Introduction
Basic linguistic concepts
What is
linguistics?
Goal of Linguistics
Hypothesis
Observation
Data Collection
Competence
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
etc...
Performance
Prescriptive Grammar
vs.
Descriptive Grammar
Different Kinds of
Ungrammaticality
1.
I aksed you that before!
2.
That is a great idear!
3.
It ain’t true at all!
4.
*I walks to the park everyday!
Features shared by all
communication systems

A mode of communication:
All communication system has the means
(organs) to transmit the messages.

Semanticity:
The signals/communications have a
meaning or function.

Pragmatic function:
All system of communication serves some
useful purpose.
Properties of Human Language

Displacement:
You can refer to past/present/future and
other location

Arbitrariness:
No connection between a linguistic form
(signal) and its meaning

Productivity:
You can understand/say any number of
sentences that you may not have heard
before.
Properties of Human Language

Cultural transmission:
Children’s ability to learn language is innate but
they must learn it through communicative
interaction with other users of the system.

Discreteness:
We can combine discreet units in order to create
larger communicative units (such as speech sounds,
words, sentences).
Human Language is unique
Communication System
Animal
Human
Language
Mode of communication
Yes
Yes
Smell, touch, facial
expression
Yes
Yes
Semanticity
Yes
Yes
Pragmatic function
Yes
Yes
Displacement
No
Yes
Arbitrariness
No
Yes
Discreteness
No
Yes
Cultural transmission
No
Yes
Productivity
No
Yes
Language=speech
language≠writing
Speech
Writing
NO specific instruction or
learning required
Must be taught
Does not exist everywhere
Can be edited
Physically stable
More rules
Association with education
Pictographic writing system

Spoken human language 50,000 - 30,000 BC

Pictures on the walls 25,000-30,000 years BC
Pictographic writing system

4100-3800 BCE
Cuneiform in Mesopotamia

4000 BC
Hieroglyphics in Egypt
Early Chinese Characters

4500 years ago
Writing (orthographic)
systems
Writing
system:
a. Idiographic/logographic
b. syllabic
c. alphabetic
Ideo(logo)graphic writing
system

4500 years ago in China
Light:
Forest:
Foot of mountain:
Walk:
Syllabic and Alphabetic writing
system
Syllabic (cf. syllable)
1 syllable = 1 character
Banana: ba.na.na  バナナ
Sushi:
su.shi. すし


Alphabetic
1 sound (ideally) = 1 character
Banana: b.a.n.a.n.a  6 characters
Hiragana
Vowels, consonants [+/-voi]
• Any inconsistencies or problems?
Kanji and Katakana
Katakana derived from abbreviated Chinese characters used by Buddhist monks to indicate
pronunciations of Chinese text in the 9th century. What are the usages of Katakana in Modern
Japanese?
Japanese Writing System: Mixture
of innovation and tradition

What made Japanese to use ideographic and syllabic writing
system?
I go to school.
I went to school.
I went to school yesterday.
keywords: isolating language, morpheme, syllable, inflections
Biology of Speech Sounds
The articulators
Vowel Sounds

Components of vowels

Height of the tongue (high, mid, low)

Advancement of the tongue (front, mid, back)

Roundness of lips (rounded or unrounded)

Tense or lax (long or short)
English Vowel Chart
Two Kinds of Speech Sounds
1.
Consonants
2.
Vowels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcNMCB-Gsn8&feature=related
Consonant Sounds

3 components of consonant articulation
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-10664039847000669



Voiced or Voiceless [+/- voi]
Where the air stream gets constricted?
 place of articulation
How the air stream gets constricted?
manner of articulation
English consonants
English
Consonants
Stop
Bilabial
Labiodental
Interdental
p
b
Fricative
f
v
θ
ð
Alveolar
t
d
s
z
Affricate
Nasal
m
Lateral Approximant
(lateral liquids)
Retroflex Approximant
Glides
Alveolarpalatal
Palatal
k
g
ʃ( )
ʒ( )
tʃ ( )
dʒ ( )
Uvular
Glottal
ʔ
h
ŋ
n
l
ɹ
ʍ( )
w
Velar
j (y)
Japanese Consonants
Japanese
Consonants
Stop
Bilabial
Fricative
ɸ
p
b
Affricate
Nasal
Lateral Approximant
(lateral liquids)
Retroflex Approximant
Glides
m
Labiodental
Interdental
Alveolar
t
d
s
z
ts
dz
Alveolarpalatal
Palatal
Velar
Uvular
Glottal
k
g
ɕ (=ʃ )
ç
h
tɕ (=tʃ )
dʑ (=dʒ )
ŋ
n
ɾ
j(y)
w
N
English Vowels
English
Front
Central
Back
High
u
i
ɪ
Mid
ʊ
e
ə, ʌ
ɛ
æ
Low
o
ɔ
ɑ
Japanese Vowels
Japanese____________________________________
Front
Central
Back
High
ɯ
i
Mid
Low
e
o
a