语言学练习题 Chapter 2 Linguistics

Chapter Two Linguistics

1. Define the following terms.

1) syntagmatic relation vs paradigmatic relation 2) langue vs parole

3) competence vs performance

4) descriptive linguistics vs historical linguistics 5) theoretical linguistics vs applied linguistics

6) deccriptive linguistics vs prescriptive linguistics 7) synchronic vs diachronic linguistics 8) macrolinguistics vs microlinguistics

9) Comparative historical linguistics vs contrastive linguistics 2. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

1) ( ) Prescriptive linguistics is more popular than descriptive linguistics because it can

tell us how to speak correct language.

2) ( ) Competencce and performance refer respectively to a language user‘s underlying

knowledge about the system of rules and the actual use of language in concrete situations.

3) ( ) The antithesis of langue and parole was created by Chomsky. 4) ( ) Cockoo in English is onomatopoeia.

5) ( ) Synchronic linguistics is concerned with the study of language development

through time.

6) ( ) Prescriptive linguists are concerned with how languages work, not with how they can

be improved.

7) ( ) Linguistics tries to answer the basic questions‖ what is a language‖ and ―How does a

language work‖.

8) ( ) Onomatopoetic words are found in almost all human languages, which shows the

arbitrary nature of languages.

9) ( ) Each language contains two systems rather than one, a system of sound and a system

of meaning.

10) ( ) Cultural transmission refers to the fact that the details of the linguistic system must be

learned a new by each speaker.

11) ( ) Phatic function refers to language used to exchange information and ideas.

12) ( ) Speakers of all languages are capable of producing and comprehending an infinite set

of sentences, which accounts for syntactic universality.

13) ( ) Halliday‘s linguistic potential is similar to the notions of parole and performance 14) ( ) By diachronie study we mean to study the changes and development of language. 15) ( ) Langue is relatively stable and systematic while parole is subject to personal and

situational constraints.

16) ( ) In language classrooms nowadavs the grammar taught to students is basically

descriptive, and more attention is paid to the developing learners ? communicative skills. 17) ( ) Saussure‘s exposition of synchronic analysis led to the school of historical linguistics 18) ( ) Applied linguistics is the application of linguistic principles and theories to language

teaching and learning.

19) ( ) Semantics is the study of the meaning of words and sentences.

20) ( ) A diachronic study is concerned with the historical development of a language over a

period of time.

21) ( ) A paradigmatic relation is a relation between a linguistic element in an utterance and

linguistic elements outside that utterance, but belonging to the same sub-system of the language.

22) ( ) General linguistics aims at developing a theory that describes the rules of a particular

language.

23) ( ) English linguistics is a kind of descriptive linguistics. 24) ( ) Competence is more concrete than performance.

25) ( ) Descriptive linguistics attempts to establish a theory which accounts for the rules of

language in general.

26) ( ) Langue is more abstract than parole and therefore is not directly observable. 27) ( ) General linguistics deals with the whole human language. 28) ( ) All the English words are not symbolic.

29) ( ) All sounds produced by human speech organs are linguistic symbols. 30) ( ) Descriptive linguistics studies one specific language.

31) ( ) Morphological knowledge is a native speaker‘s intuition about how a sentence is

formed.

32) ( ) Phonetics is the science that deals with the sound system.

33) ( ) A diachronic study of a language is concerned with a state of a language at a

particular point of time.

3. Multiple Choice

1) ______ made the distinction between competence and performance.

A. Saussure B. Chomsky C Bloomfiled D. Sapir

2) Findings in linguistic studies can often be applied to the solution of some practical

problems, the study of such applications is knowns as ________. A. anthropological linguistics B. computational linguistics C. applied linguistics D. mathematical linguistics

3) _______ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of speech

community. A. Parole B. langue C speech D. writing 4) Which of the following is not the major brach of linguistics?

A. phonology B. pragmatics C. syntax D speech

5) ________ deals with language application to other fields, particularly education.

A. Linguistic geography B. Sociolinguistics C. Applied linguistics D. Comparative linguistics

6) Which branch of linguistics studies the similarities and differences among languages?

A. Diachronic linguistics. B. Synchronic linguistics. C. Prescriptive linguistics. D. Comparative linguistics.

7） ________ has been widely accepted as the forefather of modern linguistics.

A. Chomsky B. Saussure C. Bloomfield D. John Lyons 8) The study of language as a whole is often called ---.

A. general linguistics B. sociolingyustics C. psycholinguistics D. applied linguistics 9) The study of language meaning is called--.

A. syntax B. semantics C morphology D. pragmatics 10) The description of a language at some point in time is a – study.

A synchronic B. diachronic C descriptive D. prescriptive

4. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words:

1) refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech

community.

2) is the actual realization of one‘s linguistic knowledge in utterances.

3) Modem linguistic is in the sense that the linguist tries to discover what language is

rather than lay down some rules for people to observe.

4) The description of a language as it changes through time is a study. 5) Saussure put forward two important concepts, refers to the abstract linguistic

system shared by all members of a speech community.

6) Linguistic potential is similar to Saussure‘ s langue and Chomsky‘ s . 7) The four principles in the linguistic study are (1) (2) (3)

(4)

8) Morphology is the branch of linguistics which studies the form of words.

9) The branch of general linguistics which is named studies the internal structure

of sentences.

10) In Saussure‘s view, the relationship between signifier (sound image) and signified

(concept) is .

11) is an umbrella term which covers a variety of different interests in language and society, including the social functions of language and the social characteristics of its users.

12) The distinction between langue and parole is made by the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure.

The distinction between competence and performance is made by the American linguist .

13) The writing system.of English is. known as the sound writing system while that of

Japanese as ___writing system. 14) According to John Lyons, ___ linguistics_ deals with language in general and _

linguistics is concerned with one particular language. 15) In de Saussure‘s term, _____ refers to the system of language and _____ refers to the

speaker‘s speech.

16) _____ is the science that deals with the sound system. 17) Syntax studies two kinds of rules: _____ rules and rules 18) Langue or competence is ______ and not directly observed, while parole or performance

is _____ and directly observable.

19) A ________ relation refers to the sequential characteristic of speech.

20) ___ ___ knowledge is a native speaker‘s intuition about the sounds and sound patterns of his language.

21) ______ knowledge is a native speaker‘s intuition about how a word is formed.

22) ______ knowledge is a native speaker‘s intuition about whether a sentence is

grammatical or not.

23) ______ knowledge is a native speaker‘s intuition about the meaning of language,

including meaning of words and meaning of sentences.

24) ______ is the study of speech sounds of all human languages.

25) ______ examines word formation and the internal structure of words. 5. Answer the following questions.

1) What is the difference between general linguistics and descriptive linguistics?

2) What is the difference between synchronic and diachronic linguistics? Is it easy to draw

a sharp line between them if we look at language closely?

3) What distinguish prescriptive studies of language from descriptive studies of language?

Comment on the merits and weaknesses of descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar.

4) What are the four principles for the scientific analysis of language?

5) Point out three ways in which linguistics differs from traditional grammar. 6) What are the main differences between ―competence‖ and ―performance‖?

7) What is the major difference between Saussure‘s distinction of langue and parole and

Chomsky‘s distinction of competence and performance? what should be studies in linguistics in your opinion and why?

8) Explain ―speech and writing‖, and cite two ormore examples.

Key to Chapter Two

1. Define the following terms.

1）syntagmatic relation vs paradigmatic relation

Essentially the relations between linguistic elements are of two dimensions, usually syntagmatic and paradigmatic. syntagmatic or sequential relations are those holding between elements forming serial structure, or ―strings‘ as they are sometimes called. In syntax, the horizontal relationship between elements shows how a form (X) combines with others (W + X + Y) in a serial combination. It refers to the linear ordering of the words and the phrases within a sentence. Paradigmatic relations are those holding between comparable elements at particular places in structures. The vertical or substitutional relationship shows how other different forms (Xa, Xb, Xc) can function in the same place in structure in a paradigmatic relation.

2) langue vs parole

Saussure refers ―langue‖ to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community and refers‖ parole‖ to the actual or actualized language, or the realization of langue. Langue is abstract, parole specific to the speaking situation; langue not actually spoken by an individual, parole always a naturally occurring event; langue relatively stable and systematic, parole subject to personal and situational constraints. For Saussure, parole is a mass of confused facts, thus not suitable for systematic investigation. What a linguist ought to do, according to Saussure, is to abstract langue from instances of parole, i.e., to discover the regularities governing all instances of parole andmake them the subject of linguistics. The langue-parole distinction is of great importance, which casts great influence on later