语言学第1章练习

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自考_语言学概论_分章节练习题[1]

自考_语言学概论_分章节练习题[1]

自考_语言学概论_分章节练习题[1]第一章语言和语言学一、单项选择题1.语言的客观存在形式首先表现为口语。

语言学是指研究语言的科学。

2.在个别情况下,当口语已经发生巨大变化而书面语长期保持古代语言的面貌不变时,就可能产生言文脱节的现象。

3.在我国,白话文代替文言文的时间是五四运动以后。

4.世界各国都把书面语的产生作为文明史的开端。

5.共同的历史文化传统和民族认同感是确定一个“民族”的最根本的标准。

6.语言是最直观最容易识别的民族标志。

7.口语是语言的有声客观存在形式。

8.书面语虽然在口语的基础上产生,但也影响口语的发展。

9.口语和书面语都有两个方面:一方面是表示一定意义的声音或图形,这是一种物理现象;另一方面则是由声音或图形表示的意义,那是一种心理现象。

10.人与人的口头交际过程是非常复杂的,从通信理论的角度可以将之理解为编码和解码的过程。

11.主张把语言和言语分开的代表人和集大成的学者是现代语言之父索绪尔,他的代表作是《普通语言学教程》。

12.语言符号的特点有:任意性、强制性、可变性、离散性、线性。

13.索绪尔创立的语言学,使语言学成为现代意义的科学。

14.言语活动可以分为语言和言语两个分支,即索绪尔提出人类言语活动可分为语言和言语两个部分。

15.语言和言语:“语言”是言语活动中同一社会群体共同掌握的有规律可循而又成为系统的那一部分。

言语是个人“说话”的具体行为和结果,在每个人的发音、用词和使用的句子结构等方面体现出个人特色。

16.书面语和口语的关系是:前者是第二性的,后者是第-性的。

17.口语和书面语的所谓一致,是指基本的语言成分。

18.语言符号的物质实体(语音)和所表示的意义(语义)之间没有必然的理据关系,这说明,语言符号具有任意性。

19.语言符号是离散的,在时间这根轴上成线性排列。

语言符号的线性特征使离散的语言符号有可能组合成大小不等的语言单位,组合成连续的语流。

20.在语言系统的各个子系统中,语音系统的系统性最强。

语言学概论试题及答案

语言学概论试题及答案

《语言学概论》练习1参考答案(导言、第一章、第二章)一、填空1、语言学的三大发源地是中国、印度和希腊-罗马。

2、现代语言学的标志性著作是瑞士语言学家索绪尔的《普通语言学教程》。

3、印度最早的经典所使用的语言是梵语。

4、文字、音韵、训诂是中国“小学”的主要研究内容。

5、语言的功能包括社会功能和思维功能。

6、语言的社会功能包括信息传递功能和人际互动功能。

7、儿童语言习得一般经过独词句阶段和双词句阶段,这是儿童学话的关键两步。

8、说出的话语句子是无限的,但无限多的句子都是由有限的词和规则组装起来的。

9、符号包括形式和意义两个方面,二者不可分离。

10、语言符号的任意性和线条性,是语言符号的基本性质。

11、心理现实是存在于客观现实和语言符号之间的人脑中的信息存在状态。

12、语言系统二层性的一大特点是形式层的最小单位一定大大少于符号层的最小单位。

13、组合关系和聚合关系是语言系统中的两种根本关系。

14、动物无法掌握人类的语言,从生理基础看是不具有发达的大脑和灵活的发音器官。

二、问答题。

1、为什么说语言学是自然科学和人文科学的桥梁?从语言学发展的历史来看,语言学首先深受哲学、逻辑学等历史悠久的人文学科思想方法的影响,后来语言学摆脱对传统人文学科的附庸地位成为独立的学科后,受到许多自然科学研究的影响。

比如,19世纪,历史比较语言学的语言观念和研究方法深受生物学的影响;20世纪初的语言结构思想与科学的整体论思想密切相关;生成语言学受数学、逻辑学影响;等等。

与此同时,其他学科也开始从语言学理论中汲取有益的思想观念。

20世纪的社会学、人类学、文学批评等都深受结构主义语言学的影响。

从19世纪后期开始,现代语言学的研究理念在很大程度上接受了物理学等自然科学的方法论原则,一些学者甚至提出语言学是一门自然科学。

但另一方面,语言学又从未割断与传统人文学科的联系。

语言学的这一特点在很大程度上源于语言现象的独特性。

语言既具有社会属性,又是人类天赋的能力,既是贮存人类已有文明的宝库,又是人类新的精神创造的依托。

语言学教程各章节练习及答案

语言学教程各章节练习及答案

Exercises to Linguistics外语系黄永亮Chapter 1 Invitation to Linguistics1.Define the following terms:Langue:Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.Parole:parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use.Prescriptive: Prescriptive and descriptive represent two different types of linguistic study. if the linguistic study aims to lay down rules for “correct and standard”behaviour in usinglanguage, i.e. to tell people what they should day and what they should not say, it is saidto be prescriptive.Descriptive: Prescriptive and descriptive represent two different types of linguistic study. If a linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, it is saidto be descriptive;competence: Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language.Performance: Chomsky defines performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication.Synchronic: The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study;Diachronic: The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study.Linguistics:Linguistics may be defined as the systematic (or scientific) study of language.language:Language is a form of human communication by means of a system of symbols principally transmitted by vocal sounds.”2.Does the traffic light system have duality, why?No. No discrete units on the first level that can be combined freely in the second level to form meaning.There is only simple one to one relationship between signs and meaning, namely, re-stop, green-go and yellow-get ready to go or stop.munication can take many forms, such as sign, speech, body language and facial expression. Dobody language and facial expression share or lack the distinctive properties of human language?Less arbitrary, lack duality, less creative, limited repertoire, emotional-oriented.4.Why is competence and performance an important distinction in linguistics?According to Chomsky, a language user’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called his linguistic competence. And performance refers to the actual enables a speaker to produce andunderstand an indefinite numbers of sentences and to recognize grammatical mistakes and ambiguities.A speaker’s competence is stable but his performance is often influenced by psychological and socialfactors. Thus, Chomsky proposed that linguists should focus on the study of competence, not performance. The distinction of the two terms “competence and performance”represents the orientation of linguistic study. So we can say competence and performance is an important distinction in linguistics.5.In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar in the following basic ways:Firstly, priority is given, as mentioned earlier, to spoken language. Secondly, focus is on synchronic study of language, rather than on diachronic study of language. Thirdly, modern linguistics is descriptive rather than prescriptive in nature. Linguists endeavor to state objectively the regularities of a language. They aim at finding out how a language is spoken: they do not attempt to tell people how it should be spoken. Fourthly, modern linguistics is theoretically rather than pedagogically oriented. Modern linguists strive to construct theories of language that can account for language in general. These features distinguished modern linguistics from traditional grammar. The two are complementary. Not contradictory. Knowledge of both is necessary for a language teacher: knowledge of the latter is necessary for a language learner.Chapter 2 Phonetics1. Give the description of the following sound segments in English1)[❆] voiced dental fricative2)[☞] voiceless alveolar fricative3)[☠] velar nasal4)[♎] voiced alveolar stop5)[☐] voiceless bilabial stop6)[ ] voiceless velar stop7)[●] (alveolar) lateral8)[♓] high front lax unrounded vowel9)[◆:] high back tense rounded vowel10)[ ] low back lax rounded vowel2. How is the description of consonants different from that of vowels?Consonants are described according to manner and place of articulation while vowels are described with four criteria: part of the tongue that is raised; extent to which the tongue rises in the direction of the palate; kind of opening made at the lips; position of soft palate.3. Which sound may be described asa voiced bilabial plosive [♌]a voiced labio-dental fricative [❖]a voiceless velar plosive [ ]4. Why might a photographer ask the person she is photographing to say cheese?The vowel of the word cheese [♓:] is produced with the lips spread, this resembling a smile.5.Account for the difference in articulation in each of the following pairs of words:coast ghost; ghost boastboast most; ghost mist;The words coast and ghost are distinguished by the fact that the initial segment is voiceless in the case of the former and voiced in the case of the latter.The word ghost and boast are distinguished by the place of articulation of the initial segment, [♑] being velar while [♌] is bilabial.Boast and most are distinguished by the manner of articulation of the initial segment, [❍] being nasal.Most and mist are distinguished by the fact that the former has a rounded back vowel shile the latter has a spread front vowel.Chapter 3 Phonology1.Define the following termsPhonology: Phonology is concerned with the sound system of languages. It is concerned with which sounds a language uses and how the contribution of sounds to the task of communication.Phone: A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phonesPhoneme: Phoneme is the abstract element of sound, identified as being distinctive in a particular language.Allophone: Allophone refers any of the different forms of a phoneme is an allophone of it in English.Compare the words peak and speak, for instance. The /☐/ in peak is aspirated; phonetically transcribed as [☐♒] while the /☐/ in speak is unaspirated, phonetically [☐=]. [☐,☐♒] are two different phones and are variants of the phoneme /☐/. Such variants of a phoneme are called Allophone of the same phoneme.Suprasegmental features:. The phonemic features that occur above the level of the segment are called Suprasegmental features. Suprasegmental features include: stress, tone and intonation.2.Transcribe the realization of the past tense morpheme for each of the following words:Waited waved wiped waded. account for the differences.[id] in “waited”and “waded”follows another alveolar plosive. [d] in “waved”follows voiced consonants.[t] in “wiped” follows voiceless consonants, there being voicing assimilation.3. which of the following would be phonologically acceptable as English words?Thlite grawl dlesher shlink tritch sruck stwondle“grawl” and “tritch”4.Why can we not use the sequence [☠kl] in twinkle as an example of a consonant cluster?The sequence [☠kl] bridges two syllables.5.For each of the following pairs compare the position of the stress. Comment.Economy/economic wonder/wonderfulBeauty/beautiful acid/acidicIn adjectives ending in –ic the stress moves to the following syllable, in adjectives ending in –ful it does not.6.Explain why somebody might choose to stress the following utterances as indicated by the boldtype:a) John want ed to do this today. b) John wanted to do this today. c) John wanted to do thisto day.The first utterance implies that John was unable to do what he wanted.The second implies that he was only able to do something else.The third implies that he was only able to do it some other day.Chapter 4 Morphology1.Define the following terms:Morpheme: the smallest unit of language in terms of relationship between expression and content, a unit that can not be divided into further small units without destroying or drastically altering the meaning, whether it is lexical or grammatical.Compound:Polymorphemic words which consist wholly of free morphemes, such as classroom, blackboard, snowwhite, etc.Allomorph: any of the different form of a morpheme. For example, in English the plural morpheme -‘s but it is pronounced differently in different environments as /s/ in cats,as /z/ in dogs and as /iz/ in classes. So /s/, /z/, and /iz/ are all allomorphs of the plural morpheme.Bound morpheme: an element of meaning which is structurally dependent on the word it is added to,e.g. the plural morpheme in “dogs”.Free morpheme: an element of meaning which takes the form of an independent word.plete the words with suitable negative prefixesa. ir removable g. in humanb. in formal h. ir relevantc. im practicable i. un evitabled. in sensible j. im mobilee. in tangible k. il legalf. il logical l. in discreet3. “Morpheme” is defined as the smallest unit in terms of relationship betweenexpression and content. Then is morpheme a grammatical concept or asemantic one? What is its relation to phoneme?Since morpheme is defined as the smallest unit in terms of relationship between expression and content, it at the same time covers the grammatical and semantic aspect of linguistic unit. A morpheme may overlap with a phoneme, such as I, but usually not, as in pig, in which the morpheme is the whole word, i.e. and independent, free morpheme, but the phonemes are /p/, /i/ and /g/.4. Identify in the following sentence four bound morphemes. State the function ofeach and say whether each is derivational or inflectional.The teacher’s brother considered the project impossible.The –er and the –‘s of teacher’s are bound morphemes, the former being derivational, as it produces a lexeme that denotes the person who does an action, the latter being an inflectional morpheme, as it indicates possession.The –ed of considered is inflectional, indicating that the action took place in the past. The im- of impossible is derivational, producing a new lexeme that denotes the opposite of possible.Chapter 5 Syntax1.Define the following terms:Category: parts of speech and functions, such as the classification of words in terms of parts of speech, the identification of functions of words in term of subject, predicate, etc.Concord:also known as agreement, is the requirement that the forms of two or more words in a syntactic relationship should agree with each other in terms of some categories Syntagmatic relation:. Syntagmatic relation is a relation between one item and others in a sequence, or between elements which are all present.Paradigmatic relation: a relation holding between elements replaceable with each other at a particular place in a structure, or between one element present and the others absent. Deep structure: is defined as the abstract representation of the syntactic properties of a construction, i.e. the underlying level of structural relations between its different constituents Surface structure: is the final stage in the syntactic derivation of a construction, which closely corresponds to the structural organization of a construction people actually produceand receive.Theme: The Theme is the first constituent of the clause.Rheme: All the rest of the clause is simply labeled the Rheme.2.Why is it important to know the relations a sign has with others, such as syntaxgmatic andparadigmatic relations?As the relation between a signifier and signified is arbitrary, the value of a sign can not be determined by itself. To know the identity of a sign, the linguist will have to know the signs it is used together with and those it is substitutable for. The former relation is known as syntagmatic and the latter paradigmatic.3.In what ways is IC analysis better than traditional parsing?In traditional parsing, a sentence is mainly seen as a sequence of individual words, as if it has onlya linear structure. IC analysis, however, emphasizes the hierarchical structure of a sentence,seeing it as consisting of word groups first. In this way the internal of structure of a sentence is shown more clearly, hence the reason of some ambiguities may be revealed.4.What are the problems in IC analysis?There are some technical problems caused by the binary division and discontinuous constituents.But the main problem is that there are structures whose ambiguities cannot be revealed by IC analysis, e.g. the love of God. In terms of both the tree diagram and the label, there is only one structure, but the word God is in two different relations with love, i.e. either as subject or object.5.Clarify the ambiguity in the following sentence by tree diagrams:Old teachers and priests fear blackbirds.SNP VPAdj. NP V NOld fear blackbirds.N Conj. Nteachers and priestsSNP VPNP Conj. N V NAdj. N and priests fear blackbirds.Old teachersChapter 6 Semantics1. defining the following terms:semantics: The subject concerning the study of meaning is called semantics. More specifically, semantics is the study of the meaning of linguistics units, words and sentences inparticular.Denotation: the core sense of a word or a phrase that relates it to phenomena in the real world. Connotation: a term in a contrast with denotation, meaning the properties of the entity a word denotes.Sense: the literal meaning of a word or an expression, independent of situational context. Reference: the use of language to express a proposition, i.e. to talk about things in context. Synonymy: is the technical name for the sameness relation.Antonymy: is the name for oppositeness relation:hyponymy: a relation between two words, in which the meaning of one word (the superordinate) is included in the meaning of another word (the hyponym)semantic component: a distinguishable element of meaning in a word with two values, e.g.[+human].2. Some people maintain that there are no true synonyms. If two words mean really the same,one of them will definitely die out. An example often quoted is the disuse of the word “wireless”, which has been replaced by “radio”. Do you agree? In general what type of meaning we are talking about when we say two words are synonymous with each other?It is true that there are no absolute synonyms. When we say two words are synonymous with each other, we usually mean they have the same conceptual meaning.3. For each of the following pairs of words, state the principal reason why they may not beconsidered to be synonyms:man boy toilet loo determined stubbornpavement sidewalk walk runThe words man and boy are principally distinguished be age, the words walk and run by speed.The principal distinction between the words toilet and loo is one of social register. Determined and stubborn are largely distinguished by attitude—a person reluctant to give up is described as determined by those who sympathize and as stubborn by those who do not. The difference between the words pavement and sidewalk is a matter of geography, the former being used in Britain and the latter in America.Chapter 7 Pragmantics1. defining the following terms:Performative:an utterance by which a speaker does something does something,as apposed to a constative, by which makes a statement which may be true or false.Constative:an utterance by which a speaker expresses a proposition which may be true or false. Locutuonary act: the act of saying something; it’s an act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax, lexicon, and phonology. Namely, the utterance of a sentence with determinatesense and reference.Illocutuonary act:the act performed in saying something; its force is identical with the speaker’s intention.Perlocutionary act: the act performed by or resulting from saying something, it’s the consequence of, or the change brought about by the utterance.Cooperative principle:in making conversation, there is, as Grice holds, a general principle which all participants are expected to observe. He calls this guiding principle theCooperative Principle, CP for short.. It runs as follows: "make yourconversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, bythe accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.”Conversational implicature: the extra meaning not contained in the literal utterances, understandable tothe listener only when he shares the speaker’s knowledge or knows why andhow he violates intentionally one of the four maxims of the CooperativePrinciple (CP)2. Consider the following dialogue between a man and his daughter. Try to explain the illocutionary force in each of the utterances.[The daughter walks into the kitchen and takes so e popcorn.]Father: I thought you were practicing your violin.Daughter: I need to get the violin stand.Father: Is it under the popcorn?The illocutionary force of “I thought you were practicing your violin” is a criticism of the daughter for her not practicing the violin. That of the daughter’s answer is a defense for herself—I’m going to do that. And that of the father’s retort is a denial of the daughter’s excuse.3.If you ask somebody “Can you open the door?” he answered “Yes” but does not actually do it, what would be your reaction? Why? Try to see it in the light of speech act theory.I would be angry with him. “Can you open the door” is normally a request of the hearer to do it rather than a question about his ability. The fact that he answers “Yes” but does not actually do it shows that he declines my request.4. A is reading the newspaper. When B asks “What’s on television tonight?” he answers “Nothing.”What does A mean in normal situations? Think of two situations in which this interpretation of “Nothing” will be cancelled.Normally “Nothing” here means “Nothing interesting”. If A adds after “Nothing” “The workers are on strike today” or “There’s going to be a blackout tonight”, then the interpretation of “Nothing interesting’will be cancelled.11。

语言学第一章笔记和习题

语言学第一章笔记和习题

Chapter one 学点语言学语言学是对语言的系统研究,对于一个学习英语的人来说,应该懂一点语言学的知识,它可以在理论上对学习语言有指导作用,有助于更好的学习语言。

The Goals for this CourseTo get a scientific view on language;To understand some basic theories on linguistics;To understand the applications of the linguistic theories, especially in the fields of language teaching & learning (SLA or TEFL), cross-cultural communication……;To prepare for the future research work.The Requirements for this courseClass attendanceClassroom discussionFulfillment of the assignmentMonthly examExaminationReference Books戴炜栋,何兆熊,(2002),《新编简明英语语言学教程》,上海外语教育出版社。

胡壮麟,(2001),《语言学教程》,北京大学出版社。

胡壮麟,李战子,《语言学简明教程》,北京大学出版社刘润清,(1995),《西方语言学流派》,外语教学与研究出版社。

Fromkin,V. & R. Rodman, (1998), An Introduction to Language the sixth edition, Orlando, Florida: Holt, Ranehart & Winston, Inc.许国璋先生认为把语言定义成交际工具不够科学,至少不够严谨.他对语言的定义做了如下概括:语言是一种符号系统.当它作用于人与人之间的关系的时候,它是表达相互反应的中介;当它作用于人与客观世界的关系的时候,它是认知事物的工具;当它作用于文化的时候,它是文化的载体.Teaching aims: let the students have the general idea about language and linguistics.Teaching difficulties: design features of language; some important distinctions in linguisticsWhy do we study language?A tool for communicationAn integral part of our life and humanityIf we are not fully aware of the nature and mechanism of our language, we will be ignorant of what constitutes our essential humanity.What can language mean?Language can meanwhat a person says (e.g. bad language, expressions)the way of speaking or writing (e.g. Shakespeare‘s language, Luxun‘s language)a particular variety or level of speech or writing (e.g. language for special purpose, colloquial language)the abstract system underlying the totality of the speech/writing behavior of a community (e.g. Chinese language, first language)the common features of all human languages (e.g. He studies language)a tool for human communication. (social function)a set of rules. (rule-governed)The origins of language---the myth of languageThe Biblical accountLanguage was God‘s gift to human beings.The bow-wow theoryLanguage was an imitation of natural sounds, such as the cries of animals, like quack, cuckoo.The pooh-pooh theoryLanguage arose from instinctive emotional cries, expressive of pain or joy.The yo-he-ho theoryLanguage arose from the noises made by a group of people engaged in joint labour or effort – lifting a huge hunted game, moving a rock, etc.The evolution theoryLanguage originated in the process of labour and answered the call of social need.To sum up:The divine-origin theory: language is a gift of god to mankind.The invention theory: imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together.The evolutionary theory: the result of physical and psychological development.What is LanguageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.What is communication?A process in which information is transmitted from a source (sender or speaker) to a goal (receiver or listener).A system----elements in it are arranged according to certain rules. They cannot be arranged at will.e.g. He the table cleaned. (×) bkli (×)Arbitrary----there is no intrinsic (logic) connection between a linguistic form and its meaning.Symbols----words are just the symbols associated with objects, actions, and ideas by convention.V ocal--------the primary medium for all languages is sound, no matter how well developed their writing systems are.Writing systems came into being much later than the spoken forms.People with little or no literacy can also be competent language users.Human ----language is human-specific.Human beings have different kinds of brains and vocal capacity.―Language Acquisition Device‖(LAD)Design features of language 语言的结构特征Design features refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication.a. arbitrariness----the form of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. The link between them is a matter of convention.E.g. ―house‖ uchi (Japanese)Mansion (French)房子(Chinese)conventionality----It means that in any language there are certain sequences of sounds that have a conventionally accepted meaning. Those words are customarily used by all speakers with the same intendedmeaning and understood by all listeners in the same way.There are two different schools of belief concerning arbitrariness. Most people, especially structural linguists believe that language is arbitrary by nature. Other people, however, hold that language is iconic, that is, there is a direct relation or correspondence between sound and meaning, such as onomatopoeia.(cuckoo; crash)For the majority of animal signals, there does appear to be a clear connection between the conveyed message and the signal used to convey it, And for them, the sets of signals used in communication is finite.b. duality----language is simultaneously organized at two levels or layers, namely, the level of sounds and that of meaning.the higher level ----words which are meaningfulthe lower or the basic level----sounds which are meaningless, but can be grouped and regrouped into words. Dog: woof (but not ―w-oo-f ‖ )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 (e.g. words) which are distinct in meaning.The principle of economyc. Productivity/Creativity----language is resourceful. It makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users.(novel utterances are continually being created.)non-human signals ,on the other hand, appears to have little flexibility.e.g. an experiment of bee communication:The worker bee, normally able to communicate the location of a nectar source , will fail to do so if the location is really ‗new‘. In one experiment, a hive of bees was placed at the foot of a radio tower and a food source at the top. Ten bees were taken to the top, shown the food source, and sent off to tell the rest of the hive about their find. The message was conveyed via a bee dance and the whole gang buzzed off to get the free food. They flow around in all directions, but couldn‘t locate the food. The problem may be that bee communication regarding location has a fixed set of signals, all of which related to horizontal distance. The bee cannot create a ‗new ‘ message indicating vertical distance.d. Displacement----human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present at the moment of communication.Bee communication:When a worker bee finds a source of nectar and returns to the hive, it can perform a complex dance routine to communicate to the other bees the location of this nectar. Depending on the type of dance (round dance for nearby and tail-wagging dance, with variable tempo, for further away and how far), The other bees can work put where this newly discovered feast can be found. Bee communication has displacement in an extremely limited form. However, it must be the most recent food source.e. Cultural transmission----genetic transmissionYou acquire a language in a culture with other speakers and not from parental genes.The process whereby language is passed on from one generation to the next is described as cultural transmission.f. interchangeability: it means that individuals who use a language can both send and receive any permissible message within that communication system. Human beings can be a producer as well as receiver of messages.g. human vocal tractFunctions of language (3+6+7+3)1. Three main functionsthe descriptive function: the primary function of language. It is the function to convey factual information, which can be asserted or denied, and in some cases even verified.the expressive function: it supplies information about the user‘s feelings, preferences, prejudices and values. the social function:also referred to as the interpersonal function, serves to establish and maintain social relations between people2. The Russian-born structural linguists Roman Jakobson identifies six elements of a speech event and relates each one of them to one specific language function. That is, in conjunction of the six primary factors of any speech event, he established a well-known framework of language functions based on the six key elements of communication in his famous article: Linguistics and PoeticsAddresser—Emotive (intonation showing anger)Addressee—Conative (imperatives and vocatives)Context—Referential (conveys a message or information)Message—Poetic (indulge in language for its own sake)Contact—Phatic communion (to establish communion with others)Code—Metalinguistic (to clear up intentions, words and meanings)3. In the early 1970s the British linguist M.A.K. Halliday found that child language performed seven basic functions, namely, instrumental, regulatory, representational, interactional, personal, heuristic, and imaginative. This system contains three macrofunctions—the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual function.three meta-functions proposed by M. A. K. Halliday(1) The ideational functionTo identify things, to think, or to record information. It constructs a model of experience and constructs logical relations(2) The interpersonal functionTo get along in a community. It enacts social relationships(3) The textual functionTo form a text. It creates relevance to context.What is Linguistics(语言学)Linguistics is a scientific study of language .It is a major branch of social science.Linguistics studies not just one language of any society, but the language of all human society, language in general.A scientific study is one which is based on the systematic investigation of data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.Process of linguistic study:① Certain linguistic facts are observed, generalization are formed;② Hypotheses are formulated;③ Hypotheses are tested by further observations;④ A linguistic theory is constructed.observation------generalization-----hypothesis------tested by further observation------theoryPerson who studies linguistics is known as a linguist.The Scope of LinguisticsGeneral linguistics is the study of language as a whole.Internal branches: intra-disciplinary divisions (micro-linguistics)Phonetics(语音学) is the branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription.Phonology(音韵学) is the branch of linguistics which studies the sound patterns of languages.Morphology(词法) is the branch of linguistics which studies the form of words.Syntax(句法) is the branch of linguistics which studies the rules governing the combination of words into sentences.Semantics(语义学) is the branch of linguistics which studies the meaning of language.Pragmatics(语用学) is the branch of linguistics which studies the meaning of language in use.External branches: inter-disciplinary divisions (macro-linguistics)Applied linguistics(应用语言学) is the study of the teaching of foreign and second languages. Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society.Psycholinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and the mind.Historical Linguistics(历史语言学) is the study of language changes.Anthropological linguistics(人文语言学) uses the theories and methods of anthropology to study language variation and language use in relation to the cultural patterns and beliefs of man.Neurolinguistics(神经语言学) studies the neurological basis of language development and use in human beings. Mathematical linguistics(数学语言学) studies the mathematical features of language, often employing models and concepts of mathematics.Computational linguistics(计算语言学) is an approach to linguistics in which mathematical techniques and concepts(概念) are applied, often with the aid of a computer.Features of linguisticsDescriptiveDealing with spoken languageSynchronicSome Basic Distinctions(区分) in Linguistics1. Speech and WritingOne general principle(原则) of linguistic analysis is the primacy of speech over writing. Writing gives language new scope(范畴) and uses that speech does not have.2. Descriptive(描述性) or Prescriptive(说明性)A linguistic study is descriptive if it describes and analyses facts observed; it is prescriptive if it tries to lay down rules for "correct" behavior.3. Synchronic(共时) and Diachronic(历时) StudiesThe description of a language at some point in time is a synchronic study and The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study.4. Langue(语言) and Parole(言语)This is a distinction made by the Swiss linguist F.De Saussure (索绪尔)early last century. langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community and parole refers to the actualized(实际的) language, or realization of langue.5. Competence(能力)and Performance(行为)Competence is the ideal language user's knowledge of the rules of his language. Performance is the actualrealization of this knowledge in utterances(发声).6. Potential and Behavior: English linguist Halliday makes another similar distinction in the 1960s, namely the distinction between linguistic potential and linguistic behavior. He approaches language from a functional view and concentrates primarily on what speakers do with language which led to the distinction between linguistic potential (what speakers can do with language) and behavior (what speakers actually do with language). In Halliday‘s distinction between potential and behavior, potential is similar to Saussure‘s ―langue‖and Chomsky‘s competence, and behavior is similar to Saussure‘s ―parole‖ and Chomsky‘s performance.7. Modern linguistics started with the public ation of F. de Saussure‘ s book ―Course in General Linguistics‖ in the early 20th century. So Saussure is often described as ―father of modern linguistics‖.The general approach traditionally formed to the study of language before that is roughly referred to as ―traditional grammar.‖ They differ in several basic ways:Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive. A linguist is interested in what is said, not in what he thinks ought to be said. He describes language in all its aspects, but does not prescribe rules of ―correctness‖.Secondly, modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tend to emphasize, may be over-emphasize, the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence.Then, modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework. To modern linguists ,it is unthinkable to judge one language by standards of another. They are trying to set up a universal framework, but that would be based on the features shared by most of the languages used by mankind.Chapter I IntroductionI. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False:1. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.2.Linguistics studies particular language, not languages in general.3. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks.4. In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on language facts and checked against the observed facts.5. General linguistics is generally the study of language as a whole.6. General linguistics, which relates itself to the research of other areas, studies the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study.7. Phonetics is different from phonology in that the latter studies the combinations of the sounds to convey meaning in communication.8. Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meaningful sentences.9. The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is called morphology.10. Syntax is different from morphology in that the former not only studies the morphemes, but also the combination of morphemes into words and words into sentences.11. The study of meaning in language is known as semantics.12. Both semantics and pragmatics study meanings.13. Pragmatics is different from semantics in that pragmatics studies meaning not in isolation, but in context.14.Social changes can often bring about language changes.15. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to society.16. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.17. Modern linguistics is different from traditional grammar.18. A diachronic study of language is the description of language at some point in time.19 Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the written language.20. The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by F. de Saussure.II. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:21. Chomsky defines ― competence‖ as the ideal user's k__________ of the rules of his language.ngue refers to the a__________ linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community while the parole is the concrete use of the conventions and application of the rules.23.D_________ is one of the design features of human language which refers to the phenomenon that language consists of two levels: a lower level of meaningless individual sounds and a higher level of meaningful units.nguage is a system of a_________ vocal symbols used for human communication.25. The discipline that studies the rules governing the formation of words into permissible sentences in languages is called s________.26. Human capacity for language has a g ____ basis, but the details of language have to be taught and learned.27. P ____ refers to the realization of langue in actual use.28. Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the settlement of some practical problems. The study of such applications is generally known as a________ linguistics.nguage is p___________ in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. In other words, they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences which they have never heard before.30. Linguistics is generally defined as the s ____ study of language.III. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement.31. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be ______________.A. prescriptiveB. analyticC. descriptiveD. linguistic32.Which of the following is not a design feature of human language?A. ArbitrarinessB. DisplacementC. DualityD. Meaningfulness33. Modern linguistics regards the written language as ____________.A. primaryB. correctC. secondaryD. stable34. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because ___________.A. in linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writingB. speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed.C. speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongueD. All of the above35. A historical study of language is a ____ study of language.A. synchronicB. diachronicC. prescriptiveD. comparative36.Saussure took a (n)__________ view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a ________ point of view.A. sociological…psychologicalB. psych ological…sociologicalC. applied… pragmaticD.semantic and linguistic37. According to F. de Saussure, ____ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.A. paroleB. performanceC. langueD. Language38. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection between _________ and meanings.A. senseB. soundsC. objectsD. ideas39. Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This feature is called_________,A. displacementB. dualityC. flexibilityD. cultural transmission40. The details of any language system is passed on from one generation to the next through ____ , rather than by instinct.A. learningB. teachingC. booksD. both A and B。

语言学教程课后习题与答案第一章

语言学教程课后习题与答案第一章

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 . to express ideas, attitudes) or in particular social situations . 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 . words) and meaningless segments . sounds, letters).displacement: the ability of language to refer to contexts removed from thespeaker’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 langu age 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 facetspeople 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 section1.3.3.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. W hat 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 toother gazelles in 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.you mention some typical expressions of phatic communion in Chinese There is the dialog between Ms. P and Ms. Q. in section 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 toYou 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 makea 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” issu ed by the British sociological association, some guidelines 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 asit 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 willor 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 c heese instead of pudding without changing the associative meaning of the proverb. On the other hand, once such links between particular words and associative meaning are fixed, it becomes a matter of conventionality.21. Give examples of situations in which a usage generally considered non-standard . 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 thi s 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。

语言学概论章节练习及答案

语言学概论章节练习及答案

第一章一、单项选择题1.首先提出“能指”和“所指”这对概念的语言学家是A.洪堡特B.索绪尔C.乔姆斯基D.萨丕尔答案:B解析:瑞士语言学家索绪尔把语言符号中能够指称某种意义的声音称为“能指”;把语言符号中由特定声音表示的意义称为“所指”。

2.下列关于语言符号的表述,不正确的一项是A.语言符号包括能指和所指B.语言符号的音和义不可分割C.语言符号音义关系具有任意性D.语言符号不能分解和重新组合答案:D解析:语言符号是离散的,可以分解的,且在时间顺序上是成线性排列的。

语言符号的线性特征使得语言符号有可能组合成大小不等的单位;语言符号的离散性又使得语言符号有可能形成各种各样的排列组合。

由此可见,语言符号是可以分解和重新组合的。

3.“名无固宜,约之以命,约定俗成谓之宜,异于约则谓之不宜”这句话出自A.《论语,述而》B.《庄子·养生主》C.《韩非子·五蠹》D.《荀子·正名》答案:D解析:该句话出自荀子的《正名篇》。

二、多项选择题1.下列关于书面语的表述,正确的有A.是经过提炼的口语的书面形式B.与口语相比缺少了一些内容C.不存在与口语严重脱节现象D.会具有相对独立的发展历史E.不会影响和促进口语的发展答案:ABD解析:书面语不是口语绝对忠实的记录,更不是口语机械的复制品,书面语的写作比口语有更充足的时间来推敲,比口语更加精炼和准确,所以与口语相比,少了一些内容。

书面语一旦形成,就具有相对的独立性;书面语克服了空间和时间上的限制,形成完备的语音、词汇、语法系统,反过来影响口语发展。

存在书面语与口语严重脱节现象,中国的文言文和西方的拉丁文就是“言文脱节”的典型例子。

三、术语解释题1.所指答案:索绪尔给语言符号所指的意义创制了一个专门术语,称为“所指”,即特定声音表示的意义。

四、简答题1.举例说明语言符号的线性特征和离散性特征。

答案:(1)语言符号的线性特征是指:人们说话时,语言符号只能依时间的先后成线性排列,正是在这种线性的排列中,语言符号之间才得以形成各种组合关系,产生各种不同的语法结构。

1语言学概论第一章语言与语言学习题

1语言学概论第一章语言与语言学习题

1语言学概论第一章语言与语言学习题语言学概论第一章语言与语言学习题、真题集锦一、单选题(本大题共20小题,每小题1分,共20分)1.结构主义语言学的奠基人是著名语言学家( D )。

(P12)A.葆朴B.乔姆斯基C.洪堡D.索绪尔2.索绪尔提出的语言学被称为( D )。

P12A.对比语言学B.转换生成语言学C.社会语言学D.结构主义语言学3.首先提出“能指”和“所指”这对概念的语言学家是( B )。

P58 A.洪堡特 B.索绪尔 C.乔姆斯基 D.萨丕尔4.“名无固宜,约之以命,约定俗成谓之宜,异于约谓之不宜”这句话出自( D )。

(P68)A.《论语?述而》B.《庄子?养生主》C.《韩非子?五蠹》D.《荀子?正名》5.“名无固宜,约之以命,约定俗成谓之宜,异于约谓之不宜”这句话出自( D )P68A.《墨子》B.《论语》C.《管子》 D.《荀子》6.下面各项属于语言符号特点的是( A )。

P58-59A.约定性 B.自然性 C.固定性 D.想象性7.语言符号具有可变性的根本原因在于语言符号的(A )。

P58-59 A.任意性 B.强制性 C.离散性 D.系统性8.几万、几十万个词通过排列组合可以产生无限多的句子,这主要是由于语言符号具有( A )。

P60-61A.离散性 B.强制性 C.可变性 D.任意性9.语言是一种( C )。

P49A.自然现象B.生理现象C.社会现象D.个人现象9.“人有人言,兽有兽语”中的“言”指的是( A )p49A.语言B.言语C.言语行为D.言语作品10.语言符号具有可变性的根本原因在于语言符号的( A )p59A.任意性B.强制性C.离散性D.系统性11.语言符号的任意性是指( B )p59A.人们可以任意使用或创制语言符号B.语言符号的声音和意义之间没有必然联系C.利用语言可以任意给事物或现象命名D.语言符号的语音形式和意义的关系可以任意改变12.下列关于语言符号的表述中,不正确的一项是( D )p60-61A.语言符号包括能指和所指B.语言符号的音和义不可分割C.语言符号音义关系具有任意性D.语言符号不能分解和重新组合13.语言教学理论属于( B )。

胡壮麟语言学第一章练习(1)

胡壮麟语言学第一章练习(1)

Chapter One Exercise 1 (1.1-1.4)I. Define the following terms:1. design feature2. arbitrariness3. duality4. displacement5. language6. linguisticsⅡ. Beneath each sentence there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one which is the best answer.1. Which is the commonly accepted definition of “linguistics” ?A. The scientific social science of languageB. The scientific learning and teaching of languageC. The scientific study of languageD. The prescriptive study of language2. ______ is considered as “father of modern linguistics”.A. BloomfieldB. JackobsonC. AristotleD. Saussure3. “______” is a word in English which is onomatopoeic.A. WalkmanB. WaterlooC. TicktackD. Seesaw4. Which of the following is not a design feature of human language?A. ArbitrarinessB. DisplacementC. DualityD. Meaningfulness5. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols for human ________.A contactB communicationC relationD community6. which of the following words is entirely arbitrary.A treeB crashC typewriterD bang7. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because _________.A. in linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writingB. speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed.C. speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongueD. All of the above8. Language is first and foremost a ______ . A. system of wordsB. system of grammarC. system of vocal symbolsD. system of meanings9. When a dog is barking, you assume it is barking for something or at 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. duality10. Unlike animal communication systems, human language isA. stimulus freeB. stimulus boundC. under immediate stimulus controlD. stimulated by some occurrence of communal interest.Ⅲ. Fill in the blanks.1. Language, broadly speaking, is a means of _____ communication.2.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 usually termed __ ___.3. Theory that primitive man made involuntary vocal noises while performingheavy work has been called the _____ theory.4.The theory that language arose from instinctive emotional cries, expressive ofpain or joy has been called the _____ theory.5. One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of _____ overwriting.6. Language is p________ in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. In other words, they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences which they have never heard before.7. P_____ means language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness.8. Language has two levels. They are _____ level and ___ level.9. Language is _______ because every language consists of a set of rules which underlie people’s actual speech or writing.10. By saying “language is arbitrary”, we mean that there is no logical connection between meaning and ____ .Ⅳ. Decide whether the following statements are true [T] or false [F].1.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.2. Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication wayused by the deaf-mute is not language.3.Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality oflanguage makes a language be passed from generation to generation. As a foreign language learner, the latter is more important for us.4. General linguistics is generally the study of language as a whole.5. Language change is universal, ongoing and arbitrary.nguage is a system of arbitrary, written signs which permit all the people in agiven culture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate or interact.7.The relation between form and meaning in human language is natural.8.Most animal communication systems lack the primary level of articulation.9. Every language has two levels: grammatically —meaningless and sound —meaningful.9.10. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.Ⅴ. Answering the questions1.Can you think of some words in English which are onomatopoeic?2. A story by Robert Louis Stevenson contains the sentence “As the night fell,thewind 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?3. A discussion on Saussure as the father of modern linguistics.Direction: You can try to answer this question from the following points for answer:1) Saussure’s great achievements in different fields. 2)Saussure’s linguistic views 3) Saussure’s influence on modern linguistics.4.How do you understand arbitrariness in human languages?Answers for exercise 1-1I. Define the following terms:1. design feature:the distinctive features of human language that essentially make human language distinguishable from languages of animals.2. arbitrariness: One design feature of human language, which refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning.3. duality: One design feature of human language, which refers to the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.4. displacement: One design feature of human language, which means human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.5. language:“Language is a means of verbal communication.”It is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act. It is also social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic and communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such associated factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and socio-cultural roles.6. linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It endeavors to answer the question–what is language and how is represented in the mind? Linguists focus on describing and explaining language and are not concerned with the prescriptive rules of the language.Ⅱ. Beneath each sentence there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one which is the best answer.1-5 C D C D B 6-10 A D C C AⅢ. Fill in the blanks.1. verbal2. creativity/productivity3. yo-he-ho4. pooh-pooh5. Speech6. potential7. Productivity8. Primary , secondary9. Conventional 10. formⅣ. Decide whether the following statements are true [T] or false [F].1. T2. F3. T4. T5. F6. F7. F8. F9. F 10. FⅤ. Answering the questions1.Can you think of some words in English which are onomatopoeic?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.2. A story by Robert Louis Stevenson contains the sentence “As the night fell,the windrose.” 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?This sentence couldn’t be expressed as “As the wind rose,the night fell”, if so, the original intention of writer is distorted. That means the focus and the meaning of the sentence is forced to change, and we can feel it effortlessly by reading. Based on systemic functionalists and American functionalists, language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level ,because clauses occurring in linear sequence without time indicators will be taken as matching the actual sequence of happening. Therefore, to a certain extent, we can see a degree of non-arbitrariness about word order.3. A discussion on Saussure as the father of modern linguistics.1)T he three lines along which Saussure’s ideas were developed:linguistics, sociology, andpsychology.A. In linguistics, Saussure was greatly influenced by the American linguist W.D. Whitney,who insisted on the concept of ARBITRARINESS of the sign to emphasise that language is an institution.B. In sociology, following the French sociologist E. Durkheim, Saussure held thatlanguage is one of the “social facts”, which are ideas in the “collective mind” of a society and radically distinct from individual psychological acts.C. In psychology, Saussure was influenced by the Austrian psychiatrist S. Freud, whohypothesized the continuity of a collective psyche, called the unconscious.2) Saussure’s ideasA. Saussure saw human language as an extremely complex and heterogeneous phenomenon and believed that language is a SYSTEM OF SIGNS. The sign is the union of a form and an idea, which Saussure called the SIGNIFIER and the SIGNIFIED. The signifier and the signified exist only as components of the sign, which is the central fact of language.B. For Saussure, langue is “absence” in the virtual world and parole is “presence” in the actual world. Absence/ virtual systems are considered stable and invariable, while presence/ actual systems are considered unstable and variable.3) Saussure’s influence on modern linguistics.A. He provided a general orientation, a sense of the task of linguistics which had seldom been questioned.B. He influenced modern linguistics in the specific concepts. Many of the developments of modern linguistics can be described as his concepts, i.e. his idea of the arbitrary nature of the sign, langue vs. parole, synchrony vs. diachrony, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, etc.Alllinguistics in the twentieth century are Saussurean linguistics.4.How do you understand arbitrariness in human languages?When we are discussing arbitrariness in human languages, we have to put it on the different language levels.First of all, as one of the design features, arbitrariness exists in human language popularly, so we can find out so many supportive evidences of the relationship between sound and meaning. For example, an object is definitely arbitrarily named as “book” in English while “书” in Chinese. Secondly, language is not always arbitrary at the syntactic level based on systemic functionalists and American functionalists, because clauses occurring in linear sequence without time indicators will be taken as matching the actual sequence of happening. When the two parts interchange, the focus and the meaning of the sentence is forced to change, Then t he writer’s original intention is distorted, and we can feel it effortlessly by reading. So there is a degree of non-arbitrariness about word order.At last, we shouldn’t be ignored of the relationship between arbitrariness and convention. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, while convention leads language to normal and grammatical. Both of arbitrariness and conventionality develop language in parallel.。

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Exercises for Chapter One
I. Spell the terms according to their definitions and the initial letters given.
1.A_______ refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bears no natural
relationship to their meaning.
2.D_______ 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.
3.The p___________ function of language is primarily to change the social status of
persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enemies.
4.P_________ is the study of meaning in context.
5. A language user’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called his
linguistic c__________. And p__________ refers to the actual use of language in concrete situations.
II. Judge whether the following statements are true or false.
1.Onomatopoeic words are not arbitrary at all.
2.Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality of
language makes learning a language laborious.
3.By creativity we mean language is resourceful because of its displacement.
4.For most people the interpersonal function is predominantly the major role of
language.
5.Diachronic linguistics is the study of a language through the course of its history. III. Multiple choice.
1. Which of the following is NOT a design feature of language?
A. arbitrariness
B. duality
C. conventionality
D. displacement
2. When someone says “Nice day”in a conversation, he is using language for __________.
A. informative function
B. performative function
C. Phatic communion
D. metalingual function.
3. _________ studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.
A. phonetics
B. phonology
C. semantics
D. syntax
4. The distinction between langue and parole is proposed by _________.
A. Naom Chomsky
B. Ferdinand de Saussure
C. Michel Halliday
D. Leonard Bloomfield
5.
IV. Define the following terms:
linguistics, arbitrariness, duality, displacement, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, synchronic linguistics, diachronic linguistics, langue, competence.
IV. Answer the following questions:
1.In what ways is human language different from animal means of communication?
2.What’s the difference between descriptive linguistics and prescriptive linguistics?。

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