Comprehensive Study Guide: Introduction to Linguistics and Linguistic Bohemistics

Foundations of Linguistics and Philology

  • Definition and Etymology of Linguistics:

    • Linguistics originates from the Latin lingua ("language") and is defined as the scientific discipline dedicated to the systematic research of human language and individual natural languages.
    • The formal constitution of linguistics as an independent scientific discipline occurred at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.
    • Pre-scientific inquiry into language possesses a ancient tradition spanning over two millennia, historically embedded within classical disciplines:
      • Grammar (gramatika): Historically encompassed both structural language study and textual interpretation.
      • Rhetoric (rétorika).
      • Dialectic / Logic (dialektika).
      • Historical Context: On medieval university campuses, these three disciplines constituted the trivium within the Seven Liberal Arts (sedm svobodných umění).
      • Other historical frameworks included philosophy, language pedagogy, and translation studies.
    • Czech Terminological Equivalents:
      • Jazykověda is the standard modern Czech equivalent.
      • Jazykozpyt represents an archaic Czech equivalent previously utilized in foundational handbooks (e.g., František Oberpfalzer's Jazykozpyt, 1932; Vladimír Skalička's Úvod do jazykozpytu, 1953).

  • Philology and Bohemistics:

    • Philology (derived from Greek philologíā, meaning "love of the word/speech") denotes the comprehensive study of a specific language or language family in direct conjunction with its literature, history, and culture.
    • Bohemistics (bohemistika): The specialized philological science focusing on the Czech language and Czech literature.
    • Classification within Slavistics: Bohemistics, alongside Slovakistics (slovakistika), Polonistics (polonistika), Rusistics (rusistika), and Bulgaristics (bulharistika), forms a branch of Slavistics (slavistika), the broader study of Slavic languages and literatures.
    • Parallel Philological Branches:
      • Baltistics (baltistika): Baltic languages.
      • Germanistics (germanistika): Germanic languages.
      • Anglistics (anglistika): English language and literature.
      • Nordistics (nordistika): Scandinavian/Nordic languages.
      • Romanistics (romanistika): Romance languages.
      • Hispanistics (hispanistika): Spanish language and literature.
    • Modern vs. Classical Philology:
      • Modern Philology: Focuses on contemporary, living languages.
      • Classical Philology: Dedicated to ancient languages and literatures, primarily Ancient Greek and Latin.

  • General Linguistics:

    • General Linguistics (obecná lingvistika / obecná jazykověda) investigates the fundamental, universal characteristics of human language and identifies structural features common across all linguistic systems.

Seal of Charles University in Prague

Definition, Sign Character, and Classification of Language

  • Defining Language:

    • While intuitive understanding allows fluent execution, formal scientific definitions capture language as a dual-faceted system:
      • Encyklopedický slovník češtiny (Karlík et al., ed., 2002): Defines language concisely as a "system of signs serving the speech communication (intercommunication) of human beings."
      • František Čermák (2011): Provides a comprehensive structural-cognitive definition: "Language is a system serving primarily as the basic tool of human communication… language is a system of units, rules, models, and conventional collective norms stored in the brain used for the production of utterances."
    • Language consists of two core components:
      1. A organized inventory of semiotic units forming a cohesive system.
      2. A codified set of rules governing operations with these units.

  • Semiotic Nature of Language (Sign Character / Znakovost):

    • A sign (znak) is defined as an entity standing in place of another entity (aliquid stat pro aliquo) to indicate or refer to it.
    • A sign consists of two interdependent components (the semiotic code):
      • Signifier (označující / signifikant / vehiculum / výraz): The material, sensory-perceivable expression (acoustic or visual) that forms a mental representation in the human mind.
      • Signified (označované / signifikát / obsah / výnam): The purely mental, conceptual element bound to the signifier in human consciousness that enables reference to an external object, action, or property (referent).
      • Code (kód): The mapping relation binding the signifier to the signified (or used broadly to mean the entire sign system).
    • Elementary Sign System Example (Traffic Light Code):
      • Red light (Signifier) $ ightarrow$ 'Stop' (Signified).
      • Yellow light (Signifier) $ ightarrow$ 'Caution, change' / 'Prepare' (Signified).
      • Green light (Signifier) $ ightarrow$ 'Go' / 'Walk' (Signified).

  • Taxonomy and Classification of Languages:

    • Natural vs. Artificial Languages:
      • Natural Languages (přirozené jazyky): Developed spontaneously within human communities as primary communication media, acquired natively, constantly evolving outside individual volition.
        • Living Languages: Contemporary spoken/signed languages (e.g., Czech, English, Chinese, Basque).
        • Dead/Extinct Languages: Historical languages of extinct speech communities (e.g., Sumerian, Tocharian, Dacian, Prussian, Polabian, Aramaic, Etruscan).
      • Artificial Languages (umělé jazyky): Intentionally constructed by individuals or groups for specific functions.
        • Fictional Languages (smyšlené jazyky): Constructed for literary/creative contexts (e.g., Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Jiří Gruša's Mimner aneb Hra o smrďocha, J. R. R. Tolkien's languages).
        • Neophasia (neofázie): Individual artificial language creation stemming from psychiatric conditions, designed to communicate with non-human entities (e.g., Jan Lukeš's iškovština).
        • Universal Languages (univerzální jazyky): 17th-century rationalist attempts to design unified philosophical representations of human thought (Jan Amos Komenský, John Wilkins).
        • International Auxiliary Languages (mezinárodní plánové jazyky): Designed to bridge intercultural communication barriers by simplifying natural language structures. Examples: Esperanto (created in 1887 by Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof), Volapük, Ido, Latino sine flexione, Novial.
        • Formal Languages (formální jazyky): Rigorous mathematical/logical calculi eliminating natural language vagueness (p→qp \rightarrow q) and computer programming languages (COBOL, Fortran, Java).
    • Ethnic Languages vs. Vehicular Languages (Lingua Franca):
      • Ethnic / National Languages (národní / etnické jazyky): Primary native languages tied to specific ethnic groups.
      • Vehicular / International Languages: Used for inter-group communication across linguistic boundaries (historically Latin; modern English; Indonesian/Bahasa Indonesia with 125 million non-native vehicular speakers).
      • Pidgins (pidžiny): Simplified hybrid contact languages lacking native speakers, formed for trade between distinct ethnic groups (e.g., Tok Pisin / Pidgin English of New Guinea).
      • Creoles (kreolské jazyky): Nativized pidgins acquired as a first language by a new generation of speakers (e.g., Haitian Creole French).
      • Lingua Franca: Historically a specific Mediterranean trade pidgin combining Romance, Arabic, and Greek elements; modern usage denotes any shared vehicular language.
    • Verbal-Vocalic vs. Sign Languages:
      • Verbal-Vocalic Languages: Realized through acoustic signals combined into structured sequences, secondarily rendered via graphic writing.
      • Sign Languages (znakové jazyky): Natural visual-gestural languages of Deaf communities. Units are constructed via manual parameters (hand shape, position, movement) and non-manual parameters (facial expression, head/torso orientation).

Essential Characteristics of Human Language

  • Foundational Linguistic Properties (Charles Francis Hockett, 1958):
    • Arbitrariness (Arbitrárnost):
      • There is no inherent, natural, or physical connection between the signifier and the signified.
      • The semiotic link is established purely by social convention (konvence), requiring learning while demanding strict adherence to ensure mutual comprehension.
      • Cross-linguistic comparison for the concept 'dog':
        • Czech: pes
        • Russian: собака [sabáka]
        • English: dog
        • German: Hund
        • Latin: canis [kanis]
        • French: chien [šjẽ]
        • Hungarian: kutya [kuťa]
      • Onomatopoeia (onomatopoičnost / zvukomalebnost) represents a partial, convention-conditioned exception where acoustic signifiers mirror environmental sounds:
        • Dog barking: Czech hafhaf vs. German wauwau.
        • Rooster crowing: Czech kykyryký vs. French cocorico vs. English cock-a-doodle-do.
      • Arbitraries vs. Motivation: Structural motivation allows speakers to deduce complex meanings if individual component meanings are known (e.g., Czech zed-ník = "a person associated with a wall [zeď]").
    • Linearity and Discreteness (Lineárnost a diskrétnost):
      • Linguistic units unfold sequentially in time (or space/print), presenting discrete boundaries between starting and ending points.
      • Sequence order is structurally binding; altering unit order transforms meaning (kabát $ ightarrow$ tabák) or produces non-meaningful sequences (bákta).
    • Hierarchy and Double Articulation (Hierarchičnost a dvojí artikulace / André Martinet):
      • Language is organized hierarchically; lower-level units serve as structural building blocks for higher-level units.
      • First Articulation (první artikulace): Consists of bilateral (dvojstranné) meaningful units uniting signifier and signified. The minimal meaningful unit is the morpheme (morfém).
        • Example: The Czech word form cestovateli decomposes into four morphemes: cest- (root morpheme / kořenný), -ova- (stem-forming morpheme / kmenotvorný), -tel- (derivational morpheme / slovotvorný indicating an agent), and -i (grammatical morpheme / gramatický denoting gender, number, and case).
      • Second Articulation (druhá artikulace): Consists of unilateral (jednostranné) non-meaningful units called figures (figury), such as phonemes or graphemes. Figures possess a distinctive function (distinktivní funkce), enabling a small inventory of non-meaningful elements (a few dozen sounds/letters) to construct an infinite array of meaningful units (morphemes, words, sentences).
    • Productivity (Produktivnost): The capacity of language users to generate and comprehend an infinite number of novel utterances never previously encountered.
    • Creativity (Kreativita): The ongoing evolution of new signs and the acquisition of new meanings for existing signs.
    • Learnability (Naučitelnost) and Anisotropy (Anizotropie):
      • Language is acquired via imitation and exposure.
      • Anisotropy (Bohumil Palek, 1989): Natural languages mandate structural non-uniformity and length constraints. Language units must be sufficiently differentiated and cannot consist of endlessly repetitive, uniform structures (a structural flaw illustrated by Václav Havel's artificial satirical languages ptydepe and chorukor in the 1965 play Vyrozumění).
    • Reflexivity (Reflexivnost): The metalinguistic ability of language to analyze, describe, and comment upon itself.
    • Prevarication (Prevarikace): The capacity of language to express ambiguity, puns, falsehoods, and deliberate deceptions.

Structural Components: Lexicon and Grammar

  • Lexicon vs. Grammar:

    • Lexicon (slovní zásoba): The inventory of basic naming units (předmětná pojmenování) designating entities, properties, and actions in the external world.
    • Grammar (gramatika / mluvnice): The system of rules governing unit construction and combination, derived from Greek grámma ("letter") and grammatikē téchnē ("knowledge of writing").
    • Vilém Mathesius (1929/1982) Formulation: "The preparation of every articulated utterance consists of a dual act: the analysis of what we wish to express into nameable elements, and their interrelation in a manner customary in the language we are using."

  • Grammatical Categories:

    • Grammatical Categories (gramatické / jazykové kategorie): Abstract, generalizing concepts organizing language units into formal paradigms based on shared structural meanings, functions, and expressions.
    • Jerzy Kuryłowicz (1895–1978) Definition: A linguistic category is a class of linguistic units (especially words) characterized by a common meaning or syntactic function expressed by a common external (phonetic) form.
      • English Examples: Plural markers (room-s, table-s, match-es, vs. irregular men, children); Past tense markers (describe-d, found-ed, vs. irregular rode, went).
      • Latin Example: The word form virōs simultaneously instantiates four distinct grammatical categories: Noun (part of speech), Masculine (gender), Accusative (case), and Plural (number).

Language Research and Language Data

  • Latency of Language (Latentnost jazyka):

    • Language is latent (skrytý); it is an abstract mental system that cannot be observed directly in its totality.
    • Relying on speech realizations (communicates/texts), linguists construct models of language systems.
    • Miroslav Komárek (1999): Language communication is the only concrete, processual form of speech reality, whereas the abstract, ideal language system (code) is knowable only through it.

  • Methodological Fases of Linguistic Research:

    1. Data collection (Sběr dat).
    2. Data description, analysis, and classification (Popis, analýza a klasifikace dat).
    3. Formulation of theoretical conclusions (Formulace závěrů).

  • Primary Data Collection Methods:

    • Excerption (Excerpce):
      • The traditional manual extraction of linguistic citations (excerpts) from written texts onto paper index cards (excerpční lístky) stored in physical archives (kartotéky).
      • The Czech Language Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ÚJČ AV ČR) maintains an archive of approximately 13 million excerpt slips, which served as the empirical foundation for the Příruční slovník jazyka českého (1935–1957).

Excerpt Slip for the word 'sen' in PSJČ

*   **Corpus Linguistics** (*Korpusová lingvistika*):
    *   *František Čermák (2011) Definition:* A language corpus is a structured, unified, and often tagged, very extensive collection of electronic language data stored and processed systematically, designed to be representative of a given language segment.
    *   *Institute of the Czech National Corpus* (ÚČNK FF UK in Prague, established 1994):
        *   **Synchronous Written Corpora:** SYN2000 (100 million text words), SYN2005 (100M), SYN2006PUB (300M newspaper texts), SYN2009PUB (700M), SYN2010 (100M), SYN2013PUB (935M), and the combined SYN corpus (2,232 million text words).
        *   **Spoken Corpora:** ORAL2006 (1M), ORAL2008 (1M), ORAL2013 (2.79M), Prague Spoken Corpus / PMK (675,000), Brno Spoken Corpus / BMK (490,000).
        *   **Diachronic Corpus:** DIAKORP (1.95 million text words tracking historical development).
        *   **Parallel Corpus:** InterCorp (92 million text words of multilingual translated texts).
        *   **Acquisition / Learner Corpora:** SCHOLA2010 (classroom interactions); CzeSL (*Czech as a Second Language*, Technická univerzita v Liberci and FF UK, Karel Šebesta 2010) compiling texts by non-native Czech learners and Romani pupils.
    *   *Corpus Annotation Procedures:* Includes **tagging** (*značkování*, assigning morphological/syntactic tags), **desambiguation** (*desambiguace*, resolving homonymy), **lemmatization** (*lemmatizace*, mapping word forms to base lemmas), and **concordance** (*konkordance*, displaying searched items in context).
    *   *Corpus Query Syntax Examples:*
        *   `[lemma =