Language, Linguistics, and Applied Linguistics

Language is a system of arbitrary symbols that is organized to perform two fundamental functions: communicative and noetic. The communicative function is the most familiar to teachers of English learners since it is one of the fundamental purposes of our profession: to teach students to communicate effectively. However, the noetic function (Greek noētikos, from noēsis, understanding) is the actual content and meaning of what is being communicated. The noetic function is the sentiment, thought, or need that our words represent. For example, in the sentence, “Please bring the woman a glass of water right away,” the communicative function conveys a message through the order and choice of words combined to form this sentence. The noetic function, however, is the intuitive thought or plan, in this case, to get the woman hydrated as quickly as possible.

Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. Theoretical linguistics, also known as general linguistics, involves a number of sub-fields including language structure or form, usually referred to as grammar, and semantics, language content or meaning. The study of grammar encompasses morphology (formation and alteration of words) and syntax (the rules that determine the way words combine and relate into phrases, clauses and sentences). Other important sub-fields are phonology (the study of sound systems) and phonetics (the actual properties of concrete speech sounds called phones), and how they are produced and perceived in a pattern shaped by melody (intonation), tempo (rhythm), and stress (the use of vocal force).

Applied linguistics, on the other hand, puts linguistic theories into practical use in areas such as second language teaching, speech therapy, speech pathology, and translation. If theoretical linguistics is concerned with finding and describing generalities, both within particular languages and among all languages, applied linguistics takes the results of those findings and makes them practical tools in real life. In this course, we will develop an understanding of key components within phonology, morphology, semantics, and syntax and how they apply to teaching English. Let’s begin by identifying some characteristics that are common to all human languages.

What follows are select facts or axioms about language, which are helpful for educators of ELLs, especially when working in a multilingual environment:

• All existing languages perform the same two functions: communicative and noetic
• All languages are comparable since they all have the same components: Form and content. At the same time, each language has its own particular design (typology), and its components are used and organized differently.
• All users of a particular language can learn a foreign language or acquire a second language (depending on the purpose for using the new language) with a degree of effectiveness that will depend mostly on 5 major factors: Knowledge of home language, need of the new language, exposure to the new language, age, and aptitude (articulatory flexibility) for the acquisition of the new language.
• No language is superior or inferior to another, or for the same reason, easier or harder to learn

VIDEO SESSION # 1 – Language Introduction 
As you watch the following video, focus on the three major fields of linguistic analysis discussed: – phonological, lexical, and syntactic - and consider how each could assist you with instruction of ELLs 
https://youtu.be/T7dbWW83a74

What is the common thread between the thousands of languages spoken in the world?

To address this question, read  Language (linguistics). 

Aronoff, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Language_(linguistics). After reading, respond to the following assignment prompt:

Week 1 Assignment Part A: State five examples of how language is universal. Provide an explanation for each of the five examples.

HINT TO PARTICIPANT: Save your word-processed document as “Week 1 Assignment Upload." You will add to it in the next section and upload this document at the end of the week.