语言学学名词解释

1)

Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific or systematic study of (human) language.

word

language

preceded by zero article in English implies that linguistics studies

not any

particular language, e.g. English , Chinese , French and Japane

se, but languages in general.

word

study

does not mean “learn” but “investigate”.

word

scientific

refers to the way in which

language is studied.

It is a science in the sense that it scientifically

studies the rules,systems and principles of human

languages. It deals with a wide range of linguistic

phenomena,analyzes them,and makes general

statements about them.

2)

Linguistics

is always guided by the 3 canons of science:(e c e)

exhaustiveness: it strives for thorough-goingness in the examination of relevant materials;

consistency:

there

should

be

no

contradiction

between

different

parts

of

the

total

statement

economy: other things

being equal, a shorter statement or analysis is to be preferred to one

that is longer or more complex.

(e c e)

3) The subject matter of linguistics is all natural language, living or dead.

4) Linguistics has 2 main purposes:

it

studies

the

nature

of

language

and

tries

to

establish

a

theory

of

language,

and

describes

languages in the light of the theory established.

It examines all the forms of language in general and seeks a scientific understanding of the ways

in which it is organized to fulfill the needs it serves and the functions it performs in human life

linguistics differs from traditional grammar at least in 3 basic ways:

Linguistics

describes

languages

and

does

not

lay

down

rules

of

correctness.

Linguists

are

interested in what is said. So they are often said to be descriptive.

Linguists regard the spoken language as primary. It is believed that speech came into

being first

for any human language and the writing system came along much later.

Traditional grammar is based on

Latin

and it tries to impose the Latin categories and structures

on other languages, while linguistics describes each language on its ow

n merits.

For a student of language, some knowledge of linguistics is of both interest and importance.

For

a

teacher

of

foreign

languages,

he

will

definitely

a

great

deal

from

the

knowledge

of

linguistics.

For a researcher, there is even more scope for displaying his abilities.

Why study linguistics ?

1.

Linguistics

takes

an

analytical

approach

to

the

study

of

language,

and

focus

on

developing

skills

in

data

analysis,

problem

solving,

and

logical

thinking

that

can

be

applied to many fields.

2.

It is an interdisciplinary subject.

3.

Linguistics is a science that is still in its infancy but undergoing rapid development, and it

is “a pilot science”.

What and how linguists study language?

1.

nature of language (focus on language itself)

2.

nature of acquisition (focus on learners)

3.

nature of teaching (focus on teachers)

The process of linguistic study

can be summarized as follows:

.First, certain linguistic facts are observed, and generalizations are made about them;

.Next, based on these generalizations, hypotheses are tested by further observations;

.And finally a linguistic theory is constructed about what language is and how it works.

General linguistics:

The study of language as a

whole.

It deals with the basic concepts, theories,

descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study.

Microlinguistics

（微观语言学）

includes 6 branches, namely, phonetics, phonology, morphology,

syntax, semantics and pragmatics. It studies

language itself

.

Macrolinguistics

（

宏观语言学）

studies language in use--- practical usage.

macrolinguistics

includes:

Sociolinguistics

studies the relations between language and society: how

social factors influence

the structure and use of language. Another name for sociolinguistics is the

sociology of language

.

Psycholinguistics

is the study of

language and mind: the mental structures and processes which

are involved in the acquisition, comprehension and production of language.

Neurolinguistics

or

neurological

linguistics

is

the

study

of

language

processing

and

language

representation

in

the

brain.

Stylistics

is the study of

how literary effects can be related to linguistic features. It usually refers

to the study of written language, including literary texts, but it also investigates spoken language

sometimes.

Discourse analysis, or text linguistics

is the study of the relationship between language and the

contexts in which language is used.

Computational linguistics

is an approach to linguistics which employs mathematical techniques,

often with the help of a computer.

Cognitive linguistics

is an approach to the analysis of natural language that focuses on language

as an instrument for organizing, processing, and conveying information.

Apart from the different branches of linguistics, there are some distinctions of linguistics, such as:

functional linguistics

vs

formal linguistics

;

theoretical linguistics

vs

applied linguistics

.

Applied

linguistics

is

primarily

concerned

with the

application

of

linguistic

theories,

methods

and

findings

to

the

elucidation

of

language

problems

which

have

arisen

in

other

areas

of

experience.

Phonetics

（语音学）

:

Phonetics

is the

scientific

study of speech sounds.

It studies how speech sounds are articulated, transmitted, and received. It is a pure science

and examines speech sounds in general.

Phonetics:

The general study of the characteristics of speech sounds.

Phonology

（音系学

/

音位学）

:

The description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a

language

.

Phonology

is the study of how speech sounds function in a language. It studies the ways speech

sounds are organized. It can be seen as the functional phonetics of a particular language.

Mor phology

（形态学，

词法学）

:

The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form

words.

Morphology

is

the

study

of

the

formation

of

words.

It

is

a

branch

of

linguistics

which

breaks

words into morphemes.

Syntax

（句法学）