Introduction to Linguistics

Linguistics

• Linguistics is the scientific study of language, including morphology, syntax, phonetics, and semantics.
• Applied linguistics applies linguistic theory to real-world problems, such as language teaching.
• Convention is a socially agreed-upon norm or practice in language use.
• A speech community shares a common language or dialect and norms for its use.
• A linguistic sign is a unit of meaning, like a word or morpheme.
• A linguistic sign has a "signifier" (sound/image) and a "signified" (concept).
• Humans uniquely create sign systems for abstract and complex meaning unlike other species.
• Language families descend from a common ancestral language.
• English is in the Germanic branch, and Slovak belongs to the Slavic branch of Indo-European.
• BASIC ENGLISH is a simplified English vocabulary for global communication, proposed by Charles Kay Ogden.
• It has a restricted vocabulary (approximately 850 words) and simplified grammar.

Parts of Speech & Language Types

• "Toothpaste" is a solid, "high school" is open.
• Idiosyncratic pairs are fixed, like "bread and butter" or "give and take".
• Speech has types such as commands, questions, statements, and exclamations.
• Provincial standards have a standardized grammar and lexicon, while local dialects have unique phonetic, lexical, and grammatical features.
• Spoken language is transient, while written language is permanent.
• Spoken language utilizes intonation, while written language uses punctuation.
• Spoken language tends to be less formal than written language.

Phonetics & Transcription

• IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is used for transcription.
• Examples include: /tof/ for "tough," /'hikʌp/ for "hiccough," and /bıəd/ (British) for "beard".
• Phonetics comprises articulatory, acoustic, and auditory branches.
• English has approximately 44 speech sounds.
• Digraphs represent single sounds using two letters, such as "ch" in "chop" or "sh" in "ship."

Language Properties & Theories

• Language has properties including arbitrariness, duality, productivity, displacement, cultural transmission, reflexivity, discreteness, and prevarication.
• Words don't inherently link to meaning (arbitrariness).
• Language has sound and meaning levels (duality).
• Language uses morphemes such as in "unreliability" comprised of four parts (un-, rely-, -able, -ity).
• Utterances are spoken words, statements, or expressions.
• Speakers have intended functions underlying their utterances.
• Uncertainty is expressed through stress like in "I think he knows what I mean".
• Requests can use pre-requests such as "could I ask you a favor".
• Formality is a continuum from highly formal academic language to casual workplace and informal expressions.
• Formal and informal language versions exist.
• Formal language is characterized by vocabulary choices and sentence structure.
• Factors like accents and dialects can also be indicators of formality.

Language Variation & History

• Languages vary regionally, socially, stylistically, and temporally.
• Isoglosses mark linguistic boundaries.
• Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages fluently.
• Language interference can affect communication by influencing one language with elements of another.

Specific Language Features & Development

• Code-switching is alternating between languages within conversation.
• Jargon is specialized language used by particular groups—like medical terms.
• Protolanguages like Proto-Indo-European are ancestral languages to various existing ones.
• The distinction between centum / satem is relevant for identifying language groups.
• Synchronic analysis studies language at a specific time whereas diachronic studies language change over time.
• Families such as Uralic, Afro-Asiatic, and Sino-Tibetan are not Indo-European.
• Cognates share a common origin, while false cognates do not share meaning.
• Language influences are shown by examples such as Latin, Norse, and French contributing to English.
• The timeline of influence shows how English has developed over time.
• Old English is the starting point that established grammar and vocabulary structures.

Language Development and Change

• Old English dates from the 5th through the 11th centuries.
• The importance of Old English is that it laid the foundation for English vocabulary and grammar.
• Chaucer's work, The Canterbury Tales, embodies complex inflections and a rich vocabulary.
• The shift from Old English to Middle English saw a loss of inflectional endings.
• Works by figures like Shakespeare and Milton exemplify the development of Early Modern English.
• The Great Vowel Shift significantly altered English pronunciation through shifts in vowel sounds.
• Neologisms are new words like "selfie" and "binge-watch."