英语专业英语语言学 配套练习题第一章Chapter One

《语言学练习题》Unit 1■ ExercisesTask 1: Reference SearchFind in the library or online some information about the following themes:a. Esperantounderstanding between people with different regional and/or national languages.learned Esperanto from their parents as one of their native languages. Esperanto is spoken in about 115 countries. Usage is particularly1905. Since then congresses have been held in various countries every year with the exception of years in which there were world wars.language that adhered to the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessmentthat learning Esperanto may provide a superior foundation for learning languages in general, and some primary schools teach it as preparation for learning other foreign languagesGoals of the movementZamenhof's intention was to create an easy-to-learn language to foster international understanding. It was to serve as an international auxiliary language, that is, as a universal second language, not to replace ethnic languages. This goal was widely shared among Esperanto speakers in the early decades of the movement. Later, Esperanto speakers began to see the language and the culture that had grown up around it as ends in themselves, even if Esperanto is never adopted by the United Nations or other international organizations.from fina venko, meaning "final victory", or pracelistoj, from pracelo, meaning "original goal".Those who focus on the intrinsic value ofand the value of Esperanto culture was made at the International Youth Congress in 1980. These categories are, however, not mutually exclusive.Esperanto Associationb. phatic communionSmall talk is an informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be addressed. Small talk is conversation for its own sake, or "…comments on what is perfectly obvious." The phenomenon of small talk was initially studied in 1923 by Bronisław Malinowski, who coined the term "phatic communication" to describe it. The ability to conduct small talk is a social skill, hence small talk is some type of social communication. Early publications assume networked work positions as suitable for social communication.In spite of seeming to have little useful purpose, small talk is a bonding ritual and a strategy for managing interpersonal distance. It serves many functions in helping to define the relationships between friends, work colleagues, and new acquaintances. In particular, it helps newacquaintances to explore and categorize each other's social position. Small talk is closely related to the need for people to maintain positive face — to feel approved-of by those who are listening to them. It lubricates social interactions in a very flexible way, although the desired function is often dependent on the point in the conversation at which the small talk occurs.c. Ferdinand de SaussureFerdinand de Saussure (26 November 1857 –22 February 1913) was a Swiss linguist whose ideas laid a foundation for manylinguistics. However, most modern linguists and philosophers of language consider his ideas outdated. Some philosophers of language, though mainly literary theorists, believe that these critics are themselves applying outdated argumentation to portray Saussurean ideas asd. Language acquisition device (LAD)The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is a postulated "organ" of the brain that is supposed to function as a congenital device forcapacity which enables an infant to acquire and produce language. It is component of the nativist theory of language. This theory asserts that humans are born with the instinct or "innate facility" for acquiring language. Chomsky has gradually abandoned the LAD in favor of a parameter-setting model of language acquisition (principles and parameters).Chomsky motivated the LAD hypothesis by what he perceived as intractable complexity of language acquisition, citing the notion ofemphasized the importance of the interaction between biological and social (nature and nurture) aspects of language acquisition. Differing from the behaviorists who emphasize the importance of social interactions in language acquisition, Chomsky (1965) set out an innate language schema which provides the basis for the child‘s acquisition of a language. Th e acquisition process takes place in an infants mind because of this mental organ which enables him/her to speak despite the limited nature of the Primary Linguistic Data (PLD, the input signals received) and the degenerate nature (frequent incorrect usage, utterances of partial sentences) of that data. Giventhis poverty of the stimulus, a language acquisition model requires a number of components. Firstly, the child must have a technique for representing input signals and, secondly, a way of representing structural information about them. Thirdly, there must be some initial delimitation of the class of possible language structure hypotheses. Fourthly, the child requires a method for determining what each of these hypotheses implies with respect to each sentence. Finally, an additional method is needed by which the child can select which hypothesis is compatible with the PLD.Equipped with this endowment, first language learning is explained as performed by a Language Acquisition Device progressing through the following stages:1.The device searches the class of language structure hypotheses and selects those compatible with input signals and structural information drawn from the PLD.2.The device then tests the compatibility using the knowledge of implications of each hypothesis for the sentences.3.One hypothesis or ‗grammar‘ is selected as being compatible with the PLD.4.This grammar provides the device with a method of interpreting sentences (by virtue of its capacity for internally representing structural information and applying the grammar to sentences).Through this process the device constructs a theory of the language of which the PLD are a sample. Chomsky argues that in this way, the child comes to know a great deal more than she has ‗learned‘, acquiring a knowledge of language, which "goes far beyond the p resented primary linguistic data and is in no sense an 'inductive generalization' from these data."and that it becomes unavailable after a certain age.e. Innate Hypothesischildren and adults) of additional languages.groups.which a child is born prepared in some manner with these capacities, as opposed to the other theories in which language is simply learned. Task 3: Study Questions2. Can our pets learn human languages? Why or why not?They can learn several simple words, but they can‘t learn human language. The key difference between human language and animal‘s language is whether they can be used to describe unknown concepts. We human-beings can introduce something to others and they can easily understand, even though they have never heard of the object before. However, animals lack the ability to imagine unknown things. Therefore, though our pets, such as dogs, can reach an intelligent level as high as a 4-year-old child, which means they can master several words, they can never truly acquire human language.3. What role does body language have in language communication?Body language works as subsidiary role, helping others to understand our attitude better. When we communicating, our body language can show our feelings, convey our emotion and indicate our attitude. However, it means we may unconsciously betray our ideas which we don‘t want to tell others.4. The naturally occurring ―experiments‖ with so-called ―wolf-children‖, ―bear-children‖, ―Mowgli‖ or ―monkey-children‖ and other such feral youngsters have been widely reported for hundreds of years. None of them could speak or understand speech and, indeed, most efforts to teach them language ended in failure. How world you account for such phenomena?The acquirement of language is a special ability, which is firmly related to both innate talent and postnatal practice. Most importantly, it becomes unavailable after a certain age. Therefore, the reason that those feral children can’t learn human language is that they haven’t received enough education and practice of speaking, which did harm to their language abilities. 6．Iconicity of language is an aspect of language where form echoes meaning. Onomatopoeia, also known as ―sound symbolism‖, is one type of iconicity. Some researchers have found other evidence of iconicity. For example, words beginning with the sound combination sl- in English often have an unpleasant sense, as in slithering, slimy, slugs. Here are some questions:a. Is the ―unpleasant‖ sense actually true of all, or even most, words beginning with sl- in English?Yes, most English words beginning with the sound combination sl- contain negative meanings.b. Are there any other sounds or sound combinations that you associate with particular meanings? (Hint: slide, slip, slippery; tumble, crumble, stumble)-ash与猛烈撞击有关(clash冲突,bash怒殴,smash打碎,crash坠毁,splash飞溅,lash鞭打,gnash咬,mash捣碎)fl-表示运动(如flutter慌乱,fly飞翔,flit掠过,float漂浮,flap拍打,flip挥动,fling扔)gl-与光线和视觉有关(如glitter闪光,glisten闪光,glow发光,glimmer闪光,glint闪闪发亮,gleam闪烁,glare闪耀等) c. How about the vowel sounds in words that identify near-to-speaker concepts (this, near, here) versus far-from-speaker concepts (that, far, there)? What is the difference? Is it a general pattern distinguishing terms for things that are near versus far in English? What about the case in Chinese?近指词含有/:i/或/i/，远指词含有/a/或/a:/与水有关的“滴di、池chi、溪xi、河he、湖hu、潭tan、海hai、洋yang”等词表示的概念由小及大,其元音亦相应变化：由i至a7. In many of the world‘s languages there are so-called nursery names for parents. In English, for example, corresponding to the word mother is the nursery name mama, to the father one finds dada and papa. There is remarkable similarity across different languages in the form of these nursery names for parents. For example, in Chinese and Navajo ma corresponds to English mama. Why do you think that this is the case?It shows that there are some amazing similarities among different languages. As different as English and Chinese, which belongs to two families of languages, there are such similarities. The similarities of two languages spoken by people from remote places indicate that languages might be firmly related to some human natures.Task 4: Comment WorkIn this century it (the Whorfian Hypothesis) was given special attention through the work of Edward Sapir and, more importantly, Benijamin Lee Whorf. Working on American Indian languages, especially Hopi, the language of the Pueblo Indians of Arizona, Whorf became acutely aware of the inadequacies of traditional grammatical techniques built on Indo-European languages, especially Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit, for dealing with non-Indo-European languages. Experience of American and Hopi culture suggested to Whorf that the cultures and thought processes were different because their languages were so different. This led him to establish:… what I have called the ―linguistic relativity principle,‖ which means, in informal terms, that users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammars toward different types of observation, and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the world.A more succinct version of this claim: ―We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native language,‖ came to be known as the ―Whorfian hypothesis.‖ Language influences thought, it was claimed; mind is in the grip of language.(Elizabeth Traugott and Marry Pratt, Linguistics for Students of Literature, p.106) Questions:a. Do you buy the contention that language determines the way we think?Yes, I believe at least to some extent, language can influence the way we thinkb. Germany is a country rich in great philosophers. Do you think that has to do with the language Germans speak?Yes, I think so.****************************************************************************Language acquisition is a creative process. Children are not given explicit information about the rules, by either instruction or correction. They must somehow extract the rules of the grammar form the language they hear around them, and their linguistic environment does not need to be special in any way for them to do this. Observations of children acquiring different languages under different cultural and social circumstances reveal that the developmental stages are similar, possibly universal. Even deaf children of deaf signing parents go through stages in their signing development that parallel those of children acquiring spoken languages. These factors lead many linguists to believe that children are equipped with an innate template or blueprint for language –Universal Grammar(UG) –and this blueprint aids the child in the task of constructing a grammar for her language. This is referred to as the innateness hypothesis.(Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman and Nia Hyams, An Introduction to Language, pp.347-348) Questions:a. Do you think the inborn device can work independently of the environment?No, I don‘t think so. Anyhow, the only source of the language we are learning is the environment. The ones without an appreciate environment, such as feral children, will surely fail to master human language.b. Collect some examples from Chinese infants that prove the creative nature of language acquisition.Task 5: Mini-ProjectRandomly select 10 most commonly used words and 10 infrequently used words from English vocabulary list. Compare and find if there is a possible correspondence between the size of words and the frequency of usage (e.g. the more common the word, the smaller it is). If so, can you work out any plausible explanation?The simpler a word is, the easier it is to be used. So a commonly used word must be a more simply used one. Also, if a word is widely used, it would be transformed into a simpler form.■ Recommended ReadingsReading 2Recent experiments with chimpanzees suggest that certain animals can not only learn individual symbols (in this sense manual rather than vocal signs), but can also learn to combine them in ways reminiscent of sentences like Give me key. However, as far as we know, they cannot do certain things which all human speakers can –they do not appear to be able to learn sign language without specific instruction, and they cannot, on the basis of a small number of elements and relations between them, create an infinite number of messages.When linguists speak of the ―creativity‖ of human language, they are usually referring to these two characteristics. Anyone who knows a language is able, without specific instruction, to produce and understand utterances which have never been heard before but which are possible within the system. You are using this ability right now to read this book, and you rely on it nearly every time you talk. Certainly, language does include some fixed routines like greetings, farewells, toasts, and a wide variety of other relatively fixed utterances which function in the society as gestures of group solidarity, somewhat like the mutual grooming of monkeys. But obviously, humans are not limited to such routines. The number of sentences possible in a human language is infinite in principle, for there is no limit on how long a sentence can be. it makes no sense to say, for example, that the longest sentence in English (or any other language) is a thousand words long,since, for any longest sentence, someone can propose another even longer. The easiest way to lengthen a sentence is to add parts introduced by and. More complex, but equally infinite structures can be created using subordinating relations, as in I expect you to force Bill to leave. Structures of this sort can be recycled, as in this line from Thom Gunn‘s poem ―Carnal Knowledge”, which theoretically could go on forever:You know I know you know I know you know.To sum up, the creativity of language consists in this fact: The number of elements and rules in the system is finite, while the number and length of utterances the system can produce is infinite. In this respect, linguistic systems are somewhat like the number system. given any number, one can always construct a larger number by addition or multiplication. In practice, we are limited, of course, by space, time, memory, interest, and many different factors, so that no actual sentence will ever be infinitely long. But what is important is that the system has this potential.(Elizabeth Traugott and Marry Pratt, Linguistics for Students of Literature, pp.8-9) Food for Thought:a. The technical term for describing the property of structures like ―I know you know I know …‖is recursion. Apart from those types of recursive use, can you think of other types in English?b. Does Chinese have similar devices for recursive construction of sentences?Yes，你知我知你知我知……c. Can traffic signals employ recursion for more powerful functions?No, recursion is really hard for ordinary people to understand and can cause much delay, which will bring lots of trouble to the traffic system.Reference: 《论语音象征》——吴汉Wikipedia。

Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics1. Define the following terms:design feature: the distinctive features of human language that essentially make human language distinguishable from languages of animals.function: the role language plays in communication (e.g. to express ideas, attitudes) or in particular social situations (e.g. religious, legal).synchronic: said of an approach that studies language at a theoretical ‘point’ in time.diachronic: said of the study of development of language and languages over time. prescriptive: to make authoritarian statement about the correctness of a particular use of language.descriptive: to make an objective and systematic account of the patterns and use of a language or variety.arbitrariness: the absence of any physical correspondence between linguistic signals and the entities to which they refer.duality: the structural organization of language into two abstract levels: meaningful units (e.g. words) and meaningless segments (e.g. sounds, letters).displacement: the ability of language to refer to contexts removed from the speaker’s immediate situation.phatic communion: said of talk used to establish atmosphere or maintain social contact.metalanguage: a language used for talking about language.macrolinguistics: a broad conception of linguistic enquiry, including psychological, cultural, etc.competence: unconscious knowledge of the system of grammatical rules in a language.performance: the language actually used by people in speaking or writing.langue: the language system shared by a “speech community”.parole: the concrete utterances of a speaker.2. Consult at least four introductory linguistics textbooks (not dictionaries), and copy the definitions of “language” that each gives. After carefully comparing the definitions, write a paper discussing which points recur and explaining the significance of the similarities and differences among the definitions.ANSWER:All the definitions should not exclude the description of design features that have been mentioned in this course book. Also it will be better if other design features, say, interchangeability or cultural transmission is included. But it seems impossible to give an unimpeachable definition on language, because the facets people want to emphasize are seldom unanimous. To compare several definitions can make you realize where the argument is.3. Can you think of some words in English which are onomatopoeic?ANSWERS:creak: the sound made by a badly oiled door when it opens.cuckoo: the call of cuckoo.bang: a sudden loud noise.roar: a deep loud continuing sound.buzz: a noise of buzzing.hiss: a hissing sound.neigh: the long and loud cry that a horse makes.mew: the noise that a gull makes.bleat: the sound made by a sheep, goat or calf.4. Do you think that onomatopoeia indicates a non-arbitrary relationship between form and meaning?ANSWER:4. No matter you say "Yes" or "No", you cannot deny that onomatopoeia needs arbitrariness. Before we feel a word is onomatopoeic we should first know which sound the word imitates. Just as what is said in Chapter One, in order to imitate the noise of flying mosquitoes, there are many choices like "murmurous" and "murderous". They both bear more or less resemblance to the genuine natural sound, but "murmurous" is fortunately chosen to mean the noise while "murderous" is chosen to mean something quite different. They are arbitrary as signifiers.5. A story by Robert Louis Stevenson contains the sentence “As the night fell, the wind rose.” Could this be expressed as “As the wind rose, the night fell?” If not, why? Does this indicate a degree of non-arbitrariness about word order? (Bolinger, 1981: 15)5. Yes. It is a case in point to illustrate non-arbitrariness about word order. When the two parts interchange, the focus and the meaning of the sentence is forced to change, because clauses occurring in linear sequence without time indicators will be taken as matching the actual sequence of happening. The writer’s original intention is distorted, and we can feel it effortlessly by reading. That is why systemic-functionalists and American functionalists think language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level.6. Does the traffic light system have duality? Can you explain by drawing a simple graph?6. Traffic light does not have duality. Obviously, it is not a double-level system. There is only one-to-one relationship between signs and meaning but the meaning units cannot be divided into smaller meaningless elements further. So the traffic light only has the primary level and lacks the secondary level like animals’ calls.ANSWER:Red→stopGreen→goYellow→get ready to go or stop7. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for the creativity of language. Can you write a recursive sentence following the example in section 1.3.3.ANSWER:Today I encountered an old friend who was my classmate when I was in elementary school where there was an apple orchard in which we slid to select ripe apples that…8. Communication can take many forms, such as sign, speech, body language and facial expression. Do body language and facial expression share or lack the distinctive properties of human language?ANSWER:On a whole, body language and facial expression lack most of the distinctive properties of human language such as duality, displacement, creativity and so on. Body language exhibits arbitrariness a little bit. For instance, nod means "OK/YES" for us but in Arabian world it is equal to saying "NO". Some facial expressions have non-arbitrariness because they are instinctive such as the cry and laugh of a newborn infant.9. Do you agree with the view that no language is especially simple?ANSWER:Yes. All human languages are complicated systems of communication. It is decided by their shared design features.10. What do you think of Bertrand Russell’s observation of the dog language: “No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest”? Are you familiar with any type of ways animals communicate among themselves and with human beings? ANSWER:When gazelles sense potential danger, for example, they flee and thereby signal to other gazellesin the vicinity that danger is lurking. A dog signals its wish to be let inside the house by barking and signals the possibility that it might bite momentarily by displaying its fangs.11.Can you mention some typical expressions of phatic communion in Chinese? There is the dialog between Ms. P and Ms. Q. in section 1.5.5. When someone sneezes violently, do you say anything of the nature of phatic communion? Have you noticed your parents or grandparents say something special on such an occasion?Some of the typical phatic expressions in Chinese are: 吃了吗？家里都好吧？这是去哪里啊？最近都挺好的？ANSWER:If someone is sneezing violently, maybe you parents and grandparents may say: “Are you ok?”, “Do you need to see a doctor?”, “Do you need some water?”, “Do you need a handkerchief?”, “Do you have a cold?” or something like these to show their concerns.12．There are many expressions in language which are metalingual or self-reflexives, namely, talking about talk and think about thinking, for instance, to be honest, to make a long story short, come to think of it, on second thought, can you collect a few more to make a list of these expressions? When do we use them most often?ANSWER:To tell the truth, frankly speaking, as a matter of fact, to be precise, in other words, that is to saySuch expressions are used most frequently when we want to expatiate the meaning of former clauses in anther way in argumentation.13. Comment on the following prescriptive rules. Do you think they are acceptable?(A) It is I.(B) It is me.You should say A instead of B because “be” should be followed by the nominative case, not the accusative according to the rules in Latin.(A) Who did you speak to?(B) Whom did you speak to?You should say B instead of A.(A) I haven't done anything.(B) I haven't done nothing.B is wrong because two negatives make a positive.ANSWER:(1) the Latin rule is not universal. In English, me is informal and I is felt to be very formal.(2) Whom is used in formal speech and in writing; who is more acceptable in informal speech.(3) Language does not have to follow logic reasoning. Here two negative only make a more emphatic negative. This sentence is not acceptable in Standard English not because it is illogical, but because language changes and rejects this usage now.14. The prescriptivism in grammar rules has now shifted to prescriptions in choice of words. In the “guidelines on anti-sexist language” issued by the British sociological association, someguidelines are listed below. Do you think they are descriptive and prescriptive? What’s your comment on them?(1) Do not use man to mean humanity in general. Use person, people, human beings, men and women, humanity and humankind.(2) colored: This term is regarded as outdated in the UK and should be avoided as it is generally viewed as offensive to many black people.(3) civilized: This term can still carry racist overtones which derive from a colonialist perception of the world. It is often associated with social Darwinist thought and is full of implicit value judgments and ignorance of the history of the non-industrialized world.ANSWER:They are undoubtedly descriptive. Guidelines are not rules that can determine whether a sentence is right or not. The guidelines advise you to avoid the use of particular words that are grammatically correct but offensive to some certain groups. Actually, they describe the way anti-sexist advocators speak and write.15. Why is the distinction between competence and performance an important one in linguistics? Do you think the line can be neatly drawn between them? How do you like the concept “communicative competence”?ANSWER:This is proposed by Chomsky in his formalist linguistic theories. It is sometimes hard to draw a strict line. Some researchers in applied linguistics think communicative competence may be a more revealing concept in language teaching than the purely theoretical pair—competence and performance.16. Which branch of linguistics do you think will develop rapidly in China and why?It is up to you to decide after you have gone through the whole book. At this stage, we suggest all branches of linguistics have the potential to flourish.17. The following are some well-known ambiguous sentences in syntactic studies of language. Can you disambiguate them?The chicken is too hot to eat.Flying planes can be dangerous.ANSWER:The chicken is too hot to eat.The chicken meat is too hot, so it cannot be eaten at the moment.The chicken feels so hot (maybe after some intense aerobic exercises) that it cannot start eating and needs to calm down first.Flying planes can be dangerous.The ambiguity comes from "flying planes". It can be deciphered as "the planes that is flying" or "to fly planes".18. There are many reasons for the discrepancy between competence and performance in normal language users. Can you think of some of them?ANSWEREthnic background, socioeconomic status, region of the country, and physical state (such as intoxication, fatigue, distraction, illness) vary from individual to individual.19. What do these two quotes reveal about the different emphasis or perspectives of language studies?(1) A human language is a system of remarkable complexity. To come to know a human language would be an extraordinary intellectual achievement for a creature not specifically designed to accomplish this task. A normal child acquires this knowledge on relatively slight exposure and without specific training. He can then quite effortlessly make use of an intricate structure of specific rules and guiding principles to convey his thoughts and feelings to others, ... Thus language is a mirror of mind in a deep and significant sense. It is a product of human intelligence, created anew in each individual by operations that lie far beyond the reach of will or consciousness.(Noam Chomsky: Reflections on Language. 1975: 4)(2) It is fairly obvious that language is used to serve a variety of different needs, but until we examine its grammar there is no clear reason for classifying its uses in any particular way. However, when we examine the meaning potential of language itself, we find that the vast numbers of options embodied in it combine into a very few relatively independent “networks”; and these networks of options correspond to certain basic functions of language. This enables us to give an account of the different functions of language that is relevant to the general understanding of linguistic structure rather than to any particular psychological or sociological investigation. (M. A. K. Halliday, 1970: 142)ANSWER:The first quote shows children’s inborn ability of acquiring the knowledge of intricate structure of specific rules. It implies that the language user's underlying knowledge about the system of rules is the valuable object of study for linguists. The second attaches great importance to the functions of language. It regards the use of language as the choice of needed function. The meaning of language can be completely included by a few “networks” which is directly related to basic functions of language. It indicates the necessity to study the functions of language.20. You may be familiar with the following proverbs. How do you perceive them according to the arbitrariness and conventionality of language?The proof of the pudding is in the eating.Let sleeping dogs lie.You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.Rome was not built in a day.When in Rome, do as the Romans do.All roads lead to Rome.ANSWER:20. Arbitrariness and conventionality derive from the choice of the subject matter. For example, in the “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” The word “pudding” is selected arbitrarily, for we can use another word such as cheese instead of pudding without changing the associative meaning of the proverb. On the other hand, once such links between particular words and associativemeaning are fixed, it becomes a matter of conventionality.21. Give examples of situations in which a usage generally considered non-standard (e.g. ain’t) would be acceptable, even appropriate.ANSWER21. In the talks between intimate friends, one may say “gimme that!” instead of “give me that!” and “wachya doin’?” instead of “what are you doing?” and this list may go on.22. The following are some book titles of linguistics. Can you judge the diachronic and diachronic orientation just from the titles?English Examined: Two centuries of Comment on the Mother-Tongue.Protean Shape: A Study in Eighteenth-century Vocabulary and Usage.Pejorative Sense Development in English.The Categories and Types of Present-Day English Word-Formation.Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular.ANSWER22. Synchronic:Protean Shape: A Study in Eighteenth-century Vocabulary and Usage.The Categories and Types of Present-Day English Word-Formation.Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular.Diachronic:English Examined: Two centuries of Comment on the Mother-Tongue.Pejorative Sense Development in English。

英语专业语言学第一章练习Chapter 1 IntroductionI. Directions: Read each of the following statements carefully. Decide which oneof the four choices best completes the statement and choose the letter A, B, Cor D.1. deals with how language is acquired, understood and produced.A. SociolinguisticsB. PsycholinguisticsC. PragmaticsD. Morphology2. The fact that ability to speak a language is transmitted from generation to generation by aprocess of learning, and not genetically is usually referred to asA. performanceB. language acquisitionC. cultural transmissionD. competence3. made the distinction between langue and parole.A. ChomskyB. SaussureC. SapirD. Hall4. Modern linguistics, i, e., linguistic study carried out in this century is mostlythat is, it describes and analyses language.A. descriptiveB. prescriptiveC. synchronicD. diachronic5. Writing is a secondary language form based upon .A. speechB. gestureC. emotionD. sounds6. deals with language application to other fields, particularly education.A. Linguistic geographyB. SociolinguisticsC. Applied linguisticsD. Comparative linguistics7. As modern linguistics aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, and not tolay down rules for “correct” linguistic behavior, it is said to beA. prescriptiveB. sociolinguisticC. descriptiveD. psycholinguistic8. Many modern linguists have criticized grammarians for adopting a approachto language study.A. analyticalB. descriptiveC. prescriptiveD. pedagogical9. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, the famous quotation from Shakespeare’splay “Romeo and Juliet” well illustrates .A. the conventional nature of languageB. the creative nature of languageC. the universality of languageD. the big difference between human language and animal communication10. The fact that different languages have different words for the same object is good proof thathuman language is .A. arbitraryB. non-arbitraryC. logicalD. non-productive11. Linguistics is the scientific study of .A. a particular languageB. the English languageC. human languages in generalD. the system of a particular languageII. Directions: Fill in the blank in each of the following statements with one word, the first letter of which is already given as a clue. Note that you are to fill in ONE word only, and you are not allowed to change the letter given.1. Language is a system of a vocal symbols used for human communication.2. S is concerned with the diversity of language as it relates to various sociological factors.3. The description of a language as it changes through time is a d study.4. L refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.5. Language is p in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of newsignals by its users.6. Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This is what d means.7. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to bed .8. Chomsky defines “competence” as the ideal user’s k of the rules of his language.9. Language is v because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter howwell developed their writing systems are.10. In the course of time, the study of language has come to establish close links with otherbranches of s studies, such as sociology and psychology.11. Language exists in time and changes through tine. The description of language at some pointof time is called a s study of language.12. As the first step of their scientific investigation of language, linguists have to observe andcollect linguistic f before they can do anything else.III. Directions: Judge whether each of the following statements is true or false. Put a T for true or F for false in the brackets in front of each statement.( ) 1. Competence means the actual saying of something, or the act of speech itself.( ) 2. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive.( ) 3.Writing is the quickest and the most efficient of the three human communication systems. ( ) 4. Language is a system of arbitrary written symbols used for human communication. ( ) 5. In modern linguistics, the written form of language is given more emphasis than the spoken form for a number of reasons.( ) 6. Language is a purely human and instinctive method of communicating ideas by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols.( ) 7. Language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages.( ) 8. In modern linguistics, diachronic study seems to enjoy priority over synchronic study. ( ) 9. In the history of any language the writing system always came into being before the spoken form.( ) 10. Human capacity for language has a genetic basis, i. e. we are all born with the ability to acquire language and details of a language system are genetically transmitted.( ) 11. An important difference between traditional grammarians and modern linguists in theirstudy of language is that the former tended to over-emphasize the written form oflanguage and encourage people to imitate the “best authors” for language usage.IV. Explain the following linguistic terms or notions in English.1．design features2．langue and parole3．competence and performance4.duality5.displacement6.synchronic descriptionV. Revision Exercises : 2, 3, 6, 8。

（完整word版）新编简明英语语言学教程复习资料Chapter one Introduction一、定义1.语言学LinguisticsLinguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.2.普通语言学General LinguisticsThe study of language as a whole is often called General linguistics.3.语言languageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.语言是人类用来交际的任意性的有声符号体系。

4.识别特征Design FeaturesIt refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication.语言识别特征是指人类语言区别与其他任何动物的交际体系的限定性特征。

Arbitrariness任意性Productivity多产性Duality双重性Displacement移位性Cultural transmission文化传递The design features mentioned in the course book include arbitrariness, productivity or creativity, duality, displacement and cultural transmission.By arbitrariness it is meant that the symbols used in human language are arbitrary, i.e. there is no logical connection between the symbols and what they stand for.The feature of productivity means that language is productive or creative, i.e. it is possible for its users to construct and understand an unlimited number of sentences, includingsentences they have never heard before.Duality is a feature of the structure of the human language system, which consists of two levels. At the lower level there exist a limited number of sounds which are meaningless, while at the higher level these meaningless sounds can be arranged and rearranged in various ways to form meaningful language units, unlimited in number.The feature of displacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or unreal, in the past, present, or future.Cultural transmission, in contrast to genetic transmission, refers to the fact that human babies, though born with the ability to acquire a language, must be taught to use it.5.语言能力CompetenceCompetence is the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language.6.语言运用performancePerformance is the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication.语言运用是所掌握的规则在语言交际中的体现。

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 thedesign 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 largenumber 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./doc/89c6d25c0912a21615792901.ht ml 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 nonatural 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 communi cation.”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 ro se，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 theunconscious.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 systemicfunctionalists 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.。

Chapter One Introduction to LinguisticsI. Mark the choice that best completes the statement.1.All languages’ have three major components: a sound system ,a system of___and a system of semantics.A. morphologyB. lexicogrammarC. syntaxD. meaning2.Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary?A.treeB.typewriterC.bowwowD.bang3.The function of the sentence Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade is ___.A.interpersonalB.emotivermativeD.performative4.In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say 碎碎（岁岁）平安as a means of controlling the forces which they believe might affect their lives. Which function does it perform?A.interpersonalB.emotivermativeD.performative5.Which of the following property of language enables language users to overcome the barriers caused by time and place of speaking (due to this feature of language, speakers of a language are free to talk about anything in any situation)?A. TransferabilityB. DualityC. DisplacementD. Arbitrariness6. What language function does the following conversation play?(The two chatters just met and were starting their conversation by the following dialogue.)A：A nice day, isn’t it?B : Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.A.EmotiveB. PhaticC. PerformativeD. Interpersonal7.------- refers to the actual realization of the ideal language user’s knowledge of the rules of his language in utterances.A.PerformativepetenceC. LangueD. Parole8.When a dog is barking, you assume it is barking for something or at someone that exists here and now. It couldn’t be sorrowful for some lost love or lost bone.This indicates that dog’s language does not have the feature of --------- .A. ReferenceB. ProductivityC. DisplacementD.Duality9.--------- answers such questions as we as infants acquire our first language.A. PsycholinguisticsB. Anthropological linguisticsC. SociolinguisticsD. Applied linguistics10.-------- deals with the study of dialects in different social classes in a particular region.A. Linguistic theoryB. Practical linguisticsC. SociolinguisticsD. Comparative linguisticsII. M ark the following statements with “T” if they are true or “F” if they are false.(10%)1. The widely accepted meaning of arbitrariness was discussed by Chomsky first.2. For learners of a foreign language, it is arbitrariness that is more worth noticing than its conventionality.3. Displacement benefits human beings by giving them the power to handlegeneralizations and abstractions.4. For Jakobson and the Prague school structuralists, the purpose of communication is to refer.5. Interpersonal function is also called ideational function in the framework of functional grammar.6. Emotive function is also discussed under the term expressive function.7. The relationship between competence and performance in Chomsky’s theory is that between a language community and an individual language user.8.A study of the features of the English used in Shakespeare’s time is an example of the diachronic study of language.9.Articulatory phonetics investigates the properties of the sound waves.10.The nature of linguistics as a science determines its preoccupation with prescription instead of description.III．Fill in each of the following blanks with an appropriate word. The first letterof the word is already given(10％)1.Nowadays, two kinds of research methods co-exist in linguistic studies, namely,qualitative and q__________ research approaches.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 as p__________.nguage has many functions. We can use language to talk about language. This function is m__________function.4.The claim that language originated by primitive man involuntary making vocal noises while performing heavy work has been called the y＿theory.5.P________ is often said to be concerned with the organization of speech within specific language, or with the systems and patterns of sounds that occur in particular language.6.Modern linguistics is d＿in the sense that linguist tires to discover what language is rather than lay down some rules for people to observe.7.One general principle of linguistics analysis is the primacy of s___________over writing.8.The description of a language as it changes through time is a d___________ linguistic study.9.Saussure put forward the concept l__________ to refer to the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community.10.Linguistic potentia l is similar to Saussure’ s langue and Chomsky’ s c__________. IV. Explain the following concepts or theories.1.Design features2.Displacementpetence4.Synchronic linguisticsV. Answer the following question briefly.(10%)1.Why do people take duality as one of the important design features of human languages?Can you tell us what language would be like if it had no such design features?2.How can we use language to do things? Please give two examples to show this point.II. Fill in each of the following blanks with (an) appropriate word(s).1. Language is ____________in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act.2. Language is_____________ and__________ 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.3.The features that define our human languages can be called_____________, which include____________, _____________, ______________, _____________.4.________is the opposite side of arbitrariness.5.The fact that in the system of spoken language, we have the primary units as words and secondary units as sound shows that language has the property of___________.nguage is resourceful because of its_____________ and its___________, which contributes to the_____________ of language.7._______benefits human beings by giving them the power to handle generalization and abstractions.8.In Jakobson’s version, there are six functions of language, namely, ____________, _____________, _______________, ________________, ________________and metalingual function.9.When people use language to express attitudes, feelings and emotions, people are using the _____________ function of language in Jakobson’s version.10.In functional grammar, language has three metafunctions, namely, _____________,____________________,__________________.11.Among Halliday’s three metafunctions______________creates relevance to context.12.The________________function of language is primary to change the social status of persons.13.Please name five main branch of linguistics:___________________________,___________________,_____________ _____, _____________________and ____________________.14.In________________phonetics,we study the speech sounds produced by articulatory organs by identifying and classifying the individual sounds.15.In________________phonetics,we focus on the way in which the listener analyzes or processes a sound wave16.________________is the minimal unit of meaning.17.The study of sounds used in linguistic communication is called_______________.18.The study of how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication is called_________________.19.The study of the way in which symbols represent sounds in linguist communicate are arranged to form words has constituted the branch of study called_____________.20.The study of rules which governs the combinations of words to form permissible sentences constitutes a major branch of linguistic studies that is_________________.21.The fact that we have alliteration in poems is probably because of the__________________ function of language.III. Mark the choice that best completes the statement.1.The description of a language at some print in time is a_______________ study.A.descriptiveB. prescriptiveC. synchronicD. diachronic2. According to Chomsky, a speaker can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentence because_______A. he has come across all of them in his lifeB. he has internalized a set of rules about his languageC. he has acquired the ability through the act of communicating with others language3.Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole is very similar to Chomsky’s distinction between competence and performance, but Saussure takes a ____________view of language and Chomsky looks at language from a__________ point of viewA. sociological, psychologicalB. psychological, sociologicalC. biological, psychologicalD. psychological, biological4.The fact that there is no intrinsic connection between the word pen and the thing we write with indicates language is______A. arbitraryB. rule-governedC. appliedD. illogical5.We can understand and produce an infinitely large number of sentence including sentences we never heard before, because language is______A.creativeB. arbitraryC. limitlessD. resourceful6.______means language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situation of the speakerA.DualityB. DisplacementC. productivityD. Arbitrariness7.______examines how meaning is encoded in a languageA.PhoneticsB. syntaxC. SemanticD. Pragmatics8.______is concerned with the internal organization of words.A.MorphologyB. syntaxC. SemanticD. phonology9.______refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaningA.DualityB. Arbitrariness C .Replacement D. Creativity10.______of language makes it potentially creative, and______ of language makes learning a language laboriousA. Conventionality, arbitrarinessB. Arbitrariness, replacementC. Arbitrariness, conventionalityD. Conventionality, arbitrariness11.When people use language to indulge in itself for its own sake, people are using the______ function of languageA.poeticB. creativeC. phaticD. metalingual12.____proposes a theory of metafunctions of language.A.ChomskyB.SaussureC.JacobsonD. Halliday13.____function constructs a model of experience and constructs logical relations.A.InterpersonalB. TextualC. LogicalD. Ideational14.Interpersonal function enacts_________ relationship.A.socialB. experientialC. textualD. personal15.By_____________ function people establish and maintain their status in society.A.e xperientialB. referentialC. metalingualD. Interpersonal16.The study of the description and classification of speech sounds, words and connected speech belongs to the study of_____.A.phonologyB. phoneticsC. morphologyD. syntax17.In__________ phonetics, we investigate the properties of the sound waves.A.articulatoryB. acousticC. auditoryD. sound18.French distinguishes between nouns like GARE(station)which is feminine and nouns like TRAIN which is masculine. This shows that French is a language which____.A.is illogicalB. has grammatical genderC.has biological genderD. has two casespetence, in the linguistic sense of the word, is______.A.pragmatic skillB. intuitive knowledge of languageC.perfect knowledge of language skillD. communicative ability20.French has Tu (means: you) aimer a (means: will love) Jean and English has You will love Jean. This shows us that____.A. both languages are alike in expressing future timeB.Both languages have a future tense but English requires more wordsC.English is loose while French is compactD.French forms its future tense by adding a special suffix21.Knowing how to say something appropriate in a given situation and with exactly the effect you intend is a question of the_____A.lexisB. syntaxC. semanticsD. pragmatics22.A(n)_____is a speaker/listener who is a member of homogeneous speech community, who knows language perfectly and is not affected by memory limitations or distractions.A. perfect language userB. ideal language userC. proficient userD. native language userIV. Analyze the following with your linguistic knowledge.e the following two examples to support the idea that language is not all arbitrary.a.They married and had a baby.b.They had a baby and married.2.Examine the way the following words are separated. Comment on the way of separation in relation to Bloomfield’s idea that word is minimal unit of meaning.a.typical,success.ful.ly,organiz.action,hard.ly,wind.y,word3.What is the difference between the following two statements in terms of attitude to grammar? What kind of linguistic concepts do they represent?a.Never put an a before an uncountable noun.b.People usually do not put an a before an uncountable noun.4.How do you understand the sentence Music is a universal language?5.What are the two interpretations of the sentence They are hunting dogs? What is the linguistic knowledge that enables you to distinguish the meanings of this sentence?V. Match each term in Column A with one relevant item in Column B.。

《新编简明英语语言学教程》第二版练习题参考答案Chapter 1 Introduction1. How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language.答： Linguistics is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In order to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system, the linguists has to collect and observe language facts first, which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them; then he formulates some hypotheses about the language structure. The hypotheses thus formed have to be checked repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation, that is, a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things.2. What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study?答： The major branches of linguistics are:(1) phonetics: it studies the sounds used in linguistic communication;(2) phonology: it studies how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication;(3) morphology: it studies the way in which linguistic symbols representing sounds are arranged and combined to form words;(4) syntax: it studies the rules which govern how words are combined to form grammatically permissible sentences in languages;(5) semantics: it studies meaning conveyed by language;(6) pragmatics: it studies the meaning in the context of language use.3. In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?答： The general approach thus traditionally formed to the study of language over the years is roughly referred to as “traditional grammar.” Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar inseveral basic ways.Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.Second, modem linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, notthe written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tended to emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence.Then, modem linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.4. Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?答： In modem linguistics, a synchronic approach seems to enjoypriority over a diachronic one. Because people believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development.5. For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speechrather than to writing?答： Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication. Modem linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any language is always “invented” byits users to record speech when the need arises. Even in today's world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. And also, speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writing is learned and taught later when he goes to school. For modern linguists, spoken language reveals many true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised” record of speech. Thus their data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regard as authentic.6. How is Saussure's distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky's distinction between competence and performance?答： Saussure's distinction and Chomsky's are very similar, they differ at least in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions, and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.7. What characteristics of language do you think should be included in a good, comprehensive definition of language?答： First of all, language is a system, i.e., elements of language are combined according to rules.Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for.Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound.Fourth, language is human-specific, i. e., it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess.8. What are the main features of human language that have been specified by C. Hockett to show that it is essentially different from animal communication system?答：The main features of human language are termed design features. They include:1) ArbitrarinessLanguage is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages.2) ProductivityLanguage is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences they have never heard before.3) DualityLanguage consists of two sets of structures, or two levels. At the lower or the basic level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning, which are found at the higher level of the system.4) DisplacementLanguage can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This is what “displacement” means.5) Cultural transmissionWhile human capacity for language has a genetic basis, i.e., we were all born with the ability to acquire language, the details of any language system are not genetically transmitted, but instead have to be taught and learned.9. What are the major functions of language? Think of your own examples for illustration.答： Three main functions are often recognized of language: the descriptive function, the expressive function, and the social function. The descriptive function is the function to convey factual information, which can be asserted or denied, and in some cases even verified. Fore xample: “China is a large country with a long history.”The expressive function supplies information about the user’s feelings, preferences, prejudices, and values. For example: “I will never go window-shopping with her.”The social function serves to establish and maintain social relations between people. . For example: “We are your firm supporters.”Chapter 2 Speech Sounds1. What are the two major media of linguistic communication? Of the two, which one is primary and why?答： Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication.Of the two media of language, speech is more primary than writing, for reasons, please refer to the answer to the fifth problem in the last chapter.2. What is voicing and how is it caused?答： Voicing is a quality of speech sounds and a feature of all vowels and some consonants in English. It is caused by the vibration of the vocal cords.3. Explain with examples how broad transcription and narrowtranscription differ?答： The transcription with letter-symbols only is called broad transcription. This is the transcription normally used in dictionaries and teaching textbooks for general purposes. The latter, i.e. the transcription with letter-symbols together with the diacritics is called narrow transcription. This is the transcription needed and used by the phoneticians in their study of speech sounds. With the help of the diacritics they can faithfully represent as much of the fine details as it is necessary for their purpose.In broad transcription, the symbol [l] is used for the sounds [l] in the four words leaf [li:f], feel [fi:l], build [bild], and health [helθ]. As a matter of fact, the sound [l] in all these four sound combinations differs slightly. The [l] in [li:f], occurring before a vowel, is called a dear [l], and no diacritic is needed to indicate it; the [1] in [fi:l] and [bild], occurring at the end of a word or before another consonant, is pronounced differently from the clear [1] as in “leaf”. It is called dark [?] and in narrow transc ription thediacritic [?] is used to indicate it. Then in the sound combination [helθ], the sound [l] is followed by the English dental sound [θ], its pronunciation is somewhat affected by the dental sound that follows it. It is thus called a dental [l], and in narrow transcription thediacritic [、] is used to indicate it. It is transcribed as [helθ].Another example is the consonant [p]. We all know that [p] is pronounced differently in the two words pit and spit. In the word pit, the sound [p] is pronounced with a strong puff of air, but in spit the puff of air is withheld to some extent. In the case of pit, the [p] sound is said to be aspirated and in the case of spit, the [p] sound is unaspirated. This difference is not shown in broad transcription, but in narrow transcription, a small raised “h” is used to show aspiration, thus pit is transcribed as [ph?t] and spit is transcribed as [sp?t].4. How are the English consonants classified?答： English consonants can be classified in two ways: one is in terms of manner of articulation and the other is in terms of place of articulation. In terms of manner of articulation the English consonants can be classified into the following types: stops, fricatives, affricates, liquids, nasals and glides. In terms of place of articulation, it can be classified into following types: bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, palatal, velar and glottal.5. What criteria are used to classify the English vowels?答： Vowels may be distinguished as front, central, and back according to which part of the tongue is held highest. To further distinguish members of each group, we need to apply another criterion, i.e. the openness of the mouth. Accordingly, we classify the vowels into four groups: close vowels, semi-close vowels, semi-open vowels, and open vowels. A third criterion that is often used in the classification of vowels is the shape of the lips. In English, all the front vowels and the central vowels are unfounded vowels, i. e., without rounding the lips, and all the back vowels, with the exception of [a:], are rounded. It should be noted that some front vowels can be pronounced with rounded lips.6. A. Give the phonetic symbol for each of the following sound descriptions:1) voiced palatal affricate2) voiceless labiodental fricative3) voiced alveolar stop4) front, close, short5) back, semi-open, long6) voiceless bilabial stopB. Give the phonetic features of each of the following sounds:1) [ t ] 2) [ l ] 3) [?] 4) [w] 5) [?] 6) [?]答：A. (1) [?] (2) [ f ] (3) [d ] (4) [ ? ] (5) [ ?:] (6) [p]B. (1) voiceless alveolar stop (2) voiced alveolar liquid(3) voiceless palatal affricate (4) voiced bilabial glide(5) back, close, short (6) front, open7. How do phonetics and phonology differ in their focus of study? Who do you think will be more interested in the difference between, say, [l] and [?], [ph] and [p], a phonetician or a phonologist? Why?答： (1) Both phonology and phonetics are concerned with the same aspect of language –– the speech sounds. But while both are related to the study of sounds,, they differ in their approach and focus. Phonetics is of a general nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages: how they are produced, how they differ from each other, what phonetic features they possess, how they can be classified, etc. Phonology, on the other hand, aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.(2) A phonologist will be more interested in it. Because one of the tasks of the phonologists is to find out rule that governs the distribution of [l] and [?], [ph] and [p].8. What is a phone? How is it different from a phoneme? How are allophones related to a phoneme?答： A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phones. A phoneme is not any particular sound, but rather it is represented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context. The different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments are called the allophones of that phoneme. For example, the phoneme /l/ in English can be realized as dark [?], clear [l], etc. which are allophones of the phoneme /l/.9. Explain with examples the sequential rule, the assimilation rule, and the deletion rule.答： Rules that govern the combination of sounds in a particular language are called sequential rules.There are many such sequential rules in English. For example, if a word begins with a [l] or a [r], then the next sound must be a vowel. That is why [lbik] [lkbi] are impossible combinations in English. They have violated the restrictions on the sequencing of phonemes.The assimilation rule assimilates one sound to another by “copying” a feature of a sequential phoneme, thus making the two phones similar. Assimilation of neighbouring sounds is, for the most part, caused by articulatory or physiological processes. When we speak, we tend to increase the ease of articulation. This “sloppy” tendency may become regularized as rules of language.We all know that nasalization is not a phonological feature in English, i.e., it does not distinguish meaning. But this does not mean that vowels in English are never nasalized in actual pronunciation; in fact they are nasalized in certain phonetic contexts. For example, the [i:] sound is nasalized in words like bean, green, team, and scream. This is because in all these sound combinations the [i:] sound is followed by a nasal [n] or [m].The assimilation rule also accounts for the varying pronunciation of the alveolar nasal [n] in some sound combinations. The rule is that within a word, the nasal [n] assumes the same place of articulation as the consonant that follows it. We know that in English the prefix in- can be added to ma adjective to make the meaning of the word negative, e.g. discreet – indiscreet, correct – incorrect. But the [n] sound in the prefix in- is not always pronounced as an alveolar nasal. It is soin the word indiscreet because the consonant that follows it, i.e. [d], is an alveolar stop, but the [n] sound in the word incorrect is actually pronounced as a velar nasal, i.e. [?]; this is because the consonantthat follows it is [k], which is a velar stop. So we can see that while pronouncing the sound [n], we are “copying” a feature of the consonant that follows it.Deletion rule tells us when a sound is to be deleted although it is orthographically represented. We have noticed that in the pronunciation of such words as sign, design, and paradigm, there is no [g] sound although it is represented in spelling by the letter g. But in their corresponding forms signature, designation, and paradigmatic, the [g] represented by the letter g is pronounced. The rule can be stated as: Delete a [g] when it occurs before a final nasal consonant. Given the rule, the phonemic representation of the stems in sign – signature, resign – resignation, phlegm – phlegmatic, paradigm – paradigmatic will include the phoneme /g/, which will be deleted according to the regular rule if no suffix is added.10. What are suprasegmental features? How do the major suprasegmental features of English function in conveying meaning?答： The phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments are called suprasegmental features. The main suprasegmental features include stress, intonation, and tone. The location of stress in English distinguishes meaning. There are two kinds of stress: word stress and sentence stress. For example, a shift of stress may change the part of speech of a word from a noun, to a verb although its spelling remains unchanged. Tones are pitch variations which can distinguish meaning just like phonemes.Intonation plays an important role in the conveyance of meaning inalmost every language, especially in a language like English. Whenspoken in different tones, the same sequence of words may have differentmeanings.Chapter 3 Morphology1. Divide the following words into their separate morphemes by placing a“ ” between each morpheme and the next:a. microfile e. telecommunicationb. bedraggled f. forefatherc. announcement g. psychophysicsd. predigestion h. mechanist答：a. micro file b. be draggle edc. announce mentd. pre digest ione. tele communicate ionf. fore fatherg. psycho physics h. mechan ist2. Think of three morpheme suffixes, give their meaning, and specify thetypes of stem they may be suffixed to. Give at least two examples ofeach.Model: -orsuffix: -ormeaning: the person or thing performing the actionstem type: added to verbsexamples: actor, “one who acts in stage plays, motionpictures, etc.” translator, “one who translates”答：(1) suffix: -ablemeaning: something can be done or is possiblestem type: added to verbsexamples: acceptable, “can be accepted”respectable, “can be respected”(2) suffix: -lymeaning: functionalstem type: added to adjectivesexamples: freely. “adverbial form of ‘free’ ”qu ickly, “adverbial form of 'quick' ”.(3) suffix: -eemeaning: the person receiving the actionstem type: added to verbsexamples: employee, “one who works in a company”interviewee, “one who is interviewed”3. Think of three morpheme prefixes, give their meaning, and specify the types of stem they may be prefixed to. Give at least two examples of each.Model: a-prefix: a-meaning: “without; not”stem type: added to adjectivesexamples: asymmetric, “lacking symmetry” asexual, “without sex or sex organs”答：(1) prefix: dis-meaning: showing an oppositestem type: added to verbs or nounsexamples : disapprove, “do not approve”dishonesty, “lack of honesty”.(2) prefix: anti-meaning: against, opposed tostem type: added to nouns or adjectivesexamples : antinuclear, “opposing the use of atomic weapons and power”antisocial, “opposed or harmful to the laws and customs of an organized community. ”(3) prefix: counter-meaning: the opposite ofstem type: added to nouns or adjectives.examples: counterproductive, “prod ucing results opposite to those intended”counteract, “act against and reduce the force oreffect of (sth.) ”4. The italicized part in each of the following sentences is an inflectional morpheme. Study each inflectional morpheme carefully and point out its grammatical meaning.Sue moves in high-society circles in London.A traffic warden asked John to move his car.The club has moved to Friday, February 22nd.The branches of the trees are moving back and forth.答：(1) the third person singular(2) the past tense(3) the present perfect(4) the present progressive5. Determine whether the words in each of the following groups are related to one another by processes of inflection or derivation.a) go, goes, going, goneb) discover, discovery, discoverer, discoverable, discoverabilityc) inventor, inventor’s, inventors, inventors’d) democracy, democrat, democratic, democratize答：(略)6. The following sentences contain both derivational and inflectional affixes. Underline all of the derivational affixes and circle the inflectional affixes.a) The farmer’s cows escaped.b) It was raining.c) Those socks are inexpensive.d) Jim needs the newer copy.e) The strongest rower continued.f) She quickly closed the book.g) The alphabetization went well.答：(略)Chapter 4 Syntax1. What is syntax?Syntax is a branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences.2. What is phrase structure rule?The grammatical mechanism that regulates the arrangement of elements(i.e. specifiers, heads, and complements) that make up a phrase iscalled a phrase structure rule.The phrase structural rule for NP, VP, AP, and PP can be written as follows:NP → (Det) N (PP) ...VP → (Qual) V (NP) ...AP → (Deg) A (PP) ...PP → (Deg) P (NP) ...The general phrasal structural rule ( X stands for the head N, V, A or P):The XP rule: XP → (specifier) X (complement)3. What is category? How to determine a word's category?Category refers to a group of linguistic items which fulfill the same or similar functions in a particular language such as a sentence, a noun phrase or a verb.To determine a word's category, three criteria are usually employed, namely meaning, inflection and distribution. A word's distributionalfacts together with information about its meaning and inflectional capabilities help identify its syntactic category.4. What is coordinate structure and what properties does it have?The structure formed by joining two or more elements of the same type with the help of a conjunction is called coordinate structures. Conjunction exhibits four important properties:1) There is no limit on the number of coordinated categories that can appear prior to the conjunction.2) A category at any level (a head or an entire XP) can be coordinated.3) Coordinated categories must be of the same type.4) The category type of the coordinate phrase is identical to the category type of the elements being conjoined.5. What elements does a phrase contain and what role does each element play?A phrase usually contains the following elements: head, specifier and complement. Sometimes it also contains another kind of element termed modifier.The role of each elementHead:Head is the word around which a phrase is formed.Specifier:Specifier has both special semantic and syntactic roles. Semantically,it helps to make more precise the meaning of the head. Syntactically, it typically marks a phrase boundary.Complement:Complements are themselves phrases and provide information aboutentities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the head.Modifier:Modifiers specify optionally expressible properties of the heads.6. What is deep structure and what is surface structure?There are two levels of syntactic structure. The first, formed by the XP rule in accordance with the head's subcategorization properties, is called deep structure (or D-structure). The second, corresponding to the final syntactic form of the sentence which results from appropriate transformations, is called surface structure (or S-structure).7. Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences. a) The old lady got off the bus carefully.Det A N V P Det N Advb) The car suddenly crashed onto the river bank.Det N Adv V P Det Nc) The blinding snowstorm might delay the opening of the schools.Det A N Aux V Det N P Det Nd) This cloth feels quite soft.Det N V Deg A（以下8-12题只作初步的的成分划分，未画树形图, 仅供参考）8. The following phrases include a head, a complement, and a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each.a) rich in mineralsXP(AP) → head (rich) A complement (in minerals) PPb) often read detective storiesXP(VP) → specifier (often) Qual head (read) V complement (detective stories) NPc) the argument against the proposalsXP(NP) → specifier (the) Det head (argument) N complement (against the proposals) PPd) already above the windowXP(VP) → specifier (already) Deg head (above) P complement (the window) NP9. The following sentences contain modifiers of various types. For each sentence, first identify the modifier(s), then draw the tree structures.（划底线的为动词的修饰语，斜体的为名词的修饰语）a) A crippled passenger landed the airplane with extreme caution.b) A huge moon hung in the black sky.c) The man examined his car carefully yesterday.d) A wooden hut near the lake collapsed in the storm.10. The following sentences all contain conjoined categories. Draw a tree structure for each of the sentences. （划底线的为并列的范畴）a) Jim has washed the dirty shirts and pants.b) Helen put on her clothes and went out.c) Mary is fond of literature but tired of statistics.11. The following sentences all contain embedded clauses that function as complements of a verb, an adjective, a preposition or a noun. Draw a tree structure for each sentence. （划底线的为补语从句）a) You know that I hate war.b) Gerry believes the fact that Anna flunked the English exam.c) Chris was happy that his father bought him a Rolls-Royce.d) The children argued over whether bats had wings.12. Each of the following sentences contains a relative clause. Draw the deep structure and the surface structure trees for each of these sentences. （划底线的为关系从句）a) The essay that he wrote was excellent.b) Herbert bought a house that she lovedc) The girl whom he adores majors in linguistics.13. The derivations of the following sentences involve the inversion transformation. Give the deep structure and the surface structure of each of these sentences.a) Would you come tomorrow? (surface structure)you would come tomorrow (deep structure)b) What did Helen bring to the party? (surface structure)Helen brought what to the party (deep structure)c) Who broke the window? (surface structure)who broke the window (deep structure)Chapter 5 Semantics1. What are the major views concerning the study of meaning?答：(1) The naming theory proposed by the ancient Greek scholar Plato. According to this theory, the linguistic forms or symbols, in other words, the words used in a language are simply labels of the objects they stand for. So words are just names or labels for things.(2) The conceptualist view has been held by some philosophers and linguists from ancient times. This view holds that there is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to (i. e., between language and the real world); rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind.(3) The contextualist view held that meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context –– elements closely linked with language behaviour. The representative of this approach was J.R. Firth, famous British linguist.(4) Behaviorists attempted to define the meaning of a language form as the “situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer.” This theory, somewhat close to contextualism, is linked with psychological interest.2. What are the major types of synonyms in English?答： The major types of synonyms are dialectal synonyms, stylistic synonyms, emotive or evaluative synonyms, collocational synonyms, and semantically different synonyms.Examples（略）3. Explain with examples “homonymy”, “polysemy”, and “hyponymy”.答：(1) Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form, i.e., different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both.。

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。

Linguistics supplementary exercisesChapter 1 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 inisolation, 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.22. 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 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.24. Language 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. 29. 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.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 conveyedC. 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 froma ________ point of view.A. sociological…psychologicalB. psychological…sociologicalC. applied…pragmaticD.semantic…linguistic37. According to F. de Saussure, _______ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the mem- bers 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 BⅣ. Define the following terms:41. Linguistics 42. Phonology 43. Syntax 44. Pragmatics 45.Psycholinguistics46. Language 47. Phonetics 48. Morphology 49. Semantics 50. Sociolinguistics51. Applied Linguistics52. Arbitrariness53. Productivity54. Displacement55. Duality 56. Design Features 57. Competence 58. Performance 59. Langue 60. ParoleⅤ. Answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible. Give examples for illustration if necessary:61. Language is generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human commu- nication. Explain it in detail.62. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples.63. How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?64. How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachronic study?65. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, not the written?66. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole?67. How do you understand competence and performance?68. Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole seems similar to Chomsky’s distinction between competence and performance. What do you think are their major differences?69. Do you think human language is entirely arbitrary? Why?Chapter 2 PhonologyⅠ. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False: 1. Voicing is a phonological feature that distinguishes meaning in both Chinese and English.2. If two phonetically similar sounds occur in the same environments and they distinguish meaning, they are said to be in complementary distribution.3. A phone is a phonetic unit that distinguishes meaning.4. English is a tone language while Chinese is not.1. 语言的普遍特征：任意性arbitrariness 双层结构duality 既由声音和意义结构多产性productivity移位性displacement:我们能用语言可以表达许多不在场的东西文化传播性cultural transmission2。

Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics1. Define the following terms:design feature: the distinctive features of human language that essentially make human language distinguishable from languages of animals.function: the role language plays in communication (e.g. to express ideas, attitudes) or in particular social situations (e.g. religious, legal).synchronic: said of an approach that studies language at a theoretical ‘point’ in time.diachronic: said of the study of development of language and languages over time. prescriptive: to make authoritarian statement about the correctness of a particular use of language.descriptive: to make an objective and systematic account of the patterns and use of a language or variety.arbitrariness: the absence of any physical correspondence between linguistic signals and the entities to which they refer.duality: the structural organization of language into two abstract levels: meaningful units (e.g. words) and meaningless segments (e.g. sounds, letters).displa cement: the ability of language to refer to contexts removed from the speaker’s immediate situation.phatic communion: said of talk used to establish atmosphere or maintain social contact.metalanguage: a language used for talking about language.macrolinguistics: a broad conception of linguistic enquiry, including psychological, cultural, etc.competence: unconscious knowledge of the system of grammatical rules in a language.performance: the language actually used by people in speaking or writing.l angue: the language system shared by a “speech community”.parole: the concrete utterances of a speaker.2. Consult at least four introductory linguistics textbooks (not dictionaries), and copy the definitions of “language” that each gives. After careful ly comparing the definitions, write a paper discussing which points recur and explaining the significance of the similarities and differencesamong the definitions.ANSWER:All the definitions should not exclude the description of design features that have been mentioned in this course book. Also it will be better if other design features, say, interchangeability or cultural transmission is included. But it seems impossible to give an unimpeachable definition on language, because the facets people want to emphasize are seldom unanimous. To compare several definitions can make you realize where the argument is.3. Can you think of some words in English which are onomatopoeic?ANSWERS:creak: the sound made by a badly oiled door when it opens.cuckoo: the call of cuckoo.bang: a sudden loud noise.roar: a deep loud continuing sound.buzz: a noise of buzzing.hiss: a hissing sound.neigh: the long and loud cry that a horse makes.mew: the noise that a gull makes.bleat: the sound made by a sheep, goat or calf.4. Do you think that onomatopoeia indicates a non-arbitrary relationship between form and meaning?ANSWER:4. No matter you say "Yes" or "No", you cannot deny that onomatopoeia needs arbitrariness. Before we feel a word is onomatopoeic we should first know which sound the word imitates. Just as what is said in Chapter One, in order to imitate the noise of flying mosquitoes, there are many choices like "murmurous" and "murderous". They both bear more or less resemblance to the genuine natural sound, but "murmurous" is fortunately chosen to mean the noise while "murderous" is chosen to mean something quite different. They are arbitrary as signifiers.5. A story by Robert Louis Stevenson contains the sentence “As the night fell, the wind rose.” Could this be expressed as “As the wind rose, the night fell?” If not, why? Does this indicate a degree of non-arbitrariness about word order? (Bolinger, 1981: 15)5. Yes. It is a case in point to illustrate non-arbitrariness about word order. When the two parts interchange, the focus and the meaning of the sentence is forced to change, because clauses occurring in linear sequence without time indicators will be taken as matching the actual sequence of happening. The writer’s original intention is distorted, and we c an feel it effortlessly by reading. That is why systemic-functionalists and American functionalists think language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level.6. Does the traffic light system have duality? Can you explain by drawing a simple graph?6. Traffic light does not have duality. Obviously, it is not a double-level system. There is only one-to-one relationship between signs and meaning but the meaning units cannot be divided into smaller meaningless elements further. So the traffic light only has the primary level and lacks the secondary level like animals’ calls.ANSWER:Red→stopGreen→goYellow→get ready to go or stop7. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for the creativity of language. Can you write a recursive sentence following the example in section 1.3.3.ANSWER:Today I encountered an old friend who was my classmate when I was in elementary school where there was an apple orchard in which we slid to select ripe apples that…8. Communication can take many forms, such as sign, speech, body language and facial expression. Do body language and facial expression share or lack the distinctive properties of human language?ANSWER:On a whole, body language and facial expression lack most of the distinctive properties of human language such as duality, displacement, creativity and so on. Body language exhibits arbitrariness a little bit. For instance, nod means "OK/YES" for us but in Arabian world it is equal to saying "NO". Some facial expressions have non-arbitrariness because they are instinctive such as the cry and laugh of a newborn infant.9. Do you agree with the view that no language is especially simple?ANSWER:Yes. All human languages are complicated systems of communication. It is decided by their shared design features.10. What do you think of Bertrand Russell’s observation of the dog language: “No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest”? Are you familiar with any type of ways animals communicate among themselves and with human beings? ANSWER:When gazelles sense potential danger, for example, they flee and thereby signal to other 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.11.Can you mention some typical expressions of phatic communion in Chinese? There is the dialog between Ms. P and Ms. Q. in section 1.5.5. When someone sneezes violently, do you say anything of the nature of phatic communion? Have you noticed your parents or grandparents say something special on such an occasion?Some of the typical phatic expressions in Chinese are: 吃了吗？家里都好吧？这是去哪里啊？最近都挺好的？ANSWER:If someone is sneezing violently, maybe you parents and grandparents may say: “Are you ok?”, “Do you need to see a doctor?”, “Do you need some water?”, “Do you need a handkerchief?”, “Do you have a cold?” or something like these to show their concerns.12．There are many expressions in language which are metalingual or self-reflexives, namely, talking about talk and think about thinking, for instance, to be honest, to make a long story short, come to think of it, on second thought, can you collect a few more to make a list of these expressions? When do we use them most often?ANSWER:To tell the truth, frankly speaking, as a matter of fact, to be precise, in other words, that is to say Such expressions are used most frequently when we want to expatiate the meaning of former clauses in anther way in argumentation.13. Comment on the following prescriptive rules. Do you think they are acceptable?(A) It is I.(B) It is me.You should say A instead of B because “be” should be followed by the nominative case, not the accusative according to the rules in Latin.(A) Who did you speak to?(B) Whom did you speak to?You should say B instead of A.(A) I haven't done anything.(B) I haven't done nothing.B is wrong because two negatives make a positive.ANSWER:(1) the Latin rule is not universal. In English, me is informal and I is felt to be very formal.(2) Whom is used in formal speech and in writing; who is more acceptable in informal speech.(3) Language does not have to follow logic reasoning. Here two negative only make a more emphatic negative. This sentence is not acceptable in Standard English not because it is illogical, but because language changes and rejects this usage now.14. The prescriptivism in grammar rules has now shifted to prescriptions in choice of words. In the “guidelines on anti-sexist language” issued by the British sociological association, 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 as it is generally viewed as offensive to many black people.(3) civilized: This term can still carry racist overtones which derive from a colonialist perception of the world. It is often associated with social Darwinist thought and is full of implicit valuejudgments 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 andwithout specific training. He can then quite effortlessly make use of an intricate structure of specific rules and guiding principles to convey his thoughts and feelings to others, ... Thus language is a mirror of mind in a deep and significant sense. It is a product of human intelligence, created anew in each individual by operations that lie far beyond the reach of will or consciousness.(Noam Chomsky: Reflections on Language. 1975: 4)(2) It is fairly obvious that language is used to serve a variety of different needs, but until we examine its grammar there is no clear reason for classifying its uses in any particular way. However, when we examine the meaning potential of language itself, we find that the vast numbers of options embodied in it combine into a very few relatively independent “networks”; and these networks of options correspond to certain basic functions of language. This enables us to give an account of the different functions of language that is relevant to the general understanding of linguistic structure rather than to any particular psychological or sociological investigation. (M. A. K. Halliday, 1970: 142)ANSWER:The first quote shows chil dren’s inborn ability of acquiring the knowledge of intricate structure of specific rules. It implies that the language user's underlying knowledge about the system of rules is the valuable object of study for linguists. The second attaches great importance to the functions of language. It regards the use of language as the choice of needed function. The meaning of language can be completely included by a few “networks” which is directly related to basic functions of language. It indicates the necessity to study the functions of language.20. You may be familiar with the following proverbs. How do you perceive them according to the arbitrariness and conventionality of language?The proof of the pudding is in the eating.Let sleeping dogs lie.You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.Rome was not built in a day.When in Rome, do as the Romans do.All roads lead to Rome.ANSWER:20. Arbitrariness and conventionality derive from the choice of the subject matter. For example, in the “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” The word “pudding” is selected arbitrarily, for we can use another word such as cheese instead of pudding without changing the associative meaning of the proverb. On the other hand, once such links between particular words and associative meaning are fixed, it becomes a matter of conventionality.21. Give examples of situations in which a usage generally considered non-standard (e.g. ain’t) would be acceptable, even appropriate.ANSWER21. In the talks between intimate friends, o ne may say “gimme that!” instead of “give me that!” and “wachya doin’?” instead of “what are you doing?” and this list may go on.22. The following are some book titles of linguistics. Can you judge the diachronic and diachronic orientation just from the titles?English Examined: Two centuries of Comment on the Mother-Tongue.Protean Shape: A Study in Eighteenth-century V ocabulary 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 V ocabulary 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。

Chapter One Language1. Define the following terms1) discreteness 2) design features3) arbitrariness 4) duality5) displacement 6) cultural transmission7) the imaginative function of language 8) the personal function of language9) the heuristic function of language 10) language2. Multiple ChoiceDirections: In each question there are four choices. Decide which one would be the best answer to the question or to complete the sentence best.1) Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary?A. treeB. crashC. typewriterD. bang2) The function of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade” is ________.A. interrogativeB. directiveC. informativeD. performative3) In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present arelikely to say sui sui ping an (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling theforces which the believers feel might affect their lives. Which function does itperform?A. Interpersonal.B. Emotive. C Performative. D. Recreational.4) Which of the following properties of language enables language users to overcome thebarriers causedby time and place, due to this feature of language, speakers of a languageare free to talk about anything in any situation?A. interchangeability.B. Duality.C. Displacement.D. Arbitrariness.5) Study the following dialogue. What function does it play according to the functions oflanguage?—A nice day, isn’t it?—Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.A. EmotiveB. Phatic.C. Peformative.D. Interpersonal.6) Unlike animal communication systems, human language is .A. stimulus freeB. stimulus boundC. under immediate stimulus controlD. stimulated by some occurrence of communal interest.7) Which of the following is the most important function of language?A. interpersonal functionB. performative functionC. informative functionD. recreational function8) In different languages, different terms are used to express the animal “狗”, this shows the nature of --- of human language.A arbitrarinessB cultural transmissionC displacementD discreteness9) Which of the following disciplines are related to applied linguistics?A. statisticsB. psycholinguisticsC. physicsD. philosophy10) has been widely accepted as the father of modem linguistics.A. ChomskyB. SaussureC. BloomfieldD. John Lyons3. Word CompletionDirections: Fill in the blanks with the most suitable words.1) Design features, a framework proposed by the American linguist Charles Hockett, referto the ________ properties of human language that distinguishes it from any animalsystem of communication.2) ________ refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfullydistinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually verygreat, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such away that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful.3) In any language words can be used in new ways to mean new things and can becombined into innumerable sentences based on limited rules. This feature is usuallytermed p_______ or c________.4) Language has many functions. We can use language to talk about language itself. Thisfunction is m________ function.5) Cultural transmission refers to the fact that language is c________ transmitted. It ispassed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than byi_________.6) One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of ________ over writing.7) The ________ function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge aboutthe world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on.8) The ________ function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phaticcommunion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologistBronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere ormaintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts.9) Language is a system of arbitrary symbols used for human Communication.10) Language has two levels. They are ______ level and ______ level.11) Language is a ________ because every language consists of a set of rules whichunderlie people’s actual speech or writing.12) The _function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once theyhappen.13) The design features of language are (1) (2) (3)(4) (5) (6) and (7) _______.14) By saying “language is arbitrary”, we mean that there is no logical connection be tweenmeaning and .15) The four principles in the linguistic study are (1) (2) (3)and (4) .4. True or False QuestionsDirections: Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write T for true and F for false in the bracket before each of them.1) ( ) The relation between form and meaning in human language is natural.2) ( ) When language is used to get information from others, it serves an informativefunction.3) ( ) The reason for French to use cheval and for English to use horse to refer to the sameanimal is inexplicable.4) ( ) Most animal communication systems lack the primary level of articulation.5) ( ) Language change is universal,ongoing and arbitrary.6) ( ) Language is a system of arbitrary, written signs which permit all the people in a givenculture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate orinteract.7) ( ) In theory, the length of sentences is limited.8) ( ) The relationship between the sounds and their meaning is arbitrary.9) ( ) Linguistic symbols are a kind of visual symbols, which include vocal symbols.10) ( ) Linguistic symbols are produced by human speech organs.11) ( ) Every language has two levels: grammatically —meaningless and sound —meaningful.12) ( ) Such features of language as being creative, vocal, and arbitrary can differentiatehuman languages from animal communicative systems.13) ( ) Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. It refers to the fact thatlanguage has two levels of structures: the system of sounds and the system of meanings.14) ( ) Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication wayused by the deaf-mute is not language.15) ( ) Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality oflanguage makes a language be passed from generation to generation. As a foreignlanguage learner, the latter is more important for us.5. Glossary translation1)personal function2)heauristic function3)ideational function4)interchangeability5)控制功能6)表现功能7)文化传递性8)别离性9)区别性特征10)不受时空限制的属性11)Interactional function12)instrumentational function13)imaginative function14)应酬功能15)元语言功能16)Personal function17)performative function18)娱乐功能19)信息功能20)人际功能6. Short Essay Questions1)What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.2)Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.3)Is language productive or not? Why?4)What is language?5)What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of them withexamples.Key to Chapter One1. Define the followina terms1) Discreteness refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfully distinct. For instance, the difference between the sounds /p/ and /b/ is not actually very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pad and bad leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds/p/ and /b/in English. Each sound in the language is thought of as discrete. It is possible to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the sounds /p/ and /b/.2) “Design features” refer to the defining properties of human language that tell the difference between human language and any system of animal communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, productivity, displacement, cultural transmission and interchangeability. (3分)3) “Arbitrariness” means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A dog might be a pig if only the first person or group of persons had used it for a pig.Language is therefore largely arbitrary. But language is not absolutely arbitrary, because there are cases where there are or at least seem to be some sound-meaning association, if we think of echo Words, like “bang”, “crash”,”roar”,’ which are motivated in a certain sense. Secondly, some compounds are not entirely arbitrary either. “Snow” and “storm” are arbitrary or unmotivated words, while “snowstorm” is less so. So we can say “arbitrariness” is a matter of degree.4) Linguists refer “duality” of structure to the fact that in all languages so far investigated, one finds two levels of structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words etc.); at the second, lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves, but which combine to form units of meaning. According to Hu Zhuanglin et al., language is a system of two sets of structures, one of sounds and the other of meaning. This is important for the workings of language. A small number of sounds can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of semantic units (words), and these units of meaning can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. (For example, we have dictionaries of words, but no dictionary of sentences!) Duality makes it possible for a person to talk about anything within his knowledge. No animal communication system enjoys this duality, or even approaches this honor.5) “Displacement”, as one of the design features of the human language, refers to the fact that one can talk about things that are not present, as easily as he does things present. In other words,one can refer to real and unreal things, things of the past, of the present, of the future. Language itself can be talked about too. People can use language’ to describe something that had occurred, is occurring, or is to occur. But a dog could not bark for a bone to be lost. The bee’s System has a small share of “displacement”, but it is an unspeakable tiny share.6) Language is not biologically transmitted from generation to generation, but the details of the linguistic system must be learned anew by each speaker. It is true that the capacity for language in human beings (N. Chomsky called it “language acquisition device”, or LAD) has a geneticbasis, but the particular language a person learns to speak is a cultural one rather than a genetic one like the dog’s barking system. If a human being is brought up in isolation he cannot acquire language. The wolf-child reared by the wolves turned out to speak the wo lf’s roaring “tongue” when he was saved. And it was difficult for him to acquire human language.7) The imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. It is also language used for sheer joy of using language, such as a baby’s babbling, a chanter’s chanting, a poet’s pleasuring.8) The personal function refers to language used to express the individual’s feelings, emotions and personality.9) The heuristic function of language refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Language allows people to ask questions about the nature of the world they live in and to construct possible answers.10) Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.2. Multiple Choice1) – 5): A C C C B 6) – 10): A C C B B3. Word Completion.1) defining 2) Descreteness 3〕productivity or creativity 4) metalingual 5) culturally, instinct or inheritance 6) speech 7) representational 8) interactional; 9) vocal;10) gramatically meaningful, sound meaningless; 11) system; 12) regulatory 13) arbitrariness, duality, productivity, cultural transmission, interchangeability, discreteness, displacement. 14) sound; 15) exhaustiveness, economy, objectivity, consistency4. True or False Questions1 – 5: FFTFF 6 – 10: FFTFT 11 – 15: FFTFT5. Glossary Translation1)personal function: 人际功能2)heauristic function：启发功能3)ideational function：概念功能4)interchangeability：互换性5)控制功能：regulatory function6)表现功能: representational functin7)文化传递性: cultural transmisssion8)别离性: discreteness9)区别性特征: design features10)不受时空限制的属性: displacement11)Interactional function: 互动功能12)instrumentational function：工具功能13)imaginative function：想象功能14)应酬功能：phatic function15)元语言功能: metalingual function or metafunction of language16)personal function: 自指性功能17)performative function: 表达功能18)娱乐功能: recreational function19)信息功能: informative function20)人际功能: interpersonal function6. Short Essay Questions1) What are the functions of language? Exemplify each function.According to Wang Gang (1988: 11), the functions of language can be mainly embodied in three aspects. i) Language is a tool of human communication; ii) Language is a tool whereby people learn about the world; iii) Language is a tool by which people create art.As a matter of fact, different linguists have different terms for the various functions of language. The British linguist M. A. K. Halliday uses the following terms to refer to the initial functions of children’s language:(1) InstrumentalThe instrumental function of language refers to the fact that language allows speakers to get things done. It allows them to control things in the environment. People can cause things to be done and to happen through the use of words alone. An immediate contrast here is with the animal world in which sounds are hardly used in this way, and, when they are, they are used in an extremely limited degree. The instrumental function can be primitive too in human interaction. Performative utterances such as the words which name a ship at a launching ceremony clearly have instrumental functions if the right circumstances exist；they are acts, e.g. I name this ship Liberty Bell.(2) RegulatoryThe regulatory function refers to language used in an attempt to control events once they happen. Those events may involve the self as well as others. People do try to control themselves through language, e.g. Why did I say that?/ Steady! / And Let me think about that again. Language helps to regulate encounters among people. Language provides devices for regulating specific kinds of encounters and contains words for approving or disapproving and for controlling or disrupting the behavior of others. It allows us to establish complex patterns of organization in order to try to regulate behavior, from game playing to political organization, from answering the telephone to addressing in foreign affairs. It is the regulatory function of language that allows people some measure of control over events that occur in their lives.(3)RepresentationalThe representational function refers to the use of language to communicate knowledge about the world, to report events, to make statements, to give accounts, to explain relationships, to relay messages and so on. This function of language is represented by all kinds of record-keeping, such as historical records, geographical surveys, business accounts, scientific reports, government acts, and public data banks. It is an essential domain of language use, for the availability of this material guarantees the knowledge-base of subsequent generations, which is a prerequisite of social development.(4) InteractionalThe interactional function refers to language used to ensure social maintenance. Phatic communion is part of it. The term phatic communion introduced by the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging facts. A greeting such as how are you?is relatively empty of content, and answers like fine or very well, thank you are equally empty, because the speaker is not interested in the hearer’s health, but rather to demonstrate his politeness and general attitude toward the other person when he gives a conversational greeting.(5) PersonalThe personal function refers to language used to express the i ndividual’s feelings, emotions and personality. A person’s individuality is usually characterized by his or her use of personal function of communication. Each individual has a “voice” in what happens to him. He is free to speak or not to speak, to say, as much or as little as he pleases, and to choose how to say what he says. The use of language can tell the listener or reader a great deal about the speaker or writer — in particular, about his regional origin, social background, level of education, occupation, age, sex, and personality.Language also provides the individual with a means to express feelings, whether outright in the form of exclamations, endorsements, or curse, or much more subtly through a careful choice of words. Many social situations display language used to foster a sense of identity: the shouting of a crowd at a football match, the shouting of names or slogans at public meetings, the reactions of the audience to television game shows, the shouts of affirmation at some religious meetings. For example, the crowds attending President Regan’s pre-election meetings in 1984 repeatedly shouted “Four more years!” which united among those who shared the same political views.(6) HeuristicThe heuristic function refers to language used in order to acquire knowledge and understanding the world. The heuristic functioning provides a basis for the structure of knowledge in the different disciplines. Insofar as the inquiry into language itself, a necessary result is the creation of a metalanguage, i.e. a language used to refer to language, containing terms such as sound, syllable, word, structure, sentence, meaning and so on.(7) ImaginativeThe imaginative function refers to language used to create imaginary system, whether these are literary works, philosophical systems or utopian visions on the one hand, or daydreams and idle musings on the other hand. The imaginative function also allows people to consider not just the real world but all possible worlds — and many impossible ones. Much literature is the most obvious example to serve this function as an account of Robinson Crusoe in the deserted island. The imaginative function enables life to be lived vicariously and helps satisfy numerous deep artistic urges.2) Explain what the term duality means as it is used to describe a property of humanlanguage.Language is organized at two levels or layers-- sounds and meaning-- simultaneously. This property is called duality, or “double articulation”. In terms of speech production, we have the physical level at which we can produce individual sounds, like n, b, and i. As individual sound, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning. When we produce those sounds in a particular combination, as in bin, we have another level producing a meaning, which is differentfrom the meaning of the combination in nib. So, at one level, we have distinct sounds, and at another level, we have distinct meanings. This duality of levels is, in fact,: one of the most economical features of human language, since with a limited set of distinct sounds we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (relatively finite words and infinite number of sentences) which are distinct in meaning. No animal communication system has duality, or ever comes near to possessing it.3) Is language productive or not? Why?(1) Language is productive or creative. (233) This means that users can understand and produce sentences they have never heard before. Every day we send messages that have never been sent before, and we understand novel messages. Much of them we say and hear for the first time; yet there seems no problem of understanding. For example, the sentence” A red-eyed elephant is dancing on the hotel bed” must be new to you and it does not describe a common happening in the world. Nevertheless, nobody has any difficulty in understanding it.(2) Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. For example, gibbon calls are not productive, for they draw all their calls from a limited repertoire, which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. Bee dancing is used only to indicate food sources, which is the only message that can be sent through the dancing.(3) The productivity or creativity of language partially. originates from its duality, because of which the speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never before produced or heard. The productivity of language also means its potential to create endless sentences. It is the recursive nature of language that provides a theoretical basis for this possibility.4) What is language?(1) It is very difficult to give this question a satisfactory definition. However, most linguists would accept a tentative definition like this: language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. (2) Language must be a system, since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; they cannot be combined at will. If language were not systematic, it could not be learned or used consistently. (3) Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between the word pen and the thing we use to write with. The fact that different languages have different words for it (钢笔in Chinese for instance) speaks strongly for the arbitrary nature of language. (4) This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are associated with objects, actions, ideas by convention. (5) We say language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well developed are their writing systems. All evidence shows that writing systems came much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper (6) The term “human” in the definition is meant to specify that language is human.specific; that is, it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess.5) What are the major design features of language? Please explain three of themwith examples.(1) Displacement is one of the defining properties of human language, which refers to the fact that human language can be used to talk about things that are present or not present, real or not real, and about matters in the past, present or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of its users.This phenom enon is thought of as “displacement”, which can provide its users with an opportunity to communicate about a wide range of subjects, free from any barriers caused by separation in time and space. That is, the feature of displacement can enable us to talk about things and places whose existence we cannot even be sure of. We can refer to mythical creatures, demons, fairies, angels, Santa Claus, and recently invented characters such as superman. This feature is unique to human language. No animal communication system possesses it. Some animal calls are often uttered in response to immediate changes of situation. For instance, during the mating season, in the present of danger or pain, animals will make calls. Once the danger or pain is missing, their calls stop.(2) Discreteness The sounds used in language are meaningfully distinct. For example, the difference between the sounds b andp is actually not very great, but when these sounds are part of a language like English, they are used in such a way that the occurrence of one rather than the other is meaningful. The fact that the pronunciation of the forms pack and back leads to a distinction in meaning can only be due to the difference between the sounds p and b in English. This property of language is described as discreteness. Each sound in the language is treated as discrete. It is possible; in fact, to produce a range of sounds in a continuous stream which are all generally like the p and b sounds. However, that continuous stream will only be interpreted as being either a p sound, or a b sound (or, possibly, as a non-sound) in the language. We have a very discrete view of the sounds of our language and wherever a pronunciation falls within the physically possible range of sounds, it will be interpreted as a linguistically specific and meaningfully distinct sound(3) Language is a system. It is organized into two levels simultaneously. We have distinct sounds at the lower level (sound level), which is seen as a sequence of segments which have no meaning in themselves. At the higher level, we have distinct meanings (meaningful level). Language is analyzed in terms of combination of meaningful units. Then the meaningful units (such as morphemes, words, etc.) at the higher level can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. The organization of language into levels, one of sounds, the other of meaning, is known as duality or double articulation. This unique feature of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system possesses the feature of duality.。

Chapter OneI. 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 iscalled 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 spokenlanguage.10. The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by Ferdinandde 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 hislanguage.2. Langue refers to the a_____ linguistic system shared by all the members of aspeech 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 thephenomenon 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 intopermissible sentences in language is called s_____.6. Human capacity for language has a g____ basis, but the details of language have tobe 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. language2. linguistics3. design features4. arbitrariness5. productivity6. displacement7. duality8. competence9. performance10. langue11. paroleIV. Answer the following questions briefly. Give examples for illustration if necessary.1. Language is generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used forhuman 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, notthe written？5. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole?V. Further readingBooks:1.Aitchison, J. 1992. 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。

Chapter 1 Language and Linguistics(这一章主要探讨什么是语言，语言的功能是什么，语言的起源和分类，以及，什么是语言学，语言学的研究范围是什么)1.1 The nature of language---什么是语言？一句话总结，Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. (systematic, symbolic, arbitrary, primarily vocal, human specific, used for communication)nguage is systematic 系统性（重点：语言的双重性duality）解释：language is systematic since element in it are arranged to certain rules.(e.g.only certain combination of sounds are possible in English)双重性duality: Each language is organized into two basic systems: a system of sound and a system of meaning.nguage is symbolic 符号性（重点：Icon, Index, Symbol 的区分）解释：there is no or little connection between the sounds that people use and objects to which the sounds refer.（这句话丝毫没重点，不过没办法，PPT上这么说，我觉得对符号性的理解应该是people use signs to communicate, which means that language involves signs 才有逻辑）因为：伟大的现代语言学之父Saussure: linguistics is a subdivision（分支）of semiology(符号学), dealing with language as a special means of human communication. （语言学是符号学的分支，是研究语言作为以一种特殊交流方法的学科。

Chapter 1. Language and LinguisticsI. For each question, there are four choices of answers. In some cases, only one choice is correct while in others more than one should be chosen. Choose ALL the correct ones.1 ABD2 B3 D4 B5 D6 B7 D8 AC D9 A 10 B11 D 12 B 13 C 14 A 15 B 16 C 17 D 18 C 19 B20.C 21.D 22.C 23.B 24.A 25.C 26.B 27.AII. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:1. knowledge2. abstract3. Duality4. arbitrary5. syntax6.genetic7. Parole8. applied9. productive 10. scientificIII. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.1 T2 T3 F4 F5 T6 T7 F8 F9 F 10 T11.T 12.F 13.F 14.T 15.F 16.T 17.F 18.T 19.T 20.T21.T 22.T 23F 24T 25.F 26.F 27.FⅣ. Choose Four of the following questions and answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible. Give examples for illustration if necessary:1. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples.1) ArbitrarinessAs mentioned earlier, the arbitrary property of language means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. For instance, there is no necessary relationship between the word elephant and the animal it symbolizes. In addition, different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages , and even within the same language, the same sound does not refer to the same thing. However, language is not entirely arbitrary. There are words which are created in the imitation of sounds by sounds, such as crash, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. But the non-arbitrary words are quite limited in number.The arbitrary nature of language makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions.2) ProductivityLanguage is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences that they have never said or heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before.Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive.3) DualityThe duality nature of language means that language is a system, which consists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanings. At the lower or the basic level, there is the structure of sounds, which are meaningless, discrete, individual sounds. But the sounds of language can be combined according to rules into units of meaning such as morphemes and words, which, at the higher level, can be arranged into sentences. This duality of structure or double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system has duality or even comes near to possessing it.4) DisplacementDisplacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response toimmediate changes of situation.2. Why do people take duality as one of the important design features of human language?Duality makes our language productive. A large number of different units can be formed out of a small number of elements – for instance, tens of thousands of words out of a small set of sounds, around 48 in the case of the English language, And out of the huge number of words, there can be astronomical number of possible sentences and phrases, which in turn can combine to form unlimited number of texts, Most animal communication systems do not have this design feature of human language.If language has no such design feature, then it will be like animal communicational system which will be highly limited, It cannot produce a very large number of sound combinations, e.g, words, which are distinct in meaning. 3. How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachronic study?The description of a language at some point in time is a Synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A synchronic study of language describes a language as it is at some particular point in time, while a diachronic study of language is the study of the historical development of language over a period of time.4. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, notthe written?First, the spoken form is prior to the written form and most writing systems are derived from the spoken form of language; Second, the spoken form plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed and it serves a wider range of purposes; Finally, the spoken form is the medium through which we acquire our mother tongue.5. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole?The distinction between langue, and parole was made by the famous Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure early this century. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use. Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to follow while parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules. Langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use, but parole is concrete; it refers to the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently; while parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation.6. How do you understand competence and performance?American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950’s proposed the distinction between competence and performance. Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language. This internalized set of rules enables the language user to produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences and recognize sentences that are ungrammatical and ambiguous. According to Chomsky, performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. Although the speaker’s knowledge of his mother tongue is perfect, his performances may have mistakes because of social and psychological factors such as stress, embarrassment, etc.. Chomsky believes that what linguists should study is the competence, which is systematic, not the performance, which is too haphazard.7 Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole seems similar to Chomsky’s distincti on between competence and performance. What do you think are their major differences?Although Saussure’s distinction and Chomsky’s are very similar, they differ at least in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a mater of social conventions, and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of vies and to him, competence is a property of the mind of each individual. 8. Do you think human language is entirely arbitrary? Why?Language is arbitrary in nature, it is not entirely arbitrary, because there are a limited number of words whoseconnections between forms and meanings can be logically explained to a certain extent, for example, the onomatopoeia, words which are coined on the basis of imitation of sounds by sounds such as bang, crash,etc.. Take compounds for another example. The two elements “photo” and “copy” in “photocopy” are non-motivated, but the compound is not arbitrary.9. It is difficult to define language, as it is such a general term that covers too many things, Thus, definitions for it all have their own special emphasis, and are not totally free from limitations.10.如何理解“鹦鹉能言，不离于禽；猩猩能言，不离于兽”？两句话都有问题。

《新编简明英语道话教教程》第二版第1-3章训练题参照问案之阳早格格创做Chapter 1IntroductionP131. How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language？问：Linguistics is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In order to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system, the linguists has to collect and observe language facts first, which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them; then he formulates some hypotheses about the language structure. The hypothesesthus formed have to be checked repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation, that is, a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things.2. What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study?问： The major branches of linguistics are:(1)phonetics: it studies the sounds used in linguistic communication;(2)phonology: it studies how sounds are put together and used to conveymeaning in communication;(3)morphology: it studies the way in which linguistic symbolsrepresenting soundsare arranged and combined to form words; (4)syntax: it studies the rules which govern how words are combined toform grammatically permissible sentences in languages;(5)semantics: it studies meaning conveyed by language;(6) pragmatics: it studies the meaning in the context of language use.3. In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?问：The general approachthus traditionally formed to the study of language over the years is roughly referred to as “t raditional gramma r.” Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar in several basic ways.Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.Second, modem linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tended to emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence.Then, modem linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.4. Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?问：In modem linguistics, a synchronic approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic one. Because people believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development.5. For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writing?问：Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication. Modem linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any langu age is always “invented” by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even in today's world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. And also, speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writingis learned and taught later when he goes to school. For modern linguists, spoken language reveals many true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised” record of spe ech. Thus their data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everydayspeech, which they regard as authentic.6. How is Saussure's distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky's distinction between competence and performance?问：Saussure's distinction and Chomsky's are very similar, they differ at least in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions, and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual.7. What characteristics of language do you think should be included in a good, comprehensive definition of language?问：First of all, language is a system, i.e., elements of language are combined according to rules.Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for. Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound.Fourth, language is human-specific, i. e., it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess.8. What are the main features of human language that have been specified by C. Hockett to show that it is essentially differentfrom animal communication system?（2．2道话的辨别性特性）好国道话教家 C. Hockett提出了人类道话的 12种辨别性特性，其中最要害的辨别性特种有5种：即道话的任性性、创制性、二沉性、移位性战文化传播性.那些特性是所有人类道话所公有的.人类道话的辨别性特性是动物“道话”所不具备的.1）任性性：它指音取义之间不逻辑通联.比圆道，分歧的道话使用分歧的音指相共的实物.2）创制性：道话的创制性主要表示正在道话使用者不妨以有限的道话准则为前提道出战明白无限的句子，包罗他们往日从不听道过的句子.3）二沉性：它指道话正在结构上存留二个条理：矮条理战下条理.正在矮条理是一个个不意思的音，如/p/,/g/,/i/等，然而是那些处正在矮条理的不意思的音不妨依照一定的道话准则分离正在所有产生道话体系的下条理，即：蓄意思的单位，如词汇素，单词汇等.4）移位性：移位性指人类不妨使用道话去道论往日的事务，当前的事务或者将去的事务；道话也不妨用去道论咱们客瞅天下中的事务，或者假念天下中的事务.总之，道话的使用不妨摆脱接际的间接情景语境，进而不受道话时空距离的做用.5）文化传播性：文化的传播性是指，虽然人类习得道话的本领有遗传果素的本果，然而是道话体系简曲实质的习得不是通过遗传去传播的，而是要通过后天的教习去赢得.问：The main features of human language are termed design features. They include:1) ArbitrarinessLanguage is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer tothe same object in different languages.2) ProductivityLanguage is productive or creative in that it makes possible theconstruction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This iswhy they can produce and understand an infinitely large number ofsentences, including sentences they have never heard before.3) DualityLanguage consists of two sets of structures,or two levels. At the loweror the basic level there is a structure ofsounds, which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds oflanguage can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of unitsof meaning, which are found at the higher level of the system.4) DisplacementLanguage can be used to refer to things which are present ornot present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language canbe usedto refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of thespeaker. This is what “displacement” means.5) Cultural transmissionWhile human capacity for language has a genetic basis, i.e.,we were all born with the ability to acquire language, the details ofany language system are not genetically transmitted,but insteadhave to be taught and learned.9. What are the major functions of language? Think of your own examples for illustration.问：Three main functions are often recognized of language: the descriptive function, the expressive function, and the social function.The descriptive function is the function to convey factual information, which can be asserted or denied, and in some cases even verified.For example:“China is a large country with a long history.”The expressive functionsupplies information about the user’s feelings, preferences, prejudices, and values. For example: “I will never go window-shopping with her.”The social function serves to establish and maintain social relations between people. . For example: “We are your firm supporters.”Chapter 2PhonologyP301. What are the two major media of linguistic communication? Ofthe two, which one is primary and why?问：Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication.Of the two media of language, speech is more primary than writing, for reasons, please refer to the answer to the fifth problem in the last chapter.2. What is voicing and how is it caused?问：Voicing is a quality of speech sounds and a feature of all vowels and some consonants in English. It is caused by the vibration of the vocal cords.3. Explain with examples how broad transcription and narrow transcription differ?问：The transcription with letter-symbols only is called broad transcription. This is the transcription normally used in dictionaries and teaching textbooks for general purposes. The latter, i.e. the transcriptionwith letter-symbols together with the diacritics is called narrow transcription. This is the transcription needed and used by the phoneticians in their study of speech sounds. With the help of the diacritics they can faithfully represent as much of the fine details as it is necessary for their purpose.In broad transcription, the symbol [l] is used for the sounds [l] inthe four words leaf[li:f], feel[fi:l], build[bild], and health[helθ]. As a matter of fact, the sound [l] in all these four sound combinations differs slightly. The [l] in [li:f], occurring before a vowel, is called a dear [l], and no diacritic is needed to indicate it; the [1] in [fi:l] and [bild], occurring at the end of a word or before another consonant, is pronounced differently from the clear [1] as in “leaf”. It is calle d dark [ɫ] and in narrow transcription the diacritic [˜] is used to indicate it. Then in the sound combination [helθ], the sound [l] is followed by the English dental sound [θ], its pronunciation is somewhat affected by the dental sound that follows it. It is thus called a dental [l], and in narrow transcription the diacritic [、] is used to indicate it. It is transcribed as [helθ].Another example is the consonant[p]. We all know that [p] is pronounced differently in the two words pit and spit. In the word pit, the sound [p] is pronounced with a strong puff of air, but in spit the puff of air is withheld to some extent. In the case of pit, the [p] sound is said to be aspirated and in the case of spit, the [p] sound is unaspirated. Thisdifference is not shown in broad transcription, but in narrow transcription, a small raised “h” is used to show aspiration, thus pit is transcribed as [p h ɪt] and spit is transcribed as [spɪt].4. How are the English consonants classified?问： English consonants can be classified in two ways: one is in terms of manner of articulation and the other is in terms of place of articulation. In terms of manner of articulation the English consonants can be classified into the following types: stops, fricatives, affricates, liquids, nasals and glides. In terms of place of articulation, it can be classified into following types: bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, palatal, velar and glottal.5. What criteria are used to classify the English vowels?问：Vowels may be distinguished as front, central, and back according to which part of the tongue is held highest.To further distinguish members of each group, we need to apply another criterion, i.e. the openness of the mouth. Accordingly, we classify the vowels into four groups: close vowels, semi-close vowels, semi-open vowels, and open vowels. A third criterion that is often used in the classification of vowels is the shape of the lips. In English, all the front vowels and the central vowels are unfounded vowels, i. e., without rounding the lips, and all the back vowels, with the exception of [a:], are rounded. It should be noted that some front vowels can be pronounced with rounded lips.6. A. Give the phonetic symbol for each of the following sound descriptions:1) voiced palatal affricate2) voiceless labiodental fricative3) voiced alveolar stop4) front, close, short5) back, semi-open, long6) voiceless bilabial stopB. Give the phonetic features of each of the following sounds:1) [ t]2) [ l ] 3) [ʧ] 4) [w] 5) [ʊ] 6) [æ]问：A. (1) [ʤ] (2) [f] (3)[d](4) [ɪ] (5)[ɔ:] (6) [p]B.(1)voiceless alveolar stop (2)voiced alveolar liquid(3)voiceless palatal affricate (4)voiced bilabial glide(5)back, close, short (6)front, open7. How do phonetics and phonology differ in their focus of study? Who do you think will be more interested in the difference between, say, [l] and [ɫ],[p h]and [p],a phonetician or a phonologist? Why?问：(1)Both phonology and phonetics are concerned with the same aspect of language–– the speech sounds. But while both are related to the study of sounds,, they differ in their approach and focus. Phonetics is of a general nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in allhuman languages: how they are produced, how they differ from each other, what phonetic features they possess, how they can be classified, etc. Phonology, on the other hand, aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.(2) A phonologist will be more interested in it. Because one of thetasks of the phonologists is to find out rule that governs the distribution of [l] and [ɫ], [p h]and[p].8. What is a phone? How is it different from a phoneme? How areallophones related to a phoneme?问：A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phones. A phoneme is not any particular sound, but rather it is represented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context. The different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments are called the allophones of that phoneme. For example, the phoneme /l/in English can be realized as dark [ɫ], clear [l], etc. which are allophones of the phoneme/l/.9. Explain with examples the sequential rule, the assimilation rule, and the deletion rule.问：Rules that govern the combination of sounds in a particular language are called sequential rules.There are many such sequential rules in English. For example, if a word begins with a [l] or a [r], then the next sound must be a vowel. That is why [lbik] [lkbi] are impossible combinations in English. They have violated the restrictions on the sequencing of phonemes.The assimilation rule assimilates one sound to anoth er by“copying” a feature of a sequential phoneme, thus making the two phones similar. Assimilation of neighboring sounds is, for the most part, caused by articulatory or physiological processes. When we speak, we tend to increase the ease of articulation. This “sloppy” tendency may become regularized as rules of language.We all know that nasalization is not a phonological feature in English, i.e., it does not distinguish meaning. But this does not mean that vowels in English are never nasalized in actual pronunciation; in fact they are nasalized in certain phonetic contexts. For example, the [i:] sound is nasalized in words like bean, green, team, and scream. This is because in all these sound combinations the [i:] sound is followed by a nasal [n] or [m].The assimilation rule also accounts for the varying pronunciation of the alveolar nasal [n] in some sound combinations. The rule is that within a word, the nasal [n] assumes the same place of articulation as the consonant that follows it. We know that in English the prefix in- can be added to ma adjective to make the meaning of the word negative, e.g. discreet – indiscreet, correct – incorrect. But the [n] sound in the prefixin- is not always pronounced as an alveolar nasal. It is so in the word indiscreet because the consonant that follows it, i.e. [d], is an alveolar stop, but the [n] sound in the word incorrect is actually pronounced as a velar nasal, i.e. [ŋ]; this is because the consonant that follows it is [k], which is a velar stop. So we can see that while pronouncing the sound [n], we are “copying” a feature of the consonant that follows it.Deletion rule tells us when a sound is to be deleted although it is orthographically represented. We have noticed that in the pronunciation of such words as sign, design, and paradigm, there is no [g] sound although it is represented in spelling by the letter g. But in their corresponding forms signature, designation, and paradigmatic, the [g] represented by the letter g is pronounced. The rule can be stated as: Delete a [g] when it occurs before a final nasal consonant. Given the rule, the phonemic representation of the stems in sign –signature, resign –resignation, phlegm – phlegmatic, paradigm – paradigmatic will include the phoneme/g/, which will be deleted according to the regular rule if no suffix is added.10. What are supra-segmental features? How do the major supra-segmental features of English function in conveying meaning?问：The phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments are called supra-segmental features. The main supra-segmental features include stress, intonation, and tone. The location of stress in Englishdistinguishes meaning. There are two kinds of stress: word stress and sentence stress. For example, a shift of stress may change the part of speech of a word from a noun, to a verb although its spelling remains unchanged. Tones are pitch variations which can distinguish meaning just like phonemes.Intonation plays an important role in the conveyance of meaning in almost every language, especially in a language like English. When spoken in different tones, the same sequence of words may have different meanings.Chapter 3 MorphologyP401. Divide the following words into their separate morphemes byplacing a “+” between each morpheme and the next:a. microfile e. telecommunicationb. bedraggled f. forefatherc. announcement g. psychophysicsd. predigestion h. mechanist问：a. micro + file b. be + draggle + edc. announce + mentd. pre + digest + ione. tele + communicate + ionf. fore + fatherg. psycho + physics h. mechan + ist2. Think of three morpheme suffixes, give their meaning, andspecifythe types of stem they may be suffixed to. Give at least two examples of each.Model: -orsuffix: -ormeaning: the person or thing performing the actionstem type: added to verbsexamples: actor, “one who acts in stage plays, m otion pictures,etc.” translator, “one who translates”问：(1) suffix: -ablemeaning: something can be done or is possiblestemtype:added to verbsexamples: acceptable, “can be accepted”respectable, “can be respected”(2) suffix: -lymeaning: functionalstem type: added to adjectivesexamples: freely. “adverbial form of ‘free’ ”quickly, “adverbial form of 'quick' ”.(3) suffix: -eemeaning: the person receiving the actionstem type: added to verbsexamples: employee, “one who works in a company”interviewee, “one who is interviewed”3. Think of three morpheme prefixes, give their meaning, andspecify the types of stem they may be prefixedto. Give at least two examples of each.Model: a-prefix: a-meaning: “without; not”stem type: added to adjectivesexamples: asymmetric, “lacking symmetry”asexual, “without sex or sex organs”问：(1) prefix: dis-meaning: showing an oppositestem type: added to verbs or nounsexamples : disapprove, “do not approve”dishonesty, “lack of honesty”.(2) prefix: anti-meaning: against, opposed tostem type: added to nouns or adjectivesexamples : a ntinuclear, “opposing the use of atomic weapons and power”antisocial,“opposed or harmful to the laws and customs of an organizedcommunity. ”(3) prefix: counter-meaning: the opposite ofstem type: added to nouns or adjectives.examples: coun terproductive, “producing results opposite to those intended”counteract, “act against and reduce the force or effect of (sth.) ”4. The italicized part in each of the following sentences is an inflectional morpheme. Study each inflectional morpheme carefully and point out its grammatical meaning.Sue moves in high-society circles in London.A traffic warden asked John to move his car.The club has moved to Friday, February 22nd.The branches of the trees are moving back and forth.问：(1) the third person singular(2) the past tense(3) the present perfect(4) the present progressive5. Determine whether the words in each of the following groups are related to one another by processes of inflection or derivation.a) go, goes, going, goneb) discover, discovery, discoverer, discoverable, discoverabilityc) inventor, inventor’s, inventors, inventors’d) democracy, democrat, democratic, democratize问：(略)6. The following sentences contain both derivational and inflectionalaffixes. Underline all of the derivational affixes and circle the inflectional affixes.a) The farmer’s cows escaped.b) It was raining.c) Those socks are inexpensive.d) Jim needs the newer copy.e) The strongest rower continued.f) She quickly closed the book.g) The alphabetization went well.问：(略)。

本科⾃考英语语⾔学概论精⼼整理ChapterOnelanguage English Linguistics:An Introduction 英语语⾔学概论(王永强⽀永碧)Chapter One language1 What is language2 What are the features of language3 What are the functions of languageThe definition of languageLanguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.语⾔是⽤于⼈类交际的任意性的发⾳的符号系统。

First ，language is a system: sound ,words, rules, meaningsElements of language are combined according to rules. Every language contains a set of rules. By system ，we mean the recurring patterns or arrangement or the particular ways or designs in which a language operates. The sounds and the words which form sentences are used in fixed patterns that speakers of a language can understand each other. It is because every language has its system that it conveys the same meaning to its speakers. 语⾔的元素组合根据规则。

Exercises for Chapter OneI. 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 naturalrelationship 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 ofpersons, 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 hislinguistic 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 oflanguage 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 oflanguage.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. arbitrarinessB. dualityC. conventionalityD. displacement2. When someone says “Nice day”in a conversation, he is using language for __________.A. informative functionB. performative functionC. Phatic communionD. metalingual function.3. _________ studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.A. phoneticsB. phonologyC. semanticsD. syntax4. The distinction between langue and parole is proposed by _________.A. Naom ChomskyB. Ferdinand de SaussureC. Michel HallidayD. Leonard Bloomfield5.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?。

EX for English Linguistics (chapter1—6)Chapter I IntroductionI. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:1. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be d .2.Chomsky defines “c ”as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language.3. L refers to the abstract 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.4 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.5. Language is a system of a vocal symbols used for human communication.6. S is the study of language in relation to society.7. The discipline that studies the rules governing the formation of words into permissible sentences in languages is called s .8. Human capacity for language has a g basis, but the details of language have to be taught and learned.9. P refers to the realization of langue in actual use.10. 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.11. 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.12. Linguistics is generally defined as the s study of language.13. To help define and maintain interpersonal relations is the s function of language.14. According to M. A. K. Halliday, the i function is to organize the speaker or writer’s experience of real or imaginary world.15. The t function is to organize written or spoken texts in such a manner that they are coherent within themselves and fit the particular situation in which they are used.II. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement.1. The description of a language in a fixed instant is a _______ study.A. synchronicB. diachronicC. prescriptiveD. systematic2. The application of linguistics principles and theories to language teaching and learning is called _____.A. sociolinguisticsB. PsycholinguisticsC. computational linguisticsD. Applied Linguistics3.If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it issaid to be ______________.A. prescriptiveB. analyticC. descriptiveD. linguistic4. Which of the following is not a design feature of human language?A. ArbitrarinessB. DisplacementC. DualityD. Meaningfulness5. Modern linguistics regards the written language as ____________.A. primaryB. correctC. secondaryD. stable6. 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 informationconveyed.C.speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mothertongueD.All of the above7. Many modern linguists have criticized traditional grammarians for adopting a _____ approach to language study.A. synchronicB. pragmaticC. prescriptiveD. descriptive8. A historical study of language is a ____ study of language.A. synchronicB. diachronicC. prescriptiveD. comparative9. According to F. de Saussure, ____ refers to the abstract linguistic systemshared by all the members of a speech community.A. paroleB. performanceC. langueD. Language10. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection between_________ and meanings.A. senseB. soundsC. objectsD. ideas11. Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situationsof the speaker. This feature is called_________,A. displacementB. dualityC. flexibilityD. cultural transmission12. The distinction between langue and parole was made by _______ early last century.A. American linguist N. ChomskyB. Swiss linguist F. de SaussureC. American linguist Edward SapirD. British linguist J. R. Firth13. The fact that different languages have different words for the same object is goodproof that human language is .A. arbitraryB. rationalC. logicalD. culturalChapter 2：PhonologyII. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:1．An affricate______ refers to a strong puff of air stream in the production of speech sounds.2．A_________ phonetics describes the way our speech organs work to produce the speech sounds and how they differ.3．The four sounds /p/,/b/,/m/ and /w/ have one feature in common, i.e, they are all b ________ sounds.4．Of all the speech organs, the t _________ is the most flexible, and is responsible for varieties of articulation than any other.5．English consonants can be classified in terms of manner of articulation or in terms of p ________ of articulation.6．When the obstruction created by the speech organs is total or complete, the speech sound produced with the obstruction audibly released and the air passing outagain is called a s ______.7．S ________ features are the phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments. They include stress, tone, intonation, etc.8．The rules that govern the combination of sounds in a particular language are called s_______ rules.9．The transcription of speech sounds with letter-symbols only is called broad transcription while the transcription with letter-symbols together with thediacritics is called n transcription.10．When pitch, stress and sound length are tied to the sentence rather than the word in isolation, they are collectively known as i________.11．P _________ is a discipline which studies the system of sounds of a particular language and how sounds are combined into meaningful units to effect linguistic communication.12. If you say door, new, two, senior, zoo, you will notice that the first sounds in all these words are a sounds. The t and s are voiceless, and d, n and z are voiced. Only n is nasal.13．The articulatory apparatus of a human being are contained in three important cavities: the p cavity, the oral cavity and the nasal cavity.14．T_______ are pitch variations, which are caused by the differing rates of vibration of the vocal cords and which can distinguish meaning just likephonemes.15．Depending on the context in which stress is considered, there are two kinds of stress: word stress and s stress.II. There are four choices following each of the statements below. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:1. The study of the physical properties of speech sounds is called ________ phonetics.A. acousticB. articulatoryC. AuditoryD. allomorphic2. The sound /f/ is _________________.A. voiced palatal affricateB. voiced alveolar stopC. voiceless velar fricativeD. voiceless labiodental fricative3．Of all the speech organs, the _______ is/ are the most flexible.A. mouthB. lipsC. tongueD. vocal cords4．The sounds produced without the vocal cords vibrating are ____ sounds.A. voicelessB. voicedC. vowelD. consonantal5．__________ is a voiced alveolar stop.A. /z/B. /d/C. /k/D./b/6．The assimilation rule assimilates one sound to another by “copying”a feature ofa sequential phoneme, thus making the two phones ____________.A. identicalB. sameC. exactly alikeD. similar7. Since /p/ and /b/ are phonetically similar, occur in the same environments andthey can distinguish meaning, they are said to be ___________.A. in phonemic contrastB. in complementary distributionC. the allophonesD. minimal pair8. 2.In terms of the place of articulation, the following sounds [t][d][s][z][n] share the feature of ( ).A. palatalB. alveolarC. bilabialD. dental9.A ____ vowel is one that is produced with the front part of the tongue maintainingthe highest position.A. backB. centralC. frontD. middle10. Palatal semi-vowel refers to the sound .A. [n]B. [h]C. [w]D. [j]11. A phoneme is a group of phonetically similar sounds called .A. minimal pairsB. allomorphsC. phonesD. allophones12.Distinctive features can be found running over a sequence of two or morephonemic segments. The phonemic features that occur above the level of thesegments are called ____________.A. phonetic componentsB. immediate constituentsC.suprasegmental featuresD. semantic features13.A(n) ___________ is a unit that is of distinctive value. It is an abstract unit, acollection of distinctive phonetic features.A. phoneB. soundC. allophoneD. phoneme14．The different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments are called the ____ of that phoneme.A. phonesB. soundsC. phonemesD. allophones15. The sounds that begin and end the words church and judge are voiceless and voiced _______, respectively.A. stopsB. fricativesC. affricatesD. plosivesChapter 3：MorphologyI. Fill in each blank below with one word which begins with the letter given:1. A root______ is the part of the word left when all the affixes are removed.2. A m______ is the smallest meaningful unit of language.3. B______ morphemes are those that cannot be used independently but have to be combined with other morphemes, either free or bound, to form a word.4. Affixes are of two types: inflectional affixes and d________ affixes.5. A s______ is added to the end of stems to modify the meaning of the original word and it may change its part of speech.6. A c________ is the combination of two or sometimes more than two words to create new words.7. The word snowfall is a word formed by joining two separate words, i.e. “snow” and“fall.” This newly formed word is generally regarded as a c_______.II. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:1.The morpheme “vision”in the common word “television”is a(n) ______.A. bound morphemeB. bound formC. inflectional morphemeD. free morpheme2.The compound word “bookstore”is the place where books are sold. This indicates that the meaning of a compound __________.A.is the sum total of the meaning of its componentsB.can always be worked out by looking at the meanings of morphemesC.is the same as the meaning of a free phrase.D.None of the above.3. “-s” in the word “books” is _______.A. a derivative affixB. a stemC. an inflectional affixD. a root4. Which of the following is NOT a compound word?A. RainbowB. MilkshakeC. Icy-coldD. Unpleasant5.The part of speech of the compounds is generally determined by the part of speech of __________.A. the first elementB. the second elementC. either the first or the second elementD. both the first and the second elements.6. _______ are those that cannot be used independently but have to be combined with other morphemes, either free or bound, to form a word.A. Free morphemesB. Bound morphemesC. Bound wordsD. Words7._________ is a branch of grammar which studies the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed.A. SyntaxB. GrammarC. MorphologyD. Morpheme8.The meaning carried by the inflectional morpheme is _______.A. lexicalB. stylisticC. grammaticalD. semantic9.Bound morphemes are those that ___________.A. have to be used independentlyB.can not be combined with other morphemesC.can either be free or boundD.have to be combined with other morphemes.10.____ modify the meaning of the stem, but usually do not change the part of speech of the original word.A. PrefixesB. SuffixesC. RootsD. Affixes11._________ are often thought to be the smallest meaningful units of language by the linguists.A. WordsB. MorphemesC. PhonemesD. Sentences12.“-s”in the word “books”is _______.A. a derivative affixB. a stemC. an inflectional affixD. a root13. Which of the following does NOT belong to “open class words”?A. NounsB. AdjectivesC. ConjunctionsD. Adverbs14. In the word unreliable, the prefix “un-” is a(n) _______ morpheme.A. freeB. boundC. rootD. inflectional15. Morphemes that represent “tense”, “number”, “gender”, “case”, “aspect”,“degree” and so forth are called morphemes.A. inflectionalB. boundC. freeD. derivational16. The English word “modernizers” is composed of morphemes.A. fourB. threeC. twoD. fiveChapter 5 SemanticsI. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the lettergiven:1. S______can be defined as the study of meaning.2. The conceptualist view holds that there is no d_____ link between a linguistic form and what it refers to.3. R _____ 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 experience.4. Words that are close in meaning are called s_____.5. When two words are identical in sound, but different in spelling and meaning, they are called h _____.6. Pairs of words that exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the two items are called r_______ opposites.7. R_________ opposites are pairs of words that exhibit the reversal of a relationship between the two items.8.C_______ analysis is based upon the belief that the meaning of a word can be divided into meaning components.9. Whether a sentence is semantically meaningful is governed by rules calleds________ restrictions, which are constraints on what lexical items can go with what others.10. According to the n ____ theory of meaning, the words in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for.II. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:1. The naming theory is advanced by ________.A. PlatoB. BloomfieldC. Geoffrey LeechD. Firth2. “We shall know a word by the company it keeps.” This statement represents_______.A. the conceptualist viewB. contexutalismC. the naming theoryD. behaviourism3.“Can I borrow your bike?”_______ “You have a bike.”A. is synonymous withB. is inconsistent withC. entailsD. presupposes4.___________ is a way in which the meaning of a word can be dissected intomeaning components, called semantic features.A. Predication analysisB. Componential analysisC. Phonemic analysisD. Grammatical analysis5.“alive”and “dead”are ______________.A. gradable antonymsB. relational oppositesC. complementary antonymsD. none of the above6._________ deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and thenon-linguistic world of experience.A. ReferenceB. ConceptC. SemanticsD. Sense7.___________ refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings havethe same form.A. PolysemyB. SynonymyC. HomonymyD. Hyponymy8. Words that are close in meaning are called ______________.A. homonymsB. polysemyC. hyponymsD. synonyms9. The kind of antonymy between "married "and "single" is one of __________A converseB relationalC complementaryD gradable10. According to the componential analysis, the word “girl”and “woman”differ in the feature of _______.A. HUMNANB. ANIMATEC. MALED. ADULT11.The grammaticality of a sentence is governed by _______.A.grammatical rulesB.selectional restrictionsC.semantic rulesD.semantic features12. The words stationary and stationery are identical in sound, but different inspelling and meaning. They are _______.A. complete homonymsB. homographsC. hyponymsD. homophones13. In the following pairs of words, are a pair of complementary antonyms.A. old and youngB. male and femaleC. hot and coldD. buy and sell14. The relationship between “violet” and “tulip” is ________.A. co-hyponymsB. superordinateC. hyponymsD. antonyms15. A word with several meanings is called ________word.A. a polysemousB. a synonymousC. an abnormalD. a multipleChapter 6：PragmaticsI.Fill in each blank below with one word which begins with the letter given:1.P_______ is the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication.2.The notion of c_________ is essential to the pragmatic study of language.3. All the speech acts that belong to the same category share the same purpose or the same i_______ point, but they differ in their strength or force.4.If we think of a sentence as what people actually utter in the course of communication, it becomes an u_________.5.The meaning of a sentence is a ______, and decontextualized.6.C________ are statements that either state or describe, and were thus verifiable.7.P________ are sentences that did not state a fact or describe a state, and were not verifiable.8. A l________ act is the act of uttering words, phrases, clauses. It is the act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax, lexicon and phonology.9.An i_______ act is the act of expressing the speaker’s intention; it is the act performed in saying something.10.An e________ is to express feelings or attitude towards an existing state.II.There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement:1. _________ does not study meaning in isolation, but in context.A. PragmaticsB. SemanticsC. Sense relationD. Concept2. The meaning of language was considered as something _______ in traditional semantics.A. contextualB. behaviouristicC. IntrinsicD. logical3. What essentially distinguishes semantics and pragmatics is whether in the study of meaning _________ is considered.A. referenceB. speech actC. practical usageD. context4. A sentence is a________concept, and the meaning of a sentence is often studied in isolation.A. pragmaticB. grammaticalC. mentalD. conceptual5. If we think of a sentence as what people actually utter in the course of communication, it becomes a(n) _________.A. constativeB. directiveC. utteranceD. expressive6. __________ is the act performed by or resulting from saying something; it is the consequence of, or the change brought about by the utterance.A. A locutionary actB. An illocutionary actC. A perlocutionary actD. A performative act7. According to Searle, the illocutionary point of the representative is ______.A. to state, or describe, saying what the speaker believes to be trueB. to commit the speaker to something’s being the caseC. to commit the speaker to some future course of actionD. to express the feelings or attitude towards an existing state of affairs.8. __________ is advanced by Paul GriceA. Cooperative PrincipleB. Politeness PrincipleC. The General Principle of Universal GrammarD. Adjacency Principle9. When any of the maxims under the cooperative principle is flouted, _______ might arise.A. impolitenessB. contradictionsC. mutual understandingD. conversational implicature10. The illocutionary point of _______ is to express the psychological state specifiedin the utterance.A. directivesB. expressivesC. commissivesD. representatives11. found that natural language had its own logic and thus concluded thefamous Cooperative Principle.A. John AustinB. John FirthC. Paul GriceD. William Jones12. As far as the sentence “My bag is heavy” is concerned, linguists of pragmatics aremore interested in its ______ meaning.A. literalB. logicalC. utterenceD. sentence13. What essentially distinguishes semantics and pragmatics is whether, in the study of meaning, _________ is considered.A. referenceB. speech actC. practical usageD. context14. Of the three speech acts, linguists are most interested in the _________ because this kind of speech act is identical with the speaker’s intention.A. locutionary actB. illocutionary actC. perlocutionary actD. constative act15. “How fast did he drive when he ran the red light?” _________ “He ran the redlight”.A. entailsB. contradictsC. presupposesD. includesChapter 1I. 1. descriptive petence 3. Langue 4. Duality 5. arbitrary6.socialinguistics7. syntax8. genetic9. Performance 10.applied11. productive 12.scientific 13. social 14 .ideational 15. TextualII.1.A 2.D 3. C 4. D 5.C 6.D 7.C 8.B 9.C 10.B 11.A 12. B 13.AChapter 2I. 1.affricate 2. Articulatory 3.bilabial 4.tognue 5.places6.stop7.Suprasegmental8.sequential9.narrow 10.intonation11.Phonology 12. Alveolar 13. pharyngeal 14.Tones 15.sentenceII. 1.A 2.D 3.C 4.A 5.B 6.D 7. A8. B 9.C 10.D 11. D 12. C 13. D 14. D 15. CChapter 3I. 1. Root 2. Morpheme 3.Bound 4.derivational 5.suffixpound7. CompoundII.1.D 2.D 3.C 4.D 5.C 6. B 7. C 8. C 9. D 10.A11. B 12.C 13. C 14.B 15.A 16.A 17.Chapter 5I.1. Semantics 2.direct 3. Reference 4.synonyms 5.homophones6.relational7.Relational8. Componential9.semantic 10.namingII. 1.A 2.B 3.C 4.B 5.C 6.A 7.C 8.D 9.C 10.D11.A 12.D 13.B 14.A 15.AChapter 6I.1.Pragmatics 2.context 3.illocutionary 4.utterance 5.abstract6.Constatives7.Performatives8.locutionary9.illocutionary 10.expressive II.1. A 2. C 3.D 4. B 5. C 6.C 7. A 8.A 9.D 10.B11. C 12.C 13.D 14. B 15. A。