1、2011 年厦门大学英语专业（语言学）真题试卷及答案与解析一、简答题1 Which is more important in linguistic studies, speech or writing?(10 points)2 What criteria are used for the classification of vowels?(10 points)3 Please give definitions for regional dialect, social dialect and register.(10 points)2011 年厦门大学英语专业（语言学）真题试卷答案与解析一、简答
2、题1 【正确答案】 Speech and writing are two major medias of communication. Modern linguistics gives priority to the spoken form of language which is considered more fundamental than the written form for a number of reasons;(1)Speech precedes writing in terms of evolution;(2)A large amount of communication
3、is carried out in speech than in writing;(3)Speech is the form through which infants acquire their native language.(5 points)In contrast to speech, writing as written codes, gives language new scope and use that speech does not have. Firstly, messages can be carried through space, so that people can
4、 write to each other. Secondly, messages can be carried through time thereby, so that people of our time can still read Beowulf, Samuel Johnson and Edgar A. Poe. Thirdly, oral messages are readily subject to distortion, either intentional or unintentional, while written messages allow and encourage
5、repeated unalterable reading. Most modern linguistic analyses focused on speech, different from grammarians of the last century and theretofore.(4 points)Nonetheless, linguists agree that the study of written language is worthwhile and valuable. The study of writing systems itself is, in any case, c
6、onsidered as a branch of linguistics.(1 point)【试题解析】 考查语言学研究中书面语与口头语之间的关系。现代语言学把书面语看作是口头语的记录，认为口头语是第一性的，是语言交际最基本的方式。这是因为从人类社会交际的发展来看，口头语先于书面语出现，书面语是对口头语的记录。从交际的功能来看，人们交际主要采取口头形式。此外，当今世界仍然有不少语言只有口头形式，没有书面形式。所以语言学研究的语料也应从口头语中采集。传统语法学家过分重视书面语料，轻视口头语料。但同时我们也不能否认书面语在语言学研究中的重要意义。2 【正确答案】 As in the product
7、ion of vowels, the air stream meets with no obstruction, they cannot be classified in terms of manner of articulation or place of articulation as consonants. Vowels can be classified by the following factors;(2 points)(1)the position of the tongue in the mouthfront, central, back;(2 points)(2)the op
8、enness of the mouthclose, semi-close, semi-open, open;(2 points)(3)the shape of the lipsrounded, unrounded;(2 points)(4)the length of the vowelslong, short.(2 points)【试题解析】 考查元音分类的标准。元音常根据舌位的高低、口型的大小、唇形、元音的长度等来分类。根据舌位的高低，元音可分为前元音，中元音和后元音；根据口型的大小可分为闭元音，半闭元音，半开元音和开元音；根据唇形可分为圆唇音和展唇音；根据元音的长度可分为长元音和短元音。3
9、 【正确答案】 These three terms are often used by sociolinguists to refer to speech varieties, which move on a scale of the national language, dialects and individual ways of communication. The term dialect carries no value judgment and simply refers to a distinct form of a language.(1 point)Regional dial
10、ect is a linguistic variety used by people living in a certain geographical region. It has been found that regional dialect boundaries often coincide with geographical barriers such as mountains, rivers, and swamps.(3 points)Social dialect is a variety of a language or a dialect used by people belon
11、ging to a particular social class. The speakers of a sociolect usually share a similar socioeconomic status and/or educational background.(3 points)Register is a speech variety used by a particular group of people, usually sharing the same occupation(e. g. doctors, lawyers)or the same interest(e. g.
12、 stamp collectors, baseball fans). A particular register often distinguishes itself from other registers by having a number of distinctive words, by using words or phrases in a particular way(e. g. in tennis: deuce, love, tramlines), and sometimes by special grammatical constructions(e.g. legal language).(3 points)【试题解析】 考查社会语言学中地域方言、社会方言和语域的定义。语言变异指语言社团因受各种社会因素影响导致其语言发生变化，也可以指同一内容由于说话者不同、说话目的不同而引起的语言变体。由于地域的原因产生的变异形式叫地域变异，由于社会因素导致的变异叫做社会变异，在传统语言学中被分别称为地域方言和社会方言。语域是特殊人群使用的语言变体，通常指具有相同职业或具有同样爱好的人使用的语言。
