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Chapter 7 Exercises

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Chapter 7 Exercises

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hubert.mal2005
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 5th edition, Chapter 7: Exercises, 1

Exercise on spelling pronunciation

Before doing this exercise, you should have read the section on spelling
pronunciation.

1. Place names are often subject to spelling pronunciation. Transcribe your


pronunciation of the following words and then compare your
pronunciation with that recommended by a good dictionary. Do you think
any of your pronunciations qualify as spelling pronunciations?

a) Worcestershire
b) Thames
c) Edinburgh (Scotland; compare Edinburgh, Texas)
d) Cannes (France)
e) Newfoundland
Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 5th edition, Chapter 7: Exercises, 2

Exercise on semantic change

Before doing this exercise, you should have read the section on [semantic
change].

1. All of the following English words at one time had meanings that are
quite different from their current ones. Identify each of these semantic
changes as an instance of narrowing, broadening, amelioration,
pejoration, weakening, or shift.
Word Earlier meaning
a) moody ‘brave’
b) uncouth ‘unknown’
c) aunt ‘father’s sister’
d) butcher ‘one who slaughters goats’
e) witch ‘male or female sorcerer’
f) sly ‘skillful’
g) accident ‘an event’
h) argue ‘make clear’
i) carry ‘transport by cart’
j) grumble ‘murmur, make low sounds’
k) shrewd ‘depraved, wicked’
l) praise ‘set a value on’
m) ordeal ‘trial by torture’
n) picture ‘a painted likeness’
o) seduce ‘persuade someone to desert his or her duty’
p) box ‘a small container made of boxwood’
q) baggage ‘a worthless person’
r) virtue ‘qualities one expected of a man’
s) myth ‘story’
t) undertaker ‘one who undertakes’
u) hussy ‘housewife’
v) astonish ‘strike by thunder’
w) write ‘scratch’
x) quell ‘kill’
Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 5th edition, Chapter 7: Exercises, 3

Exercise on reconstruction

Before doing this exercise, you should have read the section on reconstruction
in [naturalness].

1. Proto-Oceanic
Examine the data from Oceanic languages below, and:
i) Make a list of correspondences of consonants among the four
languages.

ii) Write the protoforms for each word.

iii) Justify your choice of protoform on the basis of principles you have
learned about.

Maori Hawaiian Samoan Fijian Gloss


a) pou pou pou bou ‘post’
b) tapu kapu tapu tabu ‘forbidden’
c) taŋi kani taŋi taŋi ‘cry’
d) takere kaʔele taʔele takele ‘keel’
e) hono hono fono vono ‘stay, sit’
f) marama malama malama malama ‘light, moon,
dawn’
g) kaho ʔaho ʔaso kaso ‘thatch’

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