语言学问答题

语言学问答题

《现代语言学》问答题1.WhatarethemainfeaturesofhumanlanguagethathavebeenspecifiedbyC.Hocketttoshowthatitisessentiallydifferentfromanimalcommunicationsystem?ArbitrarinessItmeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Agoodexampleisthefactthatdifferentsoundsareusedtorefertothesameobjectindifferentlanguages.ProductivityLanguageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionandinterpretationofnewsignalsbyitsusers.Thisiswhytheycanproduceandunderstandaninfinitelylargenumberofsentences.DualityLanguageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstructures.Atthelowerlevelthereisastructureofsounds,whicharemeaninglessbythemselves.Butthesoundsoflanguagecanbegroupedandregroupedintoalargenumberofunitsofmeaning,whicharefoundatthehigherlevelofthesystem.Thentheunitsatthehigherlevelcanbearrangedandrearrangedintoaninfinitenumberofsentences.DisplacementLanguagecanbeusedtorefertocontextsremovedfromtheimmediatesituationsofthespeaker.Thispropertyprovidesspeakerswithanopportunitytotalkaboutawiderangeofthings,freefrombarrierscausedbyseparationintimeorplace.CulturaltransmissionLanguageisculturallytransmitted.Itispassedonfromonegenerationtothenextthroughteachingandlearningratherthanbyinstinct.Incontrast,animalcallsystemsaregeneticallytransmitted.2.HowaretheEnglishconsonantsclassified?1)bymannerofarticulation.a.stops（plosive爆破音）:[p],[b],[t],[d],[k],[g]b.fricatives（磨擦音）:[f],[v],[s],[z],[θ],[ð],[∫],[ʒ],[h]c.affricates（破擦音）:[t∫],[dʒ]d.liquids（lateral边音，流音）:[l],[r]e.nasals（鼻音）:[m],[n],[ŋ]f.glides（semivowels半元音）:[w],[j]2)byplaceofarticulation:a.bilabial（双唇音）:[p],[b],[m],[w]b.labiodental（唇齿音）:[f],[v]c.dental（舌齿音）:[θ],[ð]d.alveolar（齿龈音）:[t],[d],[s],[z],[n],[l],[r]e.palatal（腭音）:[∫],[ʒ],[t∫],[dʒ],[j]f.velar（软腭音）:[k],[g],[ŋ]g.glottal（喉音，声门单）:[h]7\n3.WhatcriteriaareusedtoclassifytheEnglishvowels?英语的元音是如何分类的？1)Accordingtothepositionofthetongue,vowelsmaybedistinguishedasfrontvowelssuchas[i:][i][e][æ][a],centralvowelssuchas[ɜ:][ə][ʌ],andbackvowelssuchas[u:][ʊ][ɔ:][ɔ][ɑ:]2)Accordingtotheopennessofthemouth,weclassifythevowelsintofourgroups:closevowelssuchas[i:][i][u:][ʊ],semi-closevowelssuchas[e][ɜ:],semi-openvowelssuchas[ə][ɔ:],andopenvowelssuchas[æ][a][ʌ][ɔ]and[ɑ:].3)Accordingtotheshapeofthelips,vowelsaredividedintoroundedvowelsandunroundedvowels.InEnglishallthefrontandcentralvowelsareunroundedvowels,allthebackvowels,withexceptionof[ɑ:],arerounded.4)Accordingtothelengthofthevowels,theEnglishvowelscanalsobeclassifiedintolongvowelsandshortvowels.Thelongvowelsinclude[i:][ɜ:][ɔ:][u:][ɑ:]，whiletherestareshortvowels.4.Whatarephonemiccontrast,complementarydistribution,andminimalpair?Iftwophoneticallysimilarsoundscanoccurinthesameenvironmentsandtheydistinguishmeaning,theyareinphonemiccontrast.[p],[b]Iftwophoneticallysimilarsoundsaretwoallophonesofthesamephonemeandtheyoccurindifferentenvironments,theyaresaidtobeincomplementarydistribution.[p],[ph].Whentwodifferentformsareidenticalineverywayexceptforonesoundsegmentwhichoccursinthesameplaceinthestrings,thetwowordsaresaidtoformaminimalpair.Forexample,killandbill.5.Explainwithexamplesthesequentialrule,theassimilationrule,andthedeletionrule.Sequentialrulereferstotherulethatgovernsthecombinationofsoundsinaparticularlanguage.Forexample,ifawordbeginswitha[l]ora[r],thenthenextsoundmustbeavowel.Ifthreeconsonantsshouldclustertogetheratthebeginningofaword,thecombinationshouldobeythefollowingthreerules:thefirstphonememustbe/s/thesecondphonememustbe/p/or/t/or/k/thethirdphonememustbe/l/or/r/or/w/Assimilationruleassimilatesonesoundtoanotherby“copying”afeatureofasequentialphoneme,thusmakingthetwophonessimilar.Forexample,the[i:]soundinwordslikebean,green,team,andscream.Thisisbecauseinallthesesoundcombinationsthe[i:]soundisfollowedbyanasal[n]or[m].Deletionruletellsuswhenasoundistobedeletedalthoughitisorthographicallyrepresented.Forexample,inthepronunciationofthewordsignordesign,thereisno[g]soundalthoughitisrepresentedinspellingbytheletterg.Butintheircorrespondingforms7\nsignature,designation,the[g]representedbythelettergispronounced.Therule:deletea[g]whenitoccursbeforeafinalnasalconsonant.6.Whataresuprasegmentalfeatures?HowdothemajorsuprasegmentalfeaturesofEnglishfunctioninconveyingmeaning?Suprasegmentalfeaturesarephonologicalfeaturesabovethesoundsegmentlevel.ThemajorsuprasegmentalfeaturesinEnglisharewordstress,sentencestressandintonation.1)ThelocationofstressinEnglishdistinguishesmeaning,suchas`importandim`port.Thesimilaralternationofstressalsooccursbetweenacompoundnounandaphraseconsistingofthesameelements.AphonologicalfeatureoftheEnglishcompoundsisthatthestressofthewordalwaysfallsonthefirstelementandthesecondelementreceivessecondarystress,forexample:`blackbirdisaparticularkindofbird,whichisnotnecessarilyblack,butablack`birdisabirdthatisblack.2)Sentencestressreferstotherelativeforcewhichisgiventothewordsinasentence.Themoreimportantwordssuchasnouns,mainverbs,adjectives,adverbs,anddemonstrativepronouns,arepronouncedwithgreaterforceandmademoreprominent.Andtheothercategoriesofwords(articles,personalpronouns,auxiliaryverbs,prepositions,andconjunctions)areusuallynotstressed.Buttogivespecialemphasistoacertainnotion,awordinsentencethatisusuallyunstressedcanbestressedtoachievedifferenteffect.Takethesentence“Heisdrivingmycar.”Forexample,toemphasizethefactthatthecarheisdrivingisnothis,oryours,butmine,thespeakercanstressthepossessivepronounmy,whichundernormalcircumstancesisnotstressed.3)Englishhasfourbasictypesofintonation:Whenspokenindifferenttones,thesamesequenceofwordsmayhavedifferentmeanings.Generallyspeaking,thefallingtoneindicatesthatwhatissaidisastraight-forward,matter-of-factstatement,therisingtoneoftenmakesaquestionofwhatissaid,andthefall-risetoneoftenindicatesthatthereisanimpliedmessageinwhatissaid.7.Discussthetypesofmorphemeswithexamples.Freemorphemes:Theyaretheindependentunitsofmeaningandcanbeusedfreelyallbythemselves,forexample,“book-”intheword“bookish”.Boundmorphemes:Theyarethosethatcannotbeusedindependentlybuthavetobecombinedwithothermorphemes,eitherfreeorbound,toformawordsuchas“-ish”in“bookish”.Boundmorphemescanbesubdividedintorootsandaffixes.Arootisseenaspartofaword;itcanneverstandbyitselfalthoughithasaclearanddefinitemeaning,suchas“gene-”intheword“generate”.Affixesareoftwotypes:inflectionalandderivational.Inflectionalmorphemesmanifestvariousgrammaticalrelationsorgrammaticalcategoriessuchas“-s”intheword“books”toindicatepluralityofnouns.Derivationalaffixesareaddedtoanexistingformtocreateawordsuchas“mis-”intheword“misinform”.Derivationalaffixescanalsobedividedintoprefixesandsuffixes.Prefixesoccuratthebeginningofawordsuchas“dis-”intheword7\n“dislike”,whilesuffixesoccurattheendofawordsuchas“-less”intheword“friendless”.8.Whatistherelationbetweensenseandreference?Senseandreferencearetwotermsinthestudyofmeaning.(1)Senseisconcernedwiththeinherentmeaningofthelinguisticform.Itisthecollectionofallthefeaturesofthelinguisticform;itisabstractandde-contextualized.Itistheaspectofmeaningthatdictionarycompilersareinterestedin.Referencemeanswhatalinguisticformreferstointhereal,physicalworld;itdealswiththerelationshipbetweenthelinguisticelementandthenon-linguisticworldofexperience.(2)Obviously,linguisticformshavingthesamesensemayhavedifferentreferencesindifferentsituations.Ontheotherhand,therearelessfrequentoccasionswhenlinguisticformswiththesamereferencemightdifferinsense,e.g.“morningstar”and“eveningstar”.9.Whatarethemajorlexicalsenserelations?1)Synonymya)Dialectalsynonyms---regionaldialectse.g.BritishEnglish:autumn/liftAmericanEnglish:fall/elevatorb)Stylisticsynonymse.g.oldman,daddy,dad,father,maleparentc)Synonymsthatdifferintheiremotiveorevaluativemeaninge.g.collaborator&accompliced)collocationalsynonymse.g.accuse…of/charge…with/rebuke…fore)semanticallydifferentsynonymse.g.amaze:confusionandbewildermentastound:difficultyinbelieving2)Polysemye.g.“table”hasmanymeaningssuchas1.apieceoffurniture2.alevelarea,aplateauandetc.3)HomonymyHomophones:identicalinsounde.g.night/knightHomographs:identicalinspellinge.g.bowv./bown.4)Hyponymye.g.superordinate:furniturehyponyms:bed,table5)Antonymya)Gradableantonymse.g.oldandyoungareimmediatelyrecognizedasantomyms,betweenwhichthereexistintermediateformssuchas“mature”,“middle-aged”b)complementaryantonymse.g.apersoncanbeeitheraliveordead;thereisnothirdpossibilityc)Relationalopposites7\ne.g.husbandandwifeareapaiorofrelationalopposites.10.IllustrateSearle’sclassificationofspeechactswithexamples.AccordingtoSearle,speechactsfallinfivegeneralcategories.Specificactsthatfallintoeachtypesharethesameillocutionarypoint,butdifferintheirstrength.1)Representatives/assertives:statingordescribing,sayingwhatthespeakerbelievestobetrueTypicalcases:stating,believing,swearinge.g.(Iswear)Ihaveneverseenthemanbefore.(Istate)Theearthisaglobe.2)Directives:tryingtogetthehearertodosomethingTypicalcases:Inviting,suggesting,requesting,advising,warning,threatening,orderinge.g.Openthewindow,please.You’dbettergototheclinic.3)Commissives:committingthespeakerhimselftosomefuturecourseofactionTypicalcases:Promising,undertaking,vowinge.g.Ipromisetocome.4)Expressives:expressingfeelingsofattitudetowardsanexistingstateTypicalcases:apologizing,thanking,congratulatinge.g.I’msorryforthemessIhavemade.It’sreallykindofyoutohavethoughtofme.5)Declarations:bringingaboutimmediatechangesbysayingsomethingThesuccessfulperformanceofanactofthistypebringsaboutthecorrespondencebetweenwhatissaidandreality.e.g.Inowdeclarethemeetingopen.Ifireyou!11.IllustrateGrice'sCooperativePrinciplewithexamples.Grice'sCooperativePrincipleconsistsoffourmaxims:QUANTITY,QUALITY,RELATION,andMANNER.1)A:Whatareyoureading?B:Abook.AknowsBisreadingabook,andisaskingaboutthecontentofthebook.Simplybysaying"abook",Bisnotofferingenoughinformation.Theimplicaturehereis:Idonotwanttotalktoyourightnow.Inthiscase,themaximofQUANTITYisviolated.2)Heismadeofiron.Ourcommonsensetellsusnohumanbeingismadeofiron.ObviouslythisisafalsestatementandhasviolatedthemaximofQUALITY.Theimplicaturehereis:heisasstrongasiron.3)A:Mrs.Smithwassuchaboreatthepartylastnight.B:It'sreallychillyhere.Iwanttogoouttowarmup.WhenAistalkingaboutMrs.Smith,Bturnstotalkaboutsomethingtotallyirrelevant.ThereforethemaximofRELATIONisviolated.Theimplicaturehereis:Itisimpolite7\ntosaythat.4)a.MissSmithsang"Homesweethome".b.MissSmithproducedaseriesofsoundsthatcorrespondedcloselywiththesongof"Homesweethome".Thetwosentencesactuallyarebasicallytalkingaboutthesamething.ButsentencebisstatedinsuchawaythatmakesitmoreobscurefortheaudienceandthereforeviolatesthemaximofMANNER.Theimplicaturehereis:MissSmithdoesnotsingwellandIdonotlikehersinging.12.Withexamples,givesomeplausibleexplanationsforlinguisticchange.Therapiddevelopmentofscienceandtechnologye.g.fax,laserprinter,hi-tech,CD-ROM,laptopcomputerandetc.Socialandpoliticalchangesandpoliticalneedse.g.mini-summit,junglewar,Euroandetc.moreandmorewomenhavetakenupactivitiesformerlyreservedformene.g.chairman---chairpersonfireman---firefighterpoliceman---policeofficerThewaychildrenacquirealanguagee.g.“It’sI.”---“It’sme”.Economyofmemory(resultsingrammarsimplification)e.g.Byanalogytofoe/foes,dog/dogs,speakerstartedsayingcowsasthepluralofcowinsteadofkine.Theoryofleastefforte.g.CheapisalwaysusedintheplaceofcheaplySimplificationofgrammaroccurs,sodoeselaborationandcomplication.13.Isstandardlanguagebetterthannon-standardlanguage?Explainyouranswer.   Thestandardlanguageisasuperposed,sociallyprestigiousdialectoflanguage.Itisthelanguageemployedbythegovernmentandthejudiciarysystem,usedbythemassmedia,andtaughtineducationalinstitutions,includingschoolsettingswherethelanguageistaughtasaforeignorsecondlanguage.Nonstandard,orvernacular,languagesarelanguagevarietiesotherthanthestandardlanguage.Standardlanguageisnotsuperiortononstandardlanguageatall.Thedesignationofthestandardlanguagevarietyismotivatedbyhistoricalandsocio-politicalreasonsandhasnothingtodowithanysupposedlinguisticsuperiorityintrinsictothegrammaticalcomponentsofthatparticularlanguagevariety.Inviewoflanguageasaneffectivemeansofcommunication,nosingledialectofalanguage,beitstandardornonstandard,isanymorecorrect,anymorelogical,oranypurerthananyotherdialectofthelanguage.Alldialectsofalanguageareequallyeffectiveinexpressingideas.14.Whatistherelationshipbetweenpidginandcreole?Apidginisavarietyoflanguagethatisgenerallyusedbynativespeakersofotherlanguagesasamediumofcommunication.Apidginisusedforsomepractical7\npurposes,suchastrading,bygroupsofpeoplewhodonotknoweachother'slanguages.Itisnotanativelanguageofaparticularregion,butonlyamarginallanguageusedbypeoplewhoseculturesaresharplyseparatedandwhosebusinesscontactisveryspecialized.Asasimplifiedlanguage,apidgininvolvesreductionsinsounds,vocabularyandsyntax.Althoughpidginsaresimplifiedlanguages,theyarerule-governed.ACreolelanguageisoriginallyapidginthathasbecomeestablishedasanativelanguageinsomespeechcommunity.Whenapidgincomestobeadoptedbyapopulationasitsprimarylanguage,andchildrenlearnitastheirfirstlanguage,thenthepidginlanguageiscalledacreole.Acreoleinvolvesexpansioninsounds,vocabularyandsyntax.Creolesarefullydevelopedlanguages.7