DẪN LUẬN NGÔN NGỮ

CHƯƠNG 1
1. WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
Language?
Means of communication in a community
Definition of language: A system of signals that is used to
communicate in a community
Tức ngôn ngữ chính là: Signs + meanings = Signals
Ta có
Signal ( kí hiệu ) = sign ( dấu hiệu ) + conventional meaning ( tính
quy ước )
Signal is a combination between sign and conventional meaning
 ( dấu hiệu mang nghĩa quy ước )
 Sự khác nhau giữa sign và signal:
Definition of sign= have no meaning ( k có nghĩa), reflect or show
sth ( dùng phản ánh hoặc báo hiệu cái gì đó ) . ví dụ thấy khói = báo
hiệu có lửa. vậy khói là sign
Definition of signal = have meaning ( có nghĩa sẵn trong kí hiệu
rồi ), can be used to communicate
Ví dụ của signal:
o Speech sounds:
Ex: “ ia “ = I
“ vư “ = you
“ lubliu “ = love
“ iu vư lubliu “ = I love you
 o Gestures ( body language ) Ex: “ shaking the head “ = No
o Other forms: text, message
Ex: Red light in the room is on = sign of power is on good
condition
Red, Yellow, Green = signal của việc dừng lại , đi chậm và cho phép
chạy xe ( đc quy ước )
Definition of community : Signals + communication
Idividual language = between 2 people
2. What is the nature of language? ( bản chất của ngôn ngữ là gì ?):
Language is Arbitrary ( võ đoán ) for the most part

Definition of Arbitrary ( a bít truy ): Learn by heart (phải học thuộc

lòng thì mới biết ý nghĩa ) , No real relationship between forms
( sounds ) and reference ( vật ám chỉ )/ mearning ( không dính gì hết
giữa âm thanh và vật ám chỉ ) ( Sounds and reference are irrelevant )
For the most part: Some signals are Non – arbitrary ( sounds, pictres
of natures ) = you can Guess meaning of sounds, pictures of nature
without learning
Ex: Cho con heo ăn dùm Bác ( arbitrary )
Cho con ỘT ăn dùm Bác ( non-arbitrary )
Tiếng kêu Gợi đến con heo
3. What does language consist of ? ( Ngôn ngữ gồm những gì ?)
Language is abstract ( trừu tượng ). Language must be learnt.
Sounds Meanings
Contexts
Rules
Who know? => native speaker
How=> unconciously
Sounds + meanings = Pidgin ( Tiếng bồi )
Ví dụ tiếng bồi: Người Việt nói “ You go, you know “ => Người Mĩ
hiểu ( mang tính international )
Người việt nói “ No star where “ => Người Mĩ k hiểu ( mang tính local
vì dịch từ tiếng Việt sang tiếng Anh
4. What is Linguistic knowledge ? : =>Knowledge about language
( Biết ngôn ngữ học là biết cái gì )
What is Linguistic knowledge ? ( biết ngôn ngữ học là biết cái gì )
=>What you know
=>Who know? Native speaker
=>How? Unconsciously ( biết 1 cách vô thức )
=>What do they know?
=> + Know sounds ( in the language or not in the language ):
Ex: Con: Mua thịt Pò về ăn ( mẹ: what did you say ? )

Con: Mua thịt Bò về ăn với rau Te ( mẹ: what do you

mean? )
*Ways to pronounce words. Ex: phát âm đc các
từ trong câu “ bé Tí đi tu “
*Combination and sound changes
=> +Meaning ( relate words + meaning )
=> + Formation of words , sentences ( biết cấu trúc câu và từ
). Ex: Workist ( sai ) => worker
 Creativity ( tính sáng tạo trong ngôn ngữ )= Production
( sentences or phrases ) + reception ( create a new sentences that
 the speaker never used before and understand new sentences that
never heard before )

4.1 Linguistic Competence ( Năng lực ( khả năng ) ngôn ngữ ) is

what knowledge we know about language and that is invisible.
Namely, that is ability to use / apply knowledge about language to create
a formation of sentence. ( dù k sử dụng nhưng vẫn nằm sẵn trong đầu )
Although we don’t use them such as when we sleep , this knowledge is
still in our mind.
4.2 Linguistic performance: ( năng lực ứng dụng ) Ability to use in
real situation and that is visible ). However, this performance can be
right or wrong about structure, position of words or grammar. That is
simply can combine single word together to show what the speaker want
to say or make a senstence.
Learn the language consciously to have a good performance.
Language
5. What is Linguistics ( ngôn ngữ học là gì ) : the science of
language
Study language in details.
5.1 Who studies linguistics?
Who want to be the master of language
English major students: Yes
English non-major students: No
( The structure of spoken language )
 Spoken language

Structure Pragmatics (ngữ dụng → Use

Sounds Grammar Meaning

Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics

( ngữ âm) ( âm vị) ( từ pháp) ( cú pháp ) ( ngữ nghĩa )
 Phonetics Ngữ âm học (the sounds of language) that studies
how humans make and perceive sounds
 Phonology Âm Vị học : studies a language's sound-patterning
system.
 Morphology Từ Pháp Học (the word formation of language):
that studies and analyzes the structure of words and parts of
words in language.
 Syntax Cú Pháp Học (the sentence patterns of language): that
studies the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern
the structure of sentences.
 Semantics Ngữ Nghĩa Học (the literal meaning of language
nghĩa thực): that deals with the study of literal meaning of
language.
 Pragmatics Ngữ Dụng Học (the contextual meaning of
languagenghĩa theo ngữ cảnh): that studies the ways in which
context contributes to meaning.

1.4 Types/kinds of grammar in language

Grammar is a system of rules in a language
What rules are they : everything in language such as: rules of sounds,
rules of meaning of words, rules of structure of sentencesv.v
Where rules from ? Native speakers: agree something that is a rule
Grammarians
Grammar consist of:
*Mental grammar : grammar in the mind of native speakers ( they
accquire unconsciously and don’t know why. It is invisible. It can be
logical or illogical, as long as native speakers agree => right. )
*Descriptive grammar: grammar which is described by Grammarians
( nhà văn phạm học ) ( mang tính bình dân mọi người đều dùng )
Describe mental grammar for people who want to learn a new
language
It is visible: they have rules of sounds, rules of words…
It is logical
If it is illogical ( imitate the native speakers )
*Prescriptive grammar: Grammar is in which people force u to use
certain rules to be well educated, pass exam…
Teaching grammar:
+Grammar you study in schools
The process of learning new language:
*Prescriptive grammar -> *Descriptive grammar -> mental grammar (
learn consciously )
Native speaker học theo chiều ngược lại
+Exception ( ngoại lệ trong văn nói )
 Be the same as native speakers
1.5 Universal grammar (universal grammar which consists of a
number of facts pertaining/ similar to all language ) :
Wherever humans exist, language exists.
All languages are equally complex and equally capable of expressing
any idea in the universe.
All languages change through time.
The relationships between the sounds and meanings in spoken
language and between the gestures and sign meanings are arbitrary.

All human languages utilize a finite set of discrete sounds (or

gestures) that are combined to form meaningful elements or words,
which themselves form an infinite set of possible sentences.

All grammars contain les for the formation of words and sentences in
a similar kind.

Every spoken language includes discrete sound segments which

belong to a class of vowels or a class of consonants.

Similar grammatical categories such as nouns, verbs... are found in

every language in the world

There are also semantic units that can be used to define the meaning
of words.
1.6 Animal language:
 1 signals/ sign
2. communication
Loài vật có ngôn ngữ
Không có ngôn ngữ chung giữa người và vật ( đa số )
Similarity and differences between human language and animal
language:
 Similarity: signals to communicate
 Differences: a. Number of signals ( human laguage is more
complicated )
b. Meaning of signals
c. Combination of signals
d. innate ( animal )/ learn ( human )
CÂU HỎI CẦN NẮM CHƯƠNG 1:
1. What is language? Analyze its definition and its nature.
2. What does knowing a language mean?
3. What is linguistics? Who needs to study linguistics? Why?
4.Make clear the following opinion with examples “ Language is
different from linguistics “
Dàn bài:
Language ( định nghĩa, ai học, biết ngôn ngữ biết cái gì , học cái gì,
mục đích là gì , sử dụng ntn )
: When using a language to communicate, we need three main factors:
sounds, rules, and meanings. They are essential factors because without
one of them we can never communicate. However, to be successful, we
need to use language in a certain context. This context factor helps us be
successful in real communication. The relationship among the language
factors can be presented in the following chart:
 Sounds Meanings
Contexts
Rules
Linguistics: ( định nghĩa, ai cần học, học ngôn ngữ học là học cái gì,
mục đích học )
is simply defined as the science of language. The word linguistics here
means descriptive linguistics because it proposes to describe
scientifically the facts of language, or what others call structural
linguistics, thus emphasizing that language has structure and that the
description of language necessarily is a description of its structure.
Kết hợp cái sơ đồ này:
( The structure of spoken language )

Spoken language

Structure Pragmatics (ngữ dụng → Use

Sounds Grammar Meaning

Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics

( ngữ âm) ( âm vị) ( từ pháp) ( cú pháp ) ( ngữ nghĩa )
5. Essay question:
1. "Language is the means of communication; however,
acquiring the native language (mother tongue) is different from
learning a foreign language."
 Dàn bài: Language: means of communication.
Means consist of : speech sounds, gestures, other forms =>
communicate with others easily
Languages are composed of: mother tongue, second language,
foreign languages
Mother tongue : +Acquire ( learn unconsciously subunconsciously)
+ Learn through environment +time
Foreign language: + learn consciously : learn rules of sounds, rules
of words, grammar, meaningv.v
+ No real environment ( have no native speakers )
+ Not enough time
6. Write a short essay presenting arguments against someone who
tells you that you are wrong. Discuss how this disagreement
demonstrates the difference between descriptive and prescriptive
grammar.

You and all people } It's me. ( descriptive grammar ( ngữ pháp
bình dân tức mọi người đều dùng )
A student: It's me. wrong. Correct form must be: It's I.
Essay to prove that It's me is right.
Dàn bài: It’s I : wrong
 Based on Rules From people. People agree => right ( There is no
reason why, cant explain )
 Language is a social phenomenon . The rules in language= the rules
in society
CHƯƠNG 2 GRAMMARTICAL ASPECTS OF
LANGUAGE ( lĩnh vực văn phạm ngôn ngữ )

Morphology ( rules to form word )

Syntax ( rules to form sentences )
Semantics & Pragmatics ( Rules to express meaning )
Phonetics & Phonology ( rules about sounds )
MORPHOLOGY : THE FORMATION OF WORDS OF
LANGUAGE ( HÌNH THÁI HỌC NÓI VỀ CẤU TẠO
TỪ TRONG NGÔN NGỮ )
What is the words ? =>A words is the smallest meaningful linguistic
unit which can occur on its own in speech and writing . là Đơn vị ngôn
ngữ, nó nhỏ nhất và có nghĩa. Có thể đứng 1 mình đc
Word ( lexeme )? – a unit of language đơn vị ngôn ngữ : be meaningful,
be smallest ,
and can be in isolation in spoken / written speech
Language Units? – Phonemes ( âm vị )- morphemes ( hình vị )- words
từ vị( lexemes ) -sentences ( câu )-texts ( văn bản )
Ex: Workers = 1 word consisting of 3 morphemes ( work ), ( er ) =>
nghĩa từ vựng vì work là làm việc , er là chỉ người , (s ) => nghĩa văn
phạm
Where is the word from ? Dictionaries: *Monolingual dictionary ( từ
điển 1 thứ tiếng )
Ex: Oxford,: Britist English, Simple transcription symbols, examples
Webster, : American E
American Heritage: American E
Strange transcription symbols
Origin of words ( gốc từ )
*Bilingual dictionary ( Từ điển 2 thứ tiếng.
Ex: Từ điển anh việt )
2. Classes of words in language ( các lớp từ trog ngôn ngữ )
In language there are 2 main classes of words :
o 2.1 Content words ( thực từ ) : Can be: Nouns, Adj, adv, verbs
=> the words carry literal meaning ( từ mang nghĩa thực chỉ cái gì đó gọi
là content words ) ( we can form the word ( can only form noun), so the
number of content words is unlimited )
o 2.2 Function words ( hư từ ) : can be prepositions,conjunctions,
pronouns, determiners ( mạo từ )… ( the number of function words
is limited because we can’t form new words )
=> they are grammatical function, Not clear meaning ( k có nghĩa rõ
ràng )
Ex: The man is young

The : Function words

Man, is, young: content words
Ex: The man is standing there
Function words: the, is ( trong trường hợp này là trợ động từ ), there
( ở đó nhưng vẫn k xác định rõ đc là ở đâu ) vì k rõ nghĩa
Content words: man, stand
The number of words in a language? Unlimited in theory
 Limited at the time of speaking

Definition of Morpheme: +the smallest meaningful linguistic unit :

đơn vị ngôn ngữ có ý nghĩa nhỏ nhất
+ abstract ( mang tính trừu tượng )
+( ) ( nhớ là dấu ngoặc nhọn nha )
Ex: Workers ( work ) , ( er ), ( s )
Salesman ( sale ), ( s ) , ( man )
How to recognize morphemes? => Base on meaning: meaning =>
morphemes
Kinds of meanings:
 Lexical meaning ( nghĩa từ vựng ) : Denotes things ( real or
unreal ) biểu thị sự vật, but there ‘s clear meaning
Ex: god : chúa , k có thật ( chưa nhìn thấy ở trên đời )
 Grammatical meaning Nghĩa văn phạm ( thêm vào để đúng ngữ
pháp , k có nghĩa nhưng bỏ thì k đc ) :no real meaning, but
Used to form words ( no meaning ) or sentences
Ex: Work + ed = worked ( k phải từ mới ) . Yesterday , He
worked hard . ed chỉ văn phạm của từ trong câu
Ex: Dưa 1 word ( 1 từ ) 1 morpheme ( 1 chữ/tiếng )
Dưa leo 1 word ( 1 từ ) 2 morphemes ( 2 chữ/tiếng )
Dưa chuột 1 word ( 1 từ ) 2 morphemes ( 2 chữ/tiếng )

Dưa hấu 1 word ( 1 từ ) 2 morphemes ( 2 chữ/tiếng )

Dưa có nghĩa , hấu k có nghĩa nhưng bỏ thì k đc nên hấu là nghĩa văn
phạm
Ex: Berry
Cranberry ( cran) ( berry )
Huckleberry ( huckle ) ( berry )
 ( cran) , ( huckle ) hình vị mang nghĩa văn phạm , có 1 số hình vị
chỉ xuất hiện 1 lần , nó k có nghĩa gì hết nhưng lại ghép vs 1 từ có
nghĩa.
 Classification of morphemes: phân loại morphemes

1.Free morphemes ( đứng 1 mình đc cũng đồng nghĩa vs từ ) gồm :

content words và function words
2.Bound morphemes ( k đứng 1 mình đc ) gồm : affixes, Bound
roots , contracted forms
 .Affixes : * Position: -----xxxx => prefix . Ex: rewrite
xxxx---- => suffix . Ex: writer
xxx----xxx => infix . ex : salesman
----xxxx----- => circumfix . Tiếng anh k có
 *Function : +Form new words=> Derivational
Morphemes ( hình vị phái sinh ) => tạo từ mới
Ex: New word= a new form of words with lexical meaning
Write + er = writer : change part of speech ( đổi từ loại )
Yellow + ish = yellowish: no change in part of speech ( k đổi từ loại , vì
vậy có thể là từ mới hoặc k phải từ mới )
Re + do = redo : no change in part of speech ( k đổi từ loại , vì vậy có
thể là từ mới hoặc k phải từ mới )

+Show grammatical function of words in

sentences => Inflectional Morphemes ( Hình vị biến tố )
Ex: Work + ed = worked ( k phải từ mới ) . Yesterday , He worked
hard . ed chỉ văn phạm của từ trong câu => ed là Inflectional Morphemes
( Hình vị biến tố )
Note: In English: 8 Inflectional Morphemes ( Hình vị biến tố ):
plural (S ), Third singular verb ( s ), Possessive of Nouns ( s ) ,
Past ( ed ) , past participle ( ed ) , present participle ( Ving ),
comparative ( er ) , superrative ( est )

Có 2 loại ngôn ngữ: +Word order language ngôn ngữ trật tự từ: the
order of words tell the grammatical of words in sentences . nhìn thứ
tự từ trong câu biết chức năng nó là gì gọi là trật tự từ.
Ex: S+ v + O . Tom likes Linda . Linda likes Tom
+Inflectional language ngôn ngữ biến hình: the ending of words
tells the grammatical function of words in sentences. Nhìn đuôi từ
biết chức năng của từ .
Ex: Maxim ( male ) + nothing = subject, Victor ( male )
Maxima ( male ) = + a = object . Victora = object
Lena ( female ) + nothing = subject
Object = name + u => lenu ( female )
What kind of language does English belong to?Nowadays E = word
orfer language . In the past E was Inflectional language ( gặp 8
Inflectional language thì mới là Inflectional language )
Note: In English, Some grammatical relations can be express
either inflectionally Morphologically ( đuôi từ ): ending of word
Or Syntactically thứ tự từ : (word order) . Trong tiếng Anh, một
số quan hệ ngữ pháp có thể được diễn đạt một cách vô hướng về
mặt Hình thái hoặc Cú pháp
Ex: He loves books = He is a lover of books

 Morphological Analysis PHÂN TÍCH CẤU TẠO TỪ

 Constituents ( thành tố ) : they are units having names
( morphemes, words ) . là đơn vị có tên
 Immediate constituents ( thành tố trực tiếp ) + constituents that
go together to form larger units . thành tố đi chung vs nhau tạo
đơn vị lớn hơn
Ex: Work ( thành tố 1 ) + er ( thành tố 2 )= worker ( immediate
constituents )
Thành tố cắt mỗi lần là 2 lần: cắt đầu hoặc đuôi. Cắt làm sao có
nghĩa là đúng
Ex: Ir re place abil ity ( Immediate constituent division

Beautifully

Beautiful

Ex: ( tree diagram ) Beauti ful ly

Re + place = thành tố trực tiếp

Relace + able = thành tố trực tiếp
Ir + replaceable
Irreplaceable + ity
Why know immediate constituents?tại sao cần biết thành tố trực tiếp
 Trả lời: -definition of constituents
 -Definition of immediate constutuents
 -Benefits: +you know whether the formation is right or wrong
( can form a tree=> right ; cant be a tree=> wrong )
 +We can guess meaning of new words
Ex: Un install er : ng gỡ thiết bị
+ we can verify structural ambiguity : lm rõ mơ hồ
về cấu trúc
The same constituents is in different hierarchy
( thành tố nằm ở tầng khác nhau dẫn đến nghĩa khác nhau )

Unlockable

unlock

Ex: un lock able un lock able

MỘT SỐ KHÁI NIỆM VỀ TỪ

1.Root? Gốc từ: Is that part of a word which carries the main
meaning and left after all affixes have been removed : Đó có phải là
một phần của từ mang nghĩa chính và được để lại sau khi tất cả
các phụ tố đã được loại bỏ
+Free roots : education => educate là free root ( they can stand by
themselves in isolation. đứng 1 mình đc )
+Bound roots: audio, audience ( hear )=>audi là bound roots ( we
can never find them in isolation. k thể đứng 1 mình )
 2.Bases? Thân từ :a part of a word which carries the meaning and
which is left after one affix has been removed: một phần của từ khắc
sâu ý nghĩa và phần còn lại sau khi một phụ tố đã bị loại bỏ
Ex: Glob al ize , Global = base , Glob = root

3. Morphs ( hình tố ): We call the sound or group of sounds that

represents one morpheme the morph of that morpheme. Chúng tôi
gọi âm thanh hoặc nhóm âm thanh đại diện cho một morpheme là
hình thái của morpheme đó
In this way the morph of the morpheme {leave} is [liv], and in leaves
the morph of the plural morpheme {–s} is [z].

Ex: In correct
( In ) Ill egal
Im possible
Ir regular
( In ) Cùng morpheme allomorph ( in, ill, im , ir )
Worker ( work ) ( er ) : morpheme đưa ra hình vị
Work / er : morph Cắt ra
Cách tạo từ mới:
Non- Productive means: tạo 1 lần
Productive means:
 o 4.4.2.1 Derivational Process (by using affixes)
o 4.4.2.2 Word Coinage (by using existing words)

New word = new form of words with lexical meaning : hình thức mới
của từ với nghĩa từ vựng mới
Ex: write + er = writer
Re + do = redo
Ways to form new words: 1. Arbitrary Process ( võ đoán ) : form
new words as we like , no reasons
2. loaning process ( vay mượn từ ) : borrow words from other
countries
Ex: Hiện đại vay mượn từ từ Huyndai
Ex: piano ( ý ) , sofa ( tiếng Ả Rập )
3. Derivational process ( affixation ) thêm đầu thêm đuôi vào từ: By
using derivitional morphemes
Ex: write + er = writer
Re + do = redo

4. Coining process ( dùng từ có sẵn ) : By using existing words

4. 1. Compoundings: ghép nối từ từ các từ độc lập . Compounding is a
process that forms new words not from bound affixes but from two or
more independent words.
Ex: poorhouse
4.2Back- formations ( tạo từ ngược ): New words may be formed
from existing words by subtracting an affix thought to be part of the
old word; Các từ mới có thể được hình thành từ các từ hiện có bằng
cách trừ đi một phụ tố được cho là một phần của từ cũ
Ex: editor => edit

4.3.Clippings: cắt bớt Abbreviation of longer words : cắt bớt từ vựng

dài hơn
Ex: the first part is clipped : telephone => phone
4.4.Blends : A blend is a new word made out of the shorten forms of
two words: Sự pha trộn là một từ mới được tạo ra từ các dạng rút gọn
của hai từ.
Ex: motor + hotel = motel
4.5.Accronyms: Acronyms are words derived from the initials of
several words. They are pronounced as the spelling indicates: Từ viết
tắt là những từ bắt nguồn từ chữ cái đầu của một số từ. Chúng được
phát âm là chính tả chỉ ra.
Ex: World Health Organization =>W.H.O => WHO
4.6.Words from names : Người tạo ra ngôn ngữ : The creativity of
words in English vocabulary that derive from proper names of
individuals or places. Sự sáng tạo của các từ trong từ vựng tiếng Anh
bắt nguồn từ tên riêng của các cá nhân hoặc địa điểm.
Ex: jean, Jumbo
Bạn có đc kiến thức, khả năng nhưng vẫn k perform đc được gọi là
slips of the tongue ( sự lẹo lưỡi )
Ex: 1 ông sao sáng
2 ông sáng sao ( phát âm sai )
Lexical gaps: ex: I’m unsad ( nói ngta hiểu nhưng k có trong từ điển )
Know meaning of word by : + dictionary
+Guessing based on formation of word : can be right ( generalize )or
wrong ( over generalize khái quát quá mức )
ESSAY : Distinguish Derivational Morpheme # inflectional mor
Easy to recognize them
DÀN BÀI
Nêu định nghĩa morpheme
Phân loại morpheme : free & bound morpheme
Nêu định nghĩa derivational mor & inflectional mor
Recognize: Bound morpheme : 1. dựa vào vị trí ( position ) : prefix=>
derivational
Next to final ( kế chót ) => derivational
Ex: workers : ( er ) suffix => derivational mor , ( s ) inflectional mor
Hai hình vị biến tố ( inflectional mor ) k đứng kế nhau đc . Ex:
beautifuls ( sai )
2. change in part of speech => derivational
3. consider they are productive (inflectional)or selective (derivational)
4. a big change Meaning => derivational
5 learn by heart 8 inflectional morpheme
 SYNTAX (Sentence patterns)
1. What is sentence?

A string of words

+ having subject NP & predicates VP

+ conforming to all syntactic rules of the language

2. What is grammatical sentences?

Young people like beer from America (phrase marker)

Noun – Noun phr

Verb – VP

Adjective – AP

Adverb – AdvP

Problems with grammatical sentences  can be grammatical + meaningful/ meaningless

Grammatical: grammatical functions of constituent  right [valency] = balance

Meaningful: argument role of constituent  right

x SEE y (x, y are NP)  valency

Tom saw the car

X: EXPERIENCER (having thoughts)

Y: THEME

Meaningless: contradiction in semantic features of words (woman  human, young, female)

argument role of constituent  wrong

no sense words

He is a woman/ The slithly toves  meaningless

Ex: Colorless green ideas sleep furiously

NP  AP NP VP  ADVP

AP  A ADVP  ADV

NP  AP NP

AP  A

NP  N
How to prove that sentence is grammatical?

In traditional grammar: use form (part of speech) and function (modify sth) method

The very young girl is in the room

‘The’ modify girl

‘very’ mdf young

‘young’ mdf girl

‘the’ mdf room

‘in the room’ mdf the very young girl

In structural grammar (Descriptive grammar)

-Immediate constituent division (tree diagrams)

* in words: I.C = two

* in sentences = two or three

Three when:

+ two objects/complements

+ coordinating conjunctions Transitive verbs

Nouns  Modify Prepositions

Objects
Obligatory
Complements

Any part of speech

Det: undetermined

Sentence properties:

+ linearity: tính tuần tự

+ categoriality: tính phạm trù

+ hierarchy: tính tầng bậc

X-bar theory: theory about the formation of phrases in language.  generative grammar (ngữ pháp tạo
sinh)

Surface structure: right in language

Deep structure: similar in all languages

CP: complementiser phrase (having THAT)

Head
Obligatory to form grammatical sentences
Phrase
Modifiers with different functions: Lexical meaning  phrases
complement, adjunct, specifier
Non-obligatory
Unclear lexical meaning  never
phrases

 Verify structural ambiguity

 Analyze all languages
 Analyze all structures: sentences (S) & clauses (S’)

Constituent & Constituency Tests

It can move, can be replaced, have a certain name  constituents

Exercise 8:
Draw the tree diagrams
S

NP VP

Det N V NP

Det N

The puppy found the child

THE INFINITY OF LANGUAGE (INFINITUDE OF LANGUAGE)
 No longest sentence in any language.
Apply the embedded rules

How?

4 Transformational Grammar
5 Functional Grammar
Information structure
In the sentence: topic (NP  old information) + comment (VP  new
information)
The book is on the table
Topic Comment

Traditional, structural, generative, transformational, functional

Can get the infinity of language through language competence

- Repeat the same part of speech

Complements must be next to the HEAD

The structures of NP,VP are different from those of AP, AdvP and PP.
Explain the ambiguity in language.
What? Language phenomenon in which a sentence or an utterance can be
interpreted into different meanings.

Kinds? There are 2 kinds of ambiguity  lexical & structural

Lexical: the word may have different meanings, therefore the sentence may have
different meanings.
The constituents are in different groups: structural

Way to verify: PARAPHRASE, draw tree diagrams

COMPOSITIONAL SEMANTICS
Language is rule-governed. However, the rules of languages can be broken by
users
Language is governed by rules. Sometimes we apply rules correctly, but we can
never communicate  The rules are broken, compositionality is awry.
When?
1/ Anomaly: argument roles of constituents are wrong.
Semantic features of words are contradictory
There are no sense words (The slethly baerry)
2/ Metaphor: a kind of comparison. Pick out one characteristic to denote the others.
3/ Idioms: Phraseological units

LEXICAL SEMANTICS
Reference
+
Sense
Sense + reference: That is my father
Sense + no reference: The present king of France is bald
Same reference, different sense
That is my father
That is the man who married my mother
 Semantics & Pragmatics
CHAPT The relationship between form (spoken, written) &

ER 3 –
reference  the reference can be true or not true.
Semantics  Literal meaning (without contexts)

THE Pragmatics  Non-literal meaning (within contexts)

There are 2 types of context: linguistic context & extra-

MEANI linguistic context (situational context)

Linguistic context: based on constituents (He is rich,

NG OF I’m too)
Extra-linguistic context: based on real situation

LANGU
AGE

Kind of antonym
1/ Complementary pair
Not A = B, not B = A
Pass # fail
2/ Gradable pair
Base on the scales
One is unmarked: How tall are you?
Same category
Big > small
3/ Relational opposite
Doctor  => patient

WHAT IS ARGUMENT STRUCTURE

The most important constituent in a sentence is VERB
The boy rolled a red ball.
Agent theme
The boy threw the red ball to the girl.
Agent theme goal
Professor Snape awakened Harry Potter with his wand.
Source experiencer instrument

Agent + V + theme: I saw the car

Agent + V + patient: I ate the cake (directly) – have no emotions

PRAGMATICS (MEANING IN CONTEXTS)

- Linguistic context: the discourse that precedes the phrase or sentence to be
interpreted.
Ex: Give me some more tea  I had got some
Who bought that car?  Someone bought the car
- Situational context: virtually everything nonlinguistic in the environment of
the speaker.
You know the words but not knowing the meaning except you are in that situation.

Pronouns: in different situations have different meanings. Based on the context.

DEIXIS: a word that has unclear meaning, depending on contexts.
Maxim in conversation
Quantity: say neither more nor less than the discourse requires.
Relevance: be relevant.
Manner: be brief and orderly; avoid ambiguity and obscurity.
Quality: do not lie; do not make unsupported claims.

Presuppositions (tiền giả định)

An inference that is always true based on the constituents.
Implicatures
Can be right or wrong

Speech Acts
Can use to do things: make promises, lay bets, issue warnings, christen boats, place
name in nomination, offer gratulations, or swear testimony.
Lời nói đi kèm với hành động
 Có bốn hiện tượng chính trong ngữ dụng học: deixis, presuppositions,
implicatures & speech acts.
THI
1/ Semantics
2/ Pragmatics: ngành ngôn ngữ học, học về ngữ nghĩa trong ngữ cảnh. Có 2 ngữ
cảnh: ngôn ngữ và tình huống.
PHONETICS
Articulatory phonetics (production) *the most important*
Acoustic phonetics (physical features)
Auditory phonetics (reception) Spoken language  written (when people are civilized): letter alphabets
Standard in orthography (eye)/ Not standard (ear)
Letter alphabets: system of symbols to replace sounds
Phonetic alphabets; SPECIAL system of symbols to replace sounds

Transcription: the way in which we use a special system of symbols to

The phonetic alphabets
replace the sounds that may be produced
2 kinds: phonological/phonemic and phonetic
Phonological T: general/ abstract sound, use “/ /”
Phonetic T: concrete sounds with details, use “[ ]”
 important with non-standard orthography (English)
Important with advanced learners  sounds like native speakers

The organs of speech

- can be used to produce sounds
Consisting of lungs, larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, nasal cavity
+ Lungs (airstream): egressive (go out), ingressive (vice versa)
+ Larynx (thanh quản): vocal cords  vibrate (voiced)/non-vibrate (voiceless)
+ Pharynx (yết hầu): uvula (lưỡi gà)  oral & nasal
+ Oral cavity: articulators (bộ phận di động) / places (điểm cố định)
+ Nasal cavity

Speech sounds
+ Sounds segments (âm đoạn tính)
* Consonants
_ Can’t be in isolation
_ They are produced with obstruction to the airstream
* Vowels
_ Can be in isolation
_ They are produced without clear obstruction
* Semi-vowels: bán nguyên âm
_ Can’t be in isolation
_ They are produced without clear obstruction
+ Supra-segmental sounds features (âm siêu đoạn tính) – prosodic features
* Stress
* Pitch
CLASSIFICATION OF CONSONANTS
I. Criteria:
- State of the vocal cords (trạng thái của dây thanh)
+ Vibration = voiced (glottis: thanh môn – half open/ open/ closed + opened)
+ No vibration = voiceless
- Places (điểm cấu tạo âm)
+ Bilabial (âm hai môi)
+ Labiodental (môi dưới + răng trên)
+ Interdental (giữa răng)
+ Aveolar (chạm nướu)
+ Palatal (lưỡi đưa hướng về ngạc cứng)
+ Velar (lưỡi đưa về ngạc mềm)
- Manners
+ Stop (tắc)
+ Oral (hơi ra miệng)
+ Fricative (âm cọ xát)
+ Affricate (vừa tắc vừa xát)
+ Glide (âm lướt)
+ Liquid (âm lỏng – R & L)

Semi-vowels : British (4 âm – w j r h), American (3 âm – w j h / w j)

20 pure consonants + 4 semi-vowels

How are consonants described?  Airstream mechanism (theo cơ chế luồng

hơi)
II.
Unicentral sounds (đầu lưỡi chạm 1 điểm)
Bicentral sounds (đầu lưỡi chạm 2 điểm)
III.
1.Lingual consonants (dùng lưỡi)
2.Labial consonants (dùng môi)
3.Glottal consonants (dùng răng)