Psycholinguistics
语言学常用术语
语言学常用术语-CAL-FENGHAI.-(YICAI)-Company One1A List of Commonly-used LinguisticTerminology语言学常用术语表Part I General Terms通用术语Acquisition 习得Agglutinative language 粘着语Anthropology 人类学Applied linguistics 应用语言学Arbitrariness 任意性Artificial intelligence (AI)人工智能Behaviorism 行为主义Behaviorist psychology 行为主义心理学Bilingualism 双语现象Cognition 认知Cognitive linguistics 认知语言学Cognitive science 认知科学Comparative linguistics 比较语言学Computational linguistics 计算语言学Corpus-linguistics 语料库语言学Creole 克里奥耳语；混合语Culture 文化Descriptive linguistics 描写语言学Design features 识别特征Developmental psycholinguistics 发展心理语言学Diachronic/historical linguistics历时语言学Dialect 方言Dialectology 方言学Displacement 不受时空限制的特性Dualism 二元论Duality 二重性Epistemology认识论Etymology 辞源学Experimental psycholinguistics 实验心理语言学Formalization 形式化Formal linguistics 形式语言学Forensic linguistics 法律语言学Functionalism 功能主义General linguistics 普通语言学Grammaticality 符合语法性Ideography 表意法Inflectional language 屈折语Inter-disciplinary 交叉性学科的Isolating language 孤立语Langue 语言Macro-sociolinguistics 宏观社会语言学Mentalism 心智主义Micro-sociolinguistics 微观社会语言学Montague grammar蒙太古语法Neuro-linguistics 神经语言学Orthography 正字法Orthoepic 正音法的Paradigmatic 聚合关系Parole 言语Pedagogy 教育学；教授法Philology 语文学Philosophy 哲学Phonography 表音法Pidgin 皮钦语；洋泾浜语Polysynthetic language 多式综合语Prescriptive linguistics 规定语言学Psycholinguistics心理语言学Psychology 心理学Semeiology 符号学Sociology 社会学Speech 言语Sociolinguistics社会语言学Structuralism 结构主义Synchronic linguistics 共时语言学Syntagmatic 组合关系Theoretic linguistics 理论语言学Universal grammar 普遍语法Universality 普遍性Part II Phonology音位学Ablaut 元音变化Acoustic phonetics 声学语音学Affricate 塞擦音Allophone 音位变体Alveolar 齿龈音Articulatory phonetics 发音语音学Auditory phonetics 听觉语音学Articulatory variables 发音变体Aspiration 送气Assimilation 同化Back of tongue舌根Back vowel后元音Bilabial 双唇音Blade of tongue 舌面Broad transcription 宽式音标Central vowel 中元音Collocation 搭配Complementary distribution互补分布Consonant 辅音Dental 齿音Diacritics 变音符号；附加符号Diphthong 双元音Distinctive features 区别性特征Fricative 擦音Front vowel 前元音Glide 音渡Glottal 喉音Hard palate 硬腭International Phonetic Alphabet 国际音标Intonation 语调Liquid 流音Manner of articulation 发音方法Minimal pair最小对立体Narrow transcription 严式音标Nasal 鼻音Nasal cavity 鼻腔Palatal 腭音Pharyngeal cavity 咽腔Phone音素Phoneme音位Place of articulation 发音部位Plosive爆破音Phonemic contrast 音位对立Phonetics语音学Rounded圆唇音Soft palate (velum)软腭Spectrograph 频谱仪Speech organ 发音器官Speech sounds 语音Stop塞音Stress 重音Suprasegmental features 超音段特征Teeth ridge (alveolus) 齿龈隆骨Tip of tongue 舌尖Tone 音/声调Unrounded 非圆唇音Uvula 小舌Velar 软腭音Vocal cords 声带Voiced 浊音Voiceless清音Voicing 浊音化Vowel 元音Part III Morphology形态学Acronym 首字母缩略词Affix 词缀Affixation 词缀法Back-formation 逆成法Blending 紧缩法Borrowing 借用Bound morpheme 粘着语素Clipped words 缩略词Coinage 创新词Compounding 合成法Conversion 转换法Closed class 封闭类Derivational morpheme 派生语素Free morpheme 自由语素Idiom 成语Inflection 屈折变化Inflectional morpheme 屈折语素Jargon 行话Lexicography 辞典编纂学Loan words 外来词Morpheme 语素Open class 开放类Prefix 前缀Productive 能产的Root 词根Stem 词干Suffix 后缀Suppletion 异根Word formation 构词法Part IV Syntax句法学Abstract noun 抽象名词Accusative 宾格Active voice 主动态Adjective 形容词Adjunct 附加状语Adverbial 状语Agreement 一致关系Anaphor 照应语Antecedent 先行词Apostrophe 省略符号Apposition 同位语Article 冠词Attribute 定语Case 格Cleft sentence 分裂句Collective noun 集合名词Comment 述题Competence 语言能力Complement 补语Compound predicate 复合谓语Compound sentence 复合句Concession relation 让步关系Concrete noun 具体名词Connective 连接词Constituent 句子成分Content word 实词Continuous aspect 进行体Coordinate clause 并列句Coordinating conjunction 并列连词Copula 系动词Declarative sentence 陈述句Descriptive adequacy 描写充分性Direct object 直接宾语Discontinuous constituents 非连续性成分D-structure 深层结构Dual number 双数Dummy word 伪词Endocentric construction 向心结构Ergative 作格Exclamatory sentence 感叹句Existential sentence 存在句Exocentric construction 离心结构Explanatory adequacy 解释充分性Feminine 阴性Finite clause 限定性分句Finite verb 限定性动词Function word 功能词Generic term 泛指性成分Genitive case 所有格；属格Gender 性Gerundive 动名词Habitual aspect 习惯体Head 中心词Immediate Constituent Analysis (IC Analysis) 直接成分分析法Imperative mood 祈使语气Imperative sentence 祈使句Imperfective aspect 非完成体Indirect object 间接宾语Infinitive 不定式Inflectional affix 屈折前缀Informal language 非正式语言Intensifier 强势语Interjection 感叹词Interrogative sentence 疑问句Intransitive verb 不及物动词Intransitivity 不及物性Irregular verb 不规则动词Labeled tree diagram 加标记的树形图Language faculty 语言器官Lexical verb 实词性动词Main clause 主句Masculine 阳性的Matrix sentence 主句Middle voice 中动语态Modality 情态Modal verbs 情态动词Modification 修饰Modifier 修饰语Morphological process 形态过程Move 移位Negation 否定Neuter gender 中性Nominal 名词性的Nominal clause 名词性分句Nominalization 名物化Nominative case 主格Non-place predicate 空位述谓结构Numeral 数词Object 宾语Objective 宾格Oblique case 斜格Observational adequacy 观察充分性One-place predicate 一位述谓结构Onomatopoeia 拟声词Particle 小品词Parts of speech 词性Passive voice 被动语态Past perfect tense 过去完成时Past tense过去时Perfective aspect 完成体Performance 语言运用；言语行为Personal pronoun 人称代词Personification 拟人化Phrasal verb 短语动词Phrase 短语Phrase structure rules (PS-rules) 短语结构规则Plural 复数的Plurality 复数性Postposition 后置词Postpositional phrase 后置性短语Predicate 谓词Preposition 介词Prepositional phrase 介词性短语Present tense 现在时Progressive aspect 进行体Projection principle 投射原则Pronominal 代词性的Pronoun 代词Quantifier 数量词Reciprocal pronoun 互指代词Reflexive pronoun 反身代词Reflexive verb 反身动词Relative adverb 关系副词Relative clause 关系状语Relative pronoun 关系代词Rhetorical question 反意疑问句Sentence 句子Sentential 句子的Sentential complement 句子性补语Simple sentence 简单句Singular 单数的Singularity 单数性S-structure 表层结构Subject 主语Subjective 主格Subordinate 从属句Substantive 实词Syntactic function 句法功能Tag question 附加疑问句Tense 时态Topic 主题Transformational-generative grammar (TG grammar) 转换生成语法Transitive verb 及物动词Transitivity 及物性Two-place predicate 二位述谓结构Unaccusativity 动词的非宾格性Verb 动词Verbal behavior 言语行为Voice 语态Word classes 词类Word order 词序Yes-no question 是非问句；一般疑问句Part V Semantics语义学Agent 施事Antonym 反义词Antonymy 反义关系Beneficiary 受益者Color word 色彩词Complementarity 互补性反义关系Componential analysis 成分分析法Contradiction 自相矛盾的说法Deictic center 指示中心Deixis 指示语Downgrade 语义降格Experiencer 经历者Homography 同形异音异义Homonymy 同音异义Hyponym 下义词Hyponymy 下义Instrument 工具Locative 地点Meaningfulness 有意义Naming 命名论Participant role 参与者角色Patient 受事Person deixis 人称指示语Place deixis 地点指示语Polysemy 一词多义Possible world 可能世界Predication analysis 述谓结构分析Recipient 接收者Reference 所指Referent 所指对象Selectional restrictions 选择限制Semantic role 语义角色Sense 意义Superordinate 上义词Synonym 同义词Synonymy 同义关系Theme 受事Th eta role (θ-role) 语义角色Time deixis 时间指示语Truth condition 真值条件Valency 配价Part VI Pragmatics语用学Addressee 说话对象Adjacency pair 邻接对Context 语境；上下文Conversational implicature 会话含义Cooperative principle 合作原则Direct speech 直接话语Discourse 话语Distal 远指Encyclopedic knowledge 百科知识Euphemism 委婉语Focus 焦点Generalized implicature 广义含义Given vs. new information 已知与未知信息Honorific 敬语Illocutionary act 言外行为Illocutionary force 言外之力Implicature 含义Indirect speech 间接话语Informativeness principle 信息原则Manner implicature 方式含义Maxim of manner 方式准则Maxim of quality 质量准则Maxim of quantity 数量准则Maxim of relation 关联准则Performative 施为句Performative verb 施为动词Perlocutionary act 言后行为Potential implicature 可能含义Potential presupposition 可能预设Pre-announcement 事先声明Preparatory condition 准备条件Presupposition预设Presupposition suspension 预设中止Presupposition trigger 预设激发Propositional act 命题行为Propositional content 命题内容Propositional relation 命题关系Proposition 命题Proximal 近指Quality implicature 质的含义Quantity implicature 量的含义Scalar implicature 标尺含义Schema 图式Self-repair 自我修正Sincerity condition 诚实原则Speaker 说话者Speech act 言语行为Text 语篇Turn 话轮Turn-taking 话轮转换。
现代语言学名词解释
现代语言学名词解释现代语言学名词解释一绪论1 Linguistics 语言学:Linguistics is generally defined as the scientic study of language2 Phonetics语音学 : The study of sounds which are used in linguistics communication is called phonetics. For example, vowels and consonants3 Phonology语音体系: The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology. For example, phone, phoneme, and allophone.4 Morphology形态学:The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words is called morphology. For example, boy and “ish”---boyish, teach---teacher.5 Syntax句法 : The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentence s is called syntax. For example, ”John like linguistics.”6 Semantics词义学: The study of meaning in language is called semantics. For example: The seal could not be found. The zoo keeper became worried.” The seal could not be found, The king became worried.”Here the word seal means different things.7 Pragmatics语用学: The study of meaning in context of use is called pragmatics. For example, “I do” The word do means different context.8 Sociolinguistics社会语言学: The study of language with reference to society is called sociolinguistics. For example, regional dialects, social variation in language.9 Psycholinguistics语言心理学: The study of language withreference to workings of mind is called psycholinguistics.二音系学1 Phonetics语音通信学: The study of sounds that are used in linguistic communication is called phonetics.2 Phonology语音体系: The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology.3 Phone发声: Phone can be simply defined as the speech sounds we use when speaking a language. A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. It does not necessarily distinguish meaning; some do, some don’t.4 Phoneme音素: Phonology is concerned with the speech sounds which distinguish meaning. The basic unit in phonology is called phoneme; it is a unit that is of distinctive value.《现代语言学名词解释》。
英语 语言学 名词解释
名词解释nguage: language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.2.Design features of language(语言的区别性特征) :i.Arbitrariness:the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to theirmeaning=language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a word(e.g.pen) and the object it refers to .ii.Duality:the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level. By duality we mean that language system has two sets of structures, one of sounds and the other of meanings.指拥有两层结构的这种特性，底层结构是上层结构的组成成分。
指语言是声音和意义双重结构组成的系统。
举例：Sounds > syllables > words > phrases > clauses > sentences> texts/discoursesiii.Productivity： Language can be used to create new meanings because of its duality .语言可以理解并创造无限数量的新句子，是由双层结构造成的结果（Understand and create unlimited number with sentences）iv.Displacement：Human languages enable their users to symbolize something which are not present at the moment of communication.v.Cultural transmission: language is passed on from generation to generation through teaching and learning rather than instinct.3.Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It is a scientific study because it is based on thesystematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.4.Psycholinguistics: It is the study of how language is acquired, understood and produced.ngue:F. de Saussure. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all themembers of a speech community.语言指语言系统的整体，这个整体相对是比较稳定的。
13-19年英语专八改错及答案
Psycholinguistics is the name given to the study ofthe psychological processes involved in language. Psycholinguists study understanding, production, and remembering language, and hence are (1) ______ concerned with listening, reading, speaking, writing, and memory for language. One reason why we take the language for granted is that it usually (2) ______ happens so effortlessly, and, most of time, so accurately. Indeed, when (3) ______ you listen to someone speaking, or looking at this page, you normally (4) ______ cannot help but understand it. It is only in exceptional circumstances we (5) ______ might become aware of the complexity involved: if we are searching fora word but cannot remember it; if a relative or colleague has had a (6) ______ stroke which has influenced their language; if we observe a child acquire (7) ______ language; if we try to learn a second language ourselves as an adult; orif we are visually impaired or hearing-impaired or if we meet anyone else (8) ______ who is. As we shall see, all these examples of what might be called“language in exceptional circumstances” reveal a great deal about theprocesses evolved in speaking, listening, writing, and reading. But (9) ______ given that language processes were normally so automatic, we also need (10) ______ to carry out careful experiments to get at what is happening.1. production-producing2. the 划掉3. of 后加the4. looking-look5.circumstance后加the6. had划掉7. their-his8. anyone-someone9. evolved-involved10.were-areThere is a high level of agreement that the following questions have (1) ______ possessed the most attention of researchers in this area: (2) ______Is it possible to acquire an additional language in thesame sense one acquires a first language? (3) ______What is the explanation for the fact adults have (4) ______more difficulty in acquiring additional languages than children have?What motivates people to acquire additional language?What is the role of the language teaching in the (5) ______acquisition of additional languages?What social-cultural factors, if any, are relevant in studying theearning of additional languages?From a check of the literature of the field it is clear that all (6) ______the approaches adopted to study the phenomena of SLA so far haveone thing in common: The perspective adopted to view the acquiringof an additional language is that of an individual attempts to do (7) ______ so. Whether one labels it “learning” or “acquiring” an additionallanguage, it is an individual accomplishment or what is under (8) ______ focus is the cognitive, psychological, and institutional status of an individual. That is, the spotlight is on what mental capabilities are involving, what psychological factors play a role in the learning (9) ______or acquisition, and whether the target language is learnt in theclassroom or acquired through social touch with native speakers. (10) ______1.把of去掉。
Language and Cognition
Linguists see the study of language acquisition as key to central mystery; Psychologists see development of language as important window into the big question of development in general
ability?
docin/sundae_meng
Brain mechanisms and language
Language behavior, like all behaviors, is meditated by brain structures, but because language is extremely subtle and multifaceted, it has a particularly complex representation in the brain.
Lateralization refers to the tendency for a given psychological function to be served by one hemisphere, with the other hemisphere either incapable or less capable of performing the function.
docin/sundae_meng
Typical clinical symptoms of Broca's aphasia
"Yes ... Monday ... Dad, and Dad ... hospital, and ... Wednesday, Wednesday, nine o'clock and ... Thursday, ten o'clock ... doctors, two, two ... doctors and ... teeth, yah. And a doctor ... girl, and gums, and I."
第十二讲 心理语言学
主要的实验技术和手段包括(余林等, 1999)： 移动视窗(moving window)技术：通过计算机逐词或多词呈现的方式进行，被试通过按键使 计算机屏幕逐词或多词呈现实验材料，阅读的速度由被试的按键速度所决定，因而又称自定 步速的阅读。被试按键时由计算机自动记录下他在各词上的停留时间，以此作为阅读时间来 研究被试在阅读加工过程中所遇到的加工困难。 跨通道启动(cross-model priming)技术：一般是通过耳机听觉呈现刺激材料，然后在句子不 同位置由计算机屏幕呈现启动词，并让被试对启动词进行词汇判断或命名，视觉启动词的呈 现位置和时间由计算机精确控制，并由其记录下被试对探测词的反应时间和错误率，以此来 研究探测词受到句子加工中语义和句法关系制约的情况。 眼动技术(eye-movement technique)：此技术通过专门的眼动仪(eye tracker)来追踪被试在 屏幕上的注视点，实验材料由计算机呈现，并通过眼动仪与计算机的连接记录被试在句中各 词上的停留时间和回扫、眼跳等资料，通过分析被试在各种控制条件下行为反应上的差异来 了解被试的即时加工过程，此种方法接近于自然条件下的阅读状况。 事件相关电位（event-related potentials）：通过计算机收集和处理大脑加工句子信息时的脑 电活动的方法，直接探测人在阅读过程中所引起的脑电变化，以此获得人在加工不同控制条 件下句子时的脑电模式来推测句子加工的时间进程。在句子加工中发现了两种相对稳定的脑 电波N400与P600。前者是指句中关键词呈现400毫秒后所记录到的一个负的脑电波，它与词 汇的语义 (特别是主题限制)有关；后者是指在关键词呈现600毫秒后记录到的一个正的脑电 波，研究认为它与句子的句法有关。
poeppel2004一些言语知觉范式现象范畴知觉选择性适应任务mcgurk效应听觉pa视觉ka知觉taduplex知觉范畴知觉物理刺激连续变化对应的知觉表现出范畴性变化材料最小的语音范畴对比听觉词汇识别spokenwordrecognition视觉词汇识别visualwordrecognition听觉词汇识别cohort模型marlsenwilson1987第一个阶段对输入信息进行听觉语音分析激活一群可供选择的单词即初始词群第二阶段当语音信息继续仍然符合语音输入的词的激活水平增加而不符合语音输入的词的激活水平下降直到选中群中的一个词最后把选中的词整合到当前语义和句法情境中
语言学整理
名词解释1.Chapter 1(1)Psycholinguistics18：Psycholinguistics investigates theinterrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition for example.(2)Sociolinguistics 19: Sociolinguistics is the study of thecharacteristics of language varieties, the characteristics of their functions, and the characteristics of their speakers as these three constantly interact and change within a speech community.2.Chapter 2(3)Phonetics 24: Phonetics studies how speech sounds are produced,transmitted, and perceived.(4)phonology24: Phonology is the study of the sound patterns andsound systems of languages.(5)voiceless27: When the vocal folds are apart, the air can passthrough easily and the sound produced is said to be VOICELESS.(6)voiced27: When the vocal folds are close together, the airstreamcauses them to vibrate against each other and the resultant sound is said to be VOICED.(7)coarticulation 37: When such simultaneous or overlappingarticulations are involved, we call the process coarticulation.3.Chapter 3(8)Morpheme 52: Morpheme is the smallest unit of language in regardto the relationship between sounding and meaning, a unit that cannot be divided into further smaller units without destroying or drastically altering the meaning.(9) Free morphemes 53: Those morphemes that may occur alone, thatis, those which may make up words by themselves, are free morphemes.(10) bound morphemes53: Morphemes which must appear with atleast one different morpheme, and are called bound morphemes.(10) invariable words 59: Invariable words refer to those such as since,when, seldom, through, hello. They do not have inflective endings. 4.chapter 4(11)Case87: The case category is used in the analysis of wordclasses to identify the syntactic relationship between words in a sentence.5.chapter 7(12) Sapir-Whorf Hypotheses 149: Our language helps mould our wayof thinking and, different languages may probably express speakers’unique ways of understanding the world.6.chapter 11(13) Syllabus 260: A syllabus is a specification of what takes place inthe classroom, which usually contains the aims and contents ofteaching and sometimes contains suggestions of methodology.(14)curriculum260: A curriculum, however, provides (1) generalstatements about the rationale about language, language learning and language teaching (2)detailed specification of aims, objectives and targets learning purpose and (3) implementation of a program.(15) overgeneralization272: Overgeneralization arises when thelearner applies a rule in a situation where the rule does NOT apply. 7.chapter 12(16) LAD 308: Chomsky believes that language is somewhat innate,and that children are born with what he calls a LANGUAGE ACQUSITION DEVICE (LAD), which is a unique kind of knowledge that fits them for language learning.简答题：1.What are design features of language? 3-7（1）A rbitrariness first refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. （2）B y Duality is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composedof elements of the secondary level and each of the two levelshas its own principles of organization.（3）B y Creativity we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness.（4）D isplacement means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are notpresent (in time and space) at the moment of communication.2.What are main functions of language? Explain with examples. 10-14 (1)For most people the informative function is predominantly the majorrole of language. Language is the instrument of thought and people often feel need to speak their thoughts aloud, for instance, when they are working on a math problem. The use of language to record the facts is a prerequisite of social development. This is indeed a crucial function of language.(2)By far the most important sociological use of language is theinterpersonal function, by which people establish and maintain their status in a society.(3)The performative function of language is primarily to change thesocial status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, etc. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized.3.What is the major difference between Saussure’s distinction of langueand parole and Chomsky’s distinction of competence and performance?23Saussure’s distinction between “langue”and “parde”is similar to Chomsky’s distinction between “competence”and “performance”. But whereas for Saussure the repository of “langue” is the speech community, for Chomsky the repository of “competence” is the “ideal speaker/hearer”. So Saussure’s distinction is basically sociolinguistic, whereas Chomsky’s is basically psycholinguistic.4.What are the main differences between root and stem? 定义加例子53-54A root is the base form of a word that cannot be further analyzedwithout destroying its meanings. That is to say, it is that part of the word that remains when all the affixes are removed, for example nation-in internationalism. Apparently, all words contain a root morpheme. A root may be free or bound.A stem is any morpheme or combination of morphemes to which aninflectional affix can be added, so both friend-in friends and friendship- in friendships are stems.5.What are the main ways of lexical change in the English languageapart from compound and derivation? Explain with examples. 66-69a)Invention, includes words coming form technological andeconomic activities, such as Kodak, Coke, etc.b)Blending is a relatively complex form of compounding, inwhich two words are blended by joining together the initial partof the first word and final part of the second word, or by only joining the initial parts of the two words. For example, transfer + resister = transistor.c)Abbreviation is also called clipping, a new word is created bycutting the initial parts, the final parts or both the initial and final parts of words. For example, advertisement—ad, telephone—phone, influenza—flu.d)Acronym is made up from the first letters of the name of anorganization, which has a heavily modified headword. For instance, WTO—World Trade Organization.e)Back-formation refers to an abnormal type of word-formationwhere a shorter word is derived by deleting an imagined affix from a longer form already in the language. For example, televise—television.f)Analogical creation can account for co-existence of two forms,regular and irregular, in the combination of some English verbs, for example, work—wrought—worked.g)By shifting word class one can change the meaning of a wordfrom a concrete entity or notion to a process or attribution. For example, hog can mean a pig, or to take and keep (all of something) for oneself.h)Borrowing means to widen a language’s vocabulary byborrowing words from other languages. For instance, feast,encour, etc.6.What are Leech’s system of meanings? 947.Explain with examples the various types of antonyms in English.98-101a)The gradable antonyms have three characteristics. First, theyare gradable, i.e., the denial of one is not necessilarily theassertion of the other. Second, antonyms of this kind are gradedagainst different norms. Third, one member of a pair, usuallythe term for the higher degree, serve as the cover term.b)The complementary antonymy divides up the whole semanticfield, i.e. the assertion of one means the denial of the other, thedenial of one also means the assertion of the other.c)Converse antonymy is known as the relational opposites. Thereare always two entities involved. One presupposes the other.They are typically seen in reciprocal social roles, kinshiprelations, temporal and spatial relations.8.What are three speech acts?174-175(1) According to Austin, a speaker might be performing three acts simultaneously when speaking. (2) When we speak we move our vocalorgans and produce a number of sounds, organized in a certain way and with a certain meaning. That is a locutionary act. (3) When we speak, we not only produce some units of language with certain meanings, but also make clear our purpose in producing them, the way we intend them to be understood, or the also have certain forces as Austin prefers to say. This act performed is an illocutionary act. And the force is illocutionary force.(4) The third sense in which to say something can mean to do something concerns the consequential effects of a locution upon the hearer. This is called perlocutionary act.9.What is cooperative principle? 177 实例：A: Can you answer the phone?B: I’m in the Bath.A: Mary is really an expert in paintings. Don’t you think so?B: She is a good mother.A: How much is your skirt?B: The fabric touches smoothly.10.W hat are the six principles for teachers to follow when design tasks?265-26811.W hat are differences between errors and mistakes? 27212.W hat are the three metafunctions proposed by M.A.K. Halliday?293-296a)The ideational function is to convey new information, tocommunicate a content that is unknown to the hearer. Present inall language uses, the ideational function is a meaning potential.The ideational function mainly consists of “transitivity”and“voice”.b)The interpersonal function embodies all uses of language toexpress social and personal relations. This includes the variousways the speaker enters a speech situation and performs aspeech act. Interpersonal function is realized by mood andmodality.c)The textual function refers to the fact that language hasmechanisms to make any stretch of spoken or written discourseinto a coherent and unified text and make a living passagedifferent from a random list of sentences.。
语言学名词解释
Cognition:It is the mental process or faculty of knowing including aspects such as awareness,perception reasoning,and judgement.Psycholinguistics studies the psychological states and mental activity associated with the use of language.Cognitive Linguistics:The scientific study of the relationship between the way we communicate and the way we think.Culture:the total way of life of a people including patterns ofbeliefs,customs,objects,institutions,techniques,and language that characterizes the life of the human community.The Cooperative principle:Make your conversational contribution such as is required,at the stage at which it occurs,by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you engaged.Stylistics:Stylistics studies the features of situationally distinctive uses of language,and tries to establish principles capable of accounting for the particularchoice.Construal is the ability to conceive and portray the same situation in alternate ways.Through specificity,different mental scanning,directionality vantagepoint,figure-ground segregation.Construal operations are the underlying psychologic processes and resources employed in the interpretation of linguistic expressions.Categorization is the process of classifying our experiences into different categaries based on commonalities and differences.Register:the type of language which is selected as appropriate to the type of situation.。
语言学考试整理名词解释
1. Linguistics: Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study oflanguage.2. Phonology: The study of how sounds are put together and used incommunication is called phonology.3. Syntax: The study of how morphemes and words are combined to formsentences is called syntax. .4. Design features: it referred to the defining properties of human languagethat tell the difference between human language that tell the differencebetween human language and any system of animal communication.5. Psycholinguistics: The study of language with reference to the workings ofmind is called psycholinguistics.6. Language: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for humancommunication.7. Phonetics: The study of sounds which are used in linguistic communication iscalled phonetics.8. Morphology: The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to formwords is called morphology.9. Parole: it referred to the actual phenomena or data of linguistics.10. P honology：Phonology studies the system of sounds of a particular language；it aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.11. P honeme:The basic unit in phonology is called phoneme； it is a unit ofdistinctive value. But it is an abstract unit. To be exact， a phoneme is nota sound； it is a collection of distinctive phonetic features.12. A llophone:The different phones which can represent a phoneme in differentphonetic environments are called the allophones of that phoneme.13. I nternational phonetic alphabet： It is a standardized and internationallyaccepted system of phonetic transcription.14. I ntonation:When pitch， stress and sound length are tied to the sentencerather than the word in isolation， they are collectively known as intonation.15. P honetics:Phonetics is defined as the study of the phonic medium oflanguage； it is concerned with all the sounds that occur in the world' s languages16. A uditory phonetics:It studies the speech sounds from the hearer's point ofview. It studies how the sounds are perceived by the hearer.17. A coustic phonetics:It studies the speech sounds by looking at the soundwaves. It studies the physical means by which speech sounds are transmitted through the air from one person to another.18. P hone:Phones can be simply defined as the speech sounds we use whenspeaking a language. A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. It does not necessarily distinguish meaning.19. P honemic contrast:Phonemic contrast refers to the relation between twophonemes. If two phonemes can occur in the same environment and distinguish meaning， they are in phonemic contrast.20. T one： Tones are pitch variations， which are caused by the differing ratesof vibration of the vocal cords.21. M inimal pair： When two different forms are identical in every way except forone sound segment which occurs in the same place in the strings， the two words are said to form a minimal pair.22. M orphology： Morphology is a branch of grammar which studies the internalstructure of words and the rules by which words are formed.23. I nflectional morphology： The inflectional morphology studies the inflections24. D erivational morphology： Derivational morphology is the study of word-formation.25. M orpheme： It is the smallest meaningful unit of language.26. F ree morpheme： Free morphemes are the morphemes which areindependent units of meaning and can be used freely all by themselves or in combination with other morphemes.27. B ound morpheme： Bound morphemes are the morphemes which cannot beused independently but have to be combined with other morphemes， either free or bound， to form a word.28. R oot： A root is often seen as part of a word； it can never stand by itself al-though it bears clear， definite meaning； it must be combined with another root or an affix to form a word.29. A ffix： Affixes are of two types： inflectional and derivational. Inflectionalaffixes manifest various grammatical relations or grammatical categories， while derivational affixes are added to an existing form to create a word.30. P refix： Prefixes occur at the beginning of a word. Prefixes modify themeaning of the stem， but they usually do not change the part of speech of the original word.31. S uffix： Suffixes are added to the end of the stems； they modify themeaning of the original word and in many cases change its part of speech.32. D erivation：Derivation is a process of word formation by which derivativeaffixes are added to an existing form to create a word.33. C ompounding： Compounding can be viewed as the combination of two orsometimes more than two words to create new words.34. S yntax： Syntax is a subfield of linguistics. It studies thesentence structureof language. It consists of a set of abstract rules that allow words to be combined with other words to form grammatical sentences.35. S entence： A sentence is a structurally independent unit that usuallycomprises a number of words to form a complete statement， question or command. Normally， a sentence consists of at least asubject and a predicate which contains a finite verb or a verb phrase.36. C oordinate sentence： A coordinate sentence contains two clauses joined bya linking word called coordinating conjunction， such as "and"， "but"， "or".37. S yntactic categories： Apart from sentences and clauses， a syntacticcategory usually refers to a word （called a lexical category） or a phrase （called a phrasal category） that performs a particular grammatical function.38. G rammatical relations： The structural and logical functional relations ofconstituents are called grammatical relations. The grammatical relations of a sentence concern the way each noun phrase in the sentence relates to the verb. In many cases， grammatical relations in fact refer to who does what to whom.39. L inguistic competence： Universally found in the grammars of all humanlanguages， syntactic rules comprise the system of internalized linguistic knowledge of a language speaker known as linguistic competence.40. T ransformational rules： Transformational rules are the rules that transformone sentence type into another type.41. D-structure： D-structure is the level of syntactic representation that existsbefore movement takes place. Phrase structure rules， with the insertion of the lexicon， generate sentences at the level of D-structure.42. S emantics： Semantics can be simply defined as the study of meaning inlanguage.43. S ense： Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form.It is the collection of all the features of the linguistic form； it is abstract and de -contextualized.44. R eference： Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real，physical world； it deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience45. S ynonymy： Synonymy refers to the sameness or close similarity ofmeaning.46. P olysemy： Polysemy refers to the fact that the same one word may havemore than one meaning.47. H omonymy： Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words havingdifferent meanings have the same form， i.e. different words are identical in sound or spelling， or in both.48. H omophones： When two words are identical in sound， they are calledhomophones.49. H omographs： When two words are identical in spelling， they arehomographs.50. C omplete homonyms： When two words are identical in both sound andspelling， they are called complete homonyms.51. H yponymy： Hyponymy refers to the sense relation between a moregeneral， more inclusive word and a more specific word.52. A ntonymy： Antonymy refers to the relation of oppositeness of meaning.53. C omponential analysis： Componential analysis is a way to analyze wordmeaning. It was proposed by structural semanticists. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be divided into meaning components， which are called semantic features.54. T he grammatical meaning： The grammatical meaning of a sentence refersto its grammaticality， i.e. its grammatical well-formedness. The grammaticality of a sentence is governed by the grammatical rules of the language.55. P redication： The predication is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence.56. A rgument： An argument is a logical participant in a predication. It isgenerally identical with the nominal element （s） in a sentence.57. P redicate： A predicate is something that is said about an argument or itstates the logical relation linking the arguments in a sentence.58. T wo-place predication： A two-place predication is one which contains twoarguments.59. P ragmatics： Pragmatics can be defined as the study of how speakers of alanguage use sentences to effect successful communication.60. C ontext： Generally speaking， it consists of the knowledge that is shared bythe speaker and the hearer. The shared knowledge is of two types： theknowledge of the language they use， and the knowledge about the world， including the general knowledge about the world and the specific knowledge about the situation in which linguistic communication is taking place.61. U tterance meaning： The meaning of an utterance is concrete， andcontext-dependent. Utterance is based on sentence meaning； it is realization of the abstract meaning of a sentence in a real situation of communication， or simply in a context.62. S entence meaning： The meaning of a sentence is often considered as theabstract， intrinsic property of the sentence itself in terms of a predication. 63. C onstative： Constatives were statements that either state or describe， andwere verifiable.64. P erformative： performatives， on the other hand， were sentences that didnot state a fact or describe a state， and were not verifiable. Their function is to perform a particular speech act.65. L ocutionary act： A locutionary act is the act of uttering words， phrases，clauses. It is the act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax， lexicon and phonology.66. I llocutionary act： An illocutionary act is the act of expressing the speaker'sintention； it is the act performed in saying something.67. P erlocutionary act： A perlocutionary act is the act performed by or resultingfrom saying something； it is the consequence of， or the change brought about by the utterance； it is the act performed by saying something.68. C ooperative Principle： It is principle advanced by Paul Grice. It is a principlethat guides our conversational behaviours. The content is： Make your conversational contribution such as is required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or the talk exchange in which you are engaged.69. S ociolinguistics： Sociolinguistics is the study of language in social contexts.70. S peech community： The social group isolated for any given study is calledthe speech community or a speech community is a group of people who forma community and share the same language or a particular variety oflanguage. The important characteristic of a speech community is that the members of the group must， in some reasonable way， interact linguistically with other members of the community. They may share closely related language varieties， as well as attitudes toward linguistic norms.71. S peech variety： Speech variety， also known as language variety， refersto any distinguishable form of speech used by a speaker or group of speakers. The distinctive characteristics of a speech variety may be lexical， phonological， morphological， syntactic， or a combination of linguistic features.72. L anguage planning： Language standardization is known as languageplanning. This means that certain authorities， such as the government or government agency of a country， choose a particular speech variety and spread the use of it， including its pronunciation and spelling systems， across regional boundaries.73. I diolect： An idiolect is a personal dialect of an individual speaker that com-bines aspects of all the elements regarding regional， social， and stylistic variation， in one form or another. In a narrower sense， what makes up one’s idiolect includes also such factors as voice quality， pitch and speech rhythm， which all contribute to the identifying features in an individual's speech.74. S tandard language： The standard language is a superposed， sociallyprestigious dialect of language. It is the language employed by the government and the judiciary system， used by the mass media， and taught in educational institutions， including school settings where the language is taught as a foreign or second language.75. N onstandard language： Language varieties other than the standard arecalled nonstandard languages.76. L ingua franca： A lingua franca is a variety of language that serves as amedium of communication among groups of people for diverse linguistic backgrounds.77. P idgin： A pidgin is a variety of language that is generally used by nativespeakers of other languages as a medium of communication.78. C reole： A Creole language is originally a pidgin that has become establishedas a native language in some speech community.79. D iglossia： Diglossia usually describes a situation in which two very differentvarieties of language co-exist in a speech community， each with a distinct range of purely social function and appropriate for certain situations.80. B ilingualism： Bilingualism refers to a linguistic situation in which twostandard languages are used either by an individual or by a group of speakers， such as the inhabitants of a particular region or a nation.81. E thnic dialect： Within a society， speech variation may come about becauseof different ethnic backgrounds. An ethnic language variety is a social dialect of a language， often cutting across regional differences. An ethnic dialect is spoken mainly by a less privileged population that has experienced some form of social isolation， such as racial discrimination or segregation. 82. S ociolect： Social dialects， or sociolects， are varieties of language used bypeople belonging to particular social classes.83. R egister： Registers are language varieties which are appropriate for use inparticular speech situations， in contrast to language varieties that are associated with the social or regional grouping of their customary users.Format reason， registers are also known as situational dialects.84. S lang： Slang is a casual use of language that consists of expressive butnon-standard vocabulary， typically of arbitrary， flashy and often ephemeral coinages and figures of speech characterized by spontaneity and sometimes by raciness.85. T aboo： T aboo， or rather linguistic taboo， denotes any prohibition by thepolite society on the use of particular lexical items to refer to objects or acts.86. E uphemism： A euphemism， then， is a mild， indirect or less offensive wordor expression substituted when the speaker or writer fears more direct wording might be harsh， unpleasantly direct， or offensive.。
语言学概论(2)复习要点(12月18日)
语言学概论（2）复习要点Chapter 61、three approaches to the study of language and cognition P129 para.22、Psycholinguistics(definition) P130 para.23、Psycholinguistics has its roots in... P130 para.34、Six subjects of research within psycholinguistics P130 para.45、Three central topics in psycholinguistics P131 para.16、Four stages of children's acquisition of language P131-P1337、cohort theory P135 para.58、minimal attachment theory P138 para.29、schemata P139 para.3 （或见课件）10、image schema P147.para.111、metaphor(definition) P148 para.612、3 kinds of conceptual metaphors P149. para.213、metonomy (definition)P151. para.214、3 ICMs in ontological realms P151. para.315、blending theory P155. Para.6Chapter 71、sociolinguistics (definition)P159. para.22、speech community, register P160. Para.33、Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis P162. para.24、Linguistic determinism, Linguistic relativity P163 para.15、Three objectives for us to teach culture in our language class P169 para.76、Some social factors that influence our language behavior in a social context P171 para.47、William Labov, the professor in the linguistics department of the University ofPennsylvania,.the founder of the discipline of quantitative sociolinguistics8、the features of women register P172 para.29、linguistic sexism P173 para.110、A sociolinguistic study of society (macrosociolinguistics)A sociolinguistic study of language (microsociolinguistics):P173 para3 -- P174 para1--311、Pidgin and Creole(definition) P174 para. 3（见课件）Chapte r 101、computational linguistics P242, para. 22、Distinguish CAI, CAL & CALL P243, para.4--53、Four phases of CALL development P244 para. 2-- P245 para. 14、Machine Translation (MT) P247 para. 15、Two types of Machine Translation and the definition P247 para. 16、Development of MT（3 subtitles) P247--P2487、MT research methods (4 types) P249--P2508、the relationship between MT and human translation P253 para. 2--49、Corpus and Corpus Linguistics (definition) P25410、The roles of corpus data （5 subtitles) P258-- P259Chapter 111、applied linguistics(definition) P266 Para.12、Dr. Ellis, who is known as the "Father of Second Language Acquisition", has served as the Director of the Institute of Language Teaching and Learning at the University of Auckland.3、Input-based teaching methods (7 approaches) (见课件）4、input hypothesis (definition) P270, para. 45、Interlanguage(definition) P271, last para.6、Dr. David C. Nunan , Director of the English Centre and Chair Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Hong Kong. He is currently serving as President of TESOL and teaches at Newport Asia Pacific University and Hong Kong University.7、Two broad types of tasks: real-world tasks and pedagogical tasks P273, para.48、Syllabus and curriculumP277, para.2; P277, para.49、Types of syllabus P 279--P280 (4 subtitles)10、Components of a syllabus P285 para.2-311、language transfer P287 para.312、Contrastive Analysis P287 para.413、Error and mistake P289 para.214、In terms of the source of errors, errors ... P289 para.3In terms of the nature of errors, errors... P289 para.4Chapter 121、About Saussure P294 para.1, para. 3, Line 1-22、The contributions of Saussure to modern linguistics (见课件）3、The differences between modern linguistics and traditional grammar(见课件）4、The most important contribution of Prague School to linguistics P296. para.3；P297.para.15、Functional Sentence Perspective P298-P299 para.16、theme and rheme P299 para.27、Representatives in London School P301.para.3-48、M A K Halliday and his Systemic-Functional GrammarSpecial features of Systemic-Functional Grammar P307 para.3;P307 para.5 —P308 para.19、transitivity choices P310 (learn to analyze examples)10、Representatives in American Structuralism :Boas , Sapir, Bloomfield11、Bloomfield contribution to English linguistics：P320-P32112、behaviorism (definition) P320 para.213、Noam Chomsky and his TG GrammarThe publication of his Syntactic Structures(1957) marked the beginning of the Chomskyan revolution14、Five stages of development of TG grammar Perspective P326, para.315、The innateness hypothesis P327 para.2LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE P327 para.316、Main features and influences of TG grammar (课件)I. Term Defining：1、Psycholinguistics is the study of psychological aspects of language. It usually studies thepsychological states and mental activity with the use of language, with focus on the process of language acquisition, language comprehension and language production. It takes upon itself the job of exploring the biological basis of human language, critical periods for child language acquisition, and the relationship between language and though t.2、Cognitive Linguistics: A newly established approach to the study of language. It is thescientific study of the relation between the way we communicate and the way we think. It is an approach to language that is based on our experience of the world and the way we perceive and conceptualize it.3、Garden Path sentences are sentences that are initially interpreted with a different structure thanthey actually have. It typically takes quite a long time to figure out what the other structure is if the first choice turns out to be incorrect. They have been “led up the garden path,” fooled into thinking the sentence has a different structure than it has. Examples are The horse raced past the barn fell. The boat floated downstream sank. While Mary was mending the sock fell off her lap.4、Corpus: is a collection of linguistic data, either compiled as written texts or as a transcription ofrecorded speech. The main purpose of a corpus is to verify a hypothesis of language.5、Corpus linguistics: an approach to investigating language structure and use through the analysisof large databases to real language examples stored on computer.6、Interlanguage is the type of language constructed by second or foreign language learners whoare still in the process of learning a language / a language system between the target language and the learner’s native language. Interlanguage is a dynamic language system, which is constantly moving from the departure level to the native-like level. It is formed when the learner attempts to learn a new language，and it has features of both the first language and the second language but is neither.7、B ehaviorism:This principle was put forward by American descriptive linguist L. BloomfieldFor Bloomfield, linguistics is a branch of psychology. And specifically of the positivistic brand of psychology known as BEHA VIOURISM. Behaviorism is a principle of scientific method, based on the belief that human beings cannot know anything they have not experienced.Behaviorism in linguistics holds that children learn language through a chain of “stimulus-response reinforcement”, and the adult’s use of language is also a process of STIMULUS-RESPONSE.8、M ethaphor: Metaphors are actually cognitive tools that help us structure our thoughts andexperiences in the world around us. It involves the comparison of two concepts in that one is constructed in terms of the other. It is often described in terms of a target domain and a source domain. The target domain is the experience being described by the metaphor and the source domain is the means that we use in order to describe the experience.9、I nput hypothesis learners acquire language as a result of comprehending input addressed tothem. Krashen brought forward the concept of “i+ 1” principle, i.e. t he language that learners are exposed to should be just far enough beyond their current competence that they can understand most of it but still be challenged to make progress. Input should neither be so far beyond their reach that they are overwhelmed, nor so close to their current level that they are not challenged at all.10、Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: It is a belief that our language helps mould our way of thinking and,consequently, different languages may probably express speakers’ unique ways of understanding the world. On the one hand, language may determine our thinking patterns. On the other hand, similarity between languages is relative. The greater their structural differentiation is, the morediverse their conceptualization of the world is. As this hypothesis was put forward by the American anthropological linguists Sapir and Whorf, it has often been called the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.II. Questions:1. What are the contributions of Saussure to modern linguistics?The revolution aspect of modern linguistics is that relations and relation system are given great priority, which was insisted by Saussure. Saussure’s contribution to modern linguistics involves the following aspects:First, Saussure proposed the direction for linguistic research and explained the tasks of linguistics. Saussure believed that language was a system constituted by signs and relations, and the aim of linguists was to analyze the system including identifying the units, explaining their relations and the rules governing their combination. Later on, it almost becomes the definition of linguistic research. Structural approach started by Saussure covers nearly all the important schools in modern linguistics, Prague school, Copenhagen school, Functionalism, American structuralism, even Norm Chomsky.Second, Saussure believed that language was a system of sense. He held that the linguistic sign unit was a concept and a sound-image. The combination of a concept and a sound-image made up the whole of the linguistic sign. Saussure called the concept signified and the sound-image signifier. The relationship between signified and signifier was arbitrary. For Saussure, meaning existed only because there were differences of meaning, and it was these differences of meanings that enabled one to establish the articulation of linguistic form.Third, Saussure proposed some basic concepts and their distinctions which were influential. They are langue and parole, synchronic and diachronic, prescriptive and descriptive, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relation.2. Why should language teachers learn some knowledge of linguistics?Some knowledge of linguistics will not only help language teachers to better understand the nature of language, but also helps them better understand how to teach language. Theoretical views of language explicitly or implicitly inform the approaches and methods adopted in language teaching. Language teachers do need theories of language in order to teach language effectively, and they need to know at least how the language they teach works. To discover the real language and to obtain some understanding of it, language teachers may well turn to linguistics. Many language learning theories are proposed based on certain linguistic theories. In fact, knowledge in linguistics lies at the root of understanding what language learners can learn, how they actually learn and what they learn ultimately. Therefore, linguistics has always played an important role in the studies of language acquisition and learning.3. In what way are language and computer related?With the development of the computer technology and internet system, more and more people touched upon the computer field. Computer has been used in the classroom for foreign language teaching and learning. CAI stands for computer-assisted instruction, which means the use of a computer in a teaching program. CAL stands for computer-assisted learning, which means the use of computer in both teaching and learning. Following CAI and CAL, CALL appears. It refers to the use of a compute in the teaching or learning of a second or foreign language. If CAI or CAL deals with teaching and learning in general, then CALL deals with language teaching and learning in particular.4、Why do we need to teach culture in our language classroom? Give examples if necessary.1) Language not only reflects culture but also is part of culture.2) Language is an indispensable carrier of culture and culture finds a better representation through language use.3) Learning a foreign language is inseparable from learning its culture. The influence of cultural knowledge on the linguistic perfomance of language learners has been identified and highlighted.4) It has repeatedly been found that learners who lack sufficient knowledge about the target language can hardly become active and appropriate language usres in their target language.5) For these reasons, the information concerning cultural differences has rightly been introduced in language classrooms of different kinds for enhancing learners’ cultural consciousness and improving their performance in cross-cultural contexts of communication.5、What is the relationship between MT and Human Translation?At the beginning of the new century, it is already apparent that MT and human translation can and will co-exist in harmony. When translation has to be of “publishable”quality, both human translation and MT have their roles.For the translation of texts where the quality of output is much less important, machine translation is often an ideal solution. It is undeniable that there are still faults in all present actual translations produced. One can still find those errors that no human translators would ever commit, such as wrong pron., incorrect choice of terms, etc. Translation is not an operation that preserves meaning. Three types of knowledge are needed so that MT systems can be improved: linguistic knowledge independent of context ( semantics); linguistic knowledge that relates to context, sometimes called pragmatic knowledge (pragmatics); common sense/real world knowledge ( non-linguistic).For the one-to-one interchange of information probably always need a human translator. As for spoken language translation, there must surely always be market for the human translator.6、How do you understand Chomsky’s LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE?Chomsky believes that language is somewhat innate, and that children are born with a Language Acquisition Device, which is a unique kind of knowledge that fits them for language learning. He argues the child comes into the world with specific innate endowment, not only with general tendencies or potentialities, but also with knowledge of the nature of the world, and specifically with the knowledge of the nature of language. According to this view, children are born with knowledge of the basic grammatical relations and categories, and this knowledge is universal. The categories and relations exist in all human languages and all human infants are born with knowledge of them. According to him, the study of language, or the structure of language, can throw some light on the nature of the human mind. This approach to language is a reaction against behaviorism in psychology and empiricism in philosophy, making linguistics a branch of psychology.。