Introduction to Linguistics UDE
Definitions from the Lecture Introduction to Linguistics from WiSe25/26 and SoSe26 UDE
Definitions from the Lecture Introduction to Linguistics from WiSe25/26 and SoSe26 UDE
Speech Act Theory: Illocutionary Act
speech intention, force of saying smth.
Speech Act Theory: Locutionary Act
actual wording, saying smth., using sounds, words with meaning
Speech Act Theory: Perlocutionary Act
Effect, what is achieved by saying smth.
Representatives/Assertives
contain a certain statement about the world (true/false) e.g. describe, claim, state, insist
Directives
attempts by speaker to get hearer to do smth. e.g. order, request, ask
Commissives
commit speaker to perform some future action, e.g. promise, swear, guarantee
Expressives
express psychological state of certain attitude of speaker, e.g. like, love, sorry, thanks
Declaration
changes reality by being spoken, e.g. baptise, fire, marry
4 Grice's Cooperative Principles / Maxims
1. Quantity
2. Quality
3. Relation
4. Manner
Maxim: Quantity
make your contribution as informative as is required
do not make your contribution more informative than is required
Maxim: Quality
Supermaxim: Try to make your contribution one that is true
Do not say what you believe is false
Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence for
Maxim: Relation (Relevance)
Be relevant
Maxim: Manner
Supermaxim: Be perspicuous
1. Avoid obscurity of expressions
2. Avoid ambiguity
3. Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity)
4. Be orderly
Violation of maxim:
non cooperative behaviour: e.g. A: Where were you? B: (lying) At the office. (Quality violation)
Flouting of a maxim
fail to fulfil maxim, recipient understands that the speaker is cooperative but generates a conversational implicature, e.g. A: Where have you been? B: Out.
Conversational implicature in maxims
if utterances doesn't confirm to maxims (not nonsense but: there is an appropriate meaning to be inferred)
Deixis
points to a current communicative situation
Person deixis
speaker, addressee, third party, etc. - I, you, he, they, our, ...
Place deixis
position in relation to the position of the speaker - here, there, this, that, come, next town,...
Time deixis
time reference in relation to the speakers position in time - today, now, tomorrow, current, next, last, ...
Introspective
Relying on intuition of linguists
Empirical
Using authentic data as the basis of research
Theoretical approach of language
Developing a theoretical part
Applied approach of language
application of knowledge
language specific
only one language in focus
comparative
comparing languages to discover patterns
Descriptive
observing a particular part of language in a neutral way
Prescribtive
formulating rules for the correct use of particular language
Synchronic
Describing language at a specific time
Diachronic
Linguistic change through time
Formalism (Chomsky)
Units of language are combined into larger strings following rules
Meanings and functions are structured by syntax
Competence: mental knowledge
Performance: actual language use
Functionalism (Bühler: Organon Modell, 1934 & Jakobson: Six functions of language, 1960)
Units of language have certain functions; these functions and meanings explain the linguistic system and its structures
Structuralism (Saussure: the lingustic sign, 1916 & Odgen and Richards: Semiotic Triangle, 1923)
Language as an overarching structure; units of language are analysed in terms of their relationship within and to the system
Duality
2 Levels
1. limited set of discrete sounds and rules
2. infinite combinations (words and sentences)
-> human language is economical
Arbitrariness
no natural connection between sound and meaning (exceptions: onomatopoeia)
Reflexivity
language can be used to think/talk about itself -> metalinguistic function
Displacement
Language can be used to refer to context removed from the immediate situation
Recursion/Productivity
the ability to produce a theoretically infinite number of grammatical sentences
cultural + social transmission
language is taught + learned within a cultural context
Homophones (for single sounds)
same sound, different spelling (e.g. /u:/ you, blue, new, ...)
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Lernkarten
Endocentric Compound
A determines B (A=modifier, B= head of compound) e.g. darkroom, smalltalk
Exocentric Compound
A+B means something that neither A nor B; e.g. skinhead (person), pickpocket (person)
Copulative Compound
A and B are both equally important, e.g. bitter-sweet, sleepwalker
Conversion
the word class changes without any morphological changes (e.g. to cage, to water, a cough, a walk, ...)
Partial Conversion
change of word class includes a phonological change
1. change of word-final sound from V- to V+ (the belief - to belive; the use (s) - to use (z))
2. shift of main accent (to subJECT - the SUBject)
Shortenings: Blending
two words are fused together (result is a combined meaning) e.g. smoke+fog=smog, breakfast+lunch=brunch
Shortenings: Clipping
parts of the word are omitted (clipped off)
1. back-clipping (ad - advertisement)
2. front-clipping (phone - telephone)
3. front-and-back-clipping (fridge - refridgerator)
Shortenings: Acronym
forms a new term, pronounces like a word
e.g. asap, NATO, UNESCO, ERASMUS, laser
Shortenings: Alphabetism
forms a new term, pronounced letter by letter
e.g. PC, TV, VIP, USA, IPA, UK
Back formation
deleting of a derivational suffix, changes the word class (e.g. sleepwalk (V) and sleepwalker (N)
Coinage
creation of new words for specific purpose without using other word formation processes, e.g. Aspirin,Kleenex
Eponyms
words coined from proper names, real or fictional people, places: Mac, sandwich
Syntax
studies the way in which words and phrases are combined into sentences
Semantics
study of linguistic meaning
lexical semantics
investigates the meaning of words
sentential semantics
investigates the meaning of phrases and sentences
Denotation
basic description
Connotation
associative meaning
sememe
meaning of a lexeme
semes
smallest possible units of meaning
Feature semantics
semes table cow girl woman boy man
animate - + + + + +
human - - + + + +
male - - - - + +
adult - + - + - +
Prototype semantics
prototype as the central member/representative of a category
example: birds
-> rotkehlchen-spatz-taube-eule-papagei-fasan-pfau-ente
family resemblance
overlapping resemblance
example: games
-> chess, computer games, skat, football
Metaphors
source domain (e.g. human body) is transferred to a target domain (e.g. non-human entities)
antrophomorphic metaphors
transferred from human domain (esp. body parts) e.g. foot of a mountain, leg of a table
synaethetic metaphors
extension from one field of sensory perception to another , e.g. warm voice, loud colour
light and thinking / intelligence metaphors
e.g. bright person, transparent argument
money and language metaphors
to owe someone an answer, to coin new words
space and wellbeing metaphors
e.g. to feel up/down, fall ill, rise to the top
war/physical metaphors
e.g. struck the centre, struck a nerve
paradigmatic relation
words can be substituted by similar entities
syntagmatic relations
items are combined with other items to form a larger structure
lexical field
elements share at least one semantic meaning(s) e.g. verbs: chased, followed, hunted, tracked
semantic relations examples
syntagmatic relations
para- The fast cats chased the mouse.
dig- The hungry dog followed my cat.
matic- Ten / tigers hunted the victim.
relations / Wild animals tracked the prey.
Collocations
co=together location=place
which lexemes can normally occur
e.g. John becomes ill. *John comes ill.
The lips get blue. *The lips fall blue.
Sense relation: Non-hierarchical
includes: Synonymy and Opposition
Synonymy
word with the same meaning, e.g. drunk, intoxicated, pissed
Opposition
Contains:
1. complementary antonymy
2. gradable antonymy
3. converseness
4. directional opposition
Complementary antonymy
semantic opposition, exclude each other e.g. dead-alive, single-married
gradable antonymy
opposite poles with stages in-between e.g. hot-cold, large-small
