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Structure of the talk



Definition of the basic terms:

Linguistics

Language

Grammar

Language universals

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Features of language

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The structure of language

Branches of linguistics

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general or theoretical linguistics



descriptive linguistics (diachronic and
synchronic)

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applied linguistics

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comparative linguistics

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historical linguistics



psycholinguistics

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sociolinguistics

Theoretical linguistics

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Theoretical (or general) linguistics encompasses a

number of sub-fields, such as the study of language

structure (grammar) and meaning (semantics).

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The study of grammar encompasses morphology

(formation and alteration) of words and syntax (the

rules that determine the way words combine into

phrases and sentences).



Also a part of this field are phonology, the study of

sound systems and abstract sound units, and

phonetics, which is concerned with the actual

properties of speech sounds (phones), non-speech

sounds, and how they are produced and perceived.

Applied linguistics



Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field
of study that identifies, investigates, and offers
solutions to language-related real life problems.
Major branches of applied linguistics include
bilingualism and multilingualism, computer-
meditated communication, conversation
analysis, language assessment, literacies,
discourse analysis, language pedagogy,
sociolinguistics, second language acquisition,
language planning and policies, pragmatics,
forensic linguistics, and translation.

Language



Definition of the term:

a system of communication, a medium for

thought, a vehicle for literary expression, a

social institution, a catalyst of nation building

an organised system of speech used by

human beings as a means of communication

among themselves

Grammar - A subconscious linguistic system

that makes possible the production and

comprehension of potentially unlimited

number of utterances.

Components of grammar



Phonetics

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Phonology

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Morphology

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Syntax

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Semantics

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Pragmatics

Language facts

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According to ethnologue.com there are 6912 living languages

in the world.

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Nearly extinct languages - 516

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347 languages (5%) are spoken by 94% of the world’s

population

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The greates number of native speakers – Mandarin Chinese

(873 mln), Hindi (370 mln), Spanish (350 mln)

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Language with the fewest sounds – Rotoka (11)

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Language with the most sounds - !Xóõ (112)

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Language with the fewest vowels – Ubyx (2)

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Language with the most vowels – !Xóõ (31)

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Language with the most consonant sounds – Ubyx (81)

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Language with the fewest consonant sounds – Rotoka (6)

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The most common consonants - /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, n/

Widely spoken languages

Language Number of speakers Spoken in Language family

English

508,000,000

116 countries

Indo-

European

Spanish

322,000,000

44 countries

Indo-

European

French

64,858,300

57 countries

Indo-

European

Arabic

206,000,000

25 countries

Afro-Asiatic

Chinese

867,200,000

16 countries

Sino-Tibetan

Multilingual countries

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Australia – 275

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Papua New Guinea – 829 (check)

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Cameroon – 280

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China – 241

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The Congo – 216

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India – 427

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Indonesia – 742

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Mexico – 297

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Nigeria – 516

Characteristics of

language



language is sound (it is linear)

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language is systematic
(restrictions)

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language is a system of systems
(phonology, syntax)

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language is arbitrary

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language is creative (productive)

estrictions - phonotactics

English

phonotactics

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*blik

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*bwaitk

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*ftrakl

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*msuft

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*rtap

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Polish
phonotactics

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*lkat

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*tpart

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*wsklark

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*grbić

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*bmatj

estrictions - syntax

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English



John kicked Paul

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Paul kicked John

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*Kicked Paul John

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Polish

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Janek kopnął Pawła

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Pawła kopnął Janek

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Rdza zżera stare żelazko

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Żelazko stare zżera rdza

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Stare żelazko zżera rdza

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Zżera żelazko stare rdza

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Zżera stare żelazko rdza

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*Stare zżera rdza
żelazko

Syntactic variation

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Standard English

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You ought to be able

to do it.

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Rose would be able

to visit Archie if she

went to Melrose.

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I would like to be

able to speak Gaelic.

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You’ll have to be able

to see her whether

you like it or not.

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The Hawick dialect

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You should can do it.

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Rose would could
visit Archie if she
went to Melrose.

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I would like to could
speak Gaelic.

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You’ll have to can
see her whether you
like it or not.

Productivity of language - phonetics



English

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*compic

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*compicity/compi
cise

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Polish

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*pok

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*poczek

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*log

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*lożek

Productivity of language -

morphology

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English

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*shrup

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She is
shrupish/unshrup
ish

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She shrups
regularly

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Polish

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*grump

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*grumpować

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*grumpowy

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*zgrumpowany

Language universals

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Features observable in every language:

- All languages have a grammar
- Languages use sound

In every language there are vowels and consonants

If a language has three vowels they are /i, a, u/ in five-

segment systems they are /i, e, a, o, u/

The basic syllable structure is CV (70% of the world’s

languages have only this kind of syllable)

If a language has voiced obstruents in its inventory, it also

has their voiceless counterparts

Children acquire sounds in more or less the same order,

regardless of their mother language (vowels before plosives,

plosives before fricatives, r is usually the last sound

acquired by the child)

Mechanistic universals



Low vowels are longer than high vowels

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Vowels are shorter before voiceless than
before voiced consonants

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Stressed vowels are longer than
unstressed ones

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Stop closure is longer in voiceless than in
voiced stop consonants

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Stop closure is longer in bilabials than in
velars or alveolars

Ecological universal



There are no consonant-free languges, nor are there

any vowel-free languages



One should not think that languages with a lot of

sound fulfil the requirement of contrastivity and

connectedness better than languages with relatively

few sounds.



Theoretically, the principle of contrastivity can be

fulfilled with only one vowel in the sound inventory,

but then the number of combinatorial possibilities is

limited, unless the consonant system is exceptionally

well-developed



anguages with a two-element vowel inventory, e.g.

Margi, Eastern Arrernte, Uby

and Abkhaz

Bibliography



O’Grady, William – Dobrovolsky, Michael – Katamba,
Francis. (1996). Contemporary linguistics. London:
Pearson Education Limited.

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Dinneen, Francis. 1967. General linguistics. New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.

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Hyman, Larry. 1975. Phonology: theory and analysis. New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.



Maddieson, Ian. 2003. ”Phonetic universals”. Procedings
of the 15th ICPhS.

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Waniek-Klimczak, Ewa. 2004.”Phonetic universals as
predictors of success in second language speech.” Konin:
Zeszyty Naukowe Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Zawodowej
w Koninie 1/2004: 151-162.

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