Wednesday, June 24, 2026

 

ICBT Anuradhapura Campus

Higher Diploma in English Leading to BA Degree in English

Cardiff Metropolitan University UK

 

Lecturer: Dr. D.N. Aloysius (BA/PGDE/MA/M.Phil/Ph.D) Senior Lecturer in English (Former Head/English and Senior Lecturer in English (Retired) Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Examiner MA in Linguistics Program University of Kelaniya

Linguistics is the scientific study of language, its structure, use, and development.

Here are three well-known definitions/views of linguistics associated with major linguists:

1.      Noam Chomsky

·         Linguistics is the study of the knowledge of language (linguistic competence) possessed by native speakers and the underlying rules that enable them to produce and understand an unlimited number of sentences.

·         Paraphrased from Chomsky's work on generative grammar.

2.      Ferdinand de Saussure

·         Linguistics is the scientific study of language as a system of signs, where meaning arises from the relationships among signs within the language system.

·         Based on Saussure's structuralist view presented in Course in General Linguistics.

3.      Leonard Bloomfield

·         Linguistics is the scientific study of language, focusing on the observable forms and patterns of speech.

·         Based on Bloomfield's behaviorist and descriptive approach in Language (1933).

In summary:

·         Saussure: Language as a system of signs.

·         Bloomfield: Scientific study of observable language patterns.

·         Chomsky: Study of the mental knowledge and rules underlying language.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

 

No comments:

Post a Comment