LINGUISTICS

If the linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language, it is descriptive；if the study aims to prescribe规定how things ought to be (to lay down rules for ‘correct and standard’ behavior in using language), it is prescriptive. a. Do/Don’t say X. b. People do/don’t say X.

(2) Synchronic vs. Diachronic（共时与历时） (two types of linguistic descriptive study): A synchronic description takes a fixed instant一个固定的即时as its point of observation. Diachronic linguistics is the study of a language through the course of its history. Exercises:

a. a study of the development of the Indo-European tongues b. a study of Shakespeare’s language

(3) Langue & parole (Saussure, early 20th century)（语言与言语）:

Langue refers to the abstract linguistic抽象的语言system shared by all the members of a speech community, and parole refers to the realization实现of langue in actual use.

(4) Competence & Performance (Chomsky, 1950s)（语言能力/语言运用）

Competence is an ideal language user’s underlying潜在的knowledge about the system of rules; performance is the actual use of language in concrete实在的situations.

Question for discussion:

What is the difference between Saussure’s langue, parole and Chomsky’s competence and performance?

They differ in that Saussure took a sociological社会学的view of language and his notion概念of langue is a matter of social conventions惯例, and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence能力is a property of the mind of each individual.

(5) Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations (组合关系和聚合关系）

a. Syntagmatic (horizontal/chain) relation is a relation between one item and others in a sequence, or between elements which are all present. E.g: The boy kicked the ball.

*Boy the ball kicked the. (syntactic语法的) *The ball kicked the boy. (semantic语义的)

There are syntactic and semantic conditions the words in a syntagmatic组合关系的relation must meet.

Syntagm （组合）

? Sounds after sounds; words following words ? Horizontal水平线 relations ? Temporal暂时的sequence

E.g.: syntagmatic: She can go I may come You might leave

b. Paradigmatic词形变化的relation (associative联合的/ vertical垂直的/ choice选择relation):

A relation holding between elements replaceable with each other at a particular place in a structure, or between one element present and the others absent. E.g. ____ is smiling. The boy The woman The teacher

…

The constraint约束in a paradigmatic词形变化的is syntactic句法的only. Paradigm （聚合）

? Range of alternative signs范围内可选择的迹象 ? Choice relations

? Vertical sequence纵向序列 ? E.g.: → paradigmatic词形变化的 IRA terrorists scum(渣滓, 卑贱的人) active units

paramilitaries (辅助军队成员) freedom fighters lunatics （疯子, 狂人）

The horizontal syntagmatic组合关系的 axis轴is the realm领域of combination. Conversely相反地, the vertical垂直的 paradigmatic词形变化的axis is the realm of selection选择 and substitution. 代

替

(6) Functionalism机能主义and formalism形式主义:

Functionlism or functional linguistics refers to the study of forms of language in reference to their social function in communication.

Formalism or formal linguistics is the study of the abstract forms of language and their internal relations. It fixes in the forms of languages as evidence of the universals without considering how these forms function in communication and the ways of social life in different communities.

Chapter 2 Phonetics & Phonology

1. Speech sounds

Sounds which are systematically声音系统used in human languages are called speech sounds. Sounds made by a human being but not used in language are not considered as speech sounds (coughing, snoring打鼾, sneezing打喷嚏).

2. Phonetics

2.1 What is phonetics? (p.25)

The study of the speech sounds that occur in all human languages.

It is the science which studies the characteristics of human sound making, particularly the sounds used in speech, and provides methods for their transcription, description and classification分类.

Three areas of phonetics: (p.26)

? Articulatory phonetics (发音语音学): production of speech sounds生产语音

? Auditory phonetics (听觉语音学): perception of speech sounds感知的语音

? Acoustic phonetics (声学语音学):

physical properties of speech sounds物理特性的语音