Scribd
Upload
18 views13 pages

What Does It Mean To Know A Language 2020-1

Uploaded by

maika.work27
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
18 views13 pages

What Does It Mean To Know A Language 2020-1

Uploaded by

maika.work27
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 13

Introduction to Linguistics

LING 5501
What does it mean to know a language?

Prof. Sandra Kies


How many languages do you think you
“know”?

• What are your criteria for knowing a language?


Competence vs performance
• Ferdinand de Saussure
• langue vs parole
• competence vs performance

• How do we account for slips in speech?


• His immoral soul (Speaker meant to say, his immortal soul)
• You have hissed all my mystery lectures. (Speaker meant to say, You have
missed all my history lectures.)
An over-simplification of the communication
process
(Simplified) steps in the speech communication
chain
• 1. Think of what you want to communicate.
• 2. Pick out words to express the idea.
• 3. Put these words together in a certain order following rules.
• 4. Figure out how to pronounce these words
• 5. Send those pronunciations to your vocal anatomy.
• 6. Speak: Send the sounds through the air.
• 7. Perceive: Listener hears the sounds.
• 8. Decode: Listener interprets sounds as language.
• 9. Connect: Listener receives communicated idea.
(Language File 1.2, p. 7)

• What do you think is missing from this model of communication?


What are the linguistic requirements for knowing
a language?

• Sounds that are possible in the language


• Words that are possible in the language
• Combinations of words that make up “well-formed” sentences
• Understanding what words mean when combined in sentences
• Understanding how to get things done in the language according to
social context
Knowing speech sounds (phonetics and phonology)

• What sounds can you make from another language that are not found
in English?

• What sounds in English are difficult for speakers of say, Japanese,


French, or Vietnamese?
Knowledge of words and word formation rules
(Morphology)
• How many words are here?
Thereoncewasayoungratnamedarthur
• How did you work it out?

• Which of these are possible words in English?


• spaff, fsap; blig, libg
• aha, ring, grin, plinth, wug, ngoc
• book, books, booked, booking, bookings, pre-book, bookish, bookly, booker,
bookness, booklessness, bookworm, How did you work it out?
Knowledge of how words form phrases and
clauses (Syntax)
• Which of these are well-formed sentences in English?
• In the park
• Feel tired
• Like you my new shoes?
• I wants to go there
• My sister enjoyed his vacation
• Colorless green ideas sleep furiously

• How did you work it out?


Knowing how words work together to make
meanings (Semantics)
• What could these sentences mean?

• I saw her duck.


• I saw Jane duck behind the yellow sofa.
• I saw the yellow sofa duck behind Jane.

• What do you need to know to work it out?


Knowledge of context to understand meaning
(Pragmatics)
• What can these sentences possibly mean? Is there more
than one meaning?

A. Speaker 1: It’s really chilly in here.


Speaker 2: Why don’t you turn off the aircon?

B. Speaker 1: That’s the doorbell/buzzer.


Speaker 2: I’m in the shower.
What do you not necessarily know when you
know a language?
• How to read and write the language.
• Why?

• How to explain the rules governing pronunciation


• Why?

• How to explain the rules of grammar.


• Why?
References

• Mihalicek, V. & C. Wilson (2011). Language Files 11th edition.


Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy