LECTURE 1;2

Semiotics. Not unique to humans. Signifier is action, color, drawing, words. The word (cat) is not
the thing (cat), unless onomatopoeia.
LECTURE 1;1
LECTURE 1;2
LECTURE 2;1
STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH
Grammar is important for understanding language.
Metalinguistic terms and categories exist to describe language. Theories of language
development and the role language has in controlling us. Language as identity and none are
superior. Accent is how word is pronounced and is feature of dialect. Standard English Dialect is
mode of writing. Received Pronunciation is BBC. Style for audience (e.g., doctors or to your
family) is register. Your way is your idiolect.
Language has form and function. Combination of basic units to make infinite meanings is
"productivity." Medium, meaning, and grammar. The levels are sentence, clause, phrase, word,
morpheme.
LECTURE 2;2
Evidence rules. Make it enjoyable to read.
Phoneme is the smallest unit of language that would change meaning if changed
(cat vs. bat is the first letter).
Phenology lets us know if something sounds right aS NATIVES. Clicks and
donald duck sound isn't.
"Cats" has two morphemes. Word parts--inflections--are units of meaning. Cat is
stem. S is inflection.
Morphology lets us know how to make words. Also know how to parse out sound
as it comes into words.
Syntax = grammar.
Semantics is what words mean. Syntax is how they are combined.
Gives intuitions about word order. About making a new word
combinations. And sentences.
Syntax arranges words to make meaning interpreted as
semantically acceptable.
Intuition gives us an appreciation of semantic ambiguity (duck vs. duck). It also
lets us appreciate what is non-sense (colorless green).
Speech acts: What is a person doing by saying X? Begging, demanding,
gossiping.
Directives: do this
Representatives: describe the world
Commissives: commit speaker to do something
Expressives: express feeling
Declaratives: transform a situation
Pragmatics is about how people use language beyond the literal meaning itself.

 Declarative is like pronouncing man and wife.

Performative verbs name the speech act: asking.
Grice's Maxims: instinctively, we all just try to get along. The cooperative principle
is I expect reciprocals and I'll make your life better.
Quantity: say just you need to say
Relation: what you're saying has to be germane. Things build off.
Manner: be clear and understandable. Perspicuous.
Truth: can suffer in face of super maxim of politeness.
Violate or flout: flout is intentional
Conversation has structure
Turns. "Back channeling" also signals you're there.
Scripts. Words for situation. Follow for making people comfortable.
Restaurant.
Expectation. Jokes have a narrative. Character development,
setting, has a point.
Power lets you do more talking. Can't complement, advise, or criticize those in
power.
Intimacy is negotiated, but power is stable.
LECTURE 3;2
Chomsky
Behaviorist said learn by imitation. Cognitivist said learn by brain
tools. Deduce rules and generate language. Got dat language acquisition
device.
Deep structure is grammar competence inside you. Surface is
performance.
Formal linguistics: ideal hypotheticals of rules.
Labov
Sociolinguistics: how people actually talk--performance.
How language changes according to SES and identity
Fourth floor (sales department "r") and Martha's
Vineyard.
4;1
MORPHEMES AND WORDS
Bound and free. Unfortunately is four. For plural, watch out for implied bound morphemes.
Tense or possessive are inflections. There are word classes. Some can be open (carry main
meaning). Closed classes describe grammar. Adjectives can be analyzed by seeing how they
are used morphologically (+ly) or syntactically.
4;2
Verbs
Transitive has object. If you can make it passive, you're transitive.
Linking verbs describe the subject. Equative. It's be.
You stink isn't a linking verb.
Adjectives
Attributive: before
Predicate: after
Prefix is content, suffix is grammar. Free and bound morphemes. Inflection is
grammar. Derivation is content. Compounding is adding free morphemes.
5;1

Metaphors
Heat is love and life.
Metaphors hide and reveal certain features. Argument is war.
In and up.

THE BIG IDEA: Language rules are subtle. It's cool that we absorb them as kids.
NP is a noun phrase.
Indefinite noun
a, an, zero, many, none
classified, general
1st mention
There was a king...The king
Mix butter...Take the butter.
Definite noun
the
identified, specific
subsequent mentions
Could be used because of shared knowledge (the
sun, the road, the bandwagon)
Ranks adjectives (superlatives, sequence, unique)
(the best, the first, the only)
Identifies a class (the elephant is a nice animal)
Adverb: time, place, and manner (tomorrow, around, slowly, ...together).
Could show up in the beginning of sentence and modify
everything.
"And" is a conjunctive. "The" and "a" are determiners.
Auxiliary and lexical meaning
"People change." Lexical, bare bones. Add some auxiliary to
change meaning
Change tense: People were changed.
Agency ("Voice"): People were changed by ...
(Progressive and perfective, active and passive)
Negation: People don't change.
Question: Do people change?
Modals: possibility, obligation, ability
Be, have, will and do are auxiliary.
ED2 is when there's an aux. ED1 is when there is none.

5;2

6;1

6;1

Participle is prep.-like word that is crucial to verb.

Prep says place, time, ...