Welcome to Linguistics and English Language Nik Gisborne

Welcome to Linguistics and English Language Nik Gisborne Head of Linguistics and English Language www. ed. ac. uk

Welcome to University www. ed. ac. uk

University is a big transition • One of the major differences from school is that it’s huge! • Another is that lecturers are actively involved in creating the new knowledge that makes up the discipline. • Another is that you are all far more autonomous and independent learners.

And Linguistics isn’t taught in School. • English Language is (in England), but it’s different from English language at Edinburgh. • And here we teach English Language and Linguistics together as a single subject in the First and Second years.

What is Linguistics?

What is Linguistics? • Imagine you met a pair of Martians. • And they communicated by putting their fingertips together, vibrating them gently, and in doing that they made new ideas arise in each other’s mind. • Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Alien communication • But we do something far, far more amazing. • These Martians could only speak to one person at a time. But here I am vibrating the atmosphere, and I can make new ideas arise in your minds. • All of you …

Pinker 1994 As you are reading these words, you are taking part in one of the wonders of the natural world. For you and I belong to a species with a remarkable ability: we can shape events in each other’s brains with exquisite precision. I am not referring to telepathy or mind control or the other obsessions of fringe science; even in the depictions of believers these are blunt instruments compared to an ability that is uncontroversially present in every one of us. That ability is language. Simply by making noises with our mouths, we can reliably cause new combinations of ideas to arise in each other’s minds.

Linguistics as a study of cognition • We have to coordinate our social behaviour and integrate our perceptual experiences. • And our perceptual experiences are essentially the same. • We get messy continuous perceptual input (including language) and we make it into discrete units and analyse it. • Nothing tells your brain how to do that. • So how does this happen?

Linguistics as a study of cognition • Who knows? • We need to study … syntax; semantics; morphology; phonetics; • Language acquisition; psycholinguistics; pragmatics; • And sociolinguistics; anthropological linguistics; and discourse.

Linguistics as a study of cognition • And that’s just to understand how the magic that Pinker describes comes about. • What about the other stuff? • Take the English Language.

Linguistics as a study of languages • When we study English Language at Edinburgh, we’re applying the tools of Linguistics to an individual welldescribed language with more than 1000 years of written history. • We can study changes in the language. – E. g. sely in Chaucer silly today

Linguistics as a study of languages • We can also study the structure of modern English is weird. It makes relative clauses like this: • I know the man whose house you bought. • It has about 20 vowel sounds. • It only has two tenses.

Linguistics as a study of languages • English has a large degree of dialect variation. • Some dialects are traditional (rural) others are urban. • TH-fronting for example—urban feature. • We talk differently to different people— style shifting.

Linguistics as a study of language • So studying a language, you can explore its structure • Its history • Its variants in space • And its variants in style … • … in spoken discourse and written text

Structure of the degree www. ed. ac. uk

year courses 1 LEL 1 A&B (40) other subject (40) 2 LEL 2 A/B/C/D (80) other subject (40) [for joint degree other than Ling & EL, choose 2 of the LEL 2 modules] 3 6 Linguistics Honours Modules (20 each) 4 4 Linguistics Honours Modules (20 each) + Dissertation (40)

Kinds of course we offer at Honours • • Sociolinguistics Scots and Scottish English Language pathology Universals of language Linguistic fieldwork Figurative language Origins and evolution of language

LEL 1 A • • What Linguistics is Sounds and how we articulate them Words and word structure Phrases and sentences Variation and change Acquisition Language and communication

Sources of information www. ed. ac. uk

Information about degrees and courses www. path. is. ed. ac. uk Personal Tutor

Information about degrees and courses www. drps. ed. ac. uk Personal Tutor

http: //www. ed. ac. uk/ppls/linguistics-and-english-language/current

Practical stuff www. ed. ac. uk

Essential Must-Dos • Activate your university email accounts! • Course registration/confirm attendance Today 13. 00 -16. 00, Thursday 10. 00 -16. 00, Friday 10. 00 -16. 00. Location: G 32, Psychology Building, 7 George Square. *Remember to bring along your matriculation card* • Meet with your Personal Tutor (PT) All Freshers should meet with their PT during Welcome Week. It is best to meet with your PT after you have registered for all your courses but if you need more advice on course choices your PT can advise. You will find out the contact details of your PT on My. Ed.

Where are we? • LEL is in Dugald Stewart Building on Bristo Square • The Teaching Office is on the ground floor • Our academic offices are on the first, second and third floors

http: //langsoc. eusa. ed. ac. uk/ Lectures … socials … academic support

HELP! • • Personal Tutor Teaching Office Student Support Office The Advice Place EUSA New Students Website Learn Better (a self enrol course) Institute for Academic Development workshops and consultations

Key Contacts • Nik Gisborne DSB 2. 03 — hod. lel@ed. ac. uk • Chris Cummins LEL 1 A Course Organiser DSB 1. 11 — ccummins@exseed. ac. uk • Your Personal Tutor • Teaching Office

Questions? Ask them now! www. ed. ac. uk