WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
Introduction to Linguistics
WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
The design features of a language
(Charles Hockett)
Mode of communication
Semanticity
Pragmatic function
Interchangeability
Cultural transmission
Arbitrariness
Discreteness
Displacement
Productivity
Arbitrariness
FORM
ARBBITRARY
MEANING
Evidence for arbitrariness
‘Bed’
French
‘Borrowed/lent’
German
‘Lee’
English
‘This’
Cantonese
[li]
Discreteness/duality of patterning
[k]
cool/
Luke/
clue
[l]
[u]
Productivity
All human languages use a finite set of
linguistic data to generate an infinite set of
possible sentences – the creative aspect of
language
.
Natural/formal
languages
• The language that shows the
design features
• English, French, Mandarin
constructed
languages
• Invented that may or may not
possess the design features.
• Elvish, Klingon, Esperanto
A mystery: where does language come from? (1)
Ding-Dong
humans make to mimic the sounds of the world
around them.
boom = explosion
oink = the sound made by a pig.
Bow-wow
humans form their first words by imitating animal
sounds.
It seems difficult to accept that humans learned to
speak to one another by talking to the animals.
A mystery: where does language come from? (2)
Pooh-pooh
the first words developed from sighs of pleasure,
moans of pain, and other semi-involuntary cries or
exclamations.
Uh-oh
human language begins with the use of arbitrary
symbols that represent warnings to other members of
the human band.
Yo-he-ho
language arose in rhythmic chants and vocalisms
uttered by people engaged in communal labour.
A mystery: where does language come from? (3)
Language is a human instinct
Human beings are born with the ability to
speak language.
Universal Grammar (UG)
Universal Grammar (UG)
Definition
The properties that all human languages
share.
Feature
Innateness
Human beings are born with language ability.
Evidence
Children can acquire languages they are
exposed to with ease.
What does it mean by saying you speak Mandarin
Chinese ?
Linguistically, you possess the linguistic
knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.
Sounds
Words
Sentences
Linguistic Knowledge
Knowledge of sound system
The inventory of sounds in a language
Chinese: [+l], [-r]. Lai, *rai
The possible arrangement of sound sequences
English: [nuk]; [snuk]; *[sknuk]; *[mnuk]
Chinese: [mau]; [myau]; *[aum]; *[yaum]
Knowledge of words
Form and meaning => arbitrary
Knowledge of sentences and non-sentences
All students love linguistics;
*Love linguistics all students
Competence vs. Performance
Competence
What you know about linguistic knowledge
A perfect linguistic system
Performance
How you use this linguistic knowledge in actual
speech production and comprehension
Example:
Competence:
John likes German cars.
Performance: You don’t
*John like German car.
What is grammar?
What a speaker knows about language.
Linguistic knowledge, competence
Components
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
lexicon
Types of grammar
Descriptive grammar
To describe what you know about grammar
John is the person who/whom I met yesterday.
暴露 [bau lou], [pou lou]
Prescriptive grammar
To tell you how you should use about grammar
John is the person *who/whom I met yesterday.
暴露 *[bau lou], [pou lou]
Teaching grammar
Used to learn a language
Do you agree…
Apes and dogs have their
own languages. We just
don’t understand them.
The Formosan languages
(e.g., Paiwan, Atayal) are
aboriginal languages.
They are not as good as
Chinese, English, or
French.
The truth is…
Wherever humans exist, language exits.
All languages are equal - no ‘primitive’
language