CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS
Chapter One
"LANGUAGE: A PREVIEW"
"Language is many things-a system of communication; a medium for thought, a vehicle for literary expression, a social institution, a matter for political controversy, a catalyst for nation building. All humans beings normally speak at least one language and it is hard to imagine much significant social, intellectual, or artistic activity taking place in its absence." (O'Grady, 1997,1)
" A Creative System" page 1-4
In this first section you will be learning about
language, specifically the study of Linguistics.
After reading this section you should be familiar with the definitions
of
|
|
|
Human language must enable us to produce and understand new words, phrases, and sentences as the need arises. Human language must be creative allowing novelty and innovation in response to new thoughts, experiences, and situations. Native speakers are those that have acquired language in their natural setting as a child.
Underlying the creative aspect of language is an intricate system that defines the boundaries within which innovation can take place. This system can be illustrated by a relatively phenomenon in English: the process that creates verbs (words naming action) from nouns (words naming things).
NOUNS USED AS VERBS
Noun Use Verb Use____________________
| pull the boat onto the beach | beach the boat |
| keep the airplane on the ground | ground the airplane |
| tie a knot in the string | knot the string |
| put the wine in bottles | bottle the wine |
| catch the fish with a spear | spear the fish |
| clean the floor with a mop | mop the floor |
| spend the winter in Florida | winter in Florida |
Answer the following questions:
1.
Why is human language said to be creative?
2. What is a native speaker?
"Grammar and Linguistic Competence"pages 4- 11
In this section you will be learning to form and
interpret the words and sentences of language also known as grammar.
After reading this section you should be familiar with the definitions
of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As we have seen, speakers of a language are able to produce and understand an unlimited number of utterances, including many that are novel and unfamiliar. This ability, which is often called linguistic competence, is the central subject matter of linguistics.
In investigating linguistic competence, linguists
focus on the mental system that allows human beings to form and interpret
the words and sentences of their language. This system is called
a grammar. We will divide the grammar into the following components.
|
|
|
| Phonetics | the articulation and perception of speech sounds |
| Phonology | the patterning of speech sounds |
| Morphology | word formation |
| Syntax | sentence formation |
| Semantics | the interpretation of words and sentences |
2.1 GENERALITY: ALL LANGUAGES HAVE A GRAMMAR
All languages have a grammar. If a language is spoken, it must have a phonetic and phonological system; since it has words and sentences, it must also have morphology and syntax; and since these words and sentences have systematic meanings, there must obviously be semantic principles as well. No two languages have exactly the same grammar. There are no languages without a grammar.
Just for fun check
out the Language Trade Site to
be able to learn a new language over a free internet voice chat with native
speakers of the language you want to learn.
Register to the site, try it out and
write
your opinions of it as a learning tool
for learning a second language.
2.2 EQUALITY: ALL GRAMMARS ARE EQUAL
Whenever there is more than one variety of a particular language, questions arise as to whether one is somehow better or more correct than another. All languages and all varieties of a particular language have grammars that enable their speakers to express any proposition that the human mind can produce. All varieties of language are absolutely equal as instruments of communication and thought. Linguistic analysis should be used as a way to determine what a language is like and how it is used.
Click here to see the Indo-European
Language Tree by Cyril Babaev. It maps out where the
different languages are spoken.
2.3 CHANGEABILITY: GRAMMARS CHANGE OVER TIME
It is well established that grammars of all language are constantly changing. Some of these changes are relatively minor and occur very quickly (for example, the addition of new words such as morphing, Internet, e-mail, and cyberspace to the vocabulary of English). Other changes have a more dramatic effect on the overall form of the language and typically take place over a long period of time.
Go to AmeriSpeak to see phrases have been changed as they have been passed down through the generations.
Try to find five expressions that "they said" that you still use.
2.4 UNIVERSALITY: GRAMMARS ARE ALIKE IN BASIC WAYS
The use of ‘negators’ (the equivalent of English
not) are used virtually in all languages. The word not will immediately
precede or follow the verb. Many languages order their sentences
in the same way.
For example : Pat is not here.
Pat is here not.
After reading the chapter go to Universal
grammar site
Write how you might use this site
in your instruction with ESL students.
2.5 TACITNESS: GRAMMATICAL KNOWLEDGE IS SUBCONSCIOUS
Grammatical knowledge is acquired without the help of instruction when one is still a child and it remains largely subconscious throughout life.
An example of this is when one knows how to pronounce
the [ed] at the end of a word.
a. hunted - pronounced - id
b. slipped - pronounced - t
c. buzzed - pronounced - d
2.6 GRAMMAR
Linguists use the term grammar to refer to a subconscious linguistic system of a particular type. Consisting of several components (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics), a grammar makes possible the production and comprehension of a potentially unlimited number of utterances. Language can exist without a grammar and no one can use a language without knowledge of its grammar, the study of grammatical systems has come to be the focus of contemporary linguistic analysis.
Answer the following questions:
3.
What is the difference between descriptive and prescriptive grammar?
4. What is it called when one knows how to pronounce the ed at the
end of sentence? Knowing whether it is pronounced [t] [id]
or [d].
" Biological Specialization
For Language"
p. 11- 12
In this section you will be learning about the physical
speech organs used in producing language.
After reading this section you should be familiar with the definitions
for:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As far as can be determined, the language spoken in the world today cannot not be traced to a common source. Rather, they seem to belong to a number of distinct families whose histories can be traced back no more than a few thousand years. Although language existed prior to that time for at least 100,000 years, virtually nothing is known about this period of linguistic prehistory or about how language originated in the first place.
There is every reason to believe that humans have
a special capacity for language that is not shared by other creatures.
The evolutionary adaptation of certain physiological mechanisms for linguistic
ends has occurred only in humans. The so-called speech organs (the
lungs, larynx, tongue, teeth lips, soft palate, and nasal passages) were
–and still are directly concerned with ensuring the survival of the organism.
|
|
|
|
| Lungs | to exchange CO2 | supply air for speech |
| Vocal folds | create seal over passage to lungs | produce voice for speech sounds |
| Tongue | move food to teeth and back to throat | articulate vowels and consonants |
| Lips | to seal oral cavity | articulate vowels and consonants |
| Nasal cavities | breathing | to provide nasal resonance |
Answer the following questions:
5.
Why are humans able to have speech while animals are unable to speak?
6.
What three parts of the human body are essential for articulation, and
what is the exact function of each part?
Now that you have finished the chapter, copy, paste, and answer the following questions onto a new blank page.
Question #1
Pick any four of the nine
items (b-j) found on page 13. Describe the meanings of each of these
new verbs.
Example: We punk-rocked the night away.
Punk rocked means danced. We danced the night away.
Question #2
Create four more new verbs
from nouns of your own – using them in a sentence.
Question #3
Which of the eight words
on page 14 of question #3 are possible words in the English language?
Example: mbrood is not an English language word because mb is
not a blend found in the English language.
Question #4
Create four new names
for products using words that could possibly exist as words in the English
language.
Question #5
Choose any five of the
ten unacceptable sentences b – k. Change the sentence to make
it acceptable.
Example: Jason’s mother left himself with nothing to eat.
Change himself to him. Jason’s mother left him with nothing to
eat.
Question #6
Choose any five of the
eleven sentences b – l. Rewrite them with standard academic
English. Identify the difference between the dialectal phrase and
the standard phrase.
Example: He don’t know about the race. Change don’t to
doesn’t.
He doesn’t know about the race.
Rule: Improper use of a negative word form.
 please!! |
 WCB |
Find
the right chapter!  |
E-mail Dr. Judith Olson! |