少数民族(Ethnic Minority)、民族(Nation)、民族国家(Nation-State)辨析——一项政治学核心词汇的英语语义学研究

"族"、"民族"、"民族国家"等都是政治学中极为重要的词汇,也是现代政治学研究的核心问题,但是它们在中文的使用中却存在极大的模糊。而在英文中,这些词汇都有确定无疑的表述。这种中英文的差异并不是偶然的,它反映了现代政治学以及政治学语汇的西方源起属性。对这些词汇含义的精确把握不仅在理论上是必需的,在政治实践中也具有重要的意义。

Arbitrariness and motivation in linguistic signs： Integrative and dialectical reflections

Sausssurean revolution is defined by, among others, his controversial hypothesis of linguistic arbitrariness. This, however, fails to embrace a unanimous acceptation by scholars thereafter and the debates over linguistic signs in terms of arbitrariness and motivation, due to the regrettably understood terms, have imbued the development of linguistics, nurturing a myriad of sustainably productive branches in linguistic studies. Based on refreshing interpretation of the key terms, the paper adopts an integrative and dialectical approach to linguistic signs and argues that arbitrariness is more a matter of degree than one of presence or absence, hopefully to bring home that duality as whole features linguistic signs fundamentally.

On the significance of theme and thematic progression in the development of text

This paper provides a detailed analysis about the themes and the thematic progression of a certain text, with Halliday＇s Systemic-Functional ideas as the theoretical foundation. Based on this, the paper discloses the significance of theme and thematic progression in the development of text, which includes forming a semantic chain and achieving a comprehensive understanding of a text.

The Application of Schema Theory to Teaching Listening Comprehension of College English

Listening is the most important and different skill among the fbur basic language skills---listening, speaking, reading and writing. Schema theory holds the view that listeners＇ background knowledge plays a key role in understanding a new text. Applying schema theory to teaching listening comprehension, the author introduces the ＂three-stage＂ teaching mode. Activating the existing schemata and building the related semantic map in the pre-listening stage, bettering the semantic map in while-listening stage, and practicing the newly-existed schemata in post-listening stage can make all the teaching procedures a whole, and make students feel much easier to understand the listening materials.

A Corpus-Based Approach to the Vocabulary Teaching and Learning--Implications From the Corpus-Based Collocational Research on Two Pairs of Synonyms

Languages embody a lot of words that are considered as synonyms, and people just take it for granted that such words are identical in meaning without any discrimination. However, a corpus-based approach to the study of the collocational behavior of the two frequently-used pairs of synonyms （selection and option, ill and sick） reveals significant discrepancies in the use of these two pairs of synonyms by Chinese English learners and native speakers. According to the analysis, the major problems lie in the current ways of vocabulary teaching and learning. This paper aims to highlight the important role of the corpus-based collocational research in English vocabulary teaching and learning. In the end, some suggestions concerning vocabulary teaching and leaming are put forward on the basis of corpus-based research.

Teaching College English Grammar in a Cognitive Task-Based Approach

Teaching College English in a cognitive task-based approach is actually a way to incorporate the grammar teaching within the well-sequenced activities. In this approach, language teachers draw learners＇ attention to the grammatical structures and try to be explicit about the relation between the form and the function either to confirm or to correct learners＇ hypotheses and develop their cognitive form-meaning mapping. The tasks should be designed to allow the structure to happen incidentally rather than give an overt explanation of rules. By the individualized mapping of meaning to the forms in the real meaningful context, the learners＇ initiatives in learning grammar would be greatly triggered.

On Prototypes from the Perspective of Semantics and Categorization

Cognitive linguistics is a new approach to language study, which can offer better explanation for language phenomena, and provide more theoretical instructions for English learning. In recent years, the prototype theory, as the cornerstone of cognitive linguistics, has been employed in different research fields, such as phonology, syntax, semantics, English teaching, etc..This thesis attempts to review and discuss the researches done so far on semantics and categorization based on a cognitive theory -- the prototype theory.

Extraction Algorithm of English Text Summarization for English Teaching

In order to improve the ability of sharing and scheduling capability of English teaching resources, an improved algorithm for English text summarization is proposed based on Association semantic rules. The relative features are mined among English text phrases and sentences, the semantic relevance analysis and feature extraction of keywords in English abstract are realized, the association rules differentiation for English text summarization is obtained based on information theory, related semantic roles information in English Teaching Texts is mined. Text similarity feature is taken as the maximum difference component of two semantic association rule vectors, and combining semantic similarity information, the accurate extraction of English text Abstract is realized. The simulation results show that the method can extract the text summarization accurately, it has better convergence and precision performance in the extraction process.

An Instrumental Tool Held at Arm's Length: English as a Vehicle of Cultural Imperialism in China

The English language is seen by the Chinese as a tool of significant pragmatic value, both by the individual and the state. Discourse on English language education within China has, both historically and at present, pitted the pragmatic value of English against concerns of cultural and linguistic erosion and imposition. Concerns over the corrupting impact the English language may have on the Chinese language, and further on Chinese culture, uneasily coexist with an acceptance of the English language＇s role as the key to modernization and economic development. Voices of past and present, have at their core a desire for the protection of a reified cultural identity or essence. However, cultural and linguistic influence has not merely been imposed upon China from external forces, but has been actively drawn in by domestic forces. Such domestic forces range from foreign language education policies that meet the demands of a globalized market-driven economy, to a market demand for English language media such as TV programs, movies and literature. Ultimately, the presence and significance of these domestic forces undermines a view of the English language as a vehicle of cultural imperialism in China.