Chapter1Theoriginsoflanguage例析.pptVIP

I have never met a person who is not interested in language. ——Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct Warming up: some linguistic phenomena *very dead very old My, Damn it Good morning! 你吃饭了没有？ 小季，老季，季老 你现在漂亮多了。 A.有水吗？B. 我烧水的壶坏了。 A man that is eating a flower is in the garden. Is a man that is eating a flower in the garden? *Is a man that eating a flower is in the garden? Hei asks Tom to take care of himi. He asks Tomi to take care of himselfi. 张三i问李四是否喜欢他ij。 张三i问李四j是否喜欢自己ij。 张三叫李四i要照顾好自己i。 爸爸，你自己在家是否无聊？*无吗？ What is the course about? This course provides some answers to basic questions about the nature of human language. We will study some core aspects of language in detail, such as the sound of language, the word formation of language, the sentence structure of language, etc. In addition, wee will address a variety of questions, i.e. how language is related to cultures and society, and how language is used in context, etc. Goals of the Course By the end of the course, you may be able to have fun learning about human language; be familiar with some basic concepts of language and the research objects of linguistics get a knowledge of the main theories of modern linguistics; explain some linguistic phenomena with relevant linguistic theories. Requirements Do the assigned readings before each class meeting; Be an active participant in classroom discussions; Present a team-work report on a certain topic; Good attendance at classes is mandatory; A course paper on a certain linguistic problem is required; A final exam will be covered. Schedule of Class 中国知网/；谷粉学术搜索；图书馆；资料室 1.2 What is language? A definition: Language is a means of verbal communication. What else should we know about language? What is language? What do we know when we know a language? Knowing the sound system of a language The inventory of sounds Which sounds may start a word, end a word, and follow each other. Ex. Nkrumah (The name of the former presedent of Ghana), sink, *nking (not possibl