2. Introduction to Linguistics Day One

3. n What is a language?

4. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is a language? – French, Spanish, English?

5. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is a language? – French, Spanish, English? n What does a linguist mean by language?

6. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is a language? – French, Spanish, English? n What does a linguist mean by language? –A human means of communication, spoken, written or gestured.

7. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is linguistics?

8. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is linguistics? –The study of human language, a cognitive science, a social science.

9. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is linguistics? –The study of human language, a cognitive science, a social science –What is a linguist? n Someone who studies human language, not someone who speaks many languages, or studies many languages.

10. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n How many languages are there?

11. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n How many languages are there? –About 4,000 or so.

12. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n How many languages are there? –About 4,000 or so. n What’s the difference between a language and a dialect?

13. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n How many languages are there? –About 4,000 or so. n What’s the difference between a language and a dialect? –Essentially none; it’s better to use the term “regional variation”

14. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s the matter with the word dialect?

15. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s the matter with the word dialect? –It presupposes a theoretically pure state of a language which has never existed, and is generally used to separate out certain groups in society from the whole or the elite, as somehow being less or inferior.

16. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s diglossia?

17. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s diglossia? –When two languages exist in the same community, but have different social roles. Example: High and Low German.

18. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s diglossia? –When two languages exist in the same community, but have different social roles. Example: High and Low German. n Is this the same as bilingualism? –No, not necessarily.

19. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s Diachronic and Synchronic study of a language?

20. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s Diachronic and Synchronic study of a language? –Diachronic studies language change over time.

21. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What’s Diachronic and Synchronic study of a language? –Diachronic studies language change over time. –Synchronic studies a language in its current state.

22. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is language obsolescence?

23. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is language obsolescence? –Generally occurs in a state of diglossia, can result in language death.

24. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is language obsolescence? –Generally occurs in a state of diglossia, can result in language death. n How fast are languages dying?

25. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is language obsolescence? –Generally occurs in a state of diglossia, can result in language death. n How fast are languages dying? –During the 21st century, about 90% of the world’s languages will die.

26. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is grammar?

27. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What is grammar? –An artificially constructed set of rules to govern how languages are taught. We’ll try to get away from that word until we gain a linguistic understanding of it.

28. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What are some of the other things we’ll look at?

29. Introduction to Linguistics Day One n What are some of the other things we’ll look at? –Semantics, syntax, phonology, phonetics, phonemes and much much more