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1、语言学基本概念汇编Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics1.1 Why study language?1. Language is very essential to human beings.2. In language there are many things we should know.3. For further understanding, we need to study language scientifically.1.2 What is language?Language is a means of verbal communicatio
2、n. It is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.1.3 Design features of languageThe features that define our human languages can be called design features which can distinguish human language from any animal system of communication.1.3.1 ArbitrarinessArbitrariness refers to
3、the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meanings.1.3.2 DualityDuality refers to the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own princ
4、iples of organization.1.3.3 CreativityCreativity means that language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. Recursiveness refers to the rule which can be applied repeatedly without any definite limit. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for the possibi
5、lity of creating endless sentences.1.3.4 DisplacementDisplacement means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of conversation.1.5 Functions of languageAs is proposed by Jacobson, language has six func
6、tions:1. Referential: to convey message and information;2. Poetic: to indulge in language for its own sake;3. Emotive: to express attitudes, feelings and emotions;4. Conative: to persuade and influence others through commands and entreaties;5. Phatic: to establish communion with others;6. Metalingua
7、l: to clear up intentions, words and meanings.Halliday (1994) proposes a theory of metafunctions of language. It means that language has three metafunctions:1. Ideational function: to convey new information, to communicate a content that is unknown to the hearer;2. Interpersonal function: embodying
8、all use of language to express social and personal relationships;3. Textual function: referring to the fact that language has mechanisms to make any stretch of spoken and written discourse into a coherent and unified text and make a living passage different from a random list of sentences.According
9、to Hu Zhuanglin, language has at least seven functions:1.5.1 InformativeThe informative function means language is the instrument of thought and people often use it to communicate new information.1.5.2 Interpersonal functionThe interpersonal function means people can use language to establish and ma
10、intain their status in a society.1.5.3 PerformativeThe performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enemies.1.5
11、.4 Emotive functionThe emotive function is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.1.5.5 Phatic communionThe phatic communion means people always use some small, seemingly meaningless expre
12、ssions such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day, etc., to maintain a comfortable relationship between people without any factual content.1.5.6 Recreational functionThe recreational function means people use language for the sheer joy of using it, such as a baby s babbling or chanting.1.5.7 Meta
13、lingual functionThe metalingual function means people can use language to talk about itself. E.g. I can use the word book, and I can also use the expression “ the word book ” to talk about th-oe-os-igkn” itself. “b 1.6 What is linguistics?Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It studies n
14、ot just one language of any one community, but the language of all human beings.1.7 Main branches of linguistics1.7.1 PhoneticsPhonetics is the study of speech sounds, it includes three main areas: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, and auditory phonetics.1.7.2 PhonologyPhonology studies th
15、e rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.1.7.3 MorphologyMorphology studies the mini mal un its of meaning -morphemes and word-formati on processes.1.7.4 SyntaxSyntax refers to the rules governing the way words are combined to form sen
16、tences in a language, or simply, the study of the formation of sentences.1.7.5 SemanticsSemantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language.1.7.6 PragmaticsPragmatics is the study of meaning in context.1.8 MacrolinguisticsMacrolinguistics is the study of language in all aspects, distinct from microlinguistics , which dealt solely with the formal aspect of language system.
