linguistics introduction 语言学.pdfVIP

Ling 201 – Basic Concepts of Linguistics Jirka Hana – March 25, 2006 Overview of topics ? Language and Languages ? Speech vs. Writing ? Approaches to language: Descriptive vs. Prescriptive ? Grammar and its parts ? Arbitrariness (conventionality) What to remember: Language, linguistics, grammar (language system), mental grammar, descriptive approach, prescrip- tive approach, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, arbitrary (conven- tional), iconic, onomatopoeia. e.g. You should be able to explain what the descriptive approach is. Concepts: The priviledged role of speech. You should be able to explain why is speech primary and writing is secondary. 1 Language Language is a system that associates sounds (or gestures) with meanings in a way that uses words and sentences. Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It tries: ? first, to observe languages and to describe them accurately, ? then, to find generalizations within what has been described, ? finally, to draw conclusions about the general nature of human language. Applied linguistics attempts to make practical use of the knowledge derived from general linguistic research – in order, for example, to: ? improve the ways in which a student’s native language is taught ? help people learn foreign language more efficiently ? write better dictionaries ? improve therapy for people with language problems ? search the Internet more efficiently and successfully Linguistics overlaps and (ideally) cooperates with: psychology, sociology, anthropology, phi- losophy, logic, mathematics, computer science, speech pathology, acoustics, music, crypt- analysis, etc. 1 2 Speech vs. Writing 2.1 Why it is sometimes claimed that writing is primary ? Written texts tend to be more carefully worded and better organized than spoken texts, they contain fewer errors, hesitations, and incomplete sentences, because writing is usually planned in advance, is subject to fewer time constraints, is proofread, et