语言学-名词解释

Languageisascientificsystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.Minimalpairsarethewordformswhichdifferfromeachotheronlybyonesound.Inotherwords,whentwodifferentformsreidenticalineverywayexceptforonesoundsegmentthatoccursinthesameplaceinthestring;thetwowordsarecalledminimalpairs.Amorphemeisthesmallestlinguisticunitthatcarriesgrammaticaland/orsemanticmeaning.IPA:Aphonetictranscriptionisaneconomicalmeansforcapturingsoundsonpaper,thatis,amethodofwritingdownspeechsoundsinasystematicandconsistentway.Thebest-knownsystem,theInternationalPhoneticAlphabet(IPA),hasbeendevelopingsince1888.SLA:secondlanguageacquisitiontorefertotheprocessofacquiringorlearninganadditionallanguageafterthelearnerhasacquiredhisorhermothertongue.Linguisticsisthescienceoflanguageforallhumansocieties,andisdefinedasthesystematicstudyoflanguage.Diachronicstudy:thedescriptionofthehistoricaldevelopmentofalanguage.Linguisticstudyinthe19thcenturywasprimarilyconcernedwiththediachronicdescription.Synchronicstudy:thedescriptionofaparticularstateofalanguageatasinglepointoftime.Thepriorityofsynchronicdescriptionisacharacteristicofmosttwentieth-centurylinguistictheories.Syntagmaticrelation:therelationsbetweenunitswhichcombinetoformsequencesParadigmaticrelation:oppositionswhichproducedistinctandalternativetermsCompetencereferstotheknowledgethatnativespeakershaveoftheirlanguageassystemofabstractformalrelations.Thatistheideallanguageuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage.Performancereferstowhatwedowhenwespeakorlisten,thatis,theactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinutterances.Acorpusreferstoacollectionoflinguisticdata,eithercomplicatedaswrittentextsorasatranscriptionofrecordedspeech.Aphonetictranscriptionisaneconomicalmeansforcapturingsoundsonpaper,thatis,amethodofwritingdownspeechsoundsinasystematicandconsistentway.Phonemeistheminimumphonemicunitthatisnotfurtheranalyzableintosmallerunits.Itisthebasicunitinphonologicalanalysis.Soundpatternsrefertothesetofsoundsthatoccurinagivenlanguage,thepermissiblearrangementsofthesesoundsinwords,andtheprocessesforadding,deleting,orchangingsounds.Stressisthepronunciationofawordorsyllablewithmoreforcethanthesurroundingwordsorsyllables.Pitchisasuprasegmentalqualitywhichextendsoverindividualsegmentsandlongerstretchesofspeech.Inflectionreferstotheprocessofaddinganaffixtoawordorchangingitinsomeotherwayaccordingtotherulesofthegrammarofalanguage.Proverbsarenormallyintheformofasentence.Aproverbisoftenashortsentencethatpeopleoftenquoteandusetogiveadviceandstatesomegeneralhumanlifeexperienceandproblem.Synonymy:wordsorexpressionswiththesameorsimilarmeaningaresaidtobesynonymy.Homonymyreferstocaseswherelexemeswiththesamephonologicalormorphologicalshapehavedifferentmeanings.aspeechact:Anactionperformedbytheuseofanutterancetocommunicateiscalledaspeechact.Dialectreferstoanyregional,socialorethnicvarietyofalanguage.Registerreferstothefunctionalvarietyoflanguagethatisdefinedaccordingtoitsuseincontext.Registersvaryaccordingtothethreeparametersofcontext:field,tenorandmode(Halliday,1978).Languageplanningreferstoadeliberateattempt,usuallyatthelevelofthestateorgovernmentadministration,toaffectlanguageuseinordertopreventortosolvesomeproblemsofcommunication.Hyponymyisusedtorefertoaspecific—generalsemanticrelationshipbetweenlexicalitems.Whatisthescopeoflinguistics?Answer:therearesixbranchesoflinguistics.1)Phoneticsisthestudyofhumanspeechsounds.2)Phonologyisthestudyofsoundpatterning.3)Morphologyisthestudyoftheinternalstructuresoftheformofwords.4)Syntaxisthestudyofsentencestructure.5)Semanticsisthestudyofmeaning.6)Pragmaticsstudieshowspeakersuselanguageinwayswhichcannotbepredictedfromlinguisticknowledgealone.WhatarethedifferencesbetweenLangueandParole?PleaseanalysisthedistinctionsofLangueandParole.Answer:ThisdistinctionisproposedbySaussureinhisCourseinGeneralLinguistics.Langue:theabstractsystem;acollectivebodyofknowledge;akindofcommonreferencemanual;acquiredbyallmembersofacommunityofspeakers;relativelystableandsystematic.Parole:theparticularactualitiesofindividualutterance;thecontingentexecutivesideofthings;therelativelysuperficialbehavioralreflexesofknowledge;theuseoflanguageinutterances;subjecttopersonalorsituationalconstraints.PleasedescribethethreekindsofOriginofLanguage?Answer:1)Creation(DevineOrigin)Almosteveryreligionhasstoriesabouthowmanreceivedlanguagefromgod.Thedivineorigintheoristsproposethatinthebeginningtherewasonelanguagefromonesource,whichlaterbecamecorruptedintomanylanguages.2)Evolution:Menevolvedfromlowerformsoflife;language,too,evolved.3)Invention:Theinventiontheorybelievesthatthereisanaturalconnectionbetweentheformsoflanguageandtheessenceofthings.Pleasedescribethesemanticrelationsbriefly.Answer:(1)synonymyandantonymy:Wordsorexpressionswiththesameorsimilarmeaningaresaidtobesynonymous.Antonymyistherelationshipofoppositenessofmeaning.(2)meronymyandhyponymy:Meronymyisatermusedtodescribeapart-wholerelationshipbetweenlexicalitems.Hyponymyisusedtorefertoaspecific—generalsemanticrelationshipbetweenlexicalitems.(3)polysemyandhomonymy:Whenasinglelexemehasseveralmeanings,itiscalledpolysemic.Homonymyreferstocaseswherelexemeswiththesamephonologicalormorphologicalshapehavedifferentmeanings.In1967,linguistGriceproposedthetermofthecooperativeprincipleanditsmaxims.Thenpleasedescribethecooperativeprincipleanditsmaxims.Answer:Accordingtocooperativeprinciple,theparticipantsinaconversationnormallycommunicateinamaximallyefficient,rationalandcooperativeway.Theyshouldspeaksincerely,relevantlyandclearly,whileprovidingsufficientinformation.Fourmaxims:(1)ThemaximofqualityTrytomakeyourcontributiononethatistrue,especially:(i)donotsaywhatyoubelievetobefalseand(ii)donotsaythatforwhichyoulackadequateevidence.(2)Themaximofquantity.Makeyourcontributionasinformativeasisrequiredforthecurrentpurposesoftheexchangeand(ii)donotmakeyourcontributionmoreinformativethanisrequired.(3)Themaximofrelevance.Makeyourcontributionrelevant.(4)Themaximofmanner.Beperspicuous,andspecifically:(i)Avoidobscurityofexpression;(ii)Avoidambiguity;(iii)Bebrief(avoidunnecessaryprolixity)and(iv)Beorderly.Whatarethemajordifferencesbetweenacquisitionandlanguagelearning?Acquisitioniscalledasthespontaneousinternalizationofrulesandformulas.Firstlanguageacquisitionisalsocalledmothertongueacquisition.Acquisitiontakesplaceinthespeechcommunitywhereone’sfirstlanguageorsecondlanguageisspoken.Itisoftennatural,withoutmuchfocusonform.ThelearningofEnglishbyspeakersofotherlanguagesintheUnitedStatesisanexampleofsecondlanguageacquisition.Foreignlanguagelearningisusuallytakesplaceinthespeechcommunitywhereone’sfirstlanguageisspoken.Itisaconsciousprocessthroughformalschool-likesettingsandrequirestimeforprocessing,forexample,thelearningofEnglishinChina.Isthelanguagearbitrary?Pleaseanalyzetheconceptofarbitrariness.Answer:LanguageisArbitrarySaussureregardsthelinguisticsignasatwo-sidedpsychologicalentity.Conceptandsound-imagearereplacedbysignified所指andsignifier能指respectively.Arbitrarinessistheresultoftheneedtoexpressandcodeawiderangeofmeanings.Thespeakerofalanguage,basedupontheconventionestablishedinthespeechcommunity,associateslinguisticsignswiththingsandconcepts.Forexample,thereisnoconnectionbetweenthewordtreeandtheplantitsignifies.ItcanequallybecalledshuinChineseandarbreinFrench.Whatisregister?Andpleasedescribeitsthreeparameters.Answer:Registerreferstothefunctionalvarietyoflanguagethatisdefinedaccordingtoitsuseincontext.Registersvaryaccordingtothethreeparametersofcontext:field,tenorandmode.Fieldreferstothesocialaction.Itinvolveswhatishappening,thenatureofthesocialactionthatistakingplaceandwhattheparticipantsareengagedin.Fieldisthelinguisticreflectionoftheroleofthelanguageusewithadefinitepurposeinthesituationinwhichatexthasoccurred.Tenorreferstherolestructure.Itinvolves:whoistakingpart,thenatureoftheparticipants,theirstatusandroles,andthetypeofrolerelationshipbetweentheparticipants.Modereferstothelinguisticchannelandtherhetoricalmode.Modereflectstherelationshipofthelanguageusetothemediumoftransmission.(Halliday,1978)WhatarethePolitenessPrincipleanditsmaxims?Answer:Leech(1983:132)developsthefacetheoryfurtherandformulatesthepolitenessprinciple.Tactmaxim：Minimizecosttoother;MaximizecostofselfGenerositymaxim：Minimizebenefittoself;MaximizepraiseofotherApprobationmaxim：Minimizedispraiseofother;MaximizedispraiseofselfModestymaxim：Minimizedisagreementbetweenselfandother;MaximizesympathybetweenselfandotherAgreementmaxim：Minimizedisagreementbetweenselfandother;MaximizeagreementbetweenselfandotherSympathymaxim:Minimizeantipathybetweenselfandother;Maximizesympathybetweenselfandother.PleaseanalyzethedistinctionsbetweenFreeandboundmorphemes.Answer:Ifamorphemecanconstituteaword(freeform)byitself,itiscalledafreemorpheme,likeroom,bottle,stand,large.Ifamorphemehasmeaningonlywhenconnectedwithatleastanothermorpheme,itisbound,likeun-inunlucky,andtheplural-sinbags.Aboundmorphemeisalsocalledanaffixinthesensethatitisalwaysaddedtoanothermorpheme.Affixescanbefurtherdividedintoprefixes,suffixesandinfixes.e.g.dis-indisorder;mini-inminibus;en-inensure;-ful,inuseful;-lessincareless;-e-inmenandwomen;-i-inmiceandlice;-ee-infeetandteeth.Specifically,whatdotheinflectionalmorphemesincludeinmodernEnglish,andwhatdotheseinflectionalmorphemesindicate?Answer:InflectionalmorphemesincludeinmodernEnglishindicatecaseandnumberofnouns,tenseandaspectofverbs,anddegreeofadjectivesandadverbs.Specially,modernEnglishinflectionalmorphemesinclude:-’s,indicatingthepossessivecaseofnouns;-(e)s,indicatingthepluralformofnoun;-(e)s,indicatingthesimplepresenttenseofverbssgreeingwithathirdpersonsigularsubject;-ed,indicationgthepasttenseofverbs;-ing,indicatingtheprogressiveaspectofverbs;-er,indicatingthecomparativedegreeofadjectivesandadverbs;-est,indicatingthesuperlativedegreeofadjectivesandadverbs.PleaseexplaintheNatureofLanguageasclearlyasyoucan.Answer:Thenatureoflanguagehas6characteristics:LanguageisSystematic;2)LanguageisSymbolic;3)LanguageisArbitrary;4)Languageisprimarilyvocal;5)LanguageisHumanSpecific;6)LanguageisUsedforCommunication.WhatarethemajordifferencesbetweenSpeechandWriting?Answer:Linguistsregardthespokenlanguagesasprimary,notthewritten.1)Speechispriortowritinghistorically.2)Genetically,childrenalwayslearntospeakbeforetheylearntowrite.Thisisnottodenytheimportanceofwriting:1)Withwriting,messagescanbecarriedthroughspace.2)Withwriting,messagescanbecarriedthroughtime.3)Oralmessagesaresubjecttomisunderstandingdistortion.Everythingconsidered,speechisbelievedtobemorerepresentativeofhumanlanguagethanwriting.Writtenlanguagehasalifeofitsown.Speechhastherestrictionofbothtimeandspace.WhatarethemajordifferencesbetweenCompetenceandPerformance?Answer:ThisdistinctionwasproposedbyAmericanlinguistChomskyinthe1950s.Competencereferstotheknowledgethatnativespeakershaveoftheirlanguageassystemofabstractformalrelations.Thatistheideallanguageuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage.Performancereferstowhatwedowhenwespeakorlisten,thatis,theactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinutterances.Aspeaker’scompetenceisstablebuthisperformanceisofteninfluencedbypsychologicalandsocialfactors.Whatmaylanguagevarietiesinclude?Describethemclearly.Answer:Languagevarietiesmayincludelinguafranca,pidgin,andcreole.Linguafranca通用语 thegeneraltermthatservesasameansofcommunicationbetweendifferentgroupsofspeakers.ItcanbeinternationallyusedlanguagelikeEnglish,orthemothertongueofoneofthegroups.Pidgin洋泾浜 acontactlanguagethatarisesinsituationswherespeakersofdifferentlanguagescannotunderstandeachother’sfirstlanguageornativelanguageand,thus,needtodevelopacommonmeansofcommunication.Linguistically,pidginsarecharacterizedbyalimitedvocabulary,agreateruseofparaphraseandmetaphor,asimplifiedphonologicalsystem,andareducedmorphologyandsyntax.Creole克里奥尔语 creolesareformerpidginswhosefunctionalandgrammaticallimitationsandsimplificationhavebeeneliminatedandwhichnowfunctionasfull-fledged,standardizednativelanguages.Whatisdialectanditssubdivisionsofalanguage?Answer:Dialectreferstoanyregional,socialorethnicvarietyofalanguage.Alllanguagesspokenbymorethanonesmallhomogeneouscommunityarefoundtoconsistoftwoormoredialects.Dialectsaresubdivisionsofalanguage.RegionalDialects---thelanguagevarietyusedinageographicalregion.Whenpeopleareseparatedfromeachothergeographically,dialectaldiversitydevelops.SocialDialects---isusedtodescribedifferencesinspeechassociatedwithvarioussocialgroupsorclasses.Whereasregionaldialectsaregeographicallybased,socialdialectsoriginateamongsocialgroupsandarerelatedtoavarietyoffactors.Socialdialectcouldbefurtherdistinguishedbygender,age,ethnicgroup,religion,andclass.StandardDialect---referstoaspecialvarietyoflanguagethathasnoconnectionwithaparticularregionorsocialclass.Whatareregisterandthethreeparameters?Answer:Registerreferstothefunctionalvarietyoflanguagethatisdefinedaccordingtoitsuseincontext.Registersvaryaccordingtothethreeparametersofcontext:field,tenorandmode(Halliday,1978).Fieldreferstothesocialaction.Itinvolveswhatishappening,thenatureofthesocialactionthatistakingplaceandwhattheparticipantsareengagedin.Fieldisthelinguisticreflectionoftheroleofthelanguageusewithadefinitepurposeinthesituationinwhichatexthasoccurred.Tenorreferstherolestructure.Itinvolves:whoistakingpart,thenatureoftheparticipants,theirstatusandroles,andthetypeofrolerelationshipbetweentheparticipants.Modereferstothelinguisticchannelandtherhetoricalmode.Modereflectstherelationshipofthelanguageusetothemediumoftransmission.WhataretheLeech’sSevenTypesofMeaning?Describethemclearly.Answer:AccordingtoLeech(1981),thereexistseventypesofmeaning,fiveofwhichareincludedintheassociativemeaning.Conceptualmeaning:概念意义itiscalled“denotative”or“cognitive”meaning.Thisreferstothedefinitiongiveninthedictionary.Forexample,mancanbedefinedbythecontrastivefeatures[+Human],[+Male],[+Ad