INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

Explained by Mrs. Siti Sundari and typed by Abraham Sugiharto

1. DEFINITION
Linguistics is the science of language that is of its structure, acquisition, relationship
to other communication.
Linguistics comes from latin word lingua

Linguistics (noun) = it refers to science

Linguistic (adjective; without s)
Example: which one is correct?
a. Linguistics Teacher
b. Linguistic Teacher
Option (a) is correct because teacher refers to science

2. WHAT EXPERT SAYS ABOUT LINGUISTICS

Ronald Wardhangh (1972)
Linguistics is the scientific study of language
Lado (1964)
Linguistics is the science that is described and classified language
Alwasilah (Indonesian)
Linguistics is empirical science in which its subject matter observable with the
senses, the speech can be heard, the movement of the vocal
organ can be seen directly and the writing can be seen.
Webster
Linguistics is the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure
and modification of language

3. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE

Knowledge is from information
Science comes from experiments, research and observation

Research is divided into several methods, they are:

Descriptive research: its purpose to describe something
Experimental research: the experimenter/ researcher do action to the
subject
Its divided into 2 groups:
i. Group A : Experimental group
This group is given treatment
ii. Group B : Control Group
Classroom Activity Research: done in one class, the subject is one
class
Comparative Research: its purpose to compare
A Case Study
4. VOCABULARY IN FOCUS
Lingua Franca is language which is used by most of countries in this world
(international language)
Mother Tongue is daily language that is used by some family
A Foreign Language is a language that is not used actively but it is learned
A Second Language is a language that is used actively in a country (ex: it is used in
meeting, or other formal discussion)

5. SUBFIELDS OF LINGUISTICS
a) Anthropological Linguistics
The study of interrelationship between language and culture
b) Applied Linguistics
The application of the methods and the result of linguistics to language
teaching, translation, politics etc.
c) Historical Linguistics

 The study of haul languages change through time, the relationship among
languages
d) Neurolinguistics
The study of the brain and how it function in the production, perception,
acquisition of language
e) Psycholinguistics
The study of the interrelationship of language and cognitive language and
the acquisition of language,
f) Sociolinguistics
The study of language in relation to society or the study of the way that
language is used in society
g) Pragmatics
The study of how language is used in context for various purposes
h) Phonology
The study of systems of sounds and sound combination in a language
i) Phonetics
The study of speech sounds dealing with production (how speech sounds are
produced by the organ of speech), transmission (how speech sounds are
transmitted from the speaker to the listener), and reception (how speech
sounds are heard from the speaker to the listener)
j) Morphology
The study of the forms and formations of words in a language or the study of
how word are structured from smaller part
k) Syntax
The study of the structure of phrases, clauses, sentences in a language or the
study of how phrases, clauses, sentences are structured
l) Semantics
The study of the meaning of words, phrases, clauses and sentences either
grammatical meaning or lexical meaning. (grammatical meaning: from
the context; lexical meaning: found in dictionary)
m) Discourse
The study of written or spoken communication
n) Comparative Linguistics
The study of comparison between ertain language to other language

6. TERMS OF LINGUISTICS
i)
Competence :
the system of linguistics knowledge owned by native speaker of language (related
to skill)
ii)
Performance:
Refers to the way the language system is used in communication (related to
application)
7. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

 Refers to a language users grammatical knowledge of syntax, morphology,

phonology, and the like as well as social knowledge about how and when to use
utterances appropriately
Communicative competence consists of 4 areas:
a) Linguistics Competence
The ability how to use grammar, syntax and vocabulary of a language
b) Sociolinguistics Competence
Knowing how to use and respond to language appropriately based on the
setting, topic and the relationship among the people
c) Discourse Competence
Knowing how to interprete the larger context and how to construct longer
stretches of language, so that the parts make up coherence
d) Strategic Competence
Knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdown, how to
work around gaps in ones knowledge of the language and how to learn
more about language in context
8. THE OBJECTS OF LINGUISTICS
a) Primary Object
= The spoken language (speaking & listening)
b) Secondary Object
= The written language (reading & writing)
According to Ferdinand de Saussure (A Swiss Scholar)
The objects of linguistics consists of 3 terms:
a) Language
It means Language in general (the most abstract)
b) Langue
It means A certain language (more abstract object)
c) Parole
It means Speech (the concrete object)

9. THE COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE

Grammar
Vocabulary
Pronunciation
Mechanics
Capital Letter
Punctuation
Spelling
10. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LINGUISTICS AS A SCIENCE
According to experts, the characteristics of linguistics as a science are:

a) R.H. Robins
Exhaustive
Consistent
Economic
b) Nelson Francis
Simple
Consistent
Complete & Useful
c) David Crystal
Explicit
It means that The rules of language are defined explicitly, clearly and as a
whole to avoiddouble meanings
Systemate
It means that Language has rules that govern pronunciation, word
formation, the system of sounds, the grammartical contruction, and has
complete generalization that constitutes a single unit.
Objective
It means that Language is analyzed and described objectively and openly the
hipothesis of the language is proved critically through a research

11. THE OBJECTIVES (AIMS/GOALS) OF STUDYING LANGUAGE

1. Practical Purpose
We study a certain language so that we can communicate with other people by
using the language we study (as means of communication)
2. Theoretical Purpose
We study a certain language so that we can study the theories of language that
covered phonology (the system of sounds), phonetics (the pronunciation),
syntax (the structure of sentences), morphology (the word formation),
semantics (the meaning of words/phrases/sentences), the pregmatics (the use
of language for various purposes and contexts)
3. Esthetical Purpose
We study a certain language so that we can enjoy the literary works written in
the language we study.
4. Philological Purpose
We study a certain language so that we can understand the culture of a
nation/countries using the language we study.

12. THE BRANCHES OF LINGUISTICS

1) According to the way how a language is used:
a. Macro Lingustics
Linguistics that dels with language from the point of view of the other
science
Its divided into 2:
General Linguistics (the study of language in general)
Spesific Linguistics (the study of a certain language)
b. Micro Linguistics
Linguistics that dels with language from the point of view of the
language itself
Its divided into 3:
Descriptive Linguistics
Comparative Linguistics (the study of the comparison between 2
languages or more)
Historical Linguistics (the study of the history of a certain
language)
2) According to the purposes of studying language:
a. Practical Linguistics
b. Theoretical Linguistics
c. Esthetical Linguistics
d. Philological Linguistics
3) According to we have a concept or not before we study language:
a. Prescriptive Linguistics
The study of how language should be used instead of how it is actually
used
b. Descriptive Linguistics
The study of the description of the theories of language that cover
phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pregmatics.
4) According to the time when a language is studied:
a. Synchronic Linguistics
The study of language at a certain time
b. Diachronic Linguistics
The study of language from time to time, for example: the study of the
comparison between old English and modern english
c. Macro Lingustics
Linguistics that dels with language from the point of view of the other
science
Its divided into 2:
General Linguistics (the study of language in general)
Spesific Linguistics (the study of a certain language)

13. SEVERAL DIMENTIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language can be viewed as a process
It deals with the cognitive strategy in learning the language
Language can be viewed as a production
It deals with the use of language to communicate, to express feelings, opinions to
others either in oral or written form.
Language can be viewed from deep structure
It deals with the underlying meaning embodied in the language.
Language can be viewed from surface structure
It deals with the forms of the language take (words, phrases)
Language can be viewed from forms
It deals with the terms or the structure of the language.

14. THE ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE

A. PHONOLOGY
is the study of the systems of sounds and sound combination in a language
Phonetics: the study of phonology that studies the speech sound dealing with
the production (how are speech sounds produced by the organ of speech),
transmission(how are speech sounds transmitted from the speaker to the
listener) and reception (how are speech sound heard from the speaker to the
listener)
Speech sounds are produced by the organ of speech. The organs of speech
that are involved in producing speech sounds are:
The Mouth Cavity
1) Teeth
- Upper
- Lower
2) Lips
- Upper
- Lower
3) Tongue
- The blade/tip of the tongue
- The front of the tongue
- The back of the tongue
- The root of the tongue
4) Palate
- Uvula
- The soft palate
- The hard palate

The toothridge

The Throat
1) Pharynx
2) Epiglottis
3) Larynx
- Ring cartiladge (criorid)
- Shield Cartilage (thyroid)
- Arytenoids
- Vocal Chords
- The Glothis (the opening between the vocal chords)
The Chest Lungs

oral from the mouth

voiced sounds

Nasal through the nose

voiceless sounds

Sounds

Speech Sounds

Vowels voiced
Consonants voiced/less
Diphtongs voiced

In English there are 12 vowels and 24 consonants

a) Vowels = speech sound in which the airstream can pass freely through
and out the mouth
- Long/ free vowels : |i:|; |u:|; | |; | |; |a:|
- Short vowels
: |i |; |u|; | |; | |; | |; | |; | |
b) Consonants = speech sound in which the airstream after having pass the
larynx is either stopped for a moment or released through narrow opening
that a friction is heard
- Long/ free vowels : |b|; |d|; |g|; |z|; | |; |d |; |V|; |m|; |n|; | |;| |; |
-

Short vowels

: |p|; |t|; |k|; |s|; | |; | |; ||; | |; |h|

Classification of Consonants:
1. Based on the place of articulation
a) Bilabial articulated by two lips
ex:
b) Labiodental articulated by the lower lip and the upper teeth
ex:
c) Dental articulated by the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth
ex:

d) Alveolar articulated by the tip of the tongue against the teethridge

ex:
e) Post Alveolar articulated by the tip of the tongue against the
backport of the teethridge
ex:
f) Palato Alveolar articulated by the tip of the tongue against the
teethridge
ex:
g) Palatal articulated by the front of the tongue against the hard
palate
ex:
h) Velar articulated by the back of the tongue against the central and
forward (part of the soft palate)
ex:
i) Glottal Laryingal articulated in the glottis
ex:
2. Based on the manner of articulation
a) Plosive formed by complete closure of the air passage,
the air is compressed and makes plosive sounds
ex:
b) Affricate formed as plosive consonants
ex:
c) Nasal formed by closure in the mouth, the air is free to pass out
through the nose
ex:
d) Lateral formed by placing an obstacle in the centre
ex:
e) Rolled formed by rapid succession of taps of some elastic
organs
ex:
f) Flapped formed by a single tap of some elastic organ
ex:
g) Fricative formed by narrowing the air passage so that the air
escapes produce audible friction.
ex:
h) Semi vowel a voiced gliding sound
ex:

B. MORPHOLOGY
Is the study of the word formation in a language or the study of how words are
structured from smaller parts
Morphemes is the smallest meaningful linguistics unit of speech sounds or the
smallest part of the words that have meanings
The Classification of Morphemes (The Graph)
Morphemes

Lexical

Free
(Nouns, Verbs,
Adjective, Adverb)

Bound
(ex: clude in the word
include)

Grammatical

Free

Bound

(preposition,
conjunction, possessive
adjective, articles,
demonstrative pronoun)

Derivational
Prefixes and suffixes
only
The Classification of Morphemes (Details)
1. Lexical Morphemes
Is the morphemes that have meanings in themselves
2. Grammatical Morphemes
Is the morphemes that do not have meaning in themselves
3. Free Morphemes
Is the morphemes that can stand alone as words
4. Bound Morphemes
Is the morphemes that cannot stand alone as words

Inflectional
suffixes

5. Derivational Morphemes
Is the morpheme which create new words by changing the meanings or
parts of speech of the words
6. Inflectional Morphemes
Morphemes which serve grammatical function without creating new
words ut only create different form of the same words

 The kinds of Morphemes based on the amount of the morphemes

1) Words consists of 1 morpheme
Ex: boy, girl, happy, sad, man
2) Words 2 morphemes
Ex: beautiful
- beauty (free lexical)
- ful (derivational grammatical)
wonderful
- wonder (free lexical)
- ful (derivational grammatical)
3) Words 3 morphemes
Ex: disappointed
- dis (derivational)
- appoint (free lexical)
- -ed (inflectional)
4) Words 4 morphemes
Ex: unfortunately
- un- (derivational)
- fortune (free lexical)
- -te (derivational)
- -ly (derivational)
* a word that consist of one morpheme is called monomorphemic word
**a word that consist of more than one morpheme is called polymorphemic
word

Types of Inflectional Morphemes

1) Plural Morphemes (PLU)
Ex: Books
2) Possesive Morphemes
Ex: Alis book
3) Present Morphemes
Ex: he works
4) Present Paticiple Morphemes
Ex: they are studying
5) Past Tense Morphemes
Ex: he studied
6) Past Participle Morphemes
Ex: they have learned

7) Comparative Morphemes
Ex: he is older than she is
8) Superlative Morphemes
Ex: he is the youngest

 PRACTICE: Identify the types of morphemes and count the number of

morphemes in these sentences!
1. The man works hard to earn the money for his family.
2. The children do not like studying difficult materials.
3. They have got new information about the implementation of the final
test.
4. We thought that it is useful for us to make improvement of English
skills.
5. The students worked in groups to do the assignment given by the
lecturer.
ANSWER

C. SEMANTICS
The study of meanings of the words, phrases, clauses, and sentences either in
lexical meanings or grammatical meanings
Lexical Meaning: the meaning that we can find in the dictionary
Grammatical Meaning: the meaning that is based on the context
The types of meanings
1) Synonyms two or more words that have same/similar meanings
Ex: Begin=start
Go on = continue
Beautiful = pretty
2) Anthonyms two words that have contrast meanings
Ex: Good >< Bad
Beautiful >< Ugly
Lazy >< Diligent
3) Homonyms one word that has more than one meaning
Ex: Can (dapat/kaleng)
Bank (bank/tepi)
4) Homophone two words that have same sound but different meaning
Ex: flower (bunga) flour (tepung)

5) Homographs two words that have same spelling but different

pronunciation and meaning
Ex: present(hadiah) present (mempersembahkan)
Record (noun) record (verb)
Import (noun) verb (verb)
Report (noun) report (verb)
6) Acronyms few alphabets which is shortened of words
Ex: SWAT = Special Weapons and Tactics
BBC = British Broadcast Council

D. SYNTAX
The study of the structure of phrases, clauses, and sentences
The study of how sentences are structured from smaller parts
Phrasal Categories
1. Noun Phrase a phrase that the headword is a noun
Ex: good student, a beautiful scenery
2. Adjective Phrase a phrase that the headword is an adjective
Ex: very good, extremely interesting
3. Adverbial Phrase a phrase that the headword is an adverb
Ex: very slowly, it drives so fast
4. Prepositional Phrase a phrase that begins with a preposition
Ex: in the class, at the bank
5. Gerund Phrase a phrase that begins with a preposition
Ex: the boy often practices speaking English with his friends
6. Present Participle Phrase a phrase that begis with present participle
Ex: * the man standing at the door is a teacher
* crossing the street you must be careful
7. Past Participle Phrase a phrase that begins with past participle
Ex: the book written in English is very good
8. To Infinitive Phrase a phrase that begins with to- infinitive
Ex: he decided to continue his study abroad
9. Perfect Past Phrase a phrase that begins with perfect participle
Ex: having done the test, you may leave the class

 Word categories: noun, adjective, adverb, verb, preposition, conjunction, pro

CLAUSES Independent Clause subclause
Dependent Clause

SENTENCES TYPES
a) Simple Sentences (+, -, ?, -?)
* Imperative (+, -)
* Request
* Exclamatory sentence (e.g What a good book it is!)
b) Compound Sentences
* consists of two independent clause joined by coordinate conjunction (and, or, so,
but, because and so on)
c) Complex Sentences
* consists of at least one independent clause and one dependent clause
*ex: I dont understand what you said
The girl who has long hair is beautiful
d) Compound Complex Sentence
* consists of 2 independent clause