戴炜栋何兆熊《简明语言学教程》.ppt

Welcome to Linguistics,A New Course on Linguistics for Students of English,Goals for This Course,To get a scientific view on language; To understand some basic theories on linguistics in order to understand how language is constructed, how language operates, how language is used to do things, how language is acquired or learnt, how language changes over time and varies according to the situation, etc.; To understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of language teaching To prepare for the future research work.,Requirements for This Course,Class attendance (10%) Classroom discussion (10%) Fulfillment of assignments (10%) Final Examination (70%),References,戴炜栋，何兆熊，2002，新编简明英语语言学教程，上海外语教育出版社。(Textbook) 胡壮麟，2001，语言学教程，北京大学出版社。 刘润清，1995，西方语言学流派，外语教学与研究出版社。 Fromkin,V. the way of speaking or writing (e.g. Shakespeares language, Luxuns language); a particular variety or level of speech or writing (e.g. language for special purpose, colloquial language); the abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community (e.g. Chinese language, first language); the common features of all human languages (e.g. He studies language); a tool for human communication. (social function) a set of rules. (rule-governed);,Edward Sapirs definition (1921),“Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”,R. A. Halls definition (1968),Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.”,Noam Chomskys definition (1957),“From now on I will consider language to be a set of (finite or infinite) sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.”,Language can be generally defined as:,a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.,Language is a system.,Systematic- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; cant be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat.,Language is arbitrary.,Arbitrary- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with.,Language is symbolic in nature.,Symbolic- words are associated with objects, actions ideas by convention. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” -Shakespeare,Language is primarily vocal.,Vocal- the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form.,Language is human-specific.,Human-specific- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.,The design/defining features of human language (Charles Hockett),Arbitrariness Productivity/Creativity Duality Displacement Cultural transmission,Arbitrariness,-No logical (motivated or intrinsic) connection between sounds and meanings. Onomatopoeic words (which imitate natural sounds) are somewhat motivated ( English: rumble, crackle, bang, . Chinese: putong, shasha, dingdang ) Some compound words are not entirely arbitrary, e.g. type-writer, shoe-maker, air-conditioner, photocopy,Productivity/Creativity,-Peculiar to human languages，users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before, e.g. we can understand sentence like “ A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed”, though it does not describe a common happening in the world. A gibbon call system is not productive for gibbon draw all their calls from a fixed repertoire which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. The bee dance does have a limited productivity, as it is used to communicate about food sources in any direction. But food sources are the only kind of messages that can be sent through the bee dance; bees do not “talk” about themselves, the hives, or wind, let alone about people, animals, hopes or desires,Duality (double articulation),Lower level-sounds (meaningless) Higher level-meaning (larger units of meaning) A communication system with duality is considered more flexible than one without it, for a far greater number of messages can be sent. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning (words), and the units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. (we make dictionary of a language, but we cannot make a dictionary of sentences of that language.),Displacement,-Language can be used to refer to things, which are not present: real or imagined matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. A gibbon never utters a call about something he ate last year There is something special about the bee dance though. Bees communicate with other bees about the food sources they have found when they are no longer in the presence of the food. In this sense, the bee dance has a component of displacement. But this component is very insignificant. For the bees must communicate about the food immediately on returning to the hive. They do not dance about the food they discovered last month nor do they speculate about future discoveries.,Cultural Transmission,-Language is culturally transmitted (through teaching and learning; rather than by instinct). Animal call systems are genetically transmitted. All cats, gibbons and bees have systems which are almost identical to those of all other cats, gibbons and bees. A Chinese speaker and an English speaker are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. That is, it is pass on from one generation to the next by teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. The story of a wolf child, a pig child shows that a human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire human language.,The Origin of Language,人们一直在探讨人类语言最初从何处以及怎样发展起来的这类问题， 不过几乎没有什么事实证据来证实语言的确切起源，因为人类语言也许和人类一样古老， 而书面记录的材料只可以追溯到大约四千年前。学者们对动物交际的某些形式进行类推、对儿童学习和掌握语言的过程以及对“原始”语言进行类推，企图从中探明语言的起源，许多人对此提出了不同的假设性的解释：,The Origin of Language,The divine-origin theory- Language is a gift of God to mankind. The invention theory- imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together. The evolutionary theory- the result of physical and psychological development.,The Origin of Language,1. The bow-wow theory（汪汪理论） People imitated the sounds of the animal calls in the wild environment. 2. The pooh-pooh theory（噗噗理论） Our primitive ancestors uttered instinctive sounds of pain, anger and joy. 3. The yo-he-ho theory（哟嗬-哟理论） As primitive people worked together, they produced rhythmic grunts which gradually developed into chants and then into language.,The Origin of Language,1）缪勒（M. Muller, 1823-1900）提出“本能论”（ding-dong theory or nativistic theory），认为声音和意义之间有神秘的关联：人类语言是从原始人用声音来表示所遇到的事件这一过程中发展起来的。 2）叶斯柏森（1660-1943）认为， 语言是从原始储藏式不清楚的赞歌中发展起来的（sing-song theory唱歌说）。 3）格雷（L. H. Gray, 1875-1955）提出“感叹说”（pooh-pooh or exclamation, interjectional theory）。该假说把语言的起源归结为表达感情的种种感叹语词。,The Origin of Language,4）诺瓦雷（L. Noire, 1847-1889）以在繁重劳 动中发出的喊声来解释语言的起源，即所谓“喊声说”（yo-he-ho theory）。 5）帕杰特（R, Paget, 1869-1955）认为， 语言是从某些手势和舌头动作的结合中发展起来的（ta-ta theory达达说）。 “动物叫声说”（animal cry theory）、“摹声说”（bow-wow, cuckoo, animal cry onomatopoeic, heynonny-nonny theory）等。 6) Marxist view: language was created in the process of working.,Functions of Language,The term communication can be used to cover most of the function of language. But the function of language is varied.,Functions of Language,Jacobson defined six primary factors of any speech event, namely: speaker, addressee, context, message, code, context. Corresponding to these factors, he established a well-known framework of language functions: Referential-to convey message and information (context) Poetic-to indulge in language for its own sake (message) Emotive-to express attitudes, feelings and emotions (addresser) Conative-to persuade and influence other through commands and entreaties (addressee) Phatic-to establish communion with others (contact) Metalingual-to clear up intentions, words and meanings (code),Functions of Language,M. A. K. Hallidays Summary of the Functions of Language: 1) informative: function 2) interpersonal function 3) performative function 4) emotive function 5) phatic communion 6) recreational function 7) metalingual function,Functions of Language,Phatic: establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact. Directive: get the hearer to do something. Informative: give information about facts. Interrogative: get information from others. Expressive: express feelings and attitudes of the speaker. Evocative: create certain feelings in the hearer (amuse, startle, soothe, worry or please) Performative: language is used to do things, to perform actions.,许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学,至少不够严谨.他对语言的定义做了如下概括:语言是一种符号系统.,当它作用于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介; 当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具; 当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体.,2. What is linguistics?,-Linguistics is the scientific study of language. -A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist.,Four principles of linguistic studies:,Exhaustiveness/adequacy Consistency Economy Objectivity,The scope or major branches of linguistics,Theoretical linguistics(micro-linguistics) Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics Pragmatics Use of linguistics (macro-linguistics) Applied linguistics Sociolinguistics Psycholinguistics ,Theoretical linguistics,Phonetics-speech sound (description, classification, transcription): articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics. Phonology-sound patterns of languages Morphology-the form of words Syntax-the rules governing the combination of words into sentence. Semantics-the meaning of language (when the meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use-Pragmatics),Use of linguistics,Applied linguistics-linguistics and language teaching Sociolinguistics- social factors (e.g. class, education) affect language use Psycholinguistics-linguistic behavior and psychological process Stylistics-linguistic and literature,Some other applications,Anthropological linguistics Neurolinguistics Computational linguistics (e.g. machine translation; artificial intelligence),Some Important Distinctions in Linguistics,Descriptive vs Prescriptive,Descriptive - describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language people actually use (modern linguistic) Prescriptive -lay down rules for “correct” linguistic behavior in using language (traditional grammar),Synchronic vs Diachronic,Synchronic study- description of a language at some point of time (modern linguistics) Diachronic study- description of a language through time (historical development of language over a period of time),Speech vs Writing,Speech - primary medium of language Writing - later developed,Langue vs Parole (F. de Saussure),Langue - the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community. Parole - the realization of langue in actual use. Saussure takes a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions.,Competence and Performance (Chomsky),Competence - the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language Performance - the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.,Traditional Grammar vs Modern Linguistics,Traditional grammar - prescriptive, written, Latin-based framework Modern linguistics - descriptive, spoken, not necessarily Latin-based framework,Chapter 2 Phonology,Language is primarily vocal. The primary medium of human language is sound. Linguists are not interested in all sounds, but in speech sounds-sounds that convey meaning in human communication.,Phonetics,-A branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription, e.g. p: bilabial, stop.,Three branches of phonetics,Articulatory phonetics-from the speakers point of view, “how speakers produce speech sounds” Auditory phonetics-from the hearers point of view, “how sounds are perceived” Acoustic phonetics-from the physical way or means by which sounds are transmitted from one to another.,Articulatory phonetics,Speech organs: three important areas,Pharyngeal cavity - the throat; The oral cavity - the mouth; Nasal cavity - the nose.,The diagram of speech organs,Lips Teeth Teeth ridge (alveolar) Hard palate Soft palate (velum) Uvula Tip of tongue Blade of tongue Back of tongue Vocal cords Pharyngeal cavity Nasal cavity,Orthographic representation of speech sounds,- A standardized and internationally accepted system of phonetic transcription is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The basic principle of the IPA is using one letter to represent one speech sound. Broad transcription - used in dictionary and textbook for general purpose, without diacritics, e.g. clear l , pit Narrow transcription - used by phonetician for careful study, with diacritics, e.g. dark l , aspirated p ,Some major articulatory variables,- dimensions on which speech sounds may vary: Voicing- voiced fricatives: f, v, s, z, W, T, F, V, h; affricates: tF, dV; liquids: l(lateral), r; nasals: m, n, N; glides/semivowels: w, j.,The Place of Articulation,bilabial: p, b, m, w; labiodental: f , v; dental: W, T; alveolar: t, d, s, z, n, l, r; palatal: F, V, tF, dV, j ; velar: k, g, N; glottal: h.,The Place of Articulation,Bilabial; Labiodental; Dental or interdental; Alveolar; Palatoalveolar; Palatal; Velar; Uvular; Glottal.,The Description of English Consonants,Classification of Vowels,English vowels can be divided into two large categories: Monophthongs or pure/single vowels Diphthongs or gliding vowels,Monophthongs or Pure/Single Vowels,-According to which part of the tongue is held highest in the process of production, the vowels can be distinguished as: front vowels: I:, I, e, Z, A, B; central vowels: E:, E, Q; back vowels: u:, u, C:, C, B:.,According to the openness of the mouth:,Close: I:, I, u:, u. Semi-close: e, E:; Semi-open: E, C; Open: A, B, C, B:, Q;,The diagram of single vowel classification by applying the two criteria so far mentioned:,According to the shape of the lips orthe degree of lip rounding,rounded: u:, u, C:, C; unrounded: I:, I, e, Z, A, B, E:, E, Q, B:.,According to the length of the vowels,long: I:, E:, u:, C:, B: short: I, e, Z, A, E, Q, B, u, C.,Diphthongs/gliding vowels,ei, ai, aU, EU, Ri, iE, ZE, UE.,Exercises: underline the words that begin with a sound as required.,A bilabial consonant: mad sad bad cad pad had lad A velar consonant: nod god cod pod rod Labiodental consonant: rat fat sat mat chat vat pat An alveolar consonant: nick lick sick tick kick quick A palato-alveolar consonant: sip ship tip chip lip zip A dental consonant: lie buy thigh thy tie rye A glide: one war yolk rush,Underline the words that end with a sound as required:,A fricative pay horse tough rice breath push sing wreathe hang cave message A nasal train bang leaf limb A stop drill pipe fit crab fog ride laugh rack through tip An affricate: rack such ridge booze,Underline the words that contain the sound as required:,A central vowel: mad lot but boot word A front vowel: reed pad load fate bit bed cook A rounded vowel: who he bus her hit true boss bar walk A back vowel: paid reap fool top good father,Describe the underlined consonants according to three dimensions:,vd/vl place manner Letter Brother Sunny Hopper Itching Lodger Calling Singing Robber either,Phonology,Phonology studies the patterning of speech sounds, that is, the ways in which speech sounds form systems and patterns in human languages.,Phonetics it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages; it aims to answer questions like: how they are produced, how they differ from each other, what phonetic features they have, how they can be classified, etc. Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.,Phone, phoneme, allophone,Phone,A phone- a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phones. Phones do not necessarily distinguish meaning, some do, some dont, e.g. bI:t it is a unit of distinctive value; an abstract unit, not a particular sound, but it is represented by a certain phone in certain phonetic context, e.g. the phoneme /p/ can be represented differently in pIt, tIp and spIt.,Allophone,Allophones - the phones that can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments.,Phonemic contrast, complementary distribution and minimal pair.,Phonemic Contrast,Phonemic contrast-different or distinctive phonemes are in phonemic contrast, e.g. /b/ and /p/ in bIt and pIt.,Complementary Distribution,Complementary distribution-allophones of the same phoneme are in complementary distribution. They do not distinguish meaning. They occur in different phonetic contexts, e.g. dark l but the g sound is pronounced in their corresponding forms signature, designation, paradigmatic.,Suprasegmental Features,Suprasegmental features-the phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments ( larger than phoneme): stress tone intonation,Syllable (what is syllable?),Ancient Greek: a unit of speech sound consisting of a vowel or a vowel with one or more than one consonant. Dictionary: word or part of a word which contains a vowel sound or consonant acting as a vowel. The syllable consists of three parts: the ONSET, the PEAK, the CODA, e.g. mAn. The peak is the essential part. It is usually formed by a vowel. But l, n and m might also function as peaks as in “ apple, hidden, communism”.,Stress,Word stress Sentence stress,Word Stress,The location of stress in English distinguishes meaning, e.g. a shift in stress in English may change the part of speech of a word: verb: im5port; in5crease; re5bel; re5cord noun: 5import; 5increase; 5rebel; 5record ,Word Stress,Similar alteration of stress also occurs between a compound noun and a phrase consisting of the same elements: compound: 5blackbird; 5greenhouse; 5hotdog noun phrase: black 5bird; green 5house; hot 5dog,Word Stress,The meaning-distinctive role played by word stress is also manifested in the combinations of -ing forms and nouns: modifier: 5dining-room; 5readingroom; 5sleepingbag doer: sleeping 5baby; swimming 5fish; flying 5plane,Sentence Stress,Sentence stress-the relative force given to the components of a sentence. Generally, nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs, numerals and demonstrative pronouns are stressed. Other categories like articles, person pronouns, auxiliary verbs prepositions and conjunctions are usually not stressed. Note: for pragmatic reasons, this rule is not always right, e.g. we may stress any part in the following sentences. He is driving my car. My mother bought me a new skirt yesterday.,Tone,Tones are pitch variations,which are caused by the differing rates of vibration of the vocal cords. English is not a tone language, but Chinese is. ma 妈 (level) ma 麻 (the second rise) ma 马 (the third rise) ma 骂 (the fourth fall),Intonation,When pitch, stress and length variations are tied to the sentence rather than to the word, they are collectively known as intonation. English has three types of intonation that are most frequently used: falling tone (matter of fact statement) rising tone (doubts or question) the fall-rise tone (implied message) For instance, “Thats not the book he wants.”,Grammatical Functions of Intonations,Intonation plays an important role in the conveyance of meaning in almost every language, esp. in English. a) It may indicate different sentence types by pitch direction.,Grammatical Function