第二讲 what is languageppt课件.pptVIP

Lecture 2What is Language?---- The nature of human language Contents of this lecture 1. Definitions of language 2. Features of language (chapter 2) 3. Origins of language (chapter1) 4. Functions of language 5. Forms of Language (chapter 16) 6. Gestures and signs of language (chapter 15) Questions: 1. What is language 2. What if we had no language? 3. Is language important? Is it more important than (less important, as important as) our eyes, hands, ears or legs? 1. Definitions 《辞海》（1989年版，第446页） 人类最重要的交际工具。它同思维有密切的联 系，是人类思维和表达思想的手段，也是人类社 会最基本的信息载体。人们借助语言保存和传递 人类文明的成果。语言是人区别于其他动物的本 质特征之一。共同的语言又常是民族的特征。语 言是以语音为物质外壳，以语词为建筑材料，以 语法为结构规律而构成的符号体系。 语言是一种特殊的社会现象，它随着社会 的产生而产生，发展而发展。语言没有阶 级性，一视同仁地为社会各阶层服务。社 会各阶级，阶层或社会集群也会影响到语 言，因而造成语言在使用上的不同特点或 差异。 Language “is not to be confused with human speech, of which it is only a definite part, though certainly an essential one. It is both a social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty”. (Ferdinand de Saussure 1857-1913) [Language is] a set of sentences, each infinite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements. (Chomsky, 1957) Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols. (Sapir, 1921) “ A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group co-operates.” -- Bernard Bloch (1907-1965) George Trager (1906-1992): Outline of Linguistic Analysis (1942) “ A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which the members of a society interact in terms of their total culture.” -- George Trager: The Field of Linguistics (1949) “Language is a means of verbal communication. It is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act. It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic and communication can only t