Notes of An Introduction to Language (I)
I have been reading the book An Introduction to Language (11th edition by V. Fromkin, R. Rodman, and N. Hyams) recently and feel it is an extraordinary book for people interested in linguistics. I am going to write notes to help myself organize the important knowledge points and help people interested get familiar with the basic concept of linguistics. Each note will contain one chapter. I will use English as the main language in these notes since it is the English version that I am reading and will also provide Chinese translation for some key concepts so that readers can connect them with prior knowledge.
Contents (目录)
Chapter I – What is Language (语言是什么)
Chapter II – Morphology: The Words of Language (词法：语言的词汇)
Chapter III – Syntax: Infinite Use of Finite Means (句法：有限含义的无限使用)
Chapter IV – The Meaning of Language (语言的含义)
Chapter V – Phonetics: The Sounds of Language (语音学：语言的声音)
Chapter VI – Phonology: The Sound Patterns of Language (音韵学：语言的声音模式)
Chapter VII – Language in Society (社会中的语言)
Chapter VIII – Language Change: The Syllables of Time (语言的变化：时间的音节)
Chapter IX – Language Acquisition (语言的获得)
Chapter X – Language Processing and the Human Brain (语言过程和人的大脑)
Chapter I – What is Language (语言是什么)
1. Speakers use a finite set of rules (grammar, 语法) to produce and understand an infinite set of possible sentences.
2. Grammar s contain:
a) Phonology (音韵学): the sound system.
b) Morphology (词法) and lexicon (词汇): the structure and properties of words.
c) Syntax (句法): how words may be combined into phrases and sentences.
d) Semantics (语义学): the ways in which sounds and meanings are related.
3. The sounds and meanings of individual words are related in an arbitrary fashion, which means people are not able to recognize the meaning by the sound of a word.
4. Different kinds of grammars:
a) Descriptive Grammar (描述性语法): describe the rules that are already there in language.
b) Prescriptive Grammar (规定性语法): attempt to legislate what language should be (specify a standard of usage).
c) Teaching grammar (教学性语法): help people learn a foreign language or a dialect of their own language.
5. Universal Grammar (UG, 通用性语法): provide a blueprint for the grammars of all possible human languages. It has connection with the way children acquire language.
6. Sign Language (符号语言) are visual-gestural systems that are as fully developed and as structurally complex as spoken language. The major sign language used in the United States is American Sign Language (ASL).
7. Some basic properties of human languages (distinguish from the “languages” of other species):
a) Discreteness (离散性): consist of discrete units that combine according to the rules of the grammar of the language.
b) Displacement (移位性): allow to talk about things that are removed in time and space from immediate environment or mental or physical state.
8. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: the particular language one speaks determines or influences one’s thought and perceptions of the world. Some recent experimental studies suggest that the words and grammar of a language may affect certain aspects of cognition such as memory.
Weida
2023.07.16
