Introduction to Linguistics Week 4 9182020 intro to

Introduction to Linguistics Week 4 9/18/2020 intro to ling/ssn/2007 1

Theories in Linguistics 9/18/2020 intro to ling/ssn/2007 2

Linguistics Divisions Theoretical vs. Applied: Theoretical (or general) linguistics is concerned with frameworks for describing individual languages and theories about universal aspects of language; applied linguistics applies these theories to practical problems such as language teaching, speech synthesis, or speech therapy. l Autonomous vs. Contextual (note: these terms are not well-established): Autonomous linguistics studies what Saussure called langue or what Chomsky calls I[nternal]language: the nature of language abstracting away from many aspects of its day-to-day usage. Contextual linguistics is concerned with what Saussure called parole or what Chomsky calls E[xternal]-language, namely how language fits into the world: its social function, or its use in the broader context of human behavior. l 9/18/2020 intro to ling/ssn/2007 3

l The central concern of autonomous theoretical linguistics is to characterize the nature of human linguistic ability, or competence: to explain what it is that an individual knows when an individual knows a language, and to explain how it is that individuals come to know languages. All humans (setting aside extremely pathological cases) achieve competence in whatever language is spoken around them when they are growing up (or signed, in the case of sign language), without formal instruction being necessary. Non-humans do not. Therefore, there is some basic innate property of humans that causes them to learn language. Since children learn whatever language is spoken around them, there is no genetic basis for the differences between one language and another. 9/18/2020 intro to ling/ssn/2007 4

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