语言学练习题Chapter 2 Linguistics

1、Chapter Two Linguistics1.Define the following terms.1) syntagmatic relation vs paradigmatic relation2) langue vs parole3) competence vs performance 4) descriptive linguistics vs historical linguistics5) theoretical linguistics vs applied linguistics 6) deccriptive linguistics vs prescriptive linguis

2、tics 7) synchronic vs diachronic linguistics8) macrolinguistics vs microlinguistics9) Comparative historical linguistics vs contrastive linguistics2.Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).1) ( ) Prescriptive linguistics is more popular than descriptive linguistics because

3、it can tell us how to speak correct language.2) ( ) Competencce and performance refer respectively to a language users underlying knowledge about the system of rules and the actual use of language in concrete situations.3) ( ) The antithesis of langue and parole was created by Chomsky. 4) ( ) Cockoo

4、 in English is onomatopoeia. 5) ( ) Synchronic linguistics is concerned with the study of language development through time.6) ( ) Prescriptive linguists are concerned with how languages work, not with how they can be improved. 7) ( ) Linguistics tries to answer the basic questions” what is a langua

5、ge” and “How does a language work”. 8) ( ) Onomatopoetic words are found in almost all human languages, which shows the arbitrary nature of languages. 9) ( ) Each language contains two systems rather than one, a system of sound and a system of meaning. 10) ( ) Cultural transmission refers to the fac

6、t that the details of the linguistic system must be learned a new by each speaker. 11) ( ) Phatic function refers to language used to exchange information and ideas. 12) ( ) Speakers of all languages are capable of producing and comprehending an infinite set of sentences, which accounts for syntacti

7、c universality. 13) ( ) Hallidays linguistic potential is similar to the notions of parole and performance14) ( ) By diachronie study we mean to study the changes and development of language.15) ( ) Langue is relatively stable and systematic while parole is subject to personal and situational constr

8、aints.16) ( ) In language classrooms nowadavs the grammar taught to students is basically descriptive, and more attention is paid to the developing learners communicative skills.17) ( ) Saussures exposition of synchronic analysis led to the school of historical linguistics18) ( ) Applied linguistics

9、 is the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning.19) ( ) Semantics is the study of the meaning of words and sentences.20) ( ) A diachronic study is concerned with the historical development of a language over a period of time.21) ( ) A paradigmatic relation

10、 is a relation between a linguistic element in an utterance and linguistic elements outside that utterance, but belonging to the same sub-system of the language.22) ( ) General linguistics aims at developing a theory that describes the rules of a particular language. 23) ( ) English linguistics is a

11、 kind of descriptive linguistics. 24) ( ) Competence is more concrete than performance. 25) ( ) Descriptive linguistics attempts to establish a theory which accounts for the rules of language in general. 26) ( ) Langue is more abstract than parole and therefore is not directly observable.27) ( ) Gen

12、eral linguistics deals with the whole human language. 28) ( ) All the English words are not symbolic. 29) ( ) All sounds produced by human speech organs are linguistic symbols. 30) ( ) Descriptive linguistics studies one specific language.31) ( ) Morphological knowledge is a native speakers intuitio

13、n about how a sentence is formed.32) ( ) Phonetics is the science that deals with the sound system.33) ( ) A diachronic study of a language is concerned with a state of a language at a particular point of time.3.Multiple Choice1)_ made the distinction between competence and performance.A. SaussureB.

14、 Chomsky C Bloomfiled D. Sapir2)Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the solution of some practical problems, the study of such applications is knowns as _.A. anthropological linguistics B. computational linguisticsC. applied linguistics D. mathematical linguistics3) _ refers to th

15、e abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of speech community.A. Parole B. langue C speech D. writing4)Which of the following is not the major brach of linguistics?A. phonology B. pragmatics C. syntax D speech 5) _ deals with language application to other fields, particularly education.

16、A. Linguistic geography B. SociolinguisticsC. Applied linguistics D. Comparative linguistics6)Which branch of linguistics studies the similarities and differences among languages?A. Diachronic linguistics. B. Synchronic linguistics.C. Prescriptive linguistics. D. Comparative linguistics. 7）_ has bee

17、n widely accepted as the forefather of modern linguistics. A. Chomsky B. Saussure C. Bloomfield D. John Lyons8) The study of language as a whole is often called -.A. general linguistics B. sociolingyusticsC. psycholinguistics D. applied linguistics9) The study of language meaning is called-.A. synta

18、x B. semantics C morphology D. pragmatics10) The description of a language at some point in time is a study.A synchronic B. diachronic C descriptive D. prescriptive 4. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words:1) refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech communit

19、y. 2) is the actual realization of ones linguistic knowledge in utterances. 3) Modem linguistic is in the sense that the linguist tries to discover what language is rather than lay down some rules for people to observe.4) The description of a language as it changes through time is a study.5) Saussur

20、e put forward two important concepts, refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community.6) Linguistic potential is similar to Saussure s langue and Chomsky s .7) The four principles in the linguistic study are (1) (2) (3) (4) 8)Morphology is the branch of linguisti

21、cs which studies the form of words. 9) The branch of general linguistics which is named studies the internal structure of sentences. 10) In Saussures view, the relationship between signifier (sound image) and signified (concept) is .11) is an umbrella term which covers a variety of different interes

22、ts in language and society, including the social functions of language and the social characteristics of its users. 12) The distinction between langue and parole is made by the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure. The distinction between competence and performance is made by the American linguist . 13) Th

23、e writing system.of English is. known as the sound writing system while that of Japanese as _writing system.14)According to John Lyons, _ linguistics_ deals with language in general and _ linguistics is concerned with one particular language.15)In de Saussures term, _ refers to the system of languag

24、e and _ refers to the speakers speech.16)_ is the science that deals with the sound system.17)Syntax studies two kinds of rules: _ rules and rules18)Langue or competence is _ and not directly observed, while parole or performance is _ and directly observable.19)A _ relation refers to the sequential

25、characteristic of speech.20)_ _ knowledge is a native speakers intuition about the sounds and sound patterns of his language.21)_ knowledge is a native speakers intuition about how a word is formed.22)_ knowledge is a native speakers intuition about whether a sentence is grammatical or not.23)_ know

26、ledge is a native speakers intuition about the meaning of language, including meaning of words and meaning of sentences.24)_ is the study of speech sounds of all human languages.25)_ examines word formation and the internal structure of words.5.Answer the following questions.1) What is the differenc

27、e between general linguistics and descriptive linguistics?2) What is the difference between synchronic and diachronic linguistics? Is it easy to draw a sharp line between them if we look at language closely? 3) What distinguish prescriptive studies of language from descriptive studies of language? C

28、omment on the merits and weaknesses of descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar.4) What are the four principles for the scientific analysis of language? 5) Point out three ways in which linguistics differs from traditional grammar. 6) What are the main differences between “competence” and “perfo

29、rmance”? 7) What is the major difference between Saussures distinction of langue and parole and Chomskys distinction of competence and performance? what should be studies in linguistics in your opinion and why? 8) Explain “speech and writing”, and cite two ormore examples. Key to Chapter Two1.Define

30、 the following terms.1）syntagmatic relation vs paradigmatic relationEssentially the relations between linguistic elements are of two dimensions, usually syntagmatic and paradigmatic. syntagmatic or sequential relations are those holding between elements forming serial structure, or “strings as they

31、are sometimes called. In syntax, the horizontal relationship between elements shows how a form (X) combines with others (W + X + Y) in a serial combination. It refers to the linear ordering of the words and the phrases within a sentence. Paradigmatic relations are those holding between comparable el

32、ements at particular places in structures. The vertical or substitutional relationship shows how other different forms (Xa, Xb, Xc) can function in the same place in structure in a paradigmatic relation.2) langue vs paroleSaussure refers “langue” to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the m

33、embers of a speech community and refers” parole” to the actual or actualized language, or the realization of langue. Langue is abstract, parole specific to the speaking situation; langue not actually spoken by an individual, parole always a naturally occurring event; langue relatively stable and sys

34、tematic, parole subject to personal and situational constraints. For Saussure, parole is a mass of confused facts, thus not suitable for systematic investigation. What a linguist ought to do, according to Saussure, is to abstract langue from instances of parole, i.e., to discover the regularities go

35、verning all instances of parole andmake them the subject of linguistics. The langue-parole distinction is of great importance, which casts great influence on later linguists.3)competence vs performance (1)According to N. Chomsky, “competence” is the ideal language users knowledge of the rules of his

36、 language, and “performance” is the arctual realization of this knowledge in utterances. The former enables a speaker to produce and understand an indefinite number of sentences and to recognize grammatical mistakes and ambiguities. A speakers competence is stable while his performance is often infl

37、uenced by psychological and social factors. So a speakers performance does not always match or equal his supposed competence.(2)Chomsky believes that linguists ought to study competence, rather than performance. In other words, they should discover what an ideal speaker knows of his native language.

38、(3) Chomskys competence-performance distinction is not exactly the same as, though similar to, F. de Saussures language parole distinction. Langue is a social product and a set of conventions for a community, while competence is deemed as a property of the mind of each individual. Saussure looks at

39、language more from a sociological or sociolinguistic point of view than N. Chomsky since the latter deals with his issues psychologically or psycholinguistically.4)descriptive linguistics vs historical linguisticsLinguistic study can be divided into descriptive linguistics (synchronic linguistic stu

40、dy) and historical linguistics (diachronic linguistic study). The former refers to the description of a language at a particular point of time in history while the latter, a diachronic study of language, studies the historical development of language over a period of time. 5)theoretical linguistics

41、vs applied linguistics A third dichotomy is that which holds between theoretical and applied linguistics. The former copes with language and languages with a view to establishing a theory of their structure and functions and without regard to any practical applications that the investigation of lang

42、uage and languages might have, whereas the latter is chiefly concerned with the application of the concepts and findings of linguistics to all sorts of practical tasks, including language teaching.6) deccriptive linguistics vs prescriptive linguistics A linguistic study is descriptive if it only des

43、cribes and analyzes the facts of language, and it is prescriptive if it tries to lay down rules for “correct” language behavior. Linguistic studies before 20th century were largely prescriptive because many early grammars were based on “high” (literary or religious) written records. Modem linguistic

44、s is mostly descriptive, however, which believes that whatever occurs in natural speech (hesitation, incomplete utterance, misunderstanding, etc.) should be described in the analysis, and not be marked as incorrect, abnormal, corrupt, or lousy. These, with changes inlvocabulary and structures, need

45、to be explained also.The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are. To say that linguistics is a descriptive science is to say that the linguist tries to discover and record the rules to which the members of a language-community actually conform and does no

46、t seek to impose upon them other rules, or norms, of correctness, which are in the scope of prescriptive linguistics.7) synchronic vs diachronic linguisticsSynchronic linguistics takes a fixed instant (usually, but not necessarily, the present) as its point of observation. In contrast, diachronie li

47、nguistics is the study of a language through the Course of itshistory; therefore, it is also called historical linguistics.The description of a languageat some point of time (as if it stopped developing) is a synchronic study (synchrony). The description of a language as it changes through timeis a

48、diachronic study (diachrony). An essay entitled” On the Use of THE”, for example, may be synchronic, if the author does not recall the past of THE, and it may also be diachronic if he claims to cover a large range or period of time wherein THE has undergone tremendous alteration. 8) macrolinguistics

49、 vs microlinguisticsMacrolinguistics falls on the verge of linguistics. It includes the following disciplines: philosophical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, etc. Lyons has the same distinction.Microlinguistics concentrates on the study of all the interior aspects of a language syst

50、em. Traditional linguistic study describes language system from two aspects lexicon and grammar. Dictionaries and grammar books are products of such researches and studies.9）Comparative historical linguistics vs contrastive linguisticsComparative historical linguistics draws on the special historica

51、l comparison in linguistics to study the historical development of some related languages (languages originating from a uniform ancestry). It is in fact a special part of historical linguistics. Thanks to the development of historical comparative linguistics in 19th century, linguistics comes to be

52、an independent discipline. Contrastive linguistics focuses on structural similarities and differences of two or more languages (relevant or unrelated) by means of comparison and contrastive study. This study belongs to descriptive linguistics. It can help people have a deep understanding of the prop

53、erties and universal characteristics of different languages and thus exerts great influence on foreign language teaching.2. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).1) (F) Prescriptive linguistics is more popular than descriptive linguistics because it can tell us how to spe

54、ak correct language.2) (T) Competencce and performance refer respectively to a language users underlying knowledge about the system of rules and the actual use of language in concrete situations.3) (F) The antithesis of langue and parole was created by Chomsky. (中国矿业大学，2004)4) (T) Cockoo in English

55、is onomatopoeia. (中国矿业大学，2004)5) (F) Synchronic linguistics is concerned with the study of language development through time. (中国矿业大学，2004)6) (T) Prescriptive linguists are concerned with how languages work, not with how they can be improved. (中国矿业大学，2004)7) (T) Linguistics tries to answer the basic

56、 questions” what is a language” and “How does a language work”. （南京师范大学，2002）8) (F) Onomatopoetic words are found in almost all human languages, which shows the arbitrary nature of languages. （中国矿业大学，2002）9) (T) Each language contains two systems rather than one, a system of sound and a system of me

57、aning. （中国矿业大学，2002）10) (T) Cultural transmission refers to the fact that the details of the linguistic system must be learned a new by each speaker. （中国矿业大学，2002）11) (F) Phatic function refers to language used to exchange information and ideas. （中国矿业大学，2002）12) (F) Speakers of all languages are capable of producing and comprehending an infinite set of sentences, which accounts for syntactic universality. （中国矿业大学，2002）13) (F) Hallidays linguistic potential is similar to the notions of parole