语言学教程第一章总结

目录序第一章语言和语言学导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—费迪南·德·索绪尔第二章语音学导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—维伦·马泰休斯第三章音位学导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—路易斯·叶姆斯列夫第四章形态学：词的构成研究导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—布龙菲尔德第五章句法：句子结构分析导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—乔姆斯基第六章语义学导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—杰弗瑞·利奇第七章语用学导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—约翰·塞尔第八章社会语言学导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—威廉·拉波夫第九章第二语言习得导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—约翰·鲁珀特·弗斯第十章语言学与外语教学导读本章重点、难点本章习题语言学名家介绍—韩礼德第一章语言和语言学一、导读1.1 什么是语言？语言（language）与人类生活密不可分，人们经常把语言看成是理所当然。

在与他人交往过程中，我们很少思考是什么让我们可以谈论宇宙和我们心灵世界的一切。

作为一名外语学习者，你是否对语言的本质进行过思考？作为一名职业英语教师，你是否对你所教授学科的本质有过探索？语言是交流手段，是符号系统，是文化载体，是思维工具。

正是由于语言的多面性，不同的语言学家从不同的视角对语言进行了定义，反映了语言本质的不同侧面。

在语言学界，“语言是人类用于交际的任意有声符号系统”的定义得到了广泛的接受，因为它反映了人类语言的特有属性。

1.2人类语言的本质特征许多哲学家和语言学家都相信语言是人类所独有的，因此，语言将人类与动物区别开来。

创造性（creativity/productivity）、二重性(duality)、任意性(arbitrariness)、超时空性（displacement）、文化传递性（cultural transmission）、互换性（interchangeability）和自返性（reflexivity）是人类语言的本质特征。

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。

第一章：语言与语言学A语言的特性：一、任意性与规约性1. 任意性：语言符号的形式与所表示的意义没有天然的联系。

2. 规约性：语言的形式和意义是约定俗称的关系。

二、二层性：指拥有两层结构这种特性，上层结构的单位由底层结构的元素构成，每层都有自身的组合规则。

（有限手段无限使用，人类交际最显著特征）三、创造性：指语言的能产性，这来源于语言的二层性和递归性。

四、移位性：指人类语言可以让使用者在交际时用语言符号代表时间上和空间上并不可及的物体、时间和观点（好处：使得我们有可能用抽象的概念来交流或思考）B与动物语言区别：由于喉部结构的差异，不适合吐字发音。

但可使用手势语言C语言的功能：信息功能人际功能施为功能感情功能寒暄交谈娱乐功能元语言功能D语言学的发展脉络：一、传统语言学：1.从哲学角度思考（名实之争）：区分主语、谓、宾等逻辑成分概念、对语言起源问题的讨论2. 语文学习角度研究（梵文）：为阅读理解古代经典文献服务的3. 历史比较角度（主要比较印欧语系）：试图通过语言亲属关系的比较研究语言的发展规律，拟测它们共同母语（提供了科学的方法）二、现代语言学（20c，结构语言学）语言是一个符号系统，提出语言的线条性、任意性、“能指”（符号可感知）与“所指”（符号所代表的内容）、“组合关系”（两个同一性质的结构单位按照线性顺序组合的关系）与“聚合关系”（某一位置能够互相替代）（区分历时）更强调共时研究，重视排除历史干扰而对语言现状进行现实的描写区分“内部语言学”和“外部语言学”，认为语言学首先要进行语言系统和系统内部各个要素的研究。

E当代语言学三个主要流派的基本思想：生成语言学派：语言是人类内在化的能力，人类语言虽然差别很大但遵循的原则相同。

强调语法的天赋性、自主性，着重探索人类语言的机制、共性，同时探究各个语言的参数差异，即在探索人类语言共性的基础上探究各个语言的特点。

天赋假设：语言是天赋，儿童生下了就有普遍语法，婴儿言语获得过程是先天的“语言习得机制”。

What is linguistics?definition: Linguistics is generally defined as scientific study of language.1What is language? Language can be generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communicationThe main features of language:Language is a system. Elements of language are arranged according to rules; can’t be combined at will. e.g. *bkli, *I apple eat.Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between the word and the thing it denotes, e.g. “pen” by any other name is the thing we use to write with.language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages; writing system came much later than spoken form.Language is human-specific . It is different from the communication systems other forms of life possess,e.g. bird songs, bee dance, animal cries.symbolic---- words are associated with objects, actions and ideas by convention.“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”----ShakespeareDesign Features of Language?Design features”refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communicationDesign featuresArbitrarinessDualityProductivity/CreativityDisplacementArbitrariness at the syntactic level: language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level.He came in and sat down.He sat down and came in.He sat down after he came in.The link between a linguistic sign and its meaning is a matter of conventionSaussure: the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning(No logical connection between sounds and meanings.)Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning, even with onomatopoeic words:The dog barks bow wow in English but “汪汪汪” in Chinese.Duality refers to the property of language with two levels of structure, one of sounds and the other of meanings. At one level, the sounds, which are meaningless in isolation, can be grouped and regrouped into units of meaning.For example, sounds such as f, g, d, o, mean nothing separately. When combined together, they take on meaning, as in fog, dog, god.Productivity/Creativity It means language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. It refers to the property that language enables language users to produce or understand an indefinite number of sentences includiing novel sentences by use of a finite set ofrules.Displacement Human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.Thus, we can refer to Confucius, or the North Pole, even though the first has been dead for over 2550 years and the second is situated far away from us.Origin of language1.The divine-origin theory---- Language is a gift of God to mankind2. The invention theory---- imitative, cries of nature, the grunts of men working together.a. The bow-wow theoryb. The pooh-pooh theory pain, anger and joyc. The yo-he-ho theory3.The evolutionary theory---- the result of physical and psychological developmentFunctions of languagermative functionLanguage is the instrument of thought and people often feel need to speak their thoughts aloud. The use of language to record the facts is a prerequisite of social development. The informative function is indeed a crucial function of language.It is also called ideational function in the framework of functional grammar.2. Interpersonal functionFor example, the way in which people address others and refer to themselves( e.g. Dear Sir, Dear Professor, Johnny, yours, your obedient servant.) ) indicate the various grades of interpersonal relations.3. Performative functionthe performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons,as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enemies.The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized.The performative function can extend to the control of reality as on some magical or religious occasions.For example, in Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say 岁岁平安as a means of controlling the invisible forces which the believers feel might affect their lives adversely.4.Emotive functionThe emotive function of language is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something.It is a means of getting rid of our nervous energy when we are under stress, e.g. swear words, obscenities, involuntary verbal reactions to a piece of art or scenery; conventional words/phrases, e.g.God,My, Damn it, What a sight, Wow, Ugh, Oh.5. Phatic communion•Phatic communion refers to the social interaction of language, originating from Malinowski's study of the functions of language performed by Trobriand Islanders.For example,Mrs. P sneezes violently.Mrs. Q: Bless you.Mrs. P: Thank you.Good morning, God bless you, Nice day“I must go home now, or my husband will beat me6. Recreational functionThe recreational function of a language is often overlooked because it seems so restrictive in purpose and supposedly so limited in usefulness.However, no one will deny the use of language for the sheer joy of using it, such as a baby's babbling or a chanter's chanting.To take one example, the well-known movie《刘三姐》features a scene of “对歌” (song dueling) mostly for the sheer joy of playing on language.7.Metalingual function•Our language can be used to talk about itself.Main branches of linguisticsPhoneticsPhonologyMorphologySyntaxSemanticsPhonetics studies speech sounds, including the production of speech, that is how speech sounds are actually made, transmitted and received, the description and classification of speech sounds, words and connected speech, etc.Phonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables..Morphology is concerned with the internal organization of words. It studies the minimal units of meaning —morphemes and word-formation processes.Although many people think of words as the basic meaningful elements of a language，many words can be broken down into still smaller units, called morphemes.Syntax is about principles of forming and understanding correct sentences.The form or structure of a sentence is governed by the rules of syntax, which specify word order, sentence organization, and the relationships between words, word classes and other sentence elements.Semantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language.It is not only concerned with meanings of words as lexical items, but also with levels of language below the word and above it, e.g. meaning of morphemes and sentences.Important distinctions in linguisticsDescriptive vs. prescriptiveprescriptiveSynchronic vs. diachronicLangue & paroleCompetence & performanceThe first is a prescriptive command, while the second is a descriptive statement.The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are.They represent two different types of linguistic study.If a linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive; if the linguistic study aims to lay down rules for “correct and standard”behavior in using language, i. e. to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive.Synchronic vs. diachronicA synchronic description takes a fixed instant (usually, but not necessarily, the present) as its point of observation. Most grammars are of this kind.Diachronic linguistics is the study of a language through the course of its history.Langue & par leSaussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics (utterances) as langue and parole.Langue ---- the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of the speech community. Parole ---- the realization of langue in actual useCompetence and performanceThis fundamental distinction is discussed by Chomsky in his Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965).A language user's underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called his linguistic competence.Performance refers to the actual use of language in concrete situations.Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual2. PhonologyMain points：Phones, phonemes & allophones* Minimal pairs &Complementary distribution* Suprasegmental featuresBoth phonetics and phonology concern the study of speech sounds. The same root: phono- Phonetics语音学mainly deals with the description, classification and transcription of speech sounds.(study how speech sounds are produced, transmitted ,and perceived.)研究语音的发生传递和感知。

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 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 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 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 onomatopoeicANSWERS: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 meaningANSWER: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. Whenthe 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 graph6. 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 languageANSWER: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 simpleANSWER: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 amongthemselves and with human beingsANSWER:When gazelles sense potential danger, for example, they flee and thereby signal to other 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 occasionSome 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” issued 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 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 themThe 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 themANSWEREthnic 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 languageThe 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 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 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 titlesEnglish 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。