HOMEWORK: TZUTUJIL VERBS1 John Alderete, Simon Fraser University Consider the verb forms below from Tzutujil, a Mayan language of Guatemala and answer the questions that follow. ʃinwari I slept ʃoqeeli We left neeli He/she leaves ninwari I sleep neʔeeli They leave ʃiʃwari You (pl) slept niʃwari You (pl) sleep ʃeʔeeli They left ʃateeli You (sg) left ʃwari He/she slept natwari You (sg) sleep What are the grammatical functions exhibited in the verb forms? What are the morphemes for the lexemes and grammatical functions, and how do they combine? Identify morphemes for all relevant grammatical functions and stems, and place them in a morphological frame. 1 Acknowledgement: the data organization from this problem come from Understanding Morphology (Haspelmath and Sims 2010, Hodder), and the primary resource is Tzutujil Grammar (Dayley 1985, University of California Publications). HOMEWORK: MANDARIN COMPOUND NOUNS1 John Alderete, Simon Fraser University 1 chàngcí libretto 20 dǐngdēng top light 2 chàngjī gramophone 21 diànchē streetcar, tram 3 chuánwěi stern 22 diàndēng electric lamp 4 cíwěi suffix 23 diànjī electrical machine 5 diànlì electric power 24 qìchē car 6 diànshì television 25 qìchuán steamship 7 dòngwùxué zoology 26 shāndǐng summit 8 dòngwùyóu animal oil 27 shìchàng sightseeing 9 dòngwùyuán zoo 28 shìlì eyesight 10 fángdǐng roof 29 shùcí number word 11 fángkè tenant 30 shuǐchē watercart 12 fēichuán airship 31 shuǐlì waterpower 13 fēijī aeroplane 32 shùxué mathematics 14 fēiyú flying fish 33 wěidēng tail light 15 huāchē festooned vehicle 34 wěidshuǐ tail water 16 huāyuán flower garden 35 yóudēng oil lamp 17 jīchē locomotive 36 yóuzhǐ oil paper 18 jiǎolì strength of one’s legs 37 yúyóu fish oil 19 kèfáng guest house 38 zhǐhuā paper flower By comparing words with the same morphemes, try to determine the meaning of each component morpheme. Confirm your answer by predicting the meanings of the larger compound from its parts. Also, what is the semantic relationship between the first part of the compound and the second? Show your work in a table like that sketched below. Morpheme Gloss Examples Explanations chàng sing 1, 2, 27 libretto = ‘sing word’, a text of a musical work cí word 1, 4, 29 1 Acknowledgement: the data and data organization for this problem comes from Understanding Morphology (Haspelmath and Sims 2010, Hodder). HOMEWORK: HEBREW LEXEMES1
John Alderete, Simon Fraser University
kimut
diber
ħašav
sagra
ħašva
kalat
maklet
kalta
kimet
wrinkling
he spoke
he thought
she shut
she thought
he received
radio receiver
she received
he wrinkled
maħšev
masger
dibra
milmel
kimta
milmla
sagar
dibur
computer
lock
she spoke
he muttered
she wrinkled
she muttered
he shut
speech
A. Study the form-meaning similarities in the data above and group all the words into sets of two or
three morphologically related words (i.e., ‘word-families’). In all but one of the sets, there is an oddball
word that is not related to the others by an inflectional morphological process. In other words, it is
outside of the lexeme that characterizes the other two forms. Present each group as a list in the boxes
below, and circle the oddball in the list.
B. In each word family, there are clear similarities in form. Describe them in a way that is true for all the
word families, and then give an example to illustrate your larger point. Write your answer in complete
sentences. No sentence fragments allowed.
C. The masculine and feminine forms differ systematically in form. Give a characterization of this
difference, noting any apparent exceptions to this characterization.
1
Acknowledgement: the data and data organization for this problem comes from Understanding
Morphology (Haspelmath and Sims 2010, Hodder).
HOMEWORK: NAUKAN ESKIMO1
John Alderete, Linguistics 323, Simon Fraser University
Instructions: the following examples illustrate many of the grammatical categories
associated with verb meanings. Try to identify these categories and find similarities in the
words that same the same.
aglukata:quq
agluqixta:quq
aglugjawxapixta:quq
ku:jma:quq
ku:jmaʁo:ʁaquq
qavaɬqaχtuq
ɬiŋaχtaquq
ɬiŋaχtaga:taquq
aglumsuxe:naquq
agluka:quq
tɨnluxpɨquq
aglukɨŋa:waquq
aglugaχquʁa:quq
aqujgaquq
aqujviluxtaquq
ka:susaʁa:χɬɨquq
ka:suqatamajaχtuq
agluŋura:quq
qavavre:χtuq
aglufqara:quq
qɨɬpɨχta:quq
qɨɬpɨχquʁaquq
agluvrɨʁa:quq
iglɨχtɨkša:ga:quq
iglɨχtɨkjo:ʁaquq
qavamse:quq
qavaχɬɨqja:quq
qavajaxtuq
qavato:χtuq
aglunani:ʁaquq
iglɨχtɨpixtaquq
qavaruga:quq
1
begins to work
again begins to work
begins to work intensively
is swimming (towards something)
swims (habitually)
suddenly fell asleep
rings
rings intermittently
works constantly
works with intermitten stoppages
knocks
works for a long time
works quickly
wanders about
walks back and forth
will come early
he came more than once
he works for the first time
he fell asleep again
rarely works
makes holes in something
makes holes in various places
works with difficulty
walks very slowly
scarcely drags oneself along
dozes
sleeps fitfully
almost fell asleep
has fallen asleep at last
stops working
walks a lot
sleeps soundly
Data organization is due to Spencer, Andrew 1991, Morphological Theory, Blackwell; primary linguistic
description is from Menovscikov, G. A.1975, Jazyk Naukanskix Èskimosov [‘The language of the Naukan
Eskimo’]. Leningrad: Nauka.
agluso:χaquq
agluxtuga:quq
aglupa:quq
does pretty good work
works carelessly
works in a haphazard manner
HOMEWORK: SAAMOAN PLURALS
John Alderete, Simon Fraser Univesrity
The data below illustrate a systematic morphological pattern for marking plural subjects in
Samoan. Note that VV sequences in Samoan are heterosyllabic (the Vs are in different syllables,
as marked with the syllable boundaries ‘.’).
mana.o
matu.a
malosi
puno.u
savali
pese
laga
atamaʔi
‘he wishes’
‘he is old’
‘he is strong’
‘he bends’
‘he travels’
‘he sings’
‘he weaves’
‘he is wise’
manana.o
matutu.a
malolosi
punono.u
savavali
pepese
lalaga
atamamaʔi
‘they wish’
‘they are old’
‘they are strong’
‘they bend’
‘they travel’
‘they sing’
‘they weave’
‘they are wise’
Give a comprehensive description of the morphological pattern in plurals. This description
should make clear the type of process employed and the content and nature of the plural
morpheme, e.g., what it is composed of and its relation to the base. Make use of examples to
illustrate descriptive points.
HOMEWORK: MOKILESE REDUPLICATION John Alderete, Simon Fraser University Mokilese has a reduplicative prefix for marking the progressive. Describe the target shape of the prefix in prosodic terms, and the relation of this prosodic shape to the copied portion of the base. Syllabification is shown with “.” boundaries. Verb Progressive pɔdok pɔd-­‐pɔdok plant mʷiŋe mʷiŋ-­‐mʷiŋe eat kasɔ kas-­‐kasɔ throw wadek wad-­‐wadek read pilɔd pil-­‐pilɔd pick breadfruit kookɔ koo-­‐kookɔ grind coconut sɔɔrɔk sɔɔ-­‐sɔɔrɔk tear tʃaak tʃaa-­‐tʃaak bend pa paa-­‐pa weave wi.a wii-­‐wi.a do di.ar dii-­‐di.ar find HOMEWORK: EFIK VERBS1
John Alderete, Linguistics 323, Simon Fraser University
Efik is part of the Niger-congo family, subcategory Obolo (Efik), and is spoken in Nigeria. Tone is
marked: /ˋ/ = low pitch, /ˊ/ = high or mid pitch, /˅/ = rising pitch.
Tense Number Person
Pres
Sg
1st
2nd
3rd
Pl
1st
2nd
3rd
Fut
Sg
1st
2nd
3rd
Pl
1st
2nd
3rd
Past
Sg
1st
2nd
3rd
Pl
1st
2nd
3rd
buy
ńdèp
èdèp
édèp
ìdèp
èdèp
édèp
ńyédép
èyédép
éyédép
ìyédép
èyédép
éyédép
ŋ́kédép
èkédép
ékédép
ìkédép
èkédép
ékédép
live
ńdù
òdù
ódù
ìdù
èdù
édù
ńyédù
èyédù
éyédù
ìyédù
èyédù
éyédù
ŋ́kódù
òkódù
ókódù
ìkódù
èkódù
ékódù
think
ŋ́kèrè
èkèrè
ékèrè
ìkèrè
èkèrè
ékèrè
ńyékéré
èyékéré
éyékéré
ìyékéré
èyékéré
éyékéré
ŋ́kékéré
èkékéré
ékékéré
ìkékéré
èkékéré
ékékéré
put
ńdòrì
òdòrì
ódòrì
ìdòrì
èdòrì
édòrì
ńyédòrì
èyédòrì
éyédòrì
ìyédòrì
èyédòrì
éyédòrì
ŋ́kódòrì
òkódòrì
ókódòrì
ìkódòrì
èkódòrì
ékódòrì
go
ŋ́kà
àkà
ákà
ìkà
èkà
ékà
ńyékǎ
èyékǎ
éyékǎ
ìyékǎ
èyékǎ
éyékǎ
ŋ́kákǎ
àkákǎ
ákákǎ
ìkákǎ
èkákǎ
ékákǎ
run
ḿfèhè
èfèhè
éfèhè
ìfèhè
èfèhè
éfèhè
ńyéfèhé
èyéfèhé
éyéfèhé
ìyéfèhé
èyéfèhé
éyéfèhé
ŋ́kéfèhé
èkéfèhé
ékéfèhé
ìkéfèhé
èkéfèhé
ékéfèhé
Part 1. The data show only three of the numerous verb “tenses” in Efik, translated into the English
equivalents below. Describe the form of each tense marker in the space provided, including their
segmental structure and tone, and classify them as the result of either a concatenative or
nonconcatenative process, and whether or not they exhibit allomorphy.
Present
Future
Past
1
The data for this problem and some of the ideas that underlie the questions here come from problem 7.L (p. 37) of Gleason,
Henry A. 1955, Workbook in descriptive linguistics, New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston.
Part 2. List each root in what you would consider the most appropriate base form, that is, the form from
which it is easiest to describe all the data given your characterization of tense above.
buy
put
live
go
think
run
Part 3. There are six person/number grammatical functions, some of which also show allomorphy. In
the table below, list the allomorph(s) for each cumulative expression of the person/number markers.
Also, give a characterization of the environment of the distinct allomorphs. Be clear, and as general as
possible.
1st Sg
2nd Sg
3rd Sg
1st Pl
2nd Pl
3rd Pl
Part 4. Of the person/numbers markers that exhibit allomorphy, some of them appear to involve
phonological allomorphy (i.e., the allomorphs result from a regular phonological process) and others
must involve suppletive allomorphy. Explain which are which, and why. Answer in complete sentences.
HOMEWORK: SOMALI PLURALS1
John Alderete, Simon Fraser University
There are four ways of marking plurals in Somali. Consider the data below and answer the questions that
follow.
Singular Plural
awowe
awowayaal
‘grandfather’
baabaco
baabacooyin ‘palm’
beed
beedad
‘egg’
buug
buugag
‘book’
cashar
casharro
‘lesson’
fure
furayaal
‘key’
ilmo
ilmooyin
‘tear’
miis
miisas
‘table’
qado
qadooyin
‘lunch’
shabeel
shabeello
‘leopard’
waraabe waraabayaal ‘hyena’
xidid
xididdo
‘eagle’
A. Create a table with four columns, where the header of the column gives a shorthand description of
each plural marker, and the rest of the column lists the base forms that take this plural marker, as shown
below.
-ayaal
awow(e)-
B. Next, describe the complementary distribution of these markers. In particular, from the examples
given, characterize the environments in which each plural marker is used. This can be added to the last
row above.
C. Finally, give a more complete account of the nature of each plural marker using the descriptive tools we have
developed in class. Is it concatenative or nonconcatenative? What factors governs allomorph choice? Are there
stem alternations?
1
Acknowledgement: this problem is based on the exercise in Understanding Morphology (Hasplemath
and Sims 2010, Hodder).
HOMEWORK: SAAMOAN VERBS1 John Alderete, Simon Fraser University Saamoan has two different verb forms used in different contexts. The difference is not easy to translate, so they are just referred to as ‘Form A’ and ‘Form B’ below. Form A Form B Gloss 1 alofa alofagia ‘love’ 2 ʔole ʔolegia ‘cheat’ 3 faʔaee faʔaeetia ‘put’ 4 fua fuatia ‘weigh’ 5 faʔafoi faʔafoisia ‘send back’ 6 gau gausia ‘break’ 7 faitau faitaulia ‘read’ 8 sila silafia ‘see’ 9 utu utufia ‘fetch water’ 10 sio siomia ‘surround’ 11 inu inumia ‘drink’ 12 lilo liloia ‘hide’ 13 sopo sopoia ‘exceed’ A. Hypothesis X. Consider the following hypothesis: Form A is both the lexical underlying form for Form A and the surface form. Form A is also the base of affixation for Form B, which is formed by attaching one of several inflectional affixes. Construct a complete analysis on this hypothesis by creating lexical entries for all the stems and inflectional affixes needed to account for the data above. Be sure to indicate in the lexical entry of the stem which inflectional affix it takes. B. Discussion of Hypothesis X. Now that an analysis has been constructed, discuss the nature of allomorphy it embodies. In particular, what type of allomorphy is involved, and if it is suppletive, what factor(s) predict which form is selected? Justify your answer with clear observations about the morphological analysis. C. Hypothesis Y. Next consider an alternative hypothesis about the relation between Forms A and B. Under Y, the surface Form A is not the base for deriving Form B, and it is also not the underlying form of Form A. The base for Form B is a disyllabic or trisyllabic form that ends in a consonant. This base is related to Form A by a regular phonological process, and Form B is derived by simple affixation. Construct a complete analysis of the above data by creating lexical entries for all the stems, an entry for the inflectional affix, and a phonological rule for the stem allomorphy. D. Discussion of Hypothesis Y. Finally, discuss the consequences of this new approach for the analysis for allomorphy. Is the nature of allomorphy the same as it is under Hypothesis X, or is it different? Explicate fully, with reference to the key differences between the two approaches. What types of evidence might help the analyst decide between these two approaches? 1 This problem is based on the data and organization of the problem 7.G of Gleason’s Workbook in Descriptive Linguistics, but it has different questions. HOMEWORK: MAORI PASSIVE1 John Alderete, Simon Fraser University Consider the verb forms below in Maori, a Polynesian language of New Zealand. Verb Passive awhi awhitia to embrace hopu hopukia to catch aru arumia to follow tohu tohuŋia to point out mau mauria to carry wero werohia to stab patu patua to strike, kill kite kitea Based on parallels with languages like Saamoan (see related problem), one can posit two coherent analyses of the suffix allomorphy. e.g., hopukia ‘to catch “phonological analysis” “conjugation analysis” (pass.) Breakdown: hopuk + ia hopu + kia Extra phonology: C →∅ /___# Phonological -­‐ia -­‐a -­‐ia -­‐a suppletion: C-­‐final V-­‐final C-­‐final V-­‐final Lexical suppletion: -­‐tia -­‐kia -­‐mia -­‐ria -­‐ŋia, etc. stem[t] stem[k] stem[m], etc. While the phonological analysis has a little extra phonology, it is far simpler than the conjugation analysis in its treatment of allomorphy—it doesn’t require lexically determined suppletion. Despite simplicity, however, there are a number of arguments in favour of the more complex conjugation analysis. 1. It is a surface true generalization that all syllables are (C)V, and indeed all words end in V. So perhaps this is a generalization of morphemes as well. It’s plausible therefore to posit e.g., /hopu/ as the stem form because the morpheme fits with the phonotactics of the language. 2. A number of morphological facts point to the existence of a regular or ‘default’ inflection /-­‐tia/: a. denominal verbs take /-­‐tia/ b. derived causatives take /-­‐tia/ c. adverbials that agree in voice agree by taking /-­‐tia/ as a suffix d. borrowings from English take /-­‐tia/ e. compound verbs take /-­‐tia/ f. low frequency items also take /-­‐tia/ Question: how does this evidence support the conjugation analysis? 1 The data and insight behind this problem come from Hale 1973 “Deep-­‐Surface Canonical Disparities” (in Sebeok, T. 1973, Current Trends in Linguistics, vol. 11)