1、?英語語言學實用教程?課后練習提示 Unit 1 Some Preliminaries about Language ExercisesTask 3: Study Questions1. What do you think is essential to the emergence of language? The existence of social activities; the need to express diverse ideas, emotions, etc.; the need to communicate ideas to distant places; etc.2. Ca

2、n our pets learn human languages? Why or why not?No. They are genetically not endowed with the capacity.3. What role does body language play in language communication? Omit.4. Naturally occurring “experiments with so-called “wolf-children, “bear-children, “Mowgli or “monkey-children and other such f

3、eral youngsters have been widely reported for hundreds of years. None of these children could speak or understand speech and, indeed, most efforts to teach them language ended in failure. How would you account for the failure?The language acquisition device has to be triggered before a certain age (

4、that of puberty). Sufficient expose to a language environment at the right time is essential to language acquisition.5. The following are some instances of using English for communication. What specific function does each use of English serve in the following pictures? Informative (in the form of co

5、mmanding) Directive (Advertising in the form of requesting)Directive (Persuading in the form of threatening) Directive (Recruiting)6Iconicity of language is an aspect of language where form echoes meaning. Onomatopoeia, also known as “sound symbolism, is one type of iconicity. Some researchers have

6、found other evidence of iconicity. For example, words beginning with the sound combination sl- in English often have an unpleasant sense, as in slithering, slimy, slugs. Here are some questions:a. Is the “unpleasant sense actually true of all, or even most, words beginning with sl- in English? No. e

7、.g. slight.b. Are there any other sounds or sound combinations that you associate with particular meanings? Gliding: slide, slip, slippery; Rolling: tumble, crumble, stumblec. How about the vowel sounds in words that identify near-to-speaker concepts (this, near, here) versus far-from-speaker concep

8、ts (that, far, there)? What is the difference? Is it a general pattern distinguishing terms for things that are near versus far in English? What about the case in Chinese?Front vowels for near-speaker concepts; central or back vowels for far-from-speaker concepts. There seems to be a similar kind of

9、 pattern in Chinese. C.f. 近 jin /遠 yuan；這 zhe /那 na7. In many of the worlds languages there are so-called nursery names for parents. In English, for example, corresponding to the word mother is the nursery name mama, and for father one finds dada and papa. There is remarkable similarity across diffe

10、rent languages in the form of these nursery names for parents. For example, in Chinese and Navajo ma corresponds to English mama. Why do you think that this is the case?Bilabials are learned and produced first because they are the easiest.8. a. What are some of the changes which appear to have taken

11、 place in the childs ability to use English during that period? Like the basically proper use of interrogatives and the correct use of inflection. b. What do these changes suggest about the order of language acquisition?Complete sentences are acquired later than elliptical ones. Inflection is acquir

12、ed at a late stage. Unit 2 The Sounds of English ExercisesTask 3: Study Questions1.a. Does the string of sounds mean anything to you? If we want to talk really good, well have to invent vowels.b. What does the picture suggest to you about the role of consonants and vowels in English?Consonants are t

13、he backbones of syllables and words. 2. Some phonetic transcriptions below are English words, some are not existing words but are possible words or nonsense words, and others are definitely “foreign or impossible because they violate English sequential constraints. Specify each of the a-e cases as i

14、llustrated. Word Possible Foreign ReasonExample:pa:k tif lkib a. a:f N must occur after a vowel.b. ski: skic.knait d.meij j must occur initially before a vowel.e.blaft 3. In English, the /i/ vowel becomes almost as long as /i:/ under certain conditions (written as /i:/ for convenience). Consider the

15、 examples listed below:a. List the phonemes that condition the change. voiced consonantsb. State the rule that seems involved.i is lengthened before a voiced consonant.Note: Start with the fact that the /i/ is basic and that short /i/ becomes long /i:/. The change from short /i/ to long /i:/ is phon

16、ologically determined; that is, the lengthening takes place in the presence of certain phonemes. A good strategy is to first list the phonemes to the right of long /i:/, then list those to the left. As an answer to (a), then, one would propose that /i/ become /i:/ whenever the phonemes to the right

17、(/d, m, l, b, z, j, /) occur immediately after that vowel. This hypothesis looks promising because, in fact, the short variant /i/ never occurs before these segments. The next question is, what is it about the phonemes on the right that unify them as a class? One may find that these phonemes are all

18、 voiced (+voice), and, in fact, the short /i/ never lengthens before voiceless segments. Thus the answer to (b) is that the vowel /i/ is lengthened before (the natural class of) voiced consonants.4. The use of plural s in English has three different, but very regular, phonological alternatives. a. C

19、an you work out the set of sounds which regularly precedes each of these alternatives?/s/ to words like ship, bat, book and cough; voiceless plosives voiceless/z/ to words like cab, lad, cave, rag and thing;after voiced consonants voiced/z/ to words like bus, bush, judge, church and maze.after /s/,

20、/F/, /dV/, /z/b. What features does each of these sets have in common? palatal or alveolar+fricativec. Is there any pattern regarding the different pronunciations of the past tense marker? t after voiceless consonants except t; d after voiced consonants except d; id after t or d.d. Do you think that

21、 one of these phonological forms for ed is more basic, with the others being derived from it in a regular way? Which, and how? d is more basic. t after devoicing. id after epenthesis (i.e. addition of a sound).5. Below are three columns of words with different patterns of stress:a. How is stress dis

22、tributed in each column? penultimate for A; last syllable for B; on the last syllable.b. In Column B, what kinds of vowels appear in the last syllable? How does the syllabic structure of Column C differ from A and B? In Column B, long vowels or diphthongs appear in the last syllable. The last syllab

23、le of the words in C ends in consonant clusters. Note For “usurp, “r may be pronounced as in /ju(:)z(r)p/.6. The following is a list of words that are spelt in a similar way:fuddy-duddy hocus-pocusnamby-pambyfuzzy-wuzzy hurly-burlyrazzle-dazzlehanky-pankylovey-doveyroly-polyhelter-skelter mumbo-jumb

24、osuper-dupera. What similarity can you spot among the words listed? All pairs are the same except the initial consonants.b. What effects may such words have in common when they are put into use? Redundancy, repetitiveness, etc. 7. Write the phonetic transcription for each of the following words.Omit

25、.8. Read the following words or phrases and point out the phonological processes that yield assimilation.(a) pat /pt/ pan /pn/ sat /st/ Sam /sm/ Nasalization rule: -nasal +nasal /_ +nasal(b) since /sins/ sink /sik/ hint /hint/ dink /dik/ Velarization rule: -velarl +velar /_ +velar(c) five pits /faif

26、pits/ love to /lft / Devoicing rule: +voiced -voiceless /_ -voiceless9. a. Comment on the use of rhyme, alliteration, and assonance (that is, use of syllables with a common vowel, as in “come - “love) in this poem. How are they used to stress the sense of superficiality and lack of meaning the poet

27、is trying to convey here? (Note especially the role of rhyming pairs of monosyllables and their effect on meter.) assonance: ri:tF skri:n spi:tF ud huk buk The ryhmed words, all monosyllabic and stressed, are semantically unrelated and separated. Alliteration is only sporadically used. Assonance sug

28、gests apparent connection but actual disconnectedness.b. Comment more carefully on meter in the first two stanzas. How does it contribute to the meaning? How and where does it work against our expectations? Lack of regularity and thus unpredictability. 10. Collect some data to show that English adve

29、rtisements, newspaper headlines, English songs, and presidential addressee sometimes make use of alliteration and rhyming. Omit. 11. What interesting things do speech errors tell us about language and its use? Collect a few cases of slips of tongue from daily conversations. Speech errors are often e

30、xplainable, often semantically motivated.Unit 3 The Units of English ExercisesTask 3: Study Questions1. Point out the word-formation process that applies to each of the following words:Affixation: worsen endearmentConversion: dust (v.) plane (v.)Compounding: laptop airsick daughter-in-lawBack-format

31、ion: edit televise peddle swindle (swindler) Shortening: tec (detective) prof (professor) bike (bicycle)Blending: brunch urinalysis (urine + analysis) fantabulous (fantasy + fabulous)Initialism: WTO (World Trade Organization)Acronym: laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) FI

32、FA (Federation Internationale de Football Association)Coinage (in the forms of invention and eponymwords derived from proper names): Xerox nylon jumbo (name of an elephant brought to the United States by P. T. Barnum)2. How are the open-class words and the closed-class words different from each othe

33、r?Open-class words: (1) large in number;(2) easy to expand;(3) mainly nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.Closed-class words:(1) small in number;(2) stable;(3) basically pronouns, prepositions, function words, etc.3. What are the inflectional morphemes in the following phrases? (a) the governments

34、 policies s; -s(b) the latest news -est (c) Isnt it snowing! -ing(d) two frightened cows -ed; -s4. Suppose a speaker of English invents the following italicized English words as a joke: “theyre always causing a commotion. I tell them not to commote, but they insist on being big commoters. What proce

35、ss of word creation does this example illustrate, and why? What do the new words mean? It is a process of back-formation. “Commote means the act of causing disorder and “commoter means someone who causes disorder.5. Count the function words in the following passage excerpted from Stephen Cranes The

36、Red Badge of Courage (p.1).The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.As the landscape changed from brown to green, the army awakened, and began to tremble with eagerness at the noise of rumors. It cast its eyes upon the roa

37、ds, which were growing from long troughs of liquid mud to proper thoroughfares. A river, amber- tinted in the shadow of its banks, purled at the armys feet; and at night, when the stream had become of a sorrowful blackness, one could see across it the red, eyelike gleam of hostile campfires set in t

38、he low brows of distant hills. Note: Function words are those that have little semantic content of their own and chiefly indicate grammatical relationships. Common function words include prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc. They are also called “form words or “functors.6. Which of the followin

39、g contain verb phrase idioms? For each idiom, provide a paraphrase with one word instead of the idiom. (1) a. John went in for stamp collecting. likeb. Jane went in for a check-up.(2) a. John came down with the guns.b. Jane came down with the flu. contracted(3) a. John came up with the guns.b. Jane

40、came up with a brilliant idea. got(4) a. That music doesnt exactly turn me on. excitedb. Jane didnt turn on the tap.(5) a. John passed over the house. b. The president passed over the peace proposal. disregarded (6) a. John ran after dinner. b. John ran after Jane. pursued7. In English, some intrans

41、itive verbs can be converted into a special type of transitive verbs called causative verbs. Here are some examples. Can you give more examples? halt, alter, end8. The distinction between auxiliary verbs and main verbs is a basic one in English. Auxiliary verbs are fronted to form questions whereas

42、main verbs cannot be fronted in this fashion. The following sentences illustrate three additional differences between main verbs and auxiliary verbs. What are these differences? placement of “not; contraction possible; tag questions; etc.9. Count the number of clauses in the following paragraphs and

43、 categorize them into different types.The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties.

44、 When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between “flight and fight and in more primitive days the choices made the difference between life and death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stres

45、s, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart diseases have established links with stress. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives (it would

46、be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it.(1) a person can withstand(2) The amount of stress depends very much on the individual(3) Some people are not afraid of stress(4) such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities(5) Others lose hea

47、rt at the first signs of unusual difficulties(6) When exposed to stress(7) (When exposed to stress,) in whatever form(8) we react both chemically and physically(9) In fact we make choice between “flight and fight(10) in more primitive days the choices made the difference between life and death(11) w

48、e meet today(12) The crises are unlikely to be so extreme(13) however little the stress(14) it involves the same response(15) when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress(16) It is . that.(17) health becomes endangered(18) Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and h

49、eart diseases have established links with stress(19) Since we cannot remove stress from our lives(20) it would be unwise to do so(21) even if we could(22) we need to find ways to deal with it(6), (7), (13), (19), and (21) are adverbial clauses (of time, reason, concession, supposition, etc.); (1) an

50、d (11) are attributive clauses; (15) is a predicative clause. Others are either independent clauses like (3), (4), (5), (9), (10), and (18), or the main clauses in the complex sentences, like (2), (8), (12), (20), and (22).10. The following is an excerpt from James Joyces Ulysses. What has been dele

51、ted in many of its sentences? What effect does Joyce achieve by using this deletion? No, not like that. A barren land, bare waste. Vulcanic lake, the dead sea: no fish, weedless, sunk deep in the earth. No wind would lift those waves, grey metal, poisonous foggy waters. Brimstone they called it rain

52、ing down: the cities of the plain: Sodom. Gomorrah. Edom. All dead names. A dead sea in a dead land, grey and old. Old now. It bore the oldest, the first race. A bent hag crossed from Cassidys clutching a naggin bottle by the neck. The oldest people. Wandered far away over all the earth, captivity t

53、o captivity, multiplying, dying, being born everywhere. It lay there now. now it could bear no more. Dead. The deletion gives people the impression that the thoughts of the character are not smooth, coherent, complete, etc.Unit 4 The Structures of English (I) ExercisesTask 3: Study Questions1. It is

54、 important that the rules of syntax specify all and only the grammatical sentences of the language. Why is it important to say “only? That is, what would be wrong with a grammar that specified as grammatical sentences all of the truly grammatical ones plus a few that were not grammatical?The grammat

55、ical rules will become invalid because we will not know which sentences are grammatical. 2. Analyze how the following sentences are incorrect according to English grammar.a. Snowing outside.“It is/was cannot be deleted.b. Jane loves John, she calls him every day.This is a run-on sentence. The senten

56、ce contains two independent sentences.c. There are two boys play football on the ground.The sentence contains two finite verbs.d. Jane is very kind to John, for example, she prepares dinner for him whenever she can.This is a run-on sentence. “For example is not a conjunction and thus cannot link two clauses into a complex sentence.e. Diligent is very important to succeed. “Diligent cannot function as the subject because it is an adjective. In English, the subject as well as the object must be nominal.f. John find the