McTag wrote:JTT wrote:PhilAster wrote:yo jtt
how r u doin
check out my last post plz
phil
I saw it, Phil. Interesting observation.
It was to do with the study of English (or other language) as a science, was it not.
I suppose that while literature and other artistic endeavours using language (poetry, drama etc) are studied under the heading "Arts" there are other facets of language studies (linguistics, phonetics, etc) which are more properly grouped under the heading "Science".
I've the feeling this could be better put, but is intended to be helpful. Please correct any mistake or add to it if desired.
Am I correct in thinking that the study of language as a science is a fairly new thing, or at least that significant developments in it have only fairly recently been made?
I speak as a mere "Rude Mechanical" engineer.
Adding to McTag's response, the following two articles may help. This link,
<http://www.lsadc.org/>
will take you to the SITE MAP. Under "Fields of Linguistics", click on the titles of these two articles to read them in their entirety.
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An Overview
Geoff Nunberg of Xerox PARC, Palo Alto, CA, and Stanford University Tom Wasow of Stanford University
An Example of Language Use
Pat: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Chris: I give up.
Pat: To get to the other side.
Most of us heard this joke when we were small children and find nothing remarkable in the ability to engage in such exchanges. But a bit of reflection reveals that even such a mundane use of language involves an amazing combination of abilities.
Think about it: Pat makes some vocal noises, with the effect that Chris entertains thoughts of a scenario involving a fowl and a thoroughfare. This leads to an exchange of utterances, possibly laughter, and the conviction by both parties that Pat has 'told a joke'. to top
Prerequisites for Language Use
What does it take to make communication through language succeed? Here are just a few of the many things that are necessary for the exchange above
Pat's first two words 'why did' sound exactly the same as 'wide id'. Breaking the stream of sounds into words requires that Chris pays attention to the wider context and knows what makes sense and what doesn't.
Words like 'chicken' and 'cross' have lots of meanings (consider, for example, one gangster saying to another, 'You won't cross me because you're chicken'). To conjure up the image of
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http://www.lsadc.org/
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What Is 'Correct' Language?
by Edward Finegan of the University of Southern California
Should road signs read 'Drive Slow' or 'Drive Slowly'? Which is grammatically correct: They don't have none or They don't have any? Given 'books' as the plural of 'book' and 'they' as the plural for 'she' and 'he', what's wrong with 'y'all' and 'yous' as plurals for 'you'? Are 'between you and I' and 'between you and me' both right, and who decides what's right and wrong in language, anyway? And who put 'ain't' in the dictionary? Is English going to the dogs, and is that what the fuss is all about?
Languages often have alternative expressions for the same thing ('car' and 'auto'), and a given word can carry different senses ('river bank' vs. 'savings bank') or function as different parts of speech ('to steal'--verb; 'a steal'--noun). Because languages naturally adapt to their situations of use and also reflect the social identities of their speakers, linguistic variation is inevitable and natural.
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