Chapter 4 课后答案

Chapter 4答案

Syntax

1. Define the following terms briefly.

(1)

syntax: the term used to refer to the structure of sentences and to the study

of sentence structure.

(2)

word class: a group of words which are similar in function; words which are

grouped into word classes according to how they combine with other words,

how they change their forms, etc.

(3)

prescriptive approach: This view regards grammar as a set of rules for the

“proper” use of a language, that’s to say, it tries to lay down rules to tell people

how to use a language.

(4)

descriptive approach: the approach of linguistic studies, with which linguists

collect samples of the language they are interested in and attempt to describe

the regular structures of the language as they are used, not according to some

view of how they should be used.

(5)

IC analysis: the approach to divide the sentence up into its immediate constituents

by using binary cutting until obtaining its ultimate constituents.

For example, the immediate constituents of “The man bought a car” are the

man and bought a car. The immediate constituents of the man are the and

man, and so on until no further cuts can be made. The ultimate constituents

of “The man bought a car” at the word level are the, man, bought, a, and car.

(6)

structural analysis: a type of descriptive approach to study the distribution of

linguistic forms in a language through such methods as the use of “test frames”.

(7)

immediate constituent: Linguistic units can be divided into small constituents,

which can be further analyzed into smaller constituents. This process

continues until no further divisions are possible. The first division or units

are known as immediate constituents.

(8)

ultimate constituent: Linguistic units can be divided into small constituents,

which can be further analyzed into smaller constituents. This process continues

until no further divisions are possible. The final division or units are

known as ultimate constituents.

(9)

constituent structural grammar: It refers to a grammar which analyzes sentences

using only the idea of constituency, which reveals a hierarchy of structural

levels.

(10) transformational grammar: a type of grammar which attempts to define and

describe by a set of rules or principles all the grammatical sentences (without

ungrammatical ones) of a language.

(11) ideational function: the use of language as a means of giving structure to our

experience of the real or imaginary world.

(12) interpersonal function: the use of language for maintaining social roles and

interacting with others.

(13) textual function: to create written or spoken texts which cohere within themselves

and which fit the particular situation in which they are used.

2. Yes. As we know, morphology is the study of the internal structure, forms and