Language is an incredibly rich phenomenon. Because language is an essential facet of any given society, making observations is an incredibly simple and very high reward task. My log is organized in two ways: there are two main categories, word formation and syntax, and within those there are subcategories based on the medium from which my obersvations were made. The following paragraphs are a body of observations grouped by category and medium. From this, we will see that the concepts in an intro to linguistics class are present in everyone surroundings, an awareness of such concepts leads to a deeper enjoyment of said surroundings.
There are really only two types of grammatical “errors” that I observed in day to day conversation: use of non-prescriptive grammar, and sentences that have proper surface structure, but poor deep structure. Interestingly enough, I didn’t ever hear a sentence that had improper surface structure and poor deep structure at the same time. This certainly affirms the idea we discussed in class that prescriptive grammar is not really necessary for the proper formation of comprehensible sentences. Even fragmented sentences have a clear meaning. I live in Downtown Los Angeles, so I often hear fragmented sentences like “Where Disney Hall” from non-English speaking tourists looking for various landmarks. The sentences may not be properly formed, but they provide me with all the information I need to help them. The use of prescriptive grammar is clearly important in the context of academia, but as far as day to day life goes, my observations have shown me that deep sentence structure is the only structure necessary for sentences to be comprehensible.
I have made 3 syntax-related linguistic observations while li...
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...that I meant the persons walk was graceful and beautiful like the ballet of Mikhail Baryshnikov.
I think the biggest takeaway from this assignment is as follows: linguistics is everywhere. In the process of writing this essay, I noticed myself making linguistic obervation about my writings about my other linguistic observations (this sentence in and of itself has some reduplicative qualities). In the four week duration of my linguistic observations, I made well over twenty linguistic observations, but I only included the observations which could be readily connected to the rest of my observations. This project has provided me with a deeper level of understanding in regards to the creation of musical lyrics, and has also allowed me to better recognize some of the more sophisticated jokes within television. At the end of the day, isn’t that why I’m in school anyways?
First, a brief background in the three dimensions of language discussed throughout this paper. The functional, semantic, or thematic dimensions of language as previously mentioned are often used in parallel with each other. Due, to this fact it is important to be able to identify them as they take place and differentiate between these dimensions i...
5. The use of short sentences in paragraph 7 creates an intense effect that are simple but strong enough to show Alexie’s determination.The consistent and straightforward arrangement of these short sentences can easily make the audiences feel Alexie’s efforts of studying hard as an intelligent Indian. Also, these short sentences created an confident and steadfast tone, emphasizing Alexie’s determination in reading and surviving.
The Life of Language: Papers in Linguistics in Honor of William Bright. Berlin [etc.]. Mouton De Gruyter, 1998. Print. The.
From the most basic of functions like recognition and storage to the complexities of discourse and cultural expression, language functions are an integral and pervasive component of the human experience. In these pages I have sought to describe the operation of the six language functions through the analogy of a figure skater and a dancer. Each skill builds upon the next to weave the intricate set of skills and abilities that humans have uniquely developed to share information and each other’s experiences of the world.
Computational linguistics is a discipline between linguistics and computer science which is concerned with the computational aspects of the human language. This area of computer science overlaps with the field of Artificial Intelligence. Basically, computational linguistics is a series of programs that interprets human speech into words and actions. There are a couple of different areas of computational linguistics and those areas are theoretical computational linguistics and applied computational linguistics. Each one of those areas are divided up into more areas.
we discussed a toddler may use wawa for water or nanna for banana. This could be difficult if someone has trouble pronouncing certain vowels or the individual may have a speech impediment. In the case of Javier and our interview, Javier did have some difficulty in this component. The first noticeable mistake line 27 was when Javier describes getting to his cabin. Javier was excited about explaining to us “we went nside the cabin. Javier did not include the I for in-side. Another noticeable example is line 28-29 when Javier is describing eating in the morning. “And this morning we went to breakfas”. Javier was excited about telling what came next in his story that the T at the end of breakfast is silent. The last occurrence comes in line 43
Finegan, Edward,."Language :its structure and use" Edward Finegan, David Blair and Peter Collins. 2nd ed. N.S.W : Harcourt, Brace & Co., c1997
—. Language: Readings in Language and Culture. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print.
Curzan, Anne and Adams, Michael. How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2003). An introduction to language (7th ed.). Boston: Heinle.
Issue No. 1 -. 33, 32, and a. Vol. 1, No. 1 -. 1, 1973; no. 2, 1974. California State College, Sonoma, Dept. of Education. of the English language of the country. Roseman, Ellen.
...he caretaker] in just this way when she finally returned to work with the chimps. Kat made her apologies to Washoe, then decided to tell her the truth, signing "MY BABY DIED." Washoe stared at her, then looked down. She finally peered into Kat's eyes again and carefully signed "CRY", touching her cheek and drawing her finger down the path a tear would make on a human (Chimpanzees don't shed tears). Kat later remarked that one sign told her more about Washoe and her mental capabilities than all her longer, grammatically perfect sentences."
Our capacity as human beings to acquire and express complex methods of communication has been one of the biggest driving forces of humanity’s success. These complex linguistic systems are what we know as language. Language gives us a method of expressing concepts, emotions, and ideas in a varied way which sets us apart from all other animals. Language and gender is an area of sociolinguistics and related fields which attempt to define the differences in language related to gender, and what the inferences of these differences may be.
As the name suggests, linguistic learners most easily acquire information through words. They love to read, write, and tell stories. Memorizing names, places, dates, and trivia come naturally to these learners (Mantle, 2002). People with a linguistic preference have an awareness of the sounds, rhythms, and meaning of words. These students learn best by saying, hearing, and seeing words.
Center for Applied Linguistics. Why, How, When? N.p.: Center for Applied Linguistics, n.d. www.cal.org. US Department of Education. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.