LIN 1101
TOPIC 1
Major Sub-fields of Linguistics
• Phonetics: nature of speech sounds
– How they are articulated (articulatory phonetics)
– Their physical properties (acoustic phonetics)
– How they are perceived (auditory / perceptual
phonetics)
• Phonology: organization of speech sounds
– How the particular sounds used in each language form
an integrated system for encoding information and how
such systems differ from one language to another
• Morphology: structure of words
– The way in which words are constructed out of smaller
meaningful units
Major Sub-fields of Linguistics
• Syntax: structure of sentences
– The way in which sentences are constructed and how
sentences are related to each other
• Semantics: study of meaning
– How words and sentences are related to the (real or
imaginary) objects they refer to and the situations they
describe
• Anthropological Linguistics:
– The study of interrelationship between language and
culture (particularly in the context of non-Western
cultures and societies)
Major Sub-fields of Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics:
– The application of the methods and results of linguistics
to such areas as language teaching; national language
policies; lexicography; translation; and language in
politics, advertising, classrooms, courts, and the like;
language pathology (speech therapy and audiology)
• Historical Linguistics:
– The study of how languages change through time
– The relationships of languages to each other
Major Sub-fields of Linguistics
• Neurolinguistics:
– The study of the brain and how it functions in the
production, perception and acquisition of language
• Pragmatics:
– How the meaning conveyed by a word or sentence
depends on aspects of the context in which it is used
(such as time, place, social relationship between
speaker and hearer, and speaker’s assumptions about
the hearer’s beliefs)
Major Sub-fields of Linguistics
• Psycholinguistics:
– The study of the interrelationship of language
and cognitive structures
– The acquisition of language
• Sociolinguistics:
– The study of the interrelationships of language
and social structure, linguistic variation, and
attitudes toward language
PHONETICS: Sounds of
language
• Phonetic Alphabet: provides a symbol to
represent each sound
• How sounds are produced
• The acoustic properties of sounds
PHONOLOGY: Organization
of speech sounds
• They are governed by rules
• We are not consciously aware of these rules
or even of all the speech sounds we produce
in our language
EXAMPLE
• Rule of English Phonology:
aspirate p,t and k at the beginning of words
or at the beginning of stressed syllables
pit [phIt]
spit [spIt]
• In Thai:
both kinds of “p” can occur at the beginning
of words
forest [paa]
to split [phaa]
MORPHOLOGY
• How are words and parts of words stored?
• What is the lexicon or mental dictionary
like?
• Do words form networks based on semantic
or structural similarities?
MORPHOLOGY
• Words can be subdivided into meaningful or
functional subparts:
displease unpleasant please
pleasant
pleasure displeasure
pleasing
MORPHOLOGY
cats [s]
dogs [z]
churches [ez]
 All Plurals
However, phonological type rules govern
the phonetic form of the plural ending – a
morphophonological rule
SYNTAX
1) John is easy to please
2) John is eager to please
• Sentences 1 and 2 have similar structures
on the surface
Noun – Verb – Adjective – Infinitive
SYNTAX
• John is easy to please.
• ? = subject of please
• John = object of ‘to please’
• John is eager to please.
• John = subject of ‘to please’
• ? = object of please
SYNTAX
1) John is easy to please
2) John is eager to please
In sentence 1, John is unspoken/understood
subject of ‘to please’
object = ? (somebody)
In sentence 2, John is unspoken/understood
object of ‘to please’
subject = ? (somebody)
SYNTAX
• In English, word order helps us understand
the role of words in sentences:
• The dog chased the cat.
• The cat chased the dog.
SYNTAX
• In some languages, prefixes and suffixes
help identify the role of words in sentences.
• Word order is less crucial and so can be
more free.
• In Japanese, ‘Yumiko scolded the child’:
• Yumiko-ga sono kodomo-o sikat-ta
• Sono kodomo-o Yumiko-ga sikat-ta
SYNTAX
• In Japanese, ‘Yumiko scolded the child’:
• Yumiko-ga sono kodomo-o sikat-ta
• yumiko-NOM that child-ACC scold-past
• Sono kodomo-o Yumiko-ga sikat-ta
• that child-ACC yumiko-NOM scold-past
1.
NINE IDEAS ABOUT LANGUAGE
Children learn their native language swiftly, efficiently, and largely without
instruction.
2.
Language operates by rules.
3.
All languages have three major components: a sound system, a vocabulary,
and a system of grammar.
4.
Everyone speaks a dialect.
5.
Speakers of all languages employ a range of styles and a set of subdialects or
jargons.
6.
Language change is normal.
7.
Languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals who use
them.
8.
Value judgments about different languages or dialects are matters of taste.
9.
Writing is derivative of speech.