Keys to
Introductions to Linguistics（1）
I.
1~5 BACCC
6~10 BACAC
II.
11~15 FFTFF
16~20 FFFFF
III.
21. verbal
22. productivity / creativity
23. metalingual function
24. yo-he-ho
25. scientific
26. descriptive
27. speech
28. diachronic linguistic
29. langue
30. competence
IV.
31.
Design feature: It refers to the defining properties of human
language that tell the difference 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. It is the
speaker’s 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
model
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
diachronic linguistics, the study of a language over a period of time.
35.
Linguistics is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data,
conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In
order to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system,
the linguists has to collect and observe language facts first, which are
found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about
them; then he formulates some hypotheses about the language structure.
The hypotheses thus formed have to be checked repeatedly against the
observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in any other
discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation, that is,
a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data
without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things.
36.
The major branches of linguistics are:
(1) phonetics: it studies the sounds used in linguistic communication;
(2) phonology: it studies how sounds are put together and used to convey
meaning in communication;
(3) morphology: it studies the way in which linguistic symbols
representing sounds are arranged and combined to form words;
(4) syntax: it studies the rules which govern how words are combined to
form grammatically permissible sentences in languages;
(5) semantics: it studies meaning conveyed by language;
(6) pragmatics: it studies the meaning in the context of language use.
37.
The general approach thus traditionally formed to the study of language
over the years is roughly referred to as “traditional grammar.” Modern
linguistics differs from traditional grammar in several basic ways.
Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.
Secondly, modem linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not
the written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tended to
emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance of the written word,
partly because of its permanence.
Then, modem linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it
does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.
38.
In modem linguistics, a synchronic approach seems to enjoy priority over
a diachronic one. Because people believed that unless the various states
of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it
would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its
historical development.
39.
Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication.
Modem linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the
primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons. From the
point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The
writing system of any language is always “invented” by its users to record
speech when the need arises. Even in today's world there are still many
languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday
communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the
amount of information conveyed. And also, speech is always the way in
which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writing is
learned and taught later when he goes to school. For modern linguists,
spoken language reveals many true features of human speech while
written language is only the “revised” record of speech. Thus their data
for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech,
which they regard as authentic.
40.
Saussure's distinction and Chomsky's are very similar, they differ at least
in that Saussure took a sociological view of language and his notion of
langue is a matter of social conventions, and Chomsky looks at language
from a psychological point of view and to him competence is a property
of the mind of each individual.
41.
First, language is a system, i.e., elements of language are combined
according to rules.
Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic
connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for.
Third, language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is
sound.
Fourth, language is human-specific, i. e., it is very different from the
communication systems other forms of life possess.
42.
The main features of human language are termed design features. They
include:
1) Arbitrariness
Language is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection
between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different
sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages.
2) Productivity
Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the
construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why
they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences,
including sentences they have never heard before.
3) Duality
Language consists of two sets of structures, or two levels. At the lower or
the basic level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by
themselves. But the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped
into a large number of units of meaning, which are found at the higher
level of the system.
4) Displacement
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. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed
from the immediate situations of the speaker.
5) Cultural transmission
While human capacity for language has a genetic basis, i.e., we were all
born with the ability to acquire language, the details of any language
system are not genetically transmitted, but instead have to be taught and
learned.
43.
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 English 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 feature, 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.
44.
It is difficult to define language, as it is such a general term that
covers too many things. Thus, definitions for it all have their own special
emphasis,
and
are
not
totally
free
from
limitations.
45.
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 facts –
come to a conclusion.