1. Linguistics for ELT
What is Language?

2. 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)

3. 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)

4. 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.)

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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

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

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

11. 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

12. 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).

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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.
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16. 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
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17. 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.

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

19. 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.

20. 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

21. Sign and Animal languages
Reading assignment pgs

22. 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.
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