
新编简明英语语言学教程PPT课件.ppt
283页A Course on Linguistics A Course on Linguistics for Students of Englishfor Students of English--Zhou Yongping--Zhou Yongping School of Foreign Studies, School of Foreign Studies, JXUFEJXUFEThe Requirements for this coursevClass attendancevClassroom discussionvFulfillment of the assignmentvExamination Questions for discussionv1. Do you like Chinese? Do you like English? Do you like language?v2. Do you know why there are so many different languages in the world? (Origin of language)v3. Imagine, if you can not speak any language, what would happen to you? If all the people can not speak any language, what would happen to the world?v4. Do you want to learn language? Do you want to study language? What is language?( How would you define language by a sentence?)The Goals for this Course(why study language?)vTo get a scientific view on language;vTo understand some basic theories on linguistics;vTo understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of language teaching & learning (SLA or TEFL), cross-cultural communication…;vTo prepare for the future research work. Reference Booksv戴炜栋,何兆熊,(2002),《新编简明英语语言学教程》,上海外语教育出版社。
v胡壮麟,(2001),《语言学教程》,北京大学出版社v刘润清,(1995),《西方语言学流派》,外语教学与研究出版社Chapter 1. Introduction1. What is language? Language can meanvwhat a person says (e.g. bad language, expressions) vthe way of speaking or writing (e.g. Shakespeare’s language, Luxun’s language)va particular variety or level of speech or writing (e.g. language for special purpose, colloquial language) vthe abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community (e.g. Chinese language, first language) vthe common features of all human languages (e.g. He studies language)va tool for human communication. (social function) v a set of rules. (rule-governed) Sapir’s definition (1921)v“Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”Hall’s definition (1968)vLanguage is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.”Chomsky’s definition (1957)v“From now on I will consider language to be a set of (finite or infinite) sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.”Language can be generally defined asa system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.Language is a systemvSystematic---- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; can’t be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat.Language is arbitraryvArbitrary---- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with.Language is symbolic in naturevSymbolic---- words are associated with objects, actions ideas by convention. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”----Shakespeare Language is primarily vocalvVocal---- the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form. Language is humanspecific vHuman-specific---- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.2. The design/defining features of human language (Charles Hockett)•Arbitrariness•Productivity/Creativity•Duality•Displacement•Cultural transmissionArbitrariness ----No logical (motivated or intrinsic) connection between sounds and meanings.vOnomatopoeic words (which imitate natural sounds) are somewhat motivated ( English: rumble, crackle, bang, …. Chinese: putong, shasha, dingdang… )vSome compound words are not entirely arbitrary, e.g. type-writer, shoe-maker, air-conditioner, photocopy…Productivity/creativity ----Peculiar to human languages,users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before, e.g. we can understand sentence like “ A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed”, though it does not describe a common happening in the world.vA gibbon call system is not productive for gibbon draw all their calls from a fixed repertoire which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. vThe bee dance does have a limited productivity, as it is used to communicate about food sources in any direction. But food sources are the only kind of messages that can be sent through the bee dance; bees do not “talk” about themselves, the hives, or wind, let alone about people, animals, hopes or desires Duality (double articulation) vLower level----sounds (meaningless)vHigher level----meaning (larger units of meaning)vA communication system with duality is considered more flexible than one without it, for a far greater number of messages can be sent. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning (words), and the units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. (we make dictionary of a language, but we cannot make a dictionary of sentences of that language.Displacement ----Language can be used to refer to things, which are not present: real or imagined matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. vA gibbon never utters a call about something he ate last yearvThere is something special about the bee dance though. Bees communicate with other bees about the food sources they have found when they are no longer in the presence of the food. In this sense, the bee dance has a component of displacement. But this component is very insignificant. For the bees must communicate about the food immediately on returning to the hive. They do not dance about the food they discovered last month nor do they speculate about future discoveries.Cultural transmission----Language is culturally transmitted (through teaching and learning; rather than by instinct).vAnimal call systems are genetically transmitted. All cats, gibbons and bees have systems which are almost identical to those of all other cats, gibbons and bees.vA Chinese speaker and an English speaker are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. That is, it is pass on from one generation to the next by teaching and learning, rather than by instinct.vThe story of a wolf child shows that a human being brought up in isolation simply does not acquire human language. 3. Functions of language vPhatic: establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact.vDirective: get the hearer to do something. vInformative: give information about facts. vInterrogative: get information from others.vExpressive: express feelings and attitudes of the speaker. vEvocative: create certain feelings in the hearer (amuse, startle, soothe, worry or please) vPerformative: language is used to do things, to perform actions. 4. The origin of language v1) The divine-origin theory---- Language is a gift of God to mankind. vThe Tower of Babel 巴比塔 Noah had three sons---Shen, Ham and japeth, who had many children, and these children had children, for God commanded them to multiply. They all lived together, and the whole earth spoke one language. They lived in one area, and started to build a city with a tower. v“with its top in the heavens...lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the Earth.“ They could reach heaven, they could understand all the secrets of the world.v God came down to see what they did and said: "They are one people and have one language, and nothing will be withholden from them which they purpose to do." So God said, "Come, let us go down and confound their speech." And so God scattered them upon the face of the Earth, and confused their languages, and they left off building the city, which was called Babel "because God there confounded the language of all the Earth."(Genesis 11:5-8). The story of the tower of Babel explains the origins of the multiplicity of languages Read more: v2) The invention theory: A. imitative, cries of nature, imitating the sounds of the animal calls. Eg. onomatopoeic words vB. the rhythmic grunts of men working togethervC. instinctive sounds of pain, anger and joy, interjections, eg. Oh, aiyo, outch v3) The evolutionary theory---- the result of physical and psychological development. v直立行走---发音器官----大脑发育许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学,至少不够严谨至少不够严谨.他对语言的定义做了如下概括他对语言的定义做了如下概括:语言是一种符号系统语言是一种符号系统.v当它作用于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介;v当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具;v当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体.5. What is linguistics? ----Linguistics is the scientific study of language. ----A person who studies linguistics is known as a linguist. 6. Four principles of linguistic studiesvExhaustiveness/adequacy vConsistency vEconomy vObjectivity 7. The scope or major branches of linguisticsvTheoretical linguistics1.Phonetics2.Phonology3.Morphology4.Syntax5.SemanticsvUse of linguistics1.Applied linguistics2.Sociolinguistics3.Psycholinguistics ……Theoretical linguisticsvPhonetics----speech sound (description, classification, transcription): articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics.vPhonology----sound patterns of languagesvMorphology----the form of wordsvSyntax----the rules governing the combination of words into sentence.vSemantics----the meaning of language (when the meaning of language is conducted in the context of language use----Pragmatics)Use of linguisticsvApplied linguistics----linguistics and language teaching vSociolinguistics---- social factors (e.g. class, education) affect language use vPsycholinguistics----linguistic behavior and psychological process vStylistics----linguistic and literature Some other applications vAnthropological linguisticsvNeurolinguisticsvComputational linguistics (e.g. machine translation)8. Some important distinctions in linguistics Descriptive vs prescriptivevDescriptive ---- describe/analyze linguistic facts observed or language people actually use (modern linguistic)vPrescriptive ----lay down rules for “correct” linguistic behavior in using language (traditional grammar)Synchronic vs diachronicvSynchronic study---- description of a language at some point of time (modern linguistics) vDiachronic study---- description of a language through time (historical development of language over a period of time) Speech vs writingvSpeech ---- primary medium of languagevWriting ---- later developedLangue vs parole (F. de Saussure)vLangue ---- the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community.vParole ---- the realization of langue in actual use.vSaussure takes a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions.Competence and performance (Chomsky)vCompetence ---- the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language vPerformance ---- the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication vChomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.Traditional grammar vs modern linguisticsvTraditional grammar ---- prescriptive, written, Latin-based framework vModern linguistics ----- descriptive, spoken, not necessarily Latin-based framework Chapter 2 Phonology vLanguage is primarily vocal. The primary medium of human language is sound. Linguists are not interested in all sounds, but in speech sounds----sounds that convey meaning in human communication. Phonetics ----A branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription, e.g. [p] bilabial, stop. Three branches of phonetics vArticulatory phonetics----from the speakers’ point of view, “how speakers produce speech sounds”vAuditory phonetics----from the hearers’ point of view, “how sounds are perceived”vAcoustic phonetics----from the physical way or means by which sounds are transmitted from one to another. Articulatory phonetics Speech organs: three important areas •Pharyngeal cavity ---- the throat; •The oral cavity ---- the mouth; •Nasal cavity ---- the nose. The diagram of speech organs1.Lips2.Teeth3.Teeth ridge (alveolar)4.Hard palate5.Soft palate (velum)6.Uvula7.Tip of tongue8.Blade of tongue9.Back of tongue10.Vocal cords11.Pharyngeal cavity12.Nasal cavity Orthographic representation of speech sounds ---- A standardized and internationally accepted system of phonetic transcription is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The basic principle of the IPA is using one letter to represent one speech sound.vBroad transcription ---- used in dictionary and textbook for general purpose, without diacritics, e.g. clear [ l ], [ pit ] v Narrow transcription ---- used by phonetician for careful study, with diacritics, e.g. dark [ l ], aspirated [ p ] Some major articulatory variables ---- dimensions on which speech sounds may vary:vVoicing---- voiced & voicelessvNasality ---- nasal & non-nasal vAspiration ----- aspirated & unaspirated Classification of English speech sounds ---- English speech sounds are generally classified into two large categories:v Vowels v Consonants Note: The essential difference between these two classes is that in the production of the former the airstream meets with no obstruction of any kind in the throat, the nose or the mouth, while in that of the latter it is somehow obstructed.Classification of consonants ---- English consonants may be classified according to two dimensions:vThe manner of articulation vThe place of articulationThe manner of articulationvstops/plosives: [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g];vfricatives: [f], [v], [s], [z], [W], [T], [F], [V], [h];vaffricates: [tF], [dV]; vliquids: [l](lateral), [r]; vnasals: [m], [n], [N]; vglides/semivowels: [w], [j]. The place of articulationvbilabial: [p], [b], [m], [w];vlabiodental: [ f ], [v];vdental: [W], [T];valveolar: [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l], [r];vpalatal: [F], [V], [tF], [dV], [ j ];vvelar: [k], [g], [N]; vglottal: [h].The place of articulation1.Bilabial;2.Labiodental;3.Dental or interdental;4.Alveolar;5.Palatoalveolar;6.Palatal;7.Velar;8.Uvular;9.Glottal.The description of English consonantsPlacemannerVoic-ingBila-bialLabio-dentalDentalAlveo-larPalatalVelar Glottal Stops or plosivesVL[ p ][ t ] [ k ] VD[ b ][ d ][ g ]Frica-tivesVL[ f ] [ W ][ s ][ F ] [h]VD[ v ][ T ][ z ][ V ]Affri-catesVL([tF] ) [tF]VD([dV])[dV]NasalsVD[m][n][ N ]LiquidsVD[l], [r]Glides VD[w][ j ]Classification of vowels ---- English vowels can be divided into two large categories:vMonophthongs or pure/single vowelsvDiphthongs or gliding vowels Monophthongs or pure/single vowels----According to which part of the tongue is held highest in the process of production, the vowels can be distinguished as:vfront vowels: [I:], [I], [e], [Z], [A], [B];vcentral vowels: [E:], [E], [Q];vback vowels: [u:], [u], [C:], [C], [B:]. According to the openness of the mouth vClose: [I:], [I], [u:], [u].vSemi-close: [e], [E:]; vSemi-open: [E], [C];vOpen: [A], [B], [C], [B:], [Q];The diagram of single vowel classification by applying the two criteria so far mentioned: According to the shape of the lips orthe degree of lip rounding vrounded: [u:], [u], [C:], [C];vunrounded: [I:], [I], [e], [Z], [A], [B], [E:], [E], [Q], [B:]. According to the length of the vowels vlong: [I:], [E:], [u:], [C:], [B:]vshort: [I], [e], [Z], [A], [E], [Q], [B], [u], [C]. Diphthongs/gliding vowels v[ei], [ai], [aU], [EU], [Ri], [iE], [ZE], [UE].Exercises: underline the words that begin with a sound as required.vA bilabial consonant: mad sad bad cad pad had ladvA velar consonant: nod god cod pod rodvLabiodental consonant: rat fat sat mat chat vat patvAn alveolar consonant: nick lick sick tick kick quickvA palato-alveolar consonant: sip ship tip chip lip zipvA dental consonant: lie buy thigh thy tie ryevA glide: one war yolk rushUnderline the words that end with a sound as required:vA fricative pay horse tough rice breath push sing wreathe hang cave messagevA nasal train bang leaf limbvA stop drill pipe fit crab fog ride laugh rack through tipvAn affricate: rack such ridge boozeUnderline the words that contain the sound as required:vA central vowel: mad lot but boot wordvA front vowel: reed pad load fate bit bed cook vA rounded vowel: who he bus her hit true boss bar walkvA back vowel: paid reap fool top good fatherDescribe the underlined consonants according to three dimensions: vd/vl place manner LetterBrotherSunnyHopperItchingLodgerCallingSingingRobbereitherPhonologyvPhonology studies the patterning of speech sounds, that is, the ways in which speech sounds form systems and patterns in human languages.Phonetics & phonologyvBoth are concerned with the same aspect of language----the speech sounds. But they differ in their approach and focus.vPhonetics is of general nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages; it aims to answer questions like: how they are produced, how they differ from each other, what phonetic features they have, how they can be classified, etc.vPhonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication. Phone, phoneme, allophone PhonevA phone---- a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phones. Phones do not necessarily distinguish meaning, some do, some don’t, e.g. [ bI:t ] & [ bIt ], [spIt] & [spIt].PhonemevA phoneme---- is a phonological unit; it is a unit of distinctive value; an abstract unit, not a particular sound, but it is represented by a certain phone in certain phonetic context, e.g. the phoneme /p/ can be represented differently in [pIt], [tIp] and [spIt]. AllophonevAllophones ---- the phones that can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments.Phonemic contrast, complementary distribution and minimal pair.Phonemic contrastvPhonemic contrast----different or distinctive phonemes are in phonemic contrast, e.g. /b/ and /p/ in [ bIt ] and [pIt].Complementary distributionvComplementary distribution----allophones of the same phoneme are in complementary distribution. They do not distinguish meaning. They occur in different phonetic contexts, e.g. dark [l] & clear [l], aspirated [p] & unaspirated [p]. Minimal pairvMinimal pair----when two different forms are identical (the same) in every way except for one sound segment which occurs in the same place in the strings, the two sound combinations are said to form a minimal pair, e.g. beat, bit, bet, bat, boot, but, bait, bite, boat.Some rules of phonology vSequential rulesvAssimilation rule vDeletion rule Sequential rulesvSequential rules ---- the rules that govern the combination of sounds in a particular language, e.g. in English, “k b i I” might possibly form blik, klib, bilk, kilb.vIf a word begins with a [l] or a [r], then the next sound must be a vowel.Sequential rulesvIf three consonants should cluster together at the beginning of a word, the combination should obey the following three rules, e.g. spring, strict, square, splendid, scream. a) the first phoneme must be /s/, b) the second phoneme must be /p/ or /t/ or /k/, c) the third phoneme must be /l/ or /r/ or /w/. * [ N ] never occurs in initial position in English and standard Chinese,but it does occur in some dialects, e.g. in Cantonese: “牛肉,我, 俄语……”Assimilation rulevAssimilation rule----assimilates one sound to another by “copying” a feature of a sequential phoneme, thus making the two phones similar, e.g. the prefix in is pronounced differently when in different phonetic contexts:vindiscreet alveolar [In]vinconceivable velar [IN ] vinput bilabial [Im]Assimilation in Mandarinv好啊 hao wav海啊 hai yav看啊 kan nav唱啊 chang Nav跳啊 tiao wa ……Deletion rulevDeletion rule---- it tells us when a sound is to be deleted although it is orthographically represented, e.g. design, paradigm, there is no [g] sound; but the [g] sound is pronounced in their corresponding forms signature, designation, paradigmatic. Suprasegmental featuresvSuprasegmental features----the phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments ( larger than phoneme):vstress vtonevintonationSyllable (what is syllable?)vAncient Greek: a unit of speech sound consisting of a vowel or a vowel with one or more than one consonant.vDictionary: word or part of a word which contains a vowel sound or consonant acting as a vowel.vThe syllable consists of three parts: the ONSET, the PEAK, the CODA, e.g. [mAn].vThe peak is the essential part. It is usually formed by a vowel. But [l], [n] and [m] might also function as peaks as in “ apple, hidden, communism”. Stressv Word stress v Sentence stressWord stressvThe location of stress in English distinguishes meaning, e.g. a shift in stress in English may change the part of speech of a word: verb: im5port; in5crease; re5bel; re5cord … noun: 5import; 5increase; 5rebel; 5record …Word stressvSimilar alteration of stress also occurs between a compound noun and a phrase consisting of the same elements: compound: 5blackbird; 5greenhouse; 5hotdog… noun phrase: black 5bird; green 5house; hot 5dog…Word stressvThe meaning-distinctive role played by word stress is also manifested in the combinations of -ing forms and nouns:modifier: 5dining-room; 5readingroom; 5sleepingbag… doer: sleeping 5baby; swimming 5fish; flying 5plane…Sentence stressvSentence stress----the relative force given to the components of a sentence. Generally, nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs, numerals and demonstrative pronouns are stressed. Other categories like articles, person pronouns, auxiliary verbs prepositions and conjunctions are usually not stressed. vNote: for pragmatic reason, this rule is not always right, e.g. we may stress any part in the following sentences. He is driving my car. My mother bought me a new skirt yesterday. TonevTones are pitch variations,which are caused by the differing rates of vibration of the vocal cords.vEnglish is not a tone language, but Chinese is. ma 妈 (level) ma 麻 (the second rise) ma 马 (the third rise) ma 骂 (the fourth fall)Intonation vWhen pitch, stress and length variations are tied to the sentence rather than to the word, they are collectively known as intonation.vEnglish has three types of intonation that are most frequently used:vfalling tone (matter of fact statement)vrising tone (doubts or question)vthe fall-rise tone (implied message) For instance, “That’s not the book he wants.”Grammatical functions of intonations ----Intonation plays an important role in the conveyance of meaning in almost every language, esp. in English.a) It may indicate different sentence types by pitch direction. Grammatical functions of intonationsb) It may impose different structures on the sentence by dividing it into different intonation units, e.g. “John didn’t come because of Marry” Within one intonation unit, it means: John came, but it had nothing to do with Marry. With two intonation units, it means: Marry was the reason why John didn’t come. Exercises: Think of the utterance in different intonations: “Those who bought quickly made a profit.”Grammatical functions of intonationsc) It can make a certain part of a sentence especially prominent by placing nucleus on it, e.g. Jack came yesterday by train.Grammatical functions of intonationsd) Its attitudinal functions.v Falling tone ---- matter-of-fact statement, downright assertion, commands.v Rising tone ----politeness, encouragement, pleading. Note: these can only be very general indications. The specific attitudinal meaning of an intonation pattern must be interpreted within a context.Chapter 3 Morphology vMorphology refers to the study of the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed. Open class word and closed class word vOpen class words----content words of a language to which we can regularly add new words, such as nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs, e.g. beatnik(a member of the Beat Generation), hacker, email, internet, “做秀,时装秀…” in Chinese.vClosed class words----grammatical or functional words, such as conjunction, articles, preposition and pronouns. Morphemethe minimal unit of meaning---Words are composed of morphemes. Words may consist of one morpheme or more morphemes, e.g.v1-morpheme boy, desirev2-morpheme boy+ish, desir(e)+blev3-morpheme boy+ish+ness, desir(e)+bl(e)+ityv4-morpheme gentle+man+li+ness, un+desir(e)+abl(e)+ityv5-morpheme un+gentle+man+li+nessv6-morpheme anti+dis+establish+ment+ari+an+ism AffixvPrefix ---- morphemes that occur only before others, e.g. un-, dis, anti-, ir-, etc.vSuffix ---- morphemes that occur only after others, e.g. -ful, -er, -ish, -ness, -able, -tive, tion, etc.Free morpheme & bound morphemevFree morpheme----is one that may constitute a word (free form) by itself, such as bed, tree, sing, dance, etc.vBound morpheme----is one that may appear with at least one other morpheme. They can not stand by themselves, such as “-s” in “dogs”, “al” in “national”, “dis-” in “disclose”, “ed” in “recorded”, etc. Allomorph vSome morphemes have a single form in all contexts, such as “dog, bark, cat”,etc. In other instances, there may be some variation, that is, a morpheme may have alternate shapes or phonetic forms. They are said to be the allomorphs of the morpheme, the plural morpheme may be represented by:vmap----maps [s]vdog----dogs [z]vwatch----watches [iz]vmouse----mice [ai]vox----oxen [n]vtooth----teeth vsheep----sheepvEach of the underlined part is called an allomorph of plural morpheme. Derivational morpheme & inflectional morpheme vDerivational morphemes(派生词素)---- the morphemes which change the category, or grammatical class of words, e.g. modern---modernize, length---lengthen, fool---foolish, etc.vInflectional morphemes(曲折词素)---- the morphemes which are for the most part purely grammatical markers, signifying such concepts as tense (时态), number(数), case(格) and so on; they never change their syntactic category, never add any lexical meaning, e.g. a) number(数): tables apples cars b) person(人称), finiteness (有定性) and aspect(体): talk/talks/talking/talked c) case(格): John/John’sSome other termsvRoot (词根)vStem(词干)vBase (基本词)RootvA root is that part of the word left when all the affixes (inflectional & derivational) are removed, e.g. “desire” in “desirable”, “care” in “carefully”, “nation” in “internationalism”, “believe” in “unbeliev(e)able”… StemvA stem is part of a word-form which remains when all inflectional affixes have been removed, e.g. “undesiralbe” in undesirablesBasevA base is any form to which affixes of any kind can be added. This means any stem and root can be termed as a base.The difference between root, stem & basevA base can be added by both inflectional & derivational affixes while a stem can be added only by inflectional affixes;vA base is derivationally analyzable (e.g. undesire in undesirable) while a root cannot be further analyzed, e.g. desire in undesirable;vRoot, stem and base can be the same form, e.g. desire in desired;vUndesirable in undesirables is either a stem or a base;vDesirable in undesirable is only a base.Morphological rulesvThe rules that govern the formation of words, e.g. the “un- + ----” rule. unfair unthinkable unacceptable…vCompounding is another way to form new words, e.g. landlady rainbow undertake…CompoundsvNoun compounds daybreak (N+V) playboy (V+N) haircut (N+V) callgirl (V+N) windmill (N+N)vVerb compounds brainwash (N+V) lipread (N+V) babysit(N+V)vAdjective compounds maneating (N+Ving) heartfelt (N+Ved) dutyfree (N+adj.)vPreposition compounds into (P+P) throughout (P+P)Some points about compoundsvWhen the two words are in the same grammatical category, the compound will be in this category, e.g. postbox, landlady, icy-cold, blue-black…vWhen the two words fall into different categories, the class of the second or final word will be the grammatical category of the compound, e.g. head-strong, pickpocket…vCompounds have different stress patterns from the non-compounded word sequence, e.g. red coat, green house…vThe meaning of a compound is not always the sum of the meanings of its parts. Eg. wheelchairChapter 4 Syntax What is syntax?v----a branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences. Transformational Generative Grammar (TG) vNorm. Chomsky, the most influential linguist in 20th century, some important works: v(1957) Syntactic Structure;v(1965) Aspects of the Theory of Syntax;v(1981) Lectures on Government and Binding;v(1986) Barriersv(1993) A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory;v(1995) The Minimalist Program; v(1998) The Minimalist Inquiry…… Criteria on good grammar vObservational adequacy vDescriptive adequacy vExplanatory adequacyvThe ultimate goal for any theory is to explain. vTG differs from traditional grammar in that it not only aims at language description, but also its explanation. Chomsky is much more interested in the similarities (language universals) between languages rather than their differences. vLinguists should attempt to find a grammatical framework which will be suitable for all languages;vLinguists should concentrate on the elements and constructions that are available to all languages rather than on elements that actually occur in all languages.vThere are likely to be universal constraints on the ways linguistic elements are combined vChomsky proposed that the grammars of all human languages share a common framework (Universal Grammar). CategoriesvCategory refers to a group of linguistic items which fulfill the same or similar functions in a particular language such as a sentence, a noun phrase or a verb. The most central categories to the syntactic study are the word-level categories (traditionally, parts of speech) Wordlevel categories vMajor lexical categories: N, V, Adj, Prep.vMinor Lexical categories: Det, Deg, Qual, Auxi, Conj. The criteria on which categories are determined vMeaning vInflection vDistribution vNote: The most reliable criterion of determining a word’s category is its distribution.Phrase categories and their structures vPhrase categories----the syntactic units that are built around a certain word category are called phrase categories, such as NP(N), VP(V), AP(A), PP(P). vThe structure: specifier + head + complement vHead---- the word around which a phrase is formedvSpecifier---- the words on the left side of the headsvComplement---- the words on the right side of the headsPhrase structure rules vThe grammatical mechanism that regulates the arrangement of elements that make up a phrase is called a phrase structure rule, such as:vNP (Det) + N +(PP)……e.g. those people, the fish on the plate, pretty girls.vVP (Qual) + V + (NP)……e.g. always play games, finish assignments.vAP (Deg) + A + (PP)……very handsome, very pessimistic, familiar with, very close tovPP (Deg) + P + (NP)……on the shelf, in the boat, quite near the station.Specifier X Complement HeadXPThe XP rule Note: The phrase structure rules can be summed up as XP rule shown in the diagram, in which X stands for N, V, A or P.X’ TheoryvXP (Specifier)X’ vX’ X(complement)X(head) complementspecifierXP(Phrase level)X’Coordination rule vCoordination structures-----the structures that are formed by joining two or more elements of the same type with the help of a conjunction such as and, or, etc.----Coordination has four important properties:vno limit on the number of coordinated categories before the conjunction;va category at any level can be coordinated;vthe categories must be of the same type;vthe category type of the coordinate phrase is identical to the category type of the elements being conjoined. Phrase elements vSpecifiervHeadvcomplementSpecifiersv---- Semantically, specifiers make more precise the meaning of the head; syntactically, they typically mark a phrase boundary. Specifiers can be determiners as in NP, qulifiers as in VP and degree words as in AP.Complementsv---- Complements themselves can be a phrase, they provide information abut entities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the head, e.g. a story about a sentimental girl; There can be no complement, one complement, or more than one complement in a phrase, e.g. appear, break, put…; a sentence-like construction may also function as a complement such as in “I believed that she was innocent. I doubt if she will come. They are keen for you to show up.” That/if /for are complementizers, the clauses introduced by complementizers are complement clause.Modifiersv---- Modifiers specify optionally expressible properties of heads.Sentences (the S rule) vS NP VP SNPVPNPDet N V Det NA boy found the evidence lS NP infl VP lMany linguists believe that sentences, like other phrases, also have their own heads. Infl is an abstract category inflection (dubbed ‘Infl’) as their heads, which indicates the sentence’s tense and agreement. InflP(=S)NPVPInflSentences (the S rule)Infl realized by a tense labelInflP(( =S))NPVPNPDet N Infl V Det NA boy Pst found the evidenceInfl realized by an auxiliaryInflP(( =S))VPNPNPDet N Infl V Det NA boy will find the evidenceTransformations vAuxiliary movement (inversion) vDo insertion vDeep structure & surface structure vWh-movement vMove α and constraints on transformations Auxiliary movement (inversion)vInversion Move Infl to the left of the subject NP.vInversion (revised) Move Infl to C.CCPSDet N Infl Vthe train will arriveNPAuxiliary movement (inversion)CPSCNPInfl Det N Infl VWill the train e arriveDo insertionvDo insertion---- Insert interrogative do into an empty Infl position. CPCSNP Infl VPBirds flyCPCPCCSSInfl NP Infl VPNP Infl VPBirds do flyDo birds e flyFigure-1Figure-2Figure-3Deep structure & surface structure vConsider the following pair of sentences: John is easy to please. John is eager to please.vStructurally similar sentences might be very different in their meanings, for they have quite different deep structures. Deep structure & surface structurevConsider one more sentence: Flying planes can be dangerous.vIt can mean either that if you fly planes you are engaged in a dangerous activity or Planes that are flying are dangerous.vDeep structure----formed by the XP rule in accordance with the head’s sub-categorization properties; it contains all the units and relationships that are necessary for interpreting the meaning of the sentence. vSurface structure----corresponding to the final syntactic form of the sentence which results from appropriate transformations; it is that of the sentence as it is pronounced or written.Deep structure & surface structure The organization of the syntactic componentThe XP ruleDeep structuretransformationsSurface structureSubcategorization restricts choice of complementsWhmovementvConsider the derivation of the following sentences: What languages can you speak? What can you talk about?vThese sentences may originate as: You can speak what languages. You can talk about what.WhmovementvWh-movement---- Move a wh phrase to the beginning of the sentence.vWhat language can you speak ?vWhat can you talk about ?WhmovementvWh-movement---- Move a wh phrase to the specifier position under CP. (Revised)CPVP V NPwon the gameSNP Infl e PstNP CWhoMove αα and constraints on transformationsvInversion can move an auxiliary from the Infl to the nearest C position, but not to a more distant C position.vNo element may be removed from a coordinate structure.Chapter 5 Semantics vSemantics----the study of language meaning.vMeaning is central to the study of communication.vWhat is meaning?---- Scholars under different scientific backgrounds have different understandings of language meaning. Some views concerning the study of meaning vNaming theory (Plato) vThe conceptualist view vContextualism (Bloomfield) vBehaviorism Naming theory (Plato)vWords are names or labels for things.vLimitations: 1) Applicable to nouns only. 2) There are nouns which denote things that do not exist in the real world, e.g. ghost, dragon, unicorn, phenix… 3) There are nouns that do not refer to physical objects but abstract notions, e.g. joy, impulse, hatred…The conceptualist viewvThe conceptualist view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i.e. between language and the real world); rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. Ogden and Richards: semantic triangleSymbol/formword/phrase/sentenceReferent/object in the world of experienceThought/reference/conceptOgden and Richards: semantic trianglevThe symbol or form refers to the linguistic elements (words and phrases);vThe referent refers to the object in the world of experience;vThought or reference refers to concept.vThe symbol or a word signifies things by virtue of the concept associated with the form of the word in the minds of the speaker; and the concept looked at from this point of view is the meaning of the word. The contextualism vMeaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context—elements closely linked with language behavior. Two types of contexts are recognized:vSituational context: spatiotemporal situationvLinguistic context: the probability of a word’s co-occurrence or collocation.vFor example, “black” in black hair & black coffee, or black sheep differs in meaning; “The president of the United States” can mean either the president or presidency in different situation.Behaviorism vBehaviorists attempted to define meaning as “the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer”.vThe story of Jack and Jill: Jill Jack S_________r--------s_________RLexical meaning vSense and reference are both concerned with the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning. vSense---- is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in. vReference----what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience. Note:vLinguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations; on the other hand, there are also occasions, when linguistic forms with the same reference might differ in sense, e.g. the morning star and the evening star, rising sun in the morning and the sunset at dusk. Major sense relations vSynonymy v Antonymy vPolysemyv Homonymy vHyponymy SynonymyvSynonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity of meaning. Words that are close in meaning are called synonyms. 1) Dialectal synonyms---- synonyms used in different regional dialects, e.g. autumn - fall, biscuit - cracker, petrol – gasoline… 2) Stylistic synonyms----synonyms differing in style, e.g. kid, child, offspring; start, begin, commence;…Synonymy3) Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning, e.g.collaborator- accomplice,…4) Collocational synonyms, e.g. accuse…of, charge…with, rebuke…for; …5) Semantically different synonyms, e.g. amaze, astound,…AntonymyvGradable antonyms----there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair, e.g. old-young, hot-cold, tall-short, … vComplementary antonyms----the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other, e.g. alive-dead, male-female, …vRelational opposites----exhibits the reversal of the relationship between the two items, e.g. husband-wife, father-son, doctor-patient, buy-sell, let-rent, employer-employee, give-receive, above-below, … Gradable antonymsvGradable antonyms ----there are often intermediate forms between the two members of a pair, e.g. old-young, hot-cold, tall-short, …Complementary antonymsvComplementary antonyms ----the denial of one member of the pair implies the assertion of the other, e.g. alive-dead, male-female, …PolysemyvPolysemy----the same one word may have more than one meaning, e.g. “table” may mean:vA piece of furniturevAll the people seated at a tablevThe food that is put on a tablevA thin flat piece of stone, metal wood, etc.vOrderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc. …… HomonymyvHomonymy---- the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, e.g. different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both.vHomophone ---- when two words are identical in sound, e.g. rain-reign, night/knight, …vHomogragh ---- when two words are identical in spelling, e.g. tear(n.)-tear(v.), lead(n.)-lead(v.), …vComplete homonym---- when two words are identical in both sound and spelling, e.g. ball, bank, watch, scale, fast, …Note: vA polysemic word is the result of the evolution of the primary meaning of the word (the etymology of the word); while complete homonyms are often brought into being by coincidence. HyponymyvHyponymy----the sense relation between a more general, more inclusive word and a more specific word.vSuperordinate: the word which is more general in meaning.vHyponyms: the word which is more specific in meaning.vCo-hyponyms: hyponyms of the same superordinate.HyponymyvSuperordinate: flowervHyponyms: rose, tulip, lily, chrysanthemum, peony, narcissus, …vSuperordinate: furniturevHyponyms: bed, table, desk, dresser, wardrobe, sofa, …Sense relations between sentences v(1) X is synonymous with Yv(2) X is inconsistent with Yv(3) X entails Yv(4) X presupposes Yv(5) X is a contradictionv(6) X is semantically anomalousX is synonymous with YvX: He was a bachelor all his life. Y: He never got married all his life.vX: The boy killed the cat. Y: The cat was killed by the boy.vIf X is true, Y is true; if X is false, Y is false.X is inconsistent with YvX: He is single.vY: He has a wife.vX: This is my first visit to Beijing.vY: I have been to Beijing twice.vIf X is true, Y is false; if X is false, Y is true.X entails YvX: John married a blond heiress.vY: John married a blond.vX: Marry has been to Beijing. vY: Marry has been to China.vEntailment is a relation of inclusion. If X entails Y, then the meaning of X is included in Y.vIf X is true, Y is necessarily true; if X is false, Y may be true or false.X presupposes YvX: His bike needs repairing.vY: He has a bike.vPaul has given up smoking.vPaul once smoked.vIf X is true, Y must be true; If X is false, Y is still true.X is a contradictionv*My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor.v*The orphan’s parents are pretty well-off.X is semantically anomalousv*The man is pregnant.v*The table has bad intentions.v*Sincerity shakes hands with the black apple.Analysis of meaning vComponential analysis vPredication analysis Componential analysisvComponential analysis---- a way to analyze lexical meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features. For example,vMan: [+HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALE]vBoy: [+HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, +MALE]vWoman: [+HUMAN, +ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALE]vGirl: [+HUMAN, -ADULT, +ANIMATE, -MALE]Predication analysisv1) The meaning of a sentence is not to be worked out by adding up all the meanings of its component words, e.g “The dog bites the man” is semantically different from “The man bites the dog” though their components are exactly the same.v2) There are two aspects to sentence meaning: grammatical meaning and semantic meaning, e.g.v*Green clouds are sleeping furiously.v*Sincerity shook hands with the black apple.vWhether a sentence is semantically meaningful is governed by rules called selectional restrictions. Predication analysisvPredication analysis---- a way to analyze sentence meaning (British G. Leech).vPredication----the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence. A predication consists of argument(s) and predicate.vAn argument is a logical participant in a predication, largely identical with the nominal elements in a sentence.vA predicate is something said about an argument or it states the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence. Predication analysisvAccording to the number of arguments contained in a predication, we may classify the predications into the following types:vOne-place predication: smoke, grow, rise, run, … vTwo-place predication: like, love, save, bite, beat,… vThree-place predication: give, sent, promise, call, …vNo-place predication: It is hot.Predication analysisvTom smokes. TOM (SMOKE)vThe tree grows well. TREE (GROW)vThe kids like apples. KIDS (LIKE) APPLE vI sent him a letter. I (SEND) HIM LETTERChapter 6 Pragmatics v---- the study of language in use or language communication; the study of the use of context to make inference about meaning. v---- the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication.PragmaticsvThis term was first proposed by American philosophor Charles Williams Morris in 1937. vThis subject was developed quickly in 1960’s and 1970s.Some basic notions in PragmaticsvContext vPragmatics vs. semantics vSentence meaning vs. utterance meaning vCorrectness vs. appropriateness ContextvContext---- a basic concept in the study of pragmatics. It is generally considered as constituted knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer, such as cultural background, situation(time, place, manner, etc.), the relationship between the speaker and the hearer, etc.…. Pragmatics vs. semantics vSemantics---- is the study of the literal meaning of a sentence (without taking context into consideration). vPragmatics---- the study of the intended meaning of a speaker (taking context into consideration), e.g. v“Today is Sunday”, semantically, it means that today is the first day of the week; pragmatically, you can mean a lot by saying this, all depending on the context and the intention of the speaker, say, making a suggestion or giving an invitation… Sentence meaning vs. utterance meaning ---- Sentence meaning:vAbstract and context-independent meaning;vliteral meaning of a sentence;vhaving a dyadic relation as in: What does X mean?----utterance meaning:vconcrete and context-dependent meaning; vintended meaning of a speaker; vhaving a triadic relation as in: What did you mean by X? For example, “The bag is heavy” can mean va bag being heavy (sentence meaning);van indirect, polite request, asking the hearer to help him carry the bag;vthe speaker is declining someone’s request for help. vNote: The meaning of an utterance is based on the sentence meaning; it is the realization of the abstract meaning of a sentence in a real situation of communication, or simply in a context; utterance meaning is richer than sentence meaning; it is identical with the purpose for which the speaker utters the sentence.Correctness vs. appropriateness v*“John play golf”---- grammatically incorrect;v?“Golf played John” ---- logically incorrect; but it might be appropriate pragmatically in certain context. vNote: Pragmatics can make sense out of nonsense, given a suitable context. Appropriateness is very important in linguistic communication, especially in cross-cultural communication. If you say something grammatically incorrect, you are at worse condemned as “speaking badly”, but, if you say something inappropriately, you will be judged as “behaving badly”, such as insincere, untruthful, or deceitful. (Thomas, 1983)Speech act theory vSpeech acts is a term derived from the work of the philosopher J. L. Austin (1962) and now used to refer to a theory which analyzes the role of utterances in relation to the behavior of the speaker and the hearer in interpersonal communication. It aims to answer the question “What do we do when using language?” Two types of utterancesvConstatives (叙述句) ---- statements that either state or describe, and are thus verifiable;vPerformatives (施为句) ---- sentences that do not state a fact or describe a state, and are not verifiable.vNote: Sometimes they are easy to get confused, e.g.“It is raining outside” can be a constative, and also a performative, for by uttering such a sentence, we may not only state a fact, but involve in the act of informing someone about the rain. Some Examples of Performativesv“I do”v“I name this ship Elizabeth.”v“I give and bequeath my watch to my brother.”v“I bet you sixpence it will rain tomorrow.”v“I declare the meeting open.” Austin’s new model of speech acts ----According to Austin’s new model, a speaker might be performing three acts simultaneously when speaking: locutionary act, illocutionary act and perlocutionary act.vThe locutionary act----an act of saying something, i.e. an act of making a meaningful utterance (literal meaning of an utterance); vThe illocutionary act----an act performed in saying something: in saying X, I was doing Y (the intention of the speaker while speaking). vThe perlocutionary act----an act performed as a result of saying something: by saying X and doing Y, I did Z. For example,“It is cold in here.”vIts locutionary act is the saying of it with its literal meaning the weather is clod in here;vIts illocutionary act can be a request of the hear to shut the window;vIts perlocutionary act can be the hearer’s shutting the window or his refusal to comply with the request. ----Analyze one more example: “You have left the door wide open.”Note: Of the three acts, what speech act theory is most concerned with is the illocutionary act. It attempts to account for the ways by which speakers can mean more than what they say. vAnalyze the illocutionary acts of the following conversation between a couple:----(the telephone rings)----H: That’ the phone. (1)----W: I’m in the bathroom. (2)----H: Okay. (3) vThis seemingly incoherent conversation goes on successfully because the speakers understand each other’s illocutionary acts: v(1) Making a request of his wife to go and answer the phone.v(2) A refusal to comply with the request; issuing a request of her husband to answer the phone instead.v(3) Accepting the wife’s refusal and accepting her request, meaning “all right, I’ll answer it.”Searle’s classification of speech acts (1969) vAssertives/representatives(陈述) vDirectives(指令) vCommissives(承诺) vExpressives(表达) vDeclarations(宣布) Assertives/representatives ---- Stating or describing, saying what the speaker believes to be true, e.g.vI think the film is moving. vI’m certain I have never seen the man before.vI solemnly swear that he had got it. …Directives ---- Trying to get the hearer to do something, e.g. vI order you to leave right now. vOpen the window, please. vYour money or your life! … Commissives ---- Committing the speaker himself to some future course of action, e.g.vI promise to come. vI will bring you the book tomorrow without fail. … Expressives ----Expressing the speaker’s psychological state about something, e.g.vI’m sorry for being late.v I apologize for the sufferings that the war has caused to your people. …Declarations ----Bringing about an immediate change in the existing state or affairs, e.g.vI now appoint you chairman of the committee. vYou are fired.v I now declare the meeting open. … vNote: (1) All the acts that belong to the same category share the same purpose but differ in their strength or force, e.g. I guess / am sure / swear he is the murderer.vNote: (2) In order to get someone open the door, we can choose one from a variety of the forms in below: Could you open the door, please! Can you open the door! Do you mind opening the door? Open the door! The door please!Principle of conversation (Paul Grice) vCooperative principle (CP)---- According to Grice, in making conversation, there is a general principle which all participants are expected to observe. It goes as follows: vMake your conversational contribution such as required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. Four maxims of CPvThe maxim of quality----Do not say what you believe to be false.----Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.vThe maxim of quantity----Make your contribution as informative as required for the current purpose of the exchange.----Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.vThe maxim of relation----Be relevant ( make your contribution relevant).vThe maxim of manner----Avoid obscurity of expression.----Avoid ambiguity.----Be brief.----Be orderly.Conversational implicature vIn real communication, however, speakers do not always observe these maxims strictly. These maxims can be violated for various reasons. When any of the maxims is blantantly violated, i.e. both the speaker and the hearer are aware of the violation, our language becomes indirect, then conversational implicature arises. Violation of Maxim of quality ----A: Would you like to go movie with me tonight?----B: The final exam is approaching. I’m afraid I have to prepare for it.----A: would you like to come to our party tonight?----B: I’m afraid I’m not feeling so well tonight. ----A: Who was that lady I saw you with last night?----B: That was no lady, that was my wife.Violation of maxim of quantity vAt a party a young man introduces himself by saying “I’m Robert Sampson from Leeds, 28, unmarried…” v“War is war.” v“Girls are girls.” ----A:When is Susan’s farewell party?----B:Sometime next month.Violation of maxim of relation ----A: How did the math exam go today, Jonnie?----B: We had a basketball match with class 2 and we beat them. ----A: The hostess is an awful bore.----B: The roses in the garden are beautiful, aren’t they?----A: What time is it?----B: The postman has just arrived.Violation of maxim of manner ----A: Shall we get something for the kids?----B: Yes. But I veto I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M.Politeness principle (Leech) Chapter 7 Language change vSound change vMorphological and syntactic change vVocabulary change Morphological and syntactic changevChange in “agreement” rule vChange in negation rulevProcess of simplificationvLoss of inflections Vocabulary change vAddition of new words vLoss of words vChanges in the meaning of words Addition of new wordsvcoinage(创新词) vclipped words(缩略词) vblending(紧缩法) vacronyms(词首字母缩略词) vback-formation(逆构词法) vfunctional shift vborrowing Coinage----A new word can be coined outright to fit some purpose, e.g.vwalkman vKodak vXerox vFord vBenz vToyota Clipped words----The abbreviation of longer words or phrases, e.g.vgym—gymnasiumvmemo—memorandumvdisco—discothequevfridge—refrigerator Blending----A blend is a word formed by combining parts of other words, e.g.vsmog—smoke + fogvmotel—motor + hotelvcamcorder—camera + recorder Acronyms----Acronyms are words derived from the initials of several words, e.g.vCBS---- Columbia Broad casting systemvISBN----International Standard Book NumbervWTO WHO PLA AIDS UNESCO APEC OPEC CAD SARSBackformation----New words may be coined from already existing words by “subtracting” an affix thought to be part of the old word.vedit editorvhawk hawkervbeg beggarvbaby-sit baby-sitterFunctional shift ----Words may shift from one part of speech to another without the addition of affixes, e.g. vNoun verb: to knee, to bug, to tape, to brake…vVerb noun: a hold, a flyby, a reject, a retreat… vAdj. verb: to cool, to narrow, to dim, to slow…vAdj. noun: a daily, a Christian, the rich, the impossible…Borrowingv----When different cultures come into contact, words are often borrowed from one language to another. The following are some of the loan words in English (see more in P100-101). vLatin bonus education exitvGerman beer waltz quartzvChinese tea kowtow sampanvRussian sputnik commissar vodkavArabic zero algebra alcoholLoss of words vWords can be lost from a language as time goes by. The following words, taken from Romeo and Juliet, have faded out of the English language. vBeseem to be suitablevWot to knowvGyve a fettervWherefore whyChanges in the meaning of words vWidening of meaning vNarrowing of meaning vMeaning shift Widening of meaningvHoliday: [+specific] holy day [+general] any rest dayvTail: [+specific] tail of a horse [+general] tail of any animal Narrowing of meaningvhound: any dog a special kind of dogvgirl: young person of either sex young people of female sexvdeer: any animal a particular kind of animalvmeat: food edible part of an animalvcorn: grain a particular grainMeaning shift vinn: a small, old hotel or pub well-known, nice hotelvnice: ignorant (1000 years ago) good, finevlust: pleasure with negative and sexual overtonesvsilly: happy naïve, foolish Some recent trendsvMoving towards greater informality vThe influence of American English vThe influence of science and technology The influence of science and technologyvSpace travelvComputer and internet languagevEcology Causes of the language change vThe rapid development of science and technology;vMore and more women have taken up activities formerly reserved for men, more neutral job titles have been created;v“ Economy of memory” results in grammar simplification;vRegularization of exceptional plural forms provides another example for analogical change.Chapter 8 Language and societyvSociolinguistics ---- a sub-field of linguistics that studies the relation between language and society, between the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of language live.The relatedness between language and society ----There are many indications of the inter-relationship between language and society. vLanguage is often used to establish and maintain social relationships. (e.g. greeting)vThe use of language is in part determined by the user’s social background. (social class, age, sex, education level, etc.)vLanguage, reflects both the physical and the social environments of a society. (“snow” for Eskimo) v the evaluation of a linguistic form is entirely social ( the postvocalic [r] ).Speech community and speech variety vSpeech community---- the social group that is singled out for any special sociolinguistic study is called the speech community. vSpeech variety or language variety---- any distinguishable form of speech used by a speaker or a group of speakers. In sociolinguistic study three types of speech variety are of special interest, i.e. regional dialects, sociolects and registers.Two approaches to sociolinguistic studies vMacro sociolinguistics, i.e. a bird’s-eye view of the languages used in society;vMicro sociolinguistics, i.e. a worm’s-eye view of language in use.Varieties of language vDialectal varieties vRegister vDegree of formality Dialectal varietiesvRegional dialect is a linguistic variety used by people living in the same geographical region(e.g. Br.E. & Am.E.).vSociolect is a linguistic variety characteristic of a particular social class. (e.g. Received Pronunciation)v Language and gender (e.g. intonation, lexicon)v Language and age (Lexical difference: icebox---- fridge, wireless----boombox)vIdiolect---- a personal dialect of an individual speaker that combines elements regarding regional, social, gender, and age variations(e.g. Hemingway, Luxun).vEthnic dialect----a social dialect of a language that cuts across regional differences; it is mainly spoken by a less privileged population that has experienced some form of social isolation such as racial discrimination or segregation (e.g. Black English). RegistervRegister, in a restricted sense, refers to the variety of language related to one’s occupation.vIn a broader sense, according to Halliday, “language varies as its function varies; it differs in different situations.” The type of language which is selected as appropriate to the type of situation is a register.vHalliday further distinguishes three social variables that determine the register: field of discourse, tenor of discourse, mode of discourse. Three social variables vField of discourse: what is going on: to the area of operation of the language activity. It is concerned with the purpose (why) and subject matter (about what) of communication. It can be either technical or non-technical.)vTenor of discourse: the role of relationship in the situation in question: who are the participants in the communication and in what relationship they stand to each other. (customer-shop-assistant, teacher-student, etc.)vMode of discourse: the means of communication. It is concerned with how communication is carried out. (oral, written, on the line…) Degree of formality ----Five stages of formality (Martin Joos)vIntimate: Up you go, chaps!vCasual: Time you all went upstairs now.vConsultative: Would you mind going upstairs right away, please?vFormal: Visitors should go up the stairs at once.vFrozen: Visitors would make their way at once to the upper floor by way of the staircase. ----Note: Different styles of the same language can be characterized through differences at three levels: syntactic, lexical and phonological(P121).Standard dialect vThe standard variety is a superimposed, socially prestigious dialect of a language. It is the language employed by the government and the judiciary system, used by the mass media, and taught in educational institutions, including school settings where the language is taught as a foreign or second language. Pidgin and Creole vA pidgin is a special language variety that mixes or blends languages and it is used by people who speak different languages for restricted purposes such as trading.vWhen a pidgin has become the primary language of a speech community, and is acquired by the children of that speech community as their native language, it is said to have become a Creole.Bilingualism and Diglossia vIn some speech communities, two languages are used side by side with each having a different role to play; and language switching occurs when the situation changes. This constitutes the situation of Bilingualism.vAccording to Ferguson (1959), diglossia refers to a sociolinguistic situation similar to bilingualism. But in stead of two different languages, in a diglossia situation two varieties of a language exist side by side throughout the community, with each having a definite role to play. Chapter 9 Language and culture What is culture? vIn a broad sense, culture means the total way of life of a people, including the patterns of belief, customs, objects, institutions, techniques, and language that characterizes the life of the human community. vIn a narrow sense, culture may refer to local or specific practice, beliefs or customs, which can be mostly found in folk culture, enterprise culture or food culture, etc. vThere are generally two types of culture: material and spiritual.The relationship between language and culture vThe same word may stir up different associations in people under different cultural background, e.g. the word “dog”.vLanguage expresses cultural reality, reflects the people’s attitudes, beliefs, world outlooks, etc.vThe culture both emancipates and constrains people socially, historically and metaphorically.vCulture also affects its people’s imagination or common dreams which are mediated through the language and reflected in their life. vOn the one hand, language as an integral part of human being, permeates in his thinking and way of viewing the world, language both expresses and embodies cultural reality; on the other, language, as a product of culture, helps perpetuate the culture, and the changes in language uses reflect the cultural changes in return.SapirWhorf hypothesis vEdward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf, proclaimed that the structure of the language people habitually use influences the ways they think and behave, i.e. different languages offer people different ways of expressing the world around, they think and speak differently, this is also known as linguistic relativity.vSapir and Whorf believe that language filters people’s perception and the way they categorize experiences. This interdependence of language and thought is now known as Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.Strong version & weak version vStrong version believes that the language patterns determine people’s thinking and behavior;vWeak version holds that the former influence the latter. ----The study of the linguistic relativity or SWH has shed two important insights:vThere is nowadays a recognition that language, as code, reflects cultural preoccupations and constrains the way people think.vMore than in Whorf’s days, however, we recognize how important context is in complementing the meanings encoded in the language.Linguistic evidence of cultural differences vDenotative meaning ---- a meaning that can be found in a dictionary.vConnotative meaning ---- a meaning or idea suggested by a word or thing in addition to the formal meaning or nature of the word or thing.vIconic meaning ---- the image or icon invoked in mind by a word.vFor example, “rose”.Some cultural differences in language usevGreetings and terms of address vThanks and compliments vColor words vPrivacy and taboos vRounding off numbers vWords and cultural-specific connotations vCultural-related idioms, proverbs and metaphor The significance of cultural teaching and learning vLearning a foreign language is inseparable from learning its culture.vWe need to learn enough about the language’s culture so that we can communicate in the target language properly to achieve not only the linguistic competence but also the pragmatic or communicative competence as well.Cultural overlap vCultural overlap refers to the identical part of culture between two societies owing to some similarities in the natural environment and psychology of human beings. For example, the superior tends to refer to himself or herself by means of kinship terms, such as “Have daddy/mummy/teacher told you that?”Cultural diffusionvThrough communication, some elements of culture A enter culture B and become part of culture B, this phenomenon is known as cultural diffusion. vOne typical example of cultural diffusion is the appearance of loan words.vThe practice of observing holidays of foreign origins and accepting concepts from other cultures.vThe attitude towards cultural diffusion (esp. cultural imperialism owing to linguistic imperialism)Intercultural communication vIntercultural or cross-cultural communication is communication between people from different cultures (their cultural perceptions and symbols systems are distinct enough to alter the communication event.)vIn cross-cultural communication, we need to pay special attention to the significant differences regarding social relations and concept of universe from different perspectives such as language, food, dress, attitude towards time, work habits, social behavior and religious belief that can cause frustrations in communications and contacts.Chapter 10 Language acquisition vLanguage acquisition----refers to the child’s acquisition of his mother tongue, i.e. how the child comes to understand and speak the language of his community. Theories of child language acquisition vA behaviorist view of language acquisition (Skinners) vAn innatist view of language acquisition (Chomsky) vAn interactionist view of language acquisition vCognitive factors in child language development A behaviorist view of language acquisitionvTraditional behaviorists view language as behavior and believe that language learning is simply a matter of imitation and habit formation. Imitation Recognition ReinforcementvThe inadequacy of behaviorist view lies in explaining how children acquire complex language system. (See examples in P144) An innatist view of language acquisitionvAccording to the innatist view of language acquisition, human beings are biologically programmed for language and that the language develops in the child just as other biological functions such as walking. An interactionist view of language acquisition vThe interactionist view holds that language develops as a result of the complex interplay between the human characteristics of the child and the environment in which the child develops. Integrated with the innatist view, the interactionist further claims that the modified language which is suitable for the child’s capability is crucial in his language acquisition. (motherese)Cognitive factors in child language development v1) Language development is dependent on both the concepts children form about the world and what they feel stimulated to communicate at the early and later stages of their language development. (the acquisition of perfect tense and the concept of present relevance)v2) The cognitive factors determine how the child makes sense of the linguistic system himself instead of what meanings the child perceives and expresses. (the acquisition of negative form)Language environment & the critical period hypothesis vTwo important factors: the linguistic environment children are exposed to and the age they start to learn the language.vIn behaviorist approach, language environment plays a major role in providing both language models to be imitated and necessary feedbacks.vThe innatist view emphasizes more on children’s internal processing of the language items to be learnt. The environment functions as a stimulus that triggers and activates the pre-equipped UG to process the materials provided by the linguistic environment around the children.vThe interactionist view calls for the quality of the language samples available in the linguistic environment, only when the language is modified and adjusted to the level of children’s comprehension, do they process and internalize the language items. Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) v---- Eric Lenneberg argues that the LAD, like other biological functions, works successfully only when it is stimulated at the right time ---- a specific and limited time period for language acquisition.vThe strong version of CPH suggests that children must acquire their first language by puberty or they will never be able to learn from subsequent exposure.vThe weak version holds that language learning will be more difficult and incomplete after puberty. (Support in Victor’s and Genie’s cases) Stages in child language development vPhonological development vVocabulary development 1) Under-extension 2) Over-extension 3) Prototype theory vGrammatical development 1) Telegraphic speech (2) 2) Sentences of three main elements (2.5)vPragmatic development Atypical development vAtypical or abnormal language development occurs due to trauma or injury. Atypical language development includes:vHearing impairmentvMental retardationvautismvstuttering vAphasiavDyslexia and dysgraphia Chapter 11 Second Language Acquisition vSecond Language Acquisition ---- formally established itself as a discipline around the 1970s, refers to the systematic study of how one person acquires a second language subsequent to his native language. vDistinguish second language & foreign languageConnections between first language acquisition and second language acquisitionvThe first language study has served as a backcloth for perceiving and understanding new facts about second language learning (Littlewood, 1986).vSLA is different from first language acquisition.vInterlanguageContrastive analysis (CA) (1960s) vPositive transfer----facilitate target language learningvNegative transfer----interfere or hinder target language learningvIt is believed that differences between the native language and the target language would pose difficulties in second/foreign language learning and teaching, e.g.v*To touch the society .v*There are more people come to study in the states.v*I wait you at the gate of the school. Shortcomings of CAvThe CA was soon found problematic, for many of the predictions of the target language learning difficulty formulated on the basis of contrastive analysis turned out to be either uninformative or inaccurate. Predicted errors did not materialize in learner language while errors did show up that the contrastive analysis had not predicted. “differences” and “difficulties” are not identical concepts. Error analysis (EA) vThe contrastive approach to learners’ errors has shed new light on people’s attitudes: the errors are significant in telling the teacher what needs to be taught, in telling the researcher how learning proceeds and those errors are a means whereby learners test their hypotheses about the language to be learnt.vTwo main sorts of errors: Interlingual errors & intralingual errorsInterlingual errors----Interlingual errors mainly result from cross-linguistic interference at different levels such as phonological, lexical, grammatical or discoursal etc. For examples, a. Substitution of [t] for [W] and [d] for [T]: threetree, thisdis. b. Shortening of long vowels: sheepship, meetmitIntralingual errors----The intralingual errors mainly from faulty or partial learning of the target language, independent of the native language. vTwo types of errors have been well exploited: overgeneralization & cross-associationOvergeneralizationOvergeneralization ---- the use of previously available strategies in new situations. vWalked, watched, washed… *rided, *goed, *doed, *eated…vJane advise me to give up smoking. Jane told me to give up smoking. *Jane hoped me to give up smoking. *Jane suggested me to give up smoking.CrossassociationvCross-association refers to the phenomenon that the close association of the two similar words often leads to confusion, e.g.vOther/another, much/many, stalagmite/stalactite…vIt may also occurs at all levels of language from phonological to syntactic, e.g. The coffee is too hot to drink. *The apricot is too sour to eat it.Errors & mistakesvErrors ---- unintentionally deviant from the target language and not self-corrigible by the learner (failure in competence);vMistakes ---- either intentionally or unintentionally deviant forms and self-corrigible (failure in performance).Interlanguage (S. Pit Corder & Larry Selinker) vInterlangauge ---- learners’ independent system of the second language which is of neither the native language nor the second language, but a continuum or approximation from his native language to the target language. vWhat learners produce, correct or wrong, are evidence or the approximation from their first language to the target language.Characteristics of interlanguagevInterlanguage has three important characteristics: systematicity, permeability and fossilization.vFossilization---- a process occurring from time to time in which incorrect linguistic features become a permanent part of the way a person speaks or writes a language.The role of native language in 2nd language learning vLanguage transfer: positive & negative (behaviorism)vMentalists argued that few errors were caused by language transfer; transfer is not transfer, but a kind of mental process.vThree interacting factors in determining language transfer: A learner’s psychology Perception of native-target language distance Actual knowledge of the target language2nd language learning models and input hypothesis vBehaviorism model emphasizes the role of imitation and positive reinforcement, a “nurture” position;vThe mentalists or the innativists shift to a “nature” position by stressing that human beings equipped innately with language acquisition device, are capable of language learning provided with adequate language input. vThe social interactionists argue that language and social interaction cannot be separated.Krashen’s Input Hypothesis vKrashen make a distinction between acquisition & learning.vHe put forward that learners advance their language learning gradually by receiving comprehensible input.vHe defined comprehensible input as “i + 1” : “i” represents learners’ current state of knowledge, the next stage is an “i + 1”.vKrashen mistook input and intake, thus receive criticism.Individual differences vLanguage aptitude vMotivation vLearning strategies vAge of acquisition vPersonality Language aptitudevLanguage aptitude refers to a natural ability for learning a second language. It is believed to be related to a learner’s general intelligence. John Carroll identified some components of language aptitude:vPhonemic coding abilityvGrammatical sensitivityvInductive language learning abilityvRote learning abilityMotivationvMotivation can be defined as the learner’s attitudes and affective state or learning drive. It has a strong impact on his efforts in learning a second language. Generally four types of motivations have been identified:vInstrumental motivationvIntegrative motivationvResultative motivationvIntrinsic motivationLearning strategiesvLearning strategies are learners’ conscious, goal-oriented and problem-solving based efforts to achieve learning efficiency. According to Chamot (1986) & Oxford (1990), three types of strategies have been identified:vCognitive strategies ---- analyzing,synthesis and internalizing what has been learned.vMetacognitive strategies ---- planning, monitoring and evaluating one’s learning.vAffect/social strategies ---- the ways learners interact with other speakers. vCohen (1998) further distinguishes language learning strategies and language using strategies.Age of acquisition vThe Critical Period Hypothesis vRecent studies support the hypothesis that in terms of learning achievement and grammaticality the younger learners outperform the adults.Personality vIn terms of communicative ability rather than grammatical accuracy or knowledge of grammatical rules, the personality traits such as extroversion, talkative, self-esteem, self-confidence can be found in successful second language learners ( as in the case of Liyang: Crazy English).SLA & its pedagogical implications Chapter 12 Language and Brain 。
