Linguistic Relations and Functions: Saussure and Halliday

  1. Three relations proposed by Saussure: Syntagmatic, Paradigmatic and Associative relations


Saussure proposes three different relations: syntagmatic, paradigmatic and associative relations.

1) Syntagmatic relations:


A linguistic element is associated with other elements in the same line; agreement (concordancia). Ejemplo en español: “El niño bueno” (hay concordancia de género y número), agreement of gender, number, time, etc. It happens with anaphora and cataphora too. In phonetics there are agreements too, for example when a sound changes according to the sound that follows or precedes. The use of [c] or [k] depends on the vowel that follows (front or back). The “n” sound also changes if an “m”, “f”, “k”, etc. Follows.

In semantics there are agreements too. Por ejemplo en español “ladrar” implica que el sujeto es un perro, “dar a luz” indica que el sujeto es mujer/hembra y fértil.

There are also agreements in Register y a veces no se respeta como por ejemplo cuando aparece una palabra muy culta dentro de un discurso muy informal o al revés.

Símbolo < —=””> porque son en la misma línea estas relaciones, Horizontal relations.

2) Paradigmatic:


Paradigma: serie de elementos que pueden ocupar el mismo lugar. “John bought a book” “Mary bought a book”, John and Mary are in a paradigmatic relationship. In phonetics: minimal pairs in which the meaning of the word changes. It also occurs in “substitution” when elements of the same nature can occupy the same place.

Vertical relation

3) Associative:


Denotation and Connotation.
Denotation is the literal meaning and Connotation is the added meaning to a word and it changes from one person/place to the next.

In associative relations the important thing is CONNOTATION

Example: when a poet uses alliteration to provoke a non-literal effect. Another example is the use of ʃ instead of tʃ, it has a social connotation.


* A distintive feature is  the most basic unit of phonological structure that may be analyzed in phonology theory (natural classes. Segment) related to stress

  1. What are the 3 functions of Language (Halliday):


1) Ideational or experimental: Related to locutionary force

2) Interpersonal: Related to illocutionary force. Situation in which the linguistic event takes place

3) Textual: → given and new

                               → theme and rheme

                               → identification (when, where, who,etc)

  The word metafunctions
:

·Ideational function — we use language to talk about our experience of the world, including our inner world, to describe events, states and the entities involved (language serves as a cording system which deals with the relation between man and nature);

·Interpersonal function — we use language to interact with others, to establish and maintain relations with them, to please them, to anger them, and influence their behavior, to get their help or sympathy (language servers as a medium between individuals);

·Textual function — language as a system organizes messages in a unified manner so that chunks of messages fit logically with others around them and with the wider context in which the talking or writing takes place (when language is in use, playing the above two functions, it naturally forms a text).

  These metafunctions of language account for why language is as it is, a point which will be made clear in the following three sections.


Founders of IPA henry sweet paul passy ( teaching of language)

Jan Baudoun de Cortenay is known by being the first phonetician to distingish between phone and phoneeme

Underlying phonological representation is a term used by generative phonology

an example of phonological agreement or concord assimilation (argument of poa) in paris

pitch intontion melody tone vibration

woman 250 htz man 125

higher the number of vibration higher notes

descriptive linguistics focuses on product while generative focuses on process

given new has to with textual its reflected by