Some Fundamental Points of Language

1
Some Fundamental Points of Language
2
Some General Concepts About Language

• Wherever humans exist, L exists
• Language is systematic very complex
• Different languages are very diverse but also
  share universal properties
• Speech is primary, writing is secondary
• Children ACQUIRE and are not TAUGHT their L1
• Every language changes as time passes

3
Some Myths About Language

• Some L are primitive
• Writing is more perfect than speech
• French is romantic, German harsh, English hard to
  learn
• Swearing degrades a language
• Sloppy speech should be avoided

4
Speech versus Writing

• Why does ling consider speech primary?
• Writing is a later development
• Writing does not exist everywhere, spoken L does
• Writing must be taught, one can still communicate
  using language without being literate

5
Different Definitions of Grammar

• Mental Grammar
• Unconscious rules of L that allow us to construct
  grammatical utterances (plural /-s/ in English)
• Descriptive Grammar
• Linguists descriptions of the rules of L
• Prescriptive Grammar
• The proper or correct way to use language

6
Prescriptive v. Descriptive Grammar

• Prescriptive
• Right v. wrong
• Casts value judgments
• Tries to force specific L variety
• Descriptive
• Accounts for observed rules/patterns
• Unbiased
• Allows for different varieties

7
Is a prescriptive variety necessary?

• Helps establish a standard for
  cross-dialectal communication
• Second language learning
• Marking social distinctions

8
Everyone uses several registers

• What is a register?
• Professional
• Peer group
• Motherese

9
Language Statistics

• How many languages are there?
• Which languages have the most speakers and which
  are more official?
• What some people think about English

10
Animal Communication

• Observations from File 2.3 Primate Studies
• We share 99 of genetic material with the great
  apes, yet that 1 difference is responsible for
  humans ability to speak
• Gua versus Donald

11
Animal Communication cont.

• Viki female chimp taught to vocalize
• Washoe and Koko From human speech sounds to ASL
• Sarah language board sentences
• Lana lexigrams

12
Animal Communication cont.

• Still the main questions is Did these chimps
  acquire human language?
• The chimp Nim Chimpsky
• Use of language use of grammar
• Mental referents, symbols we conjure when we
  think of a word