syntax
1. Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences.
a) The old lady suddenly left.
Det A N Qual V
b) The car stopped at the end of the road.
Det N V P Det N P Det N
c) The snow might have blocked the road.
Det N Aux Aux V Det N
d) He never appears quite mature.
N Qual V Deg A
2. The following phrases include a head, a complement, and a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each.
a) full of people
AP
A P N
full of people
b) a story about a sentimental girl
NP
NP PP
Det N P NP
Det A N
a story about a sentimental girl
c) often read detective stories
VP
Qual V NP
A N
often read detective stories
d) the argument against the proposals
NP
NP PP
Det N P NP
e) move towards the window
VP
V PP
P Det N
move towards the window
3. Draw phrase structure trees for each of the following sentences.
a) The jet landed.
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
Det N Pst V
The jet landed
b) Mary became very ill.
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
N Pst V AP
Deg A
Mary became very ill
c) What will you talk about?
CP
NP C S
N Infl NP Infl VP
VP NP
V P N
What will you e talk about e
d) The apple might hit the man.
S
NP VP
Det N Aux V NP
Det N
The apple might hit the man
OR
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
Det N V NP
Det N
The apple might hit the man
e) He often reads detective stories.
S
NP VP
N Qual V NP
A N
He often reads etective stories
OR
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
Pres
N Qual V NP
A N
He often reads etective stories
4. The following sentences contain modifiers of various types. For each sentence, first identify the modifier(s), then draw the tree structures.
a) A frightened passenger landed the crippled airplane.
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
Det A N Pst V NP
Det A N
A frightened passenger landed the crippled airplane
b) A huge moon hung in the black sky.
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
Det A N Pst V PP
P NP
Det A N
A huge moon hung in the black sky
c) An unusual event occurred before the meeting.
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
Det A N Pst V PP
P NP
Det N
An unusual event occurred before the meeting
d) A quaint old house appeared on the grassy hill.
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
Det A NP Pst V PP
A N P NP
Det A N
A quaint old house appeared on the grassy hill
5. The following sentences all contain conjoined categories. Draw a tree structure for each of the sentences.
a) Jim has washed the dirty shirts and pants.
InflP(=S)
NP VP
N Aux V NP
Det A NP
N CON N
N Infl V NP
Det A NP
N CON N
Jim has washed the dirty shirts and pants b) Helen put on her clothes and went out.
S
NP VP
N VP CON VP
VP NP V Adv
V P Det N
Helen put on her clothes and went out
OR
InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
N Pst VP CON VP
VP NP V Adv
V P Det N
Helen put on her clothes and went out
c) Mary is fond of literature but tired of statistics.
S
NP VP
N VP CON VP
VP NP VP NP
V A P N V A P N
N Pres VP CON VP
VP NP VP NP
V A P N V A P N
Mary is fond of literature but (is) tired of statistics
d) The detective went out and the mysterious man came in.
S
S CON S
NP VP NP VP
Det N V Adv Det A N V Adv
The detective went out and the mysterious man came in
e) Crusoe knows that spring will come and the snow will melt.
S
NP VP
CP
N V C S
S CON S
NP VP NP VP
N Aux V Det N Aux V
Crusoe knows that spring will come and the snow will melt
6. The following sentences all contain embedded clauses that function as complements of a verb, an adjective, a preposition or a noun. Draw a tree structure for each sentence.
a) You know that I hate war.
S
NP VP
CP
N V C S
NP VP
NP
N V N
OR CP
C InflP(=S)
NP Infl VP
CP
N Pres V C S
NP VP
N V NP
N
You know that I hate war
b) He said that Tom asked whether the class was over.
S
NP VP
CP
N V C S
NP VP
CP
N V C S
NP VP
Det N VL A
He said that Tom asked whether the class was over
c) Gerry can’t believe the fact that Anna flunked the English exam.
S
NP VP
N VP NP
CP
Aux Neg V NP C S
Det N NP VP
N V NP
Det A N
d) Chris was happy that his father bought him a Rolls-Royce.
S
NP VP
CP
N VL A C S
NP VP
Det N V NP NP
N Det N
Chris was happy that his father bought him a Rolls-Royce
e) The children argued over whether bats had wings.
S
NP VP
CP
Det N VP C S
V P NP VP
N V NP
N
The children argued over whether bats had wings
7. Each of the following sentences contains a relative clause. Draw the deep structure and the surface structure trees for each of the sentences.
a) The essay that he wrote was too long.
Deep structure
CP
C S
NP VP
Det N CP V AP
C S Deg P
NP Infl VP
N V NP
N
The essay he wrote that was too long
Surface Structure
CP
C S
NP VP
Det N CP V AP
C S Deg P
NP NP Infl VP
N N Pst V NP
N
The essay that he wrote e was too long
b) The dog that he keeps bites.
Deep structure
CP
C S
NP VP
Det N CP V
C Infl S
Pres NP VP
N V NP
N
The dog he keeps that bites
Surface Structure
CP
C S
NP VP
Det N CP V
C S
NP NP Infl VP
N N Pres V NP
N
The dog that he keeps e bites
c) Herbert found the man she loved.
Deep structure
CP
C S
NP VP
N Infl V NP
CP
Det N C S
NP Infl VP
NP
N V
N
Herbert found the man she loved who
Surface Structure
CP
C S
NP VP
N Infl V NP
CP
Det N S
C
NP Infl VP
NP NP
N V
N N Herbert found the man (whom) she loved e
d) The girl whom he often quarrels with majors in linguistics.
Deep structure
CP
C S
NP VP
Det N CP V PP
P NP
C Infl S
N
NP VP
PP
N Qual VP NP
V P N
The girl he often quarrels with whom majors in linguistics
Surface Structure
CP
C S
NP VP
Det N CP V PP
P NP
C S
N
NP NP Infl VP
PP
N N Qual VP NP
V P N
The girl whom he often quarrels with e majors in linguistics
8. The derivations of the following sentences involve the inversion transformation. Give the deep structure and the surface structure trees for each of these sentences.
a) Would you come tomorrow?
Deep structure
CP
C S
VP
NP AdvP
N Infl V Adv
you would come tomorrow
Surface structure
CP
C S
VP
NP AdvP
Infl
N Infl V Adv
would you e come tomorrow
b) Can you pass me the newspaper?
Deep structure
CP
C S
VP
NP NP NP
N Infl V N Det N
you can pass me the newspaper
Surface structure
CP
C S
VP
Infl NP NP NP
N Infl V N Det N Can you e pass me the newspaper
c) Should the students report the incident?
Deep structure
CP
C S
VP
NP NP
Det N Infl V Det N
the students should report the incident
Surface structure
CP
C S
VP
Infl NP NP
Det N Infl V Det N should the students e report the incident
d) What did you eat for lunch?
Deep structure
CP
C S
VP
NP PP
NP NP
N Infl V P
N N
you did eat what for lunch
Surface structure
CP
NP C S
VP
Infl NP PP
NP NP N N Infl V P
N N what did you e eat e for lunch
e) Who should this be reported to ?
Deep structure
CP
C S
VP
NP PP
VP NP
N Infl V V P
N
this should be reported to whom
Surface structure
CP
NP C S
VP
N Infl NP PP
VP NP
N Infl V V P
N
whom should this e be reported to e
f) What was Helen bringing to the party?
Deep structure
CP
C S
VP
NP PP
NP NP
N Infl V P
N Det N
Helen was bringing what to the party
Surface structure
CP
NP C S
VP
N Infl NP PP
NP NP
N Infl V P
N Det N what was Helen e bringing e to the party
一、填空题:（每空1 分，本大题共10 分） 1. （）语言学是在19世纪逐步发展和完善的，它是语言学 走上独立发展道路的标志。 2. 人的大脑分左右两半球，大脑的左半球控制（ 掌管不需要语言的感性直观思维。 3. 进入20世纪以后，语言研究的主流由历史比较语言学转为 （）。 4. 俄语属于印欧语系的（ 5. 一个音位包含的不同音素或者具体表现出来的音素叫做 （）。 6. 语言中最单纯、最常用、最原始和最能产的词是（ 7. 现代大多数国家的拼音文字的字母，大多直接来源于（）字 母。 8. 言外之意之所以能够被理解是因为（）起了补充说明的 作用。 9. 方言在社会完全分化的情况下，有可能发展成（? ）?； 在社会高度统一的情况下，会逐渐被共同语消磨直到同化。 10. 南京方言的“兰”、“南”不分，从音位变体的角度来说，[n ]和[l]是 属于（）变体。 二、单项选择题: 码填在题干上的括号内。（每小题1 分，本大题共15 分）
1. 在二十世纪，对哲学、人类学、心理学、社会学等学科产生重大影响 的语言学流派是（） A.历史比较语言学 B.心理语言学 C.结构主义语言学 D.社会语言学 2. “人有人言，兽有兽语”中的“言”属于（） A.语言 B.言语 C.言语行为 D.言语作品 3. “我爱家乡”中“爱”和“家乡”（） A.是聚合关系。 B.是组合关系。 C.既是聚合关系又是组合关系。 D. 4. 一种语言中数量最少的是 A.音素 B.音位 C.语素 D.音节 5. 英语的man—→men采用的语法手段是 A. 屈折变化 B.变换重音的位置 C. 变化中缀 D.异根 6. 在汉语普通话中没有意义区别功能的声学特征是（） A.音高 B.音强 C.音长 D.音质 7. [ε]的发音特征是 A.舌面前高不圆唇 B.舌面后高不圆唇 C.舌面前半高不圆唇 D.舌面前半低不圆唇 8. 构成“语言、身体”这两个词的语素的类型（） A.都是成词语素 B.都是不成词语素 C.“语”和“言”是成词语素，“身”和“体”是不成词语素 D.“语”和“言”是不成词语素，“身”和“体” 9. 广义地说，汉语动词词尾“着”、“了”、“过”属于语法范畴中的 （）
树形图详细讲解 网上的相对理想的树形图答案，注意正两 点： 1. 短语和中心词在一竖线上 2. 含有形容词修饰语的名词短语的画法 NP Det N A N a little boy 1. Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences. a) The old lady suddenly left. Det A N Qual V b) The car stopped at the end of the road. Det N V P Det N P Det N c) The snow might have blocked the road. Det N Aux Aux V Det N d) He never appears quite mature. N Qual V Deg A 2. The following phrases include a head, a complement, and a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each. a) full of people AP A P N
full of people b) a story about a sentimental girl NP NP PP Det N P NP Det A N a story about a sentimental girl c) often read detective stories VP Qual V NP A N often read detective stories
树形图详细讲解 1. Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences. a) The old lady suddenly left. Det A N Qual V b) The car stopped at the end of the road. Det N V P Det N P Det N c) The snow might have blocked the road. Det N Aux Aux V Det N d) He never appears quite mature. N Qual V Deg A 2. The following phrases include a head, a complement, and a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each. a) full of people AP A P N full of people b) a story about a sentimental girl NP NP PP Det N P NP Det A N a story about a sentimental girl c) often read detective stories VP Qual V NP A N often read detective stories d) the argument against the proposals NP NP PP Det N P NP
e) move towards the window VP V PP P Det N move towards the window 3. Draw phrase structure trees for each of the following sentences. a) The jet landed. InflP(=S) NP Infl VP Det N Pst V The jet landed b) Mary became very ill. InflP(=S) NP Infl VP N Pst V AP Deg A Mary became very ill c) What will you talk about? CP NP C S N Infl NP Infl VP VP NP V P N d) The apple might hit the man. S NP VP Det N Aux V NP Det N The apple might hit the man
《新编简明英语语言学教程》第二版练习题参考答案 Chapter 1 Introduction 1. How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language. 答：Linguistics is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In order to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system, the linguists has to collect and observe language facts first, which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them; then he formulates some hypotheses about the language structure. The hypotheses thus formed have to be checked repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation, that is, a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things. 2. What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study? 答：The major branches of linguistics are: (1) phonetics: it studies the sounds used in linguistic communication; (2) phonology: it studies how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication; (3) morphology: it studies the way in which linguistic symbols representing sounds are arranged and combined to form words; (4) syntax: it studies the rules which govern how words are combined to form grammatically permissible sentences in languages;
英语语言学试题（1） I. Directions: Read each of the following statements carefully. Decide which one of the four choices best completes the statement and put the letter A, B, C or D in the brackets. (2%×10=20%) 1、As modern linguistics aims to describe and analyze the language people actually use, and not to lay down rules for "correct" linguistic behavior, it is said to be ___. A、prescriptive B、sociolinguistic C、descriptive D、psycholinguistic 2、Of all the speech organs, the ___ is/are the most flexible. A、mouth B、lips C、tongue D、vocal cords 3、The morpheme "vision" in the common word "television" is a(n) ___. A、bound morpheme B、bound form C、inflectional morpheme D、free morpheme 4、A ___ in the embedded clause refers to the introductory word that introduces the embedded clause. A、coordinator B、particle C、preposition D、subordinator 5、"Can I borrow your bike?" _____ "You have a bike." A、is synonymous with B、is inconsistent with C、entails D、presupposes 6、The branch of linguistics that studies how context influences the way speakers interpret sentences is called ___. A、semantics B、pragmatics C、sociolinguistics D、psycholinguistics 7、Grammatical changes may be explained, in part, as analogic changes, which are ___ or generalization. A、elaboration B、simplification C、external borrowing D、internal borrowing 8、___ refers to a marginal language of few lexical items and straightforward grammatical rules, used as a medium of communication. A、Lingua franca B、Creole C、Pidgin D、Standard language 9、Psychologists, neurologists and linguists have concluded that, in addition to the motor area which is responsible for physical articulation of utterances, three areas of the left brain are vital to language, namely, ___ . A、Broca's area, Wernicke's area and the angular gyrus B、Broca's area, Wernicke's area and cerebral cortex C、Broca's area, Wernicke's area and neurons D、Broca's area, Wernicke's area and Exner's area 10、According to Krashen, ___ refers to the gradual and subconscious development of ability in the first language by using it naturally in daily communicative situations. A、learning B、competence C、performance D、acquisition II. Directions: Fill in the blank in each of the following statements with one word, the first letter of which is already given as a clue. Note that you are to fill in One word only, and you are not allowed to change the letter given. (1%×10=10%) 11、Chomsky defines "competence" as the ideal user's k_______ of the rules of his language. 12、The four sounds /p/,/b/,/m/ and /w/have one feature in common, i.e, they are all b______ . 13、M_______ is a branch of grammar which studies the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed. 14、A s______ is a structurally independent unit that usually comprises a number of words to form a complete statement, question or command. 15、Synonyms that are mutually substitutable under all circumstances are called c______ synonyms. 16、The illocutionary point of r_____ is to commit the speaker to something's being the case, to the truth of what has been said. 17、Words are created outright to fit some purpose. Such a method of enlarging the vocabulary is known as word c______.
Chapter 2：Phonology I. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False: 1. Voicing is a phonological feature that distinguishes meaning in both Chinese and English. F 2. If two phonetically similar sounds occur in the same environments and they distinguish meaning, they are said to be in complementary distribution. T 3. A phone is a phonetic unit that distinguishes meaning. 4. English is a tone language while Chinese is not. 5. In linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. 6. In everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. 7. Articulatory phonetics tries to describe the physical properties of the stream of sounds which a speaker issues with the help of a machine called spectrograph. 8. The articulatory apparatus of a human being are contained in three important areas: the throat, the mouth and the chest. 9. Vibration of the vocal cords results in a quality of speech sounds called voicing. 10. English consonants can be classified in terms of place of articulation and the part of the tongue that is raised the highest. 11. According to the manner of articulation, some of the types into which the consonants can be classified are stops, fricatives, bilabial and alveolar. 12. Vowel sounds can be differentiated by a number of factors: the position of tongue in the mouth, the openness of the mouth, the shape of the lips, and the length of the vowels. 13. According to the shape of the lips, vowels can be classified into close vowels, semi-close vowels, semi-open vowels and open vowels. 14. Any sound produced by a human being is a phoneme. 15. Phones are the sounds that can distinguish meaning. 16. Phonology is concerned with how the sounds can be classified into different categories.
练习1 1. There is no logical connection between meaning and sounds. A dog might be a pig if only the first person or group of persons had used it for a pig. This is one of the design features of language.A. duality B. arbitrariness C. productivity D. displacement 2. Language is a system of two sets of structures, one of sounds and the other of meaning. This is . It makes people possible to talk everything within his knowledge. A. duality B. arbitrariness C. productivity D. displacement 3. ___ refers to the ability to construct and understand an indefinitely large number of sentences in one’s native language, including those that he has never heard before, but that are appropriate to the speaking situation .A. duality B. arbitrariness C. productivity D. displacement 4. __ __ refers to the fact that one can talk about things that are not present, as easily as he does things present. The dog couldn’t be bow-wowing sorrowfully for some lost love or a bone to be lost. A. duality B. arbitrariness C. productivity D. displacement 5. ______ means language is not biologically transmitted from generation to generation, but the linguistic system must be learnt anew by each speaker. A. duality B. Arbitrariness C. interchangeability D. cultural transmission 6. ______ means that any human being can be both a producer and a receiver of messages. A. duality B. Arbitrariness C. interchangeability D. cultural transmission 7. To say “How are you.” “Hi” to your friends is the ____ __of language. A. directive function B. informative function C. phatic function D. interrogative function 8. “Tell me the result when you finish.” If you want to get your hearer to do something, y ou should use the _____ of language. A. directive function B. informative function C. phatic function D. interrogative function 9. A linguist regards the changes in language and language use as __ ___. A. unnatural B. something to be feared C. natural D. abnormal 10. A linguist is interested in ___A. speech sounds only B. all sounds C. vowels only 11. Which of the following sounds is a voiceless bilabial stop? A. [t] B. [m] C. [b] D. [p 12. Which of the following sounds is a voiced affricate? A. [y] B. [t∫] C. [z] D. [dЗ] 13. Which of the following sounds is a central vowel? A. [ ? ] B. [ i ] C. [ou] D. [a: ] 14. In the following sounds , ______ is a palatal fricative ? A. [ s ] B. [∫] C. [ l ] D. [θ] 15. In the following sounds, _____ is a voiceless affricative? A. [dЗ] B. [v] C. [t∫] D. [θ] 16. In English if a word begins with a [ l ] or [ r ],then the next sound must be a __ __. A. fricative B. nasal sound C. semi-vowel D. vowel 17. Of the “words” listed below___ is not an English word A. [r∧b ] B. [ l? b ] C. [m?sta:∫] D. [lm?p] 18. ___ are produced when the obstruction created by the speech organs is total and audibly released. A. Back vowels B. Stops C. Fricatives D. Glides 19. The International Phonetic Association devised the INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET in _____. A. 1965 B. 1957 C. 1888 D. 1788 20. ___ is a phonological unit , and it is a unit that is of distinctive value. A. Phone B. Phoneme C. Allophone D. Sound 1. [ f ] is a dental consonant. F 2. Phonology studies the characteristics of speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription. F 7. The three / p / are allophones. T 3. Phoneme is a phonological unit. T 4. Phone is a phonetic unit. T
syntax 1. Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences. a) The old lady suddenly left. Det A N Qual V b) The car stopped at the end of the road. Det N V P Det N P Det N c) The snow might have blocked the road. Det N Aux Aux V Det N d) He never appears quite mature. N Qual V Deg A 2. The following phrases include a head, a complement, and a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each. a) full of people AP A P N full of people b) a story about a sentimental girl NP NP PP Det A N a story about a sentimental girl c) often read detective stories VP Qual V NP
A N often read detective stories d) the argument against the proposals NP NP PP Det N the argument against the proposals e) move towards the window VP V PP P Det N move towards the window 3. Draw phrase structure trees for each of the following sentences. a) The jet landed. InflP(=S) NP Infl VP Det N Pst V The jet landed b) Mary became very ill. InflP(=S) NP Infl VP N Pst V AP
语言学概论试题及答案 分享 首次分享者：◇﹎ゞ丫丫℡已被分享11次评论(0)复制链接分享转载举报语言学概论形成性考核作业及参考答案 语言学概论作业1 导言、第一章、第二章 一、名词解释 1、历时语言学——就各种语言的历史事实用比较的方法去研究它的“亲属”关系和历史发展的，叫历时语言学。 2、语言——语言是一种社会现象，是人类最重要的交际工具和进行思维的工具。就语言本身的结构来说，语言是由词汇和语法构成的系统。 3、符号——符号是用来代表事物的一种形式，词这样的符号是声音和意义相结合的统一体。任何符号都是由声音和意义两方面构成的。 4、语言的二层性——语言是一种分层装置，其底层是一套音位；上层是音义结合的符号和符号的序列，这一层又分为若干级，第一级是语素，第二级是由语素构成的词，第三级是由词构成的句子。 5、社会现象——语言是一种社会现象和人类社会有紧密的联系。所谓“社会”，就是指生活在一个共同的地域中，说同一种语言，有共同的风俗习惯和文化传统的人类共同体。语言对于社会全体成员来说是统一的、共同的；另一方面，语言在人们的使用中可以有不同的变异、不同的风格。 二、填空 1、结构主义语言学包括布拉格学派、哥本哈根学派、美国描写语言学三个学派。 2、历史比较语言学是在19世纪逐步发展和完善的，它是语言学走上独立发展道路的标志。 3、人的大脑分左右两半球，大脑的左半球控制语言活动，右半球掌管不需要语言的感性直观思维。 4、一个符号，如果没有意义，就失去了存在的必要，如果没有声音，我们就无法感知，符号也就失去了存在的物质基础。 5、用什么样的语音形式代表什么样的意义，完全是由使用这种语言的社会成员约定俗成。 6、语言符号具有任意性和线条性特点。 7、语言的底层是一套音位，上层是符号和符号的序列，可以分为若干级，第一级是语素，第二级是词，第三级是句子。 8、语言系统中的所有符号，既可以同别的符号组合，又可以被别的符号替换，符号之间的这两种关系是组合和聚合。 9、组合是指符号与符号相互之间在功能上的联系，聚合是指符号在性质上的归类。 三、判断正误（正确的打钩，错误的打叉） 1、文字是人类最重要的交际工具。（×） 2、地主阶级和农民阶级之间没有共同语言，这说明语言是有阶级性的。（×） 3、在现代社会，文字比语言更加重要。（×）
树形图详细讲解 1、 Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences、 a) The old lady suddenly left、 Det A N Qual V b) The car stopped at the end of the road、 Det N V P Det N P Det N c) The snow might have blocked the road、 Det N Aux Aux V Det N d) He never appears quite mature、 N Qual V Deg A 2、 The following phrases include a head, a plement, and a specifier、 Draw the appropriate tree structure for each、 a) full of people AP A P N full of people b) a story about a sentimental girl NP NP PP Det N P NP Det A N a story about a sentimental girl c) often read detective stories VP Qual V NP A N often read detective stories d) the argument against the proposals NP NP PP Det N P NP Det N the argument against the proposals e) move towards the window VP
《新编简明英语语言学教程》第二版第1-3章练习题参考答案 Chapter 1 Introduction P13 1. How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language？ 答：Linguistics is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure. In order to discover the nature and rules of the underlying language system, the linguists has to collect and observe language facts first, which are found to display some similarities, and generalizations are made about them; then he formulates some hypotheses about the language structure. The hypotheses thus formed have to be checked repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity. In linguistics, as in any other discipline, data and theory stand in a dialectical complementation, that is, a theory without the support of data can hardly claim validity, and data without being explained by some theory remain a muddled mass of things. 2. What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study? 答：The major branches of linguistics are: (1) phonetics: it studies the sounds used in linguistic communication; (2) phonology: it studies how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning in communication; (3) morphology: it studies the way in which linguistic symbols representing sounds are arranged and combined to form words; (4) syntax: it studies the rules which govern how words are combined to form grammatically permissible sentences in languages; (5) semantics: it studies meaning conveyed by language; (6) pragmatics: it studies the meaning in the context of language use. 3. In what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar? 答：The general approach thus traditionally formed to the study of language over the years is roughly referred to as “t raditional gramma r.” Modern linguistics differs from traditional g rammar in several basic ways. Firstly, linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive. Second, modem linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written. Traditional grammarians, on the other hand, tended to emphasize, maybe over-emphasize, the importance of the written word, partly because of its permanence. Then, modem linguistics differs from traditional grammar also in that it does not force languages into a Latin-based framework. 4. Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why? 答：In modem linguistics, a synchronic approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic one. Because people believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development. 5. For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writing? 答：Speech and writing are the two major media of linguistic communication. Modem linguistics regards the spoken language as the natural or the primary medium of human language for some obvious reasons. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any langu age is always “invented” by its users to reco rd speech when the need arises. Even in today's world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed. And also, speech is always the way in which every native speaker acquires his mother tongue, and writing is learned and taught later when he goes to school. For modern linguists, spoken language reveals many true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised” record of spe ech. Thus their data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regard as authentic.