胡壮麟语言学第12章笔记(中文版)

Chapter 7 Language, Culture and Society

I.

Choose the best answer. (20%)

1.

_______ is concerned with the social significance of language variation and language use in

different speech communities.

A. Psycholinguistics

B. Sociolinguistics

C. Applied linguistics

D. General linguistics

2.

The most distinguishable linguistic feature of a regional dialect is its __________.

A. use of words

B. use of structures

C. accent

D. morphemes

3.

__________ is speech variation according to the particular area where a speaker comes from.

A. Regional variation

B. Language variation

C. Social variation

D. Register variation

4.

_______ are the major source of regional variation of language.

A. Geographical barriers

B. Loyalty to and confidence

in one’s native speech

C. Physical discomfort and psychological resistance to change

D. Social barriers

5.

_________

means

that

certain

authorities,

such

as

the

government

choose,

a

particular

speech variety, standardize it and spread the use of it across regional boundaries.

A. Language interference

B. Language changes

C. Language planning

D. Language transfer

6.

_________

in

a

person’s

speech

or

writing

usually

ran

ges

on

a

continuum

from

casual

or

colloquial to formal or polite according to the type of communicative situation.

A. Regional variation

B. Changes in emotions

C. Variation in connotations

D. Stylistic variation

7.

A ____ is a variety of language that serves as a medium of communication among groups of

people for diverse linguistic backgrounds.

A. lingua franca

B. register

C. Creole

D. national language

8.

Although

_______

are

simplified

languages

with

reduced

grammatical

features,

they

are

rule- governed, like any human language.

A. vernacular languagesB. creoles

C. pidgins

D. sociolects

9.

In

normal

situations,

____

speakers

tend

to

use

more

prestigious

forms

than

their

____

counterparts with the same social background.

A. female; male

B. male; female

C. old; young

D. young; old

10.

A linguistic _______ refers to a word or expression that is prohibited by the “polite” society

from general use.

A. slang

B. euphemism

C. jargon

D. taboo

II.

Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)

11.

Language

as

a

means

of

social

communication

is

a

homogeneous

system

with

a

homogeneous group of speakers.

12.

The goal of sociolinguistics is to explore the nature of language variation and language use

among a variety of speech communities and in different social situations.

13.

From

the

sociolinguistic

perspective,

the

term

“speech

variety”

can

not

be

used

to

refer

to

standard language, vernacular language, dialect or pidgin.

14.

The most distinguishable linguistic feature of a regional dialect is its grammar and uses of

vocabulary.

15.

A person’s social backgrounds do not exert a shaping influence on his choice of linguistic

features.

16.

Every speaker of a language is, in a stricter sense, a speaker of a distinct idiolect.

17.

A

lingua

franca

can

only

be

used

within

a

particular

country

for

communication

among

groups of people with different linguistic backgrounds.

18.

A pidgin usually reflects the influence of the higher, or dominant, language in its lexicon and

that of the lower language in their phonology and occasionally syntax.

19.

Bilingualism and diglossia mean the same thing.

20.

The

use

of

euphemisms

has

the

effect

of

removing

derogatory

overtones

and

the

disassociative effect as such is usually long-lasting.

III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)

21. The social group isolated for any given study is called the speech __________.

22. Speech __________ refers to any distinguishable form of speech used by a speaker or group of

speakers.

23. From the sociolinguistic perspective, a speech variety is no more than a __________ variety of

a language.

24. Language standardization is also called language __________.

25.

Social

variation

gives

rise

to

__________

which

are

subdivisible

into

smaller

speech

categories that reflect their socioeconomic, educational, occupational background, etc.

26.

__________

variation

in

a

person’s

speech

or

writing

usually

ranges

on

a

continuum

from

casual or colloquial to formal or polite according to the type of communicative situation.

27.

A

regional

dialect

may

gain

status

and

become

standardized

as

the national

or __________

language of a country.

28. The standard language is a __________, socially prestigious dialect of language.

29. Language varieties other than the standard are called nonstandard, or __________ languages.

30. A pidgin typically lacks in __________ morphemes.

IV

.

Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)

31.

Lingua franca

32.

Regional dialect

33.

Register

34.

Sociolinguistics

the following questions. (20%)

35.

Is American English superior to African English? Why or why not?

（中国人民大学，

2003

）