Go Higher Arts Introduction To Language

Go Higher Arts Introduction to Language Mary E. Clinton School of English

Housekeeping No Food or Drink in any of the Classrooms Prompt start at 9.30 a.m. No extensions given unless formally requested via the office 1 trial essay at week 6 of approx 1,500 words 1 assessed piece of work at the end of term 3,000 words Contact via

[email protected]

Blended Learning • Virtual and in class • Lectures • Seminars • Workshops • Tutorials

Pro-Active Learning

What is Language?

Charles F. Hockett • Influential ‘Bloomfieldian’ structural linguist

•Influential taxonomist •Influential phonolgist •Chinese linguistics and American Indian languages, Potawatomi and Menominee.

•The Origins of Speech 1966

Charles F. Hockett 1916-2000

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • Charles Hockett proposed identifying descriptive characteristics

•Hockett’s 13 Design Features used to compare animal communication to human communication •– Is human communication unique?

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 1. Vocal-Auditory Channel – humans communicate via speech, out of mouth, into ear – advantages compared with other forms: touch, odour, visual able to use hands while talking able to hear speech in the dark

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

Humans have this, but so do frogs and coyotes.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 2. Broadcast Transmission & Directional Reception – anyone in broad range can hear speech – also get information regarding direction and timing of sound

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

Pine beetles have this when they broadcast chemicals.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 3. Rapid Fading – speech signal is transitory, so gone quickly – this is generally a disadvantage – writing and recording are strategies to assist this

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

Sound is guaranteed to fade rapidly

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 4. Interchangeability – any human can say what any other human can say animal communication sometimes has gender constraints

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• Coyotes can either howl or listen to howls.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 5. Total Feedback • – hear and feel our speech, so able to adjust • – compensate for loss of hearing or motor speech skill

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• Coyotes can hear themselves howl, but deaf children cannot.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language •

6. Specialization

– Communication mode (speech) is only used for communication – unique structures

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• Speech does little in terms of helping us eat. Its only use is for talking.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 7. Semanticity – human language is able to convey very specific, detailed messages – words have stable relationships to the objects/events they represent

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• Our words actually refer to things, not just emotions or states.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 8. Arbitrariness • – words don’t refer directly to objects • – nothing about a “pen” requires that it be called a “pen”

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• "Whale" is a small word that refers to a big object. This could follow from #9 and #13.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 9. Discreteness • – language is limited to a small number of sounds • – relatively small differences between sounds • – speakers aren’t able to perceive or produce non native sounds

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• Words are made up of discrete units.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 10. Displacement • – ability to talk about things remote in place and time • • example of history lessons or science fiction

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• This has to follow as a result of #11

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 11. Productivity – human language is creative, able to say things never said before – create new words – say old things in new ways (metaphors, poetry) – yet the message is still understandable

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• And this has to follow as a result of #13

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 12. Traditional Transmission • – capacity for language appears to be innate • – some aspects are learned, because you learn the language of the environment

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

• Songbirds also depend somewhat on learning the local dialect.

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • 13. Duality of Patterning • – a finite number of units combine in infinite ways to create meaning • – sounds combine to form morphemes which combine to form utterances, etc. • – meaning cannot be predicted from the bottom levels

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language

Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language • • • •

Homework Read the Handout Write the exercise Bring it in next eek