语言学各章复习重点.doc

Invitations to Linguistics Give definitions for the following terms: arbitrariness metalanguage phatic communion Answer the following questions briefly. 1) Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why? 2) How is Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky’s distinction between competence and performance? How are they different from each other? 3) “As the night fell, the wind rose.” Could this sentence be expressed “As the wind rose, the night fell”? If not, why? Does this indicate a non-arbitrariness about word order? Does the traffic light system have duality, why? 5）Is the fact that linguistic signals do not normally serve any other type of purpose, such as feeding, a good reason to consider this (signaling) a unique property of human language? 6) List five major functions of language and explain what they mean respectively. Chapter 2 Phonetics Answer the following questions briefly. Give a brief introduction to phonetics. Which of the following words end with voiceless (-V) sounds and which end with voiced (+V) sounds? A) crash B) bang C) smack D) thud E) wham F) splat How do the words surface and service differ phonetically? 4) Give 2 examples for each of the following terms: voiced Sounds voiceless Sounds plosives front vowels diphthongs Notes: Please remember the Table 2.1 on page 44 and Table 2.3 on page 52. Chapter 3 Phonology Give definitions for the following terms: phoneme allophone minimal pairs syllable Answer the following questions briefly. How are phonetics and phonology related to and different from each other? Which segments are most likely to be affected by elision in the pronunciation of the following words? A) postman B) government C) sandwich D) pumpkin 3) Mary is washing the dishes. Write 3 different stresses for the sentence and explain the difference in meaning. 4) What’s the difference between an open and a closed syllable? Chap