现代语言学资料 8页

1).Linguistics:Itisgenerallydefinedasthescientificstudyoflanguage.2).Generallinguistics:Thestudyoflanguageasawholeiscalledgenerallinguistics.3).Appliedlinguistics:Inanarrowsense,appliedlinguisticsreferstotheapplicationoflinguisticprinciplesandtheoriestolanguageteachingandlearning,especiallytheteachingofforeignandsecondlanguages.Inabroadsense,itreferstotheapplicationoflinguisticfindingstothesolutionofpracticalproblemssuchastherecoveryofspeechability.4).Synchronicstudy:Thestudyofalanguageatsomepointintime.e.g.AstudyofthefeaturesoftheEnglishusedinShakespeare’stimeisasynchronicstudy.5).Diachronicstudy:Thestudyofalanguageasitchangesthroughtime.Adiachronicstudyoflanguageisahistoricalstudy,whichstudiesthehistoricaldevelopmentoflanguageoveraperiodoftime.e.g.astudyofthechangesEnglishhasundergonesinceShakespeare’stimeisadiachronicstudy.6).Languagecompetence:Theidealuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage.Atransformational-generativegrammar（转化生成语法）isamodeloflanguagecompetence.7).Languageperformance:performanceistheactualrealizationoftheideallanguageuser’sknowledgeoftherulesinlinguisticcommunication.8).Langue:Languereferstotheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallthemembersofaspeechcommunity;Langueisthesetofconventionsandruleswhichlanguageusersallhavetofollow;Langueisrelativelystable,itdoesnotchangefrequently.9).Parole:Parolereferstotherealizationoflangueinactualuse;paroleistheconcreteuseoftheconventionsandtheapplicationoftherules;parolevariesfrompersontoperson,andfromsituationtosituation.10).Language:Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.11).Arbitrariness:Itisoneofthedesignfeaturesoflanguage.Itmeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Agoodexampleisthefactthatdifferentsoundsareusedtorefertothesameobjectindifferentlanguages.12).Productivity:Languageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossibletheconstructionandinterpretationofnewsignalsbyitsusers.13).Duality:Languageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstructure,ortwolevels,oneofsoundsatthelowerorbasiclevel,andtheotherofmeaningsatthehigherlevel.14).Displacement:languagecanbeusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimaginedmattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orinfar-awayplaces.Inotherwords,languagecanbeusedtorefertocontextsremovedfromtheimmediatesituationsofthespeaker.15).Culturaltransmission:Whilewearebornwiththeabilitytoacquirelanguage,thedetailsofanylanguagearenotgeneticallytransmitted,butinsteadhavetobetaughtandlearned.16).Designfeatures:Itreferstothedefiningpropertiesofhumanlanguagethatdistinguishitfromanyanimalsystemofcommunication2.Explainthefollowingdefinitionoflinguistics:Linguisticsisthescientificstudyoflanguage.Linguisticsinvestigatesnotanyparticularlanguage,butlanguagesingeneral.Linguisticstudyisscientificbecauseitisbasedonthesystematicinvestigationofauthentic(可靠的，真实的)languagedata.Noseriouslinguisticconclusionisreacheduntilafterthelinguisthasdonethefollowingthreethings:observingthewaylanguageisactuallyused,formulatingsomehypotheses,andtestingthesehypothesesagainstlinguisticfactstoprovetheirvalidity.3.Whatarethebranchesoflinguistics?Whatdoeseachofthemstudy?(语言学的主要分支是什么每个分支的研究对象是什么？)\nLinguisticsmainlyinvolvesthefollowingbranches:1)Generallinguistics,whichisthestudyoflanguageasawholeandwhichdealswiththebasicconcepts,theories,descriptions,modelsandmethodsapplicableinanylinguisticstudy2)Phonetics,whichstudiesthesoundsthatareusedinlinguisticcommunication3)Phonology,whichstudieshowsoundsareputtogetherandusedtoconveymeaningincommunication4)Morphology,whichstudiesthewayinwhichmorphemesarearrangedtoformwords5)Syntax,whichstudieshowmorphemesandwordsarecombinedtoformsentences6)Semantics,whichisthestudyofmeaninginlan¬guage.7)Pragmatics,whichisthestudyofmeaningnotinisolation,butinthecontextofuse8)Sociolinguistics,whichisthestudyoflanguagewithreferencetosociety9)Psycholinguistics,whichisthestudyoflanguagewithreferencetotheworkingsofmind.10)Appliedlinguistics,whichisconcernedabouttheapplicationoflinguisticfindingsinlinguisticstudies;inanar¬rowsense,appliedlinguisticsreferstotheapplicationoflinguisticprinciplesandtheoriestolanguageteaching,especiallytheteachingofforeignandsecondlanguages.11)Otherrelatedbranchesareanthropologicallinguistics(人类语言学),neurologicallinguistics（神经语言学）,mathematicallinguistics（数学语言学）,andcomputationallinguistics（计算机语言学）.4.Whatmakesmodernlinguisticsdifferentfromtraditionalgrammar?(现代语言学与传统语法有什么区别？)Traditionalgrammarisprescriptive（规定性）;itisbasedon"high"(religious,literary)writtenlanguage.Itsetsmodelsforlanguageuserstofollow.ButModernlinguisticsisdescriptive（描述性）;itsinvestigationsarebasedonauthenticandmainlyspokenlanguagedata.Itissupposedtobescientificandobjectiveandthetaskoflinguistsissupposedtodescribethelanguagepeopleactuallyuse,whetheritis"correct"ornot.5.Ismodernlinguisticsmainlysynchronic（共时性）ordiachronic（历时性）?Why?(Thedescriptionoflanguageatsomepointintimeisasynchronicstudy;thedescriptionofalanguageasitchangesthroughtimeisadiachronicstudy.)Modernlinguisticsismainlysynchronic,focusingonthepresent-daylanguage.Unlessthevariousstatesofalanguagearesuccessfullystudied,itwillnotbepossibletodescribelanguagefromadiachronicpointofview.6.Whichenjoyspriorityinmodernlinguistics,speechorwriting?Why?Modernlinguisticsgivesprioritytothespokenlanguageforthefollowingreasons:First,speechprecedeswriting.Thewritingsystemisalwaysalaterinventionusedtorecordthespeech.Therearestillsomelanguagesthatonlyhavethespokenform.Then,alargeramountofcommunicationiscarriedoutinspeechthaninwriting.Third,speechistheforminwhichinfantsacquiretheirnativelanguage.7.Saussure是如何区分语言langue和言语parole的？(ThedistinctionbetweenlangueandparolewasmadebythefamousSwisslinguistFerdinanddeSaussureearlythiscentury.LangueandparoleareFrenchwords.)Languereferstotheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallthemembersofaspeechcommunity,andparolereferstotherealizationoflangueinactualuse.Langueisthesetofconventionsandruleswhichlanguageusersallhavetofollowwhileparoleistheconcreteuseof\ntheconventionsandtheapplicationoftherules.Langueisabstract;itisnotthelanguagepeopleactuallyuse,butparoleisconcrete;itreferstothenaturallyoccurringlanguageevents.Langueisrelativelystable,itdoesnotchangefrequently;whileparolevariesfrompersontoperson,andfromsituationtosituation.8.Chomsky的语言能力competence和语言使用performance各指什么？(AmericanlinguistN.Chomskyinthelate1950’sproposedthedistinctionbetweencompetenceandperformance.)Chomskydefinescompetenceastheidealuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage.Thisinternalizedsetofrulesenablesthelanguageusertoproduceandunderstandaninfinitelylargenumberofsentencesandrecognizesentencesthatareungrammaticalandambiguous.AccordingtoChomsky,performanceistheactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinlinguisticcommunication.Althoughthespeaker’sknowledgeofhismothertongueisperfect,hisperformancesmayhavemistakesbecauseofsocialandpsychologicalfactorssuchasstress,embarrassment,etc…Chomskybelievesthatwhatlinguistsshouldstudyisthecompetence,whichissystematic,nottheperformance,whichistoohaphazard(偶然的).9.HowisSaussure’sdistinctionbetweenlangueandparolesimilartoChomsky’sdistinctionbetweencompetenceandperformance?Andwhatistheirdifference?BothSaussureandChomskymakethedistinctionbetweentheabstractlanguagesystemandtheactualuseoflanguage.Theirpurposeistosingleoutoneaspectoflanguageforseriousstudy.TheydifferinthatSaussuretakesasociologicalviewoflanguageandhisnotionoflangueisamatterofsocialconventions,andChomskylooksatlanguagefromapsychologicalpointofviewandtohimcompetenceisapropertyofthemindofeachindividual.10.Whatcharacteristicsoflanguagedoyouthinkshouldbeincludedinagood,comprehensivedefinitionoflanguage?Languageisasystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.Firstofall,languageisasystem,i.e.elementsoflanguagearecombinedaccordingtorules.Second,languageisarbitraryinthesensethatthereisnointrinsicconnectionbetweenthewordandthethingitrefersto.Third,languageisvocalbecausetheprimarymediumissoundforalllanguages.Theterm“human”ismeanttospecifythatlanguageishuman-specific.11.WhatfeaturesofhumanlanguagehavebeenspecifiedbyCharlesHocketttoshowthatitisessentiallydifferentfromanyanimalcommunicationsystem?人类语言的甄别性特征是什么？1.Arbitrariness（任意性）:(课本答案：asignofsophisticationonlyhumansarecapableof)Itmeansthatthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds.Althoughlanguageisarbitrarybynature,itisnotentirelyarbitrary.Non-arbitrarywordsmakeuponlyasmallpercentageofthetotalnumber.Thearbitrarynatureoflanguageisasignofsophisticationanditmakesitpossibleforlanguagetohaveanunlimitedsourceofexpressions.2.Productivity（创造性）:（课本答案：creativity:animalsarequitelimitedinthemessagestheyareabletosend）Languageisproductiveorcreativeinthatitmakespossiblethecon¬structionandinterpretationofaninfinitelylargenumberofsentences,includingthosetheyhaveneversaidorheardbefore.3.Duality（二重性）:（课本答案：afeaturetotallylackinginanyanimalcommunication）Itmeansthatlanguageisasystem,whichconsistsoftwosetsofstructure,ortwolevels,oneofsoundsatthelowerlevelandtheotherofmeaningsatthehigherlevel.Atthelowerorthebasiclevel,thereisthestructureofindividualandmeaninglesssounds,whichcanbegroupedintomeaningfulunitsatthehigherlevel.Thisdualityofstructureordou¬blearticulationoflanguageenablesitsuserstotalkaboutanythingwithintheirknowledge.4.Displacement（移位性）:（课本答案：noanimalcan“talk”aboutthingsremovedfromtheimmediatesituation）Languagecanbe\nusedtorefertothingswhicharepresentornotpresent,realorimaginedmattersinthepast,present,orfuture,orfar-awayplaces.Inotherwords,languagecanbeusedtorefertocontextsremovedfromtheimmediatesituationsofthespeaker.5.Culturaltransmission（文化传递性）：（课本答案：detailsofhumanlanguagesystemaretaughtandlearnedwhileanimalsarebornwiththecapacitytosendoutcertainsignalsasameansoflimitedcommunication）Whilewearebornwiththeabilitytoacquirelanguage,thedetailsofanylanguagearenotgeneticallytransmitted,butinsteadhavetobetaughtandlearned.12.Doyouthinkhumanlanguageisentirelyarbitrary?Why?Languageisarbitraryinnature,itisnotentirelyarbitrary,becausetherearealimitednumberofwordswhoseconnectionsbetweenformsandmeaningscanbelogicallyexplainedtoacertainextent,forexample,theonomatopoeia,wordswhicharecoinedonthebasisofimitationofsoundsbysoundssuchasbang,crash,etc..Takecompoundsforanotherexample.Thetwoelements“photo”and“copy”in“photocopy”arenon-motivated,butthecompoundisnotarbitrary.Chapter2:Phonology1.Definetheterms:1).phonetics:Phoneticsisdefinedasthestudyofthephonicmediumoflanguage;itisconcernedwithallthesoundsthatoccurintheworld’slanguages2).auditoryphonetics:Itstudiesthespeechsoundsfromthehearer’spointofview.Itstudieshowthesoundsareperceivedbythehearer.3).acousticphonetics:Itstudiesthespeechsoundsbylookingatthesoundwaves.Itstudiesthephysicalmeansbywhichspeechsoundsaretransmittedthroughtheairfromonepersontoanother.4).internationalphoneticalphabet[IPA]:Itisastandardizedandinternationallyacceptedsystemofphonetictranscription.5).Broadtranscription:thetranscriptionwithletter-symbolsonly,i.e.oneletter-symbolforonesound.Thisisthetranscriptionnormallyusedindictionariesandteachingtextbooks.6).Narrowtranscription:isthetranscriptionwithletter-symbolstogetherwiththediacritics.Thisisthetranscriptionusedbythephoneticiansintheirstudyofspeechsounds.7).diacritics:isasetofsymbolswhichcanbeaddedtotheletter-symbolstomakefinerdistinctionsthanthelettersalonemakepossible.8).Voiceless（清音）:whenthevocalcordsaredrawnwideapart,lettingairgothroughwithoutcausingvibration,thesoundsproducedinsuchaconditionarecalledvoicelesssounds.9).Voicing（浊音）:Soundsproducedwhilethevocalcordsarevibratingarecalledvoicedsounds.10).Vowel:thesoundsinproductionofwhichnoarticulatorscomeveryclosetogetherandtheairstreampassesthroughthevocaltractwithoutobstructionarecalledvowels.11).Consonants:thesoundsintheproductionofwhichthereisanobstructionoftheairstreamatsomepointofthevocaltractarecalledconsonants.12).phonology:Phonologystudiesthesystemofsoundsofaparticularlanguage;itaimstodiscoverhowspeechsoundsinalanguageformpatternsandhowthesesoundsareusedtoconveymeaninginlinguisticcommunication.13).phone:Phonescanbesimplydefinedasthespeechsoundsweusewhenspeakingalanguage.Aphoneisaphoneticunitorsegment.Itdoesnotnecessarilydistinguishmeaning.14).phoneme:acollectionofabstractphoneticfeatures,itisabasicunitinphonology.Itisrepresentedorrealizedasacertainphonebyacertainphoneticcontext.15).allophone:Thedifferentphoneswhichcanrepresentaphonemeindifferentphoneticenvironmentsarecalledtheallophonesofthat\nphoneme.Forexample[l]and[l]16).phonemiccontrast:Phonemiccontrastreferstotherelationbetweentwophonemes.Iftwophonemescanoccurinthesameenvironmentanddistinguishmeaning,theyareinphonemiccontrast.17).Complementarydistribution:referstotherelationbetweentwosimilarphoneswhichareallophonesofthesamephoneme,andtheyoccurindifferentenvironments.18).minimalpair:Whentwodifferentformsareidenticalineverywayexceptforonesoundsegmentwhichoccursinthesameplaceinthestrings,thetwowordsaresaidtoformaminimalpair.Forexample:binandpin.19).suprasegmentalfeatures:thephonemicfeaturesthatoccurabovethelevelofthesegmentsarecalledsuprasegmentalfeatures.Themainsuprasegmentalfeaturesincludestress,toneandintonation.20).tone:Tonesarepitchvariations,whicharecausedbythedifferingratesofvibrationofthevocalcords.Pitchvariationcandistinguishmeaningjustlikephonemes.Themeaning-distinctivefunctionofthetoneisespeciallyimportantintonelanguages,forexample,inChinese.21).intonation:Whenpitch,stressandsoundlengtharetiedtothesentenceratherthanthewordinisolation,theyarecollectivelyknownasintonation.Forexample,Englishhasfourbasictypesofintonation:thefallingtone,therisingtone,thefall-risetoneandtherise-falltone.2.Whatarethetwomajormediaofcommunication?Ofthetwo,whichoneisprimaryandwhy?语言交际的两大媒介是什么？哪一个是基本的交际媒介？为什么？Speechandwritingarethemajormediaofcommunication.Speechisconsideredprimaryoverwriting.Thereasonsare:speechispriortowritinginlanguageevolution,speechplaysagreaterroleindailycommunications,andspeechisthewayinwhichpeopleacquiretheirnativelanguage.3.Whatarethethreebranchesofphonetics?Howdotheycontributetothestudyofspeechsounds?语音学的三个分支是什么它们是如何研究语言学的？(可参照一下课文原话，可能更容易理解)1)Articulatoryphoneticsdescribesthewayourspeechorgansworktoproducethespeechsoundsandhowtheydiffer.2)Auditoryphoneticsstudiesthephysicalpropertiesofthespeechsounds,andreachesimportantconclusionthatphoneticidentityisonlyatheoreticalideal.3)Acousticphoneticsstudiesthephysicalpropertiesofthespeechsounds,thewaysoundstravelfromthespeakertothehearer;itdealswiththesoundwavesthroughtheuseofsuchmachinesasaspectrograph（声谱仪）.4.Wherearethearticulatoryapparatusofhumanbeingcontained?Pharyngealcavity,oralcavityandnasalcavity.5.Whatisvoicingandhowisitcaused?什么叫浊音化？它是如何形成的？Voicingistheresultofthevibrationofthevocalcords.Whenthevocalcordsaredrawnwideapart,lettingairgothroughwithoutcausingvibration,thesoundsproducedinsuchawayarevoiceless.Whenvocalcordsareheldtogethertautlysothattheairstreamvibratesthem,thesoundsproducedinthiswayarevoiced.6.Whatisthefunctionofnasalcavity?Howdoesitperformthisfunction?Thefunctionofnasalcavityistonasalizethesoundsthatareproduced.Itdoesthisbyclosingtheairpassageconnectingtheoralandnasalcavitiessothattheairstreamcanonlygothroughthenasalcavity.7.Describethevariouspartsintheoralcavitywhichareinvolvedintheproductionofspeechsounds?\nThevariouspatsofthetongue:thetip,thefront,theblade,andtheback;theuvula;thesoftpalate;thehardpalate;theteethridge(alveolar);theupperandlowerteeth;thelips.8.Howbroadtranscriptionandnarrowtranscriptiondiffer?宽式标音和严式标音有什么区别？Thebroadtranscriptionisthetranscriptionofsoundsbyusingonelettertorepresentonesound.Thenarrowtranscriptionisthetranscriptionwithdiacritics（变音符号）toshowdetailedarticulatoryfeaturesofsounds.Inbroadtranscription,thesymbol[l]inusedforthesound[l]inwordslikeleaf[li:f],feel[fi:l],build[bild],andhealth[helθ].Thesound[l]inallthesewordsisdifferslightly.The[l]in[li:f],occurringbeforeavowel,iscalledaclear[l],andnodiacriticisneededtoindicateit;the[l]in[fi:l]and[bild],occurringbeforeanotherconsonant,iscalleddark[l],indicatedinnarrowtranscriptionas[l].Thenin[helθ],thesound[l]isfollowedbythedentalsound[θ],itisthuscalledadental[l],andtranscribedas[helθ]（注：l下有一个向下的框，无法打印）innarrowtranscription.9.HowaretheEnglishconsonantsclassified?英语的辅音是如何分类的？1)bymannerofarticulation.a.stops（plosive爆破音）:[p],[b],[t],[d],[k],[g]b.fricatives（磨擦音）:[f],[v],[s],[z],[θ],[ð],[∫],[ʒ],[h]c.affricates（破擦音）:[t∫],[dʒ]d.liquids（lateral边音，流音）:[l],[r]e.nasals（鼻音）:[m],[n],[ŋ]f.glides（semivowels半元音）:[w],[j]2)byplaceofarticulation:a.bilabial（双唇音）:[p],[b],[m],[w]b.labiodental（唇齿音）:[f],[v]c.dental（舌齿音）:[θ],[ð]d.alveolar（齿龈音）:[t],[d],[s],[z],[n],[l],[r]e.palatal（腭音）:[∫],[ʒ],[t∫],[dʒ],[j]f.velar（软腭音）:[k],[g],[ŋ]g.glottal（喉音，声门单）:[h]10.WhatcriteriaareusedtoclassifytheEnglishvowels?英语的元音是如何分类的？1)Accordingtothepositionofthetongue,vowelsmaybedistinguishedasfrontvowelssuchas[i:][i][e][æ][a],centralvowelssuchas[ɜ:][ə][ʌ],andbackvowelssuchas[u:][ʊ][ɔ:][ɔ][ɑ:]2)Accordingtotheopennessofthemouth,weclassifythevowelsintofourgroups:closevowelssuchas[i:][i][u:][ʊ],semi-closevowelssuchas[e][ɜ:],semi-openvowelssuchas[ə][ɔ:],andopenvowelssuchas[æ][a][ʌ][ɔ]and[ɑ:].3)Accordingtotheshapeofthelips,vowelsaredividedintoroundedvowelsandunroundedvowels.InEnglishallthefrontandcentralvowelsareunroundedvowels,allthebackvowels,withexceptionof[ɑ:],arerounded.4)Accordingtothelengthofthevowels,theEnglishvowelscanalsobeclassifiedintolongvowelsandshortvowels.Thelongvowelsinclude[i:][ɜ:][ɔ:][u:][ɑ:]，whiletherestareshortvowels.11.Whatisthedifferencebetweenamonophthongandadiphthong?Amonophthongisoneforwhichtheorgansofspeechremaininagivenpositionforaperiodoftime.Adiphthongisavowelsound\nconsistingofadeliberateglide.Theorgansofspeechstartinginthepositionofonevowelandimmediatelymovinginthedirectionofanothervowel,forexample:[i:],[i]aremonophthongs,and[aɪ],[eɪ]arediphthongs.12.Howdophoneticsandphonologydifferintheirfocusofstudy?Whodoyouthinkwillbemoreinterestedinthedifferencebetween[l]and[l],[p]and[ph],aphoneticianoraphonologist?Why?Phonetics:descriptionofallspeechsoundsandtheirfinedifferences.Itnotnecessarilydistinguishmeaning.Phonology:descriptionofsoundsystemsofparticularlanguagesandhowsoundsfunctiontodistinguishmeaning.Itisrealizedascertainphoneanditdistinguishmeaning.Aphoneticianwouldbemoreinterestedinsuchdifferencesbecausesuchdifferenceswillnotcausedifferencesinmeaning,butcanmakefinerdistinctionsofthesounds.13.Whatisaphone?Howisitdifferentfromaphoneme?Howareallophonesrelatedtoaphoneme?Phone:aspeechsound,aphoneticunit.（Itnotnecessarilydistinguishmeaning）Phoneme:acollectionofabstractsoundfeatures,aphonologicalunit.(realizedascertainphone,distinguishmeaning)Allophones:actualrealizationofaphonemeindifferentphoneticcontexts.14.Whatisaminimalpairandwhatisaminimalset?Whyisitimportanttoidentifytheminimalsetinalanguage?Minimalpair:twosoundcombinationsidenticalineverywayexceptinonesoundelementthatoccursinthesameposition.Minimalset:agroupofsoundcombinationswiththeabovefeature.Byidentifyingtheminimalpairsortheminimalsetofalanguage,aphonologistcanidentifyitsphonemes.15.Whatarephonemiccontrast,complementarydistribution,andminimalpair?什么叫音位对立？什么叫互补分布？什么是最小对立对？(p34)Iftwophoneticallysimilarsoundscanoccurinthesameenvironmentsandtheydistinguishmeaning,theyareinphonemiccontrast.[p],[b]Iftwophoneticallysimilarsoundsaretwoallophonesofthesamephonemeandtheyoccurindifferentenvironments,theyaresaidtobeincomplementarydistribution.[p],[ph].Whentwodifferentformsareidenticalineverywayexceptforonesoundsegmentwhichoccursinthesameplaceinthestrings,thetwowordsaresaidtoformaminimalpair.Forexample,killandbill.16.Explainwithexamplesthesequentialrule,theassimilationruleandthedeletionrule.(每条规则记一个例子)Sequentialrule:rulegoverningthecombinationofsoundsinaparticularlanguage.Assimilationrule:ruleassimilatingonesoundsimilartothefollowingonebycopyingoneofitsphoneticfeatures.Deletionrule:rulegoverningthedeletionofasoundinacertainphoneticcontextalthoughitisrepresentedinspelling.17.Whataresupresegmentalfeatures?HowdothemajorsuprasegmentalfeaturesofEnglishfunctioninconveyingmeaning?什么是超音位特征？它是如何影响语义的？(p40)Suprasegmentalfeaturesarephonologicalfeaturesabovethesoundsegmentlevel.ThemajorsuprasegmentalfeaturesinEnglisharewordstress,sentencestressandintonation.1)ThelocationofstressinEnglishdistinguishesmeaning,suchas`importandim`port.Thesimilaralternationofstressalsooccursbetweenacompoundnounandaphraseconsistingofthesameelements.AphonologicalfeatureoftheEnglishcompoundsisthatthestressofthewordalwaysfallsonthefirstelementandthesecondelementreceivessecondarystress,forexample:`blackbirdisaparticularkindofbird,whichisnotnecessarilyblack,butablack`birdisabirdthatisblack.\n2)Sentencestressreferstotherelativeforcewhichisgiventothewordsinasentence.Themoreimportantwordssuchasnouns,mainverbs,adjectives,adverbs,anddemonstrativepronouns,arepronouncedwithgreaterforceandmademoreprominent.Andtheothercategoriesofwords(articles,personalpronouns,auxiliaryverbs,prepositions,andconjunctions)areusuallynotstressed.Buttogivespecialemphasistoacertainnotion,awordinsentencethatisusuallyunstressedcanbestressedtoachievedifferenteffect.Takethesentence“Heisdrivingmycar.”Forexample,toemphasizethefactthatthecarheisdrivingisnothis,oryours,butmine,thespeakercanstressthepossessivepronounmy,whichundernormalcircumstancesisnotstressed.3)Englishhasfourbasictypesofintonation,knownasthefourtones:Whenspokenindifferenttones,thesamesequenceofwordsmayhavedifferentmeanings.Generallyspeaking,thefallingtoneindicatesthatwhatissaidisastraight-forward,matter-of-factstatement,therisingtoneoftenmakesaquestionofwhatissaid,andthefall-risetoneoftenindicatesthatthereisanimpliedmessageinwhatissaid.18.Whatdoessentencestressmean?Sentencestressreferstotherelativeforcewhichisgiventothewordsinasentence.Somewordsaremoreimportantthanothers,andthemoreimportantwordsarepronouncedwithgreaterforceandmademoreprominent.ThemoreimportantwordsinEnglisharenouns,mainverbs,adjectives,adverbs,anddemonstrativepronouns,andtheothercategoriesofwords(articles,personalpronouns,auxiliaryverbs,prepositions,andconjunctions)areusuallynotstressed.Togivespecialemphasistoacertainnotion,awordinasentencethatisusuallyunstressedcanbestressed.Forexample:Heisdrivingmycar.Mymaybestressedtoemphasizethefactthatthecarismine.