Refer to the diagram on page 9 in Aitchison’s linguistics. How do you combine different disciplinary perspectives to formulate a more holistic understanding of your target language? Do you give preference to one disciplinary approach over the others? How will your knowledge of language structures and disciplinary methodologies inform the trajectory of your learning plan?
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According to Aitchison, phonetics (speech) is at the center of a language, followed by phonology which is the study of sound patterns. Following suit is syntax referring to the overall structure of a language, semantics which studies meaning, and ultimately pragmatics which focuses on how speakers of a language use it. Aside from grammar, disciplines such as artificial intelligence, anthropology, and literature also make up a language. It is very common as a language learner to get so stuck on the grammar aspect of a language that studying the culture is overlooked a bit.
I think when starting out, your goals will help dictate which disciplinary perspectives to focus on. For instance, if you're focusing on grammar, you will emphasize learning syntax more. However, to combine all the different disciplinary perspectives to formulate a more holistic understanding of your target language, immersing yourself in the language and culture will make you more accustomed to the speaking mannerisms, intonations, and sentence structures. Since I have spent the majority of my life in school and am currently a student, my main goal with learning Korean is to be able to express myself with other students and understand the nuances of the language relating to their culture, history, and educational system. Given this goal of mine, the sociology, psychology, and philosophy disciplines are the viewpoints that I will need to incorporate into my study plan. I think I will try to do so by watching documentaries, tv shows and reading the english translation of famous literature to gain a grasp on their culture and history and better see how these perspectives are supported within the makeup of the language. At the end of the day though, one needs to have a solid foundation of the various perspectives to fully learn a language.
According to Aitchison's linguistics diagram, the heart of language is all about sounds (phonetics), shape (phonology), structure (syntax), meaning (semantics), and how we use it (pragmatics). It's grammar,
Looking at the rest of the diagram, it shows how different fields like sociology, psychology, and philosophy are all connected to language. They give birth to things like philosophical linguistics and computational linguistics, which trace back to those language basics. When we see language from all these angles, it becomes way more than just grammar.
For example, understanding sociolinguistics helps me great a greater idea of how to learn Korean though the media as opposed to just reading and writing. There are different aspects of each form of communication in Korean. Pairing this with language/applied linguistics helps me learn how to best interpret the Korean grammar phonetics, and literature. When I plan my learning journey, I'm going to incorporate multiple different ways to intake korean asides from reading and writing and try to expose myself to the culture rather than just the language
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According to the diagram in Aitchison’s linguistics, the core of language revolves around phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics which are the sounds, shape, form, and meaning of language. They constitute grammar, which is what I tend to start with when learning a brand new language. However, I also tend to hyperfocus on the grammar aspect and end up not learning much outside of textbook sentences.
Looking at the rest of the diagram, it shows how different disciplinary preferences such as sociology, psychology, and philosophy all play a part in language such as philosophical linguistics and computational linguistics and their roots in phonetics, phonology, syntax, etc. By viewing language through the lens of multiple of these disciplines, we can understand a more encompassing and holistic understanding of a language outside of its textbook grammar. For example, combining sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics can help me learn Korean not just as a language, but in the context of Korean culture and society. Including the discipline of stylistics may also help me to further my understanding of the Korean language by adding a written element. When informing the trajectory of my learning plan, I will want to include a variety of activities involving different disciplines in order to prevent myself from getting stuck in just one small locus of language.
Aitchison's diagram on page 9 gives a rough impression of the topics and boundaries that linguistics covers. Starting with phonetics (the study of human speech sounds), and going to the grammar structure - phonology, syntax, and semantics. Pragmatics circles next and explains how speakers use language in ways that cannot be predicted from linguistic knowledge alone. The last circle of the diagram is divided into sections that link language with the external world - sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, psycholinguistics, and others. It is very important to consider all of the possible aspects of linguistics, languages themselves, and factors that affect our linguistic studies.
According to Aitchison, phonology, syntax, and semantics are the “bread and butter” of linguistics, and are a central concern of the various linguistic studies. Therefore, I definitely think that these three grammar aspects play the most crucial role when it comes to learning a new language, in my case it is Hungarian. Both of the books (grammar and language) I use to build the base of my language understanding, the way Hungarian works. For example, the most recent topic I have covered with my community partner was the word order within the sentences. I have learned that the order does not matter if I am consistent with keeping the “focus word” before the verb. It is part of Hungarian grammar, and without it, I can never speak the language. I believe that once I reach at least level A2, I can shift my focus a little bit more toward more complicated language structures and disciplinary methodologies that can inform the trajectory of my learning plan. I can incorporate pragmatics more, and study the ways in which the Hungarian native speakers express themselves, and which are not necessarily explained in the textbooks. I think that exploring the new language from different perspectives is a very important aspect of learning since it makes you invested not just in the new grammar structures but new culture as well.