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Charpter1
1.1.1
1. a. This sentence may have three interpretations: 1) He rolled
from side to side in his grave. 2) He returned his grave. 3) He handed
in his grave.
b. There are two interpretations to this sentence: 1) They gave preference to both young men and young women. 2) They gave preference to women and young men.
2. Units that have reference: I, saw, Mary, went, the library.
Units that indicate structure: when, to.
3. a. This sentence is grammatical, but is nonsensical.
b. This sentence is ungrammatical and nonsensical.
c. This is a good sentence.
d. This is a good sentenc
e.
1.1.2
1. a. This sign is a symbol. It means we will have good luck. I know it from my cultural background, because the Chinese character "福" means "luck" and the color red symbolizes "goodness". The Chinese meaning of "upside down" is "倒", which has the similar
pronunciation of "到(arrive)". Thus, when the
character "福" is put upside down, it means that luck arrives.
b. This sign is an icon. It means no smoking, and I know it from the picture.
c. This sign is a mixture of a symbol and a icon. It means that "parking" is only allowed for disabled people.
2. I think the house is on fire because smoke is a index of fire.
3. To the physician, it means that the man has got a fever.
4. I think so, but not exactly, because the difference of the consonants does not mean the bird in different places cries differently.
1.1.3
1. according to the arbitrariness theory, the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural resemblance to their meaning. The link between them is a matter of convention. Thus, the name Xiao Long is just a label for the son. However, in Chinese culture dragon was the symbol for the emperor. Thus, the name may have certain associative meanings.
2. No. The speaker of a language, based upon the convention established in the speech community, associates linguistic signs with things and concepts. In people's mind, "pig" stands for foolishness and laziness. If I name it Pig Hair Shampoo, no one will buy it.
3. Words are arbitrary in form, but they are not random in their use. Although the link between form and meaning is arbitrary, there existed certain relationship between them, which can be called rules. The individual does not have the power to
change a sign in any way once it has become established in the linguistic community.
1.1.4
1. I prefer to use the spoken language. In a supermarket, the spoken language is much more convenient for people to communicate with each other. People do not have the time and necessity to use written language in communication.
2. I think listening and speaking should come first. The primary medium of language is sound, and language is primarily vocal. What's more, children can learn to listen and speak a foreign language more quickly than they read and write.
1.1.5
1. No, I don't agree with this point of view. Language is human specific, so humans and dogs can not communicate with each other.
2. A parrot only can say what it is taught. It can not form an
infinite set of utterances from a finite use of units. So, a parrot talking can not be equated with human language.
3. That is only the result of the stimulus-response training.
4. Human language is primary over animal communication in the following aspects:
1) Human has the ability to refer to things far remote in time and space. In contrast, it may be impossible for an animal to convey such ability.
2) Human has the ability to produce and understand an indefinite number of novel utterances, but no animal can communicate creatively with another animal.
