Language and Linguistics
Unit 1 Awareness of Language
Presented By: Jia Lin (Dana)
Unit 1 Objectives
 Learning about the development and the
significance of human language.
 Considering popular views of language.
 Understanding how language and dialect affect
everyday life.
 Getting a basic idea or “gist” of what linguistic
science is about.
P3
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Unit 1 Overview
Awareness of Language
Warm-up
Exercise
1 Language, Homo
Sapiens and Civilization
2 Traditional and Popular
Views of Language
3 Language: Yours and
Not Yours
Tasks
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Tasks
1, 2, 3, 4
Tasks
1, 2, 3
Review
Discussion
P3
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Warm-up Exercise
Tell me your name without moving
your mouth or your hands.
A1 T1
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1
Language, Homo Sapiens and
Civilization
A1 P3
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Key Terms
gist
 take for granted
 theory of evolution
 sign language
 linguistics
 innate
 nature vs. nurture
 dialect

A1 T1-3 P4-9
...basic idea
...do not appreciate
...dominant theory of origin
...uses body gestures
...study of language
...natural, instinctive
...born with or acquire?
...a variety of language
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Reflect on language
We take language for
granted.
 What if… you couldn’t
communicate?
 Experiments with apes
and chimpanzees
demonstrate that human
language is uniquely
powerful.

A1 T1 P4-5
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Why Human Language is Unique
Human Language
Animal Language
No relationship between
sound and meaning, many
possible combinations.
Use of grammar to create
complex structures.
Sound directly related to
meaning.
Not limited to immediate
context.
Limited to the “here and
now”.
A1 T1 P5
Lacking grammatical
structure.
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Questions for Discussion
Under what conditions would the ability to
communicate be less important to you than your eyes,
mouth and hands?
In what situations might your ability to communicate
be more important to you than your eyes, mouth and
hands?
A1 T1 P4
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Is language innate?
Are humans born with
natural, instinctive
language ability?
 Consider the interaction
between a mother and
her child.
 How much knowledge of
language emerges from
within the brain?

A1 T2 P6-7
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How do babies learn?
Could this baby learn a
language without being
talked to?
 Do very young infants
really understand
speech?
 If not, what function does
listening play in language
learning?

A1 T2 P6-7
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Universal Grammar?
A theory stating that language ability is innate (also
known as transformational-generative grammar).
 A core grammar would include rules and possibilities
that govern all languages.
 To learn grammar, a baby only needs to learn which
option to activate (e.g. each sentence must have a
subject or not).
 Language learning becomes easier because there is a
common framework!
 Access to framework may end with “critical period”.

A1 T1 P7
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Is language learned?
Nature versus nurture, or
elements of both?
 Children learn the
language spoken in their
environment.
 Language is learned
more easily during a
childhood “critical
period”.

A1 T3 P7-9
Without an innate sense
of grammar, a child could
not master language.
 We are born with our
minds and speech
organs prepared to learn
language.
 Yet, to learn a language
requires “input”.

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Language is…
Symbolic
Functional
Helen Keller needed to learn Naming objects allows us to
that words are symbols.
describe and request them.
Braille uses raised dots to
represent words.
Higher education would not
be possible without words.
“A rose by any other name
would smell as sweet.”
Every speech act has a
purpose.
A1 T3 P8-9
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The value of nouns
Try to tell your classmate what you ate this morning or
yesterday without using any name words (nouns). You
can use body language, gestures and facial expressions.
Example: I had a cup of XXXXXX and a XXXX of
XXXXXXX for my XXXXXXXXX.
Naming objects makes communication so much easier!
A1 T3 P9
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Key Terms
historical linguistics
 dominant view
 Homo sapiens
 fossils
 artifacts
 migration
 language family
 civilization

A1 T4-5 P9-22
...study language history
...generally accepted idea
...name for human species
...usually old pieces of bone
...old tools and objects
...movement to new areas
...group of languages
...ordered society
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Why are there so many
languages?



A1 T4 P9-11
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The book of Genesis says
that humans originally spoke
one language.
Some men began to build a
tower in the city of Babel.
God caused them to speak
different languages so that
they would scatter to all parts
of the earth.
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Ancestors from Africa?
Scientists have analyzed
fossils and artifacts
found in East Africa.
 Homo sapiens may have
developed language
100,000 years ago.
 Different languages
emerged as humans
migrated around the
world.

A1 T4 P11-19
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Language keeps changing!
Historical linguists try to
reconstruct ancient
languages by analyzing
modern languages.
 There may be 5,000 or
more modern languages.
 Languages can be
grouped into language
families.

A1 T4 P15-19
Dialects develop when a
community of speakers
live in relative isolation.
 If a community is isolated
long enough, their dialect
will evolve into a distinct
language.
 Have you noticed
changes in your dialect?

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Summary Questions
Where and when did human language originate?
(Approximately.)
How do languages develop?
What is a language family? Give an example of a
language and the family it belongs to.
Why do you think languages keep changing?
A1 T4 P18-19
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Language and civilization
Human progress could
not have occurred
without language.
 Oral language may
include songs, stories
and history.
 Written language can
provide a permanent
record.

A1 T5 P19-20
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Comparing language
What similarities do you see between the English and
Chinese poems in your textbook? What differences do you
notice?
Do you think that either English or Chinese could be
used to express most ideas reasonably well? Or do you
feel that one language or the other is better in certain
situations?
A1 T5 P20-22
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Key Concepts
Task 1
Reflect on language... Human language is
unique and necessary to progress.
Task 2
Is language in the brain? ...Humans are born
with a certain amount of innate language ability.
Task 3
Is language outside the brain? ...We need to be
exposed to language in order to learn it.
Task 4
Why so many languages? ...New languages
have evolved as people migrated and settled.
Task 5
Language and civilization... Language makes
civilization and culture possible.
A1 T1-5 P3-22
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2
Traditional and Popular
Views of Language
A2 P23
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Key Terms
literate/illiterate
 associations
 superstition
 taboo
 fallacy
 nickname
 social status
 mother tongue

A2 T1-3 P23-31
...can/can’t read and write
...other meanings of a word
...usually irrational fears
...an offensive word
...believed but not true
...informal name
...position in society
...native or first language
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Words have magic
In Chinese, words can
have good or bad
associations depending
on what other words they
sound like (“ba” and “fa”).
 Chinese characters may
be used to bring luck or
cure disease.
 Is this superstition?

A2 T1 P23-24
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Words do have power!
Words can be
copyrighted.
 Names and trademarks
influence a product’s or
business’ fortunes.
 Some names sound
good and some do not.
 Examples?

A2 T1 P23-24
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The power of language
 An emperor of the Shang Dynasty scared his
servants by keeping silent.
 Labels given to people during the 50s and 60s in
China (“pinnong” or “dizhu”) had serious
consequences.
 Racial slurs offend the dignity of groups of
people.
 Honorable titles raise a person’s status.
A2 T2 P25-26
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Taboo words
Every culture has its
taboos.
 “Swear words” can be
used to express anger or
provoke a reaction.
 An error in word choice
can lead to
embarrassment!

A2 T2 P25-26
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Personal names
 “Sticks and stones can break my bones but
names will never hurt me.” Fact or fallacy?
 Is your personal name important to you? Do you
have a nickname?
 In the past, profaning the name of a god could
lead to trouble.
 Today, the names and reputations of prominent
individuals are often protected by law.
A2 T3 P26-31
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Let’s have a debate.
Does your name
decide who you
are?
How important are
names?
A2 T3 P31
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Literacy and social status
 For most people, learning a first language is
effortless and spontaneous.
 Learning to read and write requires more
conscious effort.
 People who are illiterate can easily be cheated
by dishonest salespersons. Examples?
 Those who are skilled with language tend to be
more successful. Examples?
A2 T4 P31-33
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Key Concepts
Task 1
Word magic... The associations that people give
words causes words to have power.
Task 2
The power of language... Word selection can
lead to failure/dishonor or success/honor.
Task 3
Is the name the person? ...Your personal name,
title and nickname affect how people see you.
Task 4
Written language as social status... Becoming
literate is hard work but results in benefits.
A2 T1-4 P23-33
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3
Whose language is it
anyway?
A3 P33
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Key Terms
consensus
 utterance
 dialect
 high status
 empirical
 data-driven
 semiotic
 corpus linguistics

A3 T1-3 P33-38
...agreement of a group
...something that was said
...a variety of language
...having social respect
...based on information
...based on data
...based on symbols
...study of collections of text
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Language belongs to all
Language is shared and
thus the property of a
community.
 Yet, there are countless
possible ways of
expressing oneself.
 Language is both
collective and creative.

A3 T1 P33-35
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Common language
People who are together
a lot tend to speak in
similar ways.
 It is often easier to
communicate with
someone from the same
background. Examples?
 Why would some
dialects such as
putonghua have a higher
social status?

A3 T2 P35-37
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The science of linguistics
With 5 or 6,000 languages and dialects in the world
today, it is unlikely that linguists will ever study them all.
 A “semiotic” approach to linguistics involves applying
knowledge of one (or more) languages to other
languages.
 A more “empirical” approach may be possible through
the development of computerized language corpuses.
 In science, there is never a “last word”. New ideas
replace old ones as new data is analyzed.

A3 T3 P35-37
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Key Concepts
Task 1
Is the language you speak yours? ...Language
is the property of the community.
Task 2
Language: a dialect with gun and powder... The
variety of language we speak is important.
Task 3
Towards a linguistic science... A scientific
approach involves theories and data.
A3 T1-3 P33-38
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Unit 1 Review Questions
 How is human language unique?
 Do humans learn language through nature or
nurture? (Trick question!)
 Why are there so many languages?
 Why is it important to use language
appropriately? Are words powerful?
 How is language both shared and personal?
A1-3 P38-39
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Progress Record & Assignment 1
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
You should now be able
to do ALL of the first
Progress Record.
 You should be able to
answer about a third of
the questions for
Assignment 1.
 Check the e-learning
platform for details.

Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
SSPR
1
A1-3 P38-39
Ass't
1
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Go home and think about it...
Think about the way
infants learn their first
language.
 Can we learn a second
language the same way?
Which aspects?
 We will discuss this
question at the beginning
of our next tutorial.

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Additional Reading
How a child learns language...
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/acquisition.html
 Information on language families...
http://www.krysstal.com/language.html
 On words and their meanings... How to Communicate
Successfully 7-9
 Universal grammar and other common points among
languages... The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
84-5

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How did we do in Unit 1?




Do you understand the
main points?
Can you do the tasks in the
book and answer the
questions in the Progress
Record?
Our next tutorial will cover
Units 2 and 3.
Thank you for your
participation.
A1-3 P38-39
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