ABSTRACT

The researches about Whorf's notion of the covert category were few in the domestic and foreign language research, but it is of great importance due to the fact that it is considered by M.A.K.Halliday to be among the major contribution of linguistics in twentieth century. A covert category is a category having makers that ordinarily do not appear while they appear but only in certain “test types of sentences.” This paper is intended to explore the condition of Chinese students’ (high language level and low language level) acquisition about English covert category mainly from the tacit types of vocabulary and syntax, using a method of questionnaire survey to a group of English majors and non-English majors. The study found that generally, the condition of English majors’ acquisition about English covert category is better than non-English majors. Moreover, in the aspect of vocabulary, the condition of English majors’ acquisition is much better than non-English majors. However in the aspect of syntax, both have little difference. What’s more, even for the English majors, the condition of their acquisition on English covert category is not very ideal. From here we see that it is very difficult to acquire English covert category.

Key words: Covert category  Second language acquisition  Tacit type  Language level

摘  要

Whorf 关于隐性范畴的思想在国内外语言学界研究不多，却十分重要，被Halliday 称为“二十世纪语言学的主要贡献之一”。隐性范畴是指在一般情况下并不出现词素标记的语法范畴，它具有暗藏、抽象的本质，却在很大程度上是意义之所在。本研究通过问卷调查的方式，对英语专业学生和非英语专业学生进行了问卷调查，主要从词汇、句法两种隐性类型探讨高、低语言水平组在英语隐性范畴习得方面的情况。研究发现，整体而言英语专业学生的英语隐性范畴习得情况比非英语专业学生较为良好。再者，在词汇方面，英语专业学生比非英语专业学生情况良好，然而在句子方面，两者差异却不大。甚者，即使是英语专业学生，隐性范畴习得也不是很理想。由此可见，隐性范畴难以习得。

关键词：隐性范畴  二语习得  隐性类型  语言水平

Chapter One    Introduction
1.1 Research background
The concept of covert category was first proposed by USA famous anthropologist Whorf, but for a long time it did not receive enough attention. With the in-depth study of language, more and more scholars realize the importance and value of covert category. Whorf's thought is the main source for domestic scholars to recognize covert category. Whorf’s thought is the main sources for domestic scholars to recognize covert category.