Exercises to Chapter One胡壮麟语言学

Exercises to Chapter One

I. Term Explanation

1. Synchronic linguistics (2 points, 中国人民大学, 2002): the study of a language at a given point in time. The time studied may be either the present or a particular point in the past; synchronic analyses can also be made of dead languages, such as Latin. Synchronic linguistics is contrasted with diachronic linguistics (or historical linguistics), the study of a language over a period of time.

2. Langue (4 points, 北师大, 2004) 3. Parole (同上)

4. Duality as design feature of language (4 points, 北师大, 2003)

5. Synchronic vs. Diachronic perspective (of language) (同上): The description of a language at some point of time (as if it stopped developing) is a synchronic study. The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. An essay entitled “On the Use of THE”, for example, may be synchronic, if the author does not recall the past of THE, and it may also be diachronic if he claims to cover a large range of period of time wherein THE has undergone tremendous alteration.

6. Metalingual function (4 points, 北京交通大学, 2007) 7. Creativity/Productivity as a property of language (同上) 8. Displacement (2 points, 北京交通大学, 2006，上外、北二外) 9. Metalanguage (5 points, 中山大学, 2008)

10. design features (中山大学2003、湖南师范大学2003) 11. arbitrariness (中山、山大、南开) 12. duality (北师大、南开)

13. descriptive linguistics and prescriptive linguistics: A linguistic study is descriptive if it only describes and analyzes the facts of language, and it is prescriptive if it tries to lay down rules for “correct” language behavior. II. Multiple Choice

1. 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 2. Which of the following is not a design feature of human language? A. Arbitrariness B. Displacement C. Duality D. Meaningfulness 3. Modern linguistics regards the written language as _______. A. primary B. correct C. secondary D. stable

4. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because _______.

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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

5. A historical study of language is a _______ study of language. A. synchronic B. diachronic C. prescriptive D. comparative

6. 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…linguistic

7. According to F. de Saussure, _______ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the mem- bers of a speech community.

A. parole B. performance C. langue D. Language

8. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection between _______ and meanings.

A. sense B. sounds C. objects D. ideas

9. 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

10. Unlike animal communication systems, human language is ________. (电子科技大学2003) A. stimulus free B. stimulus bound

C. under immediate stimulus control D. stumulated by some occurrence of communal interest 11. Which of the following is the most important function of language________? (同上) A. interpersonal function B. performative function C. informative function D. recreational function

12. The function of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degree Centigrade” is _______.(浙大2002) A. interrogative B. directive C. informative D. performative

13. ________ has been widely accepted as the forefather of modern linguistics. (东南2000) A. Chomsky B. Saussure C. Bloomfield D. John Lyons III. Blank-filling.

1. Language is a system of ________ ________ symbols used for human communication. 2. Linguistics is generally defined as the ________ study of ________.

3. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be ________; if it aims to lay down rules for “correct” behavior, it is said to be ________. 4. In modern linguistics, ________ study seems to enjoy priority over ________ study. The reason is that successful studies of various states of a language would be the foundations of a historical study.

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5. Langue refers to the ________ linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; and parole refers to the ________ of langue in actual use.

6. Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user’s ________ of the rules of his language, and performance, the actual ________ of this knowledge in linguistic communication.

7. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. This famous quotation from Shakespeare illustrate that language has the design feature of ________.

8. The property of ________ of language provides a speaker with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barries caused by separation in time and place.

9. Language is a system, which cosists of two sets of structures, one of ________, and the other of ________. This double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge.

10. An English speaker and a Chinese speaker are both able to use language, but they are not mutually intelligible, which shows that language is culturally ________.

11. Human language is arbitrary. This refers to the fact that there is no logical or intrinsic connection between a particular sound and the __________ it is associated with. (1 point, 中国人民大学, 2007)

12. One of the important distinctions in linguistics is __________ and parole. The former is the French word for \which is the abstract knowledge necessary for speaking, listening, writing and reading. The latter is concerned about the actual use of language by people in speech or writing. Parole is more variable and may change according to the contextual factors. (同上)

13. Saussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics (utterances) as ________ and __________. The former refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and the latter is the concrete manifestation of language either through speech or through writing. (2 points, 中国人民大学, 2006)

14. One of the important distinctions in linguistics is _________ and performance.(1 point, 同上)

15. An approach in linguistic study which attempts to lay down rules of correctness as to how language should be used is __________. (1 point, 北二外, 2008)

16. When language is used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than exchanging information or ideas, its function is ______________ function. (1 point, 北二外, 2007)

17. Our language can be used to talk about itself. This is the __________ function of language. 18. Human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication. This quality is labeled as __________. (同上)

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19. Chomsky initiated the distinction between _________ and performance. (同上)

20. By duality is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the _________ level are composed of elements of the __________ level and each of the levels has its own principles of organization. (2 points, 北二外, 2006）

21. According to Chomsky, the object of investigation in linguistics is the ideal speaker's __________ rather than his ____________. (同上)

22. In ____________ linguistics, language are studied at a theoretical point in time: one describes a \同上)

23. The features that define our human languages can be called ___________features. (同上) 24. One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of speech over _________. (1 point, 北二外, 2005)

25. Saussure took a __________ view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a __________ point of view. (2 points, 西安交通大学, 2008)

26. Semantics and _________ investigate different aspects of linguistic meaning. (北二外2007) 27. The four principles in the linguistic study are __________, __________, __________ and __________. (大连外院2000/1/2)

28. __________ is the branch of linguistics which studies the form of words. (北二外2001) 29. The branch of linguistics which is named __________ studies the internal structure of sentences. (同上)

30. __________ is an umbrella term which covers a variety of different interests in language and society, including the social functions of language and the social characteristics of its users. (中山2001)

IV. True or False Questions

1. Linguistics can be defined as the scientific study of a particular language. 2. Language is arbitrary by nature but it is not completely arbitrary.

3. It is generally believed that modern linguistics is mostly descriptive, diachronic, and emphatic on writing.

4. Animals are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species, while human beings do not have the genetic basis.

5. Animals cannot talk about the things except those about food, anger, enemy, etc. because the communicative signals of animals do not have the property of displacement.

6. We can use the word “word” to talk about a word, we can talk about “talk”, we can think about “thinking”, this shows that language has a metalingual function.

7. When someone breaks a bowl or a plate on a special occasion in China, the people present are likely to say “sui sui ping’an” (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling the magic forces which the believers feel it might affect their lives. This shows that

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languagehas an interpersonal function.

8. Language is the instrument of thought, record of facts, and people often feel need to speak their thoughts aloud. This indicates that language has an expressive function.

9. A baby’s babbling, widespread use of vebal dueling, poetry writing as well as sefl-singing all show that languaeg can be used to amuse the speaker.

10. Onomatopoeic words can show the arbitrary nature of language.

11. The description of a language at some point in time is called diachronic study. (1 point, 北二外, 2007)

12. The most important sociological use of language is the recreational function, by which people establish and maintain their status in society. (1 point, 北二外, 2005) 13. “Langue” refers to the “constant” of a language.

14. Most animal communication systems lack the primary level of articulation. (东南2003) 15. Descriptive linguistics are concerned with how language work, not with how they can be improved. (大连外院2000) V. Questions

1. Shakespeare has Juliet say: What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet. What do the above lines say to you about the relationship between the form (sounds) and meaning (concept) of a word in spoken language? Explain with positive evidence as well as exceptions from the English language. (15 points, 北京外国语大学,2004) 2. Displacement, arbitrariness, productivity, cultural transmission, discreteness and duality are sometimes listed as the 6 cores of human language. Choose 3 out of the 6 and explain with examples what they mean. (12 points, 北京外国语大学, 2002)

3. What are the seven functions of human language? (20 points, 中国人民大学, 2006)

4. Analyse the patterns of social greetings in China in the light of diachronic linguistics. (5 points, 同上, 2004)

5. Try to discuss as many as possible the design features of human language. (15 points, 北师大, 2004)

6. There are two kinds of grammar based on different linguistic points of view. They are prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. A grammar may describe how language is actually spoken and/or written, and may not state or postulate how it ought to be spoken or written. But a grammar may also state the rules for what is considered the best or most correct usage. Which grammar is descriptive grammar, and which grammar is prescriptive grammar? Cite some examples to give your reasons. (15 points, 北师大, 2003)

The first one is typical of descriptive grammar, while the second one is prescriptive grammar. The descriptive grammar aims to describe how people speak and detail the underlying knowledge. It is believed in descriptive grammar that whatever occurs in natural speech, such as hesitation, incomplete utterance, should be described in the analysis, and not be marked as

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incorrect, abnormal, or corrupt; modern linguistics is mostly descriptive. Whereas, the prescriptive approach aims to teach people how to speak, read, and write a particular language; in the 18th century, all the main European languages were studied prescriptively. For example, the statement that \standard English, a double negative is rarely used\is a description, showing how the language is used in standard English, regardless whether it is correct or not. \be grammatically correct in the Standard English. As for the spelling, prescription says \is correct, but description accurately points out that \is considered by Edited English to be correct too, and a descriptive account for these two different spellings will show how the later one is used and who uses it.

7. What is meant by \北二外, 2006)

8. One of the design features of human language is creativity. What is it? And what makes it possible? (10 points, 浙江大学, 2007) 9. Why is it difficult to define language?

(It is difficult to define language, as it is such a general term that covers too many things. Thus, definitions for it all have their own special emphasis, and are not totally free from limitations.

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incorrect, abnormal, or corrupt; modern linguistics is mostly descriptive. Whereas, the prescriptive approach aims to teach people how to speak, read, and write a particular language; in the 18th century, all the main European languages were studied prescriptively. For example, the statement that \standard English, a double negative is rarely used\is a description, showing how the language is used in standard English, regardless whether it is correct or not. \be grammatically correct in the Standard English. As for the spelling, prescription says \is correct, but description accurately points out that \is considered by Edited English to be correct too, and a descriptive account for these two different spellings will show how the later one is used and who uses it.

7. What is meant by \北二外, 2006)

8. One of the design features of human language is creativity. What is it? And what makes it possible? (10 points, 浙江大学, 2007) 9. Why is it difficult to define language?

(It is difficult to define language, as it is such a general term that covers too many things. Thus, definitions for it all have their own special emphasis, and are not totally free from limitations.

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