1.1 Linguistics is Science
Summary
TLDRLinguistics, the scientific study of language, employs a systematic and empirical approach to observe and analyze how people use language without making value judgments. Unlike prescriptive methods, linguists take a descriptive stance, focusing on what people do with language rather than dictating how they should. The field is unique in its focus on human language, highlighting our specialized articulatory, auditory, and neural systems that enable complex communication unlike any other species.
Takeaways
- 🔬 Linguistics is defined as the science of language, which involves systematic and empirical observations.
- 🧪 The scientific approach in linguistics does not require a lab but a methodical way of asking questions about language.
- 📊 Empirical observations in linguistics mean that linguists base their theories on observable data, similar to other scientists.
- 🚫 Linguists avoid value judgments and focus on describing language use rather than prescribing how it should be used.
- 🔍 The descriptive approach in linguistics aligns with the scientific method, focusing on observation and theory development.
- 🐞 Analogous to an entomologist studying beetles, linguists observe language use to understand why certain patterns exist.
- 🌐 Linguistics specifically focuses on human language, distinguishing it from communication systems of other species.
- 🗣️ Human language is unique due to our articulatory system, which allows for the production of speech in ways no other species can.
- 👂 The human auditory system is specialized for the frequencies found in human speech, even more so than synthetic speech.
- 🧠 The human brain's complexity and neural connections dedicated to language set us apart from other species in our language abilities.
Q & A
What is the definition of linguistics as described in the script?
-Linguistics is defined as the science of language, which involves a systematic, empirical approach to studying how people use language.
What does it mean for linguistics to be considered a science?
-Being a science means that linguistics uses a systematic and empirical method to ask questions and gather evidence for theories about language, rather than requiring a laboratory setting.
How does empirical observation play a role in linguistics?
-Empirical observation in linguistics involves observing data to find evidence for theories, similar to how other scientists observe phenomena in their respective fields.
What is the difference between a descriptive and prescriptive approach to language, as mentioned in the script?
-A descriptive approach involves documenting and analyzing how language is actually used, while a prescriptive approach involves making judgments and setting rules for how language 'should' be used.
Why don't linguists make value judgments about language use?
-Linguists avoid value judgments to maintain a scientific perspective, focusing on describing language use without prescribing how it should be used.
How does the script illustrate the difference between a linguist's and an entomologist's approach to their subjects?
-Both linguists and entomologists observe their subjects (language use and beetle behavior, respectively) and develop theories based on those observations without making value judgments.
What unique systems enable humans to produce speech, as highlighted in the script?
-Humans have a unique articulatory system including lungs, larynx, vocal folds, and the shape of the tongue, teeth, lips, and nose, which enable speech production.
Why is the human auditory system considered special in the context of linguistics?
-The human auditory system is sensitive to the frequencies most common in human speech, which is a unique adaptation that aids in language processing.
How does the neural system contribute to the uniqueness of human language ability?
-The human brain has a complex and densely connected neural system with many connections dedicated to producing and understanding language, which is not found in other species.
What distinguishes human language from communication systems of other species, according to the script?
-Human language is distinguished by its unique articulatory, auditory, and neural systems, which are not found in other species and enable the complex use of language.
What is the main focus of linguistics as a scientific discipline?
-The main focus of linguistics is to study the unique system of human language, including its production, understanding, and the differences from other species' communication systems.
Outlines
🔬 Introduction to Linguistics
Linguistics is defined as the science of language, which employs a systematic and empirical approach to study language use without making value judgments. Unlike prescriptivists who dictate how language should be used, linguists adopt a descriptive approach, observing and theorizing about language phenomena. The uniqueness of human language is highlighted, emphasizing the human articulatory, auditory, and neural systems that enable complex language production and comprehension, setting it apart from other species' communication systems.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Linguistics
💡Science
💡Empirical
💡Descriptive approach
💡Articulatory system
💡Auditory system
💡Neural system
💡Communication
💡Theories
💡Observations
💡Prescriptive approach
Highlights
Linguistics is the science of language.
Linguistics uses a scientific approach to ask questions about language.
Empirical observations are a key part of linguistics, meaning data is observed for evidence.
Linguists observe how people use language, not making value judgments.
Linguistics has a descriptive approach, not a prescriptive one.
Linguists describe language use without prescribing how it should be used.
The scientific method in linguistics involves observing and developing theories about language.
Linguistics focuses on the unique system of human language.
Humans have an articulatory system that enables speech production unlike any other species.
The human auditory system is specialized for the frequencies common in human speech.
Human newborns show a preference for human speech over synthetic speech.
The human neural system is unique in its complexity and connections dedicated to language.
Linguistics studies the differences that make human language unique compared to other species' communication.
Linguistics is the scientific study of the human language ability.
The scientific method in linguistics is consistent with observing and understanding without judgment.
Linguistics is distinct from other sciences by its focus on the human language system.
Transcripts
Linguistics is one of those subjects that not many people have heard of, so you
might well be wondering exactly what it is. The simplest definition of
linguistics is that it's the science of language. That's a simple definition but
it includes some pretty important words. First, when we say that linguistics is a
science, it doesn't mean you need a lab coat and safety goggles to do
linguistics. Instead, what it means is the way we ask questions to learn about
language uses a scientific approach. The scientific way of thinking about
language involves making systematic, empirical observations. There's another
important word. Empirical means that we observe data to find the evidence for
our theories. All scientists make empirical observations. Botanists observe
how plants grow and reproduce. Chemists observe how substances interact with
each other. Linguists observe how people use their language. A crucial thing to
keep in mind is that the observations we make about language use are not value
judgements. Lots of people in the world like your high school English teacher,
various newspaper columnists, maybe your grandparents, and maybe even some of your
friends make judgments about how people use language, but linguists don't.
A shorthand way of saying this is that linguists have a descriptive approach to
language, not a prescriptive approach. We describe what people do with their
language, but we don't prescribe how they should or shouldn't do it. This
descriptive approach is consistent with a scientific way of thinking. Think about
an entomologist who studies beetles. Imagine that scientist observes that a
species of beetle eats leaves, She's not going to judge that the beetles are
eating wrong and tell them that they'd be more successful in life if only they
ate the same thing as the ants. No, she observes what the beetle eats and tries
to figure out why. She develops a theory of why the beetle eats this plant and
not that one. In the same way linguists observe what people
say, and how they say it, and come up with theories of why people say certain
things, or make certain sounds, but not others. In our simple definition of
linguistics there's another important word we need to focus on. Linguistics is
the science of human language. There are plenty of species that communicate with
each other in an impressive variety of ways, but in linguistics our job is to
focus on the unique system that humans use. It turns out that humans have some
important differences to all other species that make our language unique.
First, what we call the articulatory system: our lungs, larynx, and vocal folds,
the shape of our tongue, teeth, lips, and nose all enable us to produce speech. No
other species can do this in the way we can not even our closest genetic
relatives the chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans. Second, our auditory system
is special. Our ears are sensitive to exactly the frequencies that are most
common in human speech. There are other species that have similar patterns of
auditory sensitivity, but human newborns pay special attention to human speech,
even more so than synthetic speech that's matched for acoustic
characteristics. And most important of all, our neural system is special. No
other species has a brain as complex and densely connected as ours with so many
connections dedicated to producing and understanding language. Human's language
ability is different from all other species communication systems, and
linguistics is the science that studies this unique ability.
Ver Más Videos Relacionados
What is Linguistics?: Crash Course Linguistics #1
#2 What is language
Bahasa ASEAN | Indonesia tolak selagi guna istilah Bahasa Melayu
noam chomsky on universal grammar and the genetics of language with captioning
The Purpose of Psychological Research: PSYCHademia, AP Psychology
Transformers, explained: Understand the model behind GPT, BERT, and T5
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)