Introduction to lingustics

• Linguistics


  The study of language, consisting of 4 subdomains: syntax, semantics, phonology, and pragmatics
• Syntax


  The structural properties of language, e.g. word order
• Semantics


  How word meanings are represented/expressed and how they are combined to form sentence meanings
• Pragmatics


  The study of language in context
• Phonology is the study of the sound system of language
• Crossing over


  • Connections between different linguistic domains, e.g. syntax and semantics
• Subfields of linguistics


  • Theoretical linguistics
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Discourse studies
• Prescriptive grammars


  How we SHOULD speak
• Descriptive grammars


  How we ACTUALLY speak
• Mental grammars


  The underlying system
• Communicative view of language


  Language is for communication
• Relationship between linguistics and SLT practice

  Linguistics helps SLTs diagnose language impairments, identify therapy targets, and devise new therapies
• Why SLTs need to know about linguistics: to diagnose language impairments, identify therapy targets, and devise new therapies
• Example of syntax: movement of auxiliary verbs in questions
• Pragmatics


  The study of how language is used in context
• Phonology


  The study of the sound system of a language
• Crossing over


  The exchange of information between different subfields of linguistics
• Subfields of linguistics


  • Syntax
  • Semantics
  • Pragmatics
  • Phonology
• Approaches to language structure

  • Prescriptive grammars
  • Descriptive grammars
  • Mental grammars
• Communicative view of language

  Language is 'indexical' - it 'indexes' our social, geographical, sexual, gender characteristics
• When we criticise someone's use of language, we are attacking their identity
• Language is 'indexical' - it 'indexes' our social, geographical, sexual, gender characteristics
• Prescriptive grammars - how we SHOULD speak


  • I have n't got no money
  • I ca n't get no satisfaction
• Google doesn't like double negatives
• It must be remembered that two negatives in the English language destroy each other and are equivalent to an affirmative. Often we hear such expressions as "He was not asked to give no opinion," expressing the very opposite of what is intended. The double negative, therefore, should be carefully avoided, for it is insidious.
• Double negatives in African American English

  • I don't owe anybody anything
  • I don't owe nobody nothing
• The use of "hopefully"


  • The dog looked hopefully at the food on the kitchen worksurface ('NORMAL' ADVERB)
  • Hopefully, it won't rain this morning (SENTENTIAL ADVERB)
• The use of "hopefully" as a sentential adverb was only accepted by the Style Guide of the Applied Press in 2012
• A communicative view of language


  • Communicative view
  • Relationship with SLT practice
• African American English: Non-conventional use of copula (verb 'to be' when used as the main verb) - He crazy, but he don't be crazy
• Weinreich: ''A language is a dialect with an army and a navy''
• Descriptive grammars - how we ACTUALLY speak


  • Examples?
• Mental grammars - the underlying system


  • Me and Jack went to the shops
  • I and Jack went to the shops
  • Jack and me went to the shops
  • Jack and I went to the shops
• It is important to be aware of prescriptive assumptions when testing children
• "The cat that the dog chased was brown"


  "The cat what the dog chased was brown"
• You observe a 12-year-old girl in her Grade 6 classroom working on a task with a small group of her peers. You notice she is consistently leaving endings off words, such as in "Because he ride his bike to school". She refers to her friends as "youse" and uses verb forms such as "His mother grew him up".
• Length of experience


  Greater caution regarding diagnosis
• Positive views of dialect difference


  Greater caution regarding diagnosis