语言与文化期末简答题复习范围.doc

_语言与文化期末简答题1. What is the fundamental difference between all the art forms and language proper as observed by Crystal at the end of the text? Para 18: “Language allows us to talk about our experience of the world in a way that no other means of communication can.” Cf: Displacement of language: Language allows us to talk about things remote in time and space, or both, from the site of the communication (cf. honeybees dance).2. What are the differences between sign language and body language? Sign language is a language which uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning. It develops within communities of deaf people and exhibits the same linguistic properties as spoken language. Body language is a form of human non-verbal communication. It consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, eye movements, etc.3. While people are talking, theyre also looking at each other, and we can see that the expressions on their faces add a great deal to what theyre saying. What does this tell us about the visual aspect (a kind of paralinguistic feature) of linguistic communication? Communication is not completed merely in the exchanges of words, especially in face-to-face talk. Communication is prototypically multi-modal. Paralinguistic features add to or even convert the literal meaning of what people say. 4. Language acquisition is one of the key issues for the study of language and it is closely related to the study of almost all aspects of language. How we acquire language seems to be a most straightforward question but actually no one can provide a definite answer to it. In this article, what answers does Napoli provide to the question that she puts forward in the title “How Do We Acquire Language”? The author provides two answers. First, children acquire a language step by step (Paragraphs 2-12); second, children acquire a language following the principles of Universal Grammar (Paragraphs 13-17). Based on the two answers, the author concludes that language learning is a natural process.5.What are the differences between language learning and language acquisition? There is an important distinction made by linguists between language acquisition and language learning. Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire their first language. They get a feel for what is and what isnt correct. In order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication. The emphasis is on the text of the communication and not on the form. Young students who are in the process of acquiring English get plenty of on the job practice. They readily acquire the language to communicate with classmates.Language learning, on the other hand, is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age-appropriate activity for your young learners. In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or wring. A student who has memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardized test of English language but may not be able to speak or writer correctly.6. “Display rules” is an important term for research on cross-cultural differences in emotional expression. How do you define this term? List the Japanese display rules and the American display rules as summarized by Ekman and Friesen. Definition: Display rules are a social groups informal norms about when, where, and how one should express emotions.According to the study of Ekman and Friesen, Americans show their emotions no matter whether another person is present, while Japanese display rules do not allow Japanese to reveal their true feelings in the presence of another person. (Para. 5)7. How does Matsumoto interpret the Japanese and American display rules? How is his interpretation different from Ekman and Friesens? Matsumoto interpreted the Japanese and American display rules with two factors: contexts and social meanings of emotions. Firstly, American emotional expression is consistent, while Japanese emotional expression is contextualized. Secondly, Japanese show more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions with in groups to create stronger bonds, and they do the opposite with outgroups to keep the social distance. (Paras. 9-12)8. How do you understand “Euro-heroism” as coined by Mazrui? What do the quotation marks around the word “discovered” suggest? “Euro-heroism” is to glorify European and Western achievements as much as possible. The quotation marks suggest that though the Europeans claim that they made those discoveries, Mazrui does not think it is true. For example, before the Europeans travelled to Victoria Falls, native people and other visitors had already been there. Yet when David Livingstone spread the word to the world, he took the credit of discovery.9. In English, “seven sins” usually refers the seven deadly sins in Christianity. In this article, Marui criticizes Eurocentrism by addressing its seven biases and sometimes refer to them as “sins”. Why does he use such a strongly derogatory term? In a religious context, sin is the act of violating Gods will. The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a classification of vices (part of Christian ethics) that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians concerning fallen humanitys tendency to sin. In the currently recognized version, the sins are usually given as pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth.Mazrui uses such a strongly derogatory term to indicate that the Eurocentric biases are as serious as sins are. Apart from using the term explicitly in several places, seven as the number of choice also reminds readers of the seven deadly sins.10. How does the Eurocentric world history deal with the achievements and sins of other cultures? Eurocentrism denies credit to the achievement of others and apportions disproportionate blame to the sins of others.11. According to Tan, what can language ability tests measure and what can they never reveal? According to Tan, language ability tests measure the mastery of the grammatical structures such as “even though” as well as logical and semantic relationships. Yet they can never reveal the intent, passion, imagery, rhythms of speech and nature of the thoughts of the person who uses that language.12. According to Tan, language can “evoke and emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Can you give an example of each of these functions? Evoking an emotion: I love you./ I hate you.Evoking a visual image:The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.(Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening)Evoking a complex idea: Language is “the great conduit, whereby men convey their discoveries, reasoning, and knowledge to one another. (Text A, Unit 2)Evoking a simple truth: The train at Platform Five is the London-York Express. Tomorrow is Saturday.13. Why does Tan wince when she describes her mothers English as “broken” or “fractured”? “Broken” and “fractured” are used to describe things that are damaged and needed to be fixed. However, as her mother uses English with ease and she can perfectly understand that type of English, there seems no need that it should be fixed. Furthermore, as a daughter, Tan is reluctant to impose such a negative word on her mothers language.14. What does Tans mother think of Tans writing? What do you think Tan means by saying that “I had succeeded where it counted”? The comment “so easy to read” might be understood in two ways. First, as Tans mother reads her own life stories in the language that she is familiar with, she finds it easy to understand. Second, Tans mother may not want to compliment her daughter face to face. It is important to note that Tans mother does not object to the stories in the book, which suggests that the stories are largely true to her memory. As Tan writes about her mother, she takes her mothers feedback more seriously than the critics review. Besides, it is also a work for her mother and her own cultural roots. Thats why she says “I had succeeded where it counted”.15. As a lingua franca, English is spreading globally and in the process it is developing into “world Englishes” instead of “world English”. Can you give some examples of different Englishes in the world today? Why do you think these varieties have emerged? World Englishes is a term for emerging localized or indigenized varieties of English. The most influential model of the spread of English is Braj Kachrus model of World Englishes. In this model the diffusion of English is captured in terms of three Concentric Circles of the language: The Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle, as illustrated in the following figure:16. Apart from their word choice, in what other ways do men and women talk differently? Summarize three possible distinctive features of mens and womens talk according to your own experience.According to Lakoff (1975), the following set of basic assumptions about what marks the language of women.1) Hedges: Phrases like sort of, kind of, it seems like2) Empty adjectives: divine, adorable, gorgeous3) Super-polite forms: Would you mind. .if its not too much to ask Is it o.k. if.?4) Apologize more: Im sorry, but I think that.5) Speak less frequently6) Avoid coarse language or expletives7) Tag questions: You dont mind eating this, do you?.8) Hyper-correct grammar and pronunciation: Use of prestige grammar and clear articulation9) Indirect requests: Wow, Im so thirsty. really asking for a drink10) Speak in italics: Use tone to emphasis certain words, e.g., so, very, quite17.What is sociolinguistics and what are the main topics of study in this discipline?Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society. It analyzes the many and diverse ways in which language and society entwine. Main topics include: language dialects, pidgins and creoles, codes, bilingualism, speech communities, variation, words and culture, ethnographies, gender etc.18. How Does Napoli define “reliable results” in para.24? Why is language data alone not enough in sociolinguistic studies? According to Napoli, reliable results can be duplicated or confirmed in other studies. Apart from language data, sociological studies also have to control for sociological factors which are many and varied. Without crucial evidence that would distinguish between competing hypotheses, a single set of data may produce varying or even contradictory conclusions.19. Napoli raises a question in the title of the text. In your opinion, does she provide a definite answer t