英语语言学实用教程课后习题答案参考

1、英语语言学实用教程?教学提示Unit 1 Some Preliminaries about LanguageCheck your understandingState whether each of the following statements is True or False.(1) There is universal agreement about the origin of language. F(2) Pet dogs can speak human languages.F(3) All human infants can speak some language. FNote:

2、All normal human infants can learn to speak some language.(4) By creativity we mean the creative use of language as often practiced by poets. FNote: By creativity we mean that we can always create and understand new sentences never used before.(5) With different cultures there will be different lang

3、uages. FNote: Some cultures can share the same language.(6) Not all uses of language are meant to convey new information. TNote: Example: language used for phatic communion is not meant to convey new information.In-Class Activities1. ASK:(1) What does “ language mean in each of thes?contexta. a natu

4、ral language; language in particular.b. a human-specific tool for communication; language in general.c. individual style of language use.d. a metaphorical way of referring to bees 'system of communication.(2) Is there any other context in which the use of the word means something else?Yes. Examp

5、le: language for the computer like C +2. ASK:(1) What if there were no language?Omit.(2) What if there were only one language the world over?Omit.(3) What can we learn from this Bible story?Language is powerful as a tool of human communication.3. ASK:(1) Do you think the two statements are equally p

6、robable, and if not, why not?(a) is more likely than (b), because the word as the basic unit of meaning that can occur independently in language is finite in number, whereas the sentence as composed of words, though almost infinite in number, is made possible by our knowledge of vocabulary and gramm

7、ar. We can always produce and understand sentences that we never come across before. In that sense, no sentence is really new.(2) In what context do we make the second statement?When we focus our attention on the meaning of a sentence or when we are concerned with the form of a sentence as found in

8、a language class.4. ASK:(1) Are there onomatopoeic words in Chinese?Yes. e.g. “哗啦、“扑通、“喀嚓 .(2) Does the existence of onomatopoeic words overthrow the claim that language is arbitrary?No. Onomatopoeic words account for a very limited percentage in the vocabulary of a language.5. ASK:(1) Can one reall

9、y invent a language of one 'oswn?No.(2) If not, why?A language comes into being and use by convention or agreement among its speakers.6. ASK:(1) Is there any basic flaw in this experiment?The process is not strictly controlled. There may have been some coincidence. The sample size is too small f

10、or the experiment to be valid.(2) Do you think we really can answer the question about the beginning of language?No, at least in the present condition where/when we cannot perform experiments on the human brain, the key organ of speech.7. ASK:(1) Can you identify the most likely order (from least to

11、 most advanced) of these samples?C T B T A(2) What features in each child 's utterances can you use as evidence to support your ordering?Child A: good syntax except for improper question form.Child B: visible development of syntax; overgeneralizationChild C: Not much syntax; two-word utterances;

12、 telegraphic sentences (sentences that contain only content words but lack function words)8. ASK:(1) It is often assumed that children imitate adults in the course of language acquisition. Canimitation account for the above production on the part of the child?Not wholly. There is counter evidence ag

13、ainst the assumption, like the overgeneralization aI r“i “go-edfor “went .(2) What distinguishes the child 's production from that of the adult?Overgeneralization of “-edfor the past tense as shown by “holded.9. ASK:(1) How do adults reinforce the process of children 's acquisition as exempl

14、ified here?They use explicit correction.(2) Do children know what they are doing wrongly?Not exactly.(3) Do the adults succeed in their reinforcement?Not always, at least.(4) How should we treat the “mistakesthat children make while acquiring their mother tongue? We may ignore them sometimes, althou

15、gh some amount of reinforcement may turn out to be helpful.10. ASK:(1) Do children learn through structured or simplified input, as suggested?Not always. There is evidence for both sides.(2) Can you offer some examples illustrating, representing the way adults talk to infants?Omit.Note: Motherese is

16、 characterized by shorter sentences, higher pitch, exaggerated intonation, higher proportion of content words to function words, simple syntax, more interrogatives and imperatives, more repetitions. Yet it is not syntactically simpler. Rather, it may include syntactically complex sentences such as q

17、uestions: Do you want your juice now? Embedded sentences: Mommy thinks you should sleep now . Imperatives: Pat the dog gently ! Negatives with tag questions: We don't want to hurt him, do we? Indeed, it is fortunate that motherese is not syntactically restricted. If it were, children might not h

18、ave sufficient information to extract the rules of their language.11. ASK(1) What measures do you suggest for protecting dialects as well as languages?Omit.(2) Do you think that someday people all over the world will speak only one language, or someday no dialect will exist?Omit.12. ASK:Are there an

19、y universals that you think all languages share but are not mentionedhere?E.g. All languages have internal structures.All languages have numericals.ExercisesTask 3: Study Questions1. What do you think is essential to the emergence of language?The existence of social activities; the need to express d

20、iverse ideas, emotions, etc.; the need tocommunicate ideas to distant places; etc.2. Can our pets learn human languages? Why or why not?No. They are genetically not endowed with the capacity.3. What role does body language play in language communication?Omit.4. N aturally occurring“ experimwiethntso

21、 -called“ w-cohlfildren , “-chbiledarer n , “ Mowglior “ monk-ecyhildren and other such feral youngsters have been widely reported for hundreds of years. None of these children could speak or understand speech and, indeed, most efforts to teach them language ended in failure. How would you account f

22、or the failure?The language acquisition device has to be triggered before a certain age (that of puberty). Sufficient expose to a language environment at the right time is essential to language acquisition.5. The following are some instances of using English for communication. What specific function

23、 does each use of English serve in the following pictures?Informative (in the form of commanding)Directive (Advertising in the form of requesting)Directive (Persuading in the form of threatening)Directive (Recruiting)6Iconicity of language is an aspect of language where form echoes meaning. Onomatop

24、oeia, also known as “sound symbolism , is one type of iconicity. Some researchers have found other evidence of iconicity. For example, words beginning with the sound combination sl- in English often have an unpleasant sense, as in slithering , slimy , slugs. Here are some questions:a. Is the u“nplea

25、santsense actually true of all, or even most, words beginning with sl- in English? No. e.g. slight.b. Are there any other sounds or sound combinations that you associate with particular meanings? Gliding: slide, slip, slippery;Rolling: tumble, crumble, stumblec. How about the vowel sounds in words t

26、hat identify near-to-speaker concepts ( this, near, here) versus far-from-speaker concepts ( that, far, there)? What is the difference? Is it a general pattern distinguishing terms for things that are near versus far in English? What about the case in Chinese?Front vowels for near-speaker concepts;

27、central or back vowels for far-from-speaker concepts.There seems to be a similar kind of pattern in Chinese. C.f. 近 jin /远 yuan; 这 zhe /那 na7. In many of the world 's languages there are so-called nursery names for parents. In English, for example, corresponding to the word mother is the nursery

28、 name mama, and for father one finds dada and papa. There is remarkable similarity across different languages in the form of these nursery names for parents. For example, in Chinese and Navajo ma corresponds to English mama. Why do you think that this is the case?Bilabials are learned and produced f

29、irst because they are the easiest.8.a. What are some of the changes which appear to have taken place in the child ' ability to use English during that period?Like the basically proper use of interrogatives and the correct use of inflection.b. What do these cha nges suggest about the order of Ian

30、 guage acquisiti on?Complete senten ces are acquired later tha n elliptical on es. In flect ion is acquired at a late stage.Unit 2 The Sou nds of En glishCheck your un dersta ndingState whether each of the follow ing stateme nts is True or False.1. i: and i are allophones of the same phoneme. F2. No

31、t all English phonemes have allophones. TNote: / and /j/ occur in one sin gle positi on and therefore do not have alloph on es.3. The same set of vowels is used in all Ian guages.F4. All syllables must con tain at least one vowel. FNote: Some syllables may contain no vowels. They may, in stead, empl

32、oy some syllabic consonant, as in people and muscle.5. The marking of word stress is arbitrary for the most part in En glish. F6. En glish is a tone Ian guage. FNote: Chin ese is a tone Ian guage.In-Class Activities1. ASK:(1) What is the phon etic environment of ti n pit?i_#(2) Are the followi ng pa

33、irs of words mi nimal pairs?(a) desk vs. task No.(b) leave vs. Leak Yes. ( li:vvs. li:k_)2. ASK:(1) Characterize how the alloph ones of the phon eme /k/ are compleme ntarily distributed.kh in initial position; kafter /s/; k ? in final position.(2) Is there any other way of characteri ng the compleme

34、 ntary distributi on of clear l and dark ?l before vowels; ? elsewhere.3. ASK:(1) What dist in ctive feature makes /f/ and /v/ differe nt?voiced(2) Can you specify the disti nctive features for the followi ng phon emes?(a) / / fricative + voiceless + palatal(b) /k/velar+voiceless+plosive(c) / n/n as

35、al+voiced +alveolar4. ASK:(1) Are r and I in compleme ntary distributi on? In what environment does each occur? Yes. r occurs before vowels; l occurs after vowels.(2) Do they occur in any mini mal pairs?No.(3) Suppose r and l are alloph ones of one phon eme. State the rule that can derive the alloph

36、o nic forms.r is lateralized whe n it occurs after vowels.5. ASK:(1) Can you give more examples of assimilati on?compatriot, sing(2) Can you find any exceptions?in put, un beatable, Can berra(3) What phon etic segme nts con diti on this cha nge?The consonant immediately after the vowel.Note 2) tai s

37、hould be tay.6. ASK:(1) Can you give more examples of free variation?advertiseme nt ?d?v?:tism?nt ?d?v?:tizm? ntassociatio n ? s?usi ?ei ?n ? s?u i?ei ?n(2) Why do you think such a phe nomenon exists in a Ian guage like En glish?In dividual variati on is resp on sible for this phe nomenon.7. ASK:(1)

38、 Which sound is deleted in sign，design，and resign？g(2) Can you offer other examples of deleti on?paradigm (atic), con dem n( ati on)(3) Can you give some words that in volve total deleti on?plum b, plum ber; clim b, clim bing(4) Are there any other types of deletion in English?debt, know8. ASK:(1) C

39、an you think of a phonetic description of the regular pattern in these expressions?They all start with a front, high vowel and follow up with a mid or low vowel.(2) Can you think of any possible expla natio n for the observed patter n?i in volves the least degree of mouth ope ning while the mid or l

40、ow vowels n ecessitate bigger ope ning. There is an in crease of mouth ope ning in pronouncing the whole word, which is symbolic in meaning.9. ASK:(1) What are likely positive effects of using alliteration? Use one of the poetic examples to illustrate.Cohere nee, conn ected ness, smooth ness, con si

41、ste ncy. Take “slip, I slide, I gloom, I gla nee for example. The double alliterati on in volved helps to create a picture of smooth and cohere nt dan ce.(2) Is there a similar use of alliterati on in Chin ese?Yes, though less ofte n.花好月圆 is a good example.10. ASK:(1) What is the stylistic effect of

42、 rhymi ng?echo ing, agreeme nt, corresp onden ce, etc.(2) Can you find more proverbs that in volve internal rhy ming?First thrive and the n wive.Fancy passes beautyExercisesTask 3: Study Questi ons1.a. Does the stri ng of sounds mean anything to you?If we want to talk really good, we 'lhave to i

43、nvent vowels.b. What does the picture suggest to you about the role of consonants and vowels in En glish?Consonants are the backb ones of syllables and words.2. Some phonetic transcriptions beloware English words, some are not existing words but are possible words or nonsense words, and others are d

44、efinitely “oreign or impossible because they violate En glish seque ntial con stra in ts. Specify each of the a-e cases as illustrated.WordExample:pa：ktiflkibPossibleForeig nReasona.?a:fmust occur after a vowel.b. ski:c. k naitskid.meijmust occur initially before avowel.e.blaft3. In En glish, the /i

45、/ vowel becomes almost as long as /i:/ un der certa in con diti ons (writte n as /i:/for convenien ce). Con sider the examples listed below:a. List the phon emes that con diti on the cha nge.voiced consonantsb. State the rule that seems in volved.i is len gthe ned before a voiced consonant.Note: Sta

46、rt with the fact that the /i/ is basic and that short /i/ becomes long /i:/. The cha nge from short /i/ to long /i:/ is pho no logically determ in ed; that is, the len gthe ning takes place in the prese nee of certa in phon emes. A good strategy is to first list the phon emes to the right of long /i

47、:/, then list those to the left. As an answer to (a), then, one would propose that /i/ become /i:/ whe never the phon emes to the right (/d, m, l, b, z, j, ?/) occur immediately after that vowel. This hypothesis looks promising because, in fact, the short variant /i/ never occurs before these segme

48、nts. The next questi on is, what is it about the pho nemes on the right that unify them as a class? One may find that these phon emes are all voiced (+voice), an d, in fact, the short /i/ n ever lengthens before voiceless segments. Thus the answer to (b) is that the vowel /i/ is lengthened before (t

49、he n atural class of) voiced consonan ts.4. The use of plural -s in En glish has three differe nt, but very regular, phono logical alter natives.a. Can you work out the set of sounds which regularly precedes each of these alter natives?/s/ to words like ship, bat, book and cough;voiceless plosives v

50、oiceless/z/ to words like cab, lad, cave, rag and thing;after voiced consonants voiced/?z/ to words like bus, bush, judge, church and maze.after /s/, /, /d /, /z/b. What features does each of these sets have in com mon?palatal or alveolar+fricativec. Is there any patter n regard ing the differe nt p

51、ronun ciati ons of the past tense marker?t after voiceless consonants except t; d after voiced consonants except d; id after t ord .d. Do you think that one of these pho no logical forms for-ed is more basic, with the others beingderived from it in a regular way? Which, and how?d is more basic. t af

52、ter devoici ng. id after epe nthesis (i.e. additi on of a soun d).5. Below are three colu mns of words with differe nt patter ns of stress:a. How is stress distributed in each colu mn?pen ultimate for A; last syllable for B; on the last syllable.b. I n Colu mn B, what kinds of vowels appear in the l

53、ast syllable? How does the syllabic structureof Colu mn C differ from A and B?In Column B, l ong vowels or diphth ongs appear in the last syllable.The last syllable of the words in C ends in consonant clusters.Note For usurp，f" may be pronounced as in /ju(:)?z?(r)p/.6. The followi ng is a list

54、of words that are spelt in a similar way:fuddy-duddyhocus-pocusn amby-pambyfuzzy-wuzzyhurly-burlyrazzle-dazzlehan ky-pa nkylovey-doveyroly-polyhelter-skeltermumbo-jumbosuper-dupera. What similarity can you spot among the words listed?All pairs are the same except the in itial consonan ts.b. What eff

55、ects may such words have in com mon whe n they are put into use? Redundancy, repetitive ness, etc.7. Write the phon etic tran scripti on for each of the follow ing words.Omit.8. Read the follow ing words or phrases and point out the phono logical processes that yield assimilati on.(a) pat /p? t/ pan

56、 /p?n/ sat /s? t/ Sam /s?m/Nasalizati on rule:-n asal+n asal /+n asal(b) si nee /sin s/ sink /si?k/ hint /hi nt/ dink /di ?k/Velarizatio n rule: -velarl +velar /+velar(c) five pits /faifpits/ love to /l ft? /Devoic ing rule: +voiced-voiceless /-voiceless9.a. Comment on the use of rhyme, alliteration

57、, and assonance (that is, use of syllables with acom mon vowel, as in“ comefove this poem. How are they used to stress the sense ofsuperficiality and lack of meaning the poet is trying to convey here? (Note especially the role of rhy ming pairs of mono syllables and their effect on meter.)ass onan ce: ri:t skri:n spi:t ud huk bukThe ryhmed words, all mono syllabic and stressed, are sema ntically un related and separated. Alliteration is o