复习题及答案-语言学基本知识与技能

Chapter One Introduction

I．What is linguistics?

Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. Linguistics studies not any particular language, but it studies languages in general. It is a scientific study because it is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. II．The scope of linguistics

1. Phonetics：The study of sounds used in linguistic communication led to the establishment of phonetics.

2. Phonology: deals with how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication.

3. Morphology: The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged and combined to form words has constituted the branch of study called morphology.

4. Syntax: The combination of words to form grammatically permissible sentences in languages is governed by rules. The study of these rules constitutes a major branch of linguistic studies called syntax.

5. Semantics: The study of meaning is known as semantics.

6. Pragmatics: When the study of meaning is conducted, not in isolation, but in the context of language use, it becomes another branch of linguistic study called pragmatics.

7. Sociolinguitics: The study of social aspects of languages and its relation with society form the core of the branch called sociolinguitics.

8. Psycholinguistics relates the study of language to psychology.

9. Applied linguistics: Findings in linguistics studies can often be applied to the solution of such practical problems as the recovery of speech ability. The study of such applications is generally known as applied linguistics.

III. Some important distinctions in linguistics

1. Prescriptive vs. descriptive If a linguistic study aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive; if the linguistic study aims to lay down rules for “correct and standard” behaviour in using language, it is said to be prescriptive.

2. Synchronic vs. diachronic

The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study.

3. Speech and writing

Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication. Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any language is always “invented” by its users to record speech when the need arises.

4. Langue and parole

The distinction between langue and parole was made by the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure in

the early 20th century. Langue and parole are French words. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and parole refers to the realization of language in actual use.

5. Competence and performance

The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by the American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950’s. Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language, and performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication.

6. Traditional grammar and modern linguistics

Traditional grammar refers to the studies of language before the publication of F. de Saussure’s book Course in General Linguistics in 1916. Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar in several basic ways.

First, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.

Second, Modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary not the written.

Then, modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework. IV. What is language?

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 1. Design features 1) Arbitrariness

Language is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds.

2) Productivity

Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. 3) Duality

Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures, or two levels. At the lower or basic level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning, which are found at the higher level of the system. This duality of structure or double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge.

4) Displacement

Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the

speaker. This is what “displacement” means. This property provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time and place.

5) Cultural transmission

Human capacity for language has a genetic basis while the details of any language system are not genetically transmitted, but instead have to be taught and learned. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. It is passed from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. 2. Functions of Language

1) Informative

It is the major role of language. The use of language to record the facts is a prerequisite of social development.

2) Interpersonal function

It is the most important sociological use of language, by which people establish and maintain their status in a society.

Attached to the interpersonal function of language is its function of the expression of identity. 3) Performative

This concept originates from the philosophical study of language presented by Austin and Searle, whose theory now forms the backbone of pragmatics.

The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons as in marriage ceremonies, the blessing of children and the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized. 4) Emotive function

The emotive function of language is one the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something. e.g. God, my, Damn it... 5) Phatic communion

The term originates from Malinnowski’s study of the functions of language performed by Trobriand Islanders. It refers to the social interaction of language.

We all use small, seemingly meaningless expressions such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day to maintain a comfortable relationship between people. 6) Recreational function

No one will deny the use of language for the sheer joy of using it such as a baby’s babbling.

7) Metalingual function

Our language can be used to talk about itself. For example, we can use the word “book” to talk about the book.

Chapter Two Phonology

I.

Speech production and perception

A speech sound goes through a three step process. Naturally, the study of sounds is divided into three areas, each dealing with one part of the progress. 1. Articulatory phonetics

It is the study of the production of speech sounds. 2. Acoustic phonetics

It is the study of the physical properties of the sounds produced in speech. 3. Auditory phonetics

It is concerned with the perception of the sounds produced in speech. II. Speech organs

Speech organs are also known as vocal organs. They are those parts of the human body

involved in the production of speech.

Speech organs mainly consist of the vocal cords and three cavities which are the pharynx, the oral cavity and the nasal cavity.

The vocal cords are in the larynx, the front part of which is called “the Adam’s Apple.” III. Consonants

Classification of English consonants

English consonants can be classified in two ways: one is in terms of manner of articulation and the other is in terms of place of articulation.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Nouns Adjectives Lips Labial / Bilabial Teeth Dental Alveolar ridge Alveolar Hard palate Palatal Soft palate Velar Uvula Uvular

Pharynx Pharyngeal Tip Apical Blade Laminal Front Dorsal Back Dorsal

? Consonants Place ? /p/ /b/ Bilabial ? /t/ /d/ Tip-alveolar ? /k/ /g/ Back-velar ? /t?/ /d?/ Blade/front– palato-alveolar ? /m/ Bilabial ? /n/ Tip-alveolar ? /? / Back-velar ? Consonants Place ? /p/ /b/ Bilabial ? /t/ /d/ Tip-alveolar ? /k/ /g/ Back-velar

? /t?/ /d?/ Blade/front–

Vowels

Classification of English vowels

Vowels may be distinguished as front, central, and back according to which part of the tongue is held highest. Vowels can also be distinguished according to the openness of the mouth: close vowels, semi-close vowels, semi-open vowels, and open vowels.

IV.

? ? ?

palato-alveolar

/m/ Bilabial

/n/ Tip-alveolar /? / Back-velar

V. Phonology and phonetics

1. Phonetics is concerned with the general nature of speech sound while phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication. 2. Phone, phoneme, and allophone

– A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce

during linguistic communication are all phones. – A phoneme is a phonological unit; it is a unit that is of distinctive value. It is

an abstract unit. It is not any particular sound, but rather it is represented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context.

– The different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic

environments are called the allophones of that phoneme. For example, the phoneme /l/ in English can be realized as dark /l/, clear /l/, etc. which are allophones of the phoneme.

3. Phonemic contrast, complementary distribution, and minimal pair

If the phonetically similar sounds are two distinctive phonemes, they are said to form a phonemic contrast, e.g. /p/ and /b/ in /pit/ and /bit/.

If they are allophones of the same phoneme, then they do not distinguish meaning, but complement each other in distribution. For instance, the clear /l/ always occurs before a vowel while the dark /l/ always occurs between a vowel and a consonant, or at the end of a word. So the allophones are said to be in complementary distribution.

When two different forms are identical in every way except for one sound segment which occurs in the same place in the strings, the two sound combinations are said to form a minimal pair. So in English, pill and bill are a minimal pair. 4. Some rules in phonology

Sequential rules, Assimilation rule, Deletion rule 5. Supra-segmental features—stress, tone, intonation

Stress:

Depending on the context in which stress is considered, there are two kinds of stress: word stress and sentence stress.

The location of stress in English distinguishes meaning.

Sentence stress refers to the relative force given to the component of a sentence. The part of speech that are normally stressed in an English sentence are nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs, numerals and demonstrative pronouns; the other categories of words like articles, person pronouns, auxiliary verbs, prepositions, and conjunctions are usually not stressed.