英语语言学概论-简答题

1.Synchronic vs diachronic

Language exists in time and changes through time. The description of a language at some point of time in

history is a synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A diachronic study of language is a historical study; it studies the historical development of language over a period of time.

2. Langue and parole

Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared

by all the members of a speech community; and parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use. Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to abide by, and parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules. Langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use. Parole is concrete; it refers to

the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable, It does not change frequently, while parole varies from person to person, and from situation

to situation.

3. Competence and performance

Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language, and performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. According to Chomsky, a speaker has internalized a set of rules about his language, which enables him to produce and understand an infinitely

large number of sentences and recognize sentences that are ungrammatical and ambiguous.

4. Arbitrariness

As mentioned earlier, language is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different language.

On the other hand, we should be aware that while language is arbitrary by nature it is not entirely arbitrary; certain words are motivated. The best examples are the onomatopoeic words, such as rumble, crash, cackle, bang in English. 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. But non-arbitrary words make up only a small percentage of the vocabulary of a language. The arbitrary nature of language is a sigh of sophistication and it makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions.

5. Productivity

Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences they have never heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Much of what we say and hear are saying or hearing for the first time.

6. Duality

Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures or two levels. At the lower or the basic

level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds of language

can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of

units of meaning such as morphemes and words, which are found at the higher level of the system.

7. Displacement

Language can be used to refer to things which are

present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in faraway places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This is what “displacement” means. This property provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range

of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time or place.

In contrast, no animal communication system possesses

this feature. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation, i.e. in contact of food, in presence of danger, or in pain. Once the danger or pain is gone, calls stop.

8. Cultural transmission

While human capacity for language has a genetic basis,

i.e. we were all born with the ability to acquire language, the details of any language system are not genetically transmitted, but instead have to be taught and learned. An English speaker and a Chinese speaker

are both able to use a language, but they are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. It is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. In contrast, animal call systems are genetically transmitted, i.e. animals are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species.

9. Broad transcription and narrow transcription:

Broad transcription is the transcription with letter-symbols only, this is the transcription normally used in dictionaries and teaching textbooks for general purposes. Narrow transcription is the transcription with letter-symbols together with the diacritics, this is the transcription needed and used by the phoneticians in

their study of speech sounds. With the help of the diacritics they can faithfully represent as much of the fine details as it is necessary for their purpose.

10. Sense and reference

Sense and reference are two terms often encountered

in the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning.

Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of a linguistic form, the collection of all its features; it

is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in.

Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with relationship between the linguistic element and non-linguistic world

of experience.

11. Context

It is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer. Various components of shared knowledge have been identified, e.g. knowledge of the language they use, knowledge of what

has been said before, knowledge about the world in general, knowledge about the specific situation in which linguistic communication is taking place, and knowledge about each other. Context determines the speaker’s use

of language and also the hearer’s interpretation of