5/20/2019

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH Universal properties of language

• Modularity
LINGUISTICS • Constituency and recursion
• Discreteness
• Productivity
Lecturer: Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc, PhD. • Arbitrariness
• Reliance on context
• Variability
Based on An Introduction to Language & Linguistics
Why do we need language?
(Fasold & Connor-Linton (Eds.), 2006 (6th printing)

Universal properties of language Modularity

• Human’s vocal tract flexible enough to make a wide range of
distinguishable sounds
• Human’s ability to perceive differences among them
• Ability to use these sounds in systems to communicate
meaning.
 language is a distinctive attribute of the human species.
• The same genetic information: processed by the brain, share
certain fundamental “design features”, and structural
characteristics.
• Understanding and explaining the properties universal to &
different from languages: the fundamental job of the linguist.
• Language is a modular system: People
produce and interpret language using a set of
component subsystems (or modules) in a
coordinated way. Each module is responsible
for a part of the total job; it takes the output
of other modules as its input and distributes
its own output to those of other modules.
• What are considered modules of language
have you learnt in your BA English language
program?

1

Modularity (continued)
• For example: Phonetics is
about production and
interpretation of speech
sounds. Phonology studies the
organization of raw Phonetics
in language in general and in
individual languages in
particular. In other larger
linguistic units such as
Semantics, a new module as
discourse which is the
organization of language above
and beyond sentence has been
added as a subsystem.
Constituents and recursion (continued)
• Being composed of constituents also allows
languages to be recursive. Recursion is the
property of language which allows
grammatical processes to be applied
repeatedly, combining constituents to produce
an infinite variety of sentences of indefinite
length. For example, we can expand the short
sentence like He was tall into longer sentences
like He was tall and strong and handsome.
5/20/2019
Constituency and recursion
• All languages are organized into constituents,
allowing more complex units to enter
structures where simpler ones are also
possible. So we can say in English, “She sat
down,” “The smart woman sat down.” She can
be replaced by The smart woman because
they are constituents of a sentence.
Game
• 10 Times Sentence Expander Worksheet
Expand your sentences inside the apple by
adding new words each time. For instance
My first sentence may be: I like apples.
My second may be: I like sweet apples.
My third may be: I like sweet yellow apples.
My fourth sentence could be: I like sweet yellow
apples that are big.
….
2

Discreteness
• Another property of all languages is
discreteness. Each sound in a language is
treated as discrete. It is possible to produce a
range of sounds or forms into individual,
bounded units. For example, different
languages divide the continuous “space” of
possible speech sounds into different
inventories of phonemes.
Productivity
• In all human languages, an infinite number of
new meanings can be constructed by
combining existing forms according to the
rules of a given language. For example, new
words can be coined by creating novel
combination of existing morphemes, like
teflon is originally formed by the combination
of te(tra)-fl(our)-on.
5/20/2019
Discreteness
• For example: American English has a range of
words for different types of automotive
vehicles (sedan, sports utility vehicle, minivan,
convertible, wagon, sports car, for example)
related to the importance of the automobile
in that culture.
• How about Vietnamese?
BEAR: bưng, bê, đội, mang, ….
Productivity
• Productivity is one way in which languages
change to meet the changing communicative
needs of their speakers.
A great big huge beautifully designed, skillfully
constructed, well-located new building . . .
He said that she said that I said that they believe
that you told us that . . . .).
3

Arbitrariness
• The form of human language has no intrinsic
relationship between the form of a word (how
it sounds) and its meaning. It is generally the
case that there is no “natural” connection
between a linguistic form and its meaning. A
property of linguistic signs is, therefore, their
arbitrary relationship with the objects they are
used to indicate.
Reliance on context
• Language is organized into two layers
simultaneously. This property is called duality,
or “double articulation”. A single sequence of
sounds can have more than one meaning.
Therefore, at one level, we have distinct
sounds, and, at another level, we have distinct
meaning. For example, when we say “bin” we
have another level producing a meaning
which is different from the meaning of saying
“nib”.
5/20/2019
Arbitrariness
• In English, a dog says bow wow or maybe
woof woof
• In Hindi, it says bho: bho:.
• Greek dogs say gav
• Korean dogs say mung mung.
 People perceive these sounds through the
arbitrary “sound filters” of their respective
languages, so even something as seemingly
objective as a dog’s bark is in fact represented
arbitrarily in language.
Variability
• The language that people use varies depending on
who’s speaking and the situation in which they’re
speaking. Variability in language allows people to
communicate far more than the semantic content of
the words and sentences they utter. It is indexical
that it signals the social identities (geographical,
social status, ethnicity, and even gender) and the
immediate speech situation.
• People also use language variation to communicate the
situation and purpose in which they are talking, as well
as the roles they are playing in those situations.
A priest – a priest; A person – a friend – a boss
Parents - children – adults; Written language – spoken language