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
考研
In English, the word for the sniffing appendage on our face is nose. Japanese also happens to use the consonant n in this word (
In English, the word for the sniffing appendage on our face is nose. Japanese also happens to use the consonant n in this word (
admin
2023-02-22
55
问题
In English, the word for the sniffing appendage on our face is nose. Japanese also happens to use the consonant n in this word (hand) and so does Turkish (burun). Since the 1900s, linguists have argued that these associations between speech sounds and meanings are purely arbitrary. Yet a new study calls this into question.
Together with his colleagues, Damian Blasi of the University of Zurich analyzed lists of words from 4,298 different languages. In doing so, they discovered that unrelated languages often use the same sounds to refer to the same meaning.【B11】____________________
The idea is not new. Previous studies have suggested that sound-meaning associations may not be entirely arbitrary, but these studies were limited by small sample sizes and highly restricted lists of words.【B12】_______________
The method of the study involved two key parts. The first step was to estimate how frequently the word for a given concept uses a particular sound by assigning binary values of 0 or 1 to associations in individual languages.【B13】_______________Aggregating these numbers across the thousands of languages studied yields the overall probability that any word for red in any language will contain r—in this case, 0.35.
【B14】_____________
So how do we know that the association between red and r is special? To address this question, the authors performed a second step, this time calculating the probability that any randomly selected word uses r. By comparing the two probabilities, they were able to show that across languages, r is more than twice as likely to occur in words for red than in other words. With this method, the researchers reported 74 robust associations between word sounds and meanings, including I and leaf, and n and nose.
The study raises some big-picture questions. Why, for example, should it be the case that culturally and geographically diverse groups of humans link the same sounds with the same meanings?
【B15】____________________
So the answer to this question remains elusive. Although it’s easy to imagine that the n-sound in nose reflects nasality, this is a guess and no such relationship can explain other associations.
Another tough question concerns the relatively small number of associations. Why do a handful of words like red, small and leaf form non-arbitrary links to their speech sounds, while thousands of other words—such as soup and dog—do not? Simon Kirby, professor at the Center for Language Evolution at the University of Edinburgh, thinks this may be the heart of the matter. "The puzzle is really why this is such a marginal phenomenon," says Kirby.
[A] Blasi and colleagues used statistical analyses to rule out the possibility that people happened to borrow words like red from neighboring languages, or that such words descended from the same ancient protolanguage.
[B] For example in English, the word for red uses the consonant r and therefore is scored a 1, while in Japanese, oka does not contain r and therefore receives a 0.
[C] Blasi and colleagues have shown that non-arbitrary associations are possible—the deeper puzzle about language is why it is nevertheless largely arbitrary.
[D] For example, the consonant r is often used in words for red—think of French rouge, Spanish rojo, and German rot, but also Turkish krmz, Hungarian piros, and Maori kura.
[E] On its own, however, this calculation is not enough. There are thousands of words that use r—road, mural, and waiter, to name only a few English examples.
[F] Different from them, Blasi’s study—published this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA—is notable because it included almost two thirds of the world’s languages and used lists of diverse words, including pronouns, body parts, verbs, natural phenomena, and adjectives— such as we, tongue, drink, star and small, respectively.
[G] One limitation of the study is the relatively small number of meanings that were included in the analysis, points out Eric Holman, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
【B15】
选项
答案
A
解析
第六段讲布拉西的研究引出一些更大、更宏观的问题,空格前列举出了其中一个问题:为什么不同文化、不同地域的人群会使用相同发音表达相同含义?推测空格处应该是对这个问题的回答。但空格后指出这个问题的答案未明,So提示了空格处可能是关于答案未明的原因。A列出了两种可能性.可与空格前所问的语言现象形成因果关系,而布拉西和他同事排除了这两种可能性,因此问题的答案还有待深究,这与空格后说的So…this question remains elusive一致。A与空格前后的内容语义相符,衔接自然,故为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/saMD777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Overthecourseofmanyyears,withoutmakinganygreatfussaboutit,theauthoritiesinNewYorkdisabledmostofthecontrol
Scientistssentpatternsofelectricitycoursingacrosspeople’sbrains,coaxingtheirbrainstoseelettersthatweren’tthere.
Inourcontemporaryculture,theprospectofcommunicatingwith—orevenlookingat—astrangerisvirtuallyunbearable.Everyone
Thinnerisn’talwaysbetter.Anumberofstudieshave【C1】________thatnormal-weightpeopleareinfactathigherriskofsomedi
Happypeopleworkdifferently.They’remoreproductive,morecreative,andwillingtotakegreaterrisks.Andnewresearchsugge
Happypeopleworkdifferently.They’remoreproductive,morecreative,andwillingtotakegreaterrisks.Andnewresearchsugge
HowdoyouexplaineconomicsinplainEnglish?TheFederalReserveBankofNewYorkhasbeenansweringthequestionwithaneven
Thenewsaboutvitaminskeepsgettingworse.Manystudiespublishedinthelastfewyearsshowsthatavarietyofpopularsupple
Thenewsaboutvitaminskeepsgettingworse.Manystudiespublishedinthelastfewyearsshowsthatavarietyofpopularsupple
随机试题
钩体病首剂青霉素治疗后2~4小时突起发冷、寒战、高热,全身痛及头痛,心率、呼吸加快,严重者发生休克钩体病患者早期出现高热、全身酸痛的机制是由于
患者,女,38岁。眩晕,自汗;心悸,失眠,多梦,腹胀便溏,食少,体倦,面色无华。其病理变化是
A.凡未被病原微生物污染的区域B.经灭菌处理且未被污染的区域C.用物理方法清除物体表面的污垢D.通过物理或化学方法灭菌后保持无菌状态的物品E.经过灭菌处理但又被污染的区域无菌区()
长江中游某河段为典型的汊道浅滩,经常出现碍航现象,严重影响船舶航行安全,必须进行治理。采取的工程措施为护滩和筑坝。某施工单位承担了该整治工程的施工任务,并按照设计文件的要求进行施工,当完成系结压载软体排护底分项工程后,施工单位要求监理工程师进行质量评定,监
小学生根据课文描述想象出雷锋叔叔的模样,这属于()。
奥组委总部设在()。
在一些没有护堤常识的人看来,那细小的裂缝也许是_______的,老农也_______太大惊小怪了吧。填入横线部分最恰当的一项是()。
WTO的服务贸易规则中规定的商业存在是指服务提供者在外国建立商业机构,为消费者服务。()
在信息系统工程监理过程中,专家发挥了重要的作用和价值。以下_________不属于专家的职责。
A、Hesoldhisinventiontomakemoney.B、Hepreferredinventiontoteaching.C、Hewashonoredwithanawardforhisteachingmet
最新回复
(
0
)