Workbook in Descriptive Linguistics 0030055857, 9780030055850

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WORKBOOK

IN

DESCRIPTIVE LINGUISTICS

Henry Allan Gleason,

Jr.

The Hartford Seminary Foundation

WORKBOOK

IN

DESCRIPTIVE LINGUISTICS

Henry Allan Gleason,Jr. The Hartford Seminary Foundation

Copyright 1955 Copyright 1955 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Copyright renewed 1983 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston,

Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All rights reserved.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to: Permissions Department, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 8th Floor, Orlando, Florida 32887.

ISBN: 0-03-005585-7

6 7

•

890 12 345

095

33 32 3130 29 28 27 26 25 24

PREFACE .

*

Operating on the assumption that each language must be described in terms of its own peculiar structure, descriptive linguistics is necessarily a system of analytic techniques more than it is a body of concepts. Even such units as the phoneme and the morpheme can perhaps best be viewed as devices to be used in language analysis, to be redefined and reinterpreted to fit the needs of any particular language structure. A student of deecriptive linguistics must therefore learn something of these techniques, and the only feasible way to do so is by actually working through language problems. Suitable materials for use in an introductory course are difficult to find. They must meet two apparently conflicting requirements: they must be within the ability of beginning students, and they must carry them far enough into the complexities of language structures that they can gain some appreciation of descriptive techniques. These oan only be met satisfactorily in a carefully planned set of graded problems. This workbook contains two such graded series dealing with morphology and phonology. The two are independent, and either can be used before the other. There is also a shorter sequence dealing with diachronio and geographic linguistics, but the chief emphasis is, as the title suggests, on synchronic description. There is also a set of exercises to assist in learning to make phonemic transcriptions of English. These may well be supplemented by additional assignments. It is of course assumed that some provision will be made for auraloral drill in phonetics, and oral presentation of phonemics problems.

™

All the problems represent real languages. There is, of course, a oertain amount of inescapable distortion in the process of selecting certain structures for presentation out of context. In addition, in a few instances there has been deliberate simplification, as in the Mi wok problem (9.C) where length is omitted; it is not pertinent to the problem selected, though of importance in stem formation* What liberties have been taken are all in the direction of greater simplicity for the student. The complexities are all genuine.

Most of the problems have been used with classes of students. Many others have been tried and discarded. Of those which are included here, a great number have been revised and reworked many times. Experience has demonstrated the value of the general outline, and has led to the inclusion of certain specific details. Instructors using this workbook in teaching are invited to write to the author, who will be glad to point out oertain special features in oertain problems and to explain some of his techniques in using this material. The preparation of this workbook has been a long process of joint experimentation. I wish to acknowledge especially the help of my colleagues in the Department of Linguistics who have shared in the teaching at the Hartford Seminary Foundation: Norma Bloomquist, Richard Oortwright, Flola Shepard, Warren Webster, and especially J. Maurice Kohlfeld. The many linguists and students who have furnished data are listed below. Many of them, as well as others who cannot be listed here, have helped with suggestions and comments. Gladys Engelbrecht, Donald DeBlois, Frances Gleason and Malcolm Pitt have helped with the preparation of copy. But the heaviest debt I owe to the students who have been long suffering through my experiments. H. A. Gleason, Jr.

55 Elizabeth Street Hartford 5, Connecticut

|

»»"UOI

IN

DtSCKIPTIVE

LIHSUI5IICS.

PACC

2

G

.

SOURCES dPfl^f WotKeoon

in

that

by

go

bus

if

rail's

better.

;;

Trayne

Miss

DficaifTim Linguistics. P*st

missed

y,o

/?.

20

the

!

:

ijCfcjiz want

ride.

paving

The

V

w s

funny.

i

walk

may

up

also

her

the

up

i

i t

2

Four of the etems have phonologically conditioned allomorphs which can be found in this data. These are listed here, partly to assist you in dividing the words correctly. Supply the approximate meanings for these and list the other stems which occur in the data.

—

yakpa-

«*-

yakp-

**-

ykapa-

-

ykap-

(A)

yamxa-

**-*

yamx-

>—-

ymaxa-

--— ymax-

(B)

sooyana-

*-*-

aooyan-

— soyana-

kaan-

-

~— soyan-

(0)

~ kan-

(D)

2.

3tems (A) and (B) have allomorphs with a vowel following the first consonant but not after the second, or with a vowel after the second consonant but not after the first. What conditions this?

J.

Stems (C) and (D) have allomorphs with a long vowel, or with a short vowel in What conditions this! the same place.

4.

Stems (A), (B), and (C) have allomorphs ending with a vowel, or without this final vowel. What conditions this?

5.

No allomorphs of stem (D) with a final vowel occur in the data. Is this a peculiarity of this stem, or could it be due to inadequate data! If the latter, what additional data oould be elicited to settle the question?

6.

List the prefixes with their meanings.

7.

List the suffixes with their meanings.

-ap-nee 9 -

8.

If the forms of certain stems and of /-ap-/ and /-nee*-/ had not been given, what additional ambiguity would there be in the analysis?

Wo»k»ook

l«

Deschiptive Limsuistics. Pasc 40


tr

61

i


nemic analysis of this datathe phonemes together with their alloph ones ar.d a list c an illus flkivp word for each. The latter should be given in both phonemic and phonetic transcription. [ty d7] represent alveopalatal stops. Workbook

in

Descriptive linguistics, page 65

(

(

NAHUATL

13. B

(Sierra Nahuat dialect) (Mexico)

1

Swa'ki 7

dry

56

mota'lSwa'n

your lands

2

Swa'n

and

59

namoso*t 8 iwa*n

your flowers

5

Swala's

he'll come

40

nenepi'i

tongue

4

hokh

again

41

nesVkolSwi'li'

5

kali*

house

42

neSwiti'i

6

kalmeh

houses

^

re'tata'ta'wti" li's o

7

ka'mpa 7

that place

44

netnsi'wilia 7

he did it to me

garment

45

nihi'n

this

he tells it

46

nikwa'lSwia 7

I

he chokes him

47

nota'kow

my husband

8 ke'mit

8

ket

9

kihto'a 7

10

kiket

h

8 pa't 8 ka 7

jealousy

s

sick

t&gging

brin^ it

o

11

kik was 7

he'll eat it

48

ncta'gSwa'n

my teeth

ho counts them

49

not 8 a'n

my

12

kimpowa

15

kiqko'wa' 7

he buys them

50

pa'itikh

wet

14

kiiDk w is

he'll take them

51

pepet^'wtok*1

fastened

15

kir.ak h

he wont out

52

pi'la 7

fountain

16

kit 8 i'wak

he did it

55

pi'li 7

child

17

kiwowa'na 7

he scratches it

^

pina'wa 7

he embarrassed

16

kokos

it'll hurt

55

piotet*1

egg

19

kosti'kh

yellow

56

pit a o'ti'kh

dirty

20

ko'wa't h

snake

57

powa 7

he counts

21

kwa -li 7

fine

58

sa'yo'h

only

22

k walka'n

early

59

sita'lin

star

25

moss

60

soki't h

mud

24

k vowpats k vovsi'nkeh

sawyer

61

8o't 8 it h

flower

25

k wehk w elpat a tikh

62

sosokti'kk

green

26

k w eta's

leather hide

65

tak*a'£

food

27

k*>'e'ya' 7

frog

64

ta'i

dirt

28

kwowkeke*s k wowit h

woodpecker

65

ta*lti*kpakh

earth

tree

66

tat 8 te'kkeh

thief

trees

67

ta'yi 7

he drinks

51

k wowmeh lamat h

female turkey

68

tet h

stone

52

masa't*1

deer

69

tet 8

us

55

mala'n

truth

70

ti'lti'kh

black

54

mit B

you

71

tonemili 'swa'n

our lives

55

mok w9 ytia 7

one visits

72

t 8 ikt 8 i'n

small

29 50

h

wrinkled

o

horse

56

mopoloa' 7

he is lost

75

t 8 ope'kh

sweet

57

mosiwa'w

your wife

74

t 8 apo'li'n

grasshopper

workbook

in

Descriptive Linguistics, p*ge 66

Cont

t

«.ue

•

1

3

9

75

t&ihtSiwt okh

constructed

84

16

tsitsilti ta

red

85

a'ska*n ? epat h

77

we'li'k^

delicious

»6

'Ike'tBkWowyo*

.B

N»huatl

7-

tf>

'.IkVa'pi'kka

79

well 7

he can

8£

•iiaa'y

80

wiwta? •

day

89

7

90

7 ieta*k^

I

white

lme'; n sokpa*l

cap

his hand sole

81

ya's

he'll

82

yowai

nigh'

S&

*itofca"y

his name

85

?

an'j

92

? ohc'me ?

two by two

a'skath

or

his neck

far

&

2

skunk

wehka 7

tomDrrow

PACt

now

78

aft-*!*

.

Make a phonemic analy^x^ of th6 aborc data. Prepare a list of the phonemes. Irdioate which r\I'j.s phones 3.TQ assigned to each phoneme. Illuetrato each aliopbone by siting a form in bcth phonetic and phonemic tifcooro^ipkion.

There is consider.".Mi- ft?© variation 5r the vowels. Thie is not indicated in the t? r^ocriptioa« £i] is written for vowels varying between [5.] qd3 (i] # [e] Le wit tan 1'o-r vowels varying between [e] and [e], fo c 3 lo T.T^Muen for vowels varying between If c\ DOJrC sr^C; pho:i3«ic transcription had been Ce*3 and [ei]. used in the corpus ; -hat of fact would it have had on your analysis? Vfhat additional date .*~uld you h.*ve to have i;o find the phonemic system of the latt^uagoo Treat eoneon&nt nequercr-o in v.hich on symbo.. is raised as unit segments. Foi fsnnplcj [to] Id an affricate. What reasons can you give for segmenting in thia way!

workbook

in

Ocsciptivc Liksuistics

p*«e

67

13.C

PERSIAN

1

bulukx

district

25

kxsefa

shoe

2

dokxtor

doctor

24

kxskai

a little

5

fekxr

thought

25

nikanfkx

4

hokumffit

government

26

mfkone

he is doing

5

kafe

cafe

27

moban%x

blessed

6

kafi

enough

28

mcmkxen

possible

7

kar

work

29

mamlekxcet

country

mechanic

ft ft

ft ft

ft ry

8

koja

where

50

TE&rkzsez

operator

9

kolah

hat

51

naszdikxiha

vicinity

konrekx

help

52

pakx

clean

10

ft ft

11

ft r\

korkx

soft wool

55

pakxffit

envelope

convertible

54

pezeekxf *

medicine

ft ft

12

korukxi ft ft

ft ft

15

kucfkx An

small

55

takxsf

taxi

14

kuh

mountain

5*

taefkxikx

separation

15

kusea

effort

57

teekxzaeng

to ring

16

17

ft ft

kxe

that

58

tasmbaku

tobacco

kxeravat

necktie

59

tasskxilat

organization

ft ft

ft ft

ft r\

18

k^eraye

fare

40

vakxs

polish

19

kxey

when

41

yek?

one

who

42

?

kxilo

kilogram

^5

'eskal

difficulty

Jkxaebab

grilled meat

44

? sekxs

opposite

ftft

ft ft

20

kxf

emrika ? £

American

ft ft

21

ft r\

22

ft ft

cative.

State your reasoning in full.

WORKBOOK

IN

DESCHIPTIVt LINGUISTICS.

PAGE 88

What is its phonemic status?

I