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Introduction to Linguistics

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Introduction

Introduction to Linguistics

Chapter 1 Introduction

Defining language

To a common man, language is "the expression of what we have in our mind" and they know that this expression can be in form of written symbols, spoken sounds or body gestures. But to the linguists or other language researchers, it is "a contextualized system of finite arbitrary symbols, sounds and gestures combined according to rules of grammar for the purpose of communication” and it is “an infinitely extensible and modifiable system of communication based on pure arbitrary convention." Language is more than just a means of communication. It influences our culture and even our thought processes. Language is a social phenomenon. Language only exists in society. It is a means of nourishing and developing culture and establishing human relations.

‘Language’ is a human’s innate ability to talk or in more technical terms, an abstract faculty of speech which facilitates him or her to learn and use a language in order to communicate with other humans. This faculty is held by all human beings in common and does not vary from one region to another as human psychology is universally the same. On the other hand, ‘a language’ is that particular set of codes which ‘language faculty’ facilitates us to learn and use. ‘A language’ is a set of conventions operated through the faculty of ‘language.’ These sets vary in terms of codes as different humans learn and use different codes and thus each group of humans uses a different language and the set of codes, which they name as some particular language, is not held by all human beings in common.

Language as a system of systems

Language is symbolic, yet its symbols are arranged in a particular system. Almost all languages of the world have their own well-organized and highly developed systems of arranging these symbols. Though symbols in each human language are finite; they can be arranged infinitely, that is to say, we can produce an infinite set of sentences by a finite set of symbols. Every language is a system of systems. All languages have phonological and grammatical systems, and within a system there are also several sub-systems. For example, within grammatical system, we have morphological and syntactic systems, and within these two sub-systems, we have still other sub-systems such as those of number, of mood, of tense, of class etc.

Nature of Language

The Nature of Language

a). What is Language?

Language is a system for communicating. Written languages use symbols (that is, characters) to build words. The entire set of words is the language's vocabulary. The ways in which the words can be meaningfully combined is defined by the language's syntax and grammar. The actual meaning of words and combinations of words is defined by the language's semantics.

In computer science, human languages are known as natural languages. Unfortunately, computers are not sophisticated enough to understand natural languages. As a result, we must communicate with computers using special computer languages. There are many different classes of computer languages, including machine languages, programming languages, and fourth-generation languages.

b). Animal versus Human Communication

Systems of communication are not unique to human beings. Other animal species communicate in a variety of ways. One way is by sound: a bird may communicate by a call that a territory is his and should not be encroached upon.

Another means of animal communication is by odor: an ant releases a chemical when it dies, and other ants then carry it away to the compost heap. A third means of communication is body movement, for example used by honeybees to convey the location of food sources.

Although primates use all three methods of communication: sound, odor, and body movement, sound is the method of primary interest since it is our own primary means of communication. A topic of persistent debate in linguistic anthropology is whether human communication (verbal and nonverbal) is similar to nonhuman primate communication, such as seen in apes and monkeys. Linguistics and primatologists have searched for a common thread running through the communication systems of humans and nonhuman primates. Certain scholars argue that our language capabilities are not unique and point to various aspects of non-human primate communication as evidence. Other scientists remain unconvinced. Today there continues to be a significant amount of debate concerning this area of linguistic anthropology.

Communication can be defined to include both signals and symbols. Signals are sounds or gestures that have a natural or self-evident meaning [example of someone crying (=emotion), laughing (=emotion), animal cries (=indicating fear, food, or hunt). In this regard, we can consider that most animal communication is genetically determined and includes hoots, grunts, or screams that are meant to mean only one thing and are used every time in the same situation. So there is only one way to express one thing and it never changes. Animal communication tends to consist primarily of signals.

In contrast, human communication is dependent on both signals and symbols. Symbols are sounds or gestures that have meaning for a group of people-it is the cultural tradition that gives it meaning (e.g. green light=go; teaching a child letters (see Faces of Culture video). Symbols have to be learned and are not instinctive; the meanings are arbitrary.

Some of the debate regarding human versus primate communication stems from observations by scientists in the field. For example, scientists who have observed vervet monkeys in the wild consider at least three of their alarm calls to be symbolic because each of them means a different kind of predator- eagles, pythons, leopards-monkeys react differently to each call. Interestingly, infant vervets often make the "eagle" warning call when they see any flying bird and learn the appropriate call as they grow up. This is similar to human infants who often first apply the word "dada" to all adult males, gradually learning to restrict it one person. It is possible, therefore, to consider such calls as symbolic.

So-if monkeys and apes appear to use symbols as least some of the time, how can we distinguish human communication? For one thing, all human languages emply a much larger set of symbols. Another and perhaps more important difference is that other primate's vocal systems tend to be closed (different calls are not often combined to produce new, meaningful utterances). In contrast, human languages are open systems (capable of sending messages that have never been sent before and the ability to combine symbols in an infinite variety of ways for an infinite variety of meanings). The following exercises are designed to help you think about the similarities and differences between humans and nonhuman primates in terms of the way we all communicate.

Exercise-Major Questions:

1. What characteristics or properties of communication are common to all humans of the world?

2. Are these characteristics found among nonhuman primates as well?

3. What are the underlying causes that result in similarities or differences between systems of human and animal communication?

Many animal and even plant species communicate with each other. Humans are not unique in this capability. However, human language is unique in being a symbolic communication system that is learned instead of biologically inherited. Symbols are sounds or things which have meaning given to them by the users. Originally, the meaning is arbitrarily assigned. For instance, the English word "dog" does not in any way physically resemble the animal it stands for. All symbols have a material form but the meaning can not be discovered by mere sensory examination of their forms. They are abstractions.

A word is one or more sounds that in combination have a specific meaning assigned by a language. The symbolic meaning of words can be so powerful that people are willing to risk their lives for them or take the lives of others. For instance, words such as "queer" and "nigger" have symbolic meaning that is highly charged emotionally in America today for many people. They are much more than just a sequence of sounds to us.

A major advantage of human language being a learned symbolic communication system is that it is infinitely flexible. Meanings can be changed and new symbols created. This is evidenced by the fact that new words are invented daily and the meaning of old ones change. For example, the English word "nice" now generally means pleasing, agreeable, polite, and kind. In the15th century it meant foolish, wanton, lascivious, and even wicked. Languages evolve in response to changing historical and social conditions. Some language transformations typically occur in a generation or less. For instance, the slang words used by your parents were very likely different from those that you use today. You also probably are familiar with many technical terms, such as "text messaging" and "high definition TV", that were not in general use even a decade ago.

Sign Language

Over the last few centuries, deaf people have developed sign languages that are complex visual-gestural forms of communicating with each other. Since they are effective communication systems with standardised rules, they also must be considered languages in their own right even though they are not spoken. The example is American Sign Language.

Pidgin and Creole

A pidgin is a simplified, makeshift language that develops to fulfill the communication needs of people who have no language in common but who need to occasionally interact for commercial and other reasons. Pidgins combine a limited amount of the vocabulary and grammar of the different languages. People who use pidgin languages also speak their own native language. Over the last several centuries, dozens of pidgin languages developed as Europeans expanded out into the rest of the world for colonisation and trade. The most well known ones are Pidgin English in New Guinea, Cameroon and Nigeria. However, several forms of Pidgin English and Pidgin French also developed in West Africa and the Caribbean. There have been pidgins developed by non-European cultures as well, including the Zulus in South Africa, the Malays in Southeast Asia, the Arabs in North Africa, and several American Indian societies. The most well known pidgin developed by American Indians is Chinook, which was used on the Northwest Coast of North America.

At times, a pidgin language becomes the mother tongue of a population. When that happens, it is called a Creole language. As pidgins change into creoles over several generations, their vocabularies enlarge. In the small island nation of Haiti, a French-African pidgin became the creole language. It is still spoken there by the majority of the population as their principle or only language. The same thing happened among some of the peoples of Papua New Guinea , the Pacific Islands of Vanuatu, and Sierra Leone in West Africa, where different versions of Pidgin English became creoles. Similarly, on the outer banks of Georgia and South Carolina in the United States, isolated former African slaves made another version of Pidgin English into a creole known as Gullah or Geechee . Creoles also developed in Louisiana, Jamaica, and the Netherlands Antilles.

It is common for creole speakers to also speak another "standard" language as well. In Haiti, for instance, the more educated and affluent people also speak French among themselves. Their creole language is used on the street in dealing with poor Haitians. The Gullah speakers of Georgia and South Carolina speak English when dealing with outsiders. Which language is spoken depends on the social situation. This same phenomenon is often found in societies with different dialects of the same language. People may quickly switch back and forth between dialects, depending on the person they are talking to at the time. This pattern is referred to as diglossia r "code switching." The African American situational use of standard and Black English is a prime example. Black English is usually reserved for talking with other African Americans. North American reporters and announcers on national television programs are often diglossic. They must learn to speak with a Midwestern, European American dialect regardless of the region or social class they came from originally. We become so accustomed to this that it is usually a shocking surprise to hear them speak in their own dialects.

Typically, the dialects of a society are ranked relative to each other in terms of social status. In the London area of England, the upper class speak "public school" English, while the lower class often use a Cockney dialect. Because of the stigma against the latter, upwardly mobile Cockneys in the business world may take language lessons to acquire the "public school" speech patterns.

Structural Grammar

Derivation is common in the modern languages of the world. For example, many of them have productive ways of relating adjectives to change-of-state verbs. In English the verb is derived from the adjective by adding the suffix -en to the adjective. Examples are weaken, shorten, lighten, blacken, sharpen, soften, and loosen. Notice that this process is only somewhat productive; it doesn't apply to long (verb: lengthen), big (verb: grow), or thin (verb: thin). If we learned a new adjective, say, zub, we might not feel completely confident in making into a verb zubben. In some other languages, such as Amharic, it is usually the adjective that is derived from the verb. For example from the verb root drk' meaning 'get dry', the adjective dIrk' 'dry' is derived.

Another possibility, common in English, is for the two forms to be identical. For example, as we have seen, widen can describe a change in the width of something or a causing of such a change. In the last chapter, we treated these two meanings as two different syntax-semantics mappings. In any case, we have no basis for seeing one of them as derived from the other. Another example is provided by the relatively productive pattern in English by which a noun for an instrument can also be used as a verb designating the use of such an instrument. Examples are hammer, saw, chisel, pin, and nail. Though historically the nouns came first, again we can treat the nouns and verbs simply as related meanings of a single word.

1. • Speech and writing represent different codes

When there is derivational morphology, a Speaker or Hearer of the language must know not only what the grammatical morpheme is and how it combines with the lexical morpheme but also the grammatical convention for how the meaning of the more complex word is derived from the meanings of the two components. Let's consider another English example, the addition of -er to a verb to produce an noun.

1. • Features of speech

The compositional convention would say something like this: the meaning of the complex word is a person who acts (routinely or one occasion) as the agent of the category of event (action) which the verb designates. Thus a teacher is a person who acts as the agent of a teaching event. The diagram below illustrates the relationships. Like the derivation of verbs from adjectives (or adjectives from verbs) the agent noun derivation of one sort or another is quite common in the world's languages.

1. • Confusion of speech and writing in textbooks

In a sense these languages are making generalization that are not made in other languages, which must rely on separate, unrelated words or whole phrases to convey the different meanings. In the next I'll describe some of the possibilities for derivational morphology on Lingala verbs Like other languages in the Bantu family, Lingala allows a number of different verbs to be derived from a single verb root.

1. • Features of writing

Functional Grammar

Communication can be defined to include both signals and symbols. Signals are sounds or gestures that have a natural or self-evident meaning [example of someone crying (=emotion), laughing (=emotion), animal cries (=indicating fear, food, or hunt). In this regard, we can consider that most animal communication is genetically determined and includes hoots, grunts, or screams that are meant to mean only one thing and are used every time in the same situation. So there is only one way to express one thing and it never changes. Animal communication tends to consist primarily of signals.

In contrast, human communication is dependent on both signals and symbols. Symbols are sounds or gestures that have meaning for a group of people-it is the cultural tradition that gives it meaning (e.g. green light=go; teaching a child letters (see Faces of Culture video). Symbols have to be learned and are not instinctive; the meanings are arbitrary.

Some of the debate regarding human versus primate communication stems from observations by scientists in the field. For example, scientists who have observed vervet monkeys in the wild consider at least three of their alarm calls to be symbolic because each of them means a different kind of predator- eagles, pythons, leopards-monkeys react differently to each call. Interestingly, infant vervets often make the "eagle" warning call when they see any flying bird and learn the appropriate call as they grow up. This is similar to human infants who often first apply the word "dada" to all adult males, gradually learning to restrict it one person. It is possible, therefore, to consider such calls as symbolic.

So-if monkeys and apes appear to use symbols as least some of the time, how can we distinguish human communication? For one thing, all human languages employ a much larger set of symbols. Another and perhaps more important difference is that other primate's vocal systems tend to be closed (different calls are not often combined to produce new, meaningful utterances). In contrast, human languages are open systems (capable of sending messages that have never been sent before and the ability to combine symbols in an infinite variety of ways for an infinite variety of meanings). The following exercises are designed to help you think about the similarities and differences between humans and nonhuman primates in terms of the way we all communicate.

Pragmatics

An Antecedent not possessed but still captured among the group The Belle paid homage to trials, rites, and rituals and all seasons of life. An apportionment redistricting like this ole vest had us blocked at every turn, and Scott, was affectionately known to preach good humor and understanding at large. Manny Treijo and the Christian ministry were all up against nothing less than a fiasco as when a luxury liner set to embark on its final voyage as though their living did as well not matter.

And because Black lives matter I awoke. I couldn’t sleep a more perfect resolve renegading a group of survivors upward, and with nobility towards a cities open common wealth and more opportune rule of order. Sacramento had become a place of worship. As the city of trees it reminded me of deeper southern states like Washington or Tennessee or even Atlanta. I believed they were progressive states and only did I rediscover that they could be inhabited or escaped for economic purposes.

Pre constructivist like Pres. Barack Obama championed aid from future outcomes such as Psychological Corporations and other companies feeding as though their lens weren’t discolored like Future Gem. $1 Billion in federal aid was carbon captured as Sequestration and lost wages. The Container of scale was not proportionate of its resolve; and considered substantiation. The continuum dictates that there is no scale a must.

Semantic and pragmatic meaning

What can I expect? Of course Spelling is all about rules: doubling or not doubling consonants, possessives and contractions, -ence versus –ance, and I befor e for example. The purpose is not to under communicate the complex language its problem is a literal hope and evocation of trust.

Meaning and context

As we have just defined, the practical theoretical logic dictates that there is a governing logic which supports post-modernist societies but not inasmuch primitive life. Its differentiation is conditioned by one’s ability to decipher a text as a rubric or grid unintelligibly.

But like the classical conditioning of our frameworks theorist we would not have constructivist or the ability to pay for our relativity. A Transformative System is a support Network established to incorporate the individual and indemnify the Venturing Partnership from piracy and copyrighted freedoms.

The cooperative principle

1. • Language is arbitrary

Language is probably the best window we have on the workings of the human mind. Language gives us the extraordinary ability to describe the contents of our thoughts, an ability that no other animal has. Of course there are many unconscious aspects to cognition that we cannot talk about, but these properties are apparently also reflected in what we say. The units of language — elements of form, words, grammatical patterns, conventions of usage — are in some sense also units of cognition. The implication is that the study of what all languages share is also the study of what it is to be human, something that is certainly an important topic for any educated person.

Politeness

An ambiguity often of someones abstractedness. I am reminded of a draft. Not fulfilled by its solidarity but enabled by the present it is combined only with manner able improvements.

Speech Acts

Our lexicography is designed to help us speak and be supported by acts of kindness. An ordinary example is a formal diction that willingly is not over communicable but worthier of peer discussion and social demarcation.

Breaking speech maxims in textbooks

Enable youth to receive non-traditional text produced by newly circumventing practices no longer believed as controversial.

Discourse Analysis

What is Discourse

An Antecedent not possessed but still captured among the group The Belle paid homage to trials, rites, and rituals and all seasons of life. Manny Treijo and the Christian ministry were all up against nothing less than a fiasco as when a luxury liner set to embark on its final voyage as though their living did as well not matter.

And because Black lives matter I awoke. I couldn’t sleep a more perfect resolve renegading a group of survivors upward, and with nobility towards a cities open common wealth and more opportune rule of order. Sacramento had become a place of worship. As the city of trees it reminded me of deeper southern states like Washington or Tennessee or even Atlanta. I believed they were progressive states and only did I rediscover that they could be inhabited or escaped for economic purposes.

But an apportionment redistricting like this ole vest had us blocked at every turn, and Scotti, was affectionately known to preach good humor and understanding at large.

If all churches had auxiliaries upon which to build its congregation, would we still own rights to negotiate what we think was our commitment? Some large Chain stores always made this no nonsense! Do you have it all? What about the mightiest of the American dollar?

I have always followed the business cycle from Real Estate embargo in the 70's to the Saving & Loan crises of the mid 80's to Fannie mae and Freddie mac and the mortgage lending crisis in the 90's, and back to Halliburton and its repossessions in 05's.

Flip houses and par atrophied esteem give into change. But now the fruit bearing discussion of how to provide a warranty for the assumed buyer who takes the risk and in principle gets to assure him a home thanks to the interpretation of the liberal government, is the end all means and a crutch for the people served unlawful retainers to pay or quit, because the landlord wants to redevelop the property in question. In poor neighborhoods in the city of Sacramento, the Government applies the law in fairness and owners as well as lease's don't often deem required to worry themselves over the application.

Now, with that said and done there are homes on the market that even little suppliers need. These homes go forth as Eminent Domain and there owners realistically can't win either, a brighter opinion of the system intact called buyer beware, Caveat emptor, the changing fortunes of Property law and doctrine control for the sales of real property after the date of closing.

Pre constructivist like Pres. Barack Obama championed aid from future outcomes such as Psychological Corporations and other companies feeding as though their lens weren’t discolored like Future Gem. $1 Billion in federal aid was carbon captured as Sequestration and lost wages. The Container of scale was not proportionate of its resolve; and considered substantiation. The continuum dictates that there is no scale a must.

Discourse Analysis & Language Teaching

Is a pre-forma thought that is not inhibited by social vices or informal principles which dictate academic understanding. In The Belle of Monti Cristo it is folklorism and traditional story telling which allow the readership to escape; but still learn the skill sets needed to produce a commensurate experience and exchange of ideals.

Since to think it absurd to believe that social power belong to man and natural fertility to women it is doubly preserving to adjust for the two seasons, two sexes, two societies, and two degrees.

These intruders have been after my annuitant and honestly my social security. When I first started I had six grand. How can I change? We’ve often been promised. And I don’t have any children. This is my condition. A way of life. Rise hard and worldly, work all day long, and watch others spend new money. I go to bed, and instead follow the promises of my honorable parents; go up in smoke.

Coherence

1. Are you learning vocabulary and syntax? 2. You can write English even though you may have a dearth of material or a paucity of ideas. 3. You don’t have to rush to write. 4. Know your audience. 5. Editing is practical. 6. Reading awesome has a impact on multisyllabic word choices. 7. Clarity is a working competence. 8. An emphatic word use brings structure and parallelism. 9. Excellence is acceptable as criticism. 10. Detail produces encouragement; Mastery produces achievement; Knowledge effects matriculation; Personalization affect Esteem and Actualization.

Cohesion

The European union and the United States, the need to prevent discrimination has eroded the full extent of freedom of contract. Legislation governing equality, equal pay, racial discrimination, disability discrimination and so on, has imposed limits of the full freedom of contract. In the early 20th century the United States underwent the "Lochner era", in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down economic regulations on the basis of freedom of contract and the Due Process Clause; these decisions were eventually overturned and the Supreme Court established a deference to legislative statutes and regulations which restrict freedom of contract. The U.S. Constitution contains a Contract Clause, but this has been interpreted as only restricting the retroactive impairment of contracts.

But like the classical conditioning of our frameworks theorist we would not have constructivist or the ability to pay for our relativity.

70.98.142.254 (discuss) 00:00, 3 March 2016 (UTC)