上海交通大学：《跨文化交流》教学资源_课后阅读_reading for unit 2_CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE

CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE Human language has four characteristics:it is symbolic,rule-governed,subjective, and dynamic.First,language is symbolic;it stands in place of"reality"For example we use the symbol "hatred"to represent our internal negative feelings towards others. The reality is the "bad feeling"within our heart.In other words,a symbol is never equal to the reality to which it refers.To use another example,we use the symbol "rice"to represent something that can satisfy physical hunger.When we are really hanger,of course we don't eat the symbol "r-i-c-e"but the real steamed or boiled grain.Finally,the same reality can be represented by different symbols.Different language systems use different symbols to stand for the same reality. Second,language is rule-governed.Every structural level of human language is regulated by its own grammatical rules and principles.Subject(I)+Verb(love)+ Objective(you)is the most basic pattern of English structure.You will definitely confuse the listener if you say "love I you"instead of"I love you."The rules or principles of human language are not universal.Different language systems regulate their structures in different ways.We will inevitably encounter problems of language rules when we are learning a second language,as did some American students who went to Chinese Taiwan in summer to make their living and who created many jokes when they tried to use Mandarin to communicate with Chinese people there.For example,in Chinese the "you"in the expression of"How are you"should be put at the beginning of the sentence.Confusion about the language rule in this sentence can make the greeting in the Mandarin sound like "Hi,mom,how are your,"or "How's your mom?" Third,language is subjective.Meanings of the language reside in people,not in words.Asking students to define“capitalism,”“pregnancy,”love,”or“happiness,” we may produce twenty different meanings for each term from the students.Likewise, it is not surprising that students from Russia claim that their country is a"democratic" one.But American students may vehemently argue that only Western democracy is a real democracy.No matter who is right or wrong,the meanings of a language are dependent on cultural experience rather than on the words themselves. Fourth,like human life,language is dynamic and has its own life cycle.No language is fixed or unvarying;in order to survive,all languages must constantly undergo changes and variations.Change in a language is based on the concept of time. When time changes,language also changes.For example,we have old,medieval,and modern English.When we read Shakespeare's Hamlet,we still see expressions such as "hath,”cthy,”“thee,”and“thou.”Nowadays,instead of using“hath”we change it to "have,”and“thy,”“thee,”and“thou”to“you”or“your.”Variations refer to the differences in the pronunciation,spelling,or usages of the same language by different groups of people.For example,the following list shows some variations in British and American English:

CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE Human language has four characteristics: it is symbolic, rule-governed, subjective, and dynamic. First, language is symbolic; it stands in place of “reality” For example, we use the symbol “hatred” to represent our internal negative feelings towards others. The reality is the “bad feeling” within our heart. In other words, a symbol is never equal to the reality to which it refers. To use another example, we use the symbol “rice” to represent something that can satisfy physical hunger. When we are really hanger, of course we don’t eat the symbol “r-i-c-e” but the real steamed or boiled grain. Finally, the same reality can be represented by different symbols. Different language systems use different symbols to stand for the same reality. Second, language is rule-governed. Every structural level of human language is regulated by its own grammatical rules and principles. Subject(I) ＋ Verb(love) ＋ Objective(you) is the most basic pattern of English structure. You will definitely confuse the listener if you say “love I you” instead of “I love you.” The rules or principles of human language are not universal. Different language systems regulate their structures in different ways. We will inevitably encounter problems of language rules when we are learning a second language, as did some American students who went to Chinese Taiwan in summer to make their living and who created many jokes when they tried to use Mandarin to communicate with Chinese people there. For example, in Chinese the “you” in the expression of “How are you” should be put at the beginning of the sentence. Confusion about the language rule in this sentence can make the greeting in the Mandarin sound like “Hi, mom, how are your,” or “How’s your mom?” Third, language is subjective. Meanings of the language reside in people, not in words. Asking students to define “capitalism,” “pregnancy,” “love,” or “happiness,” we may produce twenty different meanings for each term from the students. Likewise, it is not surprising that students from Russia claim that their country is a “democratic” one. But American students may vehemently argue that only Western democracy is a real democracy. No matter who is right or wrong, the meanings of a language are dependent on cultural experience rather than on the words themselves. Fourth, like human life, language is dynamic and has its own life cycle. No language is fixed or unvarying; in order to survive, all languages must constantly undergo changes and variations. Change in a language is based on the concept of time. When time changes, language also changes. For example, we have old, medieval, and modern English. When we read Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we still see expressions such as “hath,” “thy,” “thee,” and “thou.” Nowadays, instead of using “hath” we change it to “have,” and “thy,” “thee,” and “thou” to “you” or “your.” Variations refer to the differences in the pronunciation, spelling, or usages of the same language by different groups of people. For example, the following list shows some variations in British and American English:

American English British English apartment flat eggplant auberg cleaning lady charwoman elevator lift first floor ground level long-distance call trunk call organization organisation pharmacist chemist rare underdone roast joint string bean French bean sweater pullover

American English British English apartment flat eggplant auberg cleaning lady charwoman elevator lift first floor ground level long-distance call trunk call organization organisation pharmacist chemist rare underdone roast joint string bean French bean sweater pullover