 |
Welcome to your masterclass of linguistics! As your expert instructor, it is my honor to lead you from the very beginning to the very end, starting with the most basic definitions to the most complex elements and structures, with your course material being used as our guide.
The material will be broken down for us by sections, each of which will be explained using real-world examples, analogies and practical applications. At the end of each section, there will be a summary and the key points to keep in mind.
Module 1: Intro to Linguistics
Basic Level: Introduction to Linguistics
As a starting point, linguistics is defined as the scientific study of language.
Real-World Analogy: Just like a car engine can be driven without understanding how it works internally, the average person will use language every day without thinking about its inner workings. However, just like a professional mechanic would examine all the nuts and bolts that make a car work, a linguist studies the inner structures of language.
Practical Application: This term encompasses all aspects and the development of language, whether universal across different languages or unique to one.
Intermediate to Advanced Levels: Intra/Inter-Personal and Inter Branch Linguistics
The study of language is very broad and complex, hence why scientists classify it into branches or areas of study. According to our notes, we can classify branches of linguistics into Intra-personal (internal) and Inter-branch (External) linguistics.
Intra-personal branches deal with internal structure of language
Phonetics – Study of speech sounds.
Phonology – Study of speech sound distribution and patterns.
Morphology – Study of words formation and structure.
Syntax – Study of sentence construction.
Semantics – Study of meaning.
Pragmatics – Study of context-based application of language.
Inter-branch linguistics deal with external factors of language
Sociolinguistics – Study of relationship between society and language.
Applied linguistics – Practical application of linguistic study such as teaching a second language.
Neurolinguistics – Study of biologically based neurological structures that enable language acquisition and use.
Psycholinguistics – Study of psychological processes involved in language acquisition/use.
Dialectology – Study of different language varieties such as regional differences between British and American English.
Module 1 Summary & Key Points
Key points: Scientific study, intra-personal (internal) and inter-branch (external) aspects.
Summary: Linguistics deals with the study of human sounds, words, sentences, minds and societies to reveal the communication process.
Module 2: Intro to Phonetics
Basic Level: What is Phonetics?
According to our notes, phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies physical properties of speech sounds. Simply put, air from the lungs exits via the mouth where it is shaped by the articulatory organs into sounds that are transmitted to the ear.
Advanced Level: Classifying Phonetics Into Three (3) Main Types
The three main classifications of phonetics are articulatory, acoustic and auditory phonetics.
Articulatory Phonetics
What: Study of articulatory gestures involved in production of speech sounds.
Analogy: Similar to how different piano keys can be played to produce different sounds, different articulatory gestures produce different speech sounds.
Acoustic Phonetics
What: Study of the transmission and physical properties of sound waves.
Analogy: Similar to viewing waveforms on a computer screen while a patient is connected to an ECG heart monitor.
Auditory Phonetics
What: Study of how speech sounds are perceived by the ear and the auditory nerves.
Analogy: Similar to hearing a doorbell and being able to tell exactly which bell is ringing based on sound cues.
Summary & Key Concepts
Key Concepts: Articulatory – Production of Sounds, Acoustic – Transmission of Sounds, Auditory – Perception of Sounds.
Summary: Phonetics categorizes physical aspects of speech production into three main areas; how sounds are produced (articulatory phonetics), how sounds are transmitted (acoustic phonetics) and how sounds are perceived (auditory phonetics).
Module 3: Morphology (Structure of Words)
Basic Level: Morphology and Morphemes
Morphology is a branch of linguistics that studies how words are formed.
Real-World Example: The word “Unhappier” consists of three morphemes;
Un- , happi , er
Un– (A prefix that changes the meaning of the word ‘ happier ‘ to the opposite, ‘ less happy ‘).
happi (The root word that gives the meaning ‘happy’)
er (A suffix that changes the word ‘happy’ to ‘happier’).
Intermediate Level: Free vs. Bound Morphemes
Free Morphemes are independent words that stand alone and convey clear meaning. Examples include the following words: Love, hate, dog and run.
Bound morphemes are morphemes that do not have an independent meaning, but rather attach themselves to other morphemes to form words. Some common examples include –ed, -ing, re-, un-
Advanced Level: Derivational vs. Inflectional Bound Morphemes
Derivational Bound Morphemes
What: These are bound morphemes that attach themselves to a word to change its grammatical function or word class. They are used to create different variations of the same word
Examples include: -able, -ness, -ity, -less, -ity and –ful. The addition of –ful to the noun ‘beauty’, for instance, creates the adjective ‘beautiful’.
Inflectional Bound Morphemes
What: These are bound morphemes that attach themselves to the end of a word to modify its meaning according to the grammar rules. They usually indicate comparison, possession, tense, and plurality. Unlike derivational morphemes, inflectional morphemes do not change the grammatical function or word class of a word.
Examples include: –s, –ed, –er, –es, –ing and –est. The addition of –er to the adjective ‘strong’, for instance, helps to modify its meaning to indicate comparison. We can also add –ed to the end of the word ‘walk’ to indicate past tense ‘walked’. Adding –s to the end of the word ‘pen’, on the other hand, will indicate plurality ‘pens’.
Module 3 Summary & Key Concepts
Key Concepts: Morphology – Study of the Formation of Words, Morpheme – Smallest Meaningful Unit of Language, Free and Bound Morphemes, Derivational Morphemes and Inflectional Morphemes.
Summary: Morphology explores the various ways in which words are formed in linguistics. Free morphemes can be used independently to form words. On the other hand, bound morphemes can only be used together with other morphemes. Moreover, derivational bound morphemes combine with other morphemes to create different words. Inflectional bound morphemes, however, combine with other morphemes to indicate grammatical comparison, possession, tense and plurality.
linguistics
https://fizzfizzchandio.blogspot.com/p/linguistics.html
Comments
Post a Comment