Linguistics(E_Cchapter1-3)程序.doc

Linguistics 1. Introduction 1.1 What is linguistics? 什么是语言学? “Linguistics” is the scientific study of language. It studies not just one language of any one society, but the language of all human beings. A linguist, though, does not have to know and use a number of languages, but ought to have a wide experience of different types of language. His task is not to learn to use any particular language, but to investigate how each language is constructed. 1.2 What is language? 什么是语言? “Language” is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication．It is a system，since linguistic elem