part 1\Part 1 the nature of Language

PartOneThenatureoflanguageTextbookChapter1:1.1-1.51.Whatislanguage?-Manylinguistshavebeenexertingeveryefforttodefinethenatureoflanguagefromdifferentpointsofview.PartOneThenatureoflanguageEdwardSapir，anAmericananthropologistandlinguist，1921-Languageisapurelyhumanandnoninstinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,emotionanddesiresbymeansofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols.PartOneThenatureoflanguageBernardBlochandGeorgeTrager，Americanlinguists，1942-"Alanguageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsbymeansofwhichasocialgroupcooperates."PartOneThenatureoflanguageR.A.Hall，anAmericanlinguist，1968-Theinstitution(system)wherebyhumanscommunicateandinteractwitheachotherbymeansofhabituallyusedoral-auditoryarbitrarysymbols.PartOneThenatureoflanguageDavidCrystal，aBritishlinguistandlanguagescholar，1992-Thesystematic,conventionaluseofsounds,signs,orwrittensymbolsinahumansocietyforcommunicationandself-expression.PartOneThenatureoflanguageMarioPei,anItalian-Americanlinguist,1954-Systemofcommunicationbysound,i.e.throughtheorgansofspeechandhearing,amonghumanbeingsofacertaingrouporcommunity,usingvocalsymbolspossessingarbitraryconventionalmeanings..PartOneThenatureoflanguageNoamChomsky，anAmericanlinguist，1957-Aset(finiteorinfinite)ofsentences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements.PartOneThenatureoflanguageTherearesomeimportantcharacteristicsofhumanlanguagewhichlinguistshaveagreedon.　Definitionthatmostlinguistagree:Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.Thisdefinitionhascontainedthemainpropertiesoflanguage:PartOneThenatureoflanguage1)LanguageissystematicTwoaspects:-Elementsoflanguagearecombinedtogetheraccordingtorules.Forexample:‘laagnuge’isnotanacceptedsoundcombinationinEnglish.‘Elementslanguagecombinedtogetherareofaccordingtorules’isnotagrammaticallyacceptedsentenceinEnglish.PartOneThenatureoflanguage-Languageismadeupofunits,functions,andrelations.AreasoflinguisticstudyPartOneThenatureoflanguage2)Languageissymbolic-Languageinvolvessigns-Thesignsaresequencesofsoundswhichcanbetransferredintovisualsigns,asinwriting.-peopleusethesoundsorvocalforms(signs)tosymbolizewhattheywishtorefertointheworld.-Ifasignandtheobjectitsignifiesareassociatedbysocialconvention,thesigniscalledasymbol.(Compare“icon”)PartOneThenatureoflanguagePartOneThenatureoflanguageLanguageissymbolicinthesensethatitinvolvessignswhichpeopleusetosymbolizewhattheywishtorefertointheworldandthereisnoorlittleconnectionbetweenthesigns(sounds)thatpeopleuseandtheobjectstowhichthesesigns(sounds)refer.PartOneThenatureoflanguage3)Languageisvocal-Languageisfirstofallspeech,meaningfulvocalsounds.Writingsystemscamemuchlaterthanthespokenformsandtheyareonlytheformstocapturesoundandmeaningonpaper.PartOneThenatureoflanguage4)LanguageiscommunicationThechiefpurposeoflanguageiscommunication.5)Languageishuman-specific-Languageisacapacitythatdistinguisheshumanbeingsfromothercreatures.-Ofalltheaptitudesandbehaviorswhichcharacterizehumanbeings,languageisthemostuniquelyhuman,andquitepossiblythemostimportant.PartOneThenatureoflanguageSpecificallyhowislanguagehuman-specific?Therearesix“designfeatures”whichanimalcommunicationsystemsdonothave.2.DesignfeaturesoflanguageDesignfeatures(uniqueproperties)refertothedefiningpropertiesofhumanlanguagethatdistinguishlanguagefromanyanimalsystemofcommunication.PartOneThenatureoflanguagearbitrariness,duality,productivity,displacement,culturaltransmissionandinterchangeability1)ArbitrarinessThereisnointrinsicrelationbetweenthesound-symbolanditssenseThefactthatdifferentlanguagesusedifferentwordstorefertothesameobjectcanbestshowthearbitrarynatureoflanguage.PartOneThenatureoflanguagehouse,maison,房子sky,ciel,天空PartOneThenatureoflanguageAfamousquotationfromShakespeare’splay‘RomeoandJuliet’:‘Arosebyanyothernamewouldsmellassweet.’PartOneThenatureoflanguage2)DualityLanguageisorganizedattwolevelsorlayerssimultaneously.-Lowerlevel:Asequenceofsegments(sounds)whichlackanymeaninginthemselves,butwhichcombinetoformunitsofmeaning-higherlevel:Meaningfulunitssuchasmorphemes,wordsetc.PartOneThenatureoflanguageHuZhanglinLanguageisasystemoftwosetsofstructures,oneofsoundsandtheotherofmeaning.Theadvantageofthisdivision:Economical-Wecanusealimitednumberofsoundstoproduceanunlimitednumberofsoundcombinationswithdistinctivemeanings.48sounds/i//t//p//b/,etc.PartOneThenatureoflanguage3)Productivity(Creativity)“Productivity”referstotheabilitytoconstructandunderstandanindefinitelylargenumberofsentencesinone’snativelanguage,includingthosethathasneverheardbefore,butthatareappropriatetothespeakingsituation.e.g“Ared-eyedelephantisdancingonthesmallhotelbedwithanAfricangibbon.PartOneThenatureoflanguageMostanimalcommunicationsystemsarehighlyrestrictedwithrespecttothenumberofdifferentsignalsthattheiruserscansendandreceive.ThisisproofthatlanguageisnotlearnedsolelybymeansofimitationandMemorization.PartOneThenatureoflanguage4)Displacement“Displacement”referstothefactthatonecannotonlytalkaboutthingsthatarepresent,butalsothingsbothinthepastandinthefuture.DisplacementmakesitpossibleforpeopletotalkaboutabstractthingsPartOneThenatureoflanguage5)Culturaltransmission“Culturaltransmission”meansthatlanguageisculturallytransmitted,notbiologicallytransmittedfromgenerationtogeneration.Thedetailsofthelinguisticsystemmustbelearnedanewbyeachspeaker.Theculturalcontextinwhichahumanbeingisbroughtupinfluenceshiscapacitytoacquirelanguage.TheWolfChildPartOneThenatureoflanguageAnimalcommunicationsystemsaregeneticallytransmittedthedog’sbarkingsystemPartOneThenatureoflanguage6）Interchangeability“Interchangeability”meansthatanyhumanbeingcanbebothaproducerandareceiverofmessages.PartOneThenatureoflanguage3.FunctionsoflanguageLanguageenableshumanstodomanythings,thusservingdifferentfunctionsinsociety.Linguistsviewthefunctionsoflanguagefromdifferentdisciplinesofstudyandthushavecategorizedindifferentways,buttheyallcontainthemainfunctionsoflanguage–conceptualandinterpersonal.PartOneThenatureoflanguage1)Conceptual(Declaratives)Theconceptualcategorycoverstheinformativeandcognitivefunctionsoflanguage.Thiscategoryreferstothefunctionthatlanguagespeakersusetoconveyinformation,recordanddescribelifeexperience,identifyobjectsandeventsintheworld,thinkandreason,andinaword,toconceptualizeprocessesinvolvedinourmentalactivitiesandtorepresenttheworld.PartOneThenatureoflanguageTheearthrevolvesaroundthesun.Thisfunctionaccountsforthemajoritypartoftheeverydaycommunicationactivities.2)InterpersonalTheinterpersonalcategorycoversthephatic,expressive,directive,performative,evocativefunctionandrecreationalfunctions.Thereasonforustoputthemtogetheristhattheyindicatethesocialfunctionsoflanguage.PartOneThenatureoflanguageThreeaspects:-Languageconveyinformationaboutpeopleandeventswithspeaker’semotions,attitudes,andpersonaljudgmentsofthetruthfulnessoftheeventreported.-languageenablesspeakerstodothings,suchastoexchangegreetings,tomakesmalltalk,requests,apologiesandpromises,togivecommandsandorders,andeventoperformceremonies.PartOneThenatureoflanguage-Languageisusedtocreatecertainfeelings,exerciseinfluenceoneachother,establishandmaintainrelationshipamongpeopleinsociety.Sixsocialfunctions:PartOneThenatureoflanguage-Phatic(Greeting)The“phaticfunction”referstolanguagebeingusedforsettingupacertainatmosphereormaintainingsocialcontactse.g.Greetings,farewells,andcommentsontheweather“Howareyou?”“Fine,thanks.”PartOneThenatureoflanguage-ExpressiveThe“expressivefunction”istheuseoflanguagetorevealsomethingaboutthefeelingsorattitudesofthespeaker.e.g.“Goodheavens!”“MyGod!”“I’msorryaboutthedelay”PartOneThenatureoflanguage-Directive(Imperatives)The“directivefunction”meansthatlanguagemaybeusedtogetthehearertodosomething.Imperativesentencese.g.“Tellmetheresultwhenyoufinish.”"Closethewindows."PartOneThenatureoflanguage-Performative“Performativefunction”meanspeoplespeaktodothingsorperformactions.e.g.imprisonmentsentence;warorindependencedeclaration,pronouncingofmarriageInowpronounceyouhusbandandwife.Inowdeclarethemeetingopen.PartOneThenatureoflanguageTheuseofperformativeverbssuchas"accept,""apologize,""congratulate,""promise."and“name”e.gIpromisenottobelate.Inamethisship‘Elizabeth’PartOneThenatureoflanguage-EvocativeTheevocativefunctionistheuseoflanguagetocreatecertainfeelingsinthehearer.Itsaimis,forexample,toamuse,startle,antagonize,soothe,worryorplease.e.g.JokesAdvertisingPropagandaPartOneThenatureoflanguage-Recreational:The recreational function of a language isreferredtoastheappreciationoflanguageforitsownsakebyfocusingonitsspecialanduniqueforms,andthepleasureofusingitforitssheerbeauty.Simply,it’splayingonlanguage.e.g.poems;lyricsofsongs;verbalduelingcrosstalkPartOneThenatureoflanguageMetalingualfunctionItisusedtoestablishmutualagreementonthecode,touselanguagetotalkaboutitselfe.g.adefinitiontoclearupintentionsandmeaningsWhatImeanis….Can’tyouseethatthedefinitionisbelowline3.PartOneThenatureoflanguage4.OriginoflanguagetheTowerofBabel：thebeginningoflanguagesGodsaid,‘Theyareasinglepeople,allhavingonelanguage,andthisisthefirstthingtheydo!Nownothingtheyplantodowillbeunattainableforthem!Come,letusdescendandconfusetheirspeech,sothatonepersonwillnotunderstandanother’sspeech‘.（BookofGenesis11:1-9）PartOneThenatureoflanguageSomeHypothesesthattrytoexplaintheoriginsofhumanlanguage:1)Theta-tahypothesis:SirRichardPaget,influencedbyDarwin-Bodymovementprecedelanguage. -Languagebeganasanunconsciousvocalimitationofthesemovements.Languagemayhavederivedfromgestures.PartOneThenatureoflanguage2)Theding-dongandbow-wowtheory: Ding-donghypothesis-Thereisarathermysteriouscorrespondencebetweensoundsandmeanings. -Humansmakevariousimitativesoundstomimicthesoundsoftheworldaroundtheme.gOnomatopoeicwordsboomofthunder,bangofadoor.Languagemayhavederivedfromthesoundsoftheworldaroundthem.PartOneThenatureoflanguageBow-wowhypothesis-Humansformtheirfirstwordsbyimitatinganimalsounds.Miaow;baa-baa;moo;roar;coo;hiss;hum;quackLanguagemayhavederivedfromtheanimalsounds.PartOneThenatureoflanguage3)Thepooh-poohhypothesis-ThefirstwordsdevelopedfrominterjectionsorinstinctiveemotivecriesSighsofpleasure;moansofpainandothersemi-involuntarycriesorexclamationse.g.Ah,Oh,AiyoPartOneThenatureoflanguage4)Theyo-he-hohypothesis-Languagebeganasrhythmicchants,perhapsultimatelyfromthegruntsofheavyworkcallingforassistanceorcooperation.eg.worksong/laborSong劳动号子heave-ho!PartOneThenatureoflanguage5)The"uh-oh"hypothesis-Humanlanguagebeginswiththeuseofarbitrarysymbolsthatrepresentwarningstoothermembersofthehumanband.e.g.Warningofalionorasnake.Warningof"Don'teatthat!It'llmakeyousick!"and"Don'teatthat!It'smine!“PartOneThenatureoflanguage6)Thehocuspocus(咒语)hypothesisLanguagemayhavehadsomerootsinasortofmagicalorreligiousaspectofourancestors'lives. e.g.Webeganbycallingouttogameanimalswithmagicalsounds,whichbecametheirnames.PartOneThenatureoflanguage6)Theeureka!hypothesis-Languagewasconsciouslyinvented. AssigningarbitrarysoundstomeancertainthingsDiscussion:Fancifulspeculations,lackingsupportiveevidence.-Languageevolveswiththedevelopmentofhumansociety.Societyisboththecreatorandcontaineroflanguage.PartOneThenatureoflanguageIn1886,theLinguisticSocietyofParisbanneddiscussionoftheoriginoflanguage,deemingittobeanunanswerableproblem.PartOneThenatureoflanguage5．Languagefamiliesandlanguages1）LanguagefamiliesAlanguagefamilyisagroupoflanguagesrelatedbecausetheyaredescendedfromacommonancestor.TenfamiliesintermsofnumbersofnativespeakersasaproportionofworldpopulationPartOneThenatureoflanguage-Indo-Europeanfamily45%(Europe,SouthwesttoSouthAsia,NorthAsia,NorthAmerica,SouthAmerica,Oceania)-Sino-Tibetanfamily22%(EastAsia)-Niger–Congofamily6.0%(Sub-SaharanAfrica)-Afro-Asiaticfamily5.0%(NorthAfricatoHornofAfrica,SouthwestAsia)PartOneThenatureoflanguage-Austronesianfamily5.0%(Oceania,Madagascar,maritimeSoutheastAsia)-Dravidianfamily4.0%(SouthAsia)-Altaicfamily(controversialcombinationofTurkic,Mongolic,andTungusicfamilies)6.0%(CentralAsia,NorthernAsia,Anatolia,Siberia)-Austro-Asiaticfamily2.0%(mainlandSoutheastAsia)PartOneThenatureoflanguage-Tai–Kadaifamily1.5%(SoutheastAsia)-Others3.5%FamilieswithhistoricallywidegeographicaldistributionsbutcomparativelyfewcontemporaryspeakersincludeEskimo–Aleut,Dené–Yeniseian,Algic,QuechuanandNilo-SaharanPartOneThenatureoflanguagePartOneThenatureoflanguageIndo-EuropeanfamilyItreferstothefamilyoflanguagesspokenoriginallyinEuropeandpartsofsouthernAsia.TheIndo-EuropeanfamilyincludesmostofthelanguagesofEuropeandsomeAsianlanguages(intheNearEast,andNorthIndia.)Eightbranches：aTheBalto-slavicGroup（波罗的-斯拉夫语族）：Latvian,Russian,Bugarian,Polish,Czechetc.PartOneThenatureoflanguageb.TheIndo-IranianGroup（印度-伊朗语族）：Sanskrit,Hindi,Urdu,Bengali,Persianetc.c.TheArmenianGroup（亚美尼亚语族）：Armenian.d.TheAlbanianGroup（阿尔巴尼亚语族）：Albanian.PartOneThenatureoflanguagee.TheHellenicGroup（古希腊语族）：Greek.f.TheItalianGroup（意大利语族）：Latin,Romancelanguages(French,Italian,Spanish,Portuguese,Romanian)etc.g.TheCelticGroup（凯尔特语族）：Gaelic,Welsh,Bretonetc.h.TheGermanicGroup（日耳曼语族）：English,German,Dutch,Scandinavian,Norwegian,Swedish,Danish,Icelandic)etc.GermanicDanishNorthGermanicEastGermanicWestGermanicIcelandicNorwegianSwedishGothicHighGermanLowGermanModernHighGermanYiddishAfricanDutchEnglishFrisianFlemishModernLowGermanPartOneThenatureoflanguagePartOneThenatureoflanguagePartOneThenatureoflanguageTheSino-TibetanFamily-AnimportantAsianfamilyoflanguages.-About250languages-Itcontainstheworld'smostspokenlanguage,Mandarin,theofficiallanguageofChina.Mainbranches:PartOneThenatureoflanguage*SiniticBranch:ThevariouslanguagesofChina(Mandarin,Cantonese粤语,Wu吴语,Gan赣语,Min闽语,Hakka客家话,Xiang湘语,etc.).PartOneThenatureoflanguagePartOneThenatureoflanguageTibeto-BurmanBranch:SpokeninBurmaThailand,Laos,Tibet,Nepal,easternIndia,etc.TaiandSouthernBranches:SpokeninThailand,LaosandamongstthetribalpeopleofSouthernChina.PartOneThenatureoflanguage2)LanguagesintheWorldHowManyLanguagesAreThereintheWorld?Themostextensivecatalogoftheworld’slanguages,isthatoftheEthnologueorganizationwhosedetailedclassifiedlistcurrentlyincludes6,809distinctlanguages.OutofEthnologue’s6,809,only230arespokeninEurope,while2,197arespokeninAsia.  7 69,000,000 Telegu(India) 15.  20 71,000,000 YueChinese 14.   4 75,000,000 Javanese 13.    1 77,000,000 WuChinese 12.  53  77,000,000 French 11.  31 78,000,000 Korean 10.  40100,000,000 German(standard) 9.  26125,000,000 Japanese 8.  30167,000,000 Russian   7.  33176,000,000 Portuguese 6.   9207,000,000 Bengali(IndiaandBangladesh)    5.  43322-358,000,000 Spanish 4. 104341,000,000 English  3.  17366,000,000 Hindi(India) 2.  16874,000,000 MandarinChinese  1. COUNTRIESWITHSUBSTANTIALNUMBERSOFNATIVESPEAKERS APPROXIMATENUMBEROF NATIVESPEAKERS LANGUAGETheMostCommonLanguagesintheWorldPartOneThenatureoflanguageOneimportantprincipleinlanguagestudy：Alllanguagesareequal.Noonelanguageissuperiortoanyother.“Everylanguagesofarstudied,nomatterhowprimitiveorcivilizedthesocietymightappeartousinotherrespects,hasproveduponinvestigationtobeacomplexandhighlydevelopedsystemofcommunication.”JohnLyons,1981inLanguageandLinguistics.PartOneThenatureoflanguageExercises:1.Explainthefollowingterms:Language;Arbitrariness;Designfeature;Duality；Displacement;Culturaltransmission;InterchangeabilityPartOneThenatureoflanguage2.Answerthefollowingquestions:1)Whydowesaylanguageisarbitrary?2)Illustratethedesignfeaturesofhumanlanguagewithyourownexamples.3）Whydopeopletakedualityasoneoftheimportantdesignfeaturesofhumanlanguage?Canyoutelluswhatlanguagewillbeifithasnosuchdesignfeature?