Introduction to Linguistics

•  Conlang = constructed language 

• Auxlangs = made to exist alongside (auxiliary to) another language 

• Philosophical languages = designed to test out language 

• Artlangs = created as part of artistic productions 

• Personal languages = created just for author, not for public consumption 

• Codes and Naming languages = not truly languages; just group of lexical items created to ‘add flavor’ 

Properties of language: 

• Reflexivity = the ability to use language to talk about language 

• Displacement = the ability to use language to talk about things not present in the current environment 

• Reliance on context = language used is often part of immediate environemnt and may not rely on context for meaning 

• Arbitrariness = linguistic form has no natural relationship with the object 

• Productivity = the ability to create new words to describe new things and understandings 

• Cultural transmission = language is learned from othrs 

• Discreteness = the ability to distinguish different pieces of language, separatee sounds, to know when a word ends and begins 

• Duality = understood at two levels: the physical level (sound) and the semantic level (meaning) 

• Modularity = can produce + interpret language using differtn sub-systems 

• Constituency = can organize words into certain parts and replace them with other parts 

• Recursion = if you can do something with the language, you can do it repeatedly 

• Variability = a great deal of variety both within and between languages 

Six Hypotheses of Language: 

• The Bow-Wow Theory = developed language through the imitation of sounds in the environment (woof!) 

• The Pooh-Pooh Theory = developed language through elaboration of vocal responses to stimuli (ouch!) 

• The Ding-Dong Theory = developed language through conencting speech sounds to the sound of nature and the idea that some sounds have an innate meaning 

• The Yo-He-Ho theory = developed language through working together and that speech came from the sounds used by people to coordinate their work 

• The Ta-Ta Theory = developed language when speech came from the use of the tongue or mouth to replace manual gestures (tsk, psst!) 

• The La-La Theory = developed language when speech emerged from language play and song 

Potential Sources: 

• The Divine Source = language is a gift from god 

• The Natural Sound Source = imitate the sounds heard around them 

• The Social Interaction Source = needs of humans working together 

• The Physical Adaptation Source = the physical capacities humans have for language 

• The Tool-Making Source = connection between manipulating objects and sounds 

• The Genetic Source = a genetic difference in humans than animals 

Performance = use of a language 

Competence = knowledge of language (underlying or implicit)