PowerPoint presentation on the do's and don'ts of Linguistics

1. Introduction to Linguistics
RYAN DE LA TORRE

2. Famous Linguists

3. Famous Linguists
• We’ve all heard of famous physicists like Isaac Newton and Albert
Einstein; everyone knows the names of famous composers like
Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms. But how many people can claim that
they know the names of some of the most
influential linguists? Indeed, important names in linguistics have not
quite infiltrated the mainstream in the way that they have in hard
sciences and music. This list will give you a crash-course in big-name
linguists, and the ideas they had which changed the field of linguistics
forever.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

4. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857 - 1913): Linguistic signs
• Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure is widely
considered to be one of the forefathers of both
linguistics and semiology, which is the philosophical
study of the interpretation of signs and symbols.
• Most notably, Saussure introduced the idea that
every word is a linguistic sign, which consists of two
components: the signifier, or the phonetic form of a
word (e.g., the word “dog” consists of two
consonants split up by a vowel); and
the signified, or the conceptual meaning underlying
the sign (e.g., a dog is a furry animal that is
commonly used as a household pet).
• Crucially, Saussure articulated the arbitrariness of
the linguistic sign: the phonetic form and the
underlying concept of the word “dog” have no
natural link, and instead are the product of social
interaction. The arbitrariness of meaning and form
is a fundamental tenet of modern linguistics.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

5. Roman Jakobson: Distinctive features
• Russian-born linguist and literary theorist Roman
Jakobson had many influential ideas about language;
most remarkably, he changed the way scholars
studied phonology, the sound structure of language.
• Specifically, he proposed the idea of distinctive
features, which suggests that all sounds of speech are
marked by binary contrasts which can be described and
quantified. The difference between “p” and “b”, for
instance, is that “b” uses our vocal chords
(it’s voiced), whereas “p” does not
(it’s unvoiced). Similarly, “b” and “m” are the same,
except in “m”, air comes out of the nose
(it’s nasal), whereas in “b”, it does not (try it!).
• Though the idea of distinctive features has been
questioned in recent years, it allowed linguistics to
classify the sounds of languages in an organized,
hierarchical structure, which had previously been
impossible.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

6. Edward Sapir (1884 - 1939): Linguistic relativity
• Edward Sapir was a linguistic anthropologist
whose thorough classification of indigenous
American languages is still widely used today.
• Sapir is most famous, however, for a concept
known as linguistic relativity, which he developed
with his student, Benjamin Whorf.
• This hypothesis, in its strongest form, claims that
the language one speaks drastically influences
the way in which one perceives the world.
• This hypothesis has been largely dismissed by
modern linguists, but caused significant
discussion and consideration about the link
between language and culture.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

7. Paul Grice (1913 - 1988): Cooperative principle
• Paul Grice is one of the most important
contributors to pragmatics, which is the study of
how context contributes to meaning.
• His best-known idea is the cooperative
principle, which breaks down how people behave
in conversations in order to enable effective
communication. In general terms, Grice
articulates that speakers must be truthful,
relevant, and unambiguous, and must say neither
too much nor too little.
• If a speaker violates one of these principles
(known as “maxims” in Grice’s terminology),
communication is compromised.
• A classic example of a violation of the
cooperative principle is if somebody says to you,
“I love you. Do you love me?” and you answer,
“Yes.” This is saying too little, which suggests that
your answer might be a lie.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

8. Noam Chomsky (1928 - ): Universal
grammar
• Probably the best-known name on this list,
Noam Chomsky is famous for many things.
But within the realm of linguistics, he’s
most famous for his idea of universal
grammar, which poses that all languages
have the same underlying structure, and
simply use different words and sounds on
the surface.
• Humans, Chomsky claims, are biologically
equipped with a language acquisition
device, which endows us with the innate
ability to learn language.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

9. Eve Clark (1942 - ): First language acquisition
• Users of Immersia are most likely interested in
learning a second (or third, or fourth!) language.
However, in order to understand how it’s best to
learn a second language, we must also
understand how we acquire our first language.
• Eve Clark is a pioneer in the field of first language
acquisition, and has revolutionized the way in
which we understand how children pick up
language.
• From babbling to coherent conversation, Eve
Clark proposes theories and cites evidence that
sheds insight into the mystifying topic of how
children learn their first language so successfully
and efficiently.
• Ultimately, this information will help us
understand how to maximize efficiency in second
language acquisition, too.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

10. Steven Pinker (1954 - ): Popularizing linguistics
• In his wildly popular books such as The
Language Instinct, Steven Pinker argues for a
biological basis of language acquisition.
• As the title suggests, he proposes that
language is an instinct — a behavior which,
like any other instinct, was formed by natural
selection, and has adapted to suit humans’
communicative needs throughout time.
• His accessible, fun-to-read books have made
great strides in popularizing the field of
linguistics, and making it accessible to those
outside the realm of academia.
Source: https://www.listenandlearn.org/blog/7-linguists-who-changed-the-game/

11. Bonifacio P. Sibayan
• Sibayan is founding member and President emeritus of
the Linguistic Society of the Philippines.
• He is recognized as one of the pioneer scholars in the
development of Sociolinguistics.
• He is one of four honorary members of the American
Association for Applied Linguistics and a member of the
editorial boards of the International Journal of the
Sociology of Language and the Journal of Asian Pacific
Communication.
• Among the awards and distinctions he has received are: Award of
recognition by the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (Institute of National
Language) “for his outstanding contribution towards the
intellectualization of Filipino through Graduate School work” (1981);
Achievement Award (Social Scientist of the Year 1986) by the National
Research Council of the Philippines; National Social Scientist Award
(Linguistics) by the Philippine Social Science Council (1990); and the
Bonifacio P. Sibayan Distinguished Professorial Chair in Applied
Linguistics (established on February 1, 1991 and administered in
perpetuity by the De La Salle Science Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the
Linguistic Society of the Philippines.

12. Jose Rizal
• In his political writings Rizal used linguistic
analysis to support hypotheses about the past
migrations of Malay peoples and to advance
revisionist historical arguments.
• For example, in order to challenge a recurrent
Spanish claim that gambling was an indigenous
vice that early Christian missions took pains to
eradicate, he noted that the many Tagalog terms
within the semantic domain of gambling were all
Spanish borrowings and were unlikely to have
replaced native equivalents, suggesting that
gambling was a direct Spanish import.
• He was also a polyglot who had knowledge in 22
languages (www.coursehero.com).

13. Ricardo Nolasco
• Strong advocate of MTB-MLE
• Specializes in Bikol Syntax, Sorsoganon
language, Southern Philippine Languages
Morphosyntax, Theoretical and Structural
Linguistics, and Sociolinguistics
• Has degrees in B.A. Linguistics, UPD, 1990;
M.A. Linguistics, UPD, 1994; and Ph.D.
Linguistics, UPD, 2004

14. Famous Linguists
• Nowadays, linguistics is a rich field with many subdivisions — sociolinguistics,
psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics — and there are too many brilliant minds in
each field to fit in this period.
• Still, these seven prominent figures are a good starting point if you’re looking
to get a sense of who the major players are.
• And if you’re looking to amp up your own linguistic skills, one of the best ways
to do so is to take advantage of your brain’s aptitude for learning languages
and familiarize yourself with an entirely new syntax.
• To be a brilliant linguist just like the ones introduced to you, begin by
acquainting yourself of the Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists.

15. Task: Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Write “Do” if you think the statement is a practice of good linguists; otherwise,
write “Don’t”.
Linguists and other language scientists…
1. go about objectively describing and explaining how language works. They
try to describe and possibly explain particular languages, language in
general, and how people use languages.
2. only gather data through linguistic fieldwork
3. go beyond simply listing the data. They proposed a theory that is
supposed to offer an explanation of the phenomena, not just a
description.
4. prescribe and evaluate language standards. The process of defining the is
called standardization. Once a standard has been agreed on, it can be
used in the media and taught in the schools.
5. show interest in what people do, not what somebody thinks they should
do.
Source: Gasser, Michael. (2006). How Language Works. Indiana University. www.indiana.edu/-hwl/index.html.

16. Task 1: From No. 6, write “Do” if you think the statement is a
practice of good linguists; otherwise, write “Don’t”.
Linguists and other language scientists…
6. try to convince people to behave or believe in a particular way
7. put own feelings and beliefs aside in their work.
8. usually study spoken (or singed) language because it is more basic than
written language. They elicit and use language data by asking people
particular questions or by doing experiments that call for language.
9. do not want their descriptions of language to include speech errors such
as slips of the tongue, although speech errors are interesting since they can
give us lots of insights about the underlying mechanisms.
10. judge people’s practices that are correct and wrong and attempt to see
how they fit in with other practices in the society.
Source: Gasser, Michael. (2006). How Language Works. Indiana University. www.indiana.edu/-hwl/index.html.

17. Task: Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Write “Do” if you think the statement is a practice of good linguists; otherwise, write
“Don’t”.
Linguists and other language scientists…
11. also show interest in describing a fourth sort of aspect of the language, a
sort of "correctness" that is different from grammaticality.
12. can be of help by studying what appropriateness is, what makes an
expression interpretable by a hearer or reader, and how the parts of a text
relate to one another.
13. think, consciously or unconsciously, that there is something deficient
about other languages or even about the speakers of the other language.
14. think all languages are equally expressive, equally logical. There is
nothing inherently inferior or superior about any dialect or any language.
15. may become advocates for the people whose languages and/or well-
being are threatened because of the language policies of governments.
Source: Gasser, Michael. (2006). How Language Works. Indiana University. www.indiana.edu/-hwl/index.html.

18. Task: Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Watch then reflect on the following video “Misconceptions about Linguistics” to
validate some of your responses.
Misconceptions about Linguistics

19. Task 2: For each number, write either do or don’t
Linguists and other language scientists…
1. go about objectively describing and explaining how language works.
They try to describe and possibly explain particular languages, language in
general, and how people use languages.
Science Subject matter
chemistry how substances combine to form other substances
psychology how individuals behave
sociology how people behave in groups
cultural anthropology how human cultures resemble and differ from each
other
linguistics how language works

20. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
2. only gather data through linguistic fieldwork
• Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structure, including
the study of phonetics, phonology, lexicon, morphology, syntax,
semantics, and pragmatics (Google Dictionary).
• Specific branches of linguistics include sociolinguistics, dialectology,
psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, forensic linguistics, speech-
language pathology, historical-comparative linguistics, discourse analysis,
and applied linguistics (Google Dictionary).

21. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
3. go beyond simply listing the data. They proposed a theory that is
supposed to offer an explanation of the phenomena, not just a
description.
Linguistic Theories:
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857 - 1913): Linguistic signs
Roman Jakobson: Distinctive features
Edward Sapir (1884 - 1939): Linguistic relativity
Paul Grice (1913 - 1988): Cooperative principle
Noam Chomsky (1928 - ): Universal grammar
Eve Clark (1942 - ): First language acquisition
Steven Pinker (1954 - ): Language Instinct

22. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
4. prescribe and evaluate language standards. The process of defining the
is called standardization. Once a standard has been agreed on, it can be
used in the media and taught in the schools.
Standardization
English Varieties: American, British, Canadian, Scottish, Irish, Indian,
Philippine
Philippine Varieties: Tagalog, Bisaya, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bikol, Ilokano,
Kakana-ey
Bikol Varieties: Bikol-Legazpi, Bikol-Naga, Miraya, Rinconada, Sorsoganon

23. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
5. show interest in what people do, not what somebody thinks they should
do.
6. try to convince people to behave or believe in a particular way
Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism

24. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
7. put own feelings and beliefs aside in
their work.
Example:
A linguist studying local taboo and
swearwords may be put off by what
he/she uncovers.

25. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
7. put own feelings and beliefs aside in their work.
Example:
A linguist prefers to study English or Spanish instead of his/her local
language because the former has more prestige than the latter.
A linguist only selects educated persons as research participants for a
language survey.

26. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
8. usually study spoken (or singed) language because it is more basic than
written language. They elicit and use language data by asking people
particular questions or by doing experiments that call for language.
• Most of the human languages that have existed have not been written at
all, and among those that are written, many people do not read or write
them. In addition, though language learning continues throughout life,
most of the basic patterns of a language are probably mastered by the
time a child is six years old. So the written form of the language has little
or nothing to do with this fundamental early learning of language.

27. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
9. do not want their descriptions of language to include speech errors such as
slips of the tongue, although speech errors are interesting since they can give us
lots of insights about the underlying mechanisms.
Example:
Well, I think you ... I mean, the ... the ... um, this isn't coming out right at all.
• People produce such "sentences" all the time, but they clearly also know that
there is something wrong with them. That is, linguists probably do not want
their descriptions of a language to include such sequences. So grammatical
sentences are possible sentences that do not contain speech errors.
• This is not to say that there is nothing interesting about speech errors. In fact,
like human errors more generally, they can give us lots of insights about the
underlying mechanisms. There is a whole community of researchers that take
speech errors of one kind or another as the data they try to explain.

28. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
10. judge people’s practices that are correct and wrong and attempt to see
how they fit in with other practices in the society.
• If they are to make any value judgments about the behaviors, they
should be based on whether the behaviors contribute to the stability of
the society, not on their own feelings about them. Their job is to describe
and explain the society, not to judge it.

29. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
11. also show interest in describing a fourth sort of aspect of the language,
a sort of "correctness" that is different from grammaticality.
• A sentence can be grammatical and meaningful — that is, the words and
grammatical patterns in the sentence can sound right and correctly
describe some possible situation in the world.
Example
She left her husband for the garbageman.
Linguistic ambiguity
Disambiguation

30. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
12. can be of help by studying what appropriateness is, what makes an
expression interpretable by a hearer or reader, and how the parts of a text
relate to one another.
Example:
There is no life on the moon.
• This sentence makes perfect sense and describes a true state of affairs.
But if you walked up to a stranger on the street and said it, they'd think
you were crazy. It would not be an appropriate way to begin (or end, for
that matter) a conversation with a stranger. Just as speakers of a
language have knowledge about what is grammatical in their language,
they also have knowledge about what is appropriate.

31. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
13. think, consciously or unconsciously, that there is something deficient
about other languages or even about the speakers of the other language.
14. think all languages are equally expressive, equally logical. There is
nothing inherently inferior or superior about any dialect or any language.
Example:
• A: Did you hear those two girls talking? "He don't mean nothin'." "I seen
it." "Me and him fought." Can't they learn to speak English?
• B: I know what you mean. They're just lazy, if you ask me.
(The two girls didn’t actually find anything wrong with their grammar.)

32. Do’s and Don’ts of Linguists
Linguists and other language scientists…
15. may become advocates for the people whose languages and/or well-
being are threatened because of the language policies of governments.
Standard languages and politics
• Clearly language standardization is a political issue, and as such it is not
really the business of linguists (though it is studied by sociologists
interested in the social and political aspects of language). However, as
linguists often become closely involved with the people whose languages
they study, they may become advocates for these groups when their
languages or their well-being are threatened because of the language
policies of governments.

33. In a nutshell…
What is the main purpose of linguists?