语言学教程复习题与答案

语言学教程复习题与答案（胡壮麟版第一章）

Chapter I In troduct ion

I. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False:

1. Lin guistics is gen erally defi ned as the scie ntific study of Ian guage.

2. Lin guistics studies particular Ian guage, not Ian guages in gen eral.

3. A scientific study of Ianguage is based on what the linguist thinks.

4. In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on Ianguage facts and checked

aga inst the observed facts.

5. Gen eral lin guistics is gen erally the study of Ian guage as a whole.

6. General linguistics, which relates itself to the research of other areas, studies the basic

concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in

any lin guistic study. 7.

7. Phon etics is differe nt from phono logy in that the latter studies the comb in ati ons

of the sounds to convey meaning in com muni cati on.

8. Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meanin gful senten ces.

9. The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is called

morphology.

10. Syntax is different from morphology in that the former not only studies the morphemes, but also

the comb in ati on of morphemes into words and words into senten ces.

11. The study of meaning in Ianguage is known as semantics.

12. Both semantics and pragmatics study meanings.

13. Pragmatics is different from semantics in that pragmatics studies meaning not

in isolatio n, but in con text.

14. Social changes can often bring about Ianguage changes.

15. Sociolinguistics is the study of Ianguage in relation to society.

16. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.

17. Modern linguistics is different from traditional grammar.

18. A diachronic study of Ianguage is the description of Ianguage at some point in time.

19. Modern linguistics regards the written Ianguage as primary, not the written

Ian guage.

20. The disti nction betwee n compete nee and performa nee was proposed by F.de

Saussure.

II. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter

give n:

21. Chomsky defi nes “ compete nee ” as the ideal user ' s k ___________ of the rules

of his Ian guage.

22. La ngue refers to the a _______ lin guistic system shared by all the members

of a speech com munity while the parole is the con crete use of the conven ti ons and applicati on of the rules.

23. D _______ is one of the desig n features of huma n Ian guage which refers to the

pheno 广告网址 n that Ianguage consists of two levels: a lower level of meaningless in dividual sounds and a higher level of meanin gful un its.

24. Language is a system of a ___________ vocal symbols used for human communication.

25. The discipli ne that studies the rules gover ning the formati on of words into

permissible sentences in Ian guages is called s ______ .

26. Huma n capacity for Ian guage has a g __ basis, but the details of Ian guage have to be taught and lear ned.

27. P ___ refers to the realizati on of Ian gue in actual use.

28. Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the settlement of some

practical problems. The study of such applicati ons is gen erally known as a ___________________ lin guistics.

29. Language is p ____________ in that it makes possible the construction and in terpretati on of new sig nals by its users .In other words, they can produce and un dersta nd an infin itely large nu mber of sentences which they have n ever heard before.

30. Lin guistics is gen erally defi ned as the s __ study of Ian guage.

complete the stateme nt.

31. If a linguistic

study describes and analyzes the Ianguage people actually it is said to be _____________ . A.

prescriptive B. an alytic descriptive

D. li nguistic 32.Which of the follow ing is not a desig n feature of huma n Ian guage?

A. Arbitrari ness

B. Displaceme nt Duality D. Meaningfuln ess 33. Moder n lin guistics regards the writte n Ian guage as _________ .

A. primary

B. correct

C. sec on dary

D. stable

34. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because . A. in lin guistic evoluti on, speech is prior to writ ing

B. speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information con veyed.

C. speech is always the way in which every n ative speaker acquires his mother ton gue

D. All of the above

35. A historical study of Ian guage is a __ study of Ian guage.

A. sociological …psychological

B. psychological

…sociological C. applied …pragmatic D.sema ntic and lin guistic 37. According to F. de Saussure, _______ r efers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech com mun ity.

A. parole

B. performa nee

C. la ngue

D. Lan guage

38. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection

between III. There are four choices following

each stateme nt. Mark the choice that can best use, C. C. A. synchronic

B. diachr onic

C. prescriptive D

comparative 36.Saussure took a (n) ____________ from a ________ point of view.

while Chomsky looks at Ianguage

view of Ianguage,

________ and meanin gs.

A. sense

B. sounds

C. objects

D. ideas

39. Lan guage can be used to refer to con texts removed from the immediate situati ons

of the speaker. This feature is called ________ , for huma n com muni cati on. Expla in it i n detail.

62. What are the design features of human Ianguage? Illustrate them with examples.

63. How is moder n lin guistics differe nt from traditi onal grammar?

64. Howdo you understand the distinction

between a synchronic study and a diachronic

study?

65. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of

Ianguage as primary, not the writte n?

66. What are the major dist inctions betwee n Ian gue and parole?

67. How do you un dersta nd compete nee and performa nee ?

68. Saussure ' s distinction between Iangue and parole seems similar to Chomsky

' s disti nctio n betwee n compete nee and performa nee. What do you th ink are their major differe nces?

69. Do you think human Ianguage is entirely arbitrary? Why?

I. Decide whether each of the follow ing stateme nts is True or False: I.T 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.T 6.F 7.T 8.F 9.T 10.F 11.

T 12.T 13.T 14.T 15.T 16.F 17.T 18.F

19.F 20.F II. Fill in each of the follow ing bla nks with one word which begi ns with the I etter given: 21.

knowledge 22. abstract 23. Duality 24. arbitrary 25. syn tax 26.ge netic 27. Parole 28. applied 29. productive 30. scie ntif ic (or systematic)

III. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can

best complete the stateme nt. 3l.C 32.D 33.C 34.D 35.B 36.A 37.

C 38.B 39.A 40.D

A. displaceme nt

B. duality

C. flexibility

D. cultural tran smissi on

40. The details of any Ianguage system is passed on from one

through ____ , rather tha n by in sti net.

A. lear ning

B. teach ing

C. books

D. both A and B

IV. Define the followi ng terms:

41. Lin guistics 42. Psycholi nguistics 46. Morphology 49.Sema ntics 52.Arbitrari ness 53 Pho no logy 43. Syn tax 44. Lan guage 47. 50. Socioli nguistics 51. Productivity 54. Displaceme nt generation to the next Pragmatics

Phonetics 48. 45. Applied

55.Duality 60 Parole

Give Lin guistics 56. Desig n Features 57. Compete nee 58 Performa nee 59. Lan gue V. Answer the following

questions as comprehensively as possible. illustrati on if n ecessary:

61. Lan guage is gen erally defi ned as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used examples for

IV. Define the follow ing terms: 41. Lin guistics: Lin guistics is gen erally

defi ned as the scie ntific study of Ian guage. 42. Phono logy: The study of how

sounds are put together and used in com muni catio n is called phono logy.

43. Syn tax: The study of how morphemes and words are comb ined to form sentences

is called syn tax. 44.Pragmatics: The study of meaning in con text of use is called pragmatics. 45. Psycholi nguistics: The study of Ian guage with reference to

the work ings of mind is called psycholi nguistics. 46. Lan guage: Lan guage is

a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for huma n com muni catio n.

47. Phonetics: The study of sounds which are used in linguistic communication is

called phonetics. 48. Morphology: The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words is called morphology. 49. Semantics: The study of

meaning in Ian guage is called sema ntics. 50. Socioli nguistics: The study

of Ianguage with reference to society is called sociolinguistics.

51. Applied lin guistics: In a n arrow sen se, applied lin guistics refers to the

application of linguistic principles and theories to Ianguage teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign and second Ianguages. In a broad sense, it refers to the application of linguistic findings to the solution of practical problems such as the recovery of speech ability. 52. Arbitrariness: It is one of

the design features of Ianguage. It means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds 53. Productivity: Language is productive or creative in

that it makes possible the con-struction and interpretation of new signals by its users. 54. Displaceme nt: Displaceme nt means that Ian guage can be used to refer to things which are prese nt or not prese nt, real or imag ined matters in the past, prese nt, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, la nguage can be used to refer to con texts removed from the immediate situati ons of the speaker

55. Duality: The duality nature of Ianguage means that Ianguage is a system, which

con sists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanin gs. 56. Desig n features: Desig n features refer to the defi ning

properties of huma n Ian guage that dist in guish it from any ani mal system of com muni cati on 57.

user's Compete nee: Chomsky defi nes compete nee as the ideal

kno wledge of the rules of his Ian guage, 58. Performa nee: performa nee is the actual realizati on of the kno wl-edge of the rules in lin guistic com muni cati on.

59. Ian gue : Lan gue refers to the abstract lin guistic system shared by all th

e members o

f a speech com muni ty; Lan gue is the set of conven ti ons and rules wh

ich Ian guage users all have to follow; Lan gue is relatively stable, it does no t cha nge freque ntly 60. Parole: Parole refers to the realizati on of lang

ue in actual use; parole is the con crete use of the conven ti ons and the applic ation of the rules; parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situatio n.

V. An swer the followi ng questi ons as comprehe nsively as possible. Give example

s for illustrati on if n ecessary:

61. Lan guage is gen erally defi ned as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for huma n com mun icati on. Expla in it in detail.First of all, la nguage is a syst em, because eleme nts of Ian guage are comb ined accord ing to rules. Secon dly, la n guage is arbitrary because there is no in tri nsic connection betwee n form and meaning, or betwee n the sig n and what it sta nds for. Different Ian guages have different words for the same object in the world. This fact is a good illustra tion of the arbitrary nature of Ianguage. This also explains the symbolic natu re of Ian guage: words are just symbols; they are associated with objects, acti ons, ideas, etc. by convention . Thirdly, language is vocal because the primar y medium is sound for all Ian guages, no matter how well - developed their writ ing systems are. The term "huma n" in the defi niti on in dicates that la nguag e is possessed by huma n beings only and is very differe nt from the com muni cati on systems of other livi ng creatures. The term "com mun icatio n" means that lang uage makes it possible for its users to talk to each other and fulfill their c ommun icative n eeds.

62. What are the desig n features of huma n Ian guage? Illustrate them with exa mples. 1) Arbitrari ness As men ti oned earlier, the arbitrary property of Ian guage means that there is no logical connection betwee n meanings and soun ds. F or in sta nee, there is no n ecessary relati on ship

betwee n the word elepha nt and the ani mal it symbolizes. In additi on, differe nt sounds are used to refer to t he same object in differe nt la nguages, and even with in the same Ian guage, the same sound does not refer to the same thing. However, language is not entirely arbitrary. There are words which are created in the imitatio n of sounds by sou n ds, such as crash, bang in En glish. Besides, some compo und words are also not en tirely arbitrary. But the non-arbitrary words are quite limited in nu mber.

The arbitrary n ature of Ian guage makes it possible for Ian guage to have an uni imited source of expressi ons. 2) Productivity Lan guage is productive or cr

eative in that it makes possible the con struct ion and in terpretati on of new si gn als by its users. This is why they can produce and un dersta nd an infin itely large nu mber of senten ces, in cludi ng senten ces that they have n ever said or he ard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Pro ductivity is unique to huma n Ian guage. Most ani mal com mun icati on systems appea r to be highly restricted with respect to the nu mber of differe nt sig nals that their users can send and receive. 3) Duality The duality n ature of Ian gua ge means that la nguage is a system, which con sists of two sets of structure, o r two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanin gs. At the lower or the bas ic level, there is the structure of soun ds, which are meanin gless, discrete, i n dividual soun ds. But the sounds of Ian guage can be comb ined accord ing to rule s into un its of meaning such as morphemes and words, which, at the higher leve I, can be arran ged into senten ces. This duality of structure or double articul ati on of Ian guage en ables its users to talk about anything with in their kno wle dge. No ani mal com mun icati on system has duality or eve n comes n ear to possessi ng it. 4) Displaceme nt Displaceme nt mea ns that la nguage can be used to refe r to things which are prese nt or not prese nt, real or imagi ned matters in the

past, prese nt, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, la nguage can be used to refer to con texts removed from the immediate situatio ns of the spea ker. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situa tion. 5) Cultural tran smissi on Huma n beings were born with the ability to

acquire Ian guage, but the details of any Ian guage are not gen etically tran smit ted or passed dow n by in st inct. They have to be taught and lear ned, but animal

call systems are gen etically tran smitted.

63. How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar? Traditio

nal gram-mar is prescriptive; it is based on "high "(religious, literary) written Ianguage. It sets grammatical rules and imposes the rules on langu age users. But Modern linguistics is

descriptive; It collects authentic, a nd mainly spoke n Ian guage data and the n it studies and describes the data in an objective and scie ntific way.

64. How do you un dersta nd the disti ncti on betwee n a synchronic study and a diachronic study? The description of a Ianguage at some point in time is a Synchronic study; the description of a Ianguage as it changes through tim e is a diachr onic study. A synchronic study of Ian guage describes a Ian gua ge as it is at some particular point in time, while a diachr onic study of Ian guage is the study of the historical developme nt of Ian guage over a per iod of time.

65. Why does moder n lin guistics regard the spoke n form of Ian guage as primary, n ot the writte

n? First, the spoke n form is prior to the writ-te n form

and most writi ng systems are derived from the spoke n form of Ian guage. Se cond, the

spoken form plays a greater role than writing in terms of the am ount of in formati on con veyed and it serves a wider range of purposes Final ly, the spoke n form is the medium through which we acquire our mother tong ue.

66. What are the major disti nctions betwee n Ian gue and parole? The dist incti

on betwee n Ian gue, and parole was made by the famous lin guist Ferd inand de

Saussure early this cen tury. Lan gue refers to the abstract lin guistic sys

tem shared by all the members of a speech com muni ty, and parole refers to

the realization of Iangue in actual use. Langue is the set of conventions

and rules which Ianguage users all have to follow while parole is the cone

rete use of the conventions and the application of the rules. Langue is ab

stract; it is not the Ian guage people actually use, but parole is con crete;

it refers to the naturally occurring Ianguage events. Langue is relativel

y stable; it does not change frequently; while parole varies from person t

o pers on, and from situati on to situati on.

67. How do you un dersta nd compete nee and performa nee? America n lin guist N.

Chomsky in the late 1950 ' s proposed the disti ncti on betwee n compete nee an

d performa nee. Chomsky defi nes compet

e nee as the ideal user ' s kno wledge of

the rules of his Ian guage. This intern alized set of rules en ables the Ian guage user to produce