语言学概论(笔记整理) 28页

1.1.Whatislanguage?“Languageissystemofarbitraryvocalsymbolsusedforhumancommunication.Itisasystem,sincelinguisticelementsarearrangedsystematically,ratherthanrandomly.Arbitrary,inthesensethatthereisusuallynointrinsicconnectionbetweenawork(like“book”)andtheobjectitrefersto.Thisexplainsandisexplainedbythefactthatdifferentlanguageshavedifferent“books”:“book”inEnglish,“livre”inFrench,inJapanese,inChinese,“check”inKorean.Itissymbolic,becausewordsareassociatedwithobjects,actions,ideasetc.bynothingbutconvention.Namely,peopleusethesoundsorvocalformstosymbolizewhattheywishtoreferto.Itisvocal,becausesoundorspeechistheprimarymediumforallhumanlanguages,developedor“new”.Writingsystemscamemuchlaterthanthespokenforms.Thefactthatsmallchildrenlearnandcanonlylearntospeak(andlisten)beforetheywrite(andread)alsoindicatesthatlanguageisprimarilyvocal,ratherthanwritten.Theterm“human”inthedefinitionismeanttospecifythatlanguageishumanspecific.1.2.Whataredesignfeaturesoflanguage?“Designfeatures”hererefertothedefiningpropertiesofhumanlanguagethattellthedifferencebetweenhumanlanguageandanysystemofanimalcommunication.Theyarearbitrariness,duality,productivity,\ndisplacement,culturaltransmissionandinterchangeability1.3.Whatisarbitrariness?By“arbitrariness”,wemeanthereisnologicalconnectionbetweenmeaningsandsounds(seeI.1).Adogmightbeapigifonlythefirstpersonorgroupofpersonshaduseditforapig.Languageisthereforelargelyarbitrary.Butlanguageisnotabsolutelyseemtobesomesound-meaningassociation,ifwethinkofechowords,like“bang”,“crash”,“roar”,whicharemotivatedinacertainsense.Secondly,somecompounds(wordscompoundedtobeoneword)arenotentirelyarbitraryeither.“Type”and“write”areopaqueorunmotivatedwords,while“type-writer”islessso,ormoretransparentormotivatedthanthewordsthatmakeit.Sowecansay“arbitrariness”isamatterofdegree.1.4.Whatisduality?Linguistsrefer“duality”(ofstructure)tothefactthatinalllanguagessofarinvestigated,onefindstwolevelsofstructureorpatterning.Atthefirst,higherlevel,languageisanalyzedintermsofcombinationsofmeaningfulunits(suchasmorphemes,wordsetc.);atthesecond,lowerlevel,itisseenasasequenceofsegmentswhichlackanymeaninginthemselves,butwhichcombinetoformunitsofmeaning.AccordingtoHuZhanglinetal.(p.6),languageisasystemoftwosetsofstructures,oneofsoundsandtheotherofmeaning.Thisisimportantforthe\nworkingsoflanguage.Asmallnumberofsemanticunits(words),andtheseunitsofmeaningcanbearrangedandrearrangedintoaninfinitenumberofsentences(notethatwehavedictionariesofwords,butnodictionaryofsentences!).Dualitymakesitpossibleforapersontotalkaboutanythingwithinhisknowledge.Noanimalcommunicationsystemenjoysthisduality,orevenapproachesthishonor.1.5.Whatisproductivity?Productivityreferstotheabilitytotheabilitytoconstructandunderstandanindefinitelylargenumberofsentencesinone’snativelanguage,includingthosethathasneverheardbefore,butthatareappropriatetothespeakingsituation.Noonehaseversaidorheard“Ared-eyedelephantisdancingonthesmallhotelbedwithanAfricangibbon”,buthecansayitwhennecessary,andhecanunderstanditinrightregister.Differentfromartisticcreativity,though,productivitynevergoesoutsidethelanguage,thusalsocalled“rule-boundcreativity”(byN.Chomsky).1.6.Whatisdisplacement?“Displacement”,asoneofthedesignfeaturesofthehumanlanguage,referstothefactthatonecantalkaboutthingsthatarenotpresent,aseasilyashedoesthingspresent.Inotherwords,onecanrefertorealandunrealthings,thingsofthepast,ofthepresent,ofthefuture.Language\nitselfcanbetalkedabouttoo.Whenaman,forexample,iscryingtoawoman,aboutsomething,itmightbesomethingthathadoccurred,orsomethingthatisoccurring,orsomethingthatistooccur.Whenadogisbarking,however,youcandecideitisbarkingforsomethingoratsomeonethatexistsnowandthere.Itcouldn’tbebowwowingsorrowfullyfordomelostloveorabonetobelost.Thebee’ssystem,nonetheless,hasasmallshareof“displacement”,butitisanunspeakabletinyshare.1.7.Whatisculturaltransmission?Thismeansthatlanguageisnotbiologicallytransmittedfromgenerationtogeneration,butthatthedetailsofthelinguisticsystemmustbelearnedanewbyeachspeaker.Itistruethatthecapacityforlanguageinhumanbeings(N.Chomskycalledit“languageacquisitiondevice”,orLAD)hasageneticbasis,buttheparticularlanguageapersonlearnstospeakisaculturaloneotherthanageneticonelikethedog’sbarkingsystem.Ifahumanbeingisbroughtupinisolationhecannotacquirelanguage.TheWolfChildrearedbythepackofwolvesturnedouttospeakthewolf’sroaring“tongue”whenhewassaved.Helearnedthereafter,withnosmalldifficulty,theABCofacertainhumanlanguage.1.8.Whatisinterchangeability?\n(1)Interchangeabilitymeansthatanyhumanbeingcanbebothaproducerandareceiverofmessages.Wecansay,andonotheroccasionscanreceiveandunderstand,forexample,“Pleasedosomethingtomakemehappy.”Thoughsomepeople(includingme)suggestthatthereissexdifferentiationintheactuallanguageuse,inotherwords,menandwomenmaysaydifferentthings,yetinprinciplethereisnosound,orwordorsentencethatamancanutterandawomancannot,orviceversa.Ontheotherhand,apersoncanbethespeakerwhiletheotherpersonisthelistenerandastheturnmovesontothelistener,hecanbethespeakerandthefirstspeakeristolisten.Itisturn-takingthatmakessocialcommunicationpossibleandacceptable.(2)Somemalebirds,however,uttersomecalls,whichfemalesdonot(orcannot?),andcertainkindsoffishhavesimilarhapsmentionable.Whenadogbarks,alltheneighboringdogsbark.Thenpeoplearoundcanhardlytellwhichdog(dogs)is(are0“speaking”andwhichlistening.1.9.Whydolinguistssaylanguageishumanspecific?Firstofall,humanlanguagehassix“designfeatures”whichanimalcommunicationsystemsdonothave,atleastnotinthetruesenseofthem(seeI.2-8).Let’sborrowC.F.Hocket’sChartthatcompareshumanlanguagewithsomeanimals’systems,fromWangGang(1998,p.8).\nSecondly,linguistshavedonealottryingtoteachanimalssuchaschimpanzeestospeakahumanlanguagebuthaveachievednothinginspiring.BeatniceandAlanGardnerbroughtupWashoe,afemalechimpanzee,likeahumanchild.Shewastaught“AmericansignLanguage”,andlearnedalittlethatmadetheteachershappybutdidmotmakethelinguisticscirclehappy,forfewbelievedinteachingchimpanzees.Thirdly,ahumanchildrearedamonganimalscannotspeakahumanlanguage,notevenwhenheistakenbackandtaughttolotoso(seethe“WolfChild”inI.7)1.10.Whatfunctionsdoeslanguagehave?Languagehasatleastsevenfunctions:phatic,directive,Informative,interrogative,expressive,evocativeandperformative.AccordingtoWangGang(1988,p.11),languagehasthreemainfunctions:atoolofcommunication,atoolwherebypeoplelearnabouttheworld,andatoolbywhichpeoplelearnabouttheworld,andatoolbywhichpeoplecreateart.M.A.K.Halliday,representativeoftheLondonschool,recognizesthree“Macro-Functions”:ideational,interpersonalandtextual(see!11-17;seeHUZhuanglinetal.,pp10-13,pp394-396).1.11Whatisthephaticfunction?\nThe“phaticfunction”referstolanguagebeingusedforsettingupacertainatmosphereormaintainingsocialcontacts(ratherthanforexchanginginformationorideas).Greetings,farewells,andcommentsontheweatherinEnglishandonclothinginChineseallservethisfunction.Muchofthephaticlanguage(e.g.“Howareyou?”“Fine,thanks.”)Isinsincereiftakenliterally,butitisimportant.Ifyoudon'tsay“Hello”toafriendyoumeet,orifyoudon’tanswerhis“Hi”,youruinyourfriendship.1.12.Whatisthedirectivefunction?The“directivefunction”meansthatlanguagemaybeusedtogetthehearertodosomething.Mostimperativesentencesperformthisfunction,e.g.,“Tellmetheresultwhenyoufinish.”Othersyntacticstructuresorsentencesofothersortscan,accordingtoJ.AustinandJ.Searle’s“indirectspeechacttheory”(seeHuZhuanglinetal.,pp271-278)atleast,servethepurposeofdirectiontoo,e.g.,“IfIwereyou,Iwouldhaveblushedtothebottomofmyears!”1.13.Whatistheinformativefunction?Languageservesan“informationalfunction”whenusedtotellsomething,characterizedbytheuseofdeclarativesentences.Informativestatementsareoftenlabeledastrue(truth)orfalse(falsehood).Accordingto\nP.Grice’s“CooperativePrinciple”(seeHuZhuanglinetal.,pp282-283),oneoughtnottoviolatethe“MaximofQuality”,whenheisinformingatall.1.14.Whatistheinterrogativefunction?Whenlanguageisusedtoobtaininformation,itservesan“interrogativefunction”.Thisincludesallquestionsthatexpectreplies,statements,imperativesetc.,accordingtothe“indirectspeechacttheory”,mayhavethisfunctionaswell,e.g.,“I’dliketoknowyoubetter.”Thismaybringforthalotofpersonalinformation.Notethatrhetoricalquestionsmakeanexception,sincetheydemandnoanswer,atleastnotthereader’s/listener’sanswer.1.15.Whatistheexpressivefunction?The“expressivefunction”istheuseoflanguagetorevealsomethingaboutthefeelingsorattitudesofthespeaker.Subconsciousemotionalejaculationsaregoodexamples,like“Goodheavens!”“MyGod!”Sentenceslike“I’msorryaboutthedelay”canserveasgoodexamplestoo,thoughinasubtleway.Whilelanguageisusedfortheinformativefunctiontopassjudgmentonthetruthorfalsehoodofstatements,languageusedfortheexpressivefunctionevaluates,appraisesorassertsthespeaker’sownattitudes.\n1.16.Whatistheevocativefunction?The“evocativefunction”istheuseoflanguagetocreatecertainfeelingsinthehearer.Itsaimis,forexample,toamuse,startle,antagonize,soothe,worryorplease.Jokes(notpracticaljokes,though)aresupposedtoamuseorentertainthelistener;advertisingtourgecustomerstopurchasecertaincommodities;propagandatoinfluencepublicopinion.Obviously,theexpressiveandtheevocativefunctionsoftengotogether,i.e.,youmayexpress,forexample,yourpersonalfeelingsaboutapoliticalissuebutendupbyevokingthesamefeelingin,orimposingiton,yourlistener.That’salsothecasewiththeotherwayround.1.17.Whatistheperformativefunction?Thismeanspeoplespeakto“dothings”orperformactions.Oncertainoccasionstheutteranceitselfasanactionismoreimportantthanwhatwordsorsoundsconstitutetheutteredsentence.WhenaskedifathirdYangtzeBridgeoughttobebuiltinWuhan,themayormaysay,“OK”,whichmeansmorethanspeech,andmorethananaveragesocialindividualmaydofortheconstruction.Thejudge’simprisonmentsentence,thepresident’swarorindependencedeclaration,etc.,areperformativesaswell(seeJ.Austin’sspeechActTheory,HuZhuanglin,ecal.pp271-278).\n1.18.Whatislinguistics?“Linguistics”isthescientificstudyoflanguage.Itstudiesnotjustonelanguageofanyonesociety,butalsothelanguageofallhumanbeings.Alinguist,though,doesnothavetoknowandusealargenumberoflanguages,buttoinvestigatehoweachlanguageisconstructed.Heisalsoconcernedwithhowalanguagevariesfromdialecttodialect,fromclasstoclass,howitchangesfromcenturytocentury,howchildrenacquiretheirmothertongue,andperhapshowapersonlearnsorshouldlearnaforeignlanguage.Inshort,linguisticsstudiesthegeneralprincipleswhereuponallhumanlanguagesareconstructedandoperateassystemsofcommunicationintheirsocietiesorcommunities(seeHuZhuanglinetal.,pp20-22)1.19.Whatmakeslinguisticsascience?Sincelinguisticsisthescientificstudyoflanguage,itoughttobaseitselfuponthesystematic,investigationoflanguagedata,whichaimsatdiscoveringthetruenatureoflanguageanditsunderlyingsystem.Tomakesenseofthedata,alinguistusuallyhasconceivedsomehypothesesaboutthelanguagestructure,tobecheckedagainsttheobservedorobservablefacts.Inordertomakehisanalysisscientific,alinguistisusuallyguidedbyfourprinciples:exhaustiveness,consistency,and\nobjectivity.Exhaustivenessmeansheshouldgatherallthematerialsrelevanttothestudyandgivethemanadequateexplanation,inspiteofthecomplicatedness.Heistoleavenolinguistic“stone”unturned.Consistencymeansthereshouldbenocontradictionbetweendifferentpartsofthetotalstatement.Economymeansalinguistshouldpursuebrevityintheanalysiswhenitispossible.Objectivityimpliesthatsincesomepeoplemaybesubjectiveinthestudy,alinguistshouldbe(orsoundatleast)objective,matter-of-face,faithfultoreality,sothathisworkconstitutespartofthelinguisticsresearch.1.20.Whatarethemajorbranchesoflinguistics?Thestudyoflanguageasawholeisoftencalledgenerallinguistics(e.g.HuZhuanglinetal.,1988;WangGang,1988).Butalinguistsometimesisabletodealwithonlyoneaspectoflanguageatatime,thustheariseofvariousbranches:phonetics,phonology,morphology,syntax,semantics,sociolinguistics,appliedlinguistics,pragmatics,psycholinguistics,lexicology,lexicography,etymology,etc.1.21.Whataresynchronicanddiachronicstudies?Thedescriptionofalanguageatsomepointoftime(asifitstoppeddeveloping)isasynchronystudy(synchrony).Thedescriptionofalanguageasitchangesthroughtimeisadiachronicstudy(diachronic).\nAnessayentitled“OntheUseofTHE”,forexample,maybesynchronic,iftheauthordoesnotrecallthepastofTHE,anditmayalsobediachronicifheclaimstocoveralargerangeorperiodoftimewhereinTHEhasundergonetremendousalteration(seeHuZhuanglinetal.,pp25-27).1.22.Whatisspeechandwhatiswriting?(1)Nooneneedstherepetitionofthegeneralprincipleoflinguisticanalysis,namely,theprimacyofspeechoverwriting.Speechisprimary;becauseitexistedlonglongbeforewritingsystemscameintobeing.Geneticallychildrenlearntospeakbeforelearningtowrite.Secondly,writtenformsjustrepresentinthiswayorthatthespeechsounds:individualsounds,asinEnglishandFrenchasinJapanese.(2)Incontrasttospeech,spokenformoflanguage,writingaswrittencodes,giveslanguagenewscopeandusethatspeechdoesnothave.Firstly,messagescanbecarriedthroughspacesothatpeoplecanwritetoeachother.Secondly,messagescanbecarriedthroughtimethereby,sothatpeopleofourtimecanbecarriedthroughtimethereby,sothatpeopleofourtimecanreadBeowulf,SamuelJohnson,andEdgarA.Poe.Thirdly,oralmessagesarereadilysubjecttodistortion,eitherintentionalorunintentional(causingmisunderstandingormalentendu),whilewrittenmessagesallowandencouragerepeatedunalterablereading.\n(3)Mostmodernlinguisticanalysisisfocusedonspeech,differentfromgrammariansofthelastcenturyandtheretofore.1.23.Whatarethedifferencesbetweenthedescriptiveandtheprescriptiveapproaches?Alinguisticstudyis“descriptive”ifitonlydescribesandanalysesthefactsoflanguage,and“prescriptive”ifittriestolaydownrulesfor“correct”languagebehavior.Linguisticstudiesbeforethiscenturywerelargelyprescriptivebecausemanyearlygrammarswerelargelyprescriptivebecausemanyearlygrammarswerebasedon“high”(literaryorreligious)writtenrecords.Modernlinguisticsismostlydescriptive,however.It(thelatter)believesthatwhateveroccursinnaturalspeech(hesitation,incompleteutterance,misunderstanding,etc.)shouldbedescribedintheanalysis,andnotbemarkedasincorrect,abnormal,corrupt,orlousy.These,withchangesinvocabularyandstructures,needtobeexplainedalso.1.24.Whatisthedifferencebetweenlangueandparole?F.DeSaussurerefers“langue”totheabstractlinguisticsystemsharedbyallthemembersofaspeechcommunityandrefers“parole”totheactualoractualizedlanguage,ortherealizationoflangue.Langueisabstract,parolespecifictothespeakingsituation;languenotactuallyspokenbyan\nindividual,parolealwaysanaturallyoccurringevent;languerelativelystableandsystematic,paroleisamassofconfusedfacts,thusnotsuitableforsystematicinvestigation.Whatalinguistoughttodo,accordingtoSaussure,istoabstractlanguefrominstancesofparole,I.e.todiscovertheregularitiesgoverningallinstancesofparoleandmakethanthesubjectoflinguistics.Thelangue-paroledistinctionisofgreatimportance,whichcastsgreatinfluenceonlaterlinguists.1.25.Whatisthedifferencebetweencompetenceandperformance?(1)AccordingtoN.Chomsky,“competence”istheideallanguageuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage,and“performance”istheactualrealizationofthisknowledgeinutterances.Theformerenablesaspeakertoproduceandunderstandanindefinitenumberofsentencesandtorecognizegrammaticalmistakesandambiguities.Aspeaker’scompetenceisstablewhilehisperformanceisofteninfluencedbypsychologicalandsocialfactors.Soaspeaker’sperformancedoesnotalwaysmatchorequalhissupposedcompetence.(2)Chomskybelievesthatlinguistsoughttostudycompetence,ratherthanperformance.Inotherwords,theyshoulddiscoverwhatanidealspeakerknowsofhisnativelanguage.(3)Chomsky’scompetence-performancedistinctionisnotexactlythesameas,thoughsimilarto,F.deSaussure’slangue-parole\ndistinction.Langueisasocialproduct,andasetofconventionsforacommunity,whilecompetenceisdeemedasapropertyofthemindofeachindividual.SussurelooksatlanguagemorefromasociologicalorsociolinguisticpointofviewthanN.Chomskysincethelatterdealswithhisissuespsychologicallyorpsycholinguistically.1.26.Whatislinguisticpotential?Whatisactuallinguisticbehavior?M.A.K.Hallidaymadethesetwoterms,orthepotential-behaviordistinction,inthe1960s,fromafunctionalpointofview.Thereisawiderangeofthingsaspeakercandoinhisculture,andsimilarlytherearemanythingshecansay,forexample,tomanypeople,onmanytopics.Whatheactuallysays(i.e.his“actuallinguisticbehavior”)onacertainoccasiontoacertainpersoniswhathehaschosenfrommanypossibleinjusticeitems,eachofwhichhecouldhavesaid(linguisticpotential).1.27.Inwhatwaydolanguage,competenceandlinguisticpotentialagree?Inwhatwaydotheydiffer?Andtheircounterparts?Langue,competenceandlinguisticpotentialhavesomesimilarfeatures,buttheyareinnatelydifferent(see1.25).Langueisasocialproduct,andasetofspeakingconventions;competenceisapropertyorattributeofeachidealspeaker’smind;linguisticpotentialisallthelinguisticcorpusorrepertoireavailablefromwhichthespeakerchoosesitemsforthe\nactualutterancesituation.Inotherwords,langueisinvisiblebutreliableabstractsystem.Competencemeans“knowing”,andlinguisticpotentialasetofpossibilitiesfor“doing”or“performingactions”.TheyaresimilarinthattheyallrefertotheconstantunderlyingtheutterancesthatconstitutewhatSaussure,ChomskyandHallidayrespectivelycalledparole,performanceandactuallinguisticbehavior.Paole,performanceandactuallinguisticbehaviorenjoymoresimilaritiesthandifferences.1.28.Whatisphonetics?“Phonetics”isthesciencewhichstudiesthecharacteristicsofhumansound-making,especiallythosesoundsusedinspeech,andprovidesmethodsfortheirdescription,classificationandtranscription(seeHuZhuanglinetal.,pp39-40),speechsoundsmaybestudiedindifferentways,thusbythreedifferentbranchesofphonetics.(1)Articulatoryphonetics;thebranchofphoneticsthatexaminesthewayinwhichaspeechsoundisproducedtodiscoverwhichvocalorgansareinvolvedandhowtheycoordinateintheprocess.(2)Auditoryphonetics,thebranchofphoneticresearchfromthehearer’spointofview,lookingintotheimpressionwhichaspeechsoundmakesonthehearerasmediatedbytheear,theauditorynerveandthebrain.(3)Acousticphonetics:thestudyofthephysicalpropertiesofspeechsounds,astransmittedbetweenmouthandear.\nMostphoneticians,however,areinterestedinarticulatorphonetics.1.29.Howarethevocalorgansformed?Thevocalorgans(seeFigure1,HuZhuanglinetal.,p41),orspeechorgans,areorgansofthehumanbodywhosesecondaryuseisintheproductionofspeechsounds.Thevocalorganscanbeconsideredasconsistingofthreeparts;theinitiatoroftheair-stream,theproducerofvoiceandtheresonatingcavities.1.30.Whatisplaceofarticulation?Itreferstotheplaceinthemouthwhere,forexample,theobstructionoccurs,resultingintheutteranceofaconsonant.Whateversoundispronounced,atleastsomevocalorganswillgetinvolved.g.Lips,hardpalateetc.,soaconsonantmaybeoneofthefollowing(1)bilabial:[p,b,m];(2)labiodental:[f,v];(3)dental:[,];(4)alveolar:[t,d,l,n.s,z];(5)retroflex;(6)palato-alveolar:[,];(7)palatal:[j];(8)velar[k,g,];(9)uvular;(10)glottal:[h].Somesoundsinvolvethesimultaneoususeoftwoplacesofarticulation.Forexample,theEnglish[w]hasbothanapproximationofthetwolipsandthosetwolipsandthatofthetongueandthesoftpalate,andmaybetermed“labial-velar”.\n1.31.Whatisthemannerofarticulation?The“mannerofarticulation”literallymeansthewayasoundisarticulated.Atagivenplaceofarticulation,theairstreamsmaybeobstructedinvariousways,resultinginvariousmannersofarticulation,arethefollowing:(1)plosive:[p,b,t,d,k,g];(2)nasal:[m,n,];(3)trill;(4)taporflap;(5)lateral:[l];(6)fricative:[f,v,s,z];(7)approximant:[w,j];(8)affricate:[].1.32.Howdophoneticiansclassifyvowels?Phoneticians,inspiteofthedifficulty,groupvowelsin5types:(1)longandshortvowels,e.g.,[i:,];(4)roundedandunroundvowels,e.g.[,i];(5)pureandglidingvowels,e.g.[I,].1.33.WhatisIPA?Whendiditcomeintobeing?TheIPA,abbreviationof“InternationalPhoneticAlphabet”,isacompromisesystemmakinguseofsymbolsofallsources,includingdiacriticsindicatinglength,stressandintonation,indicatingphoneticvariation.Eversinceitwasdevelopedin1888,IPAhasundergoneanumberofrevisions.1.34.Whatisnarrowtranscriptionandwhatisbroadtranscription?Inhandbookofphonetics,HenrySweetmadeadistinctionbetween\n“narrow”and“broad”transcriptions,whichhecalled“NarrowRomic”.Theformerwasmeanttosymbolizeallthepossiblespeechsounds,includingeventhemostminuteshadesofpronunciationwhileBroadRomicortranscriptionwasintendedtoindicateonlythosesoundscapableofdistinguishingonewordfromanotherinagivenlanguage.1.35.Whatisphonology?Whatisdifferencebetweenphoneticsandphonology?(1)“Phonology”isthestudyofsoundsystems-theinventionofdistinctivespeechsoundsthatoccurinalanguageandthepatternswhereintheyfall.Minimalpair,phonemes,allophones,freevariation,complementarydistribution,etc.,arealltobeinvestigatedbyaphonologist.(2)Phonetics,asdiscussedinI.28,isthebranchoflinguisticsstudyingthecharacteristicsofspeechsoundsandprovidesmethodsfortheirdescription,classificationandtranscription.Aphonetistismainlyinterestedinthephysicalpropertiesofthespeechsounds,whereasaphonologiststudieswhathebelievesaremeaningfulsoundsrelatedwiththeirsemanticfeatures,morphologicalfeatures,andthewaytheyareconceivedandprintedinthedepthofthemindphonologicalknowledgepermitsaspeakertoproducesoundswhichfrommeaningfulutterances,torecognizeaforeign“accent”,tomakeupnewwords,toaddthe\nappropriatephoneticsegmentstofrompluralsandpasttenses,toknowwhatisandwhatisnotasoundinone’slanguage.1.36.Whatisaphone?Whatisaphoneme?Whatisanallophone?(1)A“phone”isaphoneticunitorsegment.Thespeechsoundswehearandproduceduringlinguisticcommunicationareallphones.Whenwehearthefollowingwordspronounced:[pit],[tip],[spit],etc.,thesimilarphoneswehaveheardare[p]foronething,andthreedifferent[p]’s,readilymakingpossiblethe“narrowtranscriptionordiacritics”.Phonesmayandmaynotdistinguishmeaning.A“phoneme”isaphonologicalunit;itisaunitthatisofdistinctivevalue.Asanabstractunit,aphonemeisnotanyparticularsound,butratheritisrepresentedorrealizedbyacertainphoneinacertainphoneticcontext.Forexample,thephoneme[p]isrepresenteddifferentlyin[pit],[tip]and[spit].(2)Thephonesrepresentingaphonemearecalledits“allophones”,i.e.,thedifferent(i.e.,phones)butdonotmakeonewordsophoneticallydifferentastocreateanewwordoranewmeaningthereof.Sothedifferent[p]’sintheabovewordsaretheallophonesofthesamephoneme[p].Howaphonemeisrepresentedbyaphone,orwhichallophoneistobeused,isdeterminedbythephoneticcontextinwhichitoccurs.Butthechoiceofanallophoneisnotrandom.Inmostcasesitis\nrule-governed;theserulesaretobefoundoutbyaphonologist.1.37.Whatareminimalpairs?Whentwodifferentphoneticformsareidenticalineverywayexceptforonesoundsegmentwhichoccursinthesameplaceinthestring,thetwoforms(i.e.,word)aresupposedtoforma“minimalpair”,e.g.,“pill”and“bill”,“pill”and“till”,“till”and“dill”,“till”and“kill”,etc.Allthesewordstogetherconstituteaminimalset.Theyareidenticalinformexceptfortheinitialconsonants.TherearemanyminimalpairsinEnglish,whichmakesitrelativelyeasytoknowwhatareEnglishphonemes.Itisofgreatimportancetofindtheminimalpairswhenaphonologistisdealingwiththesoundsystemofanunknownlanguage(seeHuZhuanglinetal.,pp65-66).1.38.Whatisfreevariation?Iftwosoundsoccurringinthesameenvironmentdonotcontrast;namely,ifthesubstitutionofonefortheotherdoesnotgenerateanewwordformbutmerelyadifferentpronunciationofthesameword,thetwosoundsthenaresaidtobein“freevariation”.Theplosives,forexample,maynotbeexplodedwhentheyoccurbeforeanotherplosiveoranasal(e.g.,act,apt,goodmorning).Theminutedistinctionsmay,ifnecessary,betranscribedindiacritics.Theseunexplodedandexplodedplosivesarein\nfreevariation.Soundsinfreevariationshouldbeassignedtothesamephoneme.1.39.Whatiscomplementarydistribution?Whentwosoundsneveroccurinthesameenvironment,theyarein“complementarydistribution”.Forexample,theaspiratedEnglishplosivesneveroccurafter[s],andtheunsaturatedonesneveroccurinitially.Soundsincomplementarydistributionmaybeassignedtothesamephoneme.Theallophonesof[l],forexample,arealsoincomplementarydistribution.Theclear[l]occursonlybeforeavowel,thevoicelessequivalentof[l]occursonlyafteravoicelessconsonant,suchasinthewords“please”,“butler”,“clear”,etc.,andthedark[l]occursonlyafteravowelorasasyllabicsoundafteraconsonant,suchasinthewords“feel”,“help”,“middle”,etc.1.40.Whatistheassimilationrule?Whatisthedeletionrule?(1)The“assimilationrule”assimilatesonesegmenttoanotherby“copying”afeatureofasequentialphoneme,thusmakingthetwophonesmoresimilar.Thisruleaccountsfortheraringpronunciationofthenasal[n]thatoccurswithinaword.Theruleisthatwithinawordthenasalconsonant[n]assumesthesameplaceofarticulationasthefollowingconsonant.Thenegativeprefix“in-“servesasagoodexample.\nItmaybepronouncedas[in],or[im]whenoccurringindifferentphoneticcontexts:e.g.,indiscrete-[](alveolar)inconceivable-[](velar)input-[‘imput](bilabial)The“deletionrule”tellsuswhenasoundistobedeletedalthoughisorthographicallyrepresented.Whiletheletter“g”ismutein“sign”,“design”and“paradigm”,itispronouncedintheircorrespondingderivatives:“signature”,“designation”and“paradigmatic”.Therulethencanbestatedas:deletea[g]whenitoccursbeforeafinalnasalconsonant.ThisaccountsforsomeoftheseemingirregularitiesoftheEnglishspelling(seeDaiWeidong,pp22-23).1.41.Whatissuprasegmentalphonology?Whataresuprasegmentalfeatures?“Suprasegmentalphonology”referstothestudyofphonologicalpropertiesoflinguisticunitslargerthanthesegmentcalledphoneme,suchassyllable,wordandsentence.HuZhuanglinetal.,(p,73)includesstress,lengthandpitchaswhattheysupposetobe“principalsuprasegmentalfeatures”,callingtheconcurrentpatterningofthree“intonation”.DaiWeidong(pp23-25)liststhreealso,buttheyarestress,toneandintonation.\n1.42.Whatismorphology?“Morphology”isthebranchofgrammarthatstudiestheinternalstructureofwords,andtherulesbywhichwordsareformed.Itisgenerallydividedintotwofields:inflectionalmorphologyandlexical/derivationalmorphology.1.43.Whatisinflection/inflexion?“Inflection”isthemanifestationofgrammaticalrelationshipsthroughtheadditionofinflectionalaffixes,suchasnumber,person,finiteness,aspect,andcase,whichdoesnotchangethegrammaticalclassoftheitemstowhichtheyareattached.1.44.Whatisamorpheme?Whatisanallomorph?(1)The“morpheme”isthesmallestunitintermsofrelationshipbetweenexpressionandcontent,aunitwhichcannotbedividedwithoutdestroyingordrasticallyalteringthemeaning,whetheritislexicalorgrammatical.Theword“boxes”,forexample,hastwomorphemes:“box”and“-es”,neitherofwhichpermitsfurtherdivisionoranalysisifwedon’twishtosacrificemeaning.Thereforeamorphemeisconsideredtheminimalunitofmeaning.(2)Allomorphs,likeallophonesvs.phones,arethealternateshapes(andthusphoneticforms)ofthesamemorphemes.Some\nmorphemes,though,havenomorethanoneinvariableforminallcontexts,suchas“dog”,“cat”,etc.Thevariantsoftheplurality“-s”maketheallomorphsthereofinthefollowingexamples:map-maps,mouse-mice,sheep-sheepetc.1.45.Whatisafreemorpheme?Whatisaboundmorpheme?A“freemorpheme”isamorphemethatconstitutesawordbyitself,suchas‘bed”,“tree”,etc.A“boundmorpheme”isonethatappearswithatleastanothermorpheme,suchas“-s”in“beds”,“-al”in“national”andsoon.Allmonomorphemicwordsarefreemorphemes.Thosepolymorphemicwordsareeithercompounds(combinationoftwoormorefreemorphemes)orderivatives(wordderivedfromfreemorphemes).1.46.Whatisaroot?Whatisastem?Whatisanaffix?A“root”isthebaseformofawordthatcannotbefurtheranalyzedwithouttotallossofidentity.Inotherwords,a“root”isthatpartofthewordleftwhenalltheaffixesareremoved.“Internationalism”isafour-morphemederivativewhichkeepsitsfreemorpheme“nation”asitsrootwhen“inter-”,“-al”and“-ism”aretakenaway.A“stem”isanymorphemeorcombinationofmorphemestowhichanaffixcanbeadded.Itmaybethesameas,andinothercases,differentfrom,aroot.Forexample,intheword“friends”,“friend”isboththerootandthestem,butintheword“friendships”,“friendships”isitsstem,“friend”isitsroot.Somewords(i.e.,compounds)havemorethanone\nroot,e.g.,“mailman”,“girlfriend”,ect.An“affix”isthecollectivetermforthetypeofformativethatcanbeused,onlywhenaddedtoanothermorpheme(therootorstem).Affixesarelimitedinnumberinalanguage,andaregenerallyclassifiedintothreesubtypes:prefix,suffixandinfix,e.g.,“mini-”,“un-”,ect.(prefix);“-ise”,“-tion”,ect.(suffix).1.47.Whatareopenclasses?Whatareclosedclasses?InEnglish,nouns,verbs,adjectives,andadverbsmakeupthelargestpartofthevocabulary.Theyare“open–classwords”,sincewecanregularlyaddnewlexicalentriestotheseclasses.Theothersyntacticcategoriesare,forthemostpart,closedclasses,orclosed-classwords.Thenumberofthemishardlyalterable,iftheyarechangeableatall.1.48.Whatislexicon?Whatisword?Whatislexeme?Whatisvocabulary?Lexicon?Word?Lexeme?Vocabulary?“Lexicon”,initsmostgeneralsense,issynonymouswithvocabulary.Initstechnicalsense,however,lexicondealswiththeanalysisandcreationofwords,idiomsandcollocations.“Word”isaunitofexpressionwhichhasuniversalintuitiverecognitionbynative-speakers,whetheritisexpressedinspokenorwrittenform.Thisdefinitionisperhapsalittlevagueastherearedifferentcriteriawithregardtoitsidentificationanddefinition.Itseemsthatitishard,evenimpossible,todefine“word”linguistically.Nonethelessitisuniversallyagreedthatthefollowingthree\nsensesareinvolvedinthedefinitionof“word”,noneofwhich,though,isexpectedtocopewithallthesituations:(1)aphysicallydefinableunit,e.g.,[itiz‘w](phonological),“Itiswonder”(orthographic);(2)thecommonfactorunderlyingasetofforms(seewhatisthecommonfactorof“checks”,“checked”,“checking”,etc.);(3)agrammaticalunit(lookat(1)again;everywordplaysagrammaticalpartinthesentence).AccordingtoLeonardBloomfield,awordisaminimumfreeform(compare:asentenceisamaximumfreeform,accordingtoBloomfield).Thereareotherfactorsthatmayhelpusidentifywords:(1)stability(nogreatchangeoforthographicfeatures);(2)relativeuninterruptibility(wecanhardlyinsertanythingbetweentwopartsofawordorbetweentheletters).Tomakethecategoryclearerwecansubclassifywordsintoafewtypes:(1)variableandinvariablewords(e.g.,-mats,seldom-?);(2)grammaticalandlexicalwords(e.g.to,in,etc.,andtable,chair,ect.By“lexicalwords”wemeanthewordsthatcarryasemanticcontent,e.g.,nouns,verbs,adjectivesandmanyadverbs;(3)closed-classandopen-classwords(seeI.47).Inordertoreducetheambiguityoftheterm“word”,theterm“lexeme”ispostulatedastheabtractunitwhichreferstothesmallestunitinthemeaningsystemofalanguagethatcanbedistinguishedfromothersmallerunits.Alexemecanoccurinmanydifferentformsinactualspokenorwrittentexts.Forexample,“write”isthelexemeofthe\nfollowingwords:“write”,“write”,“wrote”,“writing”,and“written.”“Vocabulary”usuallyreferstoallwordsorlexicalitemsapersonhasacquiredabouttechnicalor/anduntechnicalthings.Soweencourageourstudentstoenlargetheirvocabulary.“vocabulary”isalsousedtomeanwordlistorglossary.1.49.Whatiscollocation?“Collocation”isatermusedinlexicologybysomelinguiststorefertothehabitualco-occurrencesofindividuallexicalitems.Forexample,wecan“read”a“book”;“correct”cannarrowlyoccurwith“book”whichissupposedtohavefaults,butnoonecan“read”a“mistake”becausewithregardtoco-occurrencethesetwowordsarenotcollocates.