语言学1

第一章
Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics

Teaching aims: let the students have the general idea about language and linguistics.

Teaching difficulties: design features of language ; some important distinctions in linguistics

Teaching procedures

1. language
1.1 Why study language?为什么学习语言
A tool for communication交流的工具
An integral part of our life and humanity 人类生活和人性中不可或缺的一部分.
If we are not fully aware of the nature and mechanism of our language, we will be ignorant of what constitutes our essential humanity.如果不能完全理解语言的本质和结构,我们就会对人类的本质一无所知.
1.2 What is language?什么是语言
1.2.1 different senses of language 语言的不同意义
1. what a person says( concrete act of speech)
a person’s consistent way of speaking or writing
a particular level of speaking or writing   e.g. colloquial language
an abstract system
2. A webster’s New Dictionrary offers a frequently used sense of the word “language”:
a. human speech 人类的言语
b. the ability to communicate by this means 通过言语来交流的能力
c. a system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings; 用来表达或交流思想和感觉的一套声音及这些声音互相结合的系统
d. the written representation of such a system 系统的文字表达
3. the barest of definition, language is a means of verbal communication.最简洁的定义:语言是言语交流的一种方式.
Language is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act. It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiostic and communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such associated factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and socio-cultural roles. Language distinguishes us from animals.因为说和写的交流方式是一种有目的的行为,所以语言是实用性的;因为语言是社会符号,语言的交流只能在所有参与者广泛理解了人类的那些非言语的暗示,动机,社会文化角色等等互相关联的因素之后才能有效进行,因此语言又是社会的,约定俗成的.语言使人类区别于动物.
1.2.2 definitions
一.Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.
What is communication?
A process in which information is transmitted from a source (sender or speaker) to a goal (receiver or listener).
A system----since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules systematically, rather than randomly. They cannot be arranged at will. e.g. He the table cleaned. (×) bkli (×)
Why do we say language is arbitrary?
Arbitrary----there is no intrinsic (logic) connection between a linguistic form and its meaning, between the sounds that people use and the objects to which these sounds refer. This explains and is explained by the fact that different language have different words for the same object, it is good illustration of the arbitrary nature of language . it is only our tacit agreement of utterance and concept at work and not any innate relationship bound up in the utterance. A typical example to illustrate the arbitrary of language is a famous quotation from shakepeare’s play:” Romeo and Juliet: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.一朵玫瑰不管它叫什么名字,闻起来都是一样香的.
Symbols----words are just the symbols associated with objects, actions, and ideas by nothing but convention. Namely, people use the sounds or voval forms to symbolize what they wish to refer to.
Vocal-------- the primary medium for all languages is sound, no matter how well developed their writing systems are. Writing systems came much later than the spoken forms. The fact that small children learn and can only learn to speak and listen before they write or read also indicates that language is primarily vocal, rather than written.
          Writing systems came into being much later than the spoken forms.
          People with little or no literacy can also be competent language users.
Human ----language is human-specific.
         Human beings have different kinds of brains and vocal capacity.
“Language Acquisition Device”(LAD)
二.What characteristics of langauge do you think should be included in a good ,comprenhensive definition of language?
Language is a rule-governed system; langauge is basically vocal; langauge is arbitrary ; langague is used for human communication.
1.3 Design features of language 语言的结构特征
Design features------ refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, creativity/ productivity, displacement, clutural transmission and interchangeability.
Design features----- are features that define our human languages,such as arbitrariness,duality,creativity,displacement,cultural transmission,etc.(指决定了人类语言性质的特征.例如任意性,二重性,创造性,移位性,文化转移性等.)
The American linguist Charles Hockett specified twelve design features.
What is arbitrariness?任意性
a. arbitrariness---- arbitrariness(任意性): one design feature of human language,which refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning.(人类语言的本质特征之一,指语言符号的形式与意义之间没有自然的联系.)
It was discussed by Saussure first.The link between them is a matter of convention.
  E.g. “house”     uchi (Japanese)
                 Mansion (French)
                 房子(Chinese)
(1) arbitrary between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning语言的音和义之间的任意性
      a. By “arbitrary”, we mean there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. 语言的意义和语音之间没有逻辑关系。
A gog might be a pig if only the first person or group of persons had used it for a gig. Language therefore is largely arbitrary.
b. But language is not absolutely seem to be some sound-meaning association, if we think of echo words, like “bang ” ”crash” ”roar ” ” rumble ” ”cakle”, which are motivated in a certain sense.”
onomatopoeia拟声词---words that sound like the sounds they describe那些发音像它们的描写的声音的词
c. some compounds (words compounded to be one word ) are not entirely arbitary either. “type ” and ”write ”are opaque or unmotivated words, while “type -writer” is less so, or more transparent or motivated than the words that make it . so we can say “arbitrariness” is a matter of degree.
arbitrary and onometopoeic effect may work at the same time.任意性和拟声可以同时起作用。
Eg. The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.夏日黄昏，群蝇嗡嗡地非。
(2) Arbitrary at the syntactic level 句法上的任意性
According to systematic-functionalists and American functionlists, language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level. 对于系统功能语言学家和美国功能语言学家来说，语言在句法上是非任意的。
Syntax-----it refers to the ways that sentences are constructed according to the grammar of arrangement.句法就是依据语法安排造句之法。
(3) Aribrtary and convention任意性和约定性
The link between a linguistic sign and its meaning is a matter of convention.语言学上的符号和它的意义之间是约定俗成的关系。
The other side of coin of arbitrariness , namely, conventionality.任意性的相反面，即约定性。
conventionality----It means that in any language there are certain sequences of sounds that have a conventionally accepted meaning. Those words are customarily used by all speakers with the same intended meaning and understood by all listeners in the same way.
Arbitrainess of langauge makes it potentially creative, and conventionality of language makes learning a language laborious.任意性赋予语言潜在的创造力，而语言的约定性又使学习语言变得费力。

There are two different schools of belief concerning arbitrariness. Most people, especially structural linguists believe that language is arbitrary by nature. Other people, however, hold that language is iconic, that is, there is a direct relation or correspondence between sound and meaning, such as onomatopoeia.(cuckoo; crash)

For the majority of animal signals, there does appear to be a clear connection between the conveyed message and the signal used to convey it, And for them, the sets of signals used in communication is finite.
b. duality(二重性):--- one design feature of human language,which refers to the property of having two levels of structures , such as units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary.level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.(人类语言的本质特征之一,指拥有两层结构的这种特性,底层结构是上层结构的组成成分,每层都有自身的组合规则.)
duality----language is simultaneously organized at two levels or layers, namely, the level of sounds and that of meaning.
the higher level ----words which are meaningful
the lower or the basic level----sounds which are meaningless, but can be grouped and regrouped into words.
Dog: woof (but not “w-oo-f ” )
          This duality of levels is, in fact, one of the most economical features of human language, since with a limited set of distinct sounds we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words) which are distinct in meaning.
          The principle of economy
Linguists refer “duality” (of structure) to the fact that in all language so far investigated, one finds two levels of structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words etc.) . At the second, lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments wich lack any meaning in themselves, but which combine to form units of meaning.
According to HUZHUANGLIN, language is a system of two sets of structures or two levels, one of sound and the other of meaning. This is improtant for the workings of language.
A samll number of senmantic words /units, and these units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences.这些意义单位组成无数个句子。(note that we have dictionaries of words, but no dictionary of sentences!).
Duality makes it possible for a person to talk about anything within his knowledge. No anmial communication system enjoys this duality.
To talk about duality we must notice that language is hierarchical.说到语言的二重性，我们必须注意语言的等级性。
li
c. Creativity----language is resourceful. It makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users.(novel utterances are continually being created.) non-human signals ,on the other hand, appears to have little flexibility.
creativity(创造性): one design feature of human language ,by creativity we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. (指语言的能产性,因为语言有二重性和递归性.)
productivity----productivity refers to the ability to construct and understand an indefinitely large number of sentences in one’s native language , including those that has never heard before , but that are appropriate to the speaking situation.人们能够利用语言中原有的规则来理解从未碰到过的语言符号的特征。
e.g. an experiment of bee communication:
The worker bee, normally able to communicate the location of a nectar source , will fail to do so if the location is really ‘new’   .
In one experiment, a hive of bees was placed at the foot of a radio tower and a food source at the top. Ten bees were taken to the top, shown the food source, and sent off to tell the rest of the hive about their find. The message was conveyed via a bee dance and the whole gang buzzed off to get the free food. They flow around in all directions, but couldn’t locate the food. The problem may be that bee communication regarding location has a fixed set of signals, all of which related to horizonta distance. The bee cannot create a ‘new ’ message indicating vertical distance.
No one has never said or heard “A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the small hotel bed with an African gibbon”, but he can say it when necessary, and he can understand it in right register.
Different from artistic creativity, productivity never goes outside the language, thus productivity is also called “rule-bound creativity” (by N. Chomsky)
Productivity is unique to human language. 创造性是人类语言的独一无二的特征。
d. displacement(移位性): one design feature of human language,which means human language enable their users to symbolize objects,events and concepts which are not present c in time and space,at the moment of communication.(指人类语言可以让使用者来表示在说话时(时间和处所)并不存在的物体,时间和观点.)
   Bee communication:
When a worker bee finds a source of nectar and returns to the hive, it can perform a complex dance routine to communicate to the other bees the location of this nectar. Depending on the type of dance (round dance for nearby and tail-wagging dance, with variable tempo, for further away and how far), The other bees can work put where this newly discovered feast can be found. Bee communication has displacement in an extremely limited form. However, it must be the most recent food source.
Displacement , as one of the design features of the human languag, refers to the fact that one can talk about things that are not present, as easily as he does things present. In other words, one can refer to real or unreal things, things of the past, of the present, of the future.人类语言可以被用来指不在当时当地发生的事情，这就使得人类能够谈论许多事情而不受时空限制。
Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speak, that means language has the feature of displacement.
Language itself can be talked about too. When a man , for esxample, is crying to a woman, about something, it might be something that had occurred, or something that is occuring, or soemthing that is to occur. When a dog is barking, however, you can dicide it is barking for something or at someone that exists now and there. It counldn’t be bow-wowing sorrowfully for a bone to be lost. The bee’s system, nonetheless, has a samll share of “displacement”, but it’s an unspeakable tiny share
e. Cultural transmission----genetic transmission
    You acquire a language in a culture with other speakers and not from parental genes.
The process whereby language is passed on from one generation to the next is described as cultural transmission.
This means that language is not biologically transmitted from generation to generation, but that the details of the linguistic system must be learned anew by each speaker. It is true that the capacity for language in human beings (N. Chomsky called it “language acquisition device”, or LAD) has a genetic basis, but the particular languag a person learns to speak is a cultural one other than a genetic one lkie the dog’s barking system. （人类学习语言的能力有遗传基础，但任何详细的语言系统都必须通过教授和学习才能获得，这说明语言具有文化传递性，它不是靠人类的本能而获得的。）
If a human beging is brought up in isolation he cannot acquire langauge. The Wolf Child reared by the pack of wolves turned out to speak the wolf’s roaring “tongue” when he was saved. He learned thereafter, with no small difficulty, the ABC of a certain human language.
Animal call systems are genetically transmitted.动物是靠其基因来传递其呼叫系统的。
f. interchangeability 互换性
interchangeablity means that any human beging can be both a producer and a receiver of messages. Though some people suggest that there is differatiation in the actual language use, in other words, men and women may say different things, yet in principle there is no sound, or word or sentence that a man can utter and a woman cannot, or vice versa. On the other hand, a person can be the speaker while the other person is the listener and as the turn moves on to the listener, he can be the speaker and the first speaker is to listen. It is turn-taking that makes social communication possible and acceptable. Some male birds, however, utter some calls which females do not (or cannot). When a dog barkds, all the neighboring dogs bark. Then people around can hardly tell which dog /dogs is /are “speaking” and which listening.

What featrues of human langauge have been specified by C. Hockett to show that it is essentially different from any animal communication system?
Arbitrainess----a sign of sophistication only humans are capable of.
Duality----a feature totally lacking in any animal communication.
Creativity----animals are quite limited in the messages they are able to send.
Displacement----no animal can talk about things removed from the immediate situation.
Cultural transmission-----details of human language system are taught and learned while animals are born with the capacity to send out certain signals as a means of limited communicaiton.

Why do linguists say langauge is human specific?
First of all, huan language has six “design features” which animal communication sysmtens do not have, at least not in the true sense of them.
Secondly, linguists have done a lot trying to teach animals such as chimpanzees to speak a human language but have achieved nothing inspiring. Washoe, a female chimpanzee, was brought up like a human child by Beatnice and Alan Gardner. She was taught “American sign language”, and learned a little that made the teacehrs happy but did not make the linguists circle happy, for few believed in teaching champanzees.
Thirdly, a human child reared among animals cannot speak a human language, not enen when he is taken back and taught to do so.
1.4 Origin of language 语言的起源
1.5 functions of language 语言的功能
   Jakobson difined the six primary factors of any speech event, namely: speaker, addressee, context, message, code, contact. 雅科布逊定义了言语行为的六个要素：说话者，受话者，语境，信息，语码，接触。
Jakobson established a well-known framework of language functions based on the six key elements of communication, namely:
Referential funtion-----to convey message and imformation所指功能：传达信息
Poetic funtion -----to indulge in language for its own sake 诗学功能：完全就语言而语言
Emotive funtion ----to express attitudes, feelings and emotions 感情功能：表达态度、感觉和感情
Conative funtion ----to persuade and influence others through commands and entreaties 意动功能：通过命令和恳求去说服和影响他人
Phatic funtion ----to establish communion with others 交感功能：与他人建议交流
Metalingual function -----to clear up intentions, words and meanings 元语言功能：弄清意图、词语和意义
They correspond to such communication elements as context ,message, addresser, addressee, contact and code. 它们与一些交流活动的元素相对应，如语境，信息，说话者，受话者，接触和语码等。

Halliday proposes a theory of metafunctions of language , that is, language has:韩礼德提出语言元功能的理论，即语言有：
Ideational function----constructs a model of experience and constructs logical relations;概念功能：建构了经验模型和逻辑关系
Interpersonal function-----enacts social relationships 人际功能：反映了社会关系
textual functions----creates relevance to context. 语篇功能：创立了语言与语境的关系

Halliday proposed seven categories of language functions by observing child language development, that is , instrumental, regulatory, represnetational, interactional, personal, heuristic and imaginative.他通过观察儿童语言的发展提出了语言的七种功能，他们是工具功能，控制功能，表达功能，交互功能，自指性功能，教导功能和想象功能。

Function(功能): the use of language to communicate,to think ,etc.Language functions inclucle imformative function,interpersonal function,performative function, emotive function,phatic communion,recreational function and metalingual function.(用语言交流,思考等.语言功能包括信息功能,人际功能,施为功能,感情功能,交感性功能,娱乐性功能和元语言功能.)
language has at least seven funtions: patic, directive, informative, interrogative, expressive, evocative and performative.
Accoriding to Wang Gang (1988), langauge has three main functions:
a tool of communications,
a tool whereby people learn about the world;
a tool by which people creat art.
1.5.1 Informative function信息功能
What is the informative function?
Langauge serves an “informatvie function” when used to tell something , characterized by the use of declarative sentences. Informative statements are often labelled as true or false. According to P. Grice’s “cooperative principle”, one ought not to violate the “maxim of Quality”, when he is informing at all.
  Informative function is also called ideational function in the framework of functional grammar. 在功能语法的框架中，信息功能也被称为概念功能。
Halliday notes that “langauge serves for the expression of ‘content ’”: that is, of the speaker’s experience of the real world, including the inner world of his own consciousness. 韩礼德指出“语言为表达‘内容’服务：这个‘内容’就是说话者的真实的经验世界，包括他自我意识的内部世界。“
It requires some intellectual effort to see them in any other way than that which our language suggests to us. 它需要人类的指挥从其他的不同角度看待事物，而不是按照语言提示给我们的那样去做。
1.5.2 Interpersonal function 人际功能
1.5.3 Performative function 施为功能
This means people speak to “do things” or perform actions. On certain occasions the utterance itself as an action is more important than what words or sounds constitute the uttered sentence. The judge’s imprisonment sentence, the president’s war or independence declaration , etc, are perfomatives.
1.5.4 Emotive function 感情功能
1.5.5 Phatic communion 交感性谈话
phatic communion(交感性谈话): one function of human language,which refers to the social interaction of language.(人类语言的功能之一,指语言的社会交互性.)
broadly speaking, phatic funcion refers to expressions that help define and maintain interpersonal relations, such as slangs, jokes, jargons, ritualistic exchanges, switches to social and regional dialects.概况地说，交感性功能是指那些有助于说明，维持人际关系的表达，如俚语，玩笑，行业话，礼节性的交际，社会地域方言的转化等等。
The phatic function refers to language being used for setting up a certain atmosphere or maintaining social contacts than for exchanging imformation or ideas. Greetings , farewells and comments on the weather in English and cloting in Chinese all lserve this function. Much of the phatic langauge(eg, “how are you?” “fine, thanks.”) is insincere if taken literally, but it is important. If you don’t say “hello” to a friend you meet, or if you don’t answer his “hi ” , you ruin your friendship.
1.5.6 Recreational function 娱乐性功能
What is the evocative function? 什么是娱乐性功能？
The “evocative function” is the use of language to creat certain feelings in the hearer. Its aim is , for example, to amuse, startle, antagonize, soothe, worry or please. Jokes (not practical jokes, though) are supposed to amuse or entertain the listerner; advertising to urge customers to purchase certain commodities; propaganda to influence public opinion. Obviously, the expressive and the evocative funtions often go together, i.e. you may express, for example, your personal feelings about a political issure but end up by evoking the same feeling in, or imposing it on, your listener. That’s aslo the case with the other way round.
1.5.7 Metalingual function 元语言功能
metalanguage(元语言): certain kinds of linguistic signs or terms for the analysis and description of particular studies.用以讲述或描述另一语言等的语言或一套符号。
What is the direct function?
The “direction function” means that language may be used to get the hearer to do something. Most imperative sentences perform this funtion. E.g. “Tell me the result when you finish.” Other syntactic structures or sentences of other sorts can, according to J. Austin and J. Searle’s “Indirect speech act theory” at least, serve the purpose of direction too, e.g, “If I were you, I would have blushed to the bottom of my ears!”
What is the interrogative function?什么是疑问功能？
When language is used to obtain information, it serves an “interrogative function”. This includes all questions that expect replies, statements, imperatives etc. according to the “indirect sppech act theory”, may have this function as well, e.g. “I’d like to know you better.” This may bring forth a lot of personal information. Note that rhetorial questions make an exception, since they demand no answer, at least not the reader’s /listerner’s answer.
What is the expressive function?
The “expressive function” is the use of language to reveal something about the feelings or attitudes of the speaker. Subconscious emotional ejaculations are good examples, like “Good heavens!” “My God!” . sentences like “I’m sorry about the delay” can serve as good examples too, though in a subtle way. While language is used for the informative funciton to pass judgement on the truth or falsehood of statements, language used for the expressive function evoluates, appraises or asserts the speaker’s own attitudes.

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