Properties of Human Language PDF

Properties of Human Language Michael B. Lavadia, Ph.D.  Define language from various linguistic point of views Learning Enumerate and describe the different subfields of Objectives...

Properties of Human Language Michael B. Lavadia, Ph.D.  Define language from various linguistic point of views Learning Enumerate and describe the different subfields of Objectives linguistics Identify the properties of human language Differentiate human communication from animal communication  Unload your thoughts… What is Langua ge? 2023 Human Language 3  “Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into thoughts.” - Henry Sweet, an English phonetician  “a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements” -Noam Chomsky, father of modern linguistics 2023 Human Language 5  Language must concern itself with describing and analyzing the ability of the native speakers to use language for communication in real situations (communicative competence) rather than limiting itself to describing the potential ability of the ideal speaker/listener to produce grammatically correct sentences (linguistic competence). -Dell Hymes, a sociolinguist 2023 Human Language 6  Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Smart, intelligent individuals work silently. 2023 Human Language 7  “Language is my whore, my mistress, my wife, my pen- friend, my check-out girl. Language is a complimentary moist lemon-scented cleansing square or handy freshen- up wipette. Language is the breath of God, the dew on a fresh apple, it's the soft rain of dust that falls into a shaft of morning sun when you pull from an old bookshelf a forgotten volume of erotic diaries; language is the faint scent of urine on a pair of boxer shorts, it's a half- remembered childhood birthday party, a creak on the stair, a spluttering match held to a frosted pane, the warm wet, trusting touch of a leaking nappy, the hulk of a charred Panzer, the underside of a granite boulder, the first downy growth on the upper lip of a Mediterranean girl, cobwebs long since overrun by an old Wellington boot.” 20X23 Human Language 8  Language is… The system of words or signs that people use to express thoughts and feelings to one another. Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2023 Human Language 9  Think of it this way… Language phenomenon is incredibly COMPLEX. 2023 Human Language 10  Linguistics is primarily concerned with the nature of language and communication. There are broadly three aspects to the study, including language form, language meaning, and language Linguistics is the scientific use in discursive and communicative study of language. contexts. WHAT IS LINGUISTICS? Linguistics deals with the study of particular languages, and the search for general Linguists do work on specific properties common to languages, but their primary all languages or large goal is to understand the nature groups of languages. of language in general.  Branches of Linguistics PHONETICS The study of speech sounds; how they are produced in the vocal tract (articulatory phonetics), how they are transmitted through the air (acoustic phonetics), and how they are perceived by the listener (auditory phonetics). PHONOLOGY Phonology studies how languages organize sounds into different patterns. 2023 Human Language 12  Branches of Linguistics MORPHOLOGY The study of the way in which words are constructed out of smaller units which have a meaning or grammatical function, for example the word friendly is constructed from friend and the adjective-forming –ly. LEXICOGRAPHY The compiling of dictionaries. Lexicography could be seen as a branch of applied linguistics. 2023 Human Language 13  Branches of Linguistics SYNTAX The study of how words combine to form sentences and the rules which govern the formation of sentences. Syntax is a mechanism that enables human beings to utter or understand an infinite number of sentences constructed from a finite number of building blocks. SEMANTICS The study of meaning; how words and sentences are related to the real or imaginary objects they refer to and the situations they describe. 2023 Human Language 14  Branches of Linguistics PRAGMATICS The study of the use of language in communication, particularly the relationships between sentences and the contexts and situations in which they are used such as time, place, social relationship between speaker and hearer, and speaker’s assumptions about the SOCIOLINGUISTICS: hearer’s belief. The study of language in relation to social factors such as social class, educational level, age, sex and ethnic origin. Such areas as the study of language choice in bilingual or multilingual communities, language planning or language attitudes can also be included. 2023 Human Language 15  Branches of Linguistics DISCOURSE ANALYSIS The study of how sentences in spoken and written language form larger meaningful units such as paragraphs, conversations, interviews etc. STYLISTICS The study of that variation in language which is dependent on the situation in which the language is used and also on the effect the writer/speaker wishes to create on the reader/hearer. Stylistics tries to establish principles capable of explaining the particular choices made by individuals and social groups in their use of language. 2023 Human Language 16  Branches of Linguistics APPLIED LINGUISTICS The application of the methods and results of linguistics to such areas as language teaching; national language policies; translation; language in politics, advertising, classrooms and courts (forensic linguistics). 2023 Human Language 17  Branches of Linguistics COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS: Computational linguists study natural languages, such as English and Japanese, rather than computer languages, such as Fortran, or Java. The field of computational linguistics has two aims: the technological aim to enable computers to be used as aids in analyzing and processing natural language and the psychological aim to understand, by analogy with computers, more about how people process natural languages. It also includes research on automatic translation, electronic production of artificial speech and the automatic recognition of human speech. 2023 Human Language 18  Branches of Linguistics PSYCHOLINGUISTICS The study of the mental processes underlying the planning, production, perception and comprehension of speech, for example how memory limitations affect speech production and comprehension. The best developed branch of psycholinguistics is the study of language acquisition. 2023 Human Language 19  Characteristics of Language o exclusively a human property o An integral part of human existence o Arbitrary o Rule-governed o dynamic 20XX presentation title 20  Properties of Language DISPLACEMENT ARBITRARINESS CULTURAL TRANSMISSION PRODUCTIVITY DUALITY MODULARITY CONSTITUENCY RECURSION REFLEXIVITY DISCRETENESS RELIANCE ON CONTEXT VARIABILITY 2023 Human Language 21 Thank you. Michael Lavadia [email protected]