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English Pages [148] Year 1955
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