Linguistics

a languagee is taught and learned within a particular cultural background

limited set of discrete sounds can be combined inteo a very large number of sound combinations tith distinct meanings e.g. i-b-n -> bin/nib

- prescriptive is the policy of describing languages as we would like them to be, rather than as we find them

- linguistics take a descrptive approach

> how language is really used, varies, how it is changing

> avoid terms like `wrong`, `correct`, `strange`, 

> against discrimination based on language use

- focus on individual languages

- comparison of two or more languages -> search for universall, common ancestors

- development of theoretical frameworks

- apllied linguistics: foreign-language teaching, forensic linguistics

- introspective: relying on intuition 

- empirical studies: research based on authentic language data

- key figure: ferdinand de saussure

- focus: synchronic description of language system

- important dichotomy:

>language (abstract language system) vs. parole (actual language use)

- key figure: Noam Chomsky

- focus: idealised mental knowledge of language

- important dichotomy: competence ( language system, cf. language) vs. performance (language use, cf. parole)

-Heterogeneous approaches

- focus: search for motivations of particular language choices in certain contexts

- view that language use (parole/performance) over time shapes language system (language/competence)

- studies human speech sounds -> phones

- not language specific

- concrete

- representation [ ]

- studies function of sounds as parts of a sound system -> phonemes

- language specific

- abstract

- representation / /

same sound different spellings

same spelling-different sounds

- place of articulation: position of the articulators

- manner of articulation: obstruction made to the air stream by the articulators

- voicing: vibration of the vocal cords

- produced with both lips<. [m, w, p, b]

produced with front teeth and lower lip: [f, v]

produced with tongue between or just behind upper teeth: [ð, ø]

produced with tongue tip at the alveolar ridge behind the upper teeth: [t, d, n, s, z, l, r]

produced behind the alveolar ridge, with tongue raised towards the hard palate [sh, dsch, tsch, gsch

produced at the hard palate: j

produced at the soft palate (velum): [k, g, nj)

produced at the glottis in the larynx: h

air stream is stopped and then released

narrow opening; air stream escapes with friction

combination of a plosive and a fricative

air stream escapes through the nasal cavity

two articulators approaching or touching each other without audible friction 

air flows around the sides of the tongue while the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge 

between vowels and consonants because of minimal obstruction of the vocal tract 

voiceless: vocal cords open, airstream passes through

voiced: vocal cords are closed together, airflow sets them vibrating

- sounds made without a closure or audible friction

- airflow escapes in an unimpeded way through mouth or nose 

- all vowels are voiced

classification features: 

- tongue shape: tongue height (close-mid-open)/part of tongue which is higehst (front-central-back)

- lip shape/degree of lip rounding (spread-neutral-round)

- constancy of tounge/lip-shape (monophthong-diphthong)

- duration/quantity (short-long)/ muscular tension (lax-tense)

- glide towards a higher (closed) vowel 

or centering diphthongs: glide towards the central unrounded vowel `schwa`

if a glide includes a double movement of the tongue; ususally described as a combination of a diphthong and `schwa`