语言学-作业

2.Whatarethemajorbranchesoflinguistics?Whatdoeseachofthemstudy?答：Themajorbranchesoflinguisticsare:(1)phonetics:itstudiesthesoundsusedinlinguisticcommunication;(2)phonology:itstudieshowsoundsareputtogetherandusedtoconveymeaningincommunication;(3)morphology:itstudiesthewayinwhichlinguisticsymbolsrepresentingsoundsarearrangedandcombinedtoformwords;(4)syntax:itstudiestheruleswhichgovernhowwordsarecombinedtoformgrammaticallypermissiblesentencesinlanguages;(5)semantics:itstudiesmeaningconveyedbylanguage;(6)pragmatics:itstudiesthemeaninginthecontextoflanguageuse.7.Whatcharacteristicsoflanguagedoyouthinkshouldbeincludedinagood,comprehensivedefinitionoflanguage?答：Firstofall,languageisasystem,i.e.,elementsoflanguagearecombinedaccordingtorules.Second,languageisarbitraryinthesensethatthereisnointrinsicconnectionbetweenalinguisticsymbolandwhatthesymbolstandsfor.Third,languageisvocalbecausetheprimarymediumforalllanguagesissound.Fourth,languageishuman-specific,i.e.,itisverydifferentfromthecommunicationsystemsotherformsoflifepossess.8.WhatarethemainfeaturesofhumanlanguagethathavebeenspecifiedbyC.Hocketttoshowthatitisessentiallydifferentfromanimalcommunicationsystem?答：Themainfeaturesofhumanlanguagearetermeddesignfeatures.Theyinclude:1)ArbitrarinessLanguageisarbitrary.Thismeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Agoodexampleisthefactthatdifferentsoundsareusedtorefertothesameobjectindifferentlanguages.2)ProductivityLanguageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionandinterpretationofnewsignalsbyitsusers.Thisiswhytheycanproduceandunderstandaninfinitelylargenumberofsentences,includingsentencestheyhaveneverheardbefore.3)DualityLanguageconsistsoftwosetsofstructures,ortwolevels.Atthelowerorthebasiclevelthereisastructureofsounds,whicharemeaninglessbythemselves.Butthesoundsoflanguagecanbegroupedandregroupedintoalargenumberofunitsofmeaning,whicharefoundatthehigherlevelofthesystem.4)DisplacementLanguagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimaginedmattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Inotherwords,languagecanbeusedtorefertocontextsremovedfromtheimmediatesituationsofthespeaker.Thisiswhat“displacement”means.5)CulturaltransmissionWhilehumancapacityforlanguagehasageneticbasis,i.e.,wewereallbornwiththeabilitytoacquirelanguage,thedetailsofanylanguagesystemarenotgeneticallytransmitted,butinsteadhavetobetaughtandlearned.8.Whatisaphone?Howisitdifferentfromaphoneme?Howareallophonesrelatedtoaphoneme?答：Aphoneisaphoneticunitorsegment.Thespeechsoundswehearandproduceduringlinguisticcommunicationareallphones.Aphonemeisnotanyparticularsound,butratheritisrepresentedorrealizedbyacertainphoneinacertainphoneticcontext.Thedifferentphoneswhichcanrepresentaphonemeindifferentphoneticenvironmentsarecalledtheallophonesofthatphoneme.Forexample,thephoneme/l/inEnglishcanberealizedasdark[?],clear[l],etc.whichareallophonesofthephoneme/l/.4.Theitalicizedpartineachofthefollowingsentencesisaninflectionalmorpheme.Studyeachinflectionalmorphemecarefullyandpointoutitsgrammaticalmeaning.Suemovesinhigh-societycirclesinLondon.AtrafficwardenaskedJohntomovehiscar.TheclubhasmovedtoFriday,February22nd.Thebranchesofthetreesaremovingbackandforth.答：(1)thethirdpersonsingular(2)thepasttense(3)thepresentperfect(4)thepresentprogressive4.Howcanwordsoppositeinmeaningbeclassified?Towhichcategorydoeseachofthefollowingpairsofantonymsbelong?north/southvacant/occupiedliterate/illiterateabove/belowdoctor/patientwide/narrowpoor/richfather/daughter答：Theycanbegradableantonyms,complementaryantonymsandrelationaloppositeGradableantonyms:literate/illiteratewide/narrowpoor/richComplementaryantonyms:vacant/occupiedRelationalopposite:north/south,doctor/patient,father/daughter,above/below5.Identifytherelationsbetweenthefollowingpairsofsentences:Tom'swifeispregnant.Mysisterwillsoonbedivorced'Tomhasawife.Mysisterisamarriedwoman.Helikesseafood,Theyaregoingtohaveanotherbaby.Helikescrabs.Theyhaveachild.答：“Tom'swifeispregnant”presupposes“Tomhasawife.”“Mysisterwillsoonbedivorced”presupposes“Mysisterisamarriedwoman.”“Helikesseafood”isentailedby“Helikescrabs.”“Theyaregoingtohaveanotherbaby”presupposes“Theyhaveachild.”8.Trytoanalyzethefollowingsentencesintermsofpredicationanalysis:Themansellsice-cream.Isthebabysleeping?Itissnowing.Thetreegrowswell.答：Themansellsice-cream.MAN,ICE-CREAM(SELL)Isthebabysleeping?BABY(SLEEP)Itissnowing.(SNOW)Thetreegrowswell.TREE(GROW)4.Trytothinkofcontextsinwhichthefollowingsentencescanbeusedforotherpurposesthanjuststatingfacts:a)Theroomismessy.b)Oh,itisraining!c)Themusicofthemovieisgood.d)Youhavebeenkeepingmynotesforawholeweeknow.答：a)Afatherenteredhisson’sroomandfounditisverymessy.Thenwhenhesaid,“Theroomismessy,”hewasblaminghissonfornottidyingitup.b)Asonaskedhisfathertoplaywithhimoutside.Sowhenthefathersaid,“Oh,it’sraining”,hemeanttheycouldn’tplayoutside.c)Twopersonsjustwatchedamovieandhadadiscussionofit.Onepersonsaid,“Thestoryofthemovieisverymoving”,sowhentheotherpersonsaid,“Themusicofthemovieisgood”,hemeanthedidn'tt