语言学课后练习之练习(1)Language

语言学导论课外补充练习（1）language1.State the nature of language briefly with examples.2.Why is it said that the language system is unique to human beings?3.What are the characteristics of human language?4.What are the social functions of language?5.Do animals other than humans have their own languages?6.Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.7.Can language be viewed only as a system of communication? Why not?8.How did language come into being? What is the relationship between the originof language and the origin of human beings?9.Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural order.（1）Five /the /fresh /potatoes（2）Pretty /American /girls /the two（3）Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two（4）Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three（5）Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers10.Fill in the blanks with the proper words.（1）_______ function means language can be used to “do” things.（2）_______ function means the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with _______ function.（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows ______ function.（5）Greetings shows _______ function.（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows______ function.（7）Propaganda shows ________ function.（8）________ refers to contexts removed from the immediate of the speaker.（9）For________, reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication.（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include ________, ___________, _____________.（11）Linguistics should include at least five parameters:_________ __________ ___________ ____________ _________________..11.Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it（1）Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animals communication system.（2）There is not a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the actual happenings.（3）The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins of language are not at most a speculation.（4）The definition,“ Language is a tool for human communication.” has no problem.（5）The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells nothing about its functions.（6）Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution.（7）Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as Sapir’s.语言学课外单元补充习题答案Language（Exercise 1）1. State the nature of language briefly with examples.Answer: modern linguists have proposed various definitions of language such as: Language is “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Sapir, 1921) Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall, 1968) Language is “a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.” (Chomsky, 1957)“语言是人跟人互通信息，用发音器官发出来的，成系统的行为的方式。

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)分离性9)区别性特征10)不受时空限制的属性11)Interactional function12)instrumentational function13)imaginative function14)寒暄功能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)分离性: 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)寒暄功能：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 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)分离性9)区别性特征10)不受时空限制的属性11)Interactional function12)instrumentational function13)imaginative function14)寒暄功能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 eit her. “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 d escribe 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 wolf’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 indi vidual’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)分离性: 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)寒暄功能：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 individual’s feelings, emotions and personali ty. 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 Pres ident 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 phenomenon 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.。

语⾔学教程第三章练习1Chapter 3 LexiconI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1 Nouns, verbs and adjectives can be classified as __________.A. lexical wordsB. grammatical wordsC. function wordsD. form words2. Morphemes that represent tense, number, gender and case are called __________ morpheme.A. inflectionalB. freeC. boundD. derivational3. There are __________ morphemes in the word denationalization.A. threeB. fourC. fiveD. six4. In English –ise and –tion are called __________.A. prefixesB. suffixesC. infixesD. stems5. The three subtypes of affixes are: prefix, suffix and __________.A. derivational affixB. inflectional affixC. infixD. back-formation6. __________ is a way in which new words may be formed from already existing words by subtracting an affix which is thought to be part of the old word.A. affixationB. back-formationC. insertionD. addition7. The word TB is formed in the way of __________.A. acronymyB. clippingC. initialismD. blending8. The words like comsat and sitcom are formed by __________.A. blendingB. clippingC. back-formationD. acronymy9. The stem of disagreements is __________.A. agreementB. agreeC. disagreeD. disagreement10. All of them are meaningful except for __________.A. lexemeB. phonemeC. morphemeD. AllomorphII.Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. Phonetically, the stress of a compound always falls on the first element, while the second element receives secondary stress.12. Fore as in foretell is both a prefix and a bound morpheme.13. Base refers to the part of the word that remains when all inflectional affixes are removed.14. In most cases, prefixes change the meaning of the base whereas suffixes change the word-class of the base.15. Conversion from noun to verb is the most productive process of a word.16. Reduplicative compound is formed by repeating the same morpheme of a word.17. The words whimper, whisper and whistle are formed in the way of onomatopoeia.18. In most cases, the number of syllables of a word corresponds to the number of morphemes.19. Back-formation is a productive way of word-formations.20. Inflection is a particular way of word-formations.III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)21. An initialism is pronounced letter by letter, while an acronym is pronounced as a word22. Lexicon, in most cases, is synonymous with vocabulary.23. Orthographically, compounds are written in three ways: solid, hyphenated and open24. All words may be said to contain a root morpheme.25. A small set of conjunctions, prepositions and pronouns belong to close class, while the largest part of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs belongs to open class.26. Back-formation is a reverse process of derivation, and therefore is a process of shortening.27.Conversion is extremely productive, because English had lost most of its inflectional endings by the end of Middle English period, which facilitated the use of words interchangeably as verbs or nouns, verbs or adjectives, and vice versa.28. Words are divided into simple, compound and derived words on the morpheme level.29. A word formed by derivation is called a derivative, and a word formed by compounding is called a compound.30. Bound morphemes are classified into two types: affix and bound root.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Blending32. Allomorph33. Closed-class word34. Morphological rule31. Blending: It is a process of word-formation in which a new word is formed by combining the meanings and sounds of two words, one of which is not in its full form or both of which are not in their full forms, like newscast (news + broadcast), brunch (breakfast + lunch)32. Allomorph: It is any of the variant forms of a morpheme as conditioned by position or adjoining sounds.33. Close-class word: It is a word whose membership is fixed or limited. Pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc. are all closed-class words.34. Morphological rule: It is the rule that governs which affix can be added to what type of base to form a new word, e.g. –ly can be added to a noun to form an adjective. V. Answer the following questions. (20%)35. How many types of morphemes are there in the English language? What are they?36.What are the main features of the English compounds?VI. Analyze the following situation. (20%)37. Match the terms under COLUMN I with the underlined forms from COLUMN III II(1) acronym a. foe(2) free morpheme b. subconscious(3) derivational morpheme c. UNESCO(4) inflectional morpheme d. overwhelmed(5) prefix e. calculation。

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。

语言学导论课外补充练习（1）language1.State the nature of language briefly with examples.2.Why is it said that the language system is unique to human beings?3.What are the characteristics of human language?4.What are the social functions of language?5.Do animals other than humans have their own languages?6.Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.7.Can language be viewed only as a system of communication? Why not?8.How did language come into being? What is the relationship between the originof language and the origin of human beings?9.Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural order.（1）Five /the /fresh /potatoes（2）Pretty /American /girls /the two（3）Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two（4）Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three（5）Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers10.Fill in the blanks with the proper words.（1）_______ function means language can be used to “do” things.（2）_______ function means the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with _______ function.（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows ______ function.（5）Greetings shows _______ function.（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows______ function.（7）Propaganda shows ________ function.（8）________ refers to contexts removed from the immediate of the speaker.（9）For________, reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication.（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include ________, ___________, _____________.（11）Linguistics should include at least five parameters:_________ __________ ___________ ____________ _________________..11.Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it（1）Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animals communication system.（2）There is not a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the actual happenings.（3）The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins of language are not at most a speculation.（4）The definition,“ Language is a tool for human communication.” has no problem.（5）The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells nothing about its functions.（6）Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution.（7）Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as Sapir’s.语言学课外单元补充习题答案Language（Exercise 1）1. State the nature of language briefly with examples.Answer: modern linguists have proposed various definitions of language such as: Language is “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Sapir, 1921) Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall, 1968) Language is “a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.” (Chomsky, 1957)“语言是人跟人互通信息，用发音器官发出来的，成系统的行为的方式。

1. Fill in the blanks(1) Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality of language makes learning a language laborious. For learners of a foreign language, it is this feature of language that is more worth noticing than its arbitrariness. (大连外院2008）(2) Human language is arbitrary. This refers to the fact that there is no logical or intrinsic connection between a particular sound and the meaning it is associated with. (人大2007）(3) human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present at the moment of communication. This quality is labeled as displacement.（北二外2006）(4) Halliday proposes a theory of metafunctions of language, that is, language has ideational, interpersonal and textual functions. （中山大学2008）(5) Our language can be used to talk about itself. This is the metalingual(元语言)function of language. （中山大学2005）(6) when language is used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than exchanging information or ideas, its function is phatic function. (北二外2005）(7) Pragmatics can be defined as the study of language in use. Sociolinguistics, on the other hand, attempts to show the relationship between language and society.(8) Descriptive grammars attempt to tell what is in the language, while prescriptive grammars tell people what should be in the language. Most contemporary linguists believe that whatever occurs naturally in the language should be described. (人大2006）（9）The description of a language as it changes through time is a Diachronic（历时）Linguistic study.10.There are two fields of morphology: the study of inflectional and the study of derivational . （人大2006研）11.A bound morpheme is one that cannot constitute a word by itself. （北二外2003）12.Affix is the collective term for the type of formative that can be used only when added to another morpheme. Affixes are limited in number in a language, and are generally classified into three subtypes, namely, prefix, suffix, and infix. （北邮）13.Bound morphemes are classified into two types: affix and bound root.14. Cohesion refers to ties and connections which exist within texts. They are also called formal links between sentences and between clauses. (人大2007)15.The theory of meaning which relates the meaning of a word to the thing it refers to, or stands for, is known as the referential theory.（中山2008）16. Synonymy is the technical name for the sameness relation. （北外2007）17. Terms like “rolling pin”and “ladle”are hyponyms of the term “kitchen implements”.（北二外2005）18.Antonyms like “husband”v. “wife”are converse antonyms. （北二外2003）19．Idiolect refers to varieties of a language used by individual speakers, with peculiarities of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. In fact, no two speakers speak exactly the same dialect. Each speaker has certain characteristic features of his own in his way of speaking. （人大2007）20.“linguistic relativity” was proposed by Sapir and whorf. （清华2001）nguage itself is not sexist, but its use may reflect the social attitude connoted in the language that is sexist.22.Performatives were sentences that did not state a fact or describe a state, and were not verifiable.23.In making conversation, the general principle that all participants are expected to observe is called the Cooperative principle proposed by J.Grice24.In Austin’s How to Do Things with word, he first distinguishes performatives and constatives, later on Austin made a fresh start to distinguish Locutionary act, Illocutionary act and perlocutionary act..25.The type of language constructed by second or foreign language learners who are still in the process of learning a language is often referred to as interlanguage. (中山2008）26.Interlanguage is formed when the learner attempts to learn a new language, and it has features of both the first language and the second language but is neither. （中山2006）27.Error is the grammatically incorrect form; mistake appears when the language is correct grammatically but improper in a communicational context. （中山2008）28. According to Krashen’s (1985) Input hypothesis learners acquire language as a result of comprehending input addressed to them.29. In terms of the source of errors, errors are often divided into Interlingual errors and intralingual errors.(1) By __c_ we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and recursiveness. （西外2006）a. Arbitrarinessb. dualityc. creativityd. displacement(2) The word UN is formed in the way of ___a__. （西安交大2008）A. acronymB. clippingC.initialismD. blending(3)Compound words consist of __c__ morphemes. （北二外2003）A. boundB. freeC. both bound and free(4)Which of the following words is formed by the process of blending? b（对外经贸2006）A. WTO (acronym)B. MotelC. bookshelfD. red-faced(5)Which of the following is not a process of the lexical change? c（大连外国2008）A. InventionB. acronymC. lexicon(6)_A___ deals with the relationship between the linguistic element and the non-linguistic world experience.(西交大2008）A. ReferenceB. conceptC. semanticsD. Sense（7）_D___ is a phenomenon that in some speech communities two languages exist side by side with each having a different role to play; and language switching occurs when the situation changes. （天津外院2011）A. BilingualismB. DiglossiaC. PidginD. Creole（8）____ refers to the use of a word which is thought to be less offensive or unpleasant than another word.A. TabooB. DiglossiaC. EuphemismD. Dialect（9）.__C__ refers to a mixing of two codes or languages, usually without a change of topic. It can involve various levels of language, e.g. phonology, morphology, grammatical structures or lexical items.A. Code mixingB. restricted codeC. code switchingD. elaborated code（10）In sociolinguistic studies, speaker are regarded as members of social groups, the social group that is singled out for any special study is called___A__.A. the speech communityB. the linguistic groupC. the linguistic communityD. the speech variety group（11）The speech act theory was developed by _B____. （对外经贸2006）A. John SearleB. John AustinC. LevinsonD. G. Leech（12）_____ is using a sentence to perform a function. (西外2006）A. Perlocutionary actB. an illocutionary actC. a locutionary actD. Speech act（13）By saying “you have left the door wide open”, a speaker might be performing the three acts: locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutuionary_____. （西安交大2008）A. at the same timeB. one after anotherC. two first and then the otherD. one first and then the other two14.The illocutionary Act was developed by ___A_.（西安交大2008）A. John AustinB. LevinsonC. John LyonsD. John Searle15.According to the conversation maxim of _B___ suggested by Grice, one should speak truthfully. （西外2006)A. QuantityB. qualityC. relevanceD. manner16.Which of the following is not one of the four maxims of the Cooperative Principle? D（对外经贸2006）A. the maxim of quantityB. the maxim of qualityC. the maxim of mannerD. the maxim of strength17.In Krashen’s monitor theory, “I”in “i+1”hypothesis of second language acquisition refers to ____C__. （对外经贸2006）A. interactionB. interferenceC. inputD. intake18. negative transfer in learning a second language is known as __B___.A. interferenceB. interlanguageC. fossilizationD. acculturation19.__C__ sees errors as the result of the intrusion of L1 habits over which the learner had no control.A. error analysisB. performance analysisC. contrastive analysisD. discourse analysis20._C___ is defined as a conscious process of accumulating knowledge of a second language usually obtained in school settings.A. competenceB. performanceC. learningD. acquisition。

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 . to express ideas, attitudes) or in particular social situations . 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 . words) and meaningless segments . sounds, letters).displacement: the ability of language to refer to contexts removed from thespeaker’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 langu age 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 facetspeople 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 section1.3.3.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. W hat 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 toother 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.you mention some typical expressions of phatic communion in Chinese There is the dialog between Ms. P and Ms. Q. in section 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 toYou 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 makea 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” issu ed 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 asit 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 willor 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 c heese 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 . 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 thi s 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。

当代语言学导论课后练习第一题答案黎神华桂林电子科技大学Language touches every part of our lives; it gives words to用言语表达our thoughts, voice to our ideas, and expression to our feelings. It is a rich and varied human ability—one that we can use without even a thought, that children seem to acquire automatically, and that linguists have found to be complex yet describable.语言贯穿于我们生活的全部，予我们的思维以言辞，予我们的理念以话语，予我们的情感以表述。

它是一种人类所拥有的丰富而多样的能力—想用就用，无须思索；天下儿童，自能习得；语言学家知其固然复杂，却可描述。

Linguistics is the study of the nature, structure, and variation of language, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.语言学是研究语言的本质、结构和变化的科学，包括有语音学、音位学、形态学、句法学、语义学和语用学。

Linguistic knowledge as represented in the speaker’s mind is called a grammar. Linguistic theory is concerned with涉及revealing揭示the nature of the mental grammar心理语法which represents speakers’ knowledge of their language.语言学知识作为说话者大脑里的表述被称为语法。

语⾔学课后习题答案语⾔学概论作业Chapter 11.How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: linguistics is thescientific study of language?To understand this definition, we should focus on three words in this sentence: scientific, study and language. First of all, scientific here means a study which is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. The linguist studies it to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system. Secondly, the word study here refers to investigation or examination. Thirdly, Language here is general term. It refers to any human language, Chinese spoken by the Chinese, English by the English people, German by the Germans, or even Esperanto, an artificial language. Language here also means the dialects or variants of a common language such as Cantonese, a variant of Mandarin.Therefore, this whole sentence can be interpreted that linguistics is a language study through the systematic investigation of linguistic data and some general theory of language structure.2.What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study?Phonetics:the study of sounds used in linguistic communication.It describes individual speech sounds and indicates their physical or phoneticproperties.Phonology:it studies the ways in which these sounds form patterns and systems and how they work to convey meaning in the system oflanguage.Morphology: a field of linguistics focused on the study of the forms and formation of words in a languageSyntax:A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.Pragmatics: the study of the use of language in a social context.3.In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?①Linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.②Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written.③Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does notforce languages into a Latin-based framework.4.Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?In modern linguistics, the linguists seem to give priority to synchronic studies other than diachronic ones. Because it is believed that unless the various states ofa language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would bedifficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development. That is to say, the diachronic studies should be based on synchronic ones. Synchronic descriptions are often thought of as being description of a language in its current existence. And most linguistic studies are of this type.5.For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than towriting?①The writing system is invented by its users when needed②Today there are languages which can only be spoken but not written③Speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of informationconveyed in daily communication④Each human being first acquires speech and then learns writing⑤Modern linguistics tends to pay more attention to authentic speech as spokenlanguage reveals more true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised” record of speech.6.How is Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky’sdistinction between competence and performance?They are similar in two aspects: the definition and the content of study.On one hand, Saussure defines langue as the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and parole as the realization of langue in actual use. 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. We can see that langue and competence both refer to the abstract issue, conventions and knowledge, and parole and performance both are their actual realization, the concrete use.On the other hand, in Saussure’s opinion, what linguists should do is to abstract langue from parole as parole is too varied and confusing. And this is the same as Chomsky. He thinks linguists should study the ideal speaker’s competence, not his performance, which is too haphazard to be studied.7.What characteristics of language do you think should be included in a good,comprehensive definition of language?The important characteristics which should be included in a good definition of language are separately: systematic, arbitrary and vocal.First of all,language is a system. It has its own set of rules for people to abide by, or people will use the language in a wrong way.Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for. The fact that different languages have different words for the same object is a good illustration of the arbitrary nature of languge.Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound.8.What are the main features of human language that have been specified byC.Hockett to show that it is essentially different from animal communicationsystem?1)Arbitrariness: no natural/motivated/logical relationship between the sign andwhat the sign stands for.2)Productivity:provides opportunities for sending messages that have neverbeen sent before and for understanding novel messages.3) Duality:language is a system, which consists of two sets of stuctures, or twolevels.4) Displacement: can be used to refer to things real or imagined, past, present orfuture5) Cultural transmission9.What are the major functions of language?1)descriptive function2)expressive function3)social functionChapter 31.Divide the following words into their separate morphemes by placing a “+”between each morpheme and the next:a.microfilm: micro+filmb.bedraggled: be+draggle+edc.announcement: announce+mentd.predigestion: pre+digest+ione.telecommunication: tele+communicate+ionf.forefather: fore+fatherg.psychophysic: psycho+physich.mechanist: mechan+ist2.Think of three morpheme suffixes, give their meaning and specify the types of stem they may be suffixed to. Give at least two examples of each.1)suffix: -ingmeaning: denoting a verbal action, an instance of this, or its resultstem type: added to verbsexamples: fighting: denote the action of battlebuilding: denote the action of consruction2)suffix: -ablemeaning: able to bestem type: added to verbsexamples: avoidable: able to be prevented fromcalculable: able to be measured or assessed3)suffix: -istmeaning:denoting a member of a profession or business activitystem type: added to nounsexamples: dramatist : a person who writes playsdentist: a person who treats the teeth disease3.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.1)prefix: un-meaning: denoting the absence of a quality or state; notstem type: added to nounsexamples: unacademic: not adopting or characteristic of a scholarlyapproach or languageunhappy: not happy2)prefix: anti-meaning: opposed to; againststem type: added to nounsexamples: anti-abortion: opposing or legislating against medicallyinduced abortionanti-art: against the traditional art3)prefix: re-meaning:once more; afresh; anewstem type: added to verbsexamples: restart: start once morereaccustom: accustom (someone) to something again4.The italicized part in each of the following sentences is an inflectional morpheme. Study each inflectional morpheme carefully and point out its grammatical meaning.1)Sue moves in high-society circles in London.The third person singular2)A traffic warden asked John to move his car.The past tense3)The club has moved to Friday, February 22nd.The present perfect4)The branches of the trees are moving back and forth.The present progressive5.Detemine whether the words in each of the following groups are related to one another by process of inflection or derivation.a)go, goes, going, goneprocess of inflectionb)discover, discovery, discoverer, discoverable, discoverabilityprocess of derivationc)inventor, inventor’s inventors, inventors’process of inflectiond)democracy, democrat, democratic, democratizeprocess of derivation6.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.Derivational affixes: -erInflectional affixes: …s, -s, -edb)It was raining.Derivational affixes:noneInflectional affixes: -ingc)Those socks are inexpensive.Derivational affixes: in-Inflectional affixes: -sd)Jim needs the newer copy.Derivational affixes: -erInflectional affixes: -se)The strongest rower continued.Derivational affixes: -est, -erInflectional affixes: -edf)She quickly closed the book.Derivational affixes: -lyInflectional affixes: -edg)The alphabetization went well.Derivational affixes:-ionInflectional affixes: wentChapter 51.What are the major views concerning the study of meaning?1)The naming theory was proposed by the ancient Greek scholar Plato. Thelinguistic forms or symbols, in other words, the words used in a language are taken to be labels of the objects they stand for; words are just names or labels for things. The semantic relationship holding between words and things is the relationship of naming.2)The conceptualist view: This view holds that there is no direct link betweena linguistic form and what it refers to; rather, in the interpretation of meaningthey are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind. This is best illustrated by the semantic triangle suggested by Ogden and Richards:3)Contextualism: Representatively proposed by the British linguist J. R. Firthwho had been influenced by the Polish anthropologist Malinowski and the German philosopher Wittgenstein.It holds that meaning should be studied in terms of situation, use, context –elements closely linked with language behavior. …the meaning of a word is its use in the language.4)Behaviourism: Based on contextualist view by Bloomfield who drew onbehaviorist psychology in defining “meaning”.Behaviorists attempted to define the meaning of a language from as the “situation in which the speaker utters it and the response it calls forth in the hearer.”This theory, somewhat close tocontextualism, is linked with psychological interest.2.What are the major types of synonyms in English?1)dialectal synonyms-----synonyms used in different regional2)Stylistic synonyms: synonyms differing in style3)Synonyms that differ in their emotive or evaluative meaning4)Collocational synonyms: what words they go together with5)Semantically different synonyms: differ from the words themselves3.Explain with examples “homonymy”, “po lysemy”, and “hyponymy”.1)Homonymy: Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words havingdifferent meanings have the same form, i.e., different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both. When two words are identical in sound, they are homophones. When two words are identical in spelling, they are homographs. When tow words are identical in both sound and spelling, they are complete homonyms. The examples are as followed:Homophones: rain/reign night/knight piece/peaceHomographs: bow v./bow n. tear v./tear n.Complete homonyms: fast adj./fast v.2)Polysemy: while different words may have the same or similar meaning, thesame one word may have more than one meaning. This is what we call polysemy, and such a word is called a polysemic word. The more commonly used a word is, the more likely it has acquired more than one meaning. For example, the word table has at least six meanings when we look it up in the dictionary:1. a piece of furniture2.all the people seated at a table3.the food that is put on a table4. a thin flat piece of stone, mental, wood, etc5.orderly arrangement of facts, figures, etc6.part of a machine-tool on which the work is put to beoperated on3)Hyponymy refers to the sense relation between a more general, moreinclusive word and a more specific word. The word which is more general in meaning is called the superordinate, and the more specific words are calledits hyponyms. Hyponyms of the same superordinate are co-hyponyms to each other. For example,Superordiante: flowerHyponyms: rose, tulip, carnation, lily, morning golory4.How can words opposite in meaning be classified? To which category does eachof the following pairs of antonyms belong?①north/south ②vacant/occupied ③literate/illiterate ④above/below⑤doctor/patient ⑥wide/narrow ⑦poor/rich ⑧father/daughterGradable antonyms: literate/illiterate wide/ poor/richComplementary antonyms: vacant/occupiedRelational opposite: north/south dotor/patient father/daughter5.Identify the relations between the following pairs of sentences:①Tom’s wife is pregnant. Tom has a wife.②My sister will soon be divorced. My sister is a married woman.③He likes seafood. He likes crabs.④They are going to have another baby. They have a child.X presupposes Y(Y is a prerequisite of X): ①②④X entails Y(Y is an entailment of X): ③6.In what way is componential analysis similar to the analysis of phonemes intodistinctive features?Componential analysis is a way proposed by the structural semanticists to analyze word meaning. The approach is based on the belief that the meaning of a word can be dissected into meaning components, called semantic features. And that is similar to the analysis of phonemes into distinctive features.7.What is grammaticality? What might make a grammatically meaningful sentencesemantically meaningless?The grammatical meaning of a sentence refers to its grammaticality, especially its grammatical well-formedness. Selectional restrictions, which means the constraints on what lexical items can go with what others, might make a grammatically meaningful sentence semantically meaningless.8.Try to analyze the following sentences in terms of predication analysis:①The man sells ice-cream. ②Is the baby sleeping?③It is snowing. ④The tree grows well.1.MAN, ICE-CREAM(SELL)2.BABY(SLEEP)3.(BE SNOW)4.TREE(GROW)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, linguisticcommunication 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 a good 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 actuallyutter 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 HEAVY). 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) Y ou 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 outside. 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 of the 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 a whole week now”, he was demanding the return of his notes.5. According to Austin, what are the three acts a person is possiblyperforming 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 performed 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:Y ou 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 the illocutionary 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 speakerputs 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 flouting these 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 the exchange).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 used by 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)syntax1. Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences.a) The old lady suddenly left.Det A N Qual Vb) The car stopped at the end of the road.Det N V P Det N P Det Nc) The snow might have blocked the road.Det N Aux Aux V Det Nd) He never appears quite mature.N Qual V Deg A2. The following phrases include a head, a complement, and a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each.a) full of peopleAPA P Nfull of peopleb) a story about a sentimental girlNPNP PPDet N P NPDet A Na story about a sentimental girlc) often read detective storiesQual V NPA Noften read detective storiesd) the argument against the proposalsNPNP PPDet N P NPDet Nthe argument against the proposalse) move towards the windowVPV PPP Det Nmove towards the window3. Draw phrase structure trees for each of the following sentences.a) The jet landed.InflP(=S)NP Infl VPDet N Pst VThe jet landedb) Mary became very ill.InflP(=S)NP Infl VPN Pst V APDeg AMary became very illc) What will you talk about?CPNP C SN Infl NP Infl VPVP NPV P Nd) The apple might hit the man.NP VPDet N Aux V NPDet N The apple might hit the manORInflP(=S)NP Infl VPDet N V NPDet N The apple might hit the mane) He often reads detective stories.SNP VPN Qual V NPA NHe often reads etective storiesORInflP(=S)NP Infl VPPresN Qual V NPA NHe often reads etective stories4. The following sentences contain modifiers of various types. For each sentence, first identify the modifier(s), then draw the tree structures.a) A frightened passenger landed the crippled airplane.InflP(=S)NP Infl VPDet A N Pst V NPDet A NA frightened passenger landed the crippled airplaneb) A huge moon hung in the black sky.InflP(=S)NP Infl VPDet A N Pst V PPP NPDet A NA huge moon hung in the black skyc) An unusual event occurred before the meeting.InflP(=S)NP Infl VPDet A N Pst V PPP NPDet NAn unusual event occurred before the meetingd) A quaint old house appeared on the grassy hill.InflP(=S)NP Infl VPDet A NP Pst V PPA N P NPDet A NA quaint old house appeared on the grassy hill5. The following sentences all contain conjoined categories. Draw a tree structure for each of the sentences.a) Jim has washed the dirty shirts and pants.InflP(=S)NP VPN Aux V NPDet A NPN CON NJim has washed the dirty shirts and pantsORInflP(=S)NP VPN Infl V NPDet A NPN CON NJim has washed the dirty shirts and pantsb) Helen put on her clothes and went out.SNP VPN VP CON VP。