语言学概论作业(1)

Chapter 1. Invitations to Linguistics
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I. For each question, there are four choices of answers. In some cases, only one choice is correct while in others more than one should be chosen. Choose ALL the correct ones.
1. Which of the following are design features of language?
A. arbitrariness
B. duality
C. interpersonal
D. displacement
2. By _____ we mean language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness.
A. arbitrariness
B. creativity
C. interpersonal
D. displacement
3. “I can refer to Confucius even though he was dead 2,000 years ago.” This shows that language has the design feature of _____.
A. arbitrariness
B. creativity
C. duality
D. displacement
4. Displacement benefits human beings by giving them the power to handle _____.
A. arbitrariness and creativity
B. generalizations and abstractions
C. interpersonal relationship
D. performative functions
5. Which of the following is NOT a theory about the origin of language?
A. The bow-wow theory
B. The pooh-pooh theory
C. The “yo-he-ho” theory
D. The Winnie-the-Pooh theory
6. Which of the following theories takes as the origin of language the instinctive sounds of pain, anger and joy?
A. The bow-wow theory
B. The pooh-pooh theory
C. The “yo-he-ho” theory
D. The Winnie-the-Pooh theory
7. Which of the following statements is true of Jacobson’s framework of language functions?
A. The referential function is to indulge in language for its own sake.
B. The emotive function is to convey message and information.
C. The conative function is to clear up intentions, words and meanings.
D. The phatic function is to establish communion with others.
8. Which of the following are among Hallida y’s theory of metafunctions of language?
A. ideational
B. relational
C. interpersonal
D. textual
9. Using language for the sheer joy of using it shows that language has a _____ function.
A. recreational
B. metalingual
C. informative
D. performative
10. _____ studies the internal organization of words.
A. Phonology
B. Morphology
C. Semantics
D. Syntax
11. _____ is concerned with the rules governing the structure, distribution and sequencing of speech sounds.
A. Phonetics
B. Morphology
C. Pragmatics
D. Phonology
12. _____ is the study of meaning in context.
A. Semantics
B. Pragmatics
C. Sociolinguistics
D. Psycholinguistics
13. In the 18th century, all the main European languages were studied _____.
A. diachronically
B. synchronically
C. prescriptively
D. descriptively
14. “Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.” This is an example of _____ rules.
A. prescriptive
B. descriptive
C. transformational
D. functional
15. The distinction between langue and parole was put forward by _____.
A. Bloomfield
B. de Saussure
C. Chomsky
D. Halliday
16. The distinction between competence and performance was made by _____.
A. Bloomfield
B. de Saussure
C. Chomsky
D. Hymes
17. According to _____, 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.
A. Jacobson
B. Bloomfield
C. Pike
D. Chomsky
18. The distinction between etic and emic is based on the concept of _____ analysis.
A. phonetic and phonemic
B. semantic and pragmatic
C. sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic
D. morphemic and syntactic
19. Which of the following was written by Ferdinand de Saussure?
A. A Grammar of Modern Greek
B. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
C. Course in General Linguistics
D. The Structure of Shakespeare’s English
20. Which of the following was written by Noam Chomsky?
A. A Grammar of Modern Greek
B. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
C. Course in General Linguistics
D. The Structure of Shake speare’s English
21. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be ______________.
A. prescriptive
B. analytic
C. descriptive
D. linguistic
22.Which of the following is not a design feature of human language?
A. Arbitrariness
B. Displacement
C. Duality
D. Meaningfulness
23. Modern linguistics regards the written language as ____________.
A. primary
B. correct
C. secondary
D. stable
24. In modern linguistics, speech is regarded as more basic than writing, because ___________.
A. in linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing
B. speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed.
C. speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue
D. All of the above
25. A historical study of language is a ____ study of language.
A. synchronic
B. diachronic
C. prescriptive
D. comparative
26.Saussure took a (n)__________ view of language, while Chomsky looks at language from a ________ point of view.
A. sociological…psychological
B.psychological…sociological
C. applied… pragmatic
D.semantic and linguistic
27. According to F. de Saussure, ____ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.
A. parole
B. performance
C. langue
D. Language
28. Language is said to be arbitrary because there is no logical connection between _________ and meanings.
A. sense
B. sounds
C. objects
D. ideas
29. Language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This feature is called_________,
A. displacement
B. duality
C. flexibility
D. cultural transmission
30. The details of any language system is passed on from one generation to the next through ____ , rather than by instinct.
A. learning
B. teaching
C. books
D. both A and B
II. Fill in each of the following blanks with one word which begins with the letter given:
1. Chomsky defines “ competence” as the ideal user’s k__________ of the rules of his language.
ngue refers to the a__________ linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community while the parole is the concrete use of the conventions and application of the rules.
3.D_________ is one of the design features of human language which refers to the phenomenon that language consists of two levels: a lower level of meaningless individual sounds and a higher level of meaningful units.
nguage is a system of a_________ vocal symbols used for human communication.
5. The discipline that studies the rules governing the formation of words into permissible sentences in languages is called s________.
6. Human capacity for language has a g ____ basis, but the details of language have to be taught and learned.
7. P ____ refers to the realization of langue in actual use.
8. Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the settlement of some practical problems. The study of such applications is generally known as a________ linguistics.
nguage is p___________ in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. In other words, they can produce and understand an infinitely large number
of sentences which they have never heard before.
10. Linguistics is generally defined as the s ____ study of language.
II. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Language is unique to humans so when we say “bird language” w e are using the word metaphorically.
2. Language is conventional.
3. Arbitrariness means you can use language in any way you like.
4. Bloomfield defined the six primary factors of any speech event as: speaker, addressee, context, message, code, contact.
5. The metalingual function of language means that the human language can be used to talk about itself.
6. If you repeat a sound, say [p], ten times, each time it may be slightly different.
7. Latin has fewer morphological changes than English.
8. Historical linguistics is a synchronic study of language.
9. Computational linguists are interested in the history and structure of formerly unwritten languages.
10. The concept of “communicative competence” was suggested by Dell Hymes.
11. Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.
12.Linguistics studies particular language, not languages in general.
13. A scientific study of language is based on what the linguist thinks.
14. In the study of linguistics, hypotheses formed should be based on language facts and checked against the observed facts.
15. General linguistics is generally the study of language as a whole.
16. General linguistics, which relates itself to the research of other areas, studies the basic concepts, theories, descriptions, models and methods applicable in any linguistic study.
17. Phonetics is different from phonology in that the latter studies the combinations of the sounds to convey meaning in communication.
18. Morphology studies how words can be formed to produce meaningful sentences.
19. The study of the ways in which morphemes can be combined to form words is called morphology.
20. Syntax is different from morphology in that the former not only studies the morphemes, but also the combination of morphemes into words and words into sentences.
21. The study of meaning in language is known as semantics.
22. Both semantics and pragmatics study meanings.
23. Pragmatics is different from semantics in that pragmatics studies meaning not in isolation, but in context.
24.Social changes can often bring about language changes.
25. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to society.
26. Modern linguistics is mostly prescriptive, but sometimes descriptive.
27. Modern linguistics is different from traditional grammar.
28. A diachronic study of language is the description of language at some point in time.
29 Modern linguistics regards the written language as primary, not the written language.
30. The distinction between competence and performance was proposed by F. de Saussure.
III. Choose Four of the following questions and answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible. Give examples for illustration if necessary:.
1. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples.
2. How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?
3. How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachronic study?
4. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, not the written?
5. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole?
6. How do you understand competence and performance ?
7. Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole seems similar to Chomsky’s distinction between competence and performance. What do you think are their major differences?
8. Do you think human language is entirely arbitrary? Why?。