Lecture 1What is linguisticsLinguistics- the scientific study of the structure of human languageObject of study- mental grammarPeople are not consciously aware of many rules of mental grammar which they apply systematically in speechFive subfields of linguisticsPhonetics- study of speech soundsPhonology- how sounds pattern in language and are organized in mindMorphology- structure of wordsSyntax- structure of sentencesSemantics- meaning of words and sentencesDescriptive vs. prescriptive grammarDescriptive grammar- goal is to discover what rules people actually know and describe themIn an English wh-question, the wh-word appears at the beginning of the sentenceEx: “what do you want to eat?” Not “Do you want to eat what?”But in mandarin, the wh-word stays in place:You want eat what ?Prescriptive grammar- goal is to tell people what rules they should know. Attempting to change people’s linguistic behaviorYou should use “whom” in object positionInstead of this: who did you see?Say this: whom did you see?You shouldn’t strand prepositionsInstead of this: what is she talking about?Say this: about what is she talking?LINGUIS 101 1st Edition Lecture 1What is linguistics -Linguistics- the scientific study of the structure of human language -Object of study- mental grammar oPeople are not consciously aware of many rules of mental grammar which they apply systematically in speech Five subfields of linguistics -Phonetics- study of speech sounds -Phonology- how sounds pattern in language and are organized in mind -Morphology- structure of words -Syntax- structure of sentences -Semantics- meaning of words and sentences Descriptive vs. prescriptive grammar -Descriptive grammar- goal is to discover what rules people actually know and describe them oIn an English wh-question, the wh-word appears at the beginning of the sentence oEx: “what do you want to eat?” Not “Do you want to eat what?” oBut in mandarin, the wh-word stays in place: You want eat what ?-Prescriptive grammar- goal is to tell people what rules they should know. Attempting to change people’s linguistic behavior oYou should use “whom” in object position Instead of this: who did you see?Say this: whom did you see?oYou shouldn’t strand prepositions Instead of this: what is she talking about?Say this: about what is she
View Full Document
Unlocking...