语言学课后练习之练习(1)Language

...v.语言学导论课外补充练习〔1〕languageStatethenatureoflanguagebrieflywithexamples.Whyisitsaidthatthelanguagesystemisuniquetohumanbeings?Whatarethecharacteristicsofhumanlanguage?Whatarethesocialfunctionsoflanguage?Doanimalsotherthanhumanshavetheirownlanguages?Exemplifyhowanimalsmunicatewitheachother.Canlanguagebeviewedonlyasasystemofmunication?Whynot?Howdidlanguageeintobeing?Whatistherelationshipbetweentheoriginoflanguageandtheoriginofhumanbeings?Rewriteeachofthefollowinglistsofwordsintonaturalorder.Five/the/fresh/potatoesPretty/American/girls/thetwoAirlines/brand/France-made/new/thetwoFashions/Chinese/the/latest/threeBeginning/hardworking/two/the/workersFillintheblankswiththeproperwords.〔1〕_______functionmeanslanguagecanbeusedto“do〞things.〔2〕_______functionmeanstheuseoflanguagetorevealsomethingaboutthefeelingsandattitudesofthespeaker.〔3〕Mostimperativesentencesareassociatedwith_______function.〔4〕Thesentence“What’sitlike?〞shows______function.〔5〕Greetingsshows_______function.〔6〕“Wearemostgratefulforthis.〞shows______function.〔7〕Propagandashows________function.〔8〕________referstocontextsremovedfromtheimmediateofthespeaker.〔9〕For________,referenceisnottheonly,noteventheprimarygoalofmunication.〔10〕Halliday’smetafunctionsinclude________,___________,_____________.〔11〕Linguisticsshouldincludeatleastfiveparameters:___________________________________________________________..11.Saythefollowingaretrueorfalse.IfitisfalsecorrectitLanguagedistinguishesusfromanimalsbecauseitisfarmoresophisticatedthananyanimalsmunicationsystem.Thereisnotacertaindegreeofcorrespondencebetweenthesequenceofclausesandtheactualhappenings.Thetheoriesdiscussedinthetextbookabouttheoriginsoflanguagearenotatmostaspeculation.Thedefinition,“Languageisatoolforhumanmunication.〞hasnoproblem.Thedefinition,“languageisasetofrules〞,tellsnothingaboutitsfunctions.Hall,likeSapir,treatslanguageasapurelyhumaninstitution.Chomsky’sdefinitionaboutlanguageisthesameasSapir’s.语言学课外单元补充习题答案Language〔Exercise1〕1.Statethenatureoflanguagebrieflywithexamples.Answer:modernlinguistshaveproposedvariousdefinitionsoflanguagesuchas:Languageis“apurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofmunicatingideas,emotionsanddesiresbymeansofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols.〞(Sapir,1921)Languageis“theinstitutionwherebyhumansmunicateandinteractwitheachotherbymeansofhabituallyusedoral-auditoryarbitrarysymbols.〞(Hall,1968)Languageis“aset(finiteorinfinite)ofsentences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements.〞(Chomsky,1957)“语言是人跟人互通信息，用发音器官发出来的，成系统的行为的方式。〞〔赵元任〕Eachofthesedefinitionshasitsownspecialemphasis.However,thereisagenerallyaccepteddefinition:Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumanmunication.Thedefinitionhascapturedmainfeaturesofhumanlanguage:(i)languageisasystem;(ii)languageisarbitrary;(iii)languageisvocal;(iv)languageishuman-specific;and(v)languageistomunicate.(Studentsshouldillustratethesepointsmoreclearly)

2.Whyisitsaidthatthelanguagesystemisuniquetohumanbeings?

Thatlanguageishumanspecificmeansthatlanguageisdifferentfromthemunicationsystemsotherformsoflifehave,suchasbirdsongsandbeedances.(Moreaboutthispointcanbefoundintheillustrationofthedesignfeaturesoflanguage)

3.Whatarethecharacteristicsofhumanlanguage?

Humanlanguageischaracterizedbyitsdesignfeatures,whichreferstothedefiningpropertiesofhumanlanguagewhichdistinguishitfromanimalmunicationsystem.AmericanlinguistCharlesHockettspecified13features(someofthemdiscussedinourtextbook):

1.Modeofmunication:vocal-auditory;2.RapidFading:Messagedoesnotlingerintimeorspaceafterproduction.3.Interchangeability:individualswhousealanguagecanbothsendandreceiveanypermissiblemessagewithinthatmunicationsystem.4.Feedback:usersofalanguagecanperceivewhattheyaretransmittingandcanmakecorrectionsiftheymakeerrors.5.Specialization:thedirect-energeticconsequencesoflinguisticsignalsareusuallybiologicallytrivial;onlythetriggeringeffectsareimportant.6.Semanticity:thereareassociativetiesbetweensignalelementsandfeaturesintheworld;inshort,somelinguisticformshavedenotations.7.Arbitrariness:thereisnologicalconnectionbetweentheformofthesignalanditsmeaning.8.Discreteness:messagesinthesystemaremadeupofsmaller,repeatableparts;thesoundsoflanguage(orcheremesofasign)areperceivedcategorically,notcontinuously.9.Displacement:linguisticmessagesmayrefertothingsremoteintimeandspace,orboth,fromthesiteofthemunication.10.Productivity:userscancreateandunderstandpletelynovelmessages.1)Inalanguage,newmessagesarefreelycoinedbyblending,analogizingfrom,ortransformingoldones.Thissaysthateverylanguagehasgrammaticalpatterning.2)Inalanguage,eitherneworoldelementsarefreelyassignednewsemanticloadsbycircumstancesandcontext.Thissaysthatineverylanguagenewidiomsconstantlyeintoexistence.11.Culturaltransmission:theconventionsofalanguagearelearnedbyinteractingwithmoreexperiencedusers.12.Duality(ofPatterning):alargenumberofmeaningfulelementsaremadeupofaconvenientlysmallnumberofmeaninglessbutmessage-differentiatingelements.13.Prevarication:linguisticmessagescanbefalse,deceptive,ormeaningless.14.Reflexiveness:Inalanguage,onecanmunicateaboutmunication.15.Learnability:Aspeakerofalanguagecanlearnanotherlanguage.(CharlesHockett,1966,"TheProblemofUniversalsinLanguage".)Amongthem,arbitrariness,duality,productivity,displacementarethecrucialandcentralpropertiesoflanguage.4.Whatarethesocialfunctionsoflanguage?

Languageservesvarioussocialfunctionsasfollows:1)phatic:languageisusedforestablishinganatmosphereforfurthermunicationormaintainingsocialcontactratherthanforexchanginginformation,suchasgreetings,farewellsandmentsontheweather.2)directive:languageisusedtogetthehearertodosomething.3)informative:languageistheinstrumentofthought,istogiveinformationorrecordthefacts.4)interrogative:languageisusedtogetinformationfromothers.5)expressive:languageisusedtoconveytheuser’sfeelingsorattitudes.6)evocative:languageisusedtocreatecertainfeelingsinthehearer.7)performative:languagecanbeusedtoperformcertainacts.(Studentsarerequiredtolistotherfunctionsoflanguageandgivesomeexamples)5.Doanimalsotherthanhumanshavetheirownlanguages?

Animalshavetheirownmunicationsystemswhichmaybedifferentfromhumanlanguages.Forinstance,abeecantellotherbeesthelocation,direction,distanceorqualityofthefoodsourcebyperformingadanceonawallofthehive.Anantcanconveyinformationtoitspartnersthroughitsfeelers.6.Exemplifyhowanimalsmunicatewitheachother.

Seetheanswertothequestion5(listmoreexamplesaboutotheranimals).7.Canlanguagebeviewedonlyasasystemofmunication?Whynot?

Thestatementthatlanguageisasystemofmunicationdoesnotclarifythenatureoflanguage.Languageisaplicatednotion.Aproperdefinitionshouldbebasedonthestructures,featuresandfunctionsoflanguage.Moreover,iflanguageisdefinedmerelyasasystemofmunication,thenlanguageisnotuniquetohumans.(Moreonthisseetheanswersabove.)8.Howdidlanguageeintobeing?Whatistherelationshipbetweentheoriginoflanguageandtheoriginofhumanbeings?

Therearemanytheoriesabouttheoriginoflanguage.FourtheoriesareintroducedinthetextbookThetextbookreferstoLinguistics:ACourseBookeditedbyHuZhuanglin,BeijingUniversityPress,2001.(PP.9-19).Youcanfindmoreinformationaboutthisproblemontheinternet,orinthelibrary.ThetextbookreferstoLinguistics:ACourseBookeditedbyHuZhuanglin,BeijingUniversityPress,2001.Therelationshipbetweentheoriginoflanguageandtheoriginofhumanbeingsisanopenquestion.Studentscandiscussitaccordingtoyourunderstanding.9.Rewriteeachofthefollowinglistsofwordsintonaturalorder.Five/the/fresh/potatoes:ThefivefreshpotatoesPretty/American/girls/thetwo:ThetwoprettyAmericangirlsAirlines/brand/France-made/new/thetwo:ThetwonewbrandFrance-madeairlinesFashions/Chinese/the/latest/three:ThelatestthreeChinesefashionsBeginning/hardworking/two/the/workers:Thetwobeginninghardworkingworkers10.Fillintheblankswiththeproperwords.〔1〕Performativefunctionmeanslanguagecanbeusedto“do〞things.〔2〕Emotive/expressivefunctionmeanstheuseoflanguagetorevealsomethingaboutthefeelingsandattitudesofthespeaker.〔3〕Mostimperativesentencesareassociatedwithdirectivefunction.〔4〕Thesentence“What’sitlike?〞showsinterrogativefunction.〔5〕Greetingsshowsphaticfunction.〔6〕“Wearemostgratefulforthis.〞showsexpressivefunction.〔7〕Propagandashowsevocativefunction.〔8〕Displacementreferstocontextsremovedfromtheimmediateofthespeaker.〔9〕ForJakobson,referenceisnottheonly,noteventheprimarygoalofmunication.〔10〕Halliday’smetafunctionsincludeIdeational,InterpersonalandTextualfunctions.〔11〕Linguisticsshou