chapter 1 exercises

ｐａｒｔ １ Fill in the blank:

１． Language, broadly speaking, is a means of ______ communication. Answer: verbal

２． Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human ______.

A. contact B. communication C. relation D. community Answer: B. communication ３． Language is ______.

A. instinctive B. non-instinctive C. static D. genetically transmitted

Answer: B. non-instinctive

４． A linguist regards the changes in

language and language use as ______.

A. unnatural B. something to be feared C. natural D. abnormal Answer: C. natural

５． Language is a means of verbal

communication. Therefore, the

communication way used by the deaf-mute is not language.

Answer: [F] The deaf-mute can still think conceptually. They can use other forms such as visual and tactile impressions. They can speak without sounds. They use a special language to communicate.

６． Language change is universal,

ongoing and arbitrary.

Answer: [F] It is not arbitrary. It is due to social and linguistic factors.

７． Language is a system of arbitrary,

written signs which permit all people in a given culture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate or interact.

Answer: [F] It should be vocal symbols.

ｐａｒｔ ２

１． In any language words can be used in

new ways to mean new things and can be

combined into innumerable sentences based on limited rules. This feature is usually termed ______.

２． Which of the following words is

entirely arbitrary?

A. tree B. crash C. typewriter D. bang

３． Which of the following property of

language enables language users to overcome the barriers caused by time and place, due to this feature of language, speakers of a language are free to talk about anything in any situation?

A. Transferability B. Duality C. Displacement D.

Arbitrariness

(C. displacement)

４． Duality is one of the characteristics of

human language. It refers to the fact that language has two levels of structures: the system of sound and the system of meanings.

５． Arbitrariness of language makes it

potentially creative, and conventionality of language makes a language be passed from generation to generation. As a foreign language learner, the latter is more important for us.

６． Theory that primitive man made

involuntary vocal noises while performing heavy work had been called the _____. (yo-he-ho)

７． The theory that language arose from

instinctive emotional cries, expressive of pain or joy has been called the ______theory.

(pooh-pooh)

ｐａｒｔ ３

1. Which function is the major role of Language?

A. Informative B. Interpersonal C. Performative D. Emotive

(A)

2. The ____ function of language is one of 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.

A. performative B. phatic C. recreational D. emotive (D)

3. The sentence “I apologize!” belongs to the category of ____ according to the speech act theory.

A. expressive B. performative C. representative D. constative (B)

4. The function of the sentence “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” is ____.

A. informative B. phatic C. performative D. recreational (B)

5. Which of the following is NOT the function of language?

A. Metalingual B. Interpersonal C. Emotive D. Cultural transmission (D)

6. Which function of language is also called ideational function in the framework of functional grammar?

A. informative B. Interpersonal C. Emotive D. recreational (A)

7. Which of the following functions are NOT the functions put forward by Halliday? A. ideational B. interpersonal C. generative D. textual (C)

8. In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say sui sui ping an (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling the force which the believers feel might affect their lives. Which functions does it perform?

A Interpersonal B. Emotive C. performotive

D. recreational

Ｐａｒｔ ４

1. ___deals with language application to other fields, particularly education.

A. Linguistic geography B. Sociolinguistics

C. Applied linguistics D. Comparative linguistics

2. Which branch of study cannot be included in the scope of Linguistics?

A. Syntax B. Pragmatics C. Phonetics D. Anthropology

3. ___is the study of the relationship between symbols and their interpreter.

A. Syntax B. Semantics C. Pragmatics D. Sociolinguistics

4. ___ studies the sound systems in a certain language.

A. phonetics B. phonology C. Semantics D. Syntax

5. The study of how sound are put together and used to convey meaning in communication is___.

A. general linguistics B. phonology

C. Semantics D. morphology

6. ___ studies how speech sounds are made, transmitted and received.

A. phonetics B. phonology C. Semantics D. Syntax

7. ___ is concerned with the study of the actual use of language in communication. A. Sociolinguistics B. Semantics C. Pragmatics D. Syntax

8. A(n) ____ is the smallest unit of sound in a language, which can distinguish two words. A. morpheme B. sound C. phoneme D. allophone

9. What is one of the common features of the three sounds: [b], [p], [m]?

A. Voiceless B. Voiced C. Nasal

D. Bilabial

10. Once the notion of ____ was taken into consideration, semantics spilled into pragmatics.

A. meaning B. context C. form D. content

11. ____ investigates the interrelation of language and mind.

A. Psycholinguistics B. Sociolinguistics

C. Anthropological ~ D. Computational ~

12. Morphology is concerned with ____. A. the meaning of words

B. the pronunciation of words

C. the internal organization of words D. the combination of words into sentences

13. ____ is the major concern of semantics. A. Meaning B. Words

C. Semantics D. Phrase structure rules

Answers to the above questions:

1-5 CDCBB 6-10 ACCDB 11-13ACA

ｐａｒｔ ５

1. The distinction of langue and parole is made by ____.

A. Hall B. Sapir C. Chomsky D. Saussure

2. The term ____ may be defined as a way of referring to the approach which studies language changes over various periods of time and at various historical stages.

A. synchronic linguistics B. comparative ﹏

C. diachronic ﹏ D. historical comparative ﹏

3. The fundamental distinction between competence and performance is discussed by ____.

A .Chomsky B. Saussure C. Bloomfield D. Austin

4. Modern linguistics focuses on the present

day language, and it will be possible to describe language from a ____ perspective. A. sociological B. synchronic C. diachronic D.psychological 5. The sentence “You should never use cliché in writing” is ____.

A. descriptive B. prescriptive C. obligatory D. narrative

6. If a study focused on Shakespearean language, it is ____. A. diachronic B. synchronic C. systematic D. pragmatic ? Prescriptive linguistics is more popular than descriptive linguistics because it can tell us how to speak correct language. ? Competence and performance refer respectively to a language user’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules and the actual use of language in concrete situations.

? By diachronic study we mean to study the changes and development of language. ? In language classrooms nowadays the

grammar taught to students is basically descriptive, and more attention is paid to the developing learners’ communicative skills.

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