518017 - Task 2 – Group 32 magazine

Task 2- The Nature of Linguistics and Language
Students:
Nicol Yerixa Ruiz Castañeda
Jenny Paola Rojas Caro
Yesenia Santamaria Suarez
Carlos Andrés Sánchez Vergara
Jireth Daniela Hernández Forero
Group: 518017_32
Tutor: Cenaida Gómez
Degree in Foreign Languages with an Emphasis on English
Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia UNAD
School of educational science
Introduction to Linguistics
October -2020

Based on the first document, do Exercise 1.4 in page 13. You have six phrases
and you have to identify them to whom the phrases might belong, “Attribute
each of the…phrases to Ferdinand de Saussure, Noam Chomsky, or Michael
Halliday. What does the quote tell you about their perspective on the study and
analysis of language?”.
1. “If we could encompass the sum of word images stored in the minds of all individuals, we
could identify the social bond that language constitutes. It is a warehouse that the members of a
certain community fill through their active use of speech, a grammatical system that has a
potential existence in each brain or, specifically, in the brain of a group of individuals. Because
language is not complete in any speaker; it exists perfectly only within a collectivity. "
(SAUSAGE FERDINAND).
In this quote you can see that language is emphasized, where it is explained that language
should be a mark of our identity in each human being and that it should also serve as a
communication bridge in an area of acceptance. of different expressions in real
communication situations so that you can preserve the richness of linguistics and its
varieties present in all cultures. Based on the fact that this author conceives a vision of the
world as a wide network of human relationships, depending on the social use of language.
In this way I can understand what the author refers to when he refers to the social bond of
language because it is thanks to this that the community exists as a sum of traces deposited

in each human brain, like a dictionary of copies they are all identical, and it is that they
were distributed in different groups of individuals, so that in this way the language can be
varied and that this is an instrument so that it can connect different identities.
2. “Linguistic teory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker- hearer, in a completely
homogeneous speech community, who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such
grammatically irrevelant conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and
interest, errors (random or characteristic) in aplying his knowledge of the language in actual
performance” (NOAM CHOMSKY)
When a person is in his own speaking community, he will never have difficult, any
limitations to speak and develop knowledge of his own language.

3. “All text, that is, everything that is said or written, is developed in some context of use;
moreover, it is the uses of language that, over tens of thousands of generations, have shaped the
system. Language has evolved to meet human needs; and the way it is organized is functional
with respect to these needs”. (MICHAEL'S HALLIDAY).
This quote tells me that when we speak or write in the form of text, it has a mode of use.
Thanks to this, the language has been forming, evolving more and more to satisfy any need
that people have.
4. 'Linguistic theory is primarily concerned with an ideal speaker-listener, in a completely
homogeneous speaking community, who knows his language perfectly and is not affected by
grammatically irrelevant conditions such as memory limitations, distractions, changes in
attention and interest., errors (or characteristic) in the application of your knowledge of the
language in the actual interpretation. '(NOAM CHOMSKY).

Noam Chomsky refers to the importance of being able to handle linguistics as a main
method and that the two parts go hand in hand, both being able to speak and hear, in this
way we can have communication without grammatical conditions
5. “Language is a system of interdependent terms in which the value of each term results only
from the simultaneous presence of the others ... [for example]. To determine how much a fivefranc
piece is worth, most know: (1) that it can be exchanged for a fixed amount of a different
thing, for example. bread; and (2) that it can be compared with a similar value from the same
system, p. a piece of a franc, or with coins of another system (a dollar, etc.). In the same way,
you can change a word for something different, an idea; furthermore, it can be compared to
something of the same nature, another word. Therefore, its value is not fixed as long as it is
simply said that it can be "exchanged" for a given concept. "(SAUSAGE FERDINAND).

This author defined language as a science that studies verbal signs and deals entirely with
signs in social life, semiology, for which his concepts were applied to reflection on the
different types of signs that make up language.
6. "Written and spoken language, then, tends to show different TYPES of complexity; each of
them is more complex in its own way. Written language tends to be lexically dense but
grammatically simple; spoken language tends to be grammatically intricate. . But lexicon is
scarce '...' The value of having some explicit knowledge of the grammar of written language is
that you can use this knowledge, not only to analyze texts, but as a critical resource to ask
questions about them (MICHAEL HALLIDAY).
When a person has a lot of vocabulary, he can speak more fluency and when a person
reads it is better his lexicon

o Based on the second text ‘Linguistics’ in Bauer, Laurie; “The Linguistic
Student’s Handbook” answer the following question: why is Linguistics
definitely considered a science? In your answer, involve the other language
areas such as semiotics, philology and literature.
Linguistics is definitely considered as a science since it deals with formal and informal features
of language use. It takes into account many different aspects of communication such as figures of
speech and body language when having verbal and mimic human expressions or the mere
behavior and changes of language features and structures. Also, linguistics is considered a
science since it studies many characteristics of language itself: phonetics (sounds of spoken
language), phonology ( systems which incorporate the sounds), morphology (internal structures
of words), syntax (placement of word categories in statements and messages) , semantics
(meaning of language), pragmatics (context of the message) and lexicology ( the established
words within language, vocabulary, idioms, proverbs, etc.).
Although literature uses language as a tool for its own composition, literature doesn't belong to
linguistics due to it is considered as a production of result aimed at arousing the creativity and
emotions of human being. In this case literature deals with literary figures to highlight
productions.
On the other hand, linguistics is different from philology because this one involves the
language's history and methods of application.

o In the following two questions you have to consult and then explain:
The concept of ‘double articulation’ is a classic one at identifying language, please,
explain it, and give examples.
Human language is different from other semiotic systems, explain at least three
characteristics, that according to Linguistics, are unique to human language.
DOUBLE ARTICULATION: is the way in which language is organized differentiating between
monemas and fonemas
Monemas
It is made up of signs with meanings and signifiers
that are articulated with other signs of language to
form a language.
Fonemas
they are meaningless units that are
articulated together to form signs or words.
Casa
Casita
Rosa
Rosita
Tienda
Tiendita
Es-e Ca-chorr-o juga-ba con la niñ-ita
Es-a Ca-chorr-a juga-ba con el niñ-ito
Es-e Perr-o Jueg-a con el chic-o
Es-a Perr-a Jug-ó con la chic-a
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, o, p, q,
r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.
F-a-r-m-a-c-i-a
A-n-t-o-n-i-o
C-o-l-e-g-i-o
C-a-r-p-e-t-a
C-o-m-p-u-t-a-d-o-r-a
T-e-l-é-f-o-n-o

o Human language is different from other semiotic systems, explain at least three
characteristics, that according to Linguistics, are unique to human language.
“The study of the properties of human language is due, in its first development, to the work of
the linguists Charles F. Hockett and André Martinet, each in his own right, of course. Talking is
what makes us human and what differentiates us from other species. However, of all the
properties found in human language, only three of them are exclusive to our language faculty.
We are going to study what these properties are, also taking into consideration what is the
function of silence in our ability to speak. To do this, we are starting from the Hockett study”.
HOCKETT, Charles F. (1960)
Exclusives features
Double articulation:
Within each language there is a limited number of meaningless basic units — phonemes — that
can be linked by infinite combinations, giving rise to larger meaningful units. Consequently, the
first articulation occurs in the phonemes, and the second articulation in the possible combinations
that these produces. That is, with a limited number of discrete sound units we can create a
potentially infinite number of expressions. Silence is the unmarked element of language. What is
not phonetically articulated enters into verbal silence.
Productivity:
The grammatical repertoire of each language allows for the potentially infinite construction of
linguistic structures of varying length and complexity. Likewise, languages allow the

construction and derivation of new semantic structures, which will become part of the lexical
catalog of that language. That is, the productive capacity of languages through a limited
grammatical inventory is infinite. Silence in its unproductiveness can in turn be a non-productive
way of producing, that is, silence can be used as a significant element of non-productivity.
Displacement:
With language we are able to refer to distant concepts and events in the space-time planes,
consequently, we can communicate about elements that are not present either temporally or
spatially. Silence implies a here and now, so there can be no space-time displacement in it.

REFERENCES
Bauer, L. (2007). The Linguistic Student’s Handbook. Edinburgh University Press.
http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true
&db=nlebk&AN=194155&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site
McCabe, A. (2011). An Introduction to Linguistics and Language Studies. Equinox Publishing
Ltd.
http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true
&db=nlebk&AN=547849&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site