Linguistics and Language

Linguistics

• the study of how language works

  • how it is used

  • how it is acquired

  • how it changes over time

  • how it is represented in the brain, and so on

• concerns the properties of the world’s languages as well as the abilities and adaptations that have made it possible for our species to create and use language in the first place

Speech Organs

• lungs

• vocal cords

• tongue

• teeth

• lips

• nose

Dual Function of Lungs (survival and speech)

• Survival Function

  • to exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen

• Speech Function

  • to supply air for speech

Dual Function of Vocal Cords (survival and speech)

• Survival Function

  • to create a seal over passage to lungs

• Speech Function

  • to produce vibrations for speech sounds

Dual Function of Tongue (survival and speech)

• Survival Function

  • to move food to teeth and back into throat

• Speech Function

  • to articulate vowels and consonants

Dual Function of Teeth (survival and speech)

• Survival Function

  • to break up food

• Speech Function

  • to provide place of articulation for consonants

Dual Function of Lips (survival and speech)

• Survival Function

  • to seal oral cavity

• Speech Function

  • to articulate vowels and consonants

Dual Function of Nose (survival and speech)

• Survival Function

  • to assist in breathing and smelling

• Speech Function

  • to provide nasal resonance during speech

Language Has to be a Creative System

• finite system of rules, but there are always:

  • new things to say

  • new experiences to report

  • new challenges to confront

• speakers can produce and understand infinitely many new sentences

• creativity in language is systematic not random

Other Forms of Creativity in Language

• our innovations in language use:

  • nouns instead of verbs

  • unacceptable forms

• so there are constraints in the forms we create and meaning we can communicate

Innovations in Language Use — Nouns Instead of Verbs

• beach the boat

• bottle the wine

• holiday in Japan

• winter in Hawaii

Innovations in Language Use — Unacceptable Forms

• Jerome midnighted in the streets

• Andrea nooned at the resturant

• Philip one o’clocked at the airport

Linguistic Rules Define

• which words are possible

• which sentences are acceptable

• which meanings are allowed

Competence vs. Performance

• Chomsky (1965) made a fundamental distinction between:

  • Competence — the speaker-hearer’s knowledge of the language

  • Performance — the actual use of language in authentic situations

• in an ideal world, performance is a direct reflection of competence

Structural View and Generative Grammar

• …by a generative grammar I mean simply a system of rules that in some explicit and well defined way assigns structural descriptions to sentences

Generative Grammar

• a grammar of a language purports to be a description of the ideal speaker-hearer’s intrinsic competence

• if the grammar is perfectly explicit — in other words, if it does not rely on the intelligence of the underlying reader but rather provides an explicit analysis of his contribution — we may (somewhat redundantly) call it that

Why is Generative Grammar Important

• it helps explain language in terms of syntax, semantics and morphology, and it provides a foundation for learning any language

Linguistic Competence

• the mental system that allows human beings to form and interpret the sounds, words, and sentences of their language

  • this system is called grammar/competence and is categorized into:

    • phonetics

    • phonology

    • morphology

    • syntax

    • semantics

Phonetics

• sounds of language

Phonology

• the patterning of speech sounds

Morphology

• word formation

Syntax

• sentence formation

Semantics

• the interpretation of words and sentences

What to Consider When Doing Linguistic Analysis

• Generality

• Parity

• Universality

• Mutability

• Inaccessibility

Generality

• all languages have a grammar

  • no language is chaotic or structureless

  • languages may differ greatly from English

  • difference does not equal lack of grammar

  • ex; Warlpiri allows flexible word order — grammatical roles are marked morphologically

Parity

• all grammars are equal

  • no language is primitive or inferior

  • no grammar is “better” or “worse”

  • all grammars serve their speakers equally well

  • social judgements do not equal linguistic facts

  • linguistics is descriptive; it studies how language is actually used

    • prescriptive rules reflect social values, not grammar

      • ex; ending sentences with prepositions is grammatical in English

Universality

• all grammars are alike in basic ways

  • all languages share fundamental properties

    • consonants and vowels

    • rules for forming sentences

    • variation exists but is constrained

    • word order patterns: most languages use SVO, SOV, or VSO

    • some structures are universally impossible

Mutability

• all grammars change over time

  • language change is constant and inevitable

    • frequent forms resist change longer

  • change effects

    • vocabulary

    • sounds

    • grammar

  • example

    • English negation evolved from ne…not (e.g., He ne speaketh nawt) to not alone

Inaccessibility

• grammatical knowledge is subconscious

  • most grammatical knowledge is unconscious

  • speakers know what is right or wrong but not why

Inaccessibility — Examples

• past tense -ed

  • 3 pronunciations

    • hunted

    • slipped

    • buzzed

  • speakers apply the rules automatically

  • even new verbs follow the pattern

• judgements without explanation

  • speakers can judge correctness

    • I went to school vs. I went to supermarket

  • but cannot explain the rule

• interpretation depends on grammar, not words alone

  • affirmative

    • Mary drank tea or coffee

  • negative

    • Mary didn’t drink tea or coffee

More Modern Understanding of Grammar

• grammar is not a set of prescriptive rules

• it is the mental knowledge speakers have that allows them to:

  • produce sentences

  • understand sentences

  • judge what sounds “possible” or “impossible” in their language

• grammar = the intricate network of knowledge that underlies our ability to use language