CAS LX 250 Foundations of Language Homework assignment number 2
Fromkin and Rodman, pp. 98-104, problem number 5
	A. Consider the following nouns in Zulu and proceed to look for the recurring forms. Note that the ordering of morphemes is not identical across languages. Thus, what is a prefix in one language may be a suffix or an infix in another. umfazi "married woman" abafazi "married women" umfani "boy" abafani "boys" umzali "parent" abazali "parents" umfundisi "teacher" abafundisi "teachers" umbazi "carver" ababazi "carvers" umlimi "farmer" abalimi "farmers" umdlali "player" abadlali "players" umfundi "reader abafundi "readers" a. What is the morpheme meaning "singular" in Zulu? b. What is the morpheme meaning "plural" in Zulu? c. List the Zulu stems and their meanings to which the singular and plural morphemes are attached. B. The following Zulu verbs are derived from noun stems by adding a verbal suffix. fundisa "to teach" funda "to read" lima "to cultivate" baza "to carve" d. Compare these to the words in section A that are related in meaning, e.g., umfundisi "teacher," abafundisi "teachers," fundisa "to teach." What is the derivational suffix morpheme that specifies the category verb? e. What is the nominal suffix morpheme (that is, the suffix that forms nouns)? f. State the morphological noun formation rule in Zulu. g. What is the stem morpheme meaning "read"? h. What is the stem morpheme meaning "carve"?
Fromkin and Rodman, pp. 98-104, problem number 6
	Examine the following words from Michoacan Aztec. nokali "my house" mopelo "your dog" nokalimes "my houses" mopelomes "your dogs" mokali "your house" ipelo "his dog" ikali "his house" nokwahmili "my cornfield" kalimes "houses" mokwahmili "your cornfield" ikwahmili "his cornfield" a. The morpheme meaning "house" is: (1) kal (2) kali (3) kalim (4) ikal (5) ka b. The morpheme word meaning "cornfields" is: (1) kwahmilimes (2) nokwahmilimes (3) nokwamili (4) kwahmili (5) ikwahmilimes c. The word meaning "his dogs" is (1) pelos (2) ipelomes (3) ipelos (4) mopelo (5) pelomes d. If the word meaning "friend' in this language is mahkwa, then the word meaning "my firends" is: (1) momahkwa (2) imahkwas (3) momahkwames (4) momahkwaes (5) nomahkwames e. The word meaning "dog" in this language is: (1) pelo (2) perro (3)peli (4) pel (5) mopel
Fromkin and Rodman, pp. 98-104, problem number 7
	The following infinitive and past participle verb forms are found in Dutch. Root Infinitive Past Participle wandel wandelen gewandeld "walk" duw duwen geduwd "push" zag zagen gezegd "saw" stofzuig stofzuigen gestofzuigd "vacuum-clean" With reference to the morphological processes of prefixing, suffixing, infixing, and circumfixing discussed in this chapter and the specific morphemes involved: a. State the morphological rule for forming an infinitive in Dutch. b. State the morphological rule for forming a Dutch past participle form.
Fromkin and Rodman, pp. 98-104, problem number 8
	Below are some sentences in Swahili: mtoto amefika "The child has arrived." mtoto anafika "The child is arriving" mtoto atafika "The child will arrive" watoto wamefika "The children have arrived." watoto wanafika "The children are arriving." watoto watafika "The children will arrive." mtu amelala "The man has slept." mtu analala "The man is sleeping." mtu atalala "The man will sleep." watu wamelala "The men have slept." watu wanalala "The men are sleeping." watu watalala "The meen will sleep." kisu kimeanguka "The knife has fallen." kisu kinaanguka "The knife is falling." kisu kitaanguka "The knife will fall." visu vimeanguka "The knives have fallen." visu vinaanguka "The knives are falling." visu vitaanguka "The knives will fall." kikapu kimeanguka "The basket has fallen." kikapu kinaanguka "The basketis falling." kikapu kitaanguka "The basket will fall." vikapu vimeanguka "The baskets have fallen." vikapu vinaanguka "The baskets are falling." vikapu vitaanguka "The baskets will fall" One of the characteristic features of Swahili (and Bantu languages in general) is the existence of noun classes. There are specific singular and plural prefixes that occur with the nouns in each class. These prefixes are also used for purposes of agreement between the subject-noun and the verb. In the sentences given, two of these classes are included (there are many more in the language). a. Identify all the morphemes you can detect, and give their meanings. Example: -toto "child" m- noun prefix attached to signular nouns of Class I a- prefix attached to verbs when the subject is a singular noun of Class I. Be sure to look for other noun and verb markers, including tense markers. b. How is the verb constructed? That is, what kinds of morphemes are strung together and in what order? c. How would you say in Swahili: (1) The child is falling. (2) The baskets have arrived. (3) The man will fall.
Fromkin and Rodman, pp. 98-104, problem number 9
	One morphological process not discussed in this chapter is called reduplication--the formation of new words through the repetition of part or all of a word--which occurs in a number of languages. He following examples from Samoan exemplify this kind of morphological rule: manao "his wishes" mananao "they wish" matua "he is old" matutua "they are old" malosi "he is strong" malolosi "they are strong" punou "he bends" punonou "they bend" atamaki "he is wise" atamamaki "they are wise" savali "he travels" pepese "they sing" laga "he weaves" a. What is Samoan for: (1) they weave (2) they travel (3) he sings b. Formulate a general statement (a morphological rule) that states how to form the plural verb form from the singular verb form.