陈新仁《英语语言学实用教程》（第2版）课后习题详解
Check your understanding
State whether each of the following statements is True or False.
(1) There is universal agreement about the origin of language.
【答案】F
(2) Pet dogs can speak human language.
【答案】F
(3) All human infants can speak some language.
【答案】F
(4) By creativity we mean the creative use of language as often practiced by poets.
【答案】F
(5) With different cultures there will be different languages.
【答案】F
(6) Not all uses of language are meant to convey new information.
【答案】T
In-Class Activities
1. “Language”, like “yuyan” in Chinese, is used for different meanings in different contexts, as shown below:
a. Chinese is a language.
b. Linguistics is the systematic study of language.
e. Both Jane and John like Shakespeare’s language.
d. the languageof bees
Ask
(1) What does “language” mean in each of the contexts?
Key: a. a natural language; language in particular.
b. a human-specific tool for communication; language in general.
c. individual style of language use.
d. a metaphorical way of referring to bees’ system of communication.
(2) Is there any other context in which the use of the word means something else?
Key: Yes. Example: language for the computer like C++.
2. There is a well-known story in the Bible that reflects the importance of language in human society. According to the Old Testament, mankind spoke only one language until Nimrod began to build a tower that was to reach heaven. The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand each other’s speech.”
Ask
(1) What if there were no language?
Key: If there were no language, human beings could not communicate with each other, the experience of great persons and the process of history could not be documented. All in all, without language, the society cannot move forward.
(2) What if there were only one language the world over?
Key: It would be much more convenient for human beings to communicate with each other; however, on the other hand, there could not be such a prosperous development of different cultures.
(3) What can we learn from this Bible story?
Key: Language is powerful as a tool of human communication.
3. The arbitrary nature of language does not suggest that individuals can use a language arbitrarily. In fact, once the members of a community agree on the meaning of words, they are supposed to abide by the convention. Look at the following cartoon:
Ask
(1) Can one really invent a language of one’s own?
Key: No.
(2) If not, why?
Key: A language comes into being and is used by convention or agreement among its speakers.
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4. Before the middle of the eighteenth century, theories of the beginning of language were widely discussed. According to these early theories, man was created almost instantaneously and speech was provided to him as a divine gift at the moment of creation. So goes the story of the Garden of Eden. God created Adam and speech simultaneously. God spoke with Adam and Adam answered him. The language they used was Hebrew.
Andreas Kemke, a Swedish philologist, asserted that in the Garden of Eden, God spoke Swedish, Adam spoke Danish, and the serpent spoke French. Goropius Becanus, a Dutch theorist, asserted that the language of the Garden was Dutch. The Egyptians considered themselves the oldest civilization, and therefore the original language was Egyptian.
On the assumption that babies, if left alone, will grow up speaking “the original” language, Psammetichus (6 B. C.) had two babies taken at random from an ordinary family and given to a servant to raise. He ordered the servant not to speak a word to the babies. When they were two years old, the children one day abruptly greeted the servant with “Bekos!” The servant immediately reported this to Psammetichus. The king checked with his counselors, who informed him that “bekos” meant “bread” in Phrygian. So in true “scientific” spirit, Psammetichus announced that Phrygian was the original language.
Ask
(1) Is there any basic flaw in this experiment?
Key: The process is not strictly controlled. There may have been some coincidence. The sample size is too small for the experiment to be valid.
(2) Do you think we really can answer the question about the beginning of language?
Key: No, at least in the present condition where/when we cannot perform experiments on the human brain, the key organ of speech.
5. Below are samples of speech from children at three different stages in their acquisition process.
Child A: You want to eat?
I can’t see my book.
Why you wake me up?
Child B: Where those dogs goed?
You didn’t eat supper.
Does lions walk?
Child C: No picture in there.
Where momma boot?
Have some?
Ask
(1) Can you identify the most likely order (from least to most advanced) of these samples?
Key: C→B→A
(2) What features in each child’s utterances can you use as evidence to support your ordering?
Key: Child A: good syntax except for improper question form.
Child B: visible development of syntax; overgeneralization
Child C: Not much syntax; two-word utterances; telegraphic sentences (sentences that contain only content words but lack function words)
……
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