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1、Chapter15 Theories and Schools of Modern LinguisticsOutline15.1 Ferdinand de Saussure ( 1857-1913) Father of modern linguistics15.2 The Prague School15.3 The London School15.4 American Structuralism15.5 Transformational-Generative Grammar15.1 Ferdinand de Saussure ( 1857-1913) Father of modern lingu
2、isticsSaussures work marked the beginning of modern linguistics.1.Saussures ideas are developed along three lines: linguistics, sociology, and psychology.2. Saussure was the first to notice the complexities of language.3. Nature of the linguistic signThe linguistic unit is a Sign Signified (concept)
3、 Signifier (sound-image)e.g. sister Mary the person of MaryFeatures: the bound between the signifier and signified is arbitrary. the linear nature of the signifier. The signifier is auditory and therefore is unfolded solely in time. The spatial line of graphic marks is substituted for succession in
4、time4. The relational nature of language unitsThere is no essential core of meaning that a signified must have in order to count as the proper signified for that signifier The signifiers are nothing but members of that system and they are defined by their relations to the other members of that syste
5、m. e.g. old young middle age5. Langue and paroleLangue is the system of a languageParole is actual speech.The task of the linguist is to study langue. Langue & Parole Phonology/sentence phonetics/utterancePhonetics studies speech sounds from a physical point of view.Phonology: the functional units w
6、ithin the linguistic form .6. The relation between diachronic and synchronic studiesSynchronic study: study a language as it exists in different historical periods.e.g. C A B DAB: simultaneities ( all coexisting linguistic facts in a language)CD: successions (all the language states that a language
7、has gone through)CD includes all the things on AB together with their changes.Evolutionary linguistics: study the phenomena that make language pass from one state to another.Static linguistics: study language statesSynchronic linguisticsSynchronic linguistics concerned with the logical and psycholog
8、ical relations that bind together coexisting terms and form a system in the collective mind of speakers.Diachronic linguistics: study relations that bind together successive terms not perceived by the collective mind but substituted for each other without forming a system.Synchronic: one perspective
9、 speakerDiachronic: two perspectives: prospective 未来的 retrospective 回顾的SynchronicDiachronicABCDStatic linguisticsDynamic linguisticslogical and psychological relations successive terms one perspective two perspectives 15.2 The Prague School A special style of synchronic linguistics, and its most imp
10、ortant contribution to linguistics is that it sees language in terms of Functional (which shows Saussures influence).Three points of special importance: It was stressed that the synchronic study of language is fully justified as it can draw on complete and controllable material for investigation (bu
11、t no rigid theoretical barrier is erected to separate diachronic study). There was an emphasis on the systemic character of language. Language was looked on as functional in another sense, as a tool performing a number of essential functions or tasks for the community using it.15.2.1 Phonology and p
12、honological oppositions The Prague School is well known for its contribution to phonology. ( Trubetzkoy)A phoneme has three characteristics:a. it has discriminative power.b. it cannot be analysed into smaller distinctive segments.c. it can only be determined by distinctive features.Three criteria by
13、 Trubetzkoy:1. their relation to the whole contrastive system2. relations between the opposing elements3. their power of discrimination Classification of these Oppositions: Bilateral opposition 双边对立: the features two phonemes share belong only to them.e.g. /p/ & /b/ Multilateral opposition 多边对立: a l
14、oosely established relationshipe.g. /a/ & /i/ Proportional opposition 部分对立/均衡对立: if the same contrastive features also serve as the differentiating criterion for other pairs of phonemes.e.g. not only in /p/ & /b/, but also between /t/ & /d/ Isolated opposition 孤立对立: the contrastive feature is unique
15、 to the pair of phonemese.g. /v/: labial-dental fricative /l/: lateral voiced Privative opposition 否定对立: the opposition when one member of the contrastive pair is characterized by the presence of a certain feature while the other by its absencee.g. /p/ & /b/ voiced- voiceless Graudal opposition 分级对立
16、: the pair of phonemes share different degrees of a feature, their relation is Graudal oppositione.g. i u e o a Equipollent opposition 等价对立: if the pair of phonemes is not in gradual opposition, nor in privative opposition, they are logical equipollents.e.g. /t/ & /p/ /t/ & /k/ Neutralizable opposit
17、ion中和对立: if a pair of phonemes contrast in some position but not in others, they are in Neutralizable opposition.e.g. /p/ & /b/ do not contrast after /s/ Constant opposition 永恒对立: when the pair of phonemes occur in all possible positions without neutralizing effect.e.g. /t/ & /d/ is constant in all
18、positions for consonants.15.2.2 Functional sentence perspective (FEP) An analysis of utterance( or texts) in terms of the information they containPrinciple: the role of each utterance part is evaluated for its semantic contribution to the whole.Czechoslovak linguists: A sentence contains a point of
19、departure and a goal of discourse the point of departure theme. The goal of discourse presents the very information that is to be imparted to the hearer. The movement from the initial notion (Theme) to the goal of discourse （Rheme）reveals the movement of the mind itself. Functional sentence perspect
20、ive (FSP): to describe how information is distributed in sentences. FSP Known/given information New information in discoursee.g. a. Sally stands on the table Subject Predicate Theme Rheme b. On the table stands Sally Predicate Subject Theme RhemeThus sentence can be seen at three levels:Grammatical
21、Sentence PatternSemantic Sentence Pattern Communicative Sentence PatternCommunicative Dynamism (CD): linguistic communication is not a static phenomenon, but a dynamic one.Any element sentence, phrase, word, morpheme may be singled out in order to establish a sharp oppositione.g. John WAS reading th
22、e newspaper. The semantic contents and relations contribute to the degree of CD and they are not directly related to the positions the elements occupy within the linear arrangement.15.3 The London School the kind of linguistic scholarship in England.Firth- creator, influenced by Malinowki, then he i
23、nfluenced his students- Halliday.London School is also known as systemic linguistics and functional linguistics.15.3.1 Malinowskis theories language is to be regarded as a mode of action, rather than as a counterpart of thought.Evidence: two kinds of observations: in primitive communities there is n
24、o writing, and language has only type of use. in all societies, children learn their languages in this way. The meaning of spoken utterances could always be determined by the context of situation.Three types of context of situation: situations in which speech interrelates with bodily activity narrat
25、ive situations situations in which speech is used to fill a speech vaccum- Phatic communionFor , the meaning of a word is not given by the physical properties of its referent, but by its function.For , the meaning is derived from the context referred to (as in a fairy tale)For , referring to cases o
26、f language used in free, aimless, social intercourse Linguistic environment & meaning as function in the context of situation Base Firths theory15.3.2 Firths theoryTwo significant theories:1. Firth regarded language as a social processIn order to live, human beings have to learn, and learning langua
27、ge is a means of participation in social activities.For the question: language inborn or utterly acquired?Firth: sth between inborn & acquired The object of linguistic study is language is language in actual use. Integrate linguistic studies with sociological studies.The meaning of any sentence cons
28、ists of five parts: the relationship of each phoneme to its phonetic context. the relationship of each lexical item to the others in the sentence the morphological relations of each word the sentence type of which the given sentence is an example the relationship of the sentence to it context of sit
29、uation.Focus: the context of situationThe analysis of typical context of situation: The internal relations of the text a. the syntagmatic relations between the elements in the structure.b. The paradigmatic relations between units in the system and find their values. The internal relations of the con
30、text of situation a. the relations between text and non-linguistic elements, and their general effects.b. The analytical relations between bits and pieces of the text and the special elements within the situation2. Prosodic analysis 韵律分析法/Prosodic phonologyProsodic units include the features as stre
31、ss, length, nasalization, palatalisation, and aspiration.15.3.3 Halliday ands Systemic-Functional Grammar sociological oriented functional linguistic approachTwo components: Systemic grammar Functional GrammarSystemic grammar: explain the internal relations in language as a system network.Functional
32、 grammar: reveal the language is a means of social interactionSystemic-Functional grammar is based on two facts: language users are actually making choices in a system and trying to realize different semantic functions in social interaction language is inseparable from social activities of man.1.Sys
33、temic Grammar: a char of the full set of choices available in constructing a sentence, with a specification of the relationships between choicesFeatures: It attaches great importance to the sociological aspect of language. It views language as a form of doing rather than a form of forming It gives a
34、 relatively high priority to description of the characteristics of particular language and particular varieties of languages It explains a number of aspects of language in terms of clines It seeks verification of its hypotheses by means of observation from texts and by means of statistical technique
35、s. It has as its central category, the category of systemBase: system of system Axis of choice Axis of ChainThe axis of chain represents syntagmatic relationsThe axis of choice represents paradigmatic relations. Association with the axis of choice is the concept of contrast.Features of System: choos
36、e simultaneity of system(1). A system is a list of things between which it is possible to choose (一组选择) All systems have three essential characteristics: the term in a system are mutually exclusive a system is finite the meaning of each term in a system depends on the meaning of the other termsIn a
37、system, on the left, entry condition (入到条件): the term in a system must have a common area of meaning for a much more precise distinction to be made between things they must have a common grammatical environment the terms must indicate the right kind of units applicable to the system system often pro
38、vide entry conditions for each other.Choices between different types of process, participants and circumstance transitivity choices, which divided the choices into six kinds.Transitivity： material process (John kicked the ball) behavioural process ( John langhed) mental process (John likes Mary) ver
39、bal process (John said it is cold in the room) relational process (John is on the sofa) existential process ( There is a cat on the sofa)Material processes : action process Event processMental processes: Internalized process Externalised process(2). Simultaneity of systeme.g. structure of words sent
40、encesemantic meaning of each word sentencecan be called delicateDelicate refers to the dimension which recognizes increasing depth of detailScale of DelicacyTransitivity: Intention processmaterial process: action process Supervention process event processbehavioural process mental process verbal pro
41、cess relational process existential process 2. Functional GrammarLanguage development in children as the mastery of linguistic functionSeven functions in childrens model language: the instrumental function the regulatory function the interactional function the personal function the heuristic functio
42、n the imaginative function the informative functionFor adults, meta-functions: Ideational Interpersonal Textual functions (1) The ideational function (Experiental & Logical): convey new information, to communicate a content that is unknown to the hearer. Including: transitivity voice(2) The interper
43、sonal function embodies all uses of language to express social and personal relations Interpersonal function is realized by Mood and Modality Mood: showing what role the speaker selects in the speech situation and what role he assigns to the address. Subject: eg. N, noun phrase, clause Finite: auxil
44、iary verbs/ modal verbs Residue: Predicator Complement Adjunct Speech roles: giving takingCommodities: goods-and- services informationCombination of speech roles and commodities: offer command statement question3. The textual function: the fact the language has mechanisms to make any stretch of spok
45、en or written discourse into a coherent and unified text and make a living passage different from a random list of sentences.15.4 American Structuralism Synchronic linguistics15.4.1 Early period: Boas and Sapir1. Boas: the leader the sound of language the semantic categories of linguistic expression
46、 the process of grammatical combination2.Sapir:(1) the association of speech and meaning is a relation that may be(2) the universal features of language15.4.2 Bloomfields theory representative of American descriptive linguistics1933-1950: Bloomfieldian Era For Bloodfield, linguistics is a branch of
47、psychology, and specially of the positivistic brand of psychology known as Behaviourism.Behaviourism: base of it is the belief that human beings cannot know anything they have not experienced.Childrens learning language: Stimulus- response- reinforcement Stimulus Response 刺激反应理论Its principles: (1) w
48、hen one individual is stimulated, his speech can make another individual react accordingly. (2) the division of labor and all human activities based on the division of labour are dependent on language.(3) the distance between the speaker and hearer, two separate nervous system, is bridged up by soun
49、d waves. S r s ROn language teaching: priority to the teaching of pronunciation constant practice and repletion in real situations15.4.3 Post-Bloomfieldian linguistics Strict empiricismK. Pike: Tagmemics 法位学 Language has three interrelated hierarchies: phonology grammatical referential 所指等级Every lev
50、el has four features: slot, class, role, cohesion.Slot: specifies whether a certain tagmene is in the position of the Nucleus or of the Margin in the structureClass: what the linguistic entity is in the position of Slot. e.g. suffix, noun, noun clauseRole: the functions of tagmemeCohesion: whether a
51、 certain tagment is dominating or tagmemes is dominated by others.Aim of tagmemics: providing theory which integrates lexical, grammatical, and phonological information.15.5 Transformational- Generative Grammar15.5.1 The Innateness Hypothesis language is somewhat innate, and that children are born w
52、ith what he calls a language acquisition device (LAD) Children are born with knowledge of the basic grammatical relations and categories, and this knowledge is universal.Evidence: （1）children learn their native language very fast and with little effort. (2) children learn their mother tongue followi
53、ng more or less the same stages in acquisition: the babbling stage, nonsense word stage, holophrastic stage, two-word utterance, developing grammar, near-adult grammar, and full competence. (3) the children learns the total grammar of the language during a limited period of time.LAD has three elemen
54、ts: hypothesis-maker linguistic universal evaluation procedure15.5.2 What is generative grammar？Aim: reveal the unity of particular grammars and universal grammarsEvaluating grammar: Observational adequacy Descriptive adequacy Explanatory adequacy15.5.3 The classical theory Three features: (1) empha
55、sis on generative ability of language (2) introduction of transformational rules (3) grammatical description regardless of meaning.Three kinds of grammar:finite state grammar 有限状态语法phrase structure grammartransformational grammar(1) finite state grammar: with a finite amount of apparatus, can genera
56、te an infinite number of sentencese.g. The rats the cat the dog chases worries die(2) phrase structure grammar e.g. 1. S NP + VP 2. VP Verb +NP (3) transformational grammar (16 rules) Two kinds: obligatory 强制性 e.g. auxiliaries, particles optional 随意性 e.g. passive voice15.5.4 The standard theoryProbl
57、ems of the Classical theory:(1) the transformational rules are too powerful(2) his rules may generate ill-formed sentences e.g. John drinks wine cf Wine drinks John. (3) the transformational rules for the passive voice cannot be used at will e.g. some of the English verbs do not have passive structu
58、res Mary marries John. * John was married by Mary.Changes of theory: including a semantic componentGenerative Grammar: syntactic( base component): Re-writing Rules Lexicon phonological surface structure semantic deep structureBasic ComponentRe-writing rulesDeep-structure Semantic ComponentSemantic R
59、epresentationLexiconSurface StructurePhonological rulesPhonological RepresentationT-rulesImprovement of the Standard Theory:（1）transformations can only change the forms of sentences and are not allowed to alter the meeting.(2) To rule out the generation of sentences like Wine drinks John, there is n
60、ow a selectional restriction to ensure the normal meaning(3) Restrictions are put on transformations in order not to generate ill-formed sentences(4) In re-writing rules, the symbol S is introduces on the right of the arrowe.g. VP V+ S NP NP+ S(5) The rules are properly ordered and there is a set or
61、der in which the rules apply.15.5.5 The Extended Standard theoryFeatures: Semantic interpretation is put in the surface structure Logical form representation is derived from semantic interpretative rules e.g. John ate some spaghetti, and Mary some macaroni.The Base ComponentDeep StructureSurface Str
62、ucturePhonological RepresentativeLogical Form Representative15.5.6 Later theories1. Government and Binding (GB)X-bar theory - theory Bounding theory Government theory the empty category (EC) Case theory Control theory Binding theory2. A Minimalist Program for Linguistic TheoryMotivated by two relate
63、d questions:(1). What are the general conditions that the human language faculty should be expected to satisfy?(2) To what extent is the language faculty determined by these general conditions.Characteristics:(1) some of the discrete analytical models in the GB are discarded and two levels of analys
64、is, the deep structure and the surface structure, are left out.(2) government in the previous theory is rejected.15.5.7 Main features of TG Grammar(1) rationalism(2) innateness(3) deductive methodology(4) emphasis on interpretation(5) formalization(6) emphasis on linguistic competence(7) strong gene
65、rative powers(8) emphasis on linguistic universals Chomsky defines language as a set of rules of principles The aim of linguistics is to produce a generative grammar, which capture the tacit knowledge of the native speaker of his language. Interested in any data that can reveal the native speakers tacit knowledge. Chomskys methodology is hypothesis-deductive, used in (1) a hypothesis a general linguistic theory(2) each such grammar is a hypothesis on the general linguistic theory.
