LIN102 Assignment #1
Summer 2021 – July 06, 2021
Instruction
� This assignment consists of 7 parts and will be graded out of 40 points
� The assignment is due at 11:59AM on Wednesday, July 15th
� Your responses must be submitted via the “Assignment” page on Quercus (no submis-
sion over email is accepted)
� You must read and follow any formatting requirement that is specified in the questions.
If you do not follow, you will be penalized.
� You may not collaborate on the assignment (see assessment policies in the syllabus)
� The “I don’t know” policy (see below) may only be applied to the questions that
are explicitly marked as applicable
‘I Don’t Know’ Policy
If you have no idea how to respond to a question, as long as the question is marked as a
question you can apply the policy to, you may put the exact phrase “I don’t know” and you
will automatically receive a partial credit (usually 20%) for the question.
Part A: Same, different, or none (6 points)
In each of the following word groups, two words are formed by the same affix; one is formed by
a homophonous, but different, affix; one is not formed by an affix at all. Choose the appropriate
label for each word from the following: (S)ame, (D)ifferent, or (N)one. The first set is done for
you (see the “Sample” column).
Sample (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)
slowly S oranges daisy fortify technician greater doubted
friendly D gives cheesy ratify dystopian bitter indebted
early N billiards fluffy acidify librarian hotter greed
intelligently S folders jealousy diversify durian writer waited
Part B: Lexical categories (6 points)
Choose the appropriate options for the empty slots (1)-(6) in the statements below. (Note:
when submitting your answers through Quercus, make sure you order your two answers for each
question in the alphabetical order)
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(1) Based on (i.) and (ii.), the word broken can be (1) and (2):
(i.) The inspector said that Hong-yan should replace a broken pipe in her apartment.
(ii,) The school window was broken by a student.
(2) Based on (iii.) and (iv.), the word singing can be (3) and (4):
(iii.) The singing cats were the best part of the animation.
(iv.) The school choir will be singing with the symphony orchestra.
(3) Based on (v.) and (vi.), the word band can be (5) and (6):
(v.) The kids were hitting each other with an elastic band.
(vi.) The kids will band together against the adults.
A. noun B. verb C. adjective D. adverb E. preposition
Part C: Morphological analysis (6 points)
Examine the dataset below from a hypothetical language Kazish and identify the correct gloss
for each morpheme from the options below:
telikatna ‘I sleep.’ sawekatnam ‘(S)he was sleeping.’
nilikatna ‘You sleep.’ salikatna ‘(S)he sleeps.’
tewekatna ‘I slept.’ nilikatnaq ‘You have slept.’
niwekatna ‘You slept.’ telikatnam ‘I am sleeping.’
sawekatnaq ‘(S)he had slept.’ tewekatnam ‘I was sleeping.’
(1) li (2) we (3) m (4) kat (5) ni (6) q
A. present tense B. past tense C. future tense D. root
E. perfect aspect F. progressive aspect G. 1st person subject
H. 2nd person subject I. 3rd person subject J. accusative case
Part D: Multiple choice questions (5 points)
For each question, choose the best option.
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(1) The English word embolden formed from bold constitutes an example of a(n) .
a. circumfix
b. infix
c. supra-segmental affix
d. None of the above
(2) Which statement is true about the word hospitalize?
a. It contains an inflectional morphology.
b. It is compositional.
c. It consists only of bound morphemes.
d. All of the above
(3) The fact that a hot dog is a type of sausage and not a type of dog is an example of which
concept?
a. Compositionality
b. Endocentricity
c. Right-hand head rule
d. Excocentricity
(4) Consider the tree diagram for abnormality. Which morpheme must be attached to the root
norm first?
a. ab-
b. -al
c. -ity
d. -ality
(5) Which of the following affixes is not an inflectional morphology?
a. -est as in “tallest”
b. -ed as in “(He) walked”
c. -s as in “courses”
d. -en as in “harden”
Part E: True/False questions (5 points)
For each statement below, identify whether it it True (T) or False (F).
(1) Roots are by definition free morphemes.
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(2) New verbs may be introduced to a language more frequently than new prepositions.
(3) The Right-Hand Head Rule is universal (i.e., found in every language).
(4) The word found between the verb and the determiner in (4’) is called a conjunction.
(4’) I believe that the neighbour is partying.
(5) There are more than one ways to form a word unrecognizable with its three morphemes
un-, recognize, -able
Part F: Morphological structure I (4 points)
The “I Don’t Know” Policy is applicable for this question. You will receive 1 point.
The words in the box are ungrammatical (marked by the asterisk symbol (*)) for a common
reason. Identify and discuss this cause of the ungrammaticality. Make sure that your answwer
refers to the lexical entry for -ity.
*healthity, *presidentity, *faithity, *nationity
Part G: Morphological structure II (8 points)
Consider the word undeletable and answer the following questions:
(1) The word undeletable is ambiguous and can be interpreted in two ways. What are the two
meanings?
(2) Based on the discussion in class, would you predict that the word structure tree for one of
the two meanings in (1) looks different from one for the other meaning? Your answer
should not exceed 3 lines.
� If your answer is Yes, identify how exactly the difference is reflected in the tree diagram
� If your answer is No, explain why you think the structural difference is unnecessary.
(3) Why do you think the ambiguity in (1) arises? Explain briefly by referring to the lexical
entry for un-.
(4) Provide any other English word that shows ambiguity like undeletable.
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