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
THE INTRINSIC COMPLEXITY OF CONCEPTS The words discussed so far have been limited to one type: those whose meaning identifie
THE INTRINSIC COMPLEXITY OF CONCEPTS The words discussed so far have been limited to one type: those whose meaning identifie
admin
2010-06-18
46
问题
THE INTRINSIC COMPLEXITY OF CONCEPTS
The words discussed so far have been limited to one type: those whose meaning identifies the members of a class. For example, the word chair is used correctly when it is applied to the class which includes objects as different as straight chairs, folding chairs and rocking chairs. The same skill in identifying instances of the same class is required for understanding some types of verbs. For example, all people walk differently, but native speakers of English use the word walk correctly when they realize that these minor differences are irrelevant.
But not all words in a language involve the identification of classes. In fact, the mastery of a working vocabulary in any human language appeals to a wide range of intellectual skills, some easier and some more difficult than those required for grasping the meaning of common nouns and verbs. As an example of a relatively easy concept, consider what is required for understanding proper nouns: one must simply point out a single individual and attach a label, like John or Daddy. Because it is easier to associate a label with a single individual than to name a class with common properties, children master proper nouns first, sometimes when they are as young as six to nine months old.
In contrast, a relational term like large or small constitutes a relatively complex concept. The correct use of words like these requires that two things be kept in mind: the absolute size of the object in question, and its position on a scale of similar objects. For example, an elephant which is six feet tall at the shoulders may be small as far as elephants go, but a dog of the same height would be huge. Five-and six-year-old children are unable to make the shift in perspective necessary for using relational words appropriately. In one well known experiment which documents this conclusion, children were engaged in a pretend tea party with dolls and an adult observer. The adult gave the child an ordinary juice glass and asked the child if it was large or small. Though all of the children in the study agreed that the glass was small from their own perspective, it appeared ridiculously large when placed on the toy table around which the dolls were seated. Nevertheless, the youngest children were still inclined to say that the glass was small when asked about its size with respect to its new context.
Another complex concept underlies deictic expressions, which are words used to point to objects and indicate their distance from the speaker. For example, the speaker may use here or this to point out objects which may be close to him, while there and that are appropriate only when the objects are relatively far away. But since there are no absolute distances involved in the correct use of a deictic expression, children have difficulty determining when the "close" terms are to be preferred over the "far" terms. As with relational terms, it is necessary to take into account the size of the object pointed to. Thus a thirty-story building six feet in front of us is close enough to be called this building, but an ant removed from us by the same distance is far enough away to be called that ant.
Common and proper nouns, relational terms and deictic expressions do not exhaust the range of concepts mastered by children, but they do illustrate the variety of tasks involved in acquiring the vocabulary of a first language. Linguists can examine the evidence from the acquisition of word meaning and find support for two fundamental hypotheses: that some concepts are more complex than others, and that the acquisition of language requires a considerable exercise of intelligence.
In order to correctly acquire the meanings of nouns in referring to "classes", a child ______.
选项
A、has to learn to identify some features while ignoring others
B、first has to be able to use proper nouns
C、must be at least six years old
D、must play with toys
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/3PlO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
A、Ithasbeenduetotheeconomicrecession.B、Ithasmorethandoubledsince2011.C、Therearemoreretireddrivers.D、Onlysch
Everyhalfcenturyorso,aleaderemergesinhisfieldofsuchsubstanceandforcethathestandsoutheadandshoulderabovet
MsBrendaStevenssuggeststhatbeforeapplyingjobapplicantsshouldThebestwaytodealwithoddquestionsfromtheintervie
WHAT’SONCONCERTSNewconcerthall:ThemovietheatreoftheNationalLibraryofChinahasbeenturnedintoaconcerthall
"unyoked"inthefirstparagraphisclosestinmeaningto______.Whatisthethemeofthestory?
WhichofthefollowingisNOTtrueoftheUnitedNations?ThepresentreformagreesonKofiAnnan’sideaon______ofHumanRig
Wordsworth’spoetry,dividedbythesubjects,fallsintotwomajorgroups:oneabout______andtheotherabout______.
Properarrangementofclassroomspaceisimportanttoencouraginginteraction.Mostofushavenoticedhowimportantphysicalse
A、deniedthatU.S.soldiersweretoblamefortheirabuseofprisonersinIraqB、refusedtoadmitthatitwasanerrortolaunc
随机试题
黑色素瘤的临床特点是
某患儿,6岁,发热,头痛、恶心1天,伴抽搐、意识障碍1天入院。入院后查体:体温40.5℃,浅昏迷状态,病理征阳性,脑膜刺激征阳性。血常规:WBC14×109/L,中性86%。尿常规未见异常。该患者可初步诊断为()
闭合性骨盆骨折可引起
某法院经甲申请,开始执行被执行人乙的财产;正在此时,丙向法院提出异议,认为执行标的物为自己所有。经审查,异议成立。请问此时应由谁批准中止执行?()。
基本农田保护区以乡(镇)为单位划区定界,由县级人民政府()组织实施。
下列理财计划中,()是指投资者获取的收益固定,风险完全由银行承担。如果资金运营不善而产生损失,责任完全由银行承受;如果资金运营得当,则超过固定收益部分的收益归商业银行所有的理财计划。
如果不拟依赖内部控制,注册会计师就无需对内部控制进行了解、测试和评价。( )如果被审计单位已聘请其他会计师事务所对其内部控制进行专项审核,并获得了“内部控制是有效的”审核结论,注册会计师可以据此相应减少会计报表审计的实质性测试程序。( )
对未提交修改的封锁必须保持到【】的终点。
A(Anyproperty)thatabankruptpersonB(maystillhave)isusuallydividedC(among)thevariouspeopletowhommoneyD(areowed
Theboywasverynaughty,hismother______punishmenttomakehimobey.
最新回复
(
0
)