2024年4月11日发(作者：)

《简明英语语言学》笔记

Chapter 1 Introduction

 What is linguistics?

 Definition: the scientific study of language.

 A discipline that data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation;

that is, a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data

without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things.

 The scope of linguistics:

 General linguistics: study language as a whole

 Specific aspects:

1) Phonetics: the study of sounds

2) Phonology: how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning

3) Morphology: how symbols are formed and combined to form word

4) Syntax: study the rules of how to form grammatically correct sentence

5) Semantics: the study of meaning

6) Pragmatics: the study of meaning in the context of language use

 Interdisciplinary branches:

1) Sociolinguistics

2) Psycholinguistics

3) Applied linguistics

 Important distinctions

 Prescriptive and descriptive:

1) Descriptive: Describe and analyze the language that people actually

use

2) Prescriptive: Lay down rules for correct and standard behavior in

using language

3) Modern language is mostly descriptive. Modern language, which is

scientific and objective, describes language people actually use, be it

correct or not.

 Synchronic and diachronic

1) Synchronic: describe language at some point of time in history, al-

ways in its current existence.

2) Diachronic: the description of language as it changes through time; it

studies the historical development of language over a period of time.

3) In modern linguistics, synchronic approach enjoys priority.

 Speech and writing

Speech is prior to writing in linguistics, for it is more natural and reveals

more true feature of language.

 Langue and parole

1) Langue: abstract system shared by all members of language com-

munity; it is the set of conventions and rules that language users have

abide by

2) Parole: Concrete use of language.

3) Saussure: 1) parole is simply a mass of linguistic language facts; 2)

linguist should abstract langue from parole, i.e. to discover the regu-

larities governing the actual use of language

 Competence and Performance-American linguist Chomsky

1) Competence: knowledge of rules of language

2) Performance: the realization of this knowledge in linguistic commu-

nication

3) The imperfect performance is caused by social and psychological

factors.

 Traditional grammar and modern linguistics

1) Linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.

2) Modern linguistics regard spoken language as primary.

3) Modern linguistics does not force languages into Latin-based

framework.

 What is language?

 Definition of language

 Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human com-

munication.

1) Language is a system, which means elements of language are com-

bined according to rules.

2) Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection

between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for.

3) Language is vocal because the primary medium for all language is

sound.

4) Language is human-specific.

 Design feature

1) Arbitrariness: logical connection between meaning and sounds.

While some words are motivated: the first are onomatopoeic words,

such as rumble, crash, bang; the second are compound words, e.g.

photocopy. This kind of words only make up small percentage of

vocabulary. The arbitrary nature of language is a sign of sophistica-

tion of language and make it possible for language to have an unlim-

ited source of expressions.

2) Productivity: language is productive or creative in that it makes

possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its us-

ers.

3) Duality: basic level: a structure of sounds

Higher level: sounds of language can be rearranged into

morphemes and words

4) Displacement: 不受时空限制的

5) Cultural transmission: human have to be learned and taught be

acquire language.

 Functions of language

 Descriptive function: convey factual information

Expressive function: supplies information

Social function: maintain social relations between people

 Structural linguist Roman Jakobson

Addresser---emotive: addresser express his attitude towards the

topic or situation

Addressee---conative: the addresser aims to influence addressee’s

action

Context---referential: addresser conveys a message or information

Message---poetic: use language to display the beauty of language

Contact---phatic communication: it tries to establish or maintain in-

terpersonal relations

Code---metalinguistic: make clear the meaning of language itself

 In early 1970 British linguist M.A.K. Halliday

7 function in children.

3 in adults:

Ideational function: organize one’s experience, attitude, evaluation,

feeling, and emotions

Interpersonal function: establish and maintain interpersonal rela-

tions

Textual function: organize written or spoken English in such a

manner that they are coherent within themselves and fit the particular

situation in which they are used

Chapter 2 Phonology

 The phonic medium of language

 Limited range of sounds constitute the phonic medium of language.

 The individual sounds within the range are the speech sounds.

 Phonetics

 What is phonetics?

 Phonetics is defined as the study of the phonic medium of language; it is

concerned with all the sounds that occurs in the world’s languages.

 Articulatory phonetics: studies the sounds form speaker’s point of

View, i.e. how the speaker uses his speech organs to articulate the

sounds

Auditory phonetics: studies from the hearer’s point of view, i.e. how

the sounds are perceived by the hearer

Acoustic phonetics: the way sounds travel by looking at the sounds

waves.

Chapter 4 Syntax

 What is it?

 Syntax is a branch of linguistics that studies the rules the govern the formation of sen-

tences.

 Words categories

 In traditional grammar, there are 8 categories (called parts of speech). Non-traditional

categories as determiner (Det), degree words (Deg), and qualifier (Qua).

 Two division

 Major lexical categories: the heads around which phases are built. Noun, verb, ad-

jective, preposition.

 Minor lexical categories: determiner限定词, degree words, qualifier限定语, aux-

iliary, conjunction.

 Criteria：

 Meaning: 1) nouns often designate its entity; verbs often designate action, sensation,

and states. 2) the property or attribute of a noun can be elaborated by adjectives,

those of verbs, adverbs.

Deficiencies: 1) some words do not have entity such as dilemma, friendship.

2) some words belong to more than one categories

3) words with same or similar meaning belongs to different catego-

ries, e.g. be aware of and know

 Inflection: 1) noun  -s or –es indicating plural

2)adjectives-er or –est indicating comparative degree and superla-

tive degree

3)verb-ing and –ed indicating progressive and past tense

Deficiency: some words do not take inflections

 Distribution: it is reliable, which indicates what type of elements can co-occur with

certain words.

Noun co-appear with determiner, e.g. a girl, the pen

Verbs with auxiliary, e.g. should open

Adjectives with degree words, e.g. very cool

 Phrase categories and their structure

 XP rule

XP Specifier ——head—— complement

NP (Det) N (PP) …

VP (Qual) V (NP) …

AP (Deg) A (PP) …

PP (Deg) P (NP) …

 Coordination rule

 No limit on the number of coordinated categories prior to the conjunction.

 A category at any level (head or XP) can be coordinated.

 Coordinated categories must be of the same type.

 The category type of coordinate phrase is identical to the category type of elements

being conjoined.

 Structure: X X, X, X… Con X

 Phrase elements:

 Specifiers

 Role：1) semantically, make more precise the meaning of head; 2) syntactically,

mark the phrase boundary.

 Different term of specifiers before different heads.

Specifiers

Determiners

Qualifiers

Degree words

Heads

N

V

A

P

Examples

The book, no water, this book

Always, never fail

Less interesting, quite good, very sensitive

Almost in, quite above

 Complements

 Provide information and location, attached to right of the head

 Monotransitive: open the door

Ditransitive: send me the mail

Comlex transitive verbs: put it on the wall

 Complement clause

Miss Herbert believes that she will win.

Matrix clause complementizer complement clause

 CP complement

Items

Adj.

Nouns

Heads

Afraid, certain, aware

Fact, claim, belief

Examples

I am afraid that nobody

would believe me.

She can’t believe the fact

that she would fail in the

exam.

They argued over whether

she had come to class.

Prepositions

 Modifiers

 To modifier nouns 

 To modifier verbs 

Over, about

adj. phrases

adv. Phrases and prepositional phrases

Position of modifiers

Modifiers

AP

PP

AdvP

 Sentences (the S rule)

Inflp= (s)

NP Inlf VP

Positions

Precedes the head

Follow the head

Precedes or follow

Examples

A very careful girl

Open with care

Read carefully; carefully read