[文学]语言学导论第一章.ppt

Chapter 1 Introduction Preliminaries: What is language? What is language used for? (1) about language 1.A generally accepted definition: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Language must be a system. Language is arbitrary. Language is symbolic. Language is primarily vocal. Language is human-specific. 许国璋先生对‘语言’的定义做了如下概括: 语言是人类特有的一种符号系统, 当它作用于人与人的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介; 当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具; 当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体和容器。 What are the features of human languages? In what ways are human languages different from the communicative system of other animals?  2. design features of human language arbitrariness(任意性): There is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. e.g.书(汉)----book(英) A rose by any other name would smell as sweet (Shakespeare). Find some cases in which the language we use is not arbitrary. *onomatopoeia(拟声): quack-quack bang crash roar cuckoo ding dong ka cha pu tong *compounds: rainbow bittersweet pickpocket * pictograph (象形文字) /hieroglyph(象形符号) 休 从 北 Arbitrariness and convention productivity/creativity (创造性): We can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences we have never heard before. We can create endless sentences. e.g. He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who… duality of structure(结构的二重性): Human language is a system consisting of two sets of structures or two levels. the higher level: a structure of meaningful units (morphemes or words) the lower level: a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by themselves e.g. pen cake [p] [e] [n] [k] [ei] [k] Is it significant for human languages to have duality of structure? What would happen if human language had only one system of structure? Does the traffic light system have duality, why? displacement(不受时空限制的特征): Language can be used to refer to things which ar