Study of Language Presentation 1 - PDF

# The Study of Language ## Dr Anna Wiechecka ### Presentation 1: Introduction to the course - The origins of language ## Outline of this presentation - Course outline - Requirements (= what to do to pass the course) - Introduction to the course: areas of linguistics - The origins of language #...

# The Study of Language ## Dr Anna Wiechecka ### Presentation 1: Introduction to the course - The origins of language ## Outline of this presentation - Course outline - Requirements (= what to do to pass the course) - Introduction to the course: areas of linguistics - The origins of language ## Course outline - The main areas of linguistics (syntax, phonetics, phonology, morphology, semantics, pragmatics etc.) and the origins of language (theories, speculations) - The properties of human languages - The history and development of writing; cultural differences related to various writing systems - Language and the brain, neurolinguistics, how brain injuries, conditions or dysfunctions affect communication - First language acquisition - Second language acquisition (learning) - Sign language ## Requirements - Attendance – 15% (2 unexcused absences are OK) - Participation in class discussions – 20% - Mini-home assignments and peer-revision exercises – 20% - Final test taken during our last meeting (you need 60% to pass) – 45% - Detailed course syllabus - available on Platon - Required reading: George Yule (2010), _The Study of Language_, Fourth Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (selected chapters to be uploaded on Platon regularly, along with presentations, in the Required Materials section) ## Areas of linguistics - Linguistics = the study of language - Generative linguistics vs. applied linguistics - Semantics - Pragmatics - Sociolinguistics - Cognitive linguistics - Computational linguistics - Historical linguistics - Neurolinguistics - Psycholinguistics - … ## Areas of linguistics: generative linguistics - The main idea is Universal Grammar (Noam Chomsky) – we have a language faculty in our brain which allows us to acquire the grammatical system of any language (spoken / sign) within ca. 3 years of age - Areas: syntax, phonetics, phonology, morphology (= the structure of words) - Other aspects of language, i.e. vocabulary, the meanings of words (semantics) or the use of language in context (pragmatics) are learned throughout our remaining life (from 3 yo. upwards...) - Semantics and pragmatics are not generative linguistics, but belong to theoretical linguistics - Applied linguistics: mainly learning and teaching English ## The origins of language - The sad news is, there is no certainty as for when exactly human language came into being - We will probably never know in 100% how + why language originated – no physical evidence, artifacts, records etc. - We can, however, be certain that spoken languages appeared long before written language as such (spoken languages: between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, written language: 5,000 years ago) - This lack of certainty led to a multitude of theories and speculations ## Hypotheses - The divine source - The natural sound source - The social interaction source - The physical adaptation source - The tool-making source - The genetic source - Other sources...? ## The divine source - In many religions, language is viewed as something like a gift bestowed upon humankind by a deity - The biblical tradition: God and Adam (Genesis 2:19) – see next slide, the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 9) - Islam: "The human ability to speak and the diversity of languages are the form of God's power and love. Language varieties, both geographical and temporal parameters, and changes, can be studied in terms of the existence of God. In addition, language is meant to be used as part of "worship" because it is a tool to earn God's grace and blessing" (Irwandi 2018: 512) - "God taught Adam all the names that people use, such as human, animal, sky, earth, land, sea, horse, donkey, and so forth, including the names of the other species" (Irwandi 2018: 513) ## The divine source: quotes from the Bible - Genesis 2: 19 – various translations (biblehub\.org) - And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof (King James Bible) - Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name (New International Version) - So the LORD God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one (New Living Translation) - And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name (Berean Standard Bible) ## The divine source: the Hindu tradition - The Hindu tradition: Saraswati (goddess of the arts, knowledge, wisdom, truth, creative powers, purification and discernment), according to the Upanishads, she created the Sanskrit language and gave it to human beings ## The divine source: how to check which language was the one actually given by God? - Given all the above, how to check which language was the one actually given by God? How to rediscover this original language? ## The divine source: experiment in Ancient Egypt - Answer: if an infant is allowed to grow without any contact with any language, i.e. with no exposure to it (in the case of babies – not hearing any spoken language around them), he/she will spontaneously start speaking the original, God-given language - This belief led a few historical figures to conduct their own research... ### The divine source: experiments: Psamtik (Psametichus) in ancient Egypt - Ancient Egypt, 7th century BC: - Psamtik (Psammetichus) conducted a 'study' in which two newborns were kept in isolation in the company of goats and a shepherd, who couldn't speak - After ca. 2 years of living in these conditions, the children were reported to have been able to utter a word _bekos_, which happened to be the Phrygian word for bread - Conclusion: The God-given language must have been Phrygian - Any problems with this experiment? ### The divine source: experiments: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II - Europe, 13th century AD: - Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, known for his nature of a medieval 'experimenter' and _stupor mundi_ (Latin 'astonishment of the world') - An experiment involving a group of babies (number not specified) and nurses who took basic care of them (bathing, feeding) but were told not to interact with them (unless strictly necessary) and not to communicate with them at all - The original language not discovered: none of the children survived (deprivation on too many levels) - Conclusion: none ### The divine source: experiments: King James IV of Scotland - Scotland, ca. 1500 AD: - King James IV of Scotland: a similar experiment, two infants and a mute woman who took care of them were kept in isolation on Inchkeith Island; after ca. 2 years, the children supposedly started speaking Hebrew (spontaneously) - Conclusion: The God-given language must have been Hebrew - (Other reports say that the children did not survive / started producing sounds which were imitations of natural sounds they heard) - Language deprivation experiments – totally useless – why? ## The divine source: problem with this hypothesis - A child who, in their early years, is not exposed to any language (be it spoken or sign) will end up not acquiring any language at all (some vocabulary - yes, grammar – no) - Universal Grammar + the critical period hypothesis – to be discussed later (topic: first language acquisition) - Feral children - The case of 'Genie' (the 1960s) ## The natural sound source - The very first words – imitations of natural sounds that our ancestors heard around them - This hypothesis explains the existence of onomatopoeic words, which happen to exist in all languages - Alternate name: bow-wow theory - English: the existence of words such as whoosh, screech, boom, hiss, pop, bang... - Consider the chart on the following slide: ## The natural sound source: table of onomatopoeic words from different languages | Sound? | English | German | French | Spanish | Hebrew | Japanese | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | [bawwaw] | [bawwaw] | [vawvaw] | [wahwah] | [wawwaw] | [hawhaw] | [wawa] | | [miaw] | [miaw] | [miaw] | [miaw] | [miaw] | [miaw] | [niaw] | | [ba:] | [ba:] | [m:] | [be:] | [be:] | [me: me:] | [me: me:] | | [twit-twit] | [twit-twit] | [pip] | [kwikwi] | [pippip] | [tswits tswits] | [čiči] | | [bum] | [bum] | [bum] | [bRum] or [vRum] | [bum] | [bum] | [ban] | | [tiktok] | [tiktok] | [tiktik] | [tiktak] | [tiktak] | [tiktak] | [čiktak] | ## Onomatopoeic words: problem with this hypothesis - Sadly, onomatopoeic words constitute a minority of words in any language - Most of the words in human languages are in fact _arbitrary_ (next topic), i.e. there is no connection between the physical shape of a word and its meaning, or this connection is highly abstract and not derivable from its appearance - Another suggestion: language originated from cries of emotion expressing e.g. pain, surprise, disgust etc. (rather improbable: many of such cries are produced with an intake of breath + they contain sounds not heard in human speech anyway) ## The social interaction source - The starting point: the fact that we are social beings and our ancestors, when working in a group performing activities which demanded physical effort + in the long run helped them survive (e.g. lifting a heavy mammoth, a tree trunk etc.), must have used some sounds/cries regulating / coordinating these actions, which later developed into speech - Alternate name: yo-he-ho theory - Source: cries, grunts, hums, sighs etc. ## The social interaction source: problem with this hypothesis - It places the development of human languages in a social context - It doesn't answer the question about the origins of sounds which were made - Social calls are also observable in other animals (apes/primates) who, however, did not end up developing speech ## The physical adaptation source - Closely connected with evolution - What anatomical changes have supported speech production? - An end product of the following combination: upright posture + bipedal locomotion + new role for the limbs - Evidence: - Comparative studies on skulls of gorillas vs. Neanderthals from 60,000 BC (e.g. in Neanderthal men, some consonant-like sound distinction could have been possible) - Around 35,000 BC – more changes in the skeletal structure that start to look similar to those of modern humans ## The physical adaptation source: detailed description - A series of _partial adaptations_ – not strictly conducive of speech production, but they definitely made it easier for our ancestors - It can be concluded that an entity possessing these features could have been able to use speech - The key articulatory organs: teeth, mouth, larynx, pharynx, tongue, lips - Can you guess the name of the organs which are described below? - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . upright, unlike in apes, wherein they are slanting outwards (sounds like f, v, th) - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smaller than in other primates, we can open/close it very fast - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . made of tightly interconnected muscles, far more flexible than in other primates (sounds like m, p, b) - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . much smaller, thicker and more flexible, can be shaped in a multitude of ways - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a result of evolution and assuming an upright position (an extra cavity not found in other primates) - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . voice box containing two muscles thanks to which we can speak; over the course of evolution, it was lowered as we assumed an upright position ## The physical adaptation source: answers - Answers: - **teeth** upright, unlike in apes, wherein they are slanting outwards (sounds like f, v, th) - **mouth** smaller than in other primates, we can open/close it very fast - **lips** made of tightly interconnected muscles, far more flexible than in primates (sounds like m, p, b) - **tongue** much smaller, thicker and more flexible, can be shaped in a multitude of ways - **pharynx (throat)** a result of evolution and assuming an upright position (an extra cavity not found in other primates) - **larynx** voice box containing **vocal cords**, i.e. two muscles thanks to which we can speak; over the course of evolution, it was lowered as we assumed an upright position ## The physical adaptation source: other advantages - One additional advantage: humans can close off the airway through the nose – more air pressure in the mouth - All in all, when compared with other primates, humans have ended up having a face with more intricate muscle interlacing (lips and mouth), adaptable and flexible, which covers for a wider range of shapes + quicker and more powerful delivery of sounds - Lower larynx and the development of the pharynx – the risk of choking - However, the long-term advantages of being able to produce spoken language must have outbalanced this risk... ## The tool-making source - Starting point: the fact that, at some point, humans started using their hands - By ca. 2 mln years ago – probable preference for right-handedness + ability to make stone tools, later followed by wooden and composite tools - This probably went hand in hand with the neurological changes - The human brain - _lateralized_, i.e. we have, in fact, a 'left brain' and a 'right brain' – two hemispheres, each responsible for sets of different activities/functions - The abilities to use tools + produce language are controlled in two parts of the brain which happen to be close to each other (can you guess in which hemisphere they are located...?) ## The tool-making source: conclusions - Conclusion: There must have been some correlation between those two skills and those two brain faculties at work. - A very important hypothesis as regards the very development of language - Problems with structural organisation: every language is a system requiring a special organisation of sounds, words, phrases, sentence constituents etc. (the same goes for sign languages) ## The genetic source - A very useful source of analysis: observing the development of infants / babies / toddlers – some natural changes similar to our evolutionary development - The brain – 25% of its size at birth, the larynx initially is higher and then descends as the baby assumes an upright position - As the upright position is assumed, the baby starts walking / talking - Tool-using skills ## The genetic source: conclusions - However, the key change that takes place in babies is the fact that they acquire language - Exposure to language – crucial - Even children who are deaf (congenitally or after e.g. an illness/ an injury) do acquire a language – here, a sign language (if the child is a hearing child of deaf parents, or a CODA, they are likely to acquire two languages: a sign one and a spoken one, and become bilingual) - Conclusion: We are born with a capacity for language - The _innateness hypothesis_ (if sth is innate = it is inborn, we are born with it) ## The genetic source: how did that come about? - How did that come about? - One single mutation - A change that took place over time - Hardwiring / programming (analogies to e.g. IT, math etc.) - A language gene? ## Hypotheses - evaluation - The divine source - The natural sound source - The social interaction source - The physical adaptation source - The tool-making source - The genetic source - …? ## One more hypothesis (for dessert...) - I'M NOT SAYING IT'S ALIENS... - BUT IT'S ALIENS (_history.com_) ## Sources: - Irwandi, Malin (2019) "The Qur'anic Concept on Human Language: A Preliminary Study on Science-Religion Integration in Studying Sociolinguistics", _Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research_, vol. 178, 512-516. - Yule, George (2010), _The Study of Language_, Fourth Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - biblehub\.org - https://gizmodo\.com/a-creepy-15th-century-language-experiment-took-place-on-1484724484 - https://www\.historyanswers\.co\.uk/kings-queens/emperor-frankenstein-the-truth-behind-frederick-ii-of-sicilys-sadistic-science-experiments/