chapter6 pragmatics

《新编简明英语语⾔学教程》1_6章期末复习题Chapter one Introduction1.1什么是语⾔学1.1.1定义语⾔学LinguisticsLinguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.1.1.2The scope of linguistics语⾔学分⽀必考P2普通语⾔学General LinguisticsThe study of language as a whole is often called General linguistics.The study of sounds, which are used in linguistic communication, is called phonetics.（语⾳学）The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology. （⾳位学）The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words are called morphology. （形态学）The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences is called syntax（句法学）The study of meaning in language is called semantics. （语义学）The study of meaning in context of use is called pragmatics. （语⽤学）1.1.3 Some important distinctions in linguistics 成对的概念辨析差异必考P3 （1）Prescriptive and descriptive 规定与描写If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive, if it aims to lay down rules to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive.Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar. Traditional grammar is prescriptive while modern linguistics is descriptive. The task of linguists is supposed to describe the language people actually use, whether it is “correct” or not.规定性PrescriptiveIt aims to lay down rules for ”correct” behavior, to tell people what they should say and what should not say.描述性DescriptiveA linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use.（2）Synchronic and diachronic 共时和历时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. In modern linguistics, synchronic study is more important.历时语⾔学Diachronic linguisticsThe study of language change through time. a diachronic study of language is a historical study, which studies the historical development of language over a period of time.共时语⾔学Synchronical linguisticsThe study of a given language at a given time.（3）Speech and writing ⼝头语与书⾯语Speech and writing are the two major media of communication. Modern linguistics regards the spoken form of language as primary, but not the written form. Reasons are: 1. Speech precedes writing; 2. There are still many languages that have only the spoken form; 3. In terms of function, the spoken language is used for a wider range of purposes than the written, and carries a larger load of communication than the written.（4）Langue and parole 语⾔和⾔语必考名解P4The Swiss linguist F. de Saussure made the distinction between langue and parole early 20th 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. Saussure made the distinction in order to single out one aspect of language for serious study. He believes what linguists should do is to abstract langue from parole, to discover the regularities governing the actual use of language and make them the subjects of study of linguistics.语⾔langue（抽象）The abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community.⾔语parole（具体）The realization of langue in actual use.（5）Competence and performance 语⾔能⼒和语⾔运⽤Proposed by American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950’s.He 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. He believes the task of the linguists is to discover and specify the language rules.语⾔能⼒Competence（抽象）Competence is the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language.语⾔运⽤performance（具体）Performance 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具体体现。

Chapter I1.Linguistics is usually defined as the science study of language2.what are major branches of linguistics?Phonetics----it studies the sounds used in linguistics communication.Phonology---it studies how sounds are put together and used to convey the meaning in communication.Morphology---it studies the way in which linguistic symbol representing sounds are arranged and combined to form words.Syntax-------it studies the rules which govern how words are combined to form grammatically permissible sentence in languages.Semantics---it studies meaning convey by language.Pragmatics---it studies the meaning in the context of language use.Sociolinguistics—the study of language with reference to society.Psycholinguistics---the study of language with reference to the working of the mind.Applied linguistics---the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning.4. The definitions of important distinctions in lingustics: Who distinguished them?（1）descriptive VS. presriptive;Descriptive(描写式):describe and analyze the language people actually use.eg: American don’t say “I’ll give you some color see see.”Prescriptive(规定式): laying down rules for “correct and standard”behaviour in using language.eg: Don’t say “I’ll give you some color see see.”（2）synchronic VS. diachronic;Synchronic study(共时性) --- description of a language at some point of timeDiachronic study(历时性) --- description of a language through the course of its history (historical development of language over a period of time)（3）speech and writingSpeech is prior to writing（4）langue & parole;Langue: (语言) the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community.Parole: (话语) the realization of langue in actual use.（5）competence and performance.Competence:(语言能力.)he ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his languagePerformance:(语言运用.)the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication.（6）traditional grammar and modern linguisticTraditional grammar prescriptive：tend to emphasize the importance of written word：force language into Latin-base framework.Modern linguistic description；spoken language as primarynguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.6.Design FeaturesIt refers to the defining poperties 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。

语言学教材第6章、第7章、第8章练习题参考答案Chapter 6 PRAGMATICS1. What does pragmatics study? How does it differ from traditional semantics?答：Generally speaking, pragmatics is the study of meaning in the context. It studies meaning in a dynamic way and as a process. In order to have a successful communication, the speaker and hearer must take the context into their consideration so as to effect the right meaning and intention. The development and establishment pragmatics in 1960s and 1970s resulted mainly from the expansion of the study semantics. However, it is different from the traditional semantics. The major difference between them lies in that pragmatics studies meaning in a dynamic way, while semantics studies meaning in a static way. Pragmatics takes context into consideration while semantics does not. Pragmatics takes care of the aspect of meaning that is not accounted for by semantics.2. Why is the notion of context essential in the pragmatic study of linguistic communication? 答：The notion of context is essential to the pragmatic study of language. It is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer. Various continents 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 heater's interpretation of what is said to him. Without such knowledge, linguistic communication would not be possible, and without considering such knowledge, linguistic communication cannot be satisfactorily accounted for in a pragmatic sense. Look at the following sentences:(1) How did it go?(2) It is cold in hem.(3) It was a hot Christmas day so we went down to the beach in the afternoon and had agood time swimming and surfing.Sentence (1) might be used in a conversation between two students talking about an examination, or two surgeons talking about an operation, or in some other contexts; (2) might be said by the speaker to ask the hearer to turn on the heater, or leave the place, or to put on more clothes, or to apologize for the poor condition of the room, depending on the situation of context; (3) makes sense only ii the hearer has the knowledge that Christmas falls in summer in the southern hemisphere.3. How are sentence meaning and utterance meaning related, and how do they differ?答： A sentence is a grammatical concept, and the meaning of a sentence is often studied as the abstract, intrinsic property of the sentence itself in terms of predication. But if we think of a sentence as what people actually utter in the course of communication, it becomes an utterance, and it should be considered in the situation in which it is actually uttered (or used). So it is impossible to tell if “The dog is barking” is a sentence or an utterance. It can be either. It all depends on how we look at it and how we are going to analyze it. If we take it as a grammatical unit and consider it as a self-contained unit in isolation from context, then we are treating it as a sentence. If we take it as something a speaker utters in a certain situation with a certain purpose,then we are treating it as an utterance.Therefore, while the meaning of a sentence is abstract, and decontextualized, that of an utterance is concrete, and context-dependent. The meaning of an utterance is based on sentence meaning; it is the realization of the abstract meaning of a sentence in a real situation of communication, or simply in a context. Now, take the sentence "My bag is heavy" as an example. Semantic analysis of the meaning of the sentence results in the one-place predication BAG (BEING HEA VY). Then a pragmatic analysis of the utterance meaning of the .sentence varies with the context in which it is uttered. For example, it could be uttered by a speaker as a straightforward statement, telling the hearer that his bag is heavy. It could also be intended by the speaker as an indirect, polite request, asking the hearer to help him carry the bag. Another possibility is that the speaker is declining someone's request for help. All these are possible interpretations of the same utte rance “My bag is heavy”. How it is to be understood depends on the context in which it is uttered and the purpose for which the speaker utters it.While most utterances take the form of grammatically complete sentences, some utterances do not, and some cannot even be restored to complete sentences.4. Try to think of contexts in which the following sentences can be used for other purposes than just stating facts:a) The room is messy.b) Oh, it is raining!c) The music of the movie is good.d) You have been keeping my notes for a whole week now.答：a) A father entered his son‟s room and found it is very messy. Then when he said, “The room is messy,” he was blaming his son for not tidying it up.b) A son asked his father to play with him o utside. So when the father said, “Oh, it‟s raining”,he meant they couldn‟t play outside.c) Two persons just watched a movie and had a discussion of it. One person said, “The story ofthe movie is very moving”, so when the other person said, “The music of the movie is good”, he meant he didn't think the story of the movie was good.d) A person wanted his notes back, so when he said, “you have been keeping my notes for awhole week now”, he was demanding the return of his notes.5. According to Austin, what are the three acts a person is possibly performing while making an utterance. Give an example.答：According to Austin's new model, a speaker might be performing three acts simultaneously when speaking: locutionary act, illocutionary act, and perlocutionary act.A locutionary act is the act of uttering words, phrases, clauses. It is the act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax, lexicon and phonology. An illocutionary act is the act of expressing the speaker‟s intention; it is the act perf ormed in saying something. A perlocutionary act is the act performed by or resulting from saying something; it is the consequence of, or the change brought about by the utterance; it is the act performed by saying something. Let's look at an example:You have left the door wide open.The locutionary act performed by the speaker is his utterance of the words “you”, “have”, “door”, “open”, etc. thus expressing what the words literally mean.The illocutionary act performed by the speaker is that by making such an utterance he has expressed his intention of speaking, i.e. asking someone to close the door, or making a complaint, depending on the context.The perlocutionary act refers to the effect of the utterance. If the hearer gets the speaker's message and sees that the speaker means to tell him to close the door, the speaker has successfully brought about the change in the real world he has intended to; then the perlocutionary act is successfully performed.6. What are the five types of illocutionary speech acts Searle has specified? What is theillocutionary point of each type?答：(1) representatives: stating or describing, saying what the speaker believes to be true(2) directives: trying to get the hearer to do something(3) commissives: committing the speaker himself to some future course of action(4) expressives: expressing feelings or attitude towards an existing(5) declarations: bringing about immediate changes by saying somethingThe illocutionary point of the representatives is to commit the speaker to something's being the case, to the truth of what has been said, in other words, when performing an illocutionary act of representative, the speaker is making a statement or giving a description which he himself believes to be true. Stating, believing, sweating, hypothesizing are among the most typical of the representatives.Directives ate attempts by the speaker to get the hearer to do some- thing. Inviting, suggesting, requesting, advising, wanting, threatening and ordering are all specific instances of this class.Commissives are those illocutionary acts whose point is to commit the speaker to some future course of action, i.e. when speaking the speaker puts himself under a certain obligation. Promising, undertaking, vowing are the most typical ones.The illocutionary point of expressives is to express the psychological state specified in the utterance. The speaker is expressing his feelings or attitudes towards an existing state of affairs, e.g. apologizing, thanking, congratulating.The last class “declarations” has the characteristic that the successful performance of an act of this type brings about the correspondence between what is said and reality.7. What is indirect language use? How is it explained in the light of speech act theory?答：When someone is not saying I an explicit and straightforward manner what he means to say, rather he is trying to put across his message in an implicit, roundabout way, we can say he is using indirect language.Explanation (略) (见教材p.84-85)8. What are the four maxims of the CP? Try to give your own examples to show how floutingthese maxims gives rise to conversational implicature?答：Cooperative Principle, abbreviated as CP. It goes as follows:Make your conversational contribution such as required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.To be more specific, there are four maxims under this general principle:(1) The maxim of quantity①Make your contribution as informative as required (for the current purpose of theexchange).②Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.(2) The maxim of quality①Do not say what you believe to be false.②Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.(3) The maxim of relationBe relevant.(4) The maxim of manner①Avoid obscurity of expression.②Avoid ambiguity.③Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).④Be orderly.9. What is pragmatic failure? Try to find instances of pragmatic failure in the English usedby Chinese learners of English.答：The technical term for breakdowns in the course of communication is pragmatic failure.Pragmatic failure occurs when the speaker fails to use language effectively to achieve a specific communication purpose, or when the hearer fails to recognize the intention or the illocutionary force of the speaker‟s utterance in the context of communication.Instances (略) (见教材p.89)Chapter 7 Language Change1. The vocabulary of English consists of native and also thousands of borrowed words. Look up the following words in a dictionary which provides the etymologies (history) of words. In each case speculate as to how the particular word came to be borrowed from a particular language.a. sizeb. skillc. royald. ranche. robotf. potatog. astronaut h. emerald i. pagodaj. khaki k. bulldoze 1. hoodlum答：a. size (< old French)b. skill (< old Norse)c. royal (< old French < Latin)d. ranch (< Spanish < French)e. robot (< Czech < old Church Slavonic)f. potato (< Spanish < Taino)g. astronaut (< French)h. emerald (< Middle English & old French)i. pagoda (< Persian < Sanskrit)j. khaki (< Hindi <Persian)k. bulldoze (< bull(Botany Bay Slang) < old English)l. hoodlum (< German)2. The Encyclopedia Britannica Yearbook has usually published a new word list, which is, in the Britannica’s editor's view, a list of those words that had entered the language during the year. Would you expect a yearbook to publish a “lost-word list” recording the words dropped from the language during the year? Defend your answer.答：(略)3. Below is a passage from Shakespeare's Hamlet,King: Where is Pelonius?Hamlet: In heaven, send thither to see.If your messenger find him not there, seek him i' theother place yourself. But indeed, if you find him notwithin this month, you shall nose him as you go up thestairs into the lobby.Act IV, scene iiiStudy these lines and identify every difference in expression between Elizabethan and Modern English that is evident.答：In modern English, these lines are more likely written as:King: Where is Pelonius?Hamlet: In heaven, send to see there. If your messenger cannot find him there, yourself seek him at the other place. But indeed, if you cannot find him within this month, you shallnotice him as you go up the stairs into the lobby.4. Comment with examples on the following statement “Words and expressions will be forced into use in spite of all the exertions of all the writers in the world.”答：The statement means that when necessary, people will make use of available uses even if there is no writers' efforts. For example, there are more and more new words and expressions which are introduced into language not by writers, e.g., email, hacker, IBM (international big mouth, means a person who acts like a gossip.)5. Suppose you are outside a government office where doors still bear the notice, “This door must not be left in an open position.” Now try to explain the notice in simple and plain English.答：“Keep the door dote. ” or “The door must be kept close.”6. Give at least two examples showing the influence of American English on British English. 答：(略)7. Find in any books, newspapers, or journals newly coined words in association with social and political needs, internet or computer language.答：For example: SARS, Golden week, euro, e-mail, bi-media(双媒体的), cybernaut计算机(网络)漫游者, DVD, eyephone(视像耳机), etc．8. With examples, give some plausible explanations for linguistic change.答：(略)Chapter 8 Language and Society1. How is language related to society?答：There are many indications of the inter-relationship between language and society. One of them is that while language is principally used to communicate meaning, it is also used to establish and maintain social relationships. This social function of language is embodied in the use of such utterances as “Good morning!”, “Hi!”, “How's your family?”, “Nice day today, isn't it?”.Another indication is that users of the same language in a sense all speak differently. The kind of language each of them chooses to use is in part determined by his social background. And language, in its turn, reveals information about its speaker. When we speak, we cannot avoid giving clues to our listeners about ourselves.Then to some extent, language, especially the structure of its lexicon, reflects both the physical and the social environments of a society. For example while there is only one word in English for “snow”, there are several in Eskimo. This is a reflection of the need for the Eskimos to make distinctions between various kinds of snow in their snowy living environment.As a social phenomenon language is closely related to the structure of the society in which it is used, and the evaluation of a linguistic form is entirely social. To a linguist, all language forms and accents are equally good as far as they can fulfill the communicative functions they are expected to fulfill. Therefore, judgments concerning the correctness and purity of linguistic varieties are social rather than linguistic. A case in point is the use of the postvocalic [r]. While in English accents without postvocalic [r] are considered to be more correct than accents with it, in New York city, accents with postvocalic [r] enjoys more prestige and are considered more correct than without it.2. Explain with an example that the evaluation of language is social rather than linguistic. 答：The evaluation of language is social rather than linguistic. This is because every language or language variety can express all ideas that its native speakers want to express. That is to say, language and language variety are equal in expressing meaning. For example, the much-prejudiced Black English can be used by the black people to communicate with each other without feeling any hindrance. But many other people think Black English is not pure English because it does not conform to their grammar and not adopted by educated people. As a result, many people feel shameful to use Black English. From this example we can know that the evaluation of language is social, not linguistic.3. What are the main social dialects discussed in this chapter? How do they jointly determineidiolect?答：The main social dialects discussed in this chapter are regional dialect, sociolect, gender and age. Idiolect is a personal dialect, of an individual speaker that combines elements regarding regional, social, gender, and age variations. These factors jointly determine the way he/she talks. While the language system provides all its users with the same set of potentials, the realization of these potentials is individualized by a number of social factors, resulting in idiolects.4. In what sense is the standard dialect a special variety of language?答：First of all, the standard dialect is based on a selected variety of the language, usually it is the local speech of an area which is considered the nation's political and commercial center. Forexample, standard English developed out of the English dialects used in and around London as they were modified over the centuries by speakers in the court, by scholars from universities and writers. Gradually the English used by the upper classes in the capital city diverged markedly from the English used by other social groups and came to be regarded as the model for all those who wished to speak and write well.Second, the standard dialect is not dialect a child acquires naturally like his regional dialect. It is a superimposed variety; it is a variety imposed from above over the range of regional dialects. Some government agency writes grammar books and dictionaries to …fix‟ this variety and everyone agrees on what is correct usage of the language. So it has a widely accepted codified grammar and vocabulary. Once codification takes place, it is necessary for an ambitious citizen to learn to use the correct language and to avoid …incorrect‟ language. Therefore, the standard dialect is the variety which is taught and learnt in schools.Then the standard dialect has some special functions. Also designated as the official or national language of a country, the standard dialect is used for such official purposes as government documents, education, news reporting; it is the language used on any formal occasions.5. What is register as used by Halliday? Illustrate it with an example of your own.答：According to Halliday, “Language varies as its function varies; it differs in different situations.” The type of language which is selected as appropriate to the type of situation is a register. Halliday further distinguishes three social variables that determine the register: field of discourse, tenor of discourse, and mode of discourse.For example, a lecture on linguistics could be identified asField: scientific (linguistic)Tenor: teacher — students (formal, polite)Mode: oral (academic lecturing)6. What linguistic features of Black English do you know? Do you think Black English is an illogical and inferior variety of English? Why (not)?答：(1) A prominent phonological feature of Black English is the simplification of consonant clusters at the end of a word. According to this consonant deletion rule, the final-position consonants are often deleted; thus “passed” is pronounced [pa:s], mend [men], desk [des], and told [təʋl].A syntactic feature of Black English that has often been cited to show its illogicality is the deletion of the link verb “be”. In Black English we frequently come across sentences without the copula verb: “They mine”, “You crazy”, “Her hands cold”, and “That house big”. In fact, copula verb deletion is not a unique feature of Black English; it is also found in some other dialects of English and in languages like Russian and Chinese. Another syntactic feature of Black English that has been the target of attack is the use of double negation constructions, e.g.(8 — 2) He don't know nothing. (He doesn't know anything.)(8 — 3) I ain't afraid of no ghosts. (I'm not afraid of ghosts.)Some people consider these sentences illogical because they claim that two negatives make a positive. But in fact such double negative constructions were found in all dialects of English of the earlier periods.(2) (略)7. What peculiar features docs pidgin have?答：Pidgins arose from a blending of several languages such as Chinese dialects and English, African dialects and French, African dialects and Portuguese. Usually a European language serves as the basis of the pidgin in the sense that some of its grammar and vocabulary is derived from the European language used by traders and missionaries in order to communicate with peoples whose languages they did not know.Pidgins typically have a limited vocabulary and a very reduced grammatical structure characterized by the loss of inflections, gender end case, The “simplified” variety performs its functions as trading and employment.8. How do bilingualism and diglossia differ, and what do they have in common?答：Bilingualism refers to the situation that in some speech communities, two languages are used side by side with each having a different role to play; and language switching occurs when the situation changes. But instead of two different languages, in a diglossic situation two varieties of a language exist side by side throughout the community, with each having a definite role to play.The two languages of bilingualism and the two varieties of diglossia each has different role to play as situation changes.。

Chapter I IntroductionT 1. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.F 2.Linguistics studies particular language, not languages in general.F 3. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks.T 4. In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on language facts and checked against the observed facts.T 5. General linguistics is generally the study of language as a whole.T 6. General linguistics, which relates itself to(in contrast to) the research of other areas, studies the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study.T 7. Phonetics is different from phonology in that the latter studies the combinations of the sounds to convey meaning in communication.F 8. Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meaningful sentences.T 9. The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is called morphology.F 10. Syntax(rules that govern the combination of words to form grammatically permissible sentences in L) 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.T 11. The study of meaning in language is known as semantics.F12. Both semantics(L is used to convey meaning- the study of meaning) and pragmatics( the study of meaning is conducted in the context of language use) study meanings.T 13. Pragmatics is different from semantics in that pragmatics studies meaning not in isolation, but in context.T 14.Social changes can often bring about language changes.T 15. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to society.F 16. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.T 17. Modern linguistics is different from traditional grammar.F 18. A diachronic历时（it changes through time）study of language is the description of language at some point in time. Synchronic 共时F 19 Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the spoken language.F 20. The distinction between competence语言能力and performance语言运用was proposed by F. de Saussure. N. ChomskyChapter 2：Phonology1. Voicing is a phonological feature that distinguishes meaning in both Chinese and English. (T)2. If two phonetically similar sounds occur in the same environments and they distinguish meaning, they are said to be in complementary distribution. （F）3. A phone is a phonetic unit that distinguishes meaning. （F）4. English is a tone language while Chinese is not. （F）5. In linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. （T）6. In everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. （T）7. Articulatory phonetics tries to describe the physical properties of the stream of sounds which a speaker issues with the help of a machine called spectrograph. （F）8. The articulatory apparatus of a human being are contained in three important areas: the throat, the mouth and the chest. （F）9. Vibration of the vocal cords results in a quality of speech sounds called voicing. （T）10. English consonants can be classified in terms of place of articulation and the part of the tongue that is raised the highest. （F）11. According to the manner of articulation, some of the types into which the consonants can be classified are stops, fricatives, bilabial and alveolar. （F）12. Vowel sounds can be differentiated by a number of factors: the position of tongue in the mouth, the openness of the mouth, the shape of the lips, and the length of the vowels. （T）13. According to the shape of the lips, vowels can be classified into close vowels, semi-close vowels, semi-open vowels and open vowels. （F）14. Any sound produced by a human being is a phoneme. （F）15. Phones are the sounds that can distinguish meaning. （F）16. Phonology is concerned with how the sounds can be classified into different categories. （F）17. A basic way to determine the phonemes of a language is to see if substituting one sound for another results in a change of meaning. （T）18. When two different forms are identical in every way except for one sound segment which occurs in the same place in the strings, the two words are said to form a phonemic contrast. （F）19. The rules governing the phonological patterning are language specific. （T）20. Distinctive features of sound segments can be found running over a sequence of two or more phonemic segments.（T）Chapter 3：Morphology1. Morphology studies the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed.（T）2.Words are the smallest meaningful units of language. （F）3. Just as a phoneme is the basic unit in the study of phonology, so is a morpheme the basic unit in the study of morphology.（T）4. The smallest meaningful units that can be used freely all by themselves are free morphemes.（T）5. Bound morphemes include two types: roots and affixes.（T）6. Inflectional morphemes manifest various grammatical relations or grammatical categories such as number, tense, degree, and case.（T）7. The existing form to which a derivational affix can be added is called a stem, which can be a bound root, a free morpheme, or a derived form itself.（T）8. Prefixes usually modify the part of speech of the original word, not the meaning of it.（F）9. There are rules that govern which affix can be added to what type of stem to form a new word. Therefore, words formed according to the morphological rules are acceptable words.（F）10. Phonetically, the stress of a compound always falls on the first element, while the second element receives secondary stress.（T）Chapter 4： 1. Syntax is a subfied of linguistics that studies the sentence structure of language, including the combination of morphemes into words. （F）2.Grammatical sentences are formed following a set of syntactic rules.（T）3. Sentences are composed of sequence of words arranged in a simple linear order, with one adding onto another following a simple arithmetic logic.（F）4.Universally found in the grammars of all human languages, syntactic rules that comprise the system of internalized linguistic knowledge of a language speaker are known as linguistic competence. （T）5. The syntactic rules of any language are finite in number, but there is no limit to the number ofsentences native speakers of that language are able to produce and comprehend. （T）6. In a complex sentence, the two clauses hold unequal status, one subordinating the other. （T）7. Constituents that can be substituted for one another without loss of grammaticality belong to the same syntactic category.（T）8. Minor lexical categories are open because these categories are not fixed and new members are allowed for.（F）9. In English syntactic analysis, four phrasal categories are commonly recognized and discussed, namely, noun phrase, verb phrase, infinitive phrase, and auxiliary phrase. （F）10. In English the subject usually precedes the verb and the direct object usually follows the verb.（T）11.What is actually internalized in the mind of a native speaker is a complete list of words and phrases rather than grammatical knowledge.（F）12. A noun phrase must contain a noun, but other elements are optional.（T）13. It is believed that phrase structure rules, with the insertion of the lexicon, generate sentences at the level of D-structure.（T）14. WH-movement is obligatory in English which changes a sentence from affirmative to interrogative.（T）Chapter 5 Semantics1. Dialectal synonyms can often be found in different regional dialects such as British English and American English but cannot be found within the variety itself, for example, within British English or American English. （F）2. Sense is concerned with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world of experience, while the reference deals with the inherent meaning of the linguistic form. （F）3. Linguistic forms having the same sense may have different references in different situations. （T）4. In semantics, meaning of language is considered as the intrinsic and inherent relation to the physical world of experience. （F）5. Contextualism is based on the presumption that one can derive meaning from or reduce meaning to observable contexts. （T）6. Behaviourists 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. （T）7. The meaning of a sentence is the sum total of the meanings of all its components. （F）8. Most languages have sets of lexical items similar in meaning but ranked differently according to their degree of formality. （T）9. “it is hot.” is a no-place predication because it contains no argument. （T）10. In grammatical analysis, the sentence is taken to be the basic unit, but in semantic analysis of a sentence, the basic unit is predication, which is the abstraction of the meaning of a sentence. （T）Chapter 6：Pragmatics1.Both semantics and pragmatics study how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication（F）2.Pragmatics treats the meaning of language as something intrinsic and inherent. （F）3.It would be impossible to give an adequate description of meaning if the context of language use was left unconsidered. （T）4.What essentially distinguishes semantics and pragmatics is whether in the study of meaning the context of use is considered. （T）5.The major difference between a sentence and an utterance is that a sentence is not uttered while an utterance is. （F）6.The meaning of a sentence is abstract, but context-dependent. （F）7.The meaning of an utterance is decontexualized, therefore stable. （F）8.Utterances always take the form of complete sentences （F）9.Speech act theory was originated with the British philosopher John Searle. （F）10.Speech act theory started in the late 50’s of the 20th century.（T）11.Austin made the distinction between a constative and a performative. （T）12.Perlocutionary act is the act of expressing the speaker’s intention.（F）Chapter 10&11：（Second）Language Acquisition1.L1 development and L2 development seem to involve the same processes. （F）2.The capacity to acquire one's first language is a fundamental human trait that all human beings are equally well possessed with. （T）3.All normal children have equal ability to acquire their first language. （T）4.Children follow a similar acquisition schedule of predictable stages along the route of language development across cultures, though there is an idiosyncratic variation in the amount of time that takes individuals to master different aspects of the grammar. （T）5.Humans can be said to be predisposed and biologically programmed to acquire at least one language.6.Some languages are inferior, or superior, to other languages. (T)nguage acquisition is primarily the acquisition of the vocabulary and the meaning of language.(F)8.Human beings are genetically predetermined to acquire language, this genetic predisposition is a sufficient condition for language development. (F)9.Children who grow up in culture where caretaker speech is absent acquire their native language more slowly than children who are exposed to caretaker speech. (F)10.In mother tongue acquisition, normal children are not necessarily equally successful. (F)11.For the vast majority of children, language development occurs spontaneously and require little conscious instruction on the part of adults. (T)12.The available evidence to date indicates that an explicit teaching of correct forms to young children plays a minor role at best. (T)13.Correction and reinforcement are not key factors in child language development as they were claimed to be. (T)14.Imitation, plays at best a very minor role in the child's mastery of language. (T)15.Observations of children in different language areas of the world reveal that the developmental stages are similar, possibly universal, whatever the nature of the input. (T)16.A child's babbling seems to depend on the presence of acoustic, auditory input. (F)17.In general, the two-word stage begins roughly in the second half of the child's first year. (F)18.Children's two-word expressions are absent of syntactic or morphological markers. (T)19.Children first acquire the sounds in all languages of the world, no matter what language they are exposed to, and in late stages acquire the more difficult sounds. (T)20. Language acquisition begins at about the same time as lateralization does and is normally complete, as far as the essentials are concerned, by the time that the process of lateralization comes to an end. (T)Chapter12：language & brain (Psycholinguistics)1.The linguistic ability of human beings depends primarily on the structure of the vocal cords. （F）2.Human beings are the only organisms in which one particular part of the left half of the brain is larger than the corresponding part of the right half. （T）3.The case of Phineas Gage suggests that if our language ability is located in the brain, it is clear that it is not situated right at the front. （T）4.In general, the right side of the brain controls voluntary movements of, and responds to signals from, the left side of the body, whereas the left side controls voluntary movements of, and responds to signals from, the right side of the body. （T）nguage functions are believed to be lateralized primarily in the left hemisphere of the brain. （T）6. The language we speak determines the way we perceive the world and therefore the nature of thought. （F）7. Human beings can not think without language, just as they can not speak without thinking. （F）8.If a language lacks a word, its speakers will not be able to grasp its concept. （F）9. Generally speaking, left hemisphere is responsible for language and speech, analytic reasoning, associative thought, etc., while the right hemisphere is responsible for perception of nonlinguistic sounds, holistic reasoning, recognition of musical melodies, etc. （T）10. Language by no means determines the ways we perceive the objective world, but by its convenience, availability, and habitual use, does influence the perceptions of human being. （T）Chapter 7：Language Change（Historical Linguistics）1.One of the tasks of the historical linguists is to explore methods to reconstruct linguistic history and establish the relationship between languages. （T）nguage change is a gradual and constant process, therefore often indiscernible to speakers of the same generation. （T）3.The history of the English language is divided into the periods of Old English, Middle English and Modern English. （T）4.Middle English began with the arrival of Anglo-Saxons, who invaded the British Isles from northern Europe. （F）5.In Old English, all the nouns are inflected to mark nominative, genitive, dative and accusative cases. （F）6.In Old English, the verb of a sentence often precedes the subject rather than follows it. （T）7.A direct consequence of the Renaissance Movement was the revival of French as a literary language. （F）8.In general, linguistic change in grammar is more noticeable than that in the sound system and the vocabulary of a language. （F）9.The sound changes include changes in vowel sounds, and in the loss, gain and movement of sounds. （T）10.The least widely-spread morphological changes in the historical development of English are the loss and addition of affixes. （F）11.In Old English, the morphosyntactic rule of adjective agreement stipulated that the endings of adjective must agree with the head noun in case, number and gender. （T）12.The word order of Modern English is more variable than that of Old English.（F）13.Derivation refers to the process by which new words are formed by the addition of affixes to the roots, stems, or words. （T）14.“Smog” is a word formed by the word-forming process called acronymy. （F）15.“fridge” is a word formed by abbreviation. （F）16.Modern linguists are able to provide a consistent account for the exact causes of all types of language change.（F）17.Sound assimilation may bring about the loss of one of two phonetically similar syllables in sequence, as in the case of change of “Engla-land” to “England”. （T）18.Rule elaboration occurs when there is a need to reduce ambiguity and increase communicative clarity or expressiveness. （T）nguage change is always a change towards the simplification of language rules （F）20.The way children acquire the language is one of the causes for language change.（T）Chapter 8：Language and Society (Sociolinguistics)1. Sociolinguistics is the sub-discipline of linguistics that studies social contexts. （F）2. Language as a means of social communication is a homogeneous system with a homogeneous group of speakers.（F）3. Language use varies from one speech community to another, from one regional group to another, from one social group to another, and even from one individual to another. （T）4. The goal of sociolinguistics is to explore the nature of language variation and language use amonga variety of speech communities and in different social situations. （T）5.The linguistic markers that characterize individual social groups may serve as social markers of group membership. （T）6. From the sociolinguistic perspective, the term “speech variety ” c an not be used to refer to standard language, vernacular language, dialect or pidgin. （F）7.Functional speech varieties are known as regional dialects. （F）8. The most distinguishable linguistic feature of a regional dialect is its grammar and uses of vocabulary. （F）9.Geographical barriers are the only source of regional variation of language. （F）10. A person's social backgrounds do not exert a shaping influence on his choice of linguistic features. （F）11.Two speakers of the same language or dialect use their language or dialect in the same way. (F)12. Every speaker of a language is, in a stricter sense, a speaker of a distinct idiolect. (T)13. The standard language is a better language than nonstandard languages. (F)14. A lingua franca can only be used within a particular country for communication among groups of people with different linguistic backgrounds. (F)15.Pidgins are linguistically inferior to standard languages. （F）16. A pidgin usually reflects the influence of the higher, or dominant, language in its lexicon and that of the lower language in their phonology and occasionally syntax. （T）17.The major difference between a pidgin and a creole is that the former usually has its native speakers while the latter doesn't. （F）18.Bilingualism and diglossia mean the same thing. （F）19.The kind of name or term speakers use to call or refer to someone may indicate something of their social relationship to or personal feelings about that individual. （T）20.The use of euphemisms has the effect of removing derogatory overtones and the disassociative effect as such is usually long-lasting. （F）。