自考现代语言学每章要点总结
第一章 绪论
1/ What is linguistics?
什么是语言学？
Linguistics?is generally defined as the scientific study of language.
It studies not any particular language, but languages in general.
2/ The scope of linguistics
语言学的研究范畴
The study of language as a whole is often called?general linguistics.
普通语言学
The study of sounds, which are used in linguistic communication, is
called?phonetics. （语音学）
?The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication
is called?phonology. （音系学）
?The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words
are called?morphology. （形态学）
?The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences
is called?syntax. （句法学）
?The study of meaning in language is called?semantics. （语义学）
?The study of meaning in context of use is called?pragmatics. （语用学）
?The study of language with reference to society is
called?socio-linguistics. （社会语言学）
?The study of language with reference to the working of mind is called
psycho-linguistics. （心理语言学）
The study of applications as the recovery of speech ability is
generally known as?applied linguistics. （应用语言学）
But in a narrow sense, applied linguistics refers to the application
of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning,
especially the teaching of foreign and second language.
Other related branches include?anthropological linguistics, （人类语言学）?neurological linguistics, （神经语言学）?mathematical
linguistics, （数字语言学）and?computational linguistics. （计算机语言学）
3/ Some important distinctions in linguistics
语言学研究中的几对基本概念
Prescriptive and descriptive
描写与规定
If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people
actually use, it is said to be?descriptive, if it aims to lay down rules
to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is
said to be?prescriptive. Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar.
Traditional grammar is prescriptive while modern linguistics is
descriptive.
The task of linguists is supposed to describe the language people
actually use, whether it is “correct” or not.
Synchronic and diachronic
共时和历时
The description of a language at some point in time is a?synchronic
study; the description of a language as it changes through time is
a?diachronic study. In modern linguistics, synchronic study is more
important.
Speech and writing
口头语与书面语
Speech and writing are the two major media of communication.?
Modern linguistics regards the spoken form of language as primary,
but not the written form.?
Reasons:
1. Speech precedes writing;
2. There are still many languages that have only the spoken form;
3. In terms of function, the spoken language is used for a wider range
of purposes than the written, and carries a larger load of communication
than the written. Langue and parole [p?'r?ul]
语言和言语
The Swiss linguist F. de Saussure made the distinction between langue
and parole early 20th?century.
Langue?refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the
members of a speech community, and?parole?refers to the realization of
langue in actual use.
Saussure made the distinction in order to single out one aspect of
language for serious study. He believes what linguists should do is to
abstract langue from parole, to discover the regularities governing the
actual use of language and make them the subjects of study of linguistics.
语言能力和语言运用
Competence and performance
Proposed by American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950’s.
He defines?competence?as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of
his language, and?performance?the actual realization of this knowledge
in linguistic communication. He believes the task of the linguists is to
discover and specify the language rules.?
4/ What is language?
语言的定义
Language?is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human
communication. Sapir,Edward uses “ideas” “emotions” and “desires” in his
definition.
Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution.
Chomsky’s definition is quite different, it focus on the purely
structural
