Introduction to General Linguistics: The Sounds of Language
Introduction to General Linguistics: The Sounds of Language
Course Code: LIN101H5
Term: Fall 2025
University: University of Toronto Mississauga
Instructor: Jessamyn Schertz
Global Language Diversity
Number of Languages Spoken/Signed: According to Ethnologue, there are more than 7,159 languages used today worldwide.
Endangered Languages: Over 3,000 of these languages are considered endangered.
Ethnologue: A database that catalogues living languages.
Non-English Native Languages in Ontario
A visual representation (pages 3-6) indicates a significant linguistic diversity among non-English native speakers in Ontario.
Top Languages (by native speaker count):
French: 316,070
Mandarin: 299,730
Italian: 111,220
Portuguese: 115,555
Spanish: 188,745
Arabic: 188,115
Urdu: 156,845
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino): 139,715
Tamil: 118,505
Punjabi: 242,990
Cantonese: 236,800
Russian: 89,170
German: 45,170
Hindi: 72,955
Vietnamese: 67,630
Korean: 61,785
Serbo-Croatian: 67,405
The maps highlight a wide variety of languages, including but not limited to Polish, Serbian, Telugu, Persian (Farsi), Greek, Croatian, Nepali, Indigenous languages, Sinhala, Slovak, Swahili, Thai, Tibetan, Yoruba, Gujarati, Pashto, Macedonian, Somali, Tigrigna, Japanese, Cebuano, Chinese, Finnish, Kacchi, Bosnian, Czech, Lao, Pennsylvania German, Akan (Twi), Bulgarian, Armenian, Amharic, Turkish, Min, Kurdish, Marathi, Hebrew, Iranian Persian, Bengali, Hungarian, Albanian, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Romanian, Dari, Dutch, Ilocano, Malayalam, Ukrainian, Plautdietsch, Kannada, Afrikaans, Pampangan, Georgian, Burmese, Austronesian languages, Danish, Dong, Uzbek, Shona, Kinyarwanda, Hiligaynon, Sindhi, Igbo, Low German, Swedish, Indo-Aryan languages, Konkani, Swiss German, S'gaw Karen, Bicol, Wu (Shanghainese), Oromo, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Bisaya, Maltese, American Sign Language Creole, Indonesian, Slovenes (Slovenian), Rundi (Kirundi), Azerbaijani, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, and Khmer (Cambodian).
Language Characteristics
Differences Across Languages/Varieties:
Different sounds/articulations.
Different sound patterns.
Different words.
Different word order (syntax).
Different ways to express meaning (semantics).
Different ways to express politeness.
Shared Traits: Despite differences, all languages share a common set of traits.
Linguistics: The Study of Language
Definition: Linguistics is the systematic study of language structure and use.
Structure of Language (Sub-fields):
Semantics: Meaning.
Syntax: Sentences.
Morphology: Words.
Phonology: Sound patterns.
Phonetics: Sounds.
Broader Applications/Connections:
Language and identity.
Language acquisition.
Language processing.
Language change.
Language documentation.
Language technology.
LIN101: The "Sounds" of Language
This course focuses primarily on Phonetics and Phonology.
Key Topics:
Speech sounds and identity.
Acquisition of speech sounds.
Perception of speech sounds.
Sound change.
Diversity of speech sounds.
Relevance to language technology.
Busting Myths about Linguists
Myth 1: A linguist is someone who knows many languages.
Reality: While some linguists know many languages, their primary focus is the scientific study of language, not necessarily multilingualism.
Myth 2: Linguists are "grammar police."
Reality: Linguists are interested in describing how language is naturally used, not prescribing how it should be used (see Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Rules below).
Defining Language and Mental Grammar
Language: A shared system for communicating ideas.
This system involves articulation, sound waves (or light waves for signed languages), linguistic signals, and perception.
Mental Grammar: The properties of this shared system, representing the unconscious knowledge a speaker has about their language.
Universal Traits of All Languages/Dialects/Varieties
Systematic: All languages are governed by "rules" at all levels of linguistic structure (sounds, words, sentences, meaning).
Creative: Language is productive, generative, infinite, and always changing (though in constrained ways).
Hierarchical Structure of Language
Language is organized hierarchically, from smallest units to largest:
Sounds (e.g., \text{ \textipa{dh} \text{, \textipa{schwa} \text{, f \text{, ae \text{, t \text{, k \text{, Ih} \text{, t \text{, i} \text{ )} } } })
Syllables (e.g., \text{ \textipa{dh@} \text{, faet \text{, kIt} \text{, i} \text{ )} } }
Words (e.g., the, fat, kitty)
Phrases (e.g., the fat kitty)
Language Capacity: How Much Do Speakers Know?
English Sounds: English has approximately 36-40 distinct sounds.
(Contrast with 26 letters in the alphabet, highlighting the difference between sounds and letters).
English Words (Average Undergraduate): An average undergraduate knows about 20,000 English words.
English Sentences (Average Undergraduate): An average undergraduate knows between 1 million and 1.5 million sentences.
This demonstrates the creative nature of language, as speakers can generate and understand an infinite number of novel sentences.
Language is Creative – But Constrained
Creativity: Speakers can produce and understand novel sentences that they have never heard before, allowing for infinite expression (e.g., "I want some ramen" vs. "My neighbour’s brother’s cousin’s sister knows that I want some ramen.").
Constraints: This creativity is not limitless; language is governed by rules that determine what is grammatically acceptable.
Example: "I love waiting for the bus in the snow!" is grammatical.
Ungrammatical Example: "* Waiting I love for bus the snow in!" is ungrammatical (indicated by an asterisk *).
Linguistic Competence: Refers to language users' unconscious knowledge of what is possible and impossible in their language.
Mental Grammar: The properties (rules, constraints) of the shared language system that constitute linguistic competence.
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Rules
Prescriptive Rules: How someone dictates language should be used.
Often taught in school ("grammar rules").
Examples: "Don’t end a sentence with a preposition!", "Don’t split an infinitive!", "It’s 'you and I' not 'you and me'!", "Double negatives are illogical!", "Saying 'gonna' is just lazy!".
Descriptive Rules: How language is actually used by native speakers.
Reflect the "internal grammar" of a language.
Example: 'going to' \to 'gonna'
Prescriptive View: "gonna" is a lazy way of saying "going to."
Descriptive Analysis: The use of "gonna" as an abbreviation for "going to" is constrained by other linguistic (syntactic) factors.
"I’m going to go home" \to "I’m gonna go home" (grammatical).
"I’m going to be going to the store" \to "I’m gonna be going to the store" (grammatical).
"* I’m gonna be gonna the store" (ungrammatical) and "*I’m going to be gonna the store" (ungrammatical) demonstrate that "gonna" cannot always replace "going to"; it's not simply a matter of laziness but adherence to underlying linguistic rules.
Language Specificity: Phonotactic Constraints
Not all sound sequences are possible in all languages.
Example: English Nonce Words
blick: Possible in English.
bnick: Not possible in English.
abnick: Not possible because of the "bn" cluster at the beginning of a syllable.
ablick: Possible.
bonick: Possible.
snick: Possible.
Cross-Linguistic Sound Possibility (Example: 'dee', 'pleek', 'lbeek')
'dee': Possible in English, Mandarin, Russian.
'pleek': Possible in English and Russian, but not Mandarin.
'lbeek': Not possible in English, possible in Russian, possible in Mandarin.
Conclusion: All naturally acquired languages and dialects are governed by systematic rules. No dialect or accent of a language is inherently more "correct" or superior than another from a linguistic point of view.
Summary of Week 1 Concepts
Linguistics: Systematic study of language structure and use.
Grammar: Focuses on descriptive rules (how language is used), not prescriptive rules (how it should be used).
Linguistic Competence: Speakers of a language possess unconscious knowledge of these descriptive rules.
LIN101H5 Focus: Phonetics and Phonology (the sounds and sound patterns of language).
Introduction to Phonetics: The Study of Speech Sounds
Core Principle: Sounds are not the same as letters.
Reason 1: The same letter symbol can represent different sounds (e.g., 'c' in city vs. cat).
Reason 2: The same sound can be represented by different letter symbols (e.g., the 's' sound in city vs. sin).
English Spelling vs. IPA Examples:
city: Letters = 4, Sounds = 3 ([sɪtɪ])cat: Letters = 3, Sounds = 3 ([kæt])heat: Letters = 4, Sounds = 3 ([hi:t])six: Letters = 3, Sounds = 4 ([sɪks])thought: Letters = 7, Sounds = 3 ([ \theta \alpha t])
Practice: Identifying same/different sounds in word pairs (e.g., though ([ \eth o ]) vs. throw ([ \theta r o ])), and articulating differences (e.g., see vs. sue).
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
Purpose: A universal system where one sound is represented by one symbol, avoiding the ambiguity of orthography (spelling).
Next Week: Phonetics 1
Topics: What phonetics is, how speech sounds are produced, the International Phonetic Alphabet, and the consonants of English.
Course Logistics
Learning Outcomes:
Understand fundamentals of phonetics and phonology.
Describe articulation, use IPA, identify sound patterns.
Provide examples of sound diversity across languages.
Apply skills to language acquisition, change, psycholinguistics, typology.
Present clear arguments and formal analyses.
Respond informedly to language myths.
Course Components:
Reading: Essentials of Linguistics, 2nd edition (free online, required readings on syllabus/weekly lists, recommended before lecture).
Lectures: Delivery of content and practice.
Lecture Check-ins (5\% of mark, in-person or online).
Must attend registered section for marks.
Pre-tutorial Exercises: Ensure familiarity with concepts (assigned most weeks, due Sunday night on Quercus).
Tutorials: Small-group practice, activities, worksheets, and 4 quizzes.
Attendance required for engagement marks and quizzes.
Office Hours: In-person with instructor (Thursdays 9-10 \text{am}, MN4126) or virtual with TAs (various times, see Quercus).
No appointment needed, drop-in basis.
Other: Exams, practice, etc.
Course Communication: Refer to syllabus for who to contact. Office hours are best for content questions; logistical questions can be emailed to instructor; enrolment questions to Undergraduate Counsellor.
Suggested Weekly Schedule:
Wednesday: Complete reading (1 \text{ hour}).
Thursday: Attend lecture (2 \text{ hours}).
Friday: Review reading (1 \text{ hour}).
Weekend: Pre-tutorial exercises/quiz prep (2 \text{ hours}).
Monday: Attend tutorial (1 \text{ hour}).
Throughout the week: Attend office hours (optional).
Quercus: Complete Syllabus Check to unlock content, check weekly to-do list, announcements, access all course materials (slides, exercises, etc.).
Other Policies: Familiarize with email, late work, absences, department policies.
Addressing Student Concerns
Common Concerns: Worries about being a non-native English speaker, unfamiliarity with Linguistics, heavy workload, introversion impacting participation, or only speaking English.
Support & Success Strategies:
Instructor's Role: Clear schedule, weekly to-do lists, timely responses (48 \text{ hours}), office hours, individual meetings.
Student's Role: Read syllabus, receive Quercus announcements, do readings before lecture, complete all practice exercises, take notes, actively participate, ask for help.
Resources: UTM Academic Skills Centre, UTM Accessibility Office, UTM Mental Health Supports, UofT Student Mental Health Resources (all confidential).
Action Items for Week 1
Check Quercus regularly.
Complete the syllabus quiz.
Read the Week 1 "To Do" list.
Do the assigned reading.
Complete pre-tutorial exercises (by Sunday night).
Attend your registered tutorial section on Monday.
Before the next lecture, do next week's readings.
Next Meeting
"See you next week!" ([si ju nɛkst wik])