Characteristics of Languages and Linguistic Analysis

Posted on Sep 28, 2024 in Latin

ITEM 1 – Characteristics of Languages

The languages that provide humans with the faculty of language share several characteristics:

  1. Arbitrariness: There is no direct relationship between the elements of a language and the reality they represent. The link between form and meaning is arbitrary.
  2. Displacement: Messages can refer to events removed in time and space from the communicative situation.
  3. Lying: Language allows for the possibility of sending false messages.
  4. Reflexivity: Language has the ability to refer to itself. It can be used to talk about language itself.
  5. Differentiation of Units: Languages use a small number of elements (sounds) that contrast sharply with each other.
  6. Double Articulation: Language is a dual system, organized on two levels: discrete units combine to form other elements (like words) that carry meaning.
  7. Productivity: Double articulation allows for the creation of infinite messages from a small number of elements (monemes).

Contexts

Context refers to the set of circumstances, beliefs, and knowledge relevant to producing and interpreting utterances.

Types of Context:

  1. Linguistic Context (Co-text): Comprises what was said before and after an utterance. It can clarify the meaning of statements.
  2. Situational Context: Encompasses the external reality in which a communicative act takes place. For example, a statement like “the window is open” makes sense in an interior space where there is a closed window.
  3. Sociocultural Context: Consists of data from specific social conditions and their suitability to different circumstances. For example, greetings vary across cultures, and different linguistic registers are used depending on the communicative situation. Within the sociocultural context are frameworks that classify distinct communication situations and the roles of participants, whose form depends on the communicative goal within the framework.

The Linguistic Sign

Principles of the Linguistic Sign:

  1. Arbitrariness: The bond linking the signifier (e.g., the word “house”) and the signified (e.g., the concept of a house) is arbitrary.
  2. Linearity of the Signifier: The signifier unfolds in time, forming a “timeline.” Elements are presented sequentially, creating a chain of phonemes in a coherent order.
  3. Immutability and Mutability: For the community using it, the linguistic sign is immutable. However, over time, linguistic signs can change, leading to both immutability and mutability.

ITEM 3 – Dialectal Varieties of Spanish

In Spain, Spanish presents four dialectal varieties:

  1. Varieties of bilingual areas.
  2. Varieties of areas in contact with the Leonese and Aragonese dialects.
  3. Northern varieties.
  4. Southern varieties, including Andalusian, Canarian, and transitional varieties (Extremadura and Murcia).

Andalusian

Andalusian is a southern variety with a domain encompassing diverse speech patterns.

Phonic Features:

  1. Seseo or Ceceo: Pronunciation of “c” before “i” and “e” as “s” or “th,” respectively.
  2. Aspiration or elimination of syllable-final /s/.
  3. Aspiration of the phoneme /x/.
  4. Confusion or omission of implosive /l/ and /r/.
  5. Relaxation and loss of intervocalic /d/.
  6. Yeísmo and fricative pronunciation of /ch/ in some areas.

Morphosyntactic Traits:

  1. Use of the pronoun “ustedes” for the second person plural in the eastern part of the region.
  2. Etymological use of pronouns “le,” “la,” and “lo.”
  3. Emphasis on the diminutive suffixes “-illo/a.”

Galician

This Romance language extends throughout Galicia and penetrates into Asturias up to the Navia River, the Sil River in León, and western Sanabria in Zamora.

Origin and Evolution:

Galician emerged in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, linked to Portuguese. During the Middle Ages, it had significant cultural and literary importance. From the late 12th to the mid-14th century, a flourishing of cancioneiros (songbooks) occurred. In the 15th century, Castilian was introduced into Galicia, affecting the Galician language. Galician remained confined to rural areas, relegated to oral and family use. In the 19th century, the Rexurdimento (revival) emerged, a movement to reclaim the language. The poetry of Rosalía de Castro, some works of fiction, and the publication of grammars and dictionaries reflected this concern. In 1905, the Royal Galician Academy was created. During the Second Republic, the Statute of Galicia was approved, but the outbreak of the Civil War frustrated the recovery of the language. In the democratic period, with the 1978 Constitution and the Autonomy Statute of 1981, Galician acquired official status in Galicia. The teaching of Galician and its use in the media have extended its knowledge to most of the population.

Catalan

Catalan is a Romance language spoken in Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, bordering counties of Aragon, Alghero (Sardinia), Roussillon (southern France), and Andorra, where it is official.

Origin and Evolution:

The Catalan language emerged in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. By the late 13th century, besides being the language of Catalonia, it had spread to the Kingdom of Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Its medieval prestige, supported by a rich literary tradition, culminated in the work of Ramon Llull and historical chronicles. In the 15th century, in Valencia, the figure of the poet Ausiàs March and the chivalric romance Tirant lo Blanch stand out. In the 19th century, the Renaixença emerged, a movement for the recovery of Catalan language and culture. In addition to literary works, the first periodicals were published in Catalan. The need to standardize and study the language was also raised. In the 20th century, the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (1907) was created, and Pompeu Fabra’s Catalan Grammar (1918) was published. With the Second Republic and the adoption of the Statute, Catalan became an official language, but the Civil War interrupted its implementation. From the 1950s, cultural recovery began. With the 1978 Constitution, Catalan once again became an official language.

Basque or Euskera

Basque or Euskera is a pre-Roman language spoken in the Basque Country, the northern region of Navarre, and bordering areas of France.

Origin and Evolution:

Euskera is the oldest language in Spain. It does not derive from the Indo-European languages like other Iberian languages, and its origin is uncertain. It has been related to Caucasian languages and Berber languages of North Africa. Popular Basque literature was essentially oral. In the 19th century, with the rise of Basque nationalism, efforts were made to recover the language, leading to the creation of the Euskaltzaindia (Academy of the Basque Language) in 1919. During the Second Republic, the Statute made Euskera official, but the Civil War interrupted its implementation. The variety and dispersion of Basque dialects necessitated unification, and since 1968, efforts have been made to establish a common standard, Euskara Batua, based on the central dialects. Its official status, granted by the 1978 Constitution, has led to advancements in the knowledge and use of Basque and its appreciation.

UNIT 4 – Consonant Phonemes

The Spanish phonological system has 19 consonant phonemes, which differ based on their manner and place of articulation, and the behavior of the vocal cords.

Manner of Articulation:

  1. Occlusive: Articulators are completely closed.
  2. Fricative: Articulators are almost closed.
  3. Affricate: Occlusive followed by fricative.
  4. Nasal: Air flows through the nose.
  5. Lateral: The tongue tip divides the airflow into two streams.
  6. Vibrant: The tongue tip vibrates against the alveolar ridge.

Place of Articulation:

  1. Bilabial: Both lips come together.
  2. Labiodental: The lower lip touches the upper teeth.
  3. Interdental: The tongue is placed between the teeth.
  4. Dental: The tongue touches the upper teeth.
  5. Alveolar: The tongue approximates the alveolar ridge.
  6. Palatal: The tongue approximates the hard palate.
  7. Velar: The tongue approximates the soft palate (velum).

Vibration of the Vocal Cords:

  1. Voiceless: Vocal cords do not vibrate.
  2. Voiced: Vocal cords vibrate.

ITEM 11 – Lyrical Poetry

Lyrical poetry aims to imitate moods.

Characteristics of Lyrical Texts:

  1. They offer a very subjective perspective.
  2. They do not develop a story.
  3. They typically focus on one aspect and are generally brief.
  4. They usually appear in verse, although there are works of lyrical prose.

Poetic Forms:

  1. Popular Song: Themes include love and religion, although satirical versions exist. Monologue is common, but dialogues may be included. Vocabulary and syntax are simple, and the meter is varied, with a predominance of minor art forms. Examples: jarchas, carols.
  2. Petrarchan Song: Addresses similar themes but with an individualistic tone and focus on worship. Metrically, it consists of five to ten stanzas. Examples: Garcilaso de la Vega.
  3. Eclogue: Presents rural life as an idyllic state, in a nostalgic and melancholic tone. Usually consists of an introduction, closing, and interspersed dialogues among shepherds, often dealing with love affairs. The meter is varied. Examples: Eclogues I, II, and III by Garcilaso de la Vega.
  4. Hymn: In ancient Greece, it was a song of praise to gods and heroes, containing religious, patriotic, military, and political ideals. Since the Middle Ages, the liturgical hymn has also persisted. Its meter is varied. Examples: Hymn to the Sun by Espronceda.
  5. Epigram: Initially, its theme was praise, but it has gradually incorporated all circumstances with a surprising ending. Presents metric variety. Examples: Gongora’s burlesque sonnets and Quevedo’s epigrams.
  6. Elegy: Mixes sad, melancholic, sentimental, and memorial elements. Its meter is varied. Examples: Verses on the Death of His Father by Jorge Manrique.
  7. Ode: Dedicated to great people, beautiful scenery, or contemplative speculation. The language is elevated. Examples: Odes by Fray Luis de León.

Communicative Process in Lyrical Texts:

The poetic voice can adopt three attitudes:

  1. Apparent Objectivity: Limited to presenting an external reality, seemingly using the third person.
  2. Appeal: The lyrical addressee (second person) acquires an explicit presence.
  3. Pure Expression: The poetic voice is expressed solely through the first person.

Other possibilities include self-address or internal dialogue.

Narrative

Narrative encompasses texts that tell stories through a narrator.

Characteristics of Narrative Texts:

  1. They develop a story, a sequence of actions, dominated by the referential function, in addition to the poetic function.
  2. The story is told by a narrator.
  3. The predominant mode of discourse is prose.

Narrative Subgenres:

  1. Epic Poem: Extensive narratives in verse that deal with the story of a hero linked to the fate of their people. Characterized by the use of epic similes and epithets to describe characters. Examples: Cantar de Mio Cid, La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla.
  2. Short Story: Short prose narratives that present a conflict with an open or closed ending. It usually develops in a single time and space, and if dialogues are included, they are typically short. Short stories can contain a moral or lesson through example. Examples: The Count Lucanor.