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
Some interesting recent research by a team from MRC Applied Psychology Unit at Cambridge analysed the sound structure of a large
Some interesting recent research by a team from MRC Applied Psychology Unit at Cambridge analysed the sound structure of a large
admin
2010-01-15
52
问题
Some interesting recent research by a team from MRC Applied Psychology Unit at Cambridge analysed the sound structure of a large number of first names, and found some interesting differences between men and women. It seems the sexes do not sound the same. The claims are of course limited by the size of their sample--1,667 entries taken from a dictionary of English first names--but the claims they make can easily be checked against our intuitions, and they seem very plausible:
-- Female first names tend to be longer than males, in terms of the number of syllables they contain. Males are much more likely to have a monosyllabic first name (Bob, Jim Fred, Frank, John), and much less likely to have a name of three or more syllables (Christopher, Nicholas). By contrast, there are few monosyllabic female names in the list (Ann, Joan, May) , and many of them are trisyllabic or more ( Katherine, Elizabeth, Amanda).
-- 95% of male names have a first syllable which is strongly stressed, whereas only 75% of female names show this pattern. It is not difficult to think of female names which begin with an unstressed syllable (Patricia, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Michelle), but male names are few and far between (Jerome, Dementrius). In fact, none of the popular British male names in top-2-1ists from the past 75 years has had an unstressed initial syllable--and only three American names.
-- The stressed syllables of female names tend to make much more use of the high front vowel / I/, such as Lisa, Tina, Celia, Maxine, and the archetypal Fifi and Mimi. Male names in /I/ are far less common (Steve, Keith, Peter).
-- Female pet names tend to be longer than male. A dissyllabic pet name could be either male or female, but a monosyllabic one is much more likely to be male. Jackie could be either sex, but Jack is male. Several other pairs share this expectancy, such as Bill /Billie and Bob/Bollie.
-- Female names are much more likely to end in a vowel, as with Linda, Judy, Deborah, Barbara. If not a vowel, the last sound will very likely be a continuant, especially a nasal (Jean, Kathleen, Sharon, Ann). By contrast, plosives are much more likely to be found in male endings (Bob, David, Dick, Jack).
It is of course difficult, perhaps impossible, to explain these trends. Could the sound-symbolic associations of /I/, such as smallness and brightness, explain the bias of that vowel? Can we relate the trend towards use of an initial stressed syllable to greater masculine aggressiveness? One thing is sure: it is much more difficult to generalize safely about female names. Popular male names are used much more predictably. There are several male names which have appeared on every list of the top 20 names in recent times (e. g. John, David), but no one female name appears on all lists. People are much readier to be inventive and different with female names.
According to the research, which of the following statements is true?
选项
A、95% of male names begin with an unstressed syllable.
B、Only one fourth of female names begin with an unstressed syllable.
C、All except three popular British names begin with a stressed syllable.
D、Jerome is an example of male names beginning with a stressed syllable.
答案
B
解析
根据第三段可知此题应选B,few and far between的意思是“稀少”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/MmnK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
(1)Saintsshouldalwaysbejudgedguiltyuntiltheyareprovedinnocent,buttheteststhathavetobeappliedtothemareno
Whatmightdrivingonanautomatedhighwaybelike?TheanswerdependsonwhatkindofsystemisultimatelyadoptedTwodist
Working-classfamiliesintheUnitedStatesareusuallynuclear,andmanystudiesindicatethatworking-classcouplesmarryf
A、MA(orMasterofArts).B、MSc(orMasterofScience).C、MBA(orMasterofBusinessAdministration)D、A,BandC.D信息题。根据受访者所说:
ShortStoryI.Threeformsoffiction—shortstory,novella,andnovel.II.【T1】___________oftheshortstory:A.Setting-
ShortStoryI.Threeformsoffiction—shortstory,novella,andnovel.II.【T1】___________oftheshortstory:A.Setting-
PassageThree(1)Datingisatreacherousbusiness.Theremaybeplentyoffishinthesea,yetmanyareunhygienic,self-ab
Whetheryou’retheCEOofaFortune500company,orateenageentrepreneurjuststartingout,communicationskillsarevitally
Whetheryou’retheCEOofaFortune500company,orateenageentrepreneurjuststartingout,communicationskillsarevitally
Thedecisionoflocalgovernmentwasthatthepollutedarea______closed.
随机试题
何为性传播疾病?试列出4种可以引起性传播疾病的病原体。
某工程量清单的工程数量有误,且减少量超过合同约定幅度,则进行结算时()。
下列关于对联知识的叙述,正确的有()。
甲公司为增值税一般纳税人(增值税税率为13%),2019年5月月初自华宇公司购入一台需要安装的生产设备,实际支付买价60万元,增值税7.8万元;另支付运杂费3万元(假定不考虑运费抵扣进项税的因素),途中保险费8万元;安装过程中,领用一批外购原材料,成本6万
宗教改革运动后.一方面由于“中世纪的历史一方面只知道一种形式的意识形态即宗教和神学”,另一方面,由于资本主义处于手工工场阶段,新兴资产阶级力量还比较弱小,所以资产阶级需要采取宗教异端的方式。由此可见宗教改革的本质是()。
如右图所示,△ABC是直角三角形,四边形IBFD和四边形HFGE都是正方形,已知AI=1cm,IB=4cm,问正方形HFGE的面积是多少?()
手机预装软件,一般指手机出厂自带或第三方刷机渠道预装到消费者手机当中的应用或软件。包括工具、娱乐、社交、电商、安全、学习以及游戏类软件等应用。近日,因手机预装软件过多,且大量无法删除,上海市消费者权益保护委员会一纸诉状,将三星和OPPO两家智能手机公司告上
根据下面材料回答下列题。2007年7月份北京市各区县城镇居民最低生活保障人数占该区县人口总数的百分比最低的是()。
有以下程序:#include<stdio.h>main(){inti,j;for(i=3;i>=1;i--){for(j=1;j<=2;j++)printf("%d",i+j);printf("\n");}}程序运行后的输出结果是(
Inthehistoryofartspatronage(赞助),entrepreneurs-turned-connoisseurs(艺术品鉴赏家)areayoungdevelopment.Theworld’sgreatest
最新回复
(
0
)