Introduction to Linguistics 1

Introduction to Linguistics
by Azman

A. The Goal of Linguistics Study:

1. To get a scientific view on language;
2. To understand some basic theories on linguistics;
3. To understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of language teaching & learning (SLA or TEFL), cross-cultural communication;
4. To prepare for the future research work.

B. Definitions of Language:
1. “Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Safir:1921)

2. Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall:1968)

3. Language is a set of (finite or infinite) sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.” (Chomsky:1957)

C. Characteristics of a Language
1. Systematic---- rule-governed, elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; can’t be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat.

2. Arbitrary---- no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with.

3. Symbolic---- words are associated with objects, actions ideas by convention. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”----Shakespeare

4. Vocal---- the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form.

5. Human-specific---- different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.

D. The features of human language (Charles Hockett):

1. Arbitrariness (No logical (motivated or intrinsic) connection between sounds and meanings.)
2. Productivity/Creativity (Peculiar to human languages, users of language can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before, e.g. we can understand sentence like “ A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed”, though it does not describe a common happening in the world.)
3. Duality. Double articulation: sound and meaning
4. Displacement. Language can be used to refer to things, which are not present: real or imagined matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places.
5. Cultural transmission. Language is culturally transmitted (through teaching and learning; rather than by instinct.

E. The Functions of Language
1. Phatic: establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact.
2. Directive: get the hearer to do something.
3. Informative: give information about facts.
4. Interrogative: get information from others.
5. Expressive: express feelings and attitudes of the speaker.
6. Evocative: create certain feelings in the hearer (amuse, startle, soothe, worry or please
7. Performative: language is used to do things, to perform actions.

F. The Origin of Language:
1. The divine-origin theory---- Language is a gift of God to mankind.
2. The invention theory---- imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together.
3. The evolutionary theory---- the result of physical and psychological development

G. Saussure's Sociological View of Language:
1. Langage --- the means of communication covering langue and parole.
2. Langue ---- the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community.
3. Parole ---- the realization of langue in actual use by individual people.

H. Language Competence and Performance (Chomsky, 1957):
1. Competence ---- the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language
2. Performance ---- the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication