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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 Japanese, 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 own 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)
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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
< br> 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.
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Syntax
（句法学）
:
The
study
of
those
rules
that
govern
the
combination
of
words
to
form
permissible sentences.
Syntax
deals
with
the
combination
of
words
into
phrases,
clauses
and
sentences.
It
is
the
grammar of
sentence construction.
Semantics
(
语义学）
is a
branch of linguistics which is concerned with the
study of meaning in
abstraction.
Pragmatics
can
be
defined
as
the
study
of
language
in
use.
It
deals
with
how
speakers
use
language in ways which
cannot be predicted from linguistic knowledge
alone, and how hearers
arrive at the
intended meaning of speakers. In a broad sense,
pragmatics studies the principles
observed by human beings when they
communicate with one another.
Language is a system of arbitrary vocal
symbols used for human communication
.
This definition
is widely accepted because it includes some of the
important characteristics of
human
language.
Language
as
system
---The
key
word
in
the
definition
is
Language
is
systematic.
Otherwise we would not be able to learn
or use it consistently. Each language system
contains
two subsystems: a system of
sound and a system of meaning.
Language is a
system
—
elements in it are
not arranged and combined randomly, but according
to
some rules and principles.
Language as arbitrary
---There is no natural relationship between the
sound and what it means in
a certain
language.
The relation
between sound and meaning is almost always
arbitrary or conventional
.
The relation between sound
and meaning is almost always
arbitrary.
A rose
by any other name would smell as sweet.
A rose by any other name would smell as
sweet.
Romeo and Juliet
The relation between sound and meaning
is almost always
conventional
《
荀子
·
正名》
：
“
名无固宜，约之以命，
约定俗成谓之宜，
异于约则谓之不宜。名无固实
,
约之以命实，约定俗成，谓之实
名。名有固善，径易而不拂，谓之善名。
”
《道德经》
第一章
道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。
无名天地之始；有名万物之母。
Language as vocal
---By
matter how well developed their writing
system might be.
Language
as
symbol
---Language
is
just
symbol
for
the
thing
it
refers.
Language
is
a
symbolic
system.
Language
as
human
---Language
is
human-specific,
it
is
very
different
from
animal
communication systems. No system of
animal communication makes use of the design
features of
human language .
Language as communication
---
Language is used for human
communication.
It allows people to
say things to each other and express
their communicative needs.
Design
feature refer to the defining properties of human
language that distinguish it form any
animal system of communication.
Arbitrariness
:
there
is
no
logical
or
intrinsic
connection
between
a
particular
sound
and
the
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