Introduction to the Study of Language 1

Department of English and American Studies,

University of Vienna
Today's lecture

1. Introducing the StEOP

• StEOP & exams
• ECTS credits & work-load

2. Introducing ISL1
• lecturer & sessions
• accompanying classes
• accompanying reading & sources of information

3. What is ‘the study of language’?

4. Linguistics as a science

5. Language as a system of signs

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1. StEOP:
“Introduction to the Study of Language 1 and Language Analysis”
(10 ECTS)

Introductory requirement for

A) BA English and American Studies (together

with “Introduction to the Study of Literature” and
“Introduction to Anglophone Cultures and
Societies”)

B) teacher education studies (“Diplomstudium Lehramt

Unterrichtsfach Englisch”, UF)
= for students who started up until S2014

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Exam (Modulprüfung) detailed info on Moodle

1 written exam (90 mins), multiple choice

on: the content covered in “ISL1” and “LgAn”
and the required readings

2 sittings ('Termine')
‘1. Termin’: Wed, 1 June, 11:30-14:45, AudiMax
‘2. Termin’: Fri, 1 July, 11:30-14:45, C1 (Uni Campus)

Note for ‘old’ UF students (registered before WS11):

Exam sittings for ISL1 lecture course (LV-Prüfung, 65 mins):
• T1 (‘1. Termin’): July 1
• T2: to be announced

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ECTS credits:

10 ECTS credit points for StEOP “ISL 1 & LgAn”

1 ≈ 25 full working hours

=> total of 250 working hours!

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2. Introduction to the Study of Language 1

Prof Ute Smit

Office hours: Mon 2:30-4 p.m.

Up-to-date info:
http://anglistik.univie.ac.at/staff/

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Syllabus
Lecture Date Day Place Topics

1 2/3 Wed AM Introduction (‘sign theory’), nature of language

2 9/3 Wed AM Phonetics & Phonology 1: basics of phonetics and consonants

3 16/3 Wed AM Phonetics & Phonology 2: vowels and basics of phonology

4 18/3 Fri C1 Phonetics & Phonology 3: allophones, syllable

5 6/4 Wed AM Sociolinguistics 1: basics (SPEAKING)

6 8/4 Fri C1 Sociolinguistics 2: variation acc. to setting

7 20/4 Wed AM Sociolinguistics 3: variation acc. to users

8 27/4 Wed AM Pragmatics: more is communicated than is said

9 4/5 Wed AM Pragmatics/Discourse : language in interaction

10 11/5 Wed AM Discourse continued

11 18/5 Wed AM First language acquisition

12 25/5 Wed AM Second language acquisition

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“AR Phonetic transcription”
Lecturers: Dr Armin Berger,
Mag Thomas Martinek
o accompany the lecture course

o focus on transcription and IPA

first 6 lessons particularly relevant for ISL1;
focus on active transcription skills (=ISL2)

o times:
Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m. Unterrichtsraum (starting March 10)
Thursdays, 4-5 p.m. Unterrichtsraum (starting March 12)

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ISL1 Tutorials
Tutors: Silvia Bauer-Marschallinger, Julia Ritter

o accompany the lecture course

o provides a forum to discuss and practice the

topics introduced in the lectures

o times:

Fridays 12:30-14:00 Unterrichtsraum

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E-Tutorials
Tutor: Ines Nitsche

o Available on the moodle platform

o Provides additional practice material

o Weekly questions concerning the lecture content

o Four self-tests throughout the semester

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ISL1 required course books:

Plag, Ingo, Maria Braun, Sabine Lappe & Mareile

Schramm. 2015. Introduction to English
Linguistics. 3rd ed. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Yule, George. 2014. The Study of Language. 5th

edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Available:
o in book stores (e.g. on Campus)

o in departmental library (on site)

o as e-books: University Library Catalogue -> E-books

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Online Lecture Materials
Selected lecture materials (e.g. slides, link to streams) are available
online via the elearning platform Moodle.

1. Before you can access the platform, you need to:

> have an active Unet account
(i.e. email: [Matrikelnummer]@unet.univie.ac.at)
applications: http://www.univie.ac.at/ZID/unet/

> register for the lecture via univis

see http://www.univie.ac.at/services/ - ‘UNIVIS online’
Once you have registered via univis, you will be registered for the elearning platform
automatically (attention: this may take 24 hours).

2. Access to the platform (for registered students):

> http://www.moodle.univie.ac.at
Log in with u-net account
In case of problems or questions, please contact: elearning.zid@univie.ac.at

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Slides

…will be made available prior to the lecture via

the MOODLE e-learning platform:
http://moodle.univie.ac.at

Streaming feeds (not downloadable)

…will be made available after the lecture via the
MOODLE e-learning platform

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ISL 1 workflow

readings
transcription tutorials
classes lectures

slides note taking

ISL 1 14
ISL 1
3. What is “the study of language”?

o focus on various forms language can take

and various ways in which language is
used

o also called 'linguistics'

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ISL 1
ISL 1
ISL 1
Ex. A: Newspaper language

Sept. 25th 2008

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GR8 4 U! My smmr hols wr
CWOT. B4, we
Will txt used 2go2 NY 2C
more l8r. my bro, his GF &
CU@ thr 3 :- kids FTF.
ILNY, it's a gr8
home plc

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Ex. D: Conversation
1. A: does anyone want a chocolate bar or anything?
2. B: oh yeah yes please
3. C: yes please
4. [C+B laugh]
5. A: you can have either a Mars Bar Kit-Kat or erm cherry Bakewell
6. C: oh erm it's a toss-up between [B yeah] the cherry Bakewell and the
7. Mars Bar isn't it?
8. A: well shall I bring some in then cos you might want another one cos
9. I don't want them all, I'm gonna be fat
10. C: Miss paranoid about weight aren't you?
11. A: yes but you know
12. C: you're not fat Mand
13. A: I will be if I'm not careful
14. B: oh God
(chat amongst student friends, taken from Carter & McCarthy 1997)

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Ex. E: Child language

Uncle: What's your name?

Nicola: You know.
Uncle: Is it Dicola?
Nicola: No, Dicola
Uncle: Oh, Nicola.
Nicola: Yes.

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4. Linguistics as a science

‘Modern linguistics’ emerged at the

beginning of 20th century
• De Saussure: father of modern
linguistics
• ‘Cours de linguistique générale’
• His contribution is seen as a
milestone in linguistics

C. () 24
4. Linguistics as a science
(1) synchronic vs. diachronic

(2) descriptive vs. prescriptive

(3) syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic

(4) langue vs. parole

(5) signifier vs. signified

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4. Linguistics as a science

Diachronic study of language:

• Studies language over time, i.e. the changes that can be

observed in the course of the history of a language

Synchronic study of language:

• Studies language at a certain point of time

• Synchronic study of language: abstraction, because

language is always in transition!
4. Linguistics as a science

2000

1600

1400

1000
4. Linguistics as a science

Descriptive nature of linguistic research

o Descriptive:
• to describe how people speak

o Prescriptive/normative:
• to tell people how to speak

C. () 28
4. Linguistics as a science

langue vs. parole

Language system vs. Language use

o “All those who speak English […] share a particular langue

and […] the set of utterances which they produce when
they are ‘speaking English’ constitute instances of parole”.
4. Linguistics as a science
4. Linguistics as a science

o Syntagmatic: what other signs can be connected to a sign

in order to form a sentence?
Axis of combination

o Paradigmatic: what other signs can ‘replace’ a sign within a

sentence?
Axis of selection or substitution
5. Language as a system of signs

Semiotics

The study of signs

 5. Language as a system of signs

A sign is a combination of form and meaning.

form

meaning/
function
5. Language as a system of signs

o
5. Language as a system of signs

Semiotics

Icon Form-meaning relation is one of similarity

 5. Language as a system of signs

Semiotics

Symbol Form-meaning relation is arbitrary

 5. Language as a system of signs

Semiotics

Index Form-meaning relation is one of cause-effect; Symptom

5. Language as a system of signs

Semiotics
What about linguistic signs ?
 5. Language as a system of signs
Ferdinand de Saussure
The Linguistic Sign (1916)
The linguistic sign consists of two parts:

SIGNIFIER
Signifiant
sound sequence

SIGNIFIED
Signifié
concept
5. Language as a system of signs

“tree“ „Baum“

„arbre“
Onomatopoeia
Wauwau (German)
bow wow (English)
ouah-ouah (French)
woef (Afrikaans)
ham ham (Albanian)
haw haw (Arabic)
ghaue-ghaue (Bengali)
bup bup (Catalan)
wang wang (Mandarin)
vau-vau (Croatian)
vov (Danish)
woef (Dutch)
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5. Language as a system of signs

Signs can have characteristics of more than one category

 5. Language as a system of signs
The linguistic sign consists of two parts:

SIGNIFIER
Signifiant
sound sequence

SIGNIFIED
Signifié
concept

•With most linguistic signs the relation between signifiant and

signifié is arbitrary.

•Linguistic signs are generally classified as symbols.

Required readings:

o For further information on general properties of language:

Yule (2010) ch. 2

o For the second lecture: Yule (2010) ch. 3

o For the third lecture: Plag et al. (2009) ch. 1

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