Branches of Linguistics GENERAL LINGUISTICS Branches of Linguistics

The studies of language structures Phonetics – the study of sounds Phonology – the study of speech sounds in their cognitive aspects Morphology – the study of the formation of words Syntax – the study of the formation of sentence Semantics – the study of meaning Pragmatics- the study of language use

Interdisciplinary studies of language Historical Linguistics Sociolinguistics Psycholinguistics Ethnolinguistics (or anthropological linguistics) Dialectology Computational linguistics Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics

Theories of language origin

The divine source The divine source – presented in most religions of the world, humans were provided with language by a divine source; The hypothesis was if human infants were allowed to grow up without hearing any language, they would speak the original God given language.

The natural sound source The natural sound source – primitive words could have been imitations of natural sounds; In English: cukoo, boom, hiss, bow-wow; This process of word formation is called onomatopeia, examples could be found in any language;

The social interaction source The social interaction source – “yo-he-ho” theory places the development of human language in a social context. People lived in groups, human sounds was a form of communication, no explication of the origins of the sounds provided. Animals use sounds, but have no capacity for speech.

The physical adaptation source The physical adaptation source – changes in physical features of humans: upright posture on two feet, change in front limbs functions, vocal tract etc. Evolutionary development of physical features relevant for speech: human teeth, lips, mouth, tongue – face with muscle to deliver sounds through their different shapes. The human larynx (voice box) and pharynx differ from animals’.

The tool-making source The tool-making source – physical adaptation process led to change of functions. Gestures – a precursor of language. Tool-making –evidence of a brain at work. Functions of motor movement (vocalization, speaking) and object manipulation (making tools) are close in the left hemisphere of the brain. There might be an evolutionary connection between them, and both were involved in the development of speaking; Other idea – single noises to indicate objects, but it lacks structural organization.

The genetic source Innateness hypothesis – children are born with a special capacity for language. Human genetics, a crucial mutation – not a gradual change, but something that happened rather quickly; The investigation of language origin turns into a search for the special ‘language gene’ that only humans possess.

Home assignment George Yule. The study of Language. Chapter 1 Questions and Tasks Study Guide online