大学思辨英语教程精读1unit2

Thesis: Among its multiple purposes, language is good at interaction and persuasion but poor at information talking.
Part Para(s).
Main idea
I 1-5
Introducing the question: what is language for?
II 6-8
Multiple purposes: interpreting the question
III 9-20 Answering the first question: what is difficult to express?
IV 21-26 Answering the second question: what is language good at?
V 27-28 Conclusion: questions related to the functions of language
Comprehensive Questions
1. The transfer of information is not the only purpose of using language.
In greetings and some pointless chitchat, communicators use language primarily, if not exclusively, for constructing or maintaining certain social relationship. Even when information is the major concern, the speaker and hearer must take into consideration some other factors, such as politeness and aesthetics (cf. Para. 22-22).
2. In Paragraph 6, Aitchison divides the question into two sub-questions: “Forw hat purpose did language develop? ”an d
“For what purpose is language used nowadays? ”
what is language fo
Since there are so many
purposes of using language and the original one is difficult to identify, she argues in paragraph 8 that we can find clues by looking at what language is good at and what it finds difficult to express. The rest of the text (paras.9-
28) provides discussion about and answers to these two questions.
3. According to Aitchison, the list of language functions in paragraph 7 is not exhaustive(complete), and it is not clear which one is the most basic. Aitchison discusses in some detail the following four functions, providing information, expressing feelings, influencing others and social talking, which are roughly organized in the order of importance in the traditional view.
4. Aitchison suggests that the early functions of language can be traced in the way we use language today to some extent. The assumption behind is that the origin of language is accountable(responsible) in its early function(s) and that the early
function(s) must be reflected in what language is good at today. In other words, if language was created to perform a particular function, it must still be good at it nowadays. Evaluating the text
(2) Exemplifying
An utterance may serve more than one purpose simultaneously. Donking is used metalinguistically(元语言) in example (6), but the whole sentence
“ Donkingi sn 'at word ”i s informative. We can provide information, express our feelings and initiate social talking by asking questions or giving commands.
Exploring beyond the text
(1) Some scholars believe that language facilitates thinking and that our thinking would be impossible without an inner language. In many cultures,language is also used as a symbol of magic or as something that carries mysterious power (e.g., religious Taoism, couplets for Spring Festival). Different functions of language are not equally important. For example, the functions of communicating and of facilitating thinking are more fundamental while those of religious use and word play are more derivative(派生的) .
(2) Generally speaking, there are two different views on the relationship between language and thinking. Some scholars claim that language restricts thinking. According to this view, people perceive the world through the language that they speak. It follows that people speaking different languages experience different worlds, just like people seeing different things with different eyes. Others believe that language and thinking are separate and should not be equated with each other. For example, even if a language does not have the word for chartreus(e查特酒绿), people speaking the language can still perceive this color, think about it and even talk about it, using not a single word but a kind of
paraphrase(意译) .
(3) Some utterances may basically serve only one function. For example, people greet each other saying “Hi! ”or “ Morning! t”o neighbors to maintain social connections; in church, the priest preaches a sermon to call for piety to the Lord. But more often than not an utterance and its context produce some “side effects ” and serve different functions simultaneously. In saying “It 's gonna rain. You 'd better take an ulmadbyre, ltlhae.
to a speaker not only provides information about the weather, but also shows his/her concern toward the addressee and enhances the solidarity.
(4) Language changes for different reasons, e.g., language users (abomination)to clich éand preference to creativity, language contact, language planning and so on. While some changes may not be directly related to functions of language, others are indeed motivated by certain functions of language. For example, neologisms related to science and technology emerge primarily because there is a need to talk about such new things. In this case the function of providing information requires the creation of some new words.
(5) The best-known examples for “ phaticc ommunion ”i n traditional Chinese society are probably greetings such as 吃了吗？(have“ you had your meal?) ”an d “去哪儿啊？(where are you going?) ”N.e ither is considered imposing(气宇昂轩) or offensive because in traditional Chinese society, it is more important to show mutual concern than respect
for privacy. The British follow a different tradition. Brown and Levinson (1987) recognize two sides of face, a positive one and a negative one. Positive face refers to “thed esire to be appreciated and approved ”an d negative face “the freedom of action and freedom from imposition
Chinese people (especially in traditional society), negative face is not as important as positive face. The British, on the other hand, value negative face more than positive face.
Language enhancement
Words and phrases
1. Word Formation
Part of speech
nouns: Taking-off, air-traffic, take-off-point, London-York, two-thirds, real-life, non-reality, self-repetition, other-repetition
Adjectives: non-existent
Adverbs: half-way
Structure:
Noun-noun: air-traffic, London-York, self-repetition, other-repetition Adjective-noun: real-life
Cardinal-ordinal numeral: two-thirds Prefix-noun: non-reality
Gerund-adverb: Taking-off
Verb-adverb-noun: take-off-pointunworthy
2. Articles and prepositions
(1)/ (2)/ (3) a, the, with (4) /, the (5) /, the, the, on, a
Solar/lunar Calendar
Shadow cabinet 影子内阁
3. Verbs and phrases
(1)conveying, handling (2)convey (3)transferred (4)coincide
(5)collide (6)date back to (7)originated from
Sentences and discourse
Translation
1 . ...the English philosopher John Locke argued in his influential An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) that language is “theg reat conduit, whereby men convey their discoveries, reasoning, and knowledge to one another. ” 英国哲学家约翰·洛克在其颇有影响的著作《人类理解论》(1690)中指出，语言是一个伟大的传输渠道，人类通过这一渠道相互传达各自的发现、推理和知识。

2. Yet the notion of “ thought is” v ague, and could cover the intention behind just about every possible utterance, from commands to apologies to poems.
然而“思想”是一个模糊的概念，涵盖了几乎所有话语背后的各种意图，包括命令、道歉和诗歌等。

-triviauln truths told for social reasons - are common,
3. Yet “ little white lies
especially in cultures whre politeness requires a reply... 然而“善意的小谎言”（出于某种社会原因所说的无伤大雅的假话）也是正常的，尤其是在其礼貌规范要求说话者做出回答的文化中。

4. He has a very plausible way of talking; sometimes he talks with the tongue in the cheek.
他讲起话来有板有眼，而且有时话中有话。

5. 她拍的每一张照片都传递出一种感觉，使人有如亲临现场。

（convey） In every one of her pictures she conveys a sense of immedi（ac直y 观性）.
6. 欢呼声和掌声汇成了一片持续的喧闹。

（mingle）
The cheers and applause mingled in a single sustained roar.
7. 我们对这些子虚乌有的谣言从何而来很感兴趣。

（fictitious ）
We're interested in the source of these fictitious rumors.
Paragraph structure 2-4-3-1。