Summary Language and Communication CH1-4

Language and Communication

Language = 1. A system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar or the
system of communication used by people in a particular country or type of work.

2. A particular style of speaking or writing, for example, one that is used by the
people doing a particular job.

Properties of language:

I. Modularity
- Language is a modular system -> language production/ perception draws on different
modules
- Every module is responsible for part of the language production/perception process
- Modules are related and interdependent
- Modules:
1. Phonetics
the branch of linguistics that deals with the sounds of speech and their production,
combination, description, and representation by written symbols.
 How are speech sounds made?
 How does sound travel through the air?
 Difficult to study, because they can’t see the objects (e.g. tongue, waves)
Phonology
About patterns of sounds, especially different patterns of sounds in different languages,
or within each language, different patterns of sounds in different positions in words etc.
|How languages organize sounds into different patterns.
 How do languages organize sounds to distinguish different words?
 How are sounds organized into larger constituents?
2. Morphology
Study of words, how they are formed, and their relationship to other words in the
same language. Analyzes the structure of words and parts of words, such
as stems, root words, prefixes, and suffixes.
3. Syntax
The way in which linguistic elements (such as words) are put together to form
constituents (such as phrases or clauses)
4. Lexicon
the vocabulary of a language, an individual speaker or group of speakers, or a
subject. / the total stock of morphemes in a language (meaning of individual words)
Semantics
Deals with the study of meaning, changes in meaning, and the principlesthat govern t
he relationship between sentences or words and their meanings. (combination of
words)
5. Pragmatics
How to use the language
6. Discourse organization
The way we organize larger groups of text




II. Constituency and recursion
- Allows for flexibility and structure
- Allows for recursiveness

, e.g. 1. She gives a lecture
2. The woman with the dark glasses gives a lecture.
3. The short haired woman with the dark glasses and the necklace gives a lecture.
-> possible to continue endlessly

III. Productivity
- Language is infinitely productive
- New words

e.g. 1. I thought, that you thought, that he thought that she thought…
2. A brilliant, colourful, original, skilfully designes, beautifully framed … picture


IV. Discreteness
- Every language has its own set of discrete units (phonemes, morphemes, words, phrases etc.)
- What is discrete in one language, does not have to be in another.

V. Arbitrariness
- No relation between sound an meaning of a word (e.g. chair)
- Onomatopoetic word
- Sound inventory of a language is arbitrary
- Patterns in which sounds and words combine are arbitrary

VI. Context dependence

e.g. bank, their vs. there vs. they’re, right vs. write.

VII. Variability
- Some universal characteristics
- Difference between individual languages
- Difference between speakers of the same language
- Language use of individual speakers differs depending on situation and people they speak to
- Language is used to establish social identity
- Standard vs. nonstandard varieties



Communication = 1. The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using
some other medium/channel.

2. Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants
not only exchange (encode-decode) information, news, ideas and feelings, but
also create and share meaning. In general, communication is a means of
connecting people or places. In business, it is a key function of management:
an organization cannot operate without communication between levels,
departments and employees.

, Communication problems:

Sender Receiver Message
- Can’t articulate - Can’t hear properly - Bad connection
- Problems finding right words - Can’t decode - Loud background noises
- Can’t properly judge the - Does not speak same language - Long distance (message doesn’t
information needs of receiver - Information needs not in line with reach destination)
- Distracted given information
- Chooses inappropriate channel - Distracted
- Does not speak same language - Expectations are different

Problems related to sender/receiver are often related to the way in which language is used.

 if you want to analyse and solve communication problems that are related to the way in
which language is used, you will have to be able to describe and analyse the language used.

How do we make speech sounds?

Basically, sound is vibrating air. Using vocal tract (lungs, trachea, larynx, mouth, and nose) to get air
moving and vibrating, and then shaping that movement in different ways.

- The reed (vibration by stream of air) = Instrument
- Vibration can be manipulated
- Instrument in resonance box

- Vocal folds/cords (vibration by stream of air) = Person
- Vibration manipulated in vocal tract
- Body is resonance box

How are speech sounds made? – Articulation

1. Air stream mechanism, usually moving air out of lungs (=pulmonic egressive)
2. Vocal folds (vibration = voiced sounds, without = voiceless; aspiration = vocal folds held apart)
3. Velum (open=nasal sounds, closed = oral sounds)
4. Which articulator used and how it is used:
- Type of articulator and location of constriction = place of articulation (place to which the
active articulator (= lips, tongue) moves)

o Bilabial [p], [b], [m] ; both lips
o Labiodental [f], [v] ; lower lip against upper teeth
o Dental ; tongue tip against upper teeth