1. LIN 1101 TOPIC 1

2. Major Sub-fields of Linguistics Phonetics: nature of speech sounds –How they are articulated (articulatory phonetics) –Their physical properties (acoustic phonetics) –How they are perceived (auditory / perceptual phonetics) Phonology: organization of speech sounds –How the particular sounds used in each language form an integrated system for encoding information and how such systems differ from one language to another Morphology: structure of words –The way in which words are constructed out of smaller meaningful units

3. Major Sub-fields of Linguistics Syntax: structure of sentences –The way in which sentences are constructed and how sentences are related to each other Semantics: study of meaning –How words and sentences are related to the (real or imaginary) objects they refer to and the situations they describe Anthropological Linguistics: –The study of interrelationship between language and culture (particularly in the context of non-Western cultures and societies)

4. Major Sub-fields of Linguistics Applied Linguistics: –The application of the methods and results of linguistics to such areas as language teaching; national language policies; lexicography; translation; and language in politics, advertising, classrooms, courts, and the like; language pathology (speech therapy and audiology) Historical Linguistics: –The study of how languages change through time –The relationships of languages to each other

5. Major Sub-fields of Linguistics Neurolinguistics: –The study of the brain and how it functions in the production, perception and acquisition of language Pragmatics: –How the meaning conveyed by a word or sentence depends on aspects of the context in which it is used (such as time, place, social relationship between speaker and hearer, and speaker’s assumptions about the hearer’s beliefs)

6. Major Sub-fields of Linguistics Psycholinguistics: –The study of the interrelationship of language and cognitive structures –The acquisition of language Sociolinguistics: –The study of the interrelationships of language and social structure, linguistic variation, and attitudes toward language

7. PHONETICS: Sounds of language Phonetic Alphabet: provides a symbol to represent each sound How sounds are produced The acoustic properties of sounds

8. PHONOLOGY: Organization of speech sounds They are governed by rules We are not consciously aware of these rules or even of all the speech sounds we produce in our language

9. EXAMPLE Rule of English Phonology: aspirate p,t and k at the beginning of words or at the beginning of stressed syllables pit [p h I t] spit [sp I t] In Thai: both kinds of “p” can occur at the beginning of words forest [paa] to split [p h aa]

10. MORPHOLOGY How are words and parts of words stored? What is the lexicon or mental dictionary like? Do words form networks based on semantic or structural similarities?

11. MORPHOLOGY Words can be subdivided into meaningful or functional subparts: displease unpleasant please pleasant pleasure displeasure pleasing

12. MORPHOLOGY cats [s] dogs [z]  All Plurals churches [ez] However, phonological type rules govern the phonetic form of the plural ending – a morphophonological rule

13. SYNTAX 1)John is easy to please 2)John is eager to please Sentences 1 and 2 have similar structures on the surface Noun – Verb – Adjective – Infinitive

14. SYNTAX John is easy to please. ? = subject of please John = object of ‘to please’ John is eager to please. John = subject of ‘to please’ ? = object of please

15. SYNTAX 1)John is easy to please 2)John is eager to please In sentence 1, John is unspoken/understood subject of ‘to please’ object = ? (somebody) In sentence 2, John is unspoken/understood object of ‘to please’ subject = ? (somebody)

16. SYNTAX In English, word order helps us understand the role of words in sentences: The dog chased the cat. The cat chased the dog.

17. SYNTAX In some languages, prefixes and suffixes help identify the role of words in sentences. Word order is less crucial and so can be more free. In Japanese, ‘Yumiko scolded the child’: Yumiko-ga sono kodomo-o sikat-ta Sono kodomo-o Yumiko-ga sikat-ta

18. SYNTAX In Japanese, ‘Yumiko scolded the child’: Yumiko-ga sono kodomo-o sikat-ta yumiko-NOM that child-ACC scold-past Sono kodomo-o Yumiko-ga sikat-ta that child-ACC yumiko-NOM scold-past