indicate是什么意思大学思辨英语教程精读1unit2

2021年1月19日发(作者：铝电解)
Thesis: Among its multiple purposes, language is good at interaction and
persuasion but poor at information talking.

Part

Para(s).

Main idea


I

1-5

Introducing
the
question:
what
is
language for?

II

6-8

Multiple
purposes:
interpreting
the
question

III

9-20

Answering the first question: what is difficult
to express?

IV

21-26

Answering
the
second
question:
what
is
language good at?

V

27-28

Conclusion:
questions
related
to
the
functions of language

Comprehensive Questions

1.

The transfer of information is not the only purpose of using language.
In
greetings
and
some
pointless
chitchat,
communicators
use
language
primarily, if not exclusively, for constructing or maintaining certain social
relationship. Even when information is the major concern, the speaker and
hearer must take into consideration some other factors, such as politeness
and aesthetics (cf. Para. 22-22).

2. In Paragraph 6, Aitchison divides the question “what is language for”
into
two
sub-questions:
“For
what
purpose
did
language
develop?”
and
“For what purpose is language used nowadays?” Since there are so many
purposes of using language and the original one is difficult to identify, she
argues in paragraph 8 that we can find clues by looking at what language
is good at and what it finds difficult to express. The rest of the text (paras.9-
28) provides discussion about and answers to these two questions.

3.

According to Aitchison, the list of language functions in paragraph 7 is
not exhaustive(complete), and it is not clear which one is the most basic.
Aitchison discusses in some detail the following four functions, providing
information,
expressing
feelings,
influencing
others
and
social
talking,
which are roughly organized in the order of importance in the traditional
view.

4. Aitchison suggests that the early functions of language can be traced in
the way we use language today to some extent. The assumption behind is
that
the
origin
of
language
is
accountable(responsible)
in
its
early
function(s)
and
that
the
early
function(s)
must
be
reflected
in
what
language
is
good
at
today.
In
other
words,
if
language
was
created
to
perform a particular function, it must still be good at it nowadays.

Evaluating the text

(2) Exemplifying

An utterance may serve more than one purpose simultaneously. Donking
is used metalinguistically(
元语言）

in example (6), but the whole sentence
“Donking
isn’t
a
word”
is
informative.
We
can
provide
information,
express
our
feelings
and
initiate
social
talking
by
asking
questions
or
giving commands.

Exploring beyond the text

(1) Some scholars believe that language facilitates thinking and that our
thinking
would
be
impossible
without
an
inner
language.
In
many
cultures,language is also used as a symbol of magic or as something that
carries
mysterious
power
(e.g.,
religious
Taoism,
couplets
for
Spring
Festival). Different functions of language are not equally important. For
example, the functions of communicating and of facilitating thinking

are more fundamental while those of religious use and word play are more
derivative(
派生的）
.

(2) Generally speaking, there are two different views on the relationship
between
language
and
thinking.
Some
scholars
claim
that
language
restricts
thinking.
According
to
this
view,
people
perceive
the
world
through
the
language
that
they
speak.
It
follows
that
people
speaking
different
languages
experience
different
worlds,
just
like
people
seeing
different
things
with
different
eyes.
Others
believe
that
language
and
thinking
are
separate
and
should
not
be
equated
with
each
other.
For
example, even if a language does not have the word for chartreuse
（查特
酒绿）
, people speaking the language can still perceive this color, think
about
it
and
even
talk
about
it,
using
not
a
single
word
but
a
kind
of