英语语言学知识

1、.Chapter 1 Introduction语言学的定义：Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.问题：How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of languageIt is a scientific study because it is based on the systematic investigation of linguisti

2、c data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.What the linguist has to do “first, then, but:to observe and collect language facts and generalizations are made about them.to formulate some hypotheses about the language structure.to check the hypotheses thus formed repe

3、atedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity.The study of language as a whole is often called general linguistics. (普通语言学)问题: What are the major branches of linguistics What does each of them studyphonetics语音学the study of soundsphonology音位学study how sounds are put together and use

4、d to convey meaningmorphology形态学study the way in which symbols or morphemes are arranged and bined to form words.syntax句法学the study of rules of forming sentencessemantics语义学the study of meaningpragmatics语用学 the context of language useSociolinguistics社会语言学：The studies of all these social aspects of l

5、anguage and its relation with society form the core of the branch.Psycholinguistics语言心理学：Relate the study of language to psychologyApplied linguistics应用语言学：In a narrow sense it refers to the application of linguistic theories and principles to language teaching, especially the teaching of foreign an

6、d second languages. Some important distinctions in linguistics:prescriptive规定性/descriptive描写性synchronic共时/diachronic历时speech口语/writing书面语langue语言/parole言语the Swiss linguist F. de SaussureCourse in General Linguisticspetence语言能力/performance语言应用the American linguist N. Chomskytraditional grammar 传统语法/

7、modern linguistics现代语言学问题：in what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammarlinguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written.modern linguistics does not force languages into a Latin

8、-based framework.问题：Is modernlinguisticsmainly synchronic or diachronic Why In modern linguistics, a synchronic (不考虑历史演进的, 限于一时的) approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic (探求现象变化的, 历时的) one. Because it is believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods

9、 are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development. Synchronic descriptions are often thought of as being descriptions of language in its current existence, and most linguistic studies are of this type.问题：For what reasons does

10、 modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writingFrom the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any language is always “invented by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even in todays world there are still many languages

11、 that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday munication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed.Spoken language reveals more true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised record of speech. And linguists data f

12、or investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regarded as authentic.语言的定义：Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human munication.Design features of language7个识别特征arbitrariness 任意性 at the syntactic levelproductivity 能产性，创造性Secondary units底层结构 sound

13、sduality 双层性Primary units 上层结构 units of meaningdisplacement 不受时空限制性handle generalization and abstractioncultural transmission 文化传递性interchangeability 互换性convention 约定性Functions of language：三大主要功能：The descriptive functionThe expressive functionThe social functionRoman Jacobson6种首要因素，结构主义语言学家speaker a

14、ddresseremotive 感情功能addresseeconative 意动功能contextreferential所指功能messagepoetic 诗学功能contactphatic munion交感功能codemetalinguistic 元语言功能Other functions:phatic function 问候功能informative f. 信息功能interrogative f. 询问功能expressive f. 表达功能evocative f. 感染功能directive f. 指令功能performative f. 行使权力功能M.A.K. Hallidayideat

15、ionalinterpersonalindicate/establish/maintain/social relationshipstextual问题：How is Saussures distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomskys distinction between petence and performanceThe distinction between langue and parole was made by Saussure, langue is abstract; it is not the language

16、 people actually use. Parole is concrete; it refers to the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable; it does not change frequently, while parole varies from people to people, and from situation to situation.The distinction between petence and performance proposed by the Ameri

17、can linguists Chomsky, petence is a deal users knowledge of the rules of his language, and the performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic munication. Imperfect performance is caused by social and psychological factors.Saussure makes this distinction in order to single out

18、one aspect of language for serious study. In his opinion, parole is simple a mass of linguistic facts, too varied confusing for systematic investigation, and that linguistics should do is to abstract langue from parole, i.e., to discover the regularities governing the actual use of language and make

19、 them the subjects of study of linguistics.Similar to Saussure, Chomsky thinks what linguists should study is the ideal speakers petence, not his performance, which is too haphazard to be studied. 问题：What are the main features of human language that have been specified by C. Hockett to show that it

20、is essentially different from animal munication systemarbitrariness 任意性 at the syntactic levelproductivity 能产性，创造性Secondary units底层结构 soundsduality 双层性Primary units 上层结构 units of meaningdisplacement 不受时空限制性handle generalization and abstractioncultural transmission 文化传递性interchangeability 互换性conventi

21、on 约定性Chapter 2 PhonologyPhonetics: 语音学the study of the phonic medium of languagelook at speech sounds from 3 distinct but related points of view.study the sounds from the speakers point of viewarticulatory phonetics发音语音学look at the sounds from the hearers point of viewauditory phonetics听觉语音学study t

22、he way sounds travel by looking at the sound wavesacoustic phonetics声学语音学study how sounds are produced, transmitted and perceived.Organs of speech:three important areasThe pharyngeal cavitythe throatthe oral cavitythe mouth the nasal cavitythe noseThe pharyngeal cavitywindpipe/glottis/larynx/vocal c

23、ords the oral cavitytongue/uvula/soft palate(velum)/hard palate/teeth ridge(alveolus) /teeth/lipsInternational Phonetic Alphabet IPAdiacritics 附加符号broad transcription宽式标音the transcription with letter-symbols onlynarrow transcription严式标音the transcription with letter-symbols together with the diacriti

24、csClassification of English speech soundstwo broad categories of speech sounds in English: Vowels/consonantstwo ways to classify the English consonants: In terms of manner of articulationIn terms of place of articulationIn terms of manner of articulation:Stops/fricatives/affricates/liquids/nasals/gl

25、idesIn terms of place of articulation:Bilabial/labiodental/dental/alveolar/palatal/velar/glottalbilabialLabio-dentaldentalalveolarpalatalvelarglottalstopsVLptkVDbdgfricativesVLfshVDvzaffricatesVL(t)tVD(d)dnasalsVDmnliquidsVDl/rglidesVDwjClassification of English vowelscriteria :monophthongs单元音The po

26、sition of the tongue in the mouth: front/central/backThe openness of the mouth: close vowels/semi-close vowels/semi-open vowels/open vowelsThe shape of the lips: unrounded/roundedThe length of the vowels: tense/laxfrontcentralbackclosei:u:iuSemi-closee:Semi-open:openaa:diphthongs 双元音/ei / /ai /au /u

27、 /i /i / u /Phonology 音韵学，语音体系Difference of phonology and phonetics:Phonetics is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages.Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic munication.Phone音素:

28、A phone is a phonetic unit or segment.Phoneme音位: It is a phonological unit; it is a unit that is of distinctive value. It is an abstract unit. It is not any particular sound, but rather it is represented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context.Allophone音位变体: The different phones

29、 which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments are called the allophones of that phoneme.Phonemic contrast音位对立plementary distribution音位变体的互补分布Minimal pairs最小对立体：含音位的单词的全部音标Minimal set最小对立集：is used to find the important sounds in language.Phonological Analysis音位分析Principle: certain

30、 sounds cause changes in the meaning of a word or phase, whereas other sounds do not.Phonetically similar sounds: 描述音位关系Free variants: 音位的自由变体The difference of pronouncing a sound caused by dialect, habit, individual difference or regional differences instead of by any distribution rule.Some rules i

31、n phonology sequential rules: 序列规那么If a word begins with a / l / or a / r /, then the next sound must be a vowel.If three consonants should cluster together at the beginning of a word, the bination should obey the following three rules:The first phoneme must be / s /The second phoneme must be / p /

32、/ t / / k /The third phoneme must be / l / r / w /assimilation rule:同化规那么deletion rule：省略规那么Suprasegmental features 超音段特征超音段比音位更大的语言单位 stress 单词，句子层面：the location of stress in English distinguishes meaning.Syllable音节：A syllable nucleus (often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (often c

33、onsonants)单音节词多音节词英语单词都有重读音位学中，单词由音节构成，音节由音位构成。句子里读重音的词：Nouns/main verbs/adjectives/adverbs/numerals/demonstrative pronouns tone 词汇层面English is not a tone languageChinese is a typical tone language: Level/the second rise/the third fall-rise/the fourth fallintonation 句子层面English has four basic types

34、of intonation:The falling tone/the rising tone/the fall-rise tone/the rise-fall tone问题：What are the two major media of munication Of the two, which one is primary and whySpeech and writing Speech Because from the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system o

35、f any language is always “invented by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even in todays world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday munication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed.Spo

36、ken language reveals more true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised record of speech. And linguists data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regarded as authentic.问题：What is voicing and how is it causedVibration of the voca

37、l cords results in a quality of speech sounds called “voicing, which is a feature of all vowels and some consonants in English.Chapter 3 Morphology 词法形态学1 定义和知识点：the part of the grammar that is concerned with word formation and word structurethe branch of linguistics that studies the internal struct

38、ure of words, and the rules by which words are formed.it is essentially synchronic, primarily concerned with the forms of words through the use of morpheme construct.it overlaps with the other sub-branches as a word is a sound unit that has meaning and syntactic function.four facets:Sounds (phonolog

39、y)Constructions (syntax)Meanings (semantics)Forms of words2 词性分类open class words: 名、动、形、副 are the content words of a language closed class words: 连、介、冠、代 are small and stable since few new words are added3 词素有关 Morpheme:词素构成单词的最小意义单位，包括声音和意义，abstract units(任意性)Morph: 形素 the sound of a morpheme 声音All

40、omorphs: 语素变体The variant forms of a morpheme4 分类morphemes Free morpheme(自由词素): A morpheme which can be a word by itself bound morpheme(粘着词素)：A morpheme that must be attached to another one lexical morphemes/ derivational morphemes(派生词素,包括前后缀): They are used to derive new words, also known as derivat

41、ional morphemes inflectional morphemes(屈折词素)：词类不发生变化5 单词定义：WordA word is a unit of expression which is intuitively recognized by native speakers in both spoken and written language.A word is a basic and minimal units of a language to make sentences, which are binations of words according to syntacti

42、c rules. A word is a lexeme(词位). A lexeme is a word in an abstract sense.A word can be defined as a grammatical unit.6 单词结构：StructureRoot: the root constitutes the core of the word and carries the major ponent of its meaning. Roots belong to lexical category.Stem: it is the form of the word to which

43、 both inflectional and derivational morphemes can be added.Base: 词基Affixes: they are forms that are attached to words or word elements to modify meaning or function. All of them are bound morphemes and dont belong to a lexical category.7 单词合成：Word formationmorphological rulesproductive morphological

44、 rulesderivationpounds 几点注意：When the two words are in the same grammatical category, the pound will be like this: n. + n. / adj. + adj.When the two words fall into different categories: n. + adj. / v. + n. 不总是这样The meaning of a pound is not always the sum of the meanings of its parts.8 单词合成过程：poundi

45、ngaffixation or derivationBlends 混合词Abbreviation 缩略语shortening acronyms 按音节拼读首字母的单词Initials 按字母拼读的单词Clippings 缩写词backformation 逆构词法9 要点Grammatical morphemes are grammatical in nature, functioning as grammatical markers or show syntactic relations.They consist of both inflectional morphemes and some

46、free ones like in, and, do, they, while, where, but and that, which are traditionally known as functional words.Chapter 4 Syntax 句法1 定义It is a branch of linguistics that studies the rules that govern the formation of sentences.2 四大派别traditional syntax 传统学派structural syntax 结构主义学派索绪尔transformational

47、syntax 生成学派乔姆斯基本书重点学习functional syntax 功能学派哈里德3 范畴Categories Noun (N)Verb (V)Major lexical categoriesAdjective (A)Preposition (P)Word-level categoriesDeterminer (Det) 限定词/成分Degree words (Deg) 程度词Minor lexical categories Qualifier (Qual) 修饰语Auxiliary (Aux) 助词Conjunction (Con) 连词Syntactic categories 句

48、法范畴的定义：The fact that words in all human languages can be grouped together into a relatively small number of classes.注：The word-level categories are the most central categories to the syntactic study.Major lexical categories (主要词汇范畴) play a very important role in sentence formation and they are often

49、 assumed to be the heads around which phrases are built.Minor lexical categories (次要词汇范畴) Meaning 意义Three criteria to determine a words category inflection 屈折变化Distribution 分布It is misleading to assume that a words category can be told straightforward from its meaning:nouns do not concretely reveal

50、their entities.some words tend to be verbs but they can also be used as nouns.words with the same or similar meanings sometimes belong to different word categories. Phrases are syntactic units that are built around a certain word category.The phrase is built around the word category.The word categor

51、y determines the category of phrase.4 要点生成学派认为句子由短语构成。短语单词词素音节 短语层面任何短语都有2个层面 单词层面5 the most monly recognized and discussed phrasal categories:NP: noun phraseVP: verb phraseAP: adjective phrasePP: prepositional phrase6 the elements of phrases that are formed of more than one word:head/termed head 中心

52、语/中心成分:The word around which a phrase is formedspecifiers 标志语/标志成分：The words on the left side of the heads plements 补语/补足语/补足成分：The words on the right side of the heads7 phrase structure rule 短语结构规那么定义：A special type of grammatical mechanism that regulates the arrangement of elements that makes up a

53、 phrase.The phrase structure rule for NP, VP, AP, PPNP(Det) N (PP) VP(Qual) V (NP) AP(Deg) A (PP) PP(Deg) P (NP) XP rule公式一：XP (specifier) X (plement)X Theory X 标杆理论X : The intermediate level formed by the head and the plement between word level and phrase level.X Theory: (specifier) X (word) X=X (p

54、lement)Coordination rule (并列规那么)Coordinate structures (并列结构)Coordination (并列，并列关系)Four important properties of coordination：there is no limit on the number of coordinated categories that can appear prior to the conjunction.a category at any level (a head or an entire XP) can be coordinated.coordinat

55、ed categories must be of the same type.the category type of the coordinate phrase is identical to the category type of the elements being conjoined.公式二：XX * Con X 其中“*代表无限的意思8 Phrase elementsSpecifiers have both special semantic and syntactic roles.semantically, they help make more precise the meani

56、ng of the head.syntactically, they typically mark a phrase boundary.In English specifiers occur at the left boundary of their respective phrases.plements are themselves phrase and provide information about entities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the head.plements are atta

57、ched to the right of the head in English.Subcategorization (次范畴化)：中心成分决定补充成分这种现象。中心成分决定补充成分时，决定着是否需要补充成分，需要什么样的补充成分，以及补充成分的位置问题。The XP Rule (revised)公式三：XP(specifier) X (plement*)plementizers (Cs): 补语化成分Words which introduce the sentence plement plement clause: 补语从句The sentence introduced by the ple

58、mentizerplement phrase(CP):补语短语Matrix clause 主句Modifiers 修饰成分，修饰语The Expanded XP rule:公式四：XP(Spec) (Mod) X (plement*) (Mod)9 sentencesThe S rule: SNP VP4种短语1种句子为屈折短语10 transformations 转换规那么Yes-no questionSyntactic movement wh-questionPassive voice Transformation/Inversion倒置定义: a special type of rule

59、 that can move an element from one position to another. Inversion倒置：Move Infl to the left of the subject NPAll Ss occur within larger CPs, whether they are embedded or not.Inversion (revised):Move Infl to CIf we assume that there can be only one element in each position in a tree structure, plementi

60、zers and auxiliaries are mutually exclusive. Trace: 用“e表示Head movement 中心语移位：The movement of a word from the head position in one phrase into the head position in anotherInversion一般疑问句+显性助词Do insertion:Insert interrogative do into an empty Infl position11 Two levels of syntactic structureDeep struct