Language and Linguistics
Basic Elements and Development of Language
- This lecture covers language, including its basic elements, development, First Nations languages, and sign languages like Auslan.
- A warning is given that content related to First Nations languages may refer to people who have died.
- The University of New England acknowledges that its programs are built on land with a sense of belonging to the world's oldest living culture and respects indigenous knowledge systems.
Basic Definitions
- Word: The smallest meaningful element of whole speech (e.g., coffee, risotto, pizza).
- Has a unit of memory associated with the concept, analogous to a molecule.
- Morpheme: The smallest meaningful element of speech, including prefixes and suffixes (e.g., anti-, -ed, -ing).
- Examples: walk, walking, walked.
- Syllable: A unit of pronunciation, considered the basic unit of speech perception (e.g., cap-ar-ci-no).
- Analogous to an atom that makes up a molecule.
- Phoneme: Units of sound used to distinguish words and meanings (e.g., changing cat to rat).
- Similar to a proton in chemistry; changing phonemes changes the word.
- Consonants: Sounds with some constriction of airflow.
- Approximately 26 in spoken English, varying by dialect.
- Relates to spoken language rather than written language.
- Vowels: Sounds where only the vocal folds vibrate.
- Approximately 22 in the English language, depending on dialect.
- The only required part of a syllable.
- Nouns: Naming words that display a number (e.g., chocolate, chocolates, sheep).
- Verbs: Doing words that can show tense (e.g., walk, walked, drive, driving, write, writing).
- IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): A system to write all sounds phonetically for accurate pronunciation.
The Life Cycle of Language
- Thought: Thinking about something.
- Translation: Brain translates the thought to the mouth and vocal systems.
- Sound Production: Mouth and associated structures move to produce the sound.
- Vibrations: Sound creates vibrations in the air.
- Hearing: Another person hears the sound.
- Translation: Sound is translated through the ear to the brain.
- Idea: Ideally, the second person ends up with the same idea as the first person.
- Example: Person one thinks of a cat; person two hears "cat" and understands the concept.
Structural View of Language
- Breaking down words into structural components.
- Example: The word "baggage" is broken down into its syllables.
- Syllables: bag, age
- Onset: The first consonant of the syllable (e.g., b in bag).
- Rhyme: Bits that come after the onset, always involving a vowel, perhaps consonants, as well.
- Nucleus: Vowel sound (e.g., a in bag).
- Coda: Consonants that come after the nucleus (e.g., g in bag).
Equipment Needed to Produce Language
- Spoken Language: Lungs, diaphragm, vocal apparatus, tongue, lips, jaws, teeth.
- Coordination of these activities is essential.
- Involves eyes and gestures to varying degrees.
- Manual Languages: Hand movements, mouth movements, gestures.
- Examples: Auslan, American Sign Language, British Sign Language, and Indigenous Sign Language.
Other Communication Methods
- Infants use gestures to communicate before speaking.
- Holding hands up to be picked up, pointing to desired objects.
- Evidence of gesturing language is seen in chimpanzees and other species.
Defining Language
Old definition from 1973 emphasizes key components.
Creativity: Ability to recombine different elements to create original and meaningful utterances.
- Example: Recombining the words "Sally wants to be friends with Amanda" to "Amanda wants to be friends with Sally" creates different meanings.
Semanticity: Elements must represent abstract ideas, concepts, or symbols (e.g., stress, happiness).
Displaceability: Understanding language without the object of discussion being present.
- Example: Understanding the sentence "My dog smells like a dead chook" without the dog or the smell present.
This definition includes written languages, sign languages, and potentially animal languages.
Development of Language
Begins in utero.
- Auditory system is fully developed by about six months.
- Infants prefer their biological mother's voice and the sound of her language.
Three Months: Cooing, smiling, laughing, and communicative gestures.
Four to Six Months: Playing with sounds by babbling and may finger babble if born deaf and surrounded by manual language, dad before mom because dad is easier to say than mom
- Deaf babies may finger babble in environments with sign language.
Six to Twelve Months: Jargon; trying to have a conversation.
Twelve Months: Talking in real words; understanding more than they can say.
Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months: Two-word utterances; strangers can understand a bit.
Two to Three Years: Three to four-word utterances.
Three Years: Talking in full sentences.
These are general averages, and development varies. Hearing issues or autism spectrum disorder can affect development.
Natural vs. Unnatural Languages
Natural Languages: Emerge spontaneously from exposure.
- Change and evolve over time.
- Include spoken and signed languages (e.g., Auslan).
Unnatural Languages: Must be taught explicitly.
- Have fixed units (e.g., 26 letters in English).
- Examples: Writing, computer languages.
Dyslexia is less common in orthographically transparent languages like Turkish.
First evidence of unnatural languages: First Nations cave paintings (40,000 to 60,000 years ago).
Understanding Language
- Language is a continuous stream of sound, and understanding involves discerning where words start and stop.
- Knowledge of the language helps in this process.
How Language Changes
- Changes in natural languages include:
- Pronunciation changes.
- Words being dropped.
- Meanings of words shifting.
- Examples:
- Words like "breech," "crumpet," and "leech" used to have different meanings.
- Words like "suicide" and "gay" are in transition.
- Pronunciation of "kilometre" varies.
- New language is created as needed, often through social media.
- Examples: