1. Language is generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Explain it in detail.
First of all, language is a system, because elements of language are combined according to rules. Secondly, language is arbitrary because there is no intrinsic connection between form and meaning, or between the sign and what it stands for. Different languages have different words for the same object in the world. This fact is a good illustration of the arbitrary nature of language. This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are just symbols; they are associated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention . Thirdly, language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well - developed their writing systems are. The term "human" in the definition indicates that language is possessed by human beings only and is very different from the communication systems of other living creatures. The term "communication" means that language makes it possible for its users to talk to each other and fulfill their communicative needs.
2.  What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples.
1) Arbitrariness
  As mentioned earlier, the arbitrary property of language means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. For instance, there is no necessary relationship between the word elephant and the animal it symbolizes. In addition, different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages, and even within the same language, the same sound does not refer to the same thing. However, language is not entirely arbitrary. There are words which are created in the imitation of sounds by sounds, such as crash, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. But the non-arbitrary words are quite limited in number. The arbitrary nature of language makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions.
2) Productivity
    Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an i
nfinitely large number of sentences, including sentences that they have never said or heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before.
Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive.
3) Duality
    The duality nature of language means that language is a system, which consists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanings. At the lower or the basic level, there is the structure of sounds, which are meaningless, discrete, individual sounds. But the sounds of language can be combined according to rules into units of meaning such as morphemes and words, which, at the higher level, can be arranged into sentences. This duality of structure or double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system has duality or even comes near to possessing it.
4) Displacement
  Displacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation.
5) Cultural transmission
    Human beings were born with the ability to acquire language, but the details of any language are not genetically transmitted or passed down by instinct. They have to be taught and learned, but animal call systems are genetically transmitted.
3.  How is modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?
      Traditional grammar is prescriptive; it is based on "high "(religious, literary) written language. It sets grammatical rules and imposes the rules on language users. But Modern l
inguistics is descriptive; it collects authentic, and mainly spoken language data and then it studies and describes the data in an objective and scientific way.
4.  How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachronic study?
The description of a language at some point in time is a Synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A synchronic study of language describes a language as it is at some particular point in time, while a diachronic study of language is the study of the historical development of language over a period of time.
5.  Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, not the   written?
    First, the spoken form is prior to the writ-ten form and most writing systems are derived from the spoken form of language.
  Second, the spoken form plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed and it serves a wider range of purposes

版权声明：本站内容均来自互联网，仅供演示用，请勿用于商业和其他非法用途。如果侵犯了您的权益请与我们联系QQ:729038198，我们将在24小时内删除。