Exercises
Chapter I Invitations to Language
I. Fill in the blanks.
1. Language, broadly speaking, is a means of _______ communication.
2. In many language words can be used in new ways to mean things and can be combined into innumerable sentences based on limited rules. This feature is usually termed _____.
3. Language has many functions. We can use language to talk about itself. This function is _____.
4. Theory that primitive man made involuntary vocal noises while performing heavy work has been called the ________ theory.
5. The theory that language arose from instinctive emotional cries, expressive of pain or joy has been called the ________ theory.
6. The theory that language arose from -human beings instinctive need for contact with his companion has been called the _________ theory. 7. Linguistics is the scientific study of _________.
8. 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.
9. One general principle of linguistic analysis is the primacy of _________ over writing.
10. The description of a language as it changes through time is a _______ study.
11. Saussure put forward two important concepts. ________ refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all members of a speech community. 12. Linguistic potential is similar to Saussure ' s langue and Chomsky ' s ______. 13. language is a system of _____ ______ symbols used for human communication. 14. Linguistics is generally defined as the ______ study of ______.
15. If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be ______; if it aims to lay down rules for \behavior, it is said to be ______.
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16. In modern linguistics, ______ study seems to enjoy priority over ______ study. The reason is that successful studies of various states of a language would be the foundations of a historical study.
17. Langue refers to the ______ linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; and parole refers to the ______ of langue in actual use.
18. Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user's ______ of the rules of his language, and performance, the actual ______ of this knowledge in linguistic communication.
19. \rose by any other name would smell as sweet\This famous quotation from Shakespeare illustrates that language has the design feature of ______.
20 The property of ______ of language provides a speaker with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time and place.
21. Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures, one of ______, and the other of ______. This double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge.
22. An English speaker and a Chinese speaker are both able to use language, but they are not mutually intelligible, which shows that language is culturally ______.
II . Choose the best answer.
1. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human ______ A. contact B .communication C. relation D. community 2. Language is________.
A. instinctive B. non-instinctive C. static D. genetically transmitted 3. A linguist regards the changes in language and languages use A. unnatural B. something to be feared C. natural D. abnormal
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4. Which of the following words is entirely arbitrary? A. tree B. crash C. typewriter D. bang
5. The function of the sentence \ A. interrogative B. directive C. informative D. performative
6. ________ is a grammatical description of a language specially designed as an aid to teaching that language to native or foreign learners. A. Descriptive grammar B. Prescriptive grammar C. Pedagogical grammar D. Universal grammar
7. In Chinese when someone breaks a bowl or a plate the host or the people present are likely to say sui sui ping an ( every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling the forces which the believers feel might affect their lives. Which functions does it perform?
A. interpersonal. B. Emotive. C. Performative. D. Recreational.
8. 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 free to talk about anything in any situation?
A. Transferability. B. Duality. C. Displacement. D. Arbitrariness.
9. Study the following dialogue. What function does it play according to the functions of language? --A nice day, isn't it?
--Right! I really enjoy the sunlight.
A. Emotive. B. Phatic. C. Performative. D. Interpersonal.
10. Which branch of linguistics studies the similarities and differences among languages?
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A. Diachronic linguistics. B. Synchronic linguistics. C. Prescriptive linguistics. D. Comparative linguistics.
11. _________ refers to the actual realization of the ideal language user's knowledge of the rules of his language in utterances. A. Perfonnance B. Competence C. Langue D. Parole
12. ________ deals with language application to other fields, particularly education.
A. Linguistic geography B. Sociolinguistics C. Applied linguistics D. Comparative linguistics III. Decide whether the following statements are true [T] or false [F].
____ 1 Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. It refers to the fact that language has two levels of structures: the system of sounds and the system of meanings.
____ 2. Prescriptive linguistics is more popular than descriptive linguistics, because it can tell us how to speak correct language.
____ 3. Competence 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.
____ 4. Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, the communication way used by the deaf-mute is not language.
____ 5. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, and conventionality
of
language
makes
a
language
be
passed
from
generation to generation. As a foreign language learner, the latter is more important for us.
____6. By diachronic study we mean to study the changes and development of language.
____7. Langue is relatively stable and systematic while parole is subject to personal and situational constraints.
____8. Language change is universal, ongoing and arbitrary.
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____9. In language classrooms nowadays the grammar taught to students is basically descriptive, and more attention is paid to the developing learners' communicative skills.
____10. Language is a system of arbitrary, written signs which permit ail the people in a given culture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate or interact.
____11. Saussure’s exposition of synchronic analysis led to the school of historical linguistics.
____12. Applied linguistics is the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning.
____13. Linguistics can be defined as the scientific study of a particular language. ____14. Language is arbitrary by nature but it is not completely arbitrary.
____15. It is generally believed that modem linguistics is mostly descriptive, diachronic, and emphatic on writing.
____16. Animals are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species, while human beings do not have this genetic basis. ( )
____17. Animals cannot talk about the things except those about food, danger, enemy, etc. because the communicative signals of animals do not have the property of displacement. ( )
____18. We can use the word \ we can think about \this shows that language has a metalingual function. ( )
____19. When someone breaks a bowl or a plate on a special occasion in China, the people present are likely to say \sui ping'an\(every year be safe and happy) as a means of controlling the magic forces which the believers feel it might affect their lives. This shows that language has an interpersonal function. ( )
____20. Language is the instrument of thought, record of facts, and people often feel need to speak their thoughts aloud. This indicates that language has an expressive function. ( )
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