首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
A、People pronounce "nuclear" to "nucular". B、People use deviation in language. C、Declensions and conjugations have dwindled. D、D
A、People pronounce "nuclear" to "nucular". B、People use deviation in language. C、Declensions and conjugations have dwindled. D、D
admin
2022-01-23
31
问题
I: Good morning, listeners. Today, we are very happy to have Doctor Michael Williams to discuss evolution of language. Well, Michael.
M: Thank you. Very pleased to meet you all here.
I: Michael, there have been many theories about why languages change. Can you give us some examples, please?
M: Of course. The first established theory of language change is one of decay and decadence proposed in the 18th century view. Their reasoning is that the old Indo-European languages like Sanskrit, Greek and Latin all have complex declension and conjugation schemes. Overtime the number of cases dropped, and the modern Indo-European languages have far fewer cases for declension and conjugation. It is said that people get increasingly careless about their speech, so they are "decadent" and have allowed the once complex language to decay into such a "simple" language.
I: Sounds interesting.
M: But this "decadence" argument has one major flaw. Even though the number of declensions and conjugations has dwindled, other parts of speech such as particles and auxiliary verbs have evolved to take their place. Anything that can be expressed in the ancient tongue can still be expressed today. Ultimately, this theory is highly subjective, as it relies on personal opinions, not scientific facts, of what is "highly evolved" and what is "decadent". So, strictly speaking, this cannot be called scientific explanation.
I: Right. Is there any other theory?
M: The next theory, proposed by the Neogrammarians, is one of natural process. They stated that changes are automatic and mechanical, and therefore cannot be observed or controlled by the speakers of the language. They found that what to a human ear a single "sound" is actually a collection of very similar sounds. They call it "low-level deviation" from an "idealized form". They argue that language change is simply a slow shift of the "idealized form" by small deviations.
I: Are there any problems concerned with this theory, too?
M: Of course. The obvious problem here is that without some kind of reinforcement, the deviation might go back and forth and cancel out any change. Then the Neogrammarians patched this theory by adding reasons for reinforcing the deviation such as simplification of sounds, or children imperfectly learning the speech of their parents.
I: Simplification of sounds? Can you explain it a little further?
M: Sure. The simplification of sounds basically states that certain sounds are easier to pronounce than others, so the natural tendency of the speakers is to modify the hard-to-say sounds to easier ones. An example would be the English word "nuclear", which many people pronounce as "nucular".
I: But who knows which one is more difficult to pronounce, "nuclear" or "nucular"?
M: Exactly. Different people may give different answers. Simplification no doubt exists, but using it as a reason of language change is too subjective to be scientific. There is another problem with children incorrectly learning the language of their parents. Let’s take an extreme case in the form of immigrants. What is observed is that children of immigrants almost always learn the language of their friends at school regardless of the parents’ dialect or original language. Children of British immigrants in the United States, for example, nearly always speak with one of the many regional American accents. So in this case, the parents’ linguistic contribution becomes less important than the social group the child is in.
I: I agree. Any other theories?
1. Which one is NOT old Indo-European language?
2. What is the main problem with the theory of decay and decadence?
3. Which statement is WRONG according to decay and decadence theory of language?
4. Which can be the best example of simplification of sounds?
5. According to Michael, why do children of immigrants have problems in learning their mother tongue?
选项
A、People pronounce "nuclear" to "nucular".
B、People use deviation in language.
C、Declensions and conjugations have dwindled.
D、Declensions and conjugations have improved.
答案
A
解析
信息题。本题考查简化读音最好的例子是哪一个。录音中提到:The simplification of sounds basically states that certain sounds are easier to pronounce than others,so the natural tendency of the speakers is to modify the hard-to-say sounds to easier ones.An example would be the English word “nuclear”,which many people pronounce as “nucular”.根据自然发展论,人们倾向于简化难发的语音,把“nuclear”发成“nucular”就是一个例子,因此选A。选项C和D是上文中提到的,属于衰败理论;选项B虽然是自然发展理论的内容,但并不是简化读音的例子。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/qMkMFFFM
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
(1)ItwassaidbySirGeorgeBernardShawthat"EnglandandAmericaaretwocountriesseparatedbythesamelanguage."Myfirst
(1)Mostpeoplehaveexperiencedthefeeling,afterataxingmentalwork-out,thattheycannotbebotheredtomakeanymoredecis
PASSAGETWOWhatdoesBernardShawmeanbysaying"EnglandandAmericaaretwocountriesseparatedbythesamelanguage"inPar
A、Theycomefromthesamecultureandbackground.B、Theywriteintheirownmotherlanguages.C、Theybringtheirownculturesin
Psychologistshavemanytheoriestoexplainhowwerememberinformation.Themostinfluentialtheoryisthatmemoryworksasak
Psychologistshavemanytheoriestoexplainhowwerememberinformation.Themostinfluentialtheoryisthatmemoryworksasak
Psychologistshavemanytheoriestoexplainhowwerememberinformation.Themostinfluentialtheoryisthatmemoryworksasak
HowtoStudyEnglishinYourDream:theTheoryI.IntroductionA.ConnectionsamongEnglishstudy,【T1】______【T1】______B.Twor
A、Thelearners’enthusiasmoflearningEnglish.B、Therelationbetweensocietieschangeandmethodologies.C、Theimportanceofv
A、Sheisalinguist.B、Sheworksasateacher.C、She’sanexpertonlanguageeducation.D、She’sanexpertonspreadinglanguages
随机试题
简述“教学过程是教养与教育的统一”的内涵。
A.血尿B.卟啉尿C.肌红蛋白尿D.血红蛋白尿E.药物性红尿经产奶牛,3天前食欲下降,体温38.5℃,呼吸每分钟28次,脉搏每分钟85次,结膜苍白、黄染。排尿次数增加,但每次排尿量相对减少,尿液呈暗红色。该红尿病例最可能的红尿性质是
以不衰减的形式沿可兴奋细胞膜传导的电活动是
《一般工业固体废物贮存、处置场污染控制标准》(GB18599—2001)中规定,有关第1类一般工业固体废物的说法正确的是()。
在国际上,对项目经理的地位和作用表述不正确的是()。
纳税人以自产的液体盐加工固体盐、按固体盐税额征税,以加工的固体盐数量为课税数量。纳税人以外购的液体盐加工固体盐,其加工固体盐所耗用液体盐的已纳税额准予抵扣。()
注重学生技能技巧培养的是教学过程的()。
随着人们的生活和工作逐渐进入高楼大厦,人们接触日光的机会变少,研究发现,日光是合成维生素D的必要条件,而维生素D是促进钙吸收的关键因素。因此有人得出结论:现代人更容易患骨质疏松等因缺钙引起的疾病。以下哪项为真,最能质疑上述结论?
用差别阈限的方法制作等距量表,其结果会支持()
AcademyAwardnominees(被提名的人)whogohomeempty-handedmaynothaveashinyOscarto【B1】______,buttheymayturnouttobetheb
最新回复
(
0
)