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Introductory Notes:
Language as a conventional,
arbitrary system of sounds used for communication in a human linguistic environment.
Language as systematic.
Language as arbitrary.
Language as conventional.
Language as sound.
Language as a human activity.
What is linguistics? the
scientific study of language.
What is language?
Language is a conventional,
arbitrary system of sounds used for
communication in a human linguistic community.
I.
Language is a system at many levels.
Not just a collection of words, language consists of rules and
patterns that relate the words to one another.
A. Phonemic:
Phonemes are the smallest meaningless components that constitute the sound
system of a language. Sounds
that are capable of indicating a difference in meaning are called
phonemes, as in “cat” and “hat.”
B. Morphemic: Morphemes
are the smallest meaningful components of a language.
Morphemes are words or parts of words that have a consistent meaning
in speech. For example, the
word cats consists of two morphemes, {cat} and {-s}. Morphemes
can be lexical (having dictionary definitions) or grammatical (affixes
and function words). They can be free (able to stand alone) or bound
(complete only when combined with other morphemes.)
Bound grammatical morphemes (or affixes) can be either derivational (used
to create new words) or inflectional (used to signal grammatical relationships).
C. Syntactic: Syntax
governs the way words come together to create sentences.
In some languages there are many morphemes which indicate the
relationships. In English, we rely more on word order. However, the syntax of English has become less synthetic
(grammatical structures are signaled primarily by inflectional endings)
and more analytic (grammatical structures are signaled primarily
by word order and function words).
D. Semantic:
The most important aspect of language is meaning, which is mainly
studied under the heading semantics.
Semantics concerns the meaning of words, though dictionary meanings
are narrow and only one part of semantics.
Semantics is contingent on context. Meaning also depends on the
person who hears the utterance or reads the text.
E. Lexical:
Lexicology includes spelling, the formation and use of words.
F. Stylistic: The
existence of alternative ways of saying things allows for great
flexibility in human relationships. Differences that do not affect the meaning are often called
stylistic differences.
G. Pragmatic:
Pragmatics is the study of the meaning of words in context.
(i.e., I like your dress). A
difficult distinction is where, if at all, the line should be drawn
between pragmatics and semantics.
H.
Rhetorical: How language is used persuasively.
II. Language is a human activity.
Though animals can communicate in a primal way, they do not have innate
language abilities that allow for an unlimited number of novel utterances. The
ability to produce and understand utterances never heard before is called linguistic
competence. Though some
apes have been taught to use sign language ( a paralanguage, or parallel
system of communication), the breadth of ideas that they express are
limited. Likewise, animals
don’t process language like we do.
Dogs, for example, probably understand intonation more than
meaning.
III.
Language is arbitrary.
Aside from echoic words, there is no intrinsic relationship between
words and the objects or concepts that they represent.
Words are symbols rather than signs.
IV.
Language is conventional.
Language is passed down from one generation to the next. It
is the nature of language to change. Notions of absolute correctness are
imposed by writers, linguists, scholars, etc. and may slow down but do
not prevent the natural process of language evolution.
V.
Language is sound. Linguists are primarily
concerned with speech. Writing is a secondary activity.
Standard English is the form of English used in formal speech
events such as news broadcasts and lectures.
constitutive rules: true
of all speakers; describes how our grammatical system works, as in verbs
typically follow nouns
regulative rules:
govern the rules considered
appropriate by educated speakers
Dialect: variation
spoken by a group of people
Ideolect: personal dialect of an
individual speaker
Form physical shape of a word;
denotes the part of speech
vs.
function
how a word acts in a sentence (boring and snoring); the role a word plays
in a sentence (the rock and the rock garden)
prototype theory:
a clear example; members of
a class having the most characteristics typical of that class.
Chapter Three:
Remember the characteristics of a morpheme:
1. It has a meaning that can be at least vaguely
stated.
2. It contains only one unit of meaning.
3. It can be used with the same meaning in
another word or as a word itself.
Dr. Carol Jamison
Gamble Hall 202C
Armstrong Atlantic State University
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, GA 31419
Phone: 912.927.5237
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