What is language?

1. What is language? • Rule governed • Intended • Creative and open ended

2. Rule governed Rules of language are called Grammar or Syntax and vary between languages Can you think of examples where syntax is totally different in two languages you know? The sound of a word to describe any particular object is arbitrary. Can you think of examples when it is slightly less arbitrary? What noise do animals make in English, Cantonese, French etc?

3. Intended To be defined as “language” communication must be intentional. If I accidentally yawn when I am bored it is not intended and is not language. Do we sometimes use the word “body language’ incorrectly? Does intentional body language differ between cultures, leading to misunderstanding?

4. Open-ended and Creative New words are created eg frugal (Shakespeare) Words are borrowed eg. khaki (urdu) or pyjamas (hindi) Words change their meanings If we want to say something we’ll find a way to say it http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=mandarin&searchmode=none

5. The problem of meaning It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristerate large amounts of fevon and then bracter it into quasel traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge. • What is traxoline? 2 Where is traxoline montilled? • 3 How is traxoline quaselled? 4 Why is it important to know about traxoline?

6. 1) Is some of the ‘work’ you do at school a bit like answering these questions? • 2) Can we use the syntax of the sentence to gain some insight into what it might be about?

7. Theories of meaning 1 Meaning can be found in a dictionary Define these words: a) triangle b) table c) love 2 Denotation theory Meaningful words stand for something eg; the word China stands for the large country to the east of Asia. 3 Image theory The meaning of the word is the mental image it stands for. You know the meaning if you have the mental image in your mind. Problem: How do we know what images the word conjure up in someone else’s mind? 4 Meaning as know-how. You know the meaning of a word if you know how to use it correctly

8. Problematic meaning Vagueness Many words like “fast” are vague. How fast is fast? How much hair does a man have to lose before he is called ‘bald’? Is vagueness useful? Ambiguity What might a politician mean if he says; “I promise not to raise incentive damaging taxes.”

9. Secondary meaning Words have denotation but also connotation Denotation is the meaning of the word and public and hopefully universal. Connotation is the web of associations that surround the word and is subjective, different for each of us. Write down what the denotation for ‘priest’. Now write down your connotations. We sometimes use euphemisms to avoid unpleasant connotations eg. Passed away for Died

10. Metaphor Miranda has got her head in the clouds John is a pillar of the community Context tells us of something is being used metaphorically Sometimes metaphor enters the language and we forget it is metaphor eg. He is brilliant, night has fallen, he has a sharp tongue. Metaphor can be difficult for those learning the language Irony Basically saying the opposite of what you mean Can be more subtle than that

11. Meaning There are levels of meaning, and levels of understanding “My mum will kill me” usually doesn’t mean exactly that. E=MC2 means something different to a Physicist than the general public. Why does meaning matter so much? Was the ANC a terrorist organisation or are they freedom fighters? What happens when we call Islamic fundamentalist Islamo-fascists? Does it mean something different if we call native Americans, Indians?

12. “Words that work: it’s not what you say, it’s what people hear” by Frank Luntz (or How to speak like a Republican) Free market economy Globalisation Estate duty Death tax Global warming Climate change Eavesdropping Electronic intercepts

13. A multitude of languages Languages are dying out fast. Does it matter? Would it be better if all spoke one language? Why is Esperanto never going to work? http://www.esperanto.net/veb/faq-1.html “If English was good enough for Jesus it is good enough for me.” Governor of Texas? Words that cannot be translated: Schlimmbesserung: “an ‘improvement’ that actually makes things worse

14. Words that cannot be translated: Schlimmbesserung (German): “an ‘improvement’ that actually makes things worse Rojung (Bahasi): “the relationship among a group of people committed to accomplishing a task of mutual benefit” Puijilittatuq (Inuktitut): he does not know which way to turn because of the many seals he has seen come to the ice surface” Mamihlapinatapai (Terra del Fuego): “to look at each other, each hoping the other will offer to do something which both parties much desire done but which neither is willing to do.”