语言学课后训练之训练1Language
语言学练习题(附答案) Chapter 1 Language说课讲解
Chapter One Language1. Define the following terms1) discreteness 2) design features3) arbitrariness 4) duality5) displacement 6) cultural transmission7) the imaginative function of language 8) the personal function of language9) the heuristic function of language 10) language2. Multiple ChoiceDirections: In each question there are four choices. Decide which one would be the best answer to the question or to complete the sentence best.1) Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary?A. treeB. crashC. typewriterD. bang2) The function of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade” is ________.A. interrogativeB. directiveC. informativeD. performative3) In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present arelikely to say sui sui ping an (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling theforces which the believers feel might affect their lives. Which function does itperform?A. Interpersonal.B. Emotive. C Performative. D. Recreational.4) Which of the following properties of language enables language users to overcome thebarriers causedby time and place, due to this feature of language, speakers of a languageare free to talk about anything in any situation?A. interchangeability.B. Duality.C. Displacement.D. Arbitrariness.5) Study the following dialogue. What function does it play according to the functions oflanguage?—A nice day, isn’t it?—Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.A. EmotiveB. Phatic.C. Peformative.D. Interpersonal.6) Unlike animal communication systems, human language is .A. stimulus freeB. stimulus boundC. under immediate stimulus controlD. stimulated by some occurrence of communal interest.7) Which of the following is the most important function of language?A. interpersonal functionB. performative functionC. informative functionD. recreational function8) In different languages, different terms are used to express the animal “狗”, this shows the nature of --- of human language.A arbitrarinessB cultural transmissionC displacementD discreteness9) Which of the following disciplines are related to applied linguistics?A. statisticsB. psycholinguisticsC. physicsD. philosophy10) has been widely accepted as the father of modem linguistics.A. ChomskyB. SaussureC. BloomfieldD. John Lyons3. Word CompletionDirections: Fill in the blanks with the most suitable words.1) Design features, a framework proposed by the American linguist Charles Hockett, referto the ________ properties of human language that distinguishes it from any animalsystem of communication.2) ________ refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfullydistinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually verygreat, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such away that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful.3) In any language words can be used in new ways to mean new things and can becombined into innumerable sentences based on limited rules. This feature is usuallytermed p_______ or c________.4) Language has many functions. We can use language to talk about language itself. Thisfunction is m________ function.5) Cultural transmission refers to the fact that language is c________ transmitted. It ispassed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than byi_________.6) One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of ________ over writing.7) The ________ function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge aboutthe world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on.8) The ________ function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phaticcommunion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologistBronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere ormaintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts.9) Language is a system of arbitrary symbols used for human Communication.10) Language has two levels. They are ______ level and ______ level.11) Language is a ________ because every language consists of a set of rules whichunderlie people’s actual speech or writing.12) The _function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once theyhappen.13) The design features of language are (1) (2) (3)(4) (5) (6) and (7) _______.14) By saying “language is arbitrary”, we mean that there is no logical connection be tweenmeaning and .15) The four principles in the linguistic study are (1) (2) (3)and (4) .4. True or False QuestionsDirections: Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write T for true and F for false in the bracket before each of them.1) ( ) The relation between form and meaning in human language is natural.2) ( ) When language is used to get information from others, it serves an informativefunction.3) ( ) The reason for French to use cheval and for English to use horse to refer to the sameanimal is inexplicable.4) ( ) Most animal communication systems lack the primary level of articulation.5) ( ) Language change is universal,ongoing and arbitrary.6) ( ) Language is a system of arbitrary, written signs which permit all the people in a givenculture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate orinteract.7) ( ) In theory, the length of sentences is limited.8) ( ) The relationship between the sounds and their meaning is arbitrary.9) ( ) Linguistic symbols are a kind of visual symbols, which include vocal symbols.10) ( ) Linguistic symbols are produced by human speech organs.11) ( ) Every language has two levels: grammatically —meaningless and sound —meaningful.12) ( ) Such features of language as being creative, vocal, and arbitrary can differentiatehuman languages from animal communicative systems.13) ( ) Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. It refers to the fact thatlanguage has two levels of structures: the system of sounds and the system of meanings.14) ( ) Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication wayused by the deaf-mute is not language.15) ( ) Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality oflanguage makes a language be passed from generation to generation. As a foreignlanguage learner, the latter is more important for us.5. Glossary translation1)personal function2)heauristic function3)ideational function4)interchangeability5)控制功能6)表现功能7)文化传递性8)分离性9)区别性特征10)不受时空限制的属性11)Interactional function12)instrumentational function13)imaginative function14)寒暄功能15)元语言功能16)Personal function17)performative function18)娱乐功能19)信息功能20)人际功能6. Short Essay Questions1)What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.2)Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.3)Is language productive or not? Why?4)What is language?5)What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of them withexamples.Key to Chapter One1. Define the followina terms1) Discreteness refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfully distinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pad and bad leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds/p/ and /b/in English. Each sound in the language is thought of as discrete. It is possible to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the sounds /p/ and /b/.2) “Design features” refer to the defining properties of human language that tell the difference between human language and any system of animal communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, productivity, displacement, cultural transmission and interchangeability. (3分)3) “Arbitrariness” means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A dog might be a pig if only the first person or group of persons had used it for a pig.Language is therefore largely arbitrary. But language is not absolutely arbitrary, because there are cases where there are or at least seem to be some sound-meaning association, if we think of echo Words, like “bang”, “crash”,”roar”,’ which are motivated in a certain sense. Secondly, some compounds are not entirely arbitrary either. “Snow” and “storm” are arbitrary or unmotivated words, while “snowstorm” is less so. So we can say “arbitrariness” is a matter of degree.4) Linguists refer “duality” of structure to the fact that in all languages so far investigated, one finds two levels of structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words etc.); at the second, lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves, but which combine to form units of meaning. According to Hu Zhuanglin et al., language is a system of two sets of structures, one of sounds and the other of meaning. This is important for the workings of language. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of semantic units (words), and these units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. (For example, we have dictionaries of words, but no dictionary of sentences!) Duality makes it possible for a person to talk about anything within his knowledge. No animal communication system enjoys this duality, or even approaches this honor.5) “Displacement”, as one of the design features of the human language, refers to the fact that one can talk about things that are not present, as easily as he does things present. In other words,one can refer to real and unreal things, things of the past, of the present, of the future. Language itself can be talked about too. People can use language’ to describe something that had occurred, is occurring, or is to occur. But a dog could not bark for a bone to be lost. The bee’s System has a small share of “displacement”, but it is an unspeakable tiny share.6) Language is not biologically transmitted from generation to generation, but the details of the linguistic system must be learned anew by each speaker. It is true that the capacity for language in human beings (N. Chomsky called it “language acquisition device”, or LAD) has a geneticbasis, but the particular language a person learns to speak is a cultural one rather than a genetic one like the dog’s barking system. If a human being is brought up in isolation he cannot acquire language. The wolf-child reared by the wolves turned out to speak the wo lf’s roaring “tongue” when he was saved. And it was difficult for him to acquire human language.7) The imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. It is also language used for sheer joy of using language, such as a baby’s babbling, a chanter’s chanting, a poet’s pleasuring.8) The personal function refers to language used to express the individual’s feelings, emotions and personality.9) The heuristic function of language refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Language allows people to ask questions about the nature of the world they live in and to construct possible answers.10) Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.2. Multiple Choice1) – 5): A C C C B 6) – 10): A C C B B3. Word Completion.1) defining 2) Descreteness 3）productivity or creativity 4) metalingual 5) culturally, instinct or inheritance 6) speech 7) representational 8) interactional; 9) vocal;10) gramatically meaningful, sound meaningless; 11) system; 12) regulatory 13) arbitrariness, duality, productivity, cultural transmission, interchangeability, discreteness, displacement. 14) sound; 15) exhaustiveness, economy, objectivity, consistency4. True or False Questions1 – 5: FFTFF 6 – 10: FFTFT 11 – 15: FFTFT5. Glossary Translation1)personal function: 人际功能2)heauristic function：启发功能3)ideational function：概念功能4)interchangeability：互换性5)控制功能：regulatory function6)表现功能: representational functin7)文化传递性: cultural transmisssion8)分离性: discreteness9)区别性特征: design features10)不受时空限制的属性: displacement11)Interactional function: 互动功能12)instrumentational function：工具功能13)imaginative function：想象功能14)寒暄功能：phatic function15)元语言功能: metalingual function or metafunction of language16)personal function: 自指性功能17)performative function: 表达功能18)娱乐功能: recreational function19)信息功能: informative function20)人际功能: interpersonal function6. Short Essay Questions1) What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.According to Wang Gang (1988: 11), the functions of language can be mainly embodied in three aspects. i) Language is a tool of human communication; ii) Language is a tool whereby people learn about the world; iii) Language is a tool by which people create art.As a matter of fact, different linguists have different terms for the various functions of language. The British linguist M. A. K. Halliday uses the following terms to refer to the initial functions of children’s language:(1) InstrumentalThe instrumental function of language refers to the fact that language allows speakers to get things done. It allows them to control things in the environment. People can cause things to be done and to happen through the use of words alone. An immediate contrast here is with the animal world in which sounds are hardly used in this way, and, when they are, they are used in an extremely limited degree. The instrumental function can be primitive too in human interaction. Performative utterances such as the words which name a ship at a launching ceremony clearly have instrumental functions if the right circumstances exist；they are acts, e.g. I name this ship Liberty Bell.(2) RegulatoryThe regulatory function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once they happen. Those events may involve the self as well as others. People do try to control themselves through language, e.g. Why did I say that?/ Steady! / And Let me think about that again. Language helps to regulate encounters among people. Language provides devices for regulating specific kinds of encounters and contains words for approving or disapproving and for controlling or disrupting the behavior of others. It allows us to establish complex patterns of organization in order to try to regulate behavior, from game playing to political organization, from answering the telephone to addressing in foreign affairs. It is the regulatory function of language that allows people some measure of control over events that occur in their lives.(3)RepresentationalThe representational function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge about the world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on. This function of language is represented by all kinds of record-keeping, such as historical records, geographical surveys, business accounts, scientific reports, government acts, and public data banks. It is an essential domain of language use, for the availability of this material guarantees the knowledge-base of subsequent generations, which is a prerequisite of social development.(4) InteractionalThe interactional function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phatic communion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts. A greeting such as how are you?is relatively empty of content, and answers like fine or very well, thank you are equally empty, because the speaker is not interested in the hearer’s health, but rather to demonstrate his politeness and general attitude toward the other person when he gives a conversational greeting.(5) PersonalThe personal function refers to language used to express the i ndividual’s feelings, emotions and personality. A person’s individuality is usually characterized by his or her use of personal function of communication. Each individual has a “voice” in what happens to him. He is free to speak or not to speak, to say, as much or as little as he pleases, and to choose how to say what he says. The use of language can tell the listener or reader a great deal about the speaker or writer — in particular, about his regional origin, social background, level of education, occupation, age, sex, and personality.Language also provides the individual with a means to express feelings, whether outright in the form of exclamations, endorsements, or curse, or much more subtly through a careful choice of words. Many social situations display language used to foster a sense of identity: the shouting of a crowd at a football match, the shouting of names or slogans at public meetings, the reactions of the audience to television game shows, the shouts of affirmation at some religious meetings. For example, the crowds attending President Regan’s pre-election meetings in 1984 repeatedly shouted “Four more years!” which united among those who shared the same political views.(6) HeuristicThe heuristic function refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Insofar as the inquiry into language itself, a necessary result is the creation of a metalanguage, i.e. a language used to refer to language, containing terms such as sound, syllable, word, structure, sentence, meaning and so on.(7) ImaginativeThe imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. The imaginative function also allows people to consider not just the real world but all possible worlds — and many impossible ones. Much literature is the most obvious example to serve this function as an account of Robinson Crusoe in the deserted island. The imaginative function enables life to be lived vicariously and helps satisfy numerous deep artistic urges.2) Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.Language is organized at two levels or layers-- sounds and meaning-- simultaneously. This property is called duality, or “double articulation”. In terms of speech production, we have the physical level at which we can produce individual sounds, like n, b, and i. As individual sound, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning. When we produce those sounds in a particular combination, as in bin, we have another level producing a meaning, which is differentfrom the meaning of the combination in nib. So, at one level, we have distinct sounds, and at another level, we have distinct meanings. This duality of levels is, in fact,: one of the most economical features of human language, since with a limited set of distinct sounds we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (relatively finite words and infinite number of sentences) which are distinct in meaning. No animal communication system has duality, or ever comes near to possessing it.3) Is language productive or not? Why?(1) Language is productive or creative. (233) This means that users can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before. Every day we send messages that have never been sent before, and we understand novel messages. Much of them we say and hear for the first time; yet there seems no problem of understanding. For example, the sentence” A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed” must be new to you and it does not describe a common happening in the world. Nevertheless, nobody has any difficulty in understanding it.(2) Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. For example, gibbon calls are not productive, for they draw all their calls from a limited repertoire, which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. Bee dancing is used only to indicate food sources, which is the only message that can be sent through the dancing.(3) The productivity or creativity of language partially. originates from its duality, because of which the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never before produced or heard. The productivity of language also means its potential to create endless sentences. It is the recursive nature of language that provides a theoretical basis for this possibility.4) What is language?(1) It is very difficult to give this question a satisfactory definition. However, most linguists would accept a tentative definition like this: language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. (2) Language must be a system, since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; they cannot be combined at will. If language were not systematic, it could not be learned or used consistently. (3) Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between the word pen and the thing we use to write with. The fact that different languages have different words for it (钢笔in Chinese for instance) speaks strongly for the arbitrary nature of language. (4) This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are associated with objects, actions, ideas by convention. (5) We say language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well developed are their writing systems. All evidence shows that writing systems came much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper (6) The term “human” in the definition is meant to specify that language is human.specific; that is, it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess.5) What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of themwith examples.(1) Displacement is one of the defining properties of human language, which refers to the fact that human language can be used to talk about things that are present or not present, real or not real, and about matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of its users.This phenom enon is thought of as “displacement”, which can provide its users with an opportunity to communicate about a wide range of subjects, free from any barriers caused by separation in time and space. That is, the feature of displacement can enable us to talk about things and places whose existence we cannot even be sure of. We can refer to mythical creatures, demons, fairies, angels, Santa Claus, and recently invented characters such as superman. This feature is unique to human language. No animal communication system possesses it. Some animal calls are often uttered in response to immediate changes of situation. For instance, during the mating season, in the present of danger or pain, animals will make calls. Once the danger or pain is missing, their calls stop.(2) Discreteness The sounds used in language are meaningfully distinct. For example, the difference between the sounds b andp is actually not very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pack and back leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds p and b in English. This property of language is described as discreteness. Each sound in the language is treated as discrete. It is possible; in fact, to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the p and b sounds. However, that continuous stream will only be interpreted as being either a p sound, or a b sound (or, possibly, as a non-sound) in the language. We have a very discrete view of the sounds of our language and wherever a pronunciation falls within the physically possible range of sounds, it will be interpreted as a linguistically specific and meaningfully distinct sound(3) Language is a system. It is organized into two levels simultaneously. We have distinct sounds at the lower level (sound level), which is seen as a sequence of segments which have no meaning in themselves. At the higher level, we have distinct meanings (meaningful level). Language is analyzed in terms of combination of meaningful units. Then the meaningful units (such as morphemes, words, etc.) at the higher level can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. The organization of language into levels, one of sounds, the other of meaning, is known as duality or double articulation. This unique feature of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system possesses the feature of duality.。
语言学课后练习之练习(1)Language
语言学导论课外补充练习（1）language1.State the nature of language briefly with examples.2.Why is it said that the language system is unique to human beings?3.What are the characteristics of human language?4.What are the social functions of language?5.Do animals other than humans have their own languages?6.Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.7.Can language be viewed only as a system of communication? Why not?8.How did language come into being? What is the relationship between the originof language and the origin of human beings?9.Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural order.（1）Five /the /fresh /potatoes（2）Pretty /American /girls /the two（3）Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two（4）Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three（5）Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers10.Fill in the blanks with the proper words.（1）_______ function means language can be used to “do” things.（2）_______ function means the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with _______ function.（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows ______ function.（5）Greetings shows _______ function.（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows______ function.（7）Propaganda shows ________ function.（8）________ refers to contexts removed from the immediate of the speaker.（9）For________, reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication.（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include ________, ___________, _____________.（11）Linguistics should include at least five parameters:_________ __________ ___________ ____________ _________________..11.Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it（1）Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animals communication system.（2）There is not a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the actual happenings.（3）The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins of language are not at most a speculation.（4）The definition,“ Language is a tool for human communication.” has no problem.（5）The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells nothing about its functions.（6）Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution.（7）Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as Sapir’s.语言学课外单元补充习题答案Language（Exercise 1）1. State the nature of language briefly with examples.Answer: modern linguists have proposed various definitions of language such as: Language is “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotion s and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Sapir, 1921) Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall, 1968) Language is “a set (fin ite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.” (Chomsky, 1957)“语言是人跟人互通信息，用发音器官发出来的，成系统的行为的方式。
(完整版)语言学练习题(附答案)Chapter1Language
Chapter One Language1. Define the following terms1) discreteness 2) design features3) arbitrariness 4) duality5) displacement 6) cultural transmission7) the imaginative function of language 8) the personal function of language9) the heuristic function of language 10) language2. Multiple ChoiceDirections: In each question there are four choices. Decide which one would be the best answer to the question or to complete the sentence best.1) Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary?A. treeB. crashC. typewriterD. bang2) The function of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade” is ________.A. interrogativeB. directiveC. informativeD. performative3) In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present arelikely to say sui sui ping an (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling theforces which the believers feel might affect their lives. Which function does itperform?A. Interpersonal.B. Emotive. C Performative. D. Recreational.4) Which of the following properties of language enables language users to overcome thebarriers causedby time and place, due to this feature of language, speakers of a languageare free to talk about anything in any situation?A. interchangeability.B. Duality.C. Displacement.D. Arbitrariness.5) Study the following dialogue. What function does it play according to the functions oflanguage?—A nice day, isn’t it?—Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.A. EmotiveB. Phatic.C. Peformative.D. Interpersonal.6) Unlike animal communication systems, human language is .A. stimulus freeB. stimulus boundC. under immediate stimulus controlD. stimulated by some occurrence of communal interest.7) Which of the following is the most important function of language?A. interpersonal functionB. performative functionC. informative functionD. recreational function8) In different languages, different terms are used to express the animal “狗”, this shows the nature of --- of human language.A arbitrarinessB cultural transmissionC displacementD discreteness9) Which of the following disciplines are related to applied linguistics?A. statisticsB. psycholinguisticsC. physicsD. philosophy10) has been widely accepted as the father of modem linguistics.A. ChomskyB. SaussureC. BloomfieldD. John Lyons3. Word CompletionDirections: Fill in the blanks with the most suitable words.1) Design features, a framework proposed by the American linguist Charles Hockett, referto the ________ properties of human language that distinguishes it from any animalsystem of communication.2) ________ refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfullydistinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually verygreat, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such away that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful.3) In any language words can be used in new ways to mean new things and can becombined into innumerable sentences based on limited rules. This feature is usuallytermed p_______ or c________.4) Language has many functions. We can use language to talk about language itself. Thisfunction is m________ function.5) Cultural transmission refers to the fact that language is c________ transmitted. It ispassed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than byi_________.6) One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of ________ over writing.7) The ________ function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge aboutthe world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on.8) The ________ function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phaticcommunion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologistBronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere ormaintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts.9) Language is a system of arbitrary symbols used for human Communication.10) Language has two levels. They are ______ level and ______ level.11) Language is a ________ because every language consists of a set of rules whichunderlie people’s actual speech or writing.12) The _function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once theyhappen.13) The design features of language are (1) (2) (3)(4) (5) (6) and (7) _______.14) By saying “language is arbitrary”, we mean that there is no logical connection be tweenmeaning and .15) The four principles in the linguistic study are (1) (2) (3)and (4) .4. True or False QuestionsDirections: Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write T for true and F for false in the bracket before each of them.1) ( ) The relation between form and meaning in human language is natural.2) ( ) When language is used to get information from others, it serves an informativefunction.3) ( ) The reason for French to use cheval and for English to use horse to refer to the sameanimal is inexplicable.4) ( ) Most animal communication systems lack the primary level of articulation.5) ( ) Language change is universal,ongoing and arbitrary.6) ( ) Language is a system of arbitrary, written signs which permit all the people in a givenculture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate orinteract.7) ( ) In theory, the length of sentences is limited.8) ( ) The relationship between the sounds and their meaning is arbitrary.9) ( ) Linguistic symbols are a kind of visual symbols, which include vocal symbols.10) ( ) Linguistic symbols are produced by human speech organs.11) ( ) Every language has two levels: grammatically —meaningless and sound —meaningful.12) ( ) Such features of language as being creative, vocal, and arbitrary can differentiatehuman languages from animal communicative systems.13) ( ) Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. It refers to the fact thatlanguage has two levels of structures: the system of sounds and the system of meanings.14) ( ) Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication wayused by the deaf-mute is not language.15) ( ) Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality oflanguage makes a language be passed from generation to generation. As a foreignlanguage learner, the latter is more important for us.5. Glossary translation1)personal function2)heauristic function3)ideational function4)interchangeability5)控制功能6)表现功能7)文化传递性8)分离性9)区别性特征10)不受时空限制的属性11)Interactional function12)instrumentational function13)imaginative function14)寒暄功能15)元语言功能16)Personal function17)performative function18)娱乐功能19)信息功能20)人际功能6. Short Essay Questions1)What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.2)Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.3)Is language productive or not? Why?4)What is language?5)What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of them withexamples.Key to Chapter One1. Define the followina terms1) Discreteness refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfully distinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pad and bad leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds/p/ and /b/in English. Each sound in the language is thought of as discrete. It is possible to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the sounds /p/ and /b/.2) “Design features” refer to the defining properties of human language that tell the difference between human language and any system of animal communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, productivity, displacement, cultural transmission and interchangeability. (3分)3) “Arbitrariness” means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A dog might be a pig if only the first person or group of persons had used it for a pig.Language is therefore largely arbitrary. But language is not absolutely arbitrary, because there are cases where there are or at least seem to be some sound-meaning association, if we think of echo Words, like “bang”, “crash”,”roar”,’ which are motivated in a certain sense. Secondly, some compounds are not entirely arbitrary eit her. “Snow” and “storm” are arbitrary or unmotivated words, while “snowstorm” is less so. So we can say “arbitrariness” is a matter of degree.4) Linguists refer “duality” of structure to the fact that in all languages so far investigated, one finds two levels of structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words etc.); at the second, lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves, but which combine to form units of meaning. According to Hu Zhuanglin et al., language is a system of two sets of structures, one of sounds and the other of meaning. This is important for the workings of language. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of semantic units (words), and these units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. (For example, we have dictionaries of words, but no dictionary of sentences!) Duality makes it possible for a person to talk about anything within his knowledge. No animal communication system enjoys this duality, or even approaches this honor.5) “Displacement”, as one of the design features of the human language, refers to the fact that one can talk about things that are not present, as easily as he does things present. In other words,one can refer to real and unreal things, things of the past, of the present, of the future. Language itself can be talked about too. People can use language’ to d escribe something that had occurred, is occurring, or is to occur. But a dog could not bark for a bone to be lost. The bee’s System has a small share of “displacement”, but it is an unspeakable tiny share.6) Language is not biologically transmitted from generation to generation, but the details of the linguistic system must be learned anew by each speaker. It is true that the capacity for language in human beings (N. Chomsky called it “language acquisition device”, or LAD) has a geneticbasis, but the particular language a person learns to speak is a cultural one rather than a genetic one like the dog’s barking system. If a human being is brought up in isolation he cannot acquire language. The wolf-child reared by the wolves turned out to speak the wolf’s roaring “tongue” when he was saved. And it was difficult for him to acquire human language.7) The imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. It is also language used for sheer joy of using language, such as a baby’s babbling, a chanter’s chanting, a poet’s pleasuring.8) The personal function refers to language used to express the indi vidual’s feelings, emotions and personality.9) The heuristic function of language refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Language allows people to ask questions about the nature of the world they live in and to construct possible answers.10) Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.2. Multiple Choice1) – 5): A C C C B 6) – 10): A C C B B3. Word Completion.1) defining 2) Descreteness 3）productivity or creativity 4) metalingual 5) culturally, instinct or inheritance 6) speech 7) representational 8) interactional; 9) vocal;10) gramatically meaningful, sound meaningless; 11) system; 12) regulatory 13) arbitrariness, duality, productivity, cultural transmission, interchangeability, discreteness, displacement. 14) sound; 15) exhaustiveness, economy, objectivity, consistency4. True or False Questions1 – 5: FFTFF 6 – 10: FFTFT 11 – 15: FFTFT5. Glossary Translation1)personal function: 人际功能2)heauristic function：启发功能3)ideational function：概念功能4)interchangeability：互换性5)控制功能：regulatory function6)表现功能: representational functin7)文化传递性: cultural transmisssion8)分离性: discreteness9)区别性特征: design features10)不受时空限制的属性: displacement11)Interactional function: 互动功能12)instrumentational function：工具功能13)imaginative function：想象功能14)寒暄功能：phatic function15)元语言功能: metalingual function or metafunction of language16)personal function: 自指性功能17)performative function: 表达功能18)娱乐功能: recreational function19)信息功能: informative function20)人际功能: interpersonal function6. Short Essay Questions1) What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.According to Wang Gang (1988: 11), the functions of language can be mainly embodied in three aspects. i) Language is a tool of human communication; ii) Language is a tool whereby people learn about the world; iii) Language is a tool by which people create art.As a matter of fact, different linguists have different terms for the various functions of language. The British linguist M. A. K. Halliday uses the following terms to refer to the initial functions of children’s language:(1) InstrumentalThe instrumental function of language refers to the fact that language allows speakers to get things done. It allows them to control things in the environment. People can cause things to be done and to happen through the use of words alone. An immediate contrast here is with the animal world in which sounds are hardly used in this way, and, when they are, they are used in an extremely limited degree. The instrumental function can be primitive too in human interaction. Performative utterances such as the words which name a ship at a launching ceremony clearly have instrumental functions if the right circumstances exist；they are acts, e.g. I name this ship Liberty Bell.(2) RegulatoryThe regulatory function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once they happen. Those events may involve the self as well as others. People do try to control themselves through language, e.g. Why did I say that?/ Steady! / And Let me think about that again. Language helps to regulate encounters among people. Language provides devices for regulating specific kinds of encounters and contains words for approving or disapproving and for controlling or disrupting the behavior of others. It allows us to establish complex patterns of organization in order to try to regulate behavior, from game playing to political organization, from answering the telephone to addressing in foreign affairs. It is the regulatory function of language that allows people some measure of control over events that occur in their lives.(3)RepresentationalThe representational function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge about the world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on. This function of language is represented by all kinds of record-keeping, such as historical records, geographical surveys, business accounts, scientific reports, government acts, and public data banks. It is an essential domain of language use, for the availability of this material guarantees the knowledge-base of subsequent generations, which is a prerequisite of social development.(4) InteractionalThe interactional function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phatic communion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts. A greeting such as how are you?is relatively empty of content, and answers like fine or very well, thank you are equally empty, because the speaker is not interested in the hearer’s health, but rather to demonstrate his politeness and general attitude toward the other person when he gives a conversational greeting.(5) PersonalThe personal function refers to language used to express the individual’s feelings, emotions and personali ty. A person’s individuality is usually characterized by his or her use of personal function of communication. Each individual has a “voice” in what happens to him. He is free to speak or not to speak, to say, as much or as little as he pleases, and to choose how to say what he says. The use of language can tell the listener or reader a great deal about the speaker or writer — in particular, about his regional origin, social background, level of education, occupation, age, sex, and personality.Language also provides the individual with a means to express feelings, whether outright in the form of exclamations, endorsements, or curse, or much more subtly through a careful choice of words. Many social situations display language used to foster a sense of identity: the shouting of a crowd at a football match, the shouting of names or slogans at public meetings, the reactions of the audience to television game shows, the shouts of affirmation at some religious meetings. For example, the crowds attending Pres ident Regan’s pre-election meetings in 1984 repeatedly shouted “Four more years!” which united among those who shared the same political views.(6) HeuristicThe heuristic function refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Insofar as the inquiry into language itself, a necessary result is the creation of a metalanguage, i.e. a language used to refer to language, containing terms such as sound, syllable, word, structure, sentence, meaning and so on.(7) ImaginativeThe imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. The imaginative function also allows people to consider not just the real world but all possible worlds — and many impossible ones. Much literature is the most obvious example to serve this function as an account of Robinson Crusoe in the deserted island. The imaginative function enables life to be lived vicariously and helps satisfy numerous deep artistic urges.2) Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.Language is organized at two levels or layers-- sounds and meaning-- simultaneously. This property is called duality, or “double articulation”. In terms of speech production, we have the physical level at which we can produce individual sounds, like n, b, and i. As individual sound, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning. When we produce those sounds in a particular combination, as in bin, we have another level producing a meaning, which is differentfrom the meaning of the combination in nib. So, at one level, we have distinct sounds, and at another level, we have distinct meanings. This duality of levels is, in fact,: one of the most economical features of human language, since with a limited set of distinct sounds we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (relatively finite words and infinite number of sentences) which are distinct in meaning. No animal communication system has duality, or ever comes near to possessing it.3) Is language productive or not? Why?(1) Language is productive or creative. (233) This means that users can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before. Every day we send messages that have never been sent before, and we understand novel messages. Much of them we say and hear for the first time; yet there seems no problem of understanding. For example, the sentence” A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed” must be new to you and it does not describe a common happening in the world. Nevertheless, nobody has any difficulty in understanding it.(2) Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. For example, gibbon calls are not productive, for they draw all their calls from a limited repertoire, which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. Bee dancing is used only to indicate food sources, which is the only message that can be sent through the dancing.(3) The productivity or creativity of language partially. originates from its duality, because of which the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never before produced or heard. The productivity of language also means its potential to create endless sentences. It is the recursive nature of language that provides a theoretical basis for this possibility.4) What is language?(1) It is very difficult to give this question a satisfactory definition. However, most linguists would accept a tentative definition like this: language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. (2) Language must be a system, since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; they cannot be combined at will. If language were not systematic, it could not be learned or used consistently. (3) Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between the word pen and the thing we use to write with. The fact that different languages have different words for it (钢笔in Chinese for instance) speaks strongly for the arbitrary nature of language. (4) This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are associated with objects, actions, ideas by convention. (5) We say language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well developed are their writing systems. All evidence shows that writing systems came much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper (6) The term “human”in the definition is meant to specify that language is human.specific; that is, it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess.5) What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of themwith examples.(1) Displacement is one of the defining properties of human language, which refers to the fact that human language can be used to talk about things that are present or not present, real or not real, and about matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of its users.This phenomenon is thought of as “displacement”, which can provide its users with an opportunity to communicate about a wide range of subjects, free from any barriers caused by separation in time and space. That is, the feature of displacement can enable us to talk about things and places whose existence we cannot even be sure of. We can refer to mythical creatures, demons, fairies, angels, Santa Claus, and recently invented characters such as superman. This feature is unique to human language. No animal communication system possesses it. Some animal calls are often uttered in response to immediate changes of situation. For instance, during the mating season, in the present of danger or pain, animals will make calls. Once the danger or pain is missing, their calls stop.(2) Discreteness The sounds used in language are meaningfully distinct. For example, the difference between the sounds b andp is actually not very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pack and back leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds p and b in English. This property of language is described as discreteness. Each sound in the language is treated as discrete. It is possible; in fact, to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the p and b sounds. However, that continuous stream will only be interpreted as being either a p sound, or a b sound (or, possibly, as a non-sound) in the language. We have a very discrete view of the sounds of our language and wherever a pronunciation falls within the physically possible range of sounds, it will be interpreted as a linguistically specific and meaningfully distinct sound(3) Language is a system. It is organized into two levels simultaneously. We have distinct sounds at the lower level (sound level), which is seen as a sequence of segments which have no meaning in themselves. At the higher level, we have distinct meanings (meaningful level). Language is analyzed in terms of combination of meaningful units. Then the meaningful units (such as morphemes, words, etc.) at the higher level can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. The organization of language into levels, one of sounds, the other of meaning, is known as duality or double articulation. This unique feature of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system possesses the feature of duality.。
语言学教程第三章练习1
语⾔学教程第三章练习1Chapter 3 LexiconI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1 Nouns, verbs and adjectives can be classified as __________.A. lexical wordsB. grammatical wordsC. function wordsD. form words2. Morphemes that represent tense, number, gender and case are called __________ morpheme.A. inflectionalB. freeC. boundD. derivational3. There are __________ morphemes in the word denationalization.A. threeB. fourC. fiveD. six4. In English –ise and –tion are called __________.A. prefixesB. suffixesC. infixesD. stems5. The three subtypes of affixes are: prefix, suffix and __________.A. derivational affixB. inflectional affixC. infixD. back-formation6. __________ is a way in which new words may be formed from already existing words by subtracting an affix which is thought to be part of the old word.A. affixationB. back-formationC. insertionD. addition7. The word TB is formed in the way of __________.A. acronymyB. clippingC. initialismD. blending8. The words like comsat and sitcom are formed by __________.A. blendingB. clippingC. back-formationD. acronymy9. The stem of disagreements is __________.A. agreementB. agreeC. disagreeD. disagreement10. All of them are meaningful except for __________.A. lexemeB. phonemeC. morphemeD. AllomorphII.Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. Phonetically, the stress of a compound always falls on the first element, while the second element receives secondary stress.12. Fore as in foretell is both a prefix and a bound morpheme.13. Base refers to the part of the word that remains when all inflectional affixes are removed.14. In most cases, prefixes change the meaning of the base whereas suffixes change the word-class of the base.15. Conversion from noun to verb is the most productive process of a word.16. Reduplicative compound is formed by repeating the same morpheme of a word.17. The words whimper, whisper and whistle are formed in the way of onomatopoeia.18. In most cases, the number of syllables of a word corresponds to the number of morphemes.19. Back-formation is a productive way of word-formations.20. Inflection is a particular way of word-formations.III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)21. An initialism is pronounced letter by letter, while an acronym is pronounced as a word22. Lexicon, in most cases, is synonymous with vocabulary.23. Orthographically, compounds are written in three ways: solid, hyphenated and open24. All words may be said to contain a root morpheme.25. A small set of conjunctions, prepositions and pronouns belong to close class, while the largest part of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs belongs to open class.26. Back-formation is a reverse process of derivation, and therefore is a process of shortening.27.Conversion is extremely productive, because English had lost most of its inflectional endings by the end of Middle English period, which facilitated the use of words interchangeably as verbs or nouns, verbs or adjectives, and vice versa.28. Words are divided into simple, compound and derived words on the morpheme level.29. A word formed by derivation is called a derivative, and a word formed by compounding is called a compound.30. Bound morphemes are classified into two types: affix and bound root.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Blending32. Allomorph33. Closed-class word34. Morphological rule31. Blending: It is a process of word-formation in which a new word is formed by combining the meanings and sounds of two words, one of which is not in its full form or both of which are not in their full forms, like newscast (news + broadcast), brunch (breakfast + lunch)32. Allomorph: It is any of the variant forms of a morpheme as conditioned by position or adjoining sounds.33. Close-class word: It is a word whose membership is fixed or limited. Pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc. are all closed-class words.34. Morphological rule: It is the rule that governs which affix can be added to what type of base to form a new word, e.g. –ly can be added to a noun to form an adjective. V. Answer the following questions. (20%)35. How many types of morphemes are there in the English language? What are they?36.What are the main features of the English compounds?VI. Analyze the following situation. (20%)37. Match the terms under COLUMN I with the underlined forms from COLUMN III II(1) acronym a. foe(2) free morpheme b. subconscious(3) derivational morpheme c. UNESCO(4) inflectional morpheme d. overwhelmed(5) prefix e. calculation。
语言学练习题(附答案) Chapter 1 Language
Chapter One Language1. Define the following terms1) discreteness 2) design features3) arbitrariness 4) duality5) displacement 6) cultural transmission7) the imaginative function of language 8) the personal function of language9) the heuristic function of language 10) language2. Multiple ChoiceDirections: In each question there are four choices. Decide which one would be the best answer to the question or to complete the sentence best.1) Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary?A. treeB. crashC. typewriterD. bang2) The function of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade” is ________.A. interrogativeB. directiveC. informativeD. performative3) In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present arelikely to say sui sui ping an (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling theforces which the believers feel might affect their lives. Which function does itperform?A. Interpersonal.B. Emotive. C Performative. D. Recreational.4) Which of the following properties of language enables language users to overcome thebarriers causedby time and place, due to this feature of language, speakers of a languageare free to talk about anything in any situation?A. interchangeability.B. Duality.C. Displacement.D. Arbitrariness.5) Study the following dialogue. What function does it play according to the functions oflanguage?—A nice day, isn’t it?—Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.A. EmotiveB. Phatic.C. Peformative.D. Interpersonal.6) Unlike animal communication systems, human language is .A. stimulus freeB. stimulus boundC. under immediate stimulus controlD. stimulated by some occurrence of communal interest.7) Which of the following is the most important function of language?A. interpersonal functionB. performative functionC. informative functionD. recreational function8) In different languages, different terms are used to express the animal “狗”, this shows the nature of --- of human language.A arbitrarinessB cultural transmissionC displacementD discreteness9) Which of the following disciplines are related to applied linguistics?A. statisticsB. psycholinguisticsC. physicsD. philosophy10) has been widely accepted as the father of modem linguistics.A. ChomskyB. SaussureC. BloomfieldD. John Lyons3. Word CompletionDirections: Fill in the blanks with the most suitable words.1) Design features, a framework proposed by the American linguist Charles Hockett, referto the ________ properties of human language that distinguishes it from any animalsystem of communication.2) ________ refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfullydistinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually verygreat, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such away that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful.3) In any language words can be used in new ways to mean new things and can becombined into innumerable sentences based on limited rules. This feature is usuallytermed p_______ or c________.4) Language has many functions. We can use language to talk about language itself. Thisfunction is m________ function.5) Cultural transmission refers to the fact that language is c________ transmitted. It ispassed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than byi_________.6) One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of ________ over writing.7) The ________ function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge aboutthe world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on.8) The ________ function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phaticcommunion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologistBronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere ormaintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts.9) Language is a system of arbitrary symbols used for human Communication.10) Language has two levels. They are ______ level and ______ level.11) Language is a ________ because every language consists of a set of rules whichunderlie people’s actual speech or writing.12) The _function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once theyhappen.13) The design features of language are (1) (2) (3)(4) (5) (6) and (7) _______.14) By saying “language is arbitrary”, we mean that there is no logical connection betweenmeaning and .15) The four principles in the linguistic study are (1) (2) (3)and (4) .4. True or False QuestionsDirections: Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write T for true and F for false in the bracket before each of them.1) ( ) The relation between form and meaning in human language is natural.2) ( ) When language is used to get information from others, it serves an informativefunction.3) ( ) The reason for French to use cheval and for English to use horse to refer to the sameanimal is inexplicable.4) ( ) Most animal communication systems lack the primary level of articulation.5) ( ) Language change is universal,ongoing and arbitrary.6) ( ) Language is a system of arbitrary, written signs which permit all the people in a givenculture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate orinteract.7) ( ) In theory, the length of sentences is limited.8) ( ) The relationship between the sounds and their meaning is arbitrary.9) ( ) Linguistic symbols are a kind of visual symbols, which include vocal symbols.10) ( ) Linguistic symbols are produced by human speech organs.11) ( ) Every language has two levels: grammatically —meaningless and sound —meaningful.12) ( ) Such features of language as being creative, vocal, and arbitrary can differentiatehuman languages from animal communicative systems.13) ( ) Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. It refers to the fact thatlanguage has two levels of structures: the system of sounds and the system of meanings.14) ( ) Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication wayused by the deaf-mute is not language.15) ( ) Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality oflanguage makes a language be passed from generation to generation. As a foreignlanguage learner, the latter is more important for us.5. Glossary translation1)personal function2)heauristic function3)ideational function4)interchangeability5)控制功能6)表现功能7)文化传递性8)分离性9)区别性特征10)不受时空限制的属性11)Interactional function12)instrumentational function13)imaginative function14)寒暄功能15)元语言功能16)Personal function17)performative function18)娱乐功能19)信息功能20)人际功能6. Short Essay Questions1)What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.2)Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.3)Is language productive or not? Why?4)What is language?5)What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of them withexamples.Key to Chapter One1. Define the followina terms1) Discreteness refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfully distinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pad and bad leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds/p/ and /b/in English. Each sound in the language is thought of as discrete. It is possible to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the sounds /p/ and /b/.2) “Design features” refer to the defining properties of human lang uage that tell the difference between human language and any system of animal communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, productivity, displacement, cultural transmission and interchangeability. (3分)3) “Arbitrariness” means that there is no logical c onnection between meanings and sounds. A dog might be a pig if only the first person or group of persons had used it for a pig.Language is therefore largely arbitrary. But language is not absolutely arbitrary, because there are cases where there are or at least seem to be some sound-meaning association, if we think of echo Words, like “bang”, “crash”,”roar”,’ which are motivated in a certain sense. Secondly, some compounds are not entirely arbitrary either. “Snow” and “storm” are arbitrary or unmotivated w ords, while “snowstorm” is less so. So we can say “arbitrariness” is a matter of degree.4) Linguists refer “duality” of structure to the fact that in all languages so far investigated, one finds two levels of structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words etc.); at the second, lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves, but which combine to form units of meaning. According to Hu Zhuanglin et al., language is a system of two sets of structures, one of sounds and the other of meaning. This is important for the workings of language. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of semantic units (words), and these units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. (For example, we have dictionaries of words, but no dictionary of sentences!) Duality makes it possible for a person to talk about anything within his knowledge. No animal communication system enjoys this duality, or even approaches this honor.5) “Displacement”, as one of the design features of the human language, refers to the fact that one can talk about things that are not present, as easily as he does things present. In other words,one can refer to real and unreal things, things of the past, of the present, of the future. Language itself can be talked about too. People can use language’ to describe something that had occurred, is occurring, or is to occur. But a dog could not bark for a bone to be lost. The bee’s System has a small share of “displacement”, but it is an unspeakable tiny share.6) Language is not biologically transmitted from generation to generation, but the details of the linguistic system must be learned anew by each speaker. It is true that the capacity for language in human beings (N. Chomsky called it “language acquisition device”, or LAD) has a geneticbasis, but the particular language a person learns to speak is a cultural one rather than a genetic one like the dog’s barking system. If a human being is brought up in isolation he cannot acquire language. The wolf-child reared by the wolves turned out to speak the wolf’s roaring “tongue” when he was saved. And it was diffic ult for him to acquire human language.7) The imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. It is also language used for sheer joy of using language, such as a baby’s babbling, a chanter’s chanting, a poet’s pleasuring.8) The personal function refers to language used to express the individual’s feelings, emotions and personality.9) The heuristic function of language refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Language allows people to ask questions about the nature of the world they live in and to construct possible answers.10) Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.2. Multiple Choice1) – 5): A C C C B 6) – 10): A C C B B3. Word Completion.1) defining 2) Descreteness 3）productivity or creativity 4) metalingual 5) culturally, instinct or inheritance 6) speech 7) representational 8) interactional; 9) vocal;10) gramatically meaningful, sound meaningless; 11) system; 12) regulatory 13) arbitrariness, duality, productivity, cultural transmission, interchangeability, discreteness, displacement. 14) sound; 15) exhaustiveness, economy, objectivity, consistency4. True or False Questions1 – 5: FFTFF 6 – 10: FFTFT 11 – 15: FFTFT5. Glossary Translation1)personal function: 人际功能2)heauristic function：启发功能3)ideational function：概念功能4)interchangeability：互换性5)控制功能：regulatory function6)表现功能: representational functin7)文化传递性: cultural transmisssion8)分离性: discreteness9)区别性特征: design features10)不受时空限制的属性: displacement11)Interactional function: 互动功能12)instrumentational function：工具功能13)imaginative function：想象功能14)寒暄功能：phatic function15)元语言功能: metalingual function or metafunction of language16)personal function: 自指性功能17)performative function: 表达功能18)娱乐功能: recreational function19)信息功能: informative function20)人际功能: interpersonal function6. Short Essay Questions1) What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.According to Wang Gang (1988: 11), the functions of language can be mainly embodied in three aspects. i) Language is a tool of human communication; ii) Language is a tool whereby people learn about the world; iii) Language is a tool by which people create art.As a matter of fact, different linguists have different terms for the various functions of language. The British linguist M. A. K. Halliday uses the following terms to refer to the initial functions of children’s language:(1) InstrumentalThe instrumental function of language refers to the fact that language allows speakers to get things done. It allows them to control things in the environment. People can cause things to be done and to happen through the use of words alone. An immediate contrast here is with the animal world in which sounds are hardly used in this way, and, when they are, they are used in an extremely limited degree. The instrumental function can be primitive too in human interaction. Performative utterances such as the words which name a ship at a launching ceremony clearly have instrumental functions if the right circumstances exist；they are acts, e.g. I name this ship Liberty Bell.(2) RegulatoryThe regulatory function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once they happen. Those events may involve the self as well as others. People do try to control themselves through language, e.g. Why did I say that?/ Steady! / And Let me think about that again. Language helps to regulate encounters among people. Language provides devices for regulating specific kinds of encounters and contains words for approving or disapproving and for controlling or disrupting the behavior of others. It allows us to establish complex patterns of organization in order to try to regulate behavior, from game playing to political organization, from answering the telephone to addressing in foreign affairs. It is the regulatory function of language that allows people some measure of control over events that occur in their lives.(3)RepresentationalThe representational function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge about the world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on. This function of language is represented by all kinds of record-keeping, such as historical records, geographical surveys, business accounts, scientific reports, government acts, and public data banks. It is an essential domain of language use, for the availability of this material guarantees the knowledge-base of subsequent generations, which is a prerequisite of social development.(4) InteractionalThe interactional function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phatic communion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts. A greeting such as how are you?is relatively empty of content, and answers like fine or very well, thank you are equally empty, because the speaker is not interested in the hearer’s health, but rather to demonstrate his politeness and general attitude toward the other person when he gives a conversational greeting.(5) PersonalThe personal function refers to language used to express the individual’s feelings, emotions and personali ty. A person’s individuality is usually characterized by his or her use of personal function of communication. Each individual has a “voice” in what happens to him. He is free to speak or not to speak, to say, as much or as little as he pleases, and to choose how to say what he says. The use of language can tell the listener or reader a great deal about the speaker or writer — in particular, about his regional origin, social background, level of education, occupation, age, sex, and personality.Language also provides the individual with a means to express feelings, whether outright in the form of exclamations, endorsements, or curse, or much more subtly through a careful choice of words. Many social situations display language used to foster a sense of identity: the shouting of a crowd at a football match, the shouting of names or slogans at public meetings, the reactions of the audience to television game shows, the shouts of affirmation at some religious meetings. For example, the crowds attending Pres ident Regan’s pre-election meetings in 1984 repeatedly shouted “Four more years!” which united among those who shared the same political views.(6) HeuristicThe heuristic function refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Insofar as the inquiry into language itself, a necessary result is the creation of a metalanguage, i.e. a language used to refer to language, containing terms such as sound, syllable, word, structure, sentence, meaning and so on.(7) ImaginativeThe imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. The imaginative function also allows people to consider not just the real world but all possible worlds — and many impossible ones. Much literature is the most obvious example to serve this function as an account of Robinson Crusoe in the deserted island. The imaginative function enables life to be lived vicariously and helps satisfy numerous deep artistic urges.2) Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.Language is organized at two levels or layers-- sounds and meaning-- simultaneously. This property is called duality, or “double articulation”. In terms of speech production, we have the physical level at which we can produce individual sounds, like n, b, and i. As individual sound, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning. When we produce those sounds in a particular combination, as in bin, we have another level producing a meaning, which is differentfrom the meaning of the combination in nib. So, at one level, we have distinct sounds, and at another level, we have distinct meanings. This duality of levels is, in fact,: one of the most economical features of human language, since with a limited set of distinct sounds we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (relatively finite words and infinite number of sentences) which are distinct in meaning. No animal communication system has duality, or ever comes near to possessing it.3) Is language productive or not? Why?(1) Language is productive or creative. (233) This means that users can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before. Every day we send messages that have never been sent before, and we understand novel messages. Much of them we say and hear for the first time; yet there seems no problem of understanding. For example, the sentence” A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed” must be new to you and it does not describe a common happening in the world. Nevertheless, nobody has any difficulty in understanding it.(2) Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. For example, gibbon calls are not productive, for they draw all their calls from a limited repertoire, which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. Bee dancing is used only to indicate food sources, which is the only message that can be sent through the dancing.(3) The productivity or creativity of language partially. originates from its duality, because of which the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never before produced or heard. The productivity of language also means its potential to create endless sentences. It is the recursive nature of language that provides a theoretical basis for this possibility.4) What is language?(1) It is very difficult to give this question a satisfactory definition. However, most linguists would accept a tentative definition like this: language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. (2) Language must be a system, since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; they cannot be combined at will. If language were not systematic, it could not be learned or used consistently. (3) Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between the word pen and the thing we use to write with. The fact that different languages have different words for it (钢笔in Chinese for instance) speaks strongly for the arbitrary nature of language. (4) This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are associated with objects, actions, ideas by convention. (5) We say language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well developed are their writing systems. All evidence shows that writing systems came much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper (6) The term “human” i n the definition is meant to specify that language is human.specific; that is, it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess.5) What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of themwith examples.(1) Displacement is one of the defining properties of human language, which refers to the fact that human language can be used to talk about things that are present or not present, real or not real, and about matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of its users.This phenomenon is thought of as “displacement”, which can provide its users with an opportunity to communicate about a wide range of subjects, free from any barriers caused by separation in time and space. That is, the feature of displacement can enable us to talk about things and places whose existence we cannot even be sure of. We can refer to mythical creatures, demons, fairies, angels, Santa Claus, and recently invented characters such as superman. This feature is unique to human language. No animal communication system possesses it. Some animal calls are often uttered in response to immediate changes of situation. For instance, during the mating season, in the present of danger or pain, animals will make calls. Once the danger or pain is missing, their calls stop.(2) Discreteness The sounds used in language are meaningfully distinct. For example, the difference between the sounds b andp is actually not very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pack and back leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds p and b in English. This property of language is described as discreteness. Each sound in the language is treated as discrete. It is possible; in fact, to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the p and b sounds. However, that continuous stream will only be interpreted as being either a p sound, or a b sound (or, possibly, as a non-sound) in the language. We have a very discrete view of the sounds of our language and wherever a pronunciation falls within the physically possible range of sounds, it will be interpreted as a linguistically specific and meaningfully distinct sound(3) Language is a system. It is organized into two levels simultaneously. We have distinct sounds at the lower level (sound level), which is seen as a sequence of segments which have no meaning in themselves. At the higher level, we have distinct meanings (meaningful level). Language is analyzed in terms of combination of meaningful units. Then the meaningful units (such as morphemes, words, etc.) at the higher level can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. The organization of language into levels, one of sounds, the other of meaning, is known as duality or double articulation. This unique feature of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system possesses the feature of duality.。
语言学教程课后习题答案第一章资料(最新整理)
Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics1. Define the following terms:design feature: the distinctive features of human language that essentially make human language distinguishable from languages of animals.function: the role language plays in communication (e.g. to express ideas, attitudes) or in particular social situations (e.g. religious, legal).synchronic: said of an approach that studies language at a theoretical ‘point’ in time.diachronic: said of the study of development of language and languages over time. prescriptive: to make authoritarian statement about the correctness of a particular use of language.descriptive: to make an objective and systematic account of the patterns and use of a language or variety.arbitrariness: the absence of any physical correspondence between linguistic signals and the entities to which they refer.duality: the structural organization of language into two abstract levels: meaningful units (e.g. words) and meaningless segments (e.g. sounds, letters).displacement: the ability of language to refer to contexts removed from the speaker’s immediate situation.phatic communion: said of talk used to establish atmosphere or maintain social contact.metalanguage: a language used for talking about language.macrolinguistics: a broad conception of linguistic enquiry, including psychological, cultural, etc.competence: unconscious knowledge of the system of grammatical rules in a language.performance: the language actually used by people in speaking or writing.langue: the language system shared by a “speech community”.parole: the concrete utterances of a speaker.2. Consult at least four introductory linguistics textbooks (not dictionaries), and copy the definitions of “language” that each gives. After carefully comparing the definitions, write a paper discussing which points recur and explaining the significance of the similarities and differences among the definitions.ANSWER:All the definitions should not exclude the description of design features that have been mentioned in this course book. Also it will be better if other design features, say, interchangeability or cultural transmission is included. But it seems impossible to give an unimpeachable definition on language, because the facets people want to emphasize are seldom unanimous. To compare several definitions can make you realize where the argument is.3. Can you think of some words in English which are onomatopoeic?ANSWERS:creak: the sound made by a badly oiled door when it opens.cuckoo: the call of cuckoo.bang: a sudden loud noise.roar: a deep loud continuing sound.buzz: a noise of buzzing.hiss: a hissing sound.neigh: the long and loud cry that a horse makes.mew: the noise that a gull makes.bleat: the sound made by a sheep, goat or calf.4. Do you think that onomatopoeia indicates a non-arbitrary relationship between form and meaning?ANSWER:4. No matter you say "Yes" or "No", you cannot deny that onomatopoeia needs arbitrariness. Before we feel a word is onomatopoeic we should first know which sound the word imitates. Just as what is said in Chapter One, in order to imitate the noise of flying mosquitoes, there are many choices like "murmurous" and "murderous". They both bear more or less resemblance to the genuine natural sound, but "murmurous" is fortunately chosen to mean the noise while "murderous" is chosen to mean something quite different. They are arbitrary as signifiers.5. A story by Robert Louis Stevenson contains the sentence “As the night fell, the wind rose.” Could this be expressed as “As the wind rose, the night fell?” If not, why? Does this indicate a degree of non-arbitrariness about word order? (Bolinger, 1981: 15)5. Yes. It is a case in point to illustrate non-arbitrariness about word order. When the two parts interchange, the focus and the meaning of the sentence is forced to change, because clauses occurring in linear sequence without time indicators will be taken as matching the actual sequence of happening. The writer’s original intention is distorted, and we can feel it effortlessly by reading. That is why systemic-functionalists and American functionalists think language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level.6. Does the traffic light system have duality? Can you explain by drawing a simple graph?6. Traffic light does not have duality. Obviously, it is not a double-level system. There is only one-to-one relationship between signs and meaning but the meaning units cannot be divided into smaller meaningless elements further. So the traffic light only has the primary level and lacks the secondary level like animals’ calls.ANSWER:Red→stopGreen→goYellow→get ready to go or stop7. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for the creativity of language. Can you write a recursive sentence following the example in section 1.3.3.ANSWER:Today I encountered an old friend who was my classmate when I was in elementary school where there was an apple orchard in which we slid to select ripe apples that…8. Communication can take many forms, such as sign, speech, body language and facial expression. Do body language and facial expression share or lack the distinctive properties of human language?ANSWER:On a whole, body language and facial expression lack most of the distinctive properties of human language such as duality, displacement, creativity and so on. Body language exhibits arbitrariness a little bit. For instance, nod means "OK/YES" for us but in Arabian world it is equal to saying "NO". Some facial expressions have non-arbitrariness because they are instinctive such as the cry and laugh of a newborn infant.9. Do you agree with the view that no language is especially simple?ANSWER:Yes. All human languages are complicated systems of communication. It is decided by their shared design features.10. What do you think of Bertrand Russell’s observation of the dog language: “No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest”? Are you familiar with any type of ways animals communicate among themselves and with human beings? ANSWER:When gazelles sense potential danger, for example, they flee and thereby signal to other gazellesin the vicinity that danger is lurking. A dog signals its wish to be let inside the house by barking and signals the possibility that it might bite momentarily by displaying its fangs.11.Can you mention some typical expressions of phatic communion in Chinese? There is the dialog between Ms. P and Ms. Q. in section 1.5.5. When someone sneezes violently, do you say anything of the nature of phatic communion? Have you noticed your parents or grandparents say something special on such an occasion?Some of the typical phatic expressions in Chinese are: 吃了吗？家里都好吧？这是去哪里啊？最近都挺好的？ANSWER:If someone is sneezing violently, maybe you parents and grandparents may say: “Are you ok?”, “Do you need to see a doctor?”, “Do you need some water?”, “Do you need a handkerchief?”, “Do you have a cold?” or something like these to show their concerns.12．There are many expressions in language which are metalingual or self-reflexives, namely, talking about talk and think about thinking, for instance, to be honest, to make a long story short, come to think of it, on second thought, can you collect a few more to make a list of these expressions? When do we use them most often?ANSWER:To tell the truth, frankly speaking, as a matter of fact, to be precise, in other words, that is to saySuch expressions are used most frequently when we want to expatiate the meaning of former clauses in anther way in argumentation.13. Comment on the following prescriptive rules. Do you think they are acceptable?(A) It is I.(B) It is me.You should say A instead of B because “be” should be followed by the nominative case, not the accusative according to the rules in Latin.(A) Who did you speak to?(B) Whom did you speak to?You should say B instead of A.(A) I haven't done anything.(B) I haven't done nothing.B is wrong because two negatives make a positive.ANSWER:(1) the Latin rule is not universal. In English, me is informal and I is felt to be very formal.(2) Whom is used in formal speech and in writing; who is more acceptable in informal speech.(3) Language does not have to follow logic reasoning. Here two negative only make a more emphatic negative. This sentence is not acceptable in Standard English not because it is illogical, but because language changes and rejects this usage now.14. The prescriptivism in grammar rules has now shifted to prescriptions in choice of words. In the “guidelines on anti-sexist language” issued by the British sociological association, someguidelines are listed below. Do you think they are descriptive and prescriptive? What’s your comment on them?(1) Do not use man to mean humanity in general. Use person, people, human beings, men and women, humanity and humankind.(2) colored: This term is regarded as outdated in the UK and should be avoided as it is generally viewed as offensive to many black people.(3) civilized: This term can still carry racist overtones which derive from a colonialist perception of the world. It is often associated with social Darwinist thought and is full of implicit value judgments and ignorance of the history of the non-industrialized world.ANSWER:They are undoubtedly descriptive. Guidelines are not rules that can determine whether a sentence is right or not. The guidelines advise you to avoid the use of particular words that are grammatically correct but offensive to some certain groups. Actually, they describe the way anti-sexist advocators speak and write.15. Why is the distinction between competence and performance an important one in linguistics? Do you think the line can be neatly drawn between them? How do you like the concept “communicative competence”?ANSWER:This is proposed by Chomsky in his formalist linguistic theories. It is sometimes hard to draw a strict line. Some researchers in applied linguistics think communicative competence may be a more revealing concept in language teaching than the purely theoretical pair—competence and performance.16. Which branch of linguistics do you think will develop rapidly in China and why?It is up to you to decide after you have gone through the whole book. At this stage, we suggest all branches of linguistics have the potential to flourish.17. The following are some well-known ambiguous sentences in syntactic studies of language. Can you disambiguate them?The chicken is too hot to eat.Flying planes can be dangerous.ANSWER:The chicken is too hot to eat.The chicken meat is too hot, so it cannot be eaten at the moment.The chicken feels so hot (maybe after some intense aerobic exercises) that it cannot start eating and needs to calm down first.Flying planes can be dangerous.The ambiguity comes from "flying planes". It can be deciphered as "the planes that is flying" or "to fly planes".18. There are many reasons for the discrepancy between competence and performance in normal language users. Can you think of some of them?ANSWEREthnic background, socioeconomic status, region of the country, and physical state (such as intoxication, fatigue, distraction, illness) vary from individual to individual.19. What do these two quotes reveal about the different emphasis or perspectives of language studies?(1) A human language is a system of remarkable complexity. To come to know a human language would be an extraordinary intellectual achievement for a creature not specifically designed to accomplish this task. A normal child acquires this knowledge on relatively slight exposure and without specific training. He can then quite effortlessly make use of an intricate structure of specific rules and guiding principles to convey his thoughts and feelings to others, ... Thus language is a mirror of mind in a deep and significant sense. It is a product of human intelligence, created anew in each individual by operations that lie far beyond the reach of will or consciousness.(Noam Chomsky: Reflections on Language. 1975: 4)(2) It is fairly obvious that language is used to serve a variety of different needs, but until we examine its grammar there is no clear reason for classifying its uses in any particular way. However, when we examine the meaning potential of language itself, we find that the vast numbers of options embodied in it combine into a very few relatively independent “networks”; and these networks of options correspond to certain basic functions of language. This enables us to give an account of the different functions of language that is relevant to the general understanding of linguistic structure rather than to any particular psychological or sociological investigation. (M. A. K. Halliday, 1970: 142)ANSWER:The first quote shows children’s inborn ability of acquiring the knowledge of intricate structure of specific rules. It implies that the language user's underlying knowledge about the system of rules is the valuable object of study for linguists. The second attaches great importance to the functions of language. It regards the use of language as the choice of needed function. The meaning of language can be completely included by a few “networks” which is directly related to basic functions of language. It indicates the necessity to study the functions of language.20. You may be familiar with the following proverbs. How do you perceive them according to the arbitrariness and conventionality of language?The proof of the pudding is in the eating.Let sleeping dogs lie.You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.Rome was not built in a day.When in Rome, do as the Romans do.All roads lead to Rome.ANSWER:20. Arbitrariness and conventionality derive from the choice of the subject matter. For example, in the “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” The word “pudding” is selected arbitrarily, for we can use another word such as cheese instead of pudding without changing the associative meaning of the proverb. On the other hand, once such links between particular words and associativemeaning are fixed, it becomes a matter of conventionality.21. Give examples of situations in which a usage generally considered non-standard (e.g. ain’t) would be acceptable, even appropriate.ANSWER21. In the talks between intimate friends, one may say “gimme that!” instead of “give me that!” and “wachya doin’?” instead of “what are you doing?” and this list may go on.22. The following are some book titles of linguistics. Can you judge the diachronic and diachronic orientation just from the titles?English Examined: Two centuries of Comment on the Mother-Tongue.Protean Shape: A Study in Eighteenth-century Vocabulary and Usage.Pejorative Sense Development in English.The Categories and Types of Present-Day English Word-Formation.Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular.ANSWER22. Synchronic:Protean Shape: A Study in Eighteenth-century Vocabulary and Usage.The Categories and Types of Present-Day English Word-Formation.Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular.Diachronic:English Examined: Two centuries of Comment on the Mother-Tongue.Pejorative Sense Development in English。
【免费下载】语言学课后练习之练习1Language
语言学导论课外补充练习（1）language1.State the nature of language briefly with examples.2.Why is it said that the language system is unique to human beings?3.What are the characteristics of human language?4.What are the social functions of language?5.Do animals other than humans have their own languages?6.Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.7.Can language be viewed only as a system of communication? Why not?8.How did language come into being? What is the relationship between the originof language and the origin of human beings?9.Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural order.（1）Five /the /fresh /potatoes（2）Pretty /American /girls /the two（3）Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two（4）Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three（5）Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers10.Fill in the blanks with the proper words.（1）_______ function means language can be used to “do” things.（2）_______ function means the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with _______ function.（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows ______ function.（5）Greetings shows _______ function.（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows______ function.（7）Propaganda shows ________ function.（8）________ refers to contexts removed from the immediate of the speaker.（9）For________, reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication.（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include ________, ___________, _____________.（11）Linguistics should include at least five parameters:_________ __________ ___________ ____________ _________________..11.Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it（1）Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animals communication system.（2）There is not a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the actual happenings.（3）The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins of language are not at most a speculation.（4）The definition,“ Language is a tool for human communication.” has no problem.（5）The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells nothing about its functions.（6）Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution.（7）Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as Sapir’s.语言学课外单元补充习题答案Language（Exercise 1）1. State the nature of language briefly with examples.Answer: modern linguists have proposed various definitions of language such as: Language is “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Sapir, 1921) Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall, 1968) Language is “a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.” (Chomsky, 1957)“语言是人跟人互通信息，用发音器官发出来的，成系统的行为的方式。
英语语言学导论练习题
英语语言学导论练习题英语语言学导论是一门研究英语语言结构、发展和使用的学科。
以下是一些练习题，旨在帮助学生更好地理解英语语言学的基本概念和理论。
练习题一：语音学1. 描述英语中的元音和辅音的区别。
2. 列举至少五种英语中的双元音，并说明它们的发音特点。
3. 解释“音位”和“音素”的区别，并给出例子。
练习题二：形态学1. 定义“形态学”并解释其在语言学中的重要性。
2. 举例说明英语中的派生词和复合词。
3. 描述英语中的不规则动词变化，并给出几个例子。
练习题三：句法学1. 简述句法研究的主要内容。
2. 用树状图表示一个简单英语句子的结构。
3. 解释“主语”、“谓语”和“宾语”在句子中的作用。
练习题四：语义学1. 定义“语义学”并解释其研究范围。
2. 描述“同义”和“反义”的概念，并给出英语例子。
3. 解释“语境”如何影响语言的意义。
练习题五：语用学1. 什么是语用学？它与语义学有何不同？2. 描述“指示语”、“礼貌原则”和“合作原则”在交际中的作用。
3. 举例说明如何在不同的社交场合中使用不同的语言风格。
练习题六：社会语言学1. 解释社会语言学研究的主要内容。
2. 讨论语言变异与社会身份之间的关系。
3. 描述双语现象及其对语言使用者的影响。
练习题七：心理语言学1. 心理语言学是如何研究语言的？2. 描述“语言习得”的过程及其理论。
3. 讨论“母语”和“第二语言”学习之间的差异。
练习题八：历史语言学1. 定义“历史语言学”并解释其研究目的。
2. 描述英语的发展历史和主要变化。
3. 讨论语言接触和借用对语言发展的影响。
完成这些练习题将有助于加深对英语语言学各个方面的理解，并提高分析和应用语言学理论的能力。
希望这些练习题能对你的学习有所帮助。
英语语言学第章课后练习题答案
英语语言学第章课后练习题答案英语语言学第章课后练习题答案文件管理序列号：[K8UY-K9IO69-O6M243-OL889-F88688]《新编简明英语语言学教程》第二版第1-3章练习题参考答案Chapter 1 IntroductionP131. How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics:Linguistics is the scientific study of language？答： Linguistics is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In order to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system, the linguists has to collect and observe language facts first, which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them; then he formulates some hypotheses about the language structure. The hypotheses thus formed have to be checked repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation, that is, a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things.2. What are the major branches of linguistics What does each of them study答： The major branches of linguistics are:(1) phonetics: it studies the sounds used in linguistic communication;(2) phonology: it studies how sounds are put together and used toconvey meaning in communication;(3) morphology: it studies the way in which linguistic symbolsrepresenting sounds are arranged and combined to form words;(4) syntax: it studies the rules which govern how words are combinedto form grammatically permissible sentences in languages;(5) semantics: it studies meaning conveyed by language;(6) pragmatics: it studies the meaning in the context of language use.3. In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar答： The general approach thus traditionally formed to the study of language over the years is roughly referred to as “t raditionalgramma r.” Modern linguistics differs from tradi tional g rammar inseveral basic ways.Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.Second, modem linguistics regards the spoken language as primary,not the written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tended to emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence.Then, modem linguistics differs from traditional grammar also inthat it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.4. Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic Why答： In modem linguistics, a synchronic approach seems to enjoypriority over a diachronic one. Because people believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development.5. For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writing答： Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication. Modem linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any langu age is alway s “invented” byits users to record speech when the need arises. Even in today's world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. And also, speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writing is learned and taught later when he goes to school. For modern linguists, spoken language reveals many true features of human s peech while written language is only the “revised” record of spe ech.Thus their data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regard as authentic.6. How is Saussure's distinction between langue and parole similar toChomsky's distinction between competence and performance答：Saussure's distinction and Chomsky's are very similar, they differ at least in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions, and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.7. What characteristics of language do you think should be included ina good, comprehensive definition of language答：First of all, language is a system, i.e., elements of language are combined according to rules.Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is nointrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for.Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound.Fourth, language is human-specific, i. e., it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess.8. What are the main features of human language that have beenspecified by C. Hockett to show that it is essentially different from animal communication system（2．2语言的识别性特征）美国语言学家C. Hockett提出了人类语言的12种识别性特征，其中最重要的识别性特种有5种：即语言的任意性、创造性、二重性、移位性和文化传递性。
胡壮麟语言学教程课后练习
胡壮麟语言学教程课后练习Chapter 1 Invitations to LinguisticsI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human __________.A. contactB. communicationC. relationD. community2. Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary?A. treeB. typewriterC. crashD. bang3. The function of the sentence ―Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade.‖ is__________.A. interrogativeB. directiveC. informativeD. performative4. In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say―碎碎(岁岁)平安‖as a means of controlling the forces which theybelieves feel might affect their lives. Which functions does it perform?A. InterpersonalB. EmotiveC. PerformativeD. Recreational5. Which of the following property of language enables language users to overcome the barriers caused by time and place, due to this feature of language, speakers of a language are free to talk about anything in any situation?A. TransferabilityB. DualityC. DisplacementD. Arbitrariness6. Study the following dialogue. What function does it playaccording to the functions of language?— A nice day, isn’t it?— Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.A. EmotiveB. PhaticC. PerformativeD. Interpersonal7. __________ refers to the actual realization of the ideal language user’s knowledge of the rules of his language in utterances.A. PerformanceB. CompetenceC. LangueD. Parole8. When a dog is barking, you assume it is barking for something orat someone that exists hear and now. It couldn’t be sorrowful for some lost love or lost bone. This indicates the design feature of __________.A. cultural transmissionB. productivityC. displacementD. duality9. __________ answers such questions as how we as infants acquireour first language.A. PsycholinguisticsB. Anthropological linguisticsC. SociolinguisticsD. Applied1linguistics10. __________ deals with language application to other fields, particularly education.A. Linguistic theoryB. Practical linguisticsC. Applied linguisticsD. Comparative linguisticsII. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication way used by the deaf-mute is not language.12. Language change is universal, ongoing and arbitrary.13. Speaking is the quickest and most efficient way of the human communication systems.14. Language is written because writing is the primary medium forall languages. 15. We were all born with the ability to acquire language, which means the details of any language system can be genetically transmitted.16. Only human beings are able to communicate.17. F. de Saussure, who made the distinction between langue andparole in the early 20th century, was a French linguist.18. A study of the features of the English used in Shakespeare’stime is an example of the diachronic study of language.19. Speech and writing came into being at much the same time in human history. 20. All the languages in the world today have both spoken and written forms.III. Fill in the blanks. (10%)21. Language, broadly speaking, is a means of __________ communication. 22. In any language words can be used in new ways to mean new things and can be combined into innumerable sentences based onlimited rules. This feature is usually termed __________.23. Language has many functions. We can use language to talk about itself. This function is __________.24. Theory that primitive man made involuntary vocal noises while performing heavy work has been called the __________ theory.25. Linguistics is the __________ study of language.26. Modern linguistics is __________ in the sense that the linguist tries to discover what language is rather than lay down some rules for people to observe. 27. One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of __________ over writing.28. The description of a language as it changes through time is a__________ study.29. Saussure put forward two important concepts. __________ refersto the2abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community. 30. Linguistic potential is similar to Saussure’s langue and Chomsky’s __________.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Design feature32. Displacement33. Competence34. Synchronic linguisticsV. Answer the following questions. (20%)35. Why do people take duality as one of the important design features of human language? Can you tell us what language will be if it has no such design feature? (南开大学，2004)36. Why is it difficult to define language? (北京第二外国语大学，2004)VI. Analyze the following situation. (20%)37. How can a linguist make his analysis scientific? (青岛海洋大学，1999)Key:[In the reference keys, I won’t give examples or further analysis. That seems too muchwork for me. Therefore, this key is only for reference. In order to answer this kind of question, you need more examples. So you should read the textbook carefully. –icywarmtea]I.1~5 BACCC 6~10 BACACII.11~15 FFTFF 16~20 FFFFFIII.21. verbal 22. productivity / creativity 23. metalingual function 24. yo-he-ho25. scientific 26. descriptive 27. speech 28. diachronic linguistic 29. langue 30. competenceIV.31. Design feature: It refers to the defining properties of human language that tell the difference between human language and any system of animal communication. 32. Displacement: It means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts, which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.33. Competence: It is an essential part of performance. It is the speaker’s3knowledge of his or her language; that is, of its sound structure,its words, and its grammatical rules. Competence is, in a way, an encyclopedia of language. Moreover, the knowledge involved in competence is generally unconscious. Atransformational-generative grammar is a model of competence.34. Synchronic linguistics: It refers to the study of a language ata given point in time. The time studied may be either the present or a particular point in the past; synchronic analyses can also be made of dead languages, such as Latin. Synchronic linguistics is contrasted with diachronic linguistics, the study of a language over a period of time.V.35.Duality makes our language productive. A large number of different units can be formed out of a small number of elements – for instance, tens of thousands of words out of a smallset of sounds, around 48 in the case of the English language. Andout of the huge number of words, there can be astronomical number of possible sentences and phrases, which in turn can combine to form unlimited number of texts. Most animal communication systems do not have this design feature of human language.If language has no such design feature, then it will be like animal communicational system which will be highly limited. It cannot produce a very large number of sound combinations, e.g. words, which are distinct in meaning.36.It is difficult to define language, as it is such a general termthat covers too many things. Thus, definitions for it all have their own special emphasis, and are not totally free from limitations.VI.37.It should be guided by the four principles of science: exhaustiveness, consistency, economy and objectivity and follow the scientific procedure: form hypothesis – collect data– check against the observable facts – come to a conclusion.4Chapter 2 Speech SoundsI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. Pitch variation is known as __________ when its patterns are imposed on sentences.A. intonationB. toneC. pronunciationD. voice2. Conventionally a __________ is put in slashes (/ /).A. allophoneB. phoneC. phonemeD. morpheme3. An aspirated p, an unaspirated p and an unreleased p are__________ of the p phoneme.A. analoguesB. tagmemesC. morphemesD. allophones4. The opening between the vocal cords is sometimes referred to as __________.A. glottisB. vocal cavityC. pharynxD. uvula5. The diphthongs that are made with a movement of the tongue towards the center are known as __________ diphthongs.A. wideB. closingC. narrowD. centering6. A phoneme is a group of similar sounds called __________.A. minimal pairsB. allomorphsC. phonesD. allophones7. Which branch of phonetics concerns the production of speech sounds?A. Acoustic phoneticsB. Articulatory phoneticsC. Auditory phoneticsD. None of the above 8. Which one is different from the others according to places of articulation?A. [n]B. [m]C. [ b ]D. [p]9. Which vowel is different from the others according to the characteristics of vowels?A. [i:]B. [ u ]C. [e]D. [ i ]10. What kind of sounds can we make when the vocal cords arevibrating?A. VoicelessB. VoicedC. Glottal stopD. ConsonantII. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. Suprasegmental phonology refers to the study of phonological properties of units5larger than the segment-phoneme, such as syllable, word and sentence.12. The air stream provided by the lungs has to undergo a number of modification to acquire the quality of a speech sound.13. Two sounds are in free variation when they occur in the same environment and do not contrast, namely, the substitution of one for the other does not produce a different word, but merely a different pronunciation.14. [p] is a voiced bilabial stop.15. Acoustic phonetics is concerned with the perception of speech sounds. 16. All syllables must have a nucleus but not all syllables contain an onset and a coda.17. When pure vowels or monophthongs are pronounced, no vowel glides take place. 18. According to the length or tenseness of the pronunciation, vowels can be divided into tense vs. lax or long vs. short.19. Received Pronunciation is the pronunciation accepted by most people. 20. The maximal onset principle states that when there is achoice as to where to place a consonant, it is put into the coda rather than the onset.III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)21. Consonant sounds can be either __________ or __________, whileall vowel sounds are __________.22. Consonant sounds can also be made when two organs of speech in the mouth are brought close together so that the air is pushed out between them, causing __________.23. The qualities of vowels depend upon the position of the__________ and the lips. 24. One element in the description of vowels is the part of the tongue which is at the highest point in the mouth. A second element is the __________ to which that part of the tongue is raised.25. Consonants differ from vowels in that the latter are produced without __________.26. In phonological analysis the words fail / veil aredistinguishable simply because of the two phonemes /f/ - /v/. This is an example for illustrating __________. 27. In English there are a number of __________, which are produced by moving from one vowel position to another through intervening positions.28. __________ refers to the phenomenon of sounds continually show the influence of their neighbors.29. __________ is the smallest linguistic unit.30. Speech takes place when the organs of speech move to produce patterns of sound. These movements have an effect on the __________ coming from the lungs.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Sound assimilation32. Suprasegmental feature633. Complementary distribution34. Distinctive featuresV. Answer the following questions. (20%)35. What is acoustic phonetics?(中国人民大学，2003)36. What are the differences between voiced sounds and voiceless sounds in terms of articulation?(南开大学，2004)VI. Analyze the following situation. (20%)37. Write the symbol that corresponds to each of the following phonetic descriptions; then give an English word that contains this sound. Example: voiced alveolar stop [d] dog. (青岛海洋大学，1999)(1) voiceless bilabial unaspirated stop(2) low front vowel(3) lateral liquid(4) velar nasal(5) voiced interdental fricativeKey:I.1~5 ACDAA 6~10 DBABBII.11~15 TTTFF 16~20 TTTFFIII.21. voiced, voiceless, voiced 22. friction23. tongue 24. height25. obstruction 26. minimal pairs 27. diphthongs 28. Co-articulation 29. Phonemes 30. air streamIV.31. Sound assimilation: Speech sounds seldom occur in isolation. In connected speech, under the influence of their neighbors, are replaced by other sounds. Sometimes two neighboring sounds influence each other and are replaced by a third sound which is different from both original sounds. This process is called sound assimilation. 32. Suprasegmental feature: The phonetic features that occur above the level of the segments are called suprasegmental features; these are the phonological properties of such units as the syllable, the word, and the sentence. The main suprasegmental ones includes stress, intonation, and tone.33. Complementary distribution: The different allophones of the same phoneme never occur in the same phonetic context. When two or more allophones of one phoneme never occur in the same linguistic environment they are said to be in complementary7distribution.34. Distinctive features: It refers to the features that can distinguish one phoneme from another. If we can group the phonemes into two categories: one with this feature and the other without, this feature is called a distinctive feature.V.35.Acoustic phonetics deals with the transmission of speech sounds through the air. When a speech sound is produced it causes minor air disturbances (sound waves). Various instruments are used to measure the characteristics of these sound waves. 36.When the vocal cords are spread apart, the air from the lungs passes between them unimpeded. Sounds produced in this way are described as voiceless; consonants [p, s, t] are produced in this way. But when the vocal cords are drawn together, the air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes through, creating a vibration effect. Sounds produced in this way are described as voiced. [b, z, d] are voiced consonants. VI.37.Omit.8Chapter 3 LexiconI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. Nouns, verbs and adjectives can be classified as __________.A. lexical wordsB. grammatical wordsC. function wordsD. form words2. Morphemes that represent tense, number, gender and case arecalled __________ morpheme.A. inflectionalB. freeC. boundD. derivational3. There are __________ morphemes in the word denationalization.A. threeB. fourC. fiveD. six4. In English –ise and –tion are called __________.A. prefixesB. suffixesC. infixesD. stems5. The three subtypes of affixes are: prefix, suffix and __________.A. derivational affixB. inflectional affixC. infixD. back-formation6. __________ is a way in which new words may be formed from already existing words by subtracting an affix which is thought to be part of the old word.A. affixationB. back-formationC. insertionD. addition7. The word TB is formed in the way of __________.A. acronymyB. clippingC. initialismD. blending8. The words like comsat and sitcom are formed by __________.A. blendingB. clippingC. back-formationD. acronymy9. The stem of disagreements is __________.A. agreementB. agreeC. disagreeD. disagreement10. All of them are meaningful except for __________.A. lexemeB. phonemeC. morphemeD. allomorphII. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. Phonetically, the stress of a compound always falls on the first element, while the second element receives secondary stress.12. Fore as in foretell is both a prefix and a bound morpheme.913. Base refers to the part of the word that remains when all inflectional affixes are removed.14. In most cases, prefixes change the meaning of the base whereas suffixes change the word-class of the base.15. Conversion from noun to verb is the most productive process of a word. 16. Reduplicative compound is formed by repeating the same morpheme of a word. 17. The words whimper, whisper and whistle are formed in the way of onomatopoeia. 18. In most cases, the number of syllables of a word corresponds to the number of morphemes.19. Back-formation is a productive way of word-formations.20. Inflection is a particular way of word-formations.III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)21. An __________ is pronounced letter by letter, while an__________ is pronounced as a word.22. Lexicon, in most cases, is synonymous with __________.23. Orthographically, compounds are written in three ways:__________, __________ and __________.24. All words may be said to contain a root __________.25. A small set of conjunctions, prepositions and pronouns belong to __________ class, while the largest part of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs belongs to __________ class.26. __________ is a reverse process of derivation, and therefore isa process of shortening.27. __________ is extremely productive, because English had lost most of its inflectional endings by the end of Middle English period, which facilitated the use of words interchangeably as verbs or nouns, verbs or adjectives, and vice versa. 28. Words are divided into simple, compound and derived words on the __________ level.29. A word formed by derivation is called a __________, and a word formed by compounding is called a __________.30. Bound morphemes are classified into two types: __________ and__________.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Blending32. Allomorph33. Closed-class word34. Morphological ruleV. Answer the following questions. (20%)35. How many types of morphemes are there in the English language? What are10they? (厦门大学，2003)36. What are the main features of the English compounds?VI. Analyze the following situation. (20%)37. Match the terms under COLUMN I with the underlined forms from COLUMN II (武汉大学，2004)I II (1) acronym a. foe(2) free morpheme b. subconscious(3) derivational morpheme c. UNESCO(4) inflectional morpheme d. overwhelmed(5) prefix e. calculationKey:I.1~5 AACBB 6~10 BCADBII.11~15 FTFTT 16~20 FTFFFIII.21. initialism, acronym 22. vocabulary23. solid, hyphenated, open 24. morpheme25. close, open 26. back-formation 27. conversion 28. morpheme29. derivative, compound 30. affix, bound rootIV.31. Blending: It is a process of word-formation in which a new word is formed by combining the meanings and sounds of two words, one of which is not in its full form or both of which are not in their full forms, like newscast (news + broadcast), brunch (breakfast + lunch)32. Allomorph: It is any of the variant forms of a morpheme as conditioned by position or adjoining sounds.33. Close-class word: It is a word whose membership is fixed or limited. Pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc. are all closed-class words. 34. Morphological rule: It is the rule that governs which affix can be added to what type of base to form a new word,e.g. –ly can be added to a noun to form an adjective.V.Omit.VI.37.(1) c (2) a (3) e (4) d (5) b11Chapter 4 SyntaxI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. The sentence structure is ________.A. only linearB. only hierarchicalC. complexD. both linear and hierarchical2. The syntactic rules of any language are ____ in number.A. largeB. smallC. finiteD.infinite3. The ________ rules are the rules that group words and phrases to form grammatical sentences.A. lexicalB. morphologicalC. linguisticD. combinational4. A sentence is considered ____ when it does not conform to the grammati cal knowledge in the mind of native speakers.A. rightB. wrongC. grammaticalD. ungrammatical5. A __________ in the embedded clause refers to the introductory word that introduces the embedded clause.A. coordinatorB. particleC. prepositionD. subordinator6. Phrase structure rules have ____ properties.A. recursiveB. grammaticalC. socialD. functional7. Phrase structure rules allow us to better understand_____________.A. how words and phrases form sentences.B. what constitutes the grammaticality of strings of wordsC. how people produce and recognize possible sentencesD. all of the above.8. The head of the phrase “the city Rome” is __________.A. the cityB. RomeC. cityD. the city Rome9. The phrase “on the shelf” belongs to __________ construction.A. endocentricB. exocentricC. subordinateD. coordinate10. The sentence “They were wanted to remain quiet and not to expose themselves.” is a __________ sente nce.A. simpleB. coordinateC. compoundD. complex12II. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. Universally found in the grammars of all human languages, syntactic rules that comprise the system of internalized linguistic knowledge of a language speaker are known as linguistic competence.12. The syntactic rules of any language are finite in number, but there is no limit to the number of sentences native speakers of that language are able to produce and comprehend.13. In a complex sentence, the two clauses hold unequal status, one subordinating the other.14. Constituents that can be substituted for one another withoutloss of grammaticality belong to the same syntactic category.15. Minor lexical categories are open because these categories are not fixed and new members are allowed for.16. In English syntactic analysis, four phrasal categories are commonly recognized and discussed, namely, noun phrase, verb phrase, infinitive phrase, and auxiliary phrase.17. In English the subject usually precedes the verb and the direct object usually follows the verb.18. What is actually internalized in the mind of a native speaker isa complete list of words and phrases rather than grammatical knowledge.19. A noun phrase must contain a noun, but other elements are optional.20. It is believed that phrase structure rules, with the insertionof the lexicon, generate sentences at the level of D-structure.III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)21. A __________ sentence consists of a single clause which containsa subject and a predicate and stands alone as its own sentence.22. A __________ is a structurally independent unit that usually comprises a number of words to form a complete statement, question or command.23. A __________ may be a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence that usually precedes the predicate.24. The part of a sentence which comprises a finite verb or a verb phrase and which says something about the subject is grammatically called __________.25. A __________ sentence contains two, or more, clauses, one of which is incorporated into the other.26. In the complex sentence, the incorporated or subordinate clause is normally called an __________ clause.27. Major lexical categories are __________ categories in the sense that new words are constantly added.28. __________ condition on case assignment states that a case assignor and a case recipient should stay adjacent to each other.29. __________ are syntactic options of UG that allow general principles to operate13in one way or another and contribute to significant linguistic variations between andamong natural languages.30. The theory of __________ condition explains the fact that noun phrases appearonly in subject and object positions.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Syntax32. IC analysis33. Hierarchical structure34. Trace theoryV. Answer the following questions. (20%)35. What are endocentric construction and exocentric construction? (武汉大学，2004)36. Distinguish the two possible meanings of “more beautiful flowers” by means ofIC analysis. (北京第二外国语大学，2004)VI. Analyze the following situation. (20%)37. Draw a tree diagram according to the PS rules to show the deep structure of thesentence:The student wrote a letter yesterday.Key:I.1~5 DCDDD 6~10 ADDBAII.11~15 TTTTF 16~20 FTFTTIII.21. simple 22. sentence23. subject 24. predicate25. complex 26. embedded27. open 28. Adjacency29. Parameters 30. CaseIV.31. Syntax: Syntax refers to the rules governing the way words are combined toform sentences in a language, or simply, the study of the formation of sentences.32. IC analysis: Immediate constituent analysis, IC analysis for short, refers to the14analysis of a sentence in terms of its immediate constituents –word groups (phrases),which are in turn analyzed into the immediate constituents of their own, and the process goes on until the ultimate sake of convenience.33. Hierarchical structure: It is the sentence structure that groups words into structural constituents and shows the syntactic category of each structural constituent, such as NP, VP and PP.34. Trace theory: After the movement of an element in a sentence there will be a trace left in the original position. This is the notion trace in T-G grammar. It’ssuggested that if we have the notion trace, all the necessary information for semantic interpretation may come from the surface structure. E.g. The passive Dams are built by beavers. differs from the active Beavers built dams. in implying that all dams are built by beavers. If we add a trace element represented by the letter t after built in the passive as Dams are built t by beavers, then the deep structure information that the word dams was originally the object of built is also captured by the surface structure. Trace theory proves to be not only theoretically significant but also empirically valid.V.35.An endocentric construction is one whose distribution isfunctionally equivalent, or approaching equivalence, to one of its constituents, which serves as the center, or head, of the whole. A typical example is the three small children withchildren as its head. The exocentric construction, opposite to the first type, is defined negatively as a construction whose distribution is not functionally equivalent to any of its constituents. Prepositional phrasal like on the shelf are typical examples of this type.36.(1) more | beautiful flowers(2) more beautiful | flowers15Chapter 5 Meaning[Mainly taken from lxm1000w’s exercises. – icywarmtea]I. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. The naming theory is advanced by ________.A. PlatoB. BloomfieldC. Geoffrey LeechD. Firth2. “We shall know a word by the company it keeps.” This statement represents _______.A. the conceptualist viewB. contexutalismC. the naming theoryD. behaviorism3. Which of the following is NOT true?A. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.B. Sense is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form.C. Sense is abstract and decontextualized.D. Sense is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are not interested in.4. “Can I borrow your bike?”_______ “You have a bike.”A. is synonymous withB. is inconsistent withC. entailsD. presupposes5. ___________ is a way in which the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features.。
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语言学导论课外补充练习（1）language1.State the nature of language briefly with examples.2.Why is it said that the language system is unique to human beings?3.What are the characteristics of human language?4.What are the social functions of language?5.Do animals other than humans have their own languages?6.Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.7.Can language be viewed only as a system of communication? Why not?8.How did language come into being? What is the relationship between the originof language and the origin of human beings?9.Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural order.（1）Five /the /fresh /potatoes（2）Pretty /American /girls /the two（3）Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two（4）Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three（5）Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers10.Fill in the blanks with the proper words.（1）_______ function means language can be used to “do” things.（2）_______ function means the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with _______ function.（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows ______ function.（5）Greetings shows _______ function.（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows______ function.（7）Propaganda shows ________ function.（8）________ refers to contexts removed from the immediate of the speaker.（9）For________, reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication.（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include ________, ___________, _____________.（11）Linguistics should include at least five parameters:_________ __________ ___________ ____________ _________________..11.Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it（1）Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animals communication system.（2）There is not a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the actual happenings.（3）The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins of language are not at most a speculation.（4）The definition,“ Language is a tool for human communication.” has no problem.（5）The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells nothing about its functions.（6）Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution.（7）Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as Sapir’s.语言学课外单元补充习题答案Language（Exercise 1）1. State the nature of language briefly with examples.Answer: modern linguists have proposed various definitions of language such as: Language is “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Sapir, 1921) Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall, 1968) Language is “a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.” (Chomsky, 1957)“语言是人跟人互通信息，用发音器官发出来的，成系统的行为的方式。
”（赵元任）Each of these definitions has its own special emphasis. However, there is a generally accepted definition: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. The definition has captured main features of human language: (i) language is a system; (ii) language is arbitrary; (iii) language is vocal; (iv) language is human-specific; and (v) language is to communicate. (Students should illustrate these points more clearly)2. Why is it said that the language system is unique to human beings?That language is human specific means that language is different from the communication systems other forms of life have, such as bird songs and bee dances. (More about this point can be found in the illustration of the design features of language)3. What are the characteristics of human language?Human language is characterized by its design features, which refers to the defining properties of human language which distinguish it from animal communication system. American linguist Charles Hockett specified 13 features (some of them discussed in our textbook):1. Mode of communication: vocal-auditory;2. Rapid Fading: Message does not linger in time or space after production.3. Interchangeability: individuals who use a language can both send and receive any permissible message within that communication system.4. Feedback: users of a language can perceive what they are transmitting and can make corrections if they make errors.5. Specialization: the direct-energetic consequences of linguistic signals are usually biologically trivial; only the triggering effects are important.6. Semanticity: there are associative ties between signal elements and features in the world; in short, some linguistic forms have denotations.7. Arbitrariness: there is no logical connection between the form of the signal and its meaning.8. Discreteness: messages in the system are made up of smaller, repeatable parts;the sounds of language (or cheremes of a sign) are perceived categorically, not continuously.9. Displacement: linguistic messages may refer to things remote in time and space, or both, from the site of the communication.10. Productivity: users can create and understand completely novel messages. 1) Ina language, new messages are freely coined by blending, analogizing from, or transforming old ones. This says that every language has grammatical patterning. 2) In a language, either new or old elements are freely assigned new semantic loads by circumstances and context. This says that in every language new idioms constantly come into existence.11. Cultural transmission: the conventions of a language are learned by interacting with more experienced users.12. Duality (of Patterning): a large number of meaningful elements are made up ofa conveniently small number of meaningless but message-differentiating elements.13. Prevarication: linguistic messages can be false, deceptive, or meaningless.14. Reflexiveness: In a language, one can communicate about communication.15. Learnability: A speaker of a language can learn another language.(Charles Hockett, 1966, "The Problem of Universals in Language".)Among them, arbitrariness, duality, productivity, displacement are the crucial and central properties of language.4. What are the social functions of language?Language serves various social functions as follows:1) phatic: language is used for establishing an atmosphere for further communication or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging information, such as greetings, farewells and comments on the weather.2) directive: language is used to get the hearer to do something.3) informative: language is the instrument of thought, is to give information or record the facts.4) interrogative: language is used to get information from others.5) expressive: language is used to convey the user’s feelings or attitudes.6) evocative: language is used to create certain feelings in the hearer.7) performative: language can be used to perform certain acts.(Students are required to list other functions of language and give some examples) 5. Do animals other than humans have their own languages?Animals have their own communication systems which may be different from human languages. For instance, a bee can tell other bees the location, direction, distance or quality of the food source by performing a dance on a wall of the hive. An ant can convey information to its partners through its feelers.6. Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.See the answer to the question 5 (list more examples about other animals).7. Can language be viewed only as a system of communication? Why not?The statement that language is a system of communication does not clarify the nature of language. Language is a complicated notion. A proper definition should be based on the structures, features and functions of language. Moreover, if language isdefined merely as a system of communication, then language is not unique to humans. (More on this see the answers above.)8. How did language come into being? What is the relationship between the origin of language and the origin of human beings?There are many theories about the origin of language. Four theories are introduced in the textbook1(PP. 9-19). You can find more information about this problem on the internet, or in the library.The relationship between the origin of language and the origin of human beings is an open question. Students can discuss it according to your understanding.9. Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural order.Five /the /fresh /potatoes: The five fresh potatoesPretty /American /girls /the two: The two pretty American girlsAirlines /brand /France-made /new /the two: The two new brand France-made airlinesFashions /Chinese /the /latest /three: The latest three Chinese fashionsBeginning /hardworking /two /the /workers: The two beginning hardworking workers10. Fill in the blanks with the proper words.（1）Performative function means language can be used to “do” things.（2）Emotive/expressive function means the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with directive function.（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows interrogative function.（5）Greetings shows phatic function.（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows expressive function.（7）Propaganda shows evocative function.（8）Displacement refers to contexts removed from the immediate of the speaker.（9）For Jakobson, reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication.（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include Ideational, Interpersonal and Textual functions.（11）Linguistics should include at least five parameters:_________ __________ ___________ ____________ _________________.11. Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it1) Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticatedthan any animals communication system. (T)2) There is not a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence ofclauses and the actual happenings. (F) The order of clauses are always matching the actual sequence of happenings.3) The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins of language are not atmost a speculation. (F) (more about this on P.10)4) The definition“Language is a tool for human communication.” has no 1 The textbook refers to Linguistics: A Course Book edited by Hu Zhuanglin, Beijing University Press, 2001.problem.(F) The definition just focuses on the function of language, which does not include the nature and features of language.5) The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells nothing about its functions. (T)6) Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution. (F) (See the answer to the question 1)7) Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as Sapir’s. (F) (See the answer to the question 1)。