Introduction
to
Linguistics
I
Linguistic thought
Course Details
Introduction
Linguistics
• Mondays: 16:00-18:30
• 13 meetings
• Requirements: reading, 5 assignments (30%), Final Exam (70%)
• Office hours (email me in advance):
Mondays, 14:00-15:00
•  [email protected]
•  [email protected] )‫(קרן‬
to
Course Details
• Class participation
• Academic integrity
Introduction
to
Linguistics
Course overview
• Cognition science strives to integrate various
perspectives and methodologies in order to
understand the human mind
• This course focuses on this integration in the
domain of language
Introduction
to
Linguistics
Course overview
• I will Introduce a linguistic approach to
studying language functions in the brain
• We will discuss the different levels of
linguistic analysis
• We will explore the behavioral and neural
correlates of these linguistic analysis levels
Introduction
to
Linguistics
‫‪Introduction‬‬
‫‪to‬‬
‫‪Linguistics‬‬
‫‪Making noises with our mouths‬‬
‫כשתמנון ממין זכר משגיח בתמנון ממין נקבה‪ ,‬הופך גופו – שלרוב‬
‫הוא אפרפר – למפוספס‪ .‬הוא שוחה מעל הנקבה ומתחיל ללטף‬
‫אותה בשבע מזרועותיו‪ .‬אם היא מניחה לו לעשות כן הוא מתקרב‬
‫אליה במהירות ומחליק את זרועו השמינית אל תוך צינור הנשימה‬
‫שלה‪ .‬סדרה של שקיקים נושאי תאי זרע נעים באיטיות דרך חריץ‬
‫בזרועו ולבסוף מחליקים אל תוך חלל הגלימה של הנקבה‪.‬‬
‫קינוח דובדבנים על חליפה לבנה? יין על כיסוי מזבח? השתמשו מיד‬
‫במי סודה‪ .‬הם יעילים ביותר להסרת כתמים מאריגים‪.‬‬
‫כשדיקסי פותחת לטד את הדלת היא המומה‪ ,‬כי היא חשבה שהוא‬
‫מת‪ .‬היא טורקת את הדלת בפניו ומנסה להימלט‪ .‬עם זאת‪ ,‬כשטד‬
‫אומר "אני אוהב אותך" היא מניחה לו להיכנס‪ .‬טד מנחם אותה והם‬
‫מתמלאים תשוקה‪ .‬כשבריאן מגיע פתאום דיקסי מספרת לטד ההמום‬
‫שהיא ובריאן נישאו היום‪ .‬בקושי רב מספרת דיקסי לבריאן‬
‫שהעניינים בינה ובין טד רחוקים מסיום‪ .‬אחר כך היא מבשרת לו‬
‫שג'יימי הוא הבן של טד‪" .‬המה שלי"? אומר טד המזועזע‪.‬‬
Making noises with our mouths
Jabberwocky
(by Lewis Carol)
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought –
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
“And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
Introduction
to
Linguistics
‫‪Introduction‬‬
‫‪to‬‬
‫‪Linguistics‬‬
‫‪Making noises with our mouths‬‬
‫הפ ְטעֹונִּ י‬
‫ִּ‬
‫)תרגום‪ :‬אהרון אמיר(‬
‫ּושלֵ י פַ ְחזָר‪,‬‬
‫עֵ ת בָ ָשק ְ‬
‫ּבאַ ְפסֵ י חָ ק סָ ְבסּו‪ָ ,‬מ ְקדּו‪,‬‬
‫אֹו אָ ז ִח ְלכֵן הָ יָה נִ ְמזַר‪,‬‬
‫ּכרדּו‪.‬‬
‫ּומ ֵתי עָ ָרן ְ‬
‫ְ‬
‫עֹומד ְשפֶ ה‪-‬הָ גּות‪,‬‬
‫עֹודֹו ֵ‬
‫ּדֹולקֹות‪,‬‬
‫וְהַ ִפ ְטעֹון‪ ,‬עֵ ינָיו ְ‬
‫ו ְִשוֵׁש בַ יָעָ ר הַ ָמגּוד‪,‬‬
‫ּבֹועֵ עַ ְונָקֹוט!‬
‫ּפטעֹון!‬
‫ּגּורה ְבנִי ִמן הַ ְ‬
‫” ָ‬
‫ּפרנֹו!‬
‫ֵמחד‪ִ -‬שּנֹו‪ִ ,‬חיל‪-‬צִ ְ‬
‫ֵמעֹוף‪-‬גִ ְרגִ יר ָתנּוס‪ ,‬צָ עֹון‪,‬‬
‫ֵמחֶ טֶ ׁש ִב ְמגֹונו!“‬
‫ִב ְמ ִחי חָ זּוז – הָ בֵ ס! הָ בֵ ס!‬
‫ִתכְ ֶתְך הַ סַ יִף ְבנִ ְמהַ ר!‬
‫נָטַ ל אֶ ת ראׁש ִפגְ רֹו הַ זֵד‪,‬‬
‫וְאֶ ל בֵ יתֹו צָ הַ ר‪.‬‬
‫וְהּוא ָשלַ ף סֵ יפֹו הָ חַ ז‪,‬‬
‫נָד‪ִ ,‬חפֵ ׂש אֶ ת ְפ ִחיק צָ ָריו –‬
‫וְכה עָ ַמד ְבצֵ ל ז ְַמזָם‪,‬‬
‫הּוריו‪.‬‬
‫ָתפּוס ְב ִה ְר ָ‬
‫”אַ ף ְקטַ ְלּתֹו‪ ,‬אֶ ת הַ ִפ ְטעֹון?‬
‫אֲ חַ בֶ ְקָך‪ ,‬י ְַל ִדי הַ צָ ח!‬
‫הֹו‪ ,‬יֹום‪-‬צִ ְלהָ ה! יַבֵ א! יַּבא!“‬
‫ְבחֶ ְדוָתֹו פָ צַ ח‪.‬‬
What is Linguistics?
The scientific study of human language
• Phonetics (physical nature of speech)
• Phonology (use of sounds in language)
• Morphology (word formation)
• Syntax (sentence structure)
• Semantics (meaning of words & how they combine into sentences)
• Pragmatics (the study of language use and communication in context)
• Prosody (the study of the rhythm, stress and intonation of language)
• Orthography (the set of symbols used in written language)
Introduction
to
Linguistics
Introduction
What is Linguistics?
to
Linguistics
The scientific study of human language
• Theoretical linguistics (straight and simple: how languages work)
• Historical linguistics (how languages got to be the way they are)
‫עידן‬
‫לנדו‬
‫גיא‬
‫דויטשר‬
• Sociolinguistics (language and the structure of society)
• Psycholinguistics (how language is implemented in the brain)
• Applied linguistics (teaching, translation, etc.)
‫גלעד‬
‫צוקרמן‬
‫נעמה‬
‫פרידמן‬
• Computational linguistics (computer processing of human language)
‫אורן צור‬
Introduction
What Linguistics is not
to
Linguistics
‫גבי דנון‬
A brief history of (Western) linguistic thought
Greece & Rome
• Linguistic thought in ancient Greece is linked to figures such
as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
• They were mainly concerned with questions regarding the
origin of language - is it merely a set of conventions?
• Early grammar - Words were classified according to a class
system consisting of 8 elements (object, verb, adjective etc.)
• Roman scholars have adopted Greek’s grammatical
knowledge, and applied it to Latin
Introduction
to
Linguistics
A brief history of (Western) linguistic thought
The Middle Ages
• Latin (and to a lesser extent, Greek) was the language of religion and
scholars in Europe, and most linguistic study focused on Latin and Greek
grammar
• After 1100 A.D., we see the development of speculative grammar,
which attempts to describe language as a mirror (Lat. speculum) of
reality
• In accordance with this belief, speculative grammarians searched for a
universal grammar, valid for all languages despite the “accidents” of
their differences
• Apart from this, however, they also made distinct advances in the area
of syntax
- syntactic well-formedness
- concepts expressing the relation of syntactic elements to one another
Introduction
to
Linguistics
A brief history of (Western) linguistic thought
Introduction
to
Linguistics
The Renaissance
• from this period onwards we can observe a growing interest in nonEuropean languages (especially Hebrew & Arabic, but also Chinese and
Indian languages)
• Whereas the speculative grammarians had shown very little interest in
phonetics, we now find scientific/systematic phonetic descriptions for
Arabic for the first time in the history of Western linguistics
• The theory of universal grammar was developed further in the
17th century, especially with the publication of the ‘Port Royal Grammar’
The Tower of Babel, Peter Bruegel
A brief history of (Western) linguistic thought
Introduction
to
Linguistics
The 18th / 19th century
• The 18th & 19th centuries are characterized by an increasing interest in
the origins and especially evolution of human language
• A notion emerged that most European languages formed a family of
related languages, all of which can be traced back to a single ancient
language that over time split in to ‘daughter’ languages that were not
mutually intelligible (Philology, Comparative linguistics)
• New ideas regarding the relationship between language and thought:
W. v. Humboldt stresses the differences between individual languages
as expressions of the experiences of individual speakers of these
languages (linguistic relativism)
Wilhelm von Humboldt
A brief history of (Western) linguistic thought
Introduction
to
Linguistics
The 20th century
• Structuralism - describing the structure of languages in terms of a system
• Shift from diachronic (historical) to synchronic (non-historical) analysis
• the distinction between langue (language system) vs. parole (actual usage by
a particular speaker)
• the concept of arbitrariness, i.e. that the shape of words is generally not
linked to their meaning, unless, of course, they are onomatopoetic
• the idea that there are relationships between symbols ⇒ systems
Ferdinand de Saussure
Introduction
to
A brief history of (Western) linguistic thought
Linguistics
The 20th century
• European structuralism had also influenced American linguistics
• They developed systematic techniques of linguistic analysis that were
predominantly influenced by behaviorism
• One of the central ideas behind behaviorism in linguistics, as propagated
by Bloomfield & Skinner, is that the development of language is to a large
extent based on the principles of stimulus and response, in other words,
that the development of language is a kind of reaction to the input
provided by a language learner’s environment.
Leonard Bloomfield
Zellig Harris
Charles Hockett
A brief history of (Western) linguistic thought
The 20th century
• Generative linguistics is intimately associated with Noam Chomsky, who,
in the 1950ies, sought to break with traditional structuralist and
behaviorist thinking and to establish a more mathematical foundation for
the description of language.
- Production rules make it possible to generate all grammatical forms of
language from smaller units
- Language is not learnt completely ‘from scratch’, but that the basic
language faculty is innate
- Universality: The notion that there are properties that all
natural human languages share
Introduction
to
Linguistics