2. WELCOME TO
M Phil Linguistics new
module

3. INTRODUCTION TO
GENERAL LINGUISTICS
Mr. Iqbal Ranjha

4. Difference between L1 & L2:
 L1Initial linguistic experience, L2 later on
 L1 in Home environment (activities) , L2 is
seldom context based
 Adaptability and malleability
 L1 lacks meta-language (language or set of
symbols), L2 speaker posses vocabulary for
referring

5. When:
 L2 is foreign language?
 Foreign language becomes L1?
 Pidgin becomes Creole?
 Creole becomes L1?

6. Is L2 acquired or learnt?
Learning
 Artificial
 Technical
 Priority on written
language
 Theory (language
analysis)
 Deductive teaching (rule
driven, top-down)
Acquisition
 Natural
 Personal
 Priority on spoken
language
 Practice (language in
use)
 Inductive coaching (rule
discovery, bottom-up)

7. Is L2 acquired or learnt? (Continue)
 Preset syllable
 Activities ABOUT
language
 Focus on form
 Produces knowledge
 Improvised activities
 Activities IN language
 Focus on
communication
 Produces an ability

8. Do animals have
language?
 Parrots speak
 Ants as social insects
 Honey bees convey message
 Study of Struchsaker (1967) about monkeys:
chutter: cobra or poisonous snake, rraup:
eagle, chirp: lion or leopard, uh!: hyena
 Animals are alike around the globe

9. Do animals have
language?
 Human languages differ even at a small
distance
 If animals have language then where lies the
difference lies?
 But what language is????

10. What is
LANGUAGE?

11. Language?
 A language is a system of arbitrary vocal
symbols by means of which a social group
cooperates (Bloch and Trager 1942, p. 5 )

12.  Born 26 November 1857
– (French origin, moved to Geneva)
 From a family of many scholars
 Studied Latin, Greek, chemistry, theology and
law at University of Geneva (1875-76)
 At age 21, wrote Mémoire sur le système primitif
des voyelle dans les langues indo-européennes
in which he proved scholars wrong.

13.  1880 awarded doctorate at University Leipzig
(Germany).
 Taught at Paris.
 1891 returned to Geneva to teach there.
 Taught ancient Sanskrit for 21 (!) years!
 Was asked to teach a course in General
Linguistics (taught it three times 1907 - 11)

14.  Influenced many different
linguists, but also other disciplines:
 Anthropology
 Psychiatry
 Literary criticism

15.  What is language: Knowledge
 Collective knowledge vs individual use
 Distinction between LANGUE vs PAROLE

16. Language is a system not structure
SYSTEM VS STRUCTURE

17. What does this system consist of?
Signs
So language is a system of signs

18.  Sign:
– combination of a concept and a sound-image
 Signifier:
– the sound-image
 Signified:
– concept

19. Signifier I Signified I
(Image) (Concept)
(Roses) (Passion)
Sign I
(passionified roses)

20. Signifier II Signified II
(Image) (Concept)
(Passionified Roses) (Valentine’s Day)
(i.e. Sign becomes
new Signifier)
Sign II
(Product consumption, expenditure
of money as romantic obligation) ...

22.  Arbitrary Nature of the Sign
– We have inherited language from our ancestors.
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
(Shakespeare)
– Language is connecting sound-images

23.  Arbitrary Nature of the Sign (2)
– Boundaries become blurred when we look
at different types of “language” (e.g. body
language, pantomime, spoken
language, written language, deaf-mute
language, sign language etc.)

24.  Immutability of the Sign
– The signifier (sound-image) “is fixed, not
free”
– “community itself cannot control so much as
a single word; it is bound to the existing
language.”
– Problem: modern language has added
many different words (e.g. computers, “teen”
language)

25.  Immutability of the Sign (2)
– Language is a law, not a rule which we can opt
to follow.
– We inherit these laws from our ancestors.
– Language is a social “institution” and must be
seen in the setting.
– “Speakers are largely unconscious of the laws
of language.”

26.  Immutability of the Sign (3)
(1) Arbitrary Nature of the Sign
(2) Multiplicity of Signs Needed for Language
(3) System is “overly complex”
(4) Community does not care to change things.

27.  Mutability
– Time changes the relationship between signi-fier
(sound-image), signified (concept) and therefore
the sign.
– E.g. “mouse” =
= = “mouse”

28.  Mutability (2)
– Language = product of both social force
and time.
– It holds true even for artificial languages,
such as Esperanto.

29.  Language is a social construct which re-
quires a community of speakers.
 Linguistic sign is arbitrary and cannot be
taken out of social or temporal context. This
is exactly, where signifier and signified are
able to shift their relationships (compare
“mouse” and “mouse”).

30. Language:
 Is a relation between expression and
meaning
 Context is the most important
 Is there any salt on the table?
 Have you left the door open?
Three face of language
meaning – expression - contex

31. Difference between human
and animal language
 Use of vocal auditory channel
 Arbitrariness
 Semanticity
 Cultural transmission
 Spontaneous usage

32. Difference between human
and animal language
 Displacement
 Turn taking
 Duality
 Structure dependence
 creativity

33. QUESTIONS
?