Language.

Linguistics. General
Introduction
Applied (Lecture 1)

Linguistics
 Language

As a language student, will you

define language in a sentence or
two?
 Language
Language is a system of arbitrary, vocal symbols
which permit all people in a given culture or other
people who have learned the system of that culture,
to communicate or interact (Finocchiaro, 1964)

Language is a system of communication by sound,

operating through the organs of speech and hearing,
among others of a given community, and using vocal
symbols possessing arbitrary conventional meanings
(Pei, 1966)
 Language
Language is any set or system of linguistic symbols as
used in a more or less uniform fashion by a number of
people who are thus enabled to communicate
intelligibly with one another (Random House
Dictionary of the English Language, 1966)

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used

for human communication (Wardaugh, 1972)
Composite Definitions of Language
Language is systematic – possibly a generative
system.

Language is a set of arbitrary symbols.

The symbols have conventionalized meaning to

which they refer.

Language is used for communication

Composite Definitions of Language
Symbols are primarily vocal, but may also be visual

It operates on a speech community or culture.

It is essentially human, though possibly not limited to

humans.

It is acquired by all people in much the same way –

language and learning both have universal
characteristics.
 Linguistics
The scientific study of language

To describe languages and to explain the

unconscious knowledge all speakers have of their
language.
 Questions
What is it that speakers of a language know?

What kind of knowledge underlies our daily use of the

language?

What do we know that enables us to interpret the

sound that we receive?
 Modern Concerns in Linguistics

educators

psychologists philosophers

anthropologists
Concerns of Applied Linguistics

solving or at least ameliorating

social problems involving language
 Questions
How can we teach languages better?

How can we diagnose speech pathologies better?

How can we improve the training of translators and

interpreters?
How can we write a valid language examination?

How can we evaluate a school bilingual program?

How can we determine the literacy levels of a whole

population?
 Questions
How can we helpfully discuss the language of a text?

What advice can we offer the Department of

Education on a proposal to introduce a new medium
of instruction?

How can we compare the acquisition of a European

and an Asian language?

What advice should we give a defense lawyer on the

authenticity of a police transcript of an interview with
a suspect?
 Definitions of Applied Linguistics

“the theoretical and empirical investigation of real-

world problems in which language is a central issue”
(Brumfit, 1997, p. 93)

“using what we know about (a) language, (b) how it

is learned, and (c) how it is used, in order to achieve
some purpose or solve some problem in the real
world” (Schmitt & Celce-Murcia, 2002, p. 1).
 Definitions of Applied Linguistics

“the focus of applied linguistics is on trying to resolve

language-based problems that people encounter in
the real world, whether they be learners, teachers,
supervisors, academics, lawyers, service providers,
those who need social services, test takers, policy
developers, dictionary makers, translators, or a whole
range of business clients” (Grabe, 2002, p. 9).