Step 2 - The nature of Linguistics and Language.

Student: Juliana Aguirre Andela, Marolyn Julissa Díaz, Nicolás Benjamin Pantoja,

Ruddy Yisneys Gomez

Tutor: Cristian Felipe Canon

Introduction to linguistics

Degree in Foreign Languages with emphasis on English.

Course code 518017_74

National University Open and Distance

CEAD Florencia

March 2020
Activities to Develop.

1.2 ‘’Based on the first document, do Exercise 1.4 in page 13. You have six phrases and

you have to identify them to whom the phrases might belong, “Attribute each of

the…phrases to Ferdinand de Saussure, Noam Chomsky, or Michael Halliday. What

motivates, in each case, your response according to the text? What does the quote tell

you about their perspective on the study and analysis of language?”

1. ‘If we could embrace the sum of word-images stored in the minds of all individuals, we

could identify the social bond that constitutes language. It is a storehouse filled by the

members of a given community through their active use of speaking, a grammatical system

that has a potential existence in each brain, or, specifically, in the brains of a group of

individuals. For language is not complete in any speaker; it exists perfectly only within a

collectivity.’

This phrase is attributed to Ferdinand de Saussure considered to be the father of modern

linguistics. He explains in the article a language as a system of signs and they are divided in

signified, ‘’concept’’ and signifier, ‘’label’’.

Ferdinand has named to system of signs as ‘’Langue’’, The Parole, is a real use of the

language and a hoard deposited by the practice of speech in speakers the same community, a

system grammatical in theirs mind.

The Saussure’s contributions are important for knowing all what is the linguistic structuralist,

the structure of a system.

2. ‘It seems clear that we must regard linguistic competence – knowledge of a language – as

an abstract system underlying behavior, a system constituted by rules that interact to

determine the form and intrinsic meaning of a potentially infinite number of sentences.’

This phrase is attributed to Ferdinand de Saussure, who explains the importance of language

as a system of forms and gives meaning to language. Also, structuralists created the

description of sound and the meaning of a large number of languages. Therefore, they give

us a legacy of inventoried languages that are endangered.

3. ‘Every text – that is, everything that is said or written – unfolds in some context of use;

furthermore, it is the uses of language that, over tens of thousands of generations, have

shaped the system. Language has evolved to satisfy human needs; and the way it is organized

is functional with respect to these needs.’

This phrase is attributed to Michael Halliday; he explains that the study of language appears

from his own experiences as a teacher and his motive to find a solution to his students about

the language.

Language is considered an essential part of people's lives; it is an essential need for that,

Halliday decided to help meet the needs of students based on his knowledge.
4. ‘Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-hearer, in a completely

homogeneous speech community, who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such

grammatically irrelevant conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention

and interest, errors (random or characteristic) in applying his knowledge of the language in

actual performance.’

This phrase is attributed to Noam Chomsky. The author focused his study to real speech with

real dates and so the Chomsky’s linguistic is considered a revolution against of the language.

Furthermore, he developed a study very interesting about language acquisition in the children

in their first year of age by means of auditory language.

5. ‘Language is a system of interdependent terms in which the value of each term results

solely from the simultaneous presence of the others ... [for example]. To determine what a

five-franc piece is worth one most know: (1) that it can be exchanged for a fixed quantity of

a different thing, e.g. bread; and (2) that it can be compared with a similar value of the same

system, e.g. a one-franc piece, or with coins of another system (a dollar, etc.). In the same

way a word can be exchanged for something dissimilar, an idea; besides, it can be compared

with something of the same nature, another word. Its value is therefore not fixed so long as

one simply states that it can be ‘exchanged’ for a given concept.’

This phrase is attributed to Ferdinand de Saussure, express that the language is a names play

that are assigned to the signifier and the signified, therefore they are shape dialects, different
languages and the registers, where the different languages in the world are used to name

something and it is different in each place.

Furthermore, the author allows us to understand that the words are different according of

place in the world but their meaning are same, so the words have a very wide world.

6. ‘Spoken and written language, then, tend to display different KINDS of complexity; each

of them is more complex in its own way. Written language tends to be lexically dense but

grammatically simple; spoken language tends to be grammatically intricate but lexically

sparse’ ... ‘The value of having some explicit knowledge of the grammar of written language

is that you can use this knowledge, not only to analyze the texts, but as a critical resource for

asking questions about them’.

This phrase is attributed to Michael Halliday, the author explains a register where people

create their own meaning through choices related to vocabulary and grammar, whose

variables are, the subject, type of communication, written or spoken and the relationship

between interlocutors (symmetric between friends and asymmetric between teacher and

student).

Finally, spoken or written language has an important concept in the register because people

according to the situation create meanings, words, structures and rules in order to obtain a

good interpretation.
1.3Based on the second text ‘Linguistics’ in “Bauer, Laurie; The Linguistic Student's

Handbook” Answer the following question: why is Linguistics definitely considered a

science? In your answer, involve the other language areas such as semiotics, philology

and literature.

The linguistic is considered a science because it uses similar steps to the scientist researches

as the language hypothesis, results based on experimentation.

Therefore, it seeks the language phenomenon’s explanation to build theories with the

objective to get easy the explanation of those phenomena observed, and they should not

happen.

Even thought, linguistic and literature work in the language production there is not upper

position in both fields; therefore, linguistic apart in a general way the language literature use.

On the other hand, the philology has as base the literature which emerge literary critics to the

historic development texts in relationship with the language. Linguistic takes the texts to

analyze them with the objective to generate a systemic explanation of the language system

and it does not focus in the texts to rebuild the original sense.

Finally, literature is beneficial to the orientation of semiotic and this is good for semiotic

orientations because it uses the functional method for its investigations, due to semiotic
searches the creation of an artificial language and linguistic just describes the language in a

general way.

In conclusion, linguistic the science, which searches to identify phenomenon through

investigations and its results, are taken from the experimentation to give answers to the

phenomenon.

Also, literature does not have upper position in the linguistic.

Philology has as base literature, therefore science linguistic only takes the texts as a scientist

analysis, to finish semiotic and linguistic are benefited each other because their objective is

language.

1.4 In the following two questions you have to consult and then explain:

4.1 The concept of ‘double articulation’ is a classic one at identifying language,

please, explain it, and give examples.

Double articulation is a crucial propped of the language that need two objectives basics:

Phonemes and morphemes.

Phonemes (phonetic) are a minimum unit of the language, which allow distinguish word and

meaning, it does not have an intrinsic meaning.

Phoneme.

W E T

/W/, letter that produces a sound (Grapheme)

Morphemes (semantic) are a small part in the linguistic, which is analyzed. Also, it has a

significated and signifier and it is divided for phonemes.

In conclusion, phonemes are a set of the language and the morphemes take this sound and

combine them with meaning.

Also, it can not divided; morphemes can be words, affixes-prefixes, and suffixes.

For example:

An: article

Walk: verb

Girl: noun

4.2 Human language is different from other semiotic systems; explain at least three

characteristics that according to Linguistics are unique to human language.

According to linguistic, there are some characteristics only of the human language and they

are the following:

1. Arbitrariness: human language is inherently arbitrary. Therefore, the signs are

relationship to the signified and the signifiers; through them, they indicate a fact.

2. Displacement: this characteristic allows people to talk at different times as present,

past and future, it is a displacement in the narration of situations.

3. Dual articulation: it is a quality of human language that allows an articulation or union

of elements, where thanks to them, new signs are created.

 REFERENCE.

(Anonymous).Phonemes Examples.SoftSchools.com. Retrieved from

https://www.softschools.com/example/grammar/phonemes_examples/643/

(Anonymous).Morpheme Examples.SoftSchools.com.Restrieved from

https://www.softschools.com/examples/grammar/morpheme_examples/369/

(Anonymous 2019). Why is the concept of double articulation (André Martinet) so

important in the study of linguistics? Retrieved from

https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/34113/why-is-the-concept-of-

double-articulation-andr%C3%A9-martinet-so-important-in-the-s

Bauer, L. (2007). The Linguistic Student’s Handbook. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University

Press. Retrieved from

http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp

x?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=194155&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site

Características del lenguaje humano. Dr. Héctor. A. Video YouTube .Published by Dr.

Hector. A. April 4th 2018.https://youtu.be/GBOjEzxyB2c

Julián Pérez Porto and María Merino. Published: 2009. Updated: 2009.Definition.de:

Definition of morpheme https://definicion.de/morfema/

Julián Pérez Porto and Ana Gardey. Published: 2009. Updated: 2013.Definicion.de:

Definition of phoneme https://definicion.de/fonema/

McCabe, A. (2011). An Introduction to Linguistics and Language Studies. London:

Equinox Publishing Ltd. Retrieved

from http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi

n.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=547849&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site