MEETING I

Introduction to English
Linguistics
• When you know a language, you can speak and be
understood by others who know that language. This
means you have the capacity to produce sounds
that signify certain meanings and to understand or
interpret the sounds produced by others.

• Here, we are referring to a normal-hearing

individuals. Deaf persons produce and understand
sign languages just as hearing persons produce and
understand spoken languages.

• The question is “What is language actually”?

• Language is a tool to communicate; consist of a
set of signals by which human being use it to
transfer and receive messages.

• Those signals can be in the forms of sounds,

words, sentences, or discourse, and it is only
human being can produce it.

• So, it is only human being can use language to

have communication each others, differs to
animals. Animals can communicate but only
human being have language.
• Conversely, when animals vocally imitate
human utterances, it does not mean they
possess language since language is a
system that relates sounds (or gestures) to
meanings.

• For example “talking” birds such as parrots

and mynah birds are capable of faithfully
reproducing words and phrases of human
language that they have heard, but the
birds utterances have no meaning.
 The word Linguistic derives from latin
Lingua”” which means “ Language
“ Lingua Language”” . In English
language, we say “ Linguistics
Linguistics”” but in Germany
we say “ Lingustique
Lingustique”” . So, linguistics means the
scientific study of language. When someone
studies language, unconsciously, he/she studies
about linguistics.
 Linguistics is distinguished into micro
and macrolinguistics.

1.When you study about the language

within its own property (language itself),
you are in microlinguistics
microlinguistics.

2.While if you study the language outside

its property, it means that you are in
macrolinguistics
macrolinguistics.
 Microlinguistics:
� Phonetics : the study of the sounds of language.
� Phonology : the study of the sound patterns of
language.
� Morphology : the study of the words of language and
its forms.
� Syntax : the study of the sentence patterns of
language.
� Semantics : the study of the meanings of language.
� Pragmatics : the general study of speaker meaning.
� Sociolinguistics : the study of the relationship between
language use and the structure of
society.
 Macrolinguistics:
�Psycholinguistics: the study of language
that relates to Psychology.

�Neurolinguistics: the study of language

used in medical science.

�Ethnography: the study of language used

and how its use varies in different cultures.
 Exercises
1. What is the definition of language?
a. Language is how people speak up
b. Language is a tool of communication
c. Language is a symbol
d. Language is part of signals
e. Language is part of symbol

2. What is the meaning of linguistic?

a. The study of meaning
b. The study of word order
c. The study of language
d. The study of word structure
e. The study of grammar
3. The word linguistics derives from latin “Lingua”. What does it means?
a. Linguistics
b. Meaning
c. Literal
d. Language
e. Language acquisition

4. How many branch of microlinguistics that you know?

a. Four
b. Five
c. Six
d. Seven
e. Eight
5. Which branch of linguistics studies word order?
a. Morphology
b. Pragmatics
c. Syntax
d. Semantics
e. Phonology
 ANSWER KEY
1. B
2. C
3. D
4. D
5. E