LINGUISTICS
LESSON 1: Understanding the Basic Concepts in Linguistics
WHAT IS LANGAUGE?
A language is a system of symbols used by humans to communicate. The system of a
language consists of interlocking sub-systems. Linguists often divide the task of
understanding language structure into three basic sub-systems:
phonetics/phonology: how the sounds used in a language are produced and perceived
morphology: how meaningful symbols, i.e. words, are created from sounds
syntax: how meaningful combinations of symbols, i.e. phrases and sentences, are created
from words
Sub systems:
Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structure including the sounds, words,
and grammar rules. Words in languages are finite, but sentences are not. It is this
creative aspect of human language that sets it apart from animal languages, which are
essentially responses to stimuli.
There are two types of grammars:
DESCRIPTIVE
Descriptive grammars represent the unconscious knowledge of a language. English speakers, for example,
know that “me likes apples" is incorrect and “I like apples" is correct, although the speaker may not be able to
explain why. Descriptive grammars do not teach the rules of a language, but rather describe rules that are
already known.
PRESCRIPTIVE
In contrast, prescriptive grammars dictate what a speaker's grammar should be and they
include teaching grammars, which are written to help teach a foreign language.
The rules of a language, also called grammar, are learned as one acquires a
language.
These rules include phonology, the sound system,
morphology, the structure of words,
syntax, the combination of words into sentences,
semantics, the ways in which sounds and meanings are related, and the
lexicon, or mental dictionary of words.
When you know a language, you know words in that language However, the sounds and
meanings of words are arbitrary. For the most part, there is no relationship between the way a
word is pronounced and its meaning
Theoretical linguistics is the branch of linguistics that is most concerned with developing
models of linguistic knowledge. The fields that are generally considered the core of
theoretical linguistics are syntax, phonology, morphology, and semantics.
Applied Linguistics the study of language-related issues applied in everyday life, notably
language policies, planning, and education. It is the application of linguistics theories to
evaluate the language problems arisen from other professions like sociology, psychology,
ethnology, geography, neurology, biology, and history etc.
THEORETICAL LINGUISTICS
APPLIED LINGUISTICS
PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS
Phonetics, a system for describing and recording the sounds of language objectively.
Phonetics provides a valuable way of opening our ears to facets of language that we tend to
understand by reference to their written rather than their actual spoken forms.
Phonology concerns itself with the ways in which languages make use of sounds to
distinguish words from each other.
Allophone- phonetic variations - different pronunciations - of the same phoneme.
Ex. Love; tool
Articulatory Phonetics
To produce speech, air must flow from the lungs through the vocal tract, which includes the
vocal folds , the nose or nasal cavity, and the mouth or oral cavity. But the main creator of
speech sounds is the mouth.
SOUNDS OF VOWELS AND CONSONANTS WITH PHONETIC SYMBOLS
Consonants
PHONETIC SYMBOL
Is a written character used in phonetic transcription of represent a particular speech sound.
1. /ə lɑt əv ˈpiːpəl raɪd ˈbaɪsɪkəlz ɪn ˈɪtəli/.
A lot of people ride bicycles in Italy.
2. / kæn jʊ pleɪ ðə ɡɪˈtɑrː/?
Can you play the guitar?
3. ɪz ðer əˈvɪdio ɪn əʊrˈklɑːs-rʊm/?
Is there a video in our classroom?
NASALITY
Sounds in which air flows through the nose are called nasal sounds. The air is allowed into
the nose by lowering the velum, the soft palate at the back of the mouth. English has three
main nasal sounds: [m] [n] [ng]
Exercise
Pam
Pan
Pang
II. MANNER OF ARTICULATION
By manner of articulation we mean the kind of closure or constriction used in making the
sound. We classify English consonants according to three manners of articulation:
~stops (full stoppage of the airstream somewhere in the oral cavity between the vocal folds
and the lips, as in [p], [b], [m]);
~fricatives (constriction of the airstream in the oral cavity producing turbulence and noise, as
in [f], [v]);
~affricates (full stoppage of the airstream followed immediately by constriction, as in [tS],
[dZ]).
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system where each symbol is associated
with a particular English sound. By using IPA you can know exactly how to pronounce a
certain word in English.
Fricatives are characterized by a “hissing” sound which is produced by the air escaping
through a small passage in the mouth.
Stops or plosives are consonant sounds that are formed by completely stopping airflow.
An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative, generally with the
same place of articulation.
Nasal consonant sounds are made by blocking air in the mouth and releasing sound through
the nose
Approximant in English are the consonant sound in which air is able to flow almost
completely freely
III. PLACE OF ARTICULATION
By place of articulation we mean the area in the mouth at which the consonantal closure or
constriction occurs. English uses only seven places of articulation.
Voiced and Voiceless
Sounds produced with vibrating vocal folds (see Figure 1) are said to be voiced; those
produced without vocal cord vibration are voiceless. Table 1ists the voiced and voiceless
consonants of English. The letters in [ ] are the phonetic symbols for the sounds.
