Chapter one Linguistics1. Definition of linguistics: the scientific study of language. 讲：Linguistics deals with the complicated system of language and the rules operating in it. The purpose of studying linguistics is to examine the body of facts that and to make general statements about its various elements that relate to regular rules. Linguistics tries to tell people “what language is “, “how language originates, changes and develops “, “what common characteristics that all language share “, “how language works in human communication“ and many other facts about language. The founder of general linguistics: F.de Saussure, established modern linguistics as an independent science.2. Scope of linguistics （陈） 2.1 In the study of intralinguistic relationships among different linguistic elements: phnetics 语音学， phonology 音位学， morphology 形态学, syntax 句法学, semantics. (These branches fall into the scope of general linguistics: the study of language in relation to other sciences.) 2.1 In the study of extralinguistic relationships with the outside world: sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, applied linguistics, neurolinguistics, mathematical linguistics, pragmatics 胡： Main branches of linguistics 1. Phonetics: is the study of speech sounds, it includes three main areas: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, and auditory phonetics. 2. Phonology: studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. 3. Morphology: studies the minimal units of meaning morphemes and word-formation processes. 4. Syntax: refers to the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences in a language, or simply, the study of the formation of sentences. 5. Semantics: examines how meaning is encoded in a language. 6. Pragmatics: is the study of meaning in context.3. Approaches to language Different approaches can be made in the study of language.3.1.1 diachronic (or historical ) linguistics: 历时（在历史的过程中研究语言：纵向） If we make a study of language from its development in the course of time, it is termed. 3.1.2 synchronic linguistics. 共时（以固定的时间为观察角度：横向 eg. 现代语言学） It is devoted to the description and analysis of a given linguistic status or stage of a particular language. 3.2. comparative linguistics.: It makes a comparative study of the similarities and differences among languages.3.3.1 descriptive linguistics (描写式): describes how a language is actually used. 3.3.2 prescriptive linguistics (规定式): attempts to prescribe rules or principles for how people ought to use a lg. 辨析 1) If the linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive; If the linguistic study aims to lay down rules for “correct and standard“ behavior in using language, i.e. To tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive. 2) For example, “Dont say X.” is a prescriptive command; “People dont say X.” is a descriptive statement. 3) The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are. In the 18th century, all the main European languages were studied prescriptively. However, modern linguistics is mostly descriptive because the nature of linguistics as a science determines its preoccupation with description instead of prescription.4. Grammar Definition: in a broad sense, is a science of the structure of a language and both the syntactic and semantic rules of its generally accepted use. 4.1 descriptive grammar: describes basic linguistic knowledge, explains how a lg is actually spoken or written.（邓）4.2 prescriptive grammar: prescribes the rules or principles of the grammar. 4.3 pedagogical grammar: is a grammatical description of a language specially designed as an aid to teaching that lg to native or foreign learners. It emphasizes the functional aspects of grammar. 教学语法4.4 universal grammar: usually credited to Noam Chomsky, is the study of the universal features of lg. The theory suggests that linguistic ability manifests itself without being taught, and that there are properties that all natural human languages share.通用语法 (baidu)5. Schools of linguistics 5.1. The traditional grammar school: attempted to lay down universally valid rules to show how a language ought to be used. It is prescriptive rather than descriptive. (Traditional grammarians overstressed the importance of written lg and paid little attention to spoken lg.) 5.2. Structuralist linguistics: refers to any linguistic study of a language which is taken as an independent system of sound, grammar and vocabulary in its own right. (It is a new approach to the analysis of language. It is descriptive) 5.3 The transformational-generative grammar school: developed by Noam Chomshy and his colleagues in the middle of 1950s, appears as a synthesis of most interesting contributions to the traditional and structural schools. It is regarded as a revolution in the study of language.