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I. Fill in the blanks.
1. In Saussure’s view, the relationship between signifier(soundimage) and signified (concept) is ______.（北二外2005研）
【答案】 arbitrary
【解析】 索绪尔认为符号的形式或声音与其意义之间没有逻辑联系，所以两者之间的关系是任意的。
2. The features that define our human languages can be called _____ features.（北二外2006研）
【答案】 design
【解析】 人类语言区别于其他动物交流系统的特点是语言的区别特征，是人类语言特有的特征。
3. Human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, eventsand concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment ofcommunication. This quality is labeled as ______.（北二外2007研）
【答案】 displacement
【解析】 移位性是指人类语言可以让使用者在交际时用语言符号代表时间和空间上不可及的物体、事件和观点。
4. Halliday proposes a theory of metafunctions of language, that is,language has ______ interpersonal and textual functions.（中山大学2008研）
【答案】 ideational
【解析】 韩理德将儿童的语言功能范围逐渐缩小，简化成为一套高度符号化和抽象化的功能：概念、人际、语篇功能。
5. Our language can be used to talk about itself. This is the ______function of language.（中山大学2005研）
【答案】 metalingual
【解析】 语言的元语言功能是指语言可以用来讨论语言本身。
6. Linguistics is usually defined as the ______study of language. （北二外2003研）
【答案】 scientific
【解析】 语言学通常被定义为研究科学的语言，或对语言的科学研究。
7. Saussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speakerand the actual phenomena or data of linguistics (utterances) as _______ and_______The former refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the membersof a speech community, and the latter is the concrete manifestation of languageeither through speech or through writing. （人大2006研）
【答案】 langue；parole
【解析】 语言指一个语言集团的所有成员共享的抽象语言系统，言语是指语言在实际使用中的实现。
8. Language, broadly speaking, is a means of ________ communication.
【答案】 verbal
【解析】 语言是一种口头交流的手段。
9. Human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, eventsand concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment ofcommunication. This quality is labeled as ______ （北二外2007研）
【答案】 displacement
【解析】 移位性是指人类语言可以让使用者在交际时用语言符号代表时间和空间上不可及的物体、事件和观点。
10. By ______ is meant the property of having two levels ofstructures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements ofthe secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles oforganization.（北二外2005研）
【答案】 duality
【解析】 双重性是指拥有两层结构的这种属性，底层结构是上层结构的组成成分，每层都有自身的组合规则。
11. ______ function is realized by mood and modality.（中山大学2006研）
【答案】 Interpersonal
【解析】 人际功能通过语气情态实现。
12. When language is used for establishing anatmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than exchanging information or ideas,its function is _______ function. （北二外2000研）
【答案】 interpersonal
【解析】 人际功能是语言最重要的社会功能，人们由此建立和维持他们的身份和社会地位。
13. Some sentences do not describe things. They cannot be said to betrue or false. The utterance of these sentences is or is a part of the doing ofan action. They are called ______ （大连外国语学院2008研）
【答案】 performative
【解析】 施为句是用来做事的，既不陈述事实，也不描述情况，且不能验证其真假。
14. When language is used for establishing an atmosphere ormaintaining social contact rather than exchanging information or ideas, itsfunction is ______ function.（北二外2005研）
【答案】 phatic
【解析】 寒暄功能是指那些有助于确立和维持人际关系的表达，例如俚语、玩笑、行话、礼节性的问候、社会方言或地域方言的转用等。
15. When language is used for establishing anatmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than exchanging information orideas, its function is ________ function. （北二外2010）
【答案】 interpersonal
【解析】 语言的人际功能是指人们由此建立和维持他们的身份和社会地位。
16. The idea of _______ was first developed byRoman Jacobson (l896-1982) in the 1940s as a means of working out a set ofphonological contrasts or oppositions to capture particular aspects of languagesounds. （中山大学2011年研）
【答案】 distinctive features
【解析】 区别性特征第一次由Roman Jacobson提出。
II. Multiple Choices.
1. By _______ we mean language is resourceful because of its dualityand recursiveness. （西安外国语学院2006研）
A. arbitrariness
B. duality
C. creativity
D. displacement
【答案】 C
【解析】 创造性指语言的能产性，它能够使人造出和理解无穷的长句，其中很多句子是以前从未听过的。
2. Which of the following statements is true of Jacobson’s frameworkof language functions?
A. Thereferential function is to indulge in language for its own sake.
B. The emotivefunction is to convey message and information.
C. The conativefunction is to clear up intentions, words and meanings.
D. The phaticfunction is to establish communion with others.
【答案】 D
【解析】 所指功能是指用语言来传达信息，情感功能是表达一种态度，感受；意动功能是通过命令和恳求说服影响他人。
3. Which of the following statements is true of Jacobson’s frameworkof language functions?
A. Thereferential function is to indulge in language for its own sake.
B. The emotivefunction is to convey message and information.
C. The conativefunction is to clear up intentions, words and meanings.
D. The phaticfunction is to establish communion with others.
【答案】 D
【解析】 所指功能是指用语言来传达信息，情感功能是表达一种态度，感受；意动功能是通过命令和恳求说服影响他人。
4. Which of the following words is entirelyarbitrary? （西安交通大学2008研）
A. tree
B. crash
C. typewriter
D.bang
【答案】 A
【解析】 crash是一个缩略语，typewriter是复合词，bang是拟声词，所以只有tree的形成比较任意。
5. When language is used to get information from others, it servesan ______ function. （北二外2003研）
A. informative
B. directive
C. interrogative
【答案】 C
【解析】 语言用来陈述某件事情，提供信息或用作推理。信息功能是语言最重要的功能，一般出现在陈述句中。
6. The functions of language do NOT include ______.（大连外国语学院2008研）
A. informativefunction
B. interpersonalfunction
C. metacognitivefunction
【答案】 C
【解析】 语言的主要功能包括信息功能，人际功能，施为功能，感情功能，寒暄功能，元语言功能和娱乐功能。
7. The study of physical properties of the sounds produced in speechis closely connected with ______.（大连外国语学院2008研）
A. articulatoryphonetics
B. acousticphonetics
C. auditoryphonetics
【答案】 B
【解析】 声学语音学研究语音的物质特征。
8. Saussure is closely connected with ______.（大连外国语学院2008研）
A. Langue
B. Competence
C. Etic
【答案】 A
【解析】 索绪尔提出了言语与语言，乔姆斯基提出了语言能力与语言应用。
9. ______ is a system of arbitrary vocal symbolsused for human communication.
A. Langue
B. Language
C. Linguistics
D. Speech
【答案】 B
【解析】 语言是一个用于人类交际的、具有任意性的语音符号系统。因此，本题的正确答案为B。
10. Human linguistic ability largely depends onthe structure and dynamics of _______
A. human brain
B. human vocal cords
C. human memory
D. human
【答案】 A
【解析】 实际上，人类的语言才能大体上取决于人类大脑的结构及其动力学特征。因此，本题的正确答案为A。
11. Which of the following is NOT a distinctive feature of humanlanguage?
A.Arbitrariness.
B.Productivity.
C. Culturaltransmission
D. Finiteness.
【答案】 D
【解析】 Finiteness，有限性，不属于人类语言的区别性特征。
III. True or False.
1. Wherever humans exist, language exists.（对外经贸2006研）
【答案】 F
【解析】 语言是在人类出现相当一段时间之后才出现的。
2. According to Saussure, the relation between the signified and thesignifier is arbitrary.（大连外国语学院2008研）
【答案】 T
【解析】 索绪尔认为语言符号的形式与意义没有天然联系，两者之间的联系是任意的。
3. When language is used to get information from others, it servesan informative function. （清华2001研）
【答案】 F
【解析】 语言是用来陈述某件事情，提供信息或用作推理，信息功能是语言最重要的功能，一般出现在陈述句中。
4. Historical linguistics equals to the study of synchronic study.
【答案】 F
【解析】 历史语言学相当于历时研究。
5. Language is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, thecommunication way used by the deaf-mute is not language.
【答案】 F
【解析】 聋哑人所用的也是语言。
6. Onomatopoeic words are totallyarbitrary.
【答案】 F
【解析】 拟声词并不完全是任意的，与其表达的声音具有一定的相似性。
7. Duality is one of the characteristics of human language. Itrefers to the fact that language has two levels of structures: the system ofsounds and the system of meanings.
【答案】 T
【解析】 二重性是人类语言的一个基本特征，因为语言有两层结构：声音系统和意义系统。
8. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, andconventionality of language makes a language be passed from generation togeneration. As a foreign language learner, the latter is mere important for us.
【答案】 T
【解析】 任意性使得语言具有创新性。
9. The phatic function refers tolanguage function for establishing or maintaining social contact rather thanfor exchanging information or ideas. （清华2001研）
【答案】 T
【解析】 寒暄功能是指建立与保持社交联络而不是交换信息。
IV. Explain the following terms.
1. Design features
Key: It refer to the definingproperties of human language that tell the difference between human languageand any system of animal communication.
2. performative function（武汉大学2004研）
Key: The performative function oflanguage is primarily to change the social status of persons and it can extendto the control of reality as on some magical or religious occasions. The kindof language employed in performative verbal acts is usually quite formal andeven ritualized. For example, in Chinese when someone breaks a bowl the host orthe people present are likely to say sui sui ping an (every day be safe andhappy) as a means of controlling the forces which the believers feel might affecttheir lives.
3. Linguistic potential:
Key: It is all the linguistic corpusor repertoire available from which the speaker chooses items for the actualutterance.
4. Displacement （南开大学2010研；清华2001研）
Key: Language can be used to referto what is present, what is absent, what happens at present, what happened inthe past, what will happen in the future or what happens in a far-away place.This property of language enables language users to overcome the barrierscaused by time and place. Forexample, we can talk about Sapir, who is already dead; we can even talk aboutnext week, which is in the future.
5. Duality （北二外2010研；南开大学2010研；西安交通大学2008研）
Key: Duality refers to the fact thatin all languages so far investigated there are two levels of structure orpatterning. At the first, higher level, language is analyzed in terms ofcombinations of meaningful units (such as morphemes, words etc.); at the second,lower level, it is seen as a sequence of segments which lack any meaning inthemselves, but which combine to form units of meaning. For example, a syllable is the smallest unit that isnormally spoken by itself, and scores of syllables become the carriers ofhundreds of meaningful segments of words that are called morphemes.
6. Arbitrariness（四川大学2006研）
Key: Arbitrariness refers to thefact that the forms of linguistic signs have no natural relationship to theirmeaning. Arbitrariness of language makes it potentially creative, a conventionalityof language makes a language be passed from generation to generation. Forexample, it is unable to explain why a book is called a /buk/ and a pen a/pen/.
7. Phatic function(communion) （武汉大学2005研）
Key: The phatic function of languagerefers to the use of the language which often consists of small, seeminglymeaningless expression for setting up a certain atmosphere or maintainingsocial contacts rather than for exchanging information or ideas. For example,greetings, farewells, and comments on the weather in English could serve thisfunction.
8. Specialization
Key: Linguistic signals do notnormally serve any other type of purpose, such as breathing or feeding. The sound waves of speech have no function other than tosignal meaning (unlike the audible panting of dogs, which has a biologicalpurpose).
V. Briefly explain oranswer the following questions.
1. Briefly explain howlanguage is (a) systematic (b) symbolic, and (c) social. （北外2011研）
Key: First, language is systematic: itconsists of recurrent elements which occur in regular patterns ofrelationships. All languages have an infinite number of possible sentences, andthe vast majority of all sentences which are used have not been memorized. Theyare created according to rules or principles which speakers are usuallyunconscious of using or even of knowing if they acquired the language as ayoung child.
Second, language is symbolic: sequences of sounds or letters do notinherently possess meaning. The meanings of symbols in a language come throughthe tacit agreement of a group of speakers.
Third, language is social: each language reflects the socialrequirements of the society that use it, and there is no standard for judging: whetherone language is more effective for communication than another, other than toestimate the success its users may have in achieving the social tasks that aredemanded of them.
（考查语言的系统性，象征性及社会性。）
2. What makes languageunique to human beings? （北航2010研）
Key: The design features of languagewhich refer to the defining properties of human language tell the differencebetween human language and any system of animal communication.
Arbitrariness is a core feature of language, which means that there isno logical connection between meanings and sounds. Duality, which means theproperty of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primarylevel are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the twolevels has its own principles of organization. Creativity means language isresourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. Because of dualitythe speaker is able to combine the basic linguistic unites to form an infiniteset of sentences, most of which are never heard before. Displacement means thatlanguage can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, realor imagined matters, in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. Soall these features make language unique to human beings.
3. Whydo people take duality as one of the important design features of humanlanguage? Can you tell us what language will be if it has no such designfeature? （南开大学2004研）
Key: Duality makes our languageproductive. A large number of different units can be formed out of a smallnumber of elements—for instance, tens of thousands of words out of a small setof sounds. And out of the huge number of words, there can be astronomicalnumber of possible sentences and phrases, which in turn can combine to formunlimited number of texts. Most animal communication systems do not have thisdesign feature of human language.
If language had no such design feature, then it would be like animalcommunicational system which consists of only a number of basic sounds and thiswould be highly limited. Then we would not be able to produce a very largenumber of sound combinations (e.g. words), which are distinct in meaning. Inother words, the number of messages one can send would be restricted to thenumber of basic sounds.
4. Explain the characteristic of arbitrariness.What are the relationships between arbitrariness and onomatopoeic words andarbitrariness convention?
Key: Arbitrariness refers to thefact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to theirmeaning. Onomatopoeic words are the words that sound like the sounds theydescribe. Only when people know the meaning can they infer that the linguisticsign is appropriate for the exact sound. Arbitrariness of language makes itpotentially creative, and conventionality of language makes a language bepassed from generation to generation.
5. What characteristics of language do you thinkshould be included in a good, comprehensive definition of language?
Key: Language is a system ofarbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. The definition oflanguage should include five essential factors of language: systematic,arbitrary, vocal, symbolic and most importantly human-specific.
First of all, language is a system, i.e., linguistic elementsare arranged systematically rather than randomly.
Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there isno intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol standsfor.
Third, language is vocal because the primary medium forall languages is sound or speech.
Fourth, words are just symbols; they are associated withobjects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention.
Fifth, language is human-specific, i.e., it is very different from thecommunication systems other forms of life possess.
6. What is the directivefunction? （西安交大2008研）
Key: Directive function is one offunctions of language. Language is used to get the hearer to do something. Mostimperative sentences are of this function. For example, the sentence “Closeyour book and listen to me carefully!” performs a directive function. Othersyntactic structures or sentences of other sorts can, according to J. Austinand J. Searle’s “Indirect speech act theory” at least, serve the purpose ofdirection too, e.g., “If I were you, I would have blushed to the bottom of myears!”
7. Briefly explain what phonetics and phonologyare concerned with and what kind of relationships hold between the two.（北外2002研）
Key: By definition, phonetics is thestudy of speech sounds, including the production of speech, while phonology isthe study of the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing ofspeech sounds and the shape of syllables. Both phonetics and phonology areconcerned with speech. Phonetics is the study of the production, perception,and physical properties of speech sounds; phonology attempts to account for howthey are combined, organized, and convey meaning in particular languages. Phoneticsis the study of actual sounds, that is, the analysis and modeling the speechsignal; phonology is concerned with a more abstract description of speechsounds and tries to describe the regularities of sound patterns in differentlanguages or within a language. In this sense, phonetics is concrete, whilephonology is abstract. What phonetics studies is the speech sound, namelyphone, what phonology studies is phoneme.
8. Why do we saylanguage is primarily vocal? (厦门大学 2009研）
Key: Language is a system ofarbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Language is primarilyvocal, because sound or speech is the primary medium for all human languages,developed or “new”. Writing systems came much later than the spoken forms. Thefact that small children learn and can only learn to speak (and listen) beforethey write (and read) also indicates that language is primarily vocal, rather thanwritten. The term “human” in the definition is meant to specify that languageis human specific.
9. Do you agree with theview that no language is especially simple?
Key: Yes. All human languages arecomplicated systems of communication. It is decided by their shared designfeatures.
10. What do you think of Bertrand Russell’sobservation of the dog language, “No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, hecannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest”? Are you familiar withany type of ways animals communicate among themselves and with human beings?
Key: When gazelles sense potentialdanger, for example, they flee and thereby signal to other gazelles in thevicinity that danger is lurking. A dog signals its wish to be let inside thehouse by barking and signals the possibility that it might bite momentarily bydisplaying its fangs.
11. If language is partially defined ascommunication, can we call the noises that dogs make language? Why or why not?
Key: No, we can not call the noisesthat dogs make as language even though language is partially defined ascommunication. There are two reasons for that: first, language ishuman-specific, it is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used only for humancommunication. Second, language has design features which are totally lack inanimal communication systems. For example, language has two levels ofstructures: at one level are elements which have no meaning in themselves butwhich combine to form units at another level which do have meaning. Noises madeby dogs represent certain meaning but can not be further analyzed into smallerunits. Language can be used to refer to things removed from the present timeand context. We can talk about things happened in the past and future and indistant places, which dogs can never tell things they did the day before.
VI. Essay questions.
1. Examine the following two statements aboutlanguage，and discuss the similarities and differencesbetween them. Do you agree with the two statements? Explain your answer.
(1) Sapir (1921: Language): “Language is a purelyhuman and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas，emotionsand desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”(p.8).
(2) Bloch and Trager (1942: Outline of LinguisticAnalysis): “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of whicha social group co-operates.”(p.5). （北外2005研）
Key: Similarities:
(1) Both definitions stick to the fact that language is primarily amatter of speech because the primary medium of language is sound. Sapir illustratesthis idea by implying that the produced symbols are auditory and Bloch andTrager by explicitly using the word “vocal”.
(2) Both definitions allude to the fact that the association betweenthe words and the things that they denoted is rarely inherent, Sapir by usingthe word “symbols” and Bloch and Trager by placing emphasis on “arbitrary” and“symbols”.
Differences:
(1) Sapir’s definition emphasizes that language relates tocommunication between human beings. It is very different from the communicationsystems of other creatures, such as bird songs and bee dances. Bloch and Tragerdo not clearly indicate this property, only saying that it is possessed by asocial group.
(2) Sapir also considers that language is “non-instinctive” and“voluntarily produced”. Thus for him language does not include such instinctiveforms of communication as smiling and cries of pain, etc. However, Bloch andTrager’s definition do not include this feature.
(3) The element “system” in Bloch and Trager’s definition reflectsthe fact that language provides us with the framework for generatingappropriate utterances rather than providing us with an infinite store ofready-made utterances. Still elements of lacunae are combined according torules.
(4) The function of language is indicated differently in twodefinitions. Sapir sees language as for communicating ideas, emotions anddesires, while Bloch and Trager considers it for a social group’s co-operation.Sapir’s definition proposes “communication” as the principal function of languageand specifies what is communicated; Bloch and Trager only vaguely point outthat language can be used for co-operation.
Each of the two definitions has its own special emphasis, and it is nottotally free from limitations. We think the two definitions grasp some definingproperties of language that distinguish it from any animal system ofcommunication, for example, “vocal”, “arbitrary”, “symbol”, “purely human”, “asystem”. But either has some limitation. As for Sapir’s definition, whether oneconsiders language to be instinctive or not is an issue. Language isinstinctive in so far as we are all born with a predisposition to speak, we allacquire a language without tuition and when we speak we do not consciouslyconvert our thoughts into speech. Language is, however, non-instinctive in thatwe can choose what to say or whether to say anything at all. Both thedefinition’s description of language’s function is not precise. Sapir’sdefinition confines language only to communicating ideas, emotions and desires,and Bloch and Trager’s definition does not point it out at all.
2. Make comments upon the relationship betweenarbitrariness, convention, and motivation. （四川大学2006研）
Key: Arbitrariness of language makesit potentially creative; a conventionality of language makes a language bepassed from generation to generation, and makes learning a language laborious. Thelink between a linguistic sign and its meaning is a matter of convention.
The terms motivation and constraint describe the extent to which thesignified determines the signifier. The form of the signifier of a generalizedcar or a traffic sign is determined by the convention that is accepted by theusers of the code.
Motivated signs are iconic signs; they are characterized by anatural relation between signifier and signified. A portrait or a photograph isiconic, in that the signifier represents the appearance of the signified. Thefaithfulness or the accuracy of the representation—the degree to which thesignified is re-presented in the signifier—is an inverse measure of how conventionalized it is. It is importantto recognize that (i) in signs of high motivation, the signified is thedetermining influence, and (ii) in signs of low motivation, conventiondetermines the form of the signifier. Therefore, convention plays a key role inour understanding of any sign. Convention serves as the social dimension ofsigns. We may not understand the unmotivated verbal sign for car the Frenchuse, but we understand the road signs in France in so far as they are iconic.
3. How do you comparethe traffic light system with a human linguistic system?
Key: Both the traffic light system and human linguistic system can symbolize someinformation in communication whereas the linguistic system is more complicated.However, the linguistic system has several distinctive features that no othersystems have, including the traffic light system.
(1) Language is arbitrary which means that there is no logicalconnection between meanings and sounds. But in traffic light system, there aredirect logical connections between the light signals and their meanings.
(2) Language is hierarchical, that’s to say linguistic system has twolevels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed ofelements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its ownprinciples of organization. However, the traffic light system has nohierarchical system and the structure is composed by a single level.
(3) Language is productive. By creativity we mean language is resourcefulbecause of its duality and its excursiveness. Because of duality, speaker isable to combine the basic linguistic units to form an infinite set ofsentences, most of which are never before produced or heard. But there is norecursive nature in traffic light system which means that it can not producenew meaning.
4. What are the main features of human languagethat have been specified by C. Hockett to show that it is essentially differentfrom animal communication system?
Key: (1) Arbitrariness
This means that there is no logical connection between meanings andsounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer tothe same object in different languages. But it is not entirely arbitrary at alllevels. Some words, such as the ones created in the imitation of sounds bysounds are motivated in a certain degree.
(2) Productivity
Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible theconstruction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why theycan produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, includingsentences they have never heard before.
(3) Duality
Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures, ortwo levels. At the lower or the basic level there is a structure of sounds,which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds of language can be groupedand regrouped into a large number of units of meaning, which are found at thehigher level of the system.
(4) Displacement
Language can be used to refer to things which are present or notpresent, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or infar-away places. This property provides speakers with an opportunity to talkabout a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in timeand place.
(5) Cultural Transmission
Language is culturally transmitted. It cannot be transmitted throughheredity.
(6) Interchangeability
Interchangeability refers to the fact that man can both produce andreceive messages, and his roles as a speaker and a hearer can be exchanged atease.
5. A wolf is able to express subtle gradations ofemotion by different positions of the ears, the lips, and the tail. There areeleven postures of the tail that express such emotions as self-confidence,confident threat, lack of tension, uncertain threat, depression, defensiveness,active submission, and complete submission. This system seems to be complex.Suppose there were a thousand different emotions that the wolf could express inthis way. Would you then say a wolf had a language similar to man's? If not,why not?
Key: No, we can not say a wolf has alanguage similar to that of men even though there were a thousand differentemotions that the wolf could express with his positions of body parts. Thereare two reasons for that:
First, language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used only forhuman communication. The primary medium for human communication is sound, so thekind of communication system composed by positions of body parts are differentfrom human language fundamentally.
Second, language has design features which are lack in animals’communication systems. For example, language has two levels of structures: atone level are elements which have no meaning in themselves but which combine toform units at another level which do have meaning. But in wolf’s communicationsystem, one position stands for one certain meaning, and cannot be furtheranalyzed into smaller units. And on the other hand, human linguistic units canbe grouped and regrouped, arranged and rearranged according to certain rilesbut those positions owned by wolf have no such features. Therefore, wolf’s thissystem is not so productive as human languages.