Chapter 1Invitations to Linguistics 主讲人主讲人 齐振海齐振海 1.1 Why Study Language?1.2 What Is Language?1.3 Design Features of Language 1.3.1 Arbitrariness1.3.2 Duality1.3.3 Creativity1.3.4 Displacement 1.4 Origin of Language 1.5 Functions of Language 1.5.1 Informative Function1.5.2 Interpersonal Function1.5.3 Performative Function1.5.4 Emotive Function 1.5.5 Phatic Communion 1.5.6 Recreational Function 1.5.7 Metalingual Function 1.6 What Is Linguistics?1.7 Main Branches of Linguistics1.7.1 Phonetics 1.7.2 Phonology1.7.3 Morphology1.7.4 Syntax1.7.5 Semantics1.7.6 Pragmatics1.8 Macrolinguistics1.8.1 Psycholinguistics1.8.2 Sociolinguistics1.8.3 Anthropological Linguistics1.8.4 Computational Linguistics1.9 Important Distinctions in Linguistics1.9.1 Descriptive vs. Prescriptive1.9.2 Synchronic vs. Diachronic1.9.3 Langue & Parole1.9.4 Competence and PerformanceSome myths about language: Language is only a means of communication.Language has a form-meaning correspondence.The function of language is to exchange information.English is more difficult to learn than Chinese.Black English is not standard and should be reformed.Some fundamental views about Language: (1) Children learn their native language swiftly, efficiently and without instruction.(2) Language operates by rules.(3) All languages have three major components: a sound system, a system of lexicogrammar and a system of semantics.(4) Everyone speaks a dialect.(5) Language slowly changes.(6) Speakers of all languages employ a range of styles and a set of jargons.(7) Languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals who use them.(8) Writing is derivative of speech.1.1 Why Study Language?Some most frequently used senses of the word “language” from Websters New World Dictionary: Namely: (a) human speech; (b) the ability to communicate by this means; (c) a system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings; (d) the written representation of such a system;Other senses: e.g. the study of multimodal discourses which resorts to such symbolic resources as images and sounds.The term multimodal refers to at least five modes of meaning-making: linguistic, visual, gestural, spatial and audio, working together to texts.1.2 What Is Language?Several important definitions of language:Language “is not to be confused with human speech, of which it is only a definite part, though certainly an essential one. It is both a social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty”. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913): Course in General Linguistics (1916)“A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which the members of a society interact in terms of their total culture.” George Trager: The Field of Linguistics (1949)Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” Robert A. Hall (1911-1997): Introductory Linguistics (1964)“Language is a form of human communication by means of a system of symbols principally transmitted by vocal sounds.” Stuart C. Poole: An Introduction to Linguistics (1999)Definitions of language in the textbook:“Language is a means of verbal communication.”It is instrumental in that communicating by speaking or writing is a purposeful act. It is social and conventional in that language is a social semiotic and communication can only take place effectively if all the users share a broad understanding of human interaction including such associated factors as nonverbal cues, motivation, and socio-cultural roles. Language distinguishes human beings from animals in that it is far more sophisticated than any animal communication system.一、一、选择题Which of the following statement is NOT true? 大连外国语学院2008研A. Language is a means of vocal communication.B. Language is instrumental.C. Language is social and conventional.【答案】B二、判断正二、判断正误1. “Language operates by rules” is a fundamental view about language. 大连外国语学院2008研【答案】T 2. It is conclusive that Chinese is regarded as the primeval language. 清华大学2000研【答案】F3. Wherever humans exist, language exists. 对外经济贸易大学2006研【答案】F英英 语语 专专 业业 考考 研研 真真 题题 精精 选选三、三、简答答题Why is it difficult to define language? 北京第二外国语学院2004研【答案】It is difficult to define language, as it is such a general term that covers too many things. Thus, definitions for it all have their own special emphasis, and are not totally free from limitations. 四、四、论述述题 Comment on the following topic: Definitions of language. 西安外国语学院2006研 【答案】In fact, it is very difficult to give this question a satisfactory definition. The various definitions given to language so far have pointed out some aspects of the essence of language, but all of them have left out something. The multi-faceted nature of language should be taken into consideration when it is defined. (1) Language must be a system, since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules; they cannot be combined at will. If language were not systematic, it could not be learned or used consistently. (2) Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between the word “book” and the thing we use to write with. The fact that different languages have different words for it speaks strongly for the arbitrary nature of language. (3) This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are associated with objects, actions, ideas by convention. (4) Language is primarily vocal, since that the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well developed are their writing systems. All evidence shows that writing systems came much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper. (5) Language is human-specific; that is, it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess. It is far more sophisticated than any animal communication system. Therefore, most linguists have agreed on such a definition: language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.The features that define our human languages can be called DESIGN FEATURES.1.3.1 ArbitrarinessSaussure: the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning Different levels of ARBITRARINESS:(1) Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme and its meaning, even with onomatopoeic words:The dog barks wow wow in English but “汪汪汪” in Chinese. (2) Arbitrariness at the syntactic level: language is not arbitrary at the syntactic level. He came in and sat down.He sat down and came in.He sat down after he came in.(3) Arbitrariness and convention The link between a linguistic sign and its meaning is a matter of convention.Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative，and conventionality of language makes learning a language laborious.1.3 Design Features of Language 1.3.2 Duality Definition: The property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization:Primary units words (meaningful) consist of secondary units sounds (meaningless).Hierarchy of language: stratification as the infinite use of finite means.Sounds syllables morphemes words phrases clauses sentences/utterances texts/discourses1.3.3 Creativity Definition: Language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. We can use it to create new meanings. Words can be used in new ways to mean new things, and can be instantly understood by people who have never come across that usage before. Because of duality the human speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set of sentences, most of which are never before produced or heard.Birds, bees, crabs, spiders, and most other creatures communicate in some way, but the information imparted is severely limited and confined to a small set of messages. The recursive nature of language provides a potential to create an infinite number of sentences. For instance:He bought a book which was written by a teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who.1.3.4 Displacement Displacement means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects，events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.Thus, we can refer to Confucius, or the North Pole, even though the first has been dead for over 2550 years and the second is situated far away from us. Our language enables us to communicate about things that dont exist or dont yet exist. Animal communication is normally under “immediate stimulus control”. For instance, a warning cry of a bird instantly announces danger. Human language is stimulus-free. What we are talking about need not be triggered by any external stimulus in the world or any internal state. The honeybees dance exhibits displacement a little bit: he can refer to a source of food, which is remote in time and space when he reports on it. A dog cannot tell people that its master will be home in a few days. Displacement benefits human beings by giving us the power to handle generalizations and abstractions. Once we can talk about physically distant thing, we acquire the ability to understand concepts which denote “non- things”, such as truth and beauty. 一、一、术语解解释1.Duality 北京交通大学2005研；西安交通大学2008研；四川大学2006研；武汉大学2007研；北京师范大学2003研 【答案】Duality refers to the fact that in all languages so far investigated there are two levels of structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words, etc.); at the second, lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves, but which combine to form units of meaning. For example, a syllable is the smallest unit that is normally spoken by itself, and scores of syllables become the carriers of hundreds of meaningful segments of words that are called morphemes.英英 语语 专专 业业 考考 研研 真真 题题 精精 选选2. Productivity (as a property of language) 武汉大学2004研；上海交通大学2006，2007研；四川大学2007研；北京交通大学2007研；大连外国语学院2008研 【答案】It means language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. It refers to the property that language enables language users to produce or understand an indefinite number of sentences including novel sentences by use of a finite set of rules. For example, I could make a sentence like “The man who is waiting for the lady who is talking to the boy who is playing with a girl is my uncle.”3. define features 武汉大学2005研 【答案】Define features, also called design features, refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish human language from any system of animal communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, productivity, displacement, cultural transmission, and interchangeability.4. displacement 四川大学2006，2008研；南开大学2004研；武汉大学2006，2008研；北京交通大学2006研 【答案】Language can be used to refer to what is present, what is absent, what happens at present, what happened in the past, what will happen in the future or what happens in a far-away place. This property of language enables language users to overcome the barriers caused by time and place. For example, scientists can predict the “future” of certain planets that are several billions of light years away from us.5. arbitrariness 四川大学2006研；上海交通大学2005研；南开大学2007研 【答案】Arbitrariness refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs be no natural relationship to their meaning. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, a conventionality of language makes a language be passed from generation to generation. For example, it is unable to explain why a book is called a /buk/ and a pen a /pen/. 二、二、简答答题 Why do people take duality as one of the important design features of human language? Can you tell us what language will be if it has no such design feature? 南开大学2004研 【答案】Duality makes our language productive. A large number of different units can be formed out of a small number of elementsfor instance, tens of thousands of words out of a small set of sounds. And out of the huge number of words, there can be astronomical number of possible sentences and phrases, which in turn can combine to form unlimited number of texts. Most animal communication systems do not have this design feature of human language. If language had no such design feature, then it would be like animal communicational system which consists only a number of basic sounds, and this would be highly limited. Then we would not be able to produce a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words), which are distinct in meaning. In other words, the number of messages one can send would be restricted to the number of basic sounds. 三、三、论述述题 Shakespeare has Juliet say： Whats in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. What do the above lines say to you about the relationship between the form (sounds) and meaning (concept) of a word in spoken language? Explain with positive evidence as well as exceptions from the English language. (15 points) 北外2004研 【答案】The lines said above show that the relationship between the form (sounds) and meaning (concept) of a word in spoken language is arbitrary in nature. That means there is no logical connection between forms (sounds) and meaning (concept). Different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages. Sounds are just symbols; they are associated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention. In this example, the rose can be called by many names in different languages but its smell never changes. Another example, different languages have different forms for referring to dog in English, such as Chinese 狗（gou） , French chien (n.m.). While language is arbitrary by nature, there are some exceptions as well. The best examples in English are the onomatopoetic words and compound words. For example, some onomatopoetic words rumble, crash, crackle bang are uttered like the sounds they describe, thus seem to have a natural basis. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. For example while photo and copy are both arbitrary, the compound word photocopy is not entirely arbitrary, thus seem to be motivated. Anyhow, non-arbitrary words make up only a small percentage of the vocabulary of a language.四、四、选择题1. By we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and recursiveness. 西安外国语学院2006研 a. arbitrariness b. duality c. creativity d. displacement 【答案】c2. Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary? 西安交通大学2008研 A. tree B. crash C. typewriter D. bang 【答案】A3. Which of the following is NOT a frequently discussed design feature? 大连外国语学院2008研 A. Arbitrariness B. Convention C. Duality 【答案】B五、填空五、填空题1. Human language is arbitrary. This refers to the fact that there is no logical or intrinsic connection between a particular sound and the it is associated with. 人大2007研 【答案】meaning2. The features that define our human languages can be called features. 北京第二外国语学院2006研 【答案】design3. By duality is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the level are composed of elements of the level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization. 北京第二外国语学院2005，2006研 【答案】primary, secondary4. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and C of language makes learning a language laborious. For learners of a foreign language, it is this feature of language that is more worth noticing than its arbitrariness. 大连外国语学院2008研 【答案】Conventionality六、判断正六、判断正误1 Onomatopoeic words can show the arbitrary nature of language. 清华大学2000研 【答案】F (It is the exception of the arbitrariness of language.)2. The features that define our human languages can be called DESIGN FEATURES. 大连外国语学院2008研 【答案】T3. According to Saussure, the relation between the signified and the signifier is arbitrary. 大连外国语学院2008研 【答案】TThe Divine origin“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Gospel, John 1: 1)“And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” (Genesis, 11: 6)The “bow-wow” theoryIn primitive times people imitated the sounds of the animal calls in the wild environment they lived and speech developed from that. Onomatopoeic words seem to be a convenient evidence for this theory. But they are very different in the degree of resemblance they express with the natural sounds. This theory lacks supportive evidence. 1.4 Origin of Language The “pooh-pooh” theoryIn the hard life of our primitive ancestors, they utter instinctive sounds of pain, anger and joy. As for evidence, we can only cite the universal use of sounds as interjections. What makes the theory problematic is that there is only a limited number of interjections in almost all languages. Besides, interjections such as Oh, Ah, Oops bear little relationship with the sound system of a language and therefore are not good evidence.The “yo-he-ho” theoryAs primitive people worked together, they produced some rhythmic grunts which gradually developed into chants and then into language. We do have prosodic use of rhythms in languages, but rhythmic grunts are far different from language in its present sense. The theory is again at most a speculation.The by-now fruitless search for the origin of languages reflects peoples concern with the origin of humanity and may come up with enlightening findings in future. One thing we can say for certain is that language evolves within specific historical, social and cultural contexts. Linguists talk about the functions of language in an abstract sense, that is, not in terms of using language to chat, to think, to buy and sell, to read and write, to greet, praise and condemn people, etc. They summarize these practical functions and attempt some broad classifications of the basic functions of language.1.5 Functions of Language For Jakobson, language is above all for communication. While for many people, the purpose of communication is referential, for him (and the Prague school structuralists), reference is not the only, not even the primary goal of communication. In his famous article, Linguistics and Poetics, he defined six primary factors of any speech event, namely: speaker, addressee, context, message, code, contact.In conjunction with these, Jakobson established a well-known framework of language functions based on the six key elements of communication, namely: referential (to convey message and information),poetic (to indulge in language for its own sake),emotive (to express attitudes, feelings and emotions),conative (to persuade and influence others through commands and requests), phatic (to establish communion with others)metalingual (to clear up intentions and meanings).They correspond to such communication elements as context, message, addresser, addressee, contact and code respectively. Jakobsons views of the functions of language are still of great importance.Halliday proposes a theory of metafunctions of language, that is, language has ideational, interpersonal and textual functions. Ideational function constructs a model of experience as well as logical relations, interpersonal function enacts social relationships and textual function creates relevance to context.In his earlier works, Halliday proposed seven categories of language functions by observing child language development: InstrumentalRegulatoryRepresentationalInteractionalPersonalHeuristicImaginativeStill other classifications employ different categories and use different terms, but all share a lot in common about the basic functions of language. Below is a summary of the major functions of language: 1.5.1 Informative FunctionLanguage is the instrument of thought and people often feel need to speak their thoughts aloud. The use of language to record the facts is a prerequisite of social development. The informative function is indeed a crucial function of language. It is also called ideational function in the framework of functional grammar. Halliday notes that: “Language serves for the expression of content: that is, of the speakers experience of the real world, including the inner world of his own consciousness. . In serving this function, language also gives structure to experience, and helps to determine our way of looking at things, so that it requires some intellectual effort to see them in any other way than that which our language suggests to us”.1.5.2 Interpersonal Function By far the most important sociological use of language, and by which people establish and maintain their status in a society.In the framework of functional grammar, the interpersonal function is concerned with interaction between the addresser and addressee in the discourse situation and the addressers attitude toward what he speaks or writes about. For example, the ways in which people address others and refer to themselves (e.g. Dear Sir, Dear Professor, Johnny, yours, your obedient servant) indicate the various grades of interpersonal relations. Attached to the interpersonal function is its function of expressing identity. For example, the chanting of a crowd at a football match, the shouting of names or slogans at public meetings, the stage-managed audience reactions to TV game shows They all signal who we are and where we belong. Language marks our identity, physically in terms of age, sex, and voiceprints; psychologically in terms of language, personality and intelligence; geographically in terms of accents and dialects; ethnically and socially in terms of social stratification, class, status, role, solidarity and distance.The interpersonal function is such a broad category that it is often discussed under various other terms as in the following performative, emotive, expressive and phatic functions of language. They seem to emphasize different aspects of the interpersonal function.1.5.3 Performative FunctionThis concept originates from the philosophical study of language represented by Austin and Searle, whose theory now forms the back-bone of pragmatics (Chapter 8). For example, I now declare the meeting open. I bet you two pounds it will rain tomorrow. The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony and the cursing of enemies. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized.The performative function can extend to the control of reality as on some magical or religious occasions.For example, in Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say 岁岁平安 as a means of controlling the invisible forces which the believers feel might affect their lives adversely. 1.5.4 Emotive FunctionThe emotive function of language is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something. It is a means of getting rid of our nervous energy when we are under stress, e.g. swear words, obscenities, involuntary verbal reactions to a piece of art or scenery; conventional words/phrases, e.g. God, My, Damn it, What a sight, Wow, Ugh, Oh. It is also discussed under the term expressive function. The expressive function can often be entirely personal and totally without any implication of communication to others. For example, a man may say Ouch! after striking a fingernail with a hammer, or he may mutter Damn when realizing that he has forgotten an appointment. Exclamations such as Man! Oh boy! and Hurrah! are usually uttered without any purpose of communicating to others, but as essentially a verbal response to a persons own feelings. Such expressive utterances can also be a communal response of a group of people who reinforce one anothers expressive use of language to show their solidarity.1.5.5 Phatic Communion Phatic communion refers to the social interaction of language, originating from Malinowskis study of the functions of language performed by Trobriand Islanders. For example,Mrs. P sneezes violently. Mrs. Q: Bless you.Mrs. P: Thank you.We all use such small, seemingly meaningless expressions to maintain a comfortable relationship between people without involving any factual content. Ritual exchanges about health or weather such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day often state the obvious. Yet they indicate that a channel of communication is open if it should be needed. Different cultures have different topics of phatic communion. According to David Crystal, the weather is not a universal conversation filler as the English might like to think. Rundi women (in Burundi, Central Africa), upon taking leave, routinely and politely say “I must go home now, or my husband will beat me.” Broadly speaking, this function refers to expressions that help define and maintain interpersonal relations, such as slang, jokes, jargons, ritualistic exchanges, switches to social and regional dialects. We have to learn a large repertoire of such usages if we are to interact comfortably with different people. 1.5.6 Recreational Function The recreational function of a language is often overlooked because it seems so restrictive in purpose and supposedly so limited in usefulness. However, no one will deny the use of language for the sheer joy of using it, such as a babys babbling or a chanters chanting. In the Latin and Islamic worlds as well as in some areas of China, there is widespread use of verbal dueling, in which one singer begins a song of usually few lines and challenges his opponent to continue the content or provide a rejoinder in a similar rhythm and rhyme scheme. Such verbal duels may last for a few hours and is performed for the sheer joy of playing on language. To take one example, the well-known movie刘三姐features a scene of “对歌” (song dueling) mostly for the sheer joy of playing on language.If you observe a childrens play, you will find the power of sound. Sometimes even nonsensical lyrics perform a recreational function in the game: the repetitive rhythms help to control the game, and the children plainly take great delight in it. Adults also have their way to appreciate language for its own sake. For instance, poetry writing gives them the pleasure of using language for its sheer beauty. Very close here to Jakobsons poetic function. 1.5.7 Metalingual Function Our language can be used to talk about itself. To organize any written text into a coherent whole, writers employ certain expressions to keep their readers informed about where they are and where they are going. For instance, instead of saying a The lion chased the unicorn all round the town, they say b All around the town the lion chased the unicorn. This is the metalingual function of language and meshes with the thematic function of language in functional grammar.It makes the language infinitely self-reflexive: We human beings can talk about talk and think about thinking, and thus only humans can ask what it means to communicate, to think, to be human.一、一、术语解解释1. Metalanguage中山大学2008研；西安外国语学院2006研 【答案】Metalanguage: It refers to a language used for talking about another language. For example, the semantic components like HUMAN, ADULT, MALE, belong to a meta-language, since in here they are used to explain the meaning of “man”.2. Metalinguistic function北京交通大学2006，2007研 【答案】It is the function of language that can be used to talk about language itself. For example, I can use the expression the word book to talk about the linguistic sign “book” itself.3. performative function武汉大学2004研 【答案】The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons and it can extend to the control of reality as on some magical or religious occasions. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized. For example, in Chinese when someone breaks a bowl the host or the people present are likely to say sui sui ping an (every day be safe and happy) as a means of controlling the forces which the believers feel might affect their lives.4. phatic function(communion) 武汉大学2005研；四川大学2007研 【答案】phatic function. The phatic function of language refers to the use of the language which often consists of small, seemingly meaningless expression for setting up a certain atmosphere or maintaining social contacts rather than for exchanging information or ideas. For example, greetings, farewells, and comments on the weather in English could serve this function.英英 语语 专专 业业 考考 研研 真真 题题 精精 选选二、二、简答答题How well, in your opinion, does the word “communication” represent the function of human language? 北京第二外国语学院2008研【答案】We use language for an almost infinite number of purposes, from writing letters to gossiping with our friends, making speeches and talking to ourselves in the mirror. But the primary function of language of language is to transmit information and to convey commands, feelings and emotions. That is, language is a tool of communication. The term “communication” can be used to cover much of the function of language. This function can be further divided into more specific functions, such as phatic function/communion, directive function, informative function, interrogative function, expressive function, evocative function, performative function etc.三、三、论述述题What are the seven functions of human language? 人大2006研；厦门大学2007研；浙江大学2003研【答案】According to Hu Zhuanglin, language has at least seven functions, and they are illustrated as follows:1) Informative function. It means that language is the instrument of thought and language serves an informational function when used to tell something. It is also called ideational function in the framework of functional grammar. The declarative sentences such as “This is a book.” are the typical illustration of this function.2) Interpersonal function. The interpersonal function means people can use language to establish and maintain their status in a society. It is the most important sociological use of language. In the framework of functional grammar, this function is concerned with interaction between the addresser and addressee in the discourse situation and the addressers attitude toward what he speaks or writes about. For example, the ways in which people address others and refer to themselves (such as Dear Sir, Dear Professor, Johnny, yours, your obedient servant) indicate the various grades of interpersonal relations.3) Performative function. The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enemies. The kind of language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal and even ritualized. The performative function can extend to the control of reality as on some magical or religious occasions. For example, in Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say sui sui ping an (every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling the forces which the believers feel might affect their lives.4) Emotive function. The emotive function is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something. It is a means of getting rid of the nervous energy when people are under stress, for example, swear words, obscenities, involuntary verbal reactions to beautiful art or scenery; conventional words/phrases, for example. God, My, Damn it, Wow, Ugh, Ow, etc.5) Phatic communion. The phatic communion refers to the social interaction of language. People always use some small, seemingly meaningless expressions such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day, etc., to maintain a comfortable relationship between people without any factual content.6) Recreational function. The recreational function means people use language for the sheer joy of using it, such as a babys babbling or a chanters chanting.7) Metalingual function. The metalingual function refers to the fact that people can use language to talk about itself. For example, I can use the word “book” to talk about a book, and I can also use the expression “the word book” to talk about the sign “b-o-o-k” itself.四、四、选择题1. When language is used to get information from others, it serves an function. 北京第二外国语学院2003研 A. informative B. directive C. interrogative 【答案】C2. The most important sociological use of language is the function, by which people establish and maintain their status in a society. 西安外国语学院2006研 a. performative b. interpersonal c. phatic d. metalingual 【答案】b五、填空五、填空题1. function is realized by mood and modality. 中山大学2006研 【答案】Interpersonal2. Halliday proposes a theory of metalingual functions of language, that is, language has , interpersonal and textual functions. 中山大学2008研 【答案】ideational3. Some sentences do not describe things. They cannot be said to be true or false. The utterance of these sentences is or is a part of the doing of an action. They are called p . 大连外国语学院2008研 【答案】performative六、判断正六、判断正误1. When language is used to get information from others, it serves an informative function. 清华大学2000，2001研 【答案】F 2. The phatic function refers to language function for establishing or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging information or ideas. 清华2001研 【答案】T3. The most important sociological use of language is the performative function, by which people establish and maintain their status in society. 北京第二外国语学院2003，2005研 【答案】FThe scientific study of human languageA major branch of humanities and and social sciencesan area with immense research potential, and a scholarly “industry” which produces a large amount of books, dissertations and papers every year,its preoccupations are expressed in such specialized journals as Language, Journal of Linguistics, Lingua, Applied Linguistics etc., and at regular conferences.The justification for all these booming ventures:it is bound to attract a great amount of intellectual attention which produce studies of practical importance, so it is bound to be an academically and economically favored pursuitit is also a subject of theoretical importance, e.g. Saussures structuralism1.6 What Is Linguistics?Linguistics now has a set of established theories, methods and sub-branchesNowadays we are expecting the qualitative and quantitative research approaches to take an even divide and be more complementary in linguistic studies.A grammar includes everything one knows about the structure of ones language:Phonetics and Phonology (the sounds and the sound system or patterns)Lexicon (the words or vocabulary in the mental dictionary)Morphology (the structure of words)Syntax (the structure of phrases and sentences and the constraints on well-formedness of sentences)Semantics (the meaning of words and sentences)一、一、简答答题linguistics/applied linguistics 浙江大学2003研【答案】Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. It is a scientific discipline with the goal of describing language and speech in all relevant theoretical and practical aspects and their relation to adjoining disciplines. It usually has two fields: general linguistics and applied linguistics. Applied linguisticst is a branch of linguistics which studies the application of linguistics in reality. For example, there are studies on multilingualism, language acquisition, first and second language teaching and learning.二、填空二、填空题Linguistics is usually defined as the _study of language. 北京第二外国语学院2003研【答案】scientific三、判断正三、判断正误Linguistics is primarily concerned with, natural languages. 清华2000研【答案】T英英 语语 专专 业业 考考 研研 真真 题题 精精 选选 Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics Pragmatics1.7 Main branches of linguistics1.7.1 PhoneticsPhonetics studies speech sounds, including the production of speech, that is how speech sounds are actually made, transmitted and received, the description and classification of speech sounds, words and connected speech, etc.We can approach it on various levels. At one level, speech is a matter of anatomy and physiology. We can study organs such as tongue and larynx and their functions in the production of speech. At another level, we can focus on the speech sounds produced by these organs by identifying and classifying the individual sounds. This is the domain of articulatory phonetics. We can also investigate the properties of the sound waves acoustic phonetics. As speech is intended to be heard or perceived, it is therefore possible to focus on the way in which a listener analyses or processes a sound wave auditory phonetics. 1.7.2 Phonology Phonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. It deals with the sound system of a language by treating phoneme as the point of departure. A phoneme is the smallest linguistic unit of sound that can signal a difference in meaning. Phonetics vs. PhonologyPhonetics: the study of speech sounds that the human voice is capable of creating, focuses on chaos.Phonology: the study of a subset of those sounds that constitute language and meaning, focuses on order1.7.3 Morphology Morphology is concerned with the internal organization of words. It studies the minimal units of meaning- morphemes and word-formation processes. Although many people think of words as the basic meaningful elements of a language，many words can be broken down into still smaller units, called morphemes. Morphemes serve different purposes. Some derive new words by changing the meaning or the part of speech, others only refine and give extra grammatical information about the already existing meaning of a word. As morphemes are pairings of sounds with meanings, there are many complexities involved, forming a new field by the name morphophonology. Languages differ in their degrees of dependence on the morphological components.In Latin, meaning is changed through the use of many morphological endings.word order is used to convey much of the meaning of the utterance.1.7.4 Syntax Syntax is about principles of forming and understanding correct sentences. The form or structure of a sentence is governed by the rules of syntax, which specify word order, sentence organization, and the relationships between words, word classes and other sentence elements. We know that words are organized into structures more than just word order. The children watched the firework from the hill .The children watched the firework from the hill .The chicken is too hot to eat.1.7.5 Semantics Semantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language. It is not only concerned with meanings of words as lexical items, but also with levels of language below the word and above it, e.g. meaning of morphemes and sentences. The following are what the key concepts look like: semantic componentsdenotation of wordssense relations between words such as antonymy and synonymysense relations between sentences such as entailment and presupposition and others.1.7.6 Pragmatics Pragmatics is the study of meaning in context. It deals with particular utterances in particular situations and is especially concerned with the various ways in which the many social contexts of language performance can influence interpretation. In other words, pragmatics is concerned with the way language is used to communicate rather than with the way language is internally structured.It regards speech performance as primarily a social act ruled by various social conventions. Some key concepts such as reference, force, effect, and cooperative principles may appear commonsensical, yet pragmatics is just about one of the most promising fields of linguistic studies. Take conversation for example, since language is transmitted primarily via the speech mode, pragmatic rules govern a number of conversational interactions, such as sequential organization, repair of errors, role and speech acts. Organization of conversations includes taking turns, opening, maintaining and closing a conversation, establishing and maintaining a topic etc. 一、一、术语解解释1. morphology 人大2002研；北京航空航天大学2008研 【答案】Morphology: the study of morphemes and their different forms (allomorphs), and the way they combine in word formation. For example, the English word unfriendly is formed from friend, the adjective-forming suffix ly and the negative prefix un-.2.phonetics/phonology 浙江大学2007研 【答案】Phonetics is the study of sounds used in linguistic communication. It looks at speech sounds form three distinct but related points of view: articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics and acoustic phonetics. Phonology is the study of how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in communication.英英 语语 专专 业业 考考 研研 真真 题题 精精 选选 二、二、简答答题 Briefly explain what phonetics and phonology are concerned with and what kind of relationships hold between the two.（10 points）北外2002研；四川大学2006研；武汉大学2008研；西安交通大学2008研 【答案】By definition, phonetics is the study of speech sounds, including the production of speech, while phonology is the study of the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. Both phonetics and phonology are concerned with speech. Phonetics is the study of the production, perception, and physical properties of speech sounds; phonology attempts to account for how they are combined, organized, and convey meaning in particular languages. Phonetics is the study of actual sounds, that is, the analysis and modeling o the speech signal; phonology is concerned with a more abstract description of speech sounds and tries to describe the regularities of sound patterns in different languages or within a language. In this sense, phonetics is concrete, while phonology is abstract. What phonetics studies is the speech sound, namely phone, what phonology studies is phoneme. 三、三、论述述题 Define SEMANTICS and PRAGMATICS and list at least two topics discussed in each branch. And then talk about their division of labor. 浙江大学2007研；北外2005研 【答案】Semantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language. It is not only concerned with meanings of words as lexical items, but also with levels of language below the word and above it, such as meaning of morphemes and sentences. The key concepts in this branch include semantic components, denotation of words, sense relations between words, sense relations between sentences such as entailment and presupposition. On the other hand, Pragmatics is the study of meaning in context. It deals with particular utterances in particular situations and is especially concerned with the various ways in which the many social contexts of language performance can influence interpretation. It regards speech performance as primarily a social act ruled by various social conventions. There are some key concepts such as reference, force, effect, and cooperative principles. Their division of labor could be seen from the difference between the sentence meaning and the utterance meaning. The study of the sentence meaning is the job of Semantics, and the sentence meaning is often seen as the abstract, intrinsic property of the sentence itself in terms of predication; therefore, it is abstract and de-contextualized. However, the study of the utterance meaning is the job of Pragmatics. A sentence becomes an utterance when it is actually uttered by people in the course of communication, and an utterance should be considered in the situation in which it is actually uttered or used. In a word, Semantics studies the abstract and constant meaning of a sentence, while Pragmatic studies the meaning of that sentence when it is used in a particular context.四、四、选择题1. deals with the way in which speech sounds are produced. 西安外国语学院2006研 a. Acoustic phonetics b. Articulatory phonetics c. Segmental phonology d. Suprasegmental phonology 【答案】b2. Which of the following is a main branch of linguistics? 大连外国语学院2008研 A. Macrolinguistics. B. Psycholinguistics. C. Sociolinguistics 【答案】A3. The study of physical properties of the sounds produced in speech is closely connected with .大连外国语学院2008 A. articulatory phonetics B. acoustic phonetics C. auditory phonetics 【答案】B五、填空五、填空题1. studies meaning in language, is about principles of forming and understanding correct English sentences, and is concerned with the internal organization of words. They are all among the main branches of linguistics. 人大2006研【答案】semantics；syntax；morphology2. In linguistics, refers to the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences in a language, or simply, the study of the formation as sentences. 中山大学2008研 【答案】Syntax3. studies how the speech sounds are made, transmitted, and received, and studies the rules governing the structure, distribution and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. 人大2006研 【答案】phonetics; phonology六、判断正六、判断正误1. Phonology is language specific.北京第二外国语学院2005研 【答案】T2. Syntax refers to the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences in a language.大连外国语学院2008研 【答案】T3. Phonology and grammar are infinite, tightly structured systems, the child does not have to master them before puberty in order to be a native speaker of the language. 对外经济贸易大学2006研 【答案】FLinguistics is not the only field concerned with language. Other disciplines such as psychology, sociology, ethnography, the science of law and artificial intelligence etc. are also preoccupied with language. Although Saussures goal was to establish the autonomy of linguistics, giving it a well-defined subject of study and freeing it from reliance on other disciplines, with its coming of age linguistics is developing interactive links with other sciences. The central goal of describing the underlying system remains: this is the province of general, descriptive linguistics. But since language has both individual and social aspects, it is naturally of interest to psychologists and sociologists among others. Therefore it is not surprising that we have some branches of macrolinguistics that show an interdisciplinary nature from their very names: 1.8 Macrolinguistics1.8.1 Psycholinguistics Psycholinguistics investigates the interrelation of language and mind, for example, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition. It also studies language development in the child, such as the theories of language acquisition, biological foundations of language, and a profound aspectthe relationship between language and cognition.1.8.2 Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the study of the characteristics of language varieties, the characteristics of their functions, and the characteristics of their speakers as these three constantly interact and change within a speech community. It is an umbrella term which covers a variety of different interests in language and society, including the social functions of language and the social characteristics of its users. It seeks to discover the societal rules and norms that explain and constrain language behavior and the attitudes toward language in speech communities.It also seeks to determine the symbolic value of language varieties for their speakers.1.8.3 Anthropological Linguistics Anthropology and linguistics became closely associated in the early days of anthropological fieldwork when anthropologists enlisted the help of linguists to study unwritten languages. In contrast with other linguists, then, anthropological linguists are interested primarily in the history and structure of formerly unwritten languages. They are concerned with the emergence of language and also with the divergence of languages over thousands of years.Because an unwritten language must be heard in order to be studied, it does not leave any traces once its speakers died off. Anthropological linguists must begin in the present, with comparisons of contemporary languages. Then they may draw inferences about the kinds of change in language that may have occurred in the past and that may account for similarities and differences observed in the present. 1.8.4 Computational Linguistics Computational linguistics centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language (also known as “natural language”, to distinguish it from computer languages). To this field, linguistics contributes an understanding of the special properties of language data, and provides theories and descriptions of language structure and use. Computer Science contributes theories and techniques for designing and implementing computer systems.Some current application areas include translating from one language to another (Machine Translation), storing and finding relevant documents in large collections of text (Corpus Linguistics and Information Retrieval), and carrying out various forms of computer mediated communication. 一、一、术语解解释1. socio-linguistics浙江大学2007研；浙江大学2004研 【答案】Sociolinguistics is the study of how social factors influence the structures and use of language. Specifically speaking, it studies the characteristics of language varieties, the characteristics of their functions, and the characteristics of their speakers; it seeks to discover the societal rules and norms that explain and constrain language behaviour and the behaviour toward language in speech communities.2. psycholinguistics浙江大学2003研 【答案】Psycholinguistics investigates the interrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition for example. It also studies language development in the child, such as the theories of language acquisition; biological foundations of language; and the relationship between language and cognition.英英 语语 专专 业业 考考 研研 真真 题题 精精 选选 二、二、论述述题 Linguistics is not the only field concerned with language. Other disciplines such as sociology, psychology, ethnography are also preoccupied with language. 中山大学2008研 【答案】Since language has both individual and social aspects, it is naturally of interest to psychologists and sociologists among others. Many psychologists are interested to investigate the interrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition for example, language development in the child, such as the theories of language acquisition; biological foundations of language, and a big topic the relationship between language and cognition, so there are psycholinguistics. Socialists who are interested in the relations between language and society do researches concerned both sociology and linguistics, including the social functions of language and the social characteristics of its users. When anthropologists enlisted the help of linguists to study unwritten languages, anthropology and linguistics became closely associated in the early days of anthropological fieldwork. In contrast with other linguists, anthropological linguists are interested primarily in the history and structure of formerly unwritten languages. They are concerned with the emergence of language and also with the divergence of languages over thousands of years. Therefore, it is not surprising there are some branches of macrolinguistics that show an interdisciplinary nature.四、四、选择题Which of the following does not belong to the computational linguistics? 对外经济贸易大学2006研a) machine translationb) corpus linguisticsc) speech recognitiond) empirical study【答案】d五、填空五、填空题1. is the study of the language-processing mechanisms. It is concerned with the storage, comprehension, production and acquisition of language; , on the other hand, attempts to show the relationship between language and society. They both belong to branches of macrolinguistics. 人大2006研 【答案】psycholinguistics ; sociolinguistics2. Computational linguistics can be seen as a branch of applied linguistics, dealing with computer of human language. 中山大学2006研 【答案】processing Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Synchronic vs. Diachronic Langue & Parole Competence and Performance1.9 Important Distinctions in Linguistics 1.9.1 Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Dont say X.People dont say X. The first is a prescriptive command, while the second is a descriptive statement. The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are. The reason why present-day linguists are so insistent about the distinction between the two types of rules is simply that traditional grammar was very strongly normative in character, e.g. You should never use a double-negative; You should not split the infinitive; etc. Humorous grammar rules: Never end a sentence with a preposition.And dont start a sentence with a conjunction. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.Avoid cliches like the plague. (Theyre old hat.)Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.No sentence fragments.In the 18th century, all the main European languages were studied prescriptively. The grammarians tried to lay down rules for the correct use of language and settle the disputes over usage once and for all. Some usages were prescribed to be learned by heart, followed accurately or avoided altogether. It was a matter of black or white, right or wrong.These attitudes are still with us, though people realize nowadays the facts of usage count more than the authority-made “standards”. The nature of linguistics as a science determines its preoccupation with description instead of prescription.1.9.2 Synchronic vs. Diachronic A synchronic description takes a fixed instant (usually, but not necessarily, the present) as its point of observation. Most grammars are of this kind, e.g. “A Grammar of Modern Greek”, “The Structure of Shakespeares English”. Saussures Diachronic linguistics is the study of a language through the course of its history. 1.9.3 Langue & Parole Saussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics (utterances) as langue and parole. While parole constitutes the immediately accessible data, the linguists proper object is the langue of each community, the lexicon, grammar, and phonology implanted in each individual by his upbringing in society and on the basis of which he speaks and understands his language.Langue vs. Parole Langue:the social bond that constitutes language;not complete in any speaker; it exists perfectly only within a collectivity.social & essential Parole: active use of speaking, Individual & accessory and more or less accidental1.9.4 Competence and Performance This fundamental distinction is discussed by Chomsky in his Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965). A language users underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called his linguistic competence. Performance refers to the actual use of language in concrete situations.According to Chomsky, the task of a linguist is to determine from the data of performance the underlying system of rules that has been mastered by the language user.Chomsky points out that this distinction is related to the langue-parole distinction of Saussure; but he does not accept the view of seeing langue as a mere systematic inventory of items. Competence is closer to the famous German linguist Humboldts conception, that is, it should refer to the underlying competence as a system of generative processes.Different opinion of Dell Hymes(1971) from a socio-cultural viewpoint: It is found that speakers vary their performance not at random but in a regular way. Thus it is possible to extend the notion of competence, restricted by Chomsky to a knowledge of grammar, to incorporate the pragmatic ability for language use. This extended idea of competence can be called communicative competence.一、一、术语解解释1. synchronic linguistics 人大2002研；四川大学2008研 【答案】Synchronic linguistics: the study of a language at a given point in time. The time studied may be either the present or a particular point in the past; synchronic analyses can also be made of dead languages, such as Latin. Synchronic linguistics is contrasted with diachronic linguistics (or historical linguistics; q.v.), the study of a language over a period of time.2. langue and parole 北京交通大学2005研；四川大学2008研 【答案】langue and parole: These two terms were put forward by Saussure to distinguish the linguistic competence of the speaker, which is called langue, and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics, that is, parole. To say it in another way, langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community. On the other side, parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use.英英 语语 专专 业业 考考 研研 真真 题题 精精 选选二、二、简答答题Synchronic vs. diachronic perspective (of language) 北京师范大学2003研【答案】A synchronic description takes a fixed instant (usually, but not necessarily, the present) as its point of observation, and it describes a language at some point of time, as if it stopped developing. In contrast, diachronic description is the study of a language through the course of its history; therefore, it is also called historical linguistics. 三、三、论述述题 Saussure puts forward the concept of langue and parole, and Chomsky puts forward the concept of competence and performance Please dwell upon the differences and similarities, if any, of the two pairs: langue and parole vs. competence and performance. (15 points)北京交通大学2007研 【答案】According to F. de Saussure, langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community; while parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use. For Chomsky, a fundamental distinction between linguistic competence and performance should be made. A language users underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called linguistic competence. And performance refers to the actual use of language in concrete situations. In light with this, competence enables a speaker to produce and understand an indefinite number of sentences and to recognize grammatical mistakes and ambiguities. A speakers competence is stable but his performance is often influenced by psychological and social factors, and thus would involve imperfections such as slips of tongue, false starts, unnecessary pauses, and so on. Thus, the point is that a speakers performance does not always match his competence. Saussures distinction is somewhat similar with Chomskys in the sense that they both refer to the constant factor which underlies the utterances that constitute parole/ performance. However, their difference is quite obvious. Saussues language is a social product, a set of conventions for a speech community. Chomsky regards competence as a property of the mind of each individual. Saussrue looks at language more from a sociological point of view while Chomsky looks at it more from a psychological point of view.四、四、选择题1. Saussure took a(n) view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a point of view. 西安交通大学2008研 A. sociological.psychological B. psychological.sociological C. applied.pragmatic D. semantic.linguistic 【答案】A2. According to F. de Saussure, refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community. 西安交通大学2008研 A. parole B. performance C. langue D. Language 【答案】C五、填空五、填空题1. grammars attempt to tell what is in the language, while grammars tell people what should be in the language. Most contemporary linguists believe that whatever occurs naturally in the language should be described. 人大2006研 【答案】 descriptive； prescriptive2. In linguistics, languages are studied at a theoretical point in time: one describes a state of the language, disregarding whatever changes might be taking place. 北京第二外国语学院2006研 【答案】synchronic六、判断正六、判断正误1. The concept competence originally refers to the grammatical knowledge of the ideal language user and has nothing to do with the actual use of language in concrete situation.南开大学2004研 【答案】T2. The description of a language at some point in time is called diachronic study. 北京第二外国语学院2005，2007研 【答案】F