Language Systems

COM 370—Psychology of Language

John R. Baldwin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0I7PCoy-nkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_l7ty_MH_Yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nlw4NJdnNE

A Model of Languagehttp://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1289153507&vw=g&b=0&pos=15&p=slim+shady&fr=yfp-t-501

Y'all act like you never seen a white person beforeJaws all on the floor like Pam, like Tommy just burst in the door…I'm like a head trip to listen to, cause I'm only givin youthings you joke about with your friends inside your living roomThe only difference is I got the balls to say itin front of y'all and I don't gotta be false or sugarcoated at allI just get on the mic and spit it…

Applying the model

►Syntax: Sentence structure Parts of speech

►Morphemes Locate different types of morphemes:

►Bound, unbound►Derivational, inflectional

►Phonemes►Semantics►Context

Language SystemsElements of Language: Once over

Lightly…►Phonetics: the sounds of a language►Phonology: how sounds are put

together►Morphology:

the breaking up of sounds into words:►Ihavetogohomeearlytoday.►I have to go home early today►Rhaidimifyndadre’ngynnarheddiw►Rhaid I mi fynd adre’n gynnar heddiw

the parts of sounds that have meaning, can work together: “coffeelike”; “bookly” “incentivate”

Language Systems (continued)

►Syntax: the arrangement of sounds into grammatical sentences You up pick at o’clock will eight I will picks you up at eight o’clock I will pick you up at eight o’clock At eight o’clock, I will pick you up

►Grammaticality (is it correct?) versus semantic acceptability (does it make sense?)

Language Systems (continued)

Semantics: the meaning of utterances►Ambiguity (more than one possible

meaning) I like chocolate cakes and pies. I’ll meet you at the bank. Visiting relatives can be dreadful I saw her duck

►Semantic “equivalence”? John is an unmarried male = John is a bachelor? The car bumped the truck = The truck was

bumped by the car? Spanish: “Las llaves se me perdieron.”

Language Systems (continued)

►Pragmatics: the relation of language to context; social conventions, etc.

►How (when, to whom) would you… ask a favor? point out something potentially embarrassing? Tell a joke

►Styles of Speech: Registers, dialects►Discourse? Social ideas (ideologies)

embedded within the other elements of speech

Language Elements 2

►Phonemic: the sounds►Phonology: the relation of sounds to sounds►Morphemic: the relation of sounds to

meaning►Syntax: the relation of words to each other►Semantics: the relation of words to what

they represent►Pragmatics: the relation of utterances to

social settings►Discourse: the relation of utterances to

ideas

►An exercise… www.engrish.com

Thought questions►What does/can language do?►How is human language different from what

other animals do?

Language in a System: Communication

Sending

ReceivingInterpreting

All of These

Meaning

Pragmatic

Conceptual

ALL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS HAVE

►A MODE OF TRANSMISSION SIGNS SIGNALS

ALL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS HAVE

►PRAGMATIC FUNCTION

TRUE LANGUAGE-BASED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS HAVE

►CONCEPTUAL FUNCTION ►INTERCHANGEABILITY ►CULTURAL TRANSMISSION ►ARBITRARINESS ►DISCRETENESS ►DISPLACEMENT ►PRODUCTIVITY

Language productivity (continued)

►EMERGENT►EVOLVES►BUT ALWAYS RULE GUIDED (set by

language and culture) Phonetic Semantic Syntactic Pragmatic

A thought question:

LANGUAGE

Now…in more detail: Phonetics

►What are the phonemes in the following words? “wash” “strength” “milieu” “foyer” “limber”

►Explain how you produce these sounds?►What are some phoneme types in other

languages that English does not have? What are some phonetic confusions with other languages?

Phonemes and the mouth…

http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/factsheets/families/F000368/images/diagram.gif

(phonetics)

►http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/ ►What are some types of phonemes? (how

would you label them)? Useful terms in describing them? Consonants / vowels / semi-vowels The Phonetic Alphabet

►What are some phonemes that do not go together in English?

►Why is this information useful?

Morphology

►Morphemes in word structure Conjugation Declension Prefixes and suffixes

►Rules on prefixes and suffixes Stems with a given affix usually combine

to form the same part of speech: -able, -un, -dis

Words joined with an affix usually result in the same part of speech: -usable, disuse, abuse

Conjugation

English► I know► He/she/it

knows► You know► We know► Y’all know► They know

► [yo] conosco► [tu] conoces► [él/ella/Ud.] conoce► [nosotros]

conocemos► [vosotros] conocéis► [ellos/ellas/Uds]

conocen

English Greek► ginosko► ginoskeis► ginoskei► ginoskomen► ginoskete► ginoskousin

Declension

The boy► Subj: The

boy(s)► Poss: Of the

boy(s)/the boy’s(s’)

► IO: (to) the boy(s)

► DO: the boy(s)

► (Vocative): Oh boy!

► Subj:Der Junge/ die jungen

► Gen: Des Jungen/der jungen

► Dat: Dem Jungen/den Jungen

► Acc: Den Jungen/Die Jungen

German Greek► Nom: logos► Gen: logou► Abl: logou► Loc: logo► Inst: logo► Dat: logo► Acc: logon► Voc: loge

Morphology

Categorizing Morphemes►Bound: Needs to be attached to a

word Affixes

►Prefix►Suffix

Inflectional►Conjugation : verbs►Declension: nouns

►Free: Can exist by itself

Morphology

►Categorizing Morphemes Derivational: Change the meaning of the

word or the part of speech ►Ex: happy (ADJ) + un = unhappy (ADJ)►Ex: happy (ADJ) + ness =happiness (N)

Inflectional: Root meaning of word stays the same, as does part of speech►Conjugation: Ex: She runs; he walked►Declension: Megan’s; Megans►[A bad joke]

An exercise

►Find the Morpheme

Syntax

Lexical Categories: clusters or groups of words according to function

►Nouns (N)►Verbs (V)►Adjectives (ADJ)►Adverbs (ADV)►Determiners (DET)►Auxiliary Verbs (AV)►Prepositions (P): (P + NP = PP!)►Pronouns (PRO)

Content and Function Words

►Content words (contentives): “Carry the principal meaning of the sentence” —”name the objects, events, and characteristics that lie at the heart of the message the sentence is meant to convey” (Clark & Clark, 1977, p. 21)

►Function words: The “glue” that holds the content words together, “to indicate what goes with what and how.”

Content or Function???

►Pronoun►Determiner (e.g., articles)►Adjectives►Prepositions►Nouns►Conjunctions►Adverbs and conjunctive adverbs►Verbs, regular, linking, and auxiliary►Relative pronouns

Syntax

Ways to Organize Sentences►Linear Order►Hierarchical Structure:

Propositions and Constituents: “Semantically coherent groups”

Ex: Most executives eat at really fancy restaurants

Ex: Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax

Clark & Clark Ch. 1 exercises

►Sentence: Wellington’s fresh, young troops defeated Napoleon’s well-trained army.” Find the “propositions” (p. 10-11) Diagram the sentence (p. 12)

►Main phrases (NP & VP, or “subject” and “predicate”

►Adjectives, articles, and so on►Adjective and Adverb clauses

Different ways to say the same thing? Why is this useful!?

Give me Ambiguity, or…

►Defining Ambiguity:►Types of Ambiguity:

Structural: when constituents can be grouped in more than one way

Lexical: when a word can be a member of more than one lexical category

Semantic: when a word or phrase (or gesture) can mean more than one thing. [Also frequently called lexical!]

http://www.gally.net/leavings/01/0137.html

Examples: Ambiguity

►Larry raises miniature badgers and racoons.

►We need more intelligent leaders.►Iraq Bombs Gut Factory (headline)►Free Wales►Wet Paint►The little girl hit the child with the toy►Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim

(headline)►Teacher Strikes Idle Kids (headline)

Student Quotes

►“She said she was having problems with her job [at a school]. She said it was because of a bad principle.”

►There was a high degree of gender differentiation within her family, with her father resting on the top.

►Where I work if a person comes in by them self to eat the customers sometimes expect me to sit down and converse with them.

►The only information given about the college was that it was a liberal arts college off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

►“Stella was flapping and fighting the currants in the river…”

►“In our findings, a variety of beauty definitions arouse.”

►Barthes felt this was the problem with mythic shits.

►The sample could have screwed our data.

Applications►Learning structure and clearer

speaking: PP = preposition + object of preposition

►“This is important for both Susan or myself”►“This is important for both Susan and I”►“This is important for both Susan and me”

VT versus VI: “It’s good to be able to critique”

Adjective or Noun?: “lots of positives,” “prejudice,” “the dominate characteristic”

Help! I need an AV: “I would of been there…”

http://www.englishforums.com/English/FunnySentences/vqlc/post.htm

http://duderific.tripod.com/dude.html

Dude!

Productivity: Old Words

►http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php►http://www.lssu.edu/banished/complete_list.

php►http://www.banbuilder.com/►http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ling215/NewWo

rds/page1.html►http://www.urbandictionary.com/