Chapter 1 Invitation to Lingustics.doc

Supplementary exercisesand reference keysChapter 1 Invitations to LinguisticsI. Definition of terms1. linguistics: Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.2. language: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.3. arbitrariness: It is one of the design features of language. It means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds4. creativity: Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users.5. displacement: Displacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. 6. duality: The duality nature of language means that language is a system, which consists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanings. 7. design features: Design features refer to the quintessential characteristics of human language, which can distinguish any human language system from any non-human language system. They cover arbitrariness, duality, creativity, displacement, cultural transmission and interchangeability.8. competence: Chomsky defines competence as the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language. 9. performance: Performance is the actual realization of the knowledge of the rules in linguistic communication. 10. parole: Parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use; parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules; parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation.11. langue: Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to follow; Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently.12. synchronic: The description of a language at some point in time is a synchronic study.13. diachronic: The description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A diachronic study of language is a historical study; it studies the historical development of language over a period of time.14. descriptive: If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive. Modern linguistics is mostly descriptive.15. prescriptive: If a linguistic study aims to lay down rules for “correct” behaviour, i. e., to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive. The grammar taught to learners of a language is still basically prescriptive.16. metalanguage: the language used to analyze or describe a language, e.g. the sentence: In English, the phoneme /b/ is a voiced bilabial stop is in meta-language. It explains that the b-sound in English is made with vibration of the vocal cords and with the two lips stopping the airstream from the lungs.II. Blank-filling1. Chomsky defines “competence” as the ideal users _ of the rules of his language. (knowledge)2. The publication of Saussures work Course in General Linguistics marked the beginning of _. (the modern lingusitics)3. Language, broadly speaking, is a means of _ communication. (verbal) 4. In any language, words can be used in new ways to mean new things and can be combined into innumerable sentences base on limited rules. This feature is usually termed _. (creativity)5. The discipline that studies the rules governing the formation of words into permissible sentences in languages is called _. (syntax)6. _ refers to the application of linguistics principles and theories to language teaching and learning. (Applied linguistics)7. Language has many functions. We can use language to talk about itself. This function is _. (metalingual function)8. Human capacity for language has a _ basis, but the details of language have to be taught and learned. (genetic)9. Theory that primitive man made involuntary vocal noises while performing heavy work has been called the _ theory. (yo-he-ho)10. The theory that language arose from instinctive emotional cries, expressive of pain or joy has been called the _ theory. (pooh-pooh)11. Language is _ in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. In other words, they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences which they have never heard before. (creative/productive)12. The theory that language arose from human beings instinctive need for contact with his companion has been called the _ theory. (contact) 13. The subject area of _ is on the borders of linguistics and literature. (linguistic stylistics)14. Modern linguistics is _ in the sense that the linguist tries to discover what language is rather than lay down some rules for people to observe. (descriptive)15. One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of _ over writing. (speech)16. The description of a language as it changes through time is a _ study. (diachronic linguistics)17. Saussure put forward two important concepts, _ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community. (langue)18. Linguistic potential is similar to Saussures langue and Chomskys _. (competence)19. The study of _ does not form the core of linguistics. (neurolinguistics)20. _ is regarded as the “father of modern linguistics”. (F. de Saussaure)III. Multiple choices 1. A scientific study of language is concerned with references to some _ of language structure. (B)A. data B. general theory C. facts D. hypotheses2. The study of language as a whole is often called _.(A)A. general linguistics B. sociolinguistics C. psycholinguistics D. applied linguistics3. Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary? (C)A. bang B. beautiful C. table D. billhead 4. Saussure took a (n)_ view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a _ point of view. (A)A. sociological; psychological B. psychological; sociological C. applied; pragmatic D. semantic; linguistic 5. The differences between Traditional Grammar and Modern Linguistics are all of the following except _. (B)A. prescriptive vs. descriptive B. performance vs. competenceC. written vs. spoken D. Latin-based framework vs. non-Latin-based framework 6. Linguistics gives priority to spoken language instead of written language because _. (B)A. written language precedes spoken language B. speech precedes writing everywhereC. speech is used more frequentlyD. writing systems are derived from speech7. A historical study of language is a _ study of language.(B)A. synchronic B. diachronic C. prescriptive D. comparative 8. C. Hockett, who specified the design features of language, is a(n) _ linguist. (C)A. French B. Swiss C. American D. Canadian9. A linguist regards the changes in language and languages use as _. (C)A. unnatural B. something to be feared C. natural D. abnormal10. Which of the following is not a design feature of human language? (D)A. Arbitrariness B. Displacement C. Duality D. Meaningfulness11. Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary? (A)A. tree B. crash C. typewriter D. bang12. The function of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade” is _. (C)A. interrogative B. directive C. informative D. performative13. _ is a grammatical description of a language specially designed as an aid to teaching that language to native or foreign learners. (C)A. Descriptive grammar B. Prescriptive grammarC. Pedagogical grammar D. Universal grammar14. 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 forces which the believers feel might affect their lives. Which functions does it perform? (C)A. interpersonal B. emotive C. performative D. recreational15. 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? (C)A. transferability B. duality C. displacement D. arbitrariness16. When a dog is barking, you can decide it is barking for something or at someone that exists now and there. It couldnt be sorrowful for some lost love or a bone to be lost. This indicates the language nature of _. (D)A. arbitrariness B. creativity C. duality D. displacement17. Study the following dialogue. What function does it play according to the functions of language? (B)A: A nice day, isnt it?B: Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.A. emotive B. phatic C. performative D. interpersonal18. Which branch of linguistics studies the similarities and differences among languages? (D)A. diachronic linguistics B. synchronic linguisticsC. prescriptive linguistics D. comparative linguistics19. _ refers to the actual realization of the ideal language users knowledge of the rules of his language in utterances. (A)A. performance B. competence C. langue D. parole20. _ deals with language application to other fields, particularly education. (C)A. Linguistic geography B. SociolinguisticsC. Applied Linguistics D. Comparative linguisticsIV. True or false statements 1. Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. It refers to the fact that language has two levels of structures: the system of sounds and the system of meaning. (T) 2. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. (T) 3. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks. (F) 4. Prescriptive linguistics is more popular than descriptive linguistics because it can tell us how to speak correct language. (F) 5. Competence and performance refer respectively to a language users underlying knowledge about the system of rules and the actual use of language in concrete situations. (T) 6. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive. (F) 7. Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication way used by the deaf-mute is not language. (F) 8. 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. (T) 9. A diachronic study of language is the description of language at some point in time. (F) 10. Langue is relatively stable and systematic while parole is subject to personal and situational constraints. (T) 11. Language change is universal, ongoing and arbitrary. (F) (It is not arbitrary. It is due to social and linguistic factors.)12. In language classrooms nowadays the grammar taught to students is basically descriptive, and more attention is paid to the developing learners communicative skills. (T) 13. Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the spoken language. (F)14. The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by F. de Saussure. (F) 15. Language is a system of arbitrary, written signs which permit all the people in a given culture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate or interact. (F) 16. Saussures exposition of synchronic analysis led to the school of historical linguistics. (F)17. Applied linguistics is the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning. (T) 18. The definition “Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols” was proposed by Sapir. (T)V. Questions1. Why do linguists develop the notion of design features? Use the feature “duality” to explain.Design features refer to the quintessential characteristics of human language, which can distinguish any human language system from any non-human language system. They cover arbitrariness, duality, creativity, displacement, cultural transmission and interchangeability. Pioneer linguist on this subject are Hockett (1960) and Thorpe (1974). They are attempting to determine the defining properties of human language that are not, or to a limited degree, relevant to any system of animal communication.Among the design features linguists have proposed, duality seems to be peculiar to human language. This property refers to the fact that human language is simultaneously organized at two levels or layers, namely, the level of sounds and that of meaning. At the lower level, language is seen as made up of a sequence of meaningless sounds phonemes- that are combined to form arbitrary signs that convey meaning. At the higher level, these meaningful signs can be combined to form larger meaningful units. In English, for example, phonemes can be strung together in various ways to create different words: spot, pots, opts, and tops are all combinations of an identical set of sounds /s/, /p/, /t/, and /o/. These words can in turn be combined in meaningful ways: Spot the tops of the pots.2. What does arbitrariness mean when it is used to describe a property of a language?This feature was first proposed by F. de Saussure. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds of morphemes. “Different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages”, e.g. “我，I, watasi (Japanese), Je (French), etc. ”3. How do you account for linguistic creativity?The language system embraces two properties: openness and recursionLanguage is creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences they have never heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Much of what we say and hear we are saying or hearing for the first time. “A three-eyed white monkey is sleeping soundly on the bed of the king of France.” Creativity is unique to human language.4. How is competence distinguished from performance?Similar to Saussures distinction between langue and parole is the distinction between competence and performance, which was proposed by the American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950s. Chomsky defines competence as the ideal users knowledge of the rules of his language, and performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. According to Chomsky, a speaker has internalized a set of rules about his language, which enables him to produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences and recognize sentences that are ungrammatical and ambiguous. Despite his perfect knowledge of his own language, a speaker can still make mistakes in actual use, e.g. slips of the tongue, and unnecessary pauses. This imperfect performance is caused by social and psychological factors such as stress, anxiety and embarrassment. Similar to Saussure, Chomsky thinks that what linguists should study is the ideal speakers competence, not his performance, which is too haphazard to be studied. Although a speaker possesses an internalized set of rules and applies them in actual use, he can not tell exactly what these rules are. So the task of the linguists is to discover and specify these rules.5. What are the well-known theories about the origin of language?They are bow-wow theory, pooh-pooh theory, contact theory and “yo-he-ho” theory. Bow-wow theory: In primitive times people imitated the sounds of the animal calls in the wild environment they lived and speech developed from that. Pooh-pooh theory: In the hard life of our primitive ancestors, they uttered instinctive sounds of pain, anger and joy. What makes the theory problematic is that there is only limited number of interjections in almost all languages. Contact theory: The theory that language arose from human beings instinctive need for contact with his companion has been called the contact theory. Yo-he-ho theory: As primitive people worked together, they produced some rhythmic grunts which gradually developed into chants and then into language.6. Explain the design feature of arbitrariness. What are the relationships between arbitrariness and onomatopoeic words and arbitrariness and convention?Arbitrariness refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. Onomatopoeic words are those that sound like the sounds they describe. Only when people know the meaning can they infer that the linguistic sign is appropriate for the exact sound. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality of language makes a language be passed from generation to generation.7. What is cultural transmission?Language is culturally transmitted. That is, it is passed on from one generation to the next by teaching and learning rather than by instinct. This is not to deny that human capacity for language has a generic basis; in fact only human beings can learn a human language at birth and he has to be exposed to language in order to acquire it.