Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco

División Académica de Educación y Artes

Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages

Linguistic Objects as a
Matter of Current Research
Subject:

EPISTEMOLOGÍA DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN LINGÜÍSTICA

Group:

4B

Teacher:

DR. VERÓNIKA DE LA CRUZ VILLEGAS

This essay was written by:

BELTRÁN PÉREZ LUIS ÁNGEL

Villahermosa, Tabasco May 2019

Introduction
Nowadays we can found that current research has certain impact in society.
Science could modified the road in how we interact with our world and other people. It is
known that science has modified our history before. Centuries ago, when Catholic Church
used to control the world, science helped to reorganise the way people used to see things
in the past.

It is clear that, in our current world, research is useful to the ones who use it. It
serves as theoretical approach in order to create new findings and use them to move
forward. A research could have several effects on the people, who is affected or influenced
by the investigating process and its presence is based on studying phenomena: how it
happens, how frequent and which are the tries to fully understand it. Making research
entails looking sense in its application and making a benefit to those who depends of it.

This essay is divided in three segments: the first one, Linguistic objects in current
language research; the second one, Transdisciplinary research or influence in Linguistic
objects in current research; and the third one, the Linguistic scope on research objects in
current language research.

The main aim is giving a view of how current research takes part into investigating
linguistic objects. Current research is also influenced by men’s changes and it needs to
be opened to new possibilities as transdisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and
multidisciplinarity in order to take advantage of all the existing sciences.

In the end, this product could give a short landscape of how linguistic objects are
included in current research nowadays, also try to explain about the way in how they are
influenced by current thinking areas.
Linguistic Objects as a Matter of Current
Research
Linguistic objects in current language research
Since the beginning of man, he had always tried to explain phenomena, which are
not understandable for him. In order to explain those phenomena, men used their
environment and tools to have a better understanding of the world. When men began
being conscious of their existence, they have done as much as possible to control
everything and language is one of those objects.

Language is a conventional, articulate and arbitrary sign system created by men to

indulge one of their main needs in their existence: communication. Language cannot exist
without humans, because they only can use it for any purpose. Animals do not have a
language, they only use their bodies and sounds to express things in a present tense, and
they cannot express emotions, ideas in future, or past.

Linguistics is a science, which studies languages in our world. When we talk about
linguistics, we cannot stop thinking about all its branches –e.g., phonetics, morphology,
syntax, semantics, pragmatics, lexicography and lexicology. They study a different part of
a language and try to understand how languages works. The way people use a language
in different situations represent an interesting object in this science, but that is not the only
object if we talk about general linguistics. In general, this is a theoretical science because
it tries to explain language phenomenon by making theories with the only aim to justify
and explain them.

This part talks about some linguistic research objects in current language research
found in papers at different databases. These papers made research in different areas as:
Teaching (González, M., 2013; Izquierdo, J., de-la-Cruz-Villegas, V., Aquino-Zúñiga, S.,
Sandoval-Caraveo, M. & García, V, 2017; Rojas-García, I., 2016; Mayoral-Valdivia, P. J.,
2016; Ballestero, C., Batista, J., & Marín, V., 2015; Arias, C., & Maturana, L., 2005),
translation (Rico, C., García, Á., 2016; Pulido, M., 2012; Fredholm, K., 2016; Gómez, N.,
Gómez, J., 2011; Gregorio, A., 2017) and learning (González, M., 2013; Buitrago, S. H.,
Ramírez, J. F. & Ríos, J. F., 2011; Ruiz, M. C., 2009; Santana, J. d., García, A., &
Escalera, M., 2016), just to mention some of them. The most concur areas were these
and they are related to different linguistic branches. They presented lots of study objects
as: Idiomatic anxiety (Rabadán, M., Orgambídez, A., 2018), motivation (Rodríguez, N.,
2012), use of blogs and social network (González, M., 2013), linguistic interference
(Buitrago, S. H., Ramírez, J. F., Ríos, J. F., 2011), teaching practices and competences
(Izquierdo, J., Aquino, S., García, V., Garza, G., Minami, H., Adame, A., 2014), etc.

Teaching and learning area have shown an amount of papers found in databases
during this pickup. These teaching and learning papers have similarities, for example: the
study titled Teachers’ Use of ICTs in Public Language Education: Evidence from Second
Language Secondary-school Classrooms made by Izquierdo, J., de-la-Cruz-Villegas, V.,
Aquino-Zúñiga, S., Sandoval-Caraveo, M. & García, V. (2017) belonged to the teaching
area and the paper named Uso de blogs y redes sociales para el aprendizaje de lenguas
extranjeras en un contexto universitario (González Boluda, M., 2013) belonged to learning
area, but what they both have in common is that they are focused on technology used for
a second/foreign language purpose.

Teaching area included titles as Teachers’ Use of ICTs in Public Language

Education: Evidence from Second Language Secondary-school Classrooms (Izquierdo,
J., de-la-Cruz-Villegas, V., Aquino-Zúñiga, S., Sandoval-Caraveo, M. & García, V, 2017),
Aportes de la lingüística sistémico-funcional para la enseñanza de la lectura y la escritura
en la educación superior (Rojas-García, I., 2016), Estrategias didácticas para la
enseñanza del idioma inglés a niños de preescolar: el caso de un colegio en Colima,
México (Mayoral-Valdivia, P. J., 2016), La enseñanza y aprendizaje del idioma ingles: la
investigacion y su impacto en la realidad costarricense (Pacheco, A. Q., 2013),
Evaluación en lenguas extranjeras: discursos y prácticas [Assessment in language
teaching: Discourse and practices] (Arias, C., & Maturana, L., 2005) and Articulación de
la enseñanza de comprensión lectora en inglés con el pensum de estudio de ingeniería
de petróleo (Ballestero Valbuena, C., Batista Ojeda, J., & Marín Díaz, V., 2015). We have
a few variety of study objects in this area and also find objects as Teachers’ use of ICTs
(Izquierdo, J., de-la-Cruz-Villegas, V., Aquino-Zúñiga, S., Sandoval-Caraveo, M. &
García, V, 2017), contributions of systemic-functional linguistics (Rojas-García, I., 2016),
speeches and practices (Arias, C., & Maturana, L., 2005) and reading comprehension
instruction in English (Ballestero Valbuena, C., Batista Ojeda, J., & Marín Díaz, V., 2015).
It is very common to find some researches about teaching, because this area is very
concurring by researchers nowadays.

Since ancient ages, learning has been useful for human beings in order to improve
themselves using knowledge. Human beings have modified our world to make it more
comfortable for them. This change through time has been possible due to the knowledge
acquired by our past generations. Learning and teaching could not exist without each
other: our environment has taught us and since that happened we have been learning and
teaching our experiences.

Translation is not far from the two principal research aread. In translation is very
common to do research about the translation and not about the translator as a study
subject. Our papers presented titles on translation area as Análisis del sector de la
traducción en España (2014-2015) (Rico Pérez, C., y García Aragón, Á., 2016),
Desarrollo de una didáctica en Teoria, Historia y Critica de la traducción, pertinente para
la formación de traductores (Pulido, M., 2012), El uso de traducción automática y otras
estrategias de escritura (Fredholm, K., 2016) and Aproximación a una didáctica de la
traducción de textos científicos y técnicos inglés-español (Gómez, N. & Gómez, J., 2011).

Translation study objects were the Spain translation sector (Rico Pérez, C., García
Aragón, Á., 2016), written strategies (Fredholm, K., 2016) and scientific and technical
texts (Gómez, N. & Gómez, J., 2011).

Learning area almost showed the same quantity as the teaching one. These papers
were made about the use of blog and social network for foreign language learning in a
college context (González Boluda, M., 2013), linguistic interference in the simultaneous
learning of several foreign languages (Buitrago, S. H., Ramírez, J. F. & Ríos, J. F., 2011),
foreign language learning on different ages (Ruiz Calatrava, M. C., 2009) and variables
which influence English learning as a second language. (Santana, J. d., García, A., &
Escalera, M., 2016). In all these papers, the study object is implicit on the title, we can
notice they do not have study objects, but study subjects who are students from different
countries with several specific aspects as I mentioned.
Transdisciplinary research or influence in Linguistic objects in current
research.
In order to have a better understanding of what Transdisciplinary research is, we
need to understand the meaning of the parts of Transdisciplinary. Three principal aspects
form this entity: reality levels, included middle and the paradigm of complexity. Some
people consider that life only is what they see, touch or feel; some others think that life is
an illusion created by our senses and our mind. There is another side where people affirm
that our reality is what it was (the past), what it is (the present) and what it will be (the
future).

There are three types or levels of reality: the first one is the physic/natural level, the
second one is the reality level (also known as first interpretative level) and the third one,
which is also named as second interpretative level. The physic/natural level is the one that
has not been created by men, for example: water, animals, plants and oxygen.

The second level has helped men to survive since they appropriated it. This level
appears when religion, mores, production systems, etc. are expressed. It is the world of
thinking and making ways, the one that has been inherited by our past generations, their
culture modifies the way we think, feel, act and talk.

The third level represents the freedom. Moran, N. (2010) considered that this level
consists about the thinking of our thoughts' thinks, about our language, acts, feelings and
our open minds. People develop new paradigms; they look for new information and ways
to understand our world. In order to do that, he says that we need to go beyond the
complexity of science, religion, philosophy, etc. and ourselves. If we go beyond our
inherited culture, we would be able to transform and manipulate our world in order to
improve it.

Complexity paradigm exposes a new way to understand knowledge as process that

includes a biological, rational, spiritual, linguistic, cultural, social and historic aspect. It
takes the classical paradigm into a new level where diversity is an important part of the
process. After that, it takes part as a participative democracy in order to project itself to
the entire world.
 Included middle is a complexity logic, which looks to incorporate the “third one” who
belongs to the classical logic in a level where conflicting sides coexist, for example: there
are two people who have different, contradictory and irreconcilable opinions. In order to
solve this issue, the interference of a mediator is necessary; he/she takes the situation
into a new context in order to reach an agreement where both thoughts can coexist.

Now we can explain what Transdisciplinary research is. It is located between,

through and beyond disciplines and allows having a more complex understanding of our
world where there is not only a point of view but also all of them without discriminate any
position.

Transdisciplinary research is defined by Russel (2000) as the one that instead of

being located among the disciplines or simply involving more than one discipline;
Genuinely transcends, and above all complements the disciplinariness by cutting through
the disciplines, integrating and synthesizing content, theories and methodologies from any
discipline that can shed light to address research questions.

When a debate takes places, people present different points of view. It usually
happens that there are two sides arguing a topic: in favour / against. Now transdisciplinary
research allow the same process of arguing, as in a debate, while making a research
about a phenomenon (including non-academic participants) in order to build knowledge.
This process reach all different dimensions and how they have an effect in real life issues
and tries to find a possible solution.

How do we match the transdisciplinary research with our global complex world?

Men always need new ways to understand their environment. Nowadays it is well
known that, as a global need, it is necessary to have instant communication between
people and countries. The globalization phenomenon also involve research by making it
universal and easily knowledge access. Traditional research cannot explain all the
necessities of our complex world.

Owing to cultural, biological, historical, mythical and any other aspects,

transdisciplinary can success when trying to explain our modern issues. Nowadays
researchers can study a part of the problem and watch the several involved actor’s points
of view located at a certain context and affected by the situation. There is no unique
method. It becomes a process of solving problems by inclusion, participation and
dialogue.

How does transdisciplinary influence linguistic objects in current research?

Interdisciplinarity and pluridisciplinarity only offer a closed way to acquire

knowledge. There are several obstacles, for example: methodological resistance, different
terms and ways to assume explainings and descriptions. These obstacles does not allow
a full understanding of a linguistic study object while, in transdisciplinarity, those obstacles
does not exist or they are less than in the first two disciplines mentioned.

It influences them when offering a whole view about the same phenomenon or fact,
which could expand the research to new horizons and edges only one or two disciplines
could not reach.
The linguistic scope on research objects in current language research

In order to understand the linguistic scope, first we need to notice where Linguistics
is placed. As I mentioned, Linguistics is a science dedicated to study language nature and
language laws. This particularly area is located into Social Sciences and this last one
belongs to a bigger set called Humanities and Behaviour Sciences.

The use of language is a part of being human. Children all over the world start
putting words together at approximately the same age and follow similar paths in their
speech development. All languages are almost similar in their basic structure, whether
they are in South Africa, Australia or near the North Pole. Language and abstract thought
are closely connected and many people think that these two characteristics above all
distinguish human beings from animals

The scope of Linguistics is limited to human language itself, which is opposed to

machine language and any other artificial language. However, even if machine language
could take part as a research object for some linguists, it is not included as a properly
object to Linguistics. Human language is a very huge area, which has several branches
as I said in the first part of this essay: phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics,
pragmatics, lexicography and lexicology.

Morphology is concerned with the study of the internal structure of words to define
and classify their units, the kinds of words in place and the formation of new words.

The syntax is responsible for studying the rules and principles that govern the order
and the relationship of words or symptoms in the sentence, as well as the functions they
fulfill.

When we refer to the sound system of a language in general, including syllables,

intonation or accentuation, inter alia, in a mental level, we are talking about phonology.

Phonetics is responsible for studying the physical sounds of human speech. It

studies the production and the sound perception of the language respect to its physical
manifestations.
 When we talk about the study of the meaning or interpretation of linguistic signs as
symbols, expressions or formal representations, we refer to semantics. Finally,
pragmatics focuses on the way in which context influences the interpretation of meaning.

By its own the scope of linguistics is limited to the object I mentioned, but that does
not mean that its reaching area is short or not enough to worth it. Human language
involves the entire world by being the main way in which human beings communicate to
each other.

Is human language the one and only scope of linguistics?

Perhaps, if we talk about it as a unique science, but in general terms or in real life
a science could not exist by its own. Indeed, any other could help a science, only if another
science researcher is willing to collaborate with linguistic researchers. Interdisciplinarity,
multidisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity offer a higher scope by unifying sciences or taking
them into collaboration in order to have a better understanding of what a phenomenon is.

We can set an example, the paper named Neurociencia y bilingüismo: efecto del
primer idioma made by Díaz, G. and Álvarez, H. J. (2013) had the aim of investigating if
the L1 interference in learning an L2 is based on the neural substrates that takes part in
the language; also investigating the possible reasons why the L1 interferes in the
acquisition of an L2; and exploring the neurobiological substrates that underlie different
aspects of language in bilinguals.

This is a case where the scope was extended due to the collaboration of linguistics
and neuroscience. This paper would not have had its scope, as the way it had, only by
working separated.
Conclusion
An inability to use language normally can affect our status in society. This proves
how important language is and that it deserves our attention and studying. Therefore,
linguistics seems to be one of the fastest-expanding branches of knowledge. It tries to
answer the basic questions: “What is language” and “How does language work?” It wants
to discover all aspects of language, its structure and the smallest elements, its spoken
and written form, how language is used in different situations etc.

Linguistic objects are currently investigated and need to involve different areas of
knowledge into their processes of studying to make a full understanding of what something
is. If linguistic phenomena are understood, they could offer more information to do
research in a nearly future.
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