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
35
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)Mostpeoplehaveexperiencedthefeeling,afterataxingmentalwork-out,thattheycannotbebotheredtomakeanymoredecis
A、Peoplecansignupforwhateverwebsitetheylike.B、Peoplecancopywhateveronlineintotheirowncomputer.C、Peoplecanatt
TheInternethasalreadybecomeanintegralpartofourlife,asmostpeoplearoundtheworldspendamajorchunkoftheirdaily
Psychologistshavemanytheoriestoexplainhowwerememberinformation.Themostinfluentialtheoryisthatmemoryworksasak
HowtoStudyEnglishinYourDream:theTheoryI.IntroductionA.ConnectionsamongEnglishstudy,【T1】______【T1】______B.Twor
A、Reasonsforgettingintoactingcareer.B、IntroductionofAmber’sroleonGreek.C、MentionofAmber’sfuturework.D、Theprosp
A、Sheisalinguist.B、Sheworksasateacher.C、She’sanexpertonlanguageeducation.D、She’sanexpertonspreadinglanguages
随机试题
运输层是在优化网络服务的基础上,为源主机和目的主机之问提供可靠的价格、合理( )的数据传输,使高层服务用户在相互通信时不必关心通信子网实现细节。
A、抗癫痫药B、抗感冒药C、利尿药D、右美沙芬E、口服避孕药可引起嗜睡的是()。
北京公司与上海公司在贸易洽谈会上达成订立合同的初步意向。洽谈会结束后,北京公司于8月7日以信件方式(当日邮戳)向上海公司正式发出要约,欲以一定价格出售一批机器给上海公司,并言明,上海公司可在10日内答复。信件内未载明日期。上海公司于8月9日收到该信件。因此
一个账套可以代表()的账簿体系。
短期贷款是指期限在()以内的贷款;长期贷款是指期限在()以上的贷款。
根据反垄断法律制度的规定,下列选项中不属于反垄断法禁止的行政性垄断行为的是()。
下列审计程序中,不适用于细节测试的是()。(2019年)
进入21世纪,中国的媒体事件频发。媒体对事件的关注程度和方式决定了公众的态度和事件的发展。人们所看到的已经不是事件本身,而是经过媒体把关后的媒体事件。随着网络的兴起,媒体事件更是集中地以网络事件的形式表现。在网络事件中,网民是网络舆论和网络监督主体。他们的
职业倦怠,是一种由工作引发的心理枯竭现象。指个体在工作重压下产生的身心疲惫与耗竭的状态。根据上述定义,下列属于职业倦怠的是:
17世纪使化学开始从炼金术的影响下解放出来,并提出了化学元素这个科学概念的化学家是()。
最新回复
(
0
)