英语语言学补充练习

1、Additional ExercisesI. Study these two quotations again, carefully. Make sure you 1) understand what is meant by each one of them, and 2) are able to say why they say them.1. The question What is language? is comparable with and, some would say, hardly less profound than What is life?, the presuppos

2、itions of which circumscribe and unify the biological sciences. it is not so much the question itself as the particular interpretation that the biologist puts upon it and the unravelling of its more detailed implications within some currently accepted theoretical framework that nourish the biologist

3、's day-to-day speculations and research. So it is for the linguist in relation to the question What is language? (John Lyons, Language and Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, 1981, p. 1)2. . in a sense all definitions of language are, by themselves, inadequate, since, if they are to be more

4、 than trivial and uninformative, they must presuppose . some general theory of language and of linguistic analysis. (R. H. Robins, General Linguistics, Longman, 1989, p. 12) II. Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it represents.         &#

5、160;  For example, this sentence: “The fly buzzed past”, the word “buzzed” is a word which sounds like a fly flying. So it is an example of onomatopoeia.             Another example of the onomatopoeia is this: “He clattered and clanged as

6、he washed the dishes”, where “clattered” and “clanged” are onomatopoeic since they imitate the actual sounds. (Source: )1. Match the following sentences to the onomatopoeia that describes them.A plate being dropped on the floor.A balloon being burst.A gun being shot. Someone eating crisps. A light b

7、eing switched on. A fierce dog. A small bell being rung. TINKLEBANGSMASH  GROWLPOPCRUNCHCLICK  2. Put each of the onomatopoeias into a sentence. 3. Can you think of any more onomatopoeias? List them.(Source: )4. Read the following poem and underline words that are examples of onomatopoeia.

8、When Carly Eats SpaghettiWhen Carly eats spaghetti,She chomps and gobbles and slurps,The spaghetti disappears with a whooshSauce slapping and smacking Round her chops.She scrapes the toast round the plateCrunching, grinding every mouthful.She burps, gurgles and leaves the table!(Source: ) III.

9、Fricatives in Spanish.In many varieties of Spanish s and h are in complementary distribution. State the rule.casa“house” casah“houses”cahco“helmet” censo“census”seso“brain” sesoh“brains”sehgo“slant” ehtoh“these”toh“cough” toseh“coughs”(Source: Iggy Roca & Wyn Johnson, A

10、Course in Phonology, Blackwell, 1999, p. 259) IV. Study the following definitions of “word”. Discuss in what ways they adequate and inadequate.1. a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning without being divisible into smaller units capable of independen

11、t use. (Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary)2. a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning, is typically seen as the smallest such unit capable of independent use, is separated from other such units

12、by spaces in writing, and is often distinguished phonologically, as by accent or pause. (Random House Websters College Dictionary)3. (a) a speech sound, or series of them, serving to communicate meaning and consisting of at least one base morpheme with or without prefixes or suffixes; unit of langua

13、ge between the morpheme and the sentence.     (b) a letter or group of letters representing such a unit of language, written or printed usually in solid or hyphenated form. (Websters New World College Dictionary)4. a sound or combination of sounds forming a meaningful element of

14、speech, usu. shown with a space on either side of it when written or printed, used as part (or sometimes as the whole) of a sentence. (The Oxford English Reference Dictionary)5. the smallest unit of language that can be used independently; such a unit represented in writing or printing, usu separate

15、d off by spaces. (The Chambers Dictionary)6. a meaningful unit of speech which is normally uninterruptable, and which when written or printed has spaces on either side. (Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar) V. Find out how these abbreviations are formed.1. Acronyms: ASCII, NASA, WAC, SHAPE, NA

16、TO, laser, sonar, FORTRAN 2. Initialisms/Alphabetisms: UFO, BBC, CPU, PC, AI VI. In the following sentences, underline the subject once and the verb twice.1. The lack of student support has had an effect on the teams performance.2. Ms. Swensons impatience with our groups ineptness is certa

17、inly understandable.3. These evidences of student unrest deserve careful study.4. The hurricane had leveled three small sheds on one farm.5. Neither of the two typewriters proved satisfactory.6. Not one of the rookie linemen survived the final cut to forty-nine players.7. On the chairmans desk were

18、several framed pictures of his grandchildren.8. She has been one of our most consistent performers in the high jump.9. A swarm of wasps hovered over the damp lawn.10. The cut in the appropriations will virtually eliminate our entire project.11. The logical place for our new distribution center is Om

19、aha.12. The first of the batches of crabgrass appeared in my lawn this week.13. From the depths of the dark pool emerged a grotesque sea monster.14. From far away came the mournful howl of a coyote.15. One of my cousins from Peoria studied art in Paris last year.16. No one in that troubled country i

20、s ever completely free from danger of persecution.17. This was only the first of a long series of interruptions.18. There will very likely be another session.19. Close to the summer camp is a drive-in theater.20. There was room for only four of us on the bus.(Source: )  VII. Underline all the s

21、ubordinate clauses in the following sentences, indicating the role which each subordinate clause performs (NOM for nominal, ADJL for adjectival, ADV for adverbial, and COMP for comparative). 1. The North Haven fair, which is held every September, is a lot of fun. 2. If I argue with you now, I'll

22、 be admitting that I am wrong. 3. She is as sorry as she can be. 4. I fear that if you try to help me, you will criticize my slowness.(Source: )  VIII. Structural grammarians criticize traditional grammar as “subjective” and “unscientific.” What is “subjective” and “unscientific” about the foll

23、owing traditional definitions? 1. A noun is the name of a person, place, or thing. 2. An adjective modifies a noun or some other substantive. 3. A verb expresses action or state of being. 4. A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete thought, and containing a subject and a predicate. 5. A

24、subject is that about which something is said. 6. A predicate is whatever is said about the subject. (Source: )  IX. Human language is characterized by structural ambiguity.   There are two important types of ambiguity in human language: lexical ambiguity and structural ambiguity. Lexical

25、ambiguity is due to the fact that a particular lexical item has two distinct meanings. For instance, in They parked the car near the bank, the word bank might refer either to the edge of a river or to a financial institution. Structural ambiguity, on the other hand, arises because a particular seque

26、nce of lexical items can be given two distinct syntactic structures.   For instance, the phrase in (1) can be used in connection with two quite distinct states of affairs, as indicated in (2). (1)         the house on the corner with a sign  (2) a.  

27、  There is a house on the corner, and that house has a sign.        b.    There is a corner with a sign, and a house is on that corner.  Give paraphrases for any structurally ambiguous sentences in (3) (your paraphrases should themselves be unambiguo

28、us!). (3) a.  He put the letter into the envelope on the table.        b.  He put the letter in the envelope onto the table.        c.  He put the letter in the envelope on the table.        d.&#

29、160; He put the letter in the envelope in a hurry.  (Source: )  X. Each of the following sentences contains at least one conventionalized expression of some sort. Attempt a classification of these under the following headings: (a) true idioms; (b) frozen metaphors; (c) collocations; (d) cl

30、ichés. (1)   You have to hand it to himhes got guts.(2)   You are completely up the creek on this one.(3)   Why dont you just wait and see?(4)   The affair was blown up out of all proportion.(5)   He took it in good part.(6) Use your loaf!(7)

31、60;  The situation went from bad to worse.(8)   He swallowed it lock, stock and barrel.(9)   They beat the living daylights out of him.(10) Well, you live and learn, dont you?(Source: Alan Cruse, Meaning in Language, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 78) XI. Co

32、nsider how many distinct meanings of collect are represented in the following. How would you organize them in a dictionary entry? Compare your results with the treatment given in one or more standard dictionaries.(1)   The books collected dust.(2) He collects stamps.(3)   The pos

33、tman collects the mail every day.(4)   She collected her things and left.(5)   She sat down to collect her thoughts.(6)   She collects the children from school at 4 oclock.(7)   Dust collects on the books.(8)   The students collected in front of the

34、notice board.(9)   They are collecting for Oxfam.(10) He collects his pension on Thursdays.(11) The dustmen collect the garbage on Wednesdays.(12) She collected two gold medals in Sydney.(13) They collected rainwater in a bucket.(14) They collect the rent once a fortnight.(15) He will coll

35、ect quite a lot on his accident insurance.(Source: Alan Cruse, Meaning in Language, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 121) XII. Semantics concentrates on the meaning that comes from linguistic knowledge, while pragmatics concentrates on those aspects of meaning that cannot be predicted

36、 by linguistic knowledge alone and takes into account our knowledge about the physical and social world. Discuss whether semantic paraphrasing or pragmatic paraphrasing is involved in the following conversations.(1)   Mike:      What happened to that bowl of cream?Annie

37、:     Cats drink cream.(2)   Mike:      Thats an interesting hat.Annie:     What do you mean by that?(3)   Ed:         Lugubrious?Faye:      You know, sort of mournful, not ve

38、ry cheerful.(4)   Parent:    Where are your shoes, young man?Child:     Under my bed.Parent:    When I asked where your shoes were, I wanted you to put them on.(5)   Dave:     What did Macbeth mean when he said that life was a tal

39、e told by an idiot?Sarah:     I guess he thought that life didnt make any sense.(6)  Steve:     Listen to this. “No animal bird or reptile shall be kept in the Flat or any other part of the building without the prior written consent of the Lessor which (if giv

40、en) shall be deemed to be by way of licence revocable at will.”Jane:      That just means tenants cant have pets without the landlords written permission and that even if he does give permission, he can take it back any time he wants to. XIII. Each of the following conversat

41、ional fragments is to some degree odd. To what extent can the oddness be explained by reference to Grices CP?(1)   A: Have you seen Peter today?       B: Well, if I didnt deny seeing him I wouldnt be telling a lie.(2)   A: Are you there?  &

42、#160;    B: No, Im here.(3)   A: What did you do yesterday?       B: I had a swim, changed into my swimming trunks, and went to the beach.(4)   A: Thank you for your help, youve been most kind.       B: Ye

43、s, I have.(5)   A: Can you tell me where Mr Smiths office is?       B: Yes, not here.(6)   A: Were off to Mallorca tomorrow.       B: I was wondering if you wouldnt mind enjoying your holiday.(7)   A: Would you

44、 like some coffee?       B: Marys a beautiful dancer.(8)   A: Would you like some more dessert, or coffee, perhaps?       B: Id like to go to the lavatory.(9)   A: Thank you for a wonderful evening. The meal was deliciou

45、s.       B: No, it wasnt.       A: Yes, really, we enjoyed it enormously.       B: It was disgusting, and I was pathetic.(10) A: Has the postman been?B: He leant his bicycle against the fence, opened the gate,

46、strode briskly down the path, stopped to stroke the cat, reached into his bag, pulled out a bundle of letters and pushed them through our letter box.(Source: Alan Cruse, Meaning in Language, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 393) XIV. The following excerpt is taken from Bridget Jones:

47、The Edge of Reason, written by Helen Fielding, published in 1999. Use the guidelines for analyzing the language of fiction to analyze the excerpt.9.15 a.m. Office. Rushed into work, hysterical at being five minutes late, to find bloody Richard Finch nowhere to be seen. Though actually is good as hav

48、e time to further plan my defence. Weird thing is: office is completely empty! So, clearly most days, when I am panicking about being late and thinking everyone else is already here reading the papers they are all being late as well, though just not quite as late as me.Right, am going to write down

49、my key points for meeting. Get it clear in my head like Mark says.Richard, to compromise my journalistic integrity by Richard, as you know, I take my profession as a TV journalist very seriously Why dont you just go fucking fuck yourself, you fat No, no. As Mark says, think what you want, and what h

50、e wants, and also think win-win as instructed in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Gaaaaah! XV. Make a stylistic analysis of the following poem by Michael Drayton (1563-1631). Since theres no help, come let us kiss and part;Nay, I have done, you get no more of me;And I am glad, yea,

51、glad with all my heartThat thus so cleanly I myself can free;Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,And when we meet at any time again,Be it not seen on either of our browsThat we one jot of former love retain.Now at the last gasp of Loves latest breathWhen, his pulse failing, Passion speechless

52、lies,When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,And Innocence is closing up his eyes,Now, if thou wouldst, when all have given him oer,From death to life thou mightst him yet recover. XVI. In The Study of Social Dialects in American English (1974), W. A. Wolfram & R. W. Fasold gave the foll

53、owing comment on the concept of standard language: If his reaction to the form (not the content) of the utterance is neutral and he can devote full attention to the meaning, then the form is standard for him. If his attention is diverted from the meaning of the utterance because it sounds snooty, th

54、en the utterance is super-standard. If his attention is diverted from the message because the utterance sounds like poor English, then the form is substandard.Discuss how the following utterances comply with their ideas of standard, super-standard and substandard language.    

55、60;       Am I not?            He aint got none.            May I leave now?            Most everyone say

56、s that.            It is I.            It was pretty awful.            Lay down, Fido!        &

57、#160;   He wanted to know whom we met.            Between you and I,             I seen him.            Are you absolutely su

58、re?            Who did you mention it to? XVII. Below are personal ads from a weekly newspaper published in Los Angeles. Examine their linguistic characteristics and answer the questions that follow.1. Aquarius SWM, 33, strong build, blue e

59、yes. You: marriage-minded, bilingual Latin Female 23-30, children ok.2. Busty, brilliant, stunning entrepreneur, 40s (looks 30). Seeks possibly younger, tall, handsome, caring SWM, who respects individuality. Someone who lives the impossible dream, financially secure, good conversation, for relation

60、ship, n/s.3. SWM, 28, attractive college student, works for major US airlines, enjoys traveling. Seeks Female, 23-32, humorous and intelligent for world-class romance and possibly marriage.4. English vegetarian. SWM, 31. Sincere, sensitive, original, thinking, untypical, amusing, shy, playful, affec

61、tionate professional. Seeking warm, witty, open-minded WF, under 29, to share my life with.5. Slim, young, GWM, very straight appearance, masculine, athletic, healthy, clean-shaven, discreet. Seeks similar good-looking WM, under 25, for monogamous relationship.6. Very romantic SBM, 24, college educa

62、ted. Seeks wealthy, healthy and beautiful Lady for friendship and maybe romance. Phonies and pranksters need not apply.7. Hispanic DF, petite but full of life, likes sports, dancing, traveling, looking for someone with same interests, 30+, race unimportant.8. Evolved, positive thinking, spiritual, a

63、ffectionate, honest, handsome, healthy, secure, 36, 6, 160#, blue-eyed, unpretentious, unencumbered, professional. Seeking counterpart, soul mate, marriage, family.Questions:A. Compared to conversation, which word classes are very frequent in the ads? Which ones are particularly rare?B. Identify eight characteristic linguistic features of personal ads. They may be features of syntax, morph