According to Saussure,（）refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to abide by.

In distinguishing competence and performance, Chomsky looks at language from a（ ）point of view, and to him competence is a property of the mind of each individual. 

A study of the features of the English language used in Charles Dickens' time can be regarded as a（ ）study.

Animals' call systems are（ ）transmitted. They are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species.

Design features refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any asystem of communication.

（ ）provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time and place.

Directions: Fill in the blank in each of the following statements with one word, the first letter of which is already given as a clue. Note that you are to fill in ONE word only, and you are not allowed to change the letter given.

A is one of the defining properties of human language, which means there is in general no natural relation between meanings and sounds.

Fill in the blank in each of the following statements with one word, the first letter of which is already given as  a clue. Note that you are to fill in ONE word only, and you are not allowed to change the letter given.

An English speaker and Chinese speaker are both able to  use a language, but they are not mutually intelligible. This is a case of c transmission.

Directions: Judge whether each of the following statements is true or false. Put a T for true or F for false on the ANSWER SHEET. If you think a statement is false, you must explain why you think so and then give the correct version. 

Language is arbitrary by nature, but it is not entirely arbitrary.

The famous quotation “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” well illustrates the（ ）nature of language.

Design features refer to the defining properties of（）that distinguish it from any animal system of communication.

（）is one of the major defining features of human language. Humans are born with the ability to acquire a language, which is different from animals. 

Directions: Fill in the blank in each of the following statements with one word, the first letter of which is already given as a clue. Note that you are to fill in ONE word only, and you are not allowed to change the letter given.

Double a refers to the property of language which means language is composed of discrete units at two levels. At the lower level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless. At the higher level there are morphemes and words, which are meaningful.

If a linguistic study aims to lay down rules for “correct” behavior, i.e., to tell people what they should say and what they should not, it is said to be （）.

The grammar taught to learners of a language today is still basically （）in the sense that it tells learners what they should say or what is supposed to be correct usage.

With their respective distinction between langue and （）, and competence and performance, both Saussure and Chomsky present the view that only the abstract structure of language can be studied systematically, but not its use.

（）is a term proposed by the Swiss linguist Saussure early last century, which is used to refer to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community.

（） descriptions are often thought of as being descriptions of a language as it exists at the present day and most linguistic studies are of this type.

（）is a term proposed by the American linguist Chomsky in the late 1950's，which is defined as the ideal user's knowledge of the rules of his language. 

（）linguistics is the systematic description and elucidation of all linguistic changes through time. It studies the historical development of language over a period of time. For example, a study of the changes English has undergone since the time of Shakespeare would be a diachronic study.