Introduction to English Linguistics: Major Concepts and Research Traditions

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the major concepts, dichotomies, and research traditions (Structuralism, Formalism, and Functionalism) in 20th-century English linguistics.

Linguistics

The scientific discipline concerned with the study of language and languages, either by themselves or in comparison.

Lingua franca

A universal traffic language that allows communication across various languages and cultural boundaries.

EMI

An acronym for 'English as the medium of instruction,' referring to academic programs taught in English.

Synchrony

An approach that describes the state of a language at a particular point or period in time, similar to taking a 'snapshot.'

Diachrony

The study of linguistic change 'through time' by comparing successive language states and transitions.

Descriptive Linguistics

A neutral approach to linguistics that describes actual language use as it is practiced.

Prescriptive Linguistics

A normative approach to linguistics that formulates rules for 'correct' language use.

Applied Linguistics

The use of linguistic research results in practical fields like foreign language teaching, translation, lexicography, or forensic linguistics.

Empirical Approach

Linguistic analysis based on authentic data, such as large machine-readable corpora and quantitative statistical methods.

Introspective Approach

Linguistic research based on the intuitions of linguists regarding what is or is not possible in a language.

Structuralism

A 20th-century research tradition founded by Ferdinand de Saussure that views language as a closed system where every element's value is defined by its place in that system.

Langue

Saussure's term for the abstract language system shared by a speech community, which contains systematic regularities.

Parole

Saussure's term for the concrete use of language by an individual speaker.

Paradigmatic Relations

Relations of choice or interchangeability on the vertical axis of a linguistic system.

Syntagmatic Relations

Relations of 'chain' or combination on the horizontal axis of a linguistic system.

Morphophonology

The linguistic interface that deals with the interaction between morphological and phonological processes, such as in the pronunciation of plural markers like /s/, /z/, or /ɪz/.

Signifiant (Signifier)

In Saussure's model of the linguistic sign, the sound sequence or level of expression.

Signifié (Signified)

In Saussure's model of the linguistic sign, the concept or level of meaning.

Arbitrariness

The lack of a motivated link between the signified and the signifier, where the relationship is based on convention or 'agreement' within a speech community.

Index

A type of sign characterized by an existential or physical effect-cause relationship, such as smoke being a sign of fire.

Icon

A sign characterized by a relationship of similarity (physical, imagic, or diagrammatic) between the sign and what it stands for.

Symbol

A sign that lacks a motivated link between signified and signifier, which is the category most human language signs fall into according to Peirce.

Semiotics

The science of linguistic and non-linguistic signaling systems and signing processes.

Generative Linguistics

An approach initiated by Noam Chomsky that focuses on the full and precise description of syntactic structures through a finite inventory of rules.

Competence

The entire unconscious mental knowledge an ideal native speaker has of their language, allowing for linguistic creativity.

Performance

The actual use of language in concrete situations, which Chomsky distinguished from mental competence.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Chomsky's hypothesis of a genetic endowment or 'preprogramming' in humans for learning language.

Universal Grammar (UG)

The set of invariable, highly abstract innate properties and principles contained in the language acquisition device common to all humans.

Substantive Universals

Grammatical categories that are universally available, such as word classes (nouns, verbs) and phrasal expansions.

Formal Universals

Universals concerning the form the rules of a grammar can take, such as 'structure-dependency.'

Functionalism

A research tradition that investigates how communicative functions, language use, and context help shape the language system and motivate structural choices.

Organon Model

Karl Bühler's model of language functions: referential (representational), expressive (addresser-focused), and appellative (addressee-focused).

Phatic Function

A function identified by Roman Jakobson focused on establishing social contact or relations, such as small talk.

Communicative Competence

A concept by Dell Hymes referring to the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in varying situations, prioritizing use over abstract grammatical knowledge.

Complexity Principle

A functionalist principle stating that more cognitively complex states-of-affairs will be coded by more structurally complex and explicit constructions.

Iconic Distance Principle

A principle stating that the more tightly two states-of-affairs are cognitively related, the more tightly interwoven their linguistic coding will be.

Poverty of Stimulus Argument

The formalist claim that children receive linguistic input that is too 'impoverished' (fragmented or ungrammatical) to explain language acquisition without innate structures.