Page 8 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Linguistics

Notes hypothesis, testing, verification, tentativeness and predictiveness. Like a scientist a linguist observes
his data. Some of his methods of observation include simple listening, phonetic transcription, and
the use of various instruments, such as oscillograph, sounds pectograph, kymograph, chromograph,
mingograph, laryngoscope, endoscope, sonograph, autophonoscope, breathing flask,
strobolaryngoscope, electric vocal tract, pitchmeter, intensity meter, speech stretcher, formant
graphing machine, etc. Records and cassettes made in these ways help in various kinds of objective
description. A linguist has his language laboratory too.
Again, like a scientist a linguist develops hypotheses, makes generalized statements and teststhem
against the fact of languages. When a linguist or a phonetician makes a statement about languages,
he makes it on the basis of observation. First he observes linguistic events. He finds some similarities
and contrasts on the basis of which he makes sound generalizations. On the basis of these
generalizations hypotheses are formulated to account for the events. These are tested by further
observations, and out of them is constructed a theory of how language works. From the theory are
derived methods for making statements about linguistic events. The statements link the theory to
the events it is set up to account for, and they can now be evaluated by reference both to the theory
and to the events: the best statements are those which make maximum use of the theory to account
most fully for the facts.
The linguist also hopes to be in position to make prediction about unobserved linguistic data on
the basis of those observed, and build a general theory which would explain and relate all the facts
to be found in individual languages. Predictions about grammars and dictionaries can be made by
him. And finally like a true scientist, he is constantly engaged in discovering more about languages,
in refining his methods of investigation, and in constructing better theories. He also tries to find
out linguistic universals.
Like any scientific discipline, linguistics too is not static. Viewpoints and theoretical methods in
the field, change even in fundamental ways from time to time, and different aspects come to
receive primary focus at different times. Linguistics has more than its share of unresolved
controversies and unsolved questions, which is a part of its fascination and challenge.
Finally, the closeness of Linguistics with other natural sciences like mathematics, physics,
physiology, biology, zoology, etc., is another proof of its scientific nature. ‘It touches on physics
through acoustics, on physiology through the structure of the human vocal organs, on zoology
through the comparative study of the communicative systems of living beings.’ A glance on any
book on transformational-generative grammar would convince any objective onlooker how
linguistics is becoming more and more scientific. Furthermore, as mentioned by R. H. Robins,
linguistics in its operations and statements is guided by three canons of science:
(1) exhaustiveness, the adequate treatment of all the relevent material; (2) consistency, the absence
of contradiction between different parts of the total statement, and within the limits imposed by
the two preceding principles; and (3) economy, whereby, other things being equal, a shorter
statement or analysis employing fewer terms is to be preferred to one that is longer or more
involved. Consequently, linguistics is getting more and more technical and sophisticated every
day. Yet it is not a pure science. Its position, says R. A. Hall, is between the natural and social
sciences, like that of geology. To Robins it is an ‘empirical science’, and within the empirical
sciences it is ‘one of the social sciences’, because its subject matter concerns human beings, and is
very much different from that of natural sciences.
Nevertheless, linguistics is the scientific study of language. It may be inductive or deductive; it is,
however, objective, precise, tentative and systematic; it is concerned with reportable facts, methods,
and principles; it works by means of observations, hypotheses, experiments and tests, postulates,
and inferences; it makes generalization and predictions; it formulates theories; its products are
descriptive, verbal or algebraic statements about language.
1.2 The Scope of Linguistics

We have discussed the definition and nature of linguistics. The question that arises immediately
now is: what areas and what aspects of language study is the linguist interested in? In a broad

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