Borbála Richter. First Steps in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Budapest: Bölcsész Konzorcium, 2006. — 212 p.The First Step: Introducing Language and LinguisticsLanguage and its features
Linguistics describes, it does not prescribe
The scientific method
Questions which linguists pose
Taking the next stepSounds Good: Phonetics & PhonologySounds and letters
Sounds and phonemes
Feel your voice
R’s are us
Front and back vowels
Are you stressed?
IntonationWords = word + s: MorphologyMorphemes
Lexemes
Word classes
Word-formation
Language typesUp the Linguistic Pyramid: SyntaxWhat is syntax?
Generative grammar
Words in syntax
From words to phrases
From phrases to clauses
From clauses to sentencesWords, Meanings, and Their Relationships: Lexical SemanticsLinguistics — Semantics — Lexical semantics
Grammars and dictionaries: mental vs. written
Description vs. prescription
What a word is: type vs. token, word form vs. lexeme
What is (not) a word
Lexical units larger than words: multi-word lexemes
Meaning and arbitrariness
Some sense relations
Homonymy vs. polysemy
Meanings revisitedWhat Did You Mean by What You Said? PragmaticsWhat’s pragmatics for?
Register – different language choice in different situations
Interpretation – Is this what you mean? Do you know what I mean?
Pragmatic principles: Cooperation makes communication
Describing facts vs. changing the state of affairs
Cross-cultural pragmatics – Do we understand each other?The Way from Tunge to Language: Language Change and Language HistoryLiving languages change constantly
Dialects and related languages
Language contact
Approaches to language change
A glance at the history of EnglishKeywords in Context: Corpus LinguisticsWhat is corpus linguistics?What Is in a Dictionary? LexicographyTaking a brief but close look
Reference, encyclopaedia, dictionary
Dictionary types
Translation dictionaries
Monolingual dictionaries
Means of access
What (not) to look for in a dictionary
The two dictionaries above can be characterised as followsIn and Out of Languages: TranslationKinds of translation – as observed by a linguist
Languages and Reality
Translated text = original text?
Theory and practiceSpoken and Written Worlds: Discourse Analysis and Text LinguisticsSpeaking and writing – similar or different?
Social relationships
Circumstances
Connections
Background knowledge
Understanding
Channels of communication – speaking and writingSpeak Your Mind: PsycholinguisticsIntroduction: What is psycholinguistics?
Some psycholinguistic aspects of knowing a language
Language acquisition
Language production and language comprehensionHow Do We Learn Languages? Second Language AcquisitionSome basic concepts
Characteristics of learner language
Possible explanations for the characteristics of learner languageHow Do We Know What You Know? Foreign Language Proficiency, Teaching and TestingHistorical overview: Concepts of language knowledge, language teaching and testing methods.
Basic notions of language testing
ConsolidationDouble Trouble? BilingualismWhat about you?
Mother tongue plus one (or more)
The scholarly focus
Misconceptions about bilingualism