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
2024-11-07
9
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、English.
B、Sanskrit.
C、Greek.
D、Latin.
答案
A
解析
细节题。录音原文中提到:Their reasoning is that the old Indo-European languages like Sanskrit,Greek and Latin all have complex declension and conjugation schemes.这段内容涵盖了B、C和D三个选项,因此答案是A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3835189.html
相关试题推荐
[originaltext]I:Goodmorning,listeners.Asweallknow,Chinahashadanorga
[originaltext]I:Goodmorning,listeners.Asweallknow,Chinahashadanorga
[originaltext]M:Thelasttheoryadvancedduringthelastcenturyisasocialo
[originaltext]M:Thelasttheoryadvancedduringthelastcenturyisasocialo
[originaltext]M:Thelasttheoryadvancedduringthelastcenturyisasocialo
[originaltext]I:Goodmorning,listeners.Today,weareveryhappytohaveDoct
[originaltext]I:Goodmorning,listeners.Today,weareveryhappytohaveDoct
[originaltext]J:Ienjoyplayingchess.Someofmyfriendsaregoodplayers.S:
[originaltext]J:Ienjoyplayingchess.Someofmyfriendsaregoodplayers.S:
[originaltext]J:Ienjoyplayingchess.Someofmyfriendsaregoodplayers.S:
随机试题
Abig【C1】______ofthecriticismofcomputergameshas【C2】______thecontento
WhydoesJessiewanttochangeherhairstyle?[br][originaltext]F:Goodmorni
急性炎症性疾病时血浆蛋白质出现低下的是A.铜蓝蛋白 B.α酸性糖蛋白 C.前
当前正在进行的新军事变革会发生在( )方面。A.武器装备 B.编制体制 C
机械化吊装设备中,除可进行起重作业外,还可装载打桩、抓斗、拉铲等装置,进行相应的
甲公司为全国中小企业股份转让系统挂牌的股份公司,下列关于该公司进行重大资产重组的
共用题干 High-TechWarfare(战争)Today,high-te
处方中"单位"的缩写词是A.U B.UD C.IU D.UI E.co.
某投资者与年初将1500元现金按5%的年利率投资5年,那么该项投资()。A:按复
下列有关《建设工程施工合同(示范文本)》中进度控制的表述正确的是( )。A.发包
最新回复
(
0
)