Introduction to Linguistics - Study Guide

HW1, HW2, HW3

Which statement best defines linguistics?
A) Teaching and learning new languages.
B) The scientific study of human language.
C) The study of correct grammar and speech.

B) The scientific study of human language.

Which topic falls outside the main goals of linguistics?
A) How bilingual children acquire two languages from birth.
B) How new words and meanings spread through a community over time.
C) Which older form of English should be preserved in schools.

C) Which older form of English should be preserved in schools.

Linguistics primarily studies language as
A) A written system of spelling and punctuation.
B) A set of rules decided by schools and dictionaries.
C) A human cognitive and social system used for communication.

C) A human cognitive and social system used for communication.

A teacher marks “Ain’t nobody got time for that” as incorrect and writes: “Never use ain’t, it is bad grammar.” Which of the following best describes the teacher’s comment?
A) Descriptive grammar
B) Prescriptive grammar
C) Historical linguistics

B) Prescriptive grammar

A linguistics student record casual conversations with friends and finds that many speakers regularly use “There’s a lot of people here” (singular there’s) even when the noun is plural (people). Which analysis is most consistent with descriptive grammar?
A) The pattern is random and therefore not meaningful for studying language
B) The speakers are making errors and should be corrected to “There are a lot of people here.”
C) The pattern suggest a systematic opinion in English grammar that many speakers use in casual speech.

C) The pattern suggest a systematic opinion in English grammar that many speakers use in casual speech.

The mental grammar is
A) What people should say and write.
B) The knowledge people have of their native language.
C) The knowledge of language people acquire in school.

B) The knowledge people have of their native language.

Phonetics

The articulation and perception of speech sounds.

Phonology

The patterning of speech sounds.

Morphology

Word fomration.

Syntax

Sentence formation.

Semantics

The interpretation of words and sentences.

How many segments are in the word <think>?

4

How many segments are in the word <thumb>?

3

How many segments are in the word <thumb>?

6

How many segments are in the word <chocolate>?

6

How many segments are in the word <knee>?

2

voiced velar stop

[g]

voiceless labiodental fricative

[f]

voiced bilabial nasal

[m]

voiced interdental fricative

[ð]

voiced alveolar stop

[d]

voiceless alveopalatal affricate

[tʃ]

voiceless bilabial stop

[p]

voiced bilabial stop

[b]

voiceless alveopalatal fricative

[ʃ]

[k]

voiceless velar stop

[n]

voiced alveolar nasal

[ɾ]

voiced alveolar flap

[ɹ]

voiced alveolar retroflex

[h]

voiceless glottal fricative

What do they have in common?
[ʒ] , [dʒ]

They are alveopalatal.

What do they have in common?
[p] , [b] , [t] , [d] , [k] , [g]

They are stops.

What do they have in common?
[v] , [θ]

They are fricative.

What do they have in common?
[k] , [g]

They are velar.

What do they have in common?
[w] , [j]

They are glides.

What do they have in common?
[z] , [s] , [ʃ] , [ʒ]

They are fricative.

What do they have in common?
[n] , [l] , [d], [z]

They are alveolar.

Which piece of evidence most strongly suggests two sounds are contrastive (that is, two separate phonemes)?

They create a minimal pair.

Which of the following pairs of words is NOT a minimal pair? Hint: Try to pronounce each word carefully and use IPA to transcribe them.

tenth – tent

beat – heat

bad – badge

seat – sweet

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The words <know> and <now> are examples of a minimal pair.

True or False

False

The words <fan> and <van> are not minimal pairs because <v> is voiced.

True or False

False

Explain the difference between a phoneme and an allophone.

A phoneme is the MENTAL representation of a sound in a language, while an allophone is its PHYSICAL realization in speech.

Which notation typically represents phonemes vs. allophones?

phonemes [ ] and allophones / /

phonemes / / and allophones [ ]

phonemes < > and allophones [ ]

phonemes ( ) and allophones { }

phonemes / / and allophones [ ]

In Mainstream American English, [tʰ] and [t] are usually analyzed as:

allophones of the same phoneme /t/ because their distribution is predictable.

Two sounds that are allophones of the same phoneme typically

are in complementary distribution.

Which is the best interpretation of a pair like <bat> vs. <pat>?

/b/ and /p/ are separate phonemes in English

In Mainstream American English, [ɾ] in <butter> is

an allophone of /t/.

Two sounds A and B occur in the same environment and swapping them changes meaning. This suggests:

A and B are separate phonemes.

Consider the following examples from Spanish. Spanish has two rhotic consonant sounds: a simple voiced alveolar tap [ɾ] (like in English) and a voiced alveolar trill [r].

[karo] ‘car’      [kaɾo] ‘expensive’
[pero] ‘dog’     [peɾo] ‘but’
[foro] ‘cover’  [foɾo] ‘forum’

Based on these examples, what is the best analysis of [r] and [ɾ]?

They are separate phonemes because substituting one for the other can change word meaning.