语言学第一章重点.ppt

System: Linguistic elements are arranged systematically,rather than randomly. Its being a “system” accounts for its learnability and teachability. Vocal: sound or speech is the primary medium for all human laguages. Symbol: people use the sounds or vocal forms to symbolize what they wish to refer to Human: to specify that language is “human-specific”. The link between signifier and signified is arbitrary.（书 in Chinese, book in English, livre in French, 本【hon】in Japanese, check in Korean.） It is the essential, fundamental feature.(first principle as called by Saussure) Language is not absolutely arbitrary. (echo words compounds) (iconicity 象似性 conventionality 规约性） Phatic function 酬应功能/应酬功能/寒暄功能 Language being used for setting up a certain atmosphere or maintaining social contacts. Greeting, farewells, and comments on the weather in English all serve this funtion. A certain proportion of daily conversation falls in this category. Directive function 指令功能 Language may be used to get the hearer to do something. Most imperative(not all) sentence perform this function: Call me in two hours. Kiss my ass, son of a bitch! (pseudo-directives) Other syntactic structures or sentences can serve the purpose 今天是星期天！ 屋里好热啊！ Informative function 信息功能 Language carries out the Informative function when used to tell something, characterized by the use of declarative sentences. This function used to be considered to be the only or most important function of language, till sociolinguists and functional linguists found other functions like phatic function. interrogative function 询问功能 When language is used to inquire about or have access to information, usually about the listener’s side or things the speaker does not but want to know, it serves an interrogative function. This includes all questions that expect replies. According to the “Indirect Speech Act Theory”, statements may carry out this function as well 我姓贺，我是外语系的老师 -知道知道 / 哦！认识你很高兴！ Rhetorical question(修