现代语言学所有名词解释.doc

第一章 Synchronic study: The study of a language at some point in time. e.g. A study of the features of the English used in Shakespeare’s time is a synchronic study. Diachronic study: The study of a language as it changes through time. A diachronic study of language is a historical study, which studies the historical development of language over a period of time. e.g. a study of the changes English has undergone since Shakespeare’s time is a diachronic study. Language competence: The ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language. A transformational-generative grammar（转化生成语法）is a model of language competence. Language performance: performance is the actual realization of the ideal language user’s knowledge of the rules in linguistic communication. Langue : Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to follow; Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently. Parole: Parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use; parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules; parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation. Arbitrariness: It is one of the design features of language. It means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages. Productivity: Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. Duality: Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds at the lower or basic level, and the other of meanings at the higher level. Displacement: language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to re