Chapter 1 Introduction

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1、Chapter1Introduction1.1Originoflanguage(Q1~Q2)Q1.What’syourunderstandingoflanguage?Languageisameansofverbalcommunication.Itincludesthefollowingattributes:languagehassystem;itisvocalandarbitrary;itisahumanandsocialactivity;itisnon-instinctiveandisrelatedtoculture;language

2、changeswithtime.Q2.Whatarethewell-knowntheoriesabouttheoriginoflanguage?Theyarebow-wowtheory,pooh-poohtheory,contacttheoryand“yo-he-ho”theory.Bow-wowtheory:Inprimitivetimespeopleimitatedthesoundsoftheanimalcallsinthewildenvironmenttheylivedandspeechdevelopedfromthat.Pooh

3、-poohtheory:Inthehardlifeofourprimitiveancestors,theyutteredinstinctivesoundsofpain,angerandjoy.Whatmakesthetheoryproblematicisthatthereisonlylimitednumberofinterjectionsinalmostalllanguages.Contacttheory:Thetheorythatlanguagearosefromhumanbeingsinstinctiveneedforcontact

4、withhiscompanionhasbeencalledthecontacttheory.Yo-he-hotheory:Asprimitivepeopleworkedtogether,theyproducedsomerhythmicgruntswhichgraduallydevelopedintochantsandthenintolanguage.1.2Featuresoflanguage(Q3~Q11)Q3.Whataredesignfeaturesoflanguage?Designfeaturesrefertothedefinin

5、gpropertiesofhumanlanguagethattellthedifferencebetweenhumanlanguageandanysystemofanimalcommunication.Q4.Whatarethecharacteristicsofhumanlanguage?Thecharacteristicsofhumanlanguageincludearbitrariness,duality,productivity,displacement,discreteness,transferabilityandlineari

6、ty.Q5.Explainthecharacteristicofarbitrariness.Whataretherelationshipsbetweenarbitrariness&onomatopoeicwordsandarbitrariness&convention?Arbitrarinessreferstothefactthattheformsoflinguisticsignsbearnonaturalrelationshiptotheirmeaning.Onomatopoeicwordsarethewordsthatsoundli

7、kethesoundstheydescribe.Onlywhenpeopleknowthemeaningcantheyinferthatthelinguisticsignisappropriatefortheexactsound.Arbitrarinessoflanguagemakesitpotentiallycreative,andconventionalityoflanguagemakesalanguagebepassedfromgenerationtogeneration.Q6.Describethecharacteristics

8、ofduality.Dualitymeansthelanguage’spropertyofhavingtwolevelsofstructures:thesystemofsounds,whichistheme