LING 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: International Phonetic Alphabet, Grammar, Language Change
4 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
English has most # of speakers in world. Spoken over vast area (more than any language in history) Estimated 80% of our words borrowed from latin & greek. How to study english vocab understand how words are made up of parts & how parts contribute to whole. Memorize elements that make up complex words learn linguistic characteristics of languages drawn on to reach english"s present position. Not primarily about learning languages, but rather learning about languages. Grammatical system, sounds used, social status . Scientific study of language & way they work. Linguists explain why language is the way it is through: Functional explanations: some language structure is there because of function it has in language use. Cognitive / physiological explanations: some language structure is there because of our general cognitive abilities & physiology. Historical / evolutionary explanations: some language structure is the way it is because of the processes of language change which gave rise to it.
