戴煒棟新編簡(jiǎn)明英語語言學(xué)教程2版考研題

1習(xí)題I.Fillintheblanks.Thefeaturesthatdefineourhumanlanguagescanbecalledfeatures.（北二夕卜2006研）【答案】design【解析】人類語言區(qū)別于其他動(dòng)物交流系統(tǒng)的特點(diǎn)是語言的區(qū)別特征，是人類語言特有的特征。Linguisticsisusuallydefinedasthestudyoflanguage.（J匕二夕卜2（）03研）【答案】scientific【解析】語言學(xué)通常被定義為研究科學(xué)的語言，或?qū)φZ言的科學(xué)研究。Language,broadlyspeaking,isameansof communication.【答案】verbal【解析】語言是一種口頭交流的手段。Inanylanguagewordscanbeusedinnewwaystomeannewthingsandcanbecombinedintoinnumerablesentencesbasedonlimitedrules.Thisfeatureisusuallytermed_【答案】productivity【解析】用有限表現(xiàn)無限就是能產(chǎn)性。Linguisticsisthescientificstudyof.【答案】language【解析】語言學(xué)是對(duì)語言的科學(xué)研究。Modernlinguisticisinthesensethatthelinguisttriestodiscoverwhatlanguageisratherthanlaydownsomerulesforpeopletoobserve.【答案】descriptive【解析】發(fā)現(xiàn)語言的規(guī)律而不是規(guī)定就是描述性。Onegeneralprincipleoflinguisticanalysisistheprimacyof overwriting.【答案】speech【解析】語言學(xué)研究是以口頭為基礎(chǔ)而不是書面。Thebranchoflinguisticswhichstudiesthesoundpatternsofalanguageiscalled .（4匕二外2003研）【答案】phonology【解析】音系學(xué)研究支配語音分布和排列的規(guī)則以及音節(jié)的形式。Thebranchofgrammarwhichstudiestheinternalstructureofwordsiscalled.（北二外2004研）【答案】morphology【解析】形態(tài)學(xué)研究詞語的內(nèi)部結(jié)構(gòu)組織。mainlystudiesthecharacteristicsofspeechsoundsandprovidesmethodsfortheirdescription,classificationandtranscription.（北二夕卜2005研）［答案］Phonetics【解析】語音學(xué)研究語音，以及語音的描寫和分類。Semanticsandinvestigatedifferentaspectsoflinguisticmeaning.（北二外2007研）【答案】pragmatics【解析】語義學(xué)研究詞作為詞的意義，語用學(xué)是在語境中研究意義。Inlinguistics,referstothestudyoftherulesgoverningthewaywordsarecombinedtoformsentencesinalanguage,orsimply,thestudyoftheformationassentence.（中山大學(xué)2008研）【答案】syntax【解析】句法學(xué)研究形成正確句子的規(guī)則。canbedefinedasthestudyoflanguageinuse.Sociolinguistics,ontheotherhand,attemptstoshowtherelationshipbetweenlanguageandsociety.【答案】Pragmatics【解析】語用學(xué)是在語境中研究意義。Thebranchofgrammarwhichstudiestheinternalstructureofsentenceiscalled .（北二外2008研）【答案】syntax【解析】句法學(xué)研究語言中組合成句子的支配規(guī)則，或簡(jiǎn)單地說，研究句子的構(gòu)造。Saussuredistinguishedthelinguisticcompetenceofthespeakerandtheactualphenomenaordataoflinguistics（utterances）asand,Theformerreferstotheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallthemembersofaspeechcommunity,andthelatteristheconcretemanifestationoflanguageeitherthroughspeechorthroughwriting.（人大2006研）【答案】langue;parole【解析】語言指一個(gè)語言集團(tuán)的所有成員共享的抽象語言系統(tǒng)，言語是指語言在實(shí)際使用中的實(shí)現(xiàn)。Thedescriptionofalanguageasitchangesthroughtimeisastudy.【答案】diachroniclinguistic【解析】歷時(shí)語言學(xué)集中研究幾十年或幾百年的時(shí)期內(nèi)兩個(gè)或比兩個(gè)更多的語言狀況的差異。LinguisticpotentialissimilartoSaussure'slangueandChomsky's【答案】competence【解析】索緒爾的語言與喬姆斯基的語言能力相似，因?yàn)槎叨贾赋橄蟮恼Z言知識(shí)，不是實(shí)際使用中的語言。Oneoftheimportantdistinctionsinlinguisticsisandparole.TheformeristheFrenchwordfor“l(fā)anguage”,whichistheabstractknowledgenecessaryforspeaking,listening,writingandreading.Thelatterisconcernedabouttheactualuseoflanguagebypeopleinspeechorwriting.Paroleismorevariableandmaychangeaccordingtocontextualfactors.【答案】langue【解析】索緒爾用語言和言語來區(qū)分說話者的語言能力和言語上（表達(dá)的）的實(shí)際表現(xiàn)或語料。Oneoftheimportantdistinctionsinlinguisticsis andperformance.（人大$006研）【答案】Competence【解析】語言能力指理想的語言使用者關(guān)于語言規(guī)則的語言知識(shí)，語言應(yīng)用指語言交際中關(guān)于語言規(guī)則知識(shí)的實(shí)際使用。Chomskyinitiatedthedistinctionbetweenandperformances.（Jb二外2007研）［答案］competence【解析】喬姆斯基提出了語言能力和語言應(yīng)用的根本區(qū)別。ILMultipleChoice1.WhichofthefollowingisNOTafrequentlydiscusseddesignfeature?（大連夕卜國語學(xué)院2008研）ArbitrarinessConventionDuality【答案】B【解析】語言的區(qū)別性特征主要是指任意性，雙重性，創(chuàng)造性和移位性。Whichofthefollowingwordsisentirelyarbitrary?（西安交大2008研）treecrashtypewriterD.bang【答案】a【解析】crash是一個(gè)縮略語，typewriter是復(fù)合詞，bang是擬聲詞，所以只有tree的形成比較任意。Alinguistregardsthechangesinlanguageandlanguagesuseas.unnaturalsomethingtobefearednaturalabnormal【答案】C【解析】語言學(xué)家認(rèn)為語言和語言使用中的變化是自然的。Whichofthefollowingpropertyoflanguageenableslanguageuserstoovercomethebarrierscausedbytimeandplace,duetothisfeatureoflanguage,speakersofalanguagearefreetotalkaboutanythinginanysituation?Transferability.Duality.Displacement.Arbitrariness:【答案】C【解析】移位性指的是語言可以描述不是此時(shí)此地的事。Thestudyofphysicalpropertiesofthesoundsproducedinspeechiscloselyconnectedwith.（大連外國語學(xué)院2008研）A.articulatoryphoneticsB,acousticphoneticsC.auditoryphonetics【答案】B【解析】聲學(xué)語音學(xué)研究語音的物質(zhì)特征。WhichofthefollowingstatementsistrueofJacobson'sframeworkoflanguagefunctions?Thereferentialfunctionistoindulgeinlanguageforitsownsake.Theemotivefunctionistoconveymessageandinformation.Theconativefunctionistoclearupintentions,wordsandmeanings.Thephaticfunctionistoestablishcommunionwithothers.【答案】D【解析】所指功能是指用語言來傳達(dá)信息，情感功能是表達(dá)一種態(tài)度,感受；意動(dòng)功能是通過命令和懇求說服影響他人。Whichofthefollowingisamainbranchoflinguistics?(大連外國語學(xué)院2(X)8研)MacrolinguisticsPsycholinguisticsSociolinguistics【答案】A【解析】語言學(xué)主要分為宏觀語言學(xué)和微觀語言學(xué)，宏觀語言學(xué)又包括社會(huì)語言學(xué)，心理語言學(xué)和人類語言學(xué)。referstothesystemofalanguage,i.e.thearrangementofsoundsandwordswhichspeakersofalanguagehaveasharedknowledgeof.（西安外國語學(xué)院2（X）6研）LangueCompetenceCommunicativecompetenceLinguisticpotential【答案】A【解析】語言指一個(gè)言語社團(tuán)所有成員共享的抽象語言系統(tǒng)。Thestudyoflanguageatonepointintimeisastudy.（北二夕卜2010研）historicalsynchronicdescriptivediachronic【答案】B【解析】在某一時(shí)間點(diǎn)上對(duì)語言的描寫是一種共時(shí)研究?！癆nrefertoConfuciuseventhoughhewasdead2,000yearsago."Thisshowsthatlanguagehasthedesignfeatureof.arbitrarinesscreativitydualitydisplacement［答案］d【解析】移位性是指人類語言可以讓使用者在交際時(shí)用語言符號(hào)代表時(shí)間和空間上不可及的物體、事件和觀點(diǎn)。Thefunctionofthesentence"Waterboilsat100degreeCentigrade,,isA.interrogativedirectiveinformativeperformative【答案】C【解析】語言的信息功能是指語言用來陳述某件事情，提供信息或用作推理。12.Saussureiscloselyconnectedwith.（大連夕卜國i吾學(xué)院2008研）LangueCompetenceEtic【答案】A【解析】索緒爾提出了言語與語言，喬姆斯基提出了語言能力與語言應(yīng)用。TrueorFalseOnomatopoeicwordscanshowthearbitrarynatureoflanguage.（；青華20（）（）研）［答案］f【解析】擬聲詞表明語言并不是完全任意的，一些擬聲詞的發(fā)音與其意義還是有一定聯(lián)系的。Competenceandperformancereferrespectivelytoalanguageuser9sunderlyingknowledgeaboutthesystemofrulesandtheactualuseoflanguageinconcretesituations.【答案】T【解析】語言能力與語言應(yīng)用的概念。Languageisameansofverbalcommunication.Therefore,thecommunicationwayusedbythedeaf-muteisnotlanguage.【答案】F【解析】聾啞人所用的也是語言。Arbitrarinessoflanguagemakesitpotentiallycreative,andconventionalityoflanguagemakesalanguagebepassedfromgenerationtogeneration.Asaforeignlanguagelearner,thelatterismereimportantforus.【答案】T【解析】任意性使得語言具有創(chuàng)新性。ThefeaturesthatdefineourhumanlanguagescanbecalledDESIGNFEATURES.（大連外國語學(xué)院2008研）【答案】T【解析】能定義人類語言的特點(diǎn)就是語言的基本特征。Bydiachronicstudywemeantostudythechangesanddevelopmentoflanguage.【答案】T【解析】歷時(shí)研究是指研究語言的變化和發(fā)展。Langueisrelativelystableandsystematicwhileparoleissubjecttopersonalandsituationalconstraints.【答案】T【解析】言語是相對(duì)穩(wěn)定和系統(tǒng)的，而語言是主觀和受環(huán)境所限的。Languagechangeisuniversal,ongoingandarbitrary.【答案】F【解析】語言的改變并不是任意的，而是遵循社會(huì)規(guī)律的。Inlanguageclassroomsnowadaysthegrammartaughttostudentsisbasicallydescriptive,andmoreattentionispaidtothedevelopinglearners'communicativeskills.【答案】T【解析】在現(xiàn)代語言教學(xué)中，教授給學(xué)生的語法是描述性的，且更加注重學(xué)生的交流技能的培養(yǎng)。Languageisasystemofarbitrary,writtensignswhichpermitallthepeopleinagivenculture,orotherpeoplewhohavelearnedthesystemofthatculture,tocommunicateorinteract.【答案】F【解析】應(yīng)該是口頭而不是書面。Saussure'sexpositionofsynchronicanalysisledtotheschoolofhistoricallinguistics.【答案】F【解析】應(yīng)該是描述性語言學(xué)。Appliedlinguisticsistheapplicationoflinguisticprinciplesandtheoriestolanguageteachingandlearning.【答案】T【解析】應(yīng)用語言學(xué)是把語言學(xué)原則和理論運(yùn)用到語言教學(xué)中。Whereverhumansexist,languageexists.（對(duì)外經(jīng)貿(mào)2006研）【答案】F【解析】語言是在人類出現(xiàn)相當(dāng)一段時(shí)間之后才出現(xiàn)的。Historicallinguisticsequalstothestudyofsynchronicstudy.【答案】F【解析】歷史語言學(xué)相當(dāng)于歷時(shí)研究。Dualityisoneofthecharacteristicsofhumanlanguage.Itreferstothefactthatlanguagehastwolevelsofstructures:thesystemofsoundsandthesystemofmeanings.【答案】丁【解析】二重性是人類語言的一個(gè)基本特征，因?yàn)檎Z言有兩層結(jié)構(gòu)：聲音系統(tǒng)和意義系統(tǒng)。Prescriptivelinguisticsismorepopularthandescriptivelinguistics,becauseitcantellushowtospeakcorrectlanguage.【答案】F【解析】描寫式和規(guī)定式的語言學(xué)是分析語言的兩種不同的方法，不能簡(jiǎn)單的說誰好誰壞之說。Explainthefollowingterms.Duality（北二外2010研；南開大學(xué)2010研）［答案］Dualityreferstothefactthatinalllanguagessofarinvestigatedtherearetwolevelsofstructureorpatterning.Atthefirst,higherlevel,languageisanalyzedintermsofcombinationsofmeaningfulunits（suchasmorphemes,wordsetc.）;atthesecond,lowerlevel,itisseenasasequenceofsegmentswhichlackanymeaninginthemselves,butwhichcombinetoformunitsofmeaning.Forexample,asyllableisthesmallestunitthatisnormallyspokenbyitself,andscoresofsyllablesbecomethecarriersofhundredsofmeaningfulsegmentsofwordsthatarecalledmorphemes.Designfeatures【答案】Designfeatures:Itreferstothedefiningpropertiesofhumanlanguagethattellthedifferencebetweenhumanlanguageandanysystemofanimalcommunication.Competence【答案】Competence:Itreferstoalanguageuser'sunderlyingknowledgeaboutthesystemofrules.Competenceenablesaspeakertoproduceandunderstandanindefinitenumberofsentencesandtorecognizegrammaticalmistakesandambiguities.Displacement（南開大學(xué)2010研；清華2001研）【答案】Displacement:Languagecanbeusedtorefertowhatispresent,whatisabsent,whathappensatpresent,whathappenedinthepast,whatwillhappeninthefutureorwhathappensinafar-awayplace.Thispropertyoflanguageenableslanguageuserstoovercomethebarrierscausedbytimeandplace.Forexample,wecantalkaboutSapir,whoisalreadydead;wecaneventalkaboutnextweek,whichisinthefuture.Diachroniclinguistics【答案］Diachroniclinguistics:Itisthestudyofalanguagethroughthecourseofitshistory;therefore,itisalsocalledhistoricallinguistics.Descriptivelinguistics（答案】Descriptivelinguistics:Ifalinguisticstudyaimstodescribeandanalyzethelanguagepeopleactuallyuse,ratherthanlaydownrulesforcorrectandstandardbehaviourinusinglanguage,itissaidtobedescriptivelinguistics.Arbitrariness（四川大學(xué)2006研）【答案】Arbitrariness:Arbitrarinessreferstothefactthattheformsoflinguisticsignshavenonaturalrelationshiptotheirmeaning.Arbitrarinessoflanguagemakesitpotentiallycreative,aconventionalityoflanguagemakesalanguagebepassedfromgenerationtogeneration.Forexample,itisunabletoexplainwhyabookiscalleda/buk/andapena/pen/.ShortanswerquestionsBrieflyexplainwhatphoneticsandphonologyareconcernedwithandwhatkindofrelationshipsholdbetweenthetwo.（」匕夕卜2002研）（答案】Bydefinition,phoneticsisthestudyofspeechsounds,includingtheproductionofspeech,whilephonologyisthestudyoftherulesgoverningthestructure,distribution,andsequencingofspeechsoundsandtheshapeofsyllables.Bothphoneticsandphonologyareconcernedwithspeech.Phoneticsisthestudyoftheproduction,perception,andphysicalpropertiesofspeechsounds;phonologyattemptstoaccountforhowtheyarecombined,organized,andconveymeaninginparticularlanguages.Phoneticsisthestudyofactualsounds,thatis,theanalysisandmodelingthespeechsignal;phonologyisconcernedwithamoreabstractdescriptionofspeechsoundsandtriestodescribetheregularitiesofsoundpatternsindifferentlanguagesorwithinalanguage.Inthissense,phoneticsisconcrete,whilephonologyisabstract.Whatphoneticsstudiesisthespeechsound,namelyphone,whatphonologystudiesisphoneme.What'syourunderstandingoflanguage?【答案】Languageisasystemofvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.Languagemustbeasystem,sinceelementsinitarearrangedaccordingtocertainrules,theycannotbecombinedatwill.Languageisarbitraryinthesensethatthereisnologicconnectionbetweenthewordandthethingitrefersto.Languagehassymbolicnature:wordsareassociatedwithobjects,actions,ideasbyconvention.Foralllanguages,theprimarymediumissound,nomatterhowwelldevelopedaretheirwritingsystem.Languageishuman-specific,itisverydifferentfromthecommunicationsystemotherformsoflifepossess.Whyiscompetenceandperformanceanimportantdistinctioninlinguistics?［答案］NotingthedistinctionbetweencompetenceandperformanceisusefulprimarilybecauseitallowsthosestudyingalanguagetodifferentiatebetweenaspeecherrorandnotknowingTounderstandthisdistinction,itishelpfultothinkaboutatimewhenyou'vemadesomesortoferrorinyourspeech.Forexample,let9ssayyouareanativespeakerofEnglishandutterthefollowing:Weswimmedintheoceanthisweekend.Linguistsusethedistinctionbetweencompetenceandperformancetoillustratetheintuitivedifferencebetweenaccidentallysayingswimmedandthefactthatachildornon-proficientspeakerofEnglishmaynotknowthatthepasttenseofswimisswamandsayswimmedconsistently.Whatmakeslanguageuniquetohumanbeings?(北航2010研)［答案］Thedesignfeaturesoflanguagewhichrefertothedefiningpropertiesofhumanlanguagetellthedifferencebetweenhumanlanguageandanysystemofanimalcommunication.Arbitrarinessisacorefeatureoflanguage,whichmeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Duality,whichmeansthepropertyofhavingtwolevelsofstructures,suchthatunitsoftheprimarylevelarecomposedofelementsofthesecondarylevelandeachofthetwolevelshasitsownprinciplesoforganization.Creativitymeanslanguageisresourcefulbecauseofitsdualityanditsrecursiveness.Becauseofdualitythespeakerisabletocombinethebasiclinguisticunitestoformaninfinitesetofsentences,mostofwhichareneverheardbefore.Displacementmeansthatlanguagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimaginedmatters,inthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Soallthesefeaturesmakelanguageuniquetohumanbeings.Explainthecharacteristicofarbitrariness.Whataretherelationshipsbetweenarbitrariness&onomatopoeicwordsandarbitrarinessconvention?【答案JArbitrarinessreferstothefactthattheformsoflinguisticsignsbearnonaturalrelationshiptotheirmeaning.Onomatopoeicwordsarethewordsthatsoundlikethesoundstheydescribe.Onlywhenpeopleknowthemeaningcantheyinferthatthelinguisticsignisappropriatefbrtheexactsound.Arbitrarinessoflanguagemakesitpotentiallycreative,andconventionalityoflanguagemakesalanguagebepassedfromgenerationtogeneration.Whatdistinguishesprescriptivestudiesoflanguagefromdescriptivestudiesoflanguage?【答案】Thedistinctionliesinprescribinghowthingsoughttobeanddescribinghowthingsare.Tosaythatlinguisticsisadescriptivescienceistosaythatthelinguisttriestodiscoverandrecordtherolestowhichthemembersofalanguage-communityactuallyconformanddoesnotseektoimposeuponthemotherrules,ornorms,ofcorrectness,whichareinthescopeofprescriptivelinguistics.Whydowesaylanguageisprimarilyvocal?(廈門大學(xué)2009研)【答案】Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedfbrhumancommunication.Languageisprimarilyvocal,becausesoundorspeechistheprimarymediumforallhumanlanguages,developedor"new".Writingsystemscamemuchlaterthanthespokenforms.Thefactthatsmallchildrenlearnandcanonlylearntospeak(andlisten)beforetheywrite(andread)alsoindicatesthatlanguageisprimarilyvocal,ratherthanwritten.Theterm"human“inthedefinitionismeanttospecifythatlanguageishumanspecific.Awolfisabletoexpresssubtlegradationsofemotionbydifferentpositionsoftheears,thelips,andthetail.Thereareelevenposturesofthetailthatexpresssuchemotionsasselfconfidence,confidentthreat,lackoftension,uncertainthreat,depression,defensiveness,activesubmission,andcompletesubmission.Thissystemseemstobecomplex.Supposetherewereathousanddifferentemotionsthatthewolfcouldexpressinthisway.Wouldyouthensayawolfhadalanguagesimilartoman's?Ifnot,whynot?【答案】No,wecannotsayawolfhasalanguagesimilartothatofmeneventhoughtherewereathousanddifferentemotionsthatthewolfcouldexpresswithhispositionsofbodyparts.Therearetworeasonsfbrthat:First,languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedonlyforhumancommunication.Theprimarymediumforhumancommunicationissound,sothekindofcommunicationsystemcomposedbypositionsofbodypartsaredifferentfromhumanlanguagefundamentally.Second,languagehasdesignfeatureswhicharelackinanimals9communicationsystems.Forexample,languagehastwolevelsofstructures:atonelevelareelementswhichhavenomeaninginthemselvesbutwhichcombinetoformunitsatanotherlevelwhichdohavemeaning.Butinwolfscommunicationsystem,onepositionstandsforonecertainmeaning,andcannotbefurtheranalyzedintosmallerunits.Andontheotherhand,humanlinguisticunitscanbegroupedandregrouped,arrangedandrearrangedaccordingtocertainrulesbutthosepositionsownedbywolfhavenosuchfeatures.Therefore,wolfsthissystemisnotsoproductiveashumanlanguages.Iflanguageispartiallydefinedascommunication,canwecallthenoisesthatdogsmakelanguage?Whyorwhynot?［答案］No,wecannotcallthenoisesthatdogsmakeaslanguageeventhoughlanguageispartiallydefinedascommunication.Therearetworeasonsforthat:first,languageishumanspecific,itisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedonlyforhumancommunication.Second,languagehasdesignfeatureswhicharetotallylackinanimalcommunicationsystems.Forexample,languagehastwolevelsofstructures:atonelevelareelementswhichhavenomeaninginthemselvesbutwhichcombinetoformunitsatanotherlevelwhichdohavemeaning.Noisesmadebydogsrepresentcertainmeaningbutcannotbefurtheranalyzedintosmallerunits.Languagecanbeusedtorefertothingsremovedfromthepresenttimeandcontext.Wecantalkaboutthingshappenedinthepastandfutureandindistantplaces,whichdogscannevertellthingstheydidthedaybefore.Whydopeopletakedualityasoneoftheimportantdesignfeaturesofhumanlanguage?Canyoutelluswhatlanguagewillbeifithasnosuchdesignfeature?(南開大學(xué)2004研)【答案】Dualitymakesourlanguageproductive.Alargenumberofdifferentunitscanbeformedoutofasmallnumberofelements—forinstance,tensofthousandsofwordsoutofasmallsetofsounds.Andoutofthehugenumberofwords,therecanbeastronomicalnumberofpossiblesentencesandphrases,whichinturncancombinetoformunlimitednumberoftexts.Mostanimalcommunicationsystemsdonothavethisdesignfeatureofhumanlanguage.Iflanguagehadnosuchdesignfeature,thenitwouldbelikeanimalcommunicationalsystemwhichconsistsofonlyanumberofbasicsoundsandthiswouldbehighlylimited.Thenwewouldnotbeabletoproduceaverylargenumberofsoundcombinations(e.g.words),whicharedistinctinmeaning.Inotherwords,thenumberofmessagesonecansendwouldberestrictedtothenumberofbasicsounds.Distinguishbetweensynchronicanddiachroniclinguistics.【答案】Languagecanbestudiedatagivenpointintimeorovertime.Whenwestudylanguageatoneparticulartime,itiscalledsynchroniclinguistics.Whenwestudylanguagedevelopmentsthroughtime,itiscalleddiachroniclinguistics.Synchroniclinguisticsfocusesonthestateoflanguageatanypointonhistorywhilediachroniclinguisticsfocusesonthedifferencesintwoormorethantwostatesoflanguageoverdecadesorcenturies.Whatkindofevidencesupportstheideathatlanguageisculturallytransmitted?【答案】Languageisculturallytransmittedanditcannotbetransmittedthroughheredity.Evidencesareasfollows:Ahumanbeingbroughtupinisolationssimplydoesn'tacquirelanguage,asisdemonstratedbythestudiesofchildrenbroughtupbyanimalswithouthumancontact.Animalstransmittheircriessimplyfromparenttochild,whilehumanbabydoesn'tspeakanylanguageatbirth.Whatlanguageababyisgoingtospeakisdeterminedbythecultureheisborninto.AChinesebabybornandbroughtupinLondonbyanEnglishfamilywillspeakEnglish,whileanEnglishkidbroughtupinaChinesecommunitywillspeakChinese.Pointoutthreemajordifferencesbetweenlinguisticsandtraditionalgrammar.［答案］Linguisticsdiffersfromtraditionalgrammaratleastinthreebasicways:First,linguisticsisdescriptivewhiletraditionalgrammarisprescriptive.Linguisticsdescribeslanguagesanddoesn9tlaydownrulesofcorrectness.Linguisticsareinterestedinwhatissaid,notwhattheythinkoughttobesaid.Whiletraditiongrammaremphasizesuchmattersascorrectness,literaryexcellenceandtrytoimposeonlanguagescertainregulations.Second,linguistsregardthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewrittenone,whichisanotherimportantpointthatdifferlinguisticsfromtraditionalgrammar.Itisbelievedbylinguiststhatspeechcameintobeingfirstforanyhumanlanguageandthewritingsystemcamealongmuchlater.Third,traditionalgrammarisbasedonLatinandittriestoimposetheLatincategoriesandstructuresonotherlanguageswhilelinguisticsdescribeseachlanguageonitsownmerits.14.Whatisthedifferencebetweenaprescriptiveandadescriptiveapproachtolanguage?【答案】Descriptiveapproachtolanguageattempttotellwhatisinthelanguage,whileprescriptiveapproachtolanguagetellspeoplewhatshouldbeinthelanguage.Mostcontemporarylinguistsbelievethatwhateveroccursnaturallyinthelanguageshouldbedescribed.Certainformsareusedmoreregularlythanothersandbydifferentpeople.Thoughsomeformsoccurlessfrequently,theyshouldnotbeignored.Theycanallberecordedandexplainedasaspectsofthelanguagessincetheyareactuallyused.Whatarethemajordifferencesbetweenphonologyandphonetics?(西安交大2008研)【答案】Phoneticsstudiesspeechsounds,includingtheproductionofspeech,thatishowspeechsoundsareactuallymade,transmittedandreceived,thesoundsofspeech,thedescriptionandclassificationofspeechsounds,wordsandconnectedspeech,etc.Phonologystudiestherulesgoverningthestructure,distribution,andsequencingofspeechsoundsandtheshapeofsyllables.Putitsimply,phoneticssimplydescribesthearticulatoryandacousticpropertiesofphones(speechsounds)whilephonologystudieshowsoundsinteractasasysteminaparticularlanguage.VI.EssayquestionsDisplacement,arbitrariness,productivity,culturaltransmissionanddualityaresometimeslistedasthe5corefeaturesofhumanlanguage.Choose3outofthe5andexplainwithexampleswhattheymean.(」匕外2002研)［答案］(1)ArbitrarinessThismeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Agoodexampleisthefactthatdifferentsoundsareusedtorefertothesameobjectindifferentlanguages.Butitisnotentirelyarbitraryatalllevels.Somewords,suchastheonescreatedintheimitationofsoundsbysoundsaremotivatedinacertaindegree.ProductivityLanguageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionandinterpretationofnewsignalsbyitsusers.Thisiswhytheycanproduceandunderstandaninfinitelylargenumberofsentences,includingsentencestheyhaveneverheardbefore.DualityLanguageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstructures,ortwolevels.Atthelowerorthebasiclevelthereisastructureofsounds,whicharemeaninglessbythemselves.Butthesoundsoflanguagecanbegroupedandregroupedintoalargenumberofunitsofmeaning,whicharefoundatthehigherlevelofthesystem.DisplacementLanguagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimaginedmattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Thispropertyprovidesspeakerswithanopportunitytotalkaboutawiderangeofthings,freefrombarrierscausedbyseparationintimeandplace.CulturalTransmissionLanguageisculturallytransmitted.Itcannotbetransmittedthroughheredity.InterchangeabilityInterchangeabilityreferstothefactthatmancanbothproduceandreceivemessages,andhisrolesasaspeakerandahearercanbeexchangedatease.Examinethefollowingtwostatementsaboutlanguage,anddiscussthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthem.Doyouagreewiththetwostatements?Explainyouranswer.Sapir(1921:Language):"Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,emotionsanddesiresbymeansofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols.,9BlochandTrager(1942:OutlineofLinguisticAnalysis):“Alanguageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsbymeansofwhichasocialgroupco-operates.(北夕卜2005研)【答案】Similarities:Bothdefinitionssticktothefactthatlanguageisprimarilyamatterofspeechbecausetheprimarymediumoflanguageissound.SapirillustratesthisideabyimplyingthattheproducedsymbolsareauditoryandBlochandTragerbyexplicitlyusingtheword“vocal”.Bothdefinitionsalludetothefactthattheassociationbetweenthewordsandthethingsthattheydenotedisrarelyinherent,Sapirbyusingtheword“symbols"andBlochandTragerbyplacingemphasison“arbitrary"and"symbols”.Differences:Sapir'sdefinitionemphasizesthatlanguagerelatestocommunicationbetweenhumanbeings.Itisverydifferentfromthecommunicationsystemsofothercreatures,suchasbirdsongsandbeedances.BlochandTragerdonotclearlyindicatethisproperty,onlysayingthatitispossessedbyasocialgroup.Sapiralsoconsidersthatlanguageis"non-instinctive"and""voluntarilyproduced”.Thusforhimlanguagedoesnotincludesuchinstinctiveformsofcommunicationassmilingandcriesofpain,etc.However,BlochandTrager'sdefinitiondonotincludethisfeature.Theelement"system“inBlochandTrager'sdefinitionreflectsthefactthatlanguageprovidesuswiththeframeworkfbrgeneratingappropriateutterancesratherthanprovidinguswithaninfinitestoreofready-madeutterances.Stillelementsoflacunaearecombinedaccordingtorules.Thefunctionoflanguageisindicateddifferentlyintwodefinitions.Sapirseeslanguageasfbrcommunicatingideas,emotionsanddesires,whileBlochandTragerconsidersitforasocialgroup'sco-operation.Sapir'sdefinitionproposes“communication“astheprincipalfunctionoflanguageandspecifieswhatiscommunicated;BlochandTrageronlyvaguelypointsoutthatlanguagecanbeusedforco-operation.Eachofthetwodefinitionshasitsownspecialemphasisanditdoesnottotallyfreefromlimitations.Wethinkthetwodefinitionsgraspsomedefiningpropertiesoflanguagethatdistinguishitfroma