Schools of Linguistics and their Theories

Schools of Linguistics and their Theories Western Linguistics: Schools and their Theories Contents Chapter 1 Linguistics in Ancient time: Traditional Grammar(远古时期的语言学：语法) 1.1​ Grammar in Ancient Greek 1.2​ Grammar in Ancient Rome 1.3​ Grammar in Middle Ages 1.4​ Linguistics from Renaissance to the Eighteenth Century 1.5​ Linguistics in Ancient India 1.6​  Chapter 2 Historical Linguistics and Comparative Linguistics in the Nineteenth Century Interest focus: the history of one or more languages, similarity of languages in sound, form, inflexion, grammatical structure, language family, parent language 2.1​ Historical Linguistics and Comparative Linguistics in Early Period (17th -late 18th century) Dante(但丁, Italian poet, 1265-1321): Different dialects born of a same language, different languages or the same parent language, Division of European languages into three families: German in the North, Latin in the South, Greek in the boundary between Europe and Asia, all languages from Hebrew J. J. Scaliger(1540-1609): pointed out two errors in previous observation of languages: (1)linear relation between Greek and Latin, i.e., Latin derived from Greek; (2)Hebrew is the parent language of all language. Division of the world language into 11 families, grouped into 4 big families and 7 subfamilies, the 4 big families: Roman, Greek, German and Slavic. Stiernhelm(Swedish scholar): list the end changes of the word meaning “to have” with different persons in Latin and Gothic and find out the close relation between the two languages A.​ Jager: the appearance of daughter languages such as Persian, Greek, Slavic, Celt, Gothic, German due to the migrations of people in Europe and Asia, the parent language disappeared as a result. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz(1646-1716), German mathematician and philosopher: Knowledge is neither obtained by sensory organs nor born to be clear, but endowed as a natural innate ability, like the line in the marble. The language shift: Hebrew developed into 2 language groups, Kelt-Sythian, Aramian Important principles for historical linguistics: names of location and rivers are important clues for the history of languages, etymological studies, word forms and words are important evidence for exploring the historical relation between languages Grammar, dictionary, and language map for different languages William Jones(1746-1794): an officer in British East India Company, in a famous thesis delivered at Calcuta Royal Asia Society, confirmed the historical kindred relation between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin brought about a revolution in the understanding of parent language of these language. Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, even Kelt and Gothic share the same parent., evoked an aspiration for studying Sanskrit among European scholars, Such as German scholar F. von Schlegel and his younger brother A. W. von Schlegel and helped establish comparative linguistics as a new subject of social science. Failed to be an established science due to religious influence and lack of evidence 2.2​ Historical Linguistics and Comparative Linguistics in the nineteenth century Rasmus Kristian Rask(1782-1832), Danish: one of the founders of historical linguistics, in his thesis on the origin of Scandinavian or Icelandic language, for the first time proposed the clear principles and methodology for comparative linguistics, which are: Not overemphasize the identity of words, similarity of words in languages could be a result of mutual borrowing instead of a representation of a kindred, should emphasize the identity in grammar, the borrowing of word does not influence the grammar, therefore, the important method for deciding the kindred relation of languages is the identity in languages, especially if they share the same basic vocabulary, inflexion and language structure. His theory inherited and developed by Jacob Grim. Jacob Grim(1785-1863), German: in German Grammar I, II, pointed out that he described but not prescribe language, advised German not to believe the pedantic prescriptive grammar, not to have any prejudice about any linguistic facts., Realized the importance of sound in historical linguistics research, gave a systematic elaboration of the correspondences of consonants between German and other European languages, which was later called Grim’s Law, a law actually discovered by Rask, but Brim’s contribution is very important in the creation of the theory about sound change, he created the word Lautverschiebung. Not only studied the relation between German and Indo-European languages, but also the change in Highland German, the first type of change called the first sound shift (also German sound shift), the second type called the second sound shift (also Highland German sound shift). The fundamental principle underlying the sound shift is: there is a rotating change (Kreislauf) from Indo-European language to German language, in which voiceless stop sounds become fricative(p, t, k -> f, θ, x), fricatives become voiced stop (f, θ, x -> b, d, g), voiced stops become voiceless stops(d, g -> t, k). Realized sound shifts are nor disorderly but there are some rules in the changes, different shifts represent different stages in a complex process. Karl Verner(1846-1896), Danish: Verner Law, the sound changes of /p/, /t/,/k/ in German only represent the shift between voiceless fricatives and voiced fricatives, not the shift between fricatives and stops, as stated in Grim’s law. Whihelm von Humboldt(1767-1835): a famous German Scholar, statesman, pointed that man is born in his brain with the ability to create language. Language is a type of creative competence, not an objective result nor the type of the fixed rules by grammarians, which is used by the speaker to produce and comprehend language. It is an essential part of the faculty of human brain. Otherwise, children can not acquire language in natural environment. That is why the language produced is likely to change with the need of environment, and why a speaker can use the finite language device to produce infinite language act. Influenced by G. Herder(1744-1803), Humboldt proposed the characteristics of each language are peculiar to the people using it. All languages consist of two parts: the sound base and internal language structure. The sound is only passive material for internal language structure. Internal structure represents the semantic or grammatical structure, i.e. rules or models imposed upon the material. The internal language is on the one hand common to all peoples, existing in the congenital intelligence, on the other, the different forms of each language have their own features, distinguishable from each other. The organization principle of each language determines its syllable structure, grammar structure and word forms, representing the mode of thinking of the people using it. A people’s language represents his spirit and the spirit of the people is their language. Influenced by Kante(1724-1805) , who thought knowledge obtained from sensual experience cannot become one’s knowledge until his cognition ability provides category or sensibility for it, Humboldt formed his viewpoint about language that the internal language form trim and conceptualize the sensory experience. The internal form varies from language to language, the result of trimming and conceptualizing sensory experience is also different. One’s thought and sense can only become visible and be communicated by way of language. A word is a label representing something particular, a particular concept in the course of thinking. Therefore, difference in language results with difference in understanding and interpreting the world. In a sense, people using different languages live in different world and enjoy different system of thinking. Humboldt’s ideas have great influence upon American linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, who formed the famous Whorfian hypothesis, the idea that “a man’s language moulds his perception of reality, or that the world a man inhabits is a linguistic construct”. Humboldt’s another great contribution to the theory of language is his division of languages into three types based on the structure of words and morphological changes.: Isolating language, Agglutinative language, Inflectional language 2.3​  1​  Chapter 3 Modern Linguistics At the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century, with the fast development of historical linguistics and the growth of Neogrammarians elaborating and verifying their theories emerged a new trend of linguistic theories which are later referred as symbolizing the emergence of modern linguistics. 1.1​ Ferdinand de Saussure(1857-1913), the beginner of modern linguistics 1.1.1​ Ferdinand de Saussure, the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (pronounced [fɛʁdi'nɑ̃ də so'syʁ]) (November 26, 1857 – February 22, 1913) was a Geneva-born Swiss linguist whose ideas laid the foundation for many of the significant developments in linguistics in the 20th century. He is widely considered the 'father' of 20th-century linguistics. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ferdinand_de_Saussure.jpg" \o "Saussure" Born in Geneva in 1857, Saussure showed early signs of considerable talent and intellectual ability. After a year of studying Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and a variety of courses at the University of Geneva, he commenced graduate work at the University of Leipzig in 1876. Two years later at 21 years Saussure studied for a year at Berlin, where he wrote his only full-length work, Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indo-européenes (Thesis on the Primitive Vowel System in Indo-European Languages). He returned to Leipzig and was awarded his doctorate in 1880. Soon afterwards he relocated to Paris, where he would lecture on ancient and modern languages, and lived for 11 years before returning to Geneva in 1891. Saussure lectured on Sanskrit and Indo-European at the University of Geneva for the remainder of his life. It was not until 1906 that Saussure began teaching the Course of General Linguistics that would consume the greater part of his attention until his death in 1913. 1.1.2​ Saussure’s great contributions to modern linguistics Historical linguist Contrastive linguist General linguist or theoretical linguist The founder of Structuralism The founder of semiology Course in General Linguistics Main article: Course in General Linguistics Saussure's most influential work, Course in General Linguistics (Cours de linguistique générale), was published posthumously in 1916 by former students Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye on the basis of notes taken from Saussure's lectures at the University of Geneva. The Course became one of the seminal（种子的，生殖的） linguistics works of the 20th century, not primarily for the content (many of the ideas had been anticipated in the works of other 19th century linguists), but rather for the innovative approach that Saussure applied in discussing linguistic phenomena. Its central notion is that language may be analyzed as a formal system of differential elements, apart from the messy dialectics of realtime production and comprehension. Examples of these elements includes the notion of the linguistic sign, the signifier, the signified, and the referent. In 1996, a manuscript of Saussure's was discovered in his house in Geneva. This text was published as Writings in General Linguistics, and offers significant clarifications of the Course. Laryngeal theory While a student Saussure published an important work in Indo-European philology that proposed the existence of a class of sounds in Proto-Indo-European called laryngeals, outlining what is now known as the laryngeal theory. It has been argued that the problem he encountered, of trying to explain how he was able to make systematic and predictive hypotheses from known linguistic data to unknown linguistic data, stimulated his development of structuralism. 1.1.3​  1.2​ Saussure’s Linguistic theories: an outline 1.2.1​ The social background for the creation of Saussure’s theories The birth of Saussure’s linguistic theories has much to do with the contemporary ideological trends in social science of that period. His theories are particularly based on the achievements in the studies of philosophy, sociology, psychology and linguistics. 1.2.1.1​ Philosophical background Mentalist philosophy and positivist philosophy argue that there is a division between objective, material world and subjective, ideological world, society, belonging to the later world, is a minor, derivative phenomenon as a result of personal feeling and behavior, instead of a something substantial. Hegel followers also think law, customs, manners, nation, etc are no more than the expression of one’s mind. Jeremy Bentham said that society is a fictional world of individuals. Following this line of understanding of the concept society, they arrived at the conclusion that society does not exist except for the reality of individuals. Only individuals can be the only target reality that can be accessed and studied, society and its auxiliary constituents can only be studied as result. In this sense, social studies cannot be a science. Sociology, as a branch of social studies, is confronted with the fate of abandonment. 1.2.1.2​ Achievements in modern sociology In Rules of the Sociological Method(1895) and Le Suicide, etude de sociologie(1897), Emile Durkheim (1859-1917), a well-known German sociologist, worked out a new approach to sociology, an approach which established the scientific status of sociology. His definition of social fact gave us a new understanding of society and sociology. According to him, social fact can also be regarded as a substance with the same nature as that of material studied by natural science. Social fact is such a universal behavior in a given society that has external constraints to every individual in the society. External constraints are rules or regulation that all individuals consciously or unconsciously observe in the society, they make individual behaviors become social facts. We educate children so as to impose upon them ways of observing, sensing and performing and by a certain stage these ways of behavior become part of their custom and tendency. Social facts in this sense are the thoughts of collective mind, which exist as something beyond all the individuals in the community that are indirectly and incompletely reflected in the mind of every individual. Some can realize the external constraints whereas some others can never but this does not mean they will not be able to observe the constraints. Durkheim also proposed that social fact is subject to change, each new society is not a simple duplicate of the former ones but one with different nature from previous ones, with some features lost some other new features obtained. Therefore, he does not agree that historical reasons can be used to explain the current social facts. 1.2.1.3​ Achievements in psychological studies Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Austrian psychologist, put forward a very important concept the unconscious, proposing that in a given society there is a long-existing collective psyche, which he called the unconscious psyche, which is internalized social regulation or mental complex, they are developed unconsciously in the form of underlying psychological system which govern people’s behavior and manner in a way they are not aware of. Freud’s thoughts are consistent with the structuralist ideas at that time, insisting that any human behavior is governed and constrained by a canonical system. Social norm are realized by the collective psyche, the norms for language behavior by the linguistic rules, and the norms for psychological behavior by the faculty of mental organization. The unconscious Perhaps the most significant contribution Freud made to Western thought was his argument for the existence of an unconscious mind. During the 19th century, the dominant trend in Western thought was positivism, which subscribed to the belief that people could ascertain real knowledge concerning themselves and their environment and judiciously exercise control over both. Freud, however, suggested that such declarations of free will are in fact delusions; that we are not entirely aware of what we think and often act for reasons that have little to do with our conscious thoughts. The concept of the unconscious as proposed by Freud was considered by some to be groundbreaking in that he proposed that awareness existed in layers and that some thoughts occurred "below the surface." Nevertheless, as psychologist Jacques Van Rillaer, among others, pointed out, "contrary to what most people believe, the unconscious was not discovered by Freud. In 1890, when psychoanalysis was still unheard of, William James, in his monumental treatise on psychology, examined the way Schopenhauer, von Hartmann, Janet, Binet and others had used the term 'unconscious' and 'subconscious'".[10] Boris Sidis, a Jewish Russian who escaped to the USA in 1887, and studied under William James, wrote The Psychology of Suggestion: A Research into the Subconscious Nature of Man and Society in 1898, followed by ten or more works over the next twenty five years on similar topics to the works of Freud. Moreover, the historian of psychology Mark Altschule wrote: "It is difficult - or perhaps impossible - to find a nineteenth-century psychologist or psychiatrist who did not recognize unconscious cerebration as not only real but of the highest importance."[11] Freud's advance was not, then, to uncover the unconscious but to devise a method for systematically studying it. Dreams, which he called the "royal road to the unconscious," provided the best access to our unconscious life and the best illustration of its "logic," which was different from the logic of conscious thought. Freud developed his first topology of the psyche in The Interpretation of Dreams (1899) in which he proposed the argument that the unconscious exists and described a method for gaining access to it. The preconscious was described as a layer between conscious and unconscious thought—that which we could access with a little effort. Thus for Freud, the ideals of the Enlightenment, positivism and rationalism, could be achieved through understanding, transforming, and mastering the unconscious, rather than through denying or repressing it. Crucial to the operation of the unconscious is "repression." According to Freud, people often experience thoughts and feelings that are so painful that they cannot bear them. Such thoughts and feelings—and associated memories—could not, Freud argued, be banished from the mind, but could be banished from consciousness. Thus they come to constitute the unconscious. Although Freud later attempted to find patterns of repression among his patients in order to derive a general model of the mind, he also observed that individual patients repress different things. Moreover, Freud observed that the process of repression is itself a non-conscious act (in other words, it did not occur through people willing away certain thoughts or feelings). Freud supposed that what people repressed was in part determined by their unconscious. In other words, the unconscious was for Freud both a cause and effect of repression. Later, Freud distinguished between three concepts of the unconscious: the descriptive unconscious, the dynamic unconscious, and the system unconscious. The descriptive unconscious referred to all those features of mental life of which people are not subjectively aware. The dynamic unconscious, a more specific construct, referred to mental processes and contents which are defensively removed from consciousness as a result of conflicting attitudes. The system unconscious denoted the idea that when mental processes are repressed, they become organized by principles different from those of the conscious mind, such as condensation and displacement. Eve