language diff
TRANSCRIPT
Language differences
Willhelm Von Humboldt
1767 - 1835
Prussia (North Germany)
Philosopher and Linguist
Language is a rule-based system
Said it before Chomsky
Humboldt ALSO said …
Language carries the spirit of a nation
The way we think is mixed up with language
The way we see the world is mixed up with language
No – language is SEPARATE from everything
Universal Grammar
Language MODULE in the brain
SEPARATE!
The way we see the world is mixed up with language
MIXED UP!!
Shut up! SEPARATE!
Edward Sapir
Benjamin Lee Whorf
Language shapes thought
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Strong version – language determines thought
Weak version – language INFLUENCES thought
Shut up! SEPARATE!
Who is right?
• I • Don’t• know
Cognitive Linguistics
• No evidence for Universal Grammar• Language and thought cannot be separated• Language and thought influence each other• A bit like the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Shut up! SEPARATE!
Blank slate (John Locke)
Nativism (innateness) – Immanuel Kant
Nativism – we are born with knowledge
Nativism -- Descartes
It’s an old argument
• Who’s right?• I• Don’t • Know
George Lakoff
Mind and body are connected
Language is embodied
Language CANNOT be separate
How about colors?
Different language classify ….
… in different ways
What’s this?
青
Any other language differences?
Clusivity
• We are the greatest!• Does this INCLUDE the person you are
speaking to?• Or not?• Not clear in English• Some languages make this clear• How about Japanese?
Agreement
• So you aren’t going to the party tomorrow• How do you answer?• Let’s say it’s true that you aren’t going to the
party• So you answer “No”• That means “No. I’m not going to the party”
• So you’re not going to the party tomorrow?• No.• No. I’m not.• No. I’m not going to the party.
• Are you going to the party tomorrow?• No (I’m not)• Yes (I am)
• Didn’t you do the homework?• Yes• Yes, I did• No• No, I didn’t
• So you don’t like me• Yes, I do like you (?)• No, I don’t like you
• It’s confusing• What’s going on?• Anyway, some languages do things very
differently
Word order
• English• SVO
• Japanese• SOV
• Welsh• VSO
• SVO• About 36% of languages
• SOV• About 41% of languages
• VSO• Only about 9% of languages
Word order in English is kind of fixed
Some languages have special markers
-wa or –ga marking subjects
-o marking objects
Case markers
Usually makes it easier to move things around
Only certain words marked for case
He is subject-marked
Nominative case
Object-marking
• I saw him• Him is marked as an object-like word• I gave the book to him
• I consider him to be a genius• Accusative case
Anyway
• If languages have case markers• Or don’t have case markers• Does that have an effect on the way we think• Or see the world?
How about questions?
How do the world’s languages handle questions?
English
• John saw [Mary]• [Who] did John see?
• Words moving around and changing order?• What for?• It’s pointless!
Most languages DON’T do that
• John saw Mary• They use question-markers somewhere• Q John saw Mary• John saw Mary Q
• Or intonation• John saw Mary?
Most languages?
• Over 60% of languages use question markers• Just like Japanese• So English is VERY unusual• Is it OK to think all languages are basically the
same?
Yes
What do I think?
• I• Don’t• Know
What do you think?
• Less than 2% of the world’s languages move words around in questions
• The point is what?• What is the point?
How about politeness?
• Languages like Japanese have special polite word endings
• Verbs mark levels of formality• English doesn’t do that
English-speakers don’t care about politeness
• Lend me your pen• Could you lend me your pen?• I wonder if you could lend my your pen?• I was just wondering if it might be at all
possible for you to lend me your pen.
Politeness is more creative in English?
• Do English speakers care more about politeness than Japanese speakers?
Time
• Time is always mixed up in English sentences• I saw John• That’s in the past• I saw John yesterday• We know it’s in the past because it’s yesterday• Why do we need the information on the verb?• I see John yesterday (Very bad)
Why is English obsessed with time?
• I had already eaten the apple by the time you came home yesterday.
• Chinese doesn’t have time mixed up with verbs• They don’t have a problem understanding• Why does English do that?• And can all languages really be basically the
same?
Tone
Differences in pitch
Higher or lower
All languages have differences in pitch
Differences in pitch
• Are you completely crazy?• I am completely sick of this boring class!• I feel like crying.
In some languages …
… the meaning of words changes …
… depending on the pitch
We call them tones
So Chinese is a tonal language
Tonal languages are rare in Europe
Rare in Asia (except East Asia)
Maybe 70% of languages are tonal!
Funny sounds
• Languages like Xhosa• From South Africa• Seven million speakers• Lots of funny click noises• How does this affect the way you think?• Are they just cleverer than us?
Frame of reference
Everything is relative
To your left or right
It depends on the person or objct
Next to
To the left … to the right
Some languages don’t do it like this
Some languages have NO words like this!!?
Guugu Yimithirr
• Australian aboriginal language• No relative direction words• Everything is North, South etc!!
• So they ALWAYS know the direction!!• I NEVER know the direction!!!• They ARE cleverer than us!
Guugu Yimithirr
• Australian aboriginal language• No relative direction words• Everything is North, South etc!!
• What happens if you lose the ability to tell North?
• You also lose the ability to speak the language?
Guugu Yimithirr
• You have got to be joking!• Notice the pitch differences in that sentence
• Anyway, I don’t know• But what do you think?• I was just wondering if you might like to think
about these language differences?• Aren’t I polite?