#03 Introduction to LInguistics

SUMMARY OF LECTURE: Phonology: encoding words

This lecture was all about the acoustic (phonemes) and visual (graphemes) encoding of words.

My notes are almost indecipherable: a page full of pictures and scribbles. However, still recognisable is a diagram of a tongue moving upwards and underneath that there are several lines of the same sentence spelt forwards, backwards and upside down. In a broad sense these two elements of my notes represent the main themes of the lecture: Pronunciation and Spelling! The tongue represents the acoustic/pronunciation (phonemes) and the sentences the visual/written (graphemes).

For more detailed information check the slides:

http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/gibbon/Classes/Classes2007WS/ITL/03-IntroPhonology.pdf

HOMEWORK

Tasks

● Define:

– syllable = a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or part of a word; for example, there are two syllables in wa|ter and three in in|fer|no.

– phoneme = any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, for example p, b, d, and t in English words pad, pat, bad, and bat.

● Find examples of 5 not-too-short words

– transcribe them (don’t worry about accuracy - maybe check in a

web dictionary)

1. miscellaneous

2. noxious

3. erinaceous

4. synecdochically

5. onomasiological

– divide them into syllables

1. mis|cel|lan|eous

2. no|xious

3. er|in|a|ceaus

4. syn|ec|doch|ic|ally

5. on|o|ma|sio|lo|gi|cal

Task:

· make a list of 5 spelling rules

1) How to handle a final e when adding a suffix or verb ending.

2) How to add a suffix or verb ending when a word ends in y.

· If the word has a consonant before the y, change the y to i.

Example: mercy + less = merciless

· If the word has a vowel before the y, keep the y.

Example: employ + ed = employed

3) How to make nouns plural.

· Words that end in ss, sh, ch or x add es.

Example: switch = switches

· Words that have a consonant before a final y, change the y to i before adding es.

Example: summary = summaries

· Most nouns ending in f or fe add s. However, some change the f to v and add s or es. There is no rule to follow here.

Examples:	belief = beliefs
	half = halves

· Most nouns ending in o add s. However, some add es. There is no rule to follow here.

Examples:	studio = studios
	cargo = cargoes

4) Remember this poem to decide if a word should be spelled ie or ei.

Put i before e

Except after c

Or when it sounds like a

As in neighbor or neigh.

5) Sometimes words have silent letters. These follow patterns that can be memorized.

Examples: gn, pn, kn= n
gnome	pneumonia	knife

Examples: rh, wr = r
rhyme	wrestle

Examples: pt, ght = t
ptomaine	height

Examples: ps, sc = s
psalm	science

Example: wh = h
whole

http://www.mc3.edu/aa/lal/workshops/wksp_spelling/spellingrules.html

· make a list of 5 main spelling problems = see above

English and German: comparison

● Pronunciation:

– List

● the consonants of German which do not occur in English

tzt, pf, ch (as in ich), st/sp

● the consonants of English which do not occur in German

th as in the

● the vowels of German which do not occur in English

ä, ü, ö,

● the vowels of English which do not occur in German

● Spelling:

– List

● the characters of German which do not occur in English

no e on end for example ‚positiv’ und ‚negativ’

● the characters of English which do not occur in German

ough, ious,

● 5 English graphemes containing more than one character

● 5 German graphemes containing more than one character

GLOSSARY

Phonemes: acoustic encoding

Graphemes: visual encoding

LINKS

TRIVIA

Ghoti = fish: Pronounce the gh as in tough, the o as in women and the ti as in nation.
Blend these sounds and you get fish - George Bernard Shaw

03 How To Make A Dictionary 30/10/2007 - The Architecture of a Dictionary

SUMMARY OF LECTURE:

First we discussed types of dictionaries we know, in particular internet dictionaries. I still don’t know which internet dictionaries are useful or reliable. Maybe something to research!

The video of Erin McKean was funny. She is an intelligent lexicographer, entertaining and very cute!

HOMEWORK

Revision: megastructure, macrostructure

● What is the

– Megastructure = is the entire structure of the dictionary, including the front matter, abbreviations and explainations of grammar.

– Macrostructure = is the organization of lexical entries into the body of a dictionary into

a) lists

b) trees

c) networks

of a lexicon? Give examples.

● What is a

– Semasiological = you have word and are looking for the meaning i.e. reader's dictionary, decoding dictionary.

– Onomasiological = have meaning and are looking for the word i.e. writer's dictionary, encoding dictionary.

dictionary? Give examples

Questions: megastructure

· Give examples of the kinds of information contained in each of these structure types.

Ø The front matter = metadata, content, preface, instructions of use, etc.

Ø abbreviations and explanations of grammar = CIA (abbrev.) Central Intelligence Agency: a federal….djahsidhasiu. Adverb etc

Ø the body of the dictionary = Words from A-Z

Ø the back matter =

Question: macrostructure

· Are semasiological macrostructures more like lists, trees, or networks? Lists (a-z)

Revision: microstructure

● What is the microstructure of a dictionary? Microstructure is the consistent organization of lexical information within lexical entries in the dictionary.

● What kind of lexical information is contained in a dictionary's microstructure? The properties of linguistic units such as: Form (Semantics, Pragmatics), Structure (Syntax, Morphology) and Content/Rendering (Pronunciation, Orthography)

● Describe the two dimensions of types of lexical information. a) Onomasiological: you have meaning and are looking for the word. b) Semasiological: you have word and are looking for meaning.

● How do you define “definition”? Definition is the statement of the exact meaning of a word. Give examples: Merkin (noun) artificial covering of hair for the pubic area.

Questions: microstructure

• How many types of lexical information can you find? 3, Form (cf. appearance), Structure (cf. formulation), Content (cf. meanings)
• Is the microstructure of a semasiological dictionary typically a list, a tree or a network? Tree, because the definition is first detailed and minimal like the ‘trunk’ then it examples and other information ‘branches out’, giving a broader definition of the words.
• What kind of structure do the combined macrostructure and microstructure of a semasiological dictionary have? Network, because of the arrangement of intersecting definitions.
• And an onomasiological dictionary? List Structure (listing of synonyms in a thesaurus) and Network Structure because each word is linked by definition.

Revision: mesostructure

● What is the mesostructure of a dictionary? the set of relations between lexical entries and other entries.

● Give examples for mesostructural elements concerning

Ø Types of information with reference to the sign model:

Modality: orthography, phonology(pronunciation i.e. eddy ed.dy

Grammar: POS, Gender, Morphology, Inflection Class i.e. ‘edi, n ed|dy

Object semantics: Definition: a circular movement of water, wind, dust, smoke, etc.

Ø Linguistic description references: use of abbreviations for parts of speech, characterizations of spelling, mini-grammar. i.e. etc. n

Ø Cross-references between related entries: co-hyponyms (synonyms, antonyms…) circular movement?

Ø Corpus references: the little paper boat was caught in an eddy and spun around and around in the water.

Task:

● Take one of your dictionaries, and describe in as much detail as possible its

– megastructure: none

– macrostructure: search engine

– microstructure: onomasiological

– mesostructure: Types of information: orthography, Grammar, Definition, Morphology

Linguistic description: pl.; no obj.

Corpus references: the mists from the river eddied round the banks

Dictionary: Sharp electronic Oxford Dictionary of English

GLOSSARY

Megastructure: mega|structure (noun) the entire structure of the dictionary, including the front matter, abbreviations and explainations of grammar.

Macrostructure: macro|structure (noun) organization of lexical entries into the body of a dictionary. For example into lists, trees and networks.

Microstructure: micro|structure (noun) the consistent organization of lexical information within lexical entries in the dictionary. For example form, structure and content.

Mesostructure: meso|structure (noun) the set of relations between lexical entries and other entries. Origin meso meaning middle or intermediate

Metadate: (noun) a set of data that describes and gives information about other data i.e. publication details, contents

Semasiology: the branch of knowledge that deals with concepts and terms that represent them. For example you know the word and are looking for its meaning.

Onomasiology: the branch of knowledge that deals with terminology, in particular contrasting terms or similar concepts, an in a thesaurus.

Synecdoche: a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa , as in England lost by six wickets (meaning ‘the English cricket team)

Polysemy: the coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or phrase. Origin: poly- many + Greek sema ‘sign’.

erinaceaous: pertaining to the hedgehog family

Serendipity: occurrence and development of the events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

LINKS

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/161

TRIVIA

Life is a cold Lasagna – Emo song

‘Internet = words + enthusiasm’ – Erin McKean

‘ham–butt problem’: the ham was originally too big for the pan, so the butt was cut off.

Wiebke: weib!