现代语言学要点

现代语言学学习笔记

第一章、绪论Introduction

1、语言学的主要分支是什么。每个分支的研究对象是什么？

Linguistics mainly involves the following branches:

General linguistics, which is the study of language as a whole and

which deals with the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models

and methods applicable in any linguistic study

Phonetics, which studies the sounds that are used in linguistic

communication

Phonology, which studies how sounds are put together and used in

communication

Morphology, which studies the way in which morphemes are

arranged to form words

Syntax, which studies how morphemes and words are combined to

form sentences

Semantics, which is the study of meaning in language.

Pragmatics, which is the study of meaning not in isolation, but in

context of use

Sociolinguistics, which is the study of language with reference to

society

Psycholinguistics, which is the study of language with reference to

the workings of mind.

Applied linguistics, which is concerned about the application of

linguistic findings in linguistic studies; In a narrow sense, applied

linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories

to language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign

and second languages.

Other related branches are anthropological linguistics, neurological

linguistics, mathematical linguistics, and computational linguistics.

2、 现代语言学与传统语法有什么区别？

Traditional grammar is prescriptive; it is based on "high "(religious,

literary) written language . It sets models for language users to follow.

But Modern linguistics is descriptive; its investigations are based on

authentic, and mainly spoken language data. It is supposed to be

scientific and objective and the task of linguists is supposed to

describe the language people actually use, whether it is "correct" or

not.

3、什么叫共时研究？什么叫历时研究？

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 a historical study; it studies the historical

development of language over a period of time. 4、人类语言的甄别性特征是什么？

1) Arbitrariness 。 It means that there is no logical connection

between meanings and sounds. For instance, there is no necessary

relationship between the word dog and the animal it refers to. The fact

that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different

languages and that the same sound may be used to refer to different

objects is another good example. Although language is arbitrary by

nature, it is not entirely arbitrary. Some words, such as the words

created in the imitation of sounds by sounds are motivated in a certain

degree. The arbitrary nature of language makes it possible for

language to have an unlimited source of expressions.

2) Productivity 。Language is productive or creative in that it makes

possible the construction and interpretation of an infinitely large

number of sentences, including those that they have never said or

heard before.

3) Duality 。It means that language is a system, which consists of two

sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds at the lower level and

the other of meanings at the higher level. At the lower or the basic

level, there is the structure of individual and meaningless sounds,

which can be grouped into meaningful units at the higher level. This

duality of structure or double articulation of language enables its

users to talk about anything within their knowledge.

4) Displacement 。It means that language can be used to talk about

what happened in the past, what is happening now, or what will

happen in the future. Language can also be used to talk about our real

word experiences or the experiences in our imaginary world. In other

words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the

immediate situations of the speaker.

5) Cultural transmission 。While we are born with the ability to acquire

language, the details of any language are not genetically transmitted,

but instead have to be taught and learned anew.

5、 Chomsky的语言能力和语言使用各指什么？

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