Exam 2 Review Linguistics The study of language Ferdinand de Saussure 04 03 2012 Contemporary of Frued Durkheim Darwin and Marx o Argued meaning is created inside language in relations of difference in its parts the study of signs and symbols the underlying structure of language the actual utterances Semiotics Langue Parole Signifier Signified medium message o Road sign signifier Stop signified Synchrony and Diachrony Syntagmatic Paradigm interpretations of a single word within in a sentence meaning of signs horizontal across words in a phrase or sentence associative vertical relationships where are alternative o The leader showed them the way forward leader gain meaning if replaced guide manager etc Signs Symbols related to referent only by convention includes words Icons resemble the referent road signs Indexes related to the referent smoke indicating fire whole system of language that precedes and makes speech Language and Parole La langue possible Elements of language Grammer spelling syntax punctuatuion Parole concrete use of language actual utterances usage of the system speech the sum total of what ppl say Signifier and Signified Signifier the pointing finger the word the sound image Interpretation of the signifier that meaning is created medium Signified the concept meaning the thing indicated by the signifier message Synchrony and Diachrony Synchrony language is system of signs studied as complete system Two similar things exist at the same time Diachrony change in the meaning of words over time Related things exist separated by time Sytagm and Paradigm Syntagm signs occur in sequence operate together to create meaning Paradigm individual sign may be replaced by another Pidgin and Creoles Pidgin Language Make shift form of communication between speakers of two distinct languages Allows speakers of different languages to communicate trade labor management Creole maturation of inferior language pidgin to reflect sophistication and complexity Passed down to next gen becomes Creole language Example Middle English is creole of Old French and Anglo Saxon Three Modes of Signifier and Signified Symbol Symbolic signifier arbitrary or purely conventional relationship must be learnt Ex Traffic lights national flags Icon Iconic signifier perceived as resembling or imitating the signified Possessing some of its qualitites o Ex portrait scale model Ex medical symptoms rash Index Indexical signifier is directly connected in some way to signified Three Paradigms 1 st Paradigm remains America est end of 19th century archaeological record human Goals documentation of indigenous languages esp those of North View of Language arbitrary relations b w language as arb symbolic system and reality observation informal interviews audio recordings 2 nd Paradigm Goals study of language use across speakers and activities View of Language culturally organized and culturally organized domain Charles Hockett s Design Features of Language Vocal Auditory Channel use of voice and hearing Broadcast Transmission and Directional Reception sound goes out in all directions hearer can pinpoint the direction stereo phonic Rapid Fading sound of speech does not hover in the air Interchangeability adult members of community are interchangeably transmitters and receivers of linguistic signals Complete Feedback speaker hears what he says ex able to hear own mistake and correct it Specialization ability for language to accomplish work Ex To get students out of class see you all on Wed Semanticity language is closely related to patterns in life conveys meaning Arbitrariness Associative ties b w signifier and signified are non iconic Discreteness Calls vs Phonemes Whole message is in a call animals 2 or more phonemes packaged as morpheme Similar sounds can be perceived as either a or b Duality of Patterning discrete parts of a language can be recombined in a systematic way to create new forms Displacement speaker can talk about things in the past present future or remote in space Ex talk about the moon Openness human languages allow speakers to create novel never before heard utterances that others can understand Ex never before heard sentences can be understood Tradition must learn or acquire native language from other speakers not born with system animals Prevarication talk about things that do not exist at all lying hypothesis Reflexiveness use language to talk about language Learnability we can learn multiple languages Grammaticality words conform to rules of grammar Recursiveness ability to come back to certain ideas keep in mind Types of Writing Systems Logographic tremendous number of signs each to represent morpheme Logogram represent word or part of word Grow up to staggering numbers Ex Chinese Logophonetic stripped down ver of logographic 2 major signs donating morphemes and ones denoting sounds o Ex Egyptian Syllabic overwhelming signs used solely for phonetic values Phonetic represent syllables rather than individual sound o Ex Cherokee Consonantal Vowels are not written Syllabic basic sign contains a consonant and a vowel Segmental nearly all sounds in a language can be represented by appropriate consonant and vowel alphabet Ex Arabic Ex Bengali Ex Latin Haiti and Language Official language is French only spoken by 10 Creole is language of 90 French regarded as higher language All Haitians even French speaking speak Creole 04 03 2012 04 03 2012