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1
Introduction
IN THIS CHAPTER
This first chapter sets out to explain what the study of linguistics is about. I will be looking at a number of areas of linguistics, and then move on to the skills you will be developing during your studies, outlining how the book is laid out. In particular, this chapter includes:
ā¢ An introduction to the field of linguistics
ā¢ Examples from sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and language typology
ā¢ An introduction to different kinds of skills developed in this book
ā¢ An overview of the book
ā¢ A number of exercises that look at your development as a student of linguistics.
1.1 STUDYING LINGUISTICS
Linguistics is the study of language from a wide range of different perspectives. It encompasses many different subdisciplines, some of which may be familiar to you, for example areas we could label as grammar, childrenās language acquisition and differences in language use by old and young speakers. These disciplines are often studied as part of the āEnglish Languageā curriculum at school. Yet, there are many other ways to study language. Some of these are explored in the next section below.
While linguistics is a discipline in its own right, it also overlaps with other fields such as sociology, anthropology, philosophy, literature, psychology and computer sciences, and furthermore informs the related fields of language learning and teaching. Studying French, German, Chinese or even English Language, it is likely that you will come into contact with linguistics.
Some of the subareas of linguistics are language acquisition, grammar, the links between culture and language (anthropological linguistics), how we understand and produce language (psycholinguistics), the differences and similarities between the languages of the world (linguistic typology), the study of sound (phonetics and phonology), the study of different theories of grammar beyond the basic grammar learnt at school (a wide range of theories in morphology and syntax, for example Role and Reference Grammar and Lexical Functional Grammar), the study of meaning (semantics and pragmatics), the study of historical language change, as well as language change arising from multilingualism and language contact.
Linguistics is sometimes divided up into theoretical linguistics and applied linguistics, yet the two overlap in many ways. Most areas mentioned above would qualify as theoretical linguistics. Applied linguistics, as the name implies, aims to relate to real-world applications of the field. It includes disciplines such as second language acquisition and language teaching, the analysis of spoken and written discourse, language in its social setting (sociolinguistics), the study of multilingualism, forensic linguistics and more. The division between such āappliedā and ātheoreticalā approaches is not necessarily clear-cut, as many traditionally ātheoreticalā subjects have real-world applications as well. For example, studies on the way the brain stores and processes language can inform the way in which surgical procedures on the brain are conducted.1
1.2 THREE SUBFIELDS OF LINGUISTICS
Before we get started with skills and terminology, I want to give you examples from three areas of linguistics. These are sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and language typology.
Sociolinguistics is an area of study that looks at language use in different social settings. Sometimes people speak different dialects. Yet, not all people from the same area use dialectal features in quite the same way. You may feel that people from rural settings have more pronounced dialects. Also, people of a working-class background may speak with a stronger accent than those of a middle-class background. Even speakers of different ages vary in their language use. Young people may use slang that other generations do not understand, while older people may use words that young native speakers of the same language would not actively use. All of this, and more, is studied by sociolinguists, who aim to explain variation within the language use of individuals and society. Sociolinguistics helps us to understand, for example, how different dialects form and how language changes over time.
Psycholinguistics, as the name implies, deals with the psychological dimensions of language. For example, psycholinguists study how language is produced and perceived, that is how speakers form utterances in their mind and understand utterances that others make. It is not always possible to look into speakersā brains to see how language works, even though advances in technology have started to make this possible, which is studied in the related field of neurolinguistics. In order to understand how speakers process language in their brain, psycholinguists set up specific experiments. Looking at the time it takes a speaker to recognize a word written on the screen, for example, can give them insights into the way the brain works. Some words may take longer for a speaker to recognize than others, which can lead to conclusions about word processing in the brain.
Linguistic typology is an area of linguistics that takes into account all languages of the world and classifies these according to their features (such as their sounds and grammar). Comparing the structures of the languages of the world, we can see that most languages use elements such as nouns and verbs, yet there are languages that do not make a clear distinction between the two. Also, many languages have so-called complex sentence structures (see chapter 6), but there are a handful of languages where that is not the case. Studying typology, we can learn what is common and what is special about languages. We can see that a number of features of English are highly uncommon cross-linguistically. Sometimes languages are similar because they have arisen from the same source and are related. The Romance languages in Europe are such an example. They include French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian and a number of smaller languages, and have all arisen from Latin. In other cases, languages resemble each other through language contact because they are spoken by the same bilingual speakers, not because the languages are related. We refer to this as language contact. In other cases, languages are similar because of the universal way in which speakers think, or organize their communication. Typology can help us find structures that are typical or common forms of language, shedding light on the way humans organize their communication. All three areas of linguistics discussed here ultimately tell us more about human nature.
In order to learn more about these or other areas of linguistics, it is necessary to have a solid understanding of the sound systems of languages, grammar and meaning. This will help you to capture the diverse ways in which language can be used, for example in different social settings, across the languages of the world or through language processing in the brain. These basic skills usually form part of a linguistics degree, and are often topics you have to learn more about before progressing on to other subareas of linguistics. To help you on the way, I discuss the basic terminology regarding sounds, grammar and meaning in chapters 3ā7 below.
When it comes to the other fields of linguistics taught on a degree course, universities vary a lot. You will probably get an introduction to the fields mentioned above, but what exactly you are taught depends on the theoretical outlook and expertise at your university. In the UK, subject benchmark statements give an indication of the subfields typically taught on a degree course in linguistics (see further reading below).
Whether you are studying a course that is highly practical and applied or one that is theoretical and focuses on specific aspects of linguistics, the present book aims to help you get started and to get the best out of your university experience. Rather than introducing all that linguistics is about, the aim of this book is to equip you with the most basic skills to get the most out of your studies. Once you have mastered these, you will be well prepared to explore how language works in further detail.
1.3 SKILLS
University study often starts at a basic level and becomes quite complicated in due course. Yet, even at the beginning, your lecturers may expect you to know some terminology, such as noun, preposition and clause. Sometimes, students come with very different knowledge. Those who have studied other languages may be highly familiar with these concepts. Others may have had little input on language at school. I will discuss some of the basic language and linguistics terminology in chapters 3ā7. Knowing the subject-specific terminology will give you confidence in dealing with any more complex approaches to language you encounter at a later stage.
Likewise, universities tend to expect you to know how to approach your studies, for example how to write an essay, find literature in the library or learn about a new topic of study. Understanding and being able to use these study skills can help you do well, gaining a good degree classification, find internships during your studies and employment upon graduation. A wide variety of study skills are discussed in the latter half of this book. These skills can sometimes also be applied in entirely unrelated situations. For example, knowing how to give a presentation is important during your course, but may come in useful in other situations, such as giving a speech at a wedding or being interviewed for a job. Skills that can be transferred to other areas than the narrow subject you are studying are generally referred to as transferable skills. They include essay-writing, knowing how to do well in exams, knowing how to find employment after graduation and finding out further information about specific topics.
Finally, there are personal skills and personal development, which are intrinsically linked to studying for a degree, yet may not always be easy to grasp. You may not be aware o...
