ENG509 Midterm Solved Papers Spring 2019 by Maha Malik

Q. Define the term right headed compound

All these compounds have a verb as the rightmost element, and also that, with most of them, the activity denoted by the compound as whole is a variety of the activity denoted by that rightmost element. Let us call these compounds right-headed, the rightmost element being the head. Most English compounds are right-headed, but not all. As with verbs, it is the type with the preposition over as its first element that seems most productive, in that new adjectives of this type, with the meaning ‘too X’, are readily acceptable: for example, overindignant, oversmooth.

Example:

1. noun–adjective (NA): sky-high, coal-black, oil-rich
2. adjective–adjective (AA): grey-green, squeaky-clean, red-hot
3. preposition–adjective (PA): under full, overactive

Q. Explain the concept of phonotactic constraint with one example.

permissible combinations of phonemes. Phonotactic constraints

/s/ + /p/ + /j ɹ l/

CCC.

Q. Explain the concept of bracketing paradox briefly.

There are three kinds of bracketing paradox

1. One kind of bracketing paradox is the situation in which the formal properties of one of the units requires it to combine with a particular base, but the meaning of the word suggests that it combines with a unit smaller than the base. Take the word international. The formal properties of the word require the prefix inter- to combine with the adjective national, as the word *internation does not exist in English
2. Another kind of paradox comes when a unit combines with a word but semantically modifies not only the word, but a bigger structure in which the word is included. Consider the expression Vulgar Latinist. This does not refer to Latinist who happens to be Vulgar, but to someone who studies Vulgar Latin
3. Last kind of paradox take into account phonological factors. In the case unhappy, there is a paradox in the sense that the meaning of the adjective (more unhappy) require the suffix –er to combine with the trisyllabic adjective unhappy. It is known that generally trisyllabic adjective take the adverb more in the comparative. Avoiding this phonological infraction implies proposing that –er combines with happy and then un- is combines with happier. This gives the wrong semantics as it mean; not more happy’ which the speaker does not interpret. There is no analysis for bracketing in the general case which cover the three paradoxes

Q. Explain the direct and indirect route with reference to morphological processing of a compound word.

Q. Three types of polysemy

a. I love watermelon. (mass) b. I sold three watermelons. (count)

a. Hugh broke the window. b. The kids climbed through the window.

(3) Container– contained alternation

a. A hot glass put under cold water will shatter. b. Franny downed the glass in two seconds flat.

Q. Bath breath wreath chnge into verb · Word · Verb

Bath Baths Breath Breathed Wreath Wreathe

Q. active vocabulary and Passive vocabulary

The number of words that you understand. The active vocabulary, the set of words one uses in language production is much smaller. A dictionary is conservative by nature, and hence it will contain words from the past that nobody uses any more. Mental lexicon will always be ahead of the dictionary, and contains a substantial number of words that are not listed in dictionaries. New words (neologisms) are coined continuously, and dictionaries always lag behind.

Q. Differentiate betwen competence n performance

The lexeme performance denotes the same activity, surely. Does that mean that perform and performance belong to the same word class? Perform has four forms: perform, perform, performing and performed. Performance has two: performance and performances

Competence is Chomsky’s (1965) term for the knowledge that speakers and hearers have of their language. Some people would say that productivity is not part of linguistic competence either, because, in order for something to be considered part of competence, it must be structural and ‘all or none’. Productivity is a probabilistic notion, and some linguists believe that if something is probabilistic, it is not structural and hence is not part of the grammar. Under this view, productivity would have to be treated as a phenomenon that is related to a speaker’s competence, but not part of it.

Q. Syntax

According to the traditional view, the relation between morphology and syntax is the following: while morphology builds up word forms—typically by combining roots with other roots and with affixes, but also by applying other operations to them. Syntax takes fully inflected words as input and combines them into phrases and sentences. The division of labour between morphology and syntax is thus perfect: morphology only operates below the word level whereas syntax only operates above the word level. These two components of grammar are ordered in strict sequence, such that the syntax takes over after the morphology has done its work.

Q. One principle of morphologicl analysis

Morphological Analysis (MA) can also be referred to as ‘problem solving’. It is visually recorded in a morphological overview, often called a ‘Morphological Chart’. The method was developed in the 1960s by Fritz Zwicky, an astronomer from Switzerland.

Principle 1