Chapter 1
1. Sound sequences. Any word that conforms to the sound pattern of English is a correct answer. For ex-
ample:
2. Grammaticality judgments. The following sentences are ungrammatical, but note that some judgments
may vary across dialects:
a. *Robin forced the sheriff go.
f. *He drove my house by.
g. *Did in a corner little Jack Horner sit?
h. *Elizabeth is resembled by Charles.
k. *It is eager to love a kitten.
l. *That birds can fly flabbergasts.
n. *Has the nurse slept the baby yet?
o. *I was surprised for you to get married.
p. *I wonder who and Mary went swimming.
q. *Myself bit John.
s. *What did Alice eat the toadstool and?
3. Onomatopoeic words. Sample answers:
4. Nonarbitrary and arbitrary signs. Sample answers:
a. Nonarbitrary signs:
b. Arbitrary signs:
5. Learning. The first statement (I learned a new word today) is quite probable. We constantly add to our
6. Alex, the African grey parrot. Answers will vary. Students may point out that Alex’s ability to mimic
7. Communication system of a wolf. While a wolf’s communication system is quite large and complex, it is
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site, in whole or in part.
meaningful gestures the way humans can.
8. A dog’s understanding of speech. No. Even if the dog learned to respond to given cues to heel, sit up,
9. “Correct” rules of grammar. Here are some rules, often taught in English classes, which seem unnatural
to many speakers:
10. Comments on Chomsky’s remark. Chomsky believes that if apes were endowed with the ability to ac-
quire language they would do so. The answer to this question should reflect an understanding of the
11. Song titles. Answers will vary. Some examples are:
12. Understanding the reality of a person’s grammar. Answers will vary. The essay might be along the lines
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site, in whole or in part.
take competence and performance into account so they distinguish between the possible The very, very,
very, very, very, very, very, very, very old man arrived late, which is possible but nonoccurring, and
*They swimmed in the pool, which may occur as a slip of the tongue but is nonetheless not possible as a
well–formed sentence.
13. My Fair Lady. One example is “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain,” which is an attempt to get
14. Bilingualism. Parts (a) and (b) are open–ended. For part (a), a student might observe that if the strong
version of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis is true, then a bilingual person might have multiple personality
15. Pirahã. Answers will vary. Readings will show that the Pirahã people do have difficulties doing quantita-
16. British English words for woods and woodlands.
a. Answers will vary.
b. Answers will vary. Students may discuss the meaning differences freely. The following definitions
woodlot “a tract, esp. on a farm, set aside for trees”
c. Answers will vary. An answer supporting the idea that English speakers have a richer concept of wood-
lands than speakers whose language has fewer words might argue that the plethora of words itself is
17. English dge words. Answers will vary. A sample list of dge words follows. Neutral: edge, wedge,
sledge, pledge, budge, fudge, and smidgeon. Unfavorable: curmudgeon, sludge, hodge–podge, and
18. Euphemisms. Answers will vary. Below are three possible examples:
19. Cratylus dialogue. Answers will vary. Those who find that Socrates’ point of view was sufficiently well
argued to support the thesis that the relationship between form and meaning is indeed arbitrary might
20. Pirahã. Answers will vary. Linguist Daniel Everett claims that Pirahã violates some of the universal
principles hypothesized by linguists (especially Noam Chomsky). In particular, he claims in his article in
21. The lexicon of the English language. Answers will vary. Those who argue that the lexicon of English
should be counted as all the words in English, past and present, may point out that even if a word is no
22. Nameless concepts. We know that unnamed concepts can exist: we have feelings that we can’t quite put
into words; we can see a physical item that we don’t know the name for and understand it nonetheless;
23. Arrival and the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis is critical to the plot of Arrival.
The hypothesis states that the structure and categories of a language can shape the thoughts of speakers