linguistics

语言学导论课外补充练习（1）

language

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

State the nature of language briefly with examples.

Why is it said that the language system is unique to human beings? What are the characteristics of human language? What are the social functions of language?

Do animals other than humans have their own languages? Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.

Can language be viewed only as a system of communication? Why not?

How did language come into being? What is the relationship between the origin of language and the origin of human beings?

9. Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural order.

（1） Five /the /fresh /potatoes （2） Pretty /American /girls /the two

（3） Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two （4） Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three

（5） Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers 10. Fill in the blanks with the proper words.

（1）_______ function means language can be used to ―do‖ things.

（2）_______ function means the use of language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes

of the speaker.

（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with _______ function. （4）The sentence ―What‘s it like?‖ shows ______ function. （5）Greetings shows _______ function. （6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows______ function. （7）Propaganda shows ________ function.

（8）________ refers to contexts removed from the immediate of the speaker.

（9）For________, reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication. （10）Halliday‘s metafunctions include ________, ___________, _____________.

（11）Linguistics should include at least five parameters:_________ __________ ___________

____________ _________________.

. 11.Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it

（1） Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far more sophisticated than any animals

communication system. （2） There is not a certain degree of correspondence between the sequence of clauses and the actual

happenings. （3） The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins of language are not at most a

speculation. （4） （5） （6） （7）

The definition,― Language is a tool for human communication.‖ has no problem. The definition, ―language is a set of rules‖, tells nothing about its functions. Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human institution. Chomsky‘s definition about language is the same as Sapir‘s.

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英语语言学课外单元练习（2）

Linguistics

1.Explain the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language.

2.What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study? What makes modern linguistics different from traditional grammar? Point out three aspects . 3.Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?

4.Which enjoys priority in modern linguistics, speech or writing? Why?

5.How is Saussure‘s distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky‘s distinction between competence and performance?

6.What characteristics of language do you think should be included in a good, comprehensive definition of language?

7.What features of human language have been specified by C. Hockett to show that it is essentially different from any animal communication system?

8.What is the main task for a linguist? State the importance of linguistics. 9.Why is ―duality‖ regarded as an important feature of human language? 10.Fill in the right word according to the explanations. （1）_____________ the scientific study of language.

（2）_____________ the study of the interlinguistic relationships among different linguistic elements of

language.

（3）____________the study of universal features of language

（4）____________ the study of a particular language at the particular point of time.

（5）____________ the study of the structure and both the syntactic and semantic rules of a language （6）the study of the rules or principles prescribed for people to follow when they use a language. （7）___________the study of language is relation to other sciences

（8）the study of the nature of human language and the human mind through the study of the U.G. 11. Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it. （1）Sociolinguistics relates the study of language to Psychology.

（2）In modern linguistics, synchronic study seems to enjoy priority over diachronic study.

（3）In the past, traditional grammarians tended to over-emphasize the importance of the written word. （4）Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently.

（5）Performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication.

（6）Saussure‘s distinction took a sociological view of language and his notion of langue is a matter of

social conventions.

（7）Early grammars were based on ―high‖（religious, literary）written language. （8）The study of language as a whole is often called applied linguistics. （9）Language is a complicated entity with multiple layers and facets. （10）To explain what language is seems to be a na?ve and simple question.

（11）Language bears certain features distinguishing it from means of communication other forms of life

may possess, such as bird songs and bee dances.

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英语语言学课外单元练习（3）

Phonetics

1. What are the two major media of communication? Of the two, which one is primary and why? 2. What are the three branches of phonetics? How do they contribute to the study of speech sounds? 3. Draw a picture for the speech organs of human beings.

4. Where are the articulatory apparatus of a human being contained? 5. What is voicing and how is it caused?

6. What criteria are used to classify English vowels?

7. What is the function of the nasal cavity ? How does it perform the function?

8. Describe the various parts in the oral cavity which are involved in the production of speech sounds? 9. Explain with examples how broad transcription and narrow transcription differ? 10. How are the English consonants and vowels classified?

11. Give the phonetic symbol for each of the following sound descriptions:

（1） voiced palatal affricate

（2） voiceless labiodental fricative （3） voiced alveolar stop （4） front close short （5） back semi-open long （6） voiceless bilabial stop （7） tense front mid vowel （8） lateral liquid

（9） lax high back vowel （10） voiced bilabial oral stop （11） mid central lax vowel （12） low front vowel （13） palatal glide

（14） voiced interdental fricative （15） voiced affricate

（16） velar nasal consonant （17） low back vowel

（18） high back tense vowel （19） mid back lax vowel

（20）voiceless interdental fricative

12.Give the phonetic features of each of the following sounds: ［d］ ［l］ ［t∫］ ［w］ ［u］ ［?］ ［b］ ［v］ ［a:］ ［m］ ［r］ ［i:］

13. Draw a tongue chart for the basic English vowels.

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英语语言学课外单元练习（4）

Phonology

1. How do phonetics and phonology differ in their focus of study?

2. What is a phone? How is it different from a phoneme ? How are allophones related to the phoneme? 3. What is a minimal pair and what is a minimal set ? Why is it important to identify the minimal set in a

language?

4. Explain with examples the sequential rule, the assimilation rule, and the deletion rule. 5. State the functions of stress in a language with examples.

6. What are suprasegmental features? How do the major suprasegmental features of English function in

conveying meaning?

7. A phonetic symbol is actually a ―cover term‖ for a composite of distinct phonetic properties or features.

Define each of the symbols below by marking a ―+‖ or a ―---‖ for each given feature: a ―+‖, if the property is present, a ―---‖ , if it is absent:

Sound segments: u э a: i ? u: i: ou ei Phonetic features: High Low Back Tense Round

Sound segments: f n g θ z t l Phonetic features: Stop Nasal Voiced Labial Alveolar Velar Liquid fricative

8.Distinguish and transcribe the following sounds in groups. （1）【p】in pit , tip and spit

（2）【l】in lesson and people （3）【n】in ten and tenth （4）【k】in key and scheme （5）【t】in team and steam

9.Fill in the proper word according to the explanations. （1）the frequency of vibration in the musical sound of the voice.（ ）. （2）a special emphasis on a sound or a sound group.（ ）. （3）the length of silence between parts of utterance.（ ）.

（4）the smallest structured sound unit made up of a rule-governed sequence of phonemes.（ ）. （5）the phonetic process in which two phonemes ,adjacent to each other, become identical.（ ） .

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英语语言学课外单元练习（5）

Morphology

1. What does morphology study? How do we define morphology?

2. Distinguish between phonologically and morphologically conditioned allomorphs, and between

inflectional and derivational affixes, and between free and bound morphemes. Give examples. 3. Dissect the following words into morphemes:

Description/ underdevelopment/ photosynthetic /anatomy /radiation/ geography /philharmonic defrosted/ refreshment /demobilized /conducting/ suppression /circumspect/ dialogue deformed /combination

4. Try to find out the meaning of the following roots in English and give two or three words that contain

each of them:

hydro chron demo dur agr kilo nym ped rupt gress poly syn 5. State the morphological rules that govern the use of the given derivational affixes

Example: --er This suffix is added to a verb to form a noun indicating the agent that carries out the action, e. g. writer---writer

--ant --ment --sub --en --en --ee --ful --some --wise --un 6. Explain the formation and meaning of the following compounds:

Example: nightcap------ noun formed by combining two nouns, meaning a drink one takes before going to bed.

cat‘s paw tablecloth green-eyed green born update jet lag bootleg built-in cockpit

good-for-nothing

7. Write out the proper word or words according to the explanations:

（1）the smallest meaningful unit which can be used independently.（ ） （2）each of the phonetic forms or variants.（ ） （3）the different morphs of one morpheme.（ ）

（4）the smallest linguistic unit that carries meaning.（ ） （5）words whose membership can be regularly expanded.（ ） （6）all the words of a given language.（ ）

（7）the way how morphemes are combined to form new words.（ ）

8. Point out the derivational and inflectional morphemes in the following words and give their meanings:

teacher shorter breaks books girl‘s careless usefulness irregular Marxist readers wanted loved houses buses studied business

9. divide the following words into separate morphemes by placing a ―+‖ between each two morphemes:

reconstruction sociolinguistics tourists readings morphophonemic predetermination endearment girls independent replacement grandparents generalization derivational television retroactive psycholinguistic befriended unpalatable

10. Think of five English suffixes, give their meanings and explain what bases or stems they may be

suffixed to.

Example: --er meaning ―doer of ‖, making an agentive noun, is added to verbs, as shown in the following: reader, ―one who reads‖, speaker ―one who speaks‖

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