LING 115 - LINGUISTICS MIDTERM #2
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which of the following is an s-curve?
a. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then forty more after
that.
b. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then ten after that.
c. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then ten more, then twenty more after
that.
d. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then forty more, then twenty after that. -
Correct Answers -d. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then forty more, then
twenty after that.
Which of the following CAN'T be described by an s-curve?
a. the diffusion of a sound change through the words a speaker knows
b. the diffusion of a disease through a community
c. the diffusion of a sound change through the speakers of a language
d. the diffusion of pollution in a body of water - Correct Answers -d. the diffusion of
pollution in a body of water
Once a change begins in a language, it can't be stopped.
True
False - Correct Answers -False
If a sound change happened in English such that all instances of "th" became
pronounced as "d," the word "that" would be pronounced as "dat" before the word
"thereby" was pronounced as "dereby."
True
False - Correct Answers -True
The language of Napkinish is experiencing a change. Speakers, starting in the city of
Forktown, have stopped using the "-ippa" suffix in the past tense. In Forktown, the
words "tullippa," "loppippa," and "bonippa" are all now pronounced as "tull," "lopp," and
"bon" in the past tense. In the town of Spoonville thirty miles away, "tullippa" is
pronounced as "tull," and "bonippa" is pronounced as "bon," but "loppippa" must still be
pronounced "loppippa." Bowlville is another town sixty miles away from Forktown on the
other side of Spoonville. (You have to drive through Spoonville to get to Bowlville in
fact.) What must be true in Bowlville?
,a. The people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
b. The people in Bowlville definitely say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
c. The people in Bowlville definitely say "bon" instead of "bonippa."
d. The language change definitely hasn't reached Bowlville. - Correct Answers -a. The
people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
An isogloss is a line between two dialects.
True
False - Correct Answers -False
It has become common in some varieties of English recently to say "las" instead of "last"
(as in: "He came in las"). Which of the following is true of this change?
a. It is the result of speakers being too lazy to include the final consonant.
b. It is the result of a predictable change whereby speakers reduce the markedness of
the language.
c. It is evidence that English has become less elegant than how it was spoken 100
years ago.
d. It shows that English is improving towards being more logical. - Correct Answers -b. It
is the result of a predictable change whereby speakers reduce the markedness of the
language.
What does the Benrath Line mark?
a. Whether speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words such as "ich" and "machen."
b. Which dialect of German speakers use.
c. Whether the speakers of German are considered to be low, high, or middle class.
d. Whether speakers of French were living in the area. - Correct Answers -a. Whether
speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words such as "ich" and "machen."
If speakers of a variety are unsure about a linguistic feature (ex: they can't quite decide
if the plural of "cactus" is "cacti" or "cactuses"), it's probably because that linguistic
feature is in the process of changing.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
Why do most speakers of American English pronounce "cursory" with three syllables
and "every" with two syllables?
a. "Cursory" is very hard to pronounce with two syllables.
b. It's the proper way to pronounce the words, and native speakers learned these
pronunciations in school.
c. Losing a syllable in "cursory" would make it sound too much like another word.
, d. "Every" is a more common word than "cursory." - Correct Answers -d. "Every" is a
more common word than "cursory."
What is Labov 1963 about?
a. a language change because of pressures from above
b. a language change because of pressures from below
c. a language change that shows the s-curve
d. a variety that hasn't ever changed - Correct Answers -b. a language change because
of pressures from below
The youth on Martha's Vineyard were the most likely to use the new vowels.
True
False - Correct Answers -False
The people who lived up-island on Martha's Vineyard were the most likely to use the
new vowels.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
We are more likely to be aware of changes we make in our language due to pressures
from above than the changes we make due to pressures from below.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
If I change my speech to sound friendlier, then I have changed my speech in response
to pressures from below.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
What created the Benrath line?
a. Speakers of German randomly permuting their speech during the 300 year period
between 1300 and 1600.
b. Speakers of French moving in among the speakers of German in the 1600's.
c. The feudal system that existed in Germany between 1300 and 1600. It forced the
different classes of society to live separately from one another.
d. Speakers of German trying to sound more like the urban speakers of Cologne in the
1300's. - Correct Answers -d. Speakers of German trying to sound more like the urban
speakers of Cologne in the 1300's.
The Northern Cities Vowel Shift is caused by Pressures from Above.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which of the following is an s-curve?
a. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then forty more after
that.
b. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then twenty more, then ten after that.
c. Forty people adopt a new linguistic feature, then ten more, then twenty more after
that.
d. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then forty more, then twenty after that. -
Correct Answers -d. Ten people adopt a new linguistic feature, then forty more, then
twenty after that.
Which of the following CAN'T be described by an s-curve?
a. the diffusion of a sound change through the words a speaker knows
b. the diffusion of a disease through a community
c. the diffusion of a sound change through the speakers of a language
d. the diffusion of pollution in a body of water - Correct Answers -d. the diffusion of
pollution in a body of water
Once a change begins in a language, it can't be stopped.
True
False - Correct Answers -False
If a sound change happened in English such that all instances of "th" became
pronounced as "d," the word "that" would be pronounced as "dat" before the word
"thereby" was pronounced as "dereby."
True
False - Correct Answers -True
The language of Napkinish is experiencing a change. Speakers, starting in the city of
Forktown, have stopped using the "-ippa" suffix in the past tense. In Forktown, the
words "tullippa," "loppippa," and "bonippa" are all now pronounced as "tull," "lopp," and
"bon" in the past tense. In the town of Spoonville thirty miles away, "tullippa" is
pronounced as "tull," and "bonippa" is pronounced as "bon," but "loppippa" must still be
pronounced "loppippa." Bowlville is another town sixty miles away from Forktown on the
other side of Spoonville. (You have to drive through Spoonville to get to Bowlville in
fact.) What must be true in Bowlville?
,a. The people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
b. The people in Bowlville definitely say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
c. The people in Bowlville definitely say "bon" instead of "bonippa."
d. The language change definitely hasn't reached Bowlville. - Correct Answers -a. The
people in Bowlville definitely do NOT say "lopp" instead of "loppippa."
An isogloss is a line between two dialects.
True
False - Correct Answers -False
It has become common in some varieties of English recently to say "las" instead of "last"
(as in: "He came in las"). Which of the following is true of this change?
a. It is the result of speakers being too lazy to include the final consonant.
b. It is the result of a predictable change whereby speakers reduce the markedness of
the language.
c. It is evidence that English has become less elegant than how it was spoken 100
years ago.
d. It shows that English is improving towards being more logical. - Correct Answers -b. It
is the result of a predictable change whereby speakers reduce the markedness of the
language.
What does the Benrath Line mark?
a. Whether speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words such as "ich" and "machen."
b. Which dialect of German speakers use.
c. Whether the speakers of German are considered to be low, high, or middle class.
d. Whether speakers of French were living in the area. - Correct Answers -a. Whether
speakers of German say "k" or "ch" on words such as "ich" and "machen."
If speakers of a variety are unsure about a linguistic feature (ex: they can't quite decide
if the plural of "cactus" is "cacti" or "cactuses"), it's probably because that linguistic
feature is in the process of changing.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
Why do most speakers of American English pronounce "cursory" with three syllables
and "every" with two syllables?
a. "Cursory" is very hard to pronounce with two syllables.
b. It's the proper way to pronounce the words, and native speakers learned these
pronunciations in school.
c. Losing a syllable in "cursory" would make it sound too much like another word.
, d. "Every" is a more common word than "cursory." - Correct Answers -d. "Every" is a
more common word than "cursory."
What is Labov 1963 about?
a. a language change because of pressures from above
b. a language change because of pressures from below
c. a language change that shows the s-curve
d. a variety that hasn't ever changed - Correct Answers -b. a language change because
of pressures from below
The youth on Martha's Vineyard were the most likely to use the new vowels.
True
False - Correct Answers -False
The people who lived up-island on Martha's Vineyard were the most likely to use the
new vowels.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
We are more likely to be aware of changes we make in our language due to pressures
from above than the changes we make due to pressures from below.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
If I change my speech to sound friendlier, then I have changed my speech in response
to pressures from below.
True
False - Correct Answers -True
What created the Benrath line?
a. Speakers of German randomly permuting their speech during the 300 year period
between 1300 and 1600.
b. Speakers of French moving in among the speakers of German in the 1600's.
c. The feudal system that existed in Germany between 1300 and 1600. It forced the
different classes of society to live separately from one another.
d. Speakers of German trying to sound more like the urban speakers of Cologne in the
1300's. - Correct Answers -d. Speakers of German trying to sound more like the urban
speakers of Cologne in the 1300's.
The Northern Cities Vowel Shift is caused by Pressures from Above.
