Language

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Language

• A Preview

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Linguistics

• What is linguistics and why is it important?
• Linguistics is the study of how language works.
• - Language is central to virtually every aspect
  of human life.

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Specialization for LanguageLungs
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Specialization for LanguageVocal Cords
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Specialization for LanguageTongue
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Specialization for LanguageTeeth
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Specialization for LanguageLips
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Specialization for LanguageNose
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A Creative System

• Language must be creative, allowing novelty
• and innovation in response to new thoughts,
• experiences, and situations.

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Nouns Used as Verbs

• Noun Use Verb Use
• Pull the boat onto the beach beach the boat
• Keep the airplane on the ground ground the
  airplane
• Tie a knot in the string knot the string
• Put the water in bottles bottle the water
• Catch the fish with a spear spear the fish
• Clean the floor with a mop mop the floor

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Linguistic Competence

• Speakers of a language are able to produce and
  understand an unlimited number of utterances,
  including many that are novel and unfamiliar.
• a. prasp
• b. flib
• c. traf

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Grammar

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

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Generality All Languages Have a Grammar

• Walbiri (an indigenous language of Australia)
• The two dogs now see several kangaroos.
• Dogs two now see kangaroos several.
• See now dogs two kangaroos several.
• See now kangaroos several dogs two.
• Kangaroos several now dogs two see.
• Kangaroos several now see dogs two.
• The word lu must be placed on the word for
  dogs to indicate that it names the animals that
  do the seeing rather than the animals that are
  seen.

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Parity All Grammars are Equal

• a. I seen that.
• b. They was there.
• c. He didnt do nothing.
• d. He aint here.
• The analysis of language must reflect the way it
  is actually used, not someones idealized vision
  of how it should be used.

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Two ways to look at grammar

• Descriptive grammar a grammar that seeks to
  describe human linguistic ability and knowledge.
• Prescriptive grammar a grammar that aims to
  state the linguistic facts in terms of how they
  should be.

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joan ellis on October 8th, 2007 424
pmDailywritingtips.com

• I love your examples but am floored by our
  cultures now constant use of impact as a verb.
  Can you clear this up.
• The growth of the economy will have an impact on
  millions of people that sounds right to me
  whereas The growth of the economy will impact
  millions of people sounds just plain wrong. Help!
  Joan Ellis

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Maeve on October 8th, 2007 522
pmDailywritingtips.com

• Joan, Alas, its not the culture, its the
  language. I dont know about other languages, but
  in English, it seems that ANY word can be used as
  a verb.
• Shakespeares Duke of York uses uncle as a
  verb in Richard II Tut, tut! Grace me no grace,
  nor uncle me no uncle.
• Thats not to say thats a good thing.
• I share your annoyance regarding the practice
  of using the nounimpact as a verb, but the only
  explanation I can come up with is that its
  possible, so people do it.

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• I dislike other verb-related messing abouts,
  for example, using the intransitive verb
  disappear transitively as in Uzbek police
  disappear torture victim.
• And it still sets my teeth on edge when people
  talk about growing the economy, or growing a
  business. As far as Im concerned, people grow
  corn and other crops. They develop or expand
  businesses.
• I suppose that all one can do is observe ones
  own standards, and try to shed a little light on
  the usage of ones nearest and dearest.

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Jensita on January 3rd, 2008 353
pmDailywritingtips.com

• Regarding growing a business, I think its
  used more as a metaphor than a literal phrase. In
  its early stages, a young plant, child or other
  living thing is usually very fragile and requires
  special needs. In that sense, a business must be
  treated in the same fashion in order to expand or
  grow.
• Thinking of it in those terms makes me less
  inclined to cringe at the phrase growing a
  business.
• Additionally, one of Merriam-Websters
  definitions for grow is to promote the
  development of

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Universality Grammars Are Alike in Basic Ways

• All languages use a small set of contrastive
  sounds that help distinguish words from each
  other (i.e. /t/ and /d/ sounds)
• All languages have more consonant sounds than
  vowel sounds.
• Any language that has an /f/ also has an /s/.
• All languages have a vowel that sounds like ah
  in father.

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Mutability Grammars Change over Time

• 1. Prior to 1200, ne before the verb and not
  after it.
• We ne seeth nawt the knyghtes.
• (We didnt see the knights)
• 2. By 1400, not (or nawt) typically occurred by
  itself after the verb.
• We saw nawt the knyghtes.
• 3. Several centuries later, English adopted
  current practice of allowing not to occur after
  only certain types of verbs (do, have, will, and
  so on)

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Inaccessibility Grammatical Knowledge is
Subconscious

• Hunted
• Slipped
• Buzzed
• Flib

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Inaccessibility Grammatical Knowledge is
Subconscious

• I went to school.
• I went to movie.
• Mary ate a cookie, and then Johnnie ate a cookie
  too.
• Mary ate a cookie, and then she ate some cake
  too.
• Mary ate a cookie, and then Johnnie ate some cake
  too.
• Mary ate a cookie, and then Johnnie had a snack
  too.

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Describe the meaning of each of these new verbs.

• We punk-rocked the night away.
• She dog-teamed her way across the Arctic.
• We MGd to Oregon.
• You should Band-Aid that cut.
• He Gretzkyd his way to the net.
• We Greyhounded to Columbus.
• Well have to Ajax the sink.
• We Windexed the windows.
• You should Clairol your hair.
• Lets carton the eggs.

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Practice

• Create three new verbs from nouns. Build a
  sentence around each of these new verbs.
• He Van Goghed him.
• -Bob Costas

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Which of the following forms are possible words
of English?

• Mbood
• Frall
• Coofp
• Ktleem
• Sproke
• Flube
• Wordms
• bsarn

• It is your job to invent new names for new
  products. Create four new forms that are
  possible words of English and four that are not.

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Part of linguistic competence involves the
ability to recognize whether novel utterances are
acceptable. Consider the following sentences and
determine which are possible sentence in English.

• Jasons mother left himself with nothing to eat.
• Miriam is eager to talk to.
• This is the man who I took a picture of.
• Colin made Jane a sandwich.
• Is the dog sleeping the bone away?
• Wayne prepared Zena a cake.
• Max cleaned the garden up.
• Max cleaned up the garden.
• Max cleaned up it.
• I desire you to leave.
• That you likes liver surprises me.

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Consider the following sentences, each of which
is acceptable to some speakers of English. Try
to identify the prescriptive rules that are
violated in each case.

• He dont know about the race.
• You was out when I called.
• Theres twenty horses registered in the show.
• That windows broke, so be careful.
• Jim and me are gonna go campin this weekend.
• Who did you come with?
• I seen the parade last week.
• He been lost in the woods for ten days.
• My car needs cleaned cause of all the rain.
• Julie aint got none.
• Somebody left their book on the train.
• Murray hurt hisself in the game.

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• What is the reaction of linguists to the claim
  that sentences of this sort are wrong?