Outline of Today’s Class Today: • Humans made to speak • Language • Grammar Objective: • Understand how humains are made to speak. • See the study of language and grammar through a linguistic perspective. Language : A Preview (O’Grady, p. 1-11)

3. What Is Linguistics? • “The _____ study of _____ _____ .” • Scientific study of language, covering the _____ (morphology and syntax; see grammar), _____ (phonology, phonetics), and _____ (semantics), as well as the _____ of the relations of languages to each other and the _____ place of language in human behavior.

4. What Is Linguistics? • Ferdinand de _____ : • _____ of modern linguistics. • His students published his course notes in 1916. • Cours de linguistiquegénérale.

5. What is Language? Language is the method of _____ _____ __, either _____ or _____ , consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way.

6. Language(s) • A languageis more than a simple instruments used for communication: • It the canbe the object of _____ _____ ; • It canalso show _____ between different people and social groups. • Etc.

7. Language, Languages and Speech • Terminology: • Language • Language(s) • Speech

8. Language: A Preview Chapter 1 (O’Grady & Archibald) 1.1 Specialized for Language 1.2Creative System 1.3Grammar and LinguisticsCompetence

9. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 2. 1.1 Specialization for Language

10. Specialization for Language:Made to Speak http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html

11. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 5. 1.2 A Creative System The Creativity Aspect of Language • Human language must be _____ : allowing novelty and innovation is response to new thoughts, experiences, and situations

12. Linguistic Performance: _____ _____this knowledge in actual speech production and comprehension. Linguistic Competence: What you _____ about a language. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 5. 1.3 The Components of a Grammar

13. What You Know About Grammar Grammatical or not…? • The fish is swimming. • *Fish the swimming is. • ?Swimming is the fish. • *The fishing is swim. • He saw two dogs. • *He saw twos dog.

14. What You Know About Grammar • Knowledge of the _____ _____ : Knowing what sounds are in that language and what sounds are not. • Knowledge of _____ : Knowing the sound units that are related to specific meanings. • Knowledge of _____ : Knowing how to form sentences.

15. Prescriptive Grammar • 1762; Bishop Robert Lowth; A Short Introduction to English Grammar with Critical Notes. • Examples: • Many of those rules were based on Latin grammar. Latin was assumed as the respected scientific language in the 15th – 17th Centuries.

16. Descriptive Grammar • 1985; Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik; A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. • Based on a corpus of actual spoken and written English.

17. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 5. The Components of a Grammar • _____ _____ : the articulation and perception of speech sounds • _____ _____ : the patterning of speech • _____ _____ : word formation • _____ _____ : sentence formation • _____ _____ : the interpretation of words and sentences.

18. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 5. Grammar • « As youcansee, the termgrammarisused in a specialwaywithinlinguistics. A linguist’sgrammaris not a _____ and itis not concernedwithjust the form of words and sentences. Rather, itis an intricate system of knowledgethatencompasses _____ and _____ as well as _____ and _____ __.»

19. The Truth About Grammar 1.3.1Generality: All languages have a grammar 1.3.2 Parity: All grammars are equal 1.3.3 Universality: Grammars are alike in basic ways 1.3.4 Mutability: Grammars change over time 1.3.5 Inaccessibility: Grammatical knowledgeissubconscious

20. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 5. The Truth About Grammar:Generality • All languages have a grammar • Fundamental claim of modern linguistics • Can be_____ _phonetically, phonologically, morphologically, syntatically, semantically. • _____ and _____ languages • _________ and alsodifferent_________ of the samelanguage. • Example:

21. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p.67. The Truth About Grammar :Parity • All grammars are equal • No suchthing as a ___________ language. • No suchthing as a ____ grammar and a ____ grammar. • Since all grammars tell speakers how to form and interpret the words and sentences of theirlanguage. • « (….) languageanalysis must reflect the wayitisactuallyused, not someone’sidealized vision of how itshouldbeused. » • _____ _____, not prescriptive Also see analogy: Steven Pinker’s illustration (p. 7)

22. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 7. The Truth About Grammars:Universality • Grammars are _____ in basic ways • All languages have: • Small set of contrastive soundsthat help to distinguishwordfromeachother; • Have more consonant soundsthanvowelsounds; • Anylanguagethat has an fsound has an s sound; • All languages have an ahsound (like in the wordfather); • Universalconstaints on how wordscanbe put together to form sentences.

23. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 8. The Truth About Grammars:Mutability • Grammars_____ _____ _____ • Featuresthat are not universal and fixed are subject to change over time; • Example:

24. Contemporary Linguistics Analysis: p. 8. The Truth About Grammars:Inaccessibility • Grammatical knowledgeis_____ _____ • Largelysubconscious and not accessible to introspection • Speakers of a native language know whatsounds right or whatsoundswrong … but they are not sure how they know. • Example: