INTRODUCTION
Linguistics is the science of language. It looks at different parts of language like sounds
(phonetics and phonology), sentence structure (syntax), meaning (semantics), and how
we use language in real life (pragmatics). It also connects to other fields like psychology.
In the 19th century, linguists started to focus on how words changed over time. They
noticed patterns, like how certain sounds changed from voiced stops (like "b" or "d") to
voiceless fricatives (like "f" or "th") in some languages, especially in Germanic languages.
They tried to figure out why these changes happened and if there were any rules behind
them.
Linguists also studied how languages group words and build sentences. Some languages
keep words simple and unchanged (isolating languages), while others add extra parts to
words (agglutinating languages). Some languages mix both styles (inflecting languages).
In short, linguistics helps us understand how languages work, change, and develop over time.
Introduction to Ferdinand de Saussure
Born: November 26, 1857 – Died: February 22, 1913
- Swiss linguist, semiotician, and philosopher.
- Founding figure of 20th-century linguistics and semiotics.
- His ideas laid the foundation for structuralism and modern linguistic
theories
Saussure's Key Contributions
-Developed the theory of the linguistic sign.
The sign consists of two parts:
-Signifier: The sound or word.
-Signified: The concept or meaning behind the word.
-The relationship between the signifier and signified is arbitrary.
Langue vs. Parole
Langue: The structured, shared system of language.
Parole: The individual use of language in speech.
Saussure distinguished between these to explore language as both a social system
and individual expression.
Influence on Modern Linguistics
Saussure’s ideas paved the way for:
- Structuralism: Analyzing language as a system of interrelated signs.
- Semiotics: Study of signs and symbols beyond language (e.g., visual culture, gestures).
- Poststructuralism and further developments in linguistics.
TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR
• Originated from Greek and Indian philosophical traditions.
• Considered part of philosophy and social studies.
• Influenced by ancient and medieval thinkers.
NATURALISTS AND CONVENTIONALISTS
Naturalists (Plato): Words have a natural connection to their meanings.
Some words resemble their sounds (onomatopoeia).
• Conventionalists: Word meanings are based on social conventions, not nature.
• Plato’s Cratylus: Explored this debate and contributed to etymological studies.
Analogists vs. Anomalists
• Analogists: Language follows systematic grammatical rules.
• Anomalists: Language has many irregularities and relies on usage for meaning.
• This debate helped shape grammatical analysis in Greek and Latin studies.
Alexandrian Period
• Alexandria (3rd century BCE): Became a major center for literary and linguistic
studies.
• Scholars edited and analyzed ancient texts, focusing on grammar.
• Dionysius Thrax (2nd century BCE): Wrote an influential Greek grammar book.
Dionysius Thrax
1. Greek Grammer
Greek grammar was mainly concerned with studying the Greek
language and how to form proper sentences. They also paid a lot of
attention to grammar to understand meaning and how words fit into
different contexts. Greek grammar became important in education and
was studied by later grammarians like the Romans.
2. The Roman Period
The Romans were very influenced by Greek grammar. They copied
Greek grammar rules and applied them to Latin, their own language.
The most famous Latin grammars were written by scholars like Donatus
and Priscian.
Donatus (c. 440 A.D.)
Priscian (c. 500 A.D.)
3. The Medieval Period
In the Middle Ages, Latin grammar was central to education. Many scholars studied
Latin and wrote guides to help people learn the language. Grammar was seen as the
key to understanding and using the language correctly. Scholars during this time,
known as the Modistae or speculative grammarians, believed that grammar should
be part of a larger study of philosophy. They tried to link grammar with logic and
knowledge.
4. The Renaissance and After
During the Renaissance, people became interested in learning more about languages,
especially those spoken in ancient civilizations like Latin and Greek. Scholars also
started to study other languages that were spoken around the world. They focused
on understanding the grammar of these languages and how they were connected to
the cultures they came from. This period also marked a return to classical learning and
he study of older works, which influenced how languages were taught in later years..
ERASMUS
The 17th Century and Grammar
The 17th century saw a revival of ‘speculative’ grammar in France.
The Port-Royal Grammar was written by C. Lancelot and A. Arnauld in 1660.
It explored the logical structure of language and universal grammar.
Influence of Port-Royal Grammar
Anticipated ideas later seen in Noam Chomsky’s transformational-generative grammar.
Port-Royal grammarians analyzed universal linguistic structures and grammatical categories.
Focused on the logical form of sentences and human linguistic abilities.
Grammar in the Renaissance
Grammar remained classical and prescriptive, focusing on proper speech and writing.
The goal was to discover relationships between words, whether natural or conventional.
Grammar was both descriptive (analyzing language) and authoritative (setting rules).
The 18th Century (3.1.9)
• Followed the classical tradition of grammar.
• Prescriptive and authoritative approach.
• Comparative linguistics began to develop.
• Key works: Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary, Lowth’s A Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762)
CONCLUSION
At the end of the 18th century, a new important influence came into European language studies from India.
This happened in two ways:
1. The discovery of Sanskrit.
2. The clear connection between Sanskrit and the major European languages.
This started a time when people compared languages and studied their histories. A big achievement from this
period was the development of articulatory phonetics (the study of how speech sounds are made).
In Europe, modern linguistics mostly grew during the 19th century, focusing on comparing languages and studying
their histories, especially languages of American-Indian communities. Britain made big contributions in phonetics,
supported by Indian traditions.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, linguists like Sweet and Jones in Britain led the way in phonetics, and
Jones helped develop phoneme theory (the study of distinct sounds in language).
Other important linguists included:
- Saussure, Trubetzkoy, and Meillet in Europe.
- Sapir, Bloomfield, Harris, and Chomsky in America.
- Firth and Halliday in Britain.
Today, linguistics has become an interdisciplinary field, covering many areas and becoming very detailed and diverse.
END OF PRESENTATION
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