Introduction to linguistics, PWSZ, Introduction to linguistics
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What is linguistics?
– it is a scientific study of language.
nature that they are capable of producing unlimited
number of structures. We are all creative users of
language, we don’t reproduce sentences, but we use
general rules for language production. Animals are
unable to communicate about new things. Bees have
no word for “up”.
Objective study views language as something independent of
human being. Language is used as an instrument of
describing objective reality. Language is subjective.
What is
language
?
a system of phonological, morphological,
syntactic systems
a system of signs
o
Symbol means what it is not.
conventional communicative system
o
based on social agreement
o
intentionally informative
a system of conceptualizing experience
o
concepts are entities used to
discuss meaning
Cultural transmission
versus
biological
innateness
(nurture and nature):
We acquire a specific language (through
socialization = culture)
We inherit an innate capacity for language
learning (we are biologically wired for
language = nature).
Language is both a cultural and a biological
inheritance: it is culturally transmitted and
biologically innate.
Properties of human language:
Language learning depends on the process of
socialization that is your life and specific community,
whereas there are mono- and multilingual
communities. Access to a language is important, you
need to be exposed to the language. Our pets can
hear our human language but they’re unable to learn
it. Human beings who suffer from physical diseases
may not be able to learn the human language. Innate
means in-born. We are born with specific brains and
so we have an inborn capacity of learning a
language. This is a result of millions-of-years-long
evolution. Learning languages is a social, cultural
process, but also a biological process because we
have to be healthy human beings.
displacement in space, time and in reality
o
It is not that animal communication
lacks these properties.
Arbitrariness vs. motivation
o
This property refers to the relation
between the linguistic form and its
meaning.
o
Arbitrary
means
lacking any natural
relation
(as in symbols where this
relation is based on similarity.
Productivity
This property is often called
open-endedness
,
which means that the number of linguistic
expressions possible in a human language is
infinite.
This claim poses a logical problem: How can
human language be infinite, if human
knowledge is limited?
The answer to the problem comes in the
form of rule-based
creativity
(Chomsky’s
generative syntax)
Discreteness
Discrete
means ‘having clearly defined
boundaries’ and ‘not continuous’. Linguistic
form leaves no space for uncertainty, has to
be one kind of thing, not anything else. Even
if sth is written in a very unclear way, we
have to decode it properly, to make a
decision – What sound/letter is this?
This is a property of linguistic forms rather
than linguistic meanings. (see Copies)
The number of linguistic constructions is infinite.
Language is a system of all the correct sentences in
the particular language. Although the number of
sentences is unlimited, the number of rules is
limited. Rules have to be of a special nature. Many
sentences we hear in a particular situations are
sentences we had never heard in our lives before.
Learning languages is not about memorizing
sentences. Our mind can extract rules from
languages that we are exposed to. Rules are of such
Linguistic meaning is not discrete, but continuous. It
depends on a context.
Duality
This is a property of human language, also
called
double articulation
, which means that
language is organized at two levels.
At one level, we have a limited number of
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meaningless linguistic elements (sounds)
At another level, there is a large number of
their meaningful linguistic units (words)
Articulation
(creation of a resonance
space): Active articulators shape the vocal
tract.
The number of sounds used in a language is
relatively small. It is not difficult for a child to learn
sounds, because there is not much to learn, actually.
We can produce an infinite number of words,
meanings from the few sounds. It means a great
efficiency – we need to know much less sounds than
meanings. So we learn only these few sounds, but
then we learn to combine these sounds into different
numerous meanings we can express through
language. Again, the animals learn a limited number
of sounds, distinguished and interpreted in a specific
context. Most animals are not much capable of
combining new possibilities and ideas.
Consonants are described in terms of two major
parameters:
Place of articulation
– is the place in the
vocal tract at which constriction occurs
when one articulator is moved toward
another.
Manner of articulation
– describes the
kind of constriction that is formed in the
vocal tract by two articulators.
Consonants
are different from
vowels
because
there are some differences about the constriction.
None of the above properties of human language is
uniquely human but what appears to distinguish
human language from any other system of
communication is this combination of features and
the fact that each of the properties is present in
human language in a much higher degree.
Transitional sounds:
The glides (semivowels) /j/ and /w/
The liquids /l/ and /r/
The nasals /m/ and /n/
Language as a system of communication and
conceptualization is an essentially abstract,
mental
entity
which can be
realized through different
mediums
of expression (typically,
phones
in spoken
language,
graphemes
in written language,
gestures
in
sign language).
Vowels are described in terms of two major
parameters:
The position of the tongue in the oral cavity.
The shape of the lips.
Phonology
explains how physical speech sounds are
mentally represented as parts of a
symbolic
cognitive
system.
Phonetics deals with the physical manifestation of
language in sound waves.
The lack of one-on-one correspondence between the
units of speech and writing results in the need for a
phonetic alphabet
.
The vocal tract of each individual is different, in
terms of size and shape. Accordingly, in physical
terms, every individual produces sounds in a
different way. Additionally, one individual will never
produce the same sounds in a physically identical
manner.
IPA symbols at www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA
Types of phonetics:
Articulatory phonetics
Acoustic phonetics
Auditory phonetics
Phonology explains how we recognize sounds as the
same/different, in view of the fact that no two
articulations of what we perceive as one and the
same sound are physically identical.
Two main stages in the production of speech sounds:
Sound Types:
Categorization/Conceptualization of Speech
Sounds
Phonation
(modulation of the airstream).
Air is expelled from the lungs (pulmonic
airstream) and passes through the glottis.
Depending on the behavior of the vocal
cords, the airstream becomes voiced or
voiceless.
Polish:
kot – kit
As speakers of Polish, we perceive the initial
/k/ sounds as the same. But are they? Their
articulations are actually different. /k/ is
pronounced as velar [k] or palatal [k
j
]
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English:
star – tar – writer
/t/ is pronounced as unaspirated [t]
aspirated [t
h
]
flap [
ᵣ
]
with sound patterns in yet another sense:
It explains
what sound combinations are permitted in a
language
.
Phonological rules of English tell us that
lig
is a
possible English word, even though it is not in the
English lexicon. Each language follows its own
phonological rules, for example, specifying which
initial consonant clusters are acceptable:
English /n/
[n] alveolar, as in
only
or
wonder
or
alley
[n] dental, as in
anthem
or
seen them
[n] post-alveolar, as in
entry
or
hundred
English /l/
[l] clear/non-velarized, alveolar, as in
lip
or
I’ll answer it
[ł] dark/velarized, alveolar as in
bill
,
bulk
, or
I’ll take it
[ł,] dark, dental, as in
wealth
[ł] dark, post-alveolar, as in
poultry
Polish:
pstry
Czech:
čtvrtek
Polish: ptak, psychologia
English:
pterodaktyl, psychology
The Syllable
Phonotactics is part of phonology which explains
constraints of the sequencing of phonemes. Such
constraints operate on
phonological units called
syllables
.
The Phoneme
As speakers of Polish, we are normally not aware of
our different articulations of /k/ in
kit
and
kot
. But
we are aware of the /i/ : /o/ contrast as well as the
/k/ : /p/ contrast in
kot
:
pot
. When sounds are used
contrastively, i.e. when they are used in the same
phonetic context (cf. the minimal pairs
kit : kot
) and
are responsible for a change in meaning , we are
aware of them as representing different types (cf.
/i/, /o/, /k/ and /p/ in Polish.
The syllable consists of one obligatory element, the
nucleus
(which is a vowel or a vowel-like sound),
and two optional elements, the
onset
and the
coda
.
(ONSET) NUCLEUS (CODA)
The CCC (3x consonant) onset combination is
permitted in the English Phonotactics, e.g.,
street,
splash, scream, spruce, squeak
If a sound possesses this contrastive, i.e., meaning-
distinguishing property, it is thereby defined as a
sound type, i.e. a
phoneme
. The English phoneme
/t/ is realized phonetically in different ways,
depending on the specific context, e.g.
tone
[t
h
],
stone
[t],
eighth
,
better
or
bet
[glottal stop].
[nucleus + coda -> rhyme]
/p/ /l/
/s/
/t/ /r/
/k/ /w/
A
phoneme
is thus a category (a family) of speech
sounds (called
allophones
) which cannot be used
contrastively because each one is used in a different
phonetic context.
spl-, spr-, *spw-
*stl-, str-, *stw-
skl-, skr-, skw-
* unacceptable in English
An
allophone
is a context-dependent phonetic
realization of the phoneme, i.e. a specific articulation
of an abstract sound type.
Co-articulation
Language and conceptualization
Consonant clusters are often reduced, especially in
casual conversational English, e.g. cupboard /-b-/,
postman /-sm-/, sandwich /-nw-/, pumpkin /-mk-/
or /-ŋk-/, bread and butter /-mb-/
The way language categorizes (i.e., conceptualizes)
speech sounds is an example of how language works
as a cognitive system of conceptualizing experience.
Phonotactics
Speech, particularly when fast, requires that we
co-
articulate
sounds, i.e. make one sound almost
simultaneously with the next. There are two types of
co-articulation effects:
assimilation
(when one
sounds becomes similar to another) and
elision
Phonology deals with phonemes which may be
thought of as cognitive patters for sounds. It deals
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(when one sound is deleted, omitted - elided).
accounts for the fact that English has more words
than most other languages. French and Latin are
languages that have had significant influence on the
English lexicon.
When a speech sound becomes more like another
sound which follows it or precedes it, the process is
called assimilation. There is
regressive
assimilation
, e.g. in
input
/-mp-/, when the
following sound brings about a change in the
preceding one, and
progressive assimilation
, e.g. in
cats
/-ts/ as opposed to
dogs
/-gz/, when the
preceding sound affects the articulation of the
following one.
Loan-words versus loan translations (also called
calques
).
Coinage
refers to the invention of totally new words.
Frequently, invented trade names for popular
products become common names, e.g.,
aspirin, nylon,
zipper, Xerox, Kleenex
.
Can
/-æn/
Can go
/-æŋg-/
Proper names as sources of new words:
By
elision
we mean the process of leaving out a
sound or sounds in speech. Such omission does not
take place in more deliberate pronunciation in more
formal contexts.
Ceasar >
kaiser
,
tsar
caesarian section
Mercury >
mercurial
; Jupiter >
jovial
We asked him.
/wiæstim/
mostly, factory, every, interest, disjunct
Luna >
lunatic
Guy (Fawkes) >
guy
(a figure of scorn > a male held
in low esteem > a male > a person)
Disjunct pronunciation – which is typically used by
the Queen, is an older pronunciation without
assimilation and without elision, it’s characteristic of
formal speech:
soldier
[d not dż]
, casual
[zj not żu]
, elision
[zjen not
żyn/żen]
Compunding
is one of the two most productive
word-formation processes in English (the other
being derivation).
Compounds are produced by combining two or more
words. They have strict patterning. The first element
receives the main stress:
a blackbird
vs.
a black bird
.
The second (last) element (called the
head
)
determines the word class:
a pickpocket
(n)
, to
spoonfeed
(v),
headstrong
(adj).
Word-Formation Processes
All the words of a language are called a lexicon. The
processes by which new words are added to a
language are known as word-formation processes.
How many words are there in English? Is it true that
English has more words that any other comparable
language?
A compound vs. a phrase:
a light house keeper; an
English literature teacher
Transparent compounds:
a boathouse; a tweetle
beetle puddle paddle battle
The term
word
is ambiguous. For example, we may
say that
was
and
is
are different words or that they
are different forms of the same word. Or, are
a dog
(n) and
to dog
(v) one or two words? To avoid this
ambiguity, the term
lexeme
is used.
Darkened compounds:
a turncoat, a bigwig, a
redcoat, a cathouse
Polish does not use compounds.
A
lexeme
is an abstract unit, which can occur in
many different forms in actual spoken or written
sentences. Thus,
be
,
being
,
been
,
am
,
is
,
are
,
was
,
were
are different
word-forms
of the lexeme
be
. But
dog
(n) and
dog
(v) are two lexemes with two different
sets of word-forms: 1.
dog, dogs;
2.
dog, dogs,
dogging, dogged
.
Compounds: Problems for Language Learners:
magnifying glass, looking glass, eating
apples, laughing gas
crow’s feet, a bull’s eye, a crow’s nest
cow’s milk, a nurse’s uniform, a driver’s
license, a ladies’ room, a men’s store, a
camel’s hair coat
English has borrowed extensively from other
languages throughout its history. Borrowing
Clipping:
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Clipping
means reducing existing forms into
shorter ones. In
the educational context we
have e.g.
exam, gym, lab, math, typo
Polysyllabic words tend to be thus reduced
in casual speech:
gasoline
becomes
gas
,
facsimile
is
fax
,
advertisement
is
ad.
Sometimes only the clipped forms survive,
piano, cello, bus, pub
Phrases and compounds get also clipped
New words are formed when the words in a phrase
or compound are reduced to the initial letter, e.g.
VIP
or
ZIP
. They can be pronounced as a set of letters
(
CD, LP, GI, OK, B.C., A.D., UK, ATM
) or as single words
(
laser, scuba, PIN, NATO, radio, AIDS
).
Morphology
Morphology means ‘the study of forms’.
Blending:
Linguistic morphology deals with
the smallest
meaningful units of language
, called
morphemes
,
which make up word-forms and have either lexical
or grammatical meaning. For example,
reopened
consists of re+open+ed.
Blending involves both reduction and compounding.
Typically, the beginning of one word is combined
with the end of another:
Brunch
= breakfast + lunch
Smog
= smoke + fog
Laundromat
= laundry + automat
Workaholic
= work + alcoholic
Chunnel
= Channel + tunnel
Lexical blends are called
portmanteau
words.
Thus, morphology can be defined as the study of
the
internal structure of words
.
Types of Morphemes
Backformation
A morpheme can be either a
simple word
(e.g.
be,
work, many, to
) or an
affix
, that is, a
suffix
(e.g.
-ness, -ed, -s, -ing
) or a
prefix
(e.g.
re-, pre-, un-, dis-
).
Backformation is a reduction process which is the
opposite of derivation.
television > televise
but
socialize > socialization
To distinguish between backformation and
derivation, we need to distinguish between the
diachronic
and
synchronic
view of language.
Diachronic
– historical
Synchronic
– at one point in time
By analogy to
work
>
worker
(derivation), the
following nouns have been reduced:
editor, sculptor,
burglar, peddler, swindler, babysitter.
By analogy to
televise,
many verbs have been
created:
donate, opt, emote, enthuse, liaise, typewrite,
intuit, opine, intermit, stage-manage
.
Suffixes and prefixes are added to
stems
/
roots
to
form
composite words
. In this way we can create new
lexemes, and this word-formation process is called
derivation
.
Apart from suffixes and prefixes, there are also
infixes
(e.g.
fan-bloody-tastic
) and
circumfixes
(e.g.
ahunting
).
Simple words are called
free morphemes
and
affixes are called
bound morphemes
. Stems are
typically free morphemes (e.g.
re
+
open
) but
sometimes they are
bound stems
(e.g.
re
+
ceive
,
re
+
duce
,
re
+
peat
,
re
+
sent
).
Conversion
A word changes its function (or acquires a new word
class status, or shifts to a different category) without
changing its form. This word formation process is
also known as
functional shift
or
category change
.
For example,
shampoo
(n) becomes
to shampoo
(v),
or
a nail
(n) becomes
to nail
(v). Even compounds
can be shifted like this, e.g.
a ballpark
and
to ballpark
(an estimate of a cost).
Free morphemes
fall into two categories: free
lexical and free grammatical morphemes.
Lexical morphemes are nouns, verbs, adjectives and
adverbs. They are called
content
or
open
classes.
Grammatical morphemes are prepositions,
conjunctions, particles, articles, pronouns and
auxiliary verbs. They are called
function
or
closed
classes.
Conversion became common in modern
English when the language had lost most of
its inflections in the Middle English period
(12
th
– 15
th
c.)
OE
walk-an
> ModE
walk
(v) >
walk
(n)
The distinction lexical:grammatical is based on
specificity/generality of meaning. Lexical meaning is
specific, while grammatical is more general.
Acronyms
The lexical/grammatical distinction applies to
bound morphemes
as well. Accordingly, there are
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