2. What is linguistics?
1)A scientific study of language (Crystal, 2003, p 272 &
Todd, 1987)
2) A systematic inquiry into human language –into its
structures and uses and the relationship between
them, as well as into the development and acquisition
of language (Finegan, E., 2004)
2
3. What is linguistics?
1) A discipline which studies human language
(Widdowson, H.G, 2002).
A scientific study of language (Crystal, 2003, p 272 &
Todd, 1987)
2) A systematic inquiry into human language –into its
structures and uses and the relationship between
them, as well as into the development and acquisition
of language (Finegan, E., 2004)
3
4. Study language in a similar way a scientist studies
physics or chemistry i.e. systematically, as far as
possible without prejudice
Observe language to capture regularities when people
use language
Form hypothesis about it, test hypothesis then refine
them on the basis of the evidence collected
4
5. What is a language?
It is made of sounds when we speak.
It is made of words that refer to things.
It is made up of sentences that convey meaning.
It is what we use in communication and it is made of
sounds, words and sentences which convey meaning.
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6. A language refers to the general human capacity for
verbal communication or a specific form of language
(Graddol, D.C & Swann, J. 2005)
- Serves as a mean of cognition and communication; it
enables us to think for ourselves and to cooperate with
other people in our community (Widdowson, H.G.
2002)
6
7. 1) Human language is a system of signs (Saussure. D)
2)Language is a symbol system based on pure or
arbitrary convention (Robins, R.H, 1985).
3)Language is a highly organized system in which each
unit plays important part which is related to other
parts (Lim Keat Boon, 1980, p1)
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8. Language - A system of Arbitrary Signs
Human language is basically and essential arbitrary
(Finegan, 2004)
Relationship between form(sounds) and meaning
(concept) of a word is arbitrary.
E.g. English - the letters house signify the concept of
house
Malay - rumah
French – maison
The form of an expression is generally independent of its
meaning except for the association established by
convention.
8
9. Non arbitrary/Representational Signs
Representational sign –
Signs that are basically arbitrary but partly iconic.
E.g. Roman Numeral II and III representing two and three
Iconic –
the form bears a resemblance to its meaning e.g. the male
female signs on the restroom doors
Onomatopoeic –
words whose pronunciation suggest the meaning
e.g. meow (English) but Yaong (Korean)
9
10. Languages as Patterned Structures
Language must be highly organised system in order to
function as reliable vehicles of communication.
The observable patterns that languages follow is called
“rules.”
The rules are based on regularities that can be
observed when people use language.
A language is a set of elements and a system for
combining them into patterned expressions that can
be used to accomplish specific tasks in specific
situation (Finegan, 2004).
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11. Finegan (2004) stresses that the scope of linguistics includes
both language structure and language use.
Finegan’s (2004) Three Faces of Language
Meaning Expression
Context
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12. Expression – words, phrases, sentences, and
pronunciation, including intonation
and stress.
Meaning – the senses and references of these
elements of expression
Context - the social situation in which social
expression is uttered and including what
has been said earlier in the situation
Content - the intended message of an
uttered in a particular context
12
13. E.g.:
1. A car is in a No parking zone, and a police officer
approaches. A tells him: “My car has a flat tyre.”
2. A enters a tyre store, and tell the person at the
counter : “My car has a flat tyre.”
Language is used to do things – requesting,
complementing, inviting, refusing etc.
13
14. Why study language?
1. Language Teaching purposes
- language teaching requires an explicit knowledge
about language, and grammatical model developed for
this purpose reflects the needs, teachers, and
institutions within which language teaching usually
takes place.
2.Evidence in criminal investigation e.g. forensic
linguistics.
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15. 3) To have better control it
- critical language study (Fairclough, 1992) suggests
that an understanding of how texts embody particular
assumptions and views for the world will help make us
aware of how powerful groups try to persuade us to do
things which are against our interests.
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16. Main Branches of linguistics:
1) Phonetics and phonology
2) Morphology
3) Syntax
4) Semantics and pragmatics
5) Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics
6) Sociolinguistics
7) Discourse Analysis
8) Historical linguistics
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17. 17
Do animals have language?
All species of animals have developed
systems of communication which they
can signal to indicate things such danger
or fear.
Finegan (2004)
Most animals possess some kindof
“signaling” communication” (Fromkin
et.al. 2007)
18. 18
How do Animals Communicate in their
natural environment?
E.g. Honey bees have an elaborate system of
dancing to communicate the whereabouts
of honey supply.
Male spider approaching his ladylove,
would first go through an elaborate series of
gestures to inform her that he is a spider
and a suitable mate.
19. 19
What are the characteristics of their
communication? (Finegan, 2004, p. 21)
• Lack of creativity
•Limited repertoire of meaning
•Relies on non arbitrary signs
•Is incidental to its survival (stimulus-
bound)
20. Design/Universal Features of Human Language:
1) Duality:
Every language has dual systems. At one level are elements
which have no meaning in themselves but which are combined to
form units at another level.
2) Arbitrariness:
Linguistic forms, such as words or sentences have arbitrary
relationship to their meaning. E.g. the word, fire, in spoken, written, or
signed form, has no direct relationship to the concept of fire. Hence,
differences languages will have different words for this concept.
The content of human linguistic messages is almost always
controlled by internal concepts, not directly by external stimuli. E.g.
An Australian Aborigine sees a grub worm, and says to a friend,
“What a nice snack.” A Manhattanite seeing the same type of worm
might respond, “Yuck.”
20
21. In contrast, animal language has nonarbitrary relationship
to its meaning. The element of the bee’s dance that
indicates direction has a non arbitrary (direct) relationship
to what it indicates. Animals are by and large stimulus-
bound i.e. animals genetically programmed to act in very
specific ways in response to very specific events or
factors in their environment.
21
22. 22
3) Openness and Productivity:
Speakers can make new meanings by producing new
expressions and utterances. Speakers can also invent new
words to express new ideas, new objects and event they
encounter. The human can communicate about any event
from any number of perspectives. The number of messages
that can be generated by language is infinite.
Openness and productivity are nonexistent or strictly
limited in other animals. The birds, for instance, can
communicate about a limited number of events in fixed
manner.
23. 23
4) Social behaviour
Language is a social phenomena/behaviour
5) Displacement
Humans have the ability to communicate at times
other than the present and to communicate about
things not directly in front of the sender and/or
receiver.
The communicative behaviour systems of many
animals allow for some displacement but is strictly
limited.
24. 6) Prevarication
Humans have the ability to communicate about
things that are not verifiable, things for which there is no
empirical proof.
Prevarication is generally absent from the
communicative systems of other animals. Exceptions
might be that some animals fake conditions, like death,
to confuse a predator. This “playing dead” and mimicking
other species is similar to lying. . The main difference is
that nonhuman animal “lie” because of genetic
preprogramming, whereas humans learn to lie. Humans
in contrast are born with a cognitive learning capability to
learn language.
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25. What does acquiring a language involve?
There are several level of grammar that must be
acquired. Acquiring a language involves
1)acquiring the phonological system of that language:
what the sounds are used and how they are related to
each other.
2) learning the vocabulary or lexicon of a language and
the ways in which lexical items, such as words, are
constructed; these are morphological rules of a
language.
3) learning how sentences are constructed and how
sentences are related to each other; this is knowledge
of the syntax of a language.
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26. 4) Recognizing how words and sentences relate to the
objects to which they refer and the situations that they
describe. Semantics is the study of the rules of
meaning, the systems by which we derive meaning
from a message.
Hence, grammar is the system(pattern) of element and
of the rules of phonology, morphology, syntax, and
semantics inherent in a language.
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27. •Although grammar is learned, it is learned so
subtly that most of the rules are subconsciously
known.
•This mostly subconsciously knowledge of the
grammar and lexicon of one’s language is
linguistic competence.
•This knowledge is drawn upon to properly encode
and decode a virtually infinite number of
linguistic messages.
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28. •The fact that we have an internalized linguistics
competence does not mean that we always apply it
correctly. I f you are tired, sick, or distracted, you might
make mistakes. Linguistic performance refers to how
we use this knowledge in actual speech production.
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30. 30
Grammatical Competence:
The language user implicit knowledge of vocabulary,
pronunciation, sentence structure, and meaning.
Communicative competence:
The implicit knowledge that that underlies the
appropriate use of grammatical competence in a
communication situation.
31. 31
Communicative competence refers to
the ability of the native speakers to
use their language in a way that not
only linguistically accurate but also
socially acceptable.
Knowing the forms of the language
alone does not result in successful
communication
32. 32
De Saussure, a Swiss linguist, distinguished
between langue from parole.
• Langue is the comprehensive language
knowledge of a community.
• Parole is the individual’s use of language
(speaking or writing) and suffers imperfections due
to limited knowledge, fatique and careless (Todd.
L., 1987)
33. 33
The Autonomy of Language
• Distinction between language and an abstract
system systems, and language in use.
Thus, language can be studied from two aspects:
• competence/langue
- the object of the study for linguistics is the
language an idealization/an abstract system.
• performance/parole i.e. analysing actual
utterances and text produced by real speakers
and writers in specific contexts
34. Three Modes of Linguistics Communication
Oral Communication- relies on the use of speech &
hearing organ
Writing – a visual representation
Signing – a visual representation or tactile
representation (connected to sense of touch)
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