Linguistics: Phonology and Morphology

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Questions and Answers

What term describes the phenomenon where unstressed vowels convert to schwa-like allophones?

Gemination

Vowel reduction (correct)

Morphology

Syllable-timing

Which system is characterized by the marking of subject (S) and agent (A) the same, while the object (O) is marked differently?

Ergative-absolutive system

Nominative-accusative system (correct)

Nominal system

Transitive-intransitive system

What term describes the relationship between the possessor and the item possessed?

Possessum

Possessability

Possessor over

Possession (correct)

What is the term used to describe when a consonant sound is doubled, such as in 'black coffee'?

Gemination Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of an alienable noun?

singsing ni Lola Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following accurately describes the characteristics of a stress-timed language?

Intervals between stresses are of equal length. Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'morphosyntax' specifically refer to in linguistics?

The relationship between morphology and syntax Signup and view all the answers

Which sentence illustrates the passive voice?

Kinuha ng bata ang laruan. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary characteristic of a stative verb?

Expresses a mental state Signup and view all the answers

In the context of grammatical relations, what does the term 'argument' refer to?

The participants and their semantic roles associated with a verb Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect indicates that an action has been completed?

Perfective Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following correctly represents an example of an intransitive clause?

He runs fast. Signup and view all the answers

How is the action described in an imperfective aspect?

Action is ongoing Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the letter 'O' in a transitive clause within the nominative-accusative system?

It denotes the entity affected by the action. Signup and view all the answers

In what way do inalienable entities relate to the possessor?

They have a direct relation to the possessor. Signup and view all the answers

Which example best illustrates the prospective aspect?

Pupunta kami sa palengke sa Linggo. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes a derived noun from a simple noun?

It consists of a root plus affixes. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes the semantic role of an 'Agent'?

The typical instigator or doer of an action. Signup and view all the answers

In terms of grammatical categories, which of the following is NOT a major category in Philippine languages?

Pronouns Signup and view all the answers

Which example correctly represents a 'proper noun'?

Liza Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a 'Patient' semantic role?

The wind blew the ball away. Signup and view all the answers

Which determiner is used with common nouns in Philippine languages?

ang/ng/sa Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an accurate definition of a lexical (or content) word?

A word that conveys specific meanings or ideas. Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of quantifiers in relation to nouns?

They precede nouns to indicate quantity. Signup and view all the answers

What are phonemes primarily characterized by?

Being in contrasted distribution Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes an allophone?

It is realized in a specific environment Signup and view all the answers

What is a minimal pair?

Two words that differ in only one phonetic element Signup and view all the answers

Which type of morpheme can stand alone as a word?

Lexical morphemes Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a functional morpheme?

And Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a characteristic of bound morphemes?

They have to attach to a free morpheme Signup and view all the answers

What function do derivational morphemes serve in language?

They can change the meaning and lexical category of words Signup and view all the answers

Which example illustrates a lexical morpheme?

Laptop Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of inflectional morphemes in a language?

To modify grammatical features Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT one of the 8 inflectional morphemes in English?

-ful Signup and view all the answers

Which allomorph of the plural morpheme is used after a voiced sound?

[z] Signup and view all the answers

The allomorph used for the past tense of 'passed' is:

[t] Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes assimilation in phonological processes?

One sound becomes like that of another Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a zero morpheme?

sheep Signup and view all the answers

Which phonological process involves the loss of a sound?

Deletion Signup and view all the answers

Fortition in phonological processes is characterized by:

The strengthening of a sound Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Phonology

Phonology is the systematic organization of speech sounds.
Phonemes are mental categories of sounds, contrastively distributed, and represented with slashes (e.g., /t/).
Allophones are the phonetic realizations of a phoneme; they are in complementary distribution and do not alter meaning, and represented with brackets (e.g., [t] and [t^h^]).
The minimal pairs test helps identify if sounds are phonemes or allophones.

Morphemes

Morphology studies the internal structure of words.
Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in language.
Free Morphemes can stand alone as words (e.g., cat, laugh).
- Lexical morphemes carry content (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs).
- Functional morphemes serve grammatical roles (prepositions, conjunctions, articles).
Bound morphemes cannot stand alone (prefixes, suffixes, infixes, circumfixes).
- Derivational morphemes create new words and can change a word's category.
- Inflectional morphemes have grammatical roles but do not create new words or change categories.
The morpheme is the smallest element of meaning in language, and the allomorph is a phonetic variation of a morpheme.

Plural Morpheme

The plural morpheme "s" has different allomorphs: [s], [z], [əz], and the zero allomorph.
The allomorph used depends on the sound preceding the morpheme.

Past Tense Morpheme

The past tense morpheme also has allomorphs: [d], [t], [əd], and the zero allomorph.
The allomorph choice is again based on the preceding sound of the root word.

Phonological Processes

Assimilation: One sound becomes similar to another (e.g., [ŋ] becomes [m] before [p, b] in some Philippine languages).
Palatalization: Consonant softening (e.g., /n/ in "nook" and "new").
Dissimilation: One sound becomes less like another (e.g., "February" becoming "Feb[j]uary").
Metathesis: Two sounds are reordered (e.g., "iron").
Deletion: Loss of a sound (e.g., final /n/ in "hymn").
Insertion (or Epenthesis): A vowel is inserted between two consonants (e.g., adding -ed or -s in English, "laba + -an" becoming "labahan" in Masbatenyo).
Fortition: Strengthening of a sound (e.g., initial aspiration in English words like betcha and didja).
Lenition: Weakening of a sound (e.g., flapping of English /t/ and /d/ in Spanish "dados" becoming "daos").
Vowel Reduction: Unstressed vowels become schwa-like (e.g., second vowel in "emphasis" and "o" in "photograph").
Gemination: Consonant sound is doubled (e.g., "black coffee", "talked to").

Speech Rhythm

Stress-timed languages have equal intervals between stresses (e.g., English).
Syllable-timed languages have successive syllables of near-equal length (e.g., Tagalog, other Philippine languages).

Orthography

A writing system representing a sound system to reconstruct messages.
Orthography allows readers and speakers to translate written signs to language.

Morphosyntax

The study of how words are formed and organized into sentences.
It combines morphology and syntax.
Core grammatical relations are represented by S, A, and O:
- S (Subject): Only core argument of a clause with one argument ("intransitive").
- A (Agent): The most agentive argument in a clause with multiple arguments ("transitive").
- O (Object): The most patientive argument (affected by the action) in a transitive clause.
Different language families have different grammatical systems:
- Nominative-accusative system: S and A are marked the same, while O is marked differently.
- Ergative/absolutive system: S and O receive similar marking, while A is marked differently.

Grammatical Categories in Philippine Languages

Lexical (content) words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs.
Non-lexical (function) words serve grammatical roles.
The major grammatical categories in Philippine languages are:
- Nouns
- Verbs
- Modifiers (adjectives and adverbs)
- Determiners
- Linkers
- Conjunctions

Nouns

Nouns convey ideas of referents (people, objects, abstractions).
Simple nouns are only made of a root.
Derived nouns are formed from a root plus affixes.
Proper nouns refer to particular individuals or places.
Common nouns refer to general things, concepts, or a class.
Nouns play semantic roles in language:
- Agent: The instigator of the action.
- Experiencer: Experiences a perception or state.
- Recipient/Beneficiary: Advantaged or disadvantaged by an event.
- Patient: Affected by the event.
- Instrument: Used to perform an action.
Nouns can be preceded by quantifiers and modifiers.

Noun Possession

Possession involves a possessor and a possessum.
Possession strategies are either alienable (distance from possessor) or inalienable (direct relation to possessor).

Verbs

Verbs express dynamic actions (physical, mental, perceptual) or stative states.
Voice classifies verbs as active or passive.
- Active: Subject is the doer of the action.
- Passive: Subject is affected by the action.
Aspect indicates the stage of an action (completed, ongoing, planned, recent, etc.).

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Description

This quiz delves into the key concepts of phonology and morphology, focusing on the organization of speech sounds and the structure of words. It covers essential terms such as phonemes, allophones, and morphemes, and includes their classifications into free and bound forms. Test your understanding of these linguistic fundamentals!