LIN 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Formal Language, First Principle
Linguistics
Describing and Prescribing:
• In literate cultures, it is common to have a tradition of language instruction.
• In formal classes, students are taught how to read and write.
• prescriptive tradition, in which students are told what to do.
• Formal language instruction is usually normative, which means that it involves a sense
• of "should and shouldn't", a notion of right and wrong behavior.
• Linguists follow a descriptive tradition, in which the object is to observe what people
really do, and form theories to explain observed behavior.
• language is only considered right or wrong on the basis of whether it appears in
ordinary, natural speech.
• first take up the study of linguistics, you will probably experience some discomfort as
you observe language behaviors that you have been taught are wrong
• It is important to remember that traditional language instruction and scientific linguistics
have completely different goals and methods.
• Traditional language instruction is intended to train students to use a standard language.
• Language standards exist largely to make sure formal communication is possible between
distant regions, between generations, between centuries, between social classes.
• This leads to an interesting contradiction:
1. The formal rules of a standard language are almost arbitrary. It doesn't matter in
detail what they are, so long as everyone agrees to them and more or less follows
them when formal communication is needed.
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