General Linguistics – summary
Book: The Study of Language (4th edition), George Yule
Chapters: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20
Date: June 18, 2020
Place: Utrecht
Chapter 1: The origins of language
For this chapter, you need to be able to:
Explain how the origin of the language relates to all theories
For each theory, mention one feature of language it is able to explain
For each theory, mention one feature it cannot account for
There are 6 different
origins of language:
1. The divine
source
2. The natural
source
3. The social
interaction
source
4. The physical THE DIVINE SOURCE
adaptation It remains a speculation how language may have
source originated.
5. The tool-making In most religions, there appears to be a divine
source source who provides humans with language.
6. The genetic Most experiments with this, though, showed that
source children were more likely to imitate animals
regarding to what they heard.
THE NATURAL SOURCE
This set idea to the natural sound source, which indeed states that the human
auditory system (with is already functioning before birth), develops the ability
to identify sounds in the environment. This leads to the idea that primitive
words derive from imitations of the natural sounds that early men and women
heard around them. This theory has a nickname: the “bow-wow” theory.
The fact that all modern languages have some words with pronunciations that
seem to echo naturally occurring sounds could be used to support this theory
(for example, cuckoo, splash, bang, boom, etc). Words that sound similar to
the noises they describe are examples of onomatopoeia.
The “pooh-pooh” theory proposes that speech develops from the instinctive
sounds people make in emotional circumstances. For example, “ouch!”,
“wow!” or “yuck!”.
THE SOCIAL INTERACTION SOURCE
, The sounds of a person involved in physical effort could be the source of our
language, especially when that physical effort involved several people and the
interaction had to be coordinated. This is called the “yo-he-ho” theory. This
theory implies that communication was necessary in social context. It does
not, however, answer the question regarding the origins of the sounds
produced; apes and other primates live in social groups as well and use
grunts and social calls, yet they do not seem to have developed the capacity
for speech.
THE PHYSICAL ADAPTATION SOURCE
Human lips have much more intricate muscle interlacing than is found in other
primates, and this helps with making sounds like p, b and m. We can also
open and close our mouth quicker than other primates and our tongue is more
muscular as well.
Our larynx or “voice box” (containing the vocal folds or vocal cords) differs in
position from other primates. During the course of human development, the
larynx dropped to a lower position. This created a longer cavity called the
pharynx, above the vocal folds, which acts as a resonator for increased
range and clarity of the sounds produced via the larynx and the vocal tract.
Other primates have almost no pharynx. This downside is that it is easier for
humans to choke on food.
THE TOOL-MAKING SOURCE
The creation of tools may have been the predecessor of language. There is
evidence that humans have developed preferential right-handedness about
two million years ago. They started making tools and the outcome of using
both hands for manipulating objects is evidence of a brain at work.
The human brain is relatively large in comparison to our bodies and is
lateralized. That is, it has specialized functions in each of the two
hemispheres. Those functions that control the motor movements involved in
complex vocalization (speaking) and object manipulation (making or using
tools) are very close to each other in the left hemisphere of the brain. It may
be that there was an evolutionary connection between the language-using
and tool-using abilities of humans and that both were involved in the
development of the speaking brain.
THE GENETIC SOURCE
The innateness hypothesis that language capacity is genetically hard-wired in
the new-born human brain, would seem to point to a possible crucial mutation.
The investigation of the origins of language turns into a search for the special
“language gene” that only humans possess.
,Chapter 2: Animals and human language
For this chapter, you need to be able to:
Define [reflexivity/displacement/arbitrariness/productivity/duality/cultural transmission] as a
distinct property of human language.
Give an example of animal communication that is supports the idea that
[reflexivity/displacement/arbitrariness/productivity/duality/cultural transmission] is exclusively
human. (same item as the former question)
COMMUNICATION
Communicative signals are those that you give intentionally; “I would like to
apply for the job”.
Informative signals are those that you give unintentionally, like sneezing. This
makes someone else think that you might have a cold. Or, for example,
speaking in a different dialect. This makes someone else think that you are
from somewhere else.
Humans are capable of producing sounds and syllables in a stream of speech
that appears to have no communicative purpose, as in glossolalia, or
“speaking in tongues”. This may sound like language, but with no speaker
control, it is no intentional communication.
PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE
Humans are clearly able to reflect on language and its uses (e.g. “I wish he
wouldn’t use so many technical terms”). This is called reflexivity.
The purpose of reflexivity (or reflexiveness) accounts for the fact that we can
use language to think and talk about language itself, making it one of the
distinguishing features of human language.
The five most distinct properties of human language: displacement,
arbitrariness, productivity, cultural transmission, and duality.
Displacement is a property of human language that allows us to refer to past
and future time. It allows language users to talk about things and events not
present in the immediate environment. This also allows us to talk about things
and places (angels, heaven, Santa Claus, etc.) whose existence we cannot
even be sure of. Bee communication is a small exception to this rule, but their
range of this ability is limited comparing to ours.
Arbitrariness means that there is no “natural” connection between a linguistic
form and its meaning (for example: the Arabic word for ‘dog’—in Arabic
spelling—has no natural connection to a hairy four-legged barking object).
This relationship between words and objects is described as arbitrariness.
Onomatopoeic words such as ‘crash’ and ‘slurp’ seem to have less of an
arbitrary connection. For most animal signals, there does appear to be a clear
connection between the conveyed message and the signal used to convey it.
Their set of signals is limited though and only consists out of vocal or gestural
forms, used in specific situations that mostly include territory or mating.
Productivity (or “creativity” or “open-endedness”) means that the potential
number of utterances in any human language is infinite, because we use it to
create new expressions—by manipulating our linguistic resources to describe
new objects and situations. If the location of a nectar source for bees is
“new”—that is anything other than horizontal, like ‘up’—they can’t figure out
this new location. They don’t have a word for ‘up’ and neither can they invent
, one. This lack of productivity in animal communication can be described in
terms of fixed reference; i.e. it is fixed in terms of relating to a particular
occasion or purpose. Only a human is capable of creating a “new” signal, by
saying something never said before.
Cultural transmission refers to the process whereby language is passed on
from one generation to the next; we acquire language in a culture with other
speakers instead of from parental genes. For animals, it rather seems to be a
general pattern that they are born with a set of specific signals that are
produced instinctively.
Duality (or “double articulation”) means that we have distinct sounds, but also
distinct meanings; human language is organized at two levels or layers
simultaneously. Duality of levels is one of the most economical features of
human language because, with a limited set of discrete sounds, we are
capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words)
that are distinct in meaning. Among other creatures, each communicative
signal appears to be a single fixed form that cannot be broken down into
separate parts (“woof” is one form, but it has no different meanings; a dog
uses this word to indicate hunger but also danger).
TALKING TO ANIMALS
An animal does not understand the meaning of a word (“sit”, “lay down”, etc.),
but rather responds to the sound stimulus of the word.
You can keep a horse in a field with cows for years, but it still won’t start to
‘moo’.
CHIMPANZEES AND LANGUAGE
Unlike humans, chimpanzees do not have a physically vocal tract that is
suitable for articulating sounds used in speech. Research has found however,
that chimpanzees are capable of producing some words like ‘mama’, ‘papa’,
and ‘cup’.
Washoe the ape, was subject to another type of research. It aimed to teach
sign language to a chimpanzee, and it found that after three-and-a-half years,
Washoe was capable of using signs for more than 100 words and even
combine these words into small sentences. She was even capable of making
her own words, like ‘water bird’ (referring to a swan), and this indicates that
her communication system had the potential for productivity.
Sarah the ape, on the other hand, was systematically trained to associate
plastic shapes with objects or actions. She could then use these shapes to
make short sentences related to food (M – Mary G – Give C – Chocolate S –
Sarah). She was also capable of producing complex sentences such as ‘If
Sarah put red on green, Mary give Sarah chocolate’.
Lana learned Yerkish and this language consisted of a set of symbols on a
large keyboard linked to a computer. When Lana wanted water, she had to
press a combination of certain keys to produce the message. She could not,
however, learn the word ‘please’.
The controversy around teaching language to chimpanzees, is that they are
limited to produce signs in response to the demands of people and tend to
repeat signs those people use, yet they are treated as if they are taking part in
a conversation. According to Herbert Terrace, chimpanzees are simply clever
creatures who learn to produce a certain type of behaviour (signing or symbol
Book: The Study of Language (4th edition), George Yule
Chapters: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20
Date: June 18, 2020
Place: Utrecht
Chapter 1: The origins of language
For this chapter, you need to be able to:
Explain how the origin of the language relates to all theories
For each theory, mention one feature of language it is able to explain
For each theory, mention one feature it cannot account for
There are 6 different
origins of language:
1. The divine
source
2. The natural
source
3. The social
interaction
source
4. The physical THE DIVINE SOURCE
adaptation It remains a speculation how language may have
source originated.
5. The tool-making In most religions, there appears to be a divine
source source who provides humans with language.
6. The genetic Most experiments with this, though, showed that
source children were more likely to imitate animals
regarding to what they heard.
THE NATURAL SOURCE
This set idea to the natural sound source, which indeed states that the human
auditory system (with is already functioning before birth), develops the ability
to identify sounds in the environment. This leads to the idea that primitive
words derive from imitations of the natural sounds that early men and women
heard around them. This theory has a nickname: the “bow-wow” theory.
The fact that all modern languages have some words with pronunciations that
seem to echo naturally occurring sounds could be used to support this theory
(for example, cuckoo, splash, bang, boom, etc). Words that sound similar to
the noises they describe are examples of onomatopoeia.
The “pooh-pooh” theory proposes that speech develops from the instinctive
sounds people make in emotional circumstances. For example, “ouch!”,
“wow!” or “yuck!”.
THE SOCIAL INTERACTION SOURCE
, The sounds of a person involved in physical effort could be the source of our
language, especially when that physical effort involved several people and the
interaction had to be coordinated. This is called the “yo-he-ho” theory. This
theory implies that communication was necessary in social context. It does
not, however, answer the question regarding the origins of the sounds
produced; apes and other primates live in social groups as well and use
grunts and social calls, yet they do not seem to have developed the capacity
for speech.
THE PHYSICAL ADAPTATION SOURCE
Human lips have much more intricate muscle interlacing than is found in other
primates, and this helps with making sounds like p, b and m. We can also
open and close our mouth quicker than other primates and our tongue is more
muscular as well.
Our larynx or “voice box” (containing the vocal folds or vocal cords) differs in
position from other primates. During the course of human development, the
larynx dropped to a lower position. This created a longer cavity called the
pharynx, above the vocal folds, which acts as a resonator for increased
range and clarity of the sounds produced via the larynx and the vocal tract.
Other primates have almost no pharynx. This downside is that it is easier for
humans to choke on food.
THE TOOL-MAKING SOURCE
The creation of tools may have been the predecessor of language. There is
evidence that humans have developed preferential right-handedness about
two million years ago. They started making tools and the outcome of using
both hands for manipulating objects is evidence of a brain at work.
The human brain is relatively large in comparison to our bodies and is
lateralized. That is, it has specialized functions in each of the two
hemispheres. Those functions that control the motor movements involved in
complex vocalization (speaking) and object manipulation (making or using
tools) are very close to each other in the left hemisphere of the brain. It may
be that there was an evolutionary connection between the language-using
and tool-using abilities of humans and that both were involved in the
development of the speaking brain.
THE GENETIC SOURCE
The innateness hypothesis that language capacity is genetically hard-wired in
the new-born human brain, would seem to point to a possible crucial mutation.
The investigation of the origins of language turns into a search for the special
“language gene” that only humans possess.
,Chapter 2: Animals and human language
For this chapter, you need to be able to:
Define [reflexivity/displacement/arbitrariness/productivity/duality/cultural transmission] as a
distinct property of human language.
Give an example of animal communication that is supports the idea that
[reflexivity/displacement/arbitrariness/productivity/duality/cultural transmission] is exclusively
human. (same item as the former question)
COMMUNICATION
Communicative signals are those that you give intentionally; “I would like to
apply for the job”.
Informative signals are those that you give unintentionally, like sneezing. This
makes someone else think that you might have a cold. Or, for example,
speaking in a different dialect. This makes someone else think that you are
from somewhere else.
Humans are capable of producing sounds and syllables in a stream of speech
that appears to have no communicative purpose, as in glossolalia, or
“speaking in tongues”. This may sound like language, but with no speaker
control, it is no intentional communication.
PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE
Humans are clearly able to reflect on language and its uses (e.g. “I wish he
wouldn’t use so many technical terms”). This is called reflexivity.
The purpose of reflexivity (or reflexiveness) accounts for the fact that we can
use language to think and talk about language itself, making it one of the
distinguishing features of human language.
The five most distinct properties of human language: displacement,
arbitrariness, productivity, cultural transmission, and duality.
Displacement is a property of human language that allows us to refer to past
and future time. It allows language users to talk about things and events not
present in the immediate environment. This also allows us to talk about things
and places (angels, heaven, Santa Claus, etc.) whose existence we cannot
even be sure of. Bee communication is a small exception to this rule, but their
range of this ability is limited comparing to ours.
Arbitrariness means that there is no “natural” connection between a linguistic
form and its meaning (for example: the Arabic word for ‘dog’—in Arabic
spelling—has no natural connection to a hairy four-legged barking object).
This relationship between words and objects is described as arbitrariness.
Onomatopoeic words such as ‘crash’ and ‘slurp’ seem to have less of an
arbitrary connection. For most animal signals, there does appear to be a clear
connection between the conveyed message and the signal used to convey it.
Their set of signals is limited though and only consists out of vocal or gestural
forms, used in specific situations that mostly include territory or mating.
Productivity (or “creativity” or “open-endedness”) means that the potential
number of utterances in any human language is infinite, because we use it to
create new expressions—by manipulating our linguistic resources to describe
new objects and situations. If the location of a nectar source for bees is
“new”—that is anything other than horizontal, like ‘up’—they can’t figure out
this new location. They don’t have a word for ‘up’ and neither can they invent
, one. This lack of productivity in animal communication can be described in
terms of fixed reference; i.e. it is fixed in terms of relating to a particular
occasion or purpose. Only a human is capable of creating a “new” signal, by
saying something never said before.
Cultural transmission refers to the process whereby language is passed on
from one generation to the next; we acquire language in a culture with other
speakers instead of from parental genes. For animals, it rather seems to be a
general pattern that they are born with a set of specific signals that are
produced instinctively.
Duality (or “double articulation”) means that we have distinct sounds, but also
distinct meanings; human language is organized at two levels or layers
simultaneously. Duality of levels is one of the most economical features of
human language because, with a limited set of discrete sounds, we are
capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words)
that are distinct in meaning. Among other creatures, each communicative
signal appears to be a single fixed form that cannot be broken down into
separate parts (“woof” is one form, but it has no different meanings; a dog
uses this word to indicate hunger but also danger).
TALKING TO ANIMALS
An animal does not understand the meaning of a word (“sit”, “lay down”, etc.),
but rather responds to the sound stimulus of the word.
You can keep a horse in a field with cows for years, but it still won’t start to
‘moo’.
CHIMPANZEES AND LANGUAGE
Unlike humans, chimpanzees do not have a physically vocal tract that is
suitable for articulating sounds used in speech. Research has found however,
that chimpanzees are capable of producing some words like ‘mama’, ‘papa’,
and ‘cup’.
Washoe the ape, was subject to another type of research. It aimed to teach
sign language to a chimpanzee, and it found that after three-and-a-half years,
Washoe was capable of using signs for more than 100 words and even
combine these words into small sentences. She was even capable of making
her own words, like ‘water bird’ (referring to a swan), and this indicates that
her communication system had the potential for productivity.
Sarah the ape, on the other hand, was systematically trained to associate
plastic shapes with objects or actions. She could then use these shapes to
make short sentences related to food (M – Mary G – Give C – Chocolate S –
Sarah). She was also capable of producing complex sentences such as ‘If
Sarah put red on green, Mary give Sarah chocolate’.
Lana learned Yerkish and this language consisted of a set of symbols on a
large keyboard linked to a computer. When Lana wanted water, she had to
press a combination of certain keys to produce the message. She could not,
however, learn the word ‘please’.
The controversy around teaching language to chimpanzees, is that they are
limited to produce signs in response to the demands of people and tend to
repeat signs those people use, yet they are treated as if they are taking part in
a conversation. According to Herbert Terrace, chimpanzees are simply clever
creatures who learn to produce a certain type of behaviour (signing or symbol
