Language, it's main features Flashcards
Linguistics
Scientific study of language in general
Science needs to solve a theoretical problem…
- accumulate accurate data 2. create theory 3. make predictions 4. test theory 5. make better theory
What is a theory?
Key concept - highest level of knowledge, set of propositions (sentence that is either true or not but not both)
Arbitrariness
There is not a direct link between a word and its meaning, we have to be told/learn what the word means. Without arbitrariness, no languages would be needed - only one.
EXCEPTION: Onomatopoeic words (coined on the ground of sound motivation)
Duality
Elements together = words
Primary level: Units
Secondary level: Elements (meaningless without being pushed together)
Productivity
Elements -> Units -> Clauses -> Sentences
Discreteness
new element = new word = new meaning
MISSPORONOUNCING a word does not create a new one
Displacement
We can talk about past, present, future, abstract things…
Specialization
Language can be used to substitute an expression for physical activity = we don’t need to act it out, just say it
Cultural transmission
Process of passing language from one generation to another
English = “lingua franka”
What language do we LEARN?
Foreign language
What language do we ACQUIRE?
Mother tongue
Lingua franca
“universal language” = language we use when communicating with someone who doesn’t speak our mother tongue and vice versa
Reflexitivity
Metalanguage - we can talk about language using language
Learnability
To acquire mother tongue, to learn foreign language
Prevarication
Ability to make sentences with the aim to mislead information
Divergent development
English differentiated into diverse geographical varieties
Convergent development
Due to media and culture, English language is now integrated
Tendency towards monosyllabism
Forms become reduced = meanings become wider
English words are semantically vague and can be easily converted from one word class to another
polysemy, conversion
Sanskrit
Pre-historic Proto-Indo-European language
Explicit type
Expresses meaning of the word explicitly
Condensed type
basic semantic components are expressed by word-formation phonemes
Sentence patterns
SV, SVO, SVOO, SVA, SVOA, SVC, SVOC
Phonological typology
Consonantic prevail - consonantic
Vowels prevail - vocalic
Morphological typology: Change is made inside the word
Introflectional e.g. man -> men
Morphological typology: Individual morphemes are put together
Agglutinative e.g -> faith-ful-ness
Morphological typology: complex word forms function as sentences
Polysynthetic
Polysemy
Many meanings of a word
e.g ISSUE
Conversion
Word gets new meaning without changing the grammatical form/order
e.g. a bus -> a bus station
Nominal Tendency
e.g To have breakfast
verb + noun
Verb HAVE has a very broad meaning, when there’s a NOUN ADDED it gives a more specific meaning
Gender
Not grammatical - It’s natural, mostly used with pronouns
Distinctive function
e.g. sound /p/ and /t/ can make a difference:
p + e + n = pen
t + e + n = ten
In this case, p and t can distinguish one word from another, so they have a distinctive function
