一、课程性质及其设置目的与要求 （一）课程性质和特点 《英语语言学概论》课程是我省高等教育自学考试英语专业（本科段）的一门重要的专业理论课程，其任务是培养应考者系统地学习英语语言学的基本知识，掌握语言系统内部语言学各分支之间的关系和各分支的重要概念和基本理论，了解语言学在其它学科领域的应用，熟悉现代语言学重要的流派及其代表人物；通过该课程的学习，考生可以从不同的角度了解语言（的性质），了解语言学习和语言教学，为日后进一步学习语言学、从事语言教学实践和语言学研究打下扎实基础。本课程的特点是：专业术语多，概念多，内容抽象，所以，考生最好在学习本课程之前先学习提高语言读写能力的课程，如高级英语、泛读（三）、写作等，这样可以减少语言障碍，有利于学好语言学的理论知识。 （二）本课程的基本要求 本课程共分为本书共分四编，计十三章。第一编（一至二章）介绍了语言和语言学；第二编（三至八章）介绍了语言学的主要分支—语音学、音位学、形态学、句法学、语义学和语用学；第三编（九至十二章）为跨学科领域与应用—话语分析、社会语言学、心理语言学，以及语言学理论与外语教学；第四编（十三章）介绍了现代语言学流派。通过对本书的学习，要求应考者对英语语言学有一个全面和正确的了解。具体应达到以下要求： 1、掌握语言的性质、功能，以及语言学的研究范围、语言学的分支和重要的语言学概念； 2、掌握语言系统内部语言学各分支之间的关系和各分支的重要概念和基本理论； 3、了解语言学在其它学科领域的应用； 4、熟悉现代语言学重要的流派及其代表人物。 （三）本课程与相关课程的联系 英语语言学概论是一门基础理论课程，其含盖范围很广，既涉及语言系统内部的语音学、音位学、形态学、句法学、语义学和语用学，又涉及许多交叉学科，如话语分析、社会语言学、心理语言学、应用语用学（包括语言学理论与外语教学），以及本教程未涉及的神经认知语言学、计算机语言学、人工智能与机器翻译等。语言学的进一步研究甚至会涉及到哲学、逻辑学等领域。 在自考课程中，词汇学与语言学关系最为密切，词汇学的许多概念、理论和研究方法都来源于语言学。高级英语、泛读（三）、写作、翻译等课程则是学好语言学的基础。文学与语言学并非对立的关系，这两个领域的研究方法可以互相补充、互相借鉴，日后无论从事语言学还是文学研究，这两个领域都必须同时涉猎。 二、课程内容与考核目标
《英语语言学概论》精选试题1 1. Which of the following statements about language is NOT true A. Language is a system B. Language is symbolic C. Animals also have language D. Language is arbitrary 2. Which of the following features is NOT one of the design features of language A. Symbolic B. Duality C. Productive D. Arbitrary 3. What is the most important function of language A. Interpersonal B. Phatic C. Informative D. Metalingual 4. Who put forward the distinction between Langue and Parole A. Saussure B. Chomsky C. Halliday D. Anonymous 5. According to Chomsky, which is the ideal user's internalized knowledge of his language A. competence B. parole C. performance D. langue 6. The function of the sentence "A nice day, isn't it" is . A. informative B. phatic C. directive D. performative 7. Articulatory phonetics mainly studies . A. the physical properties of the sounds produced in speech B. the perception of sounds C. the combination of sounds D. the production of sounds 8. The distinction between vowels and consonants lies in . A. the place of articulation B. the obstruction of airstream C. the position of the tongue D. the shape of the lips 9. Which is the branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription A. Phonetics B. Phonology C. Semantics D. Pragmatics 10. Which studies the sound systems in a certain language A. Phonetics B. Phonology C. Semantics D. Pragmatics 11. Minimal pairs are used to . A. find the distinctive features of a language B.find the phonemes of a language C. compare two words D. find the allophones of language 12. Usually, suprasegmental features include ___ ,length and pitch. A. phoneme B. speech sounds C. syllables D. stress 13. Which is an indispensable part of a syllable A. Coda B. Onset C. Stem D. Peak 三、判断
Chapter 4 Phonology(音位学) 4.1 phonetics and phonology:语音学与音位学的区分 Both phonetics and phonology are concerned with speech.语音学和音位学都士对语音的研究。 定义区别 -Phonetics is a study of the production, perception and physical properties of speech sounds. 语音学是研究语音的生产、感知和物理性质的。 -Phonology studies how speech sounds are combined，organized，and convey meanings in particular languages.研究语音如何在在特定的语言中结合、组织和表达含义。 ---Phonology is language-specific.it is the study of how sounds are organized and used in natural languages.音位学是特定于语言的。它的研究对象是自然语言中的声音是如何组织和使用的。 ---Phonetics is a study of speech sounds while phonology is a study of the sound syst em of a language.语音学是一个研究语音的然后音位学是研究一种语言的声音系统的学科。 4.2 Phonemes，phones and allophones 音位、音子、音位变体 Different languages have different phonological systems.不同的语言有不同的语音系统。 定义： ①Phones are the smallest identifiable phonetic unit or segment found in a stream of speech. 音子就是在连续的发音中可辨认的最小语音单位或片段。 ②Allophones are the phones which represent a phoneme in a language and cannot change word meaning by substituting any of the set for another.音位变体是指代表语言中音位的音子，即使以一个取代另一个也不改变词义。 ③Phonemes are the minimal distinctive units in the sound system of a language.音位是语言系统中最小的独特的单位。 Allophones are the realization of a particular phoneme while phones are the realizatio n of phonemes in general.音位变体是一个特定音素的认知而音子则是一般的音素。 4.3Minimal pairs 最小对立体 The phonologist is concerned with what difference are significant or technically speaki ng, distinctive. Minimal pair---a pair of words which differ from each other by one sound. Three conditions（情况）: 1）the two froms are different in meaning意义不同 2）the two forms are different in one sound segment声音片段不同 3）the different sounds occur in the same position of the two words.不同声音发生在两个单词的相同位置 Minimal set: a group of words can satisfy（满足）the three conditions . Minimal pairs help determine phonemes. 最小对立体用来定义音位。 4.4 identifying phonemes 识别音素 4.4.1 contrastive distribution，complementary distribution and free variation 对比分布，互补分布和自由变异 The distribution of a sound refers to the collective environments in which the sound concerned may appear.一个声音的分布是指其有关的声音可能出现的集体环境。 1）contrastive distribution对比分布 If two or more sounds can occur in the same environment and the substitution of on
《英语语言学概论》复习纲要 1.复习的基本原则：第一，理解和吃透各章的重点内容。第二，以 各章的题目为统领，理解各章节下的具体内容。第三，动手书写和记忆重要内容，部分语言学理论会应用到实际中。 2.各章节复习要点如下 Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics Definitions of the following terms: language, linguistics, arbitrariness, duality, creativity, displacement, descriptive VS prescriptive, synchronic VS diachronic, langue VS parole, competence VS performance Study of the origin of language What are the functions of language Which subjects are included in macrolinguistics Chapter 2 Speech Sounds Definitions of the following terms: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics, phonetics, phonology, consonants, vowels, allophones, broad transcription VS narrow transcription Analyze the complementary distribution, free variation with examples The classification of English consonants and English vowels and the features involved in the classification Understand some processes of phonology: nasalization, dentalization, velarization
单元练习...．..７6页 英语语言学概论 —自学指导 主编: 支永碧王永祥
英语语言学概论 —自学指导 主编: 支永碧王永祥 副主编：李葆春丁后银王秀凤
前言 本书主要为参加英语专业(本科段)自学考试和全国研究生入学考试的考生而编写,是《英语语言学概论》(王永祥、支永碧,2０0７）的配套辅导用书。 自2０0７年起,《英语语言学概论》（王永祥、支永碧，２007)被确定为英语专业(本科段)自学考试的指定教材。在此期间，许多参加自学考试的考生希望能再出一本配套的辅导教材。他们中的不少人不仅希望自学考试轻松过关,还希望和全国其他学生一样将来能参加全国统一的研究生入学考试继续升造求学。而现有的教材内容和相关练习似乎还不能充分满足他们的需求。其一,配套练习尚不够全面,缺少问答题的参考答案；其二，和研究生入学考试真题相比,配套练习的类型也不够全面；其三,参加自学考试的学生往往很难得到老师的亲自授课和指导，而英语语言学理论和概念往往抽象难懂，再加上其它各种原因,不少考生不能轻易地掌握各章的所有重点、难点，因此,他们迫切需要有一本简单实用的自学考试指南和辅导练习帮助他们解决问题；此外，在英语专业研究生入学考试中，英语语言学是一门必考科目。入学以后,英语语言学也是英语专业研究生的一门必修课。鉴于此,他们希望了解更全面的英语语言学基本理论，多做一些更实用的英语语言学练习和真题，以备将来需要。为了满足广大自考学生和准备参加英语专业研究生入学考试的考生的需要,我们在广泛征求了各方面的意见之后,精心编写了本书。本书的编写除了主要参照王永祥、支永碧主编的《英语语言学概论》以外，我们还参考了胡壮麟主编的《语言学教程》(修订版）和戴炜栋、何兆熊主编的《新编简明英语语言学教程》和其它一些高校使用的语言学教程。 本书第一部分为英语语言学核心理论和概念，主要包括:本章主要考点，课文理解与重点内容分析;第二部分为英语语言学概论的十三章单元配套练习,和原教材中的练习稍有不同的是，在本部分，我们选编了部分自学考试真题和各个高校历年考研真题，以便考生更好地了解本章重点。这样，学生可以更有针对性地进行各章节的学习和复习。虽然该部分略有难度,但对考研和自考的学生都很有帮助；第三部分为英语语言学综合模拟试卷, 内容紧扣《英语语言学概论》，针对性很强,适用于英语专业各类考生；第四部分为江苏省自学考试英语语言学概论部分考试样题及参考答案。本书的习题主要包括以下七种类型:问答题、选择题、填空题、名词解释、是非判断题、汉英术语互译题、操作题。另外,为便于学习者了解考试重点，本书附加了江苏省英语专业(本科段）《英语语言学概论》自学考试新大纲2007版；另外，为便于自学者查询深涩难懂的语言学词汇，我们按照汉语字母顺序编写了常见的英语语言学术语汉英对照表，以补充原教材的些许缺失。 本书力求充分满足广大考生学习和考试的需要,帮助他们了解各章的主要考点和复习要点。祝参加英语专业自学考试的考生轻松克服《英语语言学概论》的学习难题，祝参加英语专业研究生入学考试的考生在本书的帮助下能轻松通过英语语言学这个难关，实现自己的梦想。 支永碧 20０9年2月于南京师范大学随园
第一章绪论 1.1什么是语言 1.2语言的性质 （1）语言具有系统性（systematic） （2）语言是一个符号系统 语言符号是一种象征符号。 （3）语言符号的任意性（arbitrariness）与理据性（motivation） （4）口头性 （5）语言是人类特有的 （6）语言是用于交际的 寒暄交谈（phatic communion）马林诺夫斯基提出的，认为语言除了用于表达思想、交流感情外，还可以用语言营造一种气氛或保持社会接触。这种不用于表达思想、交流感情的语言使用，叫寒暄交谈。 1.3语言的起源 1.4语言的分类 1.4.1系属分类（Genetic Classification） 历史比较语言学通过比较各种语言在不同时期语音、词性、曲折变化、语法结构上的相同特点来建立语言族系。 将语言分为语系（family）——语族（group）——语支（branch）——语言 英语、德语属印欧语系日耳曼语族西日耳曼语支。法语属印欧语系罗曼语族中罗曼语支。 汉语属汉藏语系汉语族。 1.4.2 类型分类（Typological Classifacation） 根据词的结构类型，可分为 （1）孤立语（isolating language）又叫词根语，一个词代表一个意思，缺少形态变化，语序和虚词是表达语法意义的主要手段。汉语是典型的孤立语。 （2）粘着语（agglutinative language）简单词组成复合词，而词性和意义不变。在词根前、中、后粘贴不同的词缀实现语法功能。日语、韩语、土耳其语是典型的黏着语。 （3）屈折语（inflectional language）词形变化表语法关系的语言。英语是不太典型的屈折语。 （4）多式综合语（polysynthesis language）把主、宾和其它语法项结合到动词词干上以构成一个单独的词，但表达一个句子的意思。因纽特语是典型的多式综合语。 根据句子的语序类型，可分为SVO、SOV、OSV、OVS等 1.5语言的功能 1.5.1 一般功能 1.5.2元功能（metafunction） 1.6什么是语言学（linguistics）
Chapter 1 Language语言 1. Design feature (识别特征) refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. 2. Productivity (能产性) refers to the ability that people have in making and comprehending indefinitely large quantities of sentences in their native language. 3. arbitrariness (任意性) Arbitrariness refers to the phenomenon that there is no motivated relationship between a linguistic form and its meaning. 4. symbol (符号) Symbol refers to something such as an object, word, or sound that represents something else by association or convention. 5. discreteness(离散性) Discreteness refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfully distinct. 6. displacement (不受时空限制的特性) Displacement refers to the fact that human language can be used to talk about things that are not in the immediate situations of its users. 7. duality of structure (结构二重性) The organization of language into two levels, one of sounds, the other of meaning, is known as duality of structure. 8. culture transmission (文化传播) Culture transmission refers to the fact that language is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by inheritance. 9. interchangeability (互换性) Interchangeability means that any human being can be both a producer and a receiver of messages. 1. ★What is language? Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. This definition has captured the main features of language. First, language is a system. Second, language is arbitrary in the sense. The third feature of language is symbolic nature. 2. ★What are the design features of language? Language has seven design features as following: 1) Productivity. 2) Discreteness. 3) Displacement 4) Arbitrariness. 5) Cultural transmission 6) Duality of structure. 7) Interchangeability. 3. Why do we say language is a system? Because elements of language are combined according to rules, and every language contains a set of rules. By system, the recurring patterns or arrangements or the particular ways or designs in which a language operates. And the sounds, the words and the sentences are used in fixed patterns that speaker of a language can understand each other. 4. ★ (Function of language.) According to Halliday, what are the initial functions of children’s language? And what are the three functional components of adult language? I. H alliday uses the following terms to refer to the initial functions of children’s language: 1) Instrumental function. 工具功能 2) Regulatory function. 调节功能 3) Representational function. 表现功能 4) Interactional function. 互动功能 5) Personal function. 自指性功能 6) Heuristic function. 启发功能[osbQtq`kf`h] 7) Imaginative function. 想象功能 II. A dult language has three functional components as following: 1) Interpersonal components. 人际 2) Ideational components.概念 3) Textual components.语篇
《英语语言学概论》课程复习题集(1-6章) 2013-6-1 Chapter I Introduction2012 I. Decide whether each of the following statements is TRUE or FALSE: T1. Linguistics is the scientific study of language. F2. Competence and performance is distinguished by Saussure. F3. A synchronic linguistics is the study of a language through the course of its history. T4. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. F5. Linguistics studies particular language, not languages in general. F6. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks. T7. In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on language facts and checked against the observed facts. T8. General linguistics is generally the study of language as a whole. T9. 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. T10. Phonetics is different from phonology in that the latter studies the combinations of the sounds to convey meaning in communication. F11. Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meaningful sentences. T12. The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is called morphology. F13. 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. T14. The study of meaning in language is known as semantics. T15. Both semantics and pragmatics study meanings. T16. Pragmatics is different from semantics in that pragmatics studies meaning not in isolation, but in context. T17. Social changes can often bring about language changes. T18. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to society. T19. The arbitrary nature of language makes it possible for language to have an
《英语语言学概论》重、难点提示 第一章语言的性质 语言的定义：语言的基本特征（任意性、二重性、多产性、移位、文化传递和互换性）；语言的功能（寒暄、指令、提供信息、询问、表达主观感情、唤起对方的感情和言语行为）；语言的起源（神授说，人造说，进化说）等。 第二章语言学 语言学定义；研究语言的四大原则（穷尽、一致、简洁、客观）；语言学的基本概念（口语与书面语、共时与历时、语言与言学、语言能力与言行运用、语言潜势与语言行为）；普通语言学的分支（语音、音位、语法、句法、语义）；；语言学的应用（语言学与语言教学、语言与社会、语言与文字、语言与心理学、人类语言学、神经语言学、数理语言学、计算语言学）等。 第三章语音学 发音器官的英文名称；英语辅音的发音部位和发音方法；语音学的定义；发音语音学；听觉语音学；声学语音学；元音及辅音的分类；严式与宽式标音等。 第四章音位学 音位理论；最小对立体；自由变异；互补分布；语音的相似性；区别性特征；超语段音位学；音节；重音（词重音、句子重音、音高和语调）等. 第五章词法学 词法的定义；曲折词与派生词；构词法（合成与派生）；词素的定义；词素变体；自由词素；粘着词素（词根，词缀和词干）等。 第六章词汇学 词的定义；语法词与词汇词；变词与不变词；封闭词与开放词；词的辨认；习语与搭配。第七章句法 句法的定义；句法关系；结构；成分；直接成分分析法；并列结构与从属结构；句子成分；范畴（性，数，格）；一致；短语，从句，句子扩展等。 第八章语义学 语义的定义；语义的有关理论；意义种类（传统、功能、语用）；里奇的语义分类；词汇意义关系（同义、反义、下义）；句子语义关系。 第九章语言变化 语言的发展变化（词汇变化、语音书写文字、语法变化、语义变化）； 第十章语言、思维与文化 语言与文化的定义；萨丕尔-沃夫假说；语言与思维的关系；语言与文化的关系；中西文化的异同。 第十一章语用学 语用学的定义；语义学与语用学的区别；语境与意义；言语行为理论（言内行为、言外行为和言后行为）；合作原 320240*********
英语语言学概论 GE GROUP system office room 【GEIHUA16H-GEIHUA GEIHUA8Q8-
Chapter 1 Language语言 1.Design feature (识别特征) refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. 2.Productivity (能产性) refers to the ability that people have in making and comprehending indefinitely large quantities of sentences in their native language. 3.arbitrariness (任意性) Arbitrariness refers to the phenomenon that there is no motivated relationship between a linguistic form and its meaning. 4.symbol (符号) Symbol refers to something such as an object, word, or sound that represents something else by association or convention. 5.discreteness (离散性) Discreteness refers to the phenomenon that the sounds in a language are meaningfully distinct. 6.displacement (不受时空限制的特性) Displacement refers to the fact that human language can be used to talk about things that are not in the immediate situations of its users. 7.duality of structure (结构二重性) The organization of language into two levels, one of sounds, the other of meaning, is known as duality of structure. 8.culture transmission (文化传播) Culture transmission refers to the fact that language is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by inheritance.
语义学 1.？什么是语义学？ . 语义学可定义为对语言意义的研究。 2. 语义研究的几种主要理论 1)命名论 . , , , . . 命名论是最原始的语义理论，是古希腊学者柏拉图提出的。该理论把词看作是该词所指事物的名称或标记。 2)意念论 ; , . 意念论认为，语言形式及其所代表的对象之间（即语言与现实世界之间）没有直接联系；确切地说，在理解语义时，是通过大脑中存在意念这一中介物来联系的。 3)语境论 . : . 语境论以这样的假设为基础：人们可以从显而易见的语境中推知或归纳出语义。语境有两种：情景语境和语言语境。 语境论认为语言的意义离不开使用语言的语境，语义不是抽象的，它存在于语境之中，它来自语境，取决于语境。 4)行为主义论 “ .” , , . 语义的行为主义论和语义的语境论有相似之处，它也把语义放到语境中去研究，但它更注重人的心理活动，认为语言的意义存在于语言使用者在交际过程中对听到话语的反应。 3.意义和所指 . 它们是词汇意义的既相互联系又有所不同的两个方面。 1). ; . . 意义关心的是语言形式的内在意义。它是语言形式所有特征的总和，它是抽象且脱离语境的。它是词典编写者们所感兴趣的语义方面。 简单地说，意义是词汇内在的，抽象的，游离于语境之外的意义。 2), ; . 所指是语言形式在现实世界中所指称的东西；涉及语言成分和非语言的经验世界的关系。简单地说，所指是词汇在特定的语境中所指称的具体事物。 4.主要意义关系
1）同义关系 . . 同义现象指的是语义的相同或相近。词义相近的词叫同义词。 , : a)–. . 方言同义词－用在不同地域方言中的同义词。 英国英语和美国英语是英语的两大地理变体。 示例： 英国英语美国英语 b)–. , . , , , . 文体同义词－在文体上有差异的同义词。 有同样意义的词可能在文体上，或者在正式程度上有所不同。也就是说，有些往往比较正式，有些比较随意，有些在问题上则是中性的。 示例： , , , , , , , , c) , . 情感意义或评价意义有所不同的同义词。 有着相同的意义却表达了使用者的不同情感的词语，这些词暗示使用者对他所谈论的事情的态度或倾向。 示例： 合作者同谋者，帮凶 , , , , , , , , , d)–. , ., . . 搭配同义词－同义词在其搭配上各不相同，即能和这些不同的同义词相配的词各不相同。示例： … … … e)–. 语义上不同的同义词－同义词的意义非常接近，但却有细微差别。 示例： 暗示困惑和迷惑暗示难以置信 意味逃离不愉快或者危险的事意味匆匆离开 2）多义关系 . , . , .
1.Synchronic vs diachronic Language exists in time and changes through time. The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A diachronic study of language is a historical study; it studies the historical development of language over a period of time. 2. Langue and parole 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 abide by, and 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. 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. 3. Competence and performance Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language, and performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. According to Chomsky, a speaker has internalized a set of rules about his language, which enables him to produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences and recognize sentences that are ungrammatical and ambiguous. 4. Arbitrariness As mentioned earlier, language 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 language. On the other hand, we should be aware that while language is arbitrary by nature it is not entirely arbitrary; certain words are motivated. The best examples are the onomatopoeic words, such as rumble, crash, cackle, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. For example, while photo and copy are both arbitrary, the compound word photocopy is not entirely arbitrary. But non-arbitrary words make up only a small percentage of the vocabulary of a language. The arbitrary nature of language is a sigh of sophistication and it makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions. 5. 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 they have never heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Much of what we say and hear are saying or hearing for the first time. 6. Duality Language is a system, which 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 such as morphemes and words, which are found at the higher level of the system. 7. Displacement 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 faraway 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. This property provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time or place. In contrast, no animal communication system possesses this feature. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation, i.e. in contact of food, in presence of danger, or in pain. Once the danger or pain is gone, calls stop. 8. Cultural transmission While 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. An English speaker and a Chinese speaker are both able to use a language, but they are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. It is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. In contrast, animal call systems are genetically transmitted, i.e. animals are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species. 9. Broad transcription and narrow transcription: Broad transcription is the transcription with letter-symbols only, this is the transcription normally used in dictionaries and teaching textbooks for general purposes. Narrow transcription is the transcription with letter-symbols together with the diacritics, 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. 10. Sense and reference Sense and reference are two terms often encountered in the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of a linguistic form, the collection of all its features; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in. Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with relationship between the linguistic element and non-linguistic world of experience. 11. Context It is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer. Various components of shared knowledge have been identified, e.g. knowledge of the language they use, knowledge of what has been said before, knowledge about the world in general, knowledge about the specific situation in which linguistic communication is taking place, and knowledge about each other. Context determines the speaker’s use of language and also the hearer’s interpretation of