HANDOUTS
FIRST FACE-TO-FACE MEETING
19 JUNE 2011
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: PROF MADYA DR AIN NADZIMAH ABDULLAH
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
FACULTY OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND
COMMUNICATION
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
43400 SERDANG
SELANGOR
EMAIL: ain@putra.upm.edu.my
ain@fbmk.upm.edu.my
OFFICE CONTACT: 03 8947 1202 / 03 8946 8740
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COURSE
DESCRIPTION
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BBI 3201 / INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL LINGUISTICS
The Course
The course Introduction to General Linguistics aims to provide basic knowledge of the
kinds of questions linguists have asked and are asking about language. Providing a broad
understanding of human language is of concern, i.e. what language is, what it is used for,
and how it works.
The more immediate objectives of the course are to:
 lead you to examine your own linguistic beliefs and attitudes
 make you aware of both the diversity of language systems and their fundamental
similarities
 give you a reasonable ‘taste’ of most of the subfields of linguistics: phonetics,
phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, historical and sociolinguistics
 acquaint you with the basic concepts necessary to pursue further linguistic study.
I would like to stress that this course is intended to arouse curiosity about language. The
material in lectures and the text has practical applications to the world we live in.
BBI 3201 provides an introduction to the scientific study of human languages,
concentrating on the similarity and diversity of the languages of the world. The study of
linguistics is divided into several areas. They are the study of
 sounds and their patterns (phonetics and phonology)
 words (morphology)
 sentences (syntax)
 how linguistic knowledge is applied in social situations in different cultures
(sociolinguistics)
 how languages change over time (historical or diachronic linguistics
 how people learn languages (language acquisition).
Please take note that the ability to read, comprehend, and discuss issues from the lectures
and text are essential. The readings for this course are difficult as the terminology is often
technical. As a result, note that the course requires ‘active’ reading. By that, I mean that
you must be willing to read everything assigned and, if necessary, ask questions about
what you cannot and do not understand. Often, you are also expected to engage in
inferential thinking. Many students have found my tests difficult because they never
learned to read and question on anything more than the literal level. To get a good grade,
you must therefore read and write well – in other words, you will have to think.
The TEXT for the course is
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R. & Hyams, N. 2011. An Introduction to Language.
Boston: Wadsworth.
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You are responsible for ALL the required readings from the text. Refer to the table
below.
READINGS
TOPIC
What is Language?
Introduction to Linguistics
TEXT
Phonetics and Phonology
Chapter 4
Morphology
Chapter 1
Syntax
Chapter 2
Semantics
Chapter 3
Language, society and culture
Chapter 9
Language history and change
Chapter 10
Development of writing
Chapter 11
Chapter 6
You are reminded to
 keep in regular contact with course instructor and not leave problems until they
become very difficult to deal with
 read very carefully, assessment and evaluation procedures, and deadlines stated in the
course outline
NEGOTIATING A BETTER GRADE?
You might wish to come see me or write to me about changing your grade, for whatever
reason. Before doing so, please note that the following are not reasons to ask for a better
grade: Needing to get a better job; needing to keep your scholarship; problems you’re
having with other courses; your expectation that this was going to be your “easy” course
this semester; and generally any other reason that has nothing to do with your knowledge
of this class.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
In order to meet the requirements of this course, it is expected that all of your written
work, including the writing assignment and in-class exams, will represent your own
honest, individual, and original efforts to engage with the material in this class. Please be
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careful with your written work. Dishonesty of any kind (e.g., “copying” or “borrowing”)
will not be tolerated, and will result in a failing grade for the class. You are expected to
cite your sources properly and include a list of references. You must be scrupulously
honest in documenting the work that you have drawn from others. You may prepare your
citations in any standard style used in scholarly writing (e.g., MLA, APA), but please be
sure to use it consistently and correctly.
Here are some examples of academic integrity violations. DO NOT DO THESE!!!




Copying from or looking on to a neighbor's exam during the mid-semester or final
Copying a friend assignment
Smuggling notes into a closed-book exam.
Giving a false reason (e.g., death of a relative) for missing an exam or turning in
the assignment late
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Name: Ain Nadzimah Abdullah
E-mail: ain@fbmk.upm.edu.my / ain@putra.upm.edu.my
Office Phone: 03 8946 8740 / 03 8947 1202
Office Location: InfoComm Development Center (iDEC)
Universiti Putra Malaysia
43400 Serdang, Selangor
Course blog: ainnadzimah.tumblr.com
Please feel free to come by my office, call or email me if you'd like to discuss your
progress and/or other concerns during the semester. …And remember: the only dumb
question is the one you don’t ask…
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ASSESSMENT
AND
EVALUATION
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Assessment and Evaluation
You are responsible for the following.
ASSIGNMENT (value: 30% of course grade) (Due Week 9)
You will be given a written assignment to work on. The questions will be given to you
DURING OUR FIRST FACE-TO-FACE MEETING (19 June 2011).
MID-SEMESTER TEST (value: 30% of course grade)
(Time and date will be set by Pusat Program Luar)
A multiple choice quiz comprising 40 questions will be given.
You will be tested on the following:
What is Language?
Introduction to Linguistics
Phonetics and Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
FINAL EXAMINATION (value: 40% of course grade)
(Time and date will be set by Pusat Program Luar)
A one and a quarter hour (1¼) final examination will be held during the
period scheduled for examinations. The examination will consist of 40 60 multiple choice questions. Topics tested during the final examination
will cover those we have covered during the second half of the semester.
Semantics
Language, society and culture
Language history and change
Development of writing
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STUDENT
INFORMATION
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BBI 3201
Introduction to General Linguistics
Please provide me with the information below. (e-mail the completed form to
ain@fbmk.upm.edu.my)
Part One
Name: ________________________________________________________________
Student number: ________________________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Telephone number(s): Home ______________________________________________
Mobile: ____________________________________________
Workplace: _________________________________________
Email: _________________________________________________________________
Part Two
Have you ever taken courses in linguistics?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What do you expect to learn from the course BBI 3201 / Introduction to General
Linguistics?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for helping me to get to know you better. I hope we will have a fruitful
semester ahead.
Ain Nadzimah
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ASSIGNMENT
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ASSIGNMENT
PLEASE USE
ASSIGNMENT.
THIS
COVER
PAGE
WHEN
SUBMITTING
YOUR
The objective of this assignment is to see how you are able to use your knowledge, rather
than how you have memorized certain facts.
Please use BLOCK letters when filling in the details below.
Name: _______________________________________________________
Student number: _______________________________________________
Address:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Telephone Contact:
(Home) _______________________
(Office) ______________________
(Mobile) ______________________
E-mail (if any): ________________________________________________
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BBI 3201 / INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL LINGUISTICS
________________________________________________________________
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
OF ABOUT 4 – 5
WHAT?
PAGES
A
VALUE?
30% OF YOUR COURSE GRADE
WHEN?
DUE WEEK 9
SEND TO?
ain@fbmk.upm.edu.my
(Do mention in subject line of your email: BBI 3201 –
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT)
________________________________________________________________
ANSWER
1.
a.
b.
c.
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
3.
ALL THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
What is the difference between a phonetic and a phonemic
transcription of the same utterance?
Name four articulation points for stops in English.
Give a minimal pair showing that /l/ and /ɹ/ are different phonemes
in English.
What is the difference between free and bound morphemes?
Divide the word untimelier into morphemes and show its internal
structure.
By which of the word-formation processes described in chapter four
was the word podcast created?
Give an example of two words that are homophones.
Define and describe the following terms: pidgins, creoles, lingua franca. In
your answer make sure that you describe their distinguishing
characteristics indicating where and in what circumstances they arise.
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LECTURE
OUTLINE
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What is linguistics?
Branches of linguistics

What linguistics is not

Linguistics is not to be identified with four main fields.
( David Crystal, 1985)

What linguistics is

Definitions of linguistics

Who is a linguist?

‘Of course I know what language is. I use it all the time.’
What is language?

‘Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for
human communication’ (Wardhaugh, 1994)

The importance of understanding language

The universals of language

What do you know when you know a language?

Branches of linguistics
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LECTURE
NOTES
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WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
WHAT IS LINGUISTICS?
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What is the trait which most decisively distinguishes human beings from all other
creatures on the planet ?




Love ?
Warfare ?
Art and Music ?
Technology ?

Language is the greatest human possession. It is a very complex phenomenon.

It is the focal point of everything we do and it distinguishes man from other forms of
life on earth.

We need language to function. Without language our needs and wishes will never
get the chance to be expressed.
What is language ?



Language is a means of communication.
Language is a means of transferring thoughts from one mind to another.
Language is the systematic, conventional use of sounds, signs or written
symbols in a human society for communication and self expression.
(David Crystal, 1992)
Language provides the means for us to

take our place in society

express our wants

convey information

learn about the people and world around us
In short, language enables us to live effectively, to develop our capabilities, and to
satisfy our curiosity about our surroundings.
The Origins of Language



What is the world’s oldest spoken language?
Have all languages developed from a single source?
What was the language spoken in the Garden of Eden?
For centuries, people have speculated over the origins of human language. The
questions above are fascinating and have provoked experiments and discussion whose
history dates back 3000 years.
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The Origins of Language


We have no direct knowledge of the origins and early development of language.
We can only speculate, arrive at our own conclusions, and remain dissatisfied.
One group of 19th. century scholars (the Linguistic Society of Paris) took drastic
action in 1866. They published an edict banning the discussion of the origin
of
language at their meetings.
Early ‘Experiments’



According to the Greek historian, Herodotus, the Egyptian King Psammethichus who
reigned during the 7th. century BC wanted to find out which of all the peoples of the
world was the most ancient.
His way of determining this was to discover the oldest language which, he thought,
would be evidence of the oldest race.
He gave two new-born babies of ordinary men to a shepherd, to nurture among his
flocks. He asked that no one should utter any speech to the infants. The infants were
to be brought up in solitary isolation, and when it was time to feed them their milk,
the shepherds were to bring the goats to them. Psammetichus wanted to discover what
tongue the infants would utter first (when they were past meaningless whimperings).
Early ‘Experiments’



The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250) also carried out
an experiment with children.
He used infants too. He asked foster mothers and nurses to suckle, bathe and wash the
children, but NOT to speak to them.
He wanted to know whether they would first speak the Hebrew language, Greek,
Latin or Arabic, or the language of the parents to whom they were born.
Early ‘Experiments’



James IV of Scotland (1473-1513) took a dumb (hearing and speech impaired) young
woman and her two children and furnished them with all necessary things pertaining
to their nourishment, clothing, fire, candles.
He wanted to know what language the children would speak.
Some say they spoke good Hebrew. However, this is merely hearsay.
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Views on the Origin of Language


Language originated in a paradise where its pristine form was perfectly logical and
grammatical. Language was traced to the Garden of Eden. The first man and first
woman spoke the language bestowed on them by their creator.
The ‘bow-wow theory’ suggested that speech arose through people imitating the
sounds of the environment, especially animal calls. The evidence seems to be in the
use of onomatopoeic words. However, few of these exist in language, and languages
vary so much in the way they represent natural sounds, this theory has little support.
Views on the Origin of Language


The ‘pooh-pooh’ theory suggests that speech arose through people making instinctive
sounds, caused by pain, anger, or other emotions.
The ‘ding-dong’ theory suggests that speech arose because people reacted to the
stimuli in the world around them, and spontaneously produced sound which in some
way reflected the environment. The word mama is supposed to reflect the movement
of the lips as the mouth approaches the breast, and bye-bye or ta-ta show the lips and
tongue waving good-bye.
Views on the Origin of Language


The yo-heave-ho theory suggests that speech arose because, as people worked
together, their physical efforts produced communal, rhythmical grunts, which in due
course developed into chants, and thus language.
The la-la theory suggests that speech arose from the romantic side of life, that is,
from sounds associated with love, poetic feeling, perhaps even song. But, the gap
between the emotional and the rational aspects of speech would still have to be
accounted for.
Why Do Languages Differ From One Another ?



The Old Testament relates that before the Tower of Babel, all men and women spoke
the same language, and could understand one another without difficulty.
Human haughtiness eventually provoked God into punishing people by confounding
their language and introducing mutually unintelligible tongues.
Given this story, language differences among people can be seen as a penalty for
sinful behavior.
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Why Do Languages Differ From One Another?


Similarly, Muslims believe that God spoke to Prophet Mohammed in a form of
Arabic that was by definition ‘pure’ and ‘perfect’. The Holy Quran is viewed as the
exemplar of pure and grammatically perfect Arabic.
The many varieties of present-day Arabic spoke in Africa and the Gulf, and
elsewhere, are seen as having risen through the subsequent weakness and culpability
of their speakers.
Why Do Languages Differ From One Another?



Linguists take a different approach. They see the multiplicity of languages as the
product of natural historical change.
Languages change as a result of people shaping and reshaping their languages to
meet changing social and intellectual needs.
Languages also change as a reflection of contact with people speaking different
languages.
Design Features of Language /
Fundamental Properties of Language





Duality of Patterning
Displacement
Open-Endedness
Stimulus-Freedom
Arbitrariness
Duality of Patterning
 Every utterance we make consists of speech sounds, one after another.
 How many different speech sounds can you produce ?
 In fact, every human language operates with only a small set of speech sounds. Take
English for example, consider the word cat, how many speech sounds does it
contain ? (answer - 3, the k sound, the flat a, and the t sound)
 For convenience, let us introduce special symbols for each of the speech sounds - / k
/, / æ / and / t /. We use the slashes / / to indicate we are talking about distinctive
speech sounds (phonemes).
Duality of Patterning
 Now, if someone asks you what the English word
/ k æ t / means, you will have no trouble in answering. But suppose, someone asks
you what the English phoneme / k / means? This time it is impossible for you to
answer as the phoneme
/ k/ has no meaning in English ( nor / æ / or / t / ).
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


But now notice something else. These same meaningless phonemes can be rearranged
to produce different words with different meanings. Thus the order /tæk/ produces
the word tack, while /ækt/ produces the word act, /æt/ gives at, and /tækt/gives
tacked or tact.
What is happening is that, by combining a very small set of meaningless speech
sounds in various ways, we can produce a very large number of different meaningful
items--words.
All human languages are constructed in this way, and this is called duality of
patterning or duality.
Why is duality of patterning significant ?

Suppose, every individual sound we could produce had its own meaning, then the
number of different meanings we could express would be no greater than the number
of sounds we could produce.
 Since we can’t produce more than a hundred speech sounds due to the restricted
capacity of our vocal apparatus, the result would be that a language could contain
only about a hundred words. This would be catastrophic. Imagine English consisting
no more than a hundred words.
Duality of Patterning


Duality is unique to human language.
Incidentally !!
How many phonemes are there in English? Answer : around 40.
Why such a vague answer?
Because not all English speakers use exactly the same set of speech sounds.
Do you pronounce the words book or buck differently or identically ?
People who pronounce them differently have one more vowel than those who
pronounce them identically)
Displacement


Displacement is the use of language to talk about things other than the here and
now.
In contrast to animals, humans have a sense of the past and future. We are able to talk
about last night’s badminton game, our childhood, or the behavior of dinosaurs which
lived over a 100 million years ago. On the other hand, a gorilla, cannot tell his fellows
about his parents, his adventures in the jungle, or his experiences of the past.
Displacement

Displacement is thus our ability to convey a meaning that transcends the immediately
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

perceptible sphere of space and time.
The use of language to talk about things other than the ‘here and now’ is a
characteristic of human language.
Although some animals seem to possess abilities appropriating those of
displacement, they lack the freedom to apply this to new contexts. The dance of the
honey bee, for instance, indicates the locations of rich deposits of food to other bees.
This ability of the bee corresponds to displacement in human language, except for a
lack of variation. The bee frequently repeats the same pattern in its dance, whereas
humans are able to invent ever new contexts.
Open-Endedness



Open-endedness is the ability to say things that have never been said before,
including the possibility to express invented things or lies.
A large pink spider wearing sunglasses and a polka dot sarong danced across the
floor of the Faculty of Modern Language Studies.
It is most unlikely that you have ever seen the sentence above. However, you have
no difficulty in understanding it, even though you may not believe it.
Stimulus-Freedom
 Stimulus-freedom is the ability to say anything you like in any context.
 Stimulus-freedom is another aspect that distinguishes human language from animal
communication.
 Humans have the ability to say anything they like in any context.
This ability is only restricted in certain ceremonial contexts such as church services,
etc., where a fixed form is expected to be followed.
The possibility to violate this fixed linguistic behavior is then a source of jokes, such
as a bride’s ‘NO’.
 Non-human animal signals are not stimulus-free, but rather stimulus bound. This
means that a non-human animal produces a particular signal only when the
appropriate stimulus is present.
Arbitrariness


Arbitrariness is the absence of any connection between a linguistic form and its
meaning.
The overwhelming presence of arbitrariness in language is the chief reason it takes so
long to learn the vocabulary of a foreign language. It is generally impossible to guess
the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
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Animal Signaling Systems Vs Human Languages



Lacking duality, displacement, open-endedness, stimulus-freedom, animal
signaling systems are most definitely different from human language.
Virtually all ‘utterances’ by non-human animals appear to relate directly, and
exclusively, to the time and place of uttering.
Human language is unique on this earth, and without it, we could not count ourselves
as human at all.
Language


Language is many things. It is a system of communication, a medium of thought, a
vehicle for literary expression, a social institution, a matter for political controversy, a
factor for nation building.
All normal human beings speak at least one language, and it is hard to imagine much
significant social or intellectual activity taking place in its absence.
The gift of language is the single human trait that marks us all genetically,
setting us apart from the rest of life.
Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell
The Importance of Understanding Language
An accurate appreciation of language is worth acquiring for several reasons.
 Most human knowledge and culture is stored and transmitted in language. Language
is everywhere. It permeates our thoughts, mediates our relations with others, and even
creeps into our dreams.
 Many serious problems in today’s world involve language in an essential way. To
what extent are language differences barriers to understanding? Is a universal
language feasible or desirable?
The Importance of Understanding Language



Should writers of dictionaries bow to popular usage?
Language is of central importance because so many of our thoughts assume linguistic
form.
Accurate machine translation, if it can be achieved at all, can hardly be programmed
without a reasonably sophisticated knowledge of language on the part of the
programmer.
In short, language should be understood because it is there.
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The Universal Traits of Language
Characteristics that apply to all known languages, everywhere, at any one time, are called
universal traits. The exact number of such traits will vary according to the classifying
system used, but here we shall discuss five major ones:





Language is human
Language is spoken
Language changes
Language is systematic
Language is symbolic
Language is Human
 No species beside homo sapiens appear to use the communication system of
language in the same way that humans beings do.
 Belonging only to human beings, language is therefore species specific.
 With some exceptions, there is no instance of a human being not using language.
 To be human is, above all, to speak.
Language is Spoken
 All languages, whether they are now or were ever written, were and are first spoken.
 All adult language users speak more often, and speak more utterances, than they ever
write.
Language Changes
 All languages change.
 Any language is in a constant, slow process of alteration.
 Constructions are dropped or added, old patterns combined in new ways, new words
coined from old parts.
 Languages also show variation over space. At any particular time, many different
versions of the same language will be spoken in different regions by different types of
people. The variations are collectively known as dialects.
Language is Systematic
 Every language in the world regulates itself, fits its units and unit groups together in
predictable ways, and produces systematically intelligible sounds and sentences.
 No language’s systems are more ‘primitive’ or more ‘advanced’ than any others
 All languages are complex but regular at all levels, from sound to sentence.
Language is Symbolic
 Words have no inherent, innate, or divinely decreed meanings.
Words merely stand for, represent, or symbolize meaning.
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What do you ‘know’ when you ‘know’ a language ?



Knowing a language differs from using that knowledge. Many people consider
‘knowing’ a language to be the ability to speak that language well.
Linguists look at this ‘knowledge’ as linguistic competence. Your linguistic
competence is your (mostly) unconscious knowledge of the rules of language.
This competence differs in significant ways from linguistic performance, which is
your actual speech behavior.
What do you ‘know’ when you ‘know’ a language?
When you ‘know’ a language, you actually ‘know’
 the sound system (phonology)
 morphology
 syntax
 semantics
 styles of speech
If I have one OOT and you have two, you have two __________.
If I have one WUG and you have two, you have two __________.
If I have one TOASH and you have tow, you have two _______.
What is Linguistics?
 Linguistics is the scientific study of language.
 Linguistics is a word often prone to misinterpretation. ( What are linguistics ? )
 Linguistics is the study of human language.
What Linguistics is NOT
Linguistics is NOT to be identified with four main fields (David Crystal,1985) :
 comparative philology, or philology, or the study of the history of language
 the learning of many languages or polyglottism
 literary criticism, or other fields involving a scale of values, such as speech training
 the traditional study of grammar
Who is a Linguist?
 The linguist is one who wants to find out language ‘works’.
 The linguist must be as objective as possible.
 He must avoid making careless, impressionistic judgments about what he thinks
happens in language, and must take into account of the usage of the native speakers
of the language he is investigating.
 The linguist must be descriptive and NOT prescriptive.
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Major Sub-Disciplines of Linguistics
Some major sub-disciplines of linguistics cover a wide range of topics.
 anthropological linguistics
 applied linguistics
 historical linguistics
 neurolinguistics
 psycholinguistics
Goals of Linguistics
To determine how linguistic knowledge
 is represented in the mind
 is acquired
 is perceived and used
 relates to other components of cognition
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TUTORIAL
WORKSHEET
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BBI 3201
LECTURE ONE
TUTORIAL WORKSHEET
Discuss the following questions.
1.
What do the barking of dogs, the meowing of cats and the singing
of birds have in common with human language?
What are some of the basic differences?
2.
In what sense is linguistics a science? Does this imply it is not
one of the humanities?
3.
What is the difference between the descriptive and the prescriptive
(or normative) approach to the investigation of language?
4.
In what sense, and to what degree, is written language the same as
spoken language?
What kinds of information are impossible, or very difficult, to
encode in writing, though they are naturally and normally encoded
in speech?
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