Introduction to Linguistics

This is a file on introduction of language and linguistics. The meaning of language and linguistics have been given definitions too as well as its branches.

1. Introduction to Language & Linguistics Presented by: Sherilyn e. nuesca , phd

2. What is linguistics?

3. Language & Linguistics What is linguistics? Oxford’s “ Lexico ”: The scientific study of language and its structure , including the study of grammar, syntax, and phonetics. Specific branches of linguistics include sociolinguistics, dialectology, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, comparative linguistics, and structural linguistics. (link: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/linguistics)

4. Lyons 1968: 1 Language & Linguistics

5. Language & Linguistics Language signs, either uttered or written, refer either to a single mental entity or activity, material or abstract (e.g. “chair” and “truth”, existent or non-existent “elephant” or “unicorn”, or they have a grammatical function (e.g. “before”, “and”, “towards”). Moreover, language signs can be combined in order to form sentences. Speech is made up by sentences not by single words. Signs, such as the traffic ones, even when they refer to a single entity or activity , they cannot be arranged into sentences and they do not show grammatical features. Additionally, non-linguistic signs cannot easily refer to abstract concepts (e.g. ‘truth’, ‘dedication’, ‘forgiveness’). This means that language is a sign system but not every sign system is language.

6. Knowledge of Language To speak a language as a native speaker means to know what is right or wrong in a particular language. This knowledge is acquired at the age of 5. A child may ignore several words but its ability to construct grammatically right sentences is already available. Obviously, this is not a result of education. Children learn to speak unconsciously, similar to the way they learn to stand or walk. This means that language is an innate ability of the human brain.

7. Knowledge of Language Can you categorize the following words into the respective parts of speech? Of course you can, despite the fact that the sentence is nonsensical! The yinkish dripner blorked quastofically into the nindin with the pidibs

8. Knowledge of the Sound System When we know a language, we know what sounds (or signs) are used in the language and which sounds (or signs) are not This also includes knowing how the sounds of the language can be combined Which sounds may start a word Which sounds may end a word Which sounds may follow each other within a word

9. What Is Grammar? Grammar = a. the knowledge (competence) speakers have about the units and rules of their language, b. a theory describing and explaining this competence. Rules for combining sounds into words, word formation, making sentences, assigning meaning When a sentence is ungrammatical in a linguistic sense, it means that it breaks the rules of the shared mental grammar of the language