LING101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Animal Language, Arbitrariness, Animal Communication
9 Feb 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
The goal of linguistics is to describe and ultimately explain human languages and the language faculty. Linguistics is not the study of foreign languages. Linguistics is not concerned with prescribing or proscribing language use. Human infants acquire language quickly despite its complexity. Human infants acquire language without explicit instruction. Any normally developing child can learn any human language, given sufficient input. Which are possible english words: blick, ngaught, redokz, twiggle, bhasa, wug. Likely: dear old queen queer old dean. Unlikely: dear old queen near old queed. Prescriptive not the grammar that linguists are interested in. Prescribes a particular way of speaking, signing, or writing. Attempt to impose grammar rules from one language onto another. Punctuation conventions can aid in readability and interpretability. Shared spelling conventions facilitate written communication among speakers of different varieties. Use who only for subjects; otherwise, use whom . Modern english speakers tend to not use the word whom" today. Describes language as it is actually used.
