Assignment: Linguistics

Part 1: Semantics

1. Using semantic features, how would you explain the oddness of these sentences?

a. My cat has a law degree.

b. That man is Billy's mother.

c. Your jacket ate all of our pizza.

2. Identify the semantic roles of all of the noun phrases in the following sentences:

The little boy threw the ball to his father, who then threw the ball back to the little boy.

When the little boy caught the ball in the back yard, he felt very proud.

The mother watched them play, then cut three pieces of cake with a butter knife in the kitchen.

3. What is the basic lexical relationship between the words in each pair listed?

a. _________ motor vehicle / car

b. _________ face (of a person or animal) / face (of a cliff)

c. _________ leaf / tree

d. _________ lean / lien

e. __________ wet / dry

f. ___________ lead (to guide) / lead (heavy metallic element)

g. ___________ dog / German shepherd

h. ____________ can (a metal container)/can (able to)

Part 2: Pragmatics

1. Identify the deictic expressions in the following sentences and indicate their types:

a. This performance of the play is sold out, but you can come back here tomorrow and buy a ticket for the next one.

b. We are looking forward to the party tonight.

2. Identify the anaphoric expressions in this discourse:

Jessica told her mother, Joyce, that she was sick and wanted to stay home from school. Joyce told her daughter that she knew there was a math test today and that the reason Jessica said she was sick was because she didn't want to take it.

3. Name one clear presupposition of someone who says the following sentences:

a. ___________________ The baby isn't sick anymore.

b. _____________________ The car was totaled in the accident.

c. ______________________ Dan doesn't want another cat.

d. ______________________ The new CEO is really young.

4. Scenario: It is winter and you walk into the living room and it feels very cold. You want your roommate to turn up the heat. Classify the following expression as either direct or indirect speech acts to express what you want.

a. ______________ "It's really cold in here."

b. ______________ "Crank the heat - I'm freezing!"

c. ______________ "Turn up the heat, please."

d. ______________ "Aren't you cold?"

Part 3: Neurolinguistics (Language and the Brain)

What type of aphasia would cause these utterances? In the blank, write either "Broca" or "Wernicke" to categorize the utterance. (Note: "..." indicates a distinct pause in speech)

1. _________________ "You're going, and you're fast. So fast. But you're always going, you know?"

2. _________________ "Go biking sister mother park."

3. _________________ "The... cat... going... to the... window."

What type of speech mistakes are the following utterances? In the blank, write either "spoonerism" or "malapropism" to categorize the mix-up. (The intended phrase is in parenthesis.)

4. _________________ "I saw all the flying flanes!" (flying planes)

5. _________________ "His directions were so pacific." (were so specific)

6. _________________ "There's a 70% chance of participation tonight." (chance of precipitation)

7. _________________ "I think I fut my kinger." (cut my finger)

For the following two people listed:

a. Identify who they were/are and what happened to them

b. Describe how examining their case contributes to the study and understanding of neurolinguistics

8. Phineas Gage

9. Genie.