Transcript LANGUAGE

Communication, Culture and Language
Lecture 2
Language and Language Variation
What is language?
There are many phenomena, both natural and
artificial, that we commonly call “languages”.
 For example:
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Body language
The language of bees
Computer programming languages
Sign languages of the deaf
The language of the genes
Binary codes in all digital data
Mathematical languages (algebra)
Which of these are “real” languages?
Languages such as Mandarin and English are often
called “natural languages”.
Languages and codes
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There are many communication systems
that are based in natural languages which
have specialized uses, for example:
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Morse code
Ciphers and secret codes
Signal flags
Computer languages
Logical notations
Other artificial languages
Natural codes
We also find codes in nature
 Examples:
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◦ The genetic code (the code of life)
◦ Animal communication systems
Standard genetic code
2nd base
1st
base
T
C
TTT
TTC
T
TCT
(Phe/F) Phe
nylalanine
C
A
TCG
TAG
Stop (Amber
TGG
)
(Trp/W) Tr
yptophan
G
CCT
CAT
CCC
CTG
CCG
CAG
ATT
ACT
AAT
(Ile/I) Isoleu
ACC
cine
ACA
GCT
GAT
GTG
GCC
(Val/V) Vali
ne
GCA
GCG
GAC
(Ala/A) Ala
nine
CGT
(His/H) Hist
idine
CGC
CGA
(Gln/Q) Glu
tamine
CGG
T
C
(Arg/R) Arg
inine
AGC
T
(Ser/S) Seri
ne
AGA
(Lys/K) Lysi
ne
AGG
(Arg/R) Arg
inine
GGA
GAG
(Glu/E) Glut
amic acid
GGG
G
T
GGC
GAA
C
A
GGT
(Asp/D) As
partic acid
A
G
AGT
(Asn/N) As
paragine
AAA
AAG
GTC
GTA
AAC
(Thr/T) Thr
eonine
(Met/M) Me
ACG
thionine
GTT
G
A
CCA
ATG[A]
C
Stop (Opal)
CTA
ATA
TGC
TGA
CAC
(Pro/P) Prol
ine
CAA
ATC
T
(Cys/C) Cy
steine
Stop (Ochre
)
TTG
CTC
(Ser/S) Seri
ne
TGT
(Tyr/Y) Tyr
osine
TAA
TCA
(Leu/L) Leu
cine
TAC
3rd
base
G
TAT
TCC
TTA
CTT
A
C
(Gly/G) Gly
cine
A
G
The vervet monkeys (again)
Vervet monkeys have three distinct vocal
warning calls, one each for snakes, eagles and
leopards.
 When a vervet monkey utters one of the
calls, other monkeys who hear the call
behave in a way appropriate to the specific
threat posed by the predator: searching the
ground, going lower in the tree, going higher
in the tree.
 Is this intentional communication?
 So can we call this communication system a
language ?
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Languages and codes
Some codes (like writing systems) are
based on natural languages, so that we can
convey all the meanings of a language
using the code
 But would we call Chinese characters or
letters of the alphabet languages?
 They are more to be seen as different
ways of representing languages.
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Codes and signals
Many animals communicate by using
signals
 Sometimes these signals are organized
into a system
 In these cases, we can talk about a
communication code
 So we can say that vervet monkeys have a
code
 Human natural languages are very
elaborate communication codes
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Signal (Stimulus)
Organism
Response
A Non-communicative Signal
Signal1
(Stimulus)
Response1/
Communicative
Signal2
Organism1
Organism2
Response2/
Indicated
Behaviour
A Communicative Signal
(Broken lines represent attention)
What is language?
Design Features
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(a subset of Hockett’s list from 1960,
The Language Myth p. 46).
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Semanticity
Arbitrariness/conventionality
Discreteness
Duality of Patterning
Displacement
Productivity
Prevarication
Reflexivity
Semanticity: the meaning of the
sound/sign is the same for the speaker as
for the hearer.
 Arbitrariness. Sometimes called
conventionality. The relation between
sound/sign and its meaning is (frequently)
not based in resemblance or causality
 Discreteness. The language is made up of
discrete (separate) sounds/signs
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Duality of patterning (sometimes called
double articulation): languages pair or map
two levels of organization, that of sound (or
shape) and that of words and grammatical
constructions
It can be argued that in fact there are three
levels: sound, word and grammar, but we can
also put word and grammar levels together
(lexico-grammar) and call the mapping one
between sound and meaning
Displacement: using language, we can talk
about absent and imaginary events and
situations.
 Productivity: A potentially infinite number
of grammatical sentences can be formed
using the resources of the language (cf
Generative Grammar)
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Prevarication: Languages can be used to
lie and deceive.
 Reflexivity (also known as metalinguistic
function):
 Speakers can use language to talk about
language
 “Is that a promise or a threat?”
 ‘“to walk” is a verb of motion’
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Complexity in human languages
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Grammatical complexity
Although beyond nouns and verbs it is not certain that
any other grammatical classes are universal, all
languages employ a rich variety of grammatical
structure.
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Semantic complexity
Flexible construal and alternate conceptualization
Displacement: Reference to spatially and temporally
remote, imaginary, and unobservable things and
events, employing systematic constructional
means to do so.
Cognitive and pragmatic complexity
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Constructional resources specify
◦ Location and relations (static and dynamic) in space
and time
◦ Manner of movement or occurrence
◦ Probability, certainty, obligation, evidentiality
◦ Speaker, hearer and third parties
◦ Logical and coherence relations between discourse
units
◦ Number, definiteness and/or classification
◦ The performative force of the speech act
Linguistics
The scientific study of language
 The study of language from the point of
view of structure (structuralism)
 The study of language as a formal system
(formalism)
 The study of language from the point of
view of function (functionalism)
 The study of language as a cognitive
phenomenon (cognitivism)
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Levels of structural analysis 1
Phonology. The study of the sound system of
language, and the rules for combining sounds in
strings. The basic unit of analysis is the
phoneme, which can be further analysed into
distinctive features such as Voiced versus
Unvoiced. A phoneme is an abstract unit of
language which may receive different actual
phonetic realisations in speech. Different
languages use different phonemes and have
different phonological rules.
 P-I-T
T-I-P
B-I-T
B-I-D
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Levels of structural analysis 2
Morphology. The morpheme is the minimum
meaning-bearing unit of language. Morphemes
combine together to form words, including
words of just one morpheme. We distinguish
between a word as a complex morphological
string, and a word (lexeme) as a basic item of
“content” meaning. Traditionally, words are
divided into content and function words.
 I WALK HE WALKS
DIP DIPS
 HE WALKED HIS DOG IN THE FIELD
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Levels of structural analysis 3
• Syntax. The (study of) the rules for combining
words and morphemes into sentences. Together,
syntax and morphology are the traditional
divisions of grammar.
John loves Mary Mary loves John
Mary is loved by John
John is eager to please
John is easy to please
*John to please eager is
Levels of structural analysis 4
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Semantics. The (study of) the organization of
meaning (content) in language, including lexical
or word semantics and frame or construction
semantics.
She pulled the picture off the wall
She pushed the plate off the table
She pulled her partner off the dance floor
She kissed her partner off the dance floor
She froze her partner off the dance floor
Levels of structural analysis 5
Pragmatics. The (study of) the functions
of language in communication, and of
meaning as the use of language in context.
 Request, command, statement etc
 Locutionary, illocutionary, perlocutionary
forces
 Performatives
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Levels of structural analysis 6
• Discourse. The (study of) the organization of
sentences and utterances into larger units of
spoken and written language (conversations,
texts), and of varieties of discourse (e.g.
narrative discourse, expository discourse, chat,
lecture, monologue, dialogue etc).
1. I took a taxi to the airport.
2 2. The driver was a Sikh
Cognitive-functional linguistics
Languages are conventional symbol systems
enabling communication, conceptualization and
construal
 Languages are open inventories of symbolic
assemblies at different levels of organization
 Languages are multi-level systems of mapping
between linguistic conceptualization and
linguistic expression
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◦ Fauconnier, Lakoff, Langacker, Talmy et al.
Language as a tool
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Functionalism: language is a tool whose form or
structure is shaped by its use for
communication
◦ Prague School Linguistics (Jakobson, Mukaróvsky)
◦ Karl Bühler (Organon model)
◦ Functionalist Linguistics: Dik, Givón
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Semiotic mediation: language is a tool for thought
(Condillac,Vygotsky) which shapes cognition
(Whorf, Sapir)
Language as a social institution
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Grammars are normative and conventional
◦ Structuralism: arbitrariness
◦ C-FL: conventions may be motivated
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Norms are intersubjectively shared rules that regulate
conduct and are objects of common knowledge
(Itkonen)
Knowledge of language is not identical to language
(contra Chomsky), because knowledge may vary interindividually, but rules are shared between at least two
people (cf Wittgenstein’s argument against a private
language)
Language as a biosemiotic system and
ecological niche
Language is a biologically grounded
communication system
 A system of communicative signs that can be
analysed from the perspective of biosemiotics
(semiotics=study of signs)
 Language is a species-unique ecological niche
that is fundamental to human culture
 Language is a biocultural niche
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How many languages are there?
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Perhaps 6,000 in the world
This is only a small fraction of the tens of thousands
of languages that have existed in the history of
humanity
Most of the world’s languages are endangered
Smaller, indigenous languages are endangered by
larger, majority or national languages
Many endangered languages have fewer than 100
speakers. But even languages with tens of thousands
of speakers may be endangered.
There are some 350 language families in the world,
the majority of which are also endangered
How many languages are spoken in
China?
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292 according to the resource
Ethnologue.
China linguistic map. Licensed under Public domain
via Wikimedia Commons
How many languages and language
families are spoken in Hunan
Province?
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???
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Thank you!