Asst. P

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LING507 Linguistics The Nature of Language LECTURE 1: WHAT IS LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS?

2What is language?

Sapir (1921:7) in Language

Language is purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.

Mario Pei and Frank Gaynor in A Dictionary of Linguistics

Language is a system of communication by sound, through the organs of speech and hearing, among human beings of a certain group or community, using vocal symbols posssessing arbitrary meanings.

3(Some) Features of Language

Language is systematic In natural verbal communication, people can learn and use a

language consistently, showing that language is systematic.

Language is symbolic Language is a symbolic system in the sense that there is no or little

connection between the words that people use and the objects these words refer to.

Language is human specific There are certain characteristics of human language that are not

found in the communication systems of any other species.

4What is Linguistics?

Every human knows at least one language, spoken or signed. Linguistics is the science of language, including the sounds, words, grammar rules and meaning.

Linguistics is the study of language not just particular languages, but the system of human communication. Some of the basic issues of this field are: What is language and how is it organized?

How is it analyzed? How are its units discovered and tested?

What do all lanuages have in common?

How did language originate? What does it have in common with animal communication? How is it different?

5The core areas of Linguistics

Phonetics The study of speech sounds (production, transmission and

perception)

[d], [θ], [i], [m]

Phonology The patterning of sounds in a particular language

kleptomania [kl], *lk…..; splint [spl], *lps… / -ng sound (only at the end of a word)

Morphology The structure and formation of words

How many morphemes does ‘antiestablishmentarian’ have?

anti-establish-ment-arian / 4 morphemes

6The core areas of Linguistics (cont’d)

Syntax The study of sentential structure

Sue saw the car / Who saw the car? / Who saw what? / *What did who saw?

Semantics The study of linguistic meaning

The boy ate the hamburger / #The hamburger ate the boy

Pragmatics Language in context

Can you open the window? / Have you stopped beating your dog?

7Linguistics and Language Teaching

Language teaching usually refers to the teaching of any language, either as a first language, second language or as a foreign language.

Both linguistics and language teaching takes language as their subject.

Linguistics aims at exploring the general principles upon which all languages are constructed and operate as systems of communication.

The achievements of linguistic inquiry can be utilized for effective language teaching. The bridge between linguistics and language teaching is __applied linguistics_______.

8Linguistics and Language Teaching

In what ways does linguistics help the English teacher in the classroom?