LEL2D Resit

2022

About the resit

This assignment has three parts. In the first (Phonology) and the second (Morphosyntax), you must answer all questions. In the third (Short essays), you must write one essay, choosing from the four prompts given.

The phonology and morphosyntax sections each concern data from a different language. We will refer to these languages as‘Language R’and ‘Language Q’respectively. Both of these are real languages, and the data we give you is real data, with occasional simplifications to remove details which obscure the patterns we want you to analyse. This may make it tempting to identify it and search online for information about the grammar of these languages. This is not recommended, for several reasons:

1. You may find either pedagogical material or published linguistic analyses. Pedagogical material may use frameworks which are significantly different from what we expect you to use, which more likely than not will just mislead you. As for published analyses of these languages, they are often more complex than what is needed for success in this assignment.

2.  The data given below have been simplified, and are insufficient to justify the complex published analyses of the languages in question.

3.  Ifyour analysis resembles published analyses too closely, that will indicate that you have relied too much on Google, rather than thinking about the assignment in its own terms. This document contains all the information required to analyse these languages within the framework of LEL2D.

4.  The morphosyntax questions involve drawing trees for specific sentences, and translating. No published analysis will tell you exactly how to do that, so your energies are much better used in seeking to truly understand the patterns in the data presented here. No finite sample of data can definitively lead you to The Truth About These Languages. However, the examples in this assignment have been chosen to be representative of the relevant phenomena in the grammars of Languages Q and R, and the optimal answers to the questions below are simple, elegant generalizations that predict precisely these patterns. The questions in each section build on each other to an extent. However, ifyou make a mistake on an earlier question, we will adjust to take that into account when considering later answers.

Some of the questions can be answered quite simply. For others, you are required to justify your answers. Although this is explicitly noted on some questions, it applies throughout (also to tree diagrams and phonological rules, for example): ifyou think your reasoning is not self-evident, explain it. However, the phonology and morphosyntax sections are not essays. You do not need an introduction or a conclusion; just answer the questions asked.

The phonology and morphosyntax sections are based on skills we practiced in lectures and tutorials, and should not require additional reading. There is also no need to provide formal references to course lectures. That said, ifyou do use some additional literature, you must acknowledge it in the usual way.

Make sure to read the instructions for each component carefully.

Logistics

The deadline for submission is noon on Monday, August 22nd. Submission is electronic only, via Turnitin. Your marks and feedback will also be returned to you via Turnitin. Ifyou have any questions about submitting your assignment, please get in touch with the course secretary, Susan Hermiston ([email protected]). Make sure you have submitted and got a receipt from Turnitin; ideally, print or otherwise save this receipt in case of technical issues.

When submitting, enter only your exam number (B-number) as the title of the submission. Do not include the word count or titles such as‘LEL2D midterm’. This will greatly facilitate marking and moderation. Ifyou do not follow this instruction, you may be asked to resubmit the assignment; any submission that is late for this reason may attract a late penalty.

The word limit for this assignment is 2,500 words. The word limit excludes any data you cite, tables, and references. The limit is a limit, not a target: there is no 10% leeway and you may well be able to answer all questions using far less than 2,500 words.

You are permitted to discuss the assignment with others. However, you must write up your analysis on your own. Ifyou discuss the assignment at length with any other student taking the resit, feel free to make a note of their exam number on your submission. Undisclosed similarities may be treated as academic misconduct. In sum, talk to each other, help each other, write up on your own, disclose any substantial collaborations, and ask the Course

Organizer, Rob Truswell ([email protected]) for advice ifyou’re unsure.

The three parts of the assignment are equally weighted. Indicative weightings for the individual components are given in the phonology and morphosyntax sections. However, during the moderation process we may have to scale the marks or adjust the weightings. Your feedback will clarify the make-up ofyour final mark.

There will be at least one dropin session supporting this resit, in the week commencing July 18 — details to be confirmed. You are encouraged to look through the midterm as soon as possible, so as to make full use of this session. Ifyou can’t make this session, don’t worry! The assignment is designed in such a way that you should be able to complete it without any support. Please note that because of annual leave and research commitments, Rob will be unavailable from July 23–Aug 7 and again from Aug 13–21.

Because relatively few students take the resit compared to the midterm of final, we do not encourage the use of Piazza for asking questions (although we will be notified on your post, and we will respond). Bring questions to the dropin if possible, or email and Rob will respond when not on leave.

Good luck!

Phonology

Examine the following data, showing the plural formation of a set of nouns in a language which we will call Language R.1 The language is transcribed using IPA characters, so make sure you check you can identify the relevant sounds before beginning.

You will observe that there is a consonant alternation when comparing  singular and plural forms in the first set of data (1–22). This same pattern,  however, is absent from the second set of data (23–30). You will also see     that the shape of the plural suffix — in particular its vowel — alternates      across different words in Language R. Have a first look at the data and try to establish the relevant patterns, then turn to the questions below.

a.  In your own words, describe the main consonantal alternation you see in all the pairs in the first group of words (1–22).                          [2 marks]

b.  Considering the behaviour of the second group of words (23–30),2 what is the best analysis of the consonantal alternation in the first group?

– A rule applies to consonants in word-final position; or

– A rule applies to consonants in intervocalic position.

Justify your choice of answer.                                                    [5 marks]

c.  Write a rule that derives the correct shared alternation of all the pairs in the first group (and which is consistent with the data in the second group). [4 marks]

d.  State any additional rules (applying after the rule in c) which you need to

[2 marks]

e.  Now turn to the alternation in the vowel of the suffix.

– Describe the alternation.

– What can it tell us about the distinctive features of vowels in Language R?                                                                                       [2 marks]

– Formulate a feature-based rule to account for the vowel alternation.

[3 marks]

Morphosyntax

Consider the following data from Language Q. We will refer to this below as Dataset 1. The orthography for Language Q is mainly quite transparent, and is not relevant for this question, but Language Q uses the symbol <̀ > to mark glottal stops, and <’> to mark ejectives (e.g. is a velar ejective).

Take care not to confuse these two symbols.

1. Tyi ikuchu aj Maria jiñi sì ‘Maria carried the wood.’

2. Tyi ichoño aj Maria jiñi sì ‘Maria sold the wood.’

3. Tyi kchoño abi jiñi jàas ‘I sold the bananas yesterday.’

4. Tyi ikuchu jiñi wiñik jiñi jàas ‘The man carried the bananas.’

5. Tyi imek’eyety aj Maria ‘Maria hugged you.’

6. Tyi kmek’eyety ‘I hugged you.’

7. Tyi amek’e abi jiñi ts’ì ‘You hugged the dog yesterday.’

8. Tyi wäyiyety ‘You slept.’

9. Tyi wäyi ‘S/he slept.’

10. Tyi lok’i ‘S/he left.’

11. Tyi lok’iyoñ abi ‘I left yesterday.’

12. Choñkol kmek’ety ‘I am hugging you.’

13. Choñkol akuch jiñi jàas ‘You are carrying the bananas.’

14. Iyom jiñi waj ‘S/he wants the tortillas.’

a.  Describe the basic word order in Language Q, as illustrated in Dataset 1. [2 marks]

b.  Describe the verbal morphology of Language Q, as illustrated in Dataset 1.

[3 marks]

Now consider Dataset 2.

15. Tyi ichoño sì abi jiñi wiñik ‘The man sold wood yesterday.’

16. Tyi ich’ili waj jiñi xk’aläl ‘The girl fried tortillas.’

17. Choñkol imel waj aj Maria ‘Maria is making tortillas.’

18. Tyi imek’e ts’ì abi aj Maria ‘Maria hugged a dog yesterday.’

c.  How does the word order in Dataset 2 differ from that in Dataset 1?

[2 marks]

d.  Name the factor that conditions the choice between these two word orders.

e.  Translate I sold tortillas yesterday into Language Q.

f.  Draw a tree for sentence 15, Tyi ichoño sì abi jiñi wiñik.