Introduction to Linguistics Summaries

·         Linguistics is the scientific study of human language.

·         Language is Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols.

·         Linguistic competence is the system of linguistic knowledge possessed by native speakers of a language, it is in contrast to the concept of Linguistic performance, the way the language system is used in communication.

·         Linguistic performance is how to use linguistic competence in actual  speech production and comprehension.

·         Linguistic description (observation and reportage of how language is practised) establishes conceptual categories without establishing formal usage rules (prescriptions)

·         Parole is the concrete use of the language, the actual utterances. It is an external manifestation of langue. It is the usage of the system, but not the system.

·         La langue is the whole system of language that precedes and makes speech possible. A sign is a basic unit of langue.

·         Learning a language, we master the system of grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation. These are all elements of langue.

·         Langue is a system in that it has a large number of elements whereby meaning is created in the arrangements of its elements and the consequent relationships between these arranged elements.

·         DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR: A descriptive grammar looks at the way a language is actually used by its speakers and then attempts to analyse it and formulate rules about the structure. Descriptive grammar does not deal with what is good or bad language use; forms and structures that might not be used by speakers of Standard English would be regarded as valid and included. It is a grammar based on the way a language actually is and not how some think it should be.

·         PRESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR: A prescriptive grammar lays out rules about the structure of a language. Unlike a descriptive grammar it deals with what the grammarian believes to be right and wrong, good or bad language use; not following the rules will generate incorrect language. Both types of grammar have their supporters and their detractors, which in all probability suggests that both have their strengths and weaknesses. Writers were concerned to make rules about how people ought to speak and write, in conformity with some standard they held dear. They were not concerned with ascertaining first how people actually did speak and write.

·         Descriptive grammar: a grammar that "describes" how language is used by its speakers. 

For example,I am older than her.

Explanation: Subject pronouns (she, he, it, and so on) are paired with a verb, whereas object pronouns (her, him, it, and so on) are not. Since the phrase "than her" doesn't have a verb we can see or hear, some speakers choose an object pronoun in the context.

·         Prescriptive grammar: a grammar that "prescibes" how speakers should use the language.

For example, I am older than she (is older).

Explanation: 'than' is a conjunction; it joins two like forms: "I am older" with "she is older", giving "I am older than she is older", but speakers omit the last part "is older" because it's redundant. Nevertheless, according to prescriptive grammar, 'than' functions as a conjunction, so speakers should use "she" in that context.

·         Onomatopoeic words are words that, when pronounced, imitate the sound that they describe. The word “boom,” for example, is not only a word that indicates a loud noise, but it also mimics the resounding report of an explosion or similarly large noise. Words like “buzz” and “click” are also onomatopoeic words.

·         Grammar is central to the teaching and learning of languages.

·         Languages are said to be arbitrary because there is no necessary or natural relationship between the words of a given language and the concepts that they represent.

·         Languages are arbitrary because the rules for the combination of signs in order to produce complete thoughts are different from one language to the other, and no set of rules can claim to be the "right" one.

·         Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems.

·         Theoretical linguistics is the branch of linguistics concerned with the form of language representation in the mind, that is, linguistic competence and the structure and components of mental grammar.

·         Symbol is something such as a particular mark that represents some piece of information.

·         Linguistic knowledge entails the ability to produce certain sounds that have certain meanings and to understand the sounds made by others.

·         Segmentation is the ability to analyze words into individual sounds

·         Acoustic Phonetics: The study of the physical properties of sounds.

·         Auditory Phonetics: The study of the way listeners perceive sounds.