language: more than a line on your cv?
DESCRIPTION
Language: more than a line on your CV?. Richard Hudson Mander Portman Woodward Nov 2013. What language?. Your own language e.g. English Familiar school languages e.g. French, Russian Unfamiliar languages Big: e.g. Japanese Little: e.g. Manam. Language or languages?. Languages - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Language: more than a line on your CV?
Richard Hudson
Mander Portman Woodward
Nov 2013
What language?
• Your own language– e.g. English
• Familiar school languages– e.g. French, Russian
• Unfamiliar languages– Big: e.g. Japanese– Little: e.g. Manam
Language or languages?
• Languages– studied one at a time
• Language– all languages studied together– 'How do humans learn language?'– 'How do languages change?'– etc.
My message
• Language is interesting in its own right.
• Full of links which are– surprising (like astronomy)– humanly interesting (like literature)– matters of fact (like chemistry)– complex (like physics)
Etymology
• glamour– derived from grammar
• surprising
• humanly interesting– grammar was associated with
• learning
• magic
The factual evidence
What's gramarye?
complex
grammar
'writing skill'
learning
wizardry
gramarie
glamour
flashy appeal
'corruption'
mea
ns
So what?
• Language is full of surprises.• Language has its experts and facts.• Language is all about connections.
– words connected to each other– words connected to meanings and forms– languages connected to each other.
• And that's why linguistics is fun– including etymology
Word meaning
• Our words reflect our culture– e.g. glamour, cricket, party, fun,cool
• So language is connected to culture.
• Sometimes this connection is very weak
• but at other times it's very strong.
Different languages - different messages
Translate into French (or Spanish):
He walked into the room
• Not: Il a marché dans la chambre.
• But:
Il est entré dans la chambre (en marchant).
manner of movement
direction of movement
direction of movement
manner of movement
What about German?
Er ist in die Kammer hinein/herein gelaufen.He is into the room hither/thither in run/walked.
• manner in verb – but basic contrast = with/without vehicle
• direction in obligatory particle hin/her– but basic contrast = from/to here
Languages are different
• English puts manner into the verb– direction is optional
• French puts direction into the verb– manner is optional
• German forces a choice: 'hither' or 'thither'?– direction and manner are obligatory
So what?
• The language doesn't just code the message– Different languages allow different messages.– So perfect translation is impossible.
• So do French, German and English speakers think differently?– certainly when they're speaking– they have to make different choices– but probably not otherwise.
How to discover language structure
• Grammars and dictionaries are reports– on research into how the language works– so someone has to do the research– that's linguistics: the study of language
• But you can do the research yourself– thanks to the Linguistics Olympiad!– e.g. Manam
Manam Island, Papua New GuineaThe sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where?
uklo.orgauta = North ilau = South
ata = West awa = East
5.
3.4.
DEAD END!
THINK AGAIN!
Sala
Tola1.
2. Sulung
What's up in Manam?
Where's North in Manam?
Is the sun always in the North?
Until recently, there were
• no maps
• no compasses
What are they like in Manam?
They're like us.
They enjoy a day at the seaside.
And they don't know where North is.
What's where in Manam Island?
The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where?
uklo.org
auta = up ilau = down5.
3.
Sala
Tola
New idea: When relating two places, imagine standing between them facing uphill!
4.
6.Sulung
Pita
8.
Butokang
7.1.
ata = left awa = right
2.Sulung
4.
So what?• A language expresses and teaches a culture
– including 'folk geography'– relevant parameters for directions
• Is English 'normal' in contrast with Manam?– Where is 'up' in English?
• Birmingham: up or down?• Brighton? • Bristol?• Leicester Square? • 'Downtown'
A puzzle for Indiana Jones uklo.org
Where is Cleopatra? uklo.org
Cleopatra
t
rp a a
p
tcl
e o
o l
e
Ptolemy
• Spot the pattern!
Ulwa (Nicaragua)
Zooming in on Ulwa
-ni = "our (inc)"
-ma = "your (sing)"
-kana = "their"
-mana = "your (plur)"
'infix'suffix
Clitics
• Clitic = word realized like an affix – you are => you're– *de le => du– *de el => del– *von dem => vom– *dar te lo => dartelo
• Clitics may change normal word order – *je connais le => je le connais
Ulwa in context
• Ordinary clitics …– *gaad ni => gaadni– *bilam kana => bilamkana
• … but some behave like infixes– *diimuih kana => diikanamuih
• Infixes?– e.g. Beja, my PhD language …
Meet the Beja 'Red' Sea
… and their clitics and infixes
• uu-kaam 'the camel'
• kaam-uuk 'a camel of yours'
• i-kaam-uuk 'your camel'
• kitba 'write!'
• iktib 'he wrote'
• kantiib 'he writes'
clitic
infix
clitic
So what?
• Language is all about links– within one language, e.g. grammar – glamour– between languages, e.g.
• verbs of movement: surprisingly different• clitics: surprisingly similar
• Education is all about links• So language is much more than a line on
your CV.