Linguistics

 What is Linguistics? Look at the word, what could it mean?

We can split the word Linguistics into the following: Ling = Lingua = of the tongue (origin Latin) ist = a suffix of nouns, often corresponding to verbs ending in -ize or nouns ending in -ism, that denote a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certain principles, doctrines, etc.: apologist; dramatist; machinist; novelist; realist; socialist; Thomist. Cf. -ism, -istic, -ize.

= the scientific study of language = patterns and systems in language

We can break it down into components

So what is language? Language is a system through which we communicate. Why do we need language, what is its purpose? To communicate emotions and feelings.

What do all world languages have?  Thousands of words  Ways of modifying the meaning of words (take, took, have taken, is taking, will be taken)  Negation  Form questions  Allow abstractions (redness, curvature – using prefix and suffix)  Deplacement – using different time zones  Language manipulation

Activity  GW:  Decide which languages go together with which sentences.

Feedback  What did you notice?  How did you decide where to put the languages? – criteria used  What have you just done?  Compared languages = comparative linguistics

Comparing languages Use your language wheels to compare languages. Record your findings on the sheet.