LIN 201 The Nature and Study of Language

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LIN 201 -- The Nature and Study of Language

• Pick up (1) a Course Information sheet and (2) a
  Student Information Sheet from the top of one of
  the two trash cases near the back entrances.

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LIN 201

• The Nature and Study of Language
• Fall 2007
• Lecturer Prof. W. Ritchie
• TA Mr. Dominik Wolff
• Part I, Lecture 1

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Course packet checklist

• (1) Course Information
• (2) Student Information Sheet Please fill out
  the sheet and leave it on top of one of the trash
  cases -- not in it! -- at the back of the room as
  you leave at the end of class.

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Agenda for today

• 1. Course Information
• 2. The place of language in human affairs
• 3. Linguistic knowledge

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Agenda

• 1. Course Information

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Keep in mind

• For this Wednesday
• Reading in FR and CR (see Course Information).
  Use reading questions (CR, pp. 15-17) if you
  wish. No need to write them up and hand them in.
• Go over the questions on the videotape Colorless
  Green Ideas (CR, 23-26) in preparation for
  viewing the tape on Wed. in Lec.

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Agenda

• 2. The place of language in human affairs.

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The Place of Language in Human Affairs

• Claim (FR) Language is central to human life.
• Evidence Your Living Without Language
  experiment.

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Agenda

• 3. Linguistic Knowledge

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Linguistic Knowledge (1)

• What does your linguistic knowledge (of, e.g.,
  English) include?
• How did you come to have that knowledge?

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Linguistic Knowledge (2)

• Well show that your linguistic knowledge
• includes knowledge of
• words (a Lexicon) -- Lecture, FR.
• Rules -- Lec, FR.
• is mostly unconscious ( tacit).
• is acquired largely without instruction.

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Lexicon (1)Form (sounds) Meaning (concept)

• hand
• house
• tree

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Linguistic Knowledge (3)

• What you know Knowledge of the Lexicon of a
  language includes a list of form-meaning
  relationships (that is, a list of lexical items).

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Linguistic Knowledge (4)

• How did you come by your knowledge of the lexicon
  of English?

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Lexicon (2)Form (sounds) Meaning (concept)

• blenny
• alembic
• scimitar

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Lexicon (3)Form (sounds) Meaning (concept)

• blenny
• alembic
• scimitar

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Summary Knowledge of Lexicon

• What you know A list . . . . .
• How you came to know it By encountering lexical
  items one-by-one and unconsciously memorizing
  them. If youve never encountered a given
  lexical item, you dont know it.

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Linguistic Knowledge A Hypothesis (1)

• Hypothesis Linguistic knowledge consists only
  of a Lexicon -- a list of words and sentences.
  This hypothesis predicts that we cannot interpret
  or make judgments about linguistic forms that we
  have never previously encountered.

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Rules (1)

• How to Clintonize your investments.
• From The CBS Evening News, Nov. 8, 1992
• Ever encounter Clintonize before?
• What does it mean?

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Rules (2)

• Clintonize Clinton -ize
• What other Presidents names can you add -ize to?

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Rules (3) Creativity

• Linguistic knowledge allows the understanding of
  words and sentences never encountered before
  that is, it is creative.
• Specific examples Clintonize, Reaganize , etc.

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Linguistic Knowledge A Hypothesis (2)

• The hypothesis that your linguistic knowledge
  consists only in a lexicon -- only in a list of
  words or sentences -- is refuted (or shown to be
  false) by the fact that you accept and understand
  words that you have never encountered before,
  like Clintonize, etc.

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Rules (4) LexiconForm (sounds) Meaning
(concept)

• hand
• house
• .
• Clinton

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Rules (5) A Rule of English

• The -ize Rule -ize can be added to a lexical
  item to give a new word.

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Rules (6)

• Claim Linguistic knowledge includes rules as
  well as a lexicon ( Lexicon Rules) rather
  than just a Lexicon alone.
• Evidence (1) Linguistic knowledge is creative.
• Examples Clintonize, etc.

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Rules (7) Another kind of evidence for rules

• Clintonize Clinton -ize
• Are there Presidents names you cant add -ize
  to?

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Rules (8) Name -ize

• OK
• Clintonize
• Reaganize
• Nixonize
• Carterize
• Lincolnize

• not OK ()
• Bushize
• Fordize
• Adamsize
• Rooseveltize

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Rules (9) The -ize Rule revised

• The -ize Rule (revised) -ize can be added to an
  item in the lexicon if that item contains two
  syllables and ends in -n or -r. (Otherwise not.)

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Rules (10) Evidence for rules (2)

• Evidence (2) Linguistic knowledge is creative,
  but there are limits to that creativity.
• Examples Clintonize is OK, but Bushize,
  Eisenhowerize arent OK.

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Rules (11) Summary

• Claim The LexiconRules hypothesis is better
  than the Lexicon alone hypothesis.
• Evidence
• (1) Creativity (ex., Reaganize).
• (2) Limits to creativity (ex., Bushize).

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Rules (12) -- Knowledge of a rule What is known
how it is acquired

• What is known You know what forms the rule
  applies to and what forms it creates.
• How it was acquired You encountered many
  individual forms that exhibit the operation of
  the rule.

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Linguistic Knowledge Tacitness

• Claim Linguistic knowledge is tacit or
  unconscious.
• Evidence For the most part, its not possible
  to verbalize the rules we know we must discover
  them.
• Example The -ize Rule.

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Linguistic Knowledge Acquisition

• Claim Linguistic knowledge is acquired largely
  without instruction.
• Evidence/Example The -ize Rule.

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Linguistic Knowledge to this point Summary

• includes knowledge of
• A list of Lexical items.
• A set of rules. Ev(1) creativity Ev(2)
  limits to creativity.
• is mostly unconscious (tacit).
• is acquired with little or no instruction.

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General Two kinds of knowledge

• Knowledge of lists (e.g., lexicon)
• Acquired one-by-one once acquired does not allow
  for creativity.
• Knowledge of rules
• Allows for creativity (production and
  understanding of new forms but within limits).

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Keep in mind

• For this Wednesday
• Reading in FR and CR (see Course Information).
• Go over questions on the videotape Colorless
  Green Ideas (CR, pp. 23-26).

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• Leave your filled-out Student Information Sheet
  on the trash cases at the back of the room as you
  leave.