leaveoff英语语言学常见名词解释

2021年1月19日发(作者：踏实)
英语语言学常见名词解释






1. What is language?
“
Language is system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. It is a system,
since linguistic elements are arranged systematically, rather than randomly. Arbitrary, in the sense
that there is usually no
intrinsic connection between a work (like “book”) and the object it refers
to.
This
explains
and
is
explained
by
the
fact
that
different
languages
have
different
“books”:
“book”
in
English,
“livre”
in
French,
“shu”
in
Chinese.
It
is
symbolic,
because
word
s
are
associated
with
objects,
actions,
ideas
etc.
by
nothing
but
convention.
Namely,
people
use
the
sounds or vocal forms to symbolize what they wish to refer to. It is vocal, because sound or speech
is the primary medium for all human languages. Writing systems came much later than the spoken
forms. The fact that small children learn and can only learn to speak (and listen) before they write
(and read) also indicates that language is primarily vocal, rather than written. The term “human” in
the definition is meant to specify that language is human specific.

2. What are design features of language?
“
Design features” here refer to the defining properties of human language that tell the difference
between human language and any system of animal communication. They are arbitrariness, duality,
productivity, displacement, cultural transmission and interchangeability

3. What is arbitrariness?
By “arbitrariness”, we mean there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A dog
might
be
a
pig
if
only
the
first
person
or
group
of
persons
had
used
it
for
a
pig.
Language
is
therefore
largely
arbitrary.
But
language
is
not
absolutely
seem
to
be
some
sound-meaning
association,
if
we
think
of
echo
words,
like
“bang”,
“crash”,
“roar”,
which
are
motivated
in
a
certain sense. Secondly, some compounds (words compounded to be one word) are not entirely
arbitrary either. “Type” and “write” are opaque or unmotivated words, while “type
-
writer” is less
so, or more transparent or motivated than the words that make it. So w
e can say “arbitrariness” is a
matter of degree.

4.

What is duality?
Linguists
refer
“duality”
(of
structure)
to
the
fact
that
in
all
languages
so
far
investigated,
one
finds two levels of structure or patterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms
of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words etc.); at the second, lower level,
it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves, but which combine to
form
units
of
meaning.
According
to
Hu
Zhanglin
et
al.,
language
is
a
system
of
two
sets
of
structures, one of sounds and the other of meaning. This is important for the workings of language.
A
small
number
of
semantic
units
(words),
and
these
units
of
meaning
can
be
arranged
and
rearranged into an infinite number of sentences (note that we have dictionaries of words, but no
dictionary of sentences!). Duality makes it possible for a person to talk about anything within his
knowledge. No animal communication system enjoys this duality.

5. What is productivity?