Introduction – linguisticandotherapproaches tolanguage
Orientation
Anybookintroducingundergraduatestudentstoanewacademicfield,its terminologyandinvestigativemethodsmuststartbyansweringthedefining question,whichinourcaseissimply: “Whatis linguistics?” Tosaythat “linguisticsistherationalandsystematicscientificstudyoflanguage,usually basedininstitutionsofhigherlearningsuchascollegesoruniversities” seems afairlyhelpfulfirstapproximation.Ofcourse,inofferingananswertothis firstquestion,Ihaveraisedtwomore.First,itisnotatallclearwhatwemean by language inanacademic-linguisticcontext.Theevery-dayEnglishword language hasmultiplemeanings(asdoitsequivalentsinotherlanguages),as caneasilybedemonstratedbycomparingitsmeaninginthefollowingtwo sentences(seeExercise1belowforfurtherexamples):
ThelanguageoftheBritishpresshaschangedconsiderablyoverthepastfew decades.
Languageiswhatdistinguisheshumanbeingsfromapes.
Inthefirstexample,theword language denotesaparticularfunctional varietyofonespecificlanguage,inthiscaseEnglish,whereasinthesecondit couldbeglossedasthe “abilitytolearnanduseanyofalargenumberof humanlanguages.”
Secondly,whileitshomeinuniversitiesasoneacademicdisciplineamong othersissecure,theprecisestatusoflinguisticsasa science iscontested territory(asweshallseeinmanyplacesthroughoutthisbook).Islinguistics partofthe humanities,closetoliteraryandculturalstudies,withwhichit sharesaninterestinthephenomenonofstyleforexample?Isitanempirical socialscience,usingquantitativeandqualitativemethodstostudythe communicativenetworksamongpeoplewhichultimatelyconstitutesociety?
Isitan experimental sciencelikepsychology,studyingtheroleoflanguagein humancognition,ortheplaceoflanguage-acquisitioninthedevelopmentof thehumanpersonality?Orisita naturalscience,inthatithelpsusto understandthecomplexphysiologyofthehumanspeechapparatus,orthe neurologicalbasisoflanguagebothinthehealthypersonandinthose sufferingfromvariouskindsoflanguagedisorderorlanguageloss?
Inanintroductiontolinguisticsitisworthnotingthatthewayweanswer thisquestionpartlydependsonthelanguageweconductthedebatein.The Englishword science,forexample,hasamuchnarrowerrangethanGerman Wissenschaft.While science islargelyconfinedtothenaturalsciencesanda
1.1
Whatislinguistics?
Asubfieldofthe humanities,asocial science,anexperimentalnatural science?
Linguisticsfor studentsofEnglish
smallnumberofotherfieldsusingstatisticalandmathematicalproceduresof analysis,theGermantermisalsoregularlyusedtodescribedisciplinessuch as Literaturwissenschaft, Geschichtswissenschaft, Musikwissenschaft and Kulturwissenschaft,whichinEnglishwouldnotbeconsideredsciences,butpart ofthehumanities.Thus,theGermanword Sprachwissenschaft isvery inclusiveinitsmeaningandthereforeagoodtranslationfortheEnglish term linguistics;itsliteralequivalent, languagescience, ismuchnarrower thanGerman Sprachwissenschaft,implyingawayofstudyinglanguagethatis inspiredbytherigorousmethodologicalproceduresoftheexactsciences.
Thisincompletelistofpossibleorientationsinlinguisticsopensupmany vistasthatthepresentintroductionwillnotexplore.Itsaimsaremore practicalandlimited.Thefirstistoequipreaderswiththeterminologyand methodsnecessarytodescribepresent-dayEnglish,thelanguagetheyhave madethefocusoftheirstudies,bothinitsstructureandinitsuse.Thesecond aimistointroducestudentstothemajortheoreticalpositionsandtrendsin thefield,soastogivethemthebasisforindependentfurtherwork.Andnot leastthebookaimstoshowwhereaknowledgeoflinguisticscanbemade productiveoutsidethefield,forexampleintheteachingandlearningof foreignlanguages,orfordevelopingamoresophisticatedgraspoflanguagerelatedissuesinliteraryandculturalstudies.
Fig.1.1
PieterBreughel theElder, “Tower ofBabel” (1563), Vienna,Kunsthistorisches Museum
Buthowdidtheburgeoningdisciplineoflinguisticsarisehistorically?In answeringthisquestion,wecannothelpbutbestruckbyanapparent paradox.Wefindsignsofpeople’skeeninterestinlinguisticissuesfor practicallythewholerecordedhistoryofhumanity,butdispassionate scientificobjectivityinthestudyoflanguage,thescholarlystudyoflanguage foritsownsake,or – forshort – linguisticsasanacademicdiscipline,are historicallyveryrecentpursuits.
Onemarvelthatseemstohavecausedpeopletowonderinmanyplaces andatdifferenttimesinhistoryisthefactthathumanbeingsliveinaworld ofmanylanguages,whichisobviouslyimpractical.Awell-knownnonscholarlyanswertothispuzzleiscontainedinthe OldTestament oftheBible (Genesis11),wheremultilingualismisexplainedasGod’spunishmentfor thehumanpridemanifestedintheattempttobuildtheenormousTowerof Babel(seeFigure1.1).
Withinoneandthesamelanguagecommunity,peoplearekeenlyawareof sometimesveryslightdifferencesinpronunciation,grammarorvocabulary. InaBritishcontext,forexample, “aitch-dropping,” technicallyspeakingthe droppingofinitial/h/instressedsyllables,isastrongsocialmarker.If someonesays ’eavymetalmusic insteadof heavymetalmusic,thecontrastis trivial,andanyconfusionabouttheintendedmeaningisunlikely.However, thisdetailofpronunciationwillinstantlymarkoutthespeakeraseither educated,standardormiddle-class(if heavy ispronouncedwith h)or uneducated,non-standardorworking-class(iftheaitchesaredropped).Of course,thegeneralpublic,includingliterarywriters,areawareofthis,sothat aitch-droppingbecomesavailableasanefficientdeviceforliterarycharacterisation,asitdoes,forexample,inthecaseofUriahHeep(fromCharles Dickens’ DavidCopperfield),whostyleshimselfas ’umble (← humble)all thetime.Themotifistaken upbytherockbandofthe samename,whosefirstalbumiscalled Very ’ eavy,very ’umble.
Amongthosefascinated bylanguagelongbeforethe emergenceoflinguisticsasa specialiseddisciplinehave beenmajorphilosophers. TheclassicalGreekthinker Plato(428/27BC – 348/47 BC),forexample,thought alotaboutthequestionof whethertheformandshape
Linguistics – theprehistoryofthefield
Fig.1.2 Very ’ eavy :Coverof LPrecord
Fig.1.3
The “sevenliberal arts,” withGrammaticaandRhetoricaonthetopand top-right(from: HerradofLandsberg, “Hortusdeliciarum” [1180])
ofawordhaveanynaturalorlogicalcorrespondencetotheperson,thing, quality,activityorprocessitrefersto,orwhetherthisrelationisarbitrary. IfwethinkofverbssuchasGerman zischen orEnglish hiss,wemight concludethattheformerviewisplausible – thesoundofthewordsseemsto bemotivatedbythesoundintherealworld.Ifwethinkaboutasound sequencesuchas/i:gl/,thereisclearlynosuchcorrespondencebetweenthe formandthedenotedconcept.Byconvention,thissoundsequence correspondsto Igel “hedgehog” forthosewhospeakGermanandtoan
entirelydifferentanimal, eagle “Adler,” forthosewhospeakEnglish.More importantly,thereisnothingabouteitherofthetwoanimalsthatmakesthis particularwordanaturalchoicetonamethem.Inthetypicalfashionofa dialogicalPlatonicargument,thephilosopherdevelopsacompromise position:Kratylosarguesthatnamesaremotivated;Hermogenesclaims thattheyarearbitrary;Socratesmoderatesbetweenthetwo.
ModernlinguistsarelesscircumspectandtendtoagreethatHermogenes’ positionistheappropriateone.First,therearefarmorewordsforwhichthe relationbetweensoundandmeaningisarbitrarythanthereare onomatopoetic formsinwhichthesoundofthewordsappearstoimitatesome naturalsound.Secondly,eventhosewordsthatseemtobeimitationsof actualnaturalsoundsturnouttobehighlyarbitraryandlanguage-specific oncloserinspection.Note,forexample,thattheinitialletter<z>inGerman zischen,whichcorrespondstothesounds/ts/,wouldbeaforbidden combinationinEnglish(seeExercise5belowforfurtherdiscussion).
Apartfromphilosophicalconcernsaboutlanguage,therehavealsobeen practicalones.Languageteaching,forexample,hasahistorytolookbackon whichisatleastasoldasthephilosophicaldebateaboutlanguage.Infact,two ofthesevenClassical “liberalarts,” whichformedthecorecurriculumof highereducationwellintotheEarlyModernperiod,arelanguage-related, namelygrammar(whichintheoldunderstandingincludedthestudyof pronunciation)andrhetoric(seeFigure1.3).
Foralongtime,theforeign languagesthatwerestudied andtaughtmostinourpart oftheworldwereLatin,Greek andHebrew,thethreesacred languagesoftheBible.From the16th and17th centuriesonwards,teachingandreference materials,suchasdictionaries andgrammarbooks,started beingdevelopedformoreand moreofthemodernEuropean languages.Someofthepedagogicalworksthathavecome downtousovertheagesclearly revealalotoflinguisticinsight, butasawholethistradition doesnotamounttomorethan aprecursorofthescholarly linguisticperspectiveonlan-
Linguisticsand philosophy “Onomatopoeia”–theimitationof naturalsounds
Linguisticsand languageteaching
Fig.1.4 GrammaticaAnglicanaconcentrata, oderKurtz-gefaßte englischeGrammatica.WorinnenDie zurErlernungdieser Sprachehinlänglich-nöthigeGrundSätzeAufeinesehr deutlicheundleichteArtabgehandelt sind (Philadelphia 1748),titlepage
Linguisticsand textualcriticism
Thebirthoflinguisticsasanacademic discipline
Fig.1.5 WilliamJones (1746–1794),pioneer ofhistoricalcomparative(IndoEuropean)linguistics
guage.Figure1.4presentsthetitlepageofonesuchpracticalgrammarof English,whichwaspresumablyproducedforthebenefitofGerman immigrantstoBritishNorthAmerica.
Anotherprecursorofacademiclinguisticsisthetraditionoftextual criticismwhichfirstfloweredduringtheRenaissance,whenscholarslooked atancienttextsfromclassicalantiquityverycloselyinordertodetermine theirauthenticversions,whichhadoftenbeencorruptedincenturiesof transmission.Veryoften,suchacomparisonofdifferentmanuscriptversions wasanecessarysteptopreparethefirstprintededitionsofthesetexts.This pursuitwasknownas philology (fromtheancientGreekfor “loveofthe word” or “loveoflanguage”).Originally,philologycomprisedthestudyof languageandliterature.Todaythetermispreservedinexpressionssuchas “EnglischePhilologie,” oneofthetraditionalGermandesignationsof EnglishStudies.Inamodernlinguisticcontext,theterm philology refers tothespecialiststudyoflanguagehistory,especiallyinthecontextofediting texts.
Finally,thefactthatEuropeansconqueredandcolonisedevergrowing portionsoftheworldmeantthatmanynewandexoticlanguageswere encountered,translatedfromandinto,documentedandtaught.Arabic, Chinese,PersianandtheancientandmodernlanguagesofIndiathusbecame ofinteresttoEuropeans.Thismeantthat,slowlybutsurely,acriticalmassof knowledgeaboutlanguagesaccumulatedwhichledtothebirthoflinguistics asanacademicdisciplinetowardtheendofthe18th century.
Inthisearlyphase,languagescholars’ orientationwasstronglyhistorical. Buildingonaninsightfirstformulatedin1786byWilliamJones (1746–1794),whoworkedasajudgeonbehalfoftheBritishEastIndia CompanyinCalcutta,subsequentgenerationsofscholarstracedthehistory ofthevariousmembersofwhatwaslatertobereferredtoasthe IndoEuropeanfamilyoflanguages inordertoreconstructtheircommonorigin (proto-Indo-Europeanor Ursprache)andtheirmutualrelationship.In particular,Jones’ seminalinsightwastonotesystematiccorrespondences betweenSanskrit,anancientlanguageoftheIndiansubcontinent,and AncientGreek,whichmadeitplausibletotracebothbacktoacommon historicalsource(seeUnit12forfurtherdiscussionofthehistorical relationshipsamongtheIndo-Europeanlanguages,esp.Figure12.1).
Whatwasfoundoutinthecourseofthe19th centurystillholdsinits essencetoday.TheCelticlanguagesspokenintheveryWestofEurope,the Germanic,Romance,Slaviclanguages,somelanguagesoftheBalticregion (Latvian,Lithuanian),Albanian,Greek,Persianandsomeofthemajor languagesoftheIndiansubcontinentsuchasHindiorPunjabiallgobackto acommonancestor.Beforetheemergenceof historical-comparative linguistics,peopleindulgedinbizarrespeculationsonhistoricalrelation-
shipsbetweenlanguagesandpeoplesonthebasisofafewpairsofwordsthat happenedtosoundsimilar.Today,wehavearigidmethodologytoassessthe valueofsuchclaims,andpeoplewhowillstillarguefordirectlinksbetween thecivilisationsofancientAsiaandancientAmericajustbecauseafewplace names,namesforgodsorfood-stuffshappentosoundsimilararefortunately nottakenseriouslyanymore – amodesttriumphofscienceoverspeculation.
Onepractitionerofhistorical-comparativelinguistics,Ferdinandde Saussure(1857–1913),basedattheUniversityofGenevainSwitzerland, wasinstrumentalinbringingaboutare-orientationofapproachwhichhas dominatedthefieldtothepresentday.Hepointedoutthatthe diachronic studyoflanguage(i.e.thestudyofitsdevelopmentthroughtime)produced interestinginsightsofmanykinds,buttheseneverexplainedhowaparticular languageworkedasasystemofchoicesforitsspeakersataparticulartime (the synchronic perspective).
Toillustratethiswithanexample:ifItellyouthattheword nice originally meant “foolish” or “ignorant” whenitwasfirstusedinEnglisharound800 yearsago,Iamtellingyouatruththatyoucanfindrecordedinanygood etymologicaldictionary (i.e.adictionarythattracesthehistoryofawordin thelanguagebacktotheoldestattestedformsortootherlanguagesfrom whichitwasborrowed).Obviously,theoriginalmeaningandthepresentone aresodifferentthatonecannothavechangedintotheotherovernight.There musthavebeenmanyintermediatesteps.Onesuchstepisillustratedinthe followingextractfromaclassicnovelwritteninthefirsthalfofthe18th century,DanielDefoe’ s MollFlanders: Iwasreallywithchild[=pregnant].
ThiswasaperplexingthingbecauseoftheDifficultywhichwasbeforeme, whereIshouldgetleavetoLyeInn;itbeingoneofthe nicest thingsinthe WorldatthattimeofDay,foraWomanthatwasaStranger,andhadno Friends,tobeentertain’dinthatCircumstancewithoutSecurity,whichbythe wayIhadnot,neithercouldIprocureany.(DanielDefoe, MollFlanders.1722: ch.32)
Thecontext,asinglemotherpreparingtogivebirthinastrangecity,makes clearthatthesituationisfarfrom nice inthepresentsenseof “pleasant.” Rather,theideaisthatthesituationistrickyordifficulttohandle.Youmay findtheselanguage-historicalfactsboringandirrelevant.Youmayfindthem tohavesomepracticaluse,becausetheyhelpyouunderstandoldertexts better.Oryoumayevenfindthemfascinatingbecausesuchcomplexchanges ofword-meaningraiseinterestingissuesrelatingtohumanpsychologyand cognition.What,forexample,istheconnectionbetweenignoranceandthe qualityofbeingpleasant?Isitthatsimplemindsareconventionallyregarded asharmless,non-threateningandtherefore “nice” company?
Diachronicand synchronic approachestothe studyoflanguage
Whateveryourviewsmaybe,onethingiscertain,however.Noamountof historicalinformationonthechangingmeaningsof nice inthepastwillhelp youlearnhowtousethisadjectiveinthepresent.Here,wearefacedwith otherproblems – forexampleunderstandingthedifferenceinmeaningand stylebetween howniceofyou and howkindofyou innative-speakerusageor explainingwhywecansay howunkindofyou,butnot howunniceofyou (eventhoughnegationof nice easilyworksifweuseanotherstrategy: that wasnotniceofyou!).
Inpracticethemovefromthediachronicapproachtothesynchronicone oftenmeantthatthefocusofinterestshiftedfromtheoldeststagesofthe language(inthecaseofEnglishtheOldEnglishperiodlastingfromc.500to c.1100)tothecontemporarylanguage,butthisdoesnotnecessarilyhaveto bethecase.WecanstudyOldEnglishfromasynchronicperspective,for example,byshowinghowitworkedasastructuredsystematagivenpointin time,let’ssaythewell-documentedperiodimmediatelybeforetheNorman Conquestin1066.Alternatively,wecantakeadiachronicapproachto present-dayEnglish,forexamplebyfocussingonthoseprocessesof historicalchangethataregoingonrightnow.Herewecouldpointto theadjective awesome,whichhasdevelopedconsiderablyoverthepast100 years,fromaveryspecificandnarrowmeaning(“awe-inspiring”)toamuch widerone,asageneral-purposepositiveevaluation(“great,”“excellent,” “terrific”).Thelastadjective, terrific,showsthathistoryhasrepeateditself, because terrific hadmovedalongthesamecourseacoupleofcenturiesearlier (from “inspiringterror” to “great”).
Whatunitesbothhistorical-comparative(diachronic)andstructuralistsynchronicapproachestolanguageandsetsthemapartfromallthe precursortraditionsistheirexplicitly descriptive orientation.Teachers instructpupilsinhowtousealanguagecorrectly(thatisaccordingto theeducatedstandardsprevalentinacommunity).Someofthemmighteven discouragepupilsfromusingtheadjective nice inwriting,becausethey considerittooinformalandimprecise.Nodoubt,therearemanynative speakersofEnglish,especiallyoutsidetheUnitedStates,whostillreact negativelytothecontemporaryuseof awesome describedabove.This notwithstanding,academiclinguists – whetherworkinginthediachronic orsynchronictraditions – generallydonotpassvaluejudgmentsonthe linguisticformsandstructurestheyarestudying.
Demonstration/discussion
Inthissectionwewillillustratethecontrastbetweenvariousjudgmentalor prescriptive perspectivesonlanguageandthestrictly descriptive takeon linguisticphenomenawhichisthehallmarkofacademiclinguistics.Afterthe discussionoftheexamples,youwillbeabletomoreclearlyunderstandthe concernsoflinguisticsanddistinguishthemfromotherwaysofanalysing language.
Asafirstillustration,considerthegeneralAmericanpronunciationof English,themostwidelyspokenandcertainlythemostwidelyheardaccent intheworldtoday.IncomparisontoBritishEnglish,itischaracterisedbya numberofwell-establishedpronunciationfeatures.Probablymostsalient amongthemisthefactthatthe<r>ispronouncedwhereveryoufinditin spelling(unlikeBritishEnglish,where<r>issilentifitfollowsavowel).Thus, youhearan/r/intheAmericanpronunciationofwordssuchas water, car or hard,whereasthe<r>issilentinaBritishpronunciation.Also,the/t/tends tobeweakenedincertainpositionsinAmericanEnglish,inparticular betweenvowelsifthefirstoneisstressed(e.g.inwordssuchas water or Betty).Trivialthoughthesedetailsofpronunciationmayseem,they occasionallyprovokestrongnegativereactions.Compare,forexample, thefollowingquotationfromaletterwrittenbyAmericannovelistHenry James(1843–1916):
Thereare,yousee,soundsofamysteriousandintrinsicmeanness,andthere aresoundsofamysteriousintrinsicfranknessandsweetness;andIthinkthe recurrentnotethatIhaveindicated – fatherrandmotherrandotherr,waterr andmatterrandscatterr,harrdandbarrd,parrt,starrt,and(dreadfultosay) arrt(therepetitionitisthatdriveshometheugliness),aresignalspecimensof whatbecomesofacustomofutteranceoutofwhichtheprincipleoftastehas dropped.(HenryJames, “TheQuestionofOurSpeech,” in TheQuestionof OurSpeech/TheLessonofBalzac:TwoLectures.BostonandNewYork 1905:29)
Thisisaninterestingexampleoflinguisticself-hatred,asthefamousnovelist HenryJameswasanAmericanbybirth(eventhoughhediedanaturalised Britishsubject).Thenextquotationisnotfromafamousindividualofthe pastbuttakenfromthepresentandtheWorld-WideWeb.Itwaspostedbyan instructionaldesignerwithaBritishbackgroundandshowsthatsomeofthe prejudicevoicedbyHenryJameshassurvived.Herethefocusinnotonthe pronunciationofthe/r/,butonthewayinwhichtheconsonant/t/ishandled inAmericanEnglish:
HowdidtheTbecomeaDwheninthemiddleofaword?IamaBritishlady andfindthisveryannoyingandhardtounderstandwhatwasmeant.Foryears
1.2
Prescriptiveand descriptive approachestothe studyoflanguage
Fig.1.6
HenryJames,novelist (1843–1916)
IreallythoughtthatNitaLowy’snamewasspeltNEDA!Howdothestudents manageindictation(ordon’ttheyhavethatinschoolsnow).Itaffects everyone,asIjustsawinprintsomeonereferringtoDr.Adkins,whichwould betheobviousspellingifonehadonlyheardthewordspokenanddidnot knowthatthecorrectspellingisDr.Atkins.Thesentencebelowgivesan exampleofproblemsinunderstandingthespellingofcertainwords.
IamwritingthisasIhearitpronounced:PaddyandNedaattendedthe innerviewandwerecongradulatedontherecipewiththebudderbadderfor thecaketheycookedwiththeirdada.(daughter).
(source:http://linguistlist.org/ask-ling/message-details1.cfm?asklingid=200¬ 316347)
Thisstatementprovidesanillustrationoftheslightanimositywhich educatedBritishspeakerssometimesfeeltowardsAmericanspeechways, probablybecause – asthepeoplewhogotthelanguagegoing – theyresent thepolitical,economicandculturalpre-eminenceoftheUnitedStatesinthe worldtoday.
WhatwoulddescriptivelinguistsmakeofthestatementbyHenryJames? Theanswerissimple.Theywoulddismissitasacompletelyunfoundedand subjectivevaluejudgment.Evenworse,somelinguistsmightadd,isthefact thatthistypeofnegativejudgmentonlinguisticformsusuallymasks contemptforthespeakerswhousethem.This,theywouldargue,isdishonest andunethical,aspeopleshouldbejudgedbywhattheydoandnotbyhow theyspeak.Historicallinguistsmightpointoutthatamongthepeoplewho pronouncedthe/r/-saftervowelswasoneWilliamShakespeare(1564–1616). Ther-lesspronunciationsofwordssuchas father, mother or part aroseonly inthe18th centuryamongthelowerclassesofLondonandthentooksome timetobecomethegeneralBritishstandard.
Inthe “Britishlady’ s ” pronouncement,thedescriptivelinguistwouldfirst pointoutthatintheword congradulated asspelledherethereisamistake, becausethestereotypicalAmericanwouldpronounceitas congraduladed, weakeningthe/t/inbothinstancesandnotjustinthefirst WhereasHenry JamesdoesnotgiveanyrationalreasonsforhisdislikeoftheAmerican accent,theBritishladypresentsanargument:Americansdonotdistinguish betweencertainpairsofwords,whichmakestheirEnglishdifficultto understandandconfusing.Tothisobjection,thedescriptivelinguistwould respondthatforeveryinstanceinwhichtwowordssoundthesamein AmericanEnglishthereisatleastonecomparablecaseinBritishEnglish.For example,thewords source and sauce areclearlydistinctintheirpronunciationinAmericanEnglishbutsoundcompletelyalikeinBritishEnglish.Asit happens,thereasonforthisispreciselyther-lesspronunciationsomuch favouredbyHenryJames.
Inreallife,unlikeconstructedexamplesandjokes,thedangerofmisunderstandingsresultingfromtheidenticalpronunciationofwordswithdifferent meaningsisminimal.Ifthetopicofaconversationisurbanproblemsinthe UnitedStatesandwehear innercity,weknowfromthecontextthatweare talkingaboutneglectedcitycentresanddonoteventhinkofthetheoretical alternative inter-city.IfinaconversationinBritainsomebodysays/sɔ:s/and thetopicisfood,wehear sauce,andnot source.
Whatreallymightintriguethedescriptivelinguistinthecaseofthe American/t/istheintricatesetofruleswhichgovernstheweakeningor “tapping”/“flapping” ofthe/t/.Thelattertermsareintendedtocapturethe factthatintheAmericanarticulationofthesoundthetipofthetonguejust brieflytapsorflapsagainstthepalate(onwhichmorewillbesaidinUnit2). Ashasbeenmentioned,suchflappedortapped/t/-soccurbetweenvowels, butonlyifthefirstoneisstressed.Thuswefindthemin Italy,butnotin Italian,in atom (whichsoundslike Adam),butnotin atomic,andsoon.It occursafter/r/,asin dirty, hurting ,andthe/t/disappearsentirelyafter/n/,as in enter or centre, butagainonlyifthesyllableprecedingthe/t/isstressed. Thisiswhywewouldnotgetitinawordsuchas entire,whichisstressedon thesecondsyllable.Havingbeengivensomanyclues,youcanfurtherhone youranalyticalskillsasabuddingdescriptivelinguistinExercise6below.
Here,weshallreturntothequestionraisedattheverybeginning – howto definelanguage,theobjectoflinguisticdescription.Ashasalreadybeen hintedat,itseemstobeamucheasiertasktodefinelinguisticsthanitisto defineitsobjectofstudy,humanlanguageandthediversityoflanguages –pastandpresent – spokenintheworld.Togetaflavourofthediversewaysin whichgreatthinkersinthefieldhaveapproachedtheproblem,considerthe followingproposals.Notethatthereislittleoverlapbetweenthedefinitions, andthateachemphasisesadifferentaspectoftheobjecttobedefined:
Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicating ideas,emotions,anddesiresbymeansofasystemofvolitionallyproduced symbols.(Sapir1921:8)
FromnowonIwillconsideralanguagetobeaset(finiteorinfinite)of sentences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements. Allnaturallanguagesintheirspokenorwrittenformarelanguagesinthis sense.[…]Similarly,thesetof ‘sentences’ ofsomeformalizedsystemof mathematicscanbeconsideredalanguage.(Chomsky1957:13)
Theessenceofspeechisthatonehumanbeing,bymovementsbeginningathis diaphragmandinvolvingvariouspartsofhischest,throat,mouthandnasal passages,createsdisturbancesintheairaroundhim,whichwithinacertain distancefromhimhaveaperceptibleeffectontheear-drumsandthrough
Flapped/t/in
AmericanEnglish
Differentdefinitions of language
Fig.1.7
WaltWhitman (1819–1892)
Linguisticintuition andwell-formedness
themonthebrainsofotherpeople,andthatthehearerscan,iftheybelongto thesamelanguagecommunity,respondtothesedisturbances,ornoises,and findthemmeaningful.(Robins1971:77)
Afterreadingthroughthethreedefinitions,onemightwellstartwondering whethertheyactuallytargetthesamephenomenon.Sapir’sdefinitioncomes closesttoourcommon-senseunderstanding;itemphasisestheroleof languageasatoolforhumancommunication,itssymboliccharacter, andthefactthatitisnotaninstinctorreflexbutvolitionalandconscious. Chomsky’sdefinition,bycontrast,ismuchmorenarrowandtechnical, drawingananalogybetweenthegrammarofalanguageandamathematical algorithm;nothingisimpliedabouttheroleoflanguageinsocietyand communication.Robins,finally,approacheslanguagethroughthesoundof speech,emphasisingthephysicalandacousticsidesofthephenomenonand disregardinggrammaticalfunction,meaningandcontent.
Inviewofthesevariousemphases,itisprobablynotamistaketohavean amateurhavethefinalsay.Thefollowingdefinitionisbythefamous19thcenturyAmericanpoetandwriterWaltWhitman(1819–1892):
Languageisnotanabstractconstructionofthelearned,orofdictionarymakers,butissomethingarisingoutofthework,needs,ties,joys,affections, tastes,oflonggenerationsofhumanity,andhasitsbasesbroadandlow,close totheground.(WaltWhitman, “SlanginAmerica,” 1885)
Beforegoingonwithourdefiningwork,letuspausetoconsiderwhatit meansto “know” alanguage.Itcertainlymeanstobeabletospeakitfluently andtocommunicateeffectively.Inaddition,ourlinguisticintuition (“Sprachgefühl”)enablesustomakejudgmentsaboutnuancesinmeaning betweenalternativeexpressionsoraboutthewell-formednessofcertain grammaticalstructures.Thus,nativespeakersofEnglishknowwithabsolute certaintythatbothofthefollowingsentencesarepossibleutterancesintheir language:
Inflationmorethantripledbetween1973and1983. Inflationwillmorethantripleoverthenext20years.
AGermanspeaker,bycontrast,willacceptonlyoneofthestructurally analogoussentences:
*DieInflationmehralsverdreifachtesichzwischen1973und1983. DieInflationwirdsichindennächstenJahrenmehralsverdreifachen. The *-sign isawidelyusedconventioninlinguistics.Insynchronic linguisticsitindicatesthataconstructionorsentenceisungrammatical. Indiachroniclinguisticsitsignalsthataformisassumedasaplausible
reconstructionalthoughdirectevidence(forexampleinoldtexts)ismissing.
DieInflationverdreifachtesichzwischen1973und1983, byitself,isawellformedsentence.Theproblemthusistofindaplaceforthemodification mehrals.Thesentencegivenabovedoesnotwork,andnoamountofmoving aroundthepartswillmakeitwork: *DieInflationverdreifachtesichmehrals, *dieInflationmehralsverdreifachtesich,etc.Ontheotherhand,any structurethathasaformof verdreifachen inclause-finalpositionispossible:
DieInflationhatsichindenletztenJahrenmehralsverdreifacht.
Ichweiß,dasssichdieInflationallehundertJahremehralsverdreifacht.
Thisisastatementofthefacts.Atthisstageinourintroductiontolinguistics wearenotinterestedinasearchforpossiblereasons.However,itisclearthat the rules whichareatworkherearenotthosewhichareusuallytaughtto foreignlearnersofEnglishandGermanaspartoftheirgrammarteaching, norarethesentencesofthekindthatchildrenwouldgetpracticeoninthe earlystagesofnaturallanguageacquisition.Inthissense,theexampleserves welltoillustratetheenormousformalcomplexityofhumanlanguages.This formalcomplexityiscapableofexpressingsimilarlycomplexmeanings. Whileitisfairlyeasytodefinethemeaningoftheverb triple (“increase threefold”),thecombination morethantriple raisesaproblem.Theoretically, thisexpressioncoversanythingfrom “increasealittlemorethanthree-fold” to “increaseahundred-fold” andbeyond.Inanaturalcommunicative situation,however,weareverylikelytoassumethatwearetalkingabout anincreasewhichisbetweenthree-foldandfour-fold.Why?Suchproblems ofthelogicofnaturallanguageswillbediscussedinmoredepthinUnit7. Afterthisexerciseinconsciousness-raising,wecannowreturntothe initialquestionandnameanumberoffeatureswhichmustfigureinany definitionoflanguage.Togethertheymakeupagoodcompositeworking definitionofwhatahumanlanguageis.
1)New-bornhumanbeingshaveageneticornaturalpredispositionto acquirealanguage(orlanguages)spokenintheircommunities.Theyare ratherfreetodecideonwhatoccasionsandforwhatpurposestheyuse language(whichisanimportantcontrasttomanymoreinstinct-based communicationsystemsprevalentamonganimalpopulations).
2)Humanlanguagesrepresentmeaningsymbolically.Therelationship betweenthesoundofawordandtheconceptitdenotesisthusarbitrary, asiseasilyshownbythefollowingwordsusedtodenotetheconcept “bread” : ekmek (Turkish), Brot (German), pane (Italian).
3)Wordsarecombinedintolargerconstructionsbyruleswhichare language-specificconventions.German eswurdegesungenundgetanzt
Thecomplexityof language
Aworkingdefinition of language
expressesroughlythesameideaasEnglish therewassinginganddancing Itisnotpossibletore-createtheGermanstructureinEnglishorviceversa. 4)Humanlanguagesaresound-based.Forasmallnumberoftheworld’ sca. 6,000languageswritingsystemshavebeendeveloped.Deafpeopleare capableofexpressingthemselvesthroughsigning.
While,ashasbeenhintedat,severalanimalspecieshavedevelopedvery complex systemsofcommunication,theabove-namedfeaturesintheir combinationensurethatlanguageisauniquelyhumanachievement. Animalsmaybeabletocommunicatewarningsordirectionstotheir fellows,butonlyhumanbeingsuselanguagesforcomplexreasoning,to talkaboutalternativeworldsorpossiblebehaviour,ortosystematicallylie anddeceive.
1.3
Corporaandthestudy oflanguage
Problemsandchallenges
InSection1.2abovewehadalookathowpeopledevelopednegativeattitudes towardsparticularwaysofpronouncingtheEnglishlanguage.Ofcourse,this problemisnotrestrictedtomattersofpronunciation.Similarresponsesare occasionallyprovokedbygrammaticalconstructions,aswell.Again,the linguisticdetailsinquestionaretrivial,butthesocialconsequencesmaybe considerable.Thissectionwillintroduceyoutotheuseof computerised languagecorpora,i.e.textualdata-basesthathavebeencompiledand annotatedforthepurposesoflinguisticresearch.Theyarepowerfultools, nottheleastoftheiradvantagesbeingthattheyallowstudentstogainhandsonresearchexperienceveryearlyonintheircoursework.Theportalhttps:// www.english-corpora.org/,hostedbyUSlinguistMarkDavies,offersconvenientaccesstoawiderangeofcorpora.Youcanregisterasauserforfree, preferablyusingyouruniversitye-mailaddressforbetteruserrights,which youshoulddoatyourearliestconvenience,becausemanyoftheexercisesin thisbookwillrequireyoutocarryoutcorpussearches.Notethatthewebsite offersinstructivetutorialsforself-study.
Registeratthe english-corpora.org website.
Foranexampleofthestigmatisationofagrammaticalconstruction, considerthefollowingextractfromaplaybytherenownedBritishdramatist TomStoppard(b.1937):
Max:[…]ifyoudon’tmindmesayingso.
Henry: My saying,Max.
Maxgetsupandwantstoleave
Henry:I’msorry,butitactually hurts.
(source:TomStoppard, TheRealThing .London1983:34)
Withoutgoingtoodeeplyintothedetailsofgrammaticalanalysis,letusmake theproblemexplicit.Maxusestheverb mind followedbyapronouninthe objectformfollowedbytheparticipleoftheverb.Inpresent-dayEnglish, therearenumerousinstancesofthispattern: Ifoundhimreading , Icaught themnapping ,etc.Henryresentstheusagewhenitisextendedtotheverb mind,insistingonasupposedlycorrectalternative:theverb mind,followed byapossessivepronounandaverbalnoun(orgerund).Again,thereare numerousinstancesofthispattern: Ihatehissinging , Iamtiredofyour complaining ,etc.Maxisoffendedbecausehispartnerinconversation commentsontheformofhisutteranceratherthanthecontent.Thisis impolite.Asthefollowingexamplesshow,MaxhastheusagefactsofpresentdayEnglishonhisside.Inmostcases,bothvariantsarepossible,andifonly oneworks,itisMax’sandnotHenry’ s:
Shedoesn’tmind hissmoking duringlunch.
Shedoesn’tmind himsmoking duringlunch.
Shedoesn’tobjectto Peter’ssmoking duringlunch.
Shedoesn’tobjectto Petersmoking duringlunch.
??Whowouldhavedreamedof suchathing’shappening ayearago?
Whowouldhavedreamedof suchathinghappening ayearago?
IcantellyouthatI’mnotlookingforwardto thishappening again.
*IcantellyouthatI’mnotlookingforwardto this’shappening again.
Therejustisnogenitiveorpossessivecaseforthedemonstrativepronoun this,andthegenitiveisaratherunusualchoiceforanoundenotingalifeless objectsuchas thing.Inothercases,thecontrastisneutralised,becauseaform suchas her functionsbothasobjectcaseandasapossessive:
Nobodyobjectsto hersmoking afterlunch.
Whatwelearnfromthisanalysisisthatcertainlinguisticprejudicesmay persistforalongtimeandbearticulatedwithalotofconvictionand arrogance,eveniftheyhavenobasisinfact – ascaneasilybeverifiedfrom digitallanguagecorpora.LetussearchforexamplesintheBritishNational Corpus(BNC),adatabasecomprisingtheunbelievableamountofalmost100 millionwordsofrunningtextcoveringawidevarietyofwrittenandspoken genres.Itisamongthoseaccessiblethroughtheenglish-corpora.orgwebsite. Thecollectionofthedatawascompletedintheearly1990s,thatisnotlong afterStoppard’splaywaswritten.Tolookforexamplesoftheconstruction investigatedhereIfirstsearchedforthetwo-wordsequence mindhim and found35hits,ofwhich14illustratetheconstructionunderstudy:
“Don’tyoumindhimstealingyourfather’seggs?”
ThereforeIdon’tmindhimhearingtheveryworstaboutmypast.
Shedidn’tmindhimtellingherthings,andlearnedveryquickly.
Diana,Barry’swifeof35years,doesn’tmindhimmeetingallthegreatscreen goddesses.
Iwouldn’tmindhimbeingHeathcliff ’sson,ifonlyhelovedherandcouldbea goodhusbandtoher.”
Ifhedidnotknowthat,Idonotmindhimadmittingit,butitisextraordinary ignoranceonhispart.
Iwouldn’tmindhimsittingontopofmyChristmastree,” saideitherDoshor Freddie.
Iwouldn’tmindhimmissingsundaysgame. Apparently,shedidnotmindhimbeingamopheadwhenoccupyingother Governmentpositions,butfeltitwouldnotbefittingfortheroleof Chancellor.
ImeanIdon’tmindhimpoppingoutaslongashe’s[ ]gonetotheirhouse andstaysthere.
Well,Idon’tmindhimwalkingacrossthatbitbut<pause> Actually,Idon’treallymi– mindhimlookingafterme,he’sverygood! Didyoumindhimgoingoverthere,stayingoverthere?
hedidn’tmindhimspeakingandassoonas<name>yeahrightthenhesaid I’mnotI’mnottelling<unclear>
Henry’sdesiredalternativeoccurslessoften,ameresixtimes:
Gullit,ofcourse,isinjuredandtherearestillfearsforhisplayingcareer,never mindhisappearinginItaly.
Nevermindhisscrummaging,ordoubtsabouthisfitnessroundthepark,he wasworthhisticketforhisline-outwork.
ButIdidn’tmindhisthinkingit,hissuddenflatteringbenignity. No,shedidn’tmindhisringingsolate. Shewantedtotellhimtheydidn’tmindhisbeingthere,itdidn’tmatter,he wasn ’ttrespassing.
Whydidshemindhisbeinghurtsomuch?
Sycnronically,bothHenryandMaxusegrammarthatiscorrectandnatural inlate20th-centuryBritishEnglish.Diachronically,Maxrepresentsthe mainstreamandthefuture,andHenryarecessiveolderform.Rationally, Henrywaswrongtostartadisputeoverlinguisticusage.Ifhisaimistostop linguisticchange,heisalreadytoolate.Inthisexample,youhaveseen linguisticargumentationinaction:wehaveusedempiricalevidenceto systematicallyexplorearesearchquestionandwehaverefutedHenry’spoint ofviewintheprocess.Whatweshallleaveopenforthetimebeingishow muchmoreevidencewouldbeneededtoblazeatrailforthisresearchfinding
intherealworldandconvincethemanyHenrysouttherethattheyshould stopdiscriminatingagainstpeopleonthebasisofspuriousclaimsaboutwhat properEnglishis.
Asiscommoninthestudyoflanguagecorpora,newquestionsarisefrom thedatathemomentyouhaveansweredtheoriginalone.Note,forexample, thattheexpression nevermindhis+VERB-ing occurstwice,whereas never mindhim+VERB-ing isnotattested.Isthislatterformimpossible,orisits absencefromtheBritishNationalCorpusaccidental?Thiswouldbea questionworthfurthercorpus-basedinquiry.Wecouldalsocategorisethe examplesaccordingtowhethertheycomefromwrittenandformaltextsor fromspontaneousinformalconversations.
Referencesandfurtherreading
Chomsky,Noam.1957. Syntacticstructures.TheHague/Paris:Mouton. OxfordEnglishDictionary.Secondedition, 1989.Ed.byJohnSimpsonandEdmund Weiner.Oxford:OUP.<www.oed.com> Robins,R.H. 1971. Generallinguistics:An introductorysurvey.London:Longman. Sapir,Edward.1921. Language:Anintroductiontothestudyofspeech.New York:Harcourt,BraceandComp.
Therearenumerousintroductionstolinguisticsaimedatstudentandacademic audiences.
Foraworkwhichhaslongbeeninsuccessfuluseinternationallysee: Yule,George.2020. Thestudyoflanguage: Anintroduction.7th ed.Cambridge:CUP.
ForworksgearedtotheneedsofaGerman-speakingreadershipandfocussed onEnglishcompare: Bieswanger,Markus,andAnnetteBecker 2010. IntroductiontoEnglishlinguistics.3rd ed.Tübingen:Narr. Kortmann,Bernd.2020. Englishlinguistics:Essentials.2nd ed.Berlin:Springer/ Metzler.
Inaddition,therearenumerousbookson language,languages,andtheEnglishlanguageinparticularthatareaddressedtoa non-expertreadership.Manyofthemdo notevenpretendtoobjectivitybutrepresenttheirauthors’ personalprescriptive agenda.Forapointofviewwhichispresentedforcefully,andnotwithoutentertainmentvalue,butwouldbeconsidered asplainreactionarybymostlinguists, compare:
Amis,Kingsley.1997. TheKing’sEnglish: Aguidetomodernusage.London:Harper-Collins.(alsoavailableasPenguin ModernClassic,2011) [KingsleyAmis(1922–1995)wasamajor 20th centuryEnglishnovelist.]
Apopulartreatmentthatsomeprofessionallinguistswouldsneeratbecause itissometimesrathersuperficialis: Bryson,Bill.1990. Mothertongue:The Englishlanguage.London:HamishHamilton.(Penguinpaperbackedition 2009;slightlymodifiedtitle Mother Tongue:ThestoryoftheEnglishlanguage)
Populartreatmentswhichaimhighintellectuallyandsuccessfullycombineexpert
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