现代语言学考试要点

现代语言学考试复习要点

1. Definition of language

Language is a system of arbitrary(随意的) vocal symbols used for human communication.

.

2. microlinguistics and macrolinguistics

microlinguistics: is concerned with the study of language or languages per se, not concern other field of study such as sociology, psychology, literature, computer science, etc.

Macrolinguistics:is concerned with the study of language which involves other discipline (interdisciplinary) sociolinguistics: Psycholinguistics: Applied linguistics:

3 langue and parole(语言和言语) 由Swiss linguist F. de Saussure 提出的Langue r efers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.(conventions and rules; abstract; relatively stable;)

Parole refers to the realization of a langue in actual use.(the concrete use of the conventions and rules; concrete, refers to the naturally occurring language events; varies from person to person, situation to situation)

区别的目的：parole is simple a mass of linguistic facts, too varied

and confusing for systematic investigation and what linguists

should do is to abstract langue from parole(发现规律)。4．competence and performance(能力和运用)：

American linguist A. Chomsky proposed in the late 1950s.

Competence: the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language Performance: the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication.

犯错误的原因是：though internalized, but with social and psychological factors such as stress, anxiety and embarrassment. .

5．prescriptive VS descriptive(规定性和描述性):

descriptive: describes and analyses the language people actually

use, // descriptive is a distinctive feature in modern linguistic

studies.

prescriptive:aims to lay down rules for ‘correct’behaviour(what

should say or not say, grammar and usage), 18th century prescriptive

approach to prescribe a set of rules for the native speakers to learn

to follow, but it played an important role in the standardisation of

the English language.

6synchronic vs diachronic（共时性和历时性）：

Synchronic: the description of a language at some point in time // is

focused on a particular phase, usually the current phase, of the

development of the language, paying little attention to its relation to

the prior phases in its history of development. Linguistic studies

today are usually synchronic in nature.

Diachronic: the description of a language as it changes through

time(historical or evolutionary study of language), known as

historical linguistics. Linguistic studies in the 19th century were

usually classified as studies of Historical Linguistics.

7speech vs writing(口语和书面语)

Modern linguistics gives priority to the spoken form of language,

which is considered as more basic than the written form for a

number of reasons----speech precedes writing; more spoken

language; spoken language for a wider purpose and larger load of

communication.

8. Deep structure and surface structure

Deep structure: the abstract syntactic representation of a sentence. It is believed that phrase structure rules, with the insertion of the lexicon, generate sentences at the level of deep structure.

Surface structure: the directly observable syntactic form of the sentence. The application of transformational rules transforms a sentence from the level of deep structure to that of surface structure.

9. Universal Grammar

A theory which claims to account for the grammatical competence of every adult no matter what language he or she speaks. It claims that every speaker knows a set of principles (原理)which apply to all languages and also a set of Parameters(参量)that can vary from one language to another, but only within certain limits.

According to UG theory, acquiring a language means applying the principles of UG to a particular language and learning which value is appropriate for each parameter.

10. The naming theory(命名论):