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Zusammenfassung
Linguistik

Universität Augsburg

2010

Johanna S. ©
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ID# 18389







Introduction to English Linguistics

-linguistics is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of language

Different approaches/central dichotomies:

1.       Synchronic: describe the state of a language at a particular point or period in time (snapshot)

2.       Diachronic: document linguistic change through time by comparing successive language states with on another

3.       Descriptive: neutral description of the actual language use

4.       Prescriptive: normative approach, formulate rules for “correct” language use

5.       Form/language system: investigate formal aspects (structure/system) of a language on its different levels (sound, word, sentence,…) in abstraction from language use

6.       Function/language use: investigate which functions linguistic structures fulfill and (dependent on the speaker & speech situation) for which communicative purposes they can be used

7.       Language-specific: concentrate merely on one language, contrast two languages with each other (for pedagogical reasons in SLA)

8.       Comparative: compare a multitude of languages in order to determine patterns and limits if language variation and language universals

9.       Applied: apply the results of studies in foreign-language teaching, translation, compilation of dictionaries

10.    Not applied: research of purely academic relevance

11.    Empirical: research based on authentic data (use of corpora)

12.    Introspective: research based on introspection (intuitions of linguists concerning what is and what is not possible in a language)

Structuralism

Ferdinand de Saussure is considered to be the founder of modern linguistics/structuralism – his lecture notes were published as the “Cours de linguistique générale” in 1916 → new approach to linguistics, calling for the primacy of synchrony and the system; linguistics should solely concentrate on language as a closed system in which all elements are linked to one another, and in which the value of every single element is defined by its place in the system alone; every linguistic sign is part of the system and has no existence outside of it.

Saussure also claims that linguistics should solely be concerned with the regularities of the abstract system, which is shared by all members of a speech community (langue), and not with its concrete use by the individual (parole)

Þ center of structuralist ling.: determination and description of the individual elements of this system and the relationships existing between them: a) paradigmatic = relationship of choice/interchangeability

b) syntagmatic = relationship of chain/combination

ex: A man saw my horse.

The girl loved your cat. paradigmatic

This visitor hit our baby.

Syntagmatic


Saussure’s model of the linguistic sign: consists of two parts which are inseparably linked to one another

-          concept (signified; signifié) on the level of meaning

-          sound sequence (signifier; signifiant) on the level of expression

Relationships between signifié & signifiant:

1. Reciprocal (sound sequence automatically evokes the concept)

2. Arbitrariness (sign is chosen deliberately, no link between sound & image)

3. Conventionality (which signifiant is used for which signifié is solely based on an agreement between the members of a speech community


According to C.S Peirce, the ling. sign qualifies as a symbol, in contrast to the two other major types of signs, namely indices and icons:

-          indices: existential/physical effect-cause or effect-reason relationship between sign and what it stands for, ex: tears ® emotional turmoil; smoke ® fire; slurred speech ® drunkenness

-          icons: relationship of similarity between sign and what it stands for (physical/imagic),

ex: ® public telephone; ® emergency exit;


Formalism/Generative Linguistics

New approach initiated by Noam Chomsky in the 1950s, developed out of the emancipation of linguistics from traditional strucutralist ideas

-          full & precise description of syntactic structures by means of a limited inventory of rules

~         Transformational Grammar: concerned with language as a mental phenomenon (competence vs. performance)

® competence = the entire (unconscious) mental knowledge an ideal native speaker and hearer has at his/her disposal, that allows him to be creative in the native language and to constantly produce and process new sentences according to the rules of that language

® performance = the actual use of competence

-          Central interest: language acquisition – Chomsky’s thesis: all humans are genetically predisposed to learn language (Universal Grammar = invariable, highly abstract innate properties and principles)

Substantive: gramm. categories (word classes, phrasal expressions,…)

Formal: statements on structure-dependency

-          Ultimate goal of ling. theory from formalist view: provide a precise formal characterization of constitutive elements of UG and thus to define a possible human language





Functionalism

-          Mainly dealing with the function of language (Why is language the way it is?/ What motivates the choice of words? How communicative functions may help shape language structure?)

-          Two broad types of functions:

a)       overall functions in language/”external functions”

® typologies suggested by Bühler/Jacobson: organon model of language

WORLD

(referential)


MESSAGE

(poetic)


ADDRESSER ADDRESSEE

(expressive) CONTACT (appellative)

(phatic)


CODE

(metalingual)


Referential = allows us to talk about the world (“The earth is round”)

Expressive = allows us to express beliefs/attitude/emotional state (“Yeah”)

Appellative = allows us to formulate an appeal (request, issue, command) to the addressee (“Come here”)

Message = the way the message is formulated (poetic function) (“Smurf”)

Code = talking about language (“What do you mean by XY?”)

Contact = establishing contact between addresser & addressee (e.g. psychological contact/physical contact) (“Hello”)

® language typically fulfils several of these tasks simultaneously


Corpora

= authentic linguistic data compiled as an empirical basis for linguistic research; available in machine-readable form; consists of a large finite bodies of natural texts (written/transcribed spoken data)

® corpus literacy = skills/ability of students & linguists to use corpora, e.g. knowledge of availability of corpora, ability to choose the appropriate research questions, ability to keep at all times a critical distance to the data and the quantitive results of the corpus analysis

® present-day English corpora, the BNC world edition is the most powerful corpus research software


Phonetics & Phonology

Phonetics = concerned with sounds; particularly with the substance of those sounds used in human communication; not language specific [sound production; articulatory features; acoustic properties; description & classification of sounds; transcription] ® [phones]

Transcription allows us to represent sounds in writing and thus specify the pronunciation, because spelling do not tell us anything about it! Orthography ¹ Pronunciation

® divergence in spelling áin angled bracketsñ and articulation [in square brackets], distinguish 4 types:

1)       different spelling for the same sound:

[i:] áaeñ Caesar áeoñ people áayñ quay áeyñ key áeñ be, these áiñ ski

áeañ sea áieñ field áeeñ bee áoeñ phoenix áeiñ receive

2)       same spelling for different sound:

áeañ [eə] bear [a:] heart [ıə] beard [e] head [З:] heard

[i:] heat

3)       silent letters:

know, honest, mnemonic, psychology, debt, listen, sword, column, bomb, sign, island

4)       missing letters:

[j] in use, fuse, cute, futile, stew, new (BrE)


International Phonetic Alphabet

Point of

articula-

tion

Manner

Of articulation

Bilabial

Labio-dental

Dental

Alveolar

Post-alveolar

Palate-alveolar

Palatal

Velar

Glottal

Plosive

p b



t d




k g


Fricative


f v

q

s z


ò



h

Affricate






tò d




Nasal

m



n




h


Lateral




l






Approximant

w




r


j



Phonetic symbols

Monophthongs: Diphthongs:

/i/ fill /aı/ file

/i:/ feel /eı/ fail

/e/ fell /Ɔi/ foil

/æ/ cat /aʊ/ foul

/Λ/ cut/ /əʊ/ foal

/ɑ:/ cart /ıə/ shear

/ɒ/ cot /eə/ share

/ Ɔ:/ court /ʊə/ sure

/ʊ/ full

/u:/ fool

/ə/ the

/з:/ third


Consonants:

/p/ pig /w/ wail

/t/ tart /h/ hail

/k/ curl /j/ Yale

/f/ file /r/ rate

/s/ seal /l/ late

/ò/ ruche /b/ big

/q/ thigh /d/ dart

/tò/ chin /g/ girl

/m/ whim /v/ vile

/n/ win /z/ zeal

/h/ wing /ʒ/ rouge

/ / thy /dʒ/ gin

ring; till

Transcription can be either Phonemic /rih/; /tıl/

[ ıh]; [tıł] (broad)


Speech organs

® 3 branches of phonetics, each of which deals with one of three phases of communication:

1.       articulatory phonetics (sound production) – of central importance in linguistics;

2.       acoustic phonetics (sound transmission) – concerned with the measurable physical properties of sounds; sound waves

3.       auditory phonetics (sound perception and processing)


Types of sounds

Two main types: - consonants (formed via a partial/complete obstruction of airflow; voiced/voiceless)

- vowels (air passes through oral cavity relatively freely; generally voiced)


Consonant features:

-          voiced: vocal folds are approximating each other close enough to be set vibrating by the airflow coming up thourgh the windpipe

-          Places of articulation:


-          Manner of articulation: two classes of consonants

® obstruents:

plosives (airstream is completely obstructed, then suddenly released) [p], [b],…

fricatives (almost blocking the airstream, air pushed thourgh narrow opening > friction) [f], [v],…

affricates (combination of brief stopping aif the airstream with an obstructed release) [tò],…

® sonorants

nasals (velum lowered, airstream passes through the nose) [m], [n], [h]

laterals (airstream flows arounf the sides of the tongueas the tip of the tongue makes contact with the middle of the alveolar ridge) [l] liquids

roll (tongue tip raised and curled back near the alveolar ridge) [r]


Cardinal vowels

= idealized vowels are constructs and do not occur in any language (that is why they are generally placed outside the vowel chart), because no one ever speaks that clearly

Vowel chart

® abstracted representation of that area of the oral cavity where vowels are produced; the vowels in this chart are calles

-          Monophthongs (tongue largely remains stable in that position)

-          Dipthongs (tongue glides from one position to another and at the end, the tongue never quite reaches the position in which it would normally be if the second element were articulated on its own)


Centring dipthongs: Closing diphthongs:

Determining the phoneme inventory: Segmental phonology

Phonemes: abstract & idealized sound units, smallest meaning-distinguishing unit; existing only in our mental grammar on the level of language use (parole); always realized as phones; /l/

Phones: physically produced speech sound representing one version of a phoneme [l]

Allophones: one of a closely related set of speech sounds/phonemes; ex: phoneme /l/

[l] [ł] []

lip pill place(voiceless)

Complementary distribution

= relationship between two different elements, where one element is found in a particular environment and the other element ins found in another environment;

ex: [p] and [ph] are allophones of the phoneme /p/ because they occur in complementary distribution:

[p] occurs in all other places ® spin; spot;…


Method for determining the phonemes of a language ® minimal pair test

Minimal pair = pairs of meaning-carrying units which differ exactly in one sound, but apart from that have an identical sequence of sounds (differ in meaning due to sound difference)

ex: ten-pen ® [t], [p] try-fry ® [t], [f]

time-rhyme ® [t], [r] set-sat-seat-sit-site ® [e], [


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