The Language Systems

Sistemas de la lengua
2019
Dra. Constanza Gerding Salas
What is a system?
A a set of “things” working together as parts of an interconnecting
network; a complex whole.
It is a functionally determined, structured aggregate of elements.
Any system is characterized by its upward and downward
relations within the systemic hierarchy.
 What is the language system?

Language is a human system of communication

that uses arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds,
gestures, and/or written symbols.

According to Saussure, ‘arbitrariness’

in linguistics means ‘existing or
coming about at random, by chance
or as a capricious and unreasonable
act of will’.
A language, in turn, serves as a subsystem for two superior systems:

1. The human mind, for which a language

is a tool shaping the mind’s products.

2. The social system comprising all the

speakers of a language.
Traditionally, the language system comprised three subsystems:

1. The grammatical subsystem, whose function is to arrange words into

sentences reflecting thoughts exchanged in speech communication.
2. The semantic subsystem containing thousands of words, whose function is
to reflect the entire range of things and phenomena in the world.
3. The phonic subsystem, whose function is to provide the products of the
other two subsystems, i.e. words and sentences, with externalizable and
transmissible sound shapes.
4. The discourse system (introduced by Foucault)
consists of ideas, attitudes, courses of
action, beliefs and practices that
systematically construct the subjects and
the worlds of which they speak, i.e. the
cultural system. Discourse is possible thanks
to the three language systems.
 The phonic subsystem
• It is often called the sound system of language.

• It is responsible for recognizing the distinct

speech sounds heard in language.

• It includes phonetics (the sounds of human

speech), their physiological production,
acoustic properties, auditory perception, and
neurophysiological status; and phonology, the
systematic use of sound to encode meaning in
any spoken human language.
 The morpho-syntactic subsystem

• It refers to the structure of language: word order, sentence structure, and

grammar usage.
• It controls the way in which words are used in sentences.
• This system includes morphology (how words are formed) and syntax (the
patterns of formation of sentences and phrases)
 The lexical-semantic subsystem
It is sometimes referred to as the meaning system. It is described by:
• lexicology, the study of words
• semantics, the study of the meaningful content of words, and
• pragmatics, the study of language in use
 The discourse subsystem

Discourse: communication of thought by words; talk.

The use of language, which is always context-oriented and often culture-

oriented.

A ten-year-old boy may use different speech codes, i.e. slang with his friends,
but more formal speech with his teacher.
 Questions

1. In what way is the sound system important for the development of

reading / writing skills?

2. In what way is the syntactic system related to the sound system?

3. If the greatest rate of L1 vocabulary accumulation occurs between the

ages 2-5, should children learn an L2 then?
 Questions

4. Do Chilean children have a fairly good command of lexical items in their

mother tongue? Is lexical availability associated to social status? To
educational level? Why, why not?

5. Do small children identify the different functions of the language? If so,

does it have an impact on L2 learning?

6. Which subsystem(s) is /are vital for communication? Which one can’t

we do without?
Context does matter!

The language system is perfect.

It’s the speakers who make it
imperfect!