Introduction to Linguistics

• Linguistics is the scientific study of language
• Language is the communication of thoughts and feelings through arbitrary signals

Expert Definitions of Language

• Sapir (1921) defined language as a purely human, non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires using voluntarily produced symbols
• David Crystal (1989) defined language as human vocal noise used systematically and conventionally for communication
• Robbins (1990) defined language as communication through a system of symbols

Subsystems of Language

• Linguistics studies several subsystems:
  • Phonetics
  • Phonology
  • Morphology
  • Syntax
  • Semantics
  • Pragmatics

Definitions of Subsystems

• Phonetics is the scientific study of speech sounds
• Phonology studies sound patterns and how speech sounds function in a language
• Morphology is the study of word formation
• Syntax deals with the combination of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences
• Semantics is the study of meaning in all its formal aspects, including lexical relations, antonyms, and synonyms
• Pragmatics is the study of language in use

The Origins of Language

• The first spoken language developed between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago
• The first written language developed around 5,000 years ago
• Speculation about the origins of human speech is abundant due to the absence of direct physical evidence

Theories of the Origin of Language

• Divine source theory
• Natural source theory
• Social interaction source theory
• Physical adaptation source theory
• Tool-making source theory
• Genetic source theory

Divine Source Theory

• In the Bible, God created Adam and allowed him to name all living creatures
• In Hindu tradition, language came from Sarasvati, wife of Brahma
• A basic hypothesis suggests that infants raised without hearing any language will eventually speak the original language of God

Experiments on Divine Source

• Egyptian Pharaoh Psammetichus (600 B.C.) isolated two newborns for 2 years with goats and a mute shepherd. The children were reported to have spoken Phrygian word bekos(meaning bread)
• James IV of Scotland conducted a similar experiment and children were reported to have started speaking Hebrew
• Experiments show that children growing up without access to language do not develop language at all

The Natural Source Theory

• Based on natural sounds and the ability to identify sounds in the environment
• Early humans connected sounds with the things that produced them
• Jespersen (1922) called this the "bow-wow" theory, suggesting primitive words derived from imitations of natural sounds

Bow-Wow Theory

• Early human speech developed from imitations of natural sounds in the environment

Onomatopoeia

• Words contain sounds similar to the noises they describe
• Examples include "bang" and "cuckoo"

Pooh-Pooh Theory

• Speech developed from instinctive sounds people make in emotional circumstances
• Examples include "ouch," "ahh," "ooh," and "phew"

Natural Source Theory

• The sounds of a person involved in physical effort could be the source of language

Social Interaction Source

• Language arose out of the rhythmical grunts of people working together in physical effort that had to be coordinated, known as the "yo-he-ho" theory
• Early humans may have developed grunts, groans, and curses used when lifting and carrying trees or mammoths
• Early humans lived in groups that required organization and communication, which placed language development in a social context

Physical Adaptation Source Theory

• The physical adaptation source theory suggests that humans developed the perfect shaped speech organs to enable capacity for speech
• Larynx contains the vocal folds, and it is also called the voice box
• Pharynx is the area inside the throat above the Larynx

Tool Making Source Theory

• Evidence suggest humans developed preferential right-handedness and the capability of making stone tools, eventually leading to the development of wood and composite tools

Brain Lateralization

• The human brain is lateralized with specialized functions in each hemisphere

Left Hemisphere Specialization

• Analytical
• Tool Using
• Language

Genetic Source Theory

• The human baby exhibits physical changes, such as brain development, larynx descent, and upright posture
• Children born deaf become fluent in sign language early in life
• Innateness hypothesis: genetics in humans makes human language possible

Communicative vs. Informative Signals

• Communicative signals are intentional messages, while informative signals reveal unintentional information
• Example: A blackbird's feathers are not intentionally communicative, but its squawking when a cat appears is a communicative signal

Unique Properties of Human Language

• Displacement: discussing past, present, and future events plus other locations
• Arbitrariness: no natural link between words and meanings, except for onomatopoeic words
• Productivity (Creativity): Humans create infinite sentences

Other Properties of Human Language

• Cultural Transmission: language is acquired in a culture with other speakers
• Duality (Double Articulation): language operates at two levels: sounds and meaningful words

Talking to Animals

• Animals produce a behavior in response to a sound-stimulus, without "understanding" the meaning of the words
• It is unlikely that an animal can understand human language

Chimpanzees and Language Experiments

• Gua: Raised alongside a human child and could understand 100 words but not produce them
• Viki: Raised as a human child and could say poorly articulated versions of "mama," "papa," and "cup"
• Washoe: A chimpanzee taught American Sign Language (ASL) in a human-like environment and learned over 100 signs
• Koko: Learned to use over 100 signs and create simple sentences
• Sara: Trained to use plastic shapes as "words" and could form sentences

Yerkish Chimpanzees

• Lana: Trained to use an artificial language called Yerkish and learned to press symbols in the correct order to form messages

Nim

• Psychologist Herbert Terrace argued that chimpanzees produce signs in response to human prompts and imitate signs, and are not truly engaging in conversation
• His first sign at 4 months, learned 125 signs by age 4, stayed at the two-word stage, and could not produce longer utterances
• Never initiated conversations with his research assistants
• Terrace concluded chimpanzees display learned behavior to obtain rewards, but its like sign language

Washoe vs. Nim

• Washoe could produce correct signs to identify objects in pictures in the absence of any human cue.
• Difference between Washoe and Nim: Washoe lived in a domestic environment with fluent signers, while Nim was kept in a windowless cell

Matata and Kanzi

• Matata did not excel in the Yerkish symbol system, but Kanzi observed these sessions
• Kanzi spontaneously began using the symbols without direct teaching due to exposure
• Kanzi developed a vocabulary of over 250 symbols.
• Kanzi's English comprehension was likened to that of a two-and-a-half-year-old human child, he used unique communication, expressing preferences.

Conclusion

• Animals' sound systems and speech organs are incomparable to humans. Their cognitive and nervous connections to the brain and nervous system are different

Phonetics

• Phonetics is the general study of the characteristics of speech sounds

Three Types of Phonetics

• Articulatory Phonetics
• Acoustic Phonetics
• Auditory Phonetics

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

• Alphabetical system to describe the sounds, with one sound per symbol and universality

Types of Sound

• Consonant
• Vowel

Criteria for Describing Consonants

• Voicing
• Place of Articulation
• Manner of Articulation

More on Types of Sounds

• Voiced consonants are called lenis, while voiceless consonants are called fortis

Places of Articulation

• Bilabial
• Labiodentals
• Dentals
• Alveolars
• Palatals
• Velars
• Glottals

Bilabial Consonants

• Utilize both lips
• Examples: pie, buy, mute, wood

Labiodentals

• Sounds made using the lower lip and upper teeth
• [v], [f]

Dentals

• Tongue tip behind the upper front teeth
• 0, ð

Alveolars

• Made using the tongue and the alveolar ridge
• [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l], [r]

Palatals

• Sounds produced with the tongue and the palate
• ∫], [t∫] , [3] , [dz]

Glottal Stops

• Glottis is the space between the vocal folds

Manner of Articulation for Consonants

• Place of articulation explains were consonant sounds are articulated
• Manner of articulation describes how sounds are articulated

Styles of Manner of Articulation

• Stops/plosives: “stopping” the air stream very briefly then letting it go abruptly
• Fricatives involve almost blocking the air stream and having the air push through the very narrow opening
• Affricates combine a brief stopping of the air stream with an obstructed release which causes some friction
• Nasals: when the velum is lowered and the air stream is allowed to flow out through the nose

Other Manner of Articulation Styles

• Liquids: A liquid is a consonant produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the sides of the tongue
• Glides are produced when the constriction of the air flow very little, and they are called, semi-vowels

Types of Vowels

• Mono means one
• Di means two
• Monophthong : A monophthong is made of one vowel
• Diphthong : Diphthongs is made of two vowels. In a diphthong, we move from one vowel sound to another

Describing Vowels

• In the classification of vowels, tongue position and jaw height are the main dimensions
• The characteristics of a vowel sound is determined by:
  • horizontal tongue position (front-central-back)
  • vertical tongue position (high-mid-low) or the distance between the tongue and the roof of the mouth (close-mid-open)
  • lip position (rounded-neutral-spread)
  • typical length of the vowel (long-short)

Describing English Vowels in Detail

• [i:] front high long unrounded
• [1] front high short unrounded
• [e]front mid short unrounded
• [æ] front low short unrounded
• [u:] back high long rounded
• [ひ] back high short rounded
• [ɔ:] back mid long rounded
• [p] back low short rounded
• [a:] back low long unrounded
• [3:] central mid long unrounded
• [^] central low short unrounded
• [ә] central mid short unrounded