Introduction to Linguistics and

Basic Terms

Linguistics and Linguists:• Linguistics:– Definition: The scientific study of language– gives a better understanding of the nature of

human language– Contributes to our understanding of human mind

• Linguists:– are scientists who study the general properties of

grammars - the universal properties found in all languages - and the specific properties of the grammars of individual languages

Definitions:• Speech: is the oral expression of language

• Language: is a shared system of symbols and rules that allow us to represent concepts and experiences and to communicate with others. Language is arbitrary, creative and learned.

• Communication: is the process of sharing thoughts, ideas, attitudes, feelings and desires with others.

What is LANGUGE?• Introduction:–Whatever people may do when they come

together -they talk– Talk to friends, family members, strangers..,

to ourselves– The possession of language, distinguishes

humans from other animals.–Philosophy (myth): it is the language which

is the source of human life and power

(Cont’d) What is LANGUGE?• Introduction:– To understand our humanity one must

understand the language that makes us human

–When we study human language, we are approaching what some might call “human essence,” the distinctive qualities of mind that are, so far as we know, unique to man

Noam Chomsky

What does it mean to know a language?

• It means to be able to speak and to be understood by others who know that language–Which means to be able to produce

sounds which signify certain meanings and to understand or interpret the sounds produced by others–Deaf persons produce and understand

signs

•How is it possible for you to do this?

• Is there anything more that you know when you have acquired knowledge of a language?

• If you know language, you know1. which sounds are part of the language and

which are not– Knowledge The way speakers of one language

pronounce words from another language– E.g. French people speaking English pronounce

words like (This, That) as Zis and Zat– this is because the English sound which begins

these words is not part of the French sound system mispronunciation reveals the knowledge

• If you know language, you know2. which sounds may start a word, end a word,

and follow each other– name Nkrumah; Ghanaian (Nng)– English (N en)

3. that certain sounds or sound sequences signify or represent different concepts or “meanings” – i.e. you know the system which relates sounds and

meanings– e.g. foreign language--> sounds spoken mean

nothing

– E.g.Sounds (House) signify the concept– French maison; Russian dom ◊ sounds of words are only given

meaning by the language in which they occur

◊ particular sound sequences which seem to relate to particular concept

– Ex. gl (sight) in English, and not have to do with sight in another language

– glitter, glossy, glance, glimpse….

• When you know language, you4. would be able to combine words to form phrases, and

phrases to form sentences. This is because, knowing a language means being able

to produce new sentences never spoken before and to understand sentences never heard before

– E.g. different responses and say different things when someone steps on our toes

• This ability is referred to it as the “creative aspect” of language use

Noam Chomsky

• When you know language, you 5. Know what sentences are appropriate in

various situations– E.g. inappropriate to say “Hamburger costs 98

cents a pound” after someone has just stepped on your toe during a discussion on the weather in Britain

6. can recognize and understand and produce new sentences– E.g. writing an essay, exam, letter

• When you know language, you 7. you must know some “rules” to form the

sentences – These rules must• be (a) finite in length and (b) finite in number so they can be stored in our finite brains• Permit us to form and understand an infinite set of

new sentences

• Language consists of all the sounds, words, and possible sentences. Knowledge of a language is knowledge of the sounds, the words, and the rules for their combination.

What you know and what you do• Our linguistic ability permits us to form longer and longer

sentences which is illustrated by piling up adjectives • limit No. of adjectives to 3,5,18 in speaking Vs can not limit the No. of adjectives which one could add if

one wanted to• i.e. there is a difference between having the necessary

knowledge to produce such sentences and the way we use this knowledge when we are

performing linguistically• what one knows linguistic competence• how one uses this knowledge in actual behavior linguistic

performance

Linguistic Competence and Performance• You have the competence to understand or produce

an infinitely long sentence.

• But when you attempt to use that knowledge-when you perform linguistically- there are physiological and psychological reasons why you cut off the number of adjectives, adverbs, clauses, and so on.

– Run out of breath– Audience may leave– You may lose track of what has been said if the sentence

is too long

Linguistic Competence and Performance (Cont’d)

• In using our knowledge of language in speaking we also make mistakes –slips of the tongue, false starts, and so on. But this does not mean that we can’t recognize errors – we have the knowledge to do so.

What is Grammar?• The elements and rules of a language constitute

the grammar

• The grammar is what we know it represents our linguistic competence

• There may be differences between the knowledge that one speaker has and that of another. But there must be shared knowledge because it is this grammar which makes it possible for speakers to talk to and understand one another.

(Cont’d) What is Grammar?• Although the rules of your grammar may differ from the

rules of someone else’s grammar, there can’t possibly be a mistake in your grammar

– because no language or variety of a language (dialect) is superior to any other in a linguistic sense

– Every grammar is equally complex and logical and capable of producing an infinite set of sentences to express any thought one might wish to express

◊ If something can be expressed in one language or one dialect, it can be expressed in any other language or dialect

What is Grammar? (Cont’d)• The grammar includes everything speakers

know about their language– the sound system (PHONOLOGY)– the system of meanings (SEMANTICS)– the rules of sentence formulation (SYNTAX)

• Many think of the grammar of a language as referring solely to the syntactic rules

What is Grammar? (Cont’d)• Laws which pertain to all languages:• Represent the universal properties of language• Constitute what may be called a “universal

grammar”• Language Universals:1. Linguistic universals: is concerned with the

sound systems of language. – Every grammar, for ex., includes discrete sound

segments, like p, n, or a, which can all be defined by a finite set of “sound properties”

Language Universals (Cont’d)

2. Phonological universals: reveal that every language has both “vowels” and “consonants” and rules which determine the pronunciation of sentences

3. Semantic universals: pertain to common semantic properties such as “male,” “female,” “animate,” “human,” and “concrete,” which are found in all languages

4. Syntax universals: reveal the ways in which sentences are formed.

• Language components:

• Form (Phonology – Morphology – Syntax)• Content (Semantics)• Use (pragmatics)

• Phonology: Aspect of language concerned with the rules governing the structure, distribution and sequencing of speech sound patterns

• Morphology: Aspect of language concerned with the rules governing change in meaning at the intraword level

• Syntax: Organizational rules specifying word order, sentence organization and word relationships

• Semantics: Aspect of language concerned with the rules governing the meaning or content of words

• Pragmatics: Aspect of language concerned with language use within a communication context