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
40
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://kaotiyun.com/show/1KIK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
(1)ItwassaidbySirGeorgeBernardShawthat"EnglandandAmericaaretwocountriesseparatedbythesamelanguage."Myfirst
Duringtheearlyyearsofthiscentury,wheatwasseenastheverylifebloodofWesternCanadaPeopleoncitystreetswatchedt
PASSAGETWOWhatdoesBernardShawmeanbysaying"EnglandandAmericaaretwocountriesseparatedbythesamelanguage"inPar
A、Anexperiencedteacher.B、Afriendofthetargetlanguage.C、Aregularlearningprogram.D、Aninborntalentoflanguage.C对话中,
(1)Underthe1996constitution,all11ofSouthAfrica’sofficiallanguages"mustenjoyequalityofesteemandbetreatedequita
Psychologistshavemanytheoriestoexplainhowwerememberinformation.Themostinfluentialtheoryisthatmemoryworksasak
Psychologistshavemanytheoriestoexplainhowwerememberinformation.Themostinfluentialtheoryisthatmemoryworksasak
HowtoStudyEnglishinYourDream:theTheoryI.IntroductionA.ConnectionsamongEnglishstudy,【T1】______【T1】______B.Twor
A、Becausetheymastermorethanonelanguage.B、Becausetheyutilizelanguageswithliteracyskills.C、Becausetheydowellina
随机试题
Ihaveafriendwhoputhercareeronholdaftershegotmarriedandhadchildren.Shestayedathomeuntiltheoldestwasfour
(2022年临沂)关于教育和文化的关系,下列表述正确的是()
导致炎症的因素有
理中汤主要用于
患儿男,2岁。发热4天,体温达40℃,伴流涕,鼻塞、咳嗽,眼结膜充血,眼泪较多。今发现耳后、颈枕部出现散在红色丘疹,疹间皮肤正常。护士考虑患儿可能的发疹性疾病是
人体内最大的内分泌腺是
海南省最高的山是()。
不出事故或少出事故,是保证并提高旅游服务质量的基本条件。()
刑事侦查工作,是指依据国家法律的有关规定,采用专门调查方法和强制性措施,揭露、打击和防范刑事犯罪的一项专门工作,其主要任务是()。
AlthoughtheratioofphysicianstototalpopulationisaboutthesameintheUnitedStatesandCanada,theUnitedStateshas33
最新回复
(
0
)