语言学教程课后习题答案资料

Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics 1. Define the following terms design feature the distinctive features of human language that essentially make human language distinguishable from languages of animals. function the role language plays in communication e.g. to express ideas, attitudes or in particular social situations e.g. religious, legal. synchronic said of an approach that studies language at a theoretical ‘point’ in time. diachronic said of the study of development of language and languages over time. prescriptive to make authoritarian statement about the correctness of a particular use of language. descriptive to make an objective and systematic account of the patterns and use of a language or variety. arbitrariness the absence of any physical correspondence between linguistic signals and the entities to which they refer. duality the structural organization of language into two abstract levels meaningful units e.g. words and meaningless segments e.g. sounds, letters. displacement the ability of language to refer to contexts removed from the speaker’s immediate situation. phatic communion said of talk used to establish atmosphere or maintain social contact. metalanguage a language used for talking about language. macrolinguistics a broad conception of linguistic enquiry, including psychological, cultural, etc. competence unconscious knowledge of the system of grammatical rules in a language. perance the language actually used by people in speaking or writing. langue the language system shared by a “speech community”. parole the concrete utterances of a speaker. 2. Consult at least four introductory linguistics textbooks not dictionaries, and copy the definitions of “language” that each gives. After carefully comparing the definitions, write a paper discussing which points recur and explaining the significance of the similarities and differences among the definitions. ANSWERAll the definitions should not exclude the description of design features that have been mentioned in this course book. Also it will be better if other design features, say, interchangeability or cultural transmission is included. But it seems impossible to give an unimpeachable definition on language, because the facets people want to emphasize are seldom unanimous. To compare several definitions can make you realize where the argument is. 3. Can you think of some words in English which are onomatopoeic ANSWERS creak the sound made by a badly oiled door when it opens. cuckoo the call of cuckoo. bang a sudden loud noise. roar a deep loud continuing sound. buzz a noise of buzzing. hiss a hissing sound. neigh the long and loud cry that a horse makes. mew the noise that a gull makes. bleat the sound made by a sheep, goat or calf. 4. Do you think that onomatopoeia indicates a non-arbitrary relationship between and meaning ANSWER4. No matter you say “Yes“ or “No“, you cannot deny that onomatopoeia needs arbitrariness. Before