LIN 203 H1F

ENGLISH WORDS

MIDTERM –ANSWER KEY

WEDNESDAY, June 6th, 2011

6.10 pm – 8 pm, SS 2102 & 2135

Last name: First name:

Student number:

Question # Out of Student’s

score
1 10
2 10
3 10
4 10
5 10
6 10
7 10
8 10
9 10
10 10
Total = 100

VOWEL AND CONSONANT CHARTS PROVIDED

NO other aids, notes, textbooks, dictionaries are permitted on this test.

The blank space at the end of the test (2 pages) may be used for rough work.

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Question #1. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:
For the following 10 questions, circle directly on the exam sheet the letter that corresponds
to the best answer. Be as specific as possible. There is only one correct response per
question. (10 points; 1 point each question)

1. Which statement is correct?

a. words passed down from speaker to speaker with small, cumulative changes are said
to be borrowed
b. inflectional affixes give information about categories such as the number of
nouns, the degree of comparison of adjectives, and the tense and person of
verbs
c. lateral sounds are normally voiceless
d. onomatopoeia is a word formation process also known under the name of
‘conversion’
e. none of the above is correct

2. Middle English is characterized as follows:

a. it lasted six centuries from 800 to 1200
b. the conquest of important parts of the British Island by some populations of Latin
origin, the Normans, who were speaking Germanic dialects
c. numerous borrowings from French, among which words like court, baron,
emerald, diamond, battle, etc.
d. the inflectional endings became more complex
e. none of the statements above is correct.

3. The Albanian branch distinguishes itself from other Indo-European languages by its:
a. religious character that created a specific type of vocabulary
b. morphological shape, more specifically the reduction of the inflectional system
c. sound changes described under the name Grimm’s law
d. the presence of more language sub-families than any other Indo-European languages
e. none of the above

4. Which of the statements below regarding French is correct?

a. French is a Indo-European language, classified as being part of the Germanic family
b. French is not an Indo-European language; its presence in Europe is not surprising
nevertheless given the fact that not all languages spoken in Europe are Indo-
European
c. French is an Indo-European language of the Romance family. It inherited
numerous words from Latin, but it also borrowed extensively from this
language
d. French is a type of language which has not undergone any type of phonetic changes
e. English did not borrow any words from French, but it did borrow words from Latin

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 5. Which of the following statements is true?
a. A lexical component is one whose function is primarily to provide the crucial
part of meaning in a word
b. Widely accepted restructurings of established words due to reanalysis are called
acronyms
c. English does not exhibit any examples of clipping, or onomatopoeia
d. The sounds known as affricates involve a transition from a fricative sound to a stop
closure without otherwise changing the location of the articulators
e. Allomorphs are defined as forms of the same phoneme.

6. The pairs rear-raise, shrub-scrub illustrate examples of:

a. Doublets, shared allomorphy, and triplets
b. Native Germanic and borrowed words (from Latin and French)
c. Words which were borrowed during the prehistoric period of English, but which were
replaced in modern periods
d. Doublets in which one word is native Germanic, and the other is also borrowed
from another Germanic language
e. None of the above

7. Examine the statements below and circle the correct one

a. the word business contains an example of a bound root, while the words optional
contains an example of a prefix
b. words like strawberry, receive, incest are rather exceptions than the rule in
English morphology
c. infixation is not a common and frequent word formation process in Indo-European
languages
d. words like cats, dogs, walked, cried, sails contain examples of derivational
morphemes
e. none of the above

8. Select the correct definition of circumfix from the list below:

a. circumfixes are morphemes attached to a root both initially and finally, and they
construct only derivational morphological processes
b. circumfixes are not called discontinuous morphemes
c. circumfixes are not native to any Indo-European languages; instead they represent
borrowings from non Indo-European domains
d. circumfixes are another term used to refer to infixes
e. none of the above

9. Derivational affixes are those affixes which:

a. have the same function, share a common history, but do not have to share the same
meaning
b. are, in fact, a subclass of shared allomorphy processes
c. convey information about grammatical categories
d. cannot change the lexical category of a stem they attach to
e. none of the above

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 10. It is known that not all languages can be characterized in the same way if morphological
processes are examined. Taking this information into account, mention which of the
statements below is true:
a. English morphology is word-based, while languages like Spanish and Japanese
make extensive use of bound roots
b. Latin is similar to English, in that it does not exhibit numerous bound roots
c. Germanic languages are distinct from English in that they undergo systematic
morphological simplification
d. Proto-Indo-European did not have complex and rich morphological processes, as
opposed to modern English
e. None of the above

Question # 2. Based on the vocabulary elements included at the end of the textbook
chapters, or/and discussed in the lecture notes, identify all the parts and their meanings in
the following words. Do not worry about endings whose only contribution is to specify the
lexical class of the word. (10 marks; 1 mark each word)
Phonology = phon ‘sound’ (0.5)
= log ‘speak, study’ (0.5)

Atom = a ‘not’ (0.5)

= tom/tm ‘cut’ (0.5)
(students do not have to give all the variants of a root; one allomorph is enough)

Expend = ex/e ‘out’ (0.5)

= pend/pond ‘hang, weigh’ (0.5)

Incubate = in ‘in, into’ (0.5)

= cub/cumb ‘lie down, remain’ (0.5)

Anachronism = a/an ‘not, without’ (0.5)

= chron ‘time’ (0.5)

Ingrate = in ‘not’ (0.5)

= grat ‘goodwill, thankful, pleased, kind’ (0.5)

Innocuous = in ‘not’ (0.5)

= noc/nec/nic/nox ‘harm (0.5)

Inceptive = in ‘in, into’ (0.5)

= cep/cap/cip/cup ‘take, contain’ (0.5)

Desecrate = de ‘reverse, from’ (0.5)

= sacr/sanc/secr ‘holy’ (0.5)

Paragraph = para ‘beside, nearly’ (0.5)

= graph/gramm ‘write’ (0.5)

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Question # 3. For each of the questions below, check the True or False box: (10 marks)

True False
1. In back-formation, a simple word is derived from *□
□ □□
a more complex word.

2. An infix is a morpheme placed before the stem. □□ ** □□

3. Bathyscope illustrates an example of extension or *□
□ □□
extended allomorphy.

4. The distinction between tense and lax vowels □□ ** □□

is not seen in English, but only in Romance languages.

5. Phonological repairs are necessary in order to fix illegal *□

□ □□
pronunciations in a specific language.

6. Proto-Indo-European was a highly inflected language, but □□ **□□

derivational affixes were absent.

7. Some dialects of Chinese are of Indo-European origin. □□ **□□

8. The Natural sound source theory assumes that humans *□
□ □□
developed language by imitation; this is not the only theory
explaining the origin of human language.

9. Allomorphs share a common history and similar pronunciation. *□

□ OR *□
□
10. The velar area is constituted by the hard palate. □□ **□□

Question # 4.
a. The words cant (‘singsong’, ‘intonation’), chant (‘short melody used in religious
services’) and chantey (‘sailors’ song’) all come from the Latin root cant (‘to sing’);
nevertheless, in English there is alternation in the quality of their initial consonant.
Briefly explain this alternation and its historical source. (3 marks)

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 - the initial consonant is [k] in cant, [ʧ] in chant, [ʃ] in chantey. 1 mark
- the alternation is due to the fact that the last two words were borrowed from French at
different periods of time. 1 marks.
- the first word was borrowed directly from Latin.1 mark

b. Mention two other word sets in English in which the same type of alternation is
observed (2 marks)

Captain ~ chief ~chef 1 mark

Candle ~ chandler ~chandelier 1 mark

c. Provide at least three examples of vowel weakening in Latin. (1.5 marks)

- Any example containing the alternation a/e/i (or a/e or e/i)

(0.5 each)

d. There is a specific account explaining the conditions under which the phenomenon
of vowel weakening affects words in Latin. Mention this account, and demonstrate
its shortcomings. In light of these shortcomings, provide a possible explanation for
the apparently unorganized behavior of vowel weakening application in Latin.
(3.5 marks)

- the general analysis of the process of vowel weakening in Latin assumes that only
vowels which are not stressed can undergo this process (2 marks)
- but there are exceptions: the word conspicuous contains an example of a weakened
vowels (spec~spic), although the vowel is stressed (0.5 mark for an example; 0.5
mark for mentioning the shortcomings)
- a possible explanation is that the process of vowel weakening applied in earlier
periods of Latin, and stopped before Classical Latin examples were constructed) 0.5
mark

Question # 5.
a. Match each word in column A with one in column B that has the same root and
identify the process or processes relating the roots. (5 marks)
A. B.
a. genome =g (ablaut) f. tenant
b. tangential = h (nasal infixation) g. theogony
c. abstinence = f (vowel weakening) h. contagious
d. edifice = i (vowel weakening) i. facile
e. nocuous = j (ablaut) j. internecine
0.5 each pairing
0.5 each process

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 b. Briefly define the concept of shared allomorphy and give an example that illustrates
it. Briefly explain how/why the example provided illustrates the concept of shared
allomorphy (3 marks)

- the process by which apparently unrelated forms share morphological processes of

word formation. 1 marks
- un example: many words constructed with the Latin root ‘mit’ convey the meaning
‘cause to move’/’send’ [transmit, permit]. This meaning is not very clear in the word
‘omit’. 1 mark
- nevertheless, once morphological processes are examined, it becomes clear that
‘omit’ is part of the same class. It forms nominal categories by the alternation ‘t/ss’:
omit/omission, permit/permission. 1 mark

c. The negative prefix in- can undergo allomorphic processes. Mention two other forms
it can take in English. (2 marks)

ir/il/im = any two allomorphs (1 mark each)

Question # 6.
Mention whether each of the compounds below is endocentric or exocentric:
(10 marks; 1 mark each)

leaf worm (type of worm that destroys leaves) Endo

brain dead (idiot) Exo
elephant trunk (trunk of an elephant) Endo

potato peel (peel characteristic to potatoes) Endo

airhead (inattentive, careless person) Exo
Maple Leafs (name of a hockey team) Exo
Gréenhouse Exo or Endo
dog food (type of food suitable for dogs) Endo
redneck (uneducated person) Exo
tablecloth (cloth used to cover the top of a table) Endo

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Question # 7.
a. Write the one proper description from the list under B for the italicized part of each
word in A (5 points):

A. B.
a. cleaned 3 1. free root
b. readmitted 1 2. bound root
c. synchronize 4 3. inflectional suffix
d. deceive 2 4. derivational suffix
e. unacceptable 6 5. inflectional prefix
6. derivational prefix
7. inflectional infix
8. derivational infix

b. The word optionality contains the following morphemes: opt, -ion, -al, -ity.
Mention the root and the base(s) that are seen in this word. (4 marks)

o Opt: root and base for –ion (2 marks)

o Option: base for –al (1 mark)
o Optional: base for – ity (1 mark)

c. Mention 2 (two) Baltic languages. (1 mark)

Lithuanian, Latvian (0.5 each)

Question # 8.
PART I. Each of the following sets contains three sounds which belong to the same natural
class. Add one other segment to each set, making sure that the natural class is preserved.
Indicate the feature that characterizes the natural class. Try to avoid description in terms
of very general classes/features like consonant or vowel.
(There could be more than one correct answer to this question, but as long as you provide one
correct segment and one correct feature for each set you will receive full marks. The first
example is done for you). (5 marks)

Segment added Characterizing feature

a. [ l ə n] [ o ] [voiced]

b. [θ s f] [ v ] fricative

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 c. [p m k] [t ] stop

d. [j r n] [l ] sonorant

e. [ð s f] [v ] fricative

f. [d g b] [z ] voiced

Any other features that are correct are accepted.

PART II. State the phonetic feature that distinguishes each of the following pairs of
sounds. There may be more than one correct answer, but if you provide one correct
answer for each pair you will obtain full marks. The first example is done for you.
(2 points)

a. [θ] / [ð] ____________[voiceless vs. voiced]__________________

b. [p] / [t] [bilabial/alveolar]

c. [s] / [ð] [voiceless vs. voiced]

d. [p] / [m] [voiceless vs. voiced]

e. [d] / [t] [voiceless vs. voiced]

PART III. For each of the sounds below, state the phonetic feature or features that they
all share. Be as precise as possible and do not use very general features like consonant
or vowel. (3 points)

Example: [p] [b] [m] Shared features: labial, stop.

a). [g] [p] [t] [d] [k] [b] stop 1

b). [u] [ʊ] [o] round, back 0.5 each

c). [i] [ɪ] [e] [æ] front 1

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Question # 9.
In the morphology lecture notes several word formation processes were discussed,
among which inflection, derivation, compounding, etc. Identify the process
responsible for the formation of each of the following English words.
The first example is resolved for you. (10 marks; 1 mark each example)

infomercial = blending

1. (to) ship = convesrion

2. mice (from mouse) = umlaut

3. chirp (word standing for sounds produced by specific birds) = onomatopoeia

4. jumped (from jump) = inflection

5. head-line = compound

6. ATM (for Automated Transaction Machine) = abbreviation

7. George’s (as in George’s hat)= inflection

8. sadness = derivation

9. nicer (from nice) = inflection

10. was (related to be) = suppletion

Question # 10.
a. Parse (decompose) the following words. The first example is resolved for you.
(2.5; 0.5 each)

i) Cats: cat + -s

ii) Unfaithfulness: un + faith+ ful +ness

iii) Reentrance: re + enter+ ance

iv) Implausibility: im + plaus + ble

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 v) Illegality: il +legal + ity

vi) Incorruptible: in + corrupt + ible

0.5 each mistake

b. Explain the processes that affect the following pairs of words. The first example is
done for you. (5 marks; 1 mark each)
i. Foot-feet: umlaut
ii. Capture-receptive: vowel weakening
iii. Victor – convince: infixation
iv. Belemnite-symbol: ablaut
v. Decent-docent: ablaut
vi. Essence- future: suppletion

c. The sentences below contain words formed via derivation or inflection. Identify the
derivational and the inflectional morphemes. The first example is resolved for you.
(2.5 points; 0.5 each)

i. The two students were happy.

Students; -s = inflectional morpheme

ii. They cooked some food, but were obliged to redo the process, as the cakes were not
baked properly.
-ed = inflectional
-ed = inflectional/derivational
Re- = derivational
-ed = inflectional/derivational
-ly = derivational

iii. Several students did not write the exam today.

-s = inflectional

END OF MIDTERM

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