Lecture 1 Language and linguistics Keywords

LECTURE 1
Language and linguistics
Keywords: analyze, interpreter, linguist, linguistic, meta-language, bilingual, communication, define, transcribe, contrast, pronounce, predict, classify, stress, multilingual.
What is a language? And what is linguistics? Firstly, what is a language? Everybody knows that English is a language and that Spanish and Japanese are others in this category. But we also know that English is not used in the same way in New York as it is in London. You may also know that English is not used in the same way in London. We all know that words change their meaning according to the context they are used in. This change in meaning can sometimes be quite significant. The word pitch, for example, can be used to refer to the field area available for playing football or cricket. However, in phonology, it is the range of voice level available through the vocal cords. As language users, it is important for us to understand how words are used differently in different situations. The understanding that language usage adapts to the context and environment leads us to the broader definition of the word language which we linguists prefer. This definition is not restricted to the 6,000 distinct communication systems including key languages such as English, Chinese and French. It includes any form of speech within these categories, including dialect. Dialect, by the way, is the variety of a language used in a particular part of a country.
So, we have defined language, but what about linguistics? The linguistics that you will study in this faculty is concerned with the scientific study of language as a communicative and cognitive system. I'll let you write that definition down ... the scientific study — of language — as a communicative — and cognitive — system.
Human language is by definition uniquely human. By choosing to study language and linguistics, you will be exploring an area which is central or intrinsic to humanity. You probably know that understanding the intrinsic or basic meaning of a word can help you to learn how it is used in different contexts. In the same way, by trying to learn more about the basic features of language, we can also learn more about humans in general.
What is language and what is linguistics? Language is a unique and organic communication system. It is unique because it is only humans who possess it. It is organic because it grows and changes all the time, just like a plant or any organism. Language can also be defined through its key design features. It is unique because of its close relationship with the human mind, the brain and society. What about linguistics? The role of linguistics is to analyze and explain language. But we can go further than that. Linguistics is also the study of the way language is used in everyday life, the way it is employed.
In the 1960s, an American linguist, named Charles Hockett, demonstrated that all human languages share a series of key design features. The communications systems of other creatures do not display these features. There are three key features. They are displacement, creativity and duality. Displacement can be defined as the ability to talk about things which are not happening right here and right now. Animals can make communicative noises but they cannot express past or future or probability, for example. They cannot displace from the here and now. Creativity enables us to understand and produce new utterances easily. Chomsky has said that language is rule-governed creativity. Creativity is fundamental to human language. Finally, there is duality, from dual, meaning two. Duality refers to the existence of a series of elements which have no meaning in themselves. No animals can communicate through a medium which includes all the features of human language, but all humans can. Human activity is complex and varied, and so is the study of language and linguistics.