Основы теории английского языка. Листунова Е.И. - 5 стр.

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9. Hybrid, a word different elements of which are of etymologi-
cally different origin.
10. Etymological doublet, one of a pair of (or several) words more
or less similar in meaning and phonation, appearing in language as
the result of borrowing from the same source at different times.
11. Sociolinguisics, branch of linguistics studying causation be-
tween language and the life of the speaking community.
12. Neologism, a word or a word combination that appears or is
specially coined to name a new object or express a new concept.
13. Occasional word, a word which cannot be considered a per-
manent member of the word-stock: although it is, as a rule, formed
after existing patterns, it is not characterized by general currency but
is an individual innovation introduced for a special occasion. Cf. nonce-
word, ephemeral word.
TASKS AND EXERCISES
I.
Read the following passages and render in your own words Ed-
ward Sapir’s ideas on the subject.
The gift of speech and a well-ordered language are characteristic
of every known group of human beings. No tribe has ever been found
which is without language and all statements to the contrary may be
dismissed as mere folklore. There seems to be no warrant whatever
for the statement which is sometimes made that there are certain
peoples whose vocabulary is so limited that they cannot get on without
the supplementary use of gesture, so that intelligible communication
between members of such a group becomes impossible in the dark.
The truth of the matter is that language is an essentially perfect
means of expression and communication among every known people.
Of all aspects of culture it is a fair guess that language was the first to
receive a highly developed form and that its essential perfection is a
prerequisite to the development of culture as a whole...
Many attempts have been made to unravel the origin of language
but most of these are hardly more than exercises of the speculative
imagination. Linguists as a whole have lost interest in the problem and
this for two reasons. In the first place, it has come to be realized that
there exist no truly primitive languages in a psychological sense, the
modern researches in archaeology have indefinitely extended the time
of man’s cultural past and that it is therefore vain to go much beyond
        9. Hybrid, a word different elements of which are of etymologi-
cally different origin.
       10. Etymological doublet, one of a pair of (or several) words more
or less similar in meaning and phonation, appearing in language as
the result of borrowing from the same source at different times.
       11. Sociolinguisics, branch of linguistics studying causation be-
tween language and the life of the speaking community.
       12. Neologism, a word or a word combination that appears or is
specially coined to name a new object or express a new concept.
       13. Occasional word, a word which cannot be considered a per-
manent member of the word-stock: although it is, as a rule, formed
after existing patterns, it is not characterized by general currency but
is an individual innovation introduced for a special occasion. Cf. nonce-
word, ephemeral word.

                       TASKS AND EXERCISES
      I.
      Read the following passages and render in your own words Ed-
ward Sapir’s ideas on the subject.
      The gift of speech and a well-ordered language are characteristic
of every known group of human beings. No tribe has ever been found
which is without language and all statements to the contrary may be
dismissed as mere folklore. There seems to be no warrant whatever
for the statement which is sometimes made that there are certain
peoples whose vocabulary is so limited that they cannot get on without
the supplementary use of gesture, so that intelligible communication
between members of such a group becomes impossible in the dark.
The truth of the matter is that language is an essentially perfect
means of expression and communication among every known people.
Of all aspects of culture it is a fair guess that language was the first to
receive a highly developed form and that its essential perfection is a
prerequisite to the development of culture as a whole...
      Many attempts have been made to unravel the origin of language
but most of these are hardly more than exercises of the speculative
imagination. Linguists as a whole have lost interest in the problem and
this for two reasons. In the first place, it has come to be realized that
there exist no truly primitive languages in a psychological sense, the
modern researches in archaeology have indefinitely extended the time
of man’s cultural past and that it is therefore vain to go much beyond

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