语言学概论知识点概括.doc

Chapter1 介绍1.1.1Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of langueLinguistics studies not any particular language, but in studies of languages in general. It is a scientific study because it is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. 1.1.2The scope of linguistics: 1. the study of language as a whole if often called general linguistics. 2. a number of relatively independent branches：phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics. 3. language and society are closely connected and the study of all the social aspects of language and its relation with society form the core of the branch called sociolinguistics.4. psycholinguistics relates the study of language to psychology.5. the study of the applications is generally known as applied linguistics.1.1.3Some important distinctions in linguistics: 1). prescriptive vs descriptive. If a linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive; if the linguistic study aims to lay down rules for”correct and standard” behaviour in using language and to tell people what they should say and should not say, it is said to be prescriptive.Modern linguistics is mostly descriptive.2) synchronic vs diachronic: the description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study. The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A diachronic study of language is a historical study.3) speech and writing: speech and writing are the two major media of communication.4) language and parole: the distinction between language and parole was made by the Swiss linguist F.de Saussure in the early 20th century. Langue and parole are French words. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community and parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use. What linguists should do is to abstract langue from parole.5) competence and performance: similar to Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole is the distinction between competence and performance, which was proposed by the American linguist N.Chomsky in the late 1950. He defines competence as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language and performance, the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. While Saussure’s distinction and Chomsky’s are very similar, they differ at least in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of language is a matter of social convention and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.6) traditional grammar and modern linguistics. It is generally believed that the beginning of modern linguistics was marked by the publication of F.de, Saussure’s book ”course in general linguistics ” in the early 20th sentury.7) some views: 1. linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.2.modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary not the written. Traditional tended to emphsis the importance of written word.3.modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.1.2.1definitions of languageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication1.elements of language are combined according to rules 2.language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for primary medium for all language is sound.3 language is vocal because the primary medium for all language is sound.4 the term”human”in the definition is meant to specify that language is human-specific1.2．2Design features of language 1.Arbitrariness任意性(This means that there is no logical connection between meanings sound. i.e. different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages.)2.productivity 能产性 有限的词汇能创造无限的句子(language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. Productivity is unique to human language)3.duality双层性 1，声音结构 2,， 表达意思(language is a system ,which consists of two sets of structures,or two levels.at the lower or the basic level there is a structure of sounds,which are meaningless by themselves.but the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning such as morphemes and words,which are found ar the higher level of the system.)4.displacement移位性 可以描述不在眼前的东西(language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present,real or imagined mattera in the past ,present ,or future,or in far away pleces.in other words ,language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker.)5.cultural transmission文化传递性 语言风格被文化所影响(human capaci。