语言学问答题精选

1、 Qs: 1. How do you understand the definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguistics investigates not any particular language, but languages in general. Linguistic study is scientific because it is based on the systematic investigation of authentic(可靠的，真实的) langu

2、age data. No serious linguistic conclusion is reached until after the linguist has done the following three things: observing the way language is actually used, formulating some hypotheses, and testing these hypotheses against linguistic facts to prove their validity. 2. In what basic ways does mode

3、rn linguistics differ from traditional grammar? 1) Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive. 2) Secondly, modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. 3) Thirdly, modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it d

4、oes not force languages into a Latin-based framework. 3. Why is speech considered as the primary medium of human language? 1.First, speech precedes writing. The writing system is always a later invention used to record the speech. There are still some languages that only have the spoken form. 2.Then

5、, a larger amount of communication is carried out in speech than in writing. 3.Third, speech is the form in which infants acquire their native language. 4. Whats the difference between langue and parole? Langue: the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community. Parole: the

6、realization of langue in actual use. 但索氏语言（Langue）乃一抽象语言系统，他的言语（Parole）指日常语言，两者均为结构语言学研究对象。海德格尔言谈，则与逻各斯古意相通。 5. Whats the difference between competence and performance? Competence is the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language While Performance is the actual realization of this knowledge

7、in linguistic communication(语言能力和语言行为) it makes the distinction between the abstract language system and the actual use of language. 6. Whats the difference between the distinction of langue Vs. parole and that of competence Vs. performance?Both of them make the distinction between the abstract lang

8、uage system and the actual use of language. Their purpose is to single out one aspect of language for serious study. They differ in that the former takes a sociological view of language and the notion of langue is a matter of social conventions; and the latter looks at language from a psychological

9、point of view and competence is a property of the mind of each individual.2.Review 3 1. What are the major branches of linguistics? phonetics,phonology,morphology,syntax,semantics,pragmatics,sociolinguistics,pcycholinguistics,appled linguistics,2. What does each branch of linguistics study?Phonetics

10、-its defined as the study of the phonic medium of language, its concerned with all the sounds that occur in the worlds languages. Phonology-the study of sounds systemsthe inventory of distinctive sounds that occur in a language and the patterns into which they fall. Morphology-Its a branch of a gram

11、mar which studies the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed. Syntax-it's a subfield of linguistics that studies the sentence structure of a language. Semantics-Its simply defined as the study of meaning in abstraction. Pragmatics-the study of meaning in context of w

12、ords. Sociolinguisticsthe study of language with reference to society. Psycholinguistics-the study of language with reference to the working of the mind. Applied linguistics-the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning. General linguistics普通语言学-the study of

13、 language as a whole: it deals with the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistics.3.Review 4 § 1. How do you understand “Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication”?答：First of all, language is a system, because ele

14、ments of language are combined according to rules. Secondly, language is arbitrary because there is no intrinsic connection between form and meaning, or between the sign and what it stands for. Different languages have different words for the same object in the world. This fact is a good illustratio

15、n of the arbitrary nature of language. This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are just symbols; they are associated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention. Thirdly, language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well-developed thei

16、r writing systems are.The term “human” in the definition indicates that language is possessed by human beings only and is very different from the communication systems of other living creatures. The term “communication” means that language makes it possible for its users to talk to each other and fu

17、lfill their communicative needs.2. What are the main features of human language that have been specified by C. Hockett to show it is essentially different from animal communication system? (1) Arbitrariness(2) Productivity (3) Duality(4) Displacement(5) Cultural transmission (1) ArbitrarinessAs ment

18、ioned earlier, the arbitrary property of language means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. For instance, there is no necessary relationship between the word elephant and the animal it symbolizes. In addition, different sounds are used to refer to the same object in diff

19、erent languages, and even within the same language, the same sound does not refer to the same thing. However, language is not entirely arbitrary. There are words which are created in the imitation of sounds by sounds, such as crash, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely

20、 arbitrary. But the non-arbitrary words are quite limited in number.The arbitrary nature of language makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions. (2) ProductivityLanguage is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new sign

21、als by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences that they have never said or heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before.Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication syst

22、ems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. (3) DualityThe duality nature of language means that language is a system, which consists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanings. At the

23、 lower or the basic level, there is the structure of sounds, which are meaningless, discrete, individual sounds. But the sounds of language can be combined according to rules into units of meaning such as morphemes and words, which, at the higher level, can be arranged into sentences. This duality o

24、f structure or double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system has duality or even comes near to possessing it. (4) DisplacementDisplacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or not pre

25、sent, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation. (5) Cultural transmiss

26、ionHuman beings were born with the ability to acquire language, but the details of any language are not genetically transmitted or passed down by instinct. They have to be taught and learned, but animal call systems are genetically transmitted.§ 3. Do you think human language is entirely arbitr

27、ary? Why?Language is arbitrary in nature, it is not entirely arbitrary, because there are a limited number of words whose connections between forms and meanings can be logically explained to a certain extent, for example, the onomatopoeia words which are coined on the basis of imitation of sounds by

28、 sounds such as bang, crash, etc. Take compounds for another example. The two elements “photo” and “copy” in “photocopy” are non-motivated, but the compound is not arbitrary.The Phonetic Medium of Language1. 1. The phonic medium of language :2. the limited range of sounds which are meaningful in hum

29、an communication.3. 2. Speech sounds :4. the individual sounds within the phonic medium of language.4.Review Questions 5 1. How do phonetics（语言学） and phonology （音韵学）differ in their focus of study?Phonetics: description of all speech sounds and their fine differences.Phonology: description of sound s

30、ystems of particular languages and how sounds function to distinguish meaning.Phonetics is more concerned with description of all speech sounds and their fine differences; phonology is more concerned with the organization of speech sounds in relation to the conveyance of meaning.2. How do broad tran

31、scription and narrow transcription differ? Explain with examples.宽式标音和严式标音有什么区别？The broad transcription is the transcription of sounds by using one letter to represent one sound. The narrow transcription is the transcription with diacritics （变音符号） to show detailed articulatory features of sounds. In

32、 broad transcription, the symbol l in used for the sound l in words like leaf li:f, feel fi:l, build bild, and health hel. The sound l in all these words is differ slightly. The l in li:f, occurring before a vowel, is called a clear l, and no diacritic is needed to indicate it; the l in fi:l and bil

33、d, occurring before another consonant, is called dark l, indicated in narrow transcription as l. Then in hel, the sound l is followed by the dental sound , it is thus called a dental l, and transcribed as hel in narrow transcription.8.Review 91. How many views concerning the study of meaning are int

34、roduced in the course book? What are they?1.The naming theory(指称论）2. The conceptualist view (概念论）（又叫Ideational Theory)3. Behaviorism (Behaviorist Theory)(语言行为)4. Contextualism (语境论) (又叫The Theory of Situation)2.What is the naming theory? Point out its limitations . Linguistic forms or symbols, in ot

35、her words, the words are simply labels or names for things, that is, meaning is referent.limitations : 1. It seems applicable to nouns only, however it is not applicable to the abstract notions or unreal things.2. Within the category of nouns, there are nouns which denote things that do not exist in

36、 the real world at all and also nouns that do not refer to physical objects.3. Whats the difference between realism and nominalism?(PPT上只有中文哈，书上没有）唯实论(Naturalism,自然论):词和所表示的事物之间存在着一种根本的联系，一个物体的名称是物体本身所具有的某种实际属性决定的。唯名论: 人们用来表示事物的词，其形式和词所指的事物之间并没有什么内在的联系，是约定俗成(conventional)的结果.4. Explain the classic s

37、emantic triangle suggested by Ogden and Richards.There is no direct link between a linguistic form and what it refers to; rather, in the interpretation of meaning they are linked through the mediation of concepts in the mind5.The meaning of the word “black” differs in “black hair” and black coffee”

38、is different, so is the meaning of the word “seal” in the sentence “The seal could not be found”. What view of meaning can be used to explain the linguistic phenomenon? Contextualism (语境论)6. What is the main idea of behaviorism in the study of meaning?The meaning of a linguistic form is the situatio

39、n in which the speaker utters it and the response which it calls forth in the hearer. 11. Review 12. 1. What does pragmatics study? How does it differ from traditional semantics?Pragmatics study how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication.Traditional semantics studied

40、 meaning，but the meaning of language was considered as something intrinsic，and inherent，i.e. a property attached to language itself. Therefore， meanings of words，meanings of sentences were all studied in an isolated manner，detached from the context in which they were used. Pragmatics studies meaning

41、 not in isolation，but in context. The essential distinction between semantics and pragmatics is whether the context of use is considered in the study of meaning. If it is not considered， the study is restricted to the area of traditional semantics；if it is considered，the study is being carried out i

42、n the area of pragmatics. 2. What role does context play in the pragmatic study? The notion of context is essential to the pragmatics study of language. It is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and hearer. The shared knowledge is of two types：the knowledge of

43、the language they use，and the knowledge about the world，including the general knowledge about the world and the specific knowledge about the situation in which linguistic communication is taking place. Context determines the speakers use of language and also the hearers interpretation of what is sai

44、d to him.3. How are sentence meaning and utterance meaning related, and how do they differ? A sentence meaning is often considered as the intrinsic property of the sentence itself in terms of a predication. It is abstract and independent of context. The meaning of an utterance is concrete， and conte

45、xt-dependent. The utterance meaning is based on sentence meaning； it is realization of the abstract meaning of a sentence in a real situation of communication， or simply in a context. For example， “There is a dog at the door”. The speaker could utter it as a matter-of-fact statement， telling the hea

46、rer that the dog is at the door. The speaker could use it as a warning， asking the hearer not to approach the door. There are other possibilities， too. So， the understanding of the utterance meaning of “There is a dog at the door” depends on the context in which it is uttered and the purpose for whi

47、ch the speaker utters it.12. Revision 13 1. According to Austin, what are the three acts a person is possibly performing while making an utterance. Give an example. Locutionary act Illocutionary act Perlocutionary act Examples: You have left the door wide open. locutionary act: the utterance of all

48、the words illocutionary act: the intention of the speaker perlocutionary act: the effect of the utterance 2. What are the five types of illocutionary speech acts Searle has specified? Explain each with examples. 1. verdictives (裁决型）eg:Referee: Youre out! 2. exercitives (行使类）eg: Congratulations 3. co

49、mmissives ( 承诺类）eg:Ill be back. 4. behavitives (行为/表态类）eg:Im really sorry! 5. expositives (阐述类）eg:I agree with you 5.Review 6 nExplain with examples the sequential rule, the assimilation rule, the deletion rule, and the suprasegmental features.Sequential rules: the rules that govern the combination

50、of sounds in a particular language. E.g.: if a word begins with a l or a r, then the next sound must be a vowel. The “assimilation rule” assimilates one sound to another by “copying” a feature of a sequential phoneme, thus making the two phones more similar. The “deletion rule” tells us when a sound

51、 is to be deleted although is orthographically represented. While the letter “g” is spelled in “sign”, “design” and “paradigm” but is mute in pronunciation. “Suprasegmental features” refers to the phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments, including stress, tone, intonation.Stress

52、-word stress and sentence stress, the location of stress in English distinguishes meaning. E.g.: Import n.-im port v. Sentence stress refers to the relative force given to the components of a sentence.Tonepitch variations which are caused by the differing rate of vibration of the vocal cords. Chines

53、e is a typical tone language.Intonationpitch, stress and sound length ate tied to the sentence rather than the word in isolation, they are known as intonation. Falling tone/rising tone/fall-rise tone/rise-fall tone.6. Review 7n Explain with examples morpheme, free morpheme, bound morpheme and inflec

54、tional morphemen Morpheme is traditionally defined as the most basic element of meaning.It is the smallest meaningful element of language that cannot be reduced to smaller elements. one morpheme: desire two morphemes: desire + able three morphemes: desire + able+ ity four morphemes: un+ desire + abl

55、e+ ity Free morpheme: those which can occur alone, that is, they may constitute words by themselves. E.g. bed, tree, sing, dance, etc Bound morpheme: those which can not occur alone and must appear with at least another morpheme, such as s, -al, dis-, -ed, -ing such as “-s” in “dogs”, “al” in “natio

56、nal”, “dis-” in “disclose”, “ed” in “recorded”, etc. Inflectional morphemes: Bound morphemes which are for the most part purely grammatical markers, signifying such concepts as tense, number, case and so on.(-s, -es, -s, -ed, -ing, etc. a) number: tables apples cars b) tense: talk/talks/talking/talk

57、ed c) case: John/Johnsn Exercises:n Commercial com+merc+ialn indisposed in+dis+pos+edn Productivity pro+duct+ive+ityn ineffaceable in+ef+face+ablen Conference con+fer+encen affluent af+flu+ent 9. Review 10 1. Explain with examples “homonymy”, “polysemy” and “hyponymy”. Polysemy (多义)：One word has more than one meaning seal si:l n. 1. (火漆)封印；封蜡；封铅；封条 2. 名戳印，图章；印记 3. 保证，誓约 4. 密封；密封之物(或信件等) 5. 密封垫；密封装置 6. 标志；象征，征兆 7. 批准；准许 Homonymy (同形异义）：It refers to the phenomenon that words having different meanings have the same form. Eg: peace/piece, leak/leek Hypon