英语语言学教案

英语语言学教安

Date：

Lecture1

Chapter1Introduction

I.Objectives:

Studentsaretolearnthefollowingfromthislecture:

1.Whatlinguisticsis?

2.Thescopeoflinguistics

3.Someimportantdistinctionsinlinguistics

ILProcedures

1.Gettoknoweachother.(55)

2.Introducethecourse,thetextbookaswellasthereferencebooks.(IO5)

3.Requirementsandevaluationofthecourse.(59)

4.NewContents:(70^^)

1.1Whatlinguisticsis(20')

1.1.1Definition

Linguisticsisgenerallydefinedasthescientificstudyoflanguage.Ittriestoanswerthebasicquestions

“Whatislanguage?”."Howdoeslanguagework?"，and"Whatrulestherearethatgovernthestructureof

language??,Itprobesintovariousproblemsrelatedtolanguagesuchas“Whatdoalllanguageshavein

common?”.Whatrangeofvariationisfotmdamonglanguages?4<Whatmakeslanguagechange?”To

whatextentaresocialclassdifferencesreflectedinlanguage?,,,‘'Howdoesachildacquirehismother

tongue?,andmanyothers.

1.1.2.Thescopeoflinguistics(IS9)

1.GeneralLinguistics普通语言学

ThestudyoflanguageasawholeisoftencalledGenerallinguistics.Thisdealswiththebasicconcepts,

theories,descriptions,modelsandmethodsapplicableinanylinguisticstudy,incontrasttothosebranches

ofstudywhichrelatelinguisticstotheresearchofotherareas.

2.Phonetics语音学

Thestudyofsoundsusedinlinguisticcommunicationledtotheestablishmentofphonetics.

3.Phonology音位学

Phonologystudieshowsoundsareputtogetherandusedtoconveyincaninginconmmnication.

4.Morphology形态学

Thesoundsusedinlinguisticcommunicationarerepresentedbysymbols,i.e.morphemes.Morphology

studiesthewayinwhichthesesymbolsarearrangedandcombinedtofonnwords.

5.Syntax句法

Syntaxstudiestheruleshowthecombinationofwordstoformgranmlaticallypermissiblesentencesin

languages.

6.Semantics语义学

Buttheultimateobjectiveoflanguageisnotjusttocreategrammaticallywell-formedsentences.Inmost

generaltermslanguageisusedtoconveymeaning.Semanticsstudiesthemeaning.

7.Pragmatics语用学

Languagecommunicationdoesnotoccurinavacuum；italwaysoccursinacontext.WhentheStUdyof

meaningisconducted,notinisolation,butinthecontextoflanguageuse.Pragmaticsstudiesthecontextof

languageuse.

8.Interdisciplinarybranchesoflinguisticstudy

1)Scociolinguistics社会语言学

Sociolinguisticsstudiesthesociologicalaspectsoflanguage.

2)Psycholinguistics心理语言学

Psycholinguisticsdrawsfromlinguisticsandpsychologyandfocusesuponthe

comprehensionandproductionoflanguage.

3)AppliedLinguistics应用语言学

AppliedLinguistics(AL)providesthetheoreticalanddescriptivefoundationsforthe

investigationandsolutionoflanguage-relatedproblems,especiallythoseoflanguage

education(first-language,second-languageandforeign-languageteachingandlearning),but

alsoproblemsoftranslationandinterpretation,lexicography,forensiclinguisticsand(perhaps)

clinicallinguistics.

1.1.3.Someimportantdistinctionsinlinguistics(23')

1.prescriptivevs.descriptive

Prescriptiveanddescriptiverepresenttwodifferenttypesoflinguisticstudy.Ifalinguistic

studyaimstodescribeandanalyzethelanguagepeopleactuallyuse,itissaidtobedescriptive;

ifthelinguisticstudyaimstolaydownrulesfor"correctandstandard“behaviourinusing

language,i.e.totellpeoplewhattheyshouldsayandwhattheyshouldnotsay,itissaidtobe

prescriptive.

2.synchronicvs.diachronic

Languageexistsintimeandchangesthroughtime.Thedescriptionofalanguageatsomepoint

oftimeinhistoryisasynchronicstudy;thedescriptionofalanguageasitchangesthrough

timeisadiachronicstudy.Adiachronicstudyoflanguageisahistoricalstudy;itstudiesthe

historicaldevelopmentoflanguageoveraperiodoftime.

3.speechvs.writing

Speechandwritingarethetwomajormediaoflinguisticcommunication.Modernlinguistics

regardsthespokenlanguageasthenaturalortheprimarymediumofhumanlanguagefor

someobviousreasons.Fromthepointofviewoflinguisticevolution,speechispriortowriting.

Thewritingsystemofanylanguageisalways"invented”byitsuserstorecordspeechwhen

theneedarises.Evenintoday'sworldtherearestillmanylanguagesthatcanonlybespoken

butnotwritten.Thenineverydaycommunication,speechplaysagreaterrolethanwritingin

termsoftheamountofinformationconveyed.Andalso,speechisalwaysthewayinwhich

everynativespeakeracquireshismothertongue,andwritingislearnedandtaughtlaterwhen

hegoestoschool.Formodemlinguists,spokenlanguagerevealsmanytruefeaturesofhuman

speechwhilewrittenlanguageisonlythe"revised“recordofspeech.Thustheirdatafor

investigationandanalysisaremostlydrawnfromeverydayspeech,whichtheyregardas

authentic.

III.Homework(2‘)

l.Qs1-6(Pl3(oral)

2.GatherinfonnationaboutSaussureandChomsky

3.PreviewtherestofChapter1.

IV.Self-evaluationabouttheclass:

Date:

Lecture2

Chapter1Introduction(Continued)

I.Objectives:

Studentsaretolearnthefollowingfromthislecture:

1.Otherimportantdistinctionsinlinguistics

2.Thedefinitionoflanguage

3.Somefunctionsoflanguage

4.Somedesignfeaturesoflanguage

5.Sometheoriesastotheoriginoflanguage

ILProcedures

A.Reviewquestions(159):

1.Howdoyouinterpretthefollowingdefinitionoflinguistics:Linguisticsisthescientificstudyof

language.

Linguisticsisbasedonthesystematicinvestigationoflinguisticdata,conductedwithreference

tosomegeneraltheoryoflanguagestructure.Inordertodiscoverthenatureandrulesofthe

underlyinglanguagesystem,whatthelinguisthastodofirstistocollectandobservelanguage

facts,whicharefoundtodisplaysomesimilarities,andgeneralizationsaremadeaboutthem;

thenheformulatessomehypothesesaboutthelanguagestructure.Butthehypothesesthus

formedhavetobecheckedrepeatedlyagainsttheobservedfactstofullyprovetheirvalidity.

2.Whatarethemajorbranchesoflinguistics?Whatdoeseachofthemstudy?

Themajorbranchesoflinguisticsarephonetics,phonology,morphology,syntax,semantics9

Pragmatics,Sociolinguistics,Psycholinguistics,andAppliedLinguistics.Phoneticsstudies

thesoundsusedinlinguisticcommunication.Phonologystudieshowsoundsareputtogether

andusedtoconveymeaningincommunication.Morphologystudiesthewayinwhichthese

symbolsarearrangedandcombinedtoformwords.Thenthecombinationofwordstoform

grammaticallypermissiblesentencesinlanguagesisgovernedbyrules.Syntaxstudiesthese

rules.Semanticsstudiesthemeaningwhichlanguageisusedtoconvey.Pragmaticsstudies

howpeoplecomprehendandproduceacommunicativeactorspeechactinaconcretespeech

situationwhichisusuallyaconversation.Sociolinguisticsstudiesthesociologicalaspectsof

language.Sociolinguistsattempttoisolatethelinguisticfeaturesusedinparticularsituations

thatmarkthevarioussocialrelationshipsamongtheparticipantsandthesignificantelements

ofthesituation.Psycholinguisticsdrawsfromlinguisticsandpsychologyandfocusesupon

thecomprehensionandproductionoflanguage.AppliedLinguisticsprovidesthetheoretical

anddescriptivefoundationsfortheinvestigationandsolutionoflanguage-relatedproblems,

especiallythoseoflanguageeducation(first-language,second-languageandforeign-language

teachingandlearning),butalsoproblemsoftranslationandinterpretation,lexicography,

forensiclinguisticsand(perhaps)clinicallinguistics.

3.Inwhatbasicwaysdoesmodemlinguisticsdifferfromtraditionalgrammar?

Firstly,modernlinguisticsisdescriptivewhiletraditionalgrammarisprescriptive.Second,

modemlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewritten.Traditional

grammarians,ontheotherhand,tendedtoemphasize,maybeover-emphasize,theimportanceof

thewrittenword,partlybecauseofitspermanence.Then,modemlinguisticsdiffersfrom

traditionalgrammaralsointhatitdoesnotforcelanguagesintoaLatin-basedframework.

4.Ismodemlinguisticsmainlysynchronicordiachronic?Why?

Inmodemlinguistics,asynchronicapproachseemstoenjoypriorityoveradiachronicone.Itis

believedthatunlessthevariousstatesofalanguageindifferenthistoricalperiodsare

successfullystudied,itwouldbedifficulttodescribethechangesthathavetakenplaceinits

historicaldevelopment.Synchronicdescriptionsareoftenthoughtofasbeingdescriptionsofa

languageinitscurrentexistence,andmostlinguisticstudiesareofthistype.

5.Forwhatreasonsdoesmodemlinguisticsgiveprioritytospeechratherthantowriting?

Modernlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasthenaturalortheprimarymediumofhuman

languageforsomeobviousreasons.Fromthepointofviewoflinguisticevolution,speechis

priortowriting.Thewritingsystemofanylanguageisalways“invented“byitsuserstorecord

speechwhentheneedarises.Evenintoday'sworldtherearestillmanylanguagesthatcanonly

bespokenbutnotwritten.Thenineverydaycommunication,speechplaysagreaterrolethan

writingintermsoftheamountofinformationconveyed.Andalso,speechisalwaysthewayin

whicheverynativespeakeracquireshismothertongue,andwritingislearnedandtaughtlater

whenhegoestoschool.Formodemlinguists,spokenlanguagerevealsmanytruefeaturesof

humanspeechwhilewrittenlanguageisonlythe“revised“recordofspeech.

6.HowisSaussure'sdistinctionbetweenlangueandparolesimilartoChomsky'sdistinction

betweencompetenceandperformance?

Languereferstotheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallthemembersofaspeech

community,andparolereferstotherealizationoflangueinactualuse.Langueisthesetof

conventionsandruleswhichlanguageusersallhavetoabideby,andparoleistheconcreteuse

oftheconventionsandtheapplicationoftherules.Langueisabstract;itisnotthelanguage

peopleactuallyuse.Paroleisconcrete;itreferstothenaturallyoccurringlanguageevents.

Langueisrelativelystable,itdoesnotchangefrequently;whileparolevariesfrompersonto

person,andfromsituationtosituation.

SimilartoSaussure'sdistinctionbetweenlangueandparoleisthedistinctionbetween

competenceandperformance,whichwasproposedbytheAmericanlinguistN.Chomskyinthe

late1950's.Chomskydefinescompetenceastheidealuser'sknowledgeoftherulesofhis

language,andperformancetheactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinlinguisticcommunication.

B.NewContents(759):

1.2Whatislanguage?

1.2.1Definitionoflanguage(15')：

1.Thedefinition

Modemlinguistshaveproposedvariousdefinitionsoflanguage,someofthemarequoted

below:

"Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,emotions

anddesiresbymeansofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols.^^(Sapir,1921)

Languageis"theinstitutionwherebyhumanscommunicateandinteractwitheachotherby

meansofhabituallyusedoral-auditoryarbitrarysymbols."(Hall,1968)

“FromnowonIwillconsiderlanguagetobeaset(finiteorinfinite)ofsentences,eachfinitein

lengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements.^^(Chomsky,1957)

2.Howtounderstandthedefinition

Eachofthesedefinitionshasitsownspecialemphasis,andisnottotallyfreefromlimitations.

However,therearesomeimportantcharacteristicsofhumanlanguagelinguistshaveagreedon;

theseareembracedinthefollowinggenerallyaccepteddefinition:

Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.

Shortasitis,thisdefinitionhascapturedthemainfeaturesoflanguage.Firstofall,

languageisasystem,i.e.,elementsoflanguagearecombinedaccordingtorules.Thisexplains

why"iblk"isnotapossiblesoundcombinationinEnglish,andalsowhy“Beenhewoundedhas

“isnotagrammaticallyacceptablesentenceinEnglish.

Second,languageisarbitraryinthesensethatthereisnointrinsicconnectionbetweena

linguisticsymbolandwhatthesymbolstandsfor,fbrinstance,betweentheword"pen”andthe

thingwewritewith.Thefactthatdifferentlanguageshavedifferentwordsfbrthesameobjectis

agoodillustrationofthearbitrarynatureoflanguage.Thisalsoexplainsthesymbolicnatureof

language:wordsarejustsymbols;theyareassociatedwithobjects,actions,ideas,etc.by

convention.Thisconventionalnatureoflanguageiswellillustratedbyafamousquotationfrom

Shakespeare'splay“RomeoandJuliet":"Arosebyanyothernamewouldsmellassweet.

Third,languageisvocalbecausetheprimarymediumforalllanguagesissound.All

evidencepointstothefactthatwritingsystemscameintobeingmuchlaterthanthespoken

formsandthattheyareonlyattemptstocapturesoundsandmeaningonpaper.Thefactthat

childrenacquirespokenlanguagebeforetheycanreadorwritealsoindicatesthatlanguageis

primarilyvocal.

Theterm“human“inthedefinitionismeanttospecifythatlanguageishuman-specific,i.

e.,itisverydifferentfromthecommunicationsystemsotherformsoflifepossess,suchasbird

songsandbeedances.

1.2.2Designfeaturesoflanguage(15'):

1.Arbitrariness任意性

Asmentionedearlier,languageisarbitrary.Thismeansthatthereisnologicalconnection

betweenmeaningsandsounds.Agoodexampleisthefactthatdifferentsoundsareusedto

refertothesameobjectindifferentlanguages.

2.Productivity能产性

Languageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionandinterpretation

ofnewsignalsbyitsusers.Thisiswhytheycanproduceandunderstandaninfinitelylarge

numberofsentences,includingsentencestheyhaveneverheardbefore.Theycansend

messageswhichnooneelsehaseversentbefore.Muchofwhatwesayandhearwearesaying

orhearingforthefirsttime.

3.Duality双重性

Languageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstructures,ortwolevels.Attheloweror

thebasiclevelthereisastructureofsounds,whicharemeaninglessbythemselves.Butthe

soundsoflanguagecanbegroupedandregroupedintoalargenumberofunitsofmeaning,

whicharefoundatthehigherlevelofthesystem.

4.Displacement取代性

Languagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimagined

mattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Inotherwords,languagecanbe

usedtorefertocontextsremovedfromtheimmediatesituationsofthespeaker.

5.Culturaltransmission文化转换

Whilehumancapacityforlanguagehasageneticbasis,i.e.wewereallbomwiththeabilityto

acquirelanguagethedetailsofanylanguagesystemarenotgeneticallytransmitted,butinstead

havetobetaughtandlearned.AnEnglishspeakerandaChinesespeakerarebothabletousea

language,buttheyarenotmutuallyintelligible.

1.2.3Functionsoflanguage

1.Thedescriptivefunctionalsoreferredtodifferentlyasthecognitive,orreferential,or

propositionalfunction,isassumedtobetheprimaryfunctionoflanguage.Itisthefunctionto

conveyActualinformation,whichcanbeassertedordenied,andinsomecasesevenverified,

e.g,“TheSichuanearthquakeisthemostseriousoneChinahaseverSUfiered.”

2.Theexpressivefunction,alsocalledtheemotiveorattitudinalfunction,suppliesinformation

abouttheuser'sfeelings,preferences,prejudices,andvalues,e.g."Iwillnevergocamping

withtheSimpsonsagain.

3.Thesocialfunction9alsoreferredtoastheinterpersonaltunction,servestoestablishand

maintainsocialrelationsbetweenpeople,e.g.^HowcanIhelpyou.Sir?''

4.RomanJakobson9ssixelementsofaspeechevent：

1)Addresser-Emotive

Theaddresserexpresseshisattitudetothetopicorsituationofcommumcation,

e.g."Ihatewhatevertheyareplanningfbrme!,“

2)Addressee一Conative

Theaddresseraimstoinfluencetheaddressee'scourseofactionorwaysofthinking,

e.g.”Whynotgoandseeanotherdoctor?”

3)ContextReferential

Theaddresserconveysamessageorinformation,e.g."AsfarasIknow,theearth's

resourcesarebeingastonishinglywasted.,,

4)Message一Poetic

Theaddresseruseslanguagefbrthesolepurposeofdisplayingthebeautyoflanguageitself,

e.g.poetry.

5)Contact一Phatic(交流感情的：应酬的)communion

Theaddressertriestoestablishormaintaingoodinterpersonalrelationshipswiththe

addressee,e.g."Hi!Howareyouthismoming?^^

6)Code—Metalinguistic

Theaddresseruseslanguagetomakeclearthemeaningoflanguageitself,e.g."Letmetell

youwhattheword'anorexia'means.”

5.M.A.K.Halliday9sfunctionsofchildlanguage:

Theideationalfunctionistoorganizethespeakerorwriter'sexpenenceoftherealor

imaginaryworld.Itcorrespondscloselytothediscriptivefunctiondiscussedabove,butitis

broaderbecauseitalsoincludestheexpressionofthespeaker'sattitude,evaluation,his

feelingsandemotions.

Theinterpersonalfunctionistoindicate,establish.ormaintainsocialrelationshipsbetween

people.Itexpressesthespeaker'sroleinthespeechsituation,hispersonalcommitmentand

assessmentofthesocialrelationshipbetweentheaddresseeandhimself.

ThetextualfunctionistOorganizewrittenorspokenrextsinsuchamannerthattheyare

coherentwithinthemselvesandfittheparticularsituationmwhichtheyareused.

Revisionexercises:

1.Howdoyouinterpretthefollowingdefinitionoflinguistics:Linguisticsisthescientificstudyof

language.

Linguisticsisbasedonthesystematicinvestigationoflinguisticdata,conductedwithreference

tosomegeneraltheoryoflanguagestructure.Inordertodiscoverthenatureandrulesofthe

underlyinglanguagesystem,whatthelinguisthastodofirstistocollectandobservelanguage

facts,whicharefoundtodisplaysomesimilarities,andgeneralizationsaremadeaboutthem;

thenhefbnnulatessomehypothesesaboutthelanguagestructure.Butthehypothesesthus

formedhavetobecheckedrepeatedlyagainsttheobservedfactstofullyprovetheirvalidity.

2.Whatarethemajorbranchesoflinguistics?Whatdoeseachofthemstudy?

Themajorbranchesoflinguisticsarephonetics,phonology,morphology,syntaxand

semantics.Phoneticsstudiesthesoundsusedinlinguisticcommunication.Phonologystudies

howsoundsareputtogetherandusedtoconveymeaningincommunication.Thesoundsused

inlinguisticcommunicationwhicharerepresentedbysymbols,i.e.morphemes.Morphology

studiesthewayinwhichthesesymbolsarearrangedandcombinedtoformwords.Thenthe

combinationofwordstoformgrammaticallypermissiblesentencesinlanguagesisgoverned

byrules.Syntaxstudiestheserules.Semanticsstudiesthemeaningwhichlanguageisusedto

convey.

3.Inwhatbasicwaysdoesmodernlinguisticsdifferfromtraditionalgrammar?

Firstly,linguisticsisdescriptivewhiletraditionalgrammarisprescriptive.Second,modern

linguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewritten.Traditionalgrammarians,on

theotherhand,tendedtoemphasize,maybeover-emphasize,theimportanceofthewrittenword,

partlybecauseofitspermanence.Then,modernlinguisticsdiffersfromtraditionalgrammaralso

inthatitdoesnotforcelanguagesintoaLatin-basedframework.

4.Ismodemlinguisticsmainlysynchronicordiachronic?Why?

Inmodemlinguistics,asynchronicapproachseemstoenjoypriorityoveradiachronicone.Itis

believedthatunlessthevariousstatesofalanguageindifferenthistoricalperiodsare

successfullystudied,itwouldbedifficulttodescribethechangesthathavetakenplaceinits

historicaldevelopment.Synchronicdescriptionsareoftenthoughtofasbeingdescriptionsofa

languageinitscurrentexistence,andmostlinguisticstudiesareofthistype.

5.Forwhatreasonsdoesmodemlinguisticsgiveprioritytospeechratherthantowriting?

Modernlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasthenaturalortheprimarymediumofhuman

languageforsomeobviousreasons.Fromthepointofviewoflinguisticevolution,speechis

priortowriting.Thewritingsystemofanylanguageisalways“invented“byitsuserstorecord

speechwhentheneedarises.Evenintoday'sworldtherearestillmanylanguagesthatcanonly

bespokenbutnotwritten.Thenineverydaycommunication,speechplaysagreaterrolethan

writingintermsoftheamountofinformationconveyed.Andalso,speechisalwaysthewayin

whicheverynativespeakeracquireshismothertongue,andwritingislearnedandtaughtlater

whenhegoestoschool.Formodemlinguists,spokenlanguagerevealsmanytruefeaturesof

humanspeechwhilewrittenlanguageisonlythe“revised“recordofspeech.

6.HowisSaussure'sdistinctionbetweenlangueandparolesimilartoChomsky'sdistinction

betweencompetenceandperformance?

Languereferstotheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallthemembersofaspeech

community,andparolereferstotherealizationoflangueinactualuse.Langueisthesetof

conventionsandruleswhichlanguageusersallhavetoabideby,andparoleistheconcreteuse

oftheconventionsandtheapplicationoftherules.Langueisabstract;itisnotthelanguage

peopleactuallyuse.Paroleisconcrete;itreferstothenaturallyoccurringlanguageevents.

Langueisrelativelystable,itdoesnotchangefrequently;whileparolevariesfrompersonto

person,andfromsituationtosituation.

SimilartoSaussure'sdistinctionbetweenlangueandparoleisthedistinctionbetween

competenceandperformance,whichwasproposedbytheAmericanlinguistN.Chomskyinthe

late1950's.Chomskydefinescompetenceastheidealuser'sknowledgeoftherulesofhis

language,andperformancetheactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinlinguisticcommunication.

WhileSaussure'sdistinctionandChomsky'sareverysimilar,theydifferatleastinthat

Saussuretookasociologicalviewoflanguageandhisnotionoflangueisamatterofsocial

conventions,andChomskylooksatlanguagefromapsychologicalpointofviewandtohim

competenceisapropertyofthemindofeachindividual.

7.Whatcharacteristicsoflanguagedoyouthinkshouldbeincludedinagood,comprehensive

definitionoflanguage?

Agood,comprehensivedefinitionoflanguageshouldincludedthemainfeaturesof

language:First,languageisasystem,i.e.,elementsoflanguagearecombinedaccordingto

rules.Second,languageisarbitraryinthesensethatthereisnointrinsicconnectionbetweena

linguisticsymbolandwhatthesymbolstandsfor,fbrinstance,betweentheword"pen"andthe

thingwewritewith.Third,languageisvocalbecausetheprimarymediumfbralllanguagesis

sound.Theterm“human“inthedefinitionismeanttospecifythatlanguageishuman-specific,i.

e.,itisverydifferentfromthecommunicationsystemsotherformsoflifepossess,suchasbird

songsandbeedances.

8.WhatarethemainfeaturesofhumanlanguagethathavebeenspecifiedbyC.Hocketttoshow

thatitisessentiallydifferentfromanimalcommunicationsystem?

AmericanlinguistCharlesHockettspecifiedtwelvedesignfeatures,fiveofwhichwillbe

discussedhere.

1.Languageisarbitrarywhichmeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeanings

andsounds.

2.Languageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionand

interpretationofnewsignalsbyitsusers.

3.Languageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstructures,ortwolevels.Atthelower

orthebasiclevelthereisastructureofsounds,whicharemeaninglessbythemselves.Butthe

soundsoflanguagecanbegroupedandregroupedintoalargenumberofunitsofmeaning,

whicharefoundatthehigherlevelofthesystem.Thentheunitsatthehigherlevelcanbear­

rangedandrearrangedintoaninfinitenumberofsentences.Thisdualityofstructureordouble

articulationoflanguageenablesitsuserstotalkaboutanythingwithintheirknowledge.No

animalcommunicationsystemhasdualityorevencomesneartopossessingit.

4.Languagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimagined

mattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Inotherwords,languagecanbe

usedtorefertocontextsremovedfromtheimmediatesituationsofthespeaker.

5.Whilehumancapacityforlanguagehasageneticbasis,thedetailsofanylanguage

systemarenotgeneticallytransmitted,butinsteadhavetobetaughtandlearned.AnEnglish

speakerandaChinesespeakerarebothabletousealanguage,buttheyarenotmutually

intelligible.Thisshowsthatlanguageisculturallytransmitted.Itispassedonfromone

generationtothenextthroughteachingandlearning,ratherthanbyinstinct.Incontrast,animal

callsystemsaregeneticallytransmitted,i.e.,animalsarebornwiththecapacitytoproducethe

setofcallspeculiartotheirspecies.

Vocabulary：

conductv.(oftenpassive)todosth.inanorganizedway

generalizationn.普遍化

validityn.真实性

dialectuala.oftheartormethodofarguingaccordingtocertainrulesofquestion&answer辩证的

complementv.tocombinewellwithsth.,oftensth.Thathasdifferentquality;toaddanotherthing

tosth.

complementationn.

standvi〜in:todosomeoneelse'sjobtemporarilywhil