英語語言學(xué)參考資料

1、Chapter I Introduction I. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False: 1. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.2.Linguistics studies particular language, not languages in general.3. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thin

2、ks. 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 concept

3、s, 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. T

4、he 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 kn

5、own 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 s

6、ociety. 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 t

7、he 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 users k_ of the rules of his language. 22.Langue refer

8、s 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

9、 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

10、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

11、_ 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

12、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. prescriptive B. analytic C. descriptive D. linguistic 32.Which of the foll

13、owing is not a design feature of human language? A. Arbitrariness B. Displacement C. Duality D. Meaningfulness 33. Modern linguistics regards the written language as _. A. primary B. correct C. secondary D. stable 34. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because _. A

14、. in linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing B. 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 tongue D. All of the above 35. A historical study of language is a _ study o

15、f language. A. synchronic B. diachronic C. prescriptive D. comparative 36.Saussure took a (n)_ view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a _ point of view. A. sociologicalpsychological B. psychologicalsociological C. applied pragmatic D.semantic and linguistic 37. According to F. de Sau

16、ssure, _ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community. A. parole B. performance C. langue D. Language 38. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection between _ and meanings. A. sense B. sounds C. objects D. ideas 39. Language ca

17、n be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This feature is called_, A. displacement B. duality C. flexibility D. cultural transmission40. The details of any language system is passed on from one generation to the next through _ , rather than by instinct. A.

18、learning B. teaching C. books D. both A and B IV. Define the following terms: 41. Linguistics 42. Phonology 43. Syntax 44. Pragmatics 45. Psycholinguistics 46. Language 47. Phonetics 48. Morphology 49.Semantics 50. Sociolinguistics 51. Applied Linguistics 52.Arbitrariness 53 Productivity 54. Displac

19、ement 55.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 communication.

20、 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 reg

21、ard 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. Saussures distinction between langue and parole seems similar to Chomskys distinction between competence and performanc

22、e. What do you think are their major differences?69. Do you think human language is entirely arbitrary? Why? Keys: I. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False: l.T 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.T 6.F 7.T 8.F 9.T 10.F 11.T 12.T 13.T 14.T 15.T 16.F 17.T 18.F 19.F 20.F II. Fill in each of the f

23、ollowing blanks with one word which begins with the letter given: 21. knowledge 22. abstract 23. Duality 24. arbitrary 25. syntax 26.genetic 27. Parole 28. applied 29. productive 30. scientific (or systematic) III. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best comple

24、te the statement. 3l.C 32.D 33.C 34.D 35.B 36.A 37.C 38.B 39.A 40.D IV. Define the following terms: 41. Linguistics: Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. 42. Phonology: The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology. 43. Syntax

25、: The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences is called syntax. . 44. Pragmatics: The study of meaning in context of use is called pragmatics . 45. Psycholinguistics: The study of language with reference to the workings of mind is called psycholinguistics. 46. Language: Langu

26、age is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 47. Phonetics: The study of sounds which are used in linguistic communication is called phonetics . 48. Morphology: The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words is called morphology. 49. Semantics: The stu

27、dy of meaning in language is called semantics. 50. Sociolinguistics: The study of language with reference to society is called sociolinguistics,. 51. Applied linguistics: In a narrow sense, applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and l

28、earning, especially the teaching of foreign and second languages. In a broad sense, it refers to the application of linguistic findings to the solution of practical problems such as the recovery of speech ability. 52. arbitrariness: It is one of the design features of language. It means that there i

29、s no logical connection between meanings and sounds 53. Productivity: Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. 54. Displacement: Displacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or n

30、ot 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 55. Duality: The duality nature of language means that language is a system, which consists of t

31、wo sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanings. 56. Design features: Design features refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication 57. Competence: Chomsky defines competence as the ideal users knowledge of

32、 the rules of his language, 58. Performance: performance is the actual realization of the knowledge of the rules in linguistic communication. 59. langue : Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; Langue is the set of conventions and rules which

33、 language users all have to follow; Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently 60. Parole: Parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use; parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules; parole varies from person to person, and from situation

34、 to situation. V. 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 communication. Explain it in detail.First of all, language is a system, because element

35、s of language are combined according to rules. Secondly, language is arbitrary because there is no intrinsic connection between form and meaning, or between the sign and what it stands for. Different languages have different words for the same object in the world. This fact is a good illustration of

36、 the arbitrary nature of language. This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are just symbols; they are associated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention . Thirdly, language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well - developed their

37、 writing systems are. The term human in the definition indicates that language is possessed by human beings only and is very different from the communication systems of other living creatures. The term communication means that language makes it possible for its users to talk to each other and fulfil

38、 their communicative needs.62. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples. 1) Arbitrariness As mentioned earlier, the arbitrary property of language means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. For instance, there is no necessary relations

39、hip 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 whi

40、ch 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 e

41、xpressions. 2) Productivity Language 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

42、. 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) Duality The duality nature of language

43、 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 accordi

44、ng 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

45、comes near to possessing it. 4) Displacement Displacement 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 i

46、mmediate situations of the speaker. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation. 5) Cultural transmission Human beings were born with the ability to acquire language, but the details of any language are not genetically transmitted or passed down by instinct. They ha

47、ve to be taught and learned, but animal call systems are genetically transmitted . 63. How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar? Traditional grammar is prescriptive; it is based on high (religious, literary) written language . It sets grammatical rules and imposes the rules on la

48、nguage users. But Modern linguistics is descriptive; It collects authentic, and mainly spoken language data and then it studies and describes the data in an objective and scientific way. 64. How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachronic study? The description of a

49、 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 de

50、velopment of language over a period of time. 65. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, not the 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 grea

51、ter 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. 66. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole? The distinction between langue, and parole wa

52、s 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

53、 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 freq

54、uently; while parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation. 67. How do you understand competence and performance ? American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950s proposed the distinction between competence and performance. Chomsky defines competence as the ideal users knowled

55、ge 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 l

56、inguistic communication. Although the speakers 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.68. Saussures distinction between langue and parole seems similar to Chomskys distinction between competence and performance. Wh