语言学课后习题答案

语言学概论作业

Chapter1

1.Howdoyouinterpretthefollowingdefinitionoflinguistics:linguisticsisthe

scientificstudyoflanguage?

Tounderstandthisdefinition,weshouldfocusonthreewordsinthissentence:

scientific,studyandlanguage.Firstofall,scientificheremeansastudywhichis

basedonthesystematicinvestigationoflinguisticdata,conductedwithreference

tosomegeneraltheoryoflanguagestructure.Thelinguiststudiesittodiscover

thenatureandrulesoftheunderlyinglanguagesystem.Secondly,theword

studyherereferstoinvestigationorexamination.Thirdly,iMn^ua^ehereis

generalterm.Itreferstoanyhumanlanguage,ChinesespokenbytheChinese,

EnglishbytheEnglishpeople,GermanbytheGermans,orevenEsperanto,an

artificiallanguage.Languageherealsomeansthedialectsorvariantsofa

commonlanguagesuchasCantonese,avariantofMandarin.Therefore,this

wholesentencecanbeinterpretedthatlinguisticsisalanguagestudythroughthe

systematicinvestigationoflinguisticdataandsomegeneraltheoryoflanguage

structure.

2.Whatarethemajorbranchesoflinguistics?Whatdoeseachofthemstudy?

Phonetics:thestudyofsoundsusedinlinguisticcommunication.ltdescribes

individualspeechsoundsandindicatestheirphysicalorphonetic

properties.

Phonoloey:itstudiesthewaysinwhichthesesoundsformpatternsand

systemsandhowtheyworktoconveymeaninginthesystemof

language.

Morphology:afieldoflinguisticsfocusedonthestudyoftheformsand

formationofwordsinalanguage

Syntax:Asetofrulesthatgovernhowwordsarecombinedtoformphrasesand

sentences.

Pragmatics:thestudyoftheuseoflanguageinasocialcontext.

3.Inwhatbasicwaysdoesmodernlinguisticsdifferfromtraditionalgrammar?

①Linguisticsisdescriptivewhiletraditionalgrammarisprescriptive.

②Modernlinguisticsregardsthespokenlanguageasprimary,notthewritten.

(3)Modernlinguisticsdiffersfromtraditionalgrammaralsointhatitdoesnot

forcelanguagesintoaLatin-basedframework.

4.Ismodernlinguisticsmainlysynchronicordiachronic?Why?

Inmodernlinguistics,thelinguistsseemtogiveprioritytosynchronicstudies

otherthandiachronicones.Becauseitisbelievedthatunlessthevariousstatesof

alanguageindifferenthistoricalperiodsaresuccessfullystudied,itwouldbe

difficulttodescribethechangesthathavetakenplaceinitshistorical

development.Thatistosay,thediachronicstudiesshouldbebasedon

synchronicones.Synchronicdescriptionsareoftenthoughtofasbeing

descriptionofalanguageinitscurrentexistence.Andmostlinguisticstudiesare

ofthistype.

5.Forwhatreasonsdoesmodernlinguisticsgiveprioritytospeechratherthanto

writing?

①Thewritingsystemisinventedbyitsuserswhenneeded

②Todaytherearelanguageswhichcanonlybespokenbutnotwritten

©Speechplaysagreaterrolethanwritingintermsoftheamountofinformation

conveyedindailycommunication

④Eachhumanbeingfirstacquiresspeechandthenlearnswriting

⑤Modernlinguisticstendstopaymoreattentiontoauthenticspeechasspoken

languagerevealsmoretruefeaturesofhumanspeechwhilewrittenlanguageis

onlythe“revised“recordofspeech.

6.HowisSaussure'sdistinctionbetweenlangueandparolesimilartoChomsky's

distinctionbetweencompetenceandperformance?

Theyaresimilarintwoaspects:thedefinitionandthecontentofstudy.

Ononehand,Saussuredefineslangueastheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedby

allthemembersofaspeechcommunity,andparoleastherealizationoflangue

inactualuse.Chomskydefinescompetenceastheidealuser'sknowledgeofthe

rulesofhislanguage,andperformancetheactualrealizationofthisknowledgein

linguisticcommunication.Wecanseethatlangueandcompetencebothreferto

theabstractissue,conventionsandknowledge,andparoleandperformanceboth

aretheiractualrealization,theconcreteuse.

Ontheotherhand,inSaussure'sopinion,whatlinguistsshoulddoistoabstract

languefromparoleasparoleistoovariedandconfusing.Andthisisthesameas

Chomsky.Hethinkslinguistsshouldstudytheidealspeaker'scompetence,not

hisperformance,whichistoohaphazardtobestudied.

7.Whatcharacteristicsoflanguagedoyouthinkshouldbeincludedinagood,

comprehensivedefinitionoflanguage?

Theimportantcharacteristicswhichshouldbeincludedinagooddefinitionof

languageareseparately:systematic,arbitraryandvocal.

Firstofall,languageisasystem.Ithasitsownsetofrulesforpeopletoabide

by,orpeoplewillusethelanguageinawrongway.

Second,languageisarbitraryinthesensethatthereisnointrinsicconnection

betweenalinguisticsymbolandwhatthesymbolstandsfor.Thefactthat

differentlanguageshavedifferentwordsforthesameobjectisagoodillustration

ofthearbitrarynatureoflanguge.

Third,languageisvocalbecausetheprimarymediumforalllanguagesissound.

8.Whatarethemainfeaturesofhumanlanguagethathavebeenspecifiedby

C.Hocketttoshowthatitisessentiallydifferentfromanimalcommunication

system?

1)Arbitrariness:nonatural/motivated/logicalrelationshipbetweenthesignand

whatthesignstandsfor.

2)Productivity:providesopportunitiesforsendingmessagesthathavenever

beensentbeforeandforunderstandingnovelmessages.

3)Duality:languageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstuctures,ortwo

levels.

4)Displacement:canbeusedtorefertothingsrealorimagined,past,presentor

future

5)Culturaltransmission

9.Whatarethemajorfunctionsoflanguage?

□descriptivefunction

2)expressivefunction

3)socialfimction

Chapter3

1.Dividethefollowingwordsintotheirseparatemorphemesbyplacinga

betweeneachmorphemeandthenext:

a.microfilm:micro+film

b.bedraggled:be+draggle+ed

c.announcement:aniwimce+ment

d.predigestion:pre+digest+ion

e.telecommunication:tele+communicate+ion

f.forefather:fore+father

g.DSYchophysic:psycho+physi。

h.mechanist:mechan+ist

2.Thinkofthreemorphemesuffixes,givetheirmeaningandspecifythetypesof

stemtheymaybesuffixedto.Giveatleasttwoexamplesofeach.

1)suffix:-ing

meaning:denotingaverbalaction,aninstanceofthis,oritsresult

stemtype:addedtoverbs

examples:fighting:denotetheactionofbattle

building:denotetheactionofconsruction

2)suffix:-able

meaning:abletobe

stemtype：addedtoverbs

examples:avoidable:abletobepreventedfrom

calculable:abletobemeasuredorassessed

3)suffix:-ist

meaning:denotingamemberofaprofessionorbusinessactivity

stemtype:addedtonouns

examples:dramatist:apersonwhowritesplays

dentist:apersonwhotreatstheteethdisease

3.Thinkofthreemorphemeprefixes,givetheirmeaning,andspecifythetypesof

stemtheymaybeprefixedto.Giveatleasttwoexamplesofeach.

1)prefix:un-

meaning:denotingtheabsenceofaqualityorstate;not

stemtype:addedtonouns

examples:unacademic:notadoptingorcharacteristicofascholarly

approachorlanguage

unhappy:nothappy

2)prefix:anti-

meaning:opposedto;against

stemtype:addedtonouns

examples:anti-abortion:opposingorlegislatingagainstmedically

inducedabortion

anti-art:againstthetraditionalart

3)prefix:re-

meaning:oncemore;afresh;anew

stemtype:addedtoverbs

examples:restart:startoncemore

reaccustom:accustom(someone)tosomethingagain

4.Theitalicizedpartineachofthefollowingsentencesisaninflectionalmorpheme.

Studyeachinflectionalmorphemecarefullyandpointoutitsgrammatical

meaning.

l)Suemovesinhigh-societycirclesinLondon.

Thethirdpersonsingular

2)AtrafficwardenaskedJohntomovehiscar.

Thepasttense

3)TheclubhasmovedtoFriday,February22nd.

Thepresentperfect

4)Thebranchesofthetreesaremovingbackandforth.

Thepresentprogressive

5.Deteminewhetherthewordsineachofthefollowinggroupsarerelatedtoone

anotherbyprocessofinflectionorderivation.

a)go,goes,going,gone

processofinflection

b)discover,discovery,discoverer,discoverable,discoverability

processofderivation

c)inventor,inventor'sinventors,inventors'

processofinflection

d)democracy,democrat,democratic,democratize

processofderivation

6.Thefollowingsentencescontainbothderivationalandinflectionalaffixes.

Underlineallofthederivationalaffixesandcircletheinflectionalaffixes.

a)Thefarmer'scowsescaped.

Derivationalaffixes:-er

Inflectionalaffixes:'s,-s,-ed

b)Itwasraining.

Derivationalaffixes:none

Inflectionalaffixes:-ing

c)Thosesocksareinexpensive.

Derivationalaffixes:in-

Inflectionalaffixes:-s

d)Jimneedsthenewercopy.

Derivationalaffixes:-er

Inflectionalaffixes:-s

e)Thestrongestrowercontinued.

Derivationalaffixes:-est,-er

Inflectionalaffixes:-ed

f)Shequicklyclosedthebook.

Derivationalaffixes:-ly

Inflectionalaffixes:-ed

g)Thealphabetizationwentwell.

Derivationalaffixes:-ion

Inflectionalaffixes:went

Chapter5

1.Whatarethemajorviewsconcerningthestudyofmeaning?

1)ThenamingtheorywasproposedbytheancientGreekscholarPlato.The

linguisticformsorsymbols,inotherwords,thewordsusedinalanguageare

takentobelabelsoftheobjectstheystandfor;wordsarejustnamesor

labelsforthings.Thesemanticrelationshipholdingbetweenwordsand

thingsistherelationshipofnaming.

2)Theconceptualistview:Thisviewholdsthatthereisnodirectlinkbetween

alinguisticformandwhatitrefersto;rather,intheinterpretationofmeaning

theyarelinkedthroughthemediationofconceptsinthemind.Thisisbest

illustratedbythesemantictrianglesuggestedbyOgdenandRichards:

3)Contextualism:RepresentativelyproposedbytheBritishlinguistJ.R.Firth

whohadbeeninfluencedbythePolishanthropologistMalinowskiandthe

GermanphilosopherWittgenstein.ltholdsthatmeaningshouldbestudiedin

termsofsituation,use,context-elementscloselylinkedwithlanguage

behavior.・••themeaningofawordisitsuseinthelanguage.

4)Behaviourism:BasedoncontextualistviewbyBloomfieldwhodrewon

behavioristpsychologyindefining“meaning”.Behavioristsattemptedto

definethemeaningofalanguagefromasthe“situationinwhichthe

speakeruttersitandtheresponseitcallsforthinthehearer.^^Thistheory,

somewhatclosetocontextualism,islinkedwithpsychologicalinterest.

2.WhatarethemajortypesofsynonymsinEnglish?

1)dialectalsynonyms......synonymsusedindifferentregional

2)Stylisticsynonyms:synonymsdifferinginstyle

3)Synonymsthatdifferintheiremotiveorevaluativemeaning

4)Collocationalsynonyms:whatwordstheygotogetherwith

5)Semanticallydifferentsynonyms:differfromthewordsthemselves

3.Explainwithexamples“homonymy”,"polysemy",and"hyponymy".

1)Homonymy:Homonymyreferstothephenomenonthatwordshaving

differentmeaningshavethesameform,i.e.,differentwordsareidenticalin

soundorspelling,orinboth.Whentwowordsareidenticalinsound,they

arehomophones.Whentwowordsareidenticalinspelling,theyare

homographs.Whentowwordsareidenticalinbothsoundandspelling,they

arecompletehomonyms.Theexamplesareasfollowed:

Homophones:rain/reignnight/knightpiece/peace

Homographs:bowv./bown.tearv./tearn.

Completehomonyms:fastadj./fastv.

2)Polysemy:whiledifferentwordsmayhavethesameorsimilarmeaning,the

sameonewordmayhavemorethanonemeaning.Thisiswhatwecall

polysemy,andsuchawordiscalledapolysemicword.Themorecommonly

usedawordis,themorelikelyithasacquiredmorethanonemeaning.For

example,thewordtablehasatleastsixmeaningswhenwelookitupinthe

dictionary:

1.apieceoffurniture

2.allthepeopleseatedatatable

3.thefoodthatisputonatable

4.athinflatpieceofstone,mental,wood,etc

5.orderlyarrangementoffacts,figures,etc

6.partofamachine-toolonwhichtheworkisputtobe

operatedon

3)Hyponymyreferstothesenserelationbetweenamoregeneral,more

inclusivewordandamorespecificword.Thewordwhichismoregeneralin

meaningiscalledthesuperordinate,andthemorespecificwordsarecalled

itshyponyms.Hyponymsofthesamesuperordinateareco-hyponymsto

eachother.Forexample,

Superordiante:flower

Hyponyms:rose,tulip,carnation,lily,morninggolory

4.Howcanwordsoppositeinmeaningbeclassified?Towhichcategorydoeseach

ofthefollowingpairsofantonymsbelong?

(l)north/south(2)vacant/occupied(3)literate/illiterate④above/below

(§)doctor/patient⑥wide/narrow©poor/rich(§)father/daughter

Gradableantonyms:literate/illiteratewide/poor/rich

Complementaryantonyms:vacant/occupied

Relationalopposite:north/southdotor/patientfather/daughter

5.Identifytherelationsbetweenthefollowingpairsofsentences:

①Tom'swifeispregnant.Tomhasawife.

②Mysisterwillsoonbedivorced.Mysisterisamarriedwoman.

(3)Helikesseafood.Helikescrabs.

④Theyaregoingtohaveanotherbaby.Theyhaveachild.

XpresupposesY(YisaprerequisiteofX):①②④

XentailsY(YisanentailmentofX):③

6.Inwhatwayiscomponentialanalysissimilartotheanalysisofphonemesinto

distinctivefeatures?

Componentialanalysisisawayproposedbythestructuralsemanticiststo

analyzewordmeaning.Theapproachisbasedonthebeliefthatthemeaningofa

wordcanbedissectedintomeaningcomponents,calledsemanticfeatures.And

thatissimilartotheanalysisofphonemesintodistinctivefeatures.

7.Whatisgrammaticality?Whatmightmakeagrammaticallymeaningfulsentence

semanticallymeaningless?

Thegrammaticalmeaningofasentencereferstoitsgrammaticality,especially

itsgrammaticalwell-formedness.Selectionalrestrictions,whichmeansthe

constraintsonwhatlexicalitemscangowithwhatothers,mightmakea

grammaticallymeaningfulsentencesemanticallymeaningless.

8.Trytoanalyzethefollowingsentencesintermsofpredicationanalysis:

①Themansellsice-cream.②Isthebabysleeping?

(3)Itissnowing.④Thetreegrowswell.

l.MAN,ICE-CREAM(SELL)

2.BABY(SLEEP)

3.(BESNOW)

4.TREE(GROW)

Chapter6PRAGMATICS

1.Whatdoespragmaticsstudy?Howdoesitdifferfromtraditional

semantics?

答：Generallyspeaking,pragmaticsisthestudyofmeaninginthe

context.Itstudiesmeaninginadynamicwayandasaprocess.Inorderto

haveasuccessfulcommunication,thespeakerandhearermusttakethe

contextintotheirconsiderationsoastoeffecttherightmeaningand

intention.Thedevelopmentandestablishmentpragmaticsin1960sand

1970sresultedmainlyfromtheexpansionofthestudysemantics.However,

itisdifferentfromthetraditionalsemantics.Themajordifferencebetween

themliesinthatpragmaticsstudiesmeaninginadynamicway,while

semanticsstudiesmeaninginastaticway.Pragmaticstakescontextinto

considerationwhilesemanticsdoesnot.Pragmaticstakescareoftheaspect

ofmeaningthatisnotaccountedforbysemantics.

2.Whyisthenotionofcontextessentialinthepragmaticstudyoflinguistic

communication?

答：Thenotionofcontextisessentialtothepragmaticstudyoflanguage.

Itisgenerallyconsideredasconstitutedbytheknowledgesharedbythe

speakerandthehearer.Variouscontinentsofsharedknowledgehavebeen

identified,e.g.knowledgeofthelanguagetheyuse,knowledgeofwhathas

beensaidbefore,knowledgeabouttheworldingeneral,knowledgeabout

thespecificsituationinwhichlinguisticcommunicationistakingplace,and

knowledgeabouteachother.Contextdeterminesthespeaker'suseof

languageandalsotheheater'sinterpretationofwhatissaidtohim.Without

suchknowledge,linguisticcommunicationwouldnotbepossible,and

withoutconsideringsuchknowledge,linguisticcommunicationcannotbe

satisfactorilyaccountedforinapragmaticsense.Lookatthefollowing

sentences:

(1)Howdiditgo?

⑵Itiscoldinhem.

(3)ItwasahotChristmasdaysowewentdowntothebeachinthe

afternoonandhadagoodtimeswimmingandsurfing.

Sentence(1)mightbeusedinaconversationbetweentwostudentstalking

aboutanexamination,ortwosurgeonstalkingaboutanoperation,orin

someothercontexts;(2)mightbesaidbythespeakertoaskthehearerto

turnontheheater,orleavetheplace,ortoputonmoreclothes,orto

apologizeforthepoorconditionoftheroom,dependingonthesituationof

context;(3)makessenseonlyiithehearerhastheknowledgethatChristmas

fallsinsummerinthesouthernhemisphere.

3.Howaresentencemeaningandutterancemeaningrelated,andhowdo

theydiffer?

答：Asentenceisagrammaticalconcept,andthemeaningofasentenceis

oftenstudiedastheabstract,intrinsicpropertyofthesentenceitselfin

termsofpredication.Butifwethinkofasentenceaswhatpeopleactually

utterinthecourseofcommunication,itbecomesanutterance,anditshould

beconsideredinthesituationinwhichitisactuallyuttered(orused).Soitis

impossibletotellif“Thedogisbarking”isasentenceoranutterance.Itcan

beeither.Italldependsonhowwelookatitandhowwearegoingto

analyzeit.Ifwetakeitasagrammaticalunitandconsideritasa

self-containedunitinisolationfromcontext,thenwearetreatingitasa

sentence.Ifwetakeitassomethingaspeakeruttersinacertainsituation

withacertainpurpose,thenwearetreatingitasanutterance.

Therefore,whilethemeaningofasentenceisabstract,anddecontextualized,

thatofanutteranceisconcrete,andcontext-dependent.Themeaningofan

utteranceisbasedonsentencemeaning;itistherealizationoftheabstract

meaningofasentenceinarealsituationofcommunication,orsimplyina

context.Now,takethesentence“Mybagisheavy“asanexample.Semantic

analysisofthemeaningofthesentenceresultsintheone-placepredication

BAG(BEINGHEAVY).Thenapragmaticanalysisoftheutterancemeaning

ofthe.sentencevarieswiththecontextinwhichitisuttered.Forexample,it

couldbeutteredbyaspeakerasastraightforwardstatement,tellingthe

hearerthathisbagisheavy.Itcouldalsobeintendedbythespeakerasan

indirect,politerequest,askingthehearertohelphimcarrythebag.Another

possibilityisthatthespeakerisdecliningsomeone'srequestforhelp.All

thesearepossibleinterpretationsofthesameutterance“Mybagisheavy”.

Howitistobeunderstooddependsonthecontextinwhichitisutteredand

thepurposeforwhichthespeakeruttersit.

Whilemostutterancestaketheformofgrammaticallycomplete

sentences,someutterancesdonot,andsomecannotevenberestoredto

completesentences.

4.Trytothinkofcontextsinwhichthefollowingsentencescanbeusedfor

otherpurposesthanjuststatingfacts:

a)Theroomismessy.

b)Oh,itisraining!

c)Themusicofthemovieisgood.

d)Youhavebeenkeepingmynotesforawholeweeknow.

答：a)Afatherenteredhisson'sroomandfounditisverymessy.Thenwhen

hesaid,“Theroomismessy,“hewasblaminghissonfornottidyingitup.

b)Asonaskedhisfathertoplaywithhimoutside.Sowhenthefather

said,“Oh,it'sraining"，hemeanttheycouldn'tplayoutside.

c)Twopersonsjustwatchedamovieandhadadiscussionofit.One

personsaid,“Thestoryofthemovieisverymoving”，sowhentheother

personsaid,“Themusicofthemovieisgood"，hemeanthedidn'tthinkthe

storyofthemoviewasgood.

d)Apersonwantedhisnotesback,sowhenhesaid,“youhavebeen

keepingmynotesforawholeweeknow"，hewasdemandingthereturnof

hisnotes.

5.AccordingtoAustin,whatarethethreeactsapersonispossibly

performingwhilemakinganutterance.Giveanexample.

答：AccordingtoAustin'snewmodel,aspeakermightbeperforming

threeactssimultaneouslywhenspeaking:locutionaryact,illocutionaryact,

andperlocutionaryact.

Alocutionaryactistheactofutteringwords,phrases,clauses.Itistheactof

conveyingliteralmeaningbymeansofsyntax,lexiconandphonology.An

illocutionaryactistheactofexpressingthespeaker'sintention;itistheact

performedinsayingsomething.Aperlocutionaryactistheactperformedby

orresultingfromsayingsomething;itistheconsequenceof,orthechange

broughtaboutbytheutterance;itistheactperformedbysayingsomething.

Let'slookatanexample:

Youhaveleftthedoorwideopen.

Thelocutionaryactperformedbythespeakerishisutteranceofthe

words“you”，“have"，"door"，“open”，etc.thusexpressingwhatthewords

literallymean.

Theillocutionaryactperformedbythespeakeristhatbymakingsuchan

utterancehehasexpressedhisintentionofspeaking,i.e.askingsomeoneto

closethedoor,ormakingacomplaint,dependingonthecontext.

Theperlocutionaryactreferstotheeffectoftheutterance.Ifthe

hearergetsthespeaker'smessageandseesthatthespeakermeanstotell

himtoclosethedoor,thespeakerhassuccessfullybroughtaboutthechange

intherealworldhehasintendedto;thentheperlocutionaryactis

successfullyperformed.

6.WhatarethefivetypesofillocutionaryspeechactsSearlehasspecified?

Whatistheillocutionarypointofeachtype?

答：(1)representatives:statingordescribing,sayingwhatthespeaker

believestobetrue

(2)directives:tryingtogetthehearertodosomething

(3)commissives:committingthespeakerhimselftosomefuturecourseof

action

(4)expressives:expressingfeelingsorattitudetowardsanexisting

(5)declarations:bringingaboutimmediatechangesbysaying

something

Theillocutionarypointoftherepresentativesistocommitthe

speakertosomething'sbeingthecase,tothetruthofwhathasbeensaid,in

otherwords,whenperforminganillocutionaryactofrepresentative,the

speakerismakingastatementorgivingadescriptionwhichhehimself

believestobetrue.Stating,believing,sweating,hypothesizingareamongthe

mosttypicaloftherepresentatives.

Directivesateattemptsbythespeakertogetthehearertodosome­

thing.Inviting,suggesting,requesting,advising,wanting,threateningand

orderingareallspecificinstancesofthisclass.

Commissivesarethoseillocutionaryactswhosepointistocommit

thespeakertosomefuturecourseofaction,i.e.whenspeakingthespeaker

putshimselfunderacertainobligation.Promising,undertaking,vowingare

themosttypicalones.

Theillocutionarypointofexpressivesistoexpressthepsychological

statespecifiedintheutterance.Thespeakerisexpressinghisfeelingsor

attitudestowardsanexistingstateofaffairs,e.g.apologizing,thanking,

congratulating.

Thelastclass"declarations”hasthecharacteristicthatthe

successfulperformanceofanactofthistypebringsaboutthe

correspondencebetweenwhatissaidandreality.

7.Whatisindirectlanguageuse?Howisitexplainedinthelightofspeech

acttheory?

答：WhensomeoneisnotsayingIanexplicitandstraightforwardmanner

whathemeanstosay,ratherheistryingtoputacrosshismessageinan

implicit,roundaboutway,wecansayheisusingindirectlanguage.

Explanation(略)(见教材p.84-85)

8.WhatarethefourmaximsoftheCP?Trytogiveyourownexamplesto

showhowfloutingthesemaximsgivesrisetoconversationalimplicature?

答：CooperativePrinciple,abbreviatedasCP.Itgoesasfollows:

Makeyourconversationalcontributionsuchasrequiredatthestage

atwhichitoccursbytheacceptedpurposeordirectionofthetalkexchange

inwhichyouareengaged.

Tobemorespecific,therearefourmaximsunderthisgeneral

principle:

(1)Themaximofquantity

①Makeyourcontributionasinformativeasrequired(forthe

currentpurposeoftheexchange).

②Donotmakeyourcontributionmoreinformativethanisrequired.

(2)Themaximofquality

①Donotsaywhatyoubelievetobefalse.

②Donotsaythatforwhichyoulackadequateevidence.

(3)Themaximofrelation

Berelevant.

(4)Themaximofmanner

①Avoidobscurityofexpression.

②Avoidambiguity.

(3)Bebrief(avoidunnecessaryprolixity).

④Beorderly.

9.Whatispragmaticfailure?Trytofindinstancesofpragmaticfailurein

theEnglishusedbyChineselearnersofEnglish.

答：Thetechnicaltermforbreakdownsinthecourseofcommunicationis

pragmaticfailure.Pragmaticfailureoccurswhenthespeakerfailstouse

languageeffectivelytoachieveaspecificcommunicationpurpose,orwhen

thehearerfailstorecognizetheintentionortheillocutionar