Structural properties of language briefly. What is a language system and its structure

28.09.2019 -

The elements of language do not exist in isolation, but in close connection and opposition to each other, i.e. in system. The interconnection of language elements lies in the fact that a change or loss of one element, as a rule, is reflected in other elements of the language (for example, in the phonetic system of the Old Russian language, the fall of reduced ones caused a restructuring of its entire system of consonantism, the formation of the categories of deafness/voice and hardness/softness ).

Scientists have long been aware of the structural complexity of the language system. W. Humboldt also spoke about the systemic nature of language: “There is nothing singular in language, each individual element manifests itself only as a part of the whole.” However, a deep theoretical understanding of the systematic nature of language appeared later, in the works of the Swiss scientist F. de Saussure. “No one realized and described the systemic organization of language as clearly as Saussure,” wrote E. Benveniste. Language, according to Saussure, is “a system in which all elements form a whole, and the significance of one element stems only from the simultaneous presence of others.” Therefore, concludes Saussure, “all parts of this system must be considered in their synchronic interdependence.” Each element of language must be studied from the point of view of its role in the language system. So, for example, in the Russian language, which lost the dual number, the plural began to have a different meaning than in Slovenian, where the category of the dual number is still preserved.

In linguistics for a long time The terms system and structure were used interchangeably. However, later, with the development of structural linguistics, their terminological differentiation occurred. The system began to be understood as an internally organized set of elements that are in relationships and connections with each other (i.e., this definition takes into account the following basic concepts: “totality”, “element”, “function”, “connections”), and the structure - the internal organization of these elements, the network of their relationships. It is the system that determines the presence and organization of linguistic elements, since each element of language exists due to its relationships to other elements, i.e. the system is a structure-forming factor, because there is no system without a structural correlation of elements. Figuratively speaking, the structure of language can be likened to the human skeleton, and the system to the totality of its organs. In this sense, it is quite legitimate to talk about the structure of the system. In domestic linguistics, as well as in a number of foreign schools, the distinction between the concepts of system and structure of a language is often based on the nature of the relationships between their elements. The elements of the structure are connected to each other by syntagmatic relations (cf. the word usage accepted in linguistics word structure , sentence structure etc.), and the elements of the system are connected by paradigmatic relationships (cf. case system , vowel system etc.).

The idea of a systematic language was developed in different linguistic schools. The Prague Linguistic School played a major role in the development of the doctrine of the systematic nature of language, in which the language system is characterized primarily as a functional system, i.e. as a system of means of expression used for a specific purpose. The Prague Linguistic School also put forward the thesis about language as a system of systems. This thesis subsequently received different interpretations: according to one point of view, the language system is a system of language levels, each of which is also a system; according to another - the system of language is a system functional styles(sublanguages), each of which is also a system.

A significant contribution to the development of the idea of systematic language was made by domestic linguistics, which developed the doctrine of language units, their systemic connections and functions, the distinction between statics and dynamics in language, etc.

Modern ideas about the systematic nature of a language are associated primarily with the doctrine of its levels, their units and relationships, since a language system, like any other, has its own structure, internal structure which is determined by the hierarchy of levels.

Language levels are subsystems (tiers) of the general language system, each of which has a set of its own units and rules for their functioning. Traditionally, the following main levels of language are distinguished: phonemic, lexical, morphological and syntactic. Some scientists also distinguish morphonological, word-formation and phraseological levels. There are, however, other points of view on the system of language levels. According to one of them, the level organization of language is more complex; it consists of such tiers as hypophonemic, phonemic, morphemic, lexeme, sememe, etc. According to others, it is simpler, consisting of only three tiers: phonetic, lexicogrammatical and semantic. And when considering language from the point of view of the “plane of expression” and “plane of content”, it consists of only two tiers: phonological (plane of expression) and semantic (plane of content).

Each level of language has its own, qualitatively different units that have different purposes, structure, compatibility and place in the language system. In accordance with the law of the structural relationship between the levels of language, a unit of a higher level is built from units of a lower level (cf. morphemes from phonemes), and a unit of a lower level realizes its functions in units of a higher level (cf. morphemes in words).

In most languages of the world, the following language units are distinguished: phoneme, morpheme, word, phrase and sentence. In addition to these basic units, in each of the levels (tiers) there are a number of units that differ in the degree of abstraction and complexity, for example, on the phonetic tier - a phonetic syllable, a phonetic word, speech beats, phonetic phrases, etc. The sound units of language are one-sided and insignificant. These are the shortest units of language obtained as a result of the linear division of the speech stream. Their function is to form and distinguish the sound shells of bilateral units. All other units of linguistic tiers are two-sided and significant: they all have a plane of expression and a plane of content.

In structural linguistics, the classification of language units is based on the sign of divisibility/indivisibility, in connection with which limiting (hereinafter indivisible) units of language (for example, phoneme, morpheme) and non-limiting ones (for example, group phonemes, analytical forms of words, complex sentences).

Specific representatives of the same unit of language are in paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships with each other. Paradigmatic relationships- these are relations in the inventory, they allow one unit of a given type to be distinguished from all others, since the same unit of language exists in the form of many variants (cf. phoneme/allophone; morpheme/morph/allomorph, etc.). Syntagmatic relations - these are combinatory relationships established between units of the same type in a speech chain (for example, the flow of speech from a phonetic point of view consists of phonetic phrases, phonetic phrases - from speech beats, speech beats - from phonetic words, phonetic words- from syllables, syllables - from sounds; the sequence of words in a speech chain illustrates their syntagmatics, and the combination of words into various groups - synonymous, antonymic, lexical-semantic - is an example of paradigmatic relations).

Depending on their purpose, the functions in the linguistic system of language units are divided into nominative, communicative and drill. Nominative units of language(word, phrase) serve to designate objects, concepts, ideas. Communicative units of language(sentence) are used to report something; with the help of these units, thoughts, feelings, expressions of will are formalized and expressed, and people communicate. Building units of language(phonemes, morphemes) serve as a means of constructing and formalizing nominative, and through them, communicative units.

Units of language are interconnected by various types of relationships, among which the most common are paradigmatic, syntagmatic and hierarchical. Moreover, the relations between units of one tier of language and different tiers are fundamentally different from each other. Units belonging to the same tier of language enter into paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships, for example, phonemes form classes of functionally identical sounds, morphemes - classes of functionally identical morphs, etc., i.e. This is a type of paradigmatic variant-invariant relationship. At the same time, in a linear sequence, phonemes are combined with phonemes, morphemes with morphs. In modern linguistics, syntagmatic relations are often compared with logical relations of conjunction (relations And ~ And), and paradigmatic ones - with logical disjunction relations (relations or ~ or). In hierarchical relationships (such as “consists of” or “includes in”) there are units of different linguistic levels, cf.: phonemes are included in the sound shells of morphemes, morphemes - in a word, a word - in a sentence and, conversely, sentences consist of words, words - from morphemes, morphemes - from phonemes, etc.

The levels of language are not isolated tiers; on the contrary, they are closely interconnected and determine the structure of the language system (cf., for example, the connection of all levels of language in a unit such as a word: with its different sides it belongs simultaneously to the phonemic, morphemic, lexical and syntactic levels ). Sometimes units of different levels may coincide in one sound form. A classic example illustrating this point was the example of A. A. Reformatsky from the Latin language: two Romans argued who would say the shorter phrase; one said: “Eo rus” ‘I’m going to the village’, and the other answered: “1” ‘go’. In this Latin i sentence, word, morpheme and phoneme coincide, i.e. it includes all levels of language.

The linguistic system is a constantly evolving system, although its different levels develop at different speeds (the morphological level of language, for example, in general turns out to be more conservative than the lexical one, which quickly responds to changes in the life of society), therefore a center is distinguished in the language system ( morphology) and periphery (lexicon).

1. The concept of the system and structure of language

The preservation of the language is explained by the stability of its sound and grammatical structure. In other words, the stability of a language rests on its consistency And structure.

Terms system And structure often replace each other, but they do not coincide in all meanings.

In the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language: word system(Greek origin, lit. “whole of component parts”), word structure(Latin origin, “structure, location”)

System And structure language imply that language has internal order, organizing parts into whole.

Systematicity and structure characterize the language and its units as a single whole from different sides. Under structure the unity of heterogeneous elements within the whole is understood. System is a unity of homogeneous interdependent elements.

A complex structure of interconnected and heterogeneous elements is typical of language. The structure of a language includes different elements and their inherent functions. It is formed by the following levels (tiers):

Ø phonetic,

Ø morphological,

Ø lexical,

Ø syntactic,

Ø ( text),

Ø ( cultural).

The idea of the last two levels/tiers was introduced into scientific use relatively recently, but not all scientists are of the opinion that these levels should be considered within the framework of linguistic analysis of the language system. Indeed, these two levels/tiers take us beyond the boundaries of the language system itself in the traditional linguistic sense and connect language directly with the society and culture in which language functions.

2. Units of language (elements of levels) and their functions

Units phonetic tiers are phonemes (sounds) – material embodiments of language; they implement two main functions: perceptual(perception function) and significative, or distinctive(the ability to distinguish significant elements of language - morphemes, words, sentences, cf.: that, mouth, cat, steel, table, etc.).

Units morphological tiers – morphemes – express concepts:

A) root(real), cf.: [-table-] [-ground-], etc.;

b) non-root 2 types: values signs, cf.: [-ost], [without-], [re-], and meanings relations, cf.: [-u], [-ish], etc., for example, sit-u, sit-ish, table-a, table-at.

This - semasiological function expressions concepts, but not naming. Morpheme doesn't name, only word has nominative function. By naming something, we turn a morpheme into a word. For example, the root red- expresses the concept of a specific color, but red (noun) names a phenomenon. Therefore, it is believed that a morpheme, as the smallest meaningful unit of language, has a meaning, but this meaning is connected, it is realized only in combination with other morphemes. True, this statement is fully true for affixes, and only partially true for root morphemes (see the example above).

Units lexical level – lexemes (words) – name things and phenomena of reality, they perform a nominative function. The lexical level of a language system is special in the sense that its units are considered the basic units of language. At the lexical level, it is most fully represented semantics. A number of linguistic disciplines study the lexical composition of a language: lexicology, phraseology, semantics, semasiology, onomastics and etc.

Units syntactic level – phrases And offers – perform communicative function, that is, necessary for communication. This level is also called constructive-syntactic or communicative-syntactic. We can say that the basic unit of this level is proposal model. Deals with issues of studying the proposal syntax.

Elements of all levels in language form a unity, which is expressed in the fact that each lower level is potentially the next highest and, conversely, each higher level consists of at least one lower one. For example, a sentence may consist of one or more words, a word may consist of one or more morphemes, and a morpheme may consist of one or more phonemes.

Linguistic units are formed at a lower level and function at a higher level.

For example, a phoneme is constructed at the phonemic level, but functions at the morphemic level as a meaningful unit.

This property of linguistic units connects the levels of language into a single system.

Within each level/tier of the language structure (phonetic, morphological, lexical, syntactic), its units form their own separate system, that is, all elements of a given level act as members of the system. Systems of individual tiers of linguistic structure form the overall system of a given language.

3. Basic types of relationships between language units.

To talk about the relationships between language units, it is necessary to introduce and define the following concepts: language units, language category, level/tier, language relations.

Units of language– its permanent elements, differing from each other in structure, purpose and place in the language system.

According to their purpose, language units are divided into:

Ø Nominative – word (lexeme)

Ø Communicative – proposal

Ø Drilling – phonemes and morphemes, forms of words and forms of phrases

Language categories– groups of homogeneous language units; categories are combined based on a common categorical feature, usually semantic. For example, in the Russian language there are categories of tense and aspect of the verb, case and gender, categories of collectiveness, animacy, etc.

Level (tier ) language – a set of similar units and categories of language: phonetic, morphological, lexical, syntactic.

Language relations– relationships between tiers and categories of language, its units and their parts.

Main types of relationships between language units: paradigmatic, syntagmatic And hierarchical.

Paradigmatic relations (Greek paradigm - example, sample) are relations that unite language units into groups, categories, categories. Elements that are in paradigmatic relationships constitute a class of similar phenomena. Paradigmatic relationships are relationships of choice.

For example, the system of consonants, the system of declension, and the synonymic series rely on paradigmatics. When using language, paradigmatic relations allow you to select the desired unit, as well as form words and their forms by analogy with those already existing in the language, for example, case forms of one word, synonymous series.

Syntagmatic relations unite units in their simultaneous sequence. These are relationships of units arranged linearly, for example, in a stream of speech. Syntagmatic relationships are used to build morphemes as combinations of phonemes, words as sets of morphemes and syllables, phrases and sentences as sets of words, complex sentences as sets of simple sentences.

Hierarchical relations connect the levels of language with each other, these are relations of structurally simpler units to more complex ones (remember: units are formed at a lower level, and function at a higher one).

All these types of relations in the language system are not isolated; they determine each other to one degree or another.

4. Phonology. Basic concepts of phonology

Initially, speech sounds were defined as sound formations that corresponded to letters: letters were “pronounced,” they were “hard” and “soft,” “vowels” and “consonants.” With the development of linguistics in the 19th century, it became possible to take a different look at the relationship between letters and sounds, since by this time sufficient material had accumulated on comparing the sounds of modern and ancient languages, as well as the sounds of related languages.

Speech sounds have a complex nature, therefore, within the framework of linguistics, over time, separate phonetic disciplines emerged that study various aspects of speech sounds: phonetics phonology(functional phonetics).

Phonetics studies the sound structure of a language: speech sounds and the rules for combining them into words in a stream of speech, an inventory of language sounds, their systemic properties, sound laws. The area of interest of phonetics also includes syllable, stress, and intonation.

As a natural phenomenon, the sound of speech can be considered in three aspects:

Ø acoustic(being studied speech acoustics);

Ø articulatory (articulatory phonetics);

Ø functional (phonology).

Phonology studies speech sounds in their functional, or social aspect. What is important here is not the physical quality of speech sounds. But their functions are in the language system.

From this point of view, speech sounds are a way of materializing morphemes and word forms, acting as a unity of sound and meaning.

The multifaceted nature of speech sound has caused ambiguity in basic phonetic terms speech sound And phoneme.

Sound of speech– acoustic phenomenon, articulatory complex necessary to pronounce a specific sound, unit sound system language.

Phoneme- the smallest unit of language, it does not have its own meaning and serves only to distinguish the sound shells of words. This is the sound unit of the language, i.e. the sound of speech in the phoneme system of a given language. The number of phonemes in a language is small; in any language in the world it is limited to a two-digit number.

The description of units at the phonetic level began a long time ago, even before the formation of linguistics as a science. By now, this level of the language system can be considered extremely described. As already mentioned, the characteristics of units of the phonetic level are dealt with phonetics(acoustic and articulatory) and phonology(functional phonetics).

The creator of the doctrine of the phoneme is Ivan Aleksandrovich Baudouin de Courtenay. He laid the foundations of phonology. His teaching is based on two basic principles:

Ø phoneme – a set of articulatory and acoustic representations;

Ø phonemes themselves have no meaning, but they also perform a semantic-distinguishing function (significative).

The idea of the phoneme was taken up by other scientists. A representative of the Prague linguistic school, Russian scientist Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy wrote the book “Fundamentals of Phonology” in 1939. From this point on, phonology becomes a separate linguistic discipline.

For Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy and other scientists of the Prague linguistic school, the phoneme is a unit oppositions, capable of distinguishing morphemes or words.

The core of Trubetskoy’s phonological concept is meaningful phoneme function. Sounds are combined into phonemes not by articulatory or acoustic proximity, but by functional community. If, depending on their position in a word, sounds are pronounced differently, but perform the same function and form the same words, they are considered as varieties of the same phoneme. Hence:

Ø phoneme – the shortest linguistic unit that serves to distinguish the material shell of a word and morphemes;

Ø phoneme is a complex sound unit, a set of different acoustic and articulatory properties, which manifests itself differently in the sound chain and performs a significative function in different ways.

The central concept of the teachings of Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy is phonological oppositions , sound contrasts that can differentiate the meaning of words of a given language. For example, the contrast of consonants based on voicedness/voicelessness in the Russian language.

Phonological oppositions form the phonological systems of specific languages.

In all the languages of the world there are only 12 pairs of differential features (DP). Different types of sounds are characterized by different pairs of DP. For example, vowels are characterized by rise, row, and labialization. In different languages, pairs of DPs are different; there is a certain set of DPs for the phonemes of a given national language. For example, in the Russian language DP, the longness/shortness of vowels does not “work”, i.e. is not essential, but in English this feature distinguishes meanings, i.e. is essential, cf.:

Ø Russian: voiced/voiceless, noisy/sonorant, hard/soft, front-lingual/back-lingual;

Ø English: long/short, labial/non-labial;

Ø French: nasal/non-nasal, etc.

Each phoneme is a bundle differential features , which distinguish phonemes from each other and facilitate the recognition of words and morphemes. Phonemes also have non-essentials ( non-integral) features that are not used to distinguish phonemes of a language.

The conditions under which phonemes are pronounced are called positions .

The concept of phoneme is closely related to the concept positions, i.e. the position of the sound in a word or morpheme. There are strong positions in which the phoneme realizes all its differential features, and weak positions in which some of these features are lost. The system of strong and weak positions in the Russian language can be presented as follows.

In strong position the phoneme realizes All its differential features; in a weak one, it neutralizes (loses) some of them.

Phonemes appear in options And variations.

Variation is a positional variation of the same phoneme ( m And r – f And R).

Options – these are common positional varieties of different phonemes ( ro h– ro With ).

Only in strong positions is the system of phonemes of a given language revealed.

All phonemes of a particular language form it phonological system , that is, they are interconnected, interdependent and united by a common semantic-distinguishing function.

The phonetic systems of different languages differ:

Ø number of phonemes (English – 44, Russian – 41, French – 35, German – 36);

Ø the ratio of vowels and consonants (Russian – 6 vowels: 35 consonants; English – 12 vowels: 8 diphthongs: 17 consonants; French – 18 vowels: 17 consonants; German – 15 vowels: 3 diphthongs: 18 consonants) ;

Ø specific laws of compatibility of phonemes in the flow of speech (in different languages (in Russian, despite the small number of vowel phonemes, their occurrence in speech accounts for almost half of the phonemic composition).

5. Main phonological schools

Further development of the ideas of Ivan Aleksandrovich Baudouin de Courtenay and Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy in Russia led to the formation of the main phonological schools: Moscow (MFS) and Leningrad (LFS).

Representatives of the IMF (R.I. Avanesov, P.S. Kuznetsov, A.A. Reformatsky, V.N. Sidorov, etc.) consider the phoneme as the shortest sound unit, which is an element of the sound shell of significant language units (lexemes and morphemes). The concept of the IFS is based on the concept positions, i.e., the conditions for the use and implementation of phonemes in speech (see above). Here, a strong position is considered as favorable for identifying the functions of phonemes, and a weak position as unfavorable. Phonemes perform two functions: recognition (perceptual) and discrimination (significative). Depending on the function, the same weak positions will manifest themselves completely different results: a perceptually weak position gives variations, and a significatively weak position gives variations.

LFS (L.V. Shcherba, L.R. Zinder, N.I. Matushevich, etc.) considers the phoneme as sound type, associated with specific phonetic representations. According to the LFS, a phoneme is not only a bundle of differential features, but a specific sound unit.

The theoretical disagreements between the MFS and LFS are associated precisely with this difference in the understanding of the phoneme. So, in the words oak, roses, pond, etc. Representatives of the first school will see variants of the phonemes [b], [z], [d], and representatives of the second – phonemes [p], [s], [t]. From the point of view of the MPS, soft sounds , , are not independent phonemes, since they never occur in the same positions as hard sounds, and from the point of view of the LPS, these are phonemes that are acoustically different from hard sounds.

However, what these two schools of phonology have in common is that they

Ø recognize the social nature of the phoneme;

Ø rely on the connection between phonetics and phonology;

Ø consider the phoneme as a unit of language;

Ø based on the presence of a phonological system of a particular language and its historical variability.

6. Grammar. Basic grammatical traditions

Morphology And syntax are parts grammar – science of grammatical structure of the language , which means:

Ø ways and means of changing lexical units (morphology);

Ø constructing sentences from lexical units in speech according to the thought being expressed.

Morphology is the study of the grammatical form of a word and its structure. Morphology deals with the study of units at the morphological level. It offers classifications of morphemes, describes their characteristics and laws of functioning in language.

Syntax– the study of the rules of compatibility of units in a sentence and the relationships between them. Studying ways of constructing phrases and sentences.

Current provisions grammatical theories were greatly influenced by the Greco-Latin tradition, as ancient scholars made a great contribution to the development of grammatical problems.

Plato tried to classify parts of speech on a logical basis; he identified the noun and the verb. A verb is something that refers to actions, a name is a designation of the one who performs this action.

Aristotle studied the structure of sentences. He believed that a sentence expresses a thought. In addition, Aristotle analyzed the parts of speech: noun, verb and conjunction. He introduced the concept of case of a name or verb, by which he understood the indirect forms of these parts of speech.

In the 2nd century BC. V Ancient Greece The Alexandrian grammar school was created, whose representatives are Aristarchus of Samothrace, Apollonius Discolus, Dionysius the Thracian. The Alexandrians define a word as the smallest significant part of coherent speech, and a sentence as a combination of words expressing a complete thought. This school developed in detail the doctrine of parts of speech. Dionysius identified 8 parts of speech: name, verb, adverb, participle, pronoun, article, preposition, conjunction. Apollonius studied the syntactic properties and functions of parts of speech. But the Alexandrians had not yet come to understand the need to analyze the morphological structure of the word.

Roman grammar generally followed the rules of Greek grammar, using them to analyze the Latin language. The development of a Latin grammar became very important in the Middle Ages, when Latin language becomes the language of religion, science and education.

In the 17th-18th centuries, developments appeared in the field of grammatical differences in European languages (English, French, German, Russian). “Russian Grammar” by Mikhailo Vasilyevich Lomonosov appeared in 1757.

In the development of linguistic thought of the 17th century, a special position is occupied by the so-called “General and Rational Grammar”, or the grammar of Port-Royal, written by the abbots of the Port-Royal monastery A. Arnaud and C. Lanslot. The philosophical basis of this grammar is the ideas of Rene Descartes, who emphasized the omnipotence of the human mind, which should serve as a criterion of truth.

The purpose of the Port-Royal Grammar was to study logical principles, which underlie all the languages of the world, i.e. the existence of language was examined from the point of view of the ability to express logically correct thoughts. The authors proceeded from the identification of logical and linguistic categories and set as their task the identification of universal categories found in all languages.

Universal grammars, created using material from different languages, are essentially an attempt to comprehend the structure of language.

Grammar as a linguistic science studies the form and content, structure and functioning of grammatical units and categories. The complex nature of grammatical units and categories has led to the emergence of different approaches to their study. These approaches underlie the classification of grammar types. Main types of grammars:

Ø formal grammar studies, first of all, grammatical forms, their structure, groupings by parts of speech and rules of inflection (paradigms), combinations (syntactic connections). The basic units of grammar are the word-formation and inflectional model, the form of words and phrases;

Ø functional grammar studies the potential functions of linguistic units and categories and their functioning within one modern state of the language. Functional grammar is characterized by the consideration of linguistic units in the interaction of grammatical and lexical units of a language within a schematic and real context;

Ø Abstract linguistic grammars are contrasted with speech, communicative grammars, in which the object of study is speech communication and speech activity.

7. Grammatical categories

The set of grammatical forms expressing the same or mutually opposed meanings constitutes grammatical category . For example, all cases constitute a category of cases. The sets of grammatical categories do not coincide in different languages.

Grammatical form- this is the unity of grammatical meaning and grammatical means expressing this meaning. Grammatical forms are varieties of words that, while having the same lexical meaning, differ in grammatical meaning. Grammatical forms form paradigms , representing a set of grammatical forms, established in a certain order.

8. Properties of a word. Lexicology

The vocabulary of a language is called vocabulary(gr.: lexicos - vocabulary, logos - teaching).

Lexicology- a branch of linguistics that studies the patterns inherent in the entire vocabulary of a language, as well as the characteristics of various groups of words. Since a word has many different sides, a number of branches of lexicology are distinguished.

Ø Semasiology – studies the meanings of words (structure of meaning, semantic oppositions, semantic features, etc.).

Ø Onomasiology – studies the process of naming.

Ø Onomastics – proper names. It is divided into anthroponymy (the study of people’s names), toponymy (the study of geographical names), ethnonymy, etc.

Ø Phraseology – stable phrases.

Ø Etymology – the origin of words.

Ø Lexicography is the science of methods for describing vocabulary and principles of compiling dictionaries, etc.

Lexicology can be synchronic and diachronic (historical), as well as general and specific.

The totality of all the words of a language - its vocabulary (vocabulary). In developed languages there are hundreds of thousands of words. Dictionary V.I. Dahl contains 200,000 words, the Large Academic Dictionary (BAS) - 120 thousand, the Modern Dictionary of the Russian Language - 500 thousand. Not a single person uses all the words: it stands out in the vocabulary fixed assets words (words active use). Varies for a specific person active And passive dictionary. The child's vocabulary is approx. 3 thousand words, teenager - approx. 9 thousand words, and an adult – 11-13 thousand.

The word is one of the basic units of language. Unlike other units, it has nominative function – naming function.

Many definitions of a word can be formulated, but none of them can be exhaustive. All definitions will differ depending on the aspect in which the word is considered (for example, from a graphical point of view, a word is a chain of graphemes between two spaces). In order to define a word, it is necessary to highlight its main features.

Word- This:

Ø sound unity according to the laws of phonetics of a given language;

Ø grammatical unity according to the laws of grammar of a given language;

Ø a significant unit of language that has a nominative function;

Ø has positional independence (that is, it is characterized by the absence of a rigid linear connection with neighboring words, cf.: The weather is warm today – The weather is warm today);

Ø has syntactic independence (i.e. the ability to obtain the syntactic function of a member of a sentence or an individual sentence).

Thus, a word is a phonetic, grammatical and lexical unity. Please note that these characteristics represent different aspects of the word from the point of view of different levels of the language system.

Not all words have the same ratio of these characteristics.

You can give working definition words : This a minimal relatively independent unit of language that has lexico-grammatical relevance and is freely reproduced in speech to construct a statement .

The word as a unit of language (in the system) is called lexeme . A lexeme is an “ideal word”. In speech we deal with allolexes(options for implementing a separate token), or word forms, Wed Man is man's friend(3 words, but 2 lexemes).

Every word is a unity of sound and meaning. The connection between sound and meaning is arbitrary; it is reinforced by social practice. The meaning of a word reveals the connection between language and the outside world. However, lexicology describes words, but not items the surrounding world.

Lexical meaning- this is what a given word means, this meaning correlates with the concept and relates the word to a certain section of the lexical-semantic system of the language. Grammatical meaning - this is the belonging of a word to a certain grammatical category, determines the compatibility of the word and the ways of its modification.

Core lexical meaning- a mental reflection of a particular phenomenon of reality, an object or a class of objects. The object denoted by the word is called denotation .

Alexander Afanasyevich Potebnya spoke about the immediate and further meaning of the word, and also pointed to the dialectical unity of the linguistic and extra-linguistic content of the word.

Distinguish denotative And connotative meaning of the word. Denotative meanings are specific ( dog, green), abstract ( joy, honestly), imaginary ( mermaid). Connotative meaning is the emotional, expressive, evaluative and stylistic characteristics of a word (cf.: dog – little dog).

Lexical meanings are specific and individual, i.e. each lexical meaning belongs to one word, but in relation to the subject, each lexical meaning turns out to be generalized.

Lexical meanings are classified depending on their relationship to objects and phenomena of reality:

Ø Nominative ( house, birch) signal ( this one, he)

Ø Straight ( head, hand) portable (time runs)

Ø concrete abstract

According to the nature of subject relevance, meanings are own(single) and common nouns(are common).

The basis of lexical meaning is concept: generalized thought about this subject or phenomenon. Different types of words relate to a concept in different ways, although each concept can be expressed by a word or phrase. But the word is not the same as the concept. A concept is a category logic. We can say that the meaning is broader, and the concept is deeper. For example, one word can have several meanings, i.e. relate to several concepts; one concept can be denoted by several words; the concept can be expressed by a compound name.

The relationship between sound and meaning arises by chance, but, once established, it becomes binding on all speakers of a given language.

The lexical meaning may contain internal shape (motivation , i.e. an indication of the reason why given value turned out to be expressed by this particular combination of sounds (for example, onomatopoeic words, or such Lunokhod, airplane and so on.).

Not all words have the motivation preserved. Each language has its own reasons for motivation. Wed: windowsill, airplane. Over time, the word undergoes a process de-etymologization (i.e. forgetting motivation; cf. cabbage from caput– head). In the case of conjecture of motivation, a phenomenon arises such as false (folk) etymology; compare: semi-clinic, half-over, caterpillar and so on.

The entire vocabulary of a language can be considered as a system, the structure of which is determined by the types of lexical meanings and lexico-grammatical categories of words. So, all words can be classified into categories parts of speech in accordance with their lexico-grammatical relevance. Depending on the relationship of lexical meaning, they can be distinguished polysemantic words, homonyms , synonyms , antonyms , paronyms etc. From the point of view of language changes in the lexical composition, the following are distinguished: neologisms (new words that have appeared in the language are the result of various types of borrowings or changes in the semantic structure of words existing in the language - computer, dealer), historicisms (words naming realities that have gone out of use - chain mail, bast shoes), archaisms (obsolete words - eyes, cheeks).

The concept of the systematic nature of language and its structure came to the science of language at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. In this way, linguistics to some extent reflected the general trend in the formation of scientific knowledge (cf. the emergence of ideas about systematicity in other sciences: Charles Darwin’s theory of the origin of species, Dmitry Mendeleev’s system of chemical elements, etc.).

It should be added that the language system is in a process of constant change. True, different levels of language change differently, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The lexical level turns out to be the most mobile: new words and new meanings appear, some words fall out of use, etc.

Thus, the language system, on the one hand, strives for change, and on the other hand, it must maintain integrity, otherwise the language will cease to fulfill its functions, since people will no longer understand each other. These are two opposite processes that affect the system, so it is customary to say that the language system is always in a state relative equilibrium.

ASSIGNMENTS ON TOPIC 5

Questions and practice tasks

1. Why do you think people came from understanding the connections between objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality to describing these connections in accordance with the principle of systematicity in the 19th century?

2. What examples of system description from other sciences can you give?

3. Why do they say that language is a “system of systems”?

A. Draw a diagram of the language system. Try to show in this diagram all types of relationships between language units.

B. Solve the problem.

Suggestions given

· The elephant surprises everyone with its big ears.

· He was driving the car on a dusty road.

· I knew her as a little boy.

· He was reading a book on a warm evening.

· The rocket pierced the clouds with black lightning.

· He dug up the bed with a sharp shovel

· I knew him as a little boy.

· I thought he was a complete fool.

· He left Kursk by the evening train.

In these sentences, the instrumental case of the last noun has different meanings. To find out this difference, it is enough to redo (transform) these sentences so that their meaning is preserved, but instead of a phrase with the instrumental case, they contain some other grammatical construction (it is allowed to transform the entire sentence, and not just a phrase with the instrumental case).

Using these transformations, try to distinguish as many (all?) of these sentences as possible from each other.

Come up with your own suggestions for a similar task.

IN. Solve the problem.

Words given Same And Also. Find: a) a sentence with the word too, where instead of Same cannot be consumed Also(the sentence will become incorrect); b) a sentence where instead of Also cannot be consumed Same; c) a sentence where these words are interchangeable.

G. Comment on Jean Aitchison's statement. What does the author want to draw our attention to?

LITERATURE

1. Rozhdestvensky V.S. Lectures on general linguistics.

2. Khrolenko A.T. General linguistics.

3. Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary.

4. Stepanov Yu.S. Fundamentals of linguistics.

As an instrument of communication, language must be organized as a whole, have a certain structure and form the unity of its elements as a certain system. Since our concepts and ideas about an object are not at all correlated with the world of real things, but are only a reflection of them, then what are words? It is absolutely clear that words as certain sound complexes do not “reflect” reality, as concepts do. Why do we still learn that “house” is “house” and “cat” is “cat”? We find the answer to this in the theory of sign.

A sign is a member of a specific sign system. First of all, it must be said that not every unit can be a sign. Because to implement it you need to have:

1. Denoting(what we see, hear, feel, etc.)

2. Designated(content that is hidden behind the external form)

3. Conditional connection between them(not natural, not natural).

Based on this, it is clear that speech sounds are not signs, but certain combinations make it possible for the appearance of morphemes, words, and significant units of language. Letters are characterized by inclusion in two sign systems: alphabetic and graphic. The ability of signs to perform different functions is based on the fact that the signs within a given sign system (alphabet, sound structure of a language) themselves differ either in general or through some particular, separate diacritics. This can be illustrated in letters. Let's say ABOUT And X differ in general, having nothing in common, and the letters Sh And SCH have everything in common except for one diacritic.

Among scientists there is no common understanding of the sign in language, and many explain this concept in different ways. F.F. Fortunatov often used this term and noted that language represents a set of signs mainly for thought and for expressing thought in speech. There are also signs in language to express feelings. The Danish scientist L. Hjelmslev wrote that language, in its purpose, is, first of all, a sign system. Given an unlimited number of signs, this is achieved by the fact that all signs are built from non-signs, the number of which is limited.

Words as names of things and phenomena have nothing to do with these things and phenomena. If such a connection existed, then the language could not have the following groups of words:

1. synonyms (words that sound different, but call the same thing) strike - strike, plant - factory;

2. homonyms (words that sound the same, but have different meanings) onion– weapons and plants, key– a spring and a tool for unlocking the lock;

3. It would also be impossible to transfer values: tail– part of the animal’s body and line;

4. Finally, it would be impossible to have different-sounding words to denote the same phenomenon in different languages, for example, the Russian word “eagle” is goal. Adelaar ( A delar), German Adler ( A dler), English Eagle (eagle), fr. Aigle (aigle).

Why anyway table, house and so on. not just sound combinations, but words that have meaning and are understandable to everyone who speaks Russian? To clarify this issue, you should also familiarize yourself with the structure of the language.

Under structure one should understand the unity of heterogeneous elements within the whole. The language is characterized by complexity and inconsistency of structure. So, verbal communication process can be presented in two plans: speaking plan And hearing plan. They are completely different from each other, or rather, mirror opposites: where the process of speaking ends is the beginning of the process of listening. What it produces speaking, forms articulatory complex, that which catches and perceives listening, forms acoustic complex. Physically, these processes are not equivalent. However, in the act of speech, these two complexes form a unity; they are two sides of the same object. Saying a word and hearing a word are the same thing from the point of view of language. The identification of what is spoken and what is heard ensures correct perception, without which it is impossible to achieve mutual understanding between speakers. For correct perception, it is necessary that both interlocutors possess the same articulatory-acoustic skills, i.e. skills of the same language. But the act of speech is not limited to perception. The next stage is understanding. It can only be achieved if speakers relate words and meanings in the same way, i.e. speak the same language. Thus, the Russian word “tobacco” in Turkish correlates with the meaning “dish”, “sheet of paper”.

So, language– a complex structure of interconnected heterogeneous elements. The difference in the elements of language structure is qualitative, which is determined by the different functions of these elements. From the point of view of the structure of language, scientists distinguish the following tiers:

Nothing else exists or can exist in language.

The elements that make up the language perform the following functions:

1. Sounds perform two functions - perceptual- to be an object of perception and significative- have the ability to distinguish significant elements of language - morphemes, words, sentences: mot, that, lot, cat, bot etc.

2. Morphemes perform semasiological function, i.e. express concepts. They can’t name morphemes, but they have meaning: ( red-) expresses only the concept of a certain color, and can name something only by turning into a word - redness, red, blush.

3. words characteristic nominative function, i.e. words name things and phenomena of reality (nominative). Proper names perform this function in its pure form, while common nouns, for example, combine it with a semasiological function.

4. Offers perform communicative function, i.e. serve for message. Since sentences consist of words, in their constituent parts they have both a nominative and a semasiological function.

The elements of this structure form a unity in the language. Each element of a lower level can be used to create a larger unit: sound - morpheme - word - sentence.

Within each tier of the linguistic structure there is its own system, and the members of a given tier are members of this system.

System- a set of language units interconnected by stable relationships and characterized by interconnectedness and interdependence. Systems of individual tiers of the language structure, interacting with each other, form the overall system of a given language.

4. Language and speech

Human language exists in the form of separate languages - Russian, English, German and others. In what form does each individual language exist? We can say that a language exists in the minds of its speakers. It is not inherited, it is not innate. The term “mother tongue” does not mean “innate,” but only “acquired in early childhood.” Language penetrates into the consciousness of every person from the outside, penetrates because this language is used by the people around him. And, on the other hand, the language is gradually forgotten, and in the end completely disappears from memory if a person for some reason stops using it. Consequently, one can speak of the true existence of a language only insofar as it is used. Language exists as a living language as long as it functions. And it functions in speech, in statements, in speech acts.

This raises a very important problem: language and speech. The distinction between the concepts of “language” and “speech” was first put forward and justified in a clear form by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), the largest theorist in the field of general linguistics and one of the founders of the modern stage in the development of our science. Then these concepts were more deeply developed by other scientists, in particular academician L.V. Shcherboy (1880-1944) and his students. For Saussure, in particular, three concepts are correlated: speech activity, language, speech.

The main concept should be considered language. It is the most important means of human communication. Language is both the property of the collective and the subject of history. It unites in the context of a given time all the diversity of dialects and dialects, the diversity of class, estate and professional speech, varieties of oral and written speech. There is no language of the individual, language cannot be the property of the individual, because it unites individuals into different groups, which, in turn, can use it very differently mutual language in the case of selection and understanding of words, grammatical structures and even pronunciation.

Speech act- this is an individual and each time new use of language as a means of communication between different individuals. The speech act must necessarily be two-sided: speaking - listening, which constitutes an inseparable unity that determines mutual understanding. In written communication, the speech act covers writing and reading, respectively. A speech act, therefore, can not only be heard, but also recorded, and in the case of oral speech communication, recorded on tape. Thus, the speech act is accessible to study and description from different points of view and using the methods of different sciences. A speech act is a manifestation of speech activity.

The hardest thing is to determine what it is speech. First of all, it is not a language or a speech act. When we talk about oral and written speech, about the speech of a child, about the speech of a schoolchild, about stage speech, about direct and indirect speech - all these are different uses of the capabilities of language, these are different forms of using language in different communication situations. Language and speech differ as much as a rule of grammar and the phrases in which that rule is used, or a word in a dictionary and the countless uses of that word in different texts. Speech is the form of existence of language. Language functions and is “immediately given” in speech. But abstracted from speech, from speech acts and texts, every language is an abstract entity.

In direct observation, the linguist is given a speech act (whether it is a spoken conversation or a printed text). For a linguist, it serves as a starting point in the study of language. The linguist must “stop” this speech process, understand what is “stopped” as a manifestation of language in its structure, determine all the units of this structure in their systemic relationships and thereby obtain the final object of linguistics - language as a whole.

A text is created in a speech act. This is not only a written down text, fixed in one way or another, but also any “speech work” created by someone of varying length - from a one-word replica to an entire story, poem or book. In inner speech, an “internal text” is created, i.e. a speech work that has developed in the mind, but has not been embodied orally or in writing.

Why is this or that text correctly understood by the addressee?

Firstly, because it is built from elements whose form and meaning are known to the addressee (from words, although other units can be elements of the utterance).

Secondly, these elements are connected into a meaningful whole according to certain characteristics and rules, also known to the addressee. Mastery of this system of rules allows you to both construct a meaningful text and reconstruct its content from the perceived text.

All elements of a statement and the rules for their connection constitute the language of the collective to which these individuals belong. According to Saussure, the language of a collective is the system of elements at the disposal of this collective - units of different tiers - plus a system of rules for the functioning of these units, which is also basically the same for everyone using this language. The system of units is called the inventory of a language, the system of rules for the functioning of units is called the grammar of this language. The relationship between language and speech and their individual aspects is illustrated by the following diagram:

It is clear that in speech acts and in texts both the inventory and the grammar of the language exist, one might say, in a “dispersed form”: in each individual sentence some elements of the inventory are presented and a number of grammar rules are used. Moreover, some of these elements and rules are used often, others are used less frequently, and others are used very rarely. The task of the linguist is to understand the “chaos of linguistic facts” that speech represents, to identify and take into account all the elements of the inventory, all the existing rules of grammar and accurately describe them.

Literature

Introduction to linguistics. Reader/ Ed. A.E. Supruna. Minsk, 1977. P. 24-35 (Ferdinand de Saussure).

Kamchatnov A.M. Introduction to linguistics: Tutorial. – 3rd ed. - M.: Flinta: Science, 2001.

Kochergina V.A.. Introduction to linguistics: Textbook for universities. - M.: Gaudeamus: Academic Project, 2004.

Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary/ Ch. ed. V.N. Yartseva. - M., 1990. P. 618-619 (“Speech”, “Language”, “Linguistics”).

Maslov Yu.S. Introduction to linguistics: A textbook for students of philological and linguistic faculties of higher education educational institutions. – 4th ed., erased. - SPb., M.: Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University: Academy, 2005.

Reformatsky A.A.. Introduction to linguistics. - M., 2000. S. 15-27, 44-59.

Rosenthal D.E., Telenkova M.A.. Dictionary-reference book of linguistic terms. – M., 1985. P. 397.

Shaikevich A.Ya.. Introduction to linguistics. M., 1995.

RUSSIAN PEOPLES' FRIENDSHIP UNIVERSITY (RUDN)

UNIVERSITY OF THE FOREIGN LANGUAGES

LINGUISTICS

DISCIPLINE

"GENERAL LINGUISTICS"

ABSTRACT

on the topic of:

“The concept of system and structure of linguistics. Level model of linguistic structure. Levels of language and units of language. Internal system of language. The difference between structure and system"

Completed by a 3rd year student:

Gutsu Mariana

Group 304LD

from 04/28/2014

Grade_______________

Teacher: I.E. Karpenko

MOSCOW – 2014

Introduction

1. The concept of system and structure of linguistics.

2. Level model of language structure.

3. Levels of language and units of language.

4. Internal system of language.

5. The difference between structure and system.

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Language has an internal order, an organization of its parts into a single whole. Consequently, systematicity and structure characterize the language and its units as a single whole from different sides.

The system of a language is an inventory of its units, combined into categories and tiers according to standard relationships; the structure of the language is formed by the relationships between tiers and parts of units; therefore, the structure of a language is only one of the signs of a language system. A unit of language, a category of language, a tier of language, linguistic relations - these concepts do not coincide, although they are all important for revealing the concept of a language system.

Units of language are its permanent elements, differing from each other in purpose, structure and place in the language system. According to their purpose, language units are divided into nominative, communicative and drill. The main nominative unit is the word (lexeme), the communicative unit is the sentence. The structural units of language serve as a means of constructing and formalizing nominative and communicative units; building units are phonemes and morphemes, as well as forms of words and forms of phrases.

The tier of a language is a collection of similar units and categories of language. The main tiers are phonetic, morphological, syntactic and lexical. Both units within a category and categories within a tier are related to each other based on standard relationships. Linguistic relations are those relationships that are found between tiers and categories, units and their parts. The main types of relationships are paradigmatic and syntagmatic, associative and hyponymic (hierarchical).

Paradigmatic relations are those relations that unite language units into groups, categories, categories. For example, the consonant system, the declension system, and the synonymic series rely on paradigmatic relations.

Associative relations arise on the basis of coincidence in time of representations, i.e. images of reality. There are three types of associations: by contiguity, by similarity and by contrast. These types of associations play a big role in the use of epithets and metaphors, in the formation of figurative meanings of words.

Hierarchical relationships are relationships between heterogeneous elements, their subordination to each other as general and particular, generic and specific, higher and lower. Hierarchical relationships are observed between units of different tiers of language, between words and forms when they are combined into parts of speech, between syntactic units when they are combined into syntactic types. Associative, hierarchical and paradigmatic relations are opposed to syntagmatic ones in that the latter is linear.

The concept of system and structure in linguistics.

Language has an internal order, an organization of its parts into a single whole. Consequently, systematicity and structure characterize the language and its units as a whole from different sides.

The system of a language is an inventory of its units, combined into categories and tiers according to standard relationships; the structure of the language is formed by the relationships between tiers and parts of units; Consequently, the structure of a language is only one of the signs of a language system. A unit of language, a category of language, a tier of language, linguistic relations - these concepts do not coincide, although they are all important for revealing the concept of a language system.

Language units are divided into categories and tiers of language. Categories of language are groups of homogeneous units of language; Categories are combined on the basis of a common categorical feature, usually semantic. Thus, in the Russian language there are such categories as tense and aspect of the verb, case and gender of the name (noun and adjective), and the category of collectiveness.

Syntagmatic relations unite units of language in their simultaneous sequence. Words as a set of morphemes and syllables, phrases and analytical names, sentences (as sets of sentence members) and complex sentences are built on syntagmatic relationships.

LEVEL MODEL OF THE LANGUAGE SYSTEM

Language levels are arranged in relation to each other according to the principle of ascending or descending complexity of language units. The essence of this phenomenon is the preservation of the properties and characteristics of lower-level units in a higher-level system, but in a more perfect form. Thus, the relations between the levels of the language system are not reducible to a simple hierarchy - subordination or inclusion. Therefore, it is fair to call a language system a system of systems.

Let's consider language units from the point of view of speech stream segmentation. In this case, a unit of language is understood as something that, expressing meaning, materializes in speech segments and their features. Since the speech implementation of language units is characterized by a fairly wide range of variability, the mental operation of identification is applied to the selected speech segments, which consists in the fact that formally different speech segments are recognized as the material embodiment of the same language unit. The basis for this is the commonality of the meaning expressed by varying units or the function they perform.

The beginning of segmentation of a speech stream is the identification of communicative units in it - statements, or phrases. In the language system, it corresponds to a syntaxeme or syntactic model, which represents the syntactic level of the language. The next stage of segmentation is the division of statements into word forms, which combine several heterogeneous functions (nominative, derivational and relative), therefore the identification operation is carried out separately in each direction.

A class of word forms, characterized by root and affix morphemes of equal meaning, is identified as the basic unit of language - the word, or lexeme.

The vocabulary of a particular language forms a lexical level. A class of word forms that have the same word-formation meaning constitutes a word-formation type - a derivative theme. The class of word forms with identical formative affixes is identified into a grammatical form - a grammeme.

The next stage of speech stream segmentation consists of identifying the smallest significant units - morphs. Morphs with identical lexical (roots) and grammatical (functional and affixal) meanings are combined into one unit of language - a morpheme. The entire set of morphemes of a given language forms a morphemic level in the language system. The segmentation of the speech stream is completed by identifying minimal speech segments - sounds - in morphs. Sounds, or backgrounds, different in their physical properties, can perform the same meaning-distinguishing function. On this basis, sounds are identified into one linguistic unit - the phoneme. Phoneme is the minimal unit of language. The system of phonemes forms the phonological level of language.

Thus, identifying a level or subsystem of a language is allowed in the case when: the subsystem has the basic properties of the language system as a whole; the subsystem meets the requirement of constructibility, that is, the units of the subsystem serve to construct the units of the subsystem of a higher organization and are isolated from them; the properties of the subsystem are qualitatively different from the properties of the units of the underlying subsystem that construct it; a subsystem is defined by a unit of language that is qualitatively different from the units of adjacent subsystems. The uniqueness of the level model of a language system is the desire to present language as a symmetrical and ideally ordered scheme. This idea, while quite attractive in itself, is not entirely adequate, since language is not an absolutely harmonious, symmetrical and ideally ordered system. Therefore, the field model of the language system is becoming increasingly popular

Language levels and language units

Units of language - these are elements of the language system that have different functions and meanings. The basic units of language include speech sounds, morphemes (parts of words), words, and sentences.

Units of language form corresponding levels of the language system : speech sounds - phonetic level, morphemes - morphemic level, words and phraseological units - lexical level, phrases and sentences - syntactic level.

Each of the language levels is also a complex system or subsystem, and their totality forms the overall language system.

Language- a naturally occurring and developing system of symbolic units expressed in sound form in human society, capable of expressing the entire totality of human concepts and thoughts and intended primarily for the purposes of communication. Language is at the same time a condition of development and a product of human culture. (N.D. Arutyunova.)

The lowest level of the language system is phonetic, it consists of the simplest units - speech sounds; units of the next morphemic level - morphemes - consist of units of the previous level - speech sounds; units of the lexical (lexical-semantic) level - words - consist of morphemes; and the units of the next syntactic level - syntactic constructions - consist of words.

Units of different levels differ not only in their place in the general system of language, but also in purpose (function, role), as well as structure. Yes, the shortest unit of language - the sound of speech serves to recognize and distinguish morphemes and words. The sound of speech itself has no meaning; it is only indirectly connected with the distinction of meaning: combining with other sounds of speech and forming morphemes, it contributes to the perception and differentiation of morphemes and words formed with their help.

A sound unit is also a syllable - a segment of speech in which one sound stands out with the greatest sonority in comparison with its neighbors. But syllables do not correspond to morphemes or any other meaningful units; In addition, the identification of syllable boundaries does not have sufficient grounds, so some scientists do not include it among the basic units of language.

Morpheme (part of a word) - the shortest unit of language that has meaning. The central morpheme of a word is the root, which contains the main lexical meaning of the word. The root is present in every word and can completely coincide with its stem. The suffix, prefix and ending introduce additional lexical or grammatical meanings.

There are derivational morphemes (forming words) and grammatical (forming forms of words).

In the word reddish, for example, there are three morphemes: the root edge has a characteristic (color) meaning, as in the words red, blush, redness; the suffix -ovat- denotes a weak degree of manifestation of the characteristic (as in the words blackish, rude, boring); the ending -й has the grammatical meaning of masculine, singular, nominative case (as in the words black, rude, boring). None of these morphemes can be divided into smaller meaningful parts.

Morphemes can change over time in their form and in the composition of speech sounds. Thus, in the words porch, capital, beef, finger, the once prominent suffixes merged with the root, simplification occurred: derived stems turned into non-derivative ones. The meaning of the morpheme can also change. Morphemes do not have syntactic independence.

Word - the main significant, syntactically independent unit of language, which serves to name objects, processes, properties. A word is the material for a sentence, and a sentence can consist of one word. Unlike a sentence, a word outside the speech context and speech situation does not express a message.

A word combines phonetic (its sound shell), morphological (the set of its constituent morphemes) and semantic (the set of its meanings) characteristics. The grammatical meanings of a word materially exist in its grammatical form.

Most words are ambiguous: for example, the word table in a particular speech stream can denote a type of furniture, a type of food, a set of dishes, or an item of medical equipment. The word can have variants: zero and zero, dry and dry, song and song.

Words form certain systems and groups in a language: based on grammatical features - a system of parts of speech; based on word-formation connections - word nests; based on semantic relations - a system of synonyms, antonyms, thematic groups; from a historical perspective - archaisms, historicisms, neologisms; by area of use - dialectisms, professionalisms, jargons, terms.

Phraseologisms, as well as compound terms (boiling point, plug-in construction) and compound names (White Sea, Ivan Vasilyevich) are equated to the word according to its function in speech.

Word combinations are formed from words - syntactic constructions consisting of two or more significant words connected according to the type of subordinating connection (coordination, control, adjacency).

A phrase, along with a word, is an element in the construction of a simple sentence.

Sentences and phrases form the syntactic level of the language system.

Offer - one of the main categories of syntax. It is contrasted with words and phrases in terms of formal organization, linguistic meaning and functions. A sentence is characterized by an intonation structure - the intonation of the end of the sentence, completeness or incompleteness; intonation of message, question, motivation. A special emotional connotation, which is conveyed by intonation, can turn any sentence into an exclamation.

Sentences can be simple or complex.

Simple sentence can be two-part, having a subject group and a predicate group, and one-part, having only a predicate group or only a subject group; may be common or uncommon; can be complicated, containing homogeneous members, circulation, introductory, plug-in construction, separate circulation.

A simple two-part unextended sentence is divided into a subject and a predicate, an extended one into a subject group and a predicate group; but in speech, oral and written, there is a semantic division of the sentence, which in most cases does not coincide with the syntactic division. The proposal is divided into the initial part of the message - the “given” and what is stated in it, the “new” - the core of the message. The core of a message or statement is highlighted by logical stress, word order, and ends the sentence. For example, in the sentence The hailstorm predicted the day before broke out in the morning, the initial part (“given”) is the hailstorm predicted the day before broke out, and the core of the message (“new”) appears in the morning, the logical emphasis falls on it.

Difficult sentence combines two or more simple ones. Depending on the means by which the parts of a complex sentence are connected, compound, complex and non-conjunctive complex sentences are distinguished.

Nowadays, the Russian language is undoubtedly intensifying its dynamic tendencies and entering a new period of its historical development.

Now, of course, it is too early to make any predictions about the paths the Russian language will take, serving the development of new forms of consciousness and life activity. After all, language develops according to its own objective internal laws, although it reacts vividly to various kinds of “external influences.”

That is why our language requires constant close attention and careful care - especially at the critical stage of social development that it is experiencing. We as a whole must help language discover its original essence of concreteness, definiteness of formulation and transmission of thought. After all, it is well known that any sign is not only an instrument of communication and thinking, but also practical consciousness.

It is difficult to say whether the Russian language will undergo syntactic, much less morphological, changes. After all, this kind of change requires a very significant time and, moreover, is not directly related to external influences. At the same time, one can apparently expect significant stylistic rearrangements. Important “external” stimuli in these processes will be such phenomena as scientific and technological progress, the transformation of the Russian language into the world language of our time, which has become one of the global realities of our time.

Before our eyes, a phraseology is being created that overcomes formalism and opens up the possibility of a direct, frank discussion of the current situation, real affairs and tasks. For example: clearing away rubble (of the past); look for solutions; increase your work; strengthen the search; improve society; educate in word and deed, etc.

The most remarkable property of the structure of language is the ability to construct an infinite number of means of communication (sentences) from a finite supply of elements (words). Outside of language, each symbolic means of communication—the bugle signal, the road sign, the Republican elephant—is an isolated incident. However, when learning their mother tongue, no one has to learn one sentence of the language one by one. Instead, a potentially infinite variety of sentences is constructed according to rules that determine how words can be combined within a sentence. There are two types of rules. Syntax rules determine which combinations of units are valid. So, for the English language, the combination Article + Name + Intransitive verb gives an acceptable sentence (for example, The boy fell “The boy fell”), but the combination Verb + Name + Article + Preposition does not (for example, Ran boy the on). Semantic rules determine how the meaning of a more complex structure (a syntactic group or sentence) is inferred from the meanings and organization (syntax) of its constituent words. The semantic structure of language is extremely complex. Let's give two examples

, to illustrate what is meant here. First, the meaning of a sentence may depend on word order: cf. sentences John hit Jim “John hit Jim” and Jim hit John “Jim hit John” (in English the difference is only in word order). Secondly, ambiguity can arise from the fact that the constituents in a syntactic group interact differently with each other, for example, copper kettle is a boiler made of copper, whereas copper mine is not a mine made of copper, and a place where copper is mined. The complex and at the same time systemic nature of language is clearly manifested in elements smaller than syntactic units, and even smaller than words. Words themselves have a complex structure, and this structure is characterized by a certain regularity. Many words consist of several meaningful units - morphemes, the meanings of which are combined according to certain rules in the meaning of the word. So, for example, the past tense morpheme -ed in will modify the meaning of any verbal morpheme to which it is attached. The suffix -en in English converts adjectives into verbs: from the adjective cheap “cheap” the verb to cheapen is formed, which means “to make cheaper”; from the adjective worse “worst (comparative degree)” – verb to worsen “to worsen”, etc. A morpheme is the smallest significant element of language. The morphemes themselves consist of elements of the sound system of the language - phonemes, which are transmitted in writing, although not completely sequentially, in the form of letters. There are no semantic rules that would determine the construction of morphemes from phonemes, since the latter have no meaning. However, every language has general principles that determine which combinations of phonemes are possible and which are not (a kind of syntax). In English, for example, "fgl" is not a valid sequence, while many combinations, such as "faba", are quite possible from the point of view of the phonology of that language (although they are not words, i.e. have no meaning).

Language thus exhibits a hierarchical organization in which units at each level except the lowest are assembled according to certain regular patterns from units at lower levels. Specific branches of linguistics study different levels of this hierarchy and the interaction of these levels with each other. Phonology studies the elementary sounds of a language and their combinations. Morphology is the study of the morphemes of a language and their compatibility. Syntax studies the formation of phrases (syntactic groups) and sentences. Semantics deals with the meanings of morphemes and words and the various ways in which the meanings of larger units are constructed from the meanings of smaller units.

There is no consensus on how exactly the structure of language should be represented. The method of presentation proposed here is one of the simplest; many experts believe that more complex methods of representation are needed. However, whatever the details of these or those descriptions, linguists agree that language is a complex system, organized in such a way that, having mastered a certain visible set of elements and the rules for their combination, a person acquires the ability to produce and understand an unlimited number of specific messages . It is this flexibility that provides language with the exceptional position it occupies among other means of communication.

Typically, linguists limit their attention to auditory language and, more specifically, to the sounds produced by the human vocal apparatus. In principle, however, such a restriction is not mandatory. An organization similar to that just described may be inherent in systems of visual signs, smoke signals, clicking sounds, and any other perceptual phenomena used for communication purposes. The corresponding capabilities are exploited both in the written language and in semaphore signals. It is important, however, that all existing languages either consist of vocal sounds or are derived from a spoken language. Written language is better thought of as a system for recording sound language than as a distinct language in its own right. In the course of development of both society and the individual, sound language appears first, and writing appears later - as a means of preserving linguistic messages. Literate people often make the mistake of lamenting the inconsistency in the pronunciation of written words, instead of lamenting the inconsistency and imperfection of the written recording of spoken words.

System is a set of interconnected and interdependent elements and relationships between them.

Structure is the relationship between elements, the way the system is organized.

Any system has a function, is characterized by a certain integrity, has subsystems and is itself part of a higher-level system.

Terms system And structure often used as synonyms. This is inaccurate because although they denote interrelated concepts, they do so in different aspects. System denotes the relationship of elements and a single principle of their organization, structure characterizes the internal structure of the system. The concept of a system is associated with the study of objects in the direction from elements to the whole, with the concept of structure - in the direction from the whole to its component parts.

Some scientists give these terms a specific interpretation. Thus, according to A.A. Reformatsky, a system is the unity of homogeneous interdependent elements within one tier, and structure is the unity of heterogeneous elements within the whole [Reformatsky 1996, 32, 37].

The language system is hierarchically organized, it has several tiers:

· Phonological

· Morphological

· Syntactic

· Lexical

The central place in the language system is occupied by the morphological layer. The units of this tier - morphemes - are elementary, minimal signs of language. Units of phonetics and vocabulary belong to the peripheral tiers, since phonetic units do not have the properties of a sign, and lexical units enter into complex, multi-level relationships. The structure of the lexical tier is more open and less rigid than the structures of other tiers; it is more susceptible to extralinguistic influences.

In the Fortunat school, when studying syntax and phonology, the morphological criterion is decisive.

The concept of system plays important role in typology. It explains the relationship between various phenomena of language, emphasizes the expediency of its structure and functioning. Language is not a simple collection of words and sounds, rules and exceptions. The concept of a system allows us to see order in the variety of facts of language.

No less important is the concept of structure. Although the principles of structure are common, the languages of the world differ from each other and these differences consist in their originality structural organization, since the methods of connecting elements may be different. This difference in structure precisely serves to group languages into typological classes.

The systemic nature of language allows us to highlight the core on which the entire linguistic typology is built - the morphological tier of the language.

End of work -

This topic belongs to the section:

Theoretical basis of the typology

On the website read: “theoretical basis of the typology”

If you need additional material on this topic, or you did not find what you were looking for, we recommend using the search in our database of works:

What will we do with the received material:

If this material was useful to you, you can save it to your page on social networks:

All topics in this section:

Goals and objectives of typological linguistics
Being part of general linguistics, typological linguistics has as its goal such a study of various languages of the world that would allow us to identify structural types and laws in all their diversity.

The subject of linguotypology and aspects of its study
The subject of linguistic typology is the comparative (including contrastive, taxonomic and universal) study of the structural and functional properties of languages, regardless of x

And their application in linguistics
The Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary interprets typology as a method of scientific knowledge, which is based on the division of systems of objects and their grouping using a generalized idea

Matching material
The basic units of phonology are phonemes and syllables. In language, phonological units are acoustic-articulatory images of sounds and syllables; in speech, they are actually sounding physical units

Comparison criteria
The phonological systems of different languages can be compared according to the following signs: · Total number phonemes;

· The presence of certain classes of phonemes (for example, aspirated consonants,
Universal and typological features in phonology

Among the phonological universals are the following: · A language can have at least 10 and no more than 80 phonemes;
· If the language has a combination of smooth + nasal, then there are combinations

Systems of Consonantism
There are 33 consonant phonemes in the Russian language: 24 noisy and 9 sonorant. The sonorants include /th/ and the paired softness-hardness ones /m, n, p, l/. The remaining consonants are noisy.

Matching material
Vocalism systems

Comparison criteria
In Russian, vowels are distinguished by two differential features - row and rise. The vocal system includes 5 phonemes. Phonemes /у, о/ are labialized, the rest are non-labialized

The subject of comparative morphology is the grammatical structure of languages. The focus of linguists involved in this section is the relationship between units of the grammatical tier, i.e.
When morphologically comparing languages in morphological classification, the following criteria are used: the nature of the morphemes (independence, standardity, number of meanings, gender

The grammatical structure of the language
The grammatical structure is a system of morphological categories, syntactic categories and constructions, as well as methods of word production.

The grammatical structure is the basis without cat
Inflectional type of languages

The main feature of inflectional languages is that the forms of individual independent words are formed using inflection.
Inflection is an inflectional affix, obligatory

Affixes, in turn, are divided into
The main feature of the agglutinative type is that the forms of independent words are formed with the help of unambiguous affixes freely attached to the original form. The term ag-glu-tinatio is etymological

Incorporating languages
Incorporating languages are distinguished on the basis of the design feature of their grammatical structure, which consists in organizing the utterance as a single morphological whole.

In p
Isolating languages

Isolating languages are characterized by the absence of inflectional forms. The grammatical relationships between words in a sentence are expressed in these languages by word order, function words and intonation. Track
Signs of language morphology

Most of the morphological universals established by linguistics characterize the interdependence of phenomena in the language system. So, for example, B.A. Uspensky established the following universals:
Typology of morphological categories

The grammatical structure of a language is created not only by forms, but also by morphological categories.
Categories, as mentioned above, are systems of forms with meanings opposed to each other

Spatiotemporal categories
Spatial values express the following categories: deixis;

· localization;
· orientation Ι;

· orientation ΙΙ.
Dyke category

Quantitative categories
Among the inflectional categories expressing quantity, I.A. Melchuk distinguishes 4 classes: - numerical quantification of objects;

- numerical quantification of facts;
- non-numeric

Quality categories
Inflectional categories expressing qualities can characterize: - participants in the described facts;

The main word-formation meanings of this class are divided into 5 groups: · identifier ‘to be something’;

· habit ‘to have something’;
· productive ‘to make something’;

And attached to fact designations
This class includes derivatives: · name of the figure;

· object name;
· name of the place;

· tool name;
· method name;

· name of the result.
Them And attached to the designations of participants Substantive derivatives of this type form an open set.

An example of such a derivative in Russian is ‘the one who makes the object called the base function’: pool
Nominators

The French language has a variety of suffixes that form nouns from verbs and adjectives. Verbal nominalizers include suffixes: -ion, -ation, -ment
Verbalizers

In Russian, suffixes are verbalizers, for example, in the following words: attack, advise, repair.
To Malagasy

Adjectivizers
Adjectivizers form

relative adjectives
from nouns, for example, in Russian: apple → apple, pear → pear, lemon → lemon, tank → tankovy

Adverbializers
Adverbializers of nouns are rare. In English (in business style), adverbs are formed from nouns using the suffix –wise with the meaning ‘relatively’

Separability
The division of a word into stem and inflection is established by comparing the word forms of one word. The articulation of the word stem is determined by comparing related words. Both languages have both

Paradigmatics
Paradigms of independent words in English are characterized by the presence of a small number of inflectional forms within the paradigm (noun – 2, verb – 4). In addition to inflectional ones, there are

Syntagmatics
Syntactic relationships between words in English are expressed using word order and prepositions. Parts of a sentence are sometimes connected by conjunctions and allied words, but more often non-union connection. Fle

Personal forms of the indicative mood of the active voice
Present Past Future Future-in-the-Past Simple I explain I explained

Passive voice
Present Past Future Simple is explained was explained will be explained

Infinitive
simple to explain progressive to be explaining perfect to have explained

Matching material
The basic communicative unit of any language is the sentence. Ready-made sentences are not contained in the language itself - they arise in speech. However, the rules for constructing a sentence are necessary

Comparison criteria
To compare the syntax of phrases, the following criteria are taken into account: 1) type of syntactic relations;

Structural properties of language briefly. What is a language system and its structure

Theoretical basis of the typology

What will we do with the received material:

All topics in this section:

“Riddle” salad with egg pancakes Riddle salad with beef recipe