2012年2月21日----香港中文大学汉语语言学笔试试题

2011-12 CUHK Recruitment Test
MA in Linguistics
MA in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition
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Part One Answer all the questions in this section.
(1) General questions
Circle all the answers which you consider to be correct.
1. Which of the following statements do you think is accurate about the study of
Linguistics?
a. Linguistics studies the nature of language.
b. Linguistics is the learning of languages.
c. Linguistics studies how different languages relate to and inform each other and
why.
d. Linguistics studies how language changes over time, how its speakers come to
learn it, and how speakers affect its development.
e.Linguistics studies humans’ cognitive abilities, perception, and o rgans of
speech production.
2. Which of the following statements about language do you consider will be in
accord with linguistic theory?
a. Only highly advanced and sophisticated cultures have complex language.
b. Children come to speak a language by imitation and memorization.
c. Languages don’t change as long as they are taught properly.
d. The sound structure of words follows rules; it is not based on their meaning.
e. Language is human instinct; it is a human cognitive ability.
3. Which of the following statements about Chinese is accurate?
a.Chinese is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family.
b.Chinese is largely an analytic language.
c.Chinese makes use of inflections.
d.Chinese has many regional varieties knows as dialects.
e.Chinese is a tonal language.
(2) Phonology (Turkish)
1. Are [n] and [m] contrastive in Turkish? Please explain your answer with examples.
2. In which environment does [ŋ] occur? Does [ŋ] contrast with [n] or [m]? Explain
your answer with examples.
3. What phonological process affects the distribution of [ŋ]?
(3) Morphology (Tagalog)
hanap look for sulat write
hinanap was looked for sinulat was written
humahanap is looking for sumusulat is writing
hinahanap is being looked for sinusulat is being written
basag break tawag call
binasag was broken tinawag was called
bumabasag is breaking tumatawag is calling
binabasag is being broken tinatawag is being called
1.Identify all the morphemes;
and exemplify all the morphological processes.
(4) Syntax (English)
Use a constituency test to demonstrate whether or not the underlined elements in the following sentences are constituents.
a.There is a rumor that he saw it circulating.
b.The rumor that he saw it is circulating.
c.That he saw it is just a rumor.
d.It is a rumor that he saw it circulating.
Part 2 Answer one of the questions below in either English or Chinese:
Question 1:
It is often claimed that language is one of the things that make humans different from animals. What is so special about human language? In what ways is it different from the communication systems of animals? Support your answers with concrete examples.
Question 2:
分析下列句子，指出這類句子的語法特點，以及這四句之間的語法異同：
1.不站住就開槍了。

2.看得清楚才對得准。

3.我們的人越多越好。

4.你來熱烈歡迎，別人來概不接待。

Part Three
Choose one of the following questions and write a one-page essay in response to the questions. Please use English to answer the question. Please quote the name of the author(s) whose work(s) you refer to in your answer to observe academic honesty.
1. Discuss 3 examples of special pronunciations or other linguistic usage which seem
to be ‘creeping into’ Standard Chinese or your local dialect. What are the sources of such changes—contact between Chinese and a foreign language, contact between Chinese dialects, special innovations from a particular social group, or something else? How are these changes different from their more established counterparts? Do you approve of such changes? Why?
2. Use your own examples to illustrate the differences between code-switching and
language borrowing.
3. Describe how you have learned English. Do you think your experience is an
example of second language acquisition or foreign language learning. Why?。