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Chapter 4 Words and Sentences

Chapter 4 Words and Sentences. Overview. From Morphology The analysis of words and how they are structured To Syntax The analysis of phrases and sentences and how they are structured. Morphology. Words vs morphemes Morphemes as smallest units of meaning in a language

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Chapter 4 Words and Sentences

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  1. Chapter 4 Words and Sentences

  2. Overview • From Morphology • The analysis of words • and how they are structured • To Syntax • The analysis of phrases and sentences • and how they are structured.

  3. Morphology • Words vs morphemes • Morphemes as smallest units of meaning in a language • respect+ful; dis+respect+ful • room+mate; stir+fry • fire+fight+er • Manhattan.

  4. Morphological Analysis • Describing morphemes… • Analyzing their arrangements….

  5. Describing Morphemes: Bases • Form foundations of words • Establish basic meanings • English: fish; talk • Shinzwani: -lo- (fish); -lagu- (talk) • Czech: piv- (beer)

  6. Kinds of Bases • Roots • Serve as underlying foundation • Can’t be broken down any further • English: fish • Shinzwani: -lo- (fish) • Stems • Derived from roots • By means of affixes (see ‘affix’ slides) • English: fish+ing = fishing; talk+er = talker • Shinzwani: lo+a = -loa (fishing) • Can have additional affixes attached • English: talker+s = talkers • Shinzwani: ni+ku+loa = nikuloa (I am fishing).

  7. Describing Morphemes: Affixes • Attach to bases • Add grammatical information • English: -er; -ing • = fisher, fishing, talker, talking • Shinzwani: hu- (to) ; niku- (I am) • = huloa (to fish), hulagua (to talk) • = nikuloa (I am fishing), nikulagua (I am talking) • Czech: -o; -a; -Ø • = pivo (beer), piva ((2, 3, 4) beers), piv ((5+) beers).

  8. Prefixes im+possible un+likely Suffixes walk+ing Infixes fan+bloody+tastic Circumfixes m+loz+i (fisherman) Reduplication mpole+mpole (very slow) Interweaving k+i+t+aa+b (book) Portmanteau Blog Brunch Kinds of Affixes

  9. What Affixes DO • Derivation • Changing one kind of word into another • verbs into nouns: read -- reader; -lo- -- mlozi • adjectives into verbs: modern -- modernize • Inflection • Showing relationships among words in a group • tenses: hunted -- hunting • comparisons: big -- bigger -- biggest • persons: I fish -- she fishes • number: cat -- cats; mpaha – zimpaha (cat/cats).

  10. How Many Morphemes? • The dogs chased the cats into the bushes.

  11. How Many Morphemes? • The dog-z chas-t the cat-s in-to the bush-ez. • What is the difference between –z and –s? • And what about –ez?

  12. Analyzing Arrangement:Free and Bound Morphemes • Free morphemes are like bases • Can stand alone • e.g., words: speak; respect; Manhattan • Bound morphemes are like affixes • Must be attached to other morphemes • e.g., affixes: -er; -ing; dis-; -ful • speak-er; speak-ing; dis-respect-ful • But note: roots can also be BOUND MORPHEMES • e.g., Shinzwani -lo- ‘fish’, Czech piv- ‘beer’ • Hierarchy among affixes • English: derive first, then inflect… • help+er+s (not help+s+er).

  13. Allomorphs • Variant forms of a single morpheme • e.g., Shinzwani (see page 90 in textbook): • {singular-} • /shi-/ with -ri, -sahani, -kombe • /mu-/ with -hono, -ndru • {plural-} • /zi-/ with -ri, -sahani, -kombe • /mi-/ with –hono, -ndru • e.g., English: cats, dogs, & horses • {-plural} • /-s/ following voiceless stops • /-z/ following voiced stops and vowels • /-Iz/ following fricatives.

  14. How & Why Allomorphs Change • Adjusting to neighboring sounds • called “morphophonemic conditioning” • English: cats, dogs, horses; improbable, illogical • KiSwahili: W/R 4.11 (pages 74-75) • Reflecting semantic categories • called “semantic conditioning” • KiSwahili: W/R 4.12 (pages 76-77)

  15. Syntax • How words combine into phrases & sentences • Note fuzzy boundary between morphology and syntax • Shinzwani: ni+tso+hu+venza ‘I+will+you+like’ • All one word • English: I will like you • Four different words.

  16. Analyzing Syntax • Finding and testing substitution frames • Also called ‘slots and fillers’ • The cat in the hat • The cat in the basket • The cat in the tree • M+paha i+send+a mji+ni – The cat is going to town • M+wana a+send+a mji+ni – The child is going to town • Gari li+send+a mji+ni – The car is going to town • M+tu m+zuri m+moja u+le -- that one good person • Ki+kapu ki+zuri ki+moja ki+le -- that one good basket • Gari zuri moja li+le -- that one good car.

  17. Labeling Substitution Frames • Let the language be your guide • Be prepared for different categories • Grammatical gender • Czech: masculine, feminine, neuter • Shinzwani: human, animal, body part, useful, abstract, • Case • Czech: subject, object, possession, location, • The effect of obligatory categories • Grammatical categories that must be expressed.

  18. Ordering Substitution Frames • Restrictions • Which words can go together? • The hat in the cat? • The cat exploded on the rug? • Roasting a pot of coffee? • Which orders are permitted? • the black cat vs le chat noir • (the) good person vs mtu mzuri • Anymore I don’t eat pizza? • SVO languages and prepositions? • The cat in the tree vs Mpaha mwirijuu. • Let the language be your guide.

  19. Ambiguities • Indicate alternative substitution frames • Cow kills farmer with ax • (newspaper headline) • Put more H2O in the coffee, then the bones • (message on chalkboard in physical anthro lab) • Fruit flies like a banana • (attributed to Groucho Marx).

  20. Kinds of Grammars • Prescriptive • Provides a model of ‘proper’ speech • Many schoolteachers, even today • Descriptive • Describes a language structure on its own terms • Boas and anthropologists, 1900s • Generative • Generates all possible sentences of a language • Noam Chomsky, 1950s.

  21. Generating Sentences • Begin at the level of Deep Structure • Phrase Structure Rules • produce abstract sentences • Transformation Rules • change sentence structures • Does time fly like an arrow? • Phonological rules assign sounds • Result is pronounceable sentence • At the level of Surface Structure.

  22. Advantages of Generative Grammar • Trees show structure more clearly.

  23. Disadvantages of Generative Grammar • Relies on introspection • You need to know the language well enough to judge grammaticality of sentences • Assumes universal underlying structure • Accessible through any language • But new data continues to challenge universals • Not as useful in learning new languages • Working with surface level sentences • Requires working with actual speakers • And discovery of substitution frames

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