LinguisticsENG 250: Unit on Linguistics and Discourse Analysis

Linguistics: DefinitionLinguistics can be defined as the science of language: how human languages work (any language, not just English), and what it is about humans that makes them able to learn and use language.

Linguistics focuses on language as it is written and as it is spoken.

3 main categories:Study of language form (morphology, syntax, phonetics)

Study of language meaning (semantics, pragmatics)

Study of language in context (evolutionary linguistics, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, discourse analysis)

Linguistics & Other Disciplines

May be housed in Department of English at a university

May be its own separate department, especially at a research institution

Influences semiotics and critical theory

Draws on work from such diverse fields as psychology, speech-language pathology, informatics, computer science, philosophy, biology, human anatomy, neuroscience, sociology, anthropology, and acoustics.

Language & Authority

Language authorities or “mavens”: English teachers, editors, writers, authors of dictionaries, grammar and usage books, and style guides

“good” English vs. “bad” English

prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar

written vs. spoken English

constant tension between “rules” of English and the fact language is never static

Issues for Consideration

Pop vs. Soda Debate: http://popvssoda.com:2998/

Taboo words in English: Anglo-Saxon vocabulary (shit, cock, cunt, fuck*) vs. Latinate vocabulary (feces, penis, vagina, intercourse)

New edition of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and the elimination of the n-word: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/01/04/132652272/new-edition-of-huckleberry-finn-will-eliminate-offensive-words

* The etymology of “fuck” is actually unknown; see Oxford English Dictionary

Language & Close Reading

Close reading = pay careful attention to the written language, noticing and thinking critically about the details of a passage, poem, story, or play as well as the implications of those details

Close reading exercise: Analyze “anyone lived in a pretty how town” by e.e. cummings, paying careful attention to language: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15403

5 Categories of Stylistics(Michael Toolan, Language in Literature: An Introduction to

Stylistics, 1996)

Repetition

Patterns

Recurrent structures

Ungrammatical or “language-stretching” structures

Large internal contrasts of content or presentation

Demonstrate with sample poem (e.e. cummings, “anyone lived in a pretty town”)

PhonologyStudy of sound systems and sound change

Phoneme: distinctive sound of a language

cat vs. bat (/k/ vs. /b/)

Different parts of the vocal tract are involved in the production of different sounds

Understanding Phonology

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) provides an established set of symbols for representing the sounds of the world’s languages

IPA for Standard American English (I will provide you with a key)

“English is Tough Stuff” http://www.frivolity.com/teatime/Songs_and_Poems/english_is_tough_stuff.html

Great Vowel ShiftDemonstrate having the students use lollipops (I have loads) so that they can see the lollipop stick move lower as the move through the vowels

Phonology: ExercisesTranscription of English words and/or sentences using IPA for Standard American English (I will provide exercise)

The caught/cot and pin/pen mergershttp://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/maps/Map1.html

Demonstration of the McGurk Effect: http://ilabs.washington.edu/kuhl/research.html

Shows that there is a seeing component to hearing sound; have students listen without looking at the screen (i.e. eyes closed) and then play it again with them looking at the screen

Auditory input: /ba/

Visual input: /ga/

Perception: /da/ or /tha/

Morphology

Study of word structure

Smallest meaningful units of a language

Analytic language: depends on word order for sentence structure and meaning

Synthetic language: employs ending (called inflections) to indicate grammatical function of a word

New Word FormationCompounding: combination of free morphemes (a morpheme that has complete meaning in and of itself); i.e. doghouse, chatroom

Affixing: attaching a bound morpheme to the head or foot of word; i.e. hyperlink, hacker

Alphabetism: formed from the initials of a phrase; i.e. URL (universal resource locator)

Acronymy: groups of words shortened to initials and then pronounced as word; i.e. AIDS

Clipping: word loses an element next to its root or base; i.e. cell (cellular), blog (weblog), zine (magazine)

Backformation: new word formed by removing an affix to form a word that never existed before; i.e. burglar -- burgle

Blending: joining two or more words, at least one of which is clipped in the process; i.e. smog (smoke + fog), internet (interconnected + network)

Shifting: word in one lexical category mover to another one; i.e. Email (noun – verb)

Eggcorns: misheard word that misrepresents etymological form; i.e. eggcorns (acorns), duck tape (duct tape), just desserts (just deserts)

Reduplication: repetition of a morpheme, often with a change in vowel or inclusion of rhyme; i.e. mama, hip hop, Humpty Dumpty

Neologism: creation of a new word not completely accepted, as yet, into the language; i.e. Affrilachia

Morphology: Exercises

Have students examine the creation of new words by examining cleaning products and medications

Use American Dialect Society website to discuss “words of the year” and other nominations; 2010 winner is App”: http://www.americandialect.org/index.php/amerdial/categories/C178/

Ask students to figure out the longest English word: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/01/21/133052745/whats-the-longest-word-in-the-english-language

Genres & Registers of Texts

Genres: category of texts that share certain formal characteristics and textual functions; can have power to maintain social conditions that allow its existence.

Registers: text type that exhibits characteristics that distinguish it from other text types

Characterized partly by the linguistic practices typical of them

Medical form – privileges physical symptoms and minimizes emotional and mental state http://www.pamf.org/forms/143952_Adult_Med_Hx.pdf

Resume – frames us as a set of skills rather than as stories; emphasizes skills over learning process (i.e. creativity) of individual

English essay: students asked to construct original, creative argument within expected conventions of a student argumentative paper that is thesis-driven with sequential paragraphs

Narrative(William Labov & Joshua Waletzky, “Narrative Analysis: Oral Versions of Personal Experience,” Essays on the

Verbal and visual Arts, 1967)

Abstract: short introductory summary of what happened or an overview statement that captures the interest of the narrative

Orientation: background information to orient audience about when and where narrative occurs and who the major players are

Complicating Action: moment(s) in the ordering of events where “something happens” of situation changes

Evaluation: comments that address why story is interesting, narrator’s attitude toward and reaction to events, anticipated actions of the audience, etc.

Resolution: closing material about what finally happens in narrative

Coda: final summary or comment, which may provide a moral or lesson or may connect narrative to current situation

Narrative Perspective

Anny narrative is told from a narrator’s perspective, which can be analyzed as a type of discourse:

1st-person narrative

3rd-person narrative (ominiscient or limited point of view)

Self-conscious narrative

Fallible/Unreliable narrative

Stream-of-consciousness narrative

We determine narrative by looking at pronouns, syntax, direct vs. indirect speech, diction, etc.

Word Choice & Prosody

Poetry (and, to a lesser extent, prose) depends on creative choice of the following:

Diction

Metaphor: title of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Modality: verbs might vs. should vs. must

Phonological aspects of language: rhyme, prosody (meter, rhythm, scansion)

Possible Additional Exercises/Assignments

Close reading of non-literary texts, such as an article on theory or recorded dialogue (male and female speakers in workplace, mother and child, court transcript, etc.)

Use hip hop lyrics to examine word choice and prosody

Examine the etymology of words in the Oxford English Dictionary online (I will provide a sample assignment)

Useful Resources

Evolving English (British Library): http://www.bl.uk/evolvingenglish/

Teacher resources: http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/index.html

Texts in contexts: http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/texts/context.html

Podcasts: http://www.bl.uk/whatson/podcasts/exhibition/english/index.html