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、Because they imperfectly learn the speech of their parents. B、Because they prefer to learn the language of their friends at sc
A、Because they imperfectly learn the speech of their parents. B、Because they prefer to learn the language of their friends at sc
admin
2020-06-04
67
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、Because they imperfectly learn the speech of their parents.
B、Because they prefer to learn the language of their friends at school.
C、Because they are confused with different languages.
D、Because there are no teachers who teach them mother tongue.
答案
B
解析
推理题。关于移民子女学不好母语的原因,受访者提到: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.表明移民子女更倾向于学习同学说的当地语言,对母语不感兴趣,因此答案是选项B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/uvbK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
SuggestopediaI.Introduction—basis:how【T1】______worksandhowwelearnmosteffectively【T1】______—derivedfrom【T2】______
SuggestopediaI.Introduction—basis:how【T1】______worksandhowwelearnmosteffectively【T1】______—derivedfrom【T2】______
SuggestopediaI.Introduction—basis:how【T1】______worksandhowwelearnmosteffectively【T1】______—derivedfrom【T2】______
A、AnewdrugprovestobesuccessfulintreatingIAD.B、SomedoctorsaretryingtotreatIADinthesamewayasstoppinggamblin
A、Howtostopwastingtime.B、Howtodealwithchores.C、Howtofindthingsmisplaced.D、Howtoshoponline.A主持人在对话的开头就提到了本次访谈的
A、Hispreferencetosharehisopinionsaboutpopulartopics.B、HispreferencetoreportoncurrenteventsinAmerica.C、Hissucc
WhatIsReadingI.Readingisacomplexand【T1】______process【T1】______—e.g.,astoryoftwofictionalGreekboys—Dimitris:
WhatIsReadingI.Readingisacomplexand【T1】______process【T1】______—e.g.,astoryoftwofictionalGreekboys—Dimitris:
TheDifferenceBetweenSpokenandWrittenEnglishI.Thedefinitionofspeechandwritingtwo【T1】______methodsofcommunication
FiveThingsforCollegeGraduatestoKnowI.Degreedoesnot【T1】______youtoajob【T1】______A.Yoursituationaftergraduatio
随机试题
瑞夷综合征(Reye’ssyndrome)
_______是行政执行工作的关键。
下列哪项是治疗厌氧菌感染的首选药物
不开槽管道施工方法采用起重设备或垂直运输系统施工安全的规定包括()。
某投资者对风险毫不在意,只关心期望收益率,那么该投资者无差异曲线为( )。
丙公司生产和销售E、F两种产品,每年产销平衡。为了加强产品成本管理,合理确定下年度经营计划和产品销售价格,该公司专门召开总经理办公会进行讨论。相关资料如下:资料一:2019年E产品实际产销量为3680件,生产实际用工为7000小时,实际人工成本为16元/
操作系统为用户提供的使用接口类型不包括()。
我们常说“举一反三”、“触类旁通”、“闻一知十”是典型的()形式。
Whenweworryaboutwhomightbespyingonourprivatelives,weusuallythinkabouttheFederalagents.Buttheprivatesector
Ofallthecomponentsofagoodnight’ssleep,dreamsseemtobeleastwithinourcontrol.Indreams,awindowopensintoaworl
最新回复
(
0
)