Tema 1

General Linguistics

What is language?

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Index Page

1. What is language?
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1.1. What is language? (Definition)
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1.2. Linguistic Knowledge
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1.3.Knowledge of the sound system (Sound system or phonology)
1.3.1.Phonetics and phonology
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1.4.Knowledge of words
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1.5. Arbitrary Relation of form (sound) and meaning (concept)
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1.6. The Creativity of Language knowledge
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1.7. Knowledge of Sentences and Non Sentences
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1.8. Linguistic knowledge (competence) and Performance
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1.8.1. Linguistic competence
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1.8.2. Linguistic Performance
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1.9. What is Grammar?
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1.10. Descriptive Grammar
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1.11. Prescriptive Grammar

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1.12. Teaching Grammars
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1.13. Universal Grammar
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1.14. The Development of Grammar
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1.15. The properties of language
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1.16. Sign language: Evidence for language Universals
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1.17. Is Language Unique to Humans?
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Complementary Resources
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Bibliografy
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1. What is language?
1.1 What is language? (Definition)
Language is human beings’ ability to talk, to communicate, to produce and
understand spoken, written words, and signs. Language is a human being's
feature and it distinguishes us from animals (Introduction to Language, 2019).
The most simple way to talk is face-to-face or making phone calls. Nowadays,
thanks to technology, we can text messages, make video calls, send emails,
etc. We talk every day, everywhere and every moment. Language is vital in our
lives to communicate with each other. (Fromkin et al., 2014)

1.2. Linguistic Knowledge

Linguistic knowledge or Linguistic competence is the profound unconscious
knowledge of a language (Grammar, sounds and sounds patterns of language)
(Fromkin et al., 2014). Speakers of a language use their mental grammar which
is the generative grammar that they have stored in their brains to create
language that other speakers can understand. In other words, using linguistic
knowledge speakers of a language can create an infinite number of sentences
using a finite number of rules (Nordquist, 2020)

1.3.Knowledge of the sound system (Sound

system or phonology)
1.3.1.Phonetics and phonology
While phonetics is the study of sounds and is concerned about the creation,
production, audition and perception of speech sounds (called phones),
phonology describes the manner in which sounds work inside a given language
and works at the level of sound systems and abstract sound units. Knowing the
sounds of a language is just a part of phonology. This significance lies in
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transforming a single word into another by basically transforming one sound.

Consider the contrasts between the words try and dry. The words are similar
except for the first sound. [t] and [d] can differentiate words, and are called
distinctive sounds. They are particular sounds in English, and all particular
sounds are called phonemes (Wagner, 2020).

When you know the sound system of a language you know the rules that
govern its pronunciation and the stock or the inventory of sounds. What sounds
are and what sounds are not in that language. It also implies that you know and
realize which sounds may begin a word, end a word, and follow one another.

1.4.Knowledge of words
When a speaker knows a language he recognizes and identifies the words that
belong to that language and what words do not. In other words, you know which
sequences of sounds refer to particular meanings and which do not. All of us
know that certain sequences of sounds stand for certain concepts, ideas or
meanings. Spanish speakers know what casa means. We know that the
meaning of casa is different from mesa or libro. We also know that mesa and
libro are words and their meanings. Likewise , we know that moju is not a word
(Fromkin et al., 2014).

1.5. Arbitrary Relation of form (sound) and

meaning (concept)
In Linguistics, Arbitrariness is the lack of natural connection between a linguistic
form (sound) and its meaning (concept). Arbitrariness exists in all languages.
Arbitrariness exists in all languages it is the principal reason why learners
cannot learn or memorize the vocabulary of a foreign language easily (Trask,
2004, p12) This incomprehensible relationship between the form (sounds) and
meaning (concept) of a word also happens in sign languages (Fromkin et al.,

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2014). An example of this arbitrariness is when we pronounce the word table it

has nothing to do with the shape of a table.

However in all the languages we have words with sounds that seem to echo the
sounds of things or activities (sound symbolism, words whose pronunciation
suggest their meanings (Fromkin et al., 2014) and we can say that these words
have a less arbitrary connection,e.g. Cuckoo, crash, slurp, boom, buzz or
murmur etc. However, there are just a few onomatopoeic words in human
language.
The same happens with respect to sign language with certain words the
relationship between form and meaning is not arbitrary (artificial). For example,
bringing the hand to the eye to mean “looking” as in miming. However, other
signs are completely arbitrary (Fromkin et al., 2014, 4)

1.6. The Creativity of Language knowledge

One of the properties of language is creativity. When speakers have knowledge
of a language they can combine sounds to form words, words to form phrases,
and phrases to form well-formed sentences. The number of sentences which
can be created is infinite, and these sentences can be longer and more
complex. Speakers have the ability to create sentences and understand
sentences that they never spoke or heard before (Fromkin et al., 2014, 5) .

1.7. Knowledge of Sentences and Non Sentences

In the same way that we can create well-formed sentences we can differentiate
between well-formed sentences and ill-formed sentences. It means grammatical
and ungrammatical sentences. For example, If you read this sentence “What
she dreamt was want travel to Latham” You immediately noticed that it is not a
well-formed sentence. You can do this using your linguistic creativity. You know
that it is not necessary to have a string of words to have well-formed sentences.

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You create well-formed sentences when you organize or arrange words

following the rules of sentence formation of a language.
These rules can be stored in our finite brains because they are finite in length
and finite in number. These rules give us the possibility to create and
understand an infinite number of new sentences. It is worth emphasizing that
these are unconscious rules which were acquired when we were young children
and we continue developing them as we grow up. These rules are responsible
for our linguistic creativity and they are called the grammar of the language
(Fromkin et al., 2014).

1.8. Linguistic knowledge (competence) and

Performance
1.8.1. Linguistic competence
It is the knowledge of words (mental dictionary/lexicon) and grammar.
1.8.2. Linguistic Performance
It is how we use our knowledge of words and grammar (linguistic competence)
in real speech production and comprehension (Fromkin et al., 2014).

1.9. What is Grammar?

For linguists, grammar is just the set of principles defining how to put together a
sentence (Chung & Pullum, 2020).
The Grammar of a language is simply the way it combines smaller elements
(such as words) into larger elements (such as sentences) (Trask, 2004, p27)
In simple terms, Grammar is the system and structure of a language. The rules
of grammar help us decide the order we put words in and which form of a word
to use (Plain English Campaign, n.d.).
Another complex concept states that grammar is the structure and system of a
language, or of languages in general, usually considered to consist of syntax
and morphology (English Club, 2020)

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Taking into account these definitions Grammar in this course will be defined like
the set of language rules to produce and understand an infinite set of possible
sentences.These rules are part of the grammar of a language. Grammar also
includes the sound system (the phonology which is the mental representation of
language sounds, rules for combining sounds into words), the structure and
parts of words, for example, stems, root words, prefixes and suffixes. Rules of
word formation (the morphology) A mental dictionary (lexicon), how words may
be combined into phrases and sentences or rules for combining words into
phrases and phrases into sentences (the syntax), and the ways in which sounds
and meanings are related or rules for assigning meaning (the semantics)
(Fromkin et al., 2014).
There are different types of grammar: Descriptive Grammars and Prescriptive
Grammars.

1.10. Descriptive Grammar

Descriptive grammar is the description made by linguists or grammarians about
a language. They describe in an effective way a language making explicit the
grammatical rules that exist in the minds of its speakers. The grammar that
linguists describe is unconscious mental grammar that every speaker of the
language has. Linguists describe the rules of the language that are known by its
speakers, the rules that they have internalized. Therefore, it does not teach the
rules of the language. It does not say how speakers of a language should
speak. It just describes the speaker's basic linguistic knowledge. When a
speaker recognizes that a sentence is well-formed or grammatically correct it
means that it adjusts to the rules of his mental grammar. Conversely, when the
speaker identifies a sentence like ill-formed. It means that it differs from the
rules of his mental grammar in a certain way (Fromkin et al., 2014, 9).

1.11. Prescriptive Grammar

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It is a grammar that attempts to regulate what your grammar should be. This
grammar does not describe, it prescribes. The goal of prescriptive grammar is
to tell people what rules they should follow, instead of just describing the rules
that people know.
Prescriptive grammar came up because grammarians thought that not all the
grammars are the same. Some purists believed and believe that some varieties
of the language are better than others. In the Renaissance a new middle class
emerged. They wanted their children to speak the dialect of the upper class. So,
many prescriptive grammar rules were created to speak properly and they
created the prestige dialect. It was spoken by people in positions of power. It
was thought that educated people have to speak and write using correct forms.
For example, before people said “ He doesn’t have none. After bishop Lowth
decided that “two negatives made a positive” So, now we say “He doesn’t have
any”. All these grammarians try to save the English Language without taking
into account that language is dynamic. Consequently, it changes, new words
are incorporated due to advances in technology. Other words are left out
because they are considered obsolete. Some words are taken from other
languages and other words change their meanings. Nowadays, from a linguistic
perspective all grammars and usages are equal. It does not matter if they are
spoken by prestigious or less prestigious members of society. However, the
saviors of the English language blame TV, schools, and even the National
Council of teachers of English for not preserving the Standard language. It may
be considered a better dialect for someone who wants to get a job or achieve a
position of social prestige. (Fromkin et al., 2014, 10).

1.12. Teaching Grammars

This grammar is taught in schools in foreign language classrooms. This is
formal grammar taught in formal instruction. Students are taught the rules of the
language in an explicit way, but special emphasis is placed on the grammar
which is different from their native language as well as words and their
pronunciations. Teaching grammars work well with adults because they know
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their native language and they compare it with the grammar of the target
language. The meanings of words are provided with the parallel word of the
learner’s native language. Teaching grammars could be compared with
prescriptive grammar in the sense that the learner is taught what is
grammatically correct or what is not in the target language. Teaching grammars
does not try to change the rules or usages of the language (Fromkin et al.,
2014, 12) .

1.13. Universal Grammar

It refers to the rules which hold in all the languages. All languages share
common characteristics. That is why, when students begin to learn a new
language they unconsciously know that a language has its own set of sounds,
an alphabet, whose letters they can use to form words, and after they use these
words to make phrases and sentences. They know that they have to use nouns
and verbs to make sentences which are universal grammar categories.
Additionally, they know that there are a system of rules to create sentences and
understand them, as well as ways to ask questions, negating, issuing
commands, etc (Fromkin et al., 2014, 13) .
At this point, It is relevant to cite Noam Chomsky and his theory Universal
Grammar (UG). it suggests that there is a universal grammar which is part of
the biologically endowed human language faculty. It could be said that UG is
the model that all languages follow that forms part of the child’s innate capacity
for language learning. Noam Chomsky goes beyond and states that all children
are born with a language acquisition device or the innate ability to acquire,
develop and understand a language. It means that all human beings are born
with an understanding of the grammar as the laws of language (Fromkin et al.,
2014, 13).
Noam Chomsky also states that all languages are similar with respect to their
grammar laws. So, if the basic grammar laws are the same for all languages, all
human beings are born with the ability to understand grammar laws. Therefore,
a child only needs to observe the particular set of rules that his peers follow in
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order to understand and produce their native language. So, his environment
and the exposure to the language determines which language he will use, but
he is born with the tools to learn any language efficiently (Benwell, 2020).

Figura 1. Universal Grammar. Fuente: https://youtu.be/xfiHd6DyuTU

Video about Universal Grammar You Tube https://youtu.be/xfiHd6DyuTU

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Figura 2. Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar. Fuente: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=MLNFGWJOXjA
Video about Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar You Tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLNFGWJOXjA

1.14. The Development of Grammar

All children acquire their first language effortlessly and quickly. They pick up
their mother tongue by just listening to their parents or caregivers when they are
little ones. It is not necessary children have a specific or formal instruction. They
just need exposure to the language to acquire it. It does not matter that their
native languages have particular characteristics they will learn them with ease
due to all languages having basic grammar laws and children are endowed with
human language faculty. Learning a language is a process in which children
follow through a babbling stage; they say words, they combine words and make
simple sentences and at the end they make complex sentences with the lexicon
they have acquired. This process of acquisition of their mother tongue is easy
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for children since they do not have to understand all the grammatical rules, just
the specific ones (Fromkin et al., 2014, 14).

1.15. The properties of language.

Figure 3. Properties of Language. Fuente: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BT7AhTPFRM

Video about Properties of Language. Fuente: You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5BT7AhTPFRM

They are characteristics which are unique to the human language. They
are displacement, creativity, arbitrariness, cultural transmission, discreteness,
duality among others.
Displacement refers to the capacity that human beings have to communicate or
talk about the past or future. This characteristic is not present in animal
communication. Animals can communicate with each other to warn of imminent
danger in their immediate environment only, and they communicate just in
present. They cant not communicate about the past or the future. Making use of
this characteristic human beings can create fiction and describe future worlds,
ancient worlds or fictitious worlds. Another characteristic is productivity or
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creativity. It points out that speakers of all languages have the ability to create
an unlimited number of sentences using their linguistic knowledge. Creativity
also refers to the ability to create or invent new words. We proceed with
arbitrariness, it points out that there is no natural connection between a
linguistic form and its meaning. For example, the word RABBIT has no natural
relationship with that animal. In other words, the words do not fit the objects
they describe. Cultural transmission is another property of the language. It
refers to the fact that language is passed on from one generation to the next.
We do not inherit language from our parents. We acquire a language in a
culture when we are exposed to that language and we interact with its speakers
within a society. For example an Ecuadorian girl whose parents are Ecuadorian
and she has been adopted from birth by an American couple who do not speak
Spanish. She has been brought up in Latham, New York where everybody
speaks English. The Ecuadorian girl will speak English. It is necessary to
emphasize that if a child has grown up in isolation he will not produce any
language.
After we have discreteness. When each sound is treated as distinct or different
is described as discreteness. Let’s consider the English word pool. It has four
units /p/o/o/l/. Speech units which can be recorded or combined and even being
separated. If we reorder the word pool we can have the English word loop. We
can say that the sounds we use in a language are significantly distinct. If we say
pat it has a different meaning of bat because p and b have a different sound so
their meanings are different.
Last but not least, we have duality (or double articulation). Language is
organized in two levels. One level is when we produce single sounds like, j, o, y,
m, a, all of them have distinct sounds. On the other level we produce these
sounds in a specific combination. That is we produce words with different
sounds and meanings. In conclusion, phonemes (sounds) are meaningless
when we pronounce them as individual sounds, however when we combine
them and make words they become meaningful (The Properties of Language,
2009) .

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1.16. Sign language: Evidence for language

Universals
Sign languages give us the evidence that all languages are governed by
the same universal principles. American Sign Language (ASL) uses visual-
gestural systems which use hand, body, and facial movements or gestures to
represent words and grammatical rules. Exactly, like people who can speak,
signers produce and understand an unlimited number of sentences thanks to
creativity or productivity which is a property of any language. Sign language is
similar to a spoken language. It has its lexicon, grammatical rules of signs
encoded through a system of gestures (Fromkin et al., 201, 15).

1.17. Is Language Unique to Humans?

As we have seen, the human language has different characteristics or
properties like creativity, displacement, arbitrariness, cultural transmission,
discreteness, duality among others. These characteristics make the human
language complex and unique. It is true that animals can exchange information
with other members of their species but in a simple way, since they do not have
a system of communication. Animals can communicate just about their
immediate environment, when there is an imminent danger or to communicate
where there is food or water. Animals do not have the capacity of speech. They
cannot communicate about the past or the future (displacement). As well as,
they cannot create new words, or produce an infinite number of sentences with
a finite number of grammar rules (creativity). As we can see, the human
language is a complex system of communication based upon words which are
combined to make sentences. That is, It consists of different units which are
combined according to the grammar rules. It permits its speakers to express
thoughts in sentences which have subjects, verbs and objects. We can talk
about the present, past and future. Additionally, we can create new words and
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combine and recombine sets of words to produce a countless number of

sentences that we can understand (Pagel, 2017)

Complementary Resources
● Video about The concept of Language (Noam Chomsky)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdUbIlwHRkY

Bibliography
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Language.
Lane, H. 1989. When the mind hears: A history of the deaf. New York:
Vintage Books (Random House).
Milroy, J., and L. Milroy. 1998. Authority in language: Investigating standard
English,3rd ed. New York: Routledge.
Napoli, D. J. 2003. Language matters: A guide to everyday thinking about
language. New York: Oxford University Press.
Pinker, S. 1999. Words and rules: The ingredients of language. New York:
HarperCollins.
_____. 1994. The language instinct. New York: William Morrow.
Premack, A. J., and D. Premack. 1972. Teaching language to an ape. Scientific
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American (October): 92–99.

Terrace, H. S. 1979. Nim: A chimpanzee who learned sign language. New York:
Knopf.
Stam, J. 1976. Inquiries into the origin of language: The fate of a question. New
York:Harper & Row.
Stokoe, W. 1960. Sign language structure: An outline of the visual
communication
system of the American deaf. Silver Spring, MD: Linstok Press.

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