英语语言学知识整理

Chapter 1 Introduction

语言学的定义：

Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.

问题：How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language?

→It is a scientific study because it is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.

What the linguist has to do “first, then, but”:

①to observe and collect language facts and generalizations are made about them.

②to formulate some hypotheses about the language structure.

③to check the hypotheses thus formed repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity.

The study of language as a whole is often called general linguistics. (普通语言学)

问题: What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study?

→phonetics（语音学）→the study of sounds

→phonology（音位学）→study how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning

→morphology（形态学）→study the way in which symbols or morphemes are arranged and combined to form words.

→syntax（句法学）→the study of rules of forming sentences

→semantics（语义学）→the study of meaning

→pragmatics（语用学）→the context of language use

Sociolinguistics（社会语言学）：The studies of all these social aspects of language and its relation with society form the core of the branch.

Psycholinguistics（语言心理学）：Relate the study of language to psychology Applied linguistics（应用语言学）：In a narrow sense it refers to the application of linguistic theories and principles to language teaching, especially the teaching of foreign and second languages.

Some important distinctions in linguistics:

①prescriptive（规定性）/descriptive（描写性）

②synchronic（共时）/diachronic（历时）

③speech（口语）/writing（书面语）

④langue（语言）/parole（言语）（the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure——Course in General Linguistics）

⑤competence（语言能力）/performance（语言应用）（the American linguist N. Chomsky）

⑥traditional grammar （传统语法）/modern linguistics（现代语言学）

问题：in what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?

①linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.

②modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written.

③modern linguistics does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.

问题：Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?

In modern linguistics, a synchronic (不考虑历史演进的, 限于一时的) approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic (探求现象变化的, 历时的) one.

Because it is believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development.

Synchronic descriptions are often thought of as being descriptions of language in its current existence, and most linguistic studies are of this type.

问题：For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writing?

From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any language is always “invented” by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even in today’s world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed.

Spoken language reveals more true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised”record of speech. And linguists’data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regarded as authentic.

语言的定义：

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.

Design features of language（7个识别特征）

①arbitrariness 任意性（at the syntactic level）

②productivity 能产性，创造性

Secondary units（底层结构sounds）

③duality 双层性

Primary units （上层结构units of meaning）

④displacement 不受时空限制性（handle generalization and abstraction）

⑤cultural transmission 文化传递性

⑥interchangeability 互换性

⑦convention 约定性

Functions of language：

三大主要功能：

The descriptive function

The expressive function

The social function

Roman Jacobson（6种首要因素，结构主义语言学家）

①speaker addresser→emotive 感情功能

②addressee→conative 意动功能

③context→referential所指功能

④message→poetic 诗学功能

⑤contact→phatic communion交感功能

⑥code→metalinguistic 元语言功能

Other functions:

①phatic function 问候功能

②informative f. 信息功能

③interrogative f. 询问功能

④expressive f. 表达功能

⑤evocative f. 感染功能

⑥directive f. 指令功能

⑦performative f. 行使（权力）功能

M.A.K. Halliday

①ideational

②interpersonal（indicate/establish/maintain/social relationships）

③textual

问题：

How is Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky’s distinction between competence and performance?

The distinction between langue and parole was made by Saussure, langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use. Parole is concrete; it refers to the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable; it does not change frequently, while parole varies from people to people, and from situation to situation.

The distinction between competence and performance proposed by the American linguists Chomsky, competence is a deal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language, and the performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. Imperfect performance is caused by social and psychological factors. Saussure makes this distinction in order to single out one aspect of language for serious study. In his opinion, parole is simple a mass of linguistic facts, too varied confusing for systematic investigation, and that linguistics should do is to abstract langue from parole, i.e., to discover the regularities governing the actual use of language and make them the subjects of study of linguistics.

Similar to Saussure, Chomsky thinks what linguists should study is the ideal speaker’s competence, not his performance, which is too haphazard to be studied.