LEONARD
BLOOMFIELD
De Saussure introduced the possibility that through investigation of the
linguistic sign and its relations the synchronic study of language could
proceed in an exact manner. Sapir bridged the gap between the older and the
newer conceptions of how to make the study of language a science. One
difficulty to be solved
was the central one of
language—its meaning and the relation of linguistic form to meaning.
BEHAVIORISM—Leonard Bloomfield was the most concerned with making
linguistics both autonomous and scientific. During the period when Bloomfield
was writing his second version of Language, an empirical approach to
psychology, called “behaviorism”, was being developed by J.B. Watson. Watson’s
trust was most likely misplaced, whereas an account of his linguistic doctrines
will show that Bloomfield’s work is valid apart from that background.
Watson explained that his aim as a psychologist was to find out, “given
certain or situation, what will the individual do, when confronted with it: or,
seeing someone doing something, to be able to predict what situation is calling
forth that response.” Watson defined stimulus as any object in the general
environment or any change in the psychological condition of the animal. A
response is a system of organic activity that we see emphasized in any kind of
activity. Watson assumed that some definite stimulus must call forth each of
these response.
Language—Language, as Bloomfield conceived it, is a set of signals, and
the structure of the set can be studied by the linguist without commitment to
any theory about what there is to signal or how it is possible for human beings
to signal.
The Study of Language—Bloomifeld concluded that all linguistic work
prior to that of the historical linguists was misguided in one or more ways,
principally because of the deductive or normative approach.
The Use of Lnguage—Bloomfield began by pointing out that the most
difficult step in language study is the first-to view language as one form of
bodily behavior. They have devoted their attention to manifestations of
language, they have studied literature, philology, or correct speech, all of
which are uses of language. In Bloomfield’s opinion the mechanics of speech
production, represented by the broken lines in the diagram, are fairly well understood,
whereas the symbolic process, represented by the arrows, is not. The speech
utterance, trivial and unimportant in itself, is important because it has
meaning: the meaning consists of the important things with which the
speech-utterance is connected, namely the practical events.
Bloomfield was far from holding the position. At the same time his
conclusion is also understandable, considering how he defined “meaning.”
Science as Bloomfield understood it is a unifying and unified form of
knowledge, so that the scientific treatment of language form and meaning would
not betray the autonomy of linguistic. The meanings of linguistics forms can be
successfully assigned when they are scientific meanings, devoid of connotation.
The mental images, feelings, and the like are merely popular terms for
various bodily movements, which, so far as they concern language, can roughly
be divided into three types. Bloomfield concluded that in practice there is
little or no difference between them: “the mentalist in practice defines
meanings exactly as does the mechanist, in terms of speech situations.”
Bloomfield’s three divisions of linguistic and prelinguistic processes do not
seem hopeful: (a) the large-scale processes are those that are, to some extent,
known; (b) the obscure, highly variable processes are postulated; and (c) the
obscure, soundless movements that are not perceptible to others are empirically
unknowable. Bloomfield identified the prelinguistic processes with those the
mentalists called “thought”.
Bloomfield defined a speech community as a group of people who interact
by means of speech. Within speech communities there are differences in the
density of communication. That is, we talk with some people more we talk with
others. Bloomfield classified the main types of speech roughly as follows:
1.
The
literary standard for formal speech and writing.
2.
The
colloquial standard which is the informal style of the privileged class.
3.
The
provincial standard, which will resemble to a greater degree.
4.
Sub-standard
clearly differs from the first three.
5.
The
local dialect would be that variety of language.
The Languages of the World—Bloomfield listed the
languages of the world by their geographic distribution, the number of speakers
they have, and the language family to which they belong.
The Phoneme—the study of language can be conducted
“without special assumptions only as long as we pay no attention to the meaning
of what is spoken.” Evidently the working of language is due to a resemblance
between successive utterances. As long we pay no attention to the meanings, we
cannot decide if two uttered forms are the ‘same’ or ‘different’.
The
study of significant speech-sound is phonology or practical phonetics.
Phonology involves the consideration of meaning. In the meantime, phonology
rests on: the fundamental assumption of linguistics: we must assume that in
every speech-community some utterances are alike in form and meaning. Simple
primary is discovered in the experiment with pin. Compound phonemes are those
made up of primary ones but which function as units. Secondary phonemes include
the suprasegmental phonemes, stress and pitch.
Bloomfield
cited some sound types that are frequently found as phonemes in familiar
language. "noise-sounds" include stops, trills and spirants; "musical
sounds" include nasal, lateral and vowel. Each language distinguishes at
least several different vowels in articulatory terms, primarily on the basis of
the difference in tongue position but also according to acoustic terms and the
distribution of overtones.
In
general, one finds in such combinations that a low vowel is more sonorous than
a high one: stress and other factors being equal, one finds any vowel more
sonorous than a consonant, and a nasal, trill, or lateral more sonorous than a
spirant. In any succession, then, whether of vowels or of consonants and
vowels, there will be an up and down of sonority and this sound features that,
in a given environment, are more sonorous than those that precede or follow,
will be a crest of sonority or a syllabic.
Vowels
and sonants also combine into compound phonemes, which are called diphthongs or
triphthongs, depending on the number of sounds involved. Since syllabicity is a
matter of the relative loudness of the phonemes, it is subject to the support
or modification of stress adjustments. These stress adjustments can create
stress crests of sonority, which are independent of the "natural"
sonority of the phonemes.
Phonetic
structure
Bloomfield
concluded that the grouping of phonemes merely according to their phonetic
characteristics is insulficient.
Meaning
Bloomfield
assumed that linguistic meanings are more specific than nonlinguistic acts and
that each linguistic from has a constant and specific meaning. As a consequence
he did not believe that there are true synonyms. An interesting conclusion he
drew from these facts is that the most accurate use of language is that peculiar
type called mathematics.
Despite
Bloomfield’s conviction that we are unable to give scientific statements of
many meanings, he found that there are two main features of dictionary meanings
that we cannot ignore: many linguistic forms are used for more than one typical
situation and the addition of supplementary values in linguistic forms which we
call connotations.
Bloomfield
agreed with de Saussure that linguist should study language as it is actually
spoken at the time of the study and assumed that the forms of the language have
constant and definable meanings.
Bloomfield
discussed four basic ways in which linguistic forms are arranged: order,
modulation or use of secondary phonemes and selection or differing arrangements
of the same constituents resulting in different meanings.
The taxeme is to grmmar what the phoneme is to lexicon, the smallest
unit of form, which has no meaning itself. For Bloomfield the need for
distinguishing the four taxeme exemplifies the pronciple (more strictly, the
assumption).
“sentence
type”-- Bloomfield
pointed to the impersonal expressions in German as an exception for example: Mir its kalt “I am cool”.
“Syntax”-- For Bloomfield syntax is the study of
grmmatical constructions that are different from those treated in morphology;
it is traditionally, a separate division of grammar. “
“Morphology”-- Bloomfield described morphology as the study
that deals with “the constructions in which bound forms appear among the
constituents. It includes the constructions of phrases”. For English the
process would lead to the following classification of words:
A. Secondary Words: Compound Words and Derived
Secondary Words
B. Primary Words not containing a free form:
derived primary words and morpheme-words.
“Morphological
Types”-- Bloomfield listed three main morphologic tyoes composition, secondary
derivation, and primary derivation.
“Substitution”
Substitution are the type of grammatically meaningful arrangment
distinct from sentences tyoes and constructions. Bloomfield defined
“substitute” as “a linguistic form or grammatical feature which, under certain
conventional circumtances, replaces any one of a class of lingistic forms”.
Bloomfield considered that almost all languages have a pronominal form,
although the pronominals are found in the most varied subtitution types.
Bloomfield then indicated as an example how the linguistic meaning of a
subtitute in English would be explained. The example are:
A. Class-Meaning: Definable in terms of
form-classes and creating an otherwise unestablished form-class
B. Substitution Types: Anaphora and limitation
“Form
classes and Lexicon”
The simplistic term “meaning”:
1) Smallest and meaningless unit of linguistic
signaling: phoneme consist of lexical
phoneme and grammatical lexeme.
2) Smallest meanigful unit of linguistic
signaling: glosseme
3) Meaningful unit of linguistic signaling
smallest of complex: a linguistic meaning consist of lexical and grammatical.
Bloomfield then explained that the traditional criterion for
describing and classifying lexical forms and their combination is through class
meaning, such as the familiar definition of a “noun” as the name of a person,
place or thing”.
Bloomfield said that
the traditional criterion for describing and classifying lexical forms and
their combination is trough class meaning. Class meanings are merely
composites, greatest common factors, of the grammatical meanings which accompany
the forms. The form class of lexical item is determined by (1) the structure
and constituents form, (2) the inclusion of a special constituent or (3) the
identity of the form itself. That is, one of the forms involved determines the
classification dealing with complex form; that is why speaker don’t have to
consider each phrase. (2) Sometimes markers determine the class. (3) There are
many irregularities, such that a given form can be known only to belong to a
given class trough knowledge of language. Categories of one’s language or those
of familiar languages are universal. Bloomfield defined a “category” as a
grammatical classification…which always accompanies some grammatical features.
Any function is not determined for a form its constituents is called irregular.
The regular functions are those that are so determined. Bloomfield concludes
that the power and wealth of language is in the nature of its morphemes and
tagmemes. The number of word in a language is definite, really expanded and
difficult to establish, since words are formed analogically.
Writing
Records
Bloomfield believed was
made only once in human history. Bloomfield assumed that phonemic principles is
applicable to any language and that the present inadequacy of writing stems
from the conservatism of writers, which first freezes the written form into an
authoritative norm and then proceeds to invent reasons for pseudo-archaic
spelling.
The
Comparative Method
The resemblances could
be due to several factors, such as universal, natural and features of language
as such. Languages also resemblance each
other as a result of borrowing. Comparative method explains relations among languages
by making inferences similar to those obtained by tracing the attested
historical development. The comparative method assumes that both the
resemblances and the differences among related language are an indication of
the structure of the parent language.
Dialect
Geography
Dialect geography gives
the information about the actual complexity in the forms of living languages
that are obscured by the methodological assumption of uniform patent
language. It is realistic to take a
standard form of a language as the oldest type and indicates that the standard
form is the result of developed local dialects. Different linguistics change
covers different portions of an area. Isoglosses defined as lines between
places which differ as to any feature of language. Through dialect geography,
relic forms of an older state of language are found and have a better chance of
surviving in remote areas. Bloomfield thought that the general disappointment
with these result might have been due to the mistakes idea that all isoglosses
are equally significant.
Phonetic
Change
Some IE phonetics change were easy to found
because (1) voiceless stops of the earlier languages parallel Germanic
voiceless spirants, (2) voiced stop in the earlier languages are paralleled by
Germanic voiceless stop, (3) certain aspirates and spirants in the earlier
language were paralleled in Germanic by voiced stops and spirants. Bloomfield
saw phonetic change as the gradual favoring of some non-distinctive features
over other.
Types of Phonetic Change
One general
characteristic of sound change is a simplification of movements that make up
the pronunciation of a given form. Assimilation, in which the position of the
vocal organs for the production of one phoneme is altered to a position like
that employed in producing another; more common is regressive assimilation,
where the preceding phoneme is affected. Progressive assimilation the following
consonant is altered. Bloomfield
rejected the suggestion that some forms have more “semantic weight” than
others. He pointed out that phonetics change demonstrably alter features that
are semantically important.
Fluctuation
in the Frequency of Forms
Forms drop out of use
for a number of reasons- aesthetic: the preference for long or short words at
various periods of time: and the avoidance of taboo forms. More important are
factor of meaning that contribute to the avoidance of expression. As an example
Bloomfield cited the use of the falconry terminology in Othello.
Analogic
Change
Analogic change is a
process of linguistic coinage that is similar to that of regular analogic
change on the grammatical level.
Analogic formation is not limited to complex forms, and the creation of
a shorter, underlying form is called black formation. Analogic formations in
phrases are common when a particular word is affected, by reason of its
position in the phrase. Adaptive new formations are those that have no apparent
model and these are often what Bloomfield called a facetious type, whose appeal
lies in the unusual shape of the word.
Analogic formation is not
limited to complex forms, and the creation of a shorter, underlying form is
called back formation. Similarity of meaning is a powerful factor in word
formation, as can be seen in our endlees –er formations: such a type is said to
be a living analogy. Occasionally a relatively independent compounding form is
reduced to an affix status, as in the case of –ly from like.Adaptive new
formations are those that have no apparent model, and these are often what
Bloomfield called a facetious type, whose appeal lies in the unusual shape of
the word.
“Semantic
Change” (Chapter 24)
When innovations lead to an
alteration of lexical meaning, rather than to new grammatical functions of
form, semantic change is discussed. These changes can be established on the
basis of (1) written records. (2) comparison with related languages, or (3)
structural analysis of the forms. In linguistic terms, Bloomfield said,
semantic change is “merely the result of a change in the use of it and other,
semantically related speech-forms” (p.426). an older tradition assumes that
there is a root meaning wich remains unaltered despite the effect of certain
processes on it.
Semantic change of the forms
indicates the alterations to be expected when the medium of exchange or values
alter. Herman paul held that semantic change consists princpally in expansion
and obsolescene. Bloomfield considered that Paul’s approach described is
basically a change in frequency, but Bloomfild did not believe that meaning
shift intelligible unless it is also correlated with changes in the environment.
“Cultural
Borrowing” (Chapter 25)
Cultural
borrowing projects on a grand scale what is characteristic of the learning
experience for individuals. One form borrowing is the literal analysis and
transliteration of foreign expression. The nature of foreign borrowings tells
us a good deal about the relations of cultures to each other.
“Intimate
Borrowing” ( Chapter 26)
Intimate borrowing, unlike
cultural borrowing, can take place only when two cultures share the same
geographic area and are in a dominant to inferior position. In such
circumstance it is more generally the lower culture that borrows from the
superior.
“Dialect
Borrowing” (Chapter
27)
Every speaker acts as both an imitator and a
model for others. There is no need for a single model: whether in the speech of
a single person or a single locale, a great deal of leveling takes place
through the neutral meeting grounds of people varied dialectal backgrounds.
BLOOMFIELD
INFLUENCE
Bloomfield’s influence
on American and European linguistics has been considerable. Bloomfield’s
phonetics was restricted largerly to the srudy of single words, and later
workers advanced beyond this level to the examination of more extensive data.
What he called “secondary phonemes” were dealt with later as “suprasegmental
phonemes” and his brief discussion of transition has been workd out more
carefully in the study junctures
