HSR130 Introduction to Language & Communication PDF

HSR130 INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION  HSR130 INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION Coverage: What is language? What is linguistics? Basic terms in linguistics  HSR130 INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION Some basic ideas & concepts  What makes us human? What m...

HSR130 INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION  HSR130 INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION Coverage: What is language? What is linguistics? Basic terms in linguistics  HSR130 INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION Some basic ideas & concepts  What makes us human? What makes us different from other species? Language  LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION Language is a form of communication unique to humans. The development of human civilisation would not be possible without language. Therefore, language is an important object of study.  LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION Ø Communication Ø Language Ø Linguistics  LANGUAGE Task Write a possible definition of language.  LANGUAGE One possible definition A system of communication of meanings through complex arbitrary signals or symbols in a significant syntax. (adapted from Fisher 2001,‘A History of Language.’) LANGUAGE FAMILIES  LINGUISTICS The scientific study of language The study of languages The nature of language  SOME BASIC TERMS Branches of the study of linguistics Ø Phonology Ø Morphology Ø Syntax Ø Semantics  SOME BASIC TERMS Phonology The branch of linguistics concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in languages. A linguist who specializes in phonology is known as phonologist. The vocal Tract  SOME BASIC TERMS Phonologists group sounds together as units called phonemes. A phoneme is a basic unit of a language’s phonology Phonemes are sounds, not letters The same phoneme (sound) can be represented by different letters (visual symbols) The English phoneme /f/ can be represented by many different letters or combinations of letters E.g., f as in ‘fun’, ff as in ‘puffy’, gh as in ‘rough’, ph as in ‘phone’  SOME BASIC TERMS The same phoneme (sound) can be represented by different letters (visual symbols) Hat Face Ball  SOME BASIC TERMS Phonology Pronounce this word ghoti rough f women (plural) i action sh fish  The International Phonetic Alphabet The phonetic alphabet allows us to avoid the confusion caused by different spelling systems. Anything written with the phonetic alphabet is enclosed in square brackets to indicate it is the sound that being shown. = hello Task : Use the chart below to write “My name is _________________”  SOME BASIC TERMS Morphology The study of words, how they are formed, and their relationship to other words in the same language. A linguist who specializes in morphology is known as a morphologist. Words are made up from one or more morphemes. A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that carries meaning.  SOME BASIC TERMS Morphemes are formed by combining phonemes e.g., ‘cat’ is made of three phonemes (/k/ + /a/ + /t/) Notice: ‘cat’ is a single-morpheme words; ‘cats’ is a two-morpheme word (cat + s) - both ‘cat’ and ‘s’ have meaning. - What is the meaning of ‘s’? ‘Walked’ is a two morpheme word (walk +ed) – What is the meaning of ‘ed’?  SOME BASIC TERMS Syntax The study of how words are arranged to create phrases, clauses and sentences. A linguist who specializes in syntax is known as a syntactician. Ø The tall professor (noun phrase) Ø The professor is tall (simple sentence - only one clause) Ø The professor who teaches us is tall (complex sentence - two or more clauses) Ø Yesterday lunchtime, I saw the tall professor who teaches us.  SOME BASIC TERMS Syntax – the grammar The study of how words are arranged to create phrases, clauses and sentences. Syntax forms meaningful sentences above word level – without syntax meaning begins to breaks down Are many languages. Because I was hungry.  SOME BASIC TERMS Semantics – the meaning The study of the meaning of phrases, clauses and sentences. A linguist who specializes in semantics is known as a semanticist. The meaning of a piece of language depends upon two things: 1. the meaning of individual words (lexical meaning), e.g. dogs, cats, chase 2. the way in which these words are arranged Cats chase dogs  SOME BASIC TERMS Syntax and semantics are not dependent Student study hard success Green ideas sleep furiously  LINGUISTICS The scientific study of language  LINGUISTICS The scientific study of language The study of languages The nature of language  SOME BASIC TERMS Studying the nature of language Ø Neurolinguistics – the biological Ø Sociolinguistics – the social  SOME BASIC TERMS Neurolinguistics – a biological approach The study of language in the brain. A linguist who specializes in neurolinguistics is known as a neurolinguist. A neurolinguist might study how the brain acquires language, or how it comprehends language, and how it produces language. They also study language impairment.  SOME BASIC TERMS Sociolinguistics – a social approach The study of language in society and how social factors affect language. A linguist who specializes in sociolinguistics is known as a sociolinguist. A sociolinguist might study how gender, ethnicity, social class, age etc. interact with language and affect the way we use language in real-life situations.  SOME BASIC TERMS Although the world’s languages seem very different, all human languages share some characteristics. These can be considered as part of a ‘universal grammar.’ Linguistic universals (3 types): absolute, non-absolute, implicational  SOME BASIC TERMS Language Universals Absolute universal A linguistic characteristic that is found in every language e.g., verbs & nouns Non-absolute universal A linguistic characteristic that is found in most languages e.g., In most languages, S comes before O Implicational universal A linguistic characteristic that is likely to be found in a language if the language has some other characteristic e.g., SVO languages tend to have prepositions  REVIEW – KEY TERMS Language Languages Communication Linguistics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics Phonemes Morpheme Phrase Clause Sentence Sociolinguistics Neurolinguistics Language Absolute Non-absolute Implicational Universals universal universal Universal Task: Test the person next to you on the meaning of 3 key terms in the box!  DISCUSSION Are you satisfied with the definition of language? How would you define language? List 6 languages. How many people do you think speak them as a first language Why does the language family map look like it does? Is language unique to humans? How do we learn our native language? Do we actually learn it? How do we learn new languages?