首页
登录
职称英语
[originaltext]I: Good morning, listeners. Today, we are very happy to have Doct
[originaltext]I: Good morning, listeners. Today, we are very happy to have Doct
游客
2024-11-04
13
管理
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、The number of declensions has dwindled.
B、The number of conjugations has dwindled.
C、This theory is highly objective.
D、This theory is highly subjective.
答案
D
解析
细节题。受访者提到:Ultimately, this theory is highly subjective,as it relies on personal opinions,not scientific facts,of what is “highly evolved” and what is “decadent”.表明衰败论的主要问题是高度的主观性,因此选项D正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3830643.html
相关试题推荐
[originaltext]J:Becausein1987theDepartmentofEducationandScienceestabl
[originaltext]J:Becausein1987theDepartmentofEducationandScienceestabl
[originaltext]I:Goodmorning,everyone.TodayI’dliketointroduceProfessor
[originaltext]I:Goodmorning,everyone.TodayI’dliketointroduceProfessor
[originaltext]M:Thelasttheoryadvancedduringthelastcenturyisasocialo
[originaltext]M:Thelasttheoryadvancedduringthelastcenturyisasocialo
[originaltext]M:Thelasttheoryadvancedduringthelastcenturyisasocialo
[originaltext]I:Goodmorning,listeners.Today,weareveryhappytohaveDoct
[originaltext]J:Ohyes,theyhaveagymnasiumthattheguestscanuse.There’s
[originaltext]J:Ohyes,theyhaveagymnasiumthattheguestscanuse.There’s
随机试题
[originaltext]W:Goodmorning,Mr.Brown.M:Oh,comein,Mary.I’vebeenexpec
ItisestimatedthatChinanowhasaround130kindsoflocallanguages,but
[originaltext]W:Hi,Dick.How’sthecampinglastweek?M:Oh,itwashorrible.
道路交通标线按标线用途可分为非反光标线、反光标线和()。A.突起振动标线
全陪与旅游者首次见面的介绍通常与()结合在一起。A.欢迎词 B.日程核商 C
充血性心力衰竭患儿应用洋地黄制剂治疗时,出现何种情况应及时停药( )A.呼吸困
A.7 B.14 C.22 D.29
(2015年5月)某大型企业集团主要生产和经营机械电子产品,该集团总部设立了战略
山西星运肉类加工厂与新西兰诺顿肉类联合制造厂签订合同进口一批冷冻鹿肉(检验检疫类
《劳动法》明确规定的未成年工是指()的劳动者。A:年满15周岁,不满17周岁B
最新回复
(
0
)