LANGUAGE is such an integral part of our life and humanity that too much about it has been taken for granted.
Children learn their native language swiftly, efficiently and without instruction.
Language operates by rules.
All languages have major components: a sound system, a system of lexicogrammar and a system of semantics.
Everyone speaks a dialect
Language slowly changes
Speakers of all languages employ a range of styles and a set of jargons.
Languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals who use them.
Writing is derivative of speech.
What is language?
human speech
the ability to communicate by this means
a system of vocal sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings
the writing representation of such a system
any means of expressing or communicating, as gestures, signs, or animal sounds
a special set of symbols, letters, numerals, rules etc.
Design features of language
Arbitrariness
Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning
Arbitrariness at the syntactic level
Arbitrariness and convention
Duality
By DUALITY is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two level has its own principles of organization.
Creativity
By CREATIVITY we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness.
Displacement
DISPLACEMENT means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.
Origin of language
The “bow-bow” theory
The “Pooh-Pooh” theory
The “yo-he-ho” theory
Functions of language
Informative function
is predominantly the major role of language
Interpersonal function
people establish and maintain their status in a society by interpersonal function
Performative function
is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony,and the cursing of enemies.
Emotive function
is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.
Phatic communion
Recreational function
Metalingual function
What’s linguistics
Main branches of linguistics
Phonetics
Phonetics studies speech sounds, including the production of speech, that is, how speech sounds are actually made, transmitted and received, the description and classification of speech sounds, words and connected speech.
Phonology
Phonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.
Morphology
is concerned with the internal organization of words.
Syntax
is about principles of forming and understanding English sentences.
Semantics
examines how meaning is encoded in a language.
Pragmatics
is the study of meaning in context.
Macrolinguistics
Psycholinguistics
Sociolinguistics
is an umbrella term which covers a variety of different interests in language and society.
Anthropological linguistics
Computational linguistics
is an interdisciplinary field which centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language
