Language and Linguistics 主讲：胡蓉

Unit 1 Awareness of Our language

 Activity 1 Language, homo Sapiens and Civilization  Activity 2 Tradition and popular views of language  Activity 3 Language: Yours and Not Yours

Activity 1 Language, homo Sapiens and Civilization TTask 1 Reflect on language TTask 2 Is language in the brain? TTask 3 Is language outside the brain? TTask 4 Why so many language? TTask 5 Language and Civilization

 What is language?

 Language: 〖 1 〗 (a) human speech; (b) the ability to communicate buy this means; (c) a system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings; (d) the written representation of such a system; 〖 2 〗 (a) any means of expressing or communicating, as gestures, signs, or animal sounds; (b) a special set of symbols, letters, numbers, rules etc. used for the transmission of information, as in a computer; …  Webster’s new World Dictionary

the nature-nurture controversy

As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly…and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! … Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought…. every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw everything with the strange, new sight that had come to me. Helen Keller: The Story of My Life

 ? God’ gift to mankind  ? Human invention  ? Cries of nature

 Indo-European family  Sino-Tibetan family  etc.

Activity 2 Tradition and popular views of language TTask 1 Word magic TTask 2 The power of language TTask 3 Is the name the person? TTask 4 Written language as social status

Activity 3 Language: Yours and Not Yours TTask 1 Is the language you speak yours? TTask 2 Language: a dialect with gun and powder TTask 3 Towards a linguistic science

“ 以北京语音为标准音，以北方 话为基础方言，以典范的现代 白话文著作为语法规范。 ”

Linguistics: the science of language; the scientific study of language.

 Phonetics  Syntax  Pragmatics  …

 Sociolinguistics  Psycholinguistics  Computational linguistics  …

Questions for think Give short answer to the following questions:  1. Is language important in human civilization?  2. Why is literacy considered important to a society?  3. What is the difference between a local dialect and Putonghua?