Chapter One
I. 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 language in general.
3. Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meaningful sentences.
4. The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is
called morphology.
5. Syntax is different from morphology in that the former not only studies morphemes,
but also the combination of morphemes into words and words into sentences.
6. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to the society.
7. Modern Linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.
8. A diachronic study of language is the description of language at some point in time.
9. Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the spoken
language.
10. The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by Ferdinand
de Saussure.
II. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given.
1. Chomsky defines “competence”as the ideal user’s k______ of the rules of his
language.
2. Langue 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 rules.
3. 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.
4. Language is a system of a_____ vocal symbols used for human communication.
5. The discipline that studies the rules governing the formation of words into
permissible sentences in language is called s_____.
6. Human capacity for language has a g____ basis, but the details of language have to
be taught and learned.
7. P______ refers to the realization of langue in actual use.
8. Linguistics is generally defined as the s_____ study of language.
III. Define the following terms briefly.
1. language
2. linguistics
3. design features
4. arbitrariness
5. productivity
6. displacement
7. duality
8. competence
9. performance
10. langue
11. parole
IV. Answer the following questions briefly. Give examples for illustration if necessary.
1. Language is generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for
human communication. Explain it in detail.
2. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples.
3. How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?
4. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, not
the written？
5. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole?
V. Further reading
Books:
1.Aitchison, J. 199
2. Linguistics. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
2.Sapir, E. 2002. Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech.Beijing:
Foreign Language Teaching and Researching Press.
3.Widdowson, H. G. 1996. Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4.刘润清等编著，1990，《语言学入门》，北京：人民教育出版社。
VI. Websites:
1.Introduction to linguistics
http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb8/misc/lfb/html/text/startlfbframeset.html
2.Linguistics link
/resources/ling
3.Resources of scholarly societies—Linguistics
/lilnguistics_soc.html
VII. Linguist’s Biography
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)
/glossary/people/s/a.htm
