简明英语语言学教程第二版练习题参考答案

1、新编简明英语语言学教程第二版练习题参考答案新编简明英语语言学教程第二版练习题参考答案Chapter1Introduction1. Howdoyouinterpretthefollowingdefinitionoflinguistics：Linguisticsisthescientificstudyoflanguage.答：Linguisticsisbasedonthesystematicinvestigationoflinguisticdata,conductedwithreferencetosomegeneraltheoryoflanguagestructure.Inordertodisco

2、verthenatureandrulesoftheunderlyinglanguagesystem,thelinguistshastocollectandobservelanguagefactsfirst,whicharefoundtodisplaysomesimilarities,andgeneralizationsaremadeaboutthem;thenheformulatessomehypothesesaboutthelanguagestructure.Thehypothesesthusformedhavetobecheckedrepeatedlyagainsttheobservedf

3、actstofullyprovetheirvalidity.Inlinguistics,asinanyotherdiscipline,dataandtheorystandinadialecticalcomplementation,thatis,atheorywithoutthesupportofdatacanhardlyclaimvalidity,anddatawithoutbeingexplainedbysometheoryremainamuddledmassofthings.2. Whatarethemajorbranchesoflinguistics?Whatdoeseachofthem

4、study?答：Themajorbranchesoflinguisticsare：(1) phonetics：itstudiesthesoundsusedinlinguisticcommunication;(2) phonology：itstudieshowsoundsareputtogetherandusedtoconveymeaningincommunication;(3) morphology：itstudiesthewayinwhichlinguisticsymbolsrepresentingsoundsarearrangedandcombinedtoformwords;(4) syn

5、tax：itstudiestheruleswhichgovernhowwordsarecombinedtoformgrammaticallypermissiblesentencesinlanguages;(5) semantics：itstudiesmeaningconveyedbylanguage;(6) pragmatics：itstudiesthemeaninginthecontextoflanguageuse.3. Inwhatbasicwaysdoesmodernlinguisticsdifferfromtraditionalgrammar?答：Thegeneralapproacht

6、hustraditionallyformedtothestudyoflanguageovertheyearsisroughlyreferredtoasutraditionalgrammar.”Modernlinguisticsdiffersfromtraditionalgrammarinseveralbasicways.Firstly,linguisticsisdescriptivewhiletraditionalgrammarisprescriptive.Second,modemlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewritte

7、n.Traditionalgrammarians,ontheotherhand,tendedtoemphasize,maybeover-emphasize,theimportanceofthewrittenword,partlybecauseofitspermanence.Then,modemlinguisticsdiffersfromtraditionalgrammaralsointhatitdoesnotforcelanguagesintoaLatin-basedframework.4. Ismodernlinguisticsmainlysynchronicordiachronic?Why

8、?答：Inmodemlinguistics,asynchronicapproachseemstoenjoypriorityoveradiachronicone.Becausepeoplebelievedthatunlessthevariousstatesofalanguageindifferenthistoricalperiodsaresuccessfullystudied,itwouldbedifficulttodescribethechangesthathavetakenplaceinitshistoricaldevelopment.5. Forwhatreasonsdoesmodernl

9、inguisticsgiveprioritytospeechratherthantowriting?答：Speechandwritingarethetwomajormediaoflinguisticcommunication.Modemlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasthenaturalortheprimarymediumofhumanlanguageforsomeobviousreasons.Fromthepointofviewoflinguisticevolution,speechispriortowriting.Thewritingsystemo

10、fanylanguageisalwaysuinventedMbyitsuserstorecordspeechwhentheneedarises.Evenintoday*sworldtherearestillmanylanguagesthatcanonlybespokenbutnotwritten.Thenineverydaycommunication,speechplaysagreaterrolethanwritingintermsoftheamountofinformationconveyed.Andalso,speechisalwaysthewayinwhicheverynativespe

11、akeracquireshismothertongue,andwritingislearnedandtaughtlaterwhenhegoestoschool.Formodernlinguists,spokenlanguagerevealsmanytruefeaturesofhumanspeechwhilewrittenlanguageisonlythe"revised“recordofspeech.Thustheirdataforinvestigationandanalysisaremostlydrawnfromeverydayspeech,whichtheyregardasaut

12、hentic.6. HowisSaussure*sdistinctionbetweenlangueandparolesimilartoChomsky，sdistinctionbetweencompetenceandperformance?答：Saussure*sdistinctionandChomsky，sareverysimilar,theydifferatleastinthatSaussuretookasociologicalviewoflanguageandhisnotionoflangueisamatterofsocialconventions,andChomskylooksatlan

13、guagefromapsychologicalpointofviewandtohimcompetenceisapropertyofthemindofeachindividual.7. Whatcharacteristicsoflanguagedoyouthinkshouldbeincludedinagood,comprehensivedefinitionoflanguage?答:Firstofall,languageisasystem,i.e.,elementsoflanguagearecombinedaccordingtorules.Second,languageisarbitraryint

14、hesensethatthereisnointrinsicconnectionbetweenalinguisticsymbolandwhatthesymbolstandsfor.Third,languageisvocalbecausetheprimarymediumforalllanguagesissound.Fourth,languageishuman-specific,i.e.,itisverydifferentfromthecommunicationsystemsotherformsoflifepossess.8. Whatarethemainfeaturesofhumanlanguag

15、ethathavebeenspecifiedbyC.Hocketttoshowthatitisessentiallydifferentfromanimalcommunicationsystem?答：Themainfeaturesofhumanlanguagearetermeddesignfeatures.Theyinclude:1)ArbitrarinessLanguageisarbitrary.Thismeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Agoodexampleisthefactthatdifferentso

16、undsareusedtorefertothesameobjectindifferentlanguages.2)ProductivityLanguageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionandinterpretationofnewsignalsbyitsusers.Thisiswhytheycanproduceandunderstandaninfinitelylargenumberofsentences,includingsentencestheyhaveneverheardbefore.3)DualityLan

17、guageconsistsoftwosetsofstructures,ortwolevels.Atthelowerorthebasiclevelthereisastructureofsounds,whicharemeaninglessbythemselves.Butthesoundsoflanguagecanbegroupedandregroupedintoalargenumberofunitsofmeaning,whicharefoundatthehigherlevelofthesystem.4)DisplacementLanguagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhic

18、harepresentornotpresent,realorimaginedmattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Inotherwords,languagecanbeusedtorefertocontextsremovedfromtheimmediatesituationsofthespeaker.ThisiswhatdisplacementMmeans.5) CulturaltransmissionWhilehumancapacityforlanguagehasageneticbasis,i.e.,wewereallborn

19、withtheabilitytoacquirelanguage,thedetailsofanylanguagesystemarenotgeneticallytransmitted,butinsteadhavetobetaughtandlearned.9. Whatarethemajorfunctionsoflanguage?Thinkofyourownexamplesforillustration.答：Threemainfunctionsareoftenrecognizedoflanguage：thedescriptivefunction,theexpressivefunction,andth

20、esocialfunction.Thedescriptivefunctionisthefunctiontoconveyfactualinformation,whichcanbeassertedordenied,andinsomecasesevenverified.Forexample：uChinaisalargecountrywithalonghistory.''Theexpressivefunctionsuppliesinformationabouttheuser*sfeelings,preferences,prejudices,andvalues.Forexample：”I

21、willnevergowindowshoppingwithher.''Thesocialfunctionservestoestablishandmaintainsocialrelationsbetweenpeople.Forexample:"Weareyourfirmsupporters.”Chapter2SpeechSounds1. Whatarethetwomajormediaoflinguisticcommunication?Ofthetwo,whichoneisprimaryandwhy?答：Speechandwritingarethetwomajormedi

22、aoflinguisticcommunication.Ofthetwomediaoflanguage,speechismoreprimarythanwriting,forreasons,pleaserefertotheanswertothefifthprobleminthelastchapter.2.Whatisvoicingandhowisitcaused?答：VoicingisaqualityofspeechsoundsandafeatureofallvowelsandsomeconsonantsinEnglish.Itiscausedbythevibrationofthevocalcor

23、ds.3. Explainwithexampleshowbroadtranscriptionandnarrowtranscriptiondiffer?答：Thetranscriptionwithletter-symbolsonlyiscalledbroadtranscription.Thisisthetranscriptionnormallyusedindictionariesandteachingtextbooksforgeneralpurposes.Thelatter,i.e.thetranscriptionwithletter-symbolstogetherwiththediacriti

24、csiscallednarrowtranscription.Thisisthetranscriptionneededandusedbythephoneticiansintheirstudyofspeechsounds.Withthehelpofthediacriticstheycanfaithfullyrepresentasmuchofthefinedetailsasitisnecessaryfortheirpurpose.Inbroadtranscription,thesymbolElisusedforthesounds1inthefourwordsleafEli：f,feelLfi：1,b

25、uildbild,andhealthIhel0.Asamatteroffact,thesoundLlinallthesefoursoundcombinationsdiffersslightly.The1inLli：f,occurringbeforeavowel,iscalledadear1,andnodiacriticisneededtoindicateit;the1inIfi：1andoccurringattheendofawordorbeforeanotherconsonant,ispronounceddifferentlyfromtheclearL1Jasin“leaf”.Itiscal

26、leddark?andinnarrowtranscriptionthediacritic?isusedtoindicateit.Theninthesoundcombinationhel0,thesound1isfollowedbytheEnglishdentalsound0,itspronunciationissomewhataffectedbythedentalsoundthatfollowsit.Itisthuscalledadental1,andinnarrowtranscriptionthediacritic、isusedtoindicateit.ItistranscribedasEh

27、el0.AnotherexampleistheconsonantLpLWeallknowthatpispronounceddifferentlyinthetwowordspitandspit.Inthewordpit,thesoundpispronouncedwithastrongpuffofair,butinspitthepuffofairiswithheldtosomeextent.Inthecaseofpit,thepsoundissaidtobeaspiratedandinthecaseofspit,thepsoundisunaspirated.Thisdifferenceisnots

28、howninbroadtranscription,butinnarrowtranscription,asmallraised”hisusedtoshowaspiration,thuspitistranscribedasph?tandspitistranscribedasEsp?t.4. HowaretheEnglishconsonantsclassified?答：Englishconsonantscanbeclassifiedintwoways：oneisintermsofmannerofarticulationandtheotherisintermsofplaceofarticulation

29、.IntermsofmannerofarticulationtheEnglishconsonantscanbeclassifiedintothefollowingtypes：stops,fricatives,affricates,liquids,nasalsandglides.Intermsofplaceofarticulation,itcanbeclassifiedintofollowingtypes：bilabial,labiodental,dental,alveolar,palatal,velarandglottal.5.WhatcriteriaareusedtoclassifytheE

30、nglishvowels?答：Vowelsmaybedistinguishedasfront,central,andbackaccordingtowhichpartofthetongueisheldhighest.Tofurtherdistinguishmembersofeachgroup,weneedtoapplyanothercriterion,i.e.theopennessofthemouth.Accordingly,weclassifythevowelsintofourgroups:closevowels,semi-closevowels,semi-openvowels,andopen

31、vowels.Athirdcriterionthatisoftenusedintheclassificationofvowelsistheshapeofthelips.InEnglish,allthefrontvowelsandthecentralvowelsareunfoundedvowels,i.e.,withoutroundingthelips,andallthebackvowels,withtheexceptionofLa：,arerounded.Itshouldbenotedthatsomefrontvowelscanbepronouncedwithroundedlips.6.A.G

32、ivethephoneticsymbolforeachofthefollowingsounddescriptions：1)voicedpalatalaffricate2)voicelesslabiodentalfricative3)voicedalveolarstop4)front,close,short5)back,semi-open,long6)voicelessbilabialstopB.Givethephoneticfeaturesofeachofthefollowingsounds:1)Et2)13)?4)w5)?6)?答：A. (1) ?(2)f(3)d(4)?(5)?:(6)pB

33、. (1) voiceless alveolar stop (3) voiceless palatal affricate back, close, short(6)(2) voiced alveolar liquid(4) voiced bilabial glide(5)front, open7. Howdophoneticsandphonologydifferintheirfocusofstudy?Whodoyouthinkwillbemoreinterestedinthedifferencebetween,say,1and?,phandLp,aphoneticianoraphonolog

34、ist?Why?答：(1)Bothphonologyandphoneticsareconcernedwiththesameaspectoflanguage0C0Cthespeechsounds.Butwhilebotharerelatedtothestudyofsounds,theydifferintheirapproachandfocus.Phoneticsisofageneralnature;itisinterestedinallthespeechsoundsusedinallhumanlanguages：howtheyareproduced,howtheydifferfromeachot

35、her,whatphoneticfeaturestheypossess,howtheycanbeclassified,etc.Phonology,ontheotherhand,aimstodiscoverhowspeechsoundsinalanguageformpatternsandhowthesesoundsareusedtoconveymeaninginlinguisticcommunication.(2) Aphonologistwillbemoreinterestedinit.Becauseoneofthetasksofthephonologistsistofindoutruleth

36、atgovernsthedistributionof1and?,Lphandp.8. Whatisaphone?Howisitdifferentfromaphoneme?Howareallophonesrelatedtoaphoneme?答：Aphoneisaphoneticunitorsegment.Thespeechsoundswehearandproduceduringlinguisticcommunicationareallphones.Aphonemeisnotanyparticularsound,butratheritisrepresentedorrealizedbyacertai

37、nphoneinacertainphoneticcontext.Thedifferentphoneswhichcanrepresentaphonemeindifferentphoneticenvironmentsarecalledtheallophonesofthatphoneme.Forexample,thephoneme/I/inEnglishcanberealizedasdark?,clear11,etc.whichareallophonesofthephoneme/I/.9. Explainwithexamplesthesequentialrule,theassimilationrul

38、e,andthedeletionrule.答：Rulesthatgovernthecombinationofsoundsinaparticularlanguagearecalledsequentialrules.TherearemanysuchsequentialrulesinEnglish.Forexample,ifawordbeginswitha1orar,thenthenextsoundmustbeavowel.ThatiswhyIbiklLlkbiareimpossiblecombinationsinEnglish.Theyhaveviolatedtherestrictionsonth

39、esequencingofphonemes.Theassimilationruleassimilatesonesoundtoanotherby"copying”afeatureofasequentialphoneme,thusmakingthetwophonessimilar.Assimilationofneighbouringsoundsis,forthemostpart,causedbyarticulatoryorphysiologicalprocesses.Whenwespeak,wetendtoincreasetheeaseofarticulation.Thisusloppy

40、ntendencymaybecomeregularizedasrulesoflanguage.WeallknowthatnasalizationisnotaphonologicalfeatureinEnglish,i.e.,itdoesnotdistinguishmeaning.ButthisdoesnotmeanthatvowelsinEnglisharenevernasalizedinactualpronunciation;infacttheyarenasalizedincertainphoneticcontexts.Forexample,theLi：soundisnasalizedinw

41、ordslikebean,green,team,andscream.ThisisbecauseinallthesesoundcombinationstheLi:soundisfollowedbyanasalnorEm.TheassimilationrulealsoaccountsforthevaryingpronunciationofthealveolarnasalLnJinsomesoundcombinations.Theruleisthatwithinaword,thenasalnassumesthesameplaceofarticulationastheconsonantthatfollowsit.WeknowthatinEnglishtheprefixin-canbeaddedtomaadjectivetomakethemeaningofthewordnegative,e.g.discreetCindiscreet,correct-Cincorrect.ButtheLnsoundintheprefixin-isnotalwayspronouncedasanalveolarnasal.Itissointhewordindiscreet