Language and linguistics

Features of language : arbitrariness , duality , creativity , dissplacement , cultural transmission.

Important distinction in linguistics :

Discriptivism :language as it is.

Perspectivism : language as it should be.

Synchrony :study language at a single point of time

Diachrony : study language change

Langue :language system shared by speakers .

Parol : thecorrect act of speaking.

Competence : knowldge of language .

Performance : the use of this knowldge.

Functionalism : ( functional linguistics) . MAK halliday (systematic functional grammar)social function of language .

Formalism : (formal linguistic ) study of the form of language and how this forms function in the community.Noam chomsky (
transformational generative grammar).

Micro-linguistics : phonology , phonetic , morphology , syntax, semantics.

Macro-linguistics : pragmatics , sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics , applied linguistics.

Linguistics theories :

 Structuralist – behaviourist theory :

 Language learnning is like any other physiological process
 Linguistic is like any other natural sciences
 Language is conditioned process.
 Language learnning is based on practice and immitation.

* structuralism and behaviourism are both intersted inhuman process of learning. More precisly structuralism focus on language learning
while behaviourism focus on learning in general.

* main priciples of behaviourism are ; stimulus-response , imitation , reward and punishement , reinforcement , habit formation ,
conditionning .

2.Mentalistic cognitive :

 Innatness (LAD : we have genatically imparted ability for language learning , a sort of pre-program which enables the child to
learn language at further stages )
 Creativity ( interlanguage : the production of language that is neither recieved as a baby talk nor as an adult language), creativity
can be in term of vocabulary (beachlookers-binoculars)phonetic (task –taks), grammar ( go –goed)
 Universality ( common core : linguistic rules are shared by all human languages )

 Communicative competance : which contains both social and linguistic rules « communicative competence is the capacity to
construct grammatically correct sentences and socially appropriate utterances » CCconstitute of four types ( linguistics , discursive
, referential , socio-cultural )

 Approaches to learnning ( Theories)

Behaviourism :focus on the observable behaviours

Classical conditioning : stimulus is presented to get the response.

Operant conditioning : response is presented first and then reinforced

Reinforcement and punishment

« Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in, and I’ll guarantee to take any one at
random and train him to be any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist,merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents,penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and the race of his ancestors ».(Watson 1930: 82)

Cognitivism : focus on the mental process.

Constructivism :