语言学导论部分考研真题

1、。部分考研真题汇总（语言学导论部分）北京外国语大学I Explain the following terms.1. langue (2010)II. Answer the following questions.1. How do you compare the traffic light system with a human linguistic system? (2010)提示： Both the traffic light system and human linguistic system belongto the language system. Both can convey i

2、nformationto humanbeings.Thekey difference lies in duality. Linguists refer“duality ”(of structure)to the factthat inalllanguagesso far investigated,one finds two levelsof structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language isanalyzed in termsofcombinationof meaningfulunits(such as morphem

3、es,words, etc). At the second, lower level, it is seen as a sequence ofsegments which lack any meaning in themselves,but which combine toformunits of meaning. With duality, our language is endowed with the greatproductive power.Thetrafficlight system does not have duality,because its primarylevel do

4、es not have independent units which can be united freely intomeaningfulsecondaryunits. One form corresponds toone meaning. That is,the red light means to stop; the green one means to pass; the yellow onemeans to pause for pass or stop. The traffic light system is more likeanimal communicative system

5、 rather than human language.北京第二外国语大学I Complete each of the following statements.1. The branch of grammar which studies the internal structure of words is called_. （2004）2. An approach in linguistic study which attempts to lay down rules ofcorrectness as to how language should be used is _.（2004，200

6、8）3.When language is used for establishing an atmosphere or maintainingsocial contact ratherthanexchanging informationor ideas,itsfunction is _ function.（2005， 2008 ，2010）4.In Saussures views, therelationshipbetween signifier(sound image)and signified (concept) is _.（2005）5.By _ ismeant the property

7、of havingtwo levels ofstructures,suchthatunitsof the primarylevelare composedof elements of the secondaryleveland each of the two levelshas itsown principlesoforganization.（2005）6. By duality is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the _level are composed of elem

8、ents of the_leveland eachofthetwolevelshasitsown anization.（2006）7. According to Chomsky, the object of investigation in linguistics isthe ideal speaker s _ rather than his performance.（2006）8. In _ linguistics, languages are studied at a theoretical point in time: one describes a

9、state of the language, disregarding whateverchanges might be taking place.（2006）9. The featuresthat defineour humanlanguages can be called_ features.（2006）10. Human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment ofcommun

10、ication. This quality is labeled as _.（2007， 2009 ）11.Semanticsand _ investigatedifferentaspectsoflinguisticmeaning. （2007）12.Chomsky initiatedthedistinctionbetween _ and performance.（2007）13. The _ is the minimal distinctive unit in grammar, a unit whichcannotbedividedwithoutdestroyingordrastically

11、alteringthemeaning, whether lexical or grammatical.（2008）14. The branch of grammar which studiesthe internalstructureof sentenceis called _.（2008， 2010 ）15. Both semantics and _ investigate linguistic meaning, but they focus on different aspect. (2009)16. If certain linguistics tries to lay down rul

12、es for the correct useof language and settle the disputes over usage once and for all, it is_ linguists. (2009)II. Tell if each of the following statements is true or false.1.The most important sociological use of language is the recreationalfunction, by whichpeopleestablishand maintaintheir status

13、insociety.（ 2005）2. “Competence”and “performance ”are two distinctive terms proposed by Saussure. （2005）3.The descriptionof a language at somepoint in time is called diachronicstudy. （2005, 2007 ）4.The distinctionbetween “langue ”and “parole ”was proposed by Chomsky.（ 2010）III Complete each of the f

14、ollowing statements using one of the given choices.1.The actual production and comprehension of the speech by speaker ofa language is called_.（2010）a. grammar rulesb. competence c. performanced.languagedevice2.The study of language at one point in time is a _ study.（2010）a. historicalb. synchronic c

15、. descriptived. diachronicIV. Answer the questions briefly.。2。1.Why is it difficult to define language?（2004）2.How do you understand“displacement ”, a design feature of language?（ 2004）3.Howdo you understand“duality”, a designfeature of language?（2010）4.How do you understand the performative functio

16、n of language?（2009,2010）5.How doyou understandthedistinctionbetween langue andparoleintroduced by Saussure?(2009)6.How do you understand arbitrariness? (2009)V. Write a short essay in about 100 words according to each ofthefollowing questions.1.Howdo you understandthe dichotomy between competence a

17、nd performancepostulated by Chomsky? （ 2008）2.What is phonology? And what is a phoneme?（2008）3.Howwell,in your opinion,does the word “communication ”represent thefunction of human language?（2008）4. How do you understand “discreteness ”, a design feature of language? （ 2008）提示： Charles Francis Hocket

18、t was an American linguistic theorist whodeveloped many influential ideas of American structuralism. He (1966)isolated 13 design features that characterize human language and whichdistinguish it from other communication systems. Discreteness is one ofthem. It means that the basic units of speech (su

19、ch as sounds) can becategorized as belonging to distinct categories. There is no gradual,continuous shading from one sound to another in the linguistics system,although there maybe a continuum in the realphysicalworld.Thus speakerswill receive a sound as either a p or a b, but not as blend, even ifp

20、hysically it falls somewhere between the two sounds. In other word, phonemes can be placed in distinct categories which differentiate them from one another, such as the distinct sound of p versus b.首都师范大学I. Match the terms with their definitions.1. prescriptive study of language g. approach that aim

21、s at laying down rules (2010)北京航空航天大学I. Answer the following questions.1. What makes language unique to human beings? (2010)大连海事大学I Choose the correct answer.1. _ refers to the fact that languages are organized in terms of two levels. (2004)。3。A. DualityB. DisplacementC. ProductivityD.Arbitrariness2

22、. N. Chomsky defines _ as the ideal users knowledge of the rules ofhis language, and _ the actual realization of this knowledge inlinguistic communication. (2004)A. langue, paroleB. competence, performanceC. grammar, speechD. language, writing3. _ is differentfrom semantics in thatitstudiesthe use o

23、f languagein communication, particularly between sentences and the context and situation in which they are used. (2004)A. PragmaticsB. SemanticsC. GrammarD. functional4. What is morphology? (2005)A. The study of the rules governing the sounds that form words.B. The study of the rules governing sente

24、nce formation.C. The study of the rules governing word formation.D. The study of the rules of grammatical units of a language.II. Explain each of the following pairs of terms with examples if necessary.1. prescriptive and descriptive grammar (2005)III. Short answers to the following questions.1. Wha

25、t prescriptive rules for the “proper ”use of English are not obeyed in the following sentences? (2005)(a) That s the girl I gave my roller skates to.(b) He wanted to simply borrow your car for an hour.IV. Essay questions.1.Develop thefollowingtopicinto a 200-300 word essay: The differencebetween the

26、prescriptive approach and the descriptiveapproach and thesignificance in language learning. (2005)2.Writean essay on theuniquepropertiesofhumanlanguage inabout 250words,discussinginwhat ways these featuresarerestrictedto humanlanguage and unlikely to be found in animal communication systems.(2008)V.

27、 Mark thefollowingstatements with T ifitis trueorF if itisfalse.1.Differentfrompragmatics,semanticsdealswithmeaningwithoutreferencetothe usersand communicativefunctionsofsentences.(2008)VI. Match each term in Column A with its definition in Column B. (2009)Column A1. phatic communionColumn BA. the u

28、se of speech to maintain social relations, e. g.Pleased tomeet you.VII. Explain the following terms.1.Sociolinguistics(2009)。4。河南大学I. Lexicology.1. Explain the following terms. Phoneme (2009)郑州大学I. Define the following terms.1. linguistic competence (2006)2. morpheme (2005)3. phatic function (2006)I

29、I. Answer the following questions.1.What are the seven basic functions of human language? Describe themand give brief explanation for each of them. (2006)2.Wardhauge (1977) defines language as“a system of arbitrary vocalsymbolsusedfor humancommunication. ” Pleaseelaboratethisdefinition. (2005)3.What

30、 arethesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetween Saussure sdistinctionof“Langue vs.Parole ” and Chomskysdistinctionof“Competence vs. Performance”? (2005)III. True or False questions. If a certain statement is false, please state the reason very briefly.1.In the history of any language the writing system alw

31、ays cameintobeingbefore the spoken form. (2005)2.Linguistics is the course of language. (2006)3.Historicallinguisticsequals to the study of synchronic study.(2006)4. The smallest meaningful unit of language is allomorph. (2006)5. Semantics is the main part of linguistics. (2006)IV.Complete each stat

32、ementwith the best choiceout of the fouroptions.1.The term _ linguistics may be defined as a way of referring to theapproach which studies language change over various periods of time and at various historical stages. (2006)A. synchronicB. diachronic C. comparativeD.historicalcomparative2. As modern

33、 linguisticsaims to describeand analyze the language peopleactuallyuse,and nottolaydown rulesfor“correct ” linguisticbehavior, it is said to be _. (2006)A. prescriptiveB. sociolinguistics C. descriptive D.psycholinguistic3. The branch of linguisticsthatstudieshow contextinfluencesthe wayspeakers int

34、erpret sentences is called _. (2006)A. semanticsB. pragmatics C.sociolinguisticsD.psycholinguistics北京师范大学。5。I. Define the following terms.1. langue (2004)2. parole (2004)II. Try to discuss as many as possible the design features of human language. (2004)III. Compare and contrast the following pairs

35、of terms.1.synchronic and diachronic studies of language (2005)IV. What are the design features of language? Please explain them with examples. (2005)北京外国语大学I. Explain the following terms briefly.1. morpheme (2004)2. langue (2010)3. phoneme (2010)II. Answer the following questions.1.Whoproposed the

36、distinctionbetween competence and performance ? Whatis the significanceof thisdistinctionin linguisticstudies?(2004)2. How do you compare the traffic light system with a human linguistic system? (2010)大连外国语学院I. Mark the following statements with T if they are true and F if they are false.1. Parole i

37、s the actual use of speaking by the members of a community. (2004)2. Parole is the actual phenomena or data of utterances. (2003)3.Linguisticsisgenerallydefinedas a scientificstudyofa particularlanguage. (2003)4.Synchroniclinguisticsrefers toapproach which studieslanguageovervarious periods of time

38、and at various historical stages. (2003)5.Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative. (2004)6.What essentiallydistinguishessemantics and pragmaticsis whether inthe study of meaning the context of use is considered. (2004)7.The metalingualfunctionof language enableshumanbeingsto talkabou

39、tthe language itself. (2004)II. Fill in the following blanks.1.One of thedesign features termed as _ means thathuman languagesenable their users to symbolize objects, events, and concepts whichare present(intimeand space)atthe momentofcommunication.(2003)2.It is generally agreed that linguistics sho

40、uld include at least fiveparameters,namely,phonologic,_,syntactic,semantic,and_. (2003)。6。3.The basicfunctionsoflanguageare:informative,_,_,_, phatic, recreational and metalingual. (2003)III. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement.1. _ means language can be used to refer to contexts re

41、moved from the immediate situations of the speaker. (2003)A. DualityB. AssimilationC. DisplacementD. ContextIV. Answer the following questions.1.Why iscompetenceandperformanceanimportantdistinctioninlinguistics? (2003)武汉大学I. Explain and exemplify the following terms.1. duality(2007)II. Briefly answe

42、r the following questions.1.What are linguistic competence and communicative competence? (2007)厦门大学1. What are the differences between prescriptivism and descriptivism in linguistic study? (2007)提示： The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be anddescribing how things are. A linguistic

43、s study is descriptive if itdescribesand analyzesfactsobserved;itis prescriptiveifittriestolay down rulesfor“correct ”behaviors.The former is about what languageis like and the latter is about what language should be like.To say that linguistics is a descriptive science is to say that thelinguist tries to discover