Answer every question. Write English, except in Chinese linguistic examples. Each question is worth 10 points.
1. Linguists analyze language at the level of sounds, words, sentences (utterances) and other strata.
a. Please add labels to the tree diagram, to show the relationships between the different strata. Please use the
correct technical terms (for example pragmatics, syntax etc).
b. Complete the table below, to explain what the six terms along the bottom of the tree diagram mean.
Term
Meaning
Pragmatics
2. Charles Hockett devised a set of Design Features for Language. Please explain how these Features help us to
define Language. In your answer, please include a detailed description of two (2) of the Features.
3. In Chinese, the words 老 and 好 consist of one morpheme, and one syllable, each. The words 老師 and 朋友
each have two morphemes, and two syllables.
a. Write two other Chinese words containing two or more morphemes.
_______________
________________
b. Write one Chinese word containing only one two-syllable morpheme.
_______________
c. Write one English word containing two or more free morphemes.
_______________
d. Write one English word containing one or more bound morphemes, and one or more free morphemes.
_______________
e. In English, it is usually very easy to say how many words there are in an utterance. In Chinese, however, it is
not so easy to count the words. Why?
Because
4. In our class, we studied articulatory phonetics. Write the name of each of the other two branches (kinds) of
phonetics involved in speaking an utterance. Write a one sentence definition of each of the three branches.
Phonetics branch
Branch articulatory phonetics
1
Branch _________ phonetics
2
Branch _________ phonetics
3
Definition
5. Linguists describe vowels in terms of 3 parameters, and consonants in terms of 4 parameters.
a. Choose either vowels or consonants, and list the 3 or 4 parameters. Write a short description of each
parameter.
Parameter name
Description
Parameter
1
Parameter
2
Parameter
3
Parameter
4 (if you
chose
consonants)
b. Choose any three vowels or consonants, and write their phonetic symbols (IPA, Fromkin or KK). Give an
example from Mandarin or English of a word which includes each of your chosen vowels or consonants.
Describe each consonant or vowel in terms of the 3 or 4 parameters.
Symbol
Example word
Description
6. Many syllables of Mandarin consist of one consonant, followed by one vowel; an example of this is 他 /ta/. This
pattern can be described as CV.
a. What other patterns are allowed in Mandarin? In these other patterns, what restrictions are there on what C
may represent? Write a syllable, and its transcription, which represent each of the other patterns
Pattern
Restriction
字
transcription
b. In English, other consonant clusters are permitted (two or more consonants together). Give one example of an
English word which begins and ends with a consonant cluster.
(English word) _______________
7. Give an example of a consonant which does not exist in Mandarin or English. Write the phonetic symbol, and
describe it in terms of the 4 standard parameters. If you can, write a word in which it occurs, and the English
meaning.
Symbol: ___
Description:
Example word: _________________
English translation: ____________________
8. In English, the 2 words bid and did form a minimal pair. The existence of this minimal pair proves that /b/ and /d/
are separate phonemes in English.
a. Write four more English minimal pairs.
__________________
____________________
__________________
____________________
__________________
____________________
__________________
____________________
b. Which English phonemes are proved to exist, on the evidence of your answer to 8a?
c. The English word loyal includes two sounds which are in complementary distribution. What are these two
sounds? What phoneme do they represent?