北大语言学课件.docVIP

Invitation to linguistics What is language? Human speech The ability to communicate by this means A system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings The written representation of such a system Definition: language is a means of verbal communication Instrumental, social and conventional, sophisticated Design features of language Arbitrariness: (There is no natural relationship between a form and its sound) dog—狗 Onomatopoeia Levels of Arbitrariness: morpheme, syntax, Conventio