英语语言学习题与答案.docx

1、英语语言学习题与答案Chapter 1 Introductions to LinguisticsI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human _A. contact B. communication C. relation D. community2. Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary? A. tree B. typewriter C. crash D. bang3. The f

2、unction of the sentence “Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade.” is_. A. interrogative B. directive C. informative D. performative4. In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say“碎碎（岁岁）平安”as a means of controlling the forces which they believes fee

3、l might affect their lives. Which functions does it perform? A. Interpersonal B. Emotive C. Performative D. Recreational5.Which of the following property of language enables language users to overcome the barriers caused by time and place, due to this feature of language, speakers of a language are

4、free to talk about anything in any situation? A. Transferability B. Duality C. Displacement D. Arbitrariness6.Study the following dialogue. What function does it play according to the functions of language? A nice day, isnt it? Right! I really enjoy the sunlight. A. Emotive B. Phatic C. Performative

5、 D. Interpersonal7._ refers to the actual realization of the ideal language usersknowledge of the rules of his language in utterances. A. Performance B. Competence C. Langue D. Parole8. When a dog is barking, you assume it is barking for something or at someone that exists hear and now. It couldnt b

6、e sorrowful for some lost love or lost bone. This indicates the design feature of _. A. cultural transmission B. productivity C. displacement D. duality9. _ answers such questions as how we as infants acquire our first language. A. PsycholinguisticsB.Anthropological linguisticsC. Sociolinguistics D.

7、 Applied linguistics10._ deals with language application to other fields, particularly education. A. Linguistic theory B. Practical linguisticsC. Applied linguistics D. Comparative linguisticsII. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. Language is a means of verbal commun

8、ication. Therefore, the communication way used by the deaf-mute is not language.12. Language change is universal, ongoing and arbitrary.13. Speaking is the quickest and most efficient way of the human communication systems.14. Language is written because writing is the primary medium for all languag

9、es.15. We were all born with the ability to acquire language, which means the details of any language system can be genetically transmitted.16. Only human beings are able to communicate.17. F. de Saussure, who made the distinction between langue and parole in the early 20th century, was a French lin

10、guist.18. A study of the features of the English used in Shakespeares time is an example of the diachronic study of language.19. Speech and writing came into being at much the same time in human history.20. All the languages in the world today have both spoken and written forms.III. Fill in the blan

11、ks. (10%)21. Language, broadly speaking, is a means of _ communication.22. In any language words can be used in new ways to mean new things and can be combined into innumerable sentences based on limited rules. This feature is usually termed _.23. Language has many functions. We can use language to

12、talk about itself. This function is _.24. Theory that primitive man made involuntary vocal noises while performing heavy work has been called the _ theory.25. Linguistics is the _ study of language.26. Modern linguistics is _ in the sense that the linguist tries to discover what language is rather t

13、han lay down some rules for people to observe.27. One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of _ over writing.28. The description of a language as it changes through time is a _ study.29. Saussure put forward two important concepts. _ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared

14、 by all members of a speech community.30. Linguistic potential is similar to Saussures langue and Chomskys _.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Design feature32. Displacement33. Competence34. Synchronic linguisticsV. Answer the following questions. (20%)35. Why do people take

15、duality as one of the important design features of human language? Can you tell us what language will be if it has no such design feature? （南开大学，2004）36. Why is it difficult to define language? （北京第二外国语大学，2004）VI. Analyze the following situation. (20%)37. How can a linguist make his analysis scienti

16、fic? （青岛海洋大学，1999）Key:In the reference keys, I wont give examples or further analysis. That seems too much work for me. Therefore, this key is only for reference. In order to answer this kind of question, you need more examples. So you should read the textbook carefully. icywarmteaI.15 BACCC 610 BAC

17、ACII.1115 FFTFF 1620 FFFFFIII.21. verbal 22. productivity / creativity23. metalingual function 24. yo-he-ho25. scientific 26. descriptive27. speech 28. diachronic linguistic29. langue 30. competenceIV.31. Design feature: It refers to the defining properties of human language that tell the difference

18、 between human language and any system of animal communication.32. Displacement: It means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts, which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.33. Competence: It is an essential part of performance

19、. It is the speakers knowledge of his or her language; that is, of its sound structure, its words, and its grammatical rules. Competence is, in a way, an encyclopedia of language. Moreover, the knowledge involved in competence is generally unconscious. A transformational-generative grammar is a mode

20、l of competence.34. Synchronic linguistics: It refers to the study of a language at a given point in time. The time studied may be either the present or a particular point in the past; synchronic analyses can also be made of dead languages, such as Latin. Synchronic linguistics is contrasted with di

21、achronic linguistics, the study of a language over a period of time.V.35. Duality makes our language productive. A large number of different units can be formed out of a small number of elements for instance, tens of thousands of words out of a small set of sounds, around 48 in the case of the Engli

22、sh language. And out of the huge number of words, there can be astronomical number of possible sentences and phrases, which in turn can combine to form unlimited number of texts. Most animal communication systems do not have this design feature of human language.If language has no such design featur

23、e, then it will be like animal communicational system which will be highly limited. It cannot produce a very large number of sound combinations, e.g. words, which are distinct in meaning.36. It is difficult to define language, as it is such a general term that covers too many things. Thus, definitio

24、ns for it all have their own special emphasis, and are not totally free from limitations.VI.37. It should be guided by the four principles of science: exhaustiveness, consistency, economy and objectivity and follow the scientific procedure: form hypothesis collect data check against the observable f

25、acts come to a conclusion.Chapter 2 Speech SoundsI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. Pitch variation is known as _ when its patterns are imposed on sentences. A. intonation B. tone C. pronunciation D. voice2. Conventionally a _ is put in slashes (/ /). A. allophone B. phone C. phoneme D. morpheme3. A

26、n aspirated p, an unaspirated p and an unreleased p are _ of the p phoneme. A. analogues B. tagmemes C. morphemes D. allophones4. The opening between the vocal cords is sometimes referred to as _. A. glottis B. vocal cavity C. pharynx D. uvula5. The diphthongs that are made with a movement of the to

27、ngue towards the center are known as _ diphthongs. A. wide B. closing C. narrow D. centering6. A phoneme is a group of similar sounds called _. A. minimal pairs B. allomorphs C. phones D. allophones7. Which branch of phonetics concerns the production of speech sounds? A. Acoustic phonetics B. Articulatory phonetics C. Auditory phonetics D. None of the above8. Which one is different from the others according to places of articulation? A. n B. m C. b D. p9. Which vowel is different from the others according to the characteristics of vowels? A. i: B. u C. e D.