【免费下载】语言学课后练习之练习1Language

【免费下载】语言学课后练习之练习1Language

语言学导论课外补充练习（1）

language

the nature of language briefly with examples.

is it said that the language system is unique to human

beings?

are the characteristics of human language?

are the social functions of language?

animals other than humans have their own languages?

ify how animals communicate with each other.

language be viewed only as a system of

communication? Why not?

did language come into being? What is the

relationship between the origin

of language and the origin of human beings?

e each of the following lists of words into natural

order.

（1）Five /the /fresh /potatoes

（2）Pretty /American /girls /the two

（3）Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two

（4）Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three

（5）Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers

in the blanks with the proper words.

（1）_______ function means language can be used to “do”

things.

（2）_______ function means the use of language to reveal

something about the feelings and attitudes of the speaker.

（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with _______

function.

（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows ______ function.

（5）Greetings shows _______ function.

（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows______ function.

（7）Propaganda shows ________ function.

（8）________ refers to contexts removed from the immediate

of the speaker.

（9）For________, reference is not the only, not even the

primary goal of communication.

（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include ________, ___________,

_____________.

（11）Linguistics should include at least five

parameters:_________

_________________.

. the following are true or false. If it is false correct it

（1）Language distinguishes us from animals because it is

far more sophisticated than any animals communication system.

（2）There is not a certain degree of correspondence

between the sequence of clauses and the actual happenings.

（3）The theories discussed in the textbook about the

origins of language are not at most a speculation.

（4）The definition,“ Language is a tool for human

communication.” has no problem.

（5）The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells

nothing about its functions.

（6）Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human

institution.

（7）Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as

Sapir’s.

语言学课外单元补充习题答案

Language（Exercise 1）

__________ ___________ ____________

1. State the nature of language briefly with examples.

Answer: modern linguists have proposed various definitions

of language such as: Language is “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and

desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Sapir, 1921)

Language is “the institution whereby humans communicate and

interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall, 1968) Language is “a set

(finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and

constructed out of a finite set of elements.” (Chomsky, 1957)

“语言是人跟人互通信息，用发音器官发出来的，成系统的行为的方式。”（赵元任）

Each of these definitions has its own special emphasis.

However, there is a generally accepted definition: Language is a

system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human

communication. The definition has captured main features of

human language: (i) language is a system; (ii) language is

arbitrary; (iii) language is vocal; (iv) language is human-specific;

and (v) language is to communicate. (Students should illustrate

these points more clearly)

2. Why is it said that the language system is unique to human

beings?

That language is human specific means that language is

different from the communication systems other forms of life

have, such as bird songs and bee dances. (More about this point

can be found in the illustration of the design features of language)

3. What are the characteristics of human language?

Human language is characterized by its design features,

which refers to the defining properties of human language which

distinguish it from animal communication system. American

linguist Charles Hockett specified 13 features (some of them

discussed in our textbook):

1. Mode of communication: vocal-auditory;

2. Rapid Fading: Message does not linger in time or space

after production.

3. Interchangeability: individuals who use a language can

both send and receive any permissible message within that

communication system.

4. Feedback: users of a language can perceive what they are

transmitting and can make corrections if they make errors.

5. Specialization: the direct-energetic consequences of

linguistic signals are usually biologically trivial; only the

triggering effects are important.

6. Semanticity: there are associative ties between signal

elements and features in the world; in short, some linguistic

forms have denotations.

7. Arbitrariness: there is no logical connection between the

form of the signal and its meaning.

8. Discreteness: messages in the system are made up of

smaller, repeatable parts;

the sounds of language (or cheremes of a sign) are perceived

categorically, not continuously.

9. Displacement: linguistic messages may refer to things

remote in time and space, or both, from the site of the

communication.

10. Productivity: users can create and understand completely

novel messages. 1) In

a language, new messages are freely coined by blending,

analogizing from, or transforming old ones. This says that every

language has grammatical patterning. 2) In a language, either

new or old elements are freely assigned new semantic loads by

circumstances and context. This says that in every language new

idioms constantly come into existence.

11. Cultural transmission: the conventions of a language are

learned by interacting with more experienced users.

12. Duality (of Patterning): a large number of meaningful

elements are made up of

a conveniently small number of meaningless but message-differentiating elements.

13. Prevarication: linguistic messages can be false, deceptive,

or meaningless.

14. Reflexiveness: In a language, one can communicate about

communication.

15. Learnability: A speaker of a language can learn another

language.

(Charles Hockett, 1966, "The Problem of Universals in

Language".)

Among them, arbitrariness, duality, productivity,

displacement are the crucial and central properties of language.

4. What are the social functions of language?

Language serves various social functions as follows:

1) phatic: language is used for establishing an atmosphere

for further communication or maintaining social contact rather

than for exchanging information, such as greetings, farewells and

comments on the weather.

2) directive: language is used to get the hearer to do

something.

3) informative: language is the instrument of thought, is to

give information or record the facts.

4) interrogative: language is used to get information from

others.

5) expressive: language is used to convey the user’s feelings

or attitudes.

6) evocative: language is used to create certain feelings in

the hearer.

7) performative: language can be used to perform certain

acts.

(Students are required to list other functions of language and

give some examples) 5. Do animals other than humans have their

own languages?

Animals have their own communication systems which may

be different from human languages. For instance, a bee can tell

other bees the location, direction, distance or quality of the food

source by performing a dance on a wall of the hive. An ant can

convey information to its partners through its feelers.

6. Exemplify how animals communicate with each other.

See the answer to the question 5 (list more examples about

other animals).

7. Can language be viewed only as a system of

communication? Why not?

The statement that language is a system of communication

does not clarify the nature of language. Language is a

complicated notion. A proper definition should be based on the

structures, features and functions of language. Moreover, if

language is

defined merely as a system of communication, then

language is not unique to humans. (More on this see the answers

above.)

8. How did language come into being? What is the

relationship between the origin of language and the origin of

human beings?

There are many theories about the origin of language. Four

theories are introduced in the textbook1(PP. 9-19). You can find

more information about this problem on the internet, or in the

library.

The relationship between the origin of language and the

origin of human beings is an open question. Students can discuss

it according to your understanding.

9. Rewrite each of the following lists of words into natural

order.

Five /the /fresh /potatoes: The five fresh potatoes

Pretty /American /girls /the two: The two pretty American

girls

Airlines /brand /France-made /new /the two: The two new

brand France-made airlines

Fashions /Chinese /the /latest /three: The latest three

Chinese fashions

Beginning /hardworking /two /the /workers: The two

beginning hardworking workers

10. Fill in the blanks with the proper words.

（1）Performative function means language can be used to

“do” things.

（2）Emotive/expressive function means the use of

language to reveal something about the feelings and attitudes of

the speaker.

（3）Most imperative sentences are associated with

directive function.

（4）The sentence “What’s it like?” shows interrogative

function.

（5）Greetings shows phatic function.

（6）“We are most grateful for this.” shows expressive

function.

（7）Propaganda shows evocative function.

（8）Displacement refers to contexts removed from the

immediate of the speaker.

（9）For Jakobson, reference is not the only, not even the

primary goal of communication.

（10）Halliday’s metafunctions include Ideational,

Interpersonal and Textual functions.

（11）Linguistics should include at least five

parameters:_________

_________________.

11. Say the following are true or false. If it is false correct it

1) Language distinguishes us from animals because it is far

more sophisticated

than any animals communication system. (T)

2) There is not a certain degree of correspondence between

the sequence of

clauses and the actual happenings. (F) The order of clauses

are always matching the actual sequence of happenings.

3) The theories discussed in the textbook about the origins

of language are not at

most a speculation. (F) (more about this on P.10)

4) The definition“Language is a tool for human

communication.” has no 1 The textbook refers to Linguistics: A

Course Book edited by Hu Zhuanglin, Beijing University Press,

2001.

problem.(F) The definition just focuses on the function of

language, which does not include the nature and features of

language.

__________ ___________ ____________

5) The definition, “language is a set of rules”, tells nothing

about its functions. (T)

6) Hall, like Sapir, treats language as a purely human

institution. (F) (See the answer to the question 1)

7) Chomsky’s definition about language is the same as

Sapir’s. (F) (See the answer to the question 1)