LNGT0101A: Introduction to Linguistics/Fall 2012
Assignment #5: Due on Wednesday Nov 28th by e-mail no later than 5pm, or by hand in
class, if you are submitting a hard copy. Delay policy applies. No extensions will be
given, except for academically legitimate reasons. So, start working early!
Instructions: Please read thoroughly and carefully!
- This homework assignment consists of TWO parts: I and II. Read each part carefully
and make sure you answer all the questions. The whole assignment is worth 80 points.
The number of points each question is worth is given next to the question.
- Remember that only 4 homework assignments out of 5 will count towards the
calculation of your overall grade. If you submit all 5, I will drop the one with the lowest
score and count the 4 assignments with highest scores.
- As usual, please do print out the homework from the .pdf file, not the .doc file, to avoid
any problems that may result from missing phonetic symbols.
- Please type your answers in a .doc file (you may use the homework .doc file, but you do
need to edit it and delete the questions and keep only your answers to them). If you do not
use Microsoft Word, you may submit your homework in .pdf format. Any other file types
are not accepted. Please make sure to name the file ‘assignment5_your_last_name’.
- Submitting your homework in handwritten format is acceptable, and will not affect your
score in any way. However, if you decide to do that, please make sure you submit legible
handwritten answers, use a pen (not a pencil), and leave wide margins for me to write
comments in. Handwritten assignments that are illegible or do not follow the above
instructions closely will be returned to you without being graded, will have to be
resubmitted, and will be subject to the delay penalty upon resubmission.
- Finally, please make sure you write and sign (either by hand or electronically) the
Honor Code Pledge on the homework before turning it in.
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Part I: Syntax
1.
Exercise 20 from the textbook, pp. 175-176. Do only Swahili, Korean, and Tagalog.
(Do NOT do French or Japanese; you will not get any credit for either one).
Note: Make sure to list at least THREE differences for every language (that is, 9
total).
2.
(9 points)
Consider the following sentences:
i. They fed her baby carrots.
ii. We saw that gas can explode.
Each of the two sentences above is ambiguous between two meanings. For each sentence,
do the following:
A. First, indicate what the ambiguity is by providing two possible paraphrases for
each sentence.
(4 points)
B. Second, using the phrase structure rules we talked about in class, draw for each
sentence two syntactic trees (that is, FOUR total trees), showing how each tree is
associated with a different meaning.
(12 points)
Note 1: Make sure to refer to the handout I gave out in class regarding complements of
verbs in English to help with the needed phrase structure rules.
Note 2: Also, refer to your notes from Prof. Gustavo Freire’s lecture. They should be
helpful for one of the two sentences.
3.
Consider the following sentences from Edo and Lakhota, respectively:
Edo
Òzó má
tá
wéé írén ghá rhiè éfórò Úyì yè néné ékpétin
Ozo did.not say that he
will put photo Uyi in the
box
“Ozo did not say that he will put a photo of Uyi in the box.”
Lakhota
John wawapi k’uhe oyuke ki ohlate iyeye
John letter
that
bed
the under found.
“John found that letter under the bed.”
Now, answer the following question:
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For each sentence, draw a syntactic tree in the same way we did in class for English and
Japanese sentences.
(10 points)
Note 1: You can treat the word ‘má’ in Edo as an Aux. You can also treat the string
‘éfórò Úyì’ as a NP without having to worry about its internal structure.
Note 2: Assume that Det (for ‘determiner’) in Lakhota is a head that takes an NP as a
complement. (This is unlike what we assumed for English where Det is treated as a
specifier.)
Part II: Sociolinguistics
4.
Measuring language attitudes
Find at least FIVE native speakers of American English from FIVE different US
dialectal regions (none of them can be a student from the class), and replicate Dennis
Preston’s study of attitudes towards the different regional dialects in the US (this was
discussed both in class as well as in Myth 17 in Language Myths; you can also find the
study and maps of the results HERE). To proceed, do the following:
A. First, using the map provided HERE, interview the five speakers individually
(you must NOT interview them all in the same session), and elicit from each
speaker, on a scale from 1 to 10, what they think is:
(i)
the most correct American English dialect,
(ii)
the least correct American English dialect,
(iii)
the most pleasant American English dialect, and
(iv)
the least pleasant American English dialect.
Make sure to provide clear instructions to your interviewees using the instructions
on the lecture slides (which are also provided HERE).
Tabulate your speakers’ responses in the following table.
(10 points)
Speaker’s US
Most correct
Least correct
Most pleasant
Least pleasant
state
dialect and score
dialect and score
dialect and score
dialect and score
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Now, answer the following two questions:
B. Do your findings corroborate those of Preston’s? Comment on the similarities
and differences (if any).
(5 points)
C. Compare your results with those of at least one other student in the class. Do you
both have similar findings? If yes, why do you think this is? If not, what possible
reasons could be responsible for the divergence?
5.
(5 points)
On issues of linguistic egalitarianism and linguistic discrimination
Issues of linguistic egalitarianism among all languages and all dialects are not commonly
understood by many people. Similarly, discussion of linguistic discrimination is not as
common as other types of discrimination, even though it can have similar negative
consequences for some individuals in society. What do you think are some of the reasons
why linguistic egalitarianism and linguistic discrimination are under-discussed in the
public arena? What are possible ways to bring these two issues to more people’s attention?
Do you think linguists exaggerate when they talk about the importance of these two
issues? Why? Why not? Make sure to provide explicit examples to support your
arguments. Your answer to this exercise should be in the form of a 500-word essay.
(25 points)
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