《英语语言学》导学手册
程可拉主编
英语语言学教学大纲
一、教学目的和要求
英语语言学是英语本科专业的自考课程。本课程的目的是帮助学生系统地学习语言学基本理论知识和研究方法，为从事英语语言教学与研究打下良好的基础。
本课程教学的具体要求是：
１．系统掌握语言学的基本理论和基本知识。
２．能应用语言学知识分析各种语言现象。
３．能应用语言学的基本理论来指导中学英语教学。
二、教学内容
I. Introduction
1. Linguistics
1.1 What is linguistics?
1.2 Linguistics vs. traditional grammar
1.3 The scope of linguistics
2. Language
2.1 What is language?
2.2 The defining properties of human language
II. Phonology
1. The phonic medium of language
2. Phonetics
2.1 What is phonetics?
2.2 The speech organs
2.3 Narrow and broad transcriptions
2.4 Some major articulatory variables
2.5 Classification of English speech sounds
3. Phonology
3.1 Phonetics and phonology
3.2 Phone, phoneme and allophone
3.3 Phonemic contrast, complementary distribution, and minimal pair
3.4 Some rules of phonology
3.5 Suprasegmental features---Stress, tone, intonation
III. Morphology
1. Morphology
1.1 Open classes and closed classes
1.2 Internal structure of words and rules for word formation
2. Morphemes---the minimal units of meaning
3. Derivational and inflectional morphemes
4. Morphological rules of word formation
5. Compounds
IV. Syntax
1. Syntax
1.1 What is syntax?
1.2 Sentence
2. Structuralist approach
2.1 Form classes
2.2 Constituent structure
2.3 Immediate constituent analysis
2.4 Endocentric and exocentric constructions
2.5 Advantage of IC analysis
2.6 Labelled tree diagram
2.7 Discontinuous constituents
3. Transformational-generative grammar
3.1 Competence and performance
3.2 Criteria for judging grammars
3.3 Generative aspect
3.4 Transformational aspect
3.5 Deep and surface structures
4. The Standard Theory
4.1 Components of a TG
4.2 The base
4.3 Transformations
4.4 The form of T-rules
4.5 The phonological component
4.6 The semantic component
V. Semantics
1. Semantics
1.1 What is semantics?
2. Some views on semantics
2.1 Naming things
2.2 Concepts
2.3 Context and behaviourism
2.4 Mentalism
3. Lexical meaning
3.1 Sense and reference
3.2 Synonymy
3.3 Polysemy and homonymy
3.4 Hyponymy
3.5 Antonymy
3.6 Relational opposites
4. Componential analysis
4.1 Componets of meaning
4.2 Meaning relations in terms of componential analysis
5. Sentence meaning
5.1 How to define the meaning of a sentence?
5.2 Selectional restrictions
5.3 Basic statements about meaning
6. The semantic structure of sentences
6.1 Extended use of componential analysis
6.2 Prediction analysis
6.3 Subordinate and downgraded predictions
6.4 Advantages of predication analysis
VI. Pragmatics
1. What does pragmatics study?
2. Speech act theory
3. Principles of conversation
3.1 The co-operative principle
3.2 The politeness principle
VII. Language change
1. Introduction
2. Sound change
3. Morphological and syntactic change
3.1 Change in “agreement” rule
3.2 Change in negation rule
3.3 Process of simplification
3.4 Loss of inflections
4. Vocabulary change
4.1 Addition of new words
4.2 Loss of words
4.3 Changes in the meaning of words
5. Some recent trends
5.1 Moving towards greater informality
5.2 The influence of American English
5.3 The influence of science and technology
6. Causes of language change
VIII. Language and society
1. The scope of sociolinguistics
1.1 Indications of relatedness between language and society
1.2 Sociolinguistics vs. traditional linguistic study
1.3 Two approaches in sociolinguistics
2. Varieties of language
2.1 Varieties of language related to the user
2.2 Standard dialect
2.3 Varieties of language related to the use
3. Communicative competence
4. Pidgin and creole
5. Bilingualism and diglossia
IX. Language and culture
1. Introduction
2. What is culture?
3. Language and meaning
4. Interdependence of language and culture
5. The significance of cultural teaching and learning
6. Linguistics evidence of cultural differences
6.1 Greetings
6.2 Thanks and compliments
6.3 Terms of address
6.4 Colour words
6.5 Privacy and taboos
6.6 Rounding off numbers
7. Cultural overlap and diffusion
8. Conclusion
X. Language acquisition
1. Introduction
1.1 Language acquisition
1.2 The beginning of language
1.3 Stages in first language acquisition
1.4 Age and native language acquisition
1.5 Common order in the development of language
1.6 Different rate of language development
2. Phonological development
2.1 Regular sound development
2.2 Mother and father words
2.3 Grammatical development
2.4 Vocabulary development
2.5 Sociolinguistic development
3. Theories of child language acquisition
3.1 A behaviorist view of language acquisition
3.2 A nativist view of language acquisition
XI. Errors analysis and second language acquisition
1. Differences and similarities between first and second language acquisition
2. The inadequacy of imitation theory
3. Interference
3.1 Phonological evidence
3.2 Lexical evidence
3.3 Grammatical evidence
4. Cross-association
5. Overgeneralization
6. Strategies of communication
7. Performance errors
三、教学原则和方法
１．启发式教学原则：教师积极引导学生理解分析问题，发挥学生的主观能动性，培养他们综合分析问题解决问题的能力。
２．精讲多练的原则：教师精选教学重点，抓住关键问题和基本内容进行重点讲解，然后让学生多作有针对性的练习，培养学生的自学能力和独立思考能力。
３．讨论式教学原则：针对本学科的不同理论体系，组织学生在广泛阅读的基础上进行讨论，把握各体系的利弊。
四、教材
１．戴炜栋等编著：《简明英语语言学教程》，上海外语教育出版社1989年版。
- INTRODUCTION 绪论
本章学习目的要求
本章是全书的绪论，学习的目的是弄清语言学是一门什么样的学科， 以及人类语言的本质和特点。学习本章要求认识、理解语言研究的对象和方法、语言研究的各个层面以及语言学的各个分支，弄清语言学研究中的几对基本概念；此外，通过学习还要求对人类语言的本质有一个清楚的认识，通过对人类语言特点的学习，对人类语言交际和动物传递信息方式之间的根本不同有一个正确的认识。
I 语言学基本知识
- Linguistics 语言学
- What is linguistics? 什么是语言学？
Linguistics is generally defined as the systematic (or scientific ) study of language. It tries to answer the basic questions “What is language?” and “How does language work?”
A linguist is a person who studies linguistics. His task is basically to study and understand the general principles upon which all languages are built.
- Linguistics vs. traditional grammar 语言学与传统语法
Linguistics differs from traditional grammar in several basic ways.
- Linguistics is descriptive, not prescriptive 语言学是描写性的而非规定性的
A linguist is interested in what people actually say, not what people should say. He tries to describe language in all aspects, but not prescribe rules of “correctness”. He would prefer to be an observer and recorder of facts, but not a judge. He regards the changes in language and language use as the result of a natural and continuous process, not something to be feared.
b) Linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. 语言学认为语是第一性的而非书面语
Linguistics gives priority to the spoken language for a number of reasons. Historically, speech existed long, long before writing systems came into being. Genetically, children always learn to speak before they learn to write. Therefore, speech is considered as the primary medium. That is: the spoken first, then the written.
c) Linguistics differs from traditional grammar in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework. 语言学与传统语法的差别还在于它不是把语言都放在拉丁语法框架里。
Traditional grammar assumes that Latin provides a universal framework into which all languages fit. Whereas, linguists are opposed to the notion that any one language can provide an adequate framework for all the others. They are trying to set up a universal framework based on the features shared by most of the languages.
- The Scope of Linguistics 语言学的范围
The scope of linguistics includes phonetics（speech sound）, phonology (sound patterning), morphology (the form of words), syntax (the arrangements of words), semantics (meaning), psycholinguistics (the relationship between language and mind), sociolinguistics (the relationship between language and society), and historical linguistics (language change).
Synchronic linguistics studies the description of a language at a particular point in time.
Diachronic linguistics studies the description of language development through time.
2. Language 语言
2.1 What is language? 什么是语言？
Language is a system of symbols designed for the purpose of human communication.
2.2 The Defining Properties of Human Language 语言的结构特征
The design features refer to the defining properties of human language as against animal communication. They are:
- Creativity 创造性
It refers to the ability that we all have to construct and understand an indefinitely large number of sentences in our native language, including sentences that we have never heard before, but that are appropriate to the situation in which they are uttered.
- Arbitrariness 任意性
Since the time of Saussure, it has been accepted that the linguistic sign (the word) is arbitrary. This means that there is no motivated relationship between the sign and what it is a sign for. The symbols have been chosen arbitrarily for the message.
C) Duality of Structure (or Double Articulation) 结构两重性
It refers to that language consists of two levels of structures . At a higher level, language is analyzed in terms of combinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words); at a lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning in themselves. The organization of language from a lower level of sounds into a higher level of meaning is known as duality of structure.
d) Displacement 移位性
Human language can communicate about things that are absent as easily as about things that are present. In other words, human language can be used to refer to real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future. It can even be used to talk about language itself.
- Cultural Transmission (the need for learning) 文化迁移性
It refers to the fact that the details of the linguistic system must be learned anew. They are not biologically transmitted from generation to generation. Though the capacity for language has a genetic basis, the particular language a human being learns is a cultural fact.
Exercises
- Match each of the following terms in column A with one of appropriate definitions in column B:
Column A Column B
- Synchronic linguistics A. The design features refer to the defining properties of
human language as against animal communication.
- Language B. Linguistics is generally defined as the systematic (or
scientific ) study of language.
- design features C. A linguist is a person who studies linguistics.
- diachronic study D. Language is a system of symbols designed for the purpose
of human communication.
- linguistics E. Diachronic linguistics studies the description of language
development through time.
- the basic task for a linguist F. Synchronic linguistics studies the description of a language
at a particular point in time.
