Introductory questions
- What is language?
- Language is intentional in various senses (goal-driven, not just stimulus-response, amenable to reflection).
- Language is generative/productive.
- Language is recursive.
- Language is the result of collaborative and unintentional processes.
- Language can refer to things and situations that are not present or never were/will be.
- Language is structured at (at least) two levels: phonetics/phonology and grammar.
- Language is learned.
- Language is both produced and comprehended by all normal users.
- Language distinguishes reference and sense
(extension and intension).
- What isn't language?
- Other animals' communication systems?
- Sign languages?
- Thought? (Does it have to be linguistic?)
- Artificial languages?
- Music?
- What is a language?
A set of conventions (of pronunciation/orthography, grammar, lexicon, usage) shared by a community.
- How can we study language scientifically?
- What does it mean to study something scientifically?
We need data that we gather and analyze, attempting to avoid
biases.
And we come up with generalizations that characterize the data
and, if possible, relate it other data.
- What are we trying to describe
or explain with language?
We could be describing/explaining the product or the process or both.
- This course's stand
- Language is a cognitive phenomenon.
To study it, we need to make reference to process (as well as product) and to non-linguistic aspects of behavior like memory, attention, and social relationships.
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Language relates form to meaning and function.
- Language is governed by constraints, especially related to what it means to be a Speaker, a Hearer, and a Learner.
