Monday September 6th notes Introducti on to Linguisti cs:
Linguistics= scientific study of languages
Main focus on spoken language – terminology, IPA (international alphabetically system to
analyse language), language specific features
Learn the difference between prescriptive and descriptive language
Competence: how is language stored, learned etc
Performance: language as used by people, including small errors.
Characteristics of human language
Mode of communication & interchangeability (ability to both transmitting and receiving)
Semanticity (meaning)
Pragmatic functions (helping others)
Cultural transmission (learning by interaction)
Arbitrariness between form and meaning
Discreteness and Productivity (combining)
Displacement (talk about other things then here and now) (might be hard to talk about the
past)
Why do we need linguistics?
Science
o Some languages are almost extinct -> keep knowledge
o Forensic linguistics -> Unabomber and zodiac killer
Speech therapy
o Recognise and help problems from early on
Language technology
o Text to speech, google translate
o The sound context of letters is crucial
Education
Daily life of professionals
Child language -> phases that they go through
Linguistic sign: Form(sound) + Meaning Example: the word for ‘inner core of a peach’ is
represented by the sound Pit, occurring in that order to give the sound that we make when we say the
word pit.
Connection between linguistic signs are arbitrary: in no way is the form predictable for the
meaning or the other way around
There are nonarbitrariness aspects. Where the form-meaning connections are picture-like.
If this was not true, there would be universally recognized forms for each meaning
Onomatopoeia: words that are imitative of natural sounds or have meanings that are associated
with such sound of nature. Bow-wow for a dog, burble for running water, splat for tomato on
the wall.
Still arbitrary because form cannot be fully imitated.
,Grammar is prescriptive, like a doctor’s recipe, on what is good or bad. It is only used to mold your
spoken English to the norm
Writing is secondary to speech and not necessary for knowledge of a language
Tuesday September 7th 8.1
Child language acquisition
- Nature/nurture debate
- Nativists: innateness theory
o Universal grammar – all languages have same rules
- Nurture: Language use
o Imitation theory – need people to talk to you
o Activate construction of a grammar theory
o Connectionist theory
o Social interaction theory
Innateness theory
Noam Chomsky
- Language is innate, children are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) (part of the
brain that is fit to use and receive language)
o No way to prove it due to lack of evidence He tried by the poverty of the stimulus
– input those children get from surroundings is so poor and not representative what
the whole language is, is not enough to grow a full language so there must be already
something
o Young kids attain language better
Critical/ sensitive period:
A period in human development which is optimal for tuning that part of the brain best suited
to the acquisition of language
Eric Lenneberg (1967): critical period
- Brain lateralization at puberty closes down the brain’s ability to acquire language: sharp onset
and offset (starts at birth and ends at puberty)
Steven Pinker (1994): sensitive period
- Acquisition of a normal language is guaranteed for children up to the age of six, steadily
compromised from then until shortly after puberty, and is rare thereafter: gradual onset and
incomplete offset (large period of time to start learning, gradual deterioration)
Imitation Theory
Children imitate what they hear – B.F Skinner
- Behaviorism, reinforcement
, - What the child hears is what the child knows (yes, no that is not true – negative evidence)
But,
- Children make mistakes, parents don’t so why do they make mistakes
- They make up their own sentences
- Not much reinforcement on grammar, so grammar is not compliment, how do they know?
Language use of theories
Active construction of grammar theory
- Children crack the language by trial and error -> creative
- U- shaped behaviour (brought- in past tense, bringed- in past tense with ed , brought- new rule
so correct -> they learn)
Connectionist theory
- Children learn language by creating neural connections in the brain
- By using language these connections get stronger
- Children extract statistical information from language input: what is more likely and what is
less likely -> built up rules
Social interaction theory
- Lev Vygotsky
- Biological and social factors interact (nature and nurture)
- Input and communication are key factors
- Child directed speech (baby talk is high voice)
What do children have to learn
Developmental phase
- First 6 months, babies prefer child directed speech
- Second half of first year – recognise semantic (meaning), growing preference for native
language, identification of sounds
= prelingual phase
o Social interaction
o Speech sounds: production and perception
o Comprehension of words and phrases
Early lingual phase 1 till approx. 2.5:
- One word: 1-1.6, building the lexicon
- Two words: 1.6-2.6, combinations of 2 words
- Multi word: combination of several words
Differentiation: 2.6 till 5
- All components
- Grammar: plural, verbal inflection, word formation etc
- Comprehension and production at all 3 stages
Completion: 5 and on
- The basics are there, just time to elaborate
- Figurative speech (multiple meanings to one word)
- Sarcasm
Linguistics= scientific study of languages
Main focus on spoken language – terminology, IPA (international alphabetically system to
analyse language), language specific features
Learn the difference between prescriptive and descriptive language
Competence: how is language stored, learned etc
Performance: language as used by people, including small errors.
Characteristics of human language
Mode of communication & interchangeability (ability to both transmitting and receiving)
Semanticity (meaning)
Pragmatic functions (helping others)
Cultural transmission (learning by interaction)
Arbitrariness between form and meaning
Discreteness and Productivity (combining)
Displacement (talk about other things then here and now) (might be hard to talk about the
past)
Why do we need linguistics?
Science
o Some languages are almost extinct -> keep knowledge
o Forensic linguistics -> Unabomber and zodiac killer
Speech therapy
o Recognise and help problems from early on
Language technology
o Text to speech, google translate
o The sound context of letters is crucial
Education
Daily life of professionals
Child language -> phases that they go through
Linguistic sign: Form(sound) + Meaning Example: the word for ‘inner core of a peach’ is
represented by the sound Pit, occurring in that order to give the sound that we make when we say the
word pit.
Connection between linguistic signs are arbitrary: in no way is the form predictable for the
meaning or the other way around
There are nonarbitrariness aspects. Where the form-meaning connections are picture-like.
If this was not true, there would be universally recognized forms for each meaning
Onomatopoeia: words that are imitative of natural sounds or have meanings that are associated
with such sound of nature. Bow-wow for a dog, burble for running water, splat for tomato on
the wall.
Still arbitrary because form cannot be fully imitated.
,Grammar is prescriptive, like a doctor’s recipe, on what is good or bad. It is only used to mold your
spoken English to the norm
Writing is secondary to speech and not necessary for knowledge of a language
Tuesday September 7th 8.1
Child language acquisition
- Nature/nurture debate
- Nativists: innateness theory
o Universal grammar – all languages have same rules
- Nurture: Language use
o Imitation theory – need people to talk to you
o Activate construction of a grammar theory
o Connectionist theory
o Social interaction theory
Innateness theory
Noam Chomsky
- Language is innate, children are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) (part of the
brain that is fit to use and receive language)
o No way to prove it due to lack of evidence He tried by the poverty of the stimulus
– input those children get from surroundings is so poor and not representative what
the whole language is, is not enough to grow a full language so there must be already
something
o Young kids attain language better
Critical/ sensitive period:
A period in human development which is optimal for tuning that part of the brain best suited
to the acquisition of language
Eric Lenneberg (1967): critical period
- Brain lateralization at puberty closes down the brain’s ability to acquire language: sharp onset
and offset (starts at birth and ends at puberty)
Steven Pinker (1994): sensitive period
- Acquisition of a normal language is guaranteed for children up to the age of six, steadily
compromised from then until shortly after puberty, and is rare thereafter: gradual onset and
incomplete offset (large period of time to start learning, gradual deterioration)
Imitation Theory
Children imitate what they hear – B.F Skinner
- Behaviorism, reinforcement
, - What the child hears is what the child knows (yes, no that is not true – negative evidence)
But,
- Children make mistakes, parents don’t so why do they make mistakes
- They make up their own sentences
- Not much reinforcement on grammar, so grammar is not compliment, how do they know?
Language use of theories
Active construction of grammar theory
- Children crack the language by trial and error -> creative
- U- shaped behaviour (brought- in past tense, bringed- in past tense with ed , brought- new rule
so correct -> they learn)
Connectionist theory
- Children learn language by creating neural connections in the brain
- By using language these connections get stronger
- Children extract statistical information from language input: what is more likely and what is
less likely -> built up rules
Social interaction theory
- Lev Vygotsky
- Biological and social factors interact (nature and nurture)
- Input and communication are key factors
- Child directed speech (baby talk is high voice)
What do children have to learn
Developmental phase
- First 6 months, babies prefer child directed speech
- Second half of first year – recognise semantic (meaning), growing preference for native
language, identification of sounds
= prelingual phase
o Social interaction
o Speech sounds: production and perception
o Comprehension of words and phrases
Early lingual phase 1 till approx. 2.5:
- One word: 1-1.6, building the lexicon
- Two words: 1.6-2.6, combinations of 2 words
- Multi word: combination of several words
Differentiation: 2.6 till 5
- All components
- Grammar: plural, verbal inflection, word formation etc
- Comprehension and production at all 3 stages
Completion: 5 and on
- The basics are there, just time to elaborate
- Figurative speech (multiple meanings to one word)
- Sarcasm
