《英语语言学》复习重点

《英语语⾔学》复习重点Chapter I Invitation to linguistics1. What is language and linguistics?

●Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. To give the barestdefinition, language is a means of verbal communication. It is instrumental, social and conventional.

●Linguistics is usually defined as the science of language or, alternatively, as the scientific study of language.

It concerns with the systematic study of language or, a discipline that describes all aspects of language and formulates theories as to howlanguage works.

2. What are the design features of language? The definition of these design features: arbitrariness, duality, creativity, and displacement●Design features refers to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animalsystem of communication. They are arbitrariness, duality, creativity, displacement, etc..●Arbitrariness refers to forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning

Language is arbitrary. There is no logical connection between meanings and sounds, even with onomatopoeic words●Duality refers to the property of having two levels of structure. The units of the primary level are composedof elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization.

●Creativity refers to Words can be used in new ways to mean new things, and can be instantly understood bypeople who have never come across that usage before.

●Displacement refers to the fact that language can be used to refer to things which are present or

not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. It means that human languages enable their users tosymbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication.3. Jakobson’s classification of functions of language.

1).Referential function 所指功能2).Poetic function诗学功能3).Emotive function感情功能4).Conative function意动功能5).Phatic function交感功能6).Metalingual元语⾔功能

Hu Zhuanglin’ classification of functions of language and use some examples to illustrate them.

1).Informative function 信息功能2).Interpersonal function ⼈际功能3).Performative function 施为功能4).Emotive function 感情功能5).Phaticcommunion 交感性谈话6).Recreational function 娱乐性功能7).Metalingual function 元语⾔功能4. The definitions of important distinctions in lingustics: Who distinguished them?descriptive VS. presriptive;

Descriptive(描写式):a kind of linguistic study in which things are just described.eg: American don’t say “I’ll give you some color see see.”

Prescriptive(规定式): a kind of linguistic study in which things are prescribed how ought to be, i.e. laying down rules for language use.eg: Don’t say “I’ll give you some color see see.”synchronic VS. diachronic;

Synchronic study(共时性) --- description of a language at some point of time

Diachronic study(历时性) --- description of a language through the course of its history (historical development of language over a period oftime)

langue & parole;

Langue: (说话者的语⾔能⼒.)the linguistic competence of the speaker.

Parole: (语⾔的实际现象或语料.) the actual phenomena or data of linguistics (utterances).competence and performance.

Competence:(⼀个语⾔使⽤者关于语⾔系统规则的基本理解.)a language user’s underlyin g knowledge about the system of rules.

Performance:(指在具体场景中语⾔的真实使⽤.)the actual use of language in concrete situations.The distinction is discussed by the American linguist N. Chomsky in the late 1950’s.

Competence enables a speaker to produce and understand an indefinite number of sentences and to recognize grammatical mistakes andambiguities.

A speaker’s competence is stable while his performance is often influenced by psychological and social factors. So a speaker's performancedoes not always match or equal his supposed competence.

5.What is the major differences between Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole and Chomsky’s distinction between competenceand performance?

①Saussure's language is social product, a set of conversations for a speech community.②Chomsky regards competence as property of themind of each individual.③Saussure studies language more from a sociological point of view while Chomsky studies it more from apsychological point of view.Chapter 2 Speech soundsPhonetics

4. Basic information about the IPA

International Phonetic Alphabet (Otto Jesperson France)IPA:the abbreviation of International Phonetic Alphabet.It is a standardized andinternationally accepted system of phonetic transcription.

It is a standardized and internationally accepted system of phonetic transcription.The first version of IPA was published in August 1888.

The latest version was devised in 1993 and corrected in 1996 and 2005.5. Three parameters to identify a consonant:

①place of articulation: place in the mouth where obstruction occurs②manners of articulation: ways in which articulation can be accomplished③state of vocal cords: voiced VS. voiceless

6.the categories of consonants according to the manner of articulation and the place of aritucatio

7. English vowels can be divided into two large categories:Monophthongs or pure/single vowels 单元⾳Diphthongs or gliding vowels 双元⾳

8. Four criteria (parameters) of vowel description1. the height of tongue raising (high, mid, low);

2. the position of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, back);3. the length or tenseness of the vowel (tense vs. lax or long vs. short), and4. lip-rounding (rounded vs. unrounded).Phonology9. definition:

1) Co-articulation: Simultaneous/overlapping articulation because of the influence of the neighbor sound(s)

2) broad /narrow transcription: When we use a simple set of symbols in our transcription, it is called a broad transcription; The use of morespecific symbols to show more phonetic detail is referred to as a narrow transcription.

3)Phone: the smallest perceptible discrete segment of sound in a stream of speech. (in the mouth)

4) Phoneme: a sound which is capable of distinguishing one word or one shape of a word from another in a given language is a phoneme. (inthe mind)

5)allophone phonic: variants of a phoneme are called allophone of the same phoneme.

6)Minimal pairs:Three requirements for identifying minimal pairs: 1) different in meaning; 2) only one phoneme different;3) the different phonemes occur in the same phonetic environment.E.g. a minimal pair: pat-fat; lit-lip; phone-tone

Minimal set: pat, mat, bat, fat, cat, hat, etc

7)Suprasegmental features: features that involve more than single sound segment, such as stress（重⾳），length （⾳程）, rhythm（节奏），tone（⾳调），intonation（语调）juncture（⾳渡）．8) syllable:

10.Exemplify the relationship between phone, phoneme and allophone.

.Phone（⾳素): the smallest perceptible discrete segment of sound in a stream of speech. (in the mouth)i) phonetic unit ii) not necessarily distinctive of meaningiii) physical as heard or produced iv) marked with [ ]

.Phoneme （⾳位）：A sound which is capable of distinguishing one word or one shape of a word from another in a given language is aphoneme. (in the mind)

i) phonological unit ii) distinctive of meaningiii) abstract, not physical iv) marked with / /.

.allophone (⾳位变体) : phonic variants of a phoneme are called allophone of the same phoneme.e.g.:p ot, s p ot, cu p: [ph] vs. [p] vs. [ p? ] (unreleased)

11. What are the differences between Phonetics and Phonology?

Phonetics studies how speech sounds are produced, transmitted and received. It is concerned with the actual physical articulation, transmissionand perception of speech sounds.

Phonology is essentially the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds. It is concerned with the abstract and mental aspect ofthe sounds in languageChapter 3 Morphology12. Three senses of “word”

(1) A physically definable unit: a cluster of sound segments or letters between two pause or blank.(2) Word both as a general term and as a specific term.(3) A grammatical unit.

13.The classification of word. Using some examples to explain these classifications.Words can be classified in terms of:

★(1) Variable vs. invariable words (可变词/不可变词)★(2) Grammatical words vs. lexical words (语法词/词汇词)★(3) Closed-class words vs. open-class words(封闭词/开放词)★(4) word class(词类)

(1) Variable vs. invariable words (可变词/不可变词)

the former refers to words having inflective changes（屈折变化）while the latter refers to words having no such endings.Variable words: follow; follows; following; followedInvariable words: since; when; seldom; through; hello

(2) Grammatical words vs. lexical words (function words and content words.语法词/词汇词)

.The former refers to those words expressing grammatical meanings, such as conjunctions(连词), prepositions（介词）, articles(冠词), andpronouns（代词）;

.the latter refers to words having lexical meanings, those which refer to substance, action etc. such as n., v., adj., and adv.(3) Closed-class words vs. open-class words (封闭词/开放词)

.the former refers to words whose membership is fixed or limited; e.g. pron., prep., conj., article..the latter of which the membership is infinite or unlimited. e.g.: n., v., adj., adv.(4) word class (词类)14. definition:

1) Morphology:Morphology is a branch of linguistics, which studies the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed.2) Morpheme: the smallest unit of meaning, which can not be divided into further smaller units without destroying or drastically altering themeaning, whether it is lexical or grammatical.

Free morphemes: morphemes which may constitute words by themselves．

Bound morphemes:morphemes which can not be used by themselves, but must be combined with other morphemes to form words

Inflectional morpheme: a kind of bound morphemes which manifest various grammatical relations or grammatical categories such as number,tense, degree and case.

Derivational morpheme: a kind of bound morphemes, added to existing forms to create new words. There are three kinds according to position:prefix, suffix and infix.

3) Affix: is the term for the type of form that can be used to add to another morpheme (root or stem) to form word. It can’t be used freely insentence.

prefix: change meaning eg: dis-; un-; mis-suffix: change part of speech eg: -ly; -ness; -tion

infix: some languages also have infixes, affix morphemes that are inserted into root or stem morphemes to divide them into two parts.

4) Inflection: the manifestation of grammatical relationships through the addition of inflectional affixes, such as tense, number, person, finiteness,aspect and case, which do not change the grammatical class of the stems to which they are attached.5) word-formation

①Compound: referring to those words that consist of more than one lexical morpheme, or the way to join two separate words to produce a newword. ②Derivation: the way to form words with a combination of roots and affixes.15. examples of Lexical change proper★(1) Invention 新造词Nylon

★(2) Blending 混合词smoke + fog→ smog★(3) Abbreviation 缩合词TV → television

★(4) Acronym ⾸字母缩略词NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)★(5) back-formation 逆构词editor edit★(6) analogical creation 类⽐造词p76★(7) Borrowing 借词、外来词Kong FuChapter 4 Syntax16. Definition:

Syntax: is the study of the rules governing the ways different constituents are combined to form sentences in a language, or the study of theinterrelationships between elements in sentence structures.paradigmatic Relations:Syntagmatic Relations:

Endocentric Constructions:is one whose distribution is functionally equivalent to that of one or more of its constituents, i.e., a word or a group ofwords, which serves as a definable centre or head.

Exocentric Constructions:refers to a group of syntactically related words where none of the words is functionally equivalent to the group as a

whole, that is, ther e is no definable “Centre” or “Head” inside the group Category: refers to the defining properties of these general units:Categories of the noun: number, gender, case and countabilityCategories of the verb: tense, aspect, voice17.three kinds of syntactic relations:relations of position位置关系

Positional relation, or WORD ORDER, refers to the sequential arrangement of words in a language.relations of substitutability 可替代性关系

The Relation of Substitutability refers to classes or sets of words substitutable for each other grammatically in sentences with the samestructure.

relations of co-occurrence 同现关系

It means that words of different sets of clauses may permit, or require, the occurrence of a word of another set or class to form a sentence or aparticular part of a sentence.

18. Immediate Constituent Analysis (IC Analysis)

Immediate constituent analysis is a form of linguistic review that breaks down longer phrases or sentences into their constituent parts, usuallyinto single words. This kind of analysis is sometimes abbreviated as IC analysis, and gets used extensively by a wide range of languageexperts.

19. Endocentric constructions fall into two main types, depending on the relation between constituents: Coordination and subordinationCoordination is a common syntactic pattern in English and other languages formed by grouping together two or more categories of the sametype with the help of a conjunction such as and, but and or .

Subordination refers to the process or result of linking linguistic units so that they have different syntactic status, one being dependent upon theother, and usually a constituent of the other.20. Characteristics of subjects

A) Word order: Subject ordinarily precedes the verb in the statement

B) Pro-forms(代词形式) : The first and third person pronouns in English appear in a special form when the pronoun is a subject

C) Agreement with the verb: In the simple present tense, an -s is added to the verb when a third person subject is singular, but the number andperson of the object or any other element in the sentence have no effect at all on the form of the verb

D) Content questions (实意问句): If the subject is replaced by a question word (who or what), the rest of the sentence remains unchangedE) Tag question (反意问句): A tag question is used to seek confirmation of a statement. It always contains a pronoun which refers back to thesubject, and never to any other element in the sentence.Chapter 5 Semantics

21. Geoffrey Leech (1974, 1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. Seven types of meaning:

Conceptual meaning: Also called ‘denotative’ or ‘cognitive’ meaning.Refers to logical, cognitive or denotative content.Concerned with therelationship between a word and the thing it denotes, or refers to. English word“river” →“江”and“河”

Connotative meaning: The communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual content. Itis the intensional meaning which a word suggests or implies. home: family, friends, warmth, cozy, comfortable, safety, love, free, convenienceSocial meaning:What a piece of language conveys about the social circumstances of its use. Affective meaning: --Reflecting the personalfeelings of the speaker, including his attitude to the listener, or his attitude to something he is talking about.

Reflected and meaning:--Arises in cases of multiple conceptual meaning, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to anothersense.

Collocative meaning: --The associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of words which tend to occur in its environment.Thematic meaning:--What is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organizes the message, in terms of ordering, focus, andemphasis.

22. Explain the semantic triangle by using some examples.23. Use some examples to explain three sense relations:Synonymy; Antonymy; HyponymySynonymy 同义

buy/purchase thrifty/economical/stingy autumn/fall flat/apartment tube/underground

Antonymy 反义

Gradable antonymy 渐次对⽴关系

good ------------- bad long --------------- short big ---------------- smallComplementary antonymy 互补反义关系

alive : dead male : female present : absent innocent : guilty odd : even pass : failboy : girlhit : miss

Converse antonymy 逆向反义关系

buy : sell lend : borrow give : receive parent : child husband : wife teacher : student above : belowbefore : afterhost : guest

employer : employeeHyponymy 上下义

Superordinate （上义词）: the more general termHyponym （下义词）: the more specific termCo-hyponyms （同义词）

: members of the same class

24. Componential relations （成分分析）

“Componential analysis”---- defines the meaning of a lexical element in terms of semantic components.

Componential analysis refers to an approach adopted by structural semanticists in describing the meaning of words or phrases. This approachis based on the belief that the total meaning of a word can be analyzed in terms of a number of distinct elements or meaning components25. Sense relations between sentences 1 A entails B ( A is an entailment of B ) 蕴含2 A Presupposes B (A presupposes B) 预设3 A is inconsistent with B 不⼀致4 A is synonymous with B 同义5 A is a contradiction ⾃相⽭盾6 A is semantically anomalous 反常

26. Explain the difference between sense and reference from the following four aspects:1) A word having reference must have sense;2) A word having sense might not have reference;

3) A certain sense can be realized by more than one reference; 4) A certain reference can be expressed by more

than one sense

The distinction between “sense” and “reference” is comparable to that between “connotation” and “denotation”. The former refers to someabstract properties, while the latter refers to some concrete entities.Firstly, to some extent, we can say that every word has a sense, i.e., someconceptual content; otherwise we would not be able to use it or understand it. Secondly, but not every word has a reference. There are linguisticexpressions which can never be used to refer to anything, for example, the words so, very, maybe, if, not, and all. These words do of coursecontribute meaning to the sentences in which they occur and thus help sentences denote, but they themselves do not identify entities in theworld. They are intrinsically non-referring terms. And words like ghost and dragon refer to imaginary things, which do not exist in reality. Thirdly,some expressions will have the same reference across a range of utterances, e.g., the Eiffel Tower or the Pacific Ocean. Such expressions aresometimes described as having constant reference. Others have their references totally dependent on context. Expressions like I, you, she, etc.are said to have variable references. Lastly, sometimes a reference may be expressed by more than one sense. For instance, both ‘eveningstar’ and ‘morning star’(晚星，启明星), though they differ in sense, refer to Venus. Chapter 6 Psychology and cognitive lingusitics27. What are the differences between metaphor & metonymy? Give some examples.

Metaphor is a conceptual mapping（概念映射）, not a linguistic one, from one domain to another（从⼀个语域到另⼀个语域）, not from a wordto another.

Metonymy is a cognitive process in which one conceptual entity, the vehicle（源域）, provides mental access to another conceptual entity, thetarget（⽬标域）, within the same domain. The reference point activates the target.1.Metaphor is used for substitution, while metonymy is used for association.2.Metaphor can mean condensation and metonymy can mean displacement.3.A metonymy acts by combining ideas while metaphor acts by suppressing ideas.

4.In a metaphor, the comparison is based on the similarities, while in metonymy the comparison is based on contiguity.

--For example, the sentence ‘he is a tiger in class’ is a metaphor. Here the word tiger is used in substitution for displaying an attribute of character of the person. The sentence ‘the tiger called his students to the meeting room’ is a metonymy. Here there is no substitution; instead theperson is associated with a tiger for his nature.

.Metaphors are actually cognitive tools that help us structure our thoughts and experiences in the world around us.

.Metaphor is a conceptual mapping（概念映射）, not a linguistic one, from one domain to another （从⼀个语域到另⼀个语域）, not from aword to another.

Metonymy（换喻，转喻）.It is a cognitive process in which one conceptual entity, the vehicle（源域）, provides mental access to anotherconceptual entity, the target（⽬标域）, within the same domain.Chapter 7 Language, culture and society

28. the relationship between language and thought?

29. What’s Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis? Give your comment on it.Edward Sapir (1884 - 1939) and Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941)

Our language helps mould our way of thinking and, consequently, different languages mayprobably express speakers’unique ways of understanding the world.Linguistic determinism: L may determine our thinking patterns.

Linguistic relativity: a. Similarity between language is relative; b. the greater their structuraldifferentiation is, the diverse their conceptualization of the world will be.30. What is the importance of culture in classroom teaching?Standard language.Chapter 8 Pragmatics31. Speech act theory

32.What’s your understanding of conversational implicature? Using one or two examples to discuss the voilationof its maxims.

People do not usually say things directly but tend to imply them.CP is meant to describe what actually happens in conversation.People tend tobe cooperative and obey CP in communication.Since CP is regulative, CP can be violated.Violation of CP and its maxims leads toconversational implicature.

1. Make your contribution as informative as is required.A: 昨天上街买了些什么?

B: 就买了些东西。

> I don’t want to tell you what I bought.

2.Do not make your contribution more informative than is required. (violation of quantity)Aunt: How did Jimmy do his history exam?

Mother: Oh, not at all well. Teachers asked him things that happened before the poor boy was born.> Her son should not be blamed.

1. Do not say what you believe to be false. (violation of quality)He is made of iron.

2. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.A: Beirut is in Peru, isn’t it?

B: And Rome is in Romania, I suppose.> It’s ridiculous.

Be relevant. (violation of relation)A: Prof. Wang is an old bag.B: Nice weather for the time of year.> I don’t want to tal k about Prof. Wang.

1. Avoid obscurity of expression (violation of manner)A: Let’s get the kids something.B: Ok, but I veto C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E.> Don’t give them chocolate.2. Avoid ambiguityA: Name and title, please?

B: John Smith, Associate Editor and professor.3. Be brief

A: Did you get my assignment?

B: I received two pages clipped together and covered with rows of black squiggles.> not satisfied.

33.What are the main differences between pragmatics and semantics?

Semantics and pragmatics are both lingustic studies of meaning. The essential difference lies in whether in the

study of meaning the context of use is considered. If it is not, the study is restricted to the area of traditional semantics; if it is,the study is carriedout in the area of pragmatics.

Semantics studies sentences as units of the abstract linguistic system while pragmatics studies utterances as instances of the system.The former stops at the sentence level; the latter looks at bigger chunks of conversation. The formar regards sentences as stable products; thelatter treats utterances as dynamic processes. The former analyses sentences in isolation; the latter analyses utternaces in close connnectionwith their contexts of situation.Chapter 9 Language and literature34.What is ‘foregrounding’?

In a purely linguistic sense, the term ‘foregrounding’ is used to refer to new information, in contrast to elements in the sentence which form thebackground against which the new elements are to be understood by the listener / reader.

In the wider sense of stylistics, text linguistics, and literary studies, it is a translation of the Czech aktualisace (actualization), a term commonwith the Prague Structuralists.

The English term ‘foregrounding’has come to mean several things at once:

-the (psycholinguistic) processes by which - during the reading act - something may be given special prominence; -specific devices (as

produced by the author) located in the text itself. It is also employed to indicate the specific poetic effect on the reader;

-an analytic category in order to evaluate literary texts, or to situate them historically, or to explain their importance and cultural significance, orto differentiate literature from other varieties of language use, such as everyday conversations or scientific reports.35.Literal language and figurative language

-A language is called literal when what is meant to be conveyed is same as what the word to word meaning of what is said. In contrast thefigurative language, the words are used to imply meaning which is other than their strict dictionary meaning.

-Literal language refers to words that do not deviate from their defined meaning. Figurative language refers to words, and groups of words, thatexaggerate or alter the usual meanings of the component words. Figurative language may involve analogy to similar concepts or other contexts,and may involve exaggerations. These alterations result in figures of speech.Chapter 11 Linguistics & Language Teaching

36. As to learning English well, what do you think is the most desirable syllabus for English majors?37. Definition: Applied linguistics; Universal Grammar; syllabus; interlanguage; contrastive analysis.the Input Hypothesis

Applied linguistics:the study of the relation of linguistics to foreign language teaching, of theways of applying linguistic theories to the practice of foreign language teaching.

Universal Grammar:is a theory in linguistics that suggests that there are properties that allpossible natural human languages have. Usually credited to Noam Chomsky, the theory suggeststhat some rules of grammar are hard-wired into the brain, and manifest themselves without beingtaught. There is still much argument whether there is such a thing and what it would be.Syllabus:a syllabus is a specification of what take place in the classroom,which usually containsthe aims and contents of teaching and sometimes contains suggestions of methodology.Interlanguage:the type of language constructed by second or foreign language learners who arestill in the process of learning a language is often referred to as interlanguage.

contrastive analysis:A way of comparing L1 and L2 to determine potential errors for the purposeof isolating what needs to be learned and what not. Its goal is to predict what areas will be easy tolearn and what will be difficult.Associated in its early days with behaviorism and structuralism.

the Input Hypothesis:according to krashen's input hypothessis,learners acquire language as a result of comprehending input addressed tothem.

Chapter 12 Theories & schools of modern linguistics38.Transformational-Generative GrammarThe five stages of development of TG Grammar:1) The classical theory (1957)2) The standard theory (1965)3) Extended standard theory4) GB/PP theory (1981)5) The Minimalist Program

CHOMSKY’S TG GRAMMAR DIFFERS FROM THE STRUCTURAL GRAMMARIN A NUMBER OF WAYS1 rationalism 2innateness 3 deductive methodology

4 emphasis on interpretation 5formalization 6.emphasis on linguistic competence7.strong generative powers 8.emphasis on linguistic universals