语言学试题与答案

I.DecidewhethereachofthefollowingstatementsTrueisorFalse.1.DialectalsynonymscanoftenbefoundindifferentregionaldialectssuchasBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishbutcannotbefoundwithinthevarietyitself,forexample,withinBritishEnglishorAmericanEnglish.Senseisconcernedwiththerelationshipbetweenthelinguisticelementandthenon-linguisticworldofexperience,whilethereferencedealswiththeinherentmeaningofthelinguisticform.Linguisticformshavingthesamesensemayhavedifferentreferencesindifferentsituations.Insemantics,meaningoflanguageisconsideredastheintrinsicandinherentrelationtothephysicalworldofexperience.Contextualismisbasedonthepresumptionthatonecanderivemeaningfromorreducemeaningtoobservablecontexts.Behavioristsattemptedtodefinethemeaningofalanguageformasthesituationinwhichthespeakeruttersitandtheresponseitcallsforthinthehearer.Themeaningofasentenceisthesumtotalofthemeaningsofallitscomponents.Mostlanguageshavesetsoflexicalitemssimilarinmeaningbutrankeddifferentlyaccordingtotheirdegreeofformality.9.“itishot.”-placeisnopredicationbecauseitcontainsnoargument.Ingrammaticalanalysis,thesentenceistakentobethebasicunit,butinsemanticanalysisofasentence,thebasicunitispredication,whichistheabstractionofthemeaningofasentence.Fillineachofthefollowingblankswithonewordwhichbeginswiththelettergiven.S________canbedefinedasthestudyofmeaning.Theconceptualistviewholdsthatthereisnod______linkbetweenalinguisticformandwhatitrefersto.R______meanswhatalinguisticformreferstointhereal,physicalworld;itdealswiththerelationshipbetweenthelinguisticelementandthenon-linguisticworldofexperience.Wordsthatarecloseinmeaningarecalleds________.Whentwowordsareidenticalinsound,butdifferentinspellingandmeaning,theyarecalledh__________.R_________oppositesarepairsofwordsthatexhibitthereversalofarelationshipbetweenthetwoitems.C____analysisisbaseduponthebeliefthatthemeaningofawordcanbedividedintomeaningcomponents.Whetherasentenceissemanticallymeaningfulisgovernedbyrulescalleds________restrictions,whichareconstraintsonwhatlexicalitemscangowithwhatothers.Ana________isalogicalparticipantinapredication,largelyidenticalwiththenominalelement(s)inasentence.Accordingtothen____theoryofmeaning,thewordsinalanguagearetakentobelabelsoftheobjectstheystandfor.Therearefourchoicesfollowingeachstatement.Markthechoicethatcanbestcompletethestatement.21.Thenamingtheoryisadvancedby________.A.PlatoB.BloomfieldC.GeoffreyLeechD.Firth22.“Weshallknowawordbythecompanyitkeeps.”Thisstatementrepresents_______.A.theconceptualistviewB.contexutalismC.thenamingtheoryD.behaviorismWhichofthefollowingisnottrue?Senseisconcernedwiththeinherentmeaningofthelinguisticform.Senseisthecollectionofallthefeaturesofthelinguisticform.Senseisabstractandde-contextualized.Senseistheaspectofmeaningdictionarycompilersarenotinterestedin.24.“CanIborrowyourbike?”_______“Youhaveabike.”A.issynonymouswithB.isinconsistentwithC.entailsD.presupposes___________isawayinwhichthemeaningofawordcanbedissectedintomeaningcomponents,calledsemanticfeatures.A.PredicationanalysisB.ComponentialanalysisC.PhonemicanalysisD.Grammaticalanalysis26.“alive”and“dead”are______________.A.gradableantonymsC.complementaryantonymsB.relationaloppositesD.Noneoftheabove_________dealswiththerelationshipbetweenthelinguisticelementandthenon-linguisticworldofexperience.A.ReferenceC.SemanticsB.ConceptD.Sense___________referstothephenomenonthatwordshavingdifferentmeaningshavethesameform.A.PolysemyC.HomonymyB.SynonymyD.Hyponymy29.Wordsthatarecloseinmeaningarecalled______________.A.homonymsC.hyponymsB.polysemyD.synonyms30.Thegrammaticalityofasentenceisgovernedby_______.A.grammaticalrulesC.semanticrulesB.selectionalrestrictionsD.semanticfeaturesIV.Definethefollowingterms.31.semantics32.sense33.reference34.synonymy35.polysemy36.homonymy37.homophones38.Homographs39.completehomonyms40.hyponymy41.antonymy42.componentialanalysis43.grammatical44.predication45.Argumentmeaning46.predicate47.Two-placepredicationV.Answerthefollowingquestions.Whydowesaythatameaningofasentenceisnotthesumtotalofthemeaningsofallitscomponents?Whatiscomponentialanalysis?Illustrateitwithexamples.Howdoyoudistinguishbetweenentailmentandpresuppositionintermsoftruthvalues?Howdoyouaccountforsuchsenserelationsbetweensentencesassynonymousrelation,inconsistentrelationintermsoftruthvalues?Accordingtothewaysynonymsdiffer,howmanygroupscanweclassifysynonymsinto?Illustratethemwithexamples.Whatarethemajorviewsconcerningthestudyofmeaning?Howtheydiffer?SuggestedAnswersI.DecidewhethereachofthefollowingstatementsTrueisorFalse.l.F2.F3.T4.F5.T6.T7.F8.T9.T10.TFillineachofthefollowingblankswithonewordwhichbeginswiththelettergiven.11.Semantic12.direct13.Reference14.synonym15.homophonesss16.Relationa17.Componentia18.selectiona19.argument20.naminglllTherearefourchoicesfollowingeachstatement.Markthechoicethatcanbestcompletethestatement.2l.A22.B23.D24.D25.B26.C27.A28.C29.D30.AIV.Definethefollowingterms.Semantics:Semanticscanbesimplydefinedasthestudyofmeaninginlanguage.Sense:Senseisconcernedwiththeinherentmeaningofthelinguisticform.Itisthecollectionofallthefeaturesofthelinguisticform;itisabstractandde-contextualized.Reference:Referencemeanswhatalinguisticformreferstointhereal,physicalworld;itdealswiththerelationshipbetweenthelinguisticelementandthenon-linguisticworldofexperience34.Synonymy:Synonymyreferstothesamenessorclosesimilarityofmeaning.Polysemy:Polysemyreferstothefactthatthesameonewordmayhavemorethanonemeaning.Homonymy:Homonymyreferstothephenomenonthatwordshavingdifferentmeaningshavethesameform,i.e.differentwordsareidenticalinsoundorspelling,orinboth.Homophones:Whentwowordsareidenticalinsound,theyarecalledhomophones.Homographs:Whentwowordsareidenticalinspelling,theyarehomographs.Completehomonyms:Whentwowordsareidenticalinbothsoundandspelling,theyarecalledcompletehomonyms.Hyponymy:Hyponymyreferstothesenserelationbetweenamoregeneral,moreinclusivewordandamorespecificword.Antonymy:Antonymyreferstotherelationofoppositenessofmeaning.Componentialanalysis:Componentialanalysisisawaytoanalyzewordmeaning.Itwasproposedbystructuralsemanticists.Theapproachisbasedonthebeliefthatthemeaningofawordcanbedividedintomeaningcomponents,whicharecalledsemanticfeatures.Thegrammaticalmeaning:Thegrammaticalmeaningofasentencereferstoitsgrammaticality,i.e.itsgrammaticalwell-formedness.Thegrammaticalityofasentenceisgovernedbythegrammaticalrulesofthelanguage.Predication:Thepredicationistheabstractionofthemeaningofasentence.Argument:Anargumentisalogicalparticipantinapredication.Itisgenerallyidenticalwiththenominalelement(s)inasentence.Predicate:Apredicateissomethingthatissaidaboutanargumentoritstatesthelogicalrelationlinkingtheargumentsinasentence.Two-placepredication:Atwo-placepredicationisonewhichcontainstwoarguments.V.Answerthefollowingquestions.Whydowesaythatameaningofasentenceisnotthesumtotalofthemeaningsofallitscomponents?Themeaningofasentenceisnotthesumtotalofthemeaningsofallitscomponentsbecauseitcannotbeworkedoutbyaddingupallthemeaningsofitsconstituentwords.Forexample:Thedogbittheman.Themanbitthedog.Ifthemeaningofasentencewerethesumtotalofthemeaningsofallitscomponents,thentheabovetwosentenceswouldhavethesamemeaning.Infacttheyaredifferentinmeanings.Asweknow,therearetwoaspectstosentencemeaning:grammaticalmeaningandsemanticmeaning.Thegrammaticalmeaningsof“thedog”and“themanaredifferentfromthegrammaticalmeaningsof“thedog”and.The“theman””in(in(B)meaningofasentenceistheproductofbothlexicalandgrammaticalmeaning.Itistheproductofthemeaningoftheconstituentwordsandofthegrammaticalconstructionsthatrelateonewordsyntagmaticallytoanother.49.Whatiscomponentialanalysis?Illustrateitwithexamples.Componentialanalysis,proposedbystructuralsemanticists,isawaytoanalyzewordmeaning.Theapproachisbasedonthebeliefthatthemeaningofawordcanbedividedintomeaningcomponents,whicharecalledsemanticfeatures.Plusandminussignsareusedtoindicatewhetheracertainsemanticfeatureispresentorabsentinthemeaningofaword,andthesefeaturesymbolsareusuallywrittenincapitalizedletters.Forexample,theword“man”lyzedisanaasconsistingofthesemanticfeaturesof[+HUMAN,+ADULT,+ANIMATE,+MALE]Howdoyoudistinguishbetweenentailmentandpresuppositionintermsoftruthvalues?Entailmentisarelationofinclusion.SupposetherearetwosentencesXandY:HehasbeentoFrance.HehasbeentoEurope.Intermsoftruthvalues,ifXistrue,Yisnecessarilytrue,e.g.ifhehasbeentoFrance,hemusthavebeentoEurope.IfXisfalse,Ymaybetrueorfalse,e.g.ifhehasnotbeentoFrance,hemaystillhavebeentoEuropeorhehasnotbeentoEurope.IfYistrue,Xmaybetrueorfalse,e.g.ifhehasbeentoEurope,hemayormaynothavebeentoFrance.IfYisfalse,Xisfalse,e.g.IfhehasnotbeentoEurope,hecannothavebeentoFrance.ThereforeweconcludethatXentailsYorYisanentailmentofX.Thetruthconditionsthatweusetojudgepresuppositionisasfollows:SupposetherearetwosentencesXandY:John'sbikeneedsrepairing.Johnhasabike.IfXistrue,Ymustbetrue,e.g.ifJohn'sbikeneedsrepairing,Johnmusthaveabike.IfXisfalse,Yisstilltrue,e.g.IfJohn'sbikedoesnotneedrepairing,Johnstillhasabike.IfYistrue,Xiseithertrueorfalse,e.g.ifJohnhasabike,itmayormaynotneedrepairing.IfYisfalse,notruthvaluecanbesaidaboutX,e.g.ifJohndoesnothaveabike,nothingcanbesaidaboutwhetherhisbikeneedsrepairingornot.Therefore,XpresupposesY,orYisapresuppositionofX.Howdoyouaccountforsuchsenserelationsbetweensentencesassynonymousrelation,inconsistentrelationintermsoftruthvalues?Intermsoftruthcondition,ofthetwosentencesXandY,ifXistrue,Yistrue;ifXisfalse,Yisfalse,thereforeXissynonymouswithY.e.g.X:Hewasabachelorallhislife.Y:Henevermarriedallhislife.OfthetwosentencesXandY,ifXistrue,Yisfalse;ifXisfalse,Yistrue,thenwecansayAisinconsistentwithY.e.g.X:Johnismarried.Johnisabachelor.Accordingtothewayssynonymsdiffer,howmanygroupscanweclassifysynonymsinto?Illustratethemwithexamples.Accordingtothewayssynonymsdiffer,synonymscanbedividedintothefollowinggroups.DialectalsynonymsTheyaresynonymswhichareusedindifferentregionaldialects.BritishEnglishandAmericanEnglisharethetwomajorgeographicalvarietiesoftheEnglishlanguage.Forexamples:BritishEnglishAmericanEnglishautumnfallliftelevatorThendialectalsynonymscanalsobefoundwithinBritish,orAmericanEnglishitself.Forexample,"girl"iscalled"lass"or"lassie"inScottishdialect,and"liquor"iscalled"whisky"inIrishdialect.ii.StylisticsynonymsTheyaresynonymswhichdifferinstyleordegreeofformality.Someofthestylisticsynonymstendtobemoreformal,otherstendtobecasual,andstillothersareneutralinstyle.Forexample:oldman,daddy,dad,father,maleparentchap,pal,friend,companioniii.SynonymsthatdifferintheiremotiveorevaluativemeaningTheyarethewordsthathavethesamemeaningbutexpressdifferentemotionsoftheuser.Theemotionsoftheuserindicatetheattitudeorbiasoftheusertowardwhatheistalkingabout.Forexample,“collaborator”and“accomplice”aresynonymous,sharingthemeaningof"apersonwhohelpsanother",buttheyaredifferentintheirevaluativemeaning.Theformermeansthatapersonwhohelpsanotherindoingsomethinggood,whilethelatterreferstoapersonwhohelpsanotherinacriminalact.iv.CollocationalsynonymsTheyaresynonymswhichdifferintheircollocation.Forexample,wecanuseaccuse,charge,rebuketosaythatsomeonehasdonesomethingwrongorevencriminal,buttheyareusedwithdifferentprepositionsaccuse...of,charge...with,rebuke...for.v.SemanticallydifferentsynonymsSemanticallydifferentsynonymsrefertothesynonymsthatdifferslightlyinwhattheymean.Forexample,"amaze"and"astound"areverycloseinmeaningtotheword"surprise,"buttheyhaveverysubtledifferencesinmeaning.Whileamazesuggestsconfusionandbewilderment,"astound"impliesdifficultyinbelieving.53.Whatarethemajorviewsconcerningthestudyofmeaning?Howdotheydiffer?Oneoftheoldestwasthenamingtheory,proposedbytheancientGreekscholarPlato,whobelievedthatthewordsusedinalanguagearetakentobelabelsoftheobjectstheystandfor.Theconceptualistviewholdsthatthereisnodirectlinkbetweenalinguisticformandwhatitrefersto.Theformandthemeaningarelinkedthroughthemediationofconceptsinthemind.Contextualismisbasedonthepresumptionthatonecanderivemeaningfromorreducemeaningtoobservablecontexts.Twokindsofcontextarerecognized:thesituationalcontextandthelinguisticcontext.Forexample,themeaningoftheword"seal"inthesentence"Thesealcouldnotbefound"canonlybedeterminedaccordingtothecontextinwhichthesentenceoccurs:Thesealcouldnotbefound.Thezookeeperbecameworried.(‘seal’meaninganaquaticmammal)Thesealcouldnotbefound.Thekingbecameworried.(‘seal’meaningtheking'stamp)sBehaviorismdrewonbehavioristpsychologywhenhetriedtodefinethemeaningoflinguisticforms.Behavioristsattemptedtodefinethemeaningofalanguageformas"thesituationinwhichthespeakeruttersitandtheresponseitcallsforthinthehearer".