Schools of Modern Linguistics 现 代 语 言 学 流 派.doc

Schools of Modern Linguistics 现 代 语 言 学 流 派 Ferdinand de Saussure and his Work father of modern linguistics establish the structural study of language emphasize the arbitrary nature of linguistic sign emphasize the relational nature of language units make several pairs of distinctions Saussure’s most influential work: Course in General Linguistics (1916) give definition of language outline the scope of linguistics present principles for phonology and writing systems General principles Synchronic linguistics Diachronic linguistics Geographical linguistics Retrospective linguistics The Arbitrary Nature of the Linguistic Signs ?language as a system of signs: the sign as a union of the signifier and the signified no natural or inevitable connection between the signifier and the signified an arbitrary way of organizing the world into concepts and categories two important characteristics of linguistic signs: the arbitrary relation between the signifier and the signified the linear nature of the signified ?The Relational Nature of Language Units no essential core of meaning for a signified to be the proper signified for that signifier signifiers as members of system defined by their relations to the other members of that system language units as relational identity the comparison between language and chess Saussure’s Dichotomies Langue and parole Synchronic and diachronic linguistics Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations Langue and Parole Langue is the system of a language it is what the individual assimilates when he learns a language; it is social and abstract; It enables the members of a speech community to communicate linguistically. Parole is actual speech it is individual and concrete; it is the realization of the language system. Distinction between langue and parole separate what is social from what is individual and what is essential from accidental lead to the distinction between phonetics and phonology phonetics studies speech sounds from a ph