Introduction to linguistics

introduction

 Languages are sets of signs. Signs combine an exponet ( a sequence of letters or sounds ) with a meaning. Grammars are ways to generate signs from more basic signs. Signs combine a form and a meaning, and they are identical wiyh neither thir exponent nor with their meaning.

Linguistics

 In the definition of language as “sound” organized into units of “form” and “function” with “meaning”, contextualized in “reality” the key words pointed out are “sound”, ”form”, ”function”, ”meaning” and “reality”. Taking these key words as “cue” words, let us look at them individually and see how they are actually the building-blocks to a solid building , called linguistics-the science of language.to do this we will trace a parallel in the induvidual huaman being from the time of birth to the stage of complete mastery of the language –that is, the complete language aoqusition process in its various stages.

In linguistics, language signs are constituted of four different levels :

·         Phonology

·         Morphology

·         Syntax

·         And semantics

Phonetics

            Phonetics is the study of sounds. To understand the mechanics of human languages one has to understand the physiology of the human body.letters represent sounds in a rather intricate way. This has advantages and disadvantages. To represent sounds by letters in an accurate and uniform way the International Phonetic Alphabet ( IPA) was created.

We begin with phonology and phonetics.it is important to understand the difference between phonetics and phonology. Phonetics is the study of actual sounds of human languages, their production and their perception

Phonology

1. the study of speech sounds, from either or both the phonetic and phonemic viewpoints.
2. the phonetic and phonemic systems of a language. See also lingustics — phonologist, n. — phonological,adj.

·        the study of the history and theory of sound changes in a language or in two or more languages comparatively.

·         the phonetics and phonemics of a language at a stated time; synchronic phonology. — phonologist, n. —phonological, adj.

Phonology I : Features and Phonemes

Phonology II : Realization Rules and Representations.

Phonology III : Syllable Structure, Stress

Phonology  IV : Constraints and Optimality The or

Morphology I : Basic Facts

            Morphemes are the smallest parts that have meaning. Words may consist of one or several morphemes i much the sane way ass they consist of one or more syllables however, the two concepts, that of a morpheme and tht of a syllable, are radicall different.

Syantx

/ˈsɪntæks/

noun

1.the branch of linguistics that deals with the grammatical arrangementof words and morphemes in th    e sentences of a language or oflanguages in general

2.the totality of facts about the grammatical arrangement of words in alanguage

3.a systematic statement of the rules governing the grammaticalarrangement of words and morpheme    s in a language. 

Syntax I : Categories, Consttuents and trees. Contex free grammmars                

Syntax II : Argument  Structure

Syantax III : Local Dependencies and Constraints : Selection,Agreeement and Case Marking

Syantax IV : Movement and Non-Locall Dependencies

Syantax V : Binding

Morphology II : Similarities and Dissimiliarities to Syntax. Representational Issues

We return to morphology. We shall investigate the possible shapes of morphs and then turn to the question in what ways morphology is different from syntax. At the end we shall return to the issue of head movement and the structure of complex heads.

Semantics

/sɪˈmæntɪks/

noun (functioning as sing)

1.the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of meaning, changesin meaning, and the principles that govern the relationship betweensentences or words and their meanings

2.the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and whatthey represent

3.(logic)

·         the study of interpretations of a formal theory

·         the study of the relationship between the structure of a theory andits subject matter

·         (of a formal theory) the principles that determine the truth or

Semantics I : Basic Remarks on Representation

Semantics II : Compositionality

Semantics III : Basic Elements of Interpretation

Semantics IV : Scope

Semantics V : Cross- Categorial Parallelism