anoverviewoflanguage

1、Welcome To:,An Overview of Language,An Overview of Language,Preliminary Questions on Language What is Language? Design Features of Language Functions of Language Origin of Language Discussion Questions,1. Preliminary Questions on L,Why study language? What is language in your mind? Is language important to us than eyes, mouth, hands, etc? Where and when to use language? Is language human specific?,1.1 Why Study Language?,A tool for communication An integral part of our life and humanity If we ar

2、e not fully aware of the nature and mechanism of our language, we will be ignorant of what constitutes our essential humanity,1.2 Some Myths about Language,Language is only a means of communication. Language has a form-meaning correspondence. The function of language is to exchange information. English is more difficult to learn than Chinese. Black English is not standard and should be reformed. (Hu Zhuanglin, 2011: 1),1.3 The Importance of Language,One point is that language is more important t

3、o humans than eyes, mouth, hands, legs, etc., are. The reason is that without language human beings will remain like apes and chimpanzees, and will have no civilization. The other is that language is unique to humans, and that no other animals will be able to speak a human language. The reason lies in that researchers have failed to teach chimpanzees to speak human language or use sign language.,1.4 The Ubiquity of Language,Language is everywhere at any time around us. From childhood to old year

4、s From age to age From homes/dormitories to classes, working units and recreations From one part of the earth to another From ordinary people to national leaders From silence to speaking out,1.5 Language is Human Specific,The claim that language is human specific implies that there are certain characteristics of human language that are not found in the communication systems of any other species. Although most animals are assumed to communicate in some way, they convey limited information and onl

5、y express emotions such as fear and warnings.,Human language is generally said to be different from animal communication in the following aspects: Language has the ability to refer to things far removed in time and space Humans have the ability to produce and understand an infinite number of novel utterances Learning is much important as a factor in human language than in animal Language is complex in its structure,Animal communication systems are closed, whereas human languages are opened Accor

6、ding to speech act theory, humans can perform acts with language just as they can with objects of different kinds In the long-term process of language uses, human languages dont remain only as a tool for communication, but as a medium for cultural preservation and development (Yang Xinzhang, 2005: 10-11),2. What is Language?,Language is one of the unique possessions of human beings. It is one of our most articulated means of expressing ideas and thoughts. But what is language? It is far from eas

7、y to answer this simple question, because people often use the word “language” in more senses than one, for example, “the language of music”, “bad language”, “Mark Twains language”, “body language” and so on.,2.1 Language Can Mean,What a person says (e.g. bad language, expressions) 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 t

8、he 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),2.2 Definitions of Language,To give a clear-cut definition to the word “language” seems to be difficult, as the term has been used by people to refer to various senses. However, this does not mean that we can not give a general definition of language.

9、Linguists have offered various definitions.,Language “is not to be confused with human speech, of which it is only a definite part, though certainly an essential one. It is both a social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty”. -Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913): Course in General Linguistics (1916),“Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating idea

10、s, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” -Edward Sapir (1884-1939): Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech (1921),“From now on I will consider language to be a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.” -Noam Chomsky (1928- ): Syntactic Structures (1957),“Language is a form of human communication by means of a system of symbols principally transmitted by vocal sounds.” -Stuart C. Poole: An Introduction to Linguistics (1999),

《anoverviewoflanguage》由会员luoxia****01817分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《anoverviewoflanguage》请在金锄头文库上搜索。