英語语言学笔记1.docVIP

Chapter I Introduction 1.1 Why study language? Language is an integral part of our life and humanity. (details) Yet we know little or even have even wrong ideas about language. ·Where does language come from? How? When? ·Why is language human-specific? ·Why can a child learn his/her mother tongue in a short period of time? ·How can we say one thing but mean another? ·Language has a form-meaning correspondence. ·The function of language is to exchange information The subject of language is intriguing and useful for many practical reasons. Language can be used as a way of finding out: ·How the brain works. ·How children learn language. ·Why people use different varieties of language. ·What the role of language is in different cultures, etc. 1.2 Language 1.2.1 Definition Different senses of “language”: ·Bad language: expressions ·Shakespeare’s language: idiolect ·Business language: variety ·The English language: abstract system ·A student of language: universal properties of all speech/writing systems Definition of language as a research subject (in a general and abstract sense): Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Whatever the definition of language, it must include directly, or by close implication, some main attributes of language as follows: ·Language is systematic. (Elements are combined according to rules.) ·Language is arbitrary. (A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.) ·Language is basically vocal—the primary medium is sound for all languages. ·Language is symbolic. It is meaningless by itself. ·Language is human-specific—bird songs and bee dances ·Language is communicative. That is its major function Questions for discussion: Give more senses of “language” (Computer language, body language, sign language) 1.2.2 Origin (of speech) The divine theory: endowed by God (The Tower of Babel) The bow-wow theory: imitative of animal calls (mew, hiss) The pooh-pooh theory: instinctive cries out of intense em