Introduction to Linguistics

Introduction to Linguistics

What is linguistics?

"Each human language is a complex of knowledge and abilities enabling speakers of the language to communicate with each other, to express ideas, hypotheses, emotions, desires, and all the other things that need expressing. Linguistics is the study of these knowledge systems in all their aspects: how is such a knowledge system structured, how is it acquired, how is it used in the production and comprehension of messages, how does it change over time? "

https://linguistics.ucsc.edu/about/what-is-linguistics.html

Six basic things that are studied:

• Phonetics

• Phonology

• Morphology

• Syntax

• Semantics

• Pragmatics

Phonetics :

• "the study of speech sounds in their physical aspects"

• phonemes: the smallest units of sound

• the Internatinal Phonetic alphabet is how all sounds are categorized

• each language uses their own combination of these sounds, called a phonemic inventory

Phonology

• Sound systems: syllables

• How sounds can go together

• In English, a syllable can consist of a vowel preceded by one consonant (CV) as in pie/pai, or by two consonants (CCV) as in try/trai, or by three consonants (CCCV) as in spry/sprai

French syllables

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