Outline:

Introduction .1.

Historicism school.2.
The main principles \aims of this school .3.
Generativism school.4.
Examples of Generative Grammar.5.
Structuralism school.6.
Goals of structuralism.7.
functionalism.8.
Claims of functionalism.9.
References.10.
 A presentation of the four most well-
known linguistics schools and movements
In this presentation , we will shed light on some basic
information related to the most important schools and
movements in linguistics . I will introduce the four main
.linguistics schools

These theories can be landed into four broad categories which

. conform around to
historical age.

.Historical studies: 19th century.1

.Structuralism /functionalism: the first half of 20th century.2
.Generative grammar: second half of the 20th century.3
 Historicism
Historicism is generally defined as an approach that takes into
consideration the historical period , the geographical place , and
the local culture related to the subject matter. It is widely held
that the concept of historicism was first introduced in the early
19th century by the German philosopher Karl Wilhelm Friedrich
Schlegel. In linguistics , Historicism refers to the study of
phonological , grammatical , and semantic transformation . It also
involves the rebuilding of earlier phases of language . Historicism
describes the steps of researching and comprehending the origin
and the evolution of language. While linguistics is the study of
. language , historicism is the study of the derivation of language
 The main principles \aims of this school
To develop general theories about how and . 1 .1
.why language change
To compare language to identify their.2 .2
Similarities .3

Sanskrit Latin Old English English

onoma nomen nama name

To describe the history of speech .3 .1

.Communities
To study the history of words .4 .1
.(etymology)
 Generativism
The work of Noam Chomsky served as the foundation for the •
Generativism approach to linguistics. Initially, Generativism was a
way to explain how humans learnt to speak in the first place.
Generativism has developed into an approach to explain the
different phenomena that happen in all natural languages.
According to the generative theory of language , there are some
universal principles that govern all human languages and humans
at their most fundamental level. Such conviction resulted in the
emergence of the theory of “ universal grammar “ that all humans
are able to learn grammar. Generativism as it is now has developed
in the course second half of the 20th century , with Noam Chomsky
.also talking into consideration Zelling Harris’s work
 Examples of Generative Grammar
As generative grammar is a “theory of •
”competence •
. One way to test its validity is with what is called a grammaticality judgment task •
This involves presenting a native speaker with a series of sentences and having •
them decide whether the sentences are grammatical (acceptable) or
ungrammatical (unacceptable)
: For example •
.The man is happy 1 •
. Happy man is the 2 •
A native speaker would judge the first sentence to be acceptable and the second •
to be unacceptable . From this , we can make certain assumptions about the rules
governing how parts of speech should be ordered in English sentences. For
instance , a “to be “ verb linking a noun and an adjective must follow the noun
and precede the adjective
 Structuralism
? What is meaning of Structuralism . •
Iti s the study of the structure of the mind. The mind is formed by •
.associations of ideas
: Background •
Structuralism Based on the work of Ferdinand de Saussure of •
Switzerland, structuralism is an approach to linguistics that focuses on
the idea that languages are fixed systems made up of many different
units that connect with each other. This school of thought marked a shift
from historical linguistic analysis to non- historical analysis. Later on,
other linguists would come to see structuralism as rather out-of-date. It
worked for phonology and morphology, but the theories it proposes
don't make as much sense as the ones proposed by new schools of
thought. Saussure was aware of the fact that, in his time, he would not
be able to get a good understanding of the human brain, and so left that
 Goals of structuralism
It provides base for the study of mind under.1 •
.its elements
It provide base for further study in ..2 •
.Psychology
It helps in the approval of psychology .as.3 •
separate
Functionalism
?What is functionalism –

Refers to the study of form of language in reference to the social –

.Functionalism :History . –
The origins of functionalism are traced back to William James, the –
renowned American psychologist of the late 19th century. This first school
of thought focuses on how language is actually used in everyday life. Those
who abide by functionalism look at language as just another tool for
humans to use, and thus tend to focus on the function language and its
different parts have in our lives. The theories of functionalism focus on
phonological, semantic, syntactic, as well as the pragmatic functions of
language. Functionalism emphasizes the importance of social context,
usage, and the communicative function of the grammar, phonology,
orthography, and more, of a
.language
 functionalism

Claims of functionalism
.Use of language is functional .1
.Making meaning is the major function of language .2
The social and cultural context has great influence over .3
.meanings of language
.The process of making meaning in a language is by choice .4
For Example: • The conative function is manifested directly
in "Go answer the door" and indirectly in "The doorbell rang"
.(which is equivalent to "Go answer the door")
 References
.Marx, C. (1955). Critique of political economy :1 •
– .Sapir, E. (2002). Language:2 •
- .Saussure, F. (2001). General linguistics :3 •
.Wittgenstein, L. (2002). Philosophy of language:4 •
.WANG, J. P. (2003). Linguistic philosophy - :5 •
.LIU, R. Q. (1995).Schools of linguistics :6- •
.Blockman, J. M. (2005). Structuralism - :7 •
Danaher, J., Schirato, T., & Webb, J. (2002). Understanding -:8 •
.Foucault
.Campbell, L. (2001), ‘The history of linguistics - :9 •
M. Aronoff and J. Rees-Miller (eds), The Handbook of Linguistics. -’:10 •
Oxford
Presented by
1.Sawsan Kazuz
2.Mona Moftah
3.Nahed Nakeb

THANK YOU