新编简明英语语言学教程第二版课后参考答案

大学英语语言学

《新编简明英语语言学教程》第二版 练习题 参考答案

Chapter 1 Introduction

1. How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of

language.

答： Linguistics is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with

reference to some general theory of language structure. In order to discover the nature and rules

of the underlying language system, the linguists has to collect and observe language facts first,

which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them; then he

formulates some hypotheses about the language structure. The hypotheses thus formed have to

be checked repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in

any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation, that is, a theory

without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data without being explained by some

theory remain a muddled mass of things.

2. What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study?

答： The major branches of linguistics are:

(1) phonetics: it studies the sounds used in linguistic communication;

(2) phonology: it studies how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in

communication;

(3) morphology: it studies the way in which linguistic symbols representing sounds are

arranged and combined to form words;

(4) syntax: it studies the rules which govern how words are combined to form grammatically

permissible sentences in languages;

(5) semantics: it studies meaning conveyed by language;

(6) pragmatics: it studies the meaning in the context of language use.

3. In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?

答： The general approach thus traditionally formed to the study of language over the years is

roughly referred to as “traditional grammar.” Modern linguistics differs from traditional

grammar in several basic ways.

Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.

Second, modem linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. Traditional

grammarians, on the other hand, tended to emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance

of the written word, partly because of its permanence.

Then, modem linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages

into a Latin-based framework.

4. Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?

答： In modem linguistics, a synchronic approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic one.

Because people believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical

periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken

place in its historical development.

5. For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writing?

答： Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication. Modem

linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language

for some obvious reasons. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing.

The writing system of any language is always “invented” by its users to record speech when the

大学英语语言学

need arises. Even in today's world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not

written. Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of

the amount of information conveyed. And also, speech is always the way in which every native

speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writing is learned and taught later when he goes to

school. For modern linguists, spoken language reveals many true features of human speech while

written language is only the “revised” record of speech. Thus their data for investigation and

analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regard as authentic.

6. How is Saussure's distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky's distinction

between competence and performance?

答： Saussure's distinction and Chomsky's are very similar, they differ at least in that Saussure

took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of social conventions,

and Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a

property of the mind of each inpidual.

7. What characteristics of language do you think should be included in a good, comprehensive

definition of language?

答： First of all, language is a system, i.e., elements of language are combined according to rules.

Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a

linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for.

Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound.

Fourth, language is human-specific, i. e., it is very different from the communication systems

other forms of life possess.

8. What are the main features of human language that have been specified by C. Hockett to show

that it is essentially different from animal communication system?

答：The main features of human language are termed design features. They include:

1) Arbitrariness

Language is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings

and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object

in different languages.

2) Productivity

Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and< …… 此处隐藏：41814字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……