Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics.pdf

A-Z 653language synthesis [Grk sýnthesis ‘puttingtogether, combination’]In the broader sense, process of natural or artificial production of texts. Natural languagesynthesis occurs in every normal instance of speech of a competent speaker, artificiallanguage synthesis takes place via machines (through primarily electronic means).Language synthesis in the narrower sense refers to the third phase of machine-aidedtranslation (after the analysis and transfer phase), in which the text of the targetlanguage is produced in a morphologically and syntactically appropriate form.Referencescomputational linguistics, information theory, text generationlanguage system [Grk sýstēma ‘a wholecompounded of several parts’]In mathematics and the natural sciences, the term ‘system’ refers to ‘a set of elements anda set of relations which exist between these elements’ (Klaus 1969:634). When used withlanguage, this term refers to the internal ordering of linguistic elements ( phonemes,morphemes, sentences, etc.) and their functional relationships at all levels of thegrammar and in relation to social, dialectal, and other subsystems. In a narrower sense, alanguage system is synonymous with the Saussurean term langue ( langue vs parole),referring to language as a synchronic, static system of signs and their combinatory rules.ReferencesKlaus, G. 1969. Wörterbuch der Kybernetik, 2 vols. Frankfurt.language structure, langue vs parole, structuralism