Linguistics for ELT What is Language?

When we study human language, we are approaching what some might call the ‘human essence’, the distinctive qualities of mind that are , so far as we know, unique to man. Noam Chomsky (Language and Mind)

What is language? According to Graddol et al (2003), “It is surprisingly poorly defined” in linguistics. “a complex and shifting human experience.” (graddol et al 2003)

Definition - 3 ‘the system of human communication which consists of the structured arrangements of sounds (or their written representation) into larger units, eg. Morphemes, words, sentences, utterances, etc.’ In normal usage it can also mean ‘non-human systems of communication (lingo of bees, dolphines, etc.)

Definition 4 Any particular system of human communication, eg. The French lang, or the Hindi lang. etc. (longman Applied linguistics dictionary, 2002)

arbitrary No reason, nor clarity – “The forms of linguistic signs bear no natural resemblence to their meaning.” Widdowson pg 5 The relationship between speech sounds and meanings of words in a language is mostly arbitrary. ‘Dog’ in English and ‘Chien’ in French, or ‘Anjing’ in Malay. A word does not mean anything to another person who does not speak or know the language. Some words do – what are they? Onomatopoeic words

What do most people do when they come together? Talk Communicate Signal Transmit information To carry on other activities or engagements – fight, make cars, teach, etc.

To whom do we talk to? How? Friends, teachers, parents, associates, course mates, room mates, lovers, etc. Talk to ourselves Talk to our pets Talk in our sleep Things around us Face to face Over the phone

What distinguishes man from other animals? The ability to think creativity The ability to solve problems The possession of language

Can animals communicate? Yes How? Bees? Dogs? Cats? Dolphins? What is the major difference between animal language and the language of the humans?

Differences Animal language is limited – humans not – new words are emerging and invented daily. Communicate only for a few things – food, enemy, mating, territory, etc. Animal language is stimulus bound/ controlled. Animal language is not creative – not able to produce new utterances, Read Fromkin pg 23-25.

What is language? To understand our humanity, one must understand the nature of language It is the source of human life and power. African tribe - a new born baby is a thing (kintu) until it acquires a language – then it becomes a person / man (muntu).

What does it mean to know a language? Can speak – produce sounds Can be understood The deaf, the blind - sign language Most all of us know a language

Linguistic Knowledge Knowledge of the sound system Knowledge of words - morphology Creativity of linguistic Knowledge Knowledge of sentences and non-sentences (see slide) Linguistic Knowledge and performance

Which one is ‘funny’ or ‘not good’ sentences to you? Jim kissed the little old lady who owned the dog Who owned the dog Jim kissed the little old lady Johan is difficult to love It is difficult to love Johan It is anxious to go Mary. Mary, who was a student, flunked her exams. Exams her flunked student a was who Mary. back

Knowledge of the Sound system – phonetics and phonology Unique ways of pronunciation of words in a language. Alphabets (a, ä, ) Nkrumah (nk) Eng sounds represntd by phonetic symbols More in Chap 7 back

Knowledge of words - morphology Knowing words and meanings Knowing the groups /classes of words – synonyms, antonyms, etc. Sometimes a particular group or combination of letters give certain meaning – ‘gl’ in English, or ‘wati’ in Malay. Glare, gleam, glaze, glossy, glimmer, glimpse, and glitter.

Competence and performance Linguistic competence – what one knows about a language Linguistic performance- how one uses this knowledge in actual speech production and comprehension

What is grammar? The grammar of a language consists of sounds and sound patterns, the basic units of meaning such as words, and the rules to combine all of these to form sentences to form the desired meaning. To understand the nature of language we must understand the nature of grammar.

Types of grammar Descriptive grammar – linguists attempt to put rules to grammar Mental grammar – what we know about grammar when we acquire a lang. Prescriptive grammar – linguists/purists attempt to correct grammar Teaching grammar – to learn another lang. or dialect

Sign and Animal languages Reading assignment pgs 18 - 29

So what is Linguistics? The scientific study of the human language Systematic and scientific study of its nature, use, structure, its origin, its application, and its implication to human existence and development. The end