Linguistics Quiz on Etymology and Grammar 08

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Questions and Answers

Which of the following words are doublets, meaning they come from the same original word?

  • glamour and grammar (correct)
  • science and nescius
  • travel and travail
  • bridegroom and groom

What is the example of obscured compounds in English?

  • wine
  • cupboard (correct)
  • crayfish
  • bridegroom

What is the meaning of the word "nice" in Shakespeare's time?

  • pleasant
  • expensive
  • beautiful
  • trivial (correct)

Which of the following examples illustrates folk etymology?

<p>crayfish from crevice (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of these words is an example of a suppletion?

<p>me (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which grammatical information is marked in the sentence “At last Jimmy’s father handed me a bottle of wine.” by the word “a”?

<p>indefiniteness (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the grammatical strategy that is used to mark the word "me" in the sentence “At last Jimmy’s father handed me a bottle of wine.”?

<p>suppletion (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the grammatical type of the word “of” in the sentence “At last Jimmy’s father handed me a bottle of wine.”?

<p>function word (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'synthetic' refer to in the context of grammatical categories?

<p>A grammatical category that is expressed by adding a grammatical morpheme to the base form of the word. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a grammatical category discussed in the provided text?

<p>Tense (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the example "God saves the King – God save the King", what grammatical category is exemplified?

<p>Mood (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between exclusive and inclusive first person plural pronouns?

<p>Inclusive pronouns include the speaker and addressee, while exclusive pronouns exclude the addressee. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does "contrastive" mean in the context of grammatical categories?

<p>A grammatical category where the distinction between a feature and its absence is expressed through the use of different words or phrases. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the category of 'Mood' in language?

<p>To indicate the attitude of the speaker towards what is being said. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The text notes that the category of 'Person' encodes 'pragmatic roles'. Which of the following is NOT a pragmatic role encoded by the category of 'Person'?

<p>The emotional state of the speaker. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement correctly describes the relationship between singular, plural, and dual forms?

<p>The singular is less complex than both the plural and dual. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In which scenario is the singular form typically used?

<p>When number is neutralized. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements is true regarding the frequency of form usage?

<p>The singular form occurs more frequently than both the plural and dual. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What can be inferred about the acquisition of number forms by language learners?

<p>The singular form is acquired earlier than both plural and dual forms. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of languages that have a dual form?

<p>There is no language that has a dual without having a plural too. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'aspect' in grammar refer to?

<p>Different ways of looking at a situation (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following exemplifies the perfect aspect?

<p>had walked (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In terms of voice, which sentence demonstrates the passive form?

<p>B was saved by A. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a primary meaning expressed in the present tense?

<p>Sánchez dashes forward. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why might a passive construction be preferred in some sentences?

<p>To obscure the subject of the action (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which verb phrase illustrates the analytic type of grammatical morphology?

<p>is walking (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'transformation' refer to in the context of passive voice?

<p>Changing active voice into passive voice (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What information structure is implied with the passive voice example, 'Some poor decisions were taken.'?

<p>The subject performing the action is unknown or irrelevant. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the subjunctive mood express in English according to historical usage?

<p>A hypothetical situation or wish (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a tense that encodes past time?

<p>walked (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What primary function does tense serve in English grammar?

<p>To encode the position of a situation on the timeline (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why is there no single set of forms to express futurity in English?

<p>Futurity is expressed with various auxiliary verbs (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic of tense noted in the text regarding its relation to time?

<p>Tense is discrete and in a closed system (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement accurately describes the verbal forms in English corresponding to future time?

<p>They are varied and can include multiple auxiliaries. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does English tense differ from the concept of time?

<p>Tense simplifies the complex nature of time. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a key limitation of grammatical categories in English related to time?

<p>They do not convey the full continuity of temporal experience. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a synthetic strategy?

<p>Using a suffix to indicate plural. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do analytic strategies express grammatical information?

<p>By using free morphemes or word order. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of "suppletion" as described in the text?

<p>Using &quot;go&quot; and &quot;went&quot; to express past tense. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The text states that all languages express most of their content in the open system of vocabulary. What does this statement suggest?

<p>All languages have a large number of words that can be used in various contexts. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the text suggest about the relationship between languages and grammatical contrasts?

<p>The choice and number of grammatical contrasts vary across languages. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The example of English prepositions like 'in' and 'on' is used to illustrate what point about the English language?

<p>English prepositions are a system that allows for a wide range of meanings. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best exemplifies the arbitrariness of grammar mentioned in the text?

<p>The existence of different grammatical categories across languages. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement best describes the text's main point?

<p>Languages use both open and closed systems to express meaning. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Singular vs Plural

The singular form is simpler than the plural form; plural is more complex.

Frequency of Singular

Singular forms occur more frequently in languages than plural forms.

Acquisition of Singular

Learners acquire singular forms earlier than plural and dual forms.

Neutralization of Number

When number distinction is neutralized, singular is used instead of plural or dual.

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Dual Forms

No language has a dual without also having a plural; dual forms are less common.

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Present Tense

Expresses actions happening currently or in a general sense.

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Etymology

The study of the origin of words and their evolution over time.

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Folk etymology

A popular but incorrect interpretation of the origin of a word.

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Past Tense

Indicates actions that have already happened.

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Grammatical Aspect

Determines how a situation is viewed in time.

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Morphological transparency

Clarity of word formation; how clear the components of a word are to speakers.

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Progressive Aspect

Describes ongoing actions, often using 'be + present participle'.

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Obscured compounds

Words whose original meanings or structures are no longer clear due to language evolution.

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Grammatical Morphology

The study of how grammatical information is marked in language.

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Perfect Aspect

Indicates completed actions, usually formed with 'have + past participle'.

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Active Voice

The subject performs the action of the verb.

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Inflection

Changing the form of a word to express different grammatical features.

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Suppletion

A process where an irregular morphological pattern replaces a standard form.

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Passive Voice

The subject receives the action of the verb.

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Information Structuring

Organizing information in a sentence for clarity and emphasis.

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Function words

Words that have little lexical meaning but serve to express grammatical relationships.

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Synthetic strategies

Express lexical and grammatical info in one word using bound morphemes.

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Analytic strategies

Separate grammatical info from lexical info using free morphemes or order.

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Grammatical Morphemes

Bound and free morphemes that create grammatical contrasts.

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Semantic role

Function of a word in conveying meaning, such as 'location in'.

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Closed systems of grammar

Limited grammatical structures like cases or specific rules.

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Open system of vocabulary

Flexible language use with many possible word combinations.

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Prepositions vs. Postpositions

Prepositions (like 'in') come before, postpositions (in Japanese) come after nouns.

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Grammatical Gender

A category in grammar that assigns nouns to classes such as masculine, feminine, or neuter.

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3rd Person Singular

Refers to a single person or thing that is not the speaker or the addressee, using pronouns like he/she/it.

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Grammatical Person

Refers to the distinction between speaker, addressee, and others in communication.

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Exclusive vs Inclusive

Types of first-person plural; exclusive excludes the listener, inclusive includes them.

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Grammatical Mood

The form of a verb that conveys the speaker's attitude toward the action.

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Indicative Mood

Used for statements of fact or questions, expressing actions occurring.

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Subjunctive Mood

Used to express wishes, hypotheticals, or actions contrary to fact.

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Imperative Mood

Commands or requests directed at someone to perform an action.

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Tense

Indicates the time of an action in relation to speech.

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Future Tense

Describes actions that will occur.

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Modality

The grammatical and lexical means to express attitudes toward reality.

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Discrete vs. Continuous Time

Linguistic tenses are discrete categories, while time is continuous.

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Study Notes

Lexicology

  • Some word histories are surprising
  • "Nice" originally meant "trivial" or "wanton" and is related to "science" through the Latin word "nescius" meaning "ignorant"
  • "Glamour" and "grammar" derive from the same word, now called doublets
  • "Travel" and "travail" share a historical root, tracing back to an instrument of torture, "trepalium."
  • Morphological transparency can be obscured by phonological or lexicological changes, creating compounds
    • Old English wīf-mann (female human) → woman
    • Middle English cuppe-bord (cup board) → cupboard
  • Speakers sometimes give obscure words new meanings through popular associations (folk etymology)
    • Old English brūd-guma (bride-man) → bridegroom
    • Old French crevice → crayfish (← fish)

Grammatical Morphology

  • Grammatical information is marked in sentences to indicate meaning, using strategies like inflection, suppletion, and position.

  • Synthetic strategies express grammatical info within a word form. Inflection involves adding bound morphemes, and suppletion involves replacing a form with a completely different one.

  • Analytic strategies separate lexical and grammatical information, using either function words or constituent order to express contrasts

  • Grammatical categories, like tense, mood, and voice, show grammatical information about aspects of the sentence

  • English grammar is not a fully closed system.

  • The position of parts in a sentence relative to each other is not always obvious or consistent.

  • Number distinctions are sometimes arbitrary.

  • In some languages, the grammatical singular form may be less complex than the plural form.

  • The singular form, in general, is frequently used and often learned earlier than the plural

  • Various tenses exist in a given language, but forms for conveying future tense may vary.

  • Grammatical categories do not directly reflect external reality. Time in grammar is discrete, and tense often does not fully reflect the continuum of time.

  • The primary meanings for a given tense can have additional, secondary meanings..

  • Aspect in grammar distinguishes different ways of viewing situations concerning the past, present, or future

  • Grammatical Voice: there are active and passive forms, often serving to change the emphasis or focus. (e.g. A saves B - B is saved by A)

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