1.1 Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.
It is a scientific study because it (a) is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data. It (b)
discovers the nature and rules of the underlying language system. It (c) collects language facts that
display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them.
The study of language as a whole if often called general linguistics.
phonetics(语音学 ): the study of sounds
phonology(音位学 ): how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning
morphology(形态学 ): how morphemes(词素 ) are arranged and combined to form words
syntax(句法学 ): the study of rules that govern the combination of words to form grammatically
permissible sentences
semantics(语义学 ): the study of meaning
pragmatics(语用学 ): the study of meaning in the context of language use
interdisciplinary branches: sociolinguistics(社会语言学 ), psycholinguistics(心理语言学 ), applied
linguistics(应用语言学 )
Important distinctions in linguistics
prescriptive(规定性 old linguistics) vs. descriptive(描述性 modern linguistics)
synchronic(共时性 ) vs. diachronic(历时性 ): most linguistic studies are of synchronic descriptions,
which is prior in modern linguistics
speech and writing: speech is prior to writing in modern linguistics
langue(语言系统 abstract linguistic system) and parole(话语 /言语 realization of langue in actual
use): Swiss linguist F. de Saussure----forefather of modern linguistics
competence(语言能力 ideal user’s knowledge of rules of his language) and performance( 语言运
用 actual realization of this knowledge): American linguist N. Chomsky
traditional grammar and modern linguistics: Saussure’s book “Course in General Linguistics”
marked the beginning of modern linguistics
1.2 Language is a system of arbitraryvocal symbols used for human communication.
LAD: Language Acquisition Device -----Chomsky
Arbitrariness (任意性 ): Different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages.
Productivity/creativity ( 能产性 ): Construction and interpretation of new signals are possible, so that
large number of sentences can be produced.
Duality (双层性 ): Two levels enable people to talk about anything within their knowledge. lower
level(sounds)---higher level(words)
Displacement(移位性 ): enable people to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused
by separation in time or place.
Cultural transmission(文化传承 ): We are born with the ability to acquire language, the details of
language system have to be taught and learned.
2.1 Speech and writing are the two media for communication, of which speech is
more basic/primary.
The sounds which are produced by humans through their speech organs and meaningful in
communication constitute the phonic medium of language. The individual sounds within this range
are the speech sounds.
2.2 Phonetics is the study of the phonic medium of language, which concerned with all the sounds that
occur in the world’s languages.
articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics, acoustic phonetics
Speech organs:
pharyngeal; cavity---throat; oral cavity---mouth; nasal cavity---nose
IPA: 国际音标 diacritics: 变音符
broad transcription: 宽式标音 (used in dictionaries and teaching textbooks)
narrow transcription: 严式标音 (used by phoneticians in their study)