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一、Explain-the-fllowing-terms

1． Conversational implicature

【答案】 Conversational implicature refers to a type of implied meaning, which is deduced on the basis of the conventional meaning of words together with the context, under the guidance of the CP and its maxims. For example, the implicature of He is a tiger could probably be he has some characteristics of a tiger.

2． Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

【答案】 Sapir-Whorf hypothesis consists of two parts : linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity. Linguistic determinism refers to the notion that a language determines certain nonlinguistic cognitive processes. Different languages offer people different ways of expressing around , they think and speak differently. Linguistic relativity refers to the claim that the cognitive processes that are determined are different for different languages. Thus, speakers of different languages are said to think in different ways. The hypothesis is now interpreted mainly in two different ways: a strong version and a weak one. The strong version believes that the language patterns determine peopled thinking and behavior ; the weak one holds that the former influence the later. So far , many researches and experiments conducted provide support to the weak version.

3． phoneme

Phoneme is a basic unit of phonological study, and it is an abstract collection of phonetic 【答案】

features which can distinguish meaning. For example, in English, is described as a phoneme.

4． inflectional morpheme

【答案】 Inflectional morpheme: It is also called inflectional affixes, which attaches to the end of words. Inflectional affixes only add a minute or delicate grammatical meaning to the stem. The plural suffix is a typical example of this kind.

5． Foregrounding

【答案】 This term is meant for what is unusual, attractive, unconventional, salient. In literature, foregrounding is often achieved through unconventional expressions which attract the readers9 attention. The main manifestations of foregrounding are deviation and parallelism.

6． Stem

A stem is a morpheme or combination of morphemes to which an inflectional affix can be 【答案】

added. For example, “friend-” in friends, and “friendship-” in friendships are both stems. The former shows that a stem can be equivalent to a root, whereas the latter shows that a stem may contain a root and a derivational affix.

7． Linguistic determinism

【答案】 Linguistic determinism , is one of the two points of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis , and has developed into the strong version of this hypothesis. It could be summarized as follows: （1） One‟s thinking is completely determined by his native language because one cannot but perceive the world in terms of the categories and distinctions encoded in the language. （2） The categories and distinctions encoded in one language system are unique to that system and incommensurable with those of other systems. Therefore , the following statement could represent this hypothesis 4tIf Aristotle had spoken Chinese , his logic would have been different”.

8． Category

Category refers to a group of linguistic items which fulfill the same or similar functions in 【答案】

a particular language such as a sentence, a noun phrase or a verb.

二、Essay-question

9． Chomsky sets up three different targets to aim at : observational adequacy , descriptive adequacy and explanatory adequacy. Define and discuss them.

【答案】 According to Chomsky , observational adequacy requires a grammar to be able to produce correct explanations for raw linguistic data ; that is , it should be able to capture speakers intuitions about grammaticality.

On the second level , that is , on the level of descriptive adequacy , a grammar should not only produce correct explanations for raw linguistic data , but also produce correct explanations for the linguistic competence of the speaker and hearer; that is, it should reflect speakers5 competence.

On the third , and the highest , level , i.e. explanatory adequacy , a grammar that is sufficiently described should reveal linguistic competence and then relate it with universal grammars in order to be related to the initial state of the human mind for the purpose of revealing human cognitive systems; that is , it should account for the leamability of language.

In Chomsky‟s point of view , it is far from adequate for a grammar to merely distinguish those strings of words which are sentences of the language from those which are not sentences of the language in question. Neither is it for a gramm ar to assign structures to sentences that match native speaker‟s intuition about structure and meaning. However , this is where the Structuralistic approach stops. Therefore , Chomsky argues for a generative grammar since it is able to explain how the facts are the way they are and how they arise in the mind of the speaker and hears. And it is after successful descriptions of many languages and subsequent generalizations of universal features of human language that it is possible to explore the initial state of the human mind that contains universal grammars.

10．Examine the following two statements about language , and discuss the similarities and differences between them. Do you agree with the two statements? Explain your answer.

（1）Sapir （1921:Language ） : “Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas，emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” （ p.8 ）.

（2）Bloch and Trager （1942: Outline of Linguistic Analysis ） : “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group co-operates.”（p.5）.

【答案】 Similarities :

（1）Both definitions stick to the fact that language is primarily a matter of speech because the

primary medium of language is sound. Sapir illustrates this idea by implying that the produced symbols are auditory and Bloch and Trager by explicitly using the word “vocal”.

（2）Both definitions allude to the fact that the association between the words and the things that they denoted is rarely inherent, Sapir by using the word “symbols” and Bloch and Trager by placing emphasis on “arbitrary” and “symbols”.

Differences :

（1）Sapir‟s definition emphasizes that language relates to communication between human beings. It is very different from the communication systems of other creatures , such as bird songs and bee dances. Bloch and Trager do not clearly indicate this property , only saying that it is possessed by a social group.

（2）Sapir also considers that language is “non-instinctive” and “voluntarily produced”. Thus for him language does not include such instinctive forms of communication as smiling and cries of pain, etc. However , Bloch and Trager‟s definition do not include this feature.

（3）The element “system” in Bloch and Trager‟s definition reflects the fact that language provides us with the framework for generating appropriate utterances rather than providing us with an infinite store of ready-made utterances. Still elements of lacunae are combined according to rules.

（4）The function of language is indicated differently in two definitions. Sapir sees language as for communicating ideas, emotions and desires, while Bloch and Trager considers it for a social group5s co-operation. Sapir‟s definition proposes “communication” as the principal function of language and specifies what is communicated; Bloch and Trager only vaguely point out that language can be used for co-operation.

Each of the two definitions has its own special emphasis, and it is not totally free from limitations. We think the two definitions grasp some defining properties of language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication, for example，“vocal”，“arbitrary”，“symbol”，“purely human”，“a system”. But either has some limitation. As for Sapir‟s definition, whether one considers language to be instinctive or not is an issue. Language is instinctive in so far as we are all bom with a predisposition to speak , we all acquire a language without tuition and when we speak we do not consciously convert our thoughts into speech. Language is , however , non-instinctive in that we can choose what to say or whether to say anything at all. Both the definition‟s description of language‟s function is not precise. Sapir‟s definition confines language only to communicating ideas, emotions and desires, and Bloch and Trager‟s definition does not point it out at all.

11．Read the following sentence and illustrate the ideas behind this statement : "'Register is the term used in linguistics to describe the relationship between a particular style of language and its context of use.99

【答案】 The register is what you are speaking at the time, depending on what you are doing and the nature of the activity in which the language is functioning. A register can be defined as a configuration of meanings that are typically associated with a particular situational configuration of field, mode , and tenor. Therefore, a register must also include the expressions, the lexico-grammatical and phonological features , which typically accompany or realize these meanings. Text can be seen as an instance of a register.

Register is seen as the linguistic consequence of interacting aspects of context , which Halliday calls “field, tenor, and mode.” Field refers to the topics and actions which language is used to express. Tenor denotes the language users, their relationships to each other, and their purposes. Mode refers to the channel through which communication is carried out. These three contextual variables are intended to help the linguist tie linguistic analysis to the relevant contextual variables. By understanding the