12 Schools of Modern Linguistics

1、Topic 12Schools of Modern LinguisticsWang LijuanLinguistics12.1 IntroductionModern linguistics began from the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913).“father of modern linguistics”the creator of the modern theory of structuralism Saussure: lectured on general linguistics(索緒爾) 1907-1911 Univ

2、ersity of GenevaAfter his death, two of his students, C. Bally and A. Sechehaye, collected lecture notes and put his original and insightful ideas together to produce the great work Course in General Linguistics, in 1916.Saussures linguistic conceptsSaussurean Structuralist linguistics seeks to iden

3、tify the structures that shape all languages.1 Language is a system of signs that evolves constantly. Sounds counts as language only when they serve to express or communicate ideas.signifier vs. signifiedSignSignifierSignifiedentitysound imageSaussures linguistic concepts2 The nature of the linguist

4、ic signs: langue vs. parole syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic relations synchonic vs. diachronic linguisticsLanguageLangueParoleactual speech made by an individualcollective abstract system shared by a communityPanchronicSynchronicDiachronicstudy of a system over a specific extent of timestudy of a syste

5、m as it exists at one moment in timeSign relationSyntagmatic (linear)ParadigmaticsubstitutionpositioningSaussures influence1 He provided a general orientation, a sense of the task of linguistics which had seldom been questioned.2 He influenced modern linguistics in the specific concepts. e.g. langue

6、 vs. paroleIt is saussure that pushed linguistics into a brand new stage and all linguistics in the 20th century are Saussurean linguistics.12.2 The European Functionalism/Structuralism歐洲功能主義語言學/結(jié)構(gòu)主義語言學12.2.1 The Prague School 布拉格學派The Prague School views language as a combination of structure and f

7、unction.In the narrow sense: the linguists who attend the Prague Linguistic Circle (PLC) since the late 1920s, and those who are closely related to this Circle in ideas and opinions.In the broad sense: linguists and scholars who follow the tradition of the Prague School.The PLC was inaugurated in 19

8、.1 Phonological contributionTrubetzkoys Phonological Opposition (音位對立)(特魯別茨考依) Principles of Phonology (1939)1 Phonology belongs to langue, phonetics belongs to parole.2 He developed the concept of “phoneme”, and considered phoneme as an abstract unit of sound system distinct from the actua

9、l sound.3 He identified nine phonological oppositions following the criteria of their relation to the whole contrastive system; relations between the opposing elements; and their power of discrimination. e.g. Proportional opposition (均衡對立) /p/ is to /b/ as /t/ is to /d/Jakobsons Distinctive Features

10、(雅各布遜：音位的區(qū)別性特征)Vocalic (元音性)Voiced (濁音性)Checked (急煞性)Consonantal (輔音性)Nasal (鼻音性)Grave (低沉性)Compact (聚集性)Continuant (延續(xù)性)Flat (抑揚性)Diffuse (分散性)Strident (刺耳性)Sharp (揚升性)Tense (緊張性) Syntactic contributionMathesius idea of the theme - rheme analysis of the sentence (馬泰修斯:主位述位觀點 )A sentence con

11、tains 1 a point of departure (theme) (主位), which is equally present to the speaker and the hear; it is the ground on which they meet.2 a goal of discourse (rheme) (述位), which is the very information that is to be imparted to the hearer. Syntactic contributionFirbas Functional Sentence Perspe

12、ctive (FSP) (費爾巴斯:功能句子觀)It refers to analyzing utterances from a functional point of view in terms of the information they contain.theme: known/given information (information shared by the speaker and the hearer)rheme: unknown/new information (what is to be transmitted to the hearer)Example:The book

13、 is on the desk. On the desk is the book. Subject Predicate Predicate SubjectTheme Rheme Theme RhemeKnown New Known New12.2.2 The Copenhagen School 哥本哈根學派In 1931, Hjelmslev and other linguists founded the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen.Hjelmslevs glossematics (耶姆斯列夫：語符學)It has noticed the relations

14、hip between language and thinking.This school intends to develop a theory which would be applicable, not just for language.Language, in this view, was seen as one kind of symbolic system, whose special features would be clarified only when it was compared with other non-linguistic symbolic systems.1

15、2.3 The American Structuralism美國結(jié)構(gòu)主義語言學It is also called American descriptive linguistics.It has originated and developed on the basis of the investigation and research into American Indian languages by some American linguistics at the beginning of the twentieth century.American Indian languages - t

16、he enormous range of linguistic diversity & the unique structures - methods of analysis appropriate for Latin and Greek are not proper - descriptivists devise an objective approach which could be applied to any language - descriptive linguistics.12.3.1 Early periodBoas & Handbook of American Indian

17、Language (1911) (博厄斯: 美洲印第安語言手冊)Advantage: a self-taught linguist - the framework of descriptive linguisticsBoas held:1 There was no ideal type or form of languages; human languages were diverse.2 The structure and form of a language has nothing to do with the evolution of a race and the development

18、 of a culture. There is no difference between languages in terms of being more or less reasonable or advanced.Sapir & Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech (1921) (薩丕爾語言論：言語研究導論)He took the anthropological point of view to describe the nature and the development of language.He defines lan

19、guage as “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols”.The relations between language and thought: Language is the means, and thought is the end product; without language, thought is impossible.Sapir-Whor

20、f Hypothesis (薩丕爾-沃爾夫假設(shè)): Our language helps mould our way of thinking and, consequently, different languages may probably express speakers unique ways of understanding the world. Language may determine our thinking patterns. Similarity between languages is relative.12.3.2 Bloomfield & Stimulus-Resp

21、onse Theory (布龍菲爾德 & 刺激-反應(yīng)理論)Bloomfield: the principal representative of American descriptive linguistics.In his book Language, he outlined a strictly scientific behaviorist framework for the description of language .Bloomfield follows the idea that linguistics is a branch of psychology, especially

22、behaviorism.Behaviorists believe that human beings cannot know anything they have not experienced.Behaviorist in linguistics hold that children learn language through a chain of “stimulus-response reinforcement”, and the adults use of language is also a process of stimulus-response. Behaviorists bel

23、ieve that actions have causes and actions are responses to stimuli.The model is: S r - s RExample: Suppose a boy and his girlfriend are taking a walk. The girl is hungry and sees some apples on the tree. She makes some sounds and the boy jumps over the fence, climbs up the tree, picks an apple, give

24、s it to his girlfriend, and his girlfriend eats it.Bloomfields famous exampleS: practical stimulus r: the substitute reaction of speechs: the substitute stimulusR: external practical reactionthe practical eventprior to the act of speechSthe speakers stimulusspeechthe practical eventafter the act of

25、speechspeakhearclimb up the treepick an applegive the apple to the girlthe girls hungerthe sight of applesher relationship with the boyRthe hearers responseS r s RComparison among Schools of StructuralismStructuralismFocusThe Prague SchoolThe function of linguistic structuresThe Copenhagen SchoolThe

26、 relationship among linguistic structuresAmerican StructuralismThe description and analysis of the form of linguistic structures12.4 The London School 倫敦學派The London School is also known as systemic linguistics and functional linguistics, because it stresses the importance of context of situation an

27、d the system aspect of language.J. R. Firth (弗斯) is the founder of the London School.12.4.1 Firths Theories1 Firths Prosodic phonology (韻律音位學)He holds that phonological description based on the concept of the phoneme is inadequate. It fails to account for features of oriental languages.He introduced

28、 “prosodic units” into linguistics to perfect paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations.Prosodies are suprasegmental, including length, pitch and stress.2 Firths ContextFirth holds that meaning is use (意義等于使用). Meaning is function in context.He puts forward the idea that in analysing a typical context

29、of situation (典型語言環(huán)境), one has to take into consideration both the situational context and the linguistic context.12.4.2 Hallidays Systemic-Functional GrammarHalliday is the founder of systemic functional linguistics. (韓禮德:系統(tǒng)功能語法) He became the representative of the London School from 1960s.Systemic

30、 Grammar and Functional Grammar are two inseparable parts for an integral framework of linguistic theory.Systemic grammar aims to explain the internal relations in language as a system network, or meaning potential.Functional grammar aims to reveal that language is a means of social interaction.Syst

31、ematic grammar: A system is a set of mutually exclusive options that come into play at some point in a linguistic structure.1 Transitivity system (及物性系統(tǒng))2 Mood system (語氣系統(tǒng))3 Theme system (主位系統(tǒng)) Functional grammar: Halliday defines functional grammar as “essentially a natural grammar, in the sense that everything in it can be explained, ultimat