Midterm Test

Linguisti cs in English Language Teaching

Instructor: Nurenzia Yannuar, PhD.

You have two days to answer the following questions.

1. Explain in detail in your words the differences between human language and
animal language (min. 200 words).

2. Write out the description of each of the following IPA symbols or

combinations of symbols for the following consonants and vowels:
Example: [x] voiceless velar fricative
[ə]: mid, central, unrounded, and lax
a. [j]
b. [ʔ]
c. [ɲ]
d. [tʃ]
e. [ɪ]
f. [ᴧ]
g. [ɛ]
h. [æ]

3. Give the conventional spelling for the following phonetically transcribed

words. (Note that some may have more than one possible spelling.) The first
one (a) is given as an example.

a. [sloʊp] slope
b. [sᴧni]
c. [seɪl]
d. [wɛnzdeɪ]
e. [kɑnʃəs]
f. [θɑʊzn̩ d]
g. [fᴧʤ]
h. [pitsə]
i. [bjuɾi]
j. [ʃuleɪs]
k. [eɪʒə]

4. In each group of words that follows two words have the same morphological
structure, one has a different suffix from those two, and one has no suffix at
all. Your task is to tell which two words have the same suffix, which one has a
different suffix, and which has no suffix at all. Having done this, tell the
meaning of each suffix.
Example: rider
 -er is a derivational suffix meaning ‘one who. . . .’
colder -er is an inflectional suffix marking the comparative.
silver There is no suffix.
smoker This is the same -er as in rider.

a. nicer
painter
runner
feather

b. friendly
sadly
softly
silly

c. wrestling
handling
fling
duckling

d. given
maven
wooden
taken

5. We noted that some sentences can have bizarre meanings but are
syntactically well-formed nonetheless, e.g., Colorless green ideas sleep
furiously. Construct three original sentences of English that all mean
something very strange. What does the existence of such sentences tell you
about the relationship between syntax and semantics?

6. Draw the tree diagrams for the following expressions (for c, draw two tree
diagrams to represent the two different intended meanings).
a. Sandy shot the soldier.
b. I sent the man an email
c. These are designed for small boys and girls.
d. Chris loved Robin passionately

7. Below are descriptions of several possible contexts for the sentence: “Do any
of you have a watch?” For each context, paraphrase the message that the
speaker seems to be trying to get across by uttering that sentence.

a. A frantic-looking man runs up to a group of people standing at a bus

stop, checks the bus schedule, and then says hurriedly,“Do any of you
have a watch?”
b. A group of preteen girls is comparing jewelry. One girl says, “My
jewelry is best, because I have the most.” Another says, “Nope. Mine
 is the best because it all matches.” This sort of thing goes on for a
while. Finally, the last girl pipes up that she thinks she has the best
jewelry. “Oh yeah? What makes you so special?” She replies, “Just
look at my wrist! Do any of you have a watch?”
c. A mugger traps a group of people in a dark alley and waves a gun at
them while screaming, “Do any of you have a watch?”
d. Your linguistics instructor left his watch at home this morning, but he
will need to monitor his time use in class. He wanders into the
department lounge and says to his colleagues, “Do any of you have a
watch?”
e. A woman goes to a masquerade ball and falls in love with one of her
dance partners. However, of course, she cannot see his face. She
knows only that he wore a very ornate and easily recognizable
wristwatch. Now, every time that she approaches a group of eligible-
looking men, she begins her conversation with, “Do any of you have a
watch?”

8. Explain in your own words, in detail, the differences between the concept of
Applied Linguistics and Linguistics Applied. Which one will you be interested
to work with? (min. 300 words).

9. Explain in your own words what happens in a dichotic listening test. Use your
own examples.

10. What do you think about World Englishes? Is it necessary for English learners
to speak the standard form of English, or would it be okay for them to speak
in a different variety of English?