ELL LINGUISTICS

Dr. Şirin TUFAN

e-mail: sirin.tufan@atlas.edu.tr
DEPARTMENT of ENGLISH LANGUAGE and LITERATURE / ISTANBUL ATLAS UNIVERSITY
What is linguistics?
In a nutshell: linguistics is the scientific study of language. linguists apply the
scientific method to conduct formal studies of speech sounds and gestures,
grammatical structures, and meaning across the world’s 6,000+ languages
ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LINGUISTICS
Definitons on Linguistics:

• Linguistics is the systematic study of the structure and evolution of human language, and it is
applicable to every aspect of human endeavor.
•
• The scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of phoneticsş phonologyş
grammar, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, language an dculture etc.
•
• Specific branches of linguistics include sociolinguistics, dialectology, psycholinguistics,
computational linguistics, comparative linguistics, and structural linguistics.
•
On Importance of Linguistic Studies

• Linguistics in Everyday Life

• Whether it’s telling a joke, naming a baby, using voice recognition software, or helping a relative who’s had a stroke, you’ll find the study of language
reflected in almost everything you do. Linguists study meaning, discourse, and many other language aspects that you have always wondered about.
• Studying Linguistics
• When you study linguistics at any level, you gain insight into one of the most fundamental parts of being human- the ability to communicate through
language. You can study every aspect of language from functional theory to language acquisition, and computational linguistics to psycholinguistics.
Studying linguistics enables you to understand how language works, and how it is used, developed and preserved over time.
• The Science of Linguistics
• Linguists are not only polyglots, grammarians, and word lovers. They are researchers dedicated to the systematic study of language who apply the scientific
method by making observations, testing hypotheses, and developing theories. The science of language encompasses more than sounds, grammar, and
meaning. When you study linguistics, you are at the crossroads of every discipline.
• Linguistics as a Profession
• An undergraduate or advanced degree in linguistics can prepare you for a career in a variety of different fields, including but not limited to: teaching,
publishing, national security, international affairs, policy, forensics, medicine and technology.
What is linguistics and why study it?

• Have you ever wondered why we say "feet" rather than "foots"? Or what we do with our mouths to make a b sound different from a p? Or why we rarely say what we actually
mean? It's questions like these that intrigue the linguist!
• Many people think that a linguist is someone who speaks many languages and works as a language teacher or as an interpreter at the United Nations. In fact, these people are
more accurately called "Polyglots". While many linguists are polyglots, the focus of linguistics is about the structure, use and psychology of language in general.
• Linguistics is concerned with the nature of language and communication. It deals both with the study of particular languages, and the search for general properties common to
all languages or large groups of languages. It includes the following subareas :
• phonetics (the study of the production, acoustics and hearing of speech sounds)
• phonology (the patterning of sounds)
• morphology (the structure of words)
• syntax (the structure of sentences)
• semantics (meaning)
• pragmatics (language in context)
• It also includes explorations into the nature of language variation (i. e., dialects), language change over time, how language is processed and stored in the brain, and how it is
acquired by young children.
• Although linguistics is still largely unfamiliar to the educated public, it is a growing and exciting field, with an increasingly important impact on other fields as diverse as
psychology, philosophy, education, language teaching, sociology, anthropology, computer science, and artificial intelligence.
CHAPTER 1
THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE
• The origin of spoken language is based on speculations.
• There is no evidence to proof.
• It is suspected that some type of spoken language developed between 100.000 and 50.000
years ago.
• Written language 5.000 years ago.
• Absence of direct physical evidence.
THE DIVINE SOURCE

• The bibilical tradition – God created Adam and ‘whatsoever Adam called every living
creature, that was the name thereof’.
• Hindu tradition – language came from Sarasvati, wife of Brahma, creator of the universe.
• Egyptian pharaoh Psammetichus – experiment with two new born babies (2.500 years
ago) – first word in Phrygian (spoken in a part of todays modern Turkey) bekos ‘bread’.
• King James the Fourth of Scotland carried oıut a similar experiment, arount year 1500,
reprted to have spoken Hebrew.
THE NATURAL SOUND SOURCE

• Based on the concept of natural sounds

• Onomatopoeic words (splash, bang, boom, rattle, buz, hiss, screech)
• Interjections: Ouch!, Ah!, Ooh’, Wow!, Yuck!
• ‘Yo-he-ho’ theory: sound production as a result of principled use within the social life of
early human groups.
THE PHYSICAL ADAPTATION SOURCE

• Transition of our very early ancestors to an upright posture, with bi-pedal (on two feet)
locomotion, and a revised role of the front limbs.
• The vocal tract of a reconstructed Neandertal man from 60.000 years ago suggests that
some consonant –like sound distinction would have been possible.
• Studies of evolutionaly development show that there are certain physical features, to be
relevant for speech.
TEETH, LIPS, MOUTH, LARYNX AND PHARYNX

• Human teeth are upright, even in height. Very helpful in making sounds like /f/ and /v/.
• Human lips much more flexible comparing to apes. Much more helpful in making sounds
like /p/ or /b/.
• Thicker and more mascular tongue that can be used to shape a wide variety of sounds
inside the oral cavity.
• The human larynx (voice box) containig the vocal cords droped into a lower position
and created a longer cavity called pharynx, above the vocal cord.
LARYNX VS PHARYNX
 • The human brain is in control of organizing all these more
complex physical parts potentially available for sound
THE HUMAN BRAIN productions.The human brain is lateralized. It has
specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres.
 THE GENETIC SOURCE

• Innateness hypothesis: humans are born with a capacity to

acquire a language. They are not born with a certain language.
They need to be exposed to a language first and then speak it.
CHAPTER 2
ANIMALS AND HUMAN LANGUAGE

Communicative and informative signals

• Communicative signals are specifically given
• Informative signals are unintentionally given
(e.g. sneezing, coughing)
 DISPLACEMENT

• Animal communication seems to be designed exclusively for

this moment, here and now.
• Humans can refer to past and future time.
ARBITRARINESS

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•
PRODUCTIVITY
CULTURAL TRANSMISSION
DUALITY