现代语言学复习资料

PAGEPAGE1Chapter8：Socio-linguisticsDefineorexplainthefollowingterms:Sociolinguistics:Thesubdisciplineoflinguisticsthatstudieslanguagevariationandlanguageuseinsocialcontext.Speechcommunity:Agroupofpeoplewhoformacommunity(whichmayhaveasfewmembersasafamilyorasmanymembersasacountry),andsharethesamelanguageoraparticularvarietyoflanguage.Speechvariety:Alsoknownaslanguagevariety,referstoanydistinguishableformofspeechusedbyaspeakerorgroupofspeakers.Languageplanning:Languagestandardizationisknownaslanguageplanning.Thismeansthatcertainauthorities,suchasthegovernmentorgovernmentagencyofacountry,chooseaparticularspeechvarietyandspreadtheuseofit,includingitspronunciationandspellingsystems,acrossregionalboundaries.Idiolect:Anidiolectisapersonaldialectofanindividualspeakerthatcombinesaspectsofalltheelementsregardingregional,social,andstylisticvariation,inoneformoranother.(Inanarrowersense,whatmakesupone’sidiolectincludesalsosuchfactorsasvoicequality,pitchandspeechrhythm,whichallcontributetotheidentifyingfeaturesinanindividual’sspeech.)Standardlanguage:Asuperposed,sociallyprestigiousdialectoflanguage.Itisthelanguageemployedbythegovernmentandthejudiciarysystem,usedbythemassmedia,andtaughtineducationalinstitutions,includingschoolsettingswherethelanguageistaughtasaforeignorsecondlanguage.Nonstandardlanguage:Languagevarietiesotherthanthestandardarecallednonstandard,orvernacular,languages.Linguafranca:Avarietyoflanguagethatservesasamediumofcommunicationamonggroupsofpeoplefromdiverselinguisticbackgrounds.Thetermlingualfrancacanbegeneralizedtorefertoanyotherlanguageusedasatradeorcommunicationmedium.Thus,anylanguagecanbeit.Pidgin:Amarginalcontactlanguagewithalimitedvocabularyandreducedgrammaticalstructures,usedbynativespeakersofotherlanguagesasameansofbusinesscommunication.Creole:Acreolelanguageisoriginallyapidginthathasbecomeestablishedasanativelanguageinsomespeechcommunity.Whenapidgincomestobeadoptedbyapopulationasitsprimarylanguage,andchildrenlearnitastheirfirstlanguage,thenthepidginlanguageiscalledacreole.Diglossia:AtermfirstintroducedbyFergusonin1959torefertoasociolinguisticsituationinwhichtwoverydifferentvarietiesoflanguageco-existinaspeechcommunity,eachwithadistinctrangeofpurelysocialfunctionandappropriateforcertainsituations.Bilingualism:Bilingualismreferstoalinguisticsituationinwhichtwostandardlanguagesareusedeitherbyanindividualorbyagroupofspeakers,suchastheinhabitantsofaparticularregionoranation.Therearebilingualcommunitiesinwhichtheirmemberscommonlyusetwolanguagesintheirdailylives.Domain使用域:Domainreferstothephenomenonthatmostbilingualcommunitieshaveonethingincommon,thatis,afairlyclearfunctionaldifferentiationofthetwolanguagesinrespectofspeechsituations.Forexample:theHomeDomain,EmploymentDomainetc.Code-switching:Abilingualspeakeroftenusestwolanguagesalternativelyduringaconversationwithanotherbilingualspeaker,aspeechsituationknownascode-switching.Ethnicdialect:Anethniclanguagevarietyisasocialdialectofalanguage,oftencuttingacrossregionaldifferences.Anethnicdialectisspokenmainlybyalessprivilegedpopulationthathasexperiencedsomeformofsocialisolation,suchasracialdiscriminationorsegregation.Socialdialects(orsociolects):Varietiesoflanguageusedbypeoplebelongingtoparticularsocialclasses.Register:Registersarelanguagevarietiesappropriateforuseinparticularspeechsituations,incontrasttolanguagevarietiesthatareassociatedwiththesocialorregionalgroupingoftheircustomaryusers.Forthatreason,registersarealsoknownassituationaldialects.Addressterm:Anaddressterm,oraddressform,referstothewordorwordsusedtoaddresssomebodyinspeechorwriting.Slang:Slangisacasualuseoflanguagethatconsistsofexpressivebutnonstandardvocabulary,typicallyofarbitrary,flashyandoftenephemeralcoinagesandfiguresofspeechcharacterizedbyspontaneityandsometimesbyraciness.Linguistictaboo:Referstoawordorexpressionthatisprohibitedbythe“polite”societyfromgeneraluse.Obscene,profane,orswearwordsarealltaboowordsthataretobeavoidedentirely,oratleastavoidedinmixedcompany.Euphemism:Aeuphemismisamild,indirect,orlessoffensivewordorexpressionsubstitutedwhenthespeakerorwriterfearsmoredirectwordingmightbeharsh,unpleasantlydirect,oroffensive.Forexample,wesay“portly”insteadof“fat”.Inmanycultures,peopleavoidusingdirectwordsthatpertaintodeathordying.Whatarethedistinctionsbetweenbilingualismanddiglossia?Bilingualismreferstoalinguisticsituationinwhichtwostandardlanguagesareusedinaspeechcommunity;whereasinadiglossiccommunity,twovarietiesoflanguageareusedfordifferentsituations,onebeingmorestandardandhigher,andusedformoreformalmatters,andtheotherlessprestigious,andusedforcolloquialsituations.DiscusswithexamplessomeofthelinguisticdifferencesbetweenStandardEnglishandBlackEnglish.(featuresofBlackEnglish)OneofthemostprominentphonologicalcharacteristicsofBlackEnglishisthefrequentsimplificationofconsonantclustersattheendofwordswhenoneofthetwoconsonantsisanalveolar/t/,/d/,/s/,or/z/.Theapplicationofthissimplificationrulemaydeletethepast-tensemorpheme,so“past“and“passed“arebothpronouncedlike“pass.”AnothersalientcharacteristicofBlackEnglishphonologicalsystemconcernsthedeletionofsomeword-finalstopconsonantsinwordslike“side”and“borrowed.”SpeakersofBlackEnglishfrequentlydeletetheseword-finalstops,pronouncing“side”like“sigh”and“borrowed”like“borrow.”Oneprominentsyntacticfeatureisthefrequentabsenceofvariousformsofthecopula“be”inBlackEnglish,whicharerequiredofStandardEnglish.ComparethefollowingexpressionsinBlackEnglishandStandardEnglish:(1)BlackEnglishStandardEnglishTheymine.They’remine.Youcrazy.Yourecrazy.AnotherdistinctivesyntacticfeatureofBlackEnglishisthesystematicuseoftheexpression“itis”whereStandardEnglishuses“thereis”inthesenseof“thereexists”:IsitaMr.Johnsoninthisoffice?AnotheraspectofBlackEnglishistheuseofdoublenegationconstructions.Whenevertheverbisnegated,theindefinitepronouns“something”,“somebody”,and“some”becomethenegativeindefinites“nothing”,“nobody”,and“none”,forexample:Hedon’tknownothing.(Hedoesn’tknowanything.)Listseveralwaysinwhichthespeechofwomenandthespeechofmendifferfromeachother.(理解)Womentendtousemoreprestigiousforms,morepoliteandindirectlanguage,andmorespecificcolortermsthantheirmalecounterparts.Femalesarefoundtousemorequestionsthandeclarativestatementsincomparisonwithmales.展开：1)Innormalsituations,femalespeakerstendtousemoreprestigiousformsthantheirmalecounterpartswiththesamegeneralsocialbackground.Forexample,standardEnglishformssuchas“Ididit”and“heisn’t”canbefoundmoreofteninthespeechoffemales,whilethemorecolloquial“Idoneit”and“heain’t”occurmorefrequentlyinthespeechofmales.2)Anotherfeatureoftenassociatedwithso-calledwomen’slanguageispoliteness.Usually,toughandroughspeecheshaveconnotationsofmasculinityandarenotconsideredtobedesirablefemininequalities.Ingeneral,men’slanguageismorestraightforward,lesspolite,andmoredirect,andwomen’slanguageismoreindirect,lessblunt,andmorecircumlocutory.3)Thisphenomenonofsex-preferentialdifferentiationisalsoreflectedintherelativefrequencywithwhichmalesandfemalesusethesamelexicalitems.Forexample,certainwordsthatarecloselyassociatedwithwomenmaysoundtypicallyfeminineasaresultofthatassociation.Forexample,someEnglishadjectiveslike“lovely”,”nice”,”darling”and“cute”occurmoreofteninfemalespeechesandthereforecausefeminineassociation.4)Femaleshavealsobeenshowntopossessagreatervarietyofspecificcolortermsthanmales,inspiteofthefactthatmendonotnecessarilypossesslessacutecolorperceptionthanwomen.Ontheotherhand,maleshavethereputationofpossessingalargervocabularyintraditionallymale-dominateddomainssuchassports,huntingandthemilitary.5)Sex-preferentialdifferentiationisalsoseeninthespeechactsofmalesandfemales.ArequestinEnglishsuchas“Closethedoorwhenyouleave”canbephrasedinanumberofwaysrangingfromaharshcommandtoaverypoliterequest:a.Closethedoorwhenyouleave.b.Pleaseclosethedoorwhenyouleave.c.Wouldyoupleaseclosethedoorwhenyouleave?d.Couldyouclosethedoorwhenyouleave?Althoughtheaboveoptionsareallavailabletobothmenandwomen,itisusuallythemorepoliteformsthatareselectedbyfemalespeakers.Ingeneral,femalesarefoundtousemorequestionsthandeclarativestatementsincomparisonwithmales.Thefollowingwordsareconsideredinstances（实例）ofsexistlanguage.Findalternativestothesemasculine-markedwords:businessman→businessexecutivecleaningwoman→housekeeperforefather→ancestorhousewife→homemakerkinsman→relativelayman→nonspecialistspokesman→speaker,representativestatesman→leaderstewardess→flightattendantworkmanship→skilledjob,qualityjobmankind→peoplemanpower→personnelmothering→nurturingchairman→chair/moderatormailman→postalworker/lettercarrierfireman→firefighterpoliceman→policesafetyofficersalesman→salesrepresentativedustman→sanitationengineertoman(v.)→tooperateAformalremarkmayhavebasicallythesamecontentasaninformalone,butnotnecessarilythesamesocialmeaning.Writetwodirectivesandtwostatementswiththesamecontentbutintwodifferentregisterforms,eachappropriateforaparticularcontext.Directives:Formal:Kindlyextinguish（熄灭）theillumination（照明）uponexiting.Lessformal:Pleaseturnoffthelightsonyourwayout.Statements:Formal:Weregret（遗憾）toinform（通知）youthatpermissionisnotgranted（准予）.Lessformal:Wearesorrytotellyouthatyoudon’thaveourpermission.Changethefollowinginformalstatementsforformalsituations:1)Thedelegatesweresavvy（知道，了解）ofthefactthatthedocumenttheyweresigningwasn’tperfect.Thedelegatesunderstoodthatthedocumenttheyweresigningwasnotperfect.2)Thecandidateslammed（猛力抨击）heropponentforoftenchanginghistuneontheissues.Thecandidatecriticizedheropponentforoftenchanginghisviewsontheissues.3)Stickleyfurnituremaynotberealsmooth,butit’spricey（昂贵的）andfresh（新颖的）.Stickleyfurnituremaynotbeverycomfortable,butitisexpensiveandfashionable.ThenegativeeffectsofslangAlthoughslangisoftenveryvividandexpressiveandalmosteveryoneusesitonsomeoccasions,thetermslanghastraditionallycarriedanegativeconnotation:itisoftenperceivedasaloworvulgarformoflanguageandisdeemedtobeundesirableinformalstylesoflanguage.Slangissometimesreferredtoasvernacular,andsomeformsofslangfallunderthetermcolloquialism,referringtoinformalconversationstylesoflanguage.Thesetermsdonotcarrynegativeconnotations.Whateffectdoesithaveonouruseoflanguage?Insociolinguistics,alinguistictaboo,denotesanyprohibitionontheuseofparticularlexicalitemstorefertoobjectsoracts.Aslanguageuseiscontextualizedinparticularsocialsettings,linguistictaboooriginatesfromsocialtaboo.(Whenanactistaboo,referencetothisactmayalsobecometaboo.Taboowordsandexpressionsreflecttheparticularsocialcustomsandviewsofaparticularculture.)Aslinguistictabooreflectssocialtaboo,certainwordsaremorelikelytobeavoided.Forexample,thewordsrelatedtosex,sexorgansandexcrement排泄物inmanycultures.Theavoidanceofusingtaboolanguagemirrorssocialattitudes,emotionsandvaluejudgments,andhasnolinguisticbasis.TheeffectoftheeuphemismAlthoughtheuseofeuphemismshastheeffectofremovingderogatory贬损overtones暗示,thedisassociativeeffectisneverlong-lasting.Euphemismsmayhaveashortlife-span,buttheuseofeuphemismsasawayofdisassociatingthedenotativemeaningofawordwithitsnegativeconnotationiseffective,atleasttospeakersofcertainsocialgroups.However,anexcessiveuseofeuphemismmayhavenegativeeffects.Asamatteroffact,manyeuphemismshavebecomecliches陈腔滥调thataretobeavoidedinformalspeechandwriting.Theyalsotendtobewordyandtogivewritingatimidquality.Inaddition,euphemismcanbeevasiveorevendeceitful.Becausetheyareoftenimproperlyusedtoobscuretheintendedmeaning,manypeoplefindthemoffensiveandpreferplainlanguage.Excessiveuseofeuphemismmayhavenegativeeffects.Rewriteeachofthefollowingsentencestoeliminateeuphemisticexpressions:1)Theemployeeswhohadbeennotifiedofaninterruptionintheiremploymentwerereferredtotheiroutplacementmanager.Thelaid-off（被解雇的）employeesweretoldtospeaktothepersonwhowouldtrytohelpthemfindnewjobs.2)Theofficialacknowledgedthathehadmisspokenwhenhesaidthetroopshadnotengagedinanyprotective-reactionmissions.Theofficialadmittedthathehadliedwhenheclaimedthetroopshadnotengagedinanyoffensive（攻击性）missions.3)Theprisoner’slifewillbeterminatedatdawn.Theprisonerwillbeexecuted（处死，执行）atdawn.4)Thenon-essentialpersonnelinthisdivisionwillbevacationedbynextweek.Theunnecessarypeopleinthisdivisionwillbelaidoffbynextweek.5)Reachingthetopoftheladderofsuccessmustbeamovingexperience.Beingsuccessfulmustbeapleasantexperience.6)Iwastoldthathedidawaywithhimself.Iwastoldthathehadcommittedsuicide.7)He’llbeaccountabledespitehisdiabolical（恶魔的）skill.He’llbeaccountabledespitehisimpressiveskill.8)Itisawidespreadbutunprovenhypothesisthattheparametersofsignificantpersonalchangeforpersonsinmid-lifeareextremelynarrow.Itisawidelyheldmyththatmiddle-agedpeoplecan’tchange.9)Ipurchasedaresidentialpropertythatwasinneedofsubstantialupgrading.Iboughtahouseinneedofrepair.Chapter9：PsychologicalLinguisticsDefineorexplainthefollowingterms:Psycholinguistics:Thestudyoflanguageinrelationtothemind.Itisviewedastheintersectionofpsychologyandlinguistics,drawingequallyuponthelanguageweacquire,produceandcomprehend,andthemindorbraininwhichourlinguisticandcognitivefacultiesarelocalizedandorganized,andinteractwitheachotherinparticularways.Neurons:Lyingundertheskull,thehumanbraincontainsanaverageoftenbillionnervecellscalledneurons.Cerebralcortex:Theoutsidesurfaceofthebrain,itisthedecision-makingorganofthebody,whichreceivesmessagesfromallthesensoryorgansandinitiatingallvoluntaryactions.Hemisphere:Thebrainisdividedintotworoughlysymmetricalhalves,calledhemispheres,oneontherightandoneontheleft.Brainlateralization:Thelocalizationofcognitiveandperceptualfunctionsinaparticularhemisphereofthebrain.Linguisticlateralization:Itisthebrain’sneurologicalspecializationforlanguage.Linguisticlateralizationintermsoflefthemisphericdominanceforlanguageisfoundtoexistinanoverwhelmingmajorityofhumanbeings.Dichoticlisteningtest:Itinvolvessimultaneouslypresenting,throughearphones,twodifferentauditorysignals,onetotherightearandtheothertotheleftear.Thetesttellsustheexistenceoftherightearadvantage.Rightearadvantage:Sincethespeechsignalsinthelefteartakesanon-directrouteandalongertimebeforeprocessingthanalinguisticsignalreceivedthroughtherightear,linguisticstimuliheardinthelefteararereportedlessaccuratelythanthoseheardintherightear.Thisphenomenoniscalledtherightearadvantage.Thelanguagecenters:Theyarespecificareasthatareresponsibleforlanguagewithinthebrain.Inadditiontothemotorareawhichisresponsibleforphysicalarticulationofutterances,threeareasofthelefthemispherearevitaltolanguage,namely,Broca’sarea,Wernicke’sareaandtheangulargyrus.Broca’sarea:Itreferstothefrontallobeintheleftcerebralhemisphere,whichisvitaltolanguage.ThisareaisdiscoveredbyPaulBroca,aFrenchsurgeonandanatomist.Wernicke’sarea:Itreferstothedifferentareaoftheleftcerebralhemisphere.ThisareaisdiscoveredbyCarlWernicke,aGermanphysician.Angulargyrus:TheangulargyrusliesbehindWernicke’sarea.Theangulargyrusisthelanguagecenterresponsibleforconvertingavisualstimulusintoanauditoryformandviceversa.Thisareaiscrucialforthematchingofaspokenformwithaperceivedobject,forthenamingofobjects,andforthecomprehensionofwrittenlanguage,allofwhichrequireconnectionsbetweenvisualandspeechregions.Thecriticalperiodhypothesis:Itreferstoaperiodinone’slifeextendingfromaboutagetwotopuberty,duringwhichthehumanbrainismostreadytoacquireaparticularlanguageandlanguagelearningcanproceedeasily,swiftly,andwithoutexplicitinstruction.Cerebralplasticity:AccordingtoLenneberg,priortotheendofthecriticalperiod,bothhemispheresareinvolvedtosomeextentinlanguageandonecantakeoveriftheotherisdamaged.Thisneurologicalflexibilityiscalledcerebralplasticity.Genie’scase:Thelanguagefacultyofanaveragehumandegeneratesafterthecriticalperiodandconsequently,mostlinguisticskillscannotdevelop.TheSapir-Whorfhypothesis(linguisticdeterminism):AtheoryputforwardbytheAmericananthropologicallinguistsSapirandhisstudentWhorfwhichstatesthatthewaypeopleviewtheworldisdeterminedwhollyorpartlybythestructureoftheirnativelanguage.Linguisticrelativism:Whorfbelievedthatspeakersofdifferentlanguagesperceiveandexperiencetheworlddifferently,thatisrelativetotheirlinguisticbackground,hencethenotionoflinguisticrelativism.Interpersonalcommunication:Itmeanslanguageusersuselanguagetoconveyinformation,thoughtsandfeelingsfromonepersontoanother,ortocontroleachother’sbehavior.Intrapersonalcommunication:theprocessofusinglanguagewithintheindividualtofacilitateone’sownthoughtandaidtheformulationandmanipulationofconcepts.Subvocalspeech:Atermusedtorefertothoughtwhenthoughtandlanguageareidenticalorcloselyparalleltoeachother.Overtthought:Atermusedtorefertospeechwhenlanguageandthoughtareidenticalorcloselyparalleltoeachother,wemayregardspeechas“overtthought.”Whatarethebiologicalfoundationsoflanguage?Ofallorganisms,humanbeingsaretheonlyspontaneouscreatorsandusersofhighlysophisticatedlanguagesthatpermitthecommunicationofawiderangeofknowledgeandideas.Evidently,ourlinguisticabilitydoesnotdependprimarilyonthestructureofourvocalcords,forothermammalsalsohavevocalcords.Humanlinguisticabilitylargelydepends,instead,onthestructureanddynamicsofthehumanbrain.Asfarasiscurrentlyknown,humanbeingsaretheonlyorganismsinwhichoneparticularpartofthelefthalfofthebrainislargerthanthecorrespondingpartoftherighthalf.Thishasledtothebeliefthathumanlanguageisbiologically,ormoreexactly,neurologically,based.Whatarethemajormentalfunctionsunderthecontrolofeachhemisphere?Psychologicalresearchsuggeststhatbothhemispheresperformimportantmentalfunctionsandtheydifferonlyinthemannerinwhichtheytreatincomingstimuli.Forexample,therighthemisphereprocessesstimulimoreholistically全面地andthelefthemispheremoreanalytically分析地.Brainlateralizationformajormentalfunctionsunderthecontrolofeachhemisphereisgivenasfollows:(1)LefthemisphereRighthemispherelanguageandspeechperceptionofnonlinguisticsoundsanalyticreasoningholisticreasoningtemporalorderingvisualandspatialskillsreadingandwritingrecognitionofpatternscalculationrecognitionofmusicalmelodiesassociativethoughtBecauseeachcerebralhemispherehasuniquefunctionalsuperiority,itseemsinappropriatetorefertothelanguage-domiantlefthemisphereasthemajorone.Itismoreaccuratetoconceiveofthehemispheresascomplementarilyspecialized.Describeoneresearchtechniquethathasprovidedlinguistswithinformationaboutthelocalizationofspeechandlanguageinthebrain.Aresearchtechniqueknownasthe“dichoticlistening”hasbeenusedtostudyhowthebraincontrolshearingandlanguage.Whenperformingadichoticlisteningtask,subjectswearearphonesandsimultaneouslyreceivedifferentsoundsintherightandleftear,andareaskedtorepeatwhattheyhear.Dichoticlisteningresearchmakesuseofthegenerallyestablishedfactthatanythingexperiencedontheright-handsideofthebodyisprocessedinthelefthemisphereofthebrain,andviceversa.Duringdichoticlisteningexperiments,subjectsreportedhearingthelanguagespokentotheirrightearspriortothelanguagespokentotheirleftears.Theresultsprovideempiricalsupportforthebeliefthatthelefthemisphereofthebrainisdominantforlanguageandspeech.Manyleft-handedpeoplehavetheirlanguagecentersintherighthemisphereofthebrain.Whattypeofresultwouldweexpecttoobtainfromsuchpeopleonadichoticlisteningtask?Sincetheleft-handedsubjectshavelanguagecentersresidentintheirrighthemisphereofthebrain,theywouldheartheauditorysignalgiventotheleftearfirst.Thisisbecauseittakesashortertimeforthesignaltogodirectlyfromthelefteartotherightsideofthebrainthanitdoesforthesignalspokentotherighteartotravelfirsttothelefthemisphereandthenontotherighthemisphereforprocessing.Describetheprocessesoflanguageperception,comprehensionandproduction.Fromtheperspectiveofpsycholinguisticanalysis,languageuseintermsofperception,comprehensionandproductionfollowsacertainpatternwhichinvolvesthecoordinationofvariouslanguagecenters.Forexample,whenwespeak,wordsaredrawnfromWernicke’sareaandtransferredtoBroca’sarea,whichdeterminesthedetailsoftheirformandpronunciation.Theappropriateinstructionsarethensenttothemotorareawhichcontrolsthevocaltract(声道)tophysicallyarticulatethewords.Whenwehearsomethingandtrytocomprehendit,thestimulusfromtheauditorycortexistransmittedtoWernicke’sarea,whereitistheninterpreted.Whenweperceiveavisualimage,amessageissenttotheangulargyrus,whereitisconvertedintoavisualpattern.Whenaskedtoreadalistofwords,someaphasicpatientssubstituteotherwordsforthoseprintedonthelist.Oftenthesubstitutedwordsaresimilarorrelatedtotheprintedwords,asisshownbythedatagivenbelow.Whatdoesthedatarevealabouthowwordsarelikelytobestoredinthebrain?PrintedWordsWordsUtteredbyAphasicsabroadoverseasdecidedecisionlibertyfreedomremembermemorytalllongEvidently,whatisactuallystoredinthebrainismeaninginsteadofform,andcategorical（直截了当的）informationinsteadofdiscrete（离散的）information.Whyisthereconsiderablecerebralplasticityinthebrainsofyoungchildren?First,itisclaimedthatpreadolescentchildrensufferingdamagetothelefthemisphereareabletotransfertheirlanguagecenterstotherightbrainandtoreacquirethelostlinguisticskillswithrelativelylittledisruption.Second,youngchildrenareknowntobeexcellentsecondlanguagelearners,whiletheirparentsoftenhavetostrugglewithanewlanguageforyearswithoutfullymasteringit.Thus,ifachilddoesnotacquirelanguageduringthecriticalperiod,foranyoneofanumberofreasons,suchasadeprivationoflinguisticenvironment,heorsheisunlikelytolearnalanguagesuccessfullylateron.Provideevidencefortheviewthatthereisacriticalperiodforlanguageacquisition.Thecriticalperiodforlanguageacquisitioncoincideswiththetimeduringwhichthebrain’shemisphericlateralizationforlanguageandothercognitiveskillstakesplace.Itisbelievedthattheendofthecriticalperiodcorrespondstothecompletionofthislateralizationprocess.Evidenceinsupportofthecriticalperiodhypothesiscomesfromthefactthatchildrenacquiringtheirfirstlanguagebeyondthecriticalagearehardlysuccessful,suchasthecaseof“Genie.”Aphasicstudiesalsoseemtosupportthecriticalperiodhypothesis:itisreportedthatpreadolescentchildrensufferingdamagetothelefthemisphereareabletotransfertheirlanguagecenterstotherighthemisphereandreacquirethelostlinguisticskills.Furthersupportingevidencecomesfromstudiesinthefieldofsecondlanguageacquisition:adultsexperiencemuchgreaterdifficultyinlearningasecondorforeignlanguage,incontrasttoyoungchildren,whoareknowntobeexcellentsecondlanguagelearners.AccordingtothestrongversionoftheSapir-Whorfhypothesis,languagedeterminesspeakers’perceptionsandpatternstheirwayoflife.Howinyourviewdoeslanguagerelatetothoughtandculture?Languagedoesnotsomuchdeterminethewaythespeakerperceivestheworldasitfunctionsasameansbywhichinformationcanbestoredandretrieved,bywhichaculturetransmitsitsbelief,valuesandnorms,andbywhichthespeakerinteractswithothermembersoftheculture.Howarelanguageandthoughtrelatedtoeachother?Languageandthoughtmaybeviewedastwoindependentcirclesoverlappinginsomeparts,wherelanguageandthoughtareconsistentwitheachotherandoneneveroccurswithouttheother.Whenlanguageandthoughtareidenticalorcloselyparalleltoeachother,wemayregardthoughtas“subvocalspeech”,andspeechas“overtthought.Insuchacase,speakingandthinkingtakeplacesimultaneously.Chapter10：LanguageAcquisitionDefineorexplain