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The fact that different languages have different words for the same object is a good illustration of the arbitrary nature of language, it’s only our tacit agreement of utterance and concept at work and not any innate relationship bound up in the utterance.
A typical example to illustrate the ‘arbitrariness’ of language is ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’.
3. what makes modern linguistics different from traditional grammar?
Modern linguistics is descriptive, its investigations are based on authentic and mainly spoken language date.ÏÖ´úÓïÑÔѧÊÇÃèÊöÐԵģ¬ÆäÑо¿ÒÔȷʵ¿É¿¿µÄ¡¢Ö÷ÒªÒÔ¿ÚÓïÐÎʽµÄöλÔÓéÀÖ¹Ù·½appÏÂÔØΪ»ù´¡¡£
traditional grammar is prescriptive. it is based on’ high’ written language.
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4.Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? why
Modern linguistics is mainly synchronic, focusing on the present-day language. unless the various states of a language are successfully studied, it will not be possible to describe language from a diachronic point of view.
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5.which enjoys priority in modern linguistics, speech or writings?
Speech enjoys for the following reasons:
¢ÅSpeech precedes writing in terms of evolution.
¢ÆA large amount of communication is carried out in speech than in writing.
¢Çspeech is the form in which infants acquire their native language.
6.how is Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky’s ?
Both Saussure and Chomsky make the distinction between the abstract language system and the actual use of language. their purpose is to single out the language system for serious study
Two linguists idea differ in that Saussure took a sociological view of language, Chomsky looks at language from a psychological point of view, competence is a property of the mind of each individual.
6.the distinction between langue and parole?
¢Ålangue is abstract, relatively stable ¢Æparole is concrete, varies from person to person, from situation to situation. 

1/ What is linguistics?
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Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. It studies not any particular language, but languages in general.
 
2/ The scope of linguistics
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The study of language as a whole is often called general linguistics. (ÆÕͨÓïÑÔѧ)
The study of sounds, which are used in linguistic communication, is called phonetics.£¨ÓïÒôѧ£©
The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology. £¨Òôλѧ£©
The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words are called morphology. £¨ÐÎ̬ѧ£©
The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences is called syntax£¨¾ä·¨Ñ§£©
The study of meaning in language is called semantics. £¨ÓïÒåѧ£©
The study of meaning in context of use is called pragmatics. £¨ÓïÓÃѧ£©
The study of language with reference to society is called socio-linguistics. £¨Éç»áÓïÑÔѧ£©
The study of language with reference to the working of mind is called psycho-linguistics. £¨ÐÄÀíÓïÑÔѧ£©
The study of applications (as the recovery of speech ability) is generally known as applied linguistics. £¨Ó¦ÓÃÓïÑÔѧ£© But in a narrow sense, applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories to language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign and second language.
 
Other related branches include anthropological linguistics, £¨ÈËÀàÓïÑÔѧ£© neurological linguistics, £¨Éñ¾­ÓïÑÔѧ£© mathematical linguistics, £¨Êý×ÖÓïÑÔѧ£©and computational linguistics. £¨¼ÆËã»úÓïÑÔѧ£©
 
3/ Some important distinctions in linguistics
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Prescriptive and descriptive ¹æ¶¨ÓëÃèд
If a linguistic study describes and analyzes the language people actually use, it is said to be descriptive, if it aims to lay down rules to tell people what they should say and what they should not say, it is said to be prescriptive.
Modern linguistics differs from traditional grammar. Traditional grammar is prescriptive while modern linguistics is descriptive. The task of linguists is supposed to describe the language people actually use, whether it is “correct” or not.
 
Synchronic and diachronic ¹²Ê±ºÍÀúʱ
The description of a language at some point in time is a synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. In modern linguistics, synchronic study is more important.
 
Speech and writing ¿ÚÍ·ÓïÓëÊéÃæÓï
Speech and writing are the two major media of communication. Modern linguistics regards the spoken form of language as primary, but not the written form. Reasons are: 1. Speech precedes writing; 2. There are still many languages that have only the spoken form; 3. In terms of function, the spoken language is used for a wider range of purposes than the written, and carries a larger load of communication than the written.