The Nature of Language

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The Nature of Language
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Introduction 1.1What is
linguistics 1.1.1Definition Linguistics is
generally defined as the scientific study of
language.
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The Scope of Linguistics
Language is a complicated entity with multiple
layers and facets , so the linguists have to
concentrate on one aspect of it at a time. The
study of sounds which are used in linguistic
communication is called phonetics .
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The study of how sounds are put together and used
in communication is called phonology.
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While sounds are primary in linguistic
communication, they are represented by certain
symbols, i.e. , words and morphemes. The study of
the way in which morphemes are arranged to form
words is called morphology.
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The combination of these words to form
permissible sentences in languages is governed by
rules. The study of how morphemes and words are
combined to form sentences is called syntax.
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The ultimate objective of language is not just to
create grammatically well-formed sentences, but
to convey meaning. The study of meaning in
language is called semantics.
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Language communication does not occur in a
vacuum. It always occurs in a context, i.e., it
always occurs at a certain time, at a certain
place, between participants with particular
intentions. The study of meaning in context of
use is called pragmatics .
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Language is a social activity carried out in a
certain social environment by human beings.
Therefore, language and society are closely
related.
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The language a person uses often reveals his
social background, and there exist social norms
that determine the type of language to be used on
a certain occasion
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Language changes are often caused by social
changes. The study of language with reference
to society is called
sociolinguistics.
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The study of language with reference to the
workings of mind is called psycholinguistics.
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Findings in linguistic studies can often be
applied to the solution of such problems as the
recovery of speech ability. The study of such
applications is generally known as applied
linguistics.
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But in a narrow sense, applied linguistics refers
to the application of linguistic principles and
theories to language teaching and learning,
especially the teaching of foreign and second
languages.
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According to Sapir (19218) Language is a
purely human and non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions and desires by
means of voluntarily produced symbols.
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This definition suffers many defects.
1) However broadly we construe the terms idea,
emotion and desire, it seems clear that there
is much that is communicated by language which is
not covered by any of them and idea in
particular is inherently imprecise.
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2) there are many systems of voluntarily
produced symbols that we only count as languages
in what we feel to be an extended or metaphorical
sense of the word language.
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For example
what is now popularly referred to by means of the
expression body language ---which makes use of
gestures, postures, eye-gaze, etc.---would seem
to satisfy this point of Sapirs definition.
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In their Outline of Linguistic Analysis Bloch and
Trager wrote (19425) A language is a system of
arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a
social group co-operates.
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What is striking about this definition, in
contrast with Sapirs is that it makes no appeal,
except indirectly and by implication, to the
communicative function of language
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Instead, it puts all the emphasis upon its social
function and, in doing so, as we shall see
later, it takes a rather narrow view of the role
that language plays in society.
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The Block and Trager definition differs from
Sapirs in that it brings in the property of
arbitrariness and explicitly restricts language
to spoken language (thus making the phrase
written language contradictory).
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The term arbitrariness is here being used in a
rather special sense.
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In his Essay on Language, Hall (1968158) tells
us that language is
the institution whereby humans communicate and
interact with each other by means of habitually
used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.
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Among the points to notice here
are, first of all, the fact that both
communication and interaction are introduced into
the definition (interaction being broader than
and, in this respect, better than cooperation)
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second, that the term oral-auditory can be
taken to be roughly equivalent to vocal
differing from it only in that oral-auditory
makes reference to the hearer as well as to the
speaker i.e. to the receiver as well as the
sender of the vocal signals that we identify as
language- utterances).
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Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely
human institution and the term institution
makes explicit the view that the language that is
used
by a particular society is part of that societys
culture.
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Chomsky says that From now on I will consider a
language to be a set (finite or infinite) of
sentences, each finite in length and constructed
out of a finite set of elements.
Syntactic Structures (195713)
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Design Features of Human Language
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1) Arbitrariness there are no direct or
intrinsic links between form and meaning or
between the signal and the message.
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There are sporadic instances in all languages of
what is traditionally referred to as
onomatopoeia cf. The non-arbitrary connection
between the form and the meaning of such
onomatopoeic words as cuckoo, peewit,
crash, in English.
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Onomatopoeic Motivation
Primary onomatopoeia
Primary onomatopoeia means the imitation of
sounds by sounds.
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Apes gibber. Bears growl Bulls bellow Cats mew (
purr) Eagles scream. Frogs croak. Goats bleat.
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Asses bray. Beetles drone. Camels
grunt. Ducks quack. Flies buzz. Geese
cackle (gabble). Horses neigh ( snort).
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Hens cluck. Larks warble Lions roar
Magpies chatter. Mice squeak Owls hoot
(screech) pigeons coo. Pigs squeal (
grunt). Snakes hiss. Wolves
howl. Turkeys gobble.
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??????? clash, clank, ting, tinkle, clang,
jangle, ding-dong, tick-tack
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??????? splash, bubble, sizz, sizzle,
splish-splosh, drip-drop
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Secondary onomatopoeia
It means that certain sounds and sound sequences
are associated with certain senses in an
expressive relationship
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Sn- 1) breath-noise sniff, snuff, snore,
snort 2)quick separation or movement snip,
snap, snatch 3)creeping snake, snail, sneak,
snoop
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Sl- 1) slippery slide, slip, slither, slush,
sluice, sludge 2) pejorative sense slattern,
slut, slang, sly, sloppy, slovenly
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Sk- ????? skate, skim, skin, skid, skimp -ump
????? plump, chump, rump, hump, stump, dump, mump
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/h/??????????? heavy, haste, hurry, hit, heave,
hoarse, hurl?
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Wh-???????? wham, whang, whap, whop, wheeze,
whicker, whinny, whomp, whoop
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But the vast majority of the words in all
languages are non-onomatopoeic The connection
between their form and their meaning is arbitrary
in that, given the form, it is impossible to
predict the meaning and, given the meaning, it is
impossible to predict the form.
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2) Duality It is meant the property of having
two levels of structure. The units of the
primary level are composed of elements of the
secondary level and each of the two levels has
its own principles of organization.
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3) creativity
It refers to the ability that we all have to
construct and understand an indefinitely large
number of sentences in our native language,
including sentences that we have never heard
before, but that are appropriate to the situation
in which they are uttered.
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4) displacement
Displacement means that language can be used to
talk about the things that exist in our world of
experience or in the world of imagination.
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We can use the language to talk about things that
happened in the past , or that are happening now
or that will happen in the future.
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5) Cultural Transmission
It means that language is not genetically passed
down from one generation to another. Rather,
language has to be learned.
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Some important distinctions in linguistics
1)Prescriptive vs descriptive
If a linguistic study aims to describe and
analyze the language people actually use, it is
said to be descriptive
If the linguistic study aims to lay down rules
for correct and standard behaviour in using
language, it is prescriptive.
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2) Synchronic vs diachronic
The description of a language at some point of
time in history is a synchronic study.
The description of a language as it changes
through time is a diachronic study.
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3) Speech and writing
Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as
the natural or the primary medium of human
language for some obvious reasons.
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A. Speech is prior to writing B. The writing
system is always invented by its users to
record speech. C. Speech plays a greater role
than writing in the amount of information
conveyed. D. Speech is always the way in which
every native speaker acquires his mother
tongue.
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4) Langue and parole
Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system
shared by all the members of a speech community.
Parole refers to the realization of langue in
actual use.
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5) Competence and performance
Competence is the ideal users knowledge of the
rules of his language.
Performance is the actual realization of this
knowledge in linguistic communication.