语言学教程复习题与答案.doc

语言学教程复习题与答案(胡壮麟版第一章)
Chapter I  
1.    Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.
2.    Linguistics studies particular language, not languages in general.
3.    A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks.
4.    In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on language facts and checked against the observed facts.
5.    General linguistics is generally the study of language as a whole.
6.    General linguistics, which relates itself to the research of other areas, studies the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study.
7.    Phonetics is different from phonology in that the latter studies the combinations of the sounds to convey meaning in communication.
8.    Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meaningful sentences.
9.    The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is called morphology.
10.  Syntax is different from morphology in that the former not only studies the morphemes, but also the combination of morphemes into words and words into sentences.
11.  The study of meaning in language is known as semantics.
12.  Both semantics and pragmatics study meanings.
13.  Pragmatics is different from semantics in that pragmatics studies meaning not in isolation, but in context.
14.  Social changes can often bring about language changes.
15.  Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to society.
16.  Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.
17.  Modern linguistics is different from traditional grammar.
18.  A diachronic study of language is the description of language at some point in time.
19.  Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the written language.
20.  The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by F.de Saussure.
II. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:
21. Chomsky defines “ competence” as the ideal user’s k__________ of the rules of his language.
22.Langue refers to the a__________ linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community while the parole is the concrete use of the conventions and application of the rules.
23.D_________ is one of the design features of human language which refers to the pheno n that language consists of two levels: a lower level of meaningless individual sounds and a higher level of meaningful units.
24. Language is a system of a_________ vocal symbols used for human communication.
25. The discipline that studies the rules governing the formation of words into permissible sentences in languages is called s________.
26. Human capacity for language has a g ____ basis, but the details of language have to be taught and learned.  
27. P ____ refers to the realization of langue in actual use.
28. Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the settlement of some practical problems. The study of such applications is generally known as a________ linguistics.
29. Language is p___________ in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. In other words, they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences which they have never heard before.
30. Linguistics is generally defined as the s ____ study of language.
III. There are four choices following each statement. Mark the choice that can best complete the statement.
31. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be ______________.
A. prescriptive           B. analytic C. descriptive             D. linguistic
32.Which of the following is not a design feature of human language?
A. Arbitrariness      B. Displacement C. Duality            D. Meaningfulness
33. Modern linguistics regards the written language as ____________.
A. primary     B. correct    C. secondary    D. stable
34. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because
A. in linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing
B. speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. C. speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue   
D. All of the above
35. A historical study of language is a ____ study of language.
A. synchronic                   B. diachronic C. prescriptive             D. comparative
36.Saussure took a (n) view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a __point of view.  A. sociological…psychological    B. psychological…sociological
 C. applied… pragmatic            D. semantic and linguistic
37. According to F. de Saussure, __ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.
A. parole     B. performance     C. langue       D. Language
38. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection between __ and meanings.
A. sense         B. sounds    C. objects      D. ideas
39. Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This feature is called__,
A. displacement    B. duality    C. flexibility    D. cultural transmission
40. The details of any language system is passed on from one generation to the next through __, rather than by instinct.
A. learning   B. teaching    C. books     D. both A and B
IV. Define the following terms:
41. Linguistics   42. Phonology   43. Syntax    44. Pragmatics   45. Psycholinguistics  
46. Language 47. Phonetics  48Morphology  49.Semantics     50.Sociolinguistics    51. Applied Linguistics 52.Arbitrariness   53 Productivity  54. Displacement      55.Duality    56. Design Features 57. Competence   58 Performance     59. Langue        60 Parole
V. Answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible. Give examples for illustration if necessary:
61. Language is generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for   human communication. Explain it in detail.
62. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples.
63. How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?
64. How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachronic study?
65. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, not the written?
66. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole?
67. How do you understand competence and performance ?
68. Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole seems similar to Chomsky’s distinction between competence and performance. What do you think are their major differences?
69. Do you think human language is entirely arbitrary? Why?
  I l.T    2.F    3.F    4.T    5.T    6.F    7.T   8.F    9.T    10.F    11.T   12.T   13.T  14.T   15.T   16.F   17.T  18.F    19.F   20.F
II. 21. knowledge  22. abstract   23. Duality   24. arbitrary 25. syntax    26.genetic   27. Parole    28. applied    29. productive   30. scientific (or systematic)
III. 3l.C   32.D   33.C   34.D   35.B   36.A   37.C   38.B   39.A   40.D
IV. 41.  Linguistics: Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. 42.  Phonology: The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology. 43.  Syntax: The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences is called syntax. 44.Pragmatics: The study of meaning in context of use is called pragmatics. 45.  Psycholinguistics: The study of language with reference to the workings of mind is called psycholinguistics. 46.  Language: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 47.  Phonetics: The study of sounds which are used in linguistic communication is called phonetics. 48.  Morphology: The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words is called morphology. 49.  Semantics: The study of meaning in language is called semantics. 50.  Sociolinguistics: The study of language with reference to society is called sociolinguistics. 51.  Applied linguistics: In a narrow sense, applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign and second languages. In a broad sense, it refers to the application of linguistic findings to the solution of practical problems such as the recovery of speech ability. 52.  Arbitrariness: It is one of the design features of language. It means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds 53.  Productivity: Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the con-struction and interpretation of new signals by its users. 54.  Displacement: Displacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, 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 55.  Duality: The 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. 56.  Design features: Design features refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication 57.  Competence: Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user's knowledge of the rules of his language, 58.  Performance: performance is the actual realization of the knowl-edge of the rules in linguistic communication. 59.  langue : Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to follow; Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently 60.   Parole: Parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use; parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules; parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation.
V 61. Language is generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Explain it in detail. First of all, language is a system, becauseelements of language are combined according to rules. Secondly, language is arbitrarybecause 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 illustration of the arbitrary nature of language. This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are just symbols; they areassociated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention . Thirdly, language is vocalbecause the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well - developed their 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 fulfill their communicative needs.
62.  What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples1) Arbitrariness    As mentioned 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 different languages, and even within the same language, the same sound does not refer to the same thing. However, language is not entirelyarbitrary. 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 arbitrary. But the non-arbitrary words are quite limited in number. The arbitrary nature of language makes it possible for languageto have an unlimited source of expressions. 2) Productivity     Language is productiveor creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals 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. Theycan send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive.3) Duality     The duality nature of language means that language is a system, whichconsists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanings. At the 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 of 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) Displacement    Displacement means that language can be used to refer to things whichare present or not present, 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 transmission     Human 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.
63.  How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar? Traditional grammar is prescriptive; it is based on "high "(religious, literary) written language. It sets grammatical rules and imposes the rules on language users. But Modern linguistics isdescriptive; It collects authentic, and mainly spoken language data and then it studiesand describes the data in an objective and scientific way.
64. How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachranic study? The description of a language at some point in time is a Synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A synchronic study of language describes a language as it is at some particular point in time, while a diachronic study of language is the study of the historical development of language over a period of time.
65.    Why does modern linguistics