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1、English LinguisticsWhy bother to study 1.It is a required course for English majors.2.It is tested when you pursue your graduate study.3.It is practically useful for studying literature and translation.4.It is practically useful in helping you understand the relation between what you speak and where
2、 you live.How to study1.Preview and review2.Discuss with your classmates & ask your teacher3.Use the Internet ; www.wikipedia.org www.linguistlist.org4.Use other related materials.5.Relate it to your daily life. Chapter OneThe basic issues in this chapter:1.WhatisLanguage?2.Designfeaturesoflanguage.
3、3.Functionsoflanguage.4.WhatisLinguistics?5.Fourpairsofimportantdistinctionsinlinguistics.QuestionsRead 1.1 on page 1-2 and answer the following questions:1.Whydoweneedtostudylanguage?2.Whatcanyoulearnfromthiscoursebook?1.1The definition of language Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols us
4、ed for human communication. 1. Language is a system Abasicobservationisthateachlanguagecontainstwosystems,asystemofsoundandasystemofmeaning,andlanguageisarule-governedsystem. 2. Language is arbitrary Therelationbetweenexpressionandcontentisnotnaturalbutconventional.Andthisconventionalrelationvariesf
5、romlanguagetolanguage.e.g.Aiscalleda“老鼠”inChinese,whilea“rat”or“mouse”inEnglish. 3. Language is vocal Theprimarymediumoflanguageissoundratherthanword.writtenformscamemuchlaterthanthespokenforms;wespeakmoreeveryday;welearntospeakfirst.4. Language is symbolic Languageissymbolicinthesensethatallthesoun
6、dspeopleproduceandtheideas,concepts,objects,etc.thatthesesoundscanrefertoareboundupbyconvention.Linguisticunitsareconventionalsigns.5. Language is human-specific Languageispossessedonlybyhumanbeings,othercommunicationsystemsaspossessedbyanimalsormanyotherlifeformsarenotlanguages,i.e.theydonotmanifes
7、tsuchfeaturesastheso-calleddesign features aspossessedbyhumanlanguage.6. Language is for communication Themainandprimaryfunctionoflanguageisforhumanbeingstocommunicate.Peoplesaythingstoeachothertoexpresstheircommunicationalneeds,andlanguagefunctionstocommunicategeneralattitudestowardlifeandothers.1.
8、2 Design features（定（定义特征）特征） Design features refertothosefeatureswhichcandefineourhumanlanguages.Theyaredevisedtodistinguishthecommunicationsystemaspossessedbyhuman,whichwetermlanguage,fromcommunicationsystemsaspossessedbyotherlifeforms. （1） Arbitrariness Byarbitrarinesswemeanthatthereisnologicalori
9、ntrinsicconnectionbetweenaparticularsoundandthemeaningitisassociatedwith.Inanimalcommunicationsystems,therearenoarbitraryrelations.e.g.Inthe8-figuredancethatabeeusestoindicatethehoneysource,therearefixedpatterns(thedirectionofthebeesheadandthewaythatitdancesindicatethequantityanddistanceofthehoneyso
10、urce)蜜蜂是靠太阳来辨别方向的蜜蜂是靠太阳来辨别方向的.在一天中在一天中,蜜蜂舞蹈的方向是随着蜜蜂舞蹈的方向是随着时间不同而变化的时间不同而变化的.蜜蜂是依靠蜂房、采蜜地点和太阳三个点蜜蜂是依靠蜂房、采蜜地点和太阳三个点来定位的来定位的.蜂房是三角形的顶点蜂房是三角形的顶点,而顶点角的大小是由两条线来而顶点角的大小是由两条线来决定的：一条是从蜂房到太阳决定的：一条是从蜂房到太阳,另一条是从蜂房到采蜜地点的另一条是从蜂房到采蜜地点的直线直线,这两条线所夹的角叫这两条线所夹的角叫“太阳角太阳角”,是蜜蜂的是蜜蜂的“方向盘方向盘”.蜜蜂向左先飞半个小圈蜜蜂向左先飞半个小圈,又倒转过来向右再飞半个
11、小圈又倒转过来向右再飞半个小圈,飞行路飞行路线就像个线就像个“8”字字.可是可是,蜜蜂有时从上往下飞蜜蜂有时从上往下飞,有时从下朝上飞有时从下朝上飞,而飞行直线同地面垂直线的夹角而飞行直线同地面垂直线的夹角,相等于太阳角相等于太阳角.蜜蜂正是从这蜜蜂正是从这种角度的大小来确定采蜜地点和方向的种角度的大小来确定采蜜地点和方向的.如果蜜蜂跳如果蜜蜂跳“8”字舞时字舞时,头朝上直飞头朝上直飞,太阳角是零度太阳角是零度,意思是说：意思是说：“朝太阳方向飞去朝太阳方向飞去,就是采蜜的方向就是采蜜的方向.” 如果蜜蜂跳如果蜜蜂跳“8”字舞时字舞时,头朝地直飞头朝地直飞,太阳角是太阳角是180,意思是说：意
12、思是说：“背太阳方向飞去背太阳方向飞去,就是采蜜的地方就是采蜜的地方.” 如果蜜蜂跳如果蜜蜂跳“8”字舞时字舞时,飞行直线同地面垂直线的左面夹角飞行直线同地面垂直线的左面夹角是是15角角,意思是说：意思是说：“向左太阳角向左太阳角60方向飞去方向飞去,就是采蜜的地就是采蜜的地方方.” Onomatopoeicwords,asdirectimitationsofnaturalsounds,arenotinconflictwiththisfeature.e.g.aChinesedogbarks汪汪汪,whileanEnglishdogbarksbowwow.Althoughtheydescribe
13、thesamesound,theformsaredifferent. Arbitrarinesscanalsobedemonstratedonthesyntacticlevel.e.g.forthissentence“小羊上山吃草”,whichhasonlysixChinesecharacters,atleasteightnewsentenceswithdistinctivemeaningscanbederivedbyalteringthesequenceofthesecharacters.小羊上山吃草。小羊山上吃草。小羊吃山上草。小羊吃上山草。小羊吃草上山。小羊吃草山上。小山上羊吃草。小山上
14、草羊吃。羊吃山上小草。羊吃小山上草。羊吃小草山上。羊上山吃小草。羊山上吃小草。山上吃草羊小。小山上吃羊草。吃草小羊山上。小山羊吃上草。小山羊吃草上。吃草山上小羊。羊吃小草上山。Questions1.CanyouthinkofsomewordsinEnglishwhichareonomatopoeic?2.Doyouthinkthatonomatopoeicindicatesanon-arbitraryrelationshipbetweenformandmeaning?3.Couldthesentence“Asthenightfell,thewindrose”beexpressedas“Asth
15、ewindrose,thenightfell”?Ifnot,why?Doesthisindicateadegreeofnon-arbitrarinessaboutwordorder?Answers2.Beforewefeelawordisonomatopoeicweshouldfirstknowwhichsoundthewordimitates.JustaswhatissaidinChapterOne,inordertoimitatethenoiseofflyingmosquitoes,therearemanychoiceslike“murmurous”and“murderous”.Theyb
16、othbearmoreorlessresemblancetothegenuinenaturalsound,but“murmurous”isfortunatelychosentomeanthenoisewhile“murderous”ischosentomeansomethingquitedifferent.Theyarearbitraryassignifiers.Answers3.No,thesetwopartscannotinterchange.Yes,itisacaseinpointtoillustratenon-arbitrarinessaboutwordorder.Whenthetwo
17、partsinterchange,thefocusandthemeaningofthesentenceisforcedtochange,becauseclausesoccurringinlinearsequencewithouttimeindicatorswillbetakenasmatchingtheactualsequenceofhappening.Thewritersoriginalintentionisdistorted,andwecanfeeliteffortlesslybyreading.Thatiswhysystemic-functionalistsandAmericanfunc
18、tionaliststhinklanguageisnotarbitraryatthesyntacticlevel.2. Duality Bydualitywemeanthateachlanguageisorganizedattwolevelsorlayers,oneissoundandtheotherismeaning.Theadvantageofthisdivisionisthatwecanuselimitednumberofsoundstoproduceunlimitednumberofsoundcombinationswithdistinctivemeanings.e.g.inthela
19、nguageofEnglishweusearound48soundstoproducealmostinfinitenumberofsoundcombinations(words).Thisfeatureisveryeconomicalforthesystemoflanguage.QuestionsDoesthetrafficlightsystemhaveduality?Canyouexplainbydrawingasimplegraph?AnswersTraffic light does not have duality. Obviously, it is not a double-level
20、 system. There is only one-to-one relationship between signs and meaning but the meaning units cannot be divided into smaller meaningless elements further. So the traffic light only has the primary level and lacks the secondary level like animals calls. 3. Creativity Bycreativitywemeanthatspeakerofa
21、languagecanunderstandutterancesthattheyhaveneverheardbefore,andalsoatthesametimeproducenewexpressions,onthebasisofthedualityandrecursivenessoflanguage.e.g.forthissentenceA red-eyed elephant is dancing on hotel bed,evenifitisthefirsttimethatyouevermeetthisexpression,andthisphenomenonmayneveroccurinth
22、erealword,youhavenodifficultyinunderstandingit.QuestionsTherecursivenatureoflanguageprovidesatheoreticalbasisforcreativityoflanguage.Canyouwritearecursivesentencefollowingtheexampleinsection1.3.3?AnswersToday I encoutered an old friend who was my classmate when I was in elementary school where there
23、 was an apple orchard in which we slid to select ripe apples that4. Displacement Bydisplacement wemeanthatlanguagecanbeusedtocommunicateaboutthingsthatarenotpresentinourimmediatecommunicationalcontext.Thisfeatureenablesspeakerstocommunicatefreeofthebarrierscausedbytimeandspace.Italsogiveshumanbeings
24、theabilitytogeneralizeandabstract.5. Cultural transmission Itreferstothefactthatdetailsofthelinguisticsystemmustbelearnedanewbyeachspeaker.Languageisnottransmittedbiologicallyfromgenerationtogeneration.e.g.AChinese-AmericanchildbroughtupintheStatesmaynotbeabletosayonesingleChinesewordifheisnotpurpos
25、efullytaughttospeakChinese,hecanonlyspeakEnglish.Jakobsons framework of language functions1.We use language to talk about our experience of the world, including the world in our own minds, to describe events and states and entities involved in them. (ideational function)2.We also use language to int
26、eract with other people, to establish and maintain relations with them, to influence their behavior, to express our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit and change theirs. (interpersonal function)3.Finally, we organize our messages in ways which indicate how they fit in with the other
27、 messages around them and with the wider context in which we are talking or writing. (textual function)Functions of language 1.InformativeTheuseoflanguagetorecordfacts,tostatewhatthingsarelike,andtoexchangeinformation.ItisalsocalledideationalfunctioninHallidaysterms.Thisservesastheprimaryfunctionofl
28、anguage. 2.InterpersonalFunctionThemostimportantsociologicaluseoflanguage,whichservestoestablishandmaintainpeoplesstatusinasociety.Expressionssuchas“Morning!”,“Hello,Mr.White.”willshowthespeakersaswellastheaddressersrelationshipsinthesociety. 3.PerformativeFunctionLanguagecanbeusedtodothings(Austina
29、ndSearle),tochangethesocialstatusortheimmediatestateofaffairsofpeople.e.g.inWesterncountries,whenthepriestsays:“Itherebypronounceyouhusbandandwife.”Themarriagestatusofthecoupleisrecognizedlegally.4.EmotiveFunctionLanguagecanbeusedtoexpresstheemotionalstateofthespeaker.e.g.exclamation.Theexpressionso
30、fgratitudeandapologyarealsoexamplesofthisfunction.5.PhaticCommunionRitualexchanges,exchangesthathavelittlemeaningbuthelptomaintainourrelationshipswithotherpeople.e.g. Speaker A: Whats up?“ Speaker B: Hey, man, hows it going? (And each just walks on.)6.RecreationalFunctionWordplay,wordforwordssake,th
31、euseoflanguagetohavefun.e.g.Tonguetwisterssuchasshesellssea-shellsonthesea-shore,andtheshellsthatshesellsonthesea-shorearesea-shellsisutteredonlyforthesheerjoyoflanguage.TheChinesecrosstalkandmini-comedyalsobelongtothiscategoryoflanguageuse.7.MetalingualFunctionLanguagecanbeusedtoexplainordescribeit
32、selforotherlanguages.e.g. Manisbipedalhairlessprimate.Manisanoun.Itiscomposedof3phonemes.Main branches of linguistics Important distinctions1.Descriptivevs.prescriptive2.Synchronicvs.diachronic3.Languevs.parole4.Competencevs.performanceDescriptive vs. prescriptive Thedescriptivestudyoflanguageistore
33、cordlinguisticphenomenaorrules,tostudylanguageasasocialphenomenon.Theprescriptivestudyoflanguageistostatethatcertainlinguisticphenomenaorrulesshouldorshouldnotbeobeyed,likeagrammarbookdoes.Linguistsusuallyusethefirstmethodintheirstudyoflanguage.Synchronic vs. diachronic Synchronicstudyoflanguagetake
34、safixedinstantasitspointofobservation. Diachronicstudyexamineslanguagethroughthecourseoftime.Itstudiesthedevelopmentorhistoryoflanguage. Langue and parole Saussuremadethedistinctionbetweenlangueandparole.Languedescribeslinguisticcompetenceasasystemofconventionsandrules,whichlanguageusersmustmasteran
35、dobeywhentheyuselanguage.Itisasocialphenomenon,anabstractionsharedbyallthespeakerswithinaspeechcommunity.Paroleistheactualspeakingoflanguagebyanindividualspeaker.Itisanindividuallinguisticphenomenon. Langueisthesetofconventionsandruleswhichlanguageusersallhavetoabideby,paroleistheconcreteuseofthecon
36、ventionsandtheapplicationoftherules.Langueisabstract,paroleisconcrete.Langueisrelativelystable,whileparolevariesfrompersontoperson,fromsituationtosituation.Competence & performance Chomskyscompetencereferstoanidealspeakersknowledgeoftheunderlyingsystemofrulesinalanguage.Itstressesthepsychologicalorm
37、entalpropertyoflanguage.Performancereferstotheactualuseofthelanguagebyaspeakerinarealcommunicationalcontext.Itistheexternalrealizationoftheinternallinguisticcompetence. Communicative competence isproposedbyDellHymes,itreferstowhatalanguageuserknowsabouthowalanguageisusedinparticularsituationsforeffectiveandappropriatecommunication.
